Opening the door pulled a magnet set in the hinged edge just far enough away from the reed switch hidden in the frame to break the circuit. A pulse of information flew from the door sensor to the control box, which was programmed to do exactly one thing during business hours.

A pleasant chime rang out over the speakers throughout the store, interrupting the low-volume classical melody that permeated the space.

Leah set her phone down on the counter next to the register, glancing our way. She didn’t exactly scream “fashion,” at a glance, with her pageboy haircut, jeans, and plain gray polo. Part of that was a psychology thing. Views of a suit in the mirror made a customer look even better by comparison if the salesperson in the background intentionally kept themselves bland-looking.

“Hi, Mr. Maye,” Leah called, stepping out from behind the counter.

“This is Leah Valentine,” I informed Rolando, as she joined us. “Bellow Street’s haberdasher.”

“Seamstress,” she insisted. She turned to the guest. “You are?”

“Rolo,” he said.

“Haberdasher,” I corrected her.

“God damn it,” she half-whispered.

“We’re here to discuss a suit,” I said.

“It’s not accurate,” Leah complained. “A haberdasher is someone who specializes in men’s clothing. I would accept clothier, or even tailor, but-“

“Hey. We’re here to discuss a suit,” I said.

Leah sighed. “Is this for a new order?”

“New enough to make a statement,” I answered.

“Oh, okay.” Leah turned her attention to Rolando. “So, what can you do?”

“Excuse me?” asked Rolan- Rolo. I updated my mental file on the man’s preferred nickname.

“Relax. I’m sworn to secrecy on these matters,” Leah said.

Rolo shot me a look.

“I suppose it’s time I mentioned this.” I stood to my full height, rolling my shoulders back. “I’m not just a property broker. There’s a name that’s called in the shadows of-“

“Yeah, you’re Boggart. So?”

“Come on,” I said. “People hate being interrupted in this line of work.”

“There’s no point to monologues,” Rolo said.

“Theatrics keep us noble,” I insisted. “A cut above the common thugs of the world.”

“Noble?” Rolo scoffed.

I tried to maintain a patient demeanor. “Yes. And I was talking about us. Not as in villains, as in everyone with powers.”

“So, you finally admit you’re a villain.”

“And you’re a vigilante,” I countered. “Now, do you want to do it right, or not?”

Rolo rolled his eyes. “You don’t get to decide that.”

“If you’re a vigilante,” I stressed, “then we’re both operating outside the law, and I have way more experience with that than you seem to.”

“You should give me that in writing,” he said.

Alright, that almost got a laugh out of me. One point to Rolo.

Leah must have sensed that I wasn’t going to respond. “So, my question stands, Rolo. What can you do?”

Rolo leaned on his umbrella. “Why?”

“It’s important context,” she said. “If you’ve got a fire thing going on, I have to pick different materials than if you’ve got, say, stretchy powers.”

“What is she talking about?”

“I’m glad you asked, my friend,” I said, enjoying the twitch on Rolo’s forehead at that last word. “See, you and I met because you thought you were too good for a costume. I say you’re wrong, and I think I proved my point. That means you’ve got something on your shopping list, and Bellow Street is here to help.”

“You make costumes?” Rolo asked.

“My whole life!” Leah beamed.

Rolo cocked his head in my direction.

“You want a costume, you ask a cosplayer,” I shrugged. “Common sense, isn’t it?”

“Huh.”

Shortly after getting my powers, I’d invested in the travel expenses to visit the big pop culture conventions, making a point to strike up conversations with the best-dressed attendees. That didn’t mean formalwear, given the context. I’d found someone I thought I could work with at the third convention. He turned me down, though, so I’d gone to two more.

“So…?”

Rolo’s gaze drifted around the shop, taking in the displays of suits. “Do you get a lot of clients of… our caliber?”

“Well, this is the second-best super-outfitter in Nevada,” Leah boasted. “With Boggart’s network, that info isn’t too hard to learn.”

“And our prices are fairer than what you get in Vegas,” I added. “I’ll cover this one, by the way.”

“Sounds good,” Leah said.

“Rat man.”

“You hear something?” I asked Leah.

“Take this,” Rolo continued, gripping the middle of his umbrella. There was a click, and he pulled the handle away from the folded canopy. He tucked the upper half of the umbrella under one arm, freeing up his hand to grab the blade he’d revealed from within it.

“Oh, what the hell? That’s what that was?”

“Take the sword, Boggart.”

I gingerly took hold of the umbrella handle. Rolo undid the snap on the tie, then opened the umbrella.

“That’s bad luck, you know,” Leah said.

“I don’t need luck. Take a swing, rat man.”

“Seriously?”

“It’s your one chance to get rid of me,” Rolo smirked.

“I don’t think ‘he told me to stab him’ is going to hold up in court,” I said.

“Going once.”

I shook my head, adjusted my grip on the sword, and lunged at Rolo. He put the umbrella between himself and the thrust. My hand stung from the shock that traveled down the blade — not an electric shock, but the kinetic shock of hitting a solid surface with a metal rod. I lost my grip, and the blade clattered to the floor.

Rolo closed the undamaged umbrella.

“That’s what I can do,” he said.

“See, this is the type of situation where you should monologue,” I pointed out. “Because I respect the demonstration thing, but it wasn’t clear at all.”

“Hm.”

“And, third time’s the charm,” Leah said. “What can you do?”

“I can make things indestructible,” Rolo sighed. “With a mere touch.”

“Define things,” I prompted.

“You know, items. Objects.”

“Can you do a car?”

“I can do a car door,” he said. “Or a steering wheel. Vehicles are made of too many things to count as a thing.”

“…What?”

“I can do a wall,” Rolo said. “Well, certain walls. Not a brick wall. It would just be the bricks I was touching.”

“So not a log cabin wall either, I’m guessing?”

“Not that this isn’t fascinating,” Leah spoke up, “but I’d like to steer the conversation toward what actually helps me.”

“Did you actually test a brick wall? Those are pretty durable on their own.”

“I get a sense of whether it’s working or not,” Rolo clarified.

“Any major limits?” Leah asked.

Rolo glared at me.

“I’ll go get the measuring stuff,” I said. “Open the door when I can come back.”

“This is still your employee, no?” Rolo asked.

“I take my confidentiality agreements seriously,” Leah fussed.

I’d suggested the confidentiality standards on Bellow Street. A black market was the sort of place where privacy was a selling point. Principles aside, the social power I gained by making myself trustworthy outweighed the blackmail opportunities I was giving up.

Not that principles weren’t important, of course.

When the chime of the door signaled me to return, I brought Leah’s haberdashing bag to the sales floor. She started taking basic measurements.

“What color palette were we thinking?” Leah asked.

“I don’t care.”

“That’s a very dangerous answer,” I commented.

“Black and blue,” Rolo amended.

“Have you picked a nom de guerre?” Leah asked.

“A what?”

“Try sobrenombre,” I said.

“I don’t speak Spanish,” Rolo snapped.

“…Well, shit. Sorry.”

“What are you calling yourself in costume?” Leah clarified.

“Uh. Hm. What’s that story about the shield and the spear?”

“The paradox? Tempting fate,” I said.

“Good point. How about Bulwark?”

“I think that one’s taken.”

“Not by a customer,” Leah said.

I held up a search result on my phone.

“Well, what do you suggest?”

“Hardass,” I quipped.

“Shouldn’t have bothered,” Rolo sighed. “Uh… Pavise?”

I checked it, then put my phone away. “Works.”

“That’s a type of shield, right?” Leah asked.

Rolo nodded.

“I’ll sketch up some ideas,” she said, rolling up her measuring tape. “Come on back in a while, and we’ll hammer out the finer details.”

“In the meantime, you might as well know what else is for sale around here,” I said. “Tour continues this-a-way. You remember the password for this place?”

“There was a password?”

“I remember all my customers, you know,” Leah said.

“You can never be too careful,” I advised, thinking of Spot and Buridan.

“The password was ‘new enough to make a statement,’” Leah reminded Rolo.

“That’s a passphrase.”

“And it’s not the last one you’re learning today,” I said. “So pay attention. Let’s go.”

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