Mod Superhero

Chapter 5.7 - Stage Two, Interrupted

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.