Chapter 68: Project Ray Way
It was another day at the plaza and Nebula was sweeping while Rad glanced at a commercial for 'Raymond's Way' on the nearby hanging television and he scoffed. "Ugh, Raymond. He thinks he's so hot" he said in disgust. "I dunno Rad, I think it's nice that Raymond is putting his energy into his new clothing line instead of evil robot stuff. You gotta admit, his clothes are pretty sharp" Ko said as he read a magazine. "Are you kidding me Ko?! I am way better looking than that guy!" Rad said. "Yeah! The only thing sharp about him is his face and those spikes he has! Besides, you are not only better looking than him, you have actual muscles, he doesn't" Nebula said. "Yeah! And I've also got a smokin' hot girlfriend" he said with a wink. Nebula went red and she silently squealed. "Um, I didn't say that you weren't better looking than him" Ko said meekly as Rad was flexing his muscles to Nebula. "And what is up with those shirts anyway? I show off to Nebs for like five seconds and all of Lakewood is wearing Raymond's Way! The trend took over so fast, nobody bothered taking off the little plastic tags! What a bogus fad" Rad pointed out as he grabbed a nearby shopper who was wearing a pink shirt with the word "Ray" on it in blue. "I know right? It's my nightmare" Drupe said as she emerged from the crowd. Nebula gripped the broom's handle tighter as she narrowed her eyes at her as she remembered seeing her flirt with Rad at the dance when she and him were broken up.
"You don't like Ray Way Drupe? I thought you loved fashion!" Ko said and Drupe scoffed. "Exactly! True fashion is about originality, and nothing about Ray Way is original" Drupe pointed out. "I know right!All he did was put on a pink shirt with his name on it!" Nebula ranted as she momentarily snapped out of her anger trance. 'Yeah! That's what I hate about it!" Rad agreed as if he knew what she was talking about. Nebula sighed and patted his arm. "I know, it's just a dumb brand name. Ever since the store opened up, the whole town's been turned into fashion zombies" she said as she pointed to the large line of people exiting the 'Raymond's Way' building that was next to the Boxmore building across the street from them. "Just how are small designers like me supposed to compete with big brands with hot models and fancy store fronts?" Drupe asked. "Well, it's not as fancy, but we could sell your clothes here at Gar's!" Ko suggested. "And if it's a model you need, it just so happens that the hottest guy in town is available!" Rad said suggestively as he held his arms behind his head. Nebula felt her blood boil and she cleared her throat loudly as she glared at him. "T-to model" Rad said meekly as he backed away from Drupe. "But, Raymond's already wearing Ray Way" Drupe said and Rad's face fell. "Oh sorry, you mean you! I get it now! Go on!" she said embarrassed and she put a hand on Rad's arm briefly as she apologized. "That's it! I'm gonna destroy her! And Rad too!" Nebula said astonishingly as she saw Rad briefly put a hand on her outer shoulder. "What I'm saying is, with your designs, my hot bod and Mr. Gar's Bodega, we've got all we need to take this 'Ray Way' train down!" Rad said. He then went over to Nebula and put an arm around her shoulders. "And we've also got Nebula's amazing photography skills! I mean come on, you've seen her social media right?! He beamed. "We'll show that clown Raymond who's really the hottest!" he said mischievously as his antennas curled as he let out an evil laugh. Nebula rolled her eyes and removed his arm from her shoulders. She then huffed and walked away with a small trail of ice starting behind her. "Uh oh" Ko said as he heard the back's door slam shut. "Alright… Let's do it! For fashion!" Drupe said as she held out a hand to Rad. "For fashion!" Rad said as he took her hand. "I'll help too" Ko said and a loud 'crash' was then heard as Ko put his foot on their hands.
Nebula let out a scream as she began to rant and organize a shelf in the back. "I swear, that strawberry better not try anything with Rad or I swear, I will destroy her!" she ranted. Her phone then went off and she answered it angrily. "Hey! Woah! You seem mad! What happened?" a female was heard saying from the other line. Nebula sighed and told her friend everything. "I see… Why don't you show her who Rad is with! Even if she obviously knows, make her and him understand that he is with you, not her! Trust me, there is this one girl that is obsessed with my boyfriend and I definitely showed her that he is mine and that he will never be hers!" the girl said and a loud yet familiar squawking was heard. She then told her what she should do and Nebula smiled wickedly.
"Is Nebula okay? She's been in there for quite a while now" Ko asked. "She's fine" Rad said. Just then, the door opened and Nebula came strutting out with new makeup on and the scarf Rad made her. "You looking for another model?" she asked and Rad's jaw dropped. "I'll also happily do the photography" she said as she flipped her hair. "Sure!" Drupe said and later that day, they got to work on the commercial for Drupe's fashion line 'Strawbaby" at Rad's house.
Once they were finished, Rad's father came out with a bowl. "I made soft pretzels!" he called happily. He then handed the limp pretzels out. "Do you think Nebula is still mad about earlier?" Ko asked Rad. "Maybe… She has been a bit distant and she chose to sit in the back on the way here" Rad said. He then saw his dad hand Nebula her soft pretzel and his face lit up as he got an idea. Just as she was about to eat the pretzel, he took the other end in his mouth and Nebula's eyes widened in shock. She then let out a groan and narrowed her eyes at him. They both then slowly at the twisted knot shaped bread until their lips met. Rad closed his eyes and gently kissed her. Nebula hesitantly kissed him back and pulled away from him. "I'm still really mad about earlier. Don't think a kiss will make it better" she said.
"I know. I'm sorry. I should have apologized sooner. You know how much it hurts me to see you be anything but happy" he said. "And you should have thought about how much it hurt me to see you flirting it up with Drupe! I saw you and her at the dance when we were broken up. I admit, it was sweet to see you turn her down because you wanted to try and win me back. Even though you thought that I was with Puck. But seeing you back at your old ways with her really hurt me" Nebula said. "I know, and I can't apologize enough" before he could finish, Nebula held up and hand. "Look Rad, I'll forgive you but this is strike two. One more and I'm gone. Got it? That means I walk away and you will never hear from or see me again" she said seriously. "Don't worry babe, I'm gonna make it up to you" he said as he hugged her. Rad then walked off and Drupe approached her. "Hey Nebula. Look, I know that you might not like me that much. But, what will it take for you to agree to do the filming?" she asked and Nebula narrowed her eyes at her. Drupe smiled as she had an idea. "What if I make you and Rad matching outfits?" she suggested and Nebula surprised her by holding out a hand. "Deal" she said and they shook hands.
The next day, they began to sell the clothes that Drupe designed."Ko! The commercial came out great!" Drupe praised as Ko brought over a plant with socks on it. "Thanks Drupe! So did your outfits! They're selling like hotcakes! That reminds me, how did you get Nebula to agree to do the filming? I thought that she didn't like you" Ko asked as he motioned to Rad who was giving the customers the clothes as Nebula rung them up. "I told her that I would make her and Rad matching outfits and I did. And I am actually really impressed! Given the chance, people chose our ethically sourced, locally made, originals over a mass produced brand!" Drupe said. "At this rate, the 'Ray Way' trend will be over in no time!" Rad said happily. "And we can kiss those creepy tags goodbye" Ko said and they all laughed. Nebula stopped laughing when she heard a small 'beep' and she put a hand on Rad's arm to get his attention. "Hey guys" she called cautiously. They then stopped laughing to see a small rabbit child walk out of the store saying "Brands" and Nebula looked at Rad worriedly. "This can't be good" she said and he nodded in agreement as they saw the rabbit walk into the 'Raymond's Way' building.
Just then, a commercial came on with the Boxmore bots wearing one of Drupe's shirts that she designed and saying that is was from "Raymond's Way" and Nebula saw Drupe get angry. More and more customers then came out of the building chanting "Brands" and Nebula thought that there were literal zombies. "No wonder he can crank out shirts so fast, he's just making cheap knock offs!" Drupe said angrily. "That's just not right" Ko said. "That does it! We gotta go over there and end this madness" Rad said determinedly. They all nodded and agreement and went over to the building across the street.
Rad was the first to storm over there and kick open the door. "Raymond!" Rad said angrily. "Radicles" Raymond said clearly disgusted. "Nebula" he said smoothly with a wink and she in turn shuddered. "You think you're so hot! But I'm here to tell you you're not!" Rad said. "Nice come back honey" Nebula said sarcastically. "That's actually not why we're here" Drupe said. Nebula put a hand on Rad's shoulder and tried to pull him back. "Huh? Oh! Right… Quit copying Drupe's designs" Rad yelled. "Exsqueeze me?!" he roared as he pushed everything off of his desk. "Moi steal from twa? Even if that were true, just how do you plan on stopping me?" he asked threateningly as she strutted up to Rad. "Kick his butt, kick his butt, kick his butt" Nebula chanted.
"By challenging you to a style battle" Rad declared and Nebula face palmed. "A style battle?!" Raymond gasped. "A style battle!" Ko and Drupe said excitedly. "A style battle?" Enid questioned. "Of all the things why a style battle?" Nebula criticized. "A style battle" Rad said confidently.
They were then takes to an arena with two stages and the large crowd that was gathered around the stages was cheering. "Prepare to lose" Raymond jeered. "Prepare to lose. Oooh look at me, I'm Raymond and I'm a pompadours moron who likes stealing other peoples designs because I'm stupid and not creative enough to come up with my own designs" Nebula said mockingly in a high pitched and annoying voice. Raymond smirked as he got an idea.
"Why don't we sweeten the deal?" Raymond suggested. He then snapped his fingers and a cage appeared out of nowhere and captured Nebula. It then hovered itself into the air above the two stages. "Winner gets her" he said. "Why are you doing this Raymond?" Ko asked worriedly. "Because, Nebula is a created being like myself. That means that we are clearly meant to be! Besides, that bag of flesh doesn't deserve her!" he said. They then heard Nebula laughing. "Dude, you know that the only man I'll ever love is Rad. Besides, I would never date such a stuck up dofus like you. And even if you did win, which you're not, I'll just kick your butt and go back top Rad" she said in between laughs.
"How are the preparations Drupe?" Enid asked as Drupe was working on Ko's outfit. "Ah! Perfect!" she said once she was finished. Ko then walked onto the stage. "Awwh" Nebula cooed from the cage. Raymond then sent out one of his doubles to model. "Ko!" Enid, Drupe, Rad, and Nebula shouted when Ko was forced back. "Don't worry guys, I styled my best" Ko said. "I guess your style just wasn't cool enough" Rad said. "Excuse me?! His outfit was great! But that jerk Raymond sure does know how to work a runway" Drupe said as the Raymond continued to pose for the crowd. "We need a model with a really strong aura" she said. Rad and her then looked at Enid. Nebula cheered when Enid came out onto the stage. "You go girl!" she cheered. She then booed when Raymond sent out a double wearing a black shirt with "Ray" in pink letters onto the stage. "That's it girl! Work it!" Nebula cheered when she saw that Enid's aura was overpowering the Raymond double. She then gasped when the bot's aura overpowered Enid and sent her flying back. "What's that girl doing to my man?!" Nebula asked out loud when she saw Drupe putting a jacket on Rad. The original Raymond then came strutting onto the stage and Nebula booed him.
When Rad went onto the stage, she could feel her heart speed up. "Huminah huminah" she practically drooled. "Go Raddie! That's my man!" she cheered loudly. Rad looked at her and blew her a kiss. Nebula greedily reached through the bars of the cage and grabbed the air kiss and cradled the hand holding it close to her. "I love you Rad!" she cheered. "I love you too babe!" Rad called back and the real Raymond let out a growl as he walked into the stage. When Raymond tossed off his fur coat, Rad tossed off his beanie. The two males then struck a pose and Nebula cheered even louder for Rad. The males' auras appeared and they were evenly matched by the other. The males continued to pose and at one point, Nebula fainted from happiness.
"Very well, if I can't have the strongest brand in the plaza, then I'll just have the only brand!" Raymond said as he pulled out a device. With a push of the button, the crowd's eyes began to glow and they began to attack Rad. Nebula immediately woke up and gasped. "Rad!" she called. She then froze the bars of the cage and let out a whistle to get Enid's attention. "A little help?" she called. Enid nodded and sent a flaming kick to break the now frozen bars of the cage. Once Nebula was free, she started to pry the people off of Rad. "Drupe! They ruined your stuff! What are you gonna do?" Rad asked when he noticed that two of the zombies destroyed the clothes that Drupe made. "I'm thinking about it" she responded. "How are you not more mad about this? Those outfits were your originals" Rad asked in disbelief. "You know what, those aren't the last clothes I'm ever going to make. It'll take more than that for Lakewood's best designer to run out of ideas. Listen up Rad, you've already got one power that Raymond's dumb inventions could never top. Originality is the heart of fashion and there's nothing more original than being yourself" she responded. "Myself...Ah! So I'll go out there naked" Rad said. Nebula's head perked up and she went red. "Are you okay Nebula?" Ko asked when he noticed her go red. Rad then came back onto the stage in his normal outfit of the cropped blue shirt and pink leggings. The crowd then began to go back to normal and Rad began to pose. He then showed his aura and Raymond posed to make his appear to try and overpower Rad. "Oh and Raymond. Here's something that you'll never do" he gloated. He then grabbed Nebula by her waist and dipped her as he pulled her in for a kiss. He then pulled away and struck his final pose that sent Raymond flying back to Boxmore.
Later that day, Drupe opened up her own store and while she was dealing with opening, Rad, Ko, Enid, and Nebula were by a tree looking at a magazine. "Hey check it out" Enid said as she pointed to the cover of the fashion magazine that had Drupe on it. "Wow! After the style battle, Drupe's career really took off!" Ko said. He then turned the page to see a whole article on Rad and how he was named the "Hottest Model" with a few pictures of his posing. "See? Admit it, I'm way better looking than Raymond" Rad said. "I never said that you weren't" Ko said and Rad cheered. "Honey, it's a known fact that you're way better looking, stronger, and better at everything than Raymond" Nebula said lovingly as best that she could with a hoarse voice while she slyly took the magazine from Ko.
"I know right?! So babe, how does it feel to be dating the hottest model?" Rad asked. "Depends, how does it feel to be dating P.O.I.N.T's perfect artificial hero?" Nebula asked. "Perfect! Just like you" he said and Nebula "awwed" at his words. "Hey Nebula, don't your vocal cords hurt from cheering loudly?" Enid asked and Nebula nodded. "Worth it though" she responded happily and she kissed Rad's cheek.