Chapter 182 - Mask Up

Post important pupper protective equipment placement, Mikah pulls Mark and Miss Calculated’s masks out of his pocket, as well as Mark’s phone. Not inclined to walk around while the elevator is still in motion, he holds onto Mark’s belongings for now. But, he does hold out Miss Calculated’s mask towards her.

“Here you are, Mary. I imagine that all of you want to have your masks on in advance before getting there.” After Mikah says this, Miss Calculated turns to face him. Before she manages to secure a solid one-armed carry for the box of miscellaneous contents that she’s carrying, Miss Chievous claims it on her behalf.

“Oh, thanks, both of you.” By the time Miss Calculated finished saying this and turns her attention from Mikah to her sister, Miss Chievous is already holding out the black mask with the loops pulled open with her fingers, looking like a primed game of cat’s cradle.

Without saying anything further, Miss Calculated leans forward. Miss Chievous reaches up and slides the loops over her ears, then tugs the bottom edge a bit. Shortly after setting it in place, Miss Calculated’s glasses fog up partially, and Miss Chievous continues fussing over its positioning. Once her glasses have stayed clear for a few seconds, Miss Chievous looks at Miss Calculated with a raised eyebrow, and she nods in response.

Miss Masher holds the box of masks out towards Miss Chievous while grinning.

“Oh, me next! I want the green one!” When Miss Masher says this, Miss Chievous chuckles and goes to reach into the box. There is a sudden breeze and the contents of the box shift slightly.

Back in his corner, Jonathan is now wearing a pale blue mask with a repeating pattern of yellow cartoon rubber duckies, eliciting some mixed laughter from the others when they notice.

As Miss Chievous assists Miss Masher with her chosen mask in a similar fashion as their other sister, Lucas reaches into the box to pull out a red plaid one, proceeding to easily put it on himself, one-handed.

Before Miss Chievous finishes putting on a purple mask, leaving behind an orange one with a black triangular pattern in the box, the elevator stops on the 11th floor.

While the doors are opening, Mikah walks over to hand Mark his phone, as well as his mask that is not-so-coincidentally a shade of blue perfectly matched to his dress.

“I’m pretty much spent for the day, so I’m thinking I’ll just order some delivery and call it an early night. Pft, yes, of course. Your office? Ah, okay. Yeah, I’ll leave a note for the bots to send it to your room.” While Mikah was speaking, Mark’s face lit up upon the mentioning of delivery.

Mark’s ardent desire for spring rolls made Mikah’s contemplations as to what to order far, far simpler. And, considering how mentally run down he is, not having to rely on his currently burnt-out executive function ability is actually a welcome thing, for once.

Once the hand-off is complete, Mikah turns to face Miss Masher with a bright smile.

“Thanks. I hope you have fun, there’s certainly more than enough to keep you busy for quite a while.” After Mikah finishes addressing Miss Masher, he steps out of the elevator backward, waving to the group as he does so.

“I’ll see you guys around, until next time!” Mikah has a jovial tone while giving his parting, and is met with a mix of farewells from the others present.

Due to how slowly the elevator doors close, Lucas and the sisterhood can see the obvious spring in his step as he turns and walks away, traveling through a corridor with; wood paneling, a few interspersed paintings, and elegant light fixtures.

‘Yeah, I don’t blame you, bro. ...Wait, does he live here? Oh shit, I can’t begin to imagine how awful it’d be to never be able to get away from your boss. ...Actually, I guess I sorta can.’

427, wary due to still potentially being within range of Mikah’s mental hearing capabilities, keeps his amusement to himself.

Mark stuffs his phone down the front of his dress once more, freeing his hands to put his mask on. After humming briefly, he turns his attention towards Miss Calculated.

“Ah, as we were distracted earlier, Mary… When you start planning out some designs for the needles and sewing machines; even if an idea seems more expensive than you think it’s worth, still note it down with a projected price and why it would theoretically be worth that cost. Also, if a certain prototype would help you figure out further improvements once you see it in action, don’t hesitate to let us know.” Mark raises his voice a bit to ensure he’s still clearly audible through the mask, which pulls everyone’s attention over towards him. Miss Calculated is a bit surprised at first, but she gains a thoughtful expression after only a short delay.

“All right, I’ll leave the cost per benefits analysis to your end. I’ll probably indicate which models I feel are optimal, but it’s all your decision as to what you want to invest in. Lucas made a similar request for when I evaluate 23’s potential upgrades… It’s going to take me some time to get used to this sort of mindset… Ahem, not that it will be an issue.” Miss Calculated’s gaze subconsciously turns towards Lucas when mentioning him, but she focuses on Mark again right away.

Mark has a rather amused expression, though most of its tells are blocked by his mask.

“Honestly, once some prototypes are up and running well enough to test their viability when sewing, just hand it off for a bot to attempt to work on making suits right away. Even if a theoretical failure harms the suit-in-progress, the materials won’t be wasted, since Thandi can restore them. I don’t see how a sewing machine failure could manage irreparable damage to a service bot, especially if you are thorough in your initial instructions to them. If you have multiple potential model ideas to test, just make one of each, we’ll let trial and error determine what’s best.” When Mark adds this on, Miss Calculated hesitates for a few moments before finally responding.

“R-right. Getting caught in a spiral of theoretical improvements without any concrete data generally only delays progress… I… may have been guilty of that on more than one occasion. Ah, even without any designs planned yet, if you wish to expedite the timetable; you can contact some of your various material suppliers and see if anyone has some vitzlite that doesn’t pass muster.” Miss Calculated has a bit of a vacant expression at first when confessing her guilt. Once she brings up material acquisition, she perks up. Mark curiously raises an eyebrow at her, which encourages her to elaborate further.

“Anything with up to 33% gangue contamination, or really any form of impurities present, is perfectly fine. Just, obviously, make sure anything with hazardous levels of radiation is properly contained. If you wish to obfuscate what quality level we’ll be using from your suppliers; you could do bulk orders that also include some too-low of grade vitzlite mixed in. It being already processed would be ideal, but unprocessed ore isn’t a deal-breaker. But, if you do bulk orders of unprocessed ore, I may need some additional equipment to be able to get it all into a usable state within a reasonable amount of time. ...Even including the full cost of machinery to work the raw ore, it will still be cheaper than the more commonly used 5-10% impurity level ore, by a significant margin.” While Miss Calculated was giving this explanation, the elevator reached the 13th floor.

At first, while the doors are slowly opening, everyone’s attention is still on Miss Calculated. But, once the doors have opened enough for a clear view, there are multiple gasps from the group.

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Lucas’s total kills: 7

Lucas’s total deaths: 11

Lucas’s total assists: 1

Lucas’s current GDV: 17.37

Lucas’s fame level: 6.0* (Local fame is completely maxed, he’s creeping up on minor celebrity status even on a global scale. Thanks, internet.)

Lucas's hero suspicion level: 2.0*

Jonathan’s total kills: 7

Jonathan’s total deaths: 2

Jonathan’s current GDV: 6.06

Jonathan's fame level: 4.0* (Local fame is near-max, but everyone thinks of him via his affiliation with Lucas, and not often just for him, alone.)

Jonathan's hero suspicion level: 2.5*

Willy's fame level: 4.5* (With how popular he’s become, it’s only a matter of time before people start realizing just how smart he is.)

Mr. Quacks’s fame level: 5.0* (His local and global fame are nearly even, he’s a full-blown internet sensation.)

Supervillain social circle size: 15

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Little character theater:

Jonathan, regretting coming here with every fiber of his being: I-I don’t have to actually go out there… right?

Willy, facing the rear wall of the elevator since Lucas had turned to face Miss Calculated: ...Bark?

Lucas, staring past Miss Calculated’s shoulder to look out the door: ...Oh shit.

427, running a few calculations before speaking up: [This will definitely be a multi-day project for you and Miss Masher, no matter how late Josephine’s meeting runs.]

Author, also wearing a mask just to even go near the set: Oh, hey, by the way, guys; thanks to Lucas’s pro observational skills, he still has yet to notice that his HQ is gonna be on the 13th floor. Merely mentioning it, no real reason. No, totally, eheh.

Mr.. Quacks, on top of Jonathan’s head, trying to comfort him in advance: Quack.