Thursday July 26, 2018: 8:30 PM

  I woke up with determination in my mind to make some forward progress. The hollowness next to me is a temporary thing, and I know that I need to focus on what needs to be done, to make everything ready for her return. It might be some pain now, but I will make it through this and come out the other side stronger. Bright-Eyes jumped off of me when I got up, I guess it was a habit now, and I started my morning rituals. I meditated to regain my improved arcane reserves, after getting a simple breakfast, and started my day.

  The embroidery on the pillowcases and sheet set was going along well, so I decided that today wasn’t going to be any different. I took the eight sheets of oak plywood and instructed each Dedicated Wright to work on their own sheet to make a new folding cot, as per the previous set. It only took each one an hour of instruction to actually make them, so all of the Dedicated Wrights were available to help me with my next task, what I was focusing my enchanting capability on, the enchanted E-bike mount. I had the last little bit of the Epoxiclay molded into the shape of a generic motorcycle emblem and placed the remaining, unallocated, gems into it, to make the image of an eagle wreathed in flames (actually a phoenix), gripping a wrench and a piston, with the name, “Iron Horse” below it, all done up in the metallic epoxy with emerald and ruby stones inset.

  It did not take all that long for my enchantment to finish, with the assistance of the Mini-Avengers, and I had a Badge that I could stick onto my vehicle, and it would allow me to expend the magic in it, once a day, instead of my own stores, to cast the Phantom Chopper on this vehicle alone. This would improve my maneuverability without needing to worry about eating into my combat capability any more. I suited up in everything and then I checked in with Bright-Eyes and Rex, Rex focally, and Bright-Eyes with scritches and pets. I promised Rex some fish today, after having felt like I had neglected him the past few days. I resolved to get some special canned food for Bright-Eyes and her kittens as well.

  I pulled my E-Bike out of the Storage Unit, slid my phone into the cradle, and slammed the new badge to the top of the bike. I focused my energy through it, and the E-bike started to metamorph in appearance into a high end electric motorcycle. I changed my clothing to not hide my armor and started riding around the city on patrol. It was a few hours, where I had managed to score a decently fresh fish, and some decent canned kitten food for the bawling horde. I also picked up a few shelf stable snacks in the idea that there would likely be visitors in the near future, and if they were squeamish about eating food from the Field Provision Box, I wanted to have something available for them.

  When I expected Jonathan to be at work, I changed my focus and headed to the Merchant Bank where Jonathan “works”. I got there and expected to have to go in, but I found that Jonathan was waiting for me outside. Jonathan smiled and told me that he expected me to be here first thing, since we had to get the warehouse situated. I told Jonathan that I would meet him there, and then took off on my bike to ride to our shared destination. It was an easy drive, so I got there with time to spare.

  When Jonathan got there, he got out of his S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV, smiling, and presenting a key. He went to the back door of the building, next to the parking lot, the one that Hawkeye and I had opened up where that tomcat had jumped me, and unlocked it. I prepared for the jumpscare, but nothing happened this time. Jonathan looked at me a bit oddly, as he opened up the door fully. I walked in before him, trying to regain a bit of my ego, and looked around. There wasn’t a lot of anything in the building, which actually suited me well.

  I looked through the rest of the warehouse and found that it was really empty, except for those shelves that the cat jumped from. Jonathan walked in and asked if this will work for me and my future school. I looked around again, and told him that yes, this will definitely work, at least it will after I get the little project that I hinted to Jonathan about, done. Jonathan asked if I could give him some information now about the school, since I was needing a large amount of gemstones to make it work. I asked him for his phone, and he sighed, providing it to me again.

  I put his phone in another pocket, separate from my phone, and whispered to him that I was going to make a way for the warehouse to look EXACTLY like it does, right now. With no changes. No matter what I do with it. Jonathan thought about it for a minute, and then realized what I was saying. He asked me how large of an area I could make so that it looks like it has not changed.

  I told him that right now, I could do in the neighborhood of over one hundred thousand cubic feet. I added that there were some specifications with how the cubic feet were set up, but generally, we are looking at twenty foot cubes. So, I added, you could completely hide a quinjet or other parked large vehicle. Jonathan asked how much that might cost in stones. I shrugged and said that I could probably par it down to less than twelve hundred of the rubies or diamonds.

  Jonathan looked like he was doing some mental math, and asked me if I was serious that I could do this for less than ten thousand dollars. I told him that if that was the exchange rate, then quite possibly. He asked me how long it would take to make something like this. I told him that we could push one out every month reasonably, although it would cut into other projects. Jonathan nodded and asked if that was how long it was going to take the first one, possibly thinking that it would be a month long project just to start breaking ground.

  I told him that I was going to cut a LOT of corners, make it VERY tailored in who can use it, and employ ALL of the dedicated wrights in making it, and that it could possibly shave it down to a day or two. Jonathan looked at me like I was crazy, and I told him that the month was the consideration that I alone would be working on it, and not taking any shortcuts. I went on to tell him that if you multiply my work level by nine, and then factor in the decreases in price and value, it isn’t that odd. I mean, two days for the nine of us, is eighteen days for just me, after all. Jonathan shook his head and asked how we would start work prior to the day or two that it would take to make it, and the time it took to requisition the stones.

  I smiled and walked over to the front door that had a grating instead of an actual door, and asked if we could just put a tarp up for it and the roof access. I added that we would not disturb the art work on the exterior walls at all, and in fact, when I am done, I would add another illusion to maintain the look of them permanently, but to the outside eye, it would just be that the city was blocking off the interior of the building. Jonathan started taking notes, and told me that there were absolutely no amenities inside this warehouse, and I told him that this was fine, that I was more than happy with making my own setup that wasn’t beholden to the city functions.

  I asked Jonathan if he had any kind of diagram or drawing of the building, or if it would just be easier for me to create a new one from what we have here. Jonathan shrugged and said that he did not get any drawings for the building, so I shrugged and said that I would figure out what we have. I took a walk around the entire building, looking at every corner and crevice. Then I walked every inch of the room on the interior, to get a good feeling for the whole building’s interior. After about twenty minutes of walking around, I pulled out a book that had some blank pages, and then cast two illusions.

  The first was a model that was to scale external and internal that filled a one foot cube. The second one, that I generated on a clean sheet of paper, was how the proposed building would look, without the illusion to cloak it. I showed both to Jonathan and indicated to him how the visuals would be obscured for the tower. He looked over the two models, and was speechless for a minute while he looked over the details of everything. He paid special attention to the original, and looked to be comparing it to the second, before folding both sheets and unfolding them again.

  “Zine,” Jonathan blurted out, “This is amazing. After a twenty minute walk, and less than twelve seconds of conjuring, and you created two Tony Stark level holograms without any need for power or a high end modelling architecture. And this level of detail, it is just… I mean, I’d say amazing but that is just repetitive. And this is the new building? A stepped building that is eighty feet tall? That is invisible to the rest of the world? That is something that S.H.I.E.L.D. can definitely use. I’m going to contact Director Mack via video call immediately.” He then asked for his phone back.

  He stepped to the side, outside of the building, and opened up a video call with someone, who took the message and notes of everything, and told him that Director Mack would get back to him soon. Jonathan walked back into the building, unaware that I had overheard him, and told me that he hoped to hear back soon, but that he would go get some tarps, “zip ties” and spray paint immediately so that we can start working on cleaning out the facility. I told him that I would start cleaning, but that I would not do anything that could be construed as causing problems within the line of sight of anyone who might happen to look in. Jonathan headed back out of the building and I started up two pairs of Unseen Servants with the task of sweeping and cleaning the entire interior. I spent my time using Prestidigitation to eliminate the dust that was built up from their efforts, removing stubborn stains, and cleaning specifically when I wasn’t removing the piles of dirt and grime.

  After about forty-five minutes, when Jonathan got back with three tarps, and two signs that said, “Interior under repair, Restricted Access by City of Norfolk”, the interior was almost completely clean. The Unseen Servants were being more and more thorough with the cleaning, getting to the point where they were scrubbing and using what they could to polish up areas. Jonathan watched the ephemeral forms flitting about the area, and I took a look at the three tarps. I asked Jonathan if there was any way that he could arrange for a large truck to make it to the storage unit so that I could disassemble the lair, and move everything over here. Jonathan snapped out of his muttering, where he was saying something about Unseen Servant being a first level spell and me having four of them currently active, and said that he would get a truck available by the end of the day.

  I grabbed the two smaller tarps, and went to the front and side doors, placing them up, inside of the grating, with the sign on the outside, adhering them to the sides of the wall and floor with the Stick cantrip, but also liberally using the “zip ties” that Jonathan had brought back with him. When he was done on the phone, I asked him if he could help with the roof as well, and I walked out of the building with him following. I had the Unseen Servants grab on to me so that they could all easily go with us, and told Jonathan that I could really use him being the monitor on the ground, to make sure that everything looks right from ground level, and then used a round of my Airwalking ability to ascend to the roof. I made my way to the hole in the roof, and had the Unseen Servants unroll the tarp and hold it into position while I went around with those zip ties and my Stick cantrip to firmly adhere the tarp to the surface, to prevent water from leaking in. Then I checked with Jonathan and everything looked good, so I did the same all the way to the edge, leaving some to overlap.

  By the time I got back down, with the Unseen Servants clinging, and sending them back inside to completely overhaul the room, Jonathan had recovered from the display of the building being vastly cleaner. He told me that Director Mackenzie had gotten back to him while he was at the store, and confirmed that the gems will be in Norfolk by the end of the day. I thanked him and apologized that I would not be able to start on the enchantment until tomorrow morning, but that I would do so specifically as soon as I could. Jonathan nodded and asked what I was planning on doing in the building now that it was secured. I smiled and went back inside, using spray paint to put a thin floor plan on the freshly cleaned concrete.

  When the location of the Tower was marked out, and I confirmed with the model, I started using Stone Shape. I took the concrete that made up the floor, and started turning it into the wall that would be between the E-Bike Garage and Deployment center, and the other areas. The wall is eight inches of solid concrete, from floor to ceiling, and I have a little over sixteen feet of the fifty feet done, in just twenty-four seconds. A little over one hundred cubic feet of the flooring in the tower area has been removed. I noted to Jonathan that it would take a while this way, but once I was done with it, it should pass muster.

  Jonathan asked if I was going to make the tower out of concrete, because if I was, I was going to need a lot more than just this. I told him that I would be making it out of pure granite, and that the granite would be one completely fused structure. I asked him if he could get access to whatever non-stone components I would need to ensure that everything was up to code, and he told me that getting them should not be an issue. I thanked him, and told him that I would be conjuring up some workers to repair and upgrade everything that could be done about this place while we were out. I cast Page-Bound Epiphany, noted the results for my civil codes questions, and then Unseen Crafter five times, to get them working on any failures or discrepancies that were noted in the questions to the Page-Bound Epiphany spell.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  With the Crafters working, and Servants cleaning, I smiled and asked Jonathan to see the two sheets of the diagrams. I wrote twenty-five words on each diagram’s sheet, and then cast Secret Page on each, converting the contents of the page into a simple single page advertisement for an old concert, a different one for each. I set the command word for the original (and external illusionary) form as “tempus aeternalis” and the one that was the one with the actual schematics as “tempus fugit”. I showed them to Jonathan, and told him the command words for each. I explained that people could not see through the concert flyer without extreme force of will, or knowing the command words.

  I then cast two more Page-Bound Epiphany spells, to get an understanding of the electrical codes specifically, and to get an idea of the underground utilities in the area of the building. I added both of these bits of information into my general knowledge book with Amanuensis, and checked my diagram against them to ensure that I could adjust for anything that was underneath the building. Sighing, I asked Jonathan how quickly he could get the truck available, because he would not even need a team, I would load and unload it all myself. I just needed something bigger than my E-Bike to carry the larger items that did not shrink or collapse.

  Jonathan checked and found that he could push his scheduled order up, and that he would go check to see if he could go to the place and pick it up, while I headed back to the storage unit to load everything I could into my E-Bike, and shrink or fold everything that could be folded. I told Rex that I had secured the new warehouse, and that we were moving everything over there. I produced the fish that I had gotten for him, and he consumed it readily. Then I brought the cans of kitten food out and put on a big display of putting food out for all of them. They were a little skittish, but after I backed up, and Bright-Eyes came forward, the six of them came forward and started consuming the food.

  I went to the different rooms, and started to pack up everything I could, into every pocket that I could. Every foldable cot, every floating pillow, the table, the camp chairs (which I would likely just leave off to the side in the warehouse), all of the smaller things. The main “big” things left were the book shelves, the ritual table, the scrying table, the chairs for both of them, the two mannequins, the weapon rack, the laboratory of Quadratic Alchemy, the quality improvement chamber, the desiccation vault, the bathroom equipment, the tent itself, and of course, the other inhabitants of the warehouse, the Mini-Avengers, Rex, and the Cat Crew.

  Jonathan eventually made it back, and he drove a fairly regular looking passenger van. I opened up the far back of it, and it was a facade. I put everything into it that I could, without dismantling, and the rest was minimal. Everything fit, though it took some coaxing by Rex to get the kittens to go up into the van. Bright-Eyes looked up and me before hopping up in herself, with Rex and her brood.

  The van drove there and I followed along behind it, and we made decent time, with no major issues. Once there, Jonathan backed up to the singular side grating, and I unloaded everything. I set up the tent again, but only had the actual necessities still in there. Anything that could be outside of the tent, stuff that was fairly innocuous, was left outside the tent for now. I asked Rex if he could keep the kittens occupied with this new building.

  That left Bright-Eyes, who was taking her time, walking around the area, inspecting her new domain. I looked over at Jonathan, who was taking in the whole room, and walked over to him to explain my main idea for him. I told him that the city was going to be looking for some kind of factory here, from what was expected for more of the gear that we had already provided. The city has the terms, and will very likely want to get more of them, so what we can do is open up an office front for the building’s internal structure. This can, and should, be staffed by under cover S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, acting as account managers and whatever.

  I continued, telling him that this would allow them to come and go as they please, but give the city an “official” way to access the “company”. Jonathan was following along and asked what we should call this company. I thought about it for a minute, and said that since the runes that showed up on the sides of the SHAPE goggles, were stitched into the hem of the Mustang Gloves, and on the piece of the visor next to the attachment point of the VECTOR Visors translated to either “Health” and “Luck” or the letters “B” and “P”, we should likely go off of that. Jonathan quickly replied that the letters B and P, in that order, were associated with a company called “British Petroleum”, and that this would be an unfortunate connotation. I offhandedly mentioned that we should go with P and B then.

  Jonathan laughed and said that we would need to be specific, because PB is normally Peanut Butter, especially here in Virginia. I sighed, and something that I had heard somewhere once, flickered into my mind, and I told him that maybe we should use a proper name, like maybe Paul, or Pamela, or Patrick? Yeah, the Patrick Bateman Company. That has a certain ring to it. Very sharp and sounds like it is on the edge of the market. Something that could definitely go on business cards. What do you think?

  I used Prestidigitation to “create” a temporary business card with some mockup details for him to visualize, using his name and some fictitious position information. Jonathan looked at the card, and seemed to be mulling it over in his head, before he put his hands on his face and laughed for about two minutes straight. When he stopped, he asked me if I knew that the name Patrick Bateman had certain connotations. I shrugged and said that Patrick sounded like a good solid name, but since I didn’t know anyone by that name, it should not be an issue. For the last name, I figured that Norfolk used to be a big fishing village at one time, so someone who handled bait would have been a common profession to have been linked to a name, and since it isn’t anymore, it is likely that someone like that would have moved to a different profession.

  Jonathan looked at me and said that Patrick Bateman was a “Wall Street Hedge fund manager that was a psychopath” that killed people with axes. I looked a bit mortified at that, and asked if we should change it to something else. He seemed quiet in reflection, and after a minute said, “You know what, it is perfect misdirection. No one publicly will EVER think to associate a medical supply company with the name “The Patrick Bateman Company” with S.H.I.E.L.D., and even if it is brought up, almost everyone in the world will think it is just some kind of internet joke or troll. It is so on the nose that it has fallen off again. I’ll try to make sure that the Director knows that you had no idea about the origin of that name in social media, but the spin should be able to work. We’ll just abbreviate it to PBC, like how your card does, for most things.”

  I smiled and thanked him, saying that I was going to have a few hours where I needed to do… something, until I could use my Fortifying Magic Bedroll to get my arcana supply back and recast the Stone Shape spells to make the next batch of the wall. Jonathan nodded and said that he was going to be heading back to his current job, and get some business cards printed up for this new venture. Jonathan headed out to the van and I informed Rex that I would be doing some tours around town, just to keep my presence known, and the criminal element fearful. Rex nodded and said that he would begin training the kittens on hunting techniques. I locked the gate behind me, and started riding away.

  After I was a few blocks away, I changed my outfit to drop the illusion and show my armor and kept the bike looking like a high end electric motorcycle. I stopped by the storage unit and pulled my phone back out of the extradimensional pocket, to ensure that I had phone connectivity with others, and continued my ride. For a few hours, I rode around, with no real concerns from the criminal class. After a bit, I caught up with Hawkeye, in his new gear, with his attire looking suitably strong and intimidating. His “leather jacket” still had the vague dragon wing pattern in the back, but it was very faint.

  I put my phone back into the extradimensional space as I came close, and we talked for a bit, before I told him about how I would be relocating to a new facility in the city, and that I hoped his further explorations with his new gear were going well. Clint told me that the fact that he can be as armored as he is, and still look like he is just rolling around in regular gear is amazing. He told me that he was getting used to all of the new features and putting them together, and that he had taken the liberty to take down a couple of odds and ends criminal gang members with his new equipment. I told him that it was a great use, and that he should continue to do good with it, as long as the punishment is not vastly greater than the crime. Hawkeye agreed and said that doesn’t mean that they should keep their ill-gotten gains at all, to which I immediately agreed, wholeheartedly.

  After a few hours of riding around, a group of four of the “Pagans” Motorcycle Gang, likely looking to spread into the area, came rolling up on us, and started surrounding us, boxing the two of us in. I looked over at Clint, and he shrugged, with a smile on his face, and then slightly nodded. I knew that I didn’t have any true magic available, so I focused on my maneuvers and stances. The “Pagans” started to slow down to force us off the road, and I knew what was going to happen. I stealthily got my pistol summoned to my hand via the attached weapon crystal, and got ready for the encounter.

  Clint managed to catch it with his improved perceptive capabilities, and got himself ready too. When we pulled to a stop, we both sprung into action as the bikers were just getting off of their vehicles. Hawkeye and I were quick enough to get the jump on them even though they were the ones planning on jumping us. Hawkeye’s wings spread wide as he changed into his heroic attire and flew straight up and unleashed a storm of arrows, while I rolled low coming up in my own gear, in the Stance of Piercing Rays, and fired off a pair of shots to the two that were on my side of the fracas. I focused on the first one, that was furthest from me, and activated my Searing Burst power before both shots, I took aim and expended my focus on the one I had hit, dropping them, before shifting my aim to the other one and invoking Iron Fang on the strike, staggering them.

  With the conflict dealt with, I asked Hawkeye what he’d like to do with these fools. Hawkeye smiled and said that the Norfolk PD could easily take care of their accommodations, and that he could drop off the bikes and money to the… I stopped him and told him it was better if I didn’t know, and just told him that I trusted him to get their ill gotten gains to the best place for them to do the most good. Hawkeye nodded and said that he’d talk with the cops and get the items to the best location. I smiled and said that he had a good heart, and that I trusted him with this new equipment to do even more world wide.

  We split up and I continued to patrol while Clint did his thing. I rode through Huntersville, checking out how things have changed since I first got here. Gone were the open drug deals and muggings. There were even a few people who waved to me. I nodded politely to them as I passed and eventually made my way back to Downtown Norfolk after going through a few other wards and areas.

  The reception was pretty much the same throughout the city, without much concerning activity that I saw on the quick rides through the areas, and by the time I was back at the new warehouse, Jonathan was just getting there from the end of his workday. I pulled the bike into the future E-Bike garage, and welcomed Jonathan into the warehouse. Jonathan noted how much cleaner the warehouse was even after the timespan. Jonathan told me that he had had the meeting with Director Mack, and proposed everything that we had discussed and Director Mackenzie had said that it was terrible, but also terribly effective. He then pulled out a large bag that was clinking as he moved it. I grabbed it and it weighed a little over a pound and a half!

  Jonathan told me that this was the needed gemstones for three sets of the illusionary screening. He noted that S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted one for their study, and the two here, one for the tower itself, and one for the next door parking lot to be a landing pad for a Quinjet. I nodded and told him that I would make it so, and work on the building while I was available. Jonathan nodded and said that Director Mackenzie wanted a prospective timeline tomorrow morning so he could use an estimate from me for how long it was going to take then. I told him that I would and wished him a good night, as I needed to grab a nap quick.

  Jonathan seemed a bit offput, but headed out and I locked everything up and got into the tent and into my bed with the Fortifying Bedroll on me. It wasn’t even long enough to get a dream in, but I felt refreshed enough to gather up my arcana reserves after the nap. I burned through my spell roster to use Stone Shape again, getting another sixteen feet of wall. I did some rough math, and realized that I would finish the firewall fairly soon, but then I started doing the mental math and figured that if I was going to be working off of just my spellcasting, it would take over half a year. I knew that I would need to get the magic of crafting on the job, and figured that I would just have to make my way around it starting tomorrow.

  I summoned up almost a dozen Unseen Crafters to continue working away on removing the rebar exposed when the concrete was shaped away from it. I summoned up six Unseen Servants to clean and stack up the pieces overnight. With another series of arcane spells expended and I set up my enchanting station, and prepared for another day of work. Just before I was ready to head to be, I got my nightly Sending from Amber, telling me that she missed me and that she felt that she felt like she was close to breaking through something. I replied back to her that I had faith in her, and that I knew that she could do it, and that I missed her too. All in all, a good day.

  Iron Horse Badge:

  Aura strong transmutation; CL 13th

  Slot none; Price 4,500 gp; Weight —

  Description

  This emblem is made of Epoxiclay and studded with Rubies and Emeralds. It is designed to look like a styled phoenix holding a wrench and a piston in its talons. Once per day, a spontaneous caster with the Phantom Chopper spell, can draw upon this emblem to cast the spell—doing so is part of the spellcasting action, and expends that emblem’s power for the day rather than one of the spellcaster’s actual spell slots for the day. The Iron Horse Badge regains the power every morning at dawn. The Iron Horse Emblem must be adhered to a two wheeled vehicle to work.

  Construction

  Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, creator must be able to spontaneously cast spells the appropriate spell; Cost 2,250 gp