Understanding. (5)

It didn't take all that long for Visuveus to return, dressed in a white, skin tight, spandex suit. It had a fluff ball that served as a tail on the small of his back, an opening where Visuveus' face stuck out, and a full googly eyed Llama head that sat on the man's cranium like a Hi-Top fade. With each step he took, the googly eyes rattled, and the tongue that hung from the cartoonish Llama mouth shook about as well. The costume was almost unbearably tight, and left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Visuveus walked through the doorway, but was stopped in his tracks as the Llama head hit the top of the opening, causing him to stumble back a little bit. Much to the surprise of those inside the room, silence was maintained, and Visuveus simply tried again, ducking under the top of the doorway and making his way around to the front of the room, with everybody's heads following him until he reached his destination. He then raised the placard that was in his left hand and began to read in a deadpan voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, my name is Lorenzo Llama(s) your friendly neighbourhood Logistics Llama. Logistics companies and are either unwilling to come to areas like this, or charge ridiculous amounts of money to come through if they are. We at Dawn Logistics are not only willing to come to you, but we're willing to do it at a fraction of the cost. This is why we are here in front of you. Don't miss out. The early bird catches the worm. Rise with the Dawn, and let us handle all of your logistics needs."

After finishing the cold reading, Visuveus looked at his colleagues and employer, who were all absolutely gobsmacked at what they had just witnessed.

"Okay, let me change into the other one." Visuveus said, looking unruffled as he walked off, ducking under the doorway once again.

Silence persisted in the meeting, with the odd gulp occasionally breaking it.

"Am I having a stroke, or did a possible evil mass murderer walk in here in a spandex Llama outfit and deliver the most blood chilling promotional cold read ever given?" Morgannin asked nobody in particular.

"Either it did happen, or we're all having the same stroke." Natalie responded, before wiping her brow with her hand and looking at her moist palm. "Holy shit, I'm sweating."

"That's weird… you're sweating, but obviously it's cold in here." Morgannin responded. "Visuveus' nipples were poking through the spandex like crazy. Just how tight was that thing? And was he always that muscular?"

"That dude is huge." Natalie blurted out.

"You're talking about his body, right?"

Natalie and Morgannin were having this conversation while staring into the space – much like everybody else. Well, almost everybody else. Bryant, who had a smirk on his face, was staring at Ryan. The chatter was cut short when approaching footsteps shut everybody up. Visuveus entered wearing yet another skin tight, white spandex costume except this time, the tail was a ball of feathers, there were fluffy feathers on his back, and the head piece was that of a goose. He entered, made his way around to the front again, and raised the placard.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, my name is Mark-Paul GOOSE-elaar, and I am…"

Owing to Visuveus having to leave and make it home before curfew, the fitting session ended rather quickly. Everybody looked at the ex-con, now dressed in an immaculately tailored suit nod and walk off. The gazes then shifted to Ryan, who closed his eyes and took a deep breath, readying himself for whatever everybody was going to say.

"Moo Diamond Philips?" Morgannin said incredulously, speaking first. "The cow tights with the diamond for a tail?"

"Why was everything white and tight?" Natalie asked. "It was like he was wearing briefs on his entire body. You had that man in tighty whities!"

"Look it's not that bad." Ryan responded through gritted teeth. "The outfits were all just proof of concept, nothing more. Once we decide which design fits best, we'll­­—"

"They all sucked. We won't use any of them. I won't release any more money other than the allotted budget. You have until the end of the week."

Sonny rattled all of this off while sounding equal parts disinterested and annoyed. He then turned around and walked off with his hands in his pockets. Natalie shook her head and also walked off, grumbling something about white underwear. Morgannin showed absolute disgust with the names of the mascots as he walked off, and everybody left Bryant alone with Ryan. The taller, bearded man had a smirk so large on his face, that even his considerable facial hair couldn't hide it. Ryan sighed, but didn't say a thing – he just waiting for the incoming roast.

"…this is why I kept asking you about getting that man's sizes."

"I had it covered."

"No you didn't. You opened his locker, and sneaked a few pictures of his suit before closing it and running away."

"That was enough, okay! Or at least, it seemed to be enough. I mean, it's spandex. It's supposed to be stretchy enough to…"

"This is what happens when you're late every morning. I've changed with that cat, I've seen his dimensions. He's got super long limbs, a vast upper back, thick arms… his shit is tailored for a reason."

"I get it B."

"Do you really? You squandered a good portion of your budget on these, and it's not like you're gonna be able to alter what you've got. You gotta start from scratch, baby."

Bryant, who was usually strict and stiff to a fault, only got sassy when he was amused or feeling vindicated. At this point in time, he was both, and he couldn't hide it.

"Yeah, well that's fine! I'll take care of—"

"You do remember that you also need to arrange a PA System, fireworks, the whole nine yards. Will you still have enough left over after redoing the costume? Also, what about time? Will you have enough of that?"

"Yes! I'll take care of it all, okay!" Ryan snapped, seemingly tired of Bryant's nagging.

There was a lull in conversation as Ryan collected the neatly folded costumes and was getting ready to leave, before Bryant approached and stood right in front of him.

"What now?!"

"Here." Bryant said as he handed Ryan a business card. "The contact details of somebody I know who designs and makes costumes. This dude has made many a costume for many a children's party entertainer, will make something for us as I've already spoken to him."

"Wha…?"

"He already has Visuveus Vincent's height and sizes, but I recommend a design that won't rely on anything other than his height. Design something durable and loose fitting that will give him room to breathe and maneuver in there."

"Huh?"

"If you design something roomy enough, you'll be able to fit everything in there. The speakers, the megaphone, the pyro, everything. And if that's the case, he'll be able to do everything himself which will minimize the cost since everything will be taken care of in house. The money that's left should be enough."

"…why are you doing this?"

"To teach a very valuable lesson."

"Which is?"

"Listen to Captain Killjoy, baby."

Bryant's smirk grew to be so pronounced; his eyes even lit up. He then patted Ryan's shoulder and glanced up towards Sonny's office, before turning around and walking out of the building a lean dip. Ryan looked dumbfounded and annoyed, before suddenly realizing something and calling out to B.

"How the hell did you get his sizes?!"

"I asked him!" Bryant yelled back before closing the door.

A rather stifling silence filled the building, and Ryan broke it after staring at the business card for a bit before dialing the number and speaking.

"Hello? I got your number from Bryant…"

Meanwhile, in Sonny's office, the woman who seemed to live in there glanced at the tubby man with a smirk, before looking back at her computer and humming a cheery tune as she worked.

"Shut it." Sonny said as he too sat down and grumpily typed away.

A little later that evening, a message came through on Visuveus' phone from the only person whom he had any kind of text conversation with.

'How was work?'

'Meh. It was work.'

'Anything interesting happen?'

'I donned the Exo-Suit and packed some boxes. My month to drive will be soon.'

'Looking forward to it?'

"I guess… oh, and the secret promotional thing I told you about is coming up later this week, so we had a rehearsal of sorts.'

'…what was it like?'

'That's confidential.'

'…you're still going to be in the suit?'

'Yeah. I've got dialogue and everything.'

'…you're not being bullied, are you Vi?'

'Those weaklings wouldn't dare. They know I'd destroy them.'

'Actually, you wouldn't.'

'Leave me alone.'

SkyyStar, who was hovering in place, having taken a small break during his nightly patrol, sighed deeply as he put his phone away.

"You're definitely being hazed, Vi… you just suck at non villainous social interactions."

The Superhero sighed once more, and then flew off, continuing his patrol.