The gauntlet project continued for another two days as I started working on integrating the new pieces and adding the cover plates and accessories to make them look presentable. Some things needed to be rearranged when I hid the wiring and the more ugly-looking pieces. The initial outer design and covering pieces I fashioned out of aluminum and modeled them off of the Frost Cloak designs.

Once the new pieces were in place I ran the tests again, once with the gauntlet on the table, and the second time with it strapped to my arm. I wore a specialized glove for the second test which helped block some of the cold from getting into my fingers. Despite the precautions, my fingers still felt numb after the test. Though once it entered Sydney’s hands her powers would negate those effects.

The final tests and looks for the gauntlet were done the day after I got the new parts. All that was left was for me to make a matching glove for the other hands. It went by much faster the second time. With the finalized prototype model in ARGO, I easily followed its instructions and assembly part list until it was finished.

On the final day before pick up, I did a bit more polishing and then tested the second gauntlet. The final number the gauntlet hit before the emergency shut down (something I added after several part failures) was negative 107 Celsius. It might not seem like much of a difference between that and 100, but with the gauntlets and pretty much any piece of tech. Any degree drop in operating temperature once you hit sub-zero becomes harder and harder.

When the tests finished I printed out a simple report for Sydney to look over when she arrived so that each of the gauntlets could be evaluated properly. I was pretty proud of how the results panned out and the finalized look ended up being.

The twin heat condensers were covered up and then angled outward like fins for the best look and functionality. The forearm of the gauntlets were then attached to a simple glove design intended to insulate heat well and provide a strong grip with textured fingertips. The exterior was brushed with a light coating of blue paint causing the metal to be a bluish-gray hue.

When I was finished with the gauntlets I set them aside in a marked bin in the storage area. Overall, I was satisfied with the work I had done on the gauntlets. Its paint job and base glove part would indicate to others that it was part of the Frost Cloak suit, but the fins would make it unique. It would be something that stood out amongst the more recent Frost Cloak designs if she chose to show it off in costume. That was my final worry, but it was something I could not decide. I hoped that she would enjoy it. With the stresses of the project and its coming deadline dealt with I moved on to other things.

While monotonously assembling the second gauntlet with the help of ARGO I had some time to think about my plans and projects going forward. I already knew that I wanted to do more in this world. Be something more. That much was clear. The question was how I was going to go about doing it.

I was reminded of the classics of my time. The lone ranger, green hornet, classic heroes, and vigilantes. They took up their roles in no official capacity and helped improve the world with the skills they had trained in or had been gifted. And I had been gifted something. A tool no one else had, at least until someone found a way to recreate it. If then it wouldn’t quite be the same.

For the time being, I decided to work on the initial tools I would need to be that vigilante. There was a need for three things. The ability to hit like a super, the ability to take a hit like a super, and the ability to move like a super. If I couldn’t accomplish one of these pillars well enough to my standards then there was no point in suiting up immediately.

If I couldn’t hit like a super then taking out criminals would become a chore or exhausting as I give them all the time they need to turn the tables on me. If I couldn’t take a hit then I would die. Simple as that and a little less serious, I might take injuries it was too hard to recover from or cover up. This was priority number one before all else. Finally, I needed to move like a super. It didn’t necessarily mean that I had to fly or move and car speeds, but I needed to catch criminals when needed and run away as a last resort.

To start with for the project, I began working on my potential mobility options. It was something that was most clear to me and something that would become the backbone of how I fought. I was sure I didn’t want to make a jetpack or something similar and would rather have some lighter gear that could help me move on the ground easier.

As usual, I started with one of the simplest movement items I could think of. With my practice making gloves over the past few days, I decided to make my own. The gloves I planned to make would not contain much metal nor be as large as Sydney’s gauntlets. Their function, if I could get the right combination of materials, would be to help me scale walls and grip objects easily. If successful I would apply the same thing to shoes. I liked to imagine myself using them to get to the rooftops of buildings and find places to enter secure locations.

Making the first glove took the rest of the day. Like the gauntlets, I worked on the prototype one glove at a time. After picking out a good base glove to start with from my database files I started making it but with modifications.

The original design for the gloves was a rather simple reinforced glove meant for Dan and people with powers like him. Its base characteristics meant that it was difficult to tear and wouldn’t fall apart easily when exposed to several kinds of forces. Due to its simplicity, it could accommodate many changes and modifications which was perfect for me.

The first of the modifications was to the outer lining of the fingertip parts of the glove and the base of the palm. Once installed I hoped the specialized material, which I had seen marketed in a superhuman’s shop, would be worth it. I had seen a few stores like it while gathering information and researching for this project. Some superhumans never began superheroes, like the Rodriguez’s, and went into business instead. Using their skills, they made products like mine or in this case, a material I couldn’t create on my own.

On the store’s web page, it had shown off a few of the sticky material’s uses and possible uses. The lining which I planned to add to the fingertips of the gloves when connected to a flow of electricity would act like glue to the surface it touched until the energy left the material. Thanks to the demonstration videos ARGO had taken the footage and analyzed its effectiveness which proved that my climbing wall gloves could be made and depending on its effectiveness and ease to use I planned to incorporate the material into future creations.

I got the materials ready and started assembling the glove once the fabrics and other materials were cut. The initial steps were easy and were hard to mess up. I did have to modify the gloves a bit to incorporate the electronic components. The simple battery and wire system connected to what would be the electrified fabrics once I had insulated it all properly. I didn’t want to get electrocuted accidentally after all.

When the electronic pieces were fit into place I connected the wires to the special fabric material before starting to seal the whole thing up. The entire process held no complications despite being a new creation.

It was nearing evening when I finished the right-hand glove, so I decided to wait until the next day to make the other one. Now that I knew the process of creating the gloves and now knew how to handle the material and the right settings to use with my tools I set out the materials for the second glove. They would still need to be processed, cut, and then assembled but I knew I could do it all in a bit over two hours. Just in time before Sydney arrived.

“Welcome to the shop,” I said as I ushered Sydney into the place.

“What a nice little place. How did the creation go?”

“It was a bit tricky. I’m not gonna lie. I had to test out a lot of things to get the gauntlets to your specifications, but I finished it on time, and they should do you well during your missions,” I replied.

I brought out the gloves and the box that contained them from my storage. The tables still had a few scraps from my project on them, but I had finished working on them in time for her arrival.

“These are the gloves and I also have a printout of the data collected during the testing along with a short summary of it all.”

I passed it to her.

“So, what do you think?” I asked.

Sydney went for the gloves first and tried one of them on after checking it out from all sides. It fit her well and she flexed her fingers before scanning the report.

“The report is promising. It feels comfortable. I’m not sure about the weight. I will have to use it for at least an hour to get a proper feel. I like the exterior at least.”

The air around me felt colder and I took a step back. Ice crystals began forming on the outside of the glove as she activated her powers and created a miniature snow storm in her hand. She continued to go through the routine until she was finished at which point she dispersed the ice and snow floating around her.

“Well, I don’t have to fail you immediately. And I can tell you know that this isn’t the worst thing I’ve seen this week that I could use. Other than that good job on your attempt and I will get back to you once my father looks these over and I can test the gauntlets in some more true to life scenarios.”

“That’s good to hear. I hope that he finds them suitable for your use. Is there a time or date that I can expect to hear back from you?”

“I’m not sure about an exact date because it depends on when others submit their projects or if they do at all but expect a response this weekend.”

“I will eagerly await that response. As is customary. Is there anything else you need to get while you are here that I can upsell you on today?” I asked turning on my customer service voice.

“Not today. I’ve got what I need for now. I’ll probably see you around though. Regardless of whether I become your client or not.”

Our conversation ended soon after that and Sydney went off to her next appointment while I was left to resume my personal project with a bit more cash in hand to do so.

The second mobility item I prepared was my boots to go with matching gloves. I had yet to test gloves and wanted to get the boots prepared before doing so. The process for the boots was much the same as for my gloves. I chose a simple base design and began making some design modifications and adjusting the expected fit to my shoe size.

An hour later I had the schematics prepared and gathered the materials needed on one of the tables that I had cleared off. I decided to make both shoes simultaneously because of the more time-consuming steps earlier on that would be required to shape some of the leather, rubber, and other hard materials into my foot shape.

The process of material prep was monotonous now, especially because shoes were one of the few things I made almost weekly now thanks to Nate. ARGO didn’t need to give me much input or suggestions as I worked on the materials due to the regular practice and skills I had attained. Once the materials were prepped I sorted them into stuff for the right or left shoe respectively and got started.

The process to integrate the sticky fabric material and its electronic components were much the same as the gloves which made everything smoother to complete. The overall look of the shoes was modeled like a mix of athletic shoes one might see everywhere, but with steel-tipped ends and a few similar components that mirrored heavy-duty boots. At a glance, it would be hard to tell it wasn’t ordinary shoes from any other manufacturer except in a few places, such as the underside of the shoes, where its oddities stuck out. Regardless of these oddities, the shoes would not be that out of place to prevent me from wearing them all the time like I do my unique clothes.

When the shoes were finally sealed up and the exterior flourishes were added I was ready for testing. I slid on both shoes and the gloves and turned them on. Using some radio tech and the help of ARGO I would be able to walk on walls or drop from them with a thought.

I started with a simple test – the inside of the warehouse wall. I laid down a pile of foam just in case before getting started. With a command to ARGO, my gloves started up. I could feel the gloves tense a bit upon activating and the indicator light I added lit up.

Once my hands were less than an inch from the wall I felt something akin to a magnetic pull. My gloves stuck to the wall. Next, I did the same to my shoes. The shoes in contrast to the gloves did not activate all pieces at the same time. I had separated the wire connections of the toes and the heel of the boot for ease of use. With another command to ARGO, I started climbing. I got to about five feet above ground pretty slowly before ARGO automatically took over. Instead of stating ‘Right hand off. Right hand on.’ Every single time I moved it did so as soon as I tried to move. There was a slight delay, but it became less noticeable the more I moved. As I reached the ceiling I started moving sideways, going back and forth, and finally, I went upside down. The material perfectly worked each time and whenever the electricity was turned off the material created the opposite effect repelling dirt from itself somewhat, every time.

Once I had done a full circle around the warehouse I tried to climb up the roof. I was most interested in this part because the roof was at an angle, and I wanted to see how comfortable it was to hang with my full weight only connected to the four points on my body.

I went slowly up the roof and looked down at my computer and the mess of materials down below every 30 seconds. Once stopped I checked how I was feeling and tested adjusting my weight to get a feel for the muscles and strain required to hold myself up without letting myself droop. A few minutes later I got to the top of the triangle roof and relaxed. The boots and gloves were perfect. Or at least as good as I should ever need them to be. A foot below me the rafters supported the warehouse. I got a hold of them and used them to help me get back to the ground faster.

I checked the time after changing and brought up my final mobility project, for now at least, and prepared to finish it today. Like many great heroes, I need a way to scale a building in a single jump. Or in this case, get to the roof of a building in a single grappling hook shot.

Using the city database, I knew that most buildings in the city were less than five floors with only a few being more than twenty. That is why I chose to have the total cable length be 150 feet. This would allow me to get onto the majority of rooftops in one go and if I need to go higher then I would need the gloves.

In concept and design, the systems need for a grappling hook were pretty simple. You needed a hook, a good long cable, and an ejection system to launch that cable at the heights required. The only difficult part of that system is the cable. It has to be strong enough to hold me and some gear and it can’t be too heavy on its own. If it was too heavy then the energy required to send it to the required heights and then have the gun reel me in would become a problem. I needed this gun to fit easily into a future holster without being an encumbrance.

Sadly, that was something I hadn’t quite figured out yet. The seller I got the glove’s fabric from didn’t have anything that suited my use. They mostly dealt with textiles, not the metals and alloys I needed for this project. At least I could assemble everything else today and add the cable later and maybe change out the ejector engine as well if needed. I pulled up the version one schematics I had made for the grappling hook and got started.