Author's Notes:

I will only release the next chapter after this has gotten a minimum of ten reviews. Troll or flaming comments, however, will not count!!

Atlanta, Georgia, United States - Earth

Johnny Carmichael grimaced, his deep auburn hair streaked with gold and copper as it fell into his wild, untamed dark aquamarine eyes. He glanced down at the dark red and white helmet, its back able to close to form the well-known ponytail of the Maverick Hunter known as Zero. His skin was naturally a pale bronze rather than Zero’s usual paler skin tone, which he much preferred over Zero’s natural tone. He exhaled, the white gloves rasping over the dense plastic he’d used 3D printing to create the helm of the costume. The bracers on his forearm were molded plastic, though the attachments that could slide out to form the Z-Buster were layered metal, specifically 10-65 carbon steel commonly used for swords, though he’d worked it so it could slide into place from slits within the bracer, forming the end and barrel of the energy cannon for the Buster.

He exhaled as he tugged on the leather thong he’d looped into a half hitch knot with part over and underneath his hair as he looped it through the molded gorget, or throat guard, as he lifted the helmet before sliding it over his head, the back sliding down in segments before clicking into place. He had managed to find a very skilled technician that could work metal and plastic into an armor that acted almost like Batman’s Arkham suit in that it fits smoothly into one connected piece. He exhaled as the suit wasn’t all that light, though he was only a few days away from his seventeenth birthday and knew what he could handle. The bronzed accents on the armor contrasted well against the white and darker tone of candy red which had been layered over the deep Show Stopper red he’d chosen from Sherwin-Williams.

He stepped out of the changing room, his weighted boots clicking softly, almost like the metallic footfalls most connected a Reploid with. His gaze slid around the roughly four thousand various people, most in varied costumes for this Comic-con, though he, personally, was more interested in some of the fan gear or potentially a few games. Johnny, beneath the costume, wore a deep auburn, almost crimson, tee shirt underneath a dark copper vest and black pants with red sandals and pale gray tabi socks. He smirked ever so slightly, twisting the trigger on the right hand so the Z-Buster protracted into position, the coiled LED lights glowing a pale golden color as it clicked into place before he retracted it into its concealed position. He knew some might claim he possessed a ‘concealed weapon’, though all it was was a hardened plastic tube with dark gray spray paint on the end while a string of coiled LEDs provided the glow; the hardest part, at least for him,was making sure it didn’t get stuck.

He moved, walking with softly clanking footfalls, the bronzed lead weights in the heels and outside of his feet clicking in their sheaths. The hardest part about making them had been heating the lead enough to bronze it with a flywheel yet not melt it to the point of being molten. His gaze slid along various stands before pausing momentarily at the sight of a Resident Evil 4 shop cosplayer. He had heard vague rumors of people vanishing after buying things from a similar cosplayer, but he saw little that interested him at that particular stand.

“Unfortunate that there aren’t any Mavericks to fight, eh, Zero?” he commented in a raspy yet smooth voice.

“Hn… I’m not interested in banter. If you have anything remotely interesting, show it. From what I see… your things aren’t interesting in the least,” Johnny said in a disinterested tone, sounding eerily like the actual Maverick Hunter.

“From what I see, you are missing your Saber, amongst a few other small trinkets that I may have,” the cosplayer wheedled.

Johnny’s eyebrow rose slightly, absently noticing the guy's cloak was a deep navy and he never let down his hood. “Doubtful that you would have anything resembling it. And I have no desire to carry around a cheap lightsaber knockoff,” he said with a dry tone as he crossed his arms.

“How can you be so sure? Perhaps a closer look might peak your interest?”the man said with amusement, smirking.

Johnny snorted, rolling his eyes as he took a couple of steps closer before his eyebrow rose a bit, noticing models of the Biometal Models Z, X, H, F, L, P, and A all hovering over what he suspected were electromagnets. He hummed slightly, though he didn’t pause beyond a cursory glance. “What about this Z-Saber you claim to have?” he said dryly, glancing at the man, who smirked, his eyes twinkling slightly.

The cosplayer pulled out a case roughly two feet and three inches in length. Johnny’s eyebrow twitched as the man opened it, revealing… a pale gray hilt with a dark copper ring around the base of the hilt and rounded off butt; it appeared the salesman had the hilt right, though he saw no blade. The salesman lifted the hilt before twisting it as a segmented yellow topaz blade slid out, igniting a warm golden color. He tilted his head, his gaze scanning the blade, which he gauged to be slightly under eighteen inches. The man spun it skillfully before offering the hilt.

“It’s up to you if you want it,” the man said with a faint smirk.

“Hmmm,” Johnny hummed, taking the hilt; it was surprisingly balanced, he noted, as he held it loosely before holding it with two fingers slightly under where the blade extended from, finding it would balance very easily. “Layered a yellow topaz and clear quartz crystal?” he said thoughtfully.

“True, with a three-millimeter-thick layer of mineral oil between so it would not slide and crack against itself,” the salesman said with a small smirk. “Not many would notice the subtle clarity beneath the slight cloudiness of the topaz,” he complimented.

“The clarity of the LED in the hilt gives away the layering effect, though it’s well hidden, admittedly,” Johnny said wryly, amused.

“$320?” the salesman offered.

“$225,” Johnny replied with a straight face.

“$300,” the salesman deadpanned.

$240,” Johnny said dryly.

“$270,” the salesman countered.

“$245,” Johnny deadpanned.

“$265, and I’ll throw in the Biometals, plus the Durga Glaive, Vega Hanger, Bashou Fan, and Kaiser Knuckle,” the salesman deadpanned.

“Hmmm, fine. Leaves me enough for lunch, anyway,” Johnny said dryly, rolling his shoulders as he took the proffered case with the Biometals in it.

“What lunch?” the salesman quipped as he smirked a bit as he saw the young man’s eyes glaze over as swirling light flickered, then consumed him in a matter of seconds, the reddish gold dust glittering as it scattered over the ground, quickly scattered by the various people walking around.