CHAPTER 20
Fatima
“Are you an actress?” Lucy asked Fatima.
“Who, me?” Fatima said. “No.”
“That’s a shame because I told my movie studio friends I had an actress, but things didn’t really work out with him.”
“But they let me keep this!” Mason said, climbing back into the cardboard box like a kitten.
“Are you sure you’re not an actress, kiddo?”
Fatima blushed. “No—but I’m really good at reading comics.”
“Any interest in starring in a comic book movie?!” Lucy asked. “Those are all the rage right now!”
“Comic book movie?!” Fatima said, unable to hide her smile. She considered the possibilities.…
No more cosplay with cheap costumes—she could wear a movie-grade supersuit. On-screen, she’d be a real superhero, blasting special-effects lasers out of her eyes or maybe even flying. She could be on panels with her favorite comic book movie characters. And best of all, she’d be the first to see her comic book movie—before anyone else!
“Ever heard of the Super Squad?” Lucy asked as she scanned emails on her phone. “They’re looking for new cast members for the sequel.”
“Super Squad?! It’s only my favorite comic book movie of all time!” Fatima squealed with delight. “Count me in!!”
Amazingly, Fatima was cast in the sequel to her favorite movie. Not so amazingly, Fatima was not cast as a superhero—she was cast as a supervillain.
She would be the evil Porcupina, the half-human, half-porcupine nemesis with spikes all over her body. This was terrible. Fatima hated Porcupina. So did most comic book fans. Porcupina sliced and diced their favorite heroes, and almost destroyed them on multiple occasions. She was cruel, awful, and just plain mean. She was the most sinister and deadly villain the Super Squad had ever faced in the comic books.
But this was Fatima’s chance to meet the cast and be part of a superhero franchise. She couldn’t pass it up. So she stayed her course and played the villainess. After filming had wrapped, Fatima and the rest of the actors from Super Squad were invited to San Diego Comic-Con.
As Fatima walked out on stage, the announcer said, “Introducing the bad girl you love to hate: Porcupina!”
But rather than clapping and cheering, the fans went crazy with rage. They booed and hissed, tossing half-eaten corn dogs at her. One fan even threw a Porcupina action figure. Its tiny plastic spikes really hurt!
Fatima was sad. No one at Comic-Con wanted a picture with her. Her costars were scared to be seen with her. She smelled like corn dogs. And worst of all, a mob of angry fans chased her out of the auditorium, shouting, “Stay away from our heroes, evildoer!”
“It’s just a movie!” Fatima yelled. That only made the fans even more mad.
Fatima declined to go to the red carpet premiere. Instead, she stayed home and watched the first Super Squad movie—alone.
Don’t feel too bad for Fatima—she made a million dollars from the movie.
Then again, famous agent Lucy LaRoux took most of that.