Debts To Be Settled

29

Ravager stands in the middle of the second floor. He continues to wear the strange gym clothing, his secret charm working overtime to hide the edges of his appearance. He crosses his arms over his chest, staring at Tommy with impatience and boredom. He exhales sharply out of his mouth, and steam begins to billow out like Ravager's insides are made of fire. Tommy stands across from Ravager. He wears a bright, giddy smile on his face. He shifts from heel to heel. He holds the edges of a white blanket that vaguely take on the impressions of a human torso. The two of them meet each other's eyes. Ravager raises an eyebrow, and Tommy calls out, "Prepare yourself!"

Ravager shrugs his shoulders in his form of preparation. Tommy rolls his eyes, but nothing is able to keep the smile off his face as he takes a step away. The white blanket pulls off the mannequin, revealing the costume Tommy has lavishly prepared.

The torso is made from a dark metal material, somewhere between leather and metal, and covered in tactical straps for knives or daggers. One of the straps loops around to a quiver for arrows. This is overlaid with dull gold chains, gossamer thin like a garrote. The pants are a dark red color in a shade most similar to dried blood swirling in shadows. There are more holsters here along the thighs, disappearing into the heavy boots. A heavy, richly red cloak with a white fur-lined collar rests on top of the ensemble, hiding the long sleeves. Unlike the other components of the armor, the sleeves do not have any straps or holsters. Instead, there are coppery red metal bracers that can extend into short swords. There are holsters along the back for a larger sword or maybe even a battle axe. While all of this is certainly intimidating, the scariest part of the whole design is the mask and headpiece. The mask covers the bottom half of the face, made from a golden metal and carved with the sinister image of a gaping mouth filled wide with sharp, predatory teeth. The headpiece resembles a wild boar rearing its ugly head, the dead eyes replaced with shimmering emeralds– a gemstone Tommy found in the box for some reason.

Ravager hums to himself. He looks a little less bored, but he's no less impatient and there isn't a flicker of impressment on his face. Tommy's face flushes with embarrassment, a shot of fear mixed in for good measure. Then, Tommy remembers the oath Ravager made about not hurting Tommy, and the teenager gets righteously angry. "Oh, fuck off! At least try it on before you look at it like it killed your favorite bitch... dog, I mean, your favorite dog, not- Ah, nevermind. Just try it on already!"

Ravager huffs as Tommy starts pushing him toward the outfit. Tommy helps Ravager unload all of the stuff from the mannequin into Ravager's reluctant arms. The villain seems entirely unimpressed with how much work it takes to unlatch each piece, but Tommy refuses to elaborate. Epic suits require a little bit of time. They're like a fine wine, Tommy thinks, using a metaphor he believes he learned from Wilbur or maybe even Quackity. Either way, Tommy, as someone who has never drank wine, completely agrees. The suit might take a little time to get on and off, but that isn't necessarily a design flaw. In fact, Tommy suspects it's better. While Tommy doubts the heroes could capture Ravager, if they did, they won't be able to find out his secret identity for a good while.

Tommy shows Ravager to the bathroom. Ravager's face sneers at the quality of the bathroom. Tommy kicks Ravager's ankle. The villain's eyes flash with anger, and Tommy stands proudly behind the oath Ravager swore. The villain raises a hand to Tommy, but he lets it drop as he disappears into the bathroom. Tommy turns around, hearing the click of the bathroom's door. Tommy stifles a laugh. He is excited to see Ravager in the suit, and his happiness threatens to bubble out of him like water in a pot on the stove.

Tommy takes a couple of steps away from the bathroom. He grabs a needle and some thread from his desk. Like with all the other suits, Tommy isn't certain he really got the measurements correct. If anything fits weirdly, it is up to the tailor to fix that. If Tommy is going to start making suits for people, he might as well go all in and do it correctly.