Mod, Arsenal, and McGuire weaved across the rooftops of Belport. Tonight, their path took them in a wide arc around downtown. They kept the skyscrapers on their left, like a giant forest of metal that they were afraid to go into.

It’d been almost three weeks since their mission to destroy the mutagen manufacturing warehouse, and each night Mod tried to go out on patrol. McGuire tagged along almost every night, and Clara tried to catch up with them en route. They never went out at quite the same time and tried to vary their paths through the city. It kept them from getting bored and cut down on the odds of them being followed.

Emmett used his new prosthetic legs to easily leap up to the top of the next building, savoring the rush of wind as he did.

McGuire followed, using a combination of energy storing springs in his boots and grappling hook. His backpack and vest were filled to the brim with crazy inventions and jostled with each step.

Clara was right behind them. Instead of flying by using a constant stream of power through her thrusters, Clara had been forcing herself to use short bursts in combination with jumping. Her reasoning was that if she was forced to stay at 50% power, then she was going to make the most of it. It had taken a couple of days, but now she was sprinting and jumping across the rooftops like the armor was an extension of her body. The alloys were light enough that she didn’t go crashing through the roof when she ran, but she was careful with jumps, using the thrusters to slow her descent just before she landed.

She’d made so much progress, in fact, that Emmett bet that she’d been practicing in the Gray Room back in the lab… Not that he would know. He hadn’t been back to visit Dr. Venture.

The last time Emmett was in the lab, he’d been almost killed by his former roommate. Dr. Venture had saved Emmett’s life—again—but he’d also been lying to Emmett.

And Emmett didn’t know if he could forgive Dr. Venture.

McGuire soared past Emmett. “On your right!” McGuire called as he landed and kept running.

Emmett pushed the thoughts of his former mentor aside and sprinted after McGuire.

It didn’t take long to pass him.

The Mutagen-A in Emmett’s system had strengthened him past the peak of human training. His newfound prosthetic legs pushed him even further. Even with his reality-warping boots, McGuire didn’t stand a chance.

Emmett landed on the next apartment roof, hot on McGuire’s heels, and quickly overtook him. The skyline of Belport became a blur. Emmett leapt for the next roof but leapt wide—

He slung his whip up to grip the ledge, then let his momentum swing him all the way to the next building. At the apex of his swing, he let go, grinning like a maniac as he hurtled through the air.

He rolled to a stop on the next roof and turned to see both McGuire and Clara racing to catch up. They stayed neck and neck—all the way until they both landed on the roof with Emmett. At the same time.

“Tie!” Emmett shouted. Despite the excitement and exertion, he wasn’t breathing hard at all, thanks to his mutagen enhancements and prosthetics. He could probably run a lap around the entire city at full speed without getting winded.

Meanwhile, McGuire leaned over and aired out his mask without taking it off. “No fair…” he panted. “I want cyborg legs.”

Clara stood with her hands on her hips, the sleek dark lines of her exosuit shimmering in the streetlights. “Maybe one day when you’re older and more mature.”

McGuire scoffed, but focused on his breathing.

Emmett almost made a comment—try getting almost killed twice—but he bit his tongue. It felt like too dark of a joke. Besides, now that Emmett and Dr. Venture’s relationship was rocky, Emmett’s cyborg parts had become his biggest liability.

After Emmett was caught in the middle of that first attack on Champion street, his entire right arm just past the shoulder had been replaced with a prosthetic. Then Lock had attacked Emmett in the apartment and almost killed him. Emmett survived, but his left arm had been torn off. Both of his legs below the knee were crushed, and his right eye needed to be replaced.

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Emmett’s stomach turned just thinking about it.

If not for the mutagen infusions and for Dr. Venture, Emmett would’ve been dead twice over.

Sure, it was awesome having cutting edge technology embedded in him. Venture had given Emmett the best of the very best. Even before his recent prosthetics, Emmett was easily a Class 1 super. Now he was knocking on the door of Class 2.

But all that technology was a liability. Even with TINA’s help, Emmett just didn’t have the facilities or the tools to repair his prosthetics if anything happened to them. He would have to go back to the lab.

Clara patted the doubled-over McGuire on the shoulder, which triggered the airbag in his jacket. The force of the deployment immediately caused him to stand back up, arms wide like he was either wearing a muscle-suit or smuggling marshmallows underneath his coat.

“Dude!” McGuire exclaimed. He fiddled for a release string under his armpit and the jacket deflated with a raspberry sound.

Emmett and Clara sniggered.

McGuire wagged a finger. “You keep doing that, and one of these days, I’m going to lose it.”

“Oh yeah,” Clara retorted playfully. “And do what?”

McGuire adjusted his mask so he could glare at her. “I’ll use a stinkbomb.”

Both Emmett and Clara shouted, “No!” at the same time. Joke or not, Emmett had no desire to experience the smell again. Clara had heard enough about the experience from Emmett that she’d had secondhand nightmares about it.

McGuire crossed his arms and nodded. “That’s what I thought. One day, the world will know my true power.”

Emmett turned to Clara. “Uh oh. It sounds like McGuire might go mad with power.”

Clara replied, “Oh, I remember that story.”

McGuire froze. “Wait, what?”

Emmett shrugged. “You said that if I went mad with power, you’d use a stinkbomb on me.” He squinted seriously for emphasis.

“Oh, no.” McGuire turned and ran. “You’ll never take me alive, coppers!”

Emmett and Clara stayed on the roof and watched the friend bound away.

Clara asked, “Do you think we should tell him that he’s going the wrong way?”

“Nah. He’ll figure it out.”

As McGuire disappeared over the edge of the roof, Clara turned to Emmett. “So, are you ever going to talk to him?”

TINA’s voice came through both of their earpieces. “I was wondering the same thing. Dr. Venture has several developments that he wants to discuss with you. However, he’s trying to be respectful of your decision, so he’s waiting for you to reach out to him first.”

Emmett sighed.

Then he turned and ran after McGuire.

“Hey!” Clara shouted. “Running away isn’t an answer.”

“I think it is,” TINA replied.

~

McGuire and Emmett looped back around toward their original meeting point. When Clara joined them, they tried to meet at a halfway point between McGuire’s place and the lab. This usually meant somewhere in the Southeast side of Belport.

“This is me,” Clara said, gesturing to the Eastside.

Emmett stopped on the roof and turned to her. Originally, he’d thought the chivalrous thing to do would be to escort her home, but he’d quickly dismissed it—Even limited to half power, Clara’s suit was as strong as he was, and Venture always had multiple drones keeping an eye on her. Emmett had caught flickers of their cloaking systems in the sky.

Besides, he and Clara were just friends.

McGuire caught up just as Emmett was waving goodbye. Half doubled-over he asked, “What?... Leaving… already?”

“McGuire, it’s two in the morning.”

McGuire waved. “Alright, we’ll… catch you… next time.”

Clara chuckled and stopped at the edge of the roof, her suit cutting an imposing silhouette against the city lights. “Yeah, and maybe you’ll have an answer for us?”

Emmett held up his hands in defeat. “Alright, alright. I’ll try to have an answer for your dad.”

Something about the way Clara lingered made Emmett think that wasn’t quite the answer she wanted.

“Okay,” she said. “See you guys tomorrow?”

“You betcha!” McGuire replied.

“Yeah. Definitely,” Emmett added.

They watched her leap off the roof and disappear across the skyline toward Eastside.

Emmett looked out over the twinkling lights of Belport. He’d been avoiding thinking about the whole thing.

What was he supposed to say?

None of it would change what had happened. None of it would bring Lock back or replace Emmett’s trust.

Emmett sighed, and McGuire socked him in the shoulder.

“Come on, tiger. Let’s get back.”

Reluctantly, Emmett turned and followed McGuire. They jogged across the rooftops back to McGuire’s place on the edge of South Side. The entire time, Emmett tried not to think about the decision he had to make.

~ ~ ~