Mod Superhero

Chapter 1.1.3 - Celebration

As it turned out, Dr. Venture's idea of celebrations was as understated as he was.

There was a small break room near the testing hub—one of the only other rooms Emmett had seen. He'd gotten to sit in it precisely twice, not including this time.

There wasn't much to it: Several cracked leather chairs were arranged to face a wall of displays. The few times Emmett had been in the room, they were always tuned to the major news channels. A small kitchenette occupied the right-hand wall.

Currently, Emmett and Clara sat idly while Dr. Venture put a frozen pizza in the oven.

Emmett and Clara shared a wordless laugh at her father's idea of celebration. Despite the facility they worked in, the doctor had a habit of cutting costs on things that weren't digital or mechanical.

"Tell me again, Dad, why we can't splurge on takeout?"

Venture waved a dismissive hand. "Big Larry's has come a long way since the first frozen pizza. This is gourmet compared to the pizza I grew up with."

Emmett joked, "They didn't have takeout back then."

"Cars either," Venture added, deadpan.

The doctor came over and sat with them, turning intently to the news. Silence settled between them as Emmett and Clara uneasily did the same.

There was ongoing war across the Morrowed Sea, and riots in the South. Domestically, people were in a fuss over the market, though that all sounded like gibberish to Emmett; he'd never been good with economics.

And spliced in with everything were superheroes and villains—the war across the ocean was plagued by warlord supers who harassed the edges of territories and battlefields—sometimes drawing the ire of both countries. Riots in the South were blamed on rogue masks and villains. Domestically, groups tried to pin the stock market dip on the battle between the Summit of Heroes and Antichampions, saying that the Antichampions' increased activity was affecting investors.

Then there were the brawls that destroyed a block of Dramford and Chicby Hills.

Emmett listened, but his eyes were always drawn to the clips of supers and villains. Only registered capes were shown with any clarity. Most photos and video were almost always far away shots of tiny figures—even so, they dominated the screen when they appeared. Lightning arced, fire swirled, and the air quivered around them. Each super felt like they heralded destruction—Emmett wasn't sure if the news meant to depict them that way, but it was the overwhelming impression.

As the moment dragged on, Emmett came back to the silence again, and it felt odd to him. He'd spent a lot of time with the doctor and Clara over the last six months, but most of that time was spent working. There was very little downtime since he'd started working here—pretty much those two other times he'd been invited into the breakroom. So Emmett shifted in his seat, unsure of whether it was a comfortable silence or not.

In the end, he decided it wasn't.

Emmett said, "I've got a project coming up for engineering."

Neither Venture nor Clara responded. They were both watching the news intently. A still shot of the Scarlet King was on the screen. He hovered on the screen, a ball of crackling psychic power. He was an old member of the Antichampions, one who was ousted for over-the-top brutality and rumored to have killed the former hero, Arsenal.

Emmett cleared his throat, "I've got a project for engineering coming up."

The doctor blinked, but it was Clara who turned and answered.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'm... I'm not sure yet," Emmett replied, leaving out that he forgot about the assignment.