A/N: Finally! I am really sorry to let you all wait this long !I struggled with this chapter and am still not really fond of it, but then, nothing is perfect. As this is my first story, it is far from being brilliant anyway! For your information, there are still about 2-3 chapters to come before this story ends. Hopefuly it doesn't take me again this amount of time to post them...

Disclaimer: I still don't own Dark Angel and the concept and don't intend to make money of it.

Thank you for all your feedback and have a good christmas time and a happy new year!

Far

16. The art of dressing up Joshua

A haberdasher at a shopping street in a wealthy part of Seattle – Friday afternoon, December 5, 2025

"How about this one?" - Gem handed Joshua another suit jacket, which seemed in his eyes to be just similar to the others, lying on a stack beside him. Joshua simply nodded as he took it and surrendered in his fate to try another one.

For Joshua it was extremely difficult to fit into conventional behaviour, which included clothing in a suit and such things. Gem sighed. Joshua had made himself mad all week long about what he should wear at the art vernissage. She had thought that Joshua was overreacting with his nervousness. But now she began to realise that he actually had a reason to worry. And it seemed that there was simply no point in doing this shopping attempt. No suit seemed to fit properly on Joshua's extraordinary features. It occurred to her, that she had finally to do the last thing possible: Demand a taylor to fit a suit for Joshua. Even if it would cost a fortune. But Bennett had made it clear, that he would pay for Joshua's suit, no matter how expensive it would be. After all, Bennett had been the one who invited Joshua to a vernissage at an art gallery of these society circles. Their art conversation at Logan's Party had been very fruitful and they had stayed in contact for that matter.

While Joshua took the garment Gem had just handed him, she turned towards an empty corner and produced her mobile phone - that her siblings had offered her as a birthday present - to call Max at Logan's penthouse. If anyone knew the neighbourhood, it was her. As a Jam Pony messenger she would know exactly where to look for a taylor or someone who could help Joshua in his distress.

"Hey Logan, it's Gem, is Max there?" -

"Sure. I get her", Logan responded. A few muffled screeching noises were heard, and then Max was at the other end.

"Hey sister, what's up? Joshua found something swanky?"

"No. And that's the problem! He had tried like all pieces of garments the shop had. But he has not the normal measurements. You don't happen to know whereabouts near this place might be a taylor? I see no other option anymore!" - Gem sighed.

"Right..." - Max gave back a little hesitantly. „...The old Gary at the corner retired, I think..." she reflected. „But – yes, that's it! Take Joshua to Elvis!"

"Elvis?! As in 'Elvis the pelvis'?" – Gem wondered.

Max laughed. "That's it! I mean, it's perhaps not exactly the incarnation of 'the king', but somebody who quite believes he is actually. He could pass at a lookalike-contest. You geht the idea? - So, everybody calls him 'Elvis'. He is totally into fashion and produces the most of his garments by himself. I am positive that he'll fix something for Joshua if I ask him. It's near the waterfront."

They agreed to meet there about 30 minutes later.

.

A tiny shop near the waterfront of Seattle – Friday later afternoon, December 5th, 2025

It was literally a shop for everything. Gem swiped a look around the plushy and overbaorden contents of the tiny shop while Max spoke with the living imitation of 'Elvis the king'. There were not only hair toupees, half-naked model-dolls and a disturbing diversity of rubber sex toys – or at least that was what Gem thought it was - she also descried an old-looking polished wooden box at about twice the size of her hands. She couldn't help to open it. The lid lifted slowly but steady and with a screeching noise, since the inner sides squeezed tightly against it. The interior was padded with burgundy coloured silk. Inmidst the box lay a silver item - a dragon and a snake intertwined. Gem carefully picked it up to have a better look at it. But 'Elvis' came quickly to her and snapped it out of her hand.

"This is not for sale" - he snorted rather rudely for an Elvis imitation, glared shortly at her, replaced the item into its box and turned again towards Joshua and Max, the wooden box still in his hands. Gem shrugged and continued her investigation, this time without touching anything anymore. After all, this seemed to be Joshua's only chance to get something to wear on monday, and she wouldn't risk that opportunity.

.

An art gallery in Seattle – Monday early evening, December 8, 2025

Against all inwardly estimations of all of them, Joshua, Logan and Max arrived relatively early at the art gallery in a fancy part of the city. The actual updressing at the penthouse started soon after teatime, since they were unsure about how smoothly it would be going for Joshua. After all,'Elvis' had done a fair job and Joshua looked really like a gentleman - aside from the tail, that was standing out, but partly covered by the tailcoat. Ben was with Cindy, so they had no worries about that. The streets had been empty and the control posts had waved them through. On top of all, they found a quite good parking space for their needs directly opposite the building. Bennett seemed to be a bit caught by surprise about their early appearance, but showed genuine delight as he welcomed them. There was only one step at the entrance. Joshua lifted Logan's wheelchair effortlessly up from behind and they were in.

Bennett took Joshua amicably by the arm and showed him to the exhibition rooms. Max and Logan followed slowly, trying to blaze a trail for the wheelchair through the crowd. After a short time Logan had to ask Max to push him. It was just too exhausting, and he got stuck far too often, so all his energy went into moving forward and concentrating. He couldn't really see the floor in front of him because of the crowd and the angle of his headposition. Since his back needed to be secured to the back rest, and the fixation went just under his armpits, he couldn't bend forward anymore like before, that affected - between other things - also his angle of visual perception, since his head didn't bend forward that far anymore as well. Additionally, he started to use his headrest recently, whenever he felt too strained in the nape. Now that Max pushed him, Logan had to admit to himself, that he felt much better and could relax and enjoy the vernissage. He observed amused the other guests and their reaction towards Joshua. At first, as Bennett had invited Joshua, Logan thought it had been a joke. But now, Logan could see that Bennett had a point to bring Joshua. The people here were far more tolerant than he had estimated. After the first astonishment, they seemed to be more and more fascinated by him. For most of them, Logan estimatedt Joshua to be the first transgenic they met in their life. Logan smirked to himself at his next thought: A vernissage would have been the last place to anticipate the first contact to a transgenic.

"You have fun?" - Max nodded smiling in the direction of Joshua and his next acquaintance, who apparently loughed heartily at one of Joshua's jokes.

Logan smiled pensively up - "Oh yes... Isn't it amazing how much bigger life is sometimes?"