so, what do you want in a suit?"

"Hmm." He mused at her words. "Black I guess..."

He trailed off as he saw the anticipation in Miss Claudette's face wither away. She reached for another cigarette, placed it between her fingers and leaned back.

"Black?" She said, exasperated. "You're heterosexual I get it..." She sighed. "You know what?" Forcing a smile, "You can go ask someone downstairs for help."

"No. No. No." Aegon shook his head. "Come on. I have no idea what I'm supposed to be saying. Can't you guide me?"

"Guide you?" Claudette narrowed her eyes and repeated. "... Alright let's start here, what's your affinity?"

"Oh, Fire and Replication."

Raising a brow, "Double affinity? Haven't heard of those."

To show her, he extends a finger out and lights it on fire.

"Neat party trick." She moves the cigarette to his finger and lights it. "Alright. Replication basically covers everything...

So that means you need a suit that's all temperature resistant—from scorching hot to freezing cold, you need it malleable in case you wanna shapeshift into a lion or something...

Light enough to promote agility yet heavy enough it's not a leotard."

She suddenly stops and turns to him. "Are you a Superman or a Spiderman?"

"What?" Aegon raised his brows.

Claudette sighed once more. "Mask or no Mask?"

"Uhmm... No Mask."

She stared at him for a second. "I'm giving you a mask."

She reached for the drawer and rummaged through it. Retrieves a remote, turns to the wall and pushes it.

The wall slid apart and a light above illuminated the closet that appeared from nowhere.

Pushing up from her seat, she looked at him. "Follow me." She walked into the room.Fabrics upon fabric in a closet that was bigger than his room.

"You're gonna be a real pickle mister. Replication is one of the powers I hate to deal with because I got to give you a little of everything.

When you copy affinities, your body's output changes like a playlist on shuffle.

One second you're tanking hits with borrowed super strength and the next you're afraid that bee is following you too close."

"I'm actually not that weak."

"Sure thing sweetie." She tossed a midnight blue material into the table. Pointing at it, "This is gonna be the main material."

"What is it?"

"A tri-weave blend of carbon-mesh, Kevlar-flex and a shape-memory polymer. As light as a feather and as tough as a heartbreak.

It has a self-tensioning weave that tightens or loosens based on your physical state, and a shock-diffusing mesh so you don't snap your spine from juggernaut to jellyfish."

"That happens?"

"Haa!" She let out a short laugh. "More than you think. People think just having an affinity will save you, unless your affinity isn't meant for the human body.

So, they come to us, the hero's hero."

"Wow. Anyone famous you design a suit for?"

"Tons. I design Star-spangled y'know" she said as she moved all over the room. "Then again that was before he became an unbearable jackass."

"Yeah right." His voice lined with sarcasm. "Nightwalker was nice."

"I'm being serious." She spoke as she moved. "When he still let people call him Ian. I designed his original suit that got destroyed when he flew into the sun."

"Why'd he fly into the sun?"

"Sun's like his battery and he was gonna bleed to death if he didn't get a rush of that power and quickly—"

"Who was he fighting?"

He grew impatient.

"I don't remember. Just know that fight changed him from the inside out. Alright back to your suit.

Heat, cold and energy flex resistance—different affinities means different situations in the blink of an eye.

So you're gonna need thermal-regulating layers, energy-dampening plates and acid resistance so you don't strip in the middle of a fight."

Aegon sat on a stool beside the table, watching her. "All this sounds heavy."

"It's not gonna be. A tailor's more capable than a doctor so you let me worry about that.

But you are right, a bulky suit with betrayal you if you copy super speed or flight. So, 4-way stretch fabric with zero movement restrictions and articulation seams that flex in unnatural angles—

Because trust me, you'll bend weird some days.

Then there's the power overflow issue, I've seen some weird affinities that literally boil people from the inside out so it'll need

Pressure-release channels that let excess energy vent out and arc rails that redirect surges away from your organs."

She stopped again to stare at him. "Batman or Hulk?"

'This lady really knows her superheroes.' He kept to himself. "What?"

"Are you a stealth or an aura farmer?"

"Ohh... Uhmm Aura farmer?"

She narrowed her gaze. "Stealth.

Dual density rubber with nano-grip fibres that latch to rough stones, steel and glass.

And shock absorbers for 5-6 story landings—but I wouldn't advise on that.

You're gonna need sound-dampening layer sewn into the thighs and flanks, a non-reflective matte finish across the entire thing and heat signature reduction so you don't look like a glowing meat-sausage on thermal cams...

Are you bullet proof?" She asked honestly.

"No. I'm not."

"Impact plating—but it's only for small arms." She added. "If you get shot by a rocket launcher and you have no affinity, I promise you, you will explode.

I'll place them on your sternum, collarbone arc, lower ribs, forearms, shins and shoulder cap—non reflective composite with honeycomb bracing—"

"Is all this really necessary?" He interrupted her and saw the change in her demeanour. "I'm just saying, it feels like a bother."

Claudette sighed as she approached him. "See this—" she raised a pencil. "—this pencil is the most powerful awakened in the nation—No.

The continent. But when this pencil faces someone with the same strength you know what happened?"

Aegon shook his head.

~SNAP.~

She broke the pencil in two. "That's what happened. Any other questions?"

He shook his head again.

"Good." She said, patting him on his cheeks. "The impact plating is what's gonna keep you alive when someone trice your size tries to fold you like origami.

But the plates are ultrathin and shift microscopically to match body movements."

She clapped her hands. "I think this is all I need to make it. You can go wait downstairs. I'll send it down when it's ready."

"Oh. Okay." He stood and proceeded to exit the office.

"Wait..." She stopped him. He turned back. "You want a logo, or emblem or something?"

Aegon smirked. "Yeah could you..."

His smile infected her on hearing his words. "You kids are so weird."

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