Mod Superhero (Book 6 STUBBING on Oct 27th)

Chapter 6.19 - At the Park

APPROXIMATELY +0.2.19 POST-INCIDENT

There was a small park on the West End of Belport. Emmett had been there a few times growing up, and a few more during college. During his time in the dorms, it was a short bus ride or a long walk. There was a shady, dirt trail that wrapped around a lake, and places for sports—chain-link basketball hoops and tattered volleyball nets.

It was a mid-day during the week, so thankfully, the park wasn't packed like it was on the weekend. There were a few parents with young kids that weren't in school yet, and runners with odd schedules. A few of the others were probably college students.

Until a minute ago, they'd all been going about their business.

Now they were screaming and running away from a fight between supers.

A tree leaned over, its massive trunk creaking as it did. One of the thick lower branches Lock like a baseball.

A crack of impact sounded, and the force sent Lock skidding backward. He tumbled across the grass, then dug his feet and hands into the ground, gouging lines in the earth. He finally stopped and spat out leaves.

Mod landed beside him, staff in hand. "I told you to wait for me."

Lock spat out leaves and glared back at their opponents.

Three supers stood across the hill and beneath the shelter of the animated tree—all three were Summit capes. Names and registration info flashed through Emmett's mind.

Verdant wore a deep green suit and thick cloak. They could control plants, which was quickly becoming an issue considering the setting. Grass and bushes had grown tall and turned into vines. Those were manageable. Trees were the problem. Lock weighed close to five hundred pounds, but a tree was heavier, and it had much better leverage.

The second super, Arclight, rippled with purple electricity. Her jacket and hair floated weightlessly, like she was underwater. She could project rings and whips of energy.

Both Verdant and Arclight's faces were blank and expressionless.

The third super, Genevieve, stood in the back of the formation, her teeth bared in a snarl. She wore a white, plain bodysuit, and was classified as just a telekinetic. Her latent psychic abilities were weak enough to hide from Brotherhood scanner tech and from Summit capes—

But the Menagerie still found her.

Now the Menagerie was controlling all three of them.

The air rippled as a wave of power emanated from the psychic. Mod felt the touch of the Menagerie before the wind passed over him like a shockwave.

The sensation was similar to when Emmett felt TINA's emotions through their connection—only this felt cruder, like speaking to someone through plain text messages instead of a video call. Maybe because Emmett had more in common with an AI now than he did with a regular human. But he didn't need an intimate connection to the Menagerie to know that it was foaming-at-the-mouth angry.

Snarls of otherworldly anger washed over Emmett like a cool breeze.

The Menagerie couldn't hurt him anymore, but it was a testament to the hive-mind's power that he felt it at all. Genevieve was a weak psychic, and therefore a poor conduit. It was like trying to fire a fusion-powered laser through a cheap flashlight. It was a miracle that it worked at all.

It also didn't bode well for Genevieve. If her mind wasn't completely fried, it would be soon.

Mod pushed the thought aside. There was nothing they could do to help her now.