Morden AU

With a heavy sigh he finally closed the textbook and proceeded to put everything away. Or rather, stuff the papers, books and pencils wherever it would fit in his backpack. In doing so, he ended up finding a bag of unopened gummy bears, which was about the only good thing to happen today. And yet, it wasn't enough to make him forget he was missing out on the field trip to the space museum. Something he was actually looking forward too. How Albert got himself in this situation was simple enough. He punched Oscar Delancey for picking on Crutchie.

Though he wasn't the one who threw the first blow, he may or may not have tackled the Delancey just inches away from a trash can when the teachers came to break it up. They both got sent to the principal's office, who, thankfully, got the full story from students who were passing by in the hallway. But rules are rules and they both got suspended for the rest of the week. Kloppman is understanding so he wasn't too harsh when he turned in a note from the school. It goes without saying Albert would rather be at the space museum than stuck here with a girl who hasn't moved out of the fetal position for the past two hours. And counting. Feister's prone to bad stomachaches to the point she can barely move without feeling any pain. It isn't because of something she's eaten, she just gets random pain every now and again. Which is why she's also home for the day.

Popping a gummy into his mouth he made a quick stop in the kitchen to grab a bottle of bubbly water and some crackers for Feister then headed to the living room to where she was laying on the couch still in the fetal position wrapped up in a blanket with a blank look on her face. Some cartoon with fairies she didn't even like was playing on the tv. Either she passed out or got tired of channel surfing. Or possibly both. Speaking from experience, after scrolling through endless channels you eventually stop caring and put whatever on. That's how board she must be. Poor kid. He never thought he'd feel sorry for her. Well, not to say he hasn't when she's in pain but...the others are usually around to take care of her so...well it's obvious he's never been on this side before.

"I'll trade you bubbles and crackers for the remote," Albert tried to joke. Despite his own misery he was no where near as miserable as Feister was in, making his own moping stupid. There were other times he could go to the museum, stomach aches felt like they were never ending.

"Mmm," Feister mumbled in response. The next few seconds were a blur, the bottle and crackers were placed close by, the open spot beside her sunk down and then there was the quick change of the channel. When she opened her eyes she saw Albert had turned on his favorite cartoon. Something that had to do with the movies with the glow stick swords and emo guy with asthma. Adjusting her pillow a bit she watched the screen, trying her best to understand what was going on, it didn't take long for her to figure out that whatever this is, it's confusing and makes her question how sane Albert really is. Well, he's always been on the odd side, but this makes her wonder if he needs help.

"I did!" an orange girl with tiny horns exclaimed in the middle of a battle field. "Remember when I reminded you about the giant wall?! And you said, "don't worry Snips we won't be anywhere near that."

"Just get ready to climb," the brown hair dude beside her replied in an unamused tone.

"Why didn't he listen to her in the first place?"

"Because Anakin's stubborn. Kind of like you," Albert replied as he looked at her. "Actually, I think you're more of an Ahsoka than Anakin. Loud, bit of a headache, snippy remarks. Drives everyone crazy sometimes."

Carefully sitting up while grabbing the packet of crackers, she asked, "Anakin's the one who turns into Darth Vader, right?" when the redhead nodded she continued. "So if Darth Anakin is in the movies, how come Ahsoka isn't?"

"Because this takes place years before that. She probably-" Albert had to stop himself because the thought of Order 66 reminded him that the Clone Wars was going to have a heartbreaking ending, one he didn't want to think about because he may have already formed an emotional attachment to the characters. Not that he'd ever admit it out loud. "Who knows what happened after the war."

"Star Wars is complicated. How come the movies go four, five six, one, two three? Why not make four, one instead and so on?"

"Because it wouldn't make any sense if four was one instead."

"It doesn't make any sense as it is Albert," Feister shot back. "The whole galaxy is messed up because of one family's drama." she's seen him watch these movies, sometimes she'd pay attention, other times not so much. But when she did the only thing she came to understand was that it was overly complicated and wonder how in the world someone understands the messed up timeline.

"It isn't messed up because of family drama," Albert replied. "Not yet anyways."

"It's such a Star Wars thing to make the movies out of order then come up with a random show that fits between, what? Five and six?"

"Two and three," Albert corrected. "Have you learned nothing from my May the Fourth binges?"

"Only that you're sanity levels are a lot lower than I originally thought they were."

"And that's exactly why you're more of a Snips than a Skyguy."

"How many baseballs hit ya in the head Dasilva? For the love of papes start makin' sense already would ya."

Well, good to see someone is feeling better. But how come that had to happen when Mush isn't around? At least then it wouldn't be him who had to deal with the little ball of fire and answer her millions of questions. Though there is the small chance Mush would play along with the question thing despite already understanding the timeline, then he'd have two headaches. "You know what? You and me, binge watch right now and then you'll understand the timeline, which, fyi, isn't complicated at all."

Feister couldn't be mad at herself since walked right into that one. It's a good thing she has nothing better to do. She's tried taking a nap but her stomach decide to do that weird, uncomfortable bubble thing. "Fine. But can we binge the show first? It's quicker to get through than the movies."

Sure," Albert replied with a shrug. With a few clicks of the remote he set up the tv. He didn't argue to start with the movies first because he's been meaning to rewatch all the old episodes with the new season quickly approaching. Settling into the couch he got to work on the gummy bears again, when out of the corner of his eye he saw Feister lie back down while pressing her hands against her stomach. "Drink up some bubbles. It'll sooth the pain," he instructed.

She did as he said. Taking slow sips and waiting a few seconds before taking another. After a minute or so the pain eased a bit. Not as much as it had a few minutes ago, but enough that it didn't feel like her organs were rearranging themselves. As Feister got herself comfy again, she asked, "Why do you like this so much?"

"Cause it's cool and set in space and it's got lasers!"

She shook her head. Or at least Albert assumed she did, which was followed by an eye roll. "Of course you like it because it's set in space and has lasers." she sighed. "I hope your future girlfriend already understands this nonsense. I feel sorry for her having to sit through a binge with you."

"Leave the attitude for your boyfriend will ya ."

"He's not boyfriend and never will be!" Feister snapped. "Got it!"

"Shhh. It's startin'."

"You're annoyin'."

"So are you," the redhead scoffed. "And a little but delusional. Cause Mush definitely looks at ya all funny like."

"I through you were tryin' to turn me to the dark side or whatever it's called, not say I'm gonna fall in love with Mush brains," Feister grumbled. "Sides, he can't look at me funny cause he already has a funny lookin' face."

Albert was about to say something, then changed his mind at the last second. "Yeah. He kinda does."

After that nothing else was said. The two watched in silence, or at least until Feister started asking a million and one questions. Maybe he should've started with the movies after all, or at least the first three. And by the first three, he means the prequels. Luckily she catches on quickly, so Albert figured she was just being a little pain as always. Though he knew she can be annoying he usually wasn't the target of her antics. Of all the days to be left alone with her it had to be when Mush wasn't around. Lucky him.

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Oh was Albert lucky it was only him and Feister right now. Someone where along the line she had gotten over her stomach ache, and once that had happened she got into the show. They had just gotten to the part where Ahsoka takes down three droids on Tatooine and naturally Feister was into it. Granted she had been into it when Ahsoka called Anakin "Skyguy". One thing led to another and now she has proclaimed that from now on she was going to call him that since he said she's a Snips. To say the least it was an odd afternoon, and by the time everyone started to stumble home from school they were half through of the season two episodes that had been released. Only six had been aired so far, obviously one of them being the episode that had caught her attention in the first place.

"The hell is wrong with you Skyguy!" Feister shouted while standing up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Which is something she has been doing ever since she started feeling better. "If Snips is warnin' you bout somethin' then you should probably listen to her! Gosh are the Jedi absolutely sure he's the chosen one? Clearly he's taken too many crash landings. And no, it ain't the ship's fault!"

"Albert what did you do now,?" Jack asked with a heavy sigh.

"Don't blame me Kelly. She's the one who didn't know how to appreciate good television when she sees it," Albert replied.

"Good television?" Mush asked with a raised eyebrow. "I think you just unlocked a new compartment of Pandora's box Al." he couldn't complain too much though, when he left that morning Feister was trying to turn herself into a ball, now she was yelling and screaming like nothing ever happened.

Shaking his head Mush walked over to the couch right when Feister plopped back down. "Feelin' better?" he asked while playfully tugging at her braid. Lose locks were sticking out here and there but oddly enough he kind of liked how it looked. Maybe it was because it was as close to seeing it down as he was ever going to get. The day he'd see Feister's hair down will probably be the day he ends up falling in love with her. Ha! Like that'll ever happen. Mush swears she sleeps with all bundled up. Her only problem is deciding if she wants one or two.

She swatted his hand away. "Shut it Meyers. It's gettin' to the good part."

"Are you ever gonna tell me your last name?"

"Only if we fall in love." She winked.

"Ha! In your dreams," Mush laughed.

"Please. More like in your dreams," Feister scoffed.

"You tell 'em Snips," Albert replied.

"Oh shut it Skyguy. I'm tryin' to watch my show."

"Yeah...I don't think it's a good idea to leave you two alone anymore," Mush said, eyes darting between his best fiend and the redhead. Sure, it's obvious what had happened while he was at school, but in the same breath, what the actual hell happened while he was at school?! There's nothing wrong with bonding time, yet he wasn't sure if Albert was the best person for that. Feister's already crazy enough on her own, she doesn't need any of Albert's wackiness on top of it.

After that, the boys headed off to do their own things, leaving Feister and Albert alone to finish their little binge watch. Specs, Henry, Jojo and Sniper went to get dinner started. Or rather Henry made them help with prep so he doesn't have to worry about too much. Despite only being eight he had quite the knack for the cooking arts.

Mush had made himself comfortable on the floor near the coffee table in the living room. Usually he'd do at least the first half of his homework in the dining room but he wanted to stay close to Feister even if it meant she'd be screaming at the tv. Though she had calmed down since the Clone Wars had ended. Granted the movies are longer and had a few slower moments she still seemed to enjoy it. At some point she rested her legs against the couch and let her head dangle over the edge. This caused her braid brushed to against his shoulder. Not that he minded of course. He liked knowing she was near and felt comfortable around him.

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"Would ya stay still!"

"I would if you weren't so heavy on the brush strokes!"

It was early afternoon but they both knew if they wanted to hit the streets when the sun went down Feister had to have her face painted hours before so it'd be dry. She was currently wearing white stockings, a pair of burgundy shorts, an orange long sleeved shirt that was tucked in, and on top of that, a spaghetti strap crop the same color as her shorts. Finding an authentic costume for someone her size was a lot harder than they both thought it would be. The ones she liked were either too big or too tight. So eventually they gave up and went to the store for clothes in her size for a makeshift costume. However they did find a white wig that would work for the "horns" all Feister had to do was dye a single strip of blue on either side and style it as she saw fit. Which was space buns on either side and loose braids. It wasn't perfect but it got the message across. The only problem now was trying to get the markings right. It was easy enough to paint her face orange, the tiny white parts not so much. They were currently in the bathroom, Feister sitting on the ledge of the sink with Albert in front of her. A picture of what he's supposed to be painting was tapped up on the mirror beside her head, but it seemed he was having trouble getting it right.

"Albert. How hard is it to paint a few stripes?"

"Then you do it if it's so easy."

"I'm too short to see myself in the mirror!" she exclaimed.

"Whatever, I'm gettin' Jack," Albert replied, raising his arms up in defeat. The reason why Jack wasn't doing this in the first place was because he was helping Crutchie with his Jess "tattoo". Which was without a doubt the most complicated out of the clones so far. Hopefully Jack was done because Albert certainly was.

A few minutes later, Jack strolled in with ease, which had quickly disappeared when he saw Albert's handy work. "The hell did that idiot do? We gotta start over. He didn't blend the harsh lines." he ignored Feister's dismay and wiped her face with a wet nap. It took about ten mintues to reapply the orange, then another ten to add the white markings. Feister managed to stay still long enough, listening to when he said to tilt her head one way or keep her eyes closed. By the time Jack finished, Feister was all smiles when she saw herself in the mirror. After a "thanks Kelly" she hopped off the ledge and ran off to do whatever was on the list next.

Before long the sun went down most of the boys were geared up in their 501st armor, Feister had a handle on the reverse grip and Albert looked stupid in his brown wig. But the pictures were well worth it in the end. Speaking of which, Jack even dressed up as Obi-Wan without being asked. Specs was Commander Cody. The two of them claimed they were the level headed ones that keeps everyone else in line. Nobody could argue with that, even some of the more chaotic boys.

"Feisty whaddya think?" Mush asked when Feister jumped down the last two steps, landing just a foot or so away from him. He turned around to give her a full view with a smile. Though he wasn't on board with the idea at first, after awhile he actually didn't mind it. Patch works of silver and blue were here and there. It was done in a way so it looked like circuit boards.

"Not bad," Feister replied. "Alright Atrooy, our next mission we gotta be careful now. The streets are armed with droids and we need a path to the best houses on the block. Tap in and see what you can find."

"Beep, boop," Mush said in a serious tone with a small smirk turning up at the corner of his lips.

She gave his head a little pat. Though she had to stand on her toes to do so. "Alright. Where are the rest of the boys?"

"Right here Commander," Mike and Ike replied in unison. Naturally, they were Fives and Echo.

Finch agreed to be Kix cause it rhymes with his name. Blink, Henry and Elmer were Cutup, Heavy and Drioidbait. Race needed more talking into. The only character that was good for him was Rex. She tried to get him to shave his head but he said no. Eventually she wore him down enough and he agreed. But he wasn't going to shave his head.

"Jojo, why are you walkin' around in a black cloak?" Elmer asked.

"I'm Palpatine," Jojo replied. "Duh."

"Oh. I thought you were just bein' weird." several of the boys agreed, causing Jojo to rant off into some evil dialogue where he was going to take over the city. Then he yelled out, "Order 66!" nobody made a single move. "Aw c'mon. That was perfect!"

"No it wasn't," Sniper said, breaking the silence. Then he lifted up his nerf gun and proceeded to shoot a foam dart at Jojo's head. Or at least he would've if it didn't get jammed. "Why. Won't. You. Work!" as each word came out he banged one hand against it to get it unstuck. When he finally did, it ended up hitting Finch in the eyes. "Oddly enough I didn't mean to hit ya this time."

"Thank you," Finch replied as he aimed his own nerf gun at Sniper. Then at the last second he hit Jojo.

"All we need now is a Padmé," Feister said. She turned to Albert, rested one hand on his shoulder. Or rather a few inches below it. "But is like ya said, I'm more of a Snips. And quite frankly, I'd rather be in love with Mush brains than do a couples costume with ya. But don't you worry Skyguy, I'm sure your girl is out there somewhere in the world."

"Ummmm....thanks?" Albert replied, sounding more confused than anything. Maybe he did make a mistake opening a new compartment of Pandora's box when he introduced Feister to a far away galaxy. "Ok boys, let's move out!"

"YEAH!" the boys and Feister exclaimed.

"Not without your jackets!" Kloppman cut in. he walked over to the group with an arm full of coats, handing each one to their respective owner.

"Aw c'mon Klopp."

"We're wearin' thermals."

"We're gonna look lame with those on."

"Do you really wants us to be the laughin' stalk of the block?"

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Author's note

This is yet another idea that's finally seeing the light of day. Hopefully you're already familiar with the star crazed nerds, so here's their origin story. In case anyone is wondering, Feister's eight, Albert's ten. If it wasn't obvious I'm somewhat back in a tcw phase. Speaking of which, I don't own Star Wars, TCW, and or Newsies. Only OCs and storyline. Anyways, this was yet another fun one to write, I love getting to explore modern baby Feister and the early stages of her life in this setting. Small announcement is that little something that's in the works is making great progress, so fingers crossed if all goes as planned....for the meantime, I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!

Crystal.