Chapter 03-02

Alex awoke to sharp pains in his head. Leaning up in his bed he rubbed his forehead with the heel of his palm. More than the headache Alex felt the growing pains when he awoke the morning of day two. When he stretched most of the aches dissolved. His regeneration power was doing its job. Passively especially with two power points dedicated to the power it should remove the body’s minor aches and pains fairly quickly.

The room had an almost mist like layer of dust in the air that gave the light coming in from the window an eerie feel. Alex swung his legs over the end of the bed and bounced onto his feet. He was one hundred percent ready to take on the day and he was determined to get some more levels as well as rack in some hero tier points.

Obsidian had ditched her costume and was sprawled out on the couch on her back in a light purple set of baggy pajamas. One arm and one leg hung off the side while the other arm was hanging off of the back and the other leg was awkwardly angled on the armrest. She slept, somehow, snoring incredibly loudly.

“Hey.” Alex said kicking the couch to wake her up.

“What?” She gasped pulling herself up quickly. Her eyes were not focused, and she was clearly still asleep.

“Time to start the day!” Alex said cheerfully heading towards a box of leftover noodles from the night before.

“What time is it?” Obsidian asked rubbing her eyes.

“Six a.m.!” Alex said after checking his phone.

“Jesus! Wake me up in like six hours.” She groaned. She turned over sharply so that her face was in the shadow and the light from the sun was hitting her back.

“No ma’am. Early start so that we can get good.” Alex said through a mouth full of food.

Obsidian groaned loudly and rolled off the couch. She stomped across the room like a disgruntled teenager to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

“Wonderful!” Alex said to himself getting a second helping of the food.

It was seven before Obsidian was ready to leave and had gotten herself some of the leftovers. They walked out onto the street. Alex took in a deep breath of fresh air. The first think on the agenda for the day was getting a better super suit.

There were a couple of options. He could collect gear and put together his costume via that route. He could craft a costume on his own, which he did not want to put the time into crafting skills at the moment. The last option was for him to find a location for the Tailor’s Guild. This was the option that he was leaning towards.

The Tailor’s Guild was one of the most useful organizations in the world. Despite the name they were more than just Tailors. They sold everything that anyone could want to get their hands on from super suites to weapons of mass destruction.

“Oh mighty teenage map, where is the closest Tailor’s guild?” Alex asked Obsidian who was shielding her eyes from the bright morning sunlight.

She scoffed and turned to walk in the opposite direction. Alex smiled and turned to follow her. She led them down a few of the main streets until they came to a building that was lined with white pillars that were inlayed with a grey metal coloring.

“Here.” She said irritably pointing at the building.

“You are really not a morning person.” Alex said shaking his head and walking past her outstretched arm.

They walked inside of the large building into a massive open forum. There were several booths set up selling everything under the sun. The building was a protected location. Not by the game, but by the guild. They did business with both Heroes and Villains, so they had rules that both sides had to follow. If you broke the rules in the building, you were no longer welcome to shop with the guild and if the offense is bad enough you would be hunted down and taken out.

Alex walked across the room to a booth that was selling custom made super suites. His mask was firmly in place even though it was a safe space that didn’t protect his identity from getting to the wrong people.

“How my I help you today? I can see that you are in need of a new wardrobe.” The man at the booth said with a smile. His body was long, and his bones were pressing on his skin threatening to push their way out. He was easily a foot and a half taller than Alex. His hands were folded in front of him. His wore an extremely expensive black suite with, upon close inspection, golden pinstripes.

“I am in the market for a super suit.” Alex said. He nodded politely to the man.

“Excellent!” The man said clapping his hands together, “Please if you could enter some information here,” he handed Alex a tablet, “remember that all of the information used in the creation of your super suit is completely confidential.”

“Right.” Alex said with a nod. He took the tablet and stepped back for a minute.

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-Super Name: Aether

-Main Power: Super Strength

-Secondary Power: Flight

-Please allow for a download of your combat log…

-Yes | No

Once Alex clicked on the yes button after filling in the information a small drone the size of a quarter broke away from the back of the tablet and began to fly circles around him. A blue light began to scan over his body until every square inch had been checked. The tiny drone flew back and landed on the back side of the table.

Downloading Data…

Please Return Tablet to the Representative…

Alex followed the tablet’s instructions handing the device back over to the man at the booth. He took it with a grin and docked it into a larger computer system. He vanished behind a wall for a moment. Alex looked to find Obsidian had found a seat and was leaning on her hand nearly falling asleep again.

While she wasn’t paying attention, he was able to maneuver around behind her. Her eyes were nearly closed when he used the tip of his toe to press the lever under her chair causing her to drop a few inches. Surprised from the sudden movement she shot up form the chair and activated her abilities.

Alex busted out laughing and walked back over to the booth where he waited on the man to finish whatever it was that he was doing behind the wall. He stood patiently with his arms crossing fighting the urge to tap his toes. He was on a tight schedule if he was going to make his goal.

The man finally returned holding his tablet as if it were made of pure gold. He walked up to the counter of his booth and ushered Alex over.

“I think we have some options here that you will enjoy.” The man said placing the table down and loading up the first option.

Alex appeared on the screen. The body proportions were exactly so it was easy for him to tell. The character wore a set of white armor with light blue almost teal accents that glowed along the seams of the shoulder armor, belt, and boots. The chest plate seemed to be fashioned from a single piece of metal that was pattern in a honeycomb like design that shared the same glow as the seams. The helmet’s seams were almost invisible to the naked eye. The face plate was a single sheet of glass that glowed with a white blue hue.

“Before we get any farther, what price range are we working with right now?” Alex asked holding up his hand.

“This suit would cost approximately ninety thousand thread not including guild fees.” The man said with a curt smile. He folded his hands and rolled on the balls of his feet.

“How about something in the one thousand to fifteen hundred range.” Alex asked.

“Alright.” The man said looking less than pleased. He picked the tablet up off of the table and began to swipe left, a lot. Alex lost count after two dozen swipes.

“Sorry man, it’s like day two for me.” Alex said feeling embarrassed. He glanced over his shoulder to see that Obsidian had reclaimed her chair and was fast asleep.

“I understand, I hope that you will return for an upgrade once you are more financially stable.” The man said with an understanding, but resentful nod. He turned the tablet back towards him, “This one is the only one in your price range. It is twelve hundred thread.”

Alex looked the suit over He didn’t know why he bothered he was going to buy it either way. It was the same coloring and the seams still had a slight glow to them. The chest was a vest with cut off sleeves and a hood. The hood drooped down into a point between his eyes. There was an equipment vest over the thick cloth. There was also a small utility belt. The arms right above the wrists both had a protective bracer and the boots had protective plating that went up to the knees. The suit also came with a mask that would cover his face in a solid piece of plastic like material that only had holes for the eyes, and they were covered in light blue lenses.

“I’ll take it. I like it. Simple and stylish.” Alex said with a nod.

“Cheap or expensive, the Tailor’s Guild does nothing without style.” The man said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Alex pulled his phone out of his pocket and wave it over the tablet. The money was deducted from his account.

-Item Set: Blank Shadow Armor Set

-Includes: Vest, Mask, Hood, Chest Belts, Bracers x2, Gloves, Belt, Boots, Pants

-Cost: 1200t

-Purchase?

-Yes | No

Aether picked up the box that contained his new armor set and with a thanking nod he left the booth. He kicked the chair where Obsidian was sleeping as he walked past. She jumped with a start awake and shot up to follow him out of the Tailor’s Guild building.

“Get a table. I’m going to go change.” Alex said motioning with his chin towards an empty table in a diner that they walk into off the street a few blocks away.

“Yes master!” Obsidian said doing a fairly impressive imitation of Igor from the old Frankenstein movies.

In the bathroom he was relieved to find that it was a single and the door had a lock. He set the box on the table and began to pull out his new equipment. When he lifted the mask to his face a bright light filled the room and the glasses that he had had equipped vanished. He quickly pulled the mask away. It was a little upsetting that they vanished, but equipment could do that if there had been a timer that he didn’t notice, or a subline that said if he attempted to equipped anything else, they would be destroyed.

-Blank Shadow Vest (+5 Armor, Reduction to blunt damage)

-Blank Shadow Hood (+3 Armor, Identity concealment |Shadow|)

-Blank Shadow Chest Belts (++Carry)

-Blank Shadow Bracer (+3 Armor, Incoming Attack Redirection)

-Blank Shadow Belt (++Carry)

-Blank Shadow Pants (+5 Armor, Reduction to Blunt Damage)

-Blank Shadow Gloves (+2 Armor, Grip)

-Blank Shadow Boots (+3 Armor, Reduction to Blunt Damage, Slashing Damage, Piercing Damage)

-Blank Shadow Mask (+5 Armor, HUD Connection with Phone, +1 Perception, CD*^D29374#@$*&asdf9#@@1!*)

The corrupted data that Alex was seeing everywhere was really starting to worry him. He didn’t know if the upper management were just getting too lax with the game maintenance, or if there was something worse going on. Every time he saw it, it took him back to the day that his whole existence was deleted like it was nothing.

He assembled his new suit and after checking that everything was straight and looked good, he left the bathroom to join Obsidian at the table. She had a steaming cup of coffee and to his surprise seemed awake.

“Like the get up!” She said when he sat down at the table.

“Thank you.” He said. His voice came out extremely clear, which always seemed to be a problem with full face masks. Usually it sounded like you were trying to speak through a pillow.

“I ordered you some coffee.” She nodded to the cup.

“Excellent. I say we pound this joe back and they we go look for a couple of randoms.” Alex said holding his fist out.

She smiled and bumped her fist against his.