I hurriedly washed up from the painting and began cleaning up. I moved the excess stuff off the tables and put them back in their place. Some of the stuff I just threw down where I thought would be best and would clean it up later. I watched the clock get closer to 11 as I worked. My phone went off at 11 a second time and I turned it off a few seconds before Todd Jace showed up. He buzzed the doorbell and I let him in. Behind him, Rachel followed.

“Hello, Mr. Jace. Hello Rachel. I wasn’t expecting both of you to come together. Come on in,” I said to the two of them.

I brought over an extra chair as I walked with them to my desk and they both sat down. Todd dropped the bag he was carrying and began speaking.

“After speaking with my daughter and wife I have decided that she will stay with you as an armorer. I have liked the quality of your work and if I wasn’t contracted to another company I might consider switching to your business.”

“Thank you for the compliment,” I answered. “If that has already been decided then what would you like to go over today? I presume it is about a new suit.”

“Yes. That is why she is here.”

“I would like to give my input on a new suit if possible and help make it my own,” interjected Rachel. “I need a new look and want to avoid the look of my old costume.”

“Of course. Was there a similar design of costume you would like to mimic?” I asked. “Or a more general starting point to get things started? Anything to get me started really.”

“There are a few things I know for certain. The first is for the colors I want red with either white or gray accents. Though I haven’t decided quite yet.”

“Ok,” I said as I started to make a list on paper. “ I like the idea of red and white. I can work with that. How did you like your old suit? Was there anything that felt off? Now would be the time to change it if you want.”

“What do you think?” asked Rachel to her dad. “You have sparred with me the most and know my powers almost as well as me by now.”

“From your fights I’ve seen you need a better weapon. It is almost always why you fail to beat me. I can endure all of your hits longer than you have the energy to dish them out. Your current strength only goes so far when you are flying through the air and could be improved on.”

“Ok, I will have that on the list as well. What type of weapon are you thinking of? Would you prefer handheld weapons, or something attached to the suit itself?” I asked.

“My fighting style and training do not work well with external weapons. I would prefer to stay close to hand-to-hand combat if possible. If I went with blades then it would have to be short and durable. I have to fight incredibly durable people occasionally.”

“I have some designs that might work with that, and I have some metal alloys in stock that fight your needs. Adding brass knuckles to the gloves should help with damage impact. I can do the same thing on the knee and elbow pads as well,” I said as I pulled up by blueprint directory. I inputted some search terms to the computer. I remembered seeing something that could be useful and confirmed the name. “I also might recommend the rapid extending blades. They would go on your forearm and wouldn’t impede your attacks after a little training with them.”

I showed them the images of the blades I had.

“I think that may work,” said Todd Jace. “I will speak with our blades man training and have him whip up some training blades for you to train with before we get the real thing. They probably won’t descend back, but it will get you familiar with the weapons.”

“I want to try them out first before I commit to using them in a new suit,” said Rachel. “I may find flying with them too tedious.”

“Of course. I will see about making them easily removable and a part of an attachment.”

“That would be perfect. If you are making some more attachment parts then I would love an item belt so that I can carry more stuff.”

“Like the one QuickStep has?” I asked remembering his utility belt that was a part of his costume.

“Yeah. Except I would only need four or five pouches.”

“Ok I will make those adjustments to the suit,” I said as I looked down and wrote more on the list. “Is there anything else you want to be changed to differentiate from your old suit?”

“I would like the most updated everything you’ve got of course including materials,” said Rachel as she thought things over. “To differentiate me I could go with a full visor mask instead. Keep it open on the top. I don’t need helmet hair. I also want a cape.”

“No capes,” said her father.

“Why not?” she asked.

“It is impractical,” he responded.

“I would tend to agree,” I said. “It just becomes a place where people can easily grab at when you are in a fight and throw you off. It doesn’t add any value to your fighting abilities. And it would be a waste on my end when I have to replace it every time it tears.”

“Fine, I won’t add a cape. New mask and new boots. Extra tall and make them white with gray accents.”

“Should I do the gloves as well?” I asked.

“Yes do those too. Make them white and almost elbow length.”

“One last question for now. How much design freedom do you want me to have? Should I just go ahead with what I think is best or would you like to check on the looks before I go into production?”

“You do what you think is best,” said Rachel. “You have done a good job on adding what you think would work best and have had a good eye for design. I trust you.”

“Then I will see to the design myself. I won’t let you go around in something terrible. As for these changes. They shouldn’t take too long as I’m not rebuilding much. Now I will just need the old suit for parts and retooling to get started,” I said.

“We already have the suit here,” said Todd Jace as he pointed to a bag near his feet. It was extra-long and looked like a gym bag. “Let us know if you need anything else.”

“Thanks for bringing it today. I will see about working on it later this week in between other projects. I will follow up in two weeks and send you home with the suit in about three.”

“I will hold you to two weeks then,” said Todd Jace. “We will see you then.”

He turned to Rachel. “Anything else you need or am I good to go?” he asked her.

“You are good to go,” she said before turning to me. “Thanks for doing this. I will see you in a couple of weeks. And thanks for calling yesterday.”

“I’m glad you are feeling better. If you already have your colors picked out then do you also have a new superhero name picked out to go by?”

“I’m still not sure yet, but I am set on flying in red and a bit of white and gray.”

I saw them out before returning to the storage area. I began cleaning up the mess I had left there before I brought the shoes back out again. I brought a few of the small tools and paint over and started touching them up. When I finished I put the shoes and tools away and then I returned to my desk.

I took out the costume from the bag and laid it across the table. Next, I brought over my paper with notes. To get started on changing the costume I would need to do several things. The first was disassembling the exterior and leaving the undersuit aside. I would need to repaint the entire costume and then add the new pieces that had been suggested.

I decided to start with the mask because it was the smallest part, and I knew I could finish it in a day or two. I went back to my computer with the mask in hand and started a search. I pulled up the mask designs I had on my computer. There were only 10. I filtered it down to full visor masks. It came up with 4 possible designs that could either be a full helmet design or just a partial mask. I clicked through the options in the database. They each had the same internal specs with external looks varying.

None of the options stuck out to me so I looked up the mask designs for other superheroes. Other superheroes had similar designs across the board with a few variations on the flourishes and the exact fittings. Some ideas ran through my head, and I immediately got to work on what I had thought of. I pulled up the 3D modeling software and imported the latest design from Rachel’s costume and then copied in a few pieces from the other masks.

I quickly checked that the internals was the latest and so was the padding. I got to work on redesigning the outsides of the helmet. I began copying and pasting parts of other masks to build the new one. I checked the parts as I went to make sure they were compatible and would work. I started by removing the front eye glasses and replacing in with a one-piece visor. After I had set it in place on the model I was forced to adjust things around it to fit the missing pieces I had removed. After some work and adjustments, I got the first changes to stick and changed the goggle design out for the visor.

The next piece of the design I changed up was the side pieces that ran along where Rachel’s cheeks were. To me, they looked functional, but hideous like they were massive sideburns. After going into the modeling software, I began working on adjusting them more directly. The side pieces were just metal and the foam behind them to cushion the sides of the face. I began manipulating the vertices and faces tool as I tested some designs. I first made the sides bigger, and it looked closer to the design of a spartan helmet. While cool I ultimately decided against it because it made the mask too heavy from the simulations ran in the computer. I tested lightning-shaped sides as well, but they didn’t fit well with the rest of the design of the suit. In the end, I returned to Greek and Roman designs and copied the wavy designs of the Attic helmet.

When I changed the side pieces I went back to the other parts of the mask and began to tweak them to fit the flowing and wavy design I had chosen. Some of the sharper edges around some parts were removed and then replaced with more rounded corners. Around the back of the mask changed as well as I smoothed the areas around the ears and made them much more circular.

I continued to work on the helmet as I messed around with the engraving tools I found within the software. It was getting late when I finally looked over my finalized mask model. I wasn’t sure of how well the electronics would work or if they would at all, but everything was there. I had copied over all of the same system internals but how well they worked and were integrated would depend on me.

I saved the files I had completed as a new mask design before returning home.

I got back to the warehouse early the next morning. I had thought over the designs for the mask overnight and decided on some last-minute tweaks. Most of the changes came from the structure and overlaying design of the mask. It was still very Greek and Roman inspired.

I began taking out the materials required for the mask. The software estimated amounts of the material required, and I followed it as I prepped the machines. For the mask, I required a 3D printer, a CNC machine, an injection mold, and some hand-held tools. I loaded up the files for the first batch and pressed the button when everything was in place. This mask would be the first thing I made from almost nothing. In order to fit my design aesthetic, I remade most of the mask from the mix of parts and several experiments within the modeling software.

Some of the parts I was sure I could build without much assistance after staring at the model for so long, but other parts I was unsure of. I could reference the assembly instructions for the other masks, but they would only help in small parts. Of all of the assembly parts, I was least comfortable with the electronics. It didn’t help that I had blown some electronics up earlier in the week. As I watch the materials being cut and used I worried that I might have missed something and had done something wrong. If I messed up another batch I would probably have to start looking into ordering more. As I waited I began going through my files and checked the stock levels for all of the items. It didn’t help because I had no number to compare it to and I had not entered in a price for all of the items yet.

As the batches of materials came out of the machine processors I laid them out on the table as usual and discarded the scraps. As the parts came out I started working with them. The metal pieces already came out with the engravings and designs imprinted on them. Now I just had to color it with special paints. I broke open the red and white paints and got started on the metal. By the time I was finished another batch of material was finished being cut and the frame of the mask had finished in the injection mold. With the frame finished I was able to slot in the 3D printed parts and some of the electronic in though I did not wire them up just yet.

I continued my work on the metal exterior painting before I moved on to painting some of the other parts. The mask would be mainly white with detailing and the exterior outline of the mask is a dark red like the future suit. The mask came together slowly as I made sure each piece looked good with the paint and color.

As the pieces slotted together and started to resemble the final mask I started wiring up the electronics and doing some soldering. I referenced the other mask’s instructions as I worked on this part, but it wasn’t always a perfect comparison. For example, some of the locations of the electronics made parts easier or harder to connect or solder. At one point I had to disassemble parts to get at the electronics again so that I could solder and wire parts up.

I took a few breaks throughout working and brought out a water bottle from home. I found it relaxing to step away from the madness of it all and look at it from a distance. I was still a bit dirty, and the mess was everywhere but it was my mess. I took one last break for lunch and took out some food from home.

When I returned to my worktable I started the final steps. I had already assembled most of it and the pieces were all there I just had to fit it all together and seal it. There were a few satisfying clicks as pieces fell into place and the hum of a drill as some of the smaller screws were attached inside. I didn’t have to do much for the electronics thankfully. I had already connected the visor and charged up the electronics. I powered it on in its half-assembled state and all the right lights flashed at me that I had assembled it at least somewhat correctly. With a snap, the final piece connected and was tightened on.

I picked up the final mask and rotated it around and looked at it from all angles. I found it much better than the last mask stylistically at least. I felt its weight in my hands and compared it to the old mask. It was half a pound heavier than the old mask but was almost required. I had added weights to one side opposite the electronics and around the back because it was too lopsided. To have a good weight distribution so it wasn’t uncomfortable on the face the changes had been added.

As I spun it around I checked the backside as well. It was almost as important as the look of the back and clasps held it closed and could be opened for wearing. The latch clipped open, and I put it up to my face. I had the computer display my face back and I was able to see how it would look on me. It was a little too small for my face, so I just held it up while looking through the visor. I had to say it too was better than the goggles. While the visor might crack more easily under stress it allowed for a larger field of vision to the sides and was less likely to be uncomfortable during a fight. I set the mask down and closed out the computer. I had a lot of clean-up to do for the night before I could start the process all over again for the rest of the costume.