Mod Superhero (Book 6 STUBBING on Oct 27th)

Chapter 6.31 - Multiply

Nanites wormed their way through the lab, reaching deeper and deeper into the structure. Emmett had grown so used to controlling them that they felt like an extension of himself—

A hand that he no longer had.

Controlling the swarm had been much easier than he anticipated, even as they stretched progressively farther away from him. Keeping them in one long string effectively gave him a direct connection, but that alone didn't explain how easy it was—like it was second nature. That was from months of practice combined with his enhanced brain.

Then there was Emmett's brain implant, which was now upgraded using pieces of Bastion itself. It effectively meant that Emmett had his own cloaking software specifically designed to hide from Bastion and the lab. If Emmett missed a sensor somewhere, it wouldn't trigger an alert—if Bastion noticed anything, it would be ignored as a minor fluctuation.

Emmett had no idea how much time had passed since his imprisonment, but he thought back to walking the streets with Clara and the rest of the team. How the cloaking made them all look and feel like ghosts.

That was how Emmett felt now, like a ghost floating through the lab. Which was fitting enough, having recently come back from the dead.

At the same time, he felt whole again.

Which was weird, considering the state of his body. But Emmett hadn't been that attached to his body, anyway. Ever since becoming a cyborg, he'd traded away pieces of himself—upgrading some things and outright replacing others. His body was just a vessel.

~

The root of nanites stretched deeper and deeper into the facility, multiplying and tapping into power lines as they went. As the swarm grew larger, Emmett's perception grew to match it.

He thought back to finding the backup lab, and following TINA's path through the circuits as she brought systems back online. The layout of the underground structure revealed itself like someone was turning on the lights one room at a time.

This time though, Emmett felt like he was navigating through a cave with nothing but a flashlight. As nanites bypassed some circuits and tapped into others, Emmett would catch glimpses of nearby rooms and systems, like shining his flashlight down a narrow passageway. Bastion had its own vats of nanites hidden throughout the lab. Emmett steered clear of them for now.

Emmett was confident in his stealth but he didn't stray from his goal.

Bastion was somewhere in those metaphorical tunnels. And just because Emmett had hidden from the proto-AI so far, didn't mean he was one hundred percent safe. Savanus was out there—maybe Midas also.

It wasn't the first time—or second—that Emmett considered revenge. A fusion canister would be more than enough to bring down the lab. ...Thankfully, Savanus had removed Emmett's canister, otherwise he might've done it.

The problem was that Dr. Venture was locked up here too. He would die.

Emmett felt a pang of shame at the thought. He would've killed Clara's dad.

He pushed the thought aside—partitioned it for later. When the thought of saving Venture crossed his mind, he partitioned that too. There was no way he could break Dr. Venture out in this state. He would just get them both killed.

All Emmett thought about was escape.

~

Emmett had no idea what the nanite storage chamber would look like when he found it. TINA described it as a small lake, which had to be an exaggeration. Then he saw the schematics. Emmett had trouble picturing that many nanites, let alone trying to comprehend the sheer scale of material and time that went into making the swarm.