Cozy Bedrooms

“Tailors very rarely deal in real estate. The market is fierce, the competition cut throat, and finding just the right thing for a client is a never ending challenge. We tend to suggest buying land or a building that can be gutted, then building bespoke to our clients’ needs.”

“Even if there’s a perfect location, we don’t want to get into a bidding war with a soccer mom with a realtor’s license. Those bitches will cut you.”

Phantastique, Inside the Tailors Trade

Lisa followed the redhead deeper into the bus-house. “So Emilia, any tips for me going into this? I watched more of your videos, and you were all so thorough.”

"For you, listen to what I tell you to do. Ryan has no real sense of conventional danger, and Carl is too busy shooting to pay attention to others. I'm the one who keeps everything rational. Other than that, trust Ryan. He will find a way to survive. It's literally the definition of his being."

“What do you mean? I know his father is a supervillain, who specializes in recruiting. I take it he was a suck dad on top of a criminal cult leader?” In truth, it hadn’t been until last night that she’d realized Shepherd Abbe was his father. It explained the school, though.

"Very suck, and he wanted Ryan to follow the family tradition. However, Ryan's powers are nothing like his father’s. He, well he calls it rapid adaptation. If something isn't killing him immediately or through raw damage, be it trapped under water, baking in an oven, or poison gas, if he has even a little time, he will adapt to the situation. He also adapts faster the next time he’s exposed to a threat. At this point he pretty much just breathes water, ignores any heat below the point of actual fire forming, and could walk naked in the arctic. It also made him resistant, somehow, to his father’s ability to brainwash."

"The first lair he learned to penetrate was his father’s compound in the Appalachians. I should know, I was one of the ‘Daughters of the Chosen’, my mother was wed in cultish matrimony to Shepherd’s chief of security."

“Ouch, sorry if it was insensitive to ask, I’m glad you all got out of a bad situation. Is that why you got into urban exploration? A chance to deactivate old lairs because of your backgrounds?”

"Yeah." She sighed, scratching her head hurrying both of them up the narrow stairs so Ryan wasn't listening. "I am not completely over our upbringing, but then I just won't ever be. See, I was being groomed to be Ryans right hand woman. Well, maybe left hand. Either way, while I'm over most of the programing now, it is kind of hard for him to break my conviction that he's the best guy in the world when he insists on, well, being the best guy in the world as far as I can effectively observe. Jason Mamoa notwithstanding."

“Mmm. Mamoa…” Lisa agreed with a grin, “However that is weirdly romantic, at least he works to be a man you can appreciate. My last boyfriend took me for granted, slowly moved into my house, proceeded to pay none of the bills, ate all my food, then he invited his sister to stay, and she decided she hated my fish. I caught her trying to kill my Pufferfish. Her brother, my boyfriend, tried to play it down, so, I kicked them both out.”

"Yeah, I'd have fed someone my pufferfish if they killed it. And I had one. but I'm a bit harsh sometimes." She gripped the handle and slid open the door. Inside was a 'room' the size of a small walk-in closet with a twin bed, a small dresser mounted to the bed and wall both. A clamp designed for an iPad and another for a laptop offered suggestions for entertainment while lounging. "This is your room, so to speak. There's one more like this next door. Me and Ryan are in the back, Cassidy, when she's along, and Carl are in the front. We get bigger rooms cause, well, we are usually here."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I get it, it’s a guest room. When you come out, I’ll introduce you to Jihad, my puffer. He’s about a ten-inch Fahaka puffer and made of hate and rage.”

The red head blinked. "Sounds delightful? Oh well, I don't understand why parents don't put their children into pens either. Who am I to judge some one’s evil looking pet."

“Honestly, I wonder the same thing especially when people bring hordes of wild hellions to house showings like I am a babysitter who can look after their “precious angels” while mom and dad walk the house as slowly as possible.

"Sounds like hell. I'll take disarming ticking time bombs. Much less stressful sounding." She chuckled.

"So, you know, this button here activates the shutter." She pressed it and a shade lowered between the outer and inner glass of the window. "That may drop automatically under some circumstances too. If it goes down, leave it." She explained. "The speaker box here connects with the ones in the cab, equipment room, and the other bedrooms. Just push the button marked for them.”

"Oh, and later come down to the back, the equipment room down the stairs. I'll show you your suit and get you buckled in to make sure nothing needs adjusting."

“I’ll admit I am curious about the suit. I’ve worn my share of power suits, but this will be my first time in a super suit. I won’t lie, I’m kind of excited.”

Emilia chuckled. “Everyone reacts that way.”

Four hours later they pulled into a Walmart parking lot and Lisa began heating their dinner, putting everything on the table including a green salad. “Carl, do you have plates in here somewhere?”

"Down here." He opened a drawer, filled with shatter-proof plates and cups. "We figured even if they are unbreakable, we would not tempt fate. We only put light stuff in the upper cabinets after the rice cooker fiasco."

"I still have PTSD when I see sushi." Ryan observed.

“Right, so keep that on the bottom of the cooler.” Lisa said “Well dig in there is plenty. You said your wife usually cooks?” She asked Carl.

"She's the only one of the four of us who ever learned or had a normal lifestyle." Carl nodded. "My parents were in the Air Force, so I bounced around, with two jet jockeys. On the plus side, I know how to fly a supersonic jet. They got permission for me to ride along in a trainer after I got my jet certification on the civil side. They were trying to addict me to the Chair Force."

"Minus side, my parents weren't exactly housekeeping types. Kept things neat, but mom relied on simple one pot meals, and dad grilled just about everything he cooked. Including veggies. And fruit. And a pie on one occasion."

“Wow, I’ve never grilled a pie. So how did a filmmaker get hooked up with a Tailor?”

"UCLA. We're both tech type enhanced, though I am very low on that spectrum. She's C class, and a speedster, meaning ADHD is more than a diagnosis. She had two majors, one in fashion, one in electrical engineering. We shared classes because I was minoring in electrical engineering."

"Cameras are his passion. Using and building." Emilia added.

“Ahh. That’s cute. Nothing quite like a college romance. It must be hard being apart when you are out shooting. I am single, and parentless as well, my dad took off when I was a baby and my mom.” The realtor sighed. “Well, she raised me and once I was eighteen she took off out of state for a new job, and didn’t leave a forwarding address.

"Well hell. My father moved up in the rankings. That's humbling." Ryan commented.

“I never blamed him. I was not planned, and my mother was the definition of a ‘Karen’. I sure as hell wouldn’t have wanted to stick around. Honestly, I always thought he made the right choice. What do you think of the lasagna?”

"I think it's delicious." Emilia said, smiling. "And I now know who we're sending to complain to managers on this trip. The ways of Karens are a mystery to me."

“Her method of complaining to the manager tends to involve choke slams.”

“That was one time, Carl, and the guy was staring at my tits.”

Lisa smirked. “I try to not to be my mother, she practically had an enhanced ability to suck the joy out of everything” She pulled out the cake she’d made, chocolate with cream cheese frosting. “So, I was thinking. We walk the grounds first, then the house, then the island. Work our way from least likely to most likely to have some sort of secret?

Emilia nodded. "Yeah, checking the grounds is good, if you're planning any reno especially. Landmines tend to piss off contractors. And hidden guns and traps are not family ready.”

“And the Island is my favorite location for something sus.” Ryan agreed.

"I don’t know, certain buyers would love machine gun traps.” Lisa insisted. “Though that’s mostly popular with certain survivalist buyers and they like ranches in drier areas. Woods are also popular, but they tend to hunt properties on their own. Most don’t want to pay commission on something ‘they can do themselves’.” Lisa said, rolling her eyes. “Which might be why those guys always seem to end up in crappy trailers or something. So, what was your favorite lair?”