Mod Superhero

Chapter 5.22 - Figuring Things Out / TINA

While Athena returned the necklace to Lucy, Mod and Arsenal snuck into a nearby parking garage. There was a sizable homeless population camping in the stairwells, so even though Mod and Arsenal were out in the open, they were still hidden by the crowd. They skirted the edge of groups and trash can fires, and stopped along the edge of the lot. They were four stories up—high enough to see across the block, but still covered by the roof.

Mod spared a glance back at the crowd, half to make sure that they weren't being followed and half in disbelief that there were so many homeless people in one place.

Mod's group had sparred all along the abandoned sector, and they had never seen so many people gathered in one place. Mod didn't think they'd been stranded during the evacuation. It felt like between the Summit and Dr. Venture's drones that no one should've been left behind. But seeing the sheer number of people gathered, Mod wasn't so sure. Either that, or they'd come back after the war and found their livelihood gone.

Either way, there was nothing he could do for them. Mod turned his back toward them and focused on Athena and the lab.

His friend was a tiny golden glow in one of the buildings across the block. Meanwhile, drones buzzed in the sky over the lab like a UV beehive. Emmett idly patted his hidden rifle for comfort.

Arsenal leaned against him. She was staring at the lab too.

"How are you holding up?"

Arsenal shrugged and continued leaning against his shoulder. "I keep wanting to run home across the rooftops. But it's not my home anymore. I don't... I don't even know if Dad's in there anymore, or if they've taken him to the Vault. He's just gone. And there's nothing I can do to get him back."

Emmett put his arm around her shoulders. "Not yet... but we'll figure something out."

"You really think we will?"

"I do."

Clara nodded. "How do you think it's going over there with Athena?"

"I don't know. Athena's almost as secretive as your dad."

"...Yeah. There was a lot he didn't tell me. Both him and mom were like that. After a while, I just quit asking. It's weird. I have these memories of both of them, and the memories are so real... But I don't think I ever really knew Mom or Dad. It was like I only knew their alter egos."

"But that's parents, right?" Emmett replied. "I feel like my parents only ever tell the same couple stories about their childhood. I'm never going to know the whole story."

Clara blew a raspberry. "Fine. Maybe it is just a parent-thing. Or maybe it's not. Am I ever going to know the real you?"

Emmett wavered. Both supers kept their eyes on Athena.

"I like to think you know me already," Emmett finally said.

"Until the other day, I didn't know how strongly you felt about Lock and Gnosis, or registration, or the Summit and Paragon... I didn't really know why you were working with my dad. I knew you wanted to be a hero, and I knew you weren't just going along with the upgrades to make him happy... but sometimes it felt like even you didn't know why you were going through with it."

"I... I don't think I did. Not at first." Emmett shrugged. "'Guess I've been figuring it out as I went."

Silence stretched on, and was suddenly interrupted by TINA's voice in their ears.

"Athena, I'm sorry to interrupt, but a patrol of biomechs is heading toward your location."

Athena replied over the comms. "How much time do we have?"