AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have the movie "Jingle All the Way" to thank for this story idea. This is the typical story of waiting until the last minute to buy the most popular Christmas toy in America. I wrote this a couple of years ago for my Camp Monkee Mallard site, but I've decided to re-tool it as an Impossibles fanfic. This one is played out for yuks.

It was December 23, two days before Christmas. The Impossibles had returned to their hometown of Megatropolis after one of their more hectic tours. They were glad they had a couple of days off. Their tour was the same old, same old. They played their gigs, dodged crazy fangirls, signed a few autographs for the not-so-crazy fans, and busted a few bad guys along the way. They were finally glad to be home for the holidays. They were also glad they got holiday shopping done during the tour. That day, they were walking along the streets of Megatropolis with Multi's three-year-old half brother, Adam (who was riding on Multi's shoulders), and Coiley's ten-year-old sister, Courtney, as well as three of her friends, Ellen Armbruster, Donna Ellis, and Holly Stone. Coiley was also pushing a stroller that had his newborn niece, Isabelle Nathaniel, in it. She had been born in late November, to Coiley's oldest sister, Sue, and her husband, Roger Nathaniel, and they were in Megatropolis for Christmas, as was Coiley's other older sister, Reine.

"Coil . . . . ummm, I mean Calvin," Courtney said, correcting herself quickly. "Can I push Izzy for awhile, please?"

"Okay," Coiley said. "And thanks for not using our code names."

Courtney often called her older brother and his friends by their code names, simply because she liked them better than their real names, and they rarely went by their real names anymore, even when they weren't fighting crime.

"I have to tell you fellas, shopping for my family is the pits," Multi sighed. "Not only do I have to buy presents for my dad, my stepmother, my sister, and my baby brother, but I also have to buy them for my mom, my stepfather, my stepsister, my stepbrother, and my other half brother and ship them to Maine."

"Yeah, holiday shopping gets expensive for you, Multi," Fluey said. "At least we got it done early. Wait'll tomorrow. That's when the Christmas Countdown really starts."

As they were walking, Courtney and her friends ran ahead and practically plastered themselves to a toy store window. Coiley took over pushing Isabelle's stroller.

"Down, Mawk! Down!" Adam shouted, pulling on Multi's hair a little. "Me see, too!"

"All right, just don't pull my hair," Multi said, taking Adam off his shoulders, and he toddled over to the window. Multi followed, and picked him up again so he could see in the window.

"Never fails," Coiley said. "Kids pass a toy store, they gotta stop to look in."

"Don't I know it," Multi replied with a shake of his head.

"Got anything interesting in here?" Fluey asked as he and Coiley came over.

"A lot of cool Christmas displays," Ellen said. "But that's about it."

"That's about it?!" Courtney shouted. "How can you say that?! They've got the new Princess Rainbow Crystal doll!"

"Oooohhhh," Donna and Holly breathed.

"They got the new what?" Fluey asked.

"Princess Rainbow Crystal doll, silly!" Holly giggled.

"Oh," Fluey said, nodding, not quite sure he understood.

"They've also got her horse, Jewel Star," Donna said.

Coiley got a good look at the doll on display. She was about the size of a Chatty Cathy doll, had long, blond hair, and wore a pink dress, a tiara of rainbow colored pearls, and a rainbow colored pearl necklace. She came with a pink star wand in her hand. She was displayed next to a large plastic, pearly white horse with rainbow colored mane and tail, pearly pink hooves, and a pearly pink saddle.

"And she talks!" Courtney shouted. "She says ten different phrases!"

"This I gotta see," Fluey said. He walked into the toy store with the kids, and went straight to the window display. Fluey picked up the doll, and looked at her.

"Where's the pull string?" he asked.

"There's no pull string," Courtney giggled. "She's got a button on the back that you push."

Fluey shrugged, and pushed the button on the doll's back.

"You're my best friend!" the doll said. Fluey sort of made a face.

"It's just a hyped up Chatty Cathy," he said.

"No she isn't!" Courtney said. "She's the most perfect doll in the whole world! Everyone I know is getting one!"

"Everyone?" Multi replied.

"Well, all the girls, anyway," Courtney said, shrugging. "You think Santa will bring it to me, Calvin?"

"Well . . . ." Coiley started, and he heard Fluey sort of give out a little snort.

"She still believes in Santa, oh brother," he mumbled under his breath.

"You never know these things, Court," Coiley said, shooting his dark-haired teammate a dirty look.

On that note, everyone left the toy store and started back to their own homes. When Coiley got to his house, he sat down on the couch, and turned on the TV.

"Hi," his older sister, Reine, said, coming into the room. "What's up?"

"Oh not much. Courtney's talking about what she wants for Christmas. That Princess Rainbow Crystal talking doll thingy."

"I know. But she's definitely getting it, I'm sure."

"She is?"

"Of course! Don't you remember? Mom asked you to pick one up last month. You did get it, right?"

Coiley went pale. He suddenly remembered Reine was right about that. Before the Impossibles left on tour, his mother asked him to pick up the doll! But in between gigs, dodging fans, and catching crooks, it had slipped his mind. But he didn't want to let on that he forgot.

"Sure I did," he said, figuring he'd go out the next day and pick one up.

"Great," Reine said, patting her brother's shoulder. "Because it would be impossible to find now!"

Coiley sort of got a sick look to his face. He was not expecting that whatsoever!