By the time the sun went down Sunday evening, Emmett was feeling confident in the first stage of their mask protocol.

TINA stored five presets of faces, civilian clothes, and superhero disguises for both Emmett and Clara. These could be quickly engaged and swapped in a little over one second. That was enough for the first stage.

Emmett was hunched over the kitchen table, working on a server. Clara was nearby, mixing and matching pieces of her civilian presets. Athena sat on the couch, suggesting outfits. They’d brought Athena’s full-length mirror out into the living room for the fashion show.

“This is the future,” Athena said plainly. “Forget being a superhero. We should be fashion moguls. That’s where the money is.”

Clara giggled. “TINA, can we see what the skirt looks like with this top?”

“Of course.”

Clara’s jeans shimmered and flared out into a floral skirt. After it formed, she smiled and twirled.

Athena replied, “That one’s a winner.”

Emmett interjected, “I wouldn’t have thought you’d know so much about fashion.”

“Just because I’m not fond of skirts now, doesn’t mean I’ve never worn them. Besides, styles come and go, but if you stick to the basics, then you can never go wrong.”

Clara added, “I love it.”

“I’ll update your preset outfits.”

Emmett couldn’t help but smile along with them. It was good to see Clara happy. They still weren’t sure what happened to her dad, but Clara was slowly coming out of the void that had been left behind.

It also occurred to Emmett that Clara probably hadn’t been able to go trying on clothes like this in a long time.

Ever since they’d met, she’d been cooped up in the lab. At first, Emmett just thought Clara and her dad were shut-ins. Then he learned about her powers and how dangerous they could be… Emmett understood why Clara stayed underground, but it was clear that it got to her.

The nanite clothes weren’t exactly shopping at a downtown boutique, but Clara was clearly enjoying herself. That was all that mattered.

Emmett finished making and connecting the last wires of the server, then leaned back in his chair to stretch his shoulders.

Athena noticed. “Are you at a good place to stop?”

Emmett nodded. “For now. Now that we’ve got our masks and outfits ready to go, I want to start working with TINA on the second stage of the mask protocol. We should have something in place before we go back out in the city.”

The first stage of the mask protocol used nanites to hide their appearances from onlookers and cameras, but that wouldn’t keep them safe forever. Eventually, the Brotherhood would gain control of TINA’s old systems… Only a few weeks ago, TINA tracked down The Freakshow with nothing but cellphone messages and location data. Just before that, they’d done something similar to find the secret mutagen warehouse.

Even in her current limited state, TINA could hide their cellphone signals.

The problem would come from an increasingly smart and connected internet.

There were cellphone cameras, geolocation tags, internet-connected security cameras, and the growing number of drones and biomechs. It was only a matter of time before TINA’s old algorithms would be able to search all of them and corroborate all of them in real-time. It wasn’t a matter of if—it was a matter of when.

It wasn’t enough to hide their individual appearance or signal. Eventually, they needed to either develop personal cloaking tech or actively scrub themselves from the net. Both were magnitudes more difficult than nanite disguises.

Emmett didn’t care. He wanted to develop both.

Athena squinted at Emmett. “But you don’t need to figure out the second stage right now… right?”

Emmett hesitated. “I really don’t know. It depends on how much of TINA’s old systems the Brotherhood has up and running. And there’s no way to know for sure without hacking a drone.”

Clara had turned away from the mirror, sharing Emmett’s hesitation. “Is TINA strong enough to hack their systems without getting caught?”

“Yes. So long as Midas isn’t actively monitoring the lab’s systems. I left several backdoors into the lab’s systems. However, each time I connect, there is a chance they’ll find the exploit and patch it.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Athena leaned forward on the couch, suddenly serious. “So hypothetically… If you had the choice between hacking a drone or hunting down a mage, what would you want to do tonight?”

Emmett and Clara looked at each other, sharing a look of uncertainty and eagerness.

Emmett said, “Tell us about the lead.”

Clara replied, “It’s not like we’ve got a curfew… Why don’t we go after both?”

Athena stood up, as if that settled the matter completely. “The lady has spoken. We’re doing both.”

Emmett glanced between them both and chuckled. “Sure. Why not?”

They all needed to stretch their legs.

~

The group didn’t waste any time. Emmett and Clara suited up and followed Athena out the apartment window. Emmett and Clara wore civilian clothes and masks, while Athena relied on the stored magic in her clothes to hide her identity.

They huddled on the fire escape for a moment while Athena shut the window behind them. Both Emmett and Clara relished the night air. It was June now, and truly summertime. The breeze was warm even now, and Emmett could just make out the salt smell of the bay.

Most of Belport still didn’t have power. Most of the surrounding city was dark, save for the construction crews still working and the Fast-Response drones patrolling overhead. They criss-crossed the city like lost fireflies. The only buildings that were lit were to the North, where the flooding hadn’t reached.

“I still can’t believe how clear the sky is,” Clara whispered. “There’s so many stars.”

Emmett followed her gaze up. To him, the sky looked the same as any other night. His cybernetic eye allowed him to see in infrared and ultraviolet, so he could see the stars even with the light pollution of the city. But with the power still out in the majority of the city, Clara was able to see them, too.

“It used to look like this all the time,” Athena said, following their gaze. She pointed to the bright swathe of stars just over the horizon. “That’s part of the Milky Way over there. They used to call it the backbone of night.”

After a few moments, Athena added, “Come on. We can look at the stars after we’re done. Follow me.”

Athena leapt over the railing of the fire escape. Emmett watched as she conjured a barrier halfway down. She bounded off it, using it to break up her descent, then touched down on the alley below.

He’d fought beside Athena and knew firsthand how awesome her forcefield powers were, but this was the first time Emmett had actually seen her powers. They’d always appeared as invisible barriers, but not anymore. Thanks to his cybernetic eye, the barriers looked like thin blue crystal—eerily solid compared to what Emmett had envisioned before.

Emmett and Clara followed behind her. Emmett hit the ground and rolled. Clara let out a burst of power through her suit, slowing her descent right before she touched down.

Emmett’s heart was already racing.

Goddamn, it felt good to be out again.

~

The three of them walked abreast through the city, sticking mostly to alleys. When they had to cross main streets, they steered clear of construction and made sure that no drones were overhead. TINA helped with that. She could sense when drones and other wireless transmissions were within a block. To be safe, Emmett and Clara also swapped their disguises every other block.

Athena explained that her magic obscured her in a similar manner. To an onlooker, Athena’s face would look completely unremarkable. To someone actively spying, Athena’s face would be hard to describe or recognize. In photos or videos, her face would always appear blurry and out of focus.

“That sounds convenient,” Emmett muttered. “Any chance we can learn how to do that?”

“Not unless you’ve got a couple years to spend studying magic.”

“How many?”

Athena scoffed. “Two decades if you’re exceptionally talented.”

Clara said, “You don’t look old enough to spend twenty years studying magic.”

“You’re right, but I had friends that did.”

TINA spoke into their earpieces. “Where exactly are we going?”

They were heading downtown, but Athena had only given them cryptic answers about their destination.

“Downtown. Not too much further.” Athena added playfully, “What’s the matter, TINA? Are your legs tired?”

“No, but I can search communications based on location. If I know our destination, I can better plan for any enemies or disruptions.”

Athena replied, “I’ve got my powers, Clara is a living weapon, and Emmett’s carrying an arsenal… Maybe I’ve got that backwards. Either way, I think we’ll be alright.”

Emmett and Clara glanced at each other, their nanite masks both showing smirks. Emmett had been nervous about going out, but Athena was right. They were all right around Class 3, they were experienced supers, and they’d fought as a team before.

Emmett’s confidence swelled with each step. Maybe they’d get to fight as a team again.

TINA’s voice brought Emmett back to the moment. “Are we going to Manning Station?”

Athena slowed and stuffed her hands in her jacket pocket. “There goes the surprise. How did you guess?”

“Manning is the closest subway station, and both the Felwardens and the Cabal of Jesiré are known to operate underground. From reports, the flooding is almost completely drained. There are also several cellphone signals originating from near the station.”

Surprise flashed across Athena’s face—

Right before she took off running.

Emmett and Clara sprinted after her. Thankfully, they caught her before the end of the block—a fact that Athena seemed surprised about.

Emmett felt a pang of pride. Even though they’d told Athena about everything they’d gotten into and all the upgrades that Emmett had gone through, she still hadn’t seen Emmett in action.

“Why are we running?!” Clara shouted.

“I wasn’t sure if anyone would be there!” Athena replied. “I think it’s the bastard that I’ve been hunting!”

~ ~ ~