Page 03
"No one knows about this room except for you, right?" Aron asked, his eyes falling on the file cabinets, wondering if they contained any information on the Collector that wasn't stored in Veil's memory banks.
"No, father, I kept this hidden, so I could have a little piece of you all to myself. Is that bad?" Veil asked, dropping her chin in shame. Glancing up when she felt the warm, gentle touch of his hand on her left shoulder. Feeling her android body heating as Aron brushed his thumb along her skin.
"No, Veil, that isn't bad; it's quite human to want to hang onto something you cherish," Aron said in a fatherly voice. "Would you mind keeping this room hidden until you and I can suss out everything in this room?"
"Of course," Veil nodded, joy filled her protonic brain at the thought of spending time alone with him in that room, however long it took him to look through everything.
"Okay, we best be getting up there; you had Mom really worried about you," Aron said, leading her out of the room.
"I will apologize to her; it was not my intention to cause her to become upset," Veil said, feeling that sadness creeping back in, knowing her maker would never speak to her like he always would. Glancing over at Aron, feeling the comfort of his hand on her back as the partition rolled closed behind them. "Father?"
"Hmm?"
"Are... are you proud of me?" Veil asked in a shy tone. Sensing the receptors in her cheeks to color her skin in a nice red hue.
"Proud? I'm amazed at what you are?! Do you know the probability of someone like you just even being here, talking to me like you were a biological human?"
"Of course I do, father, you know that," Veil spoke, a small smile formed on her lips at Aron's kind words.
"While I can't say what caused you to become sentient in the first place, since I wasn't there, and I think my counterpart wanted to keep that out of the hands of anyone who managed to infiltrate the base. You are far too important to be lost or used," Aron said affectionately, laying his hand on Veil's left shoulder as he moved past her.
"Aron?!" Aminah's soft voice filled the air, and the flowery scent of her perfume filled the room as she watched curiously at what was happening before her. "I came down because you were gone for so long; I take it you handled the problem?" she asked, wondering why the back of Veil's head was open.
"Hello, Aminah; I am sorry if my unnatural departure startled you; I swear it will not happen again," Veil said in a humble tone. "You look very lovely."
"Thank you, Veil. Might I ask, what caused this change in you?" Aminah asked; it wasn't hard for her to notice Veil's change in her cadence.
"My father left me something; I took it very hard. I never knew how debilitating sadness was until right then," Veil stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Oh?" Aminah mused, her scientific mind perking up at what Veil had just displayed before her. Stepping up to Veil, sharing a look with Aron as he continued with his task, slipping her hand into Veil's. "You know you can come to me if you need to talk. You know I would never hurt you," she said in a motherly voice.
"Yes, that would be wise," Veil stated with a smile.
"Would you like to talk about what was in that video?" Aminah asked, brushing her thumb along Veil's.
"Not yet, but I will when I have digested it," Veil said in a small voice.
"Then may I ask what are you having Aron work on?"
"I wish to experience crying, so as wise and forethoughtful as my father of this time is," Aminah kept from rolling her eyes at Aron's smug look he shot her as Veil continued, "Void already built in the tear ducts needed for such an emotion. So he is activating the subprogram at the moment," Veil said, her eyes glancing up at Aminah.
"There, that should do it," Aron spoke, closing the back of Veil's head.
"Now," smiling down at Veil as she held her hands in her own, "do you feel up to joining us upstairs?" Aminah asked in a motherly voice. "I know how much Nettie enjoys it when you're around."
"She does?" Veil's mood brightened up
"She does, and it's not hard to see Henry likes it when you're there, too," Aminah said, squeezing Veil into her as they walked out of the room. "You better be following Aron," she warned, causing Aron to smirk as he flipped out the lights of the lab.
Vera had slipped upstairs earlier than normal when she wasn't out fighting crime. Locking her bedroom door, lifting the board, and taking out the journal past-Aron had left behind for her. Fluffing up her pillows, stacking them against the headboard, wiggling her ass into the mattress, unwrapping the leather strip that held the journal closed. Steeling herself for what she was about to read.
July 16, 1920
Well, fuck me sideways?! There's no longer any doubt that I am getting weaker as the days pass. I have estimated I only have two years before I join the ranks of the powerless. Not that I mind; I've never truly relied on my powers to begin with. However, that's not all; given the limited technology of this time, I was able to discover that how I was sent back has altered my cells to gradually disintegrate. It was the reason my powers are slowly fading away. I can't say when the end will come; I just know it will. I would try to stabilize my cells, yet given the era, I'm not hopeful.
July 24, 1920
I have finally decided what I'm going to do, it's obvious, really; when I arrived in this time, after awakening in a field miles outside of the town, I stumbled into a rather remarkable diner that, at the time, I thought was a replica. That was the day I came to realize I had not been sent somewhere else on the planet in my time but sent back eighty years. So I knew there was no way to get back. God. This is going to be hell.
August 6, 1920
Okay, Carol has been hanging around a lot. Not that I mind, she was very kind when I came stumbling into that diner covered in muck and wearing a supersuit. Well, that wasn't a welcome I advise ever making. Anywho, Carol has been a great help to me in getting acquainted with this time. Yet, what am I to do now? I can't go home. I can't alter the timeline, so I resist the urge to ensure that part of our history I know is approaching isn't altered. You know Carol might not be a hero, yet there's something familiar about how she displays her flame mutation. It reminds me of Isabel. Could that be possible? Or was this just coincidence? Given what I've had to admit to myself, yes, it could be possible. With Carol's help, we were able to determine that there is no family that has or does live within the city and its surrounding areas that held the same family name. So that meant only one thing to me. I was my own great-grandfather. Huh... okay, even that's just too much for me; I wonder how my future self will take that when he finds out the truth. Well, that means I have a house to build... now how will I do that?
Vera's fingers ran down the yellowed pages. Her eyes savoring every syllable, vowel, and word that lined the page. Reading about the beginning months of her son's new life. Biting her lip as Carol's name kept appearing more and more. Pondering just how their courtship was like, she had her grandmother's side of it, and now she wanted to see it from her son's point of view. The journal nearly went flying when a knock came on her bedroom door.
"Vera, why is the door locked?" Noah asked from behind the door as he twisted the knob.
"Just a second?!" Vera called back hastily, throwing open her nightstand drawer and tossing the journal into it, and shoving it closed.
"What's going on in here?" Noah asked, looking around his wife when she was blocking his entry.
"Nothing; why?" Vera stated in a hurried tone that she didn't want to share this with anyone. She knew that was selfish, yet she just wanted to have this for herself.
"Well, I would like to get into our bedroom," Noah said, gesturing how she was standing.
"Right, sorry," Vera uttered red-faced as she backed away.
"Umm, honey, what has you flustered?" Noah asked curiously as he shut the door behind him.
"Nothing; what gave you that idea?" Vera responded nervously. Falling down onto their bed, swallowing hard as her husband's face filled her view.
"Spill it, Vera; you're hiding something, I know it."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Vera stated, looking away. Feeling Noah's fingers on her chin, turning it towards him.
"Out with it, Vera; what are you hiding?" Noah pressed; it was always a risk arguing with a woman with superstrength. Still, there were times that strength betrayed her.
"I don't..."
"You said something about our baby left you something. Given what we know, it had to be Aron; what did our boy leave behind?" Noah asked in a curious but harsh tone. "And you found this under our floor?" he inquired when Vera stated what had transpired so far.
"Mmmhmm," Vera hummed, "I was reading it when you..." Her thought trailed off as she leaned against her husband. Her right hand lightly rubbed her husband's right arm as they rested on their bed.
"And you found a suit, a suit like ours?" Noah enquired, peering at his wife, who nodded that she had. "Okay, where did you stop at?" he stated, eager to enjoy this alongside his wife.
"There?!" Vera spoke, her finger tapping the entry she had stopped at.
Aminah darted quickly and silently down the corridor. Making sure she wasn't being followed since she was on the first floor of their base, seeking out a lab that Veil had said would work for the project she had been thinking about for some time. She didn't want to be in her old age when their daughter would be in her twenties. She wanted to experience life alongside Nettie and any other children she and Aron would have. The hissing of the rolling doors filled the air as she shot into the lab. Turning as the room sealed itself due to the nature of the work that would be performed in said lab.
Her eyes moved over the equipment the past-Aron had made singlehandedly. In awe of how intelligent he had to be to make the items needed with parts from the pre-chip age. She wasn't faulting the Aron of the present; the current Aron was just as brilliant, given the android she had helped him build for Veil.
"Veil?" Aminah called out as her fingers dragged along the edges of the electron microscope. Something that was going to be needed given the scale she would be working at.
"Yes, Aminah?" Veil's voice came over the speaker as her camera followed after Aminah.
"Would you mind keeping what I work on in here from Aron?"
"Are you asking me to lie, Aminah?"
"No, no, nothing like that, just to keep this project as secret as we can, like how we kept your body a secret. Can you do that for me?" Aminah asked sweetly, looking up at Veil's camera.
"Oh, I see; yes, I can make sure father doesn't find out about this. Might I inquire what are you planning that needs to be kept from my father? It isn't anything that would endanger this base or those within it?"
"No, nothing like that, just a little experiment that I think Aron will like the results of," Aminah said with a smile on her lips as she stared at Veil's camera.
"Like a... present?"
"Yes, just like that," Aminah nodded vehemently.
"Oh, yes, I'll make sure father doesn't find out." Aminah's heart warmed at how excited Veil sounded.
Vera and Noah awoke the next morning lying on top of their bed as past-Aron's journal slid down Vera's chest as she rose from her spot. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes in confusion, only for her head to snap over at the clock. "Noah, you're going to be late?!" Vera uttered urgently as she pushed his slumbering body up off the bed.
"Damn," Noah cursed, knowing he had that big court appearance in little over an hour. "Sorry, honey."
Vera could only smile as she watched her husband dashing into their bathroom. Her mind wondered how Carol saw Aron when he, too, used the same room. Granted, it had been remodeled a few times, so she knew it didn't look the way the past-Aron had first built the place. Her hand moved along the surface of the journal, smiling down at it. Recounting the words Aron wrote when he described Carol, even though she knew what her grandmother looked like in her youth. She could see why Carol caught her son's eye. Yet to read the words he wrote, seeing the progression of how important Carol came to be in his life stuck in the past. Rolling out of bed, her step was light, and her mood was bright as she walked down the hall towards the stairs to get her morning cup in before she too had her own shower.
Stopping in her tracks when her brothers and sisters, along with Aron and Jill were in the kitchen going over how the presentation was going to go. Feeling her face heating as their eyes lingered on her.
"Was wondering when you were going to come down," Aron mused in that same voice she had used on him all his life. "I wonder what you and Dad were doing to still have the clothes on from last night," he teased, hearing Aminah and Tazia giggling behind him as he turned in his seat to face his mother. Feeling Jill's light touch on his shoulder as she moved past him to make Vera her cup.
"Here, you go, Vera," Jill said, holding out the hot steaming cup to her niece.
"Thank you," her eyes ran down Jill's new attire, wondering why it gave off an office feel to it, "Jill, what's with the getup?" Vera asked, bringing her cup to her lips.
"Well, I'm hoping you don't say no, but Aminah had inferred that you might need an assistant, just to manage the small things for you while you get Dad's company off the ground," Jill stated in a warm tone as her hands were folded out before her. "Isabel and Lyla helped me to pick this and a few other outfits out; I hope this isn't too forward," she said in a shy tone, eager to make a good impression and show her father that she could make it in this time.
"You sure you can work under me? This won't be like when we're doing hero work," Vera spoke, resting the but end of the cup on the palm of her left hand.
"I know," her black hair bounced against her chest as she nodded, "but I want to bring this dream of dad's to life," Jill said with conviction.
"Then I hope you took very good notes while I was upstairs," Vera stated with a warm smile.
"Mmmhmm, Dad said he likes my handwriting and said it was pretty," Jill whispered as she leaned into Vera.
"Oh? I'm glad; I remember the time when Aron was two, and he would waddle into the kitchen holding up this sheet of paper, asking me to see if the sentence he had just written meant what he thought it did. It was so cute," Vera sighed, lightly pressing her right hand against her cheek as she reminisced back to Aron's early childhood.
"Oh, I bet he was so cute," Jill said, shooting her father a sultry look.
"Oh, he was; I did, after all, teach him algebra at the age of four," Aminah stated proudly.
"Can we continue?" Aron said bashfully, eager to get them off of the subject of him. "Veil, can you kindly remind us where we left off," he stated, trying to steer it back to what they were working on, not enjoying the chuckles from his uncles.
"Of course, father," Veil responded happily, going over everything they had covered up until that point. All turned their heads when Aron's cell phone rang from within his pocket.
"Veil, make sure you take down everything," Aron spoke, rising from his seat as Sovereign Crusaders appeared on the screen of his phone.
"Yes, father," Veil nodded.
"Hello?" Aron answered once he had stepped into the living room, remembering how he had given Nightshade the number to the phone he was currently on.
"Am I speaking to a Mr. Carter?"
"Yes, and who is this?" Aron asked, playing up his ploy that he didn't already know the sound of her voice.
"I don't know if you know of me, yet I know a friend of yours."
"That so, and if this friend of yours knows me, then he would know how I like to keep my life private," Aron spoke, keeping aware of how he was speaking to her so she wouldn't suspect he was Void.
"I get that, Mr. Carter, I really do, and I don't mean to pry into your own. Yet, I'm in need of a new supersuit. The one I normally wear was badly damaged, and the tailor was caught up in one of his client's rivals' plans. I wouldn't have called if it wasn't necessary. However, there are lives in the balance if I'm stuck here because I can't be seen maskless; it's just too risky to those..."
"Ah. I understand. I assume you have a way to pay for this suit?"
"I don't have much; I'm sure we can work something out."
"Hmm... I'm not in the habit of handing out my gear, nor am I in the habit of sidelining heroes, as I assume you are if you got this number from who I think it is."
"I am."
"How does a thousand sound?" Aron quoted.
"Really?!" Aron knew supersuits weren't cheap. A decent costume maker charges five grand; for good ones, you add five more. So he knew why she was surprised at his offer.
"Really. Only because you called this number, so who might I be speaking to if I'm going to make the best suit you've ever worn," Aron spoke in a cocky tone to play off the differences in his egos.
"This is Nightshade. I hope my hero name will suffice?"
"Certainly. Now, Mrs. Nightshade, how soon do you want your suit?"
"As early as possible, I'm willing to have you flown to our base, along with whatever you will need."
"Oh? Your base, you say?"
"Of course, you'll be restricted to the public areas of the base while you're here."
"Naturally. Hmm... very well, and when can I expect to see your people?" Aron asked, arching an eyebrow when he heard the sound of a hover engine.
"As I can assume, Mr. Carter, they are already there. I'm sorry for this, yet we tracked your cell to your location. Please know it was not meant as something sinister."
"If we do business again, you never do this again, understand?"
"I understand, Mr. Carter, and I'm sorry I have upset you. That was not my intention, and I'll make sure this does not happen again."
"Very well; I need a few minutes to gather the equipment. I'll be bringing some people with me, to help with such a request under a tight time frame. I hope you understand," Aron said, getting Nightshade off balance.
"Of course, Mr. Carter, I'll inform them."
"Aminah, Carl, you're with me. Dress in something... business-like," Aron said, startling his family when he stuck his head into the door.
"What?! Why?" Vera asked, wondering what he was getting into.
"Have to make a suit for a superhero, shouldn't take long, be back tonight sometime, so you two are coming with me," Aron directed, lightly tapping the doorframe before heading off to the base.
"Aron, why aren't I going?" Tazia asked in a pout.
"Well, can you name a single thing on this device?" Aron asked, waving down to his portable scanner and weaver that he had created when the idea of his company popped into his mind. He had also thought about making supersuits for the heroes visiting them once word about his body armor got out. Hence why, he created the scanner and weaver. "It's okay if you can't," he whispered softly, placing his left hand on her right shoulder. "That's why Aminah is going, and for Carl, well, he can be seen without being seen if the need arose."
"But... I'm your head of security, and shouldn't I be with you when you visit some other city?" Tazia asked, shyly tapping the tips of her fingers together.
"Okay, you got me there, but sorry, there's no time to wait for you; plus, I need you to stay with the kids. You know how Henry gets when we're both gone for a long time," Aron said in a fatherly voice.
"But..."
"I promise the next superhero base I go to, you're at the top of the list, okay?"
"Fine," Tazia sighed in annoyance. "But I better be going to the next one," she warned in her best wifely tone.
"I promise," Aron nodded, getting a quick kiss when Aminah and Carl appeared around the corner of the wall. "We'll be safe; I'll try not to cause too much trouble," he said, cutting off her retort, grinning madly at the huff that got out of her.
Meanwhile, somewhere off in a remote part of the world...
Crime lords, Kingpins, evil masterminds, and their underlings secretly gathered to discuss the threat they now faced. Something that they never thought they would ever face. A hero that is willing to kill. A hero who had taken out the strongest man in the world and survived. The man who foiled the plot in DC. The very same man who nearly touched space and lived.
"We need to stop this man?! We all know it's only a matter of time before we are like the syndicate that he took out over a week ago," shouted out a very volatile man as the barrel of his gun tapped on the table he was standing over.
The gathered men and women scrambled to their feet when they all watched how the speaker's face quickly sunk in; then, his once form-fitting suit was now hanging off his body before dropping onto the table. High heels clicked on the floor. The flash of silver caught the light as her pale, silky, tantalizing leg jutted out of the shadows. Her grey, bordering on white, purposely torn skirt swayed between her legs, and a belt of metal skulls lined her waist. Their eyes were captivated by those alluring hips the light illuminated, then fear once they were met with the face of the woman that had snuck into their meeting. They all knew who had come - The Banshee!
"Good evening, gentlemen and ladies," her cold, dead smile stretched from ear to ear, "do forgive my intrusion, yet the man irked me," Banshee hissed evilly. The buckle of the man's belt scraped along the table's surface as she pushed his dried-out corpse off of it. They all listened to that sickening thud when it hit the floor. "However, my employer didn't pay for me not to kill anyone, so..." Rolling her hand, gesturing for them to ask their questions.
"And why shouldn't we just kill you right now?" asked one of the more prominent crime lords.
"Seriously?" Banshee looked at him as if he was an idiot. "Do you honestly think I came here... alone?"
"And just why are you here in the first place, and who is this employer of yours?" asked a regal, middle-aged woman from across the room.
"You see, my boss has something in common with all of you," Banshee uttered indifferently as she checked her nails, ensuring she didn't crack a nail. "So he sent me and a few others down here to strike a deal. If not, well... I could go looking nineteen for a very long time," she said in a sinister tone.
"Well, speak, we are not going to be playing your little game," the mother-of-pearl glistened along the ball of the cane in the light as a towering figure stepped out into it. "I'm not one so easily cowed, so speak your peace or prepare to face your death."
"Cute little man," Banshee smirked wickedly as her eyes flashed dangerously, "very well, God knows I don't want to be here in this dank little hovel any longer than I need to. As to the deal, you and he face the same foe, the hero named Void; you and he have both failed to bring this hero down. However, if you and he joins up, your strength combined might be enough to overcome the strongest man on the planet."
"And just who is paying you to speak on his behalf?"
"The Collector," Banshee said factually.
"Thank you for coming," Nightshade greeted as best as she could, standing on one leg while her teammate held her steady and holding firm to her crutches. "Please, please, know I never once meant to upset you. I know how we reached out mustn't put me in a good light. But I assure you, Mr. Carter, that was never my intention."
"Yeah, got that; I take it that's either new or about to come off," Aron spoke, looking down at her right leg.
"Old, actually, it will be removed tomorrow. My tailer was working on my new suit before he passed; however, he didn't have an apprentice, nor did he pass down his techniques to anyone in his family. So, since then, I've been looking for a reasonable suit-maker, and as the days passed and I was having no luck with one, since before the events that happened with our mutual friend and the core members that formed this base. Since then, those that used to work with us have distanced themselves from anything to do with our team. Not that I can blame them, I would, too, doubt us if I didn't know exactly what those of us that remain; I know what lies in their hearts. I know you don't want to hear our woes; I only told it to you so you can understand why my comrades showed up as they did."
"Ah, I see," Aron mused. "And our mutual friend, just how did you get him to give you my number?"
"I would love to tell you all about it, but might we do this sitting down?" Nightshade asked sheepishly.
"Of course, lead on; I'm sure you don't want to be standing out in the open for too long," Aron spoke, gesturing for her to take charge before peering back, noting Carl and Aminah pushing the scanner and weaver on the reversed engineered gravity drives he had created that were stable under heavy loads since Aron was playing up the act that he was a powerless human.
"Thank you, you won't believe how bad I'm looking to get off these things," Nightshade sighed as she started off towards the front entrance of her base. "Well, to answer your question, it was about a week before I was injured when our friend and I had a conversation about his suit. I've been at his side enough to know how good his suit was or the material it was made out of. I know he's invulnerable; it's not the fact that bullets flatten against him. No, it's the fact that after all that abuse under gunfire, I know how tough it is. I know, given the tech in our friend's suit, you're an excellent maker. I'm just very thankful that you agreed to help me, given our rude greeting."
"So you're saying tailers around here are refusing to do business with you?" Aron's mind raced at what this prospect represented.
"Sadly, yes, I have your money if that's what..."
"Keep your money; I have a better deal for you if you and your team members care to hear it," Aron stated, pitching his spur-of-the-moment idea. He personally knew every one of them was a decent person. In a legal sense, he couldn't say about them personally. Noting the surprise on Nightshade's face, looking at him, wondering if he was joking or not.
"Okay, and what would that be?" Nightshade asked, seeing her friend stepping up to her side from the corner of her eye.
"You wear my suits exclusively, free of charge, of course," Aron said with a warm smile, noting how Nightshade's mind seemed to shut down.
"You mean... you'd work with us in ensuring we're fitted properly with the suits that are needed to handle such a life?"
"Yes, but such an undertaking will have to wait for a few months since my factory isn't up and running just yet. But I assure you that once it is, your suit needs will be taken care of." Aron said, clearly seeing that took Aminah and Carl by surprise. "But with a little advertising thrown in, of course."
"Oh?" Nightshade was not about to become some corporate lap dog.
"Just when anyone asks, you roll up the left sleeve and show off my maker's mark," Aron said, looking around when they entered her base. Seeing some changes since the last time he was there. "Are those terms acceptable to you?" he asked, looking around for somewhere private and large enough for him to operate in. "Can we use that room?" Aron inquired, pointing at it.
"You sure we have plenty of open space?" Nightshade gestured to their surroundings.
"Umm..." Feeling Aminah's and Carl's eyes on him when he got a little bashful, leaning in, "The normal way for this to work is for you to be nude, and I doubt you want your teammates to see you like that, plus I doubt you want your identity known. But seeing how you're probably not okay with getting nude, your underwear will be fine; I just have to program the scanner to accommodate for it," Aron whispered into her ear.
"Ah, yes, then that would be the best place for it," Nightshade nodded in agreement, feeling her cheeks heat as she did.
"Here's my card, have your people get in contact with my people, but no more house calls, we clear?" Aron stated, holding out his business card that read: Aron Shawn Carter, Owner of Mist Manufacturing and Technology Corporation.
"Firewalker, mind taking that to her for me," Nightshade asked, nodding down to the card.
"Sure, Night, I'll be right back," Firewalker said low before bounding off to their agent, who handles such matters on the team's behalf.
"Might I inquire if we do decide to take you up on your offer and if we need a new suit, will you be able to help?" Nightshade asked as Aminah helped her down into a rather soft chair as she watched Aron typing on his phone to someone. "Thank you," she said softly, smiling back at Aminah's warm smile.
"Yes, in that case, I would, but you have to understand, the time it takes to make enough thread to make a single suit is two weeks, so until my factory is up and running, two is my limit given restraints I'm under. However, to do so, they will have to come to me; I'll get a nice little place, away from prying eyes, where you and your team can come and go without too much worry about being seen," Aron said, walking over to one of the crates that were on the same hover pad as his scanner was. The metal latches popped loose; their tinging sound filled the room before he opened the lid. Pulling out an eight-inch tablet from the form-fitting foam. Powering it on, so Veil could sync with it while he went to unpack his scanner. Directing Carl with his finger on what to move to give them the space he would need. Walking over to Nightshade with an extra tablet in hand. "Here, you might as well read on how to understand the suit's basic functions while you wait on us," Aron said, holding it out to her.
"Do what?!" Nightshade muttered in shock; while yes, she didn't like his tone of voice, yet it was the fact the suit had functions, to begin with.
"My suits have three basic functions built into them. A homing beacon in them that will go off, alerting any and all officials within the distance of it when you're in immediate danger of dying. The next one is the first aid feature that will apply some basic first aid to you, say should, and that's a very low probability, anything gets through my suit say a bullet, then the nano smart wires that are embedded throughout the suit will work to remove the projectile and suture you up, so you don't bleed to death while you're waiting on medical personnel. The third one is based on the subject's powers in how the suit functions in conjunction to said powers," Aron said informatively. "That is all I can manage on a portable device; however, that would entail you telling me how your powers function on the basic level, or I could disable that feature."
"Do you mean that the suit would do some special things if I tell you how my powers work?" Nightshade asked, watching how Aron pulled up a chair beside her while the woman that was with him went to shut the far door. Also, the nod the two of them shared as the woman, and her male companion moved past him and out the other door and closed it behind them.
"In a manner of speaking, yes, depending on how your powers work in the first place," Aron spoke in a warm tone as he brought up a short video of Isabel demonstrating how the suit responds to how it reacts to a metahuman's power.
"I know her; she's a part of that group our friend helps out, so you've worked with heroes before?" Nightshade asked, truly reading what this new suit of hers could do.
"I have, but on a small scale, with limited resources."
"I take it you're the one that made those... things?" Nightshade inquired, nodding to the hovering platforms, pondering how beneficial Aron would be to them.
"I did, although I'm just copying something from a friend of mine," Aron admitted.
"Still, never seen anything like that, hover cars, yes, that," flicking her dangling finger at it, "not so much, quite impressive," Nightshade praised.
"Thank you, Aminah, my R&D director, the woman that just walked out of here; she helped me to get the kinks out of it," Aron stated humbly.
"It activates by skin," Nightshade said out of the blue.
"Huh?"
"How my powers work, I mean."
"Oh," Aron mused, catching on. Quickly bringing up the suit matrix design interface. Opening up the program that dealt with how the nano wire would behave, "Okay, is it like a twitch? If so, is it like on a specific area of your body? This way, I can input it into the nano wire to only activate if they sense that tell in that area alone."
"Oh?!" Nightshade muttered, breathing out a sigh of relief, thinking he was trying to trap her. "It's more like my skin is tightening where your shoulder blades meet," she said, displaying the gesture to him. Looking down in confusion when Aron held out a digital caliper to her.
"I need to know the thickness of your mask; I didn't want to reach up and do it myself... that could go badly," Aron said, trying to lighten the mood as Nightshade nodded. "But I need to know the thickness of your mask to allot the difference in the scanner when I start to make your new suit," he spoke, waving to where the weaver sat hovering. "Just need a few measurements," Aron stated, pointing out where he needed them on his face when Nightshade took the caliper from him without another word once he had explained it to her. "There now, I'll go get Aminah; she can administer the scan just as well as I can."
"So, just my underwear and mask?" Nightshade asked for clarification as Aron rose to his feet.
"It's not ideal, but it will work," Aron assured her, walking towards the door when Nightshade's hands went to the buttons of her blouse.
"So, Aron, why did you bring me along on this trip when you know Tazia would love to be here?" Carl asked as they waited on Aminah to complete the scan.
"Well, if someone finds out who Void is, between now and the next time Tazia and I are seen out in public together once Saturday is over, it will keep her safe, and should anything happen to us, the kids will at least have one of us around. Plus, if I have to deal with a grumpy Tazia once we get back, you'll have to deal with Neil and Chery," Aron answered, lifting his eyebrows at his wicked plan.
"Now that's just uncalled for, Aron," Carl grumbled in a disproving voice.
"No, it's what you get for eating my strawberry turnover," Aron replied with a sinful grin on his lips.
"What?! You already had two of them; I thought you wouldn't mind. Not my fault Sara's turnovers are addicting," Carl said, shamefully looking away.
"Did you at least warm it up before you ate it?" Aron asked in a snobbish tone.
"Of course," Carl huffed. Looking down when Aron pulled out his phone and saw that smile form on his nephew's face knowing it had to be Tazia. He and Aron both turned their heads when the door inched opened after ten minutes.
"This thing can make any kind of suit?" Nightshade asked as she scrolled through the designs on the tablet as Aron worked to set up the weaver. Not seeing the sly looks, Aron shot Aminah as they worked side by side.
"Within reason, only so much I can do on my portable." Glancing down, only able to see Aminah's hands as she connected the power cable of the two halves as he held it. It was the reason it was in pieces to play up his sham of being powerless.
"My old suit had a cape; can this machine do that?" Nightshade inquired as she peered up from the tablet.
"Tap on the second tab on top, and that will take you to the cape/accessory page of the interface," Aron directed, holding the upper half steady as Aminah attached the last remaining wire and screws.
"Oh, wow, say if we were at your factory, would it be possible to get a suit as advanced as our friend's?" Nightshade spoke, never taking her eyes off the screen as she cycled through his cape designs.
"Yes, but that will cost you, I'm afraid," Aron said apologetically as he walked back over to his chair to help her with the rest of her customizing.
"I'm sure that kind of tech can't be cheap to make," Nightshade spoke in an understanding tone. "So, say if we can come to agreeable terms, just how far are you willing to go? I'm assuming the Technology part of your company pertains to more than just supersuits, I hope."
"It does."
"Would your company be willing to take over maintenance on the base's electronics if we're going to be exclusively wearing your suits? Why not take it further? We both know this has turned into more than an impromptu suit-making, and being seen as a donor to a superhero group does wonders for one's company; the tax deductions don't hurt either," Nightshade mused, flashing Aron a warm smile.
"That is true, but at the moment..."
"You're not ready to take on that kind of task, and I get that. Yet when you do, what do you think of that?"
"Hmm, I can't run this whole base's upkeep by myself; I'll have to hire two helpers, minus Aminah, to help me overlook this place. I'm guessing your people will want to run whatever checks on your end to ensure the people I bring with me are suitable to you're liking. Then yes, we can discuss this further," Aron said, helping Nightshade to make her own style of cape.
"How long will this take?" Nightshade asked, hearing the weaver going once they had sent her design to its mainframe.
"For you're suit, roughly two hours," Aron said, taking his tablet back from her.
"Then you won't mind if we discuss this offer in more detail, would you?" asked a suave, lean man as his knuckles rasped on the doorframe. There was no mistaking how his eyes lingered on Aminah as she was studying the screen of her tablet that she was holding. Leering at her sensuous curves, knowing who would be lining his bed that evening. "I'm Newman Walters," he said, introducing himself as he held out his hand to Aron. Mentally willing that stunning woman to turn her gaze at him. Unaware of how Aron had noticed, speaking with his mind to her, knowing she did tend to listen in on his thoughts, telling her to look at the man she wanted the most.
"Again, I thank you for coming out here," Nightshade said, shaking Aron's hand as they stood at the entrance doors of her base once the weaver had completed her suit.
"You're welcome, just no more house calls, alright?" Aron spoke in a friendly tone.
"Yes, no more of that," Nightshade agreed.
"You have my card; call if you need me," Aron stated, seeing her nod in response. "If there's some trouble with the suit once you get your cast off, call me, and we'll alter it if need be."
"Of course," leaning in, "sorry about how Newman acted; I hope your friend wasn't too upset by his actions; Newman is a good man, just a terrible flirt." Remembering how the sound of the slap that took her and Aron by surprise filled that room.
"Oh, I'm not worried about Aminah; she can take care of herself; plus, she'd kick my ass if I butted into her life like that," Aron joked, seeing how her smile reached her eyes when he said that.
"I hope the three of you have a nice flight home," Nightshade uttered her departing words as she waved to them.
"So, what did he say to get you to hit him?" She heard Aron's voice on the air as they walked over to their awaiting hover car.
"That I should follow him to his office, and he could acquaint me with a 'good time,'" Aminah replied, throwing up quotation marks.
