Slow and Speedy Win the Fight

103. Modification

Haresa

It was almost time.

Sheldon was preparing his watch to have it teleport us to the location where Reynard said they were holding Rudra. It seemed to be outside of its usual range as he was adjusting it every so often with a screw while having it hooked up to a baseball-sized generator.

As I left Sheldon to his job, I went looking for my costume. I was dreading to wear the dreaded outfit again and attempted to stay in my pajamas as long as possible but it was getting too close to departure that I should have it on.

I rifled through the pile of clothes in my room before I walked out in confusion and looked into the laundry basket. Nothing was there and I began to get anxious. I was about to call for my dad before he appeared from the stairs.

"Pa," I said with relief. "Do you know where my costume is?"

My dad gave a curt nod. "I have here."

He handed me the white fabric but I noticed some yellow was mixed in with it. As I unfolded it, I saw that the design was completely different.

The white fabric wasn't the only colour of the costume anymore and yellow fabric peaked out from beneath it. The original fabric of the costume was now styled as shorts and a top that was a cross between a cape and a shirt. Sleeves of the top formed triangles and the front covered the chest area but opened up at the bottom and top to be able to see the yellow body suit that covered the neck and went all the way down to the ankles. The design was simple with two yellow stripes cutting through the white of the cloth and peaked up just under the shorts and a yellowish gold medallion that joined the white top. A geometric head of a rabbit was etched into the medallion and my fingers grazed over it, careful not to get fingerprints and let the shine be dulled.

"Pa, did you do this?"

He nodded. "Dyed the fabric and made it new."

"Blanc enterprises won't be happy about this," I said with worry but my face couldn't contain my smile.

"It broken from last time. I make better." He put a hand on my face and rubbed his thumb against my cheek. "It okay?"

"Yeah, it's great."

If the company really didn't like the changes, I could just ruin the costume and send it back all over again. They couldn't make me buy a new costume. I was responsible for all the repairs. Dad not only repaired it but made it better.

In an excited rush, I went as fast as I could (without ruining the floor) and got into my new costume.

"It fit okay?" My dad asked.

I smoothed down the fabric before I nodded. "It's perfect. Thanks, Pa."

Sheldon seemed to have taken notice of me since he glanced back to see what my dad and I were talking about.

"Oh good, you're not wearing the old costume," Sheldon said. "It was hurting my eyes."

"Yeah, my dad made it." I held up my arms to show off the costume better. "Do you like it?"

"This one also hurts my eyes," he said as he went back to his tinkering.

The buzz of excitement I felt became quieter and it came to a slow halt. Sheldon looked up at me again and raised an eyebrow at me.

"What? You look like yourself at least in this costume." He waved the screwdriver in my direction. "You're always wearing yellow. I don't understand it."

The excitement for the costume slowly came back and I let out a single chuckle. "What's with judgement? I don't knock you for wearing turtlenecks."

There was a faint grin on his face and I couldn't tell if he was too focused on his work to properly smile or if he was trying to hide it.

"You're the one missing something from your costume," he said.

Before I could question what he meant, he tossed something in my direction and I caught it without thinking. It was a pair of headphones that seemed to match the yellow accents on my costume and I found myself staring at Sheldon for a while.

"When did you have time to make this?"

"They're modified headphones, I didn't make them from scratch," he said as if that would explain how he made them so fast. "They're noise canceling. But there are also other modes to them so you can hear specific noises as well. I had to make estimates on how well your hearing is but I'm pretty confident that these should work well."

"Will I be able to listen to music on them?"

"Don't count on it."

"How did you make a new watch so fast by the way?" I asked Sheldon.

"Let's just say I made sure to have a backup this time," he said.

I decided not to question it further. Even though we may have gotten closer, he still seemed to keep things to himself. If it was something I needed to know, I'd find out eventually.

There was a click and whirring sound before Sheldon looked up at me with a triumphant expression.

"Ready, hare?"

I put on my headphones.

"Ready."