Mod Superhero

Chapter 5.4 - Wight

The spymaster of the Summit of Heroes rode in the passenger seat of a military truck, watching the derelict city pass by. He shifted his legs every few minutes so he didn't cramp up. The main artery through Belport was mostly clear of debris, but there were plenty of relief workers, construction crews, and those damn mechs. There were supers too, most wearing shirts or vests to identify themselves as Summit capes.

With all the activity on the road, the soldier driving the truck stayed cautiously below the posted speed limit.

Wight suspected it was partially his fault as well. Another day, he would've bantered to put the young soldier a little more at ease, but Wight didn't have the stomach for it today. He had enough on his mind without having to bullshit his way through small talk.

A biomech stomped across the street, and the driver slammed on the brakes. They skidded to a halt, the truck bumping against the mech's leg. All of Ava Savanus's biomechs shared the same basic configuration—like two-legged robotic chickens—but this particular mech was almost twice as tall as their truck. It didn't so much as stumble when they bumped it. It continued walking across the street like it hadn't even noticed them.

Wight shook his head, but said nothing as they continued down the road.

Wight hadn't been back to Belport since the war... Since his last visit with Venture. And he probably wouldn't have been back so soon if not for Venture and the Brotherhood. He'd been seeing to other national security matters in DC when he got the news. Supervillains may have put feuds on hold while the war was going on, but that didn't mean corporations and mages guilds stopped their scheming.

Seeing Belport now brought mixed feelings. It was inspiring to see people of all walks working together to repair the city. Wight knew from reports that similar scenes were playing out across the coasts, not just in the Allied States, but all along the Atlantic.

As nice as that was, Wight had seen too much in his line of work to ignore the undercurrents. Every time there was instability or tragedy, there would be vultures. Some just hid their intentions better than others.

The biomechs in the street and drones in the sky may have been shiny, but Wight recognized them for what they were.

~

They drove through Belport in silence, continuing East toward the lab. Wight was content to watch the landscape of the city change from the central highrises of downtown to old town shops and apartments, and finally, to industrial warehouses. Recent construction or decay were easy enough to see. but if you knew what to look for, you could see a city's history written in its layout, like reading geological strata in the ground.

As they drove, they passed under one of Belport's elevated railways, and Wight studied one such divide. The railway bisected the area, marking a clear strata between North and South. To the North, businesses were already cleaning up their storefronts. Trucks and work vans lined the street, and uniformed workers bustled about. The grime left by the flooding might've been fresh, but the signs of gentrification beneath stood out even more. Windows were damaged or destroyed, but the brick fronts of each shop looked like they'd been renovated in the last year or two. The store signs also had a unified design and color scheme.

In contrast, the stores to the South of the tracks stood out. The brick fronts were weathered and chipped, and even missing bricks in places. The signs above the stores were each unique, if a little faded. There were only a handful of cars. No work trucks. Far fewer people, and none of them were in uniform. Families worked on the businesses to the South, and likely lived above their shops. They didn't have the means to hire additional help. Most hadn't even been allowed back in the city yet.