“How much?” Remy said weakly. “Are you serious?”
Lyra stared at him with a deadpan expression. “Yes. If you want every function in that design plan, that’s what it will cost you. Of course, this includes the Sleepy Man fee, the non-licensed superhero Fee and the Rich Childhood Friend Fee.”
“Shouldn’t being your childhood friend decrease the price?”
Lyra smiled. “In all seriousness, I can’t go any lower. Take a look at this.” She handed him a tablet filled with the prices of certain materials and other expenses.
Remy scrolled down with a finger. “You’re going to hire people?”
“Two robot assistants, yes.”
“Let me take their role.”
Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? It cuts the price but–"
“I will follow your orders without question. I can work 24/7, and get stuff done while you’re busy with the store. How long will it take?”
“Hmmm. It’s hard to say. Two months? Maybe longer.”
“Two months?” Jay repeated. “Why that long?”
“Like I said, this is an ambitious project. It may require a lot of experimentation and testing. These gauntlets will rely on unique technology.”
“That’s fine,” Remy said. “As long as it’s done right.”
“What are they for anyway? Don’t tell me your…” Lyra gave him a curious look.
Remy nodded. “Yeah. We’re striving to be superheroes.”
“Okay…” Lyra gave him a funny look, clearly bewildered. “Weren’t you the professional superhero hater back in school?”
“Hater is too strong of a word but you know how life is. Things change. Actually, I didn’t just come here for weapons. Why the change in heart?”
“Hm?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. You wanted to be a superhero more than anyone.”
“You know how life is,” Lyra said, imitating Remy’s low voice. “Things change.”
Jay chuckled. Before Remy could try convincing her, she snatched the tablet from him. “Stores closed. We’ll begin tomorrow evening. Be warned. I’ll work you like a dog.”
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From eleven to thirteen, Lyra had been Remy’s closest friend. Though they shared few interests, both of them thrived academically. Due to Remy’s Eternal Insomnia, his parents and teachers decided it would be beneficial to enrol him in an accelerated program.
At the time, Remy did not think this was a good idea, but now he saw the benefits in hindsight. It allowed him to develop and hone many skills early on in his life which ultimately helped him become the man he was today.
The accelerated program involved more lessons, more tests, and more homework. The extra lessons only had two students – him and Lyra. While Remy was ahead of everyone because he simply had more time than them, Lyra was a genuine prodigy. With her B-rank Computer Processing ability, she was able to solve difficult problems extremely quickly and multitask effectively.
The two had got along quite well. Most of their time spent together during lunch was her bombarding him with questions about Wide Awake and the superhero industry. Remy would answer nonchalantly, never forgetting to remind her about the high death rate of superheroes.
By the end of middle school, Lyra’s father got a job at Star Tech, and she moved away from Everforge. They somewhat stayed in touch through text messages during high school, and Remy would occasionally hear news about her father’s growing success as Gear Prime, an engineer specialising in superhero tech.
The first week of their project in creating the gauntlets was surprisingly intense. Being the assistant, Remy had assumed the work was going to be monotonous but Lyra assaulted him every day with a series of instructions… Prepare this and prepare that. Collect this and retrieve that.
They worked on the gauntlets at the back of the HeroTech store where Lyra’s crafting studio resided and by Sunday, they seemed to have made significant progress. A metal glove-like material lay on the crafting table and Lyra squinted at it, one hand on her hip.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Can I?” Remy asked.
“Go ahead.”
Remy put his hands in the glove and lifted. “Holy shit. It’s lighter than I expected.
Lyra nodded. “We’re just getting started. This will be the base form. When you need to wear the weapon discreetly, it will shift into this glove. In an ideal world, I’d use Delirium alloy for the casing. It’s an incredible alien material that turns invisible under certain conditions.” She sighed, a hint of frustration in her voice. “I wish it wasn’t so rare.”
“Right…” Remy said. He found it amusing that she didn’t add that it was one of the most valuable materials in the universe. In her ideal world, she would have him legally robbed.
Lyra rubbed her eyes, yawning. “I wish I could stay awake forever like you, but sleep is calling.”
Remy resisted the strong urge to list all the reasons why he craved sleep but chose to shrug instead. “I’ll get stuff ready for the second glove then.”
“Great.” Lyra walked away. “Lock up when you’re done.”
Remy caught the keys she tossed at him. “Why don’t you want to be a superhero anymore?”
Lyra froze. “And there it is. I was waiting for you to ask that.”
“Well… it’s the elephant in the room. Out of all the kids who said they wanted to be a superhero, you were the one I believed the most. I know how much you love creating cool shit but that was never your dream. Didn’t you say you were going to create a special suit for yourself?”
“I did say that. But with my dad. He’s still missing, remember?”
“Oh.” Remy’s face heated. He had been so occupied with his plans that he had completely forgotten about her father. She had texted him about it a few weeks ago while he was training in Whisperwind.
“We always dreamed about making the suit together when I was ready,” Lyra said, her voice choked up. “We created all the plans. We spent hundreds of hours thinking about how it would work. How it would prove to the world that technology can compete with mutations. But now that he’s dead…”
Lyra closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, they were filled with tears. Remy walked over and hugged her.
“He’s not dead. He’s missing.”
“It’s all the same. Everyone knows the Collectors teleported him to the Deadzone.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Tech Superheroes have made great strides over the past few decades and some people hate that. Those top-ranking organics will never attempt to save him.”
“We’ll save him,” Remy said quickly, surprised at the words coming out of his mouth.
“What?” Lyra wiped away tears. “What do you mean?”
“We’ll save him,” Remy said again, this time more sternly. “Your father is alive out there, most likely enslaved by supervillains. If no one is willing to save him, we will.”
Lyra laughed sarcastically. “Are you stupid? The Deadzone is the only lawless area on Earth. Superheroes can’t even control the area. That’s a suicide mission.”
“If Wide Awake can survive there so can–”
“Yes! As a qualified superhero! You’re insane.”
“Your father will be too if we don’t save him soon. He’s probably being tortured as we speak.”
“Fuck you.”
“It’s the truth. Listen, I’m not here to convince you of anything. I’m not saying we’re guaranteed to succeed. But your father deserves a chance to freedom.”
“This isn’t like you. Why are you risking your life like this?” Lyra asked, shaking her head. “What the hell happened to you?”
Remy hesitated as many possible responses entered his mind.
Amelia was tortured and murdered.
We’re going to the Abnormal Flow Site anyway.
I need you to be a superhero.
I can’t let The Collectors and Instant take another victim.
He looked her in the eye and spoke from the heart. “Wide Awake would’ve tried to save him so I will too. It’s really that simple.”
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Level up opportunity: Night Vision
How’s the Hawk Vision? It’s been a while since the mutation and you’re still alive. Perfect. Not dying is great. As a reward for not dying, you’ve been given the first chance to upgrade...
* Time spent staring in complete darkness: 0/500 hours. [Time limit: 2 months]
(I have been told by friends this task is lacking creativity but I can’t think of anything else. Sorry.)
Remy smirked in his hotel room. He couldn’t have asked for a better task. If there was one thing he was good at doing for ridiculous amounts of time, it was staring into darkness blankly, wishing for sleep. He never would have thought such a miserable skill would come in handy.
There was a knock on the door. Remy opened it to reveal Jay swinging both of his batons through the air like a lunatic.
“What’s up Big C– I mean, what’s up Remy?”
“I’m good. How’s the Super Hearing?”
Jay rubbed his hands together. “It’s insane. It compliments well with the telepathy. I’ll admit, it feels like I’m going for the creep build.”
“Stalker could be your superhero name,” Remy suggested.
Jay laughed. “That sounds like a villain’s name. By the way, I’m surprised Star Tech allows people to use their superpowers freely.”
“The security is strong. The faceless humanoid robots you see roaming around can knock you out pretty efficiently. And then there’s the Genetic Detect Barrier.”
“They couldn’t knock you out though.”
“Damn straight. Why are you here?”
“Come on… Isn’t it obvious? The Star Tech nightlife is calling our names. I can super hear it! You know I’m right.”
Despite Jay’s contagious energy, Remy was still reluctant until he remembered they were supposed to be on an adventure. His sister had once told him that the best adventures were filled with exciting trips.
“Might as well,” he said.