Pepper ended his phone call with Ryan and then shuffled his feet back over to the house. He walked in to see Marcus lounging in the living room. “I need your help.”

  Marcus perked up and had a mixed look of excited and worried. “Sure, thing my man. What exactly do you need help with?” His roommate stood up and quickly tip-toed over to him. He leaned in and practically whispered. “If it’s something to do with fixing your golem though, I’m not sure I will really be much help.”

  Pepper grinned and rolled his eyes as he knew Marcus was trying not to admit his inexperience in front of his two lady friends. “It’s not that.”

  Marcus returned to a more natural distance between them. “Nice! Okay, well… give to me straight.”

  “I need your help with a photoshoot.”

  A saddened expression formed on Marcus’s face. “Oh man… I’m sorry P-Dub. But… I don’t know how to work a camera.”

  “I do!” One of Marcus’s friends piped in.

  Marcus completely ignored her comment but Pepper leaned off to the side and grinned. “That’s great, thanks. But I’ve already got that part taken care of.” He gave a short nod and then returned to Marcus. “Ryan, the… Big Duck Energy guy.”

  A bright smile formed on Marcus’s face and he cut him off. “Oh yeah! Speaking of which… will we be getting anymore of them? I kinda gave some to my friends and they have been guzzling it down. They’ll drink our supply dry if we’re not careful.”

  Pepper could feel the scowl form on his face. Marcus didn’t seem to read the distain in his face, so he just made a mental note to bring it up later and carried on. “Anyways…” Pepper shook his head slightly. “There is apparently some type of photoshoot they have scheduled for me and I was kinda wondering if you would be willing to come with me.”

  Pepper could see the confusion form once again on Marcus’s face. “You know, like be my coach or something. Help me out with being less of… well, me.”

  The light bulb appeared to come on inside Marcus. “Oh… right, yeah man. I can totally do that.”

  ***

  The next two days flew by for Pepper as he had done nothing but work on Mala, go for some runs in the neighborhood and slept. That and the nightly video chats with Andrea. Marcus was nice enough to drive both of them to the studio and they arrived to a large building on the far edge of the city.

  A receptionist at the front entrance greeted them and escorted them to a large room. She welcomed them to take a seat, and they looked across the area to see a large white wall canvas which sat at the center of the far wall. Pepper removed his hat and placed it on a coffee table while he then looked about the area. His eyes focused on the canvas itself. The background setup was roughly twice as tall as Pepper and it flowed down onto the floor and stretched forward.

  On either side of the canvas were large can lights set up on tripods. They looked to be almost scattered throughout the area and were each adjusted to different heights and angles. Off to the right side was a mobile clothing rack with a large collection of garments. Pepper could make out at least a jacket or two and a few shirts scattered throughout the collection.

  On the opposite side of the canvas wall were random items such as a barstool, two giant throne like chairs, one black the other metallic gold. There was a guitar resting on a stand and then a small coffee table with what looked to be a mannequin head and a stuffed cat animal that had a tiara and sunglasses on.

  Pepper then took notice of a large holographic display setup in between them and the canvass wall. There was a small desk setup which had a myriad of different camera pieces scattered around it. By the time he finished scanning over the room he heard a slight rumble overhead and then felt a cold rush of air enter the room.

  The temperature caused him to shiver for a second as his body adjusted to it. To their surprise the front receptionist returned with a small tray of what looked to be coffee.

  “Expresso?”

  “No, uhh....” Pepper glanced and quickly read her name tag. “Julie. I am fine, thanks.”

  She seemed to smirk. “You should probably reconsider. Avway can be quiet… exhausting to work with.” She placed the small tray down on the coffee table in front of them and winked.

  Marcus leaned forward and grabbed a coffee. “Well don’t mind if I do.”

  Pepper decided to give in to the advice and grabbed his tiny coffee cup as well and took a sip. The bitter taste was like a punch to his face and he immediately made a distorted expression. How in the literal hell can anyone drink this?!?! He mentally cried out loud.

  A vigorous shake of his head and his face returned back to a semi-normal state. He turned to look over and then saw that Marcus seemed to be indulging the potent brew. Marcus’s body lifted up and took in a deep breath, followed by a large exhale.

  “Wow… that is some premier Columbian dark roast right there.”

  Pepper shifted his gaze back to the tiny cup and then back to Marcus. What in the….

  He didn’t get a chance to finish his thought as a high-pitched voice cried out in excitement from across the room. “Oh my! Would you just look at this sexy, sexy young man!”

  Peppers eyes widened as the man’s heavy German accent filled the room. He walked towards them like a runway model Pepper had seen on TV. The man’s hair was pointed straight upwards. Yet, there the hair curved upwards in a distinct shape. Their hair was colored in a bright mixture of pink, purple, bright blue and metallic silver. The closer the person came to them, the more Pepper felt their hair looked bird feathers than anything else.

  The person’s face was covered in makeup. Adorned in neon color shades with glitter which sparkled in the light. But that was nothing compared to the high vibrant personality which was on full display.

  The man had a white wool scarf which was hanging down and slightly swaying across his chest as he walked. He quickly reached up and tossed one of the tails up and over his shoulder, concealing his neck in the process. It was then that Pepper took notice of the fact that he was wearing a leather vest. His eyes quickly shifted when he saw that underneath the vest was a skintight compression shirt. The garment was colorized and printed with a galaxy pattern.

  It was just a few feet in front of them that the odd character stopped and performed a slight bow. As they returned upright, Pepper took notice of the fact that the individual was wearing a black kilt but finished their look with knee high latex boots.

  “Ahh! I must say… I was so excited, just over the moon. Over the moon, I tell you! I was contacted and asked to work with you. And look! You are here, yes you are, here in my studio! This is wonderful.” The man’s energy was bubbling over with every sentence.

  He came to a stop in front of Marcus and practically pulled him up and off the couch while grasping on to his hand. “I must say Pepper… when I was told about you. They said you were handsome, but my oh my, they did not tell me you were twist steel, sex appeal. Ah!” The man finished with a giant smile and a wink.

  Pepper didn’t want to interject, but could see the large look of concern on Marcus’s face. He slowly raised his finger, “Umm. I’m Pepper.”

  The man immediately shook his head while his eyes fluttered. He turned to look at Pepper with an alarmed expression. “Exsqueeze me?”

  Pepper cleared his throat while pointing towards his chest. “I’m Pepper.” He then motioned to his roommate. “This is my friend Marcus who I asked to come hangout during the shoot.”

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  There appeared to be a slight look of embarrassment, but Pepper also questioned if what he was interpreting was also an expression of disappointment. The man started to lightly tap on Marcus’s hand and appeared to give an overly expressive fake smile. “But of course you are Marcus. Who else could you be? Ah-ha!” The man paused for a second and nodded towards Marcus. “So lovely to meet you.”

  “Yeah, same… I think?” Marcus replied with an overly confused tone.

  Pepper stood up and met the man who adjusted his position closer to him. He reached to give the man a firm handshake, but immediately found his hand latched onto by the odd character. “Pepper it is.” The man said and Pepper couldn’t help but notice the change in his tone.

  There was clearly less excitement and bubbly enthusiasm as he cleared his throat. “Well, Pepper… this is…. How should I say. Mmm… I dunno.”

  The man’s demeanor was an immediate shift and Pepper couldn’t help but question what it all meant. He was about to ask if there was something wrong when the man continued. “Perhaps it is best that we get to work, because… Oof, we… we have a lot of work before us, don’t we?” The man smiled but Pepper read it more as a sarcastic expression of dread for what they were about to do. “But, don’t wory, Avway is the best at what he does.”

  “I’m sorry, who is Avway?”

  The man’s eyes blinked rapidly and the fake smile now reappeared. “I am Avway! Photographer to the stars!” There was a slight pause and Avway sighed. “And… some, not so stars…. Clearly.”

  The last part was said under his breath but Pepper still picked up on it. He did his best to keep his manners and be polite. “Well, nice to meet you Avway.”

  He barely got the name out when Avway cut him off and corrected him. “It’s Avway.”

  Pepper felt the confused expression arrive on his face. “Is that not what I said?”

  “No, you said Avway… it is simply pronounced, Avway.”

  What the hell? Pepper thought to himself, for every time he heard the name, he could have sworn the man pronounced it differently. He was now more confused than ever and could feel the anxiety build inside him. “Right, Avway.”

  “No! It’s Avway.”

  “Avway.”

  “Avway.”

  The two went back and forth for a couple more rounds until Avway finally gave up in trying to teach Pepper how to pronounce the peculiar name. “You know, it doesn’t matter. Let’s just get started, shall we?” Avway smiled and scrunched his face. He immediately turned and to Pepper’s surprise, he wrapped his arm around Pepper and started to pull him over to the clothing rack.

  “Now, I am thinking we go with the leather jack, yeah? Lether is making such a comeback now and I must say, Avway is happy to see this! Yeah? Yeah!”

  The closer they got to the clothing rack the more the alarm bells were blaring inside Peppers head. He was questioning now if he should just bolt and try to get out of there. A fear arose within him that he would soon be dressed in an odd and embarrassing ensemble just like Avway. He now wished he had called Ryan back and convinced him to let Marcus’s friend do the photoshoot, regardless of how the photos would turn out.

  “Okay, so you do the things with the statues and you pow-pow-pow in the colosseum things, yeah?” Avway turned and gazed upon him with a serious look.

  He felt his voice slightly tremble, afraid to even answer the question. “Uhh…. Yeah.”

  Avway moaned and then took a deep breath. “Yes, big, strong, powerful, magical, the clash of left, right, good evil, gods, demons.” The entire time Avway rambled on he was also taking items off the clothing rack and handing them over to Pepper. His arms now full of items which he didn’t even have time to glance over. Avway however, continued on as if there was no stopping the train now that it had left the station. “The tension, conflict! Love? Hate? Yes! No! The ever-escalating cataclysmic event which no superhero could ever be able to stop!”

  Pepper felt his eyes were on the verge of popping out of his sockets. “We are here for a photo shoot right?”

  Avway, who had been staring off into the distance now shifted his gaze towards him. The photographer’s jaw appeared clinched, as if the rambling thoughts were representative of some fantasy Avway was living out within his mind. In a split second the photographer reached up and grabbed hold of his head. Avway’s fingers ran through his hair and latched on with a firm hold.

  The photographer leaned closer to him and his eyes appeared to be on the verge of shooting lasers through his skull. “We shall take photos the likes of which the world is not ready…. Pepper.”

  There was a brief pause between the two and Pepper was on the verge of asking the odd character to please get out of his personal space. Thankfully the photographer leaned back and seemed to be distracted by his hair. A grotesque expression appeared on Avway’s face and he retracted the hand which had grasped his hair, the animated gesture as if it been burned getting too close to a fire. “My darling, what on earth are you doing to your hair? Or should I say, what are you not doing? Ahh! This will not do, no-no-no-no-no… Avway must not… No, cannot. Avway cannot perform while this ginger hair cries out for the United Nations to intervene.”

  Avway then twisted around and yelled at the top of his lungs. The act surprised Pepper and caused him to shutter. “FRANCIS! FRANCIS! Where is Francis!? I cannot work unless my assistant is actually here to assist! FRAN…”

  Both Avway and Pepper jumped at the same time as the clothing rack slid off to the side. “I’m here Avway.” There standing perfectly still on the opposite side of the rack was a middle-aged man who looked like he was there to pick up his kids from soccer practice.

  A come over of brown thinning hair with large framed glasses and a mustache was the complete opposite look Pepper was expecting. The man had a pot belly which pressed against the soft beige polo shirt which was tucked into a pair of common blue jeans. The white Velcro walking shoes completed the look and Pepper felt as if he was looking at someone who could easily pass as his odd uncle.

  Avway shook his head and his face tightened in frustration. “Francis, what have I told you about hiding behind the clothing? Hmm?”

  An apologetic look came over the man. “Don’t hide behind them.”

  “Yeah… that is what I said. This is the second time Francis. The third strike and you go straight to the incinerator, yeah?”

  “So sorry, Avway… It won’t happen again. I promise.”

  “I should hope not. For the incinerators sake.” Avway shifted back to Pepper and had an overly animated look on his face. “Please forgive me Pepper. Normally my assistances are far more behaved, than… this.”

  “It’s fine, you don’t have to…”

  Pepper didn’t even finish as Avway continued. “Francis where is LooMella?”

  The assistant immediately began to type away on a holopad. Avway immediately looked to be frustrated at the delayed response. Avway then lifted his hands and began to look at his finger nails while he waited for an answer.

  “Uhh, it looks like LooMella is free for the next…”

  Avway didn’t hesitate and reached over grabbed hold of Pepper shirt and pulled him. “This way!”

  The photographer led Pepper out of the studio and into a small hallway. Pepper couldn’t help but notice both sides of the corridor were filled with framed photographs. Pictures of people, animals, random items on fire, and what looked to be close-up images of random textures.

  They arrived at a door and then came to an abrupted stop. Avway turned around and was instantly back inside Peppers personal space. His hand waved up and in-between their two faces and then flowed over to framed photograph hung just to the left of the door.

  “You see this, Pepper?”

  The answer appeared obvious, but Pepper could tell that Avway expected an answer. “Uh, yeah?”

  “Tell me… what do you see?”

  He looked over at the image and then realized it was actually a collage of random items. None of them appeared to make any sense to him. “I see uhh, a Penguin with a crown on its head. Holding a machine gun, while riding a Tyrannosaurus Rex through a dessert?” By the time Pepper finished his head was slightly tilted in confusion.

  “And… what does this make you feel?” Avway asked.

  Pepper went with the only thing he could think of in that moment. “Perplexed?”

  To his surprise, Avway shifted his expression to one of a delighted tone. He smiled and wiggled his head slightly. “As all political movements should. Hmph!” The smile lasted only a second as he returned to a stern and domineering expression. Avway’s hand latched hold of the doorknob and the two stepped inside.

  The two were greeted by a dark and dreary room. Pepper immediately took notice of the fact that the walls were painted black. In another split second of glancing all around, everything was black.

  “LooMella? Darling are you in here?” Avway called out.

  The edge of Pepper’s vision noticed movement off to his right. He turned and watched a darkened silhouette stand up from what he thought was a chair. As the person moved forward, he saw faint reflections all around their physique. The room was only illuminated by a few burning candles and didn’t help Pepper as his eyes were adjusting from the bright hallway they had just been in.

  The darkened figure then arrived just behind Avway and towered over him. It was then that a flicker could be heard, and a small lighter shot up a flame which exposed the individual to them. Avway turned and screamed, his hand reaching up and landed on his chest. “There you. What have I told you about being sneaky-sneaky my love? Not when there are clients around, yeah?”

  The woman didn’t speak and remained emotionless. Her face was painted as if she was in a Norwegian death metal band. A design of pure white, with black accents all around her eyes and mouth. Pepper narrowed his gaze to try and see her iris’s but that was when he realized her eyes were completely pitch black. He glanced down and saw that her outfit was made of complete skintight black latex.

  Avway whisked his hand off of his chest and then used it to point to Pepper’s hair. “Darling look at this. Just look at this. How can I make art when I am given hair like this? Do you think you can do your magic and turn this dehydrated baren wasteland into a vibrant garden? Yeah? Okay… I leave now.”

  Avway leaned up and kissed the woman on the cheek. He turned and motioned with his hand to Pepper. “Avway leaves you in the hands of LooMella. She knows what to do and will do it well, yeah. I will send Francis to get you when you are done, okay? Okay, bye-bye now, hello then.”

  Avway then brushed passed him and slammed the door closed in his wake. It only took a second before Pepper heard the bellowing cry of the photographer echo throughout the area. “FRANICS! FRANCIS, WHY ARE YOU NOT AT MY SIDE?”