Fissure looked up at his greatest challenge yet. In the entirety of his time in this period, he had known this day would come. The day he had to face it. Fissure took a deep breath.
“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Ally grabbed Fissure’s arm and dragged him into the mall.
Fissure had been living in the 2009 for months now, fighting evil alongside the Brat Pack. The fight had consumed his entire life, giving no thought to other activities. His personal wardrobe consisted of his combat gear, a few wifebeaters borrowed from Kevin, and a pair of torn jeans Mosley had no use for anymore.
“I can’t believe Katie didn’t want to come with us.” Ally said, as the two walked into Fashion Island, the trendiest mall in Newport Beach. “She loves shopping, it’s kind of her thing. Or a cheerleader thing, I don’t know. Anyway, she said it would probably be more fun if I took you instead.”
Fissure wondered for a moment about Ally’s secondary power, the ability to talk for extended periods of time without taking a breath, before taking stock of his surroundings.
Even in his own time-period, Fissure had no time for shopping. The moment his powers had manifested, he had joined the Brat Pack of 2030, and the Rebellion had been his whole life. The mall was an alien environment. Gaggles of teens made up the bulk of the populace, students enjoying their summer vacation for the most part. Fissure suppressed a shudder as he heard a group of them start giggling. It was going to be a long day…
“So, first thing’s first. We need to get you some shoes, because honestly, you’ve been wearing those combat boots since you showed up… It’s a little weird. We’ll pick you up a pair of Chucks, and maybe some sneakers too.” Pixel said.
Fissure just nodded, as Pixel led him into The Closet.
<><><>
Pixel stifled a giggle. “Ok, so it turns out you’re too ripped to pull off the indie look… At least we know that now.” She said.
Fissure shook his head and sighed, before turning back into the dressing room.
“If you just ditched the hat, and maybe if we picked a different t-shirt, you could pull off like, a rocker look instead.” Pixel said, darting back into the racks of clothing.
She was back in moments, a black t-shirt with a faux-faded Rolling Stones logo on the front in hand. She tossed it over the top and tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for Fissure to finish changing.
Fissure stepped back out again and Pixel squealed with glee. “Perfect! We’re done here.”
“Finally.” Fissure said.
“You think this took too long? Wait until we get to Hollister.” Pixel laughed, skipping to the counter, shopping bags from half a dozen stores in her arms.
Fissure prayed silently for a swift, painless death.
<><><>
“So what’s your name, anyway? I mean, we can’t just keep calling you Fissure.” Ally called over the changing room door.
“Nelson. Nelson Fisher.” Fissure replied.
“Wait. You’re telling me your name is actually FISSURE!?!” Ally asked.
“Yes.” Fisher replied.
“That’s awesome. Well, Tom used to call me Pixie when I was in elementary school, so my name is kind of the same as my codename too.” Ally said.
“Except it’s not.”
“You’re no fun. Now let’s see how you look.”
Fisher opened the door, and Ally fell to the ground. She erupted in giggles, as she slapped the floor with her good hand.
The large, muscled, dark-skinned man stood before her wearing a pair of blue board-shorts, flip-flops, and to top off the look, a very loud Hawaiian shirt. He also wore a bemused look on his face.
“Ok, I had no intention of buy that one. I just wanted to see you wearing it.” Ally said, picking herself up from the ground. Fisher gave her a withering look, before closing the door to the dressing room again.
While she waited, Ally started to fix her hair. All the rolling on the floor laughing had left her somewhat dishevelled. As she brushed her bangs out of her eyes, she decided that bright red just didn’t work in her hair. Time for a change. She concentrated for a moment, calling on her fledgling illusion powers. ‘Come on… You totally changed the colour of your shirt the other day. This is easy.’ She thought to herself.
She let out a giggle, as the shade of red became more subdued, leaning slightly towards purple. “Much better…” She said to herself.
“Did you say something?” Fisher asked.
“Nothing. Hurry up in there, we’re almost done.” Ally said.
“Praise Liberty.” Fisher said.
“What’s the deal with the whole ‘Praise Liberty’ thing, anyway?” Ally asked.
“It’s… Hard to explain. Miss Liberty is a legend now, right?” Fisher said.
“Yeah, the first girl superhero. She’s awesome”
“Well, in my time, she’s more than that. She’s an icon. She’s beyond even that. She’s a legendary hero, the mother of our greatest hero, our leader, Uncle Sam. She’s the daughter of the first American superhero. She transcended us mere mortals. She became a rallying cry. Some members of the Rebellion actually started praying to her, after she died.” Fisher explained.
“Oh. Things were pretty bad there, weren’t they?” Ally asked.
Fisher was silent.
“Didn’t you say there was another Miss Liberty in your time?” Ally asked.
“Yes. Margaret.” Fisher replied.
“What was she like?” Ally asked.
“… She was every bit as great as both of her grandmothers. Maybe even greater.”
“Both of her grandmothers? Who else did she have?”
“Miss Liberty was her paternal grandmother. Her maternal grandmother was Talon. Talon’s daughter met Uncle Sam at a Boomers memorial.”
“That is the coolest family ever!” Ally exclaimed.
“I have no idea if the memorial took place before we rescued the Boomers. I have no idea if our actions have written Margaret and Sammy out of existence.”
“There’s plenty of chances for them to meet otherwise. Your friends might still be born.”
“I hope so… I miss her.” Fisher went silent.
“… Well, let’s head down to the pier, I feel like ice-cream!” Ally filled the silence.
Fisher gave her a half smile, as he walked out of the dressing room.
<><><>
“Well, it’s something of an improvement. We’re meeting at Fissure’s apartment, instead of Katie’s house.” Matt commented drily.
“It’s still wayyyy too early though.” Katie said.
The two climbed out of Katie’s car, Starbucks cups in hand. Ally waved at them from the sidewalk.
“Hey kiddo.” Matt said, ruffling Ally’s hair. “How did the shopping go yesterday?”
“We had awesome fun. Fissure’s name is really Fisher, and Miss Liberty was like, a saint or something in his time, and he was in love with Miss Liberty. The kid one, not our one. And we got all these awesome clothes, and I changed my hair colour, and then we got ice cream, and I totally made him wear a Hawaiian shirt, it was hilarious.” Ally said.
“Sounds riveting.” Mosley said, as he walked up behind them. “Do you people know what kind of freaks catch the bus at 8am?”
“We’re looking at one of them.” Matt replied.
“Hilarious.” Mosley replied.
The four made their way up to Fisher’s apartment, where Ally knocked on the door excitedly.
Fisher answered the door… Wearing Mosley’s ripped jeans and one of Kevin’s wife-beaters.
Ally sagged instantly, as Mosley gave a snort of laughter. Katie shot Fisher a glare, while Matt put a comforting hand on Ally’s shoulder.
Fisher looked guilty. “I didn’t have time to get anything out of the bags.” He said.
“Right.” Ally said.
<><><>
Kevin fought to keep attention during the team meeting, but it was useless. Ally was quiet, staring of into the distance, sadness in her eyes. Katie was too busy staring daggers at Fisher to pay any attention. Matt was worrying about Ally, sending concerned looks her way every few seconds. Fisher was silent as always, a guilty look on his face. And Mosley was as annoying as ever, perhaps even moreso. He spent almost as much time insulting Fisher as he did undermining Kevin at every turn.
“Well, this clearly isn’t going anywhere.” Kevin said, finally giving up.
“You don’t say.” Katie said.
“Let’s just call it a day.” Matt said.
“Sure.” Kevin said. “Fissure, I’m heading down to the gym, could use a spotter.”
“Of course sir.” Fisher replied.
<><><>
Ally stood outside the apartment complex with the other Brats, who were making small-talk.
“Hey kid, don’t worry. Fissure’s a bit of a dick anyway.” Matt said.
“But… I…” Ally said.
“He doesn’t really strike me as fashionable either.” Katie said.
“Anyone who dresses up to go to the gym isn’t there for the workout.” Fisher said from behind them.
In the minutes since the meeting, Fisher had changed clothes… Into sweatpants and sneakers.
Ally’s face lit up. “See, told you needed new shoes.” She teased.
“And I told you I’d need pants I could move around in.” Fissure replied.
“Fisher, come on!” Kevin shouted from his car.
Fisher nodded and jogged over to the car.
As Kevin’s car disappeared around the corner, Ally turned to her remaining team-mates. “Who wants to go rollerblading?”