A few hours later...

You’re looking at a catalogue of some of Mei’s past creations (man that’s a lot of shock absorbers) when she comes to get you. She’s wearing a ragged blue aircraft mechanic’s coverall and now has an entirely different suit of half armor on, this one with four robotic arms, each tipped with a different array of acetylene torches, riveters, soldering irons, and the like. Her oversized armored boots have been left off of this particular ensemble, instead opting for a simple military grade exoskeleton with a large piece of steel on the front, likely to compensate for the weight of the arms. She also has a different set of goggles on, this one much more akin to a jewelers’s scope. “Hey Yamada, they’re ready!” she shouts excitedly. Your heart skips a beat when you hear this and you follow.

What you are met with is honestly less than you were expecting. While you were expecting maybe a pair of whacky gloves or some bulky wristbands like what’s popular with heroes, you’re met with a simple pair of wristband pedometers greet you. Both of them are sleek and crimson in appearance, with room for later modifications to be attached on the sides. The digital faces light up blue when you approach, briefly flashing green as you pick up and admire one.

“Not to be rude but...I honestly expected...more.” you wonder aloud. Mei simply smiles unnervingly wide as you hesitantly slip one onto your left wrist, the band automatically adjusting to squeeze to the shape of your wrists before releasing slightly, ensuring it won’t slip. The second slides on in a similar fashion. Green gives way to the blue hue of before and you’re looking at a pacemaker on your left hand with a wristwatch on your right.

Mei lights up as she sees you don the wristbands. “Alright, perfect! No explosions today.” ...wait wha- “Normally my work involves AMPLIFYING quirks. This is really only maybe the second or third time I’ve deliberately placed a limiter in a piece of equipment. Okay, you should see a tiny icon on the right wristband, bottom left corner.” You attempt to shake off the unnerving idea that you might have come close to having lost your hands to a mad scientist as you peer at your wrist. Sure enough, there’s...that is a stylized pair of breasts on your screen. It’s small enough to look like a WiFi signal, but upon close inspection it’s very clearly two boobs and a red, crossed out circle.

You blush as you look up at Mei who simply winks at you before moving on. “That icon means you’re clear to touch people. It won’t work if you get agitated, so stay generally calm till I can whip up a patch for the software. In the meantime, let me try...” She grabs your hand...and remains clothed! “Sweet, you’re clear! Tell Momo that my debt’s settled when you see her.”

“Wait wha-“ you mutter as Mei shoves you toward the door. The mid-afternoon sun is blinding as you reach for the handle.

“Don’t worry about it, enjoy the new wristbands, I need to get working on those plates you destroyed!” She seems to be more jovial than angry...probably best not to test that theory. As you say your goodbyes to Mei and get in the car, Fuuzoku texts you to see if you want to grab dinner.