Mod Superhero

At Athena’s insistence, the group ran the last three blocks to Manning Station. They stopped just before they reached the station and huddled in an alley. Not because they wanted to, but because a patrol was coming their direction. Two biomechs lumbered down the street and swept their searchlights back and forth in a steady pattern. 

The mechs would’ve been easy to avoid if it weren’t for the three Fast-Response drones following them. They flew in a lazy orbit above the buildings. The closest one was three stories up, low enough that it weaved between the tops of buildings. The other two were staggered, with the farthest away being another several stories in the air. 

Even though they were clearly flying in a set pattern, TINA helped the three heroes avoid their lines of sight. 

This was one reason why they needed some kind of personal cloaking tech. Even if they used nanites to blend into the background, the three of them would still give off heat and ultraviolet signatures. For now, staying out of line-of-sight was the best option.

Emmett assumed the mages had their own ways of cloaking their movements. There were likely whole schools of magic devoted to clandestine operations, and Emmett’s curiosity only grew the closer they got to their targets. 

TINA spoke directly into their earpieces, guiding Emmett, Clara, and Athena through the block—around buildings, between alleys, and under overhangs. 

Athena whispered, “When did you get so good at sneaking around, TINA?”

“I’ve had practice at sneaking through cyberspace. Sneaking through the real world is much, much easier.”

“Are those signals still in the station?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” Athena replied. 

The entrance to Manning Station was up ahead. The wide stairs were at the edge of the street, completely out in the open. Emmett adjusted his vision, trying to see with his human eye so he could gauge just how visible they would be. Power was still out to this portion of the city, so the only light was from the stars and the sliver of moon. 

But Emmett knew that the patrol of biomechs and drones didn’t need visible light to see them. As tempting as it was to run for the stairs, there wasn’t any cover between them and their goal. 

So the three of them waited for the patrol to pass. The last thing they needed was to get caught on their first night out of the apartment. Not only would that possibly spook Athena’s targets, but a fight in the middle of the street could bring down the rest of the city's biomechs on top of them. 

Emmett glanced at the Fast-Response drones circling overhead. He was pretty certain they didn’t have weapon systems… at least, they didn’t use to. On the other hand, the biomechs each had multiple armaments—both lethal and non-lethal guns, net launchers, and other countermeasures. 

Emmett knew one day they’d come up against the biomechs, but not tonight. 

The three waited at the last holding point for almost a minute. Finally, the biomechs turned a corner down the street and the last drone disappeared from view. Then the heroes ran for the stairs. 

They were only out in the open for a second or two, but it felt like time slowed down for Emmett. They reached the stairs and quickly slipped into the darkness. 

~

The group paused midway down the stairs to compose themselves and make sure they’d gotten through undiscovered. When TINA was finally satisfied, she gave them permission to continue. 

The three walked quickly and quietly down the stairs. The little bit of light from the stars faded quickly, but Emmett’s eyes adjusted. With so little light, he saw the world in mostly shades of gray. His UV vision added a tinge of blue and purple, making outlines starker. When they finally found their targets, his infrared vision would make their targets stand out against the background. Clara would see the world much the same way through her exosuit helmet. 

Emmett whispered to Athena, “Can you see down here?”

Athena made a noncommital noise. “Magic helps a little, but I remember this place like the back of my hand.”

“I have flares if you need them,” Emmett added. 

“I might take you up on that if a fight breaks out. Stay close. Platform one is up ahead.”

Athena led them to the bottom of the stairs and through several turns. Emmett felt the floor beneath his feet change from concrete to tile as they passed through the halls. 

Athena stopped to look at sections of the wall and held up a hand for Emmett and Clara to do the same. Faint wisps of UV light that coalesced around a wall tile. 

Athena muttered a spell, the words of which Emmett couldn’t make out. Then she sighed. She uttered the words again, and this time, a tangible charge passed through the air. The wisps of UV faded. 

“Trap,” Athena whispered. 

Clara asked, “Should we be worried?”

“No. I’m just rusty. It was a rudimentary alarm spell.”

Athena stopped one more time to disarm a trap spell, this time on her first try. 

When they came to the end of the hall, Athena held up a hand for them to wait. There was the sound of voices and the faintest flicker of light from around the corner. 

This time Clara stepped forward. She pulled a small device, no more than an inch square, out of the side of her armor and set it on the ground. Tiny wheels emerged, and the device drove up to the corner. 

Emmett watched silently as a video feed appeared in the corner of his HUD. With a little effort, he focused on it and felt the image expand in his vision. At the same time, TINA narrated what the camera saw so that Athena wouldn’t be left out. 

The camera showed a grayscale view of the first platform and three people conversing. The tracks were empty without a subway train in sight. 

Emmett didn’t need Athena’s confirmation to know that these were the targets they were looking for. 

One wore a long braided cloak, the ends of which seemed to billow even in the still underground air. They talked animatedly and held a wand in their right hand, the end of which glowed softly—the source of the light. 

The second wore martial arts robes, handwraps, and a thick headband. They stood stoically with their arms crossed. 

The third wore a knight’s armor. The metal looked thin and light. They kept a hand on the hilt of their longsword and shook their head intermittently, seemingly disagreeing with the first mage. 

The final target was crouched on the edge of the subway platform. Emmett had almost missed them until TINA pointed them out. Their outline shimmered and looked cooler than the others, almost like they were using magical cloaking to hide themselves.

Athena nodded at their description. “We can take them.” She took a moment to flip her jacket inside out, back to the side with glass shards woven into the leather. 

“You’re sure, right?” Clara asked. “Three against four…”

“Four against four,” TINA replied. 

Athena smiled. “The guy with the wand is a Felwarden. I need him for questioning. The others look like a monk, a spellblade, and a rogue… They’re probably from other organizations—try not to maim them. All of them will fight up close and personal, except the mage.”

Emmett and Clara exchanged a look. Clara whispered the command for her disguise to change, and Emmett gave the mental command for his to do the same. 

NEUTRAL COSTUME

Nanites flowed from Clara back to Emmett and then through his skin into his storage canister. For the first time since the end of the war with the Deep Ones, Emmett and Clara became Mod and Arsenal again.

Emmett turned to Athena, heart already beating with excitement. “We’ll follow your lead.”

“I’ll go first and see if I can bait one of them away from the group.” Athena turned and walked with confidence to the end of the hall.

Emmett flashed back to the last time they’d all fought together—the assault on the mutagen warehouse. They’d teamed up with McGuire and Athena’s friends, Borealis and Luna. At the end of the battle, they’d all had to team up to fight Lock. 

Every fight, Athena had possessed the confidence of a veteran super. Each time, Emmett had been envious. This time was no different—in either respect. More than anything, Emmett wanted to stand beside a super like Athena and fight as an equal. 

This time, Emmett knew he’d be able to keep up. He wasn’t the same uncertain newbie, and he wasn’t Class 1 anymore. He’d fought Class 3 villains and two different Class 4 monstrosities—creatures that leveled buildings. And he hadn’t just survived—he’d won. 

Emmett’s heart beat faster. Power flooded into his prosthetics. Emmett left his alter ego behind and embraced the super he’d become. 

Mod and Arsenal followed Athena and took their position at the end of the hall, just out of sight. They watched through the camera as it peeked around the corner. 

Athena walked around the corner, and the group of enemies immediately took notice. They fanned out slightly, with the spellblade stepping forward. The rogue slipped over the edge of the platform and hid on the tracks. 

Arsenal was pressed up against Mod’s shoulder. Even with their suits between them, Mod swore he could feel both their hearts beating like crazy.

Athena stopped midway across the platform. “I’m looking for Magus Rollan.”

“Shit,” the mage muttered. “Get her.”

“Have it your way!” Athena shouted. 

Both the mage and the spellblade muttered incantations. The mage’s wand crackled with lightning and the spellblade’s sword glowed with a silver flame. 

At the same time, Mod and Arsenal ran into the station, catching the attention of their enemies. 

The spellblade lunged forward toward Athena, the sword sending flashes of light and shadow across the station. The monk leapt at her with a flying kick. 

Athena backpedaled. Mod saw her powers flash with bright blue light—one forcefield parrying the glowing blade, and the other much larger barrier slammed into the monk and sent him flying off the platform. 

Mod caught the exchange and nearly ran past them to get to the mage in the back, but the spellsword’s blade cut through Athena’s barriers. The cuts weren’t clean through, but it was clear that the magic was a bad match for Athena’s power. 

Mod made the split second decision to take the spellsword on himself. He pulled his bo staff out of his upper arm compartment, extended it, and leapt between them. 

The sword came down in an overhead slash and Mod raised his staff to catch it. The clang of weapons echoed through the station. 

Mod caught the blow easily and stared down his opponent. The spellsword’s eyes widened, but they didn’t wait. They redoubled their attack. 

The spellsword couldn’t see it, but Mod was smiling behind his mask. 

~ ~ ~