8 Shopping Trip

Only after getting Hailey's name and leaving did I remember the whole money situation, which meant I had to go back to grab all the cash I could find.

Thankfully, I was able to sneak past Hailey, because otherwise I would have been super embarrassed.

After that, all I had to worry about was cleaning all of the blood off of myself.

I decided to go to that house I broke into on my first night here, since I at least knew that there was a working shower there.

So after first retrieving my bag, I broke back in there and decided to just ditch the clothes because there was frankly way more blood covering them that I first thought.

At least I managed to clean my mask without problem, so silver linings and all that. Then I simply got cleaned up, made sure there wasn't any blood in my hair, got changed, put my blue contacts back in and made my way back to the flat.

It was a little past ten when I got there and the boys were both in the front room playing Mario Cart when I opened the door.

"Hello! I'm back." I greet, but my only response is a pair of grunts as they both focus on playing Rainbow Road.

Shrugging to myself, I make my way to James' room, or I suppose, my temporary room, and I deposit my bag by the bed, deciding to trust that they won't snoop around and notice the eight grand of cash under my clothes and the mask under that.

I counted the money after my shower and it was about how much I was expecting to be honest, not a massive amount but still substantial.

Certainly enough to tide me over, not to mention I can actually buy some new cape clothes now, but to be honest I'm thinking that stealing them might actually be a better idea, at least if I want to go for something distinctive.

Because if there are only a few people with a specific item then if I wear it as a cape it's only a case of finding who has it you know?

With my bag deposited, I return to the front room where the boys are in the final lap and James absently shuffles aside so I can join them on the edge of the sofa.

After a minute of intense focus, broken only occasionally by a muttered curse, or a very loud curse, the game ultimately ends with James getting blue shelled and Theo taking first place right at the end.

Naturally, this was followed by James yelling an impressive amount of vitriol, some of which was pretty racist, while Theo just laughed at him and I watched in amusement.

Once that was finally over, James turns to me, now calm after getting that out of his system.

"Sorry about that, Mario Cart is a very serious activity," he says before holding out a spare remote to me, "you wanna join?" He asks.

With a smile on my lips I take the offered remote, "sure, but I get Princess Peach."

My conditions accepted, we load up a new game and spend the rest of the night shouting, yelling, cursing and just having an all 'round good time.

As I go to bed that night, I do so with a smile.

---

The next day I slept in. By the time I actually got up, the boys were long gone and a quick check of the clock shows that it's a little past midday.

Deciding that it's about time I got some luxuries back now that I have some money to fall back on, I take out some clothes and necessities out of my bag, leaving only my mask, money and a hoodie to cover them.

That done, I am ready to feel human again and buy me a goddamn phone or two, as well as whatever else catches my eye.

Damn, it's not even that much money and I'm already loving it, it just makes me want even more money.

Maybe I could rob a bank or something? Just for the style points.

Eh, I'll think about it later, right now I've got shopping to do.

It doesn't take me too long to reach the main commercial area of the city dressed in a simple pair of tight blue jeans and a white blouse under a black zip up hoodie that I've left unzipped.

At first I just wonder around, enjoying the city atmosphere of bustling people living their lives under the midday sun.

As someone who grew up in the boonies, I've always held an appreciation for bustling cities like this. I mean, just looking forward I can see 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴 of people, each one living their lives.

I just think there's something magical about that.

So many people, so many stories, all gathered together.

It really makes me reflect on my humanity, which is something I don't really like doing these days so I quickly look around for a shop that can distract me and quickly notice DracoTech store and against my better judgement, decide to make my way over.

I mean, on one hand, buying tech that is literally designed by 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 herself, the worlds single greatest tinker, is kind of a stupid thing to do for an up and coming villain/vigilante, whatever you want to call me.

But on the other hand, I can buy tech designed by the worlds single greatest tinker.

The pair of guards at the front don't stop me as I enter through the automatic glass doors and take a moment to just admire how it feels like I just stepped a decade into the future.

The whole room is a startling white, but somehow it doesn't feel blinding, the counters are a light, comfortable blue and are holding items from phones to computers to- is that a microwave?

There are about a dozen people meandering about, but there is no need to concern for space since the room itself is way bigger than a normal shop, more like a mall really, just dedicated purely to Dragon's shit.

Seriously, isn't she supposed to be a Hero? How much free time does she have to design all of this shit?

Then again, I'm not a tinker, maybe she can clone herself or something, work on multiple projects at once. Or maybe she just gets bored.

I suppose she 𝘪𝘴 a dragon, it makes sense for her to want more variety to her 'hoard'.

Shrugging to myself, I make my way over to where the phones are.

I was planning to get a laptop and a phone or two, but if I'm getting a DracoTech phone then I won't really need a laptop, since the phone will be able to do anything any normal laptop could.

That and I would be broke again if I tried to get both.

DracoTech is 𝘯𝘰𝘵 cheap.

I must have been standing here for a while, trying to pick the best deal but not really understanding enough about tech to have any idea what the words I'm reading mean, seriously, what the fuck is a 'quad-core', I assume it's like how cars have V8 and V6 and shit, but then again I don't know anything about cars either.

Because I am brought out of my thoughts by one of the workers here.

"Excuse me Miss, is there anything specific you are looking for? Perhaps I can be of assistance?" A pleasant voice comes from my side.

By pleasant, I don't mean 'nice to hear', but more that typical, practiced customer service voice.

When I look to my side, there is a guy dressed in a smart blue uniform that has a stylized dragon coiling around a birdcage on the right of his chest, Dragon's symbol, and he has equally smart black hair, jelled back, presumably so that is doesn't get in the way of his glasses.

"Ah, yeah, I guess. I don't really know what all this stuff means." I say, gesturing to all the words and numbers surrounding the display phones.

The guy, Dennis, if his name tag is anything to go by, smiles at my answer before responding.

"Yes, it can be confusing for anyone who hasn't studied it," why do I feel like I just got insulted? "But if you just tell me what you are looking to use your phone for, then I can find one that will be the best fit for you." He finishes with a smile that feels a lot more fake than his earlier one.

Not that I blame him, I might not have worked for long, but I understand that the customer service smile becomes a habit after a while.

Still, I think for a moment, what do I want my phone to be capable of?

Obviously, I'm not going to be using it for anything criminal, in fact, I'm not even going to connect it to the same WIFI as anything that I am using for criminality.

It is, again, DracoTech after all, and I refuse to believe that it isn't chock full of spyware, everything is these days after all.

So I'm only going to be using it for casual, civilian stuff. With that in mind, I speak.

"Well, I only really need it to run Solitaire and Minesweeper. The internet too I guess, gotta keep up with PHO after all." I finish with a smile.

When I look at Dennis however, his smile is twitching like he is struggling to keep it in place.

What's up with that?

"So, you want to buy a DracoTech phone.. to play Minesweeper?" He asks with a weirdly tense voice.

I just nod my head, "Yep! Solitaire too though, and the internet of course."

"R-right. You want to buy a multi-thousand dollar phone to play Minesweeper and Solitaire. Of course. In that case, please follow me." He says, raising an arm to the side in a gesture of direction that I happily take.

I don't know why his voice seems all weird now though, maybe he just ate something bad and is feeling it?

Eh, who cares.

A few minutes and $1500 shorter and I am leaving the store, satisfied with my purchase.

The first thing I do after leaving the store is install my two favourite games, then I just go back to wondering, joining the hustle and bustle once more.

Now, time to buy some clothes.

With that in mind, I go back to wondering about, window shopping and sometimes walking in a shop that seems interesting to browse.

I buy myself a new set of 'cape clothes' from a military surplus store, completely forgetting my plan to steal them to avoid having the purchase of them traced back to me, too happy to just be spending money.

I end up finding a store that sells 'burner phones', so I end up getting a pair of those too, but I don't turn them on yet.

I don't really understand how tech works, so I'm just going to be paranoid about it and keep things as separated as I can.

Some time later and an extra bag added to my other shoulder that I got from the surplus store, and I am looking around in a clothing store when I see a long black cardigan that for some inexplicable reason, I just feel like I 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 have.

I don't know what it is about it, I guess that I'm just a big fan of the aesthetic, not to mention it is comfortable.

A few minutes later and I am walking out of the store clad in a nice, long black cardigan that goes all the way down to my knees, with another two copies of it in one of my bags.

Well, that's about everything that I might really need or want bought, not to mention my bags are full and I've spent like, half of my money.

With that in mind, I start navigating the streets to get back home.

-----------------------------

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Woo, who doesn't love shopping?

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