The plastic control box between Lynn's shoulders.

Terri crashed into her friend's shoulder, with her armored SMG holster slamming into something with a crunch. Lynn managed to get a hold on her before she dragged them both down, which might have shredded the spandex of their costumes. Thank goodness for small favors, at least.

"Oh, bugger. I'm so sorry!" Terri said. She winced at the withering look she got from Lynn- she knew how much work had gone into her friend's costume, and she'd nearly destroyed it.

"You n00b," Lynn huffed, somehow still managing to stay in character. "Do I look like a cheap stunt double?"

"Yeah! Catfight! Wooo!" a voice shouted from the crowd, followed shortly by a grunt of pain as someone punched him in the arm.

"That's enough photo ops for now, I think," Lynn said, to the murmured disappointment of her fans. "But don't worry! We'll BBL!"

Terri followed behind Lynn as the irritated diva stormed over to Joy. Her heart dropped even further when she saw the damage up close. The part of the D.Va outfit she'd damaged, the slim plastic rectangle on Lynn's back, was supposed to be some kind of computer link/comm system for D.Va in-game, kind of like an interface for her headset and MEKA. Terri had cracked the gray plastic case hard enough to crack an edge and knock it free of one of its mountings. Underneath was a bunch of multicolored wires and a bit of circuit board.

"Joy, does it look bad?" Lynn asked, turning around and showing Joy her back.

The short girl in her Mei cosplay grunted. "Looks fine to me. Even a little bit cooler. Makes it more authentic, with the wires showing a little. Everyone loves battle damage."

"Sorry," Terri apologized again.

"You should be," Lynn and Joy said in unison.

"Oh, come on..." Marigold said, poking her head out from behind the MEKA. She had to duck to avoid hitting her golden halo on a turret. "It's Terri's first time. Be nice? Please?"

"Fine," Lynn said with a sigh. "Apology accepted. Just be glad you didn't pull any wires. This suit's rigged head to toe, and I don't want anything going wrong with it."

"Rigged?" Terri said, curious. "With what?"

"It's a new kind of form-fitting bodysuit," Joy explained, a bit of pride slipping into her voice. "We put our heads together and came up with a spandex blend that tightens when you rig it right and run a current through it. It's thicker than regular lycra, and it looks like it's right out of Evangelion. It's fucking awesome."

"That, and a few extra surprises," Lynn smiled.

"Fascinating," Kiona said, deadpan. "Now that all is forgiven, can we finally get into the Con?"

"Yes!" Terri pumped her fist.