Miss Planner was in a great mood.

Yes, she was feeling great, despite the fact that recently things hadn’t been going that great. Her nose still hurt from where Black Wolf smashed it. Her best analyst Gordon was on his way out the door. She couldn't stick to her new diet plan for the life of her. And Elder Omen told her she was going to die soon.

But she was feeling great anyway. Why? Because the Soul Shell project was about to go live! It was going to revolutionize psychic combat! If they could produce it in bulk, along with the reformulated Controller pills...

Conquering the planet would be a breeze!

"I call it the Soul Shell! A few thousand of these things, and we'll be unstoppable!"
"Hmmm. Looks pretty slick. I can feel something coming from the helmet..."

"That's the core. It's similar to a traditional portable psychic amplifier, except without any of the drawbacks! The helmet acts as a kind of filter, absorbing harmful psychic interference and amplifying the user's own psychic waves. So, no more headaches or nausea! Just pure, unadulterated power!"
"Hmm... I wonder if it'll work on me. Let me try..."

"It works on everyone! Come on, take off your glasses! It's not as effective without the armor, but it still works well enough. Give it a try!"
"Okay, okay. Let's see what happens..."

After a brief demonstration, the executives gave her all the preliminary funding she asked for without much of an argument. Erica helped her find three more full teams worth of candidates for testing in addition to the four boys she'd already picked out. And the production division got the hang of the design in a snap.

There were still a few issues, of course. The most obvious problem with the Soul Shell was the fact that the soul core, the key to the entire design, was only as powerful as it was because it was filled with the spirits of fallen Chosen Ones. No one knew about that unpleasant detail except Erica and Miss Planner herself, and they intended to keep it that way.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the armor didn’t offer much protection to its wearer. At the very least, not much more than a traditional suit of armor would. The bulk of the suit was made of synthetic fibers that could be easily cut or torn, and although it covered the more vulnerable parts of the wearer’s body with modular plates, there weren’t enough of them to provide comprehensive protection anywhere. And no one knew how to produce the advanced psychic metals those plates were made of in any significant quantity aside from, perhaps, the Chosen Ones' enemies, the Black Gloves. Due to a flaw in the Soul Shell’s design, the use of normal, non-psychic metal would risk damaging the delicate balance of aura inside it. There were probably many more similar defects that wouldn’t reveal themselves until extensive testing was performed. 

The Soul Shell was an expensive, fragile, potentially dangerous thing that needed a lot of work before it could truly become the ultimate weapon Miss Planner wanted it to be. That was undeniable. But none of the Soul Shell’s problems seemed like insurmountable ones. Miss Planner could make it perfect. She just needed time, money, manpower, experimental data, and the support of the executives to do it. And a whole lot of luck.

"The production division wants to take the metal out of the shoulder plates and replace them with plastic. The auric field should be fine regardless, but... the only parts that would be getting any real protection would be the head, arms, legs, and chest. So this first batch is going to be pretty bare-bones. What do you think, Erica?"
"I suppose the helmet's the only part that affects the performance... they want to use normal leather for the boots?"

"I agree with that change, actually. As long as it's comfortable and durable. They were looking at a design that uses rubber, but it'd be better to make it all one piece."
"Hey, if we n-need to cut down on the metal, we could try a plastic helmet... with a metal faceplate?"

"I don't think it'd work as well, but we could try it."
"O-oh..."

It was a bright Sunday afternoon. Miss Planner couldn't bear to stay home and do nothing. Not when there was so much work to be done. So she came to the Tower to tinker with the Soul Shell, bringing a willing Erica with her. The two women been working together since the early morning without taking a single break. 

Miss Planner's eyes were bloodshot, yet they seemed to glow with a brilliant intensity. Her level of enthusiasm was almost maniacal. There wasn't anything she liked more than figuring out all the little details of a big idea. She puttered around her office like a woman possessed, scribbling furiously into a journal as she talked and occasionally humming. And Erica was sitting right beside her, doing her best to keep up.

"What do you think about ceramic?"
"Ceramic... for the armor plates or the helmet?"

"The plates. Clay holds aura really well. And it doesn't bake out. Let's go down to the pottery studio and whip up a quick proof-of-concept. I'm not entirely sure we’ll get the same effect, and it’d probably be too fragile for combat applications, but..."
"Okay... do you want to go to lunch first?"

"Nope! Let's just get right to it!"
"M-maybe something fast? Do we have time? This is going to be a lot harder if we don't... have the energy for it..."

"I could eat, maybe. Actually, I think I need a smoke. Could you grab me something from the cafeteria? I'll meet you outside."
"What do you want to eat?"

"I don't care. Something small."
"...okay."