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What happens when a supermodel meets a superhero? |
| [Introduction]
This is the story of a supermodel, Mikky, and her chance meeting with a superhero.
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| Once upon a time in a city far, far away... called New York. Ok, so it wasn't so far away and it wasn't once upon a time. The time was about six weeks ago. It was a rainy afternoon and Mikky was on her way to her second shoot of the day. Being a supermodel was not an easy job but it paid well and she enjoyed it. |
| She was late, the F train was packed and she had too many things to carry as it was. She had to get to west 80th for the shoot. As usual, Claude, her agent, would be waiting on her with an impatience second only to hungry lions on the African plains. Besides the latte, her cosmetics bag and her garment bag, she was juggling a folder including headshots from the last portfolio. |
| You would think that as a supermodel she could at least get a car and driver to take her from shoot to shoot but Claude thought it best to keep her humble. It also meant more money in her pocket and she was saving for a penthouse. Claude seemed to run her life these days and while he was a bear to deal with at times, he always had her best interests at heart. He was like a father to her and really, the only father she had ever had. She hated to disappoint him so she clung tightly to her belongings and got ready to get off at the next stop. |
| The static filled transmission emanating from the speakers filled the car: “West 80th street!” As she filed in line with the rest of the lemmings, she felt a touch on her arm. She looked in the direction of the brief caress and saw a very small, very wrinkled, gentleman of Asian origin. He had a wry smile and a twinkle in his eye. |
| Mikky smiled politely and would have just continued if he hadn't grabbed her arm. In the rush of people, just touching her lightly wouldn't have been of much use in getting her to turn around. Her first response was to look to the ground behind her, then at his hands. She expected him to point out that she'd dropped something. When that didn't prove to be the case, she smiled through gritted teeth. Mikky didn't want to offend the old man, but being grabbed by any stranger in this city wasn't exactly welcomed. "Today is the day," he whispered, still holding her arm but had reduced the pressure. It seemed now he was simply hanging on so as not to lose her as she jostled her way through the crowd. She paused and stopped to face the little man. "Are you lost? I think you've confused me with someone else." He laughed and shook his head. "I read faces." Mikky nodded. "Ah, well. That's nice. You have a lovely day. I really have to run." "Yes, you do, but know I am happy for you because today is the day you've dreamed of without knowing you dreamed it." "Thanks anyway, Grasshopper," she said managing to remove her arm from his grasp without spilling too much of her latte. "But I'm in a huge hurry." "No, I am not Grasshopper." He frowned. "That is a terrible cliche. You must never use cliches. Be original always. But that is not the point." "Okay, well thanks . . ." She fought the urge to say Yoda, and was grateful to see Claude up ahead. He pointed at his watch, threw his arms in the air and came towards Mikky and her companion. |
| She felt the old man's hand slide something into her portfolio seconds before Claude reached them. "Come on, Mikky! You are going to be late! What are you doing?" With a huff she shoved her garment bag and cosmetic bag into Claude's arms. "I'm sorry, Claude, but this old man stopped me. I didn't want to be too rude." "What old man, Mikky?" Claude asked as he glanced around. Mikky turned to where the old man had been but he was gone. She looked in the thinning crowd around her but couldn't find his frail form in the sea of bodies. Sighing heavily she turned back to Claude, "I don't know where he went. Let's just get to the shoot." They started off towards the building Claude had been standing at minutes earlier. As she walked with Claude, she remembered the old man putting something in her portfolio. What had he put in there? she wondered. Her curiousity would have to wait until after the shoot as they were now entering the building. |
| The shoot was mediocre. When she was late, she always felt rushed, just as the poses looked for the lingere that she was extremely uncomfortable in. It did not help that the Yodaesque guy seemed to be in her mind more than she liked. Who the hell was that guy? It seemed like the lighting was too bright and the room too hot. She was flushed and the makeup artist was having a fit about her rouge. As impaitient as Claude looked, he knew that she needed a break. Rather call a break in the session now than have to do a whole new shoot. He clapped his hands together rapidly: "okay people, let's take five here!" She gave him that silent "Thank you" look and she went back to the staging area to get some water. |
| She slipped into the short kimono she kept nearby during lingerie shoots and opened a bottle of Evian. She sipped the water then sighed as she saw Claude coming towards her. He'd just spoken to the photographer, and by the look on his face, Claude was not a happy man. "You've got to get yourself together," Claude said with a frown. "You've got to get me a driver, or consider scheduling shoots that fit my personal schedule better." "You don't have a personal schedule. This is your personal life." Claude ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "Is that what it is? Too much work? Too much stress?" Mikky kissed Claude's cheek. "See, now this is why I adore you Claude. You can be such a hardass sometimes, but you always have my best interest at heart." "Let me go look over your schedule for the next few weeks and see what we can do." Claude patted her arm and smiled. "Don't want my best girl getting stressed out and doing something crazy." When he'd gone, Mikky sat down on one of the props they'd be using in a later shoot; an Elizabethan brocade chair. "Uh, excuse me," someone said from behind her. She turned to see who was speaking and looked into the eyes of a very attractive man. Something about him was so familiar but she was sure she'd never met him before. She'd have remembered him. He indicated the chair with a tilt of his chin, "You can't sit there. I, uh . . . need it for the next few shots. I need to set it up." "Oh, you're the prop guy," she said, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Sure. Yeah, the prop guy." Mikky looked at him curiously. Sure? She nodded and rose from the chair slowly, her eyes never leaving his. He cleared his throat and looked down at the chair rather than at the skimpily clad model. "Why do I feel like I know you?" she asked. His head snapped up, his eyes wide. "You recognize me? But how could you? Nobody knows I--" He clamped his mouth shut, picked up the chair and strode away. Mikky shook her head. Between the Asian man with the strange message, his slipping something into her portfolio, and now this vaguely familiar man posing as a prop man, she didn't know what to think. It was shaping up to be a very strange day. |
| She turned quickly as she heard sounds of yelling from outside. She moved towards the window and then heard a loud thud behind her. Turning again, she saw the chair wobble as it fought to stay upright, having been tossed aside like a dirty towel. She looked around for the prop guy but he was nowhere to be found. The yelling from the window was gaining in intensity, forgetting the prop guy, she rushed to see what the commotion was all about. As she neared the window she noticed someone on the ledge of a building across the way, a couple of floors up from where she was on the 20th floor. The realization of what was going on hit her. He was going to jump! She was now standing with her hands on the window sill and part of her body sticking out of the window. Oh God! That couldn't be Nick! She leaned forward to get a closer look. "NICK! NO! DON'T!" she screamed at the man across the way. Her voice seemed to startle him as his head snapped up. The sudden movement caused his grip on the corner of the building to loosen and he lost his footing. He slipped from the ledge, his arms flailing as he tried to grasp something. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, there was a blur of motion to Mikky's left. The blur flew past the window, scooped up Nick and placed him safely on the ground below before bolting away. |
| Claude heard the scream, rushed to her side with flailing arms, Mikky flew past him. “What the hell has happened!” As she made it to the lobby, she yelled back, “It’s Nick, he was going to jump!” Claude rolled his eyes. Nick was just the type to pull a stunt like this. He and Mikky were always either on or off. Simply stated: Nick was jealous of Mikky’s career. He had always aspired to be an agent but never made it. A slew of too many failed promises and bad business deals, Nick seemed only to be able to handle union affairs at a very minimal level. Mikky got to the elevator and ran into the most common problem when you are in a hurry: Pressing the button 100 times will not get it to come to floor any faster, she plucked off her heels, strapped up her Kimono, cursed and opened the exit doors to the stairs. She made it to the lobby, breathless, very sweaty and hair that looked like it was introduced to 110 volts. She hit the door to the lobby with a slam, thrusted herself into a crowd of onlookers that gathered to watch Nick’s latest debacle. The few people at the door looked at her as if she had grew an extra head. As she made her way to the crowd and to the lobby doors, she bumped, if not slammed into someone. As she hit the floor, she looked up and saw a hand extended to her. Her view past her hand focused on of all people, the prop guy. |
| Her breath caught in her throat for a moment, but she quickly recovered herself. Poise was part of the job description. "Well no wonder I couldn't take the elevator," Mikky said taking the helping hand he offered. Despite the sudden electric feeling such a simple act created, she quickly pulled her hand away and pretended a nonchalance she didn't feel. Easier said than done, she mused, as butterflies began to flutter behind her belly button. Good Mikky. Develop a crush when Nick is . . . Nick is what? Nick is where? Coming fully to her senses, she tried to get through the crowd to where a team of paramedics were now leading him toward the open doors at the back of the ambulance. "Nick!" She pushed through the crowd, heedless that the crowd was actually parting quite easily. It wasn't every day a suicidal man on the edge of a building was saved by a Super Hero, and then greeted by a lingerie-clad model. "Nick, what's going on? What were doing up there?" "Get her away from me," Nick said, his eyes wide. "She's the one who sent the little man. I know it. I know she did. Get her away from ma'am." As a police officer on the scene for crowd control attempted to guide her away from Nick, she caught sight of the strange little Asian man. He bowed once to her with a happy smile on his face, and disappeared into the crowd of onlookers. "Excuse me, Miss, uh, Mikky. Miss Mikky, but Claude asked me to come get you. You need to finish the shoot." She spun around when the prop man spoke to her. Damn, she was getting that fluttery feeling again. What was with that? Just looking at him stirred emotions in her she didn't want to feel. Mikky shook her head haughtily and marched ahead of him, mustering as much dignity as she could considering her current state of clothing or lack there of. "It's Ms. Lowell to you." She knew she was being too sharp with him but the last thing she needed was a new man in her life after all she'd been through with Nick. And it looked like her troubles with Nick were far from over. |
| She marched into the elevator several steps in front of the prop guy. She hit the button and nearly caused the doors to close on him. He seemed to take it in stride and Mikky huffed as she leaned against the back wall of the elevator, taking care to hold her robe closed. There was no need though, as the prop guy stayed turned towards the front of the elevator the entire ride up. Mikky mulled the recent event over in her mind. Doing so, she remembered that she had seen the Asian man again. What was he doing there? And what was it that Nick had said? "She's the one who sent the little man." Could he have been talking about the old Asian man? She would have to check her portfolio when she got back upstairs. She needed to find out what he had put in there. As soon as the elevator doors where open she found Claude rushing towards her. "Are you okay, Mikky?" he asked as he lead her out of the elevator. "OKAY?!? Claude, I just watched my boyfriend try to commit suicide, get saved by what appeared to be a man flying and then Nick accused me of sending a little man after him and refused to see me! Of course I'm not okay!" Claude seemed slighty taken aback by Mikky's outburst but recovered quickly. "Okay, people! This shoot is over for today! We will either have to use what we've got or reschedule!" Mikky looked at Claude with a small smile, whispered "Thanks" and went to change her clothes while Claude dealt with the angry photographer who was now making his way across the room. Now she'd finally get to see what the old man had given her. |
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