Chương 44: A New Mask

Rigel held up what looked like a pair of black leather pants and a jacket.

"I got your mask finished with a lot of upgrades, but then it occurred to me that headgear paired with a sweater for armor really isn't all that effective." My feet took a tentative step forwards as I reached out to touch the material. It was lightweight, but still tightly-woven. There weren't any gadgets on it like his had, so my immediate thought was that this might be for some kind of Comic-Con fantasy he wanted me to act out.

"I did not sign up to look like Catwoman, thank you very much."

"It's not spandex, I remembered what you said. And it's not a jumpsuit either, it's pants with a jacket. Both are made of a kevlar weave to stop low-calibur bullets. But if you still don't like it, we can get you a Solaria-style cheerleading skirt." I snatched the new clothes.

"I'll take this. You can have the skirt."

"It wouldn't match my power armor, but I'll think about it. But wait till you see your mask." With a dramatic flourish, he pulled something from a drawer at his desk. What with all of his technological contraptions, brimming with buttons and gleaming metal, I guess I was expecting something like that. But the thing he held in his hands was only small and black with two silver ovals on it.

"That's it?"

"I will remind you, you currently have what appears to be a sock tied around your head with two holes cut out for eyes."

"It's not tied, I sewed the ends together."

"That just makes it worse." He shook his metal clad head and waved his hand.

"This domino mask seals to your head and comes with lenses for night vision capabilities. The section near the ear has micro-subdermal speakers that pick up police channels." He shrugged and went to return it to the drawer.

"But if you prefer the sock…"

"No, no. That sounds great." I scratched the back of my head.

"I'm not good at showing gratitude or most emotions other than sarcasm. These are really nice– amazing, actually. Thank you." Rigel shuffled forward and handed me the mask.

"Don't worry about it. Most of the tech came from a couple of broken cell phones. And the clothes just had to be soaked in a chemical wash that strengthened the bonds between the fabrics without sacrificing mobility." I nodded blankly as I accepted the costume.

"Right… So is this chemical soaked jacket machine wash or dry clean only?

'Cause I can't afford the latter." He sighed and shook his head.

"Machine wash. Just make sure you use the mask. The laws protecting identity are pretty strict in the U. S. You are essentially considered a separate individual from your civilian identity. Even if a villain is arrested, they can't make him remove his mask and if he doesn't, then they have to charge him under his villain persona." I held the mask up to the dull street lights shining through the windows to get a better look at it.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyone wearing a mask has the right to keep it on, even throughout their time in prison." I shook my head.

"Supers and their rights sure did a doozy on the legal system."

"Well, when you have to balance the needs of a group of people who could destroy the world whenever they wanted to, you have to make some concessions. And it was the non-powered Americans that demanded the right be extended to everyone."

"Liberty and justice for all; it's in our pledge of allegiance. So, keep the mask on, got it. Any other advice for dealing with the government?" Rigel sat down and leaned back in his clearly reinforced chair.

"It's complicated. If the police catch you in costume, they can't charge you with being unregistered until they prove you have powers and aren't just some nutjob who likes to walk around cosplaying. They can detain you and bring you back to the station, but they can't hold you for long without evidence and if they had evidence they would just haul you off to the Academy because of your age. So if you do get caught, don't say anything.

Prisons are full of idiots that don't listen to the very clear warning all of them are given when they are arrested. Anything you say can and will be used against you.

""Ok. Keep my mouth shut and my mask on. Understood." This would have been useful advice on the day that I got taken into the precinct after the Millenium Park fiasco. The long police interrogation and all the effort it took to get out of there. I could have just kept my mouth shut. At the time, that felt like far too suspicious of behavior. And with the way Briggs had acted, it didn't seem like she would just let it go. Which led me to another train of thought…" What about after they let you go?

Couldn't they just follow you home to find out who you are?" He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees.

"They will probably try. There are a few ways of getting around the city that the police will avoid unless they have to. I can show you later. The only real problem would be if a hero or one of his sidekicks takes notice of you. They would be a lot harder to ditch." Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I could just imagine some bright yellow caped crusader following me home like a creepy stalker, probably trying to use his powers to trick mine out.

But then again…

"There's a factor you're forgetting." I raised a finger as I made my point.

"Any super casually walking down the street will soon attract a crowd of fans to swarm them, thus enabling us with a quick getaway." He smiled, sitting up straight again.

"Maybe you're right. For now, let's make a plan for testing your powers. We have to test it out before we try to fight. There are no registered chronomancers. Neither the League of Villains nor the Hero Association have it listed. This is new ground." It looked like he was trying to run his hand through his hair in frustration, but the result was his gauntlet scraping against his helmet. Still, his modulated voice sounded excited.

"I tested it." A couple of times in my bedroom.

"I just didn't make spreadsheets and take research notes." Obviously, I took mental notes each time it happened and that had been enough.

"That's a good idea. I'll get you a spreadsheet and you can log your power use duration, time between each use and physical strain. If we have reliable data then we can extrapolate the growth based…" I stopped listening and turned away from him. After multiple checks to see that he was busy calculating and estimating, I turned away and slipped off my mask and tried the new one on. It clung to my face like it had been suctioned on, yet there had been no stickiness on the backside of it.

A single lamp shone in the space sitting on the table where Orion was, so the room was otherwise dark. But it was as if someone had peeled off the ceiling because every random item on every shelf, every pin stabbing the picture of a villain on his map was visible to me now. It wasn't grainy or green like I'd seen in movies, but black and white and just a bit down from crystal clear. My thumbs tried hooking under the mask to take it off, but it stayed pressed to my skin.

"How do I get this thing off?" I asked amidst a mild panic attack. His head was still down, hand at his chin, thinking. He responded without glancing at me.

"Squeeze on four points around the edges simultaneously." I turned around, found the tiny four nubs on the top and bottom and pressed. It fell off my face and my hands scrambled to catch it before it crashed to the ground. Carefully, I placed it back on, then tried to push it around my face with my fingers. It didn't budge. No chance of a goon ripping it off mid-fight. The flash of a mirror he had hanging from one of the shelves caught my eye so I slipped on my kevlar jacket and walked over to see the new me.

The reflection staring back at me was nothing I'd seen before. The mask was smooth and sleek, perfectly shaping across my face like it had grown there. The eye lenses appeared as a misty opaque from the outside, and coupled with the black outline of the mask and the shadowed interior of the room, made it look like I was some kind of demon waiting in the dark. I could make my opponents wet their pants just by looking at me, no stun baton necessary. Rigel had pretty good taste for a nerd in a tin can.

"Are you listening?" His voice came from somewhere off.

"Yeah, definitely." Maybe discovery wouldn't be so bad if it meant everyone would see me looking like this scary creature.

"What do you think the growth factor for the duration of your skill will be based on your intelligence stat then?"

"I think… we will need that spreadsheet to… know about that?" There was nothing but silence for a moment as he stared at me.

"You're right. I'll start making one now so we can get preliminary…" I tuned him out and began looking around the room again.

"Anything more I need to know about how to work this?"

"What?" He looked up from the desk where he had been making some type of graph.

"Oh yeah. There's a GPS map you can use and if you tap the left side while squinting, it will activate a zoom function." My fingers scrambled to try this out. Eyes scrunched, my vision surged forward, using the moment to look over all of his shelves of stuff. Dude was either an alien or a mermaid what with the random things he was collecting from humans.

"What exactly are you planning to use those doorknobs for?"

"Everything has a use for tinkers." He stood up, finally ready to do something beyond plot and graph.

"You ready to test things out?" I turned to him, a finger tapping at my chin. My new look was injecting something in my brain that made me feel quite…devious.

"You know I could use my time powers to take off your helmet, right? Do you really want to take that chance?" He pointed to his head.

"It's got a locking mechanism, just the same as yours. Sorry to disappoint you." I folded my arms in front of me, grumbling, "Bet I could find the four points." He tsked.

"Mine has a far more complex locking mechanism. But here I diligently kept my head turned while you took off your mask. Sounds like you wouldn't have done the same." His voice was teasing. I scoffed.

"I'm not saying I would do it, I'm asking do you trust that I won't do it?" He paused, head tilting a little.

"Yeah, I do." My eyes blinked, mouth opening slightly. Who was this weirdo that actually had faith in me? But he had already made me a mask, a new suit, and had wanted me to fight with him, even before he knew that I had some incredibly rare power. I should probably question his sanity for doing that with a stranger, especially one as irritating and grouchy as I was. Maybe he would have done the same for anyone, or maybe… it meant he saw something in me.

It's the strangest thing when people have the ability to look past what's actually there, even a sharp, spiky crust meant to cut anyone who touches it, to see the actual creature hiding underneath it.

"You ready to try something new?" he asked, standing by the door. I squared my shoulders and walked toward him.

"I am."