The two groups of supers stood opposite of each other on the roof. They must’ve looked like a weird bunch. Cherry and the new girl both wore dark clothes and had their hair dyed bright red and blue, respectively. They could’ve passed for normal bystanders if it weren’t for Larian, who wore a dark green bodysuit, and clearly looked like a super. Meanwhile, Emmett stuck with a dark hoodie and mask, but Clara wore a futuristic exosuit. Meanwhile, McGuire was dressed like an old explorer and wore a mask that looked like a cut up sock.

Somehow, it felt both utterly ridiculous and completely normal.

Cherry, Larian, and the new girl took a raincheck on a rematch. Neither wanted to hangout too long on the roofs in such a big group. A bunch of supers in one area weren’t likely to go unnoticed by bystanders or by the Summit. And no one wanted to deal with the Summit.

The two groups hung out a few minutes longer on the rooftops between downtown and South Side. Larian conjured his crow again, and the shadow circled high above.

McGuire dapped Larian’s hand. “Dude, if you keep pulling out new shadow monsters, you’re going to have to change your name to Zoo.”

Larian shrugged and replied, “That would not be nearly as good.”

Cherry turned to McGuire. “Speaking of names, what’s your name mean, anyway?”

McGuire waved the question away. “It’s from an old TV show. You’ve never seen it.”

New girl’s name was Krystal, and the entire time the others were conversing, she wouldn’t stop staring at Emmett. Her eyes were the same icy blue as her hair. Clara crossed her arms, like she was about to say something, but the new girl beat her to the punch.

Krystal asked Emmett, “So, what’s your deal?”

He chuckled uneasily, more at her attention than the question itself. “I’m a cyborg.” She looked him up and down, which didn’t help.

Cherry sniggered and elbowed Krystal. Then Cherry said to Emmett, “You’ve been making some upgrades. Where’d you get that staff?”

McGuire leaned in and said proudly. “My guy designed it himself.”

“What about the rest of you?” Krystal asked Emmett. “Just how much of you is mechanical?”

Clara shuffled in her exosuit. “Trade secret.”

Krystal ignored her. “Must be quite a bit. There aren’t many people that can withstand my powers like you did.”

Emmett resisted the urge to look down at his newly replaced legs—which was silly. His prosthetics weren’t even why he could withstand her cold attacks.

What was up with this girl, and why did she have him so on edge?

Larian chimed in from the edge of the roof. “I wish I could upgrade myself.”

McGuire scoffed. “Says the man who can summon shadow creatures.”

Larian said simply, “I have my limits. Mod can transcend them. He’s gotten stronger in just the last month.”

Of course, they didn’t know that he had nearly died, and that was the only reason he got those upgrades. Emmett wasn’t crazy enough to cut off his own limbs to get prosthetics.

“There are other ways to improve,” Emmett muttered. “You can make new creatures or learn new tactics and ways to use your powers.”

Krystal smirked. “I have plenty of techniques. I just don’t share them all the first night.”

Emmett’s cheeks grew hot—he was glad to be wearing a mask.

Cherry ignored her friend’s comment and groaned. “That’s easy for you guys. I’m only good at one thing.” She held up a finger gun for emphasis and mouthed, “Boom.”

Most chuckled, but Emmett asked, “Can you control it?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Sure,” Cherry replied.

“You could boost your jump or maybe even a teammate’s jump.”

McGuire laughed. “Like a rocket jump? You played too many video games.”

Cherry looked to the nearby roofs, her eyes widening. “I mean… It could work.” She turned to Krystal expectantly.

Clara chose that moment to chime in. “Looks like somebody’s been volunteered.”

Krystal held up her hands. “Oh no. Try it on one of Larian’s pets first.”

Larian looked up, seemingly offended, before relaxing. “She’s probably right. That would be for the best. Indovu won’t be happy, but she will cooperate. Anything to help her catch Mod next time we meet.”

Emmett and the others in the group were quiet for a moment, no doubt processing what Larian said.

Cherry asked, “Wait, do all of your creatures have names?”

“Yes,” Larian replied matter-of-factly. “And they are not my creatures.”

Emmett caught a glance of the giant crow circling high above the city. He had so many questions to ask, but couldn’t find a place to start.

Larian stood suddenly. “We should be going. Another group of supers approaches from the East. I believe it is the Summit of Heroes.”

Both groups dropped to the alley below and quickly said goodbyes. Cherry’s group walked south toward the boardwalk, while Emmett’s group went toward the West End.

As they walked, Emmett and McGuire pulled off their masks and tried to blend in on the street, while Clara engaged her suit’s cloaking feature. The gray lines of her suit faded completely from view. Between that and her muffled footsteps, it almost felt like she’d run off.

“TINA, do you see them?” Clara asked.

TINA replied to everyone. “The two capes appear to be doing a standard patrol pattern. They’ll pass overhead in approximately thirty seconds. They do not appear to be following you or McGuire’s friends.”

McGuire replied with feigned shock, “Hey, they’re not my friends—they’re work acquaintances.”

“So what does that make us?” Clara asked.

“Well, Mod’s my heterosexual roommate. You’re our plucky comic relief.”

Clara snorted a laugh, and Emmett followed suit.

~

The rest of the night was short-lived. The three friends waited for the Summit capes to pass overhead and eventually they climbed back up to the rooftops to continue their own patrol.

Despite their banter, Clara was oddly quiet.

Emmett didn’t have the nerve to ask her what was wrong until they were about to go their separate ways.

Clara stammered something, but it was McGuire who answered. “She’s just tired of being at fifty percent power.”

Clara paused, then quickly nodded in her suit. “Yep. McGuire’s right. That’s totally what it is. Don’t worry though. I’m going to talk to Dad about it soon. …Speaking of which, are you ever going to talk to him?”

It was Emmett’s turn to stammer a response. “Yeah. Soon.”

Clara chuckled and turned to go. “Hope so.”

Then she flew off into the sky and disappeared as her cloaking engaged, leaving Emmett and McGuire standing alone on the roof.

Emmett watched the sky where Clara disappeared. “Do you really think that’s what she’s upset about?”

“Hell no!” McGuire said, causing Emmett to whirl around. McGuire was stifling a laugh. “Dude, she’s jealous.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on… You mean to tell me that you didn’t realize Krystal was giving you the googly eyes?”

Emmett scratched the back of his neck. “I wasn’t sure… You really think so?”

McGuire rolled his eyes so hard his mask almost fell off. “Yes. You can trust me on this.”

Emmett smirked. “How much experience do you have with women?”

“Loads.”

“Dating simulators don’t count.”

McGuire crossed his arms. “I have enough experience to know when a girl is flirting and when she’s jealous.”

Emmett groaned. “Goddamnit. Really?”

“For a man who’s got lightweight metal alloys and polycarbonate parts, you are dense as shit.”

Emmett stood there on the roof, suddenly wishing he were anywhere else.

In the realm of all things dating, Emmett had no game. He was pretty sure he wasn’t even good at talking to the opposite sex. Was there a word for negative game? Was that a thing?

McGuire walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “Come on. Let me give you the birds and the bees talk.”

“You suck.”

“I know.”

Emmett and McGuire shared a laugh. Even though they’d only known each other a few weeks, Emmett couldn’t imagine having this conversation with anyone else. Even Lock…

Definitely not Clara.

Emmett sighed. Why did things have to be so complicated?

Suddenly, McGuire stopped and turned. “TINA, no matter what you hear… Don’t tell Clara any of this. Or the Doctor. Definitely not the Doctor.”

“Of course.”

McGuire added, “I mean it, TINA. This is serious business.”

“I’ll take my secrets to the grave.”

McGuire cleared his throat awkwardly. “I don’t know if all that is necessary, but that’s the right idea.”

~ ~ ~