Mod Superhero (Book 6 STUBBING on Oct 27th)

Chapter 6.13 - Countermeasures

Emmett had spent the last two months meticulously studying the lab's defenses. Between TINA's residual memories and information, she was able to gather from infiltrating its systems, Emmett was confident that they'd be prepared for almost anything.

In addition to general countermeasures like tranquilizer darts and sealing bulkheads, the lab had contingencies for every super and powerset. Venture even had lesser artifacts embedded in the walls; he'd weaponized these so that they could emit energy to disable psychics and dispel magic.

But one thing was clear to Emmett. It was ridiculously difficult to stop a Class 4 or 5 super. Lock could brute force his way through turrets and blast doors, and Emmett's nanites could disable most other defenses.

There was one last failsafe—destroying the lab. Explosive charges at key points would collapse the structure, burying everyone inside. It was horrifying to think about, considering it would bring down the parking garage, the Gnosis compound, and the surrounding block. Emmett couldn't imagine a scenario where that would be acceptable—

But clearly Venture had considered it.

With all that considered, even with Emmett and Lock's newfound strength, surviving wouldn't be easy. There were a disturbing amount of countermeasures dedicated to artificers—everything from chaff grenades and armor-piercing rounds, to EMP weapons. Emmett's team had encountered EMP barbs in the basement of Gnosis. Knowing about Dr. Venture's partnership with the elder vampire, Ichabod, it was no surprise that Venture had given them tech like that. Gnosis had responded in kind, supplying Venture with tranquilizers and paralytics that could take down almost any living creature—mutagen-enhanced or not.

With how many countermeasures were dedicated to artificers, it seemed like Venture expected the Brotherhood to turn on him—

"Get your head in the game!"

Lock's roar brought Emmett back to the moment.

Alarms echoed through the bunker. Down the hall, concrete panels slid away, and a turret unfolded. This one looked like a giant syringe with a drum magazine attached. It was similar to the EMP barb rifles, except scaled up so that the bars were a half inch around and a foot long. The turret was all the more vicious looking in the strobing red lights.

Emmett was already shouldering his fusion rifle—

Lock was faster. He dug a clawed hand into the wall and tore out a chunk of concrete as big as Emmett's torso. He threw it like a fastball, obliterating the turret before it had a chance to fire.

There was no point in hiding anymore, so Emmett's nanite disguise shifted. Instead of trying to hide him completely, a small percentage went to breaking up his outline with shifting stripes while the rest became ablative armor.

A similar shift happened to his friend. Lock's ablative armor was much thinner, but he had the same striped pattern that glowed in infrared and UV.

Two more turrets sprang out of the wall. This time, the turret started firing immediately—before it had even targeted them. Heavy tungsten rounds thundered down the hall. Both men leapt to either side of the hall and out of the way.

Emmett returned fire, using kinetic blasts to dislocate the targeting hydraulics. He had to pause halfway through as the second turret fired a massive net that completely encompassed the hallway. It sailed toward them, crackling blue with electricity. Mod swapped the firing mode on his rifle. Lines of plasma cut the net into pieces, and it fell harmlessly at their feet.

Emmett swapped again, using two more shots to cut the first turret free. It powered down, hanging from the wall by the machinegun belt.

Lock asked, "On a scale of one to ten, how fucked are we?"