A conversation about fame

[Gravwarp]

Bryan opened the quad door with his key; he carried a long garment bag over his shoulder. He still looked tired; the weekend had been a long one.

As he entered the room, Bryan nodded to Jason as he saw him. The older roommate sat behind his keyboard with headphones over his ears. Jason was jotting down some sort of notes as his fingers ran over the keyboard. Bryan always thought it was strange to see him playing the instrument yet only hearing the clacking of the plastic keys.

Bryan moved to his side of the room; he laid the garment bag down on his bed and unzipped the black vinyl. He pulled out a familiar ringed blue and white outfit, the suit Bryan wore as Gravwarp. He looked at it for a moment, sighed and laid the spandex costume on the bed. Bryan moved over to his desk, he began rummaging through his drawer for something.

Jason, pausing from his work, casually glanced over from across the dorm room and saw Bryan's costume lying out. Doing a double take, he was alarmed to see that the left sleeve was completely missing. Seemingly ripped of, based on the jagged fabric left hanging from the shoulder. Jason removed his headphones and chuckled good-naturedly. "Rough day at the office?"

Bryan sighed and rubbed his temple, after a second or two the tension passed and he replied. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." He laughed and added "Gravwarp had his first meet and greet and the new El Super Mexicano in Overbrook today. I... uhhh... I wasn't prepared for what it was going to be like."

He turned and looked at his roommate. "I signed my first endorsement deal, last week and part of the contract requires me to make these in-store appearances. There were only about 100 people there, mostly teenagers about our age. When I got there, their cheers were amazing." He laughed, "I'm glad I wear the goggles, I almost cried."

"I mean, it's not like I some super famous hero but they were treating me like I was. I made my little speech and added the hero stuff I thought I should say. 'Stay in school.' and 'Say no to Supes.' That kind of thing."

Bryan sat down in his chair with a thump, a far off looked crept over his face as he gazed out the window. "I signed autographs for everyone. Signing the craziest things, too. Newspaper clippings, posters of other heroes, a kid wanted me to sign a Statesman action figure. I also signed a ton of burrito wrappers with my face on them." He laughed out loud, "I'm not even Mexican. It's absurd."

Bryan looked over at Jason and chuckled, "Look who I'm talking too, you know what it's like." The boy looked back at his torn sleeve, "A teenage girl did that, she ripped the sleeve right off. Glove and all, when I told the group I was needed elsewhere. I mean, I said it to try and get out of there but I mean, I could have really needed to save someone and they didn't care. They wanted keep me there; signing, smiling and shaking their hands."

He looked at the famous boy, fate had roomed him with and his voice became serious. "I was afraid, just for a moment, but when that fabric gave. I was more afraid of that group of teenagers then I've ever been. Even staring down the barrel of a gun. Weird, huh?"

[Broadway]

Jason smiled a sympathetic smile. "Yeah, you're more scared of them, because you can't fight back." Jason chuckled "And you're just getting started too."

Jason spun slightly sitting sideways in the chair, leaning his elbows on his thighs, leaning in towards, Bryan. He grinned, and put on the 'old man' voice, "Well, son, let me give you some advice." Bryan laughed at the change, and Jason leaned back again.

"Trust me, it can get weirder. Wait till you have some girl asking you to sign body parts. You try to put on that unflappable aire, and all the while you're head is screaming 'Oh my god would you get a load of those', and you try to keep your hand steady. I've had offers that would have made Cassanova blush." Jason chuckled, "You're going to lose more clothing, count on it. Just make sure they're not grabbing anything else along with the cloth." Jason grinned and made a pointed look at Bryan's lap.

Bryan swallowed hard, "What??" He saw Jason's impish grin, "Oh, very funny. I'm being serious here."

"Okay, okay, all joking aside, still you want to try to make sure they don't grab skin." Bryan sighed. "Bryan, it just takes getting used to. There's a few tricks I can teach you though."

Jason stood up, "Ever notice how someone signing autographs will bend at the waist if the crowd isn't behind some sort of restraint?" Bryan cocked his head, furrowing his brow. "Watch sometime, either that or if there is a restraint, they stand as far away as they can and reach for the item to autograph, or sign it at arm's reach." Jason mimed signing a book or something at the full stretch of his armspan. "Looks kinda ridiculous when there aren't a bunch of screaming fans there, doesn't it?" Bryan leaned back in his chair with a nod. "But it doesn't give anyone much to grab a hold of either."

"But won't people think that's kind of fake?" Bryan asked.

Jason gave a little shrug, "They really don't have time to think about it in the 'Screaming Fans' scenario, they're too busy getting jostled themselves. That's one of the reasons I hate mall appearances, or," Jason grinned, "fast food restaraunt appearances. I guess I can add those to my list. Haven't done one yet, but after seeing your sleeveless suit..."

"Yeah. But how do you get to know fans then?"

Jason shook his head, "You don't. You can't." Jason sighed. "You're only going to be in their lives for, what?" Jason shrugged, "ten, fifteen seconds? Less if you're meeting a mass of people. Ask them something about themselves, something small, or give them a boost, but it has to be brief."

"I'm not sure I follow."

Jason ran his hands through his hair letting out a breath. "Hmm...let's see if I can give you a 'fer instance.' Say a small kid comes up with the Gravwarp action figure, and he's pie eyed, scared to death, and just hands you the thing, what do you do?"

Bryan stammered a bit and shrugged, "Ask his hame. Sign the figure, hand it back and wish him well, I guess."

"That'll get you the consolation prize. You want to make an impact? Get to the kids level, take the figure and ask him something like 'So, you want to be a hero?' You might get a nod, or wide eyes, or a enthusiastic response, but you connected for the ten seconds while you sign. Hand it back and tell him 'I used to be a little guy too. Anything's possible.' It doesnt' take anything from you, but he's hooked, he'll remember it."

"Hope that helps." Jase grinned that mischievious grin. "It'll be good to have another celebrity around. I promise not to start any rumors about the gas from the burritos giving you the lift you need to fly." Both of them laughed.

"Yeah, that'd go over big."

"Just keep in mind that there's a side to fame that you've not seen yet, Bryan. I kinda hope you don't ever have to."

[Gravwarp]

Bryan looked over at Jason, concerned when he heard his roommate’s ominous last sentence. “You ok?” Bryan asked shyly. Jason looked back at him and he flashed the freshman his prize-winning smile. “Just trying to sell the grizzled old veteran act.” Bryan laughed but he was sure he had seen something in Jason’s face; at least he thought he did.

The boy continued to search through the open drawer. “Ah ha! There you are.” He pulled a small stack of business cards out and flipped through them until he found the one he needed. “I need to make an appointment with Serge, to get this fixed.”

Staring at the ruined costume, Bryan spoke to Jason. “I never thought about really connecting with the people. I just imagined going out there and basking in their love.” He laughed, “I mean, I know it’s just a restaurant opening but you have to start somewhere, I guess.”

[Broadway]

"Hells yeah, you need to connect with them." Jason looked at Bryan kind of incredulously. "Look, there's always going to be another star that burns bright, that fans can turn their attention to, but if YOU lose the fans?" Jason shrugged, "You're pretty much finished.

Jason flopped down on his bed, putting his hands behind his head. "Always remember that the fans aren't there for you. You're there for them. Start putting them off, and all the Gravwarp Burrito wrappers are going to wind up collecting dust somewhere."

He looked over at Bryan's face filled with curiousity. "I mean think about it. How many stars are there that throw an album out there, or a movie, then grandstand it? Act like they're above it all, and then flop in their next movie or two? Why? Because the fans don't like or care about the person anymore. Then you take a guy like Nicholas Cage. He takes on anything that really catches his interest, and more often than not, the movie at least does passably well. Why? Because he relates to the fan, he gives off the impression that he's just like everyone else." Jason chuckled, "Maybe a little out there, but still just a 'normal guy'."

Jason grinned, "Now I sound like I'm on a soapbox. Look, all I'm saying is, if you go there to 'bask in their love' and don't give them something back, besides just your prescence, they'll get tired of it real quick."

[Persiflage]

The X-acto blade cut easily, the excess paper curling back into itself in little ribbons. Uncapping the rubber cement (and giving a guilty sniff) she applied four careful beads to the page of her scrapbook, and pasted in a picture of her brother. He smiled from the grainy black-and-white newsprint. She tossed the cheap teenybopper magazine she'd taken it from into the trash.

She looked at it again. The picture had been taken in the neon strobe lighting of Pocket D, and while his clothing was easy to make out, his face was dimly lit, and obscured. He could be mistaken for a handsome human boy, the spots on his forehead and cheekbones a trick of the light.

He looked nice, she decided, pressing the corners firmly in place. He was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a bright butterfly, and some sort of complicated-looking kilt. Ghost Widow was visible, faintly, in the background, smiling benevolently on the crowd. The caption read, "Rogue Isles and Paragon City youth, sporting Emulate togs, frolic at Pocket D party." Emulate, she'd already seen, was one of several sponsors of the magazine, a clothing label meant to appeal to the superpowered youth market and those who wished to ape them. They'd given Drix a pair of pants, two shirts, a kilt and a trenchcoat. He'd forwarded her a copy of the magazine and the other shirt. It was a soft cotton with a giant ladybug printed in slick ink on the front. She was wearing it now; she liked the way the fabric felt.

She'd worried, when he'd told her that he'd taken a modeling contract. She felt very shy about having people mention her alias in the streets, worrying about the connections they might make between the hero named "Persiflage" and the girl at SJS called Nennya Drixxen. Worried about Drix now, and how easy he was making it for people to connect the villain called "Vinegar Tom" to this lithe, fashionable catboy named Drix. He'd laughed it off.

"People don't make the right associations," he said, "because they don't want to. They'll never pinch me. I'm too quick and too pretty." He had grinned, dancing away from her scowl of disapproval.

The glue dry, she flipped back to another page in her scrapbook. It had several cutouts from a wafer-thin cellophane-paper wrapper, of a young hero named "Gravwarp." She smiled as she looked at Bryan in his uniform. She'd gone and eaten one burrito at El Super Mexicano, to be polite. It had tasted like paste and given her horrible gas. But then she'd bought two more, requesting that they please just give her unbent wrappers, and keep the burritos for someone who might enjoy eating them. One she'd cut up for the pictures of Bryan, and the other remained neatly folded in the spine of her scrapbook, for posterity.

Bryan could be shy, too, in strange ways. She'd asked him about his pictures, and he'd said, "Gravwarp was out doing promotions for El Super Mexicano." Like Gravwarp and Bryan were two separate people. It was only in private that the lines became blurred, and he would answer to both names. She put her finger on Gravwarp's nose. "Beep beep," she said.

Fame was tricky, and she did not understand it. But her brother felt he could handle a balance between a public and private life--and so did Bryan. These two men were the edges, one straight and one a french curve, by which she measured the world.

And there was no denying the pleasure they both seemed to take from the spotlight. How could there be any harm in it? She closed her scrapbook with a thump of approval.

[Gravwarp]

Bryan sat in the finely furnished office of his lawyer, Reginald Maxwell. Reginald was speaking on the phone at the moment, leaving Bryan alone with his thoughts. Bryan stood up from the leather chair and walked to the window. The office looked out over the Galaxy City section of the city.

The young man looked back into the room watching as Reggie spoke into the phone, his remaining arm holding the receiver to his ear. The impressively built dark skinned man was a former hero himself, he used to go by the name Thunderclap, his powers based on a weather controlling gauntlet his father invented. After a villain captured him and chopped off his arm at the shoulder, Reginald went back to law school; his life story was the reason Bryan chose him to be his representative.

It had been just short of a month now since Super El Mexicano began their “Young Heroes” promotion. It tied the restaurant to a half a dozen young up and coming heroes. Gravwarp had been chosen as part of the six, it was the reason Reginald called him to come to the office tonight. Apparently, Super El had a big announcement and the wanted to speak with Bryan.

“The conference call is coming in about fifteen minutes.” Reginald said to him as he hung up the phone. Bryan looked up and replied to him. “I know you told me this was big news Reggie, but I need some details.” Bryan was nervous and the man’s secrecy was not helping.

“What did I tell you when I called you yesterday?” Reginald stood and placed his cell phone into his jacket pocket.

“You said… ‘I’ve got big news from the people at Super El’ and you said ‘you won’t be disappointed.” Bryan replied with a smile. “I just think I’m going to throw up soon, so a little hint might prevent me from ruining your carpet.”

“Gross, Bryan.” Reginald returned with a face of disgust. He let an almost imperceptible smile cross his face for just a moment then he returned right to business. “I need you to be serous during this call, now is the time when you need to be on you’re A game.” The cell phone rang again and he took it out of his pocket, reading the display. “ I need to take this.” Bryan nodded and motioned to the hall. Reginald shook his head and motioned to the chair in front of the polished desk. The meaning was clear “Sit. Wait.”

Bryan sat and looked out the window again, reflecting on the many restaurant appearances he had made this month. After the first few, which were strange and some scary. They had actually become lots of fun. They were still tiring but after many nights spent getting tips, and a few lectures, from Jason had made things go so much more smoothly. Plus, he admitted to himself, as he became more comfortable with interacting with the crowd the turnouts had gotten bigger.

The last appearance was in Atlas Park, he thought back. Gravwarp had just landed on the ground after a fly by over the crowd. He had given his standard pitch for the company and had answered some questions. Gravwarp stood as kids and teenagers brought him things to sign. This time it was an issue of the “Tattler” that had printed a candid photo on the cover as a part of best-dressed teen heroes special; Grav had laughed after signing the same magazine so often.

He was making a cute teenage girl hover off the ground by making her weightless, it was a thing Gravwarp had started doing at appearances to share his abilities with his fans. Jason had suggested a way to connect with them and it had gone over great. The little trick was a huge hit with younger boys and teenage girls, Grav loved hearing the boys' cheers at their small version of flight and the giggles of the girls always made him smile.

Bryan reminded himself to thank Jason again for all the help he had given him.

The desk phone rang shaking Bryan from his revelry and causing Reggie to shut his cell phone with a loud snap. Reggie looked at Bryan seriously, “You ready?” The young man smiled and shook his head in an affirmative nod.

Reggie pushed the speakerphone option and the room filled with the strange echo all speakerphones seemed to emit, he answered “Reginald Maxwell here.”

A disembodied voice with a jovial tone spoke “Mr. Maxwell, so pleased to speak with you again. Is young Mr. Baxter there?”

“Yes, I’m here. Good evening.” Bryan spoke up, perhaps a little louder than needed.

“Hi there, I’m Mark Forant. Head of the promotions department with Santco National Foods, the corporation that owns Super El Mexicano.”

“I’ve very pleased to speak with you.” Bryan replied.

“As I’m sure Mr. Maxwell has no doubt told you, we have a very big offer that we think you’d be interested in hearing. We at Santco have been very impressed with the results of the “Young Heroes” promotion that Kent Lazor, the regional manager of Supel El Mexicano stores in you area, has put together. In particular, we have seen video of some of your recent appearances for us. Needless to say, some of the more higher ups are very pleased with your dedication.” He stopped to let the young listener enjoy praise.

“Well, thank you very much for the kind words. This deal was very important to me.” Bryan replied.

Mark continued, “Because you, of all the young heroes chosen, have show such dedication not only to the people who come out to these events but also you have maintained a great to the deal set forth with the company. We want to make this proposal to you first.”

Bryan took an excited breath and listened intently; managing only to squeak out an inaudible “Yes?”

“We at Santco are in talks to sponsor a nationally broadcast animated television show. The production company wants to focus on a real ‘hero’ instead of another created character. I have personally spoken to them about you, your abilities and your dedication. They are very interested in developing this series around your Gravwarp persona.”

Reginald smiled widely as the shock slowly spread across the “He’s speechless Mark, just like I told you.”

Mark’s voice boomed with a good-natured laugh through the speaker. “So, what do you say Bryan. How would you feel about a Gravwarp cartoon?”

Bryan rose from his chair and smiled broadly. “Are there going to be action figures?”

Mark and Reginald laughed together. Reggie smiled and spoke. “I think that’s a ‘yes’ Mark!”

[Gravwarp]

Bryan sat at the gate waiting for the plane to taxi around. He had seen the plane touchdown from the glass walled waiting area, as the rubber smoked on asphalt; the knot in his stomach tightened to an almost unbearable level. There was no other way to put it, he was nervous to see his parents again. A disembodied voice announced the flights arrival. He rose to meet them.

Bryan had worn a normal set of clothes to greet them; though he made a point of donning his letterman’s jacket for the occasion as well. He straightened the jacket and brushed a bit of dirt off the shoulder, making sure he looked his best.

It had been nearly two weeks since Reginald told him about the cartoon. Immediately, he had arranged for his parents to come out to visit and to join him in California for the talks with the production company. It had not been an easy sell, but reluctantly they had both agreed. Bryan knew as well as they did that, his parents were going to use the two days of their visit to Paragon City as an attempt to talk him out of the idea. After all, in their opinion, it was bad enough their son was parading around in tights fighting crime. They didn’t want the entire nation to know about it.

Bryan heard his mother before he saw her. “I wish we had just driven, it would have only been a nine hour drive. We could have made that easily enough.” The young man made his way to the group of people following his mother’s distinct voice. He saw them; his mother, Sally, was a short woman with a few extra pounds on her frame but still pretty. She was wearing a Pittsburgh Panthers sweatshirt, obviously a gift from his brother John. She was walking a few paces ahead of his father, Charles, a hulking man. To look at him, it was easy to see he was a man born and raised on sports and heavy physical labor. His dirty welding jacket covered a worn Sturgis t-shirt. Bryan put on a wide smile and approached them.

“But if you had driven you would have missed my game this afternoon.” The turned and they exchanged hellos. Bryan hugged his mother, she returned it and added a kiss on his cheek. Bryan made a move to hug his father, momentarily forgetting himself; he halted and offered his hand in a manly shake. Bryan’s grip was strong for a young man his age but his father easily surpassed his strength and he slightly crushed the boy’s hand. A message from him that had always meant “I’m in charge, until you can do better.”

His father chuckled, “You’re finally stopping shaking hands like a woman.” Bryan kept looking at his father, not reacting to the verbal poke at him. His mother interjected, “Bryan look at you! You’ve grown at least six inches in four months. I mean your brother was so tall at your age, it’s good to see you trying to catch up.” She laughed, he knew she was joking but his stomach twisted, he laughed along with her despite himself.

“Come on. We can catch up later; Let’s get out of this crowded place. I hope you didn’t fly us all the way out here so we could sleep at the airport.” The huge man said the masses of people were starting to agitate him. Bryan responded, “Sure, we can take a cab over to your hotel first. Then we can head over to the field for the game. You can meet my coach, Dad.” Bryan smiled and picked up his mother’s suitcase.

[Gravwarp]

Not only had the team played amazingly against the Paladins, but also Bryan played harder than he ever had before. Knowing his mom and dad were sitting up in the stands made him push himself. Maybe it was that knowledge that had made him want Scott to let him run over the middle. It was dangerous, Bryan was still small compared to ninety percent of the squad, but it was unexpected too.

The collision with the safety crushed him to the turf, it hurt but it would have taken dynamite to pry that ball from his hands. But Bryan bounced up, just as he was supposed to. No matter how hard the hit, he didn’t want to let the defender know he has been hurt. He went back to the huddle a little delirious and he needed someone to help him with his assignment on the next play but the gamble had worked. That’s all that mattered.

[Gravwarp]

Bryan spent all morning with his parents on Saturday. They had gone out to breakfast, Mr. Baxter spoke more to his son in that one morning than the boy could every remember him speaking in one stretch before. It was all about football and sports, in general, more importantly about the important life lessons they could teach you.

Bryan’s father had been impressed with Coach Waters, the two men had gotten along well, and Mr. Baxter had managed not to embarrass his son too much in front of the Coach. They exchanged stories of their gridiron glory days and, when the boy was out of earshot, the Coach told Charles of the impressive progress his boy had made on and off the field.

After breakfast the Baxter’s went to the Paragon City Art Museum, it was Mrs. Baxter’s idea. Bryan agreed because it would give him a break from the football speeches. His father agreed, well he agreed because it would delay the inevitable turn of the conversation to this “hero” business.

The cold quiet hallways of the museum were a welcomed change from the busy streets outside. The three of them slowly wandered the tiled floors, looking at the treasures of the city. Each of them stopped the trio in different places to marvel at works of art, though none of them were any great art lovers; it just seemed to be the right thing to do when looking at them. Mr. Baxter required the group to wander carefully through the hall of armor, their brutal histories more appealing to him the “old paintings and chiseled rock”.

Mrs. Baxter wandered ahead, entering the surrealist rooms. As Bryan caught up with her, he found he staring at one particular painting. A painting of a longhaired person sitting faced down to the viewer; they were painted with whites and grays on a field of black. It was called “Silence” painted by Henry Fuseli; Bryan knew it well.

As he approached his mother she whispered “What a scary picture.” Bryan almost laughed but he kept himself in check. “You know mom, this painting was stolen recently.” He whispered to her in return. She looked at him dubiously, but he smiled and continued.

“It was being restored when a gang stole it, thinking it had eerie magical powers. They thought it had a powerful spirit trapped inside the canvas, they were going to destroy it to release the ghost inside.” She frowned and subconsciously took a step away from the painting. “Oh… don’t worry. A bunch of specialist determined later that it is just a regular painting. Anyway, the hero that saved it; she goes by the name Persiflage.” He smiled and thought about not finishing; just leaving this exchange as a small piece of trivia he happened to know.

Bryan thought about Nennya in that brief moment as his mother stood looking at the painting that he had helped her retrieve from a bunch of Skulls, Nennya had taken a bullet to the right shoulder that night. Though she had healed the wound before they had even left the building, he remembered. He couldn’t stop now, she deserved this… More than that Bryan deserved this happiness and he wouldn’t hide it from his parents any longer.

“She’s my girlfriend.” Normally, he would have blurted it out, but thinking of Nya made the words sound easy and light to him. “I’ve invited her to come to dinner with us tonight so that you and dad can meet her.”

His mother turned to him with a wide smile and hugged him, the tension slowly returning to Bryan’s stomach. He had breached only the first and smallest hill; the next was the true test. His mother was congratulating him as she spotted the boy’s father and waved him over. Bryan retold the story for his father; even though his brow furrowed at the mention of her being a hero, he smiled and shook his son’s hand.

Bryan gritted his teeth, swallowed all the fear he felt at the moment and felt it smash down into his knotted intestines. “Mom and Dad, there is something very important I need to tell you about Nennya before you meet her…”

[Gravwarp]

Bryan stood outside the loud chain steakhouse with Nennya, the country music they piped into the restaurant was also played on the “porch” for the customers waiting for their mini-beepers to go off. The couple was waiting for the Baxter’s to arrive; they had gone back to their hotel this afternoon after the trio’s long talk in the park beside the art museum.

Bryan looked to her, trying to read her expression. It was always hard for him to read Nya; tonight was no exception. She looked cool and focused, just let she did before they would patrol. “Hey.” Bryan wrapped his arm around her waist and smiled. “This is going to go great. I made you a promise right? They are going to be on their best behavior.” She flashed him a wicked grin, playfully exposing her teeth. “For your sake, they better be.” He laughed confidently; knowing full well tonight was going to be fine.

After a few minutes more, a cab pulled up. Bryan’s parents got out of the car, paid and made their way to the front doors. Both couples were dressed casually, though Mr. Baxter was still in a t-shirt and jeans. They walked up to the young pair, and the Baxter’s both put on pleasant smiles. Bryan could see they looked shocked, they had covered it well but he knew that Nennya could feel their hesitation. He hadn’t told them about her empathic abilities, it would have only complicated the meeting more.

Bryan smiled widely and saw his girlfriend do the same; he waved to his parents as they all joined one another under the restaurant awning. “Mom and Dad; I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Nennya. Nennya, this is Charles and Sally Baxter; my mother and father.”

“Pleased to meet you.” The young feline girl said, extending her hand in polite gesture. Sally took her hand and shook it gently. “I’m very happy to meet you too. Bryan has told us so much about you.” Charles ignored the gesture and just nodded his head. Bryan frowned; the boy was going to say something when the plastic disc in his hand started buzzing and flashing lights. Bryan’s father moved forward and spoke, “Well, we had better get in there. It looks like it’s a busy night and I’m starving.”

Bryan moved quickly to open the door for his parents, they entered first and Nennya came in behind them. As she passed he offered her a smile, she returned with a forced grin. Anger flashed across his face, his father was breaking the deal. Bryan let the fiery emotion pass over him as he walked in behind them to the waiting hostess.

“Baxter, party of four?” the young girl asked and Bryan nodded with a charming smile returned to his face. “Right this way.” The hostess led them to a wide booth along a windowed wall. Bryan offered the open seats to his mother and Nennya, each of them sliding in towards the windows. “He was always such a little gentleman.” His mother said to Nennya as the y got comfortable. The young girl smiled at him, “I know.”

Bryan and his father sat down at the ends of the seats. Quickly their waiter zoomed up to the table with a stack of menus. As he passed them out he ran down the evening specials, each with some cheesy faux western name. “Would you all care for some drinks?” Bryan’s father ordered first, a huge glass of beer; some domestic name brand you’d find on a neon sign. His mother ordered a glass of one of the house wines, Bryan chuckled to himself wine he noticed it was the second to cheapest one. She was trying to be sophisticated for Nennya. He smiled at the little gesture. Nennya ordered a bottle of water and Bryan a soda.

“The tap water around here that bad?” Bryan’s father joked but to Bryan’s ears it sounded like a jab. Nennya smiled and managed a quiet laugh. “Yes, it is.” She replied. The group was quiet while they poured over the menu. Bryan and his mother both trying to get a conversation started. Sally would pipe in with things like, “Southwestern turkey burger that sounds good.” Bryan was joking a lot, trying to keep the mood light. Charles stoically read his menu and Nennya just politely smiled. Thankfully, the waiter was quick to return with the drinks. He passed them out from his plastic tray. “Now, are you all ready to order?”

Sally ordered a salad, like all chain restaurant salads; it was covered with enough chicken and topping to defeat the purpose of ordering a salad. Nennya looked over the menu, not looking terribly enthused about the selection. She decided on a thick cut Sirloin steak with no sides. “How would you like that cooked?” Nennya gently folded the menu and replied, “Blue Rare, please.” The answer left the young waiter confused but it also made Charles utter a slight laugh and a thin smile. Before she could answer, the older man piped in, “It means very rare, just seared on the outside and warm in the middle.” He looked at the young feline girl, the grin not fading. “I’ll have the same, though I’ll have a potato with it.” Bryan smiled at Nennya from behind his menu, and ordered for himself.

With that small exchange, dinner went fine. Bryan’s mother was curious about Nennya. She answered any questions she had; but only wit just enough information to satisfy the query volunteering no more than that. Nennya remained guarded, and Charles remained quiet through most of the meal. It was awkward but Bryan thought to himself that it could have been worse; and after only a few questions from her mother about Nennya’s unusual features, it was no longer an issue in the conversation.

And as Bryan had promised Nennya when he asked her to meet his parents, his parents were on there best behavior. Bryan smiled as the group got up from their table after the meal. It was late and Bryan wanted to walk home with Nennya. He flagged a cab for his parents, as they waited. Sally and Nennya exchanged pleasantries and his mother offered to share embarrassing stories with her next time they got together. His father shook Nennya’s hand lightly before the got into the cab and headed back to the hotel.

Bryan smiled to his beautiful feline girl and passionately kissed her, with a Garth Brooks song in the background. She returned the kiss and embraced him. “I’m so proud of you.” He said to her, “You were great.” She smiled but she didn’t respond.

She merely lifted a single finger and pushed on Bryan’s nose. “Beep. Beep.”

The two laughed together and made their way to the tram station.

[Gravwarp]

Bryan stood in the airport terminal with a payphone receiver pressed to his ear. It probably wasn’t the best place to make this call, but it needed to be done. As he waited on hold, the soft rock music playing in his ear, Bryan thought about the weekend.

The visit with his parents had gone well, he downplayed the crime fighting and focused on school and football while they didn’t criticize his costumed antics and focused on his grades and game performance.

Even dinner had gone better than he had expected. His mother had told him before she boarded the flight home that she had genuinely liked Nennya. Bryan’s father had given her a cool reception but, for him, Bryan took it as a good sign. He smiled as Rod Stewart sang softly into his ear.

Bryan looked out at the plane his parents were on, as it taxied on to the runway, ready to begin its journey back to Pittsburgh. He had made a promise to them, one that had guaranteed his parents a little piece of mind and also had bought Nennya brownie points before dinner.

The boy felt guilty, he had told his parents a lie and it had involved his girlfriend. Bryan was never one to purposefully mislead others to get what he wanted but it had been an easy way to make everyone happy and to do what he wanted without letting anyone down… Well, that wasn’t true. He did have to let some people down, hence the phone call from the phone call.

“Hello, Reginald Maxwell speaking. How may I help you?” The man’s voice made Bryan start, he had been lost in though again.

“Reggie, it’s Bryan.” The young man responded.

“Bryan? Are you calling from the plane?” Reginald laughed and continued, “I’ll meet you at the meeting tomorrow, don’t worry.”

“Actually, Reggie… I need to tell you something.” Bryan paused and breathed deep. “I’m still in Paragon. “I’m not going out to California. I’m going to have to turn down the deal.”

Reginald sighed audibly over the phone, “Bryan, this is your decision. I hope you’ve thought about this very hard.”

“I have Reggie… I’m sorry. It just doesn’t feel right to me. I feel like I’m cheating. Not becoming famous by being a great hero, just becoming famous cause I’ll put my name on some product and have it force feed to kids.”

“I understand Bryan.” He sounded very sincere we he spoke those words. “I’ll call and cancel the meeting.”

“Thank you Reggie.” Bryan said to his lawyer and hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief.

[Gravwarp]

Bryan peered over the edge of the comic he was reading as he walked across the quad, he glanced up just to make sure he wasn’t about to smash into some unsuspecting student, but the sight of the familiar Cadillac parked in front of the Boy’s dorm snapped his attention immediately away from the latest adventure of Captain Freedom and Liberty Lad. He closed the newsprint book and dashed off to the car. As he quickly approached, the young man saw that the back seat was unoccupied.

Bryan passed in front of the automobile as he made his way to the front entrance, waving to the waiting driver as he passed. “Hey Doug.” Bryan said as he ran past. The two had never officially been introduced but Jason spoke of him often. He flung open the front door and raced up the stairs to his room.

As he opened the door, he saw Jason standing there. His trademarked smile blazoned across his face as stood next to his bed. Clothing sat beside a large Italian leather travel bag. “Jase!” Bryan called out to his roommate as he burst into the room. It was obvious that he was relived to see the older student.

“Hey Bryan!” Jason turned and replied to the younger boy. Bryan’s smile slowly faded, as he saw Jason with a few shirts in his hands. The young boy’s throat cracked as he began to reply, “Oh… I thought you had reconsidered.”

“Oh… I’m not leaving. Well, I am off to a certain French film festival next week…” A devilish grins spread wickedly across his face as he placed the clothing in his hands back into his dresser. “I’m not leaving school. Don’t worry.” The smile quickly returned to the young roommate’s face. “That’s fantastic news!”

Bryan undid his uniform jacket and took off his tie. Jason stopped unpacking as he spoke. “I was really broken up when I wrote you that letter. I took at little time off to jet set and just think a bit. A little time on the Swiss Ski runs admiring the 'scenery' helped a lot.” He smiled as Bryan laughed loudly at the half-joke.

“Seriously though, I like it here at St. Joe’s. I’m not going to give it up for anyone. Even if other people choose to still see me as a celebrity, or for some reason can’t get over it. There are people here that just see Jason.” He beamed as he spoke to Bryan. “I’m not going to just give up those people.”

Jason smiled at his younger friend, "I just got caught up too much in trying to find someone 'normal', even though I'm not." The smile took on that glint of mischief, "Guess what I need is an extraordinary woman."

Bryan smiled and replied with a chuckle. “Nennya has an older sister.” Jason laughed loudly and quickly replied. “I think her brother may have the hots for me.” The friends laughed together as the heavy conversation seemingly evaporated.

"Hey, how about we get into some trouble tonight?” Jason rose from his seat. “After all Doug's already here. What's say we go do something ridiculous, like go buy everyone at a restaurant dinner, or something, and then hit a go cart track, and bumper cars?" Bryan laughed at his friend.

“That would be great Jase, I’ll get changed.” Bryan looked back over his shoulder as he walked into the hall. “I’m glad you changed your mind Jase, this place wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Jason closed the oak door to his armoire, looking at the uniform jackets hanging within. He quietly answered. “Me too, buddy.”