Mod Superhero (Book 6 STUBBING on Oct 27th)

Chapter 6.12 - Unwelcome Guests

Emmett wondered how long it had been since anyone used the side entrance to the lab.

Midas, Savanus, the drones, and the biomechs—from TINA's data, it looked like everyone used the drone access tunnel. Everyone except Wight, the spymaster of the Summit of Heroes. The man that could walk through walls still used the front door; Emmett was sure that was a deliberate choice on Wight's part.

Just because the side entrance was less traveled, didn't make it any easier.

The lab stairwell descended several stories underground, lit only by small red emergency lights. Muffled hisses and clangs of machine echoed up from deep underground. The sense of nostalgia left Emmett as the door hissed shut behind them. This was enemy territory now.

As Emmett and Lock crept into the passage, nanites slithered along wires and pipes in the walls. More nanites crawled along the walls, searching for hidden sensors and traps. Emmett was attuned enough to them now that he could feel every sensor and circuit they were bypassing. They were small enough that the nanites themselves wouldn't trip any sensors and they were spread out enough that even with Emmett's magnification he could barely see them. The whole process felt like watching TINA silently pick a series of locks, one after another.

Emmett and TINA assumed that every security countermeasure was still active, and that there were probably even more that TINA couldn't remember.

They weren't sure how many nanites it was going to take to infiltrate the lab, so Emmett had brought as many as he could hold without jeopardizing his disguise or his cloaking. Emmett's nanite storage capacity had started at five hundred percent. Once nanites had infiltrated the walls, the number stabilized.

NANITES 320% CAPACITY

They would lose a few more along the way. TINA planned on leaving a trail in case they needed to transmit information out. Instead of using the lab's wiring, she would leave packets of nanites on standby that could act as wireless bridges.

Initially, she'd been worried that the lab would have countermeasures for nanites or small infiltration robots. Small-scale electromagnetic fields and pulses could disable chunks of the swarm, and it took time to build more nanites. But so far, they hadn't encountered any.

TINA's swarm set the pace as they descended into the lab. Emmett and Lock followed just behind.

They made it to the bottom of the stairs and to the first hallway—the same one Emmett had spent months going between as a new super.

Emmett kept his eyes half-closed and focused looking over TINA's shoulder. Nanites flowed down the hallway, hacking sensors and looping cameras.

He felt a newfound respect for Dr. Venture and the patchwork assortment of security measures. The different levels of tech were clearly meant to slow down other artificers, like Midas and Savanus. It might've slowed TINA down if she hadn't already prepared for it. Seeing it now reminded Emmett of McGuire—it was definitely something the gadgeteer would approve of.

Slowly, Emmett and Lock walked past the old sections. Past the living quarters where they'd all eaten pizza, and where Clara had fallen asleep on his shoulder. The mechanical wing where Emmett had built his first mods. The fusion lab where his first projects as an intern had been—unknowingly continuing research into controlling and harnessing Clara's power. The Armory, where he'd only been a handful of times and where all Clara and Dr. Venture's exosuits were stored. Past the Gray Room where he'd taken his first careful steps as a super. And the biolab, where Venture and TINA had brought him back to life—twice.

While Emmett reminisced, he was vaguely aware of Lock beside him. His friend stared at the doors as they passed. Each door was marked only with numbers, so there was nothing hinting at what was on the other side. If Lock cared that much, he didn't ask.