DAY OF INCIDENT
Over the fall, the number of drones in the Belport skyline had risen steadily. To the regular observer, it looked like they buzzed randomly across the sky, but Emmett and TINA knew better. There were enough drones now that the Brotherhood was watching every block and every angle across the streets.
Bastion saw everything now. Not just from the sky, but through passive and active monitoring of the internet. The Brotherhood was actively pruning and handicapping Bastion—keeping it in a perpetual proto-AI state—but it was still growing exponentially more powerful. In its current state, it would never have the cunning or sophistication that TINA had, but soon it wouldn’t matter. The Resistance was in a similar predicament.
Surveillance was becoming more ingrained in society and the army of drones was growing. At some point, Bastion’s sheer processing power and resources would be too much to overcome. It would be like a Class 1 hero trying to fight Paragon.
That was the other reason that Emmett decided to act. If they acted now, there was a chance that they could break Dr. Venture out of the lab, and also a chance that TINA could sabotage Bastion from within. They couldn’t afford to wait any longer.
Even with all their preparation and resolve, nothing could prepare Emmett and Lock when the day came.
The pair walked with purpose—heads down, and in silence. They took Champion street and then walked side streets through Eastside. They used the mask and disguise protocols to blend into the crowds. It was eerie walking beside people just going about their day. They were all bundled up in winter jackets, their breath trailing through the air as they walked to work or to lunch. Throughout the entire walk, Emmett didn’t see anyone look up at the drones. He didn’t know whether that was out of fear, indifference, or acceptance, but either way, it gave a dystopian air to his home.
The crowds thinned the closer they got to their destination. Emmett couldn’t see the parking garage above the lab, but the swarm of drones grew steadily thicker.
They were close.
Emmett’s heart was beating like he’d just sprinted across the city.
Emmett cleared his throat. “Are you good?”
“Yeah… Just nervous,” Lock replied.
“Yeah. Me too.”
No one on Emmett’s team had been back to Eastside since they broke Lock out of Gnosis. Raids on former masks and villains almost always happened in residential sections of Belport. Most of them were on the West End, but some were in the Heights and in the poor blocks of the South.
TINA’s voice almost made Emmett jump. “Preparing camouflage. Engaging active cloaking. You’re clear for your final approach.”
Emmett and Lock turned the corner into an alleyway, and their outlines shimmered and disappeared from view. Even though he didn’t need to, Emmett focused on his HUD map and their progress through the city. He already knew where every drone and biomech was before they rounded the corner but, for a moment, the world fell away.
Emmett took a deep breath to steady himself, then came back to the real world.
The Gnosis headquarters looked more like a military compound than a pharmaceutical company. It stretched across the block, a sprawling compound surrounded by razor wire and armed guards. The blurry face of the Gnosis logo peered back from atop the buildings.
All the damage from their break-in back in August was completely gone. It was like it never happened.
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For so long, the Gnosis headquarters dominated Eastside. But now, it was impossible to ignore the parking garage adjacent to it, especially since it housed the former lab—
Now the headquarters of the Binary Brotherhood and the central location of the Bastion proto-AI.
Drones swarmed above the parking garage like hornets around their nest, and groups of biomechs patrolled the streets. It was a staggering amount of activity, especially considering that Bastion was coordinating most of the traffic by itself.
Since the Brotherhood’s takeover, Ava Savanus and her flagship had scarcely left the lab. The flagship had hovered over the parking garage for months on end. It was always cloaked, so no civilians would’ve known it was there, but to Emmett it hung in the air like a giant hole in the sky.
Today, Savanus’s flagship was gone, but twin heavy drones hovered above the parking garage.
Emmett wasn’t sure which he was more afraid of. Most of the flagship’s capabilities were unknown. There was a reason she was one of the heads of the Brotherhood and one of the most powerful supers in the world, and the flagship was part of it. In contrast, Emmett knew exactly what the heavy drones were capable of. He knew their specs by heart and knew that if they locked onto him, he wouldn’t have a chance. His only advantage was that there was way too much potential for collateral damage for them to use their main guns in the city.
Emmett pushed the thought away. Both Midas and Savanus were out of Belport on business. The drones would never find them because Bastion would never find them.
Today, they had every advantage.
Emmett felt a subtle nudge from TINA. Clara was attempting to contact him. Emmett glanced at the street as they walked.
He refused the connection.
TINA pushed it through anyway. Clara was speaking to him, but not through his earpiece—not so close to biomech patrols. Her voice was coming directly into his head—half text and half speech.
“Emmett, what are you doing?”
“I’m just going for a walk.”
“Emmett, I know where you are. Please come back. Please don’t do this.”
“I’ll… I’ll be right back. I promise.”
Emmett concentrated on the connection. He severed it. Clara’s voice cut off. A millisecond later, TINA tried to reconnect them, but Emmett pushed her away.
Not now, TINA, Emmett said wordlessly.
Thankfully, TINA let it go, but not before Emmett felt a pang of surprise that he’d shut her down.
Emmett and Lock quickly crossed to the parking garage, then hugged the walls as they entered the garage. Keeping a wall to one side as they walked made it significantly easier for TINA to cloak them. Emmett almost breathed a sigh of relief once they were inside—not because of nervousness, but because the cloaking was already causing him to overheat.
They circled around the interior and finally stopped at the same side entrance that he had used so many times over the last year. It looked like the door to a janitor’s closet instead of the secret entrance to an underground laboratory. Back before his cybernetic eye, Emmett hadn’t been able to see any of the hidden electronics—microphones, speakers, and retinal scanner. Back then…
Emmett chuckled darkly. Now he was a super. He could see the hidden wires and subtle infrared glow of electronics. He knew the Brotherhood, the Menagerie, the Summit… About Venture, and how he’d been working with Gnosis…
A lot had changed. The whole damn world had changed. And so had he.
Emmett took a breath, and as he did, he checked over his prosthetics, batteries, and nanites. He was ready. He’d never be more ready than this.
Emmett pressed his palm against the wall. Nanites flowed off his body and into the gaps. They crawled over wires and soaked through the circuitry.
TINA said, “Hacking entrance. I’ve disabled their microphones. You can relax for a moment.”
Just a few months ago, her voice would’ve come from the door instead of in his ear or in his head. Emmett felt nostalgic for those first few months after becoming a super. Well, that first month really—before he and Lock knew about each other. Before they fought in the apartment. Before they’d both almost died.
Nanites reshaped themselves. They bypassed circuits, dampened some, and engaged others. TINA guided them, and Emmett watched over her metaphorical shoulder.
A thought occurred to Emmett. “You haven’t been here yet, have you?”
Lock scoffed. “No.”
The door hissed open.
Emmett waved for Lock to follow. “Let me show you around.”
~ ~ ~
I can finally see the end of Mod Superhero in sight (likely 7 or 8 books in total), and I’m thinking about what series to write next.
And I need your help!
Disclaimer: I plan on finishing Mod Superhero before starting another series, so don’t worry about the story being dropped. I will probably start worldbuilding though.
What are some of the main reasons that you enjoy Mod Superhero and that you’re still reading? (choose 2-4 answers)
