Mod Superhero (Book 6 STUBBING on Oct 27th)

Chapter 6.61 - Meeting of the Minds

Emmett had grown used to existing in two worlds—the real world and cyberspace. His brain upgrade might've been the tentative first steps, but the Continuum Protocol had accelerated his development. Now he was almost as adept at traversing the landscape of cyberspace as he was at moving through the physical world.

As Emmett followed Dr. Venture up the ladder, his mind flowed through cyberspace.

~

Cyberspace was... different now.

To Emmett, it still looked like a forest, but navigating it had grown easier. Instead of wandering through trees with a vague sense of direction, he now saw paths carved into the ground. He'd memorized much of the lab's internal structure and had a permanent map seared into his consciousness.

Not only that, Emmett's new body had come with a new brain, and a significant jump in capabilities. More processing power gave him a new perspective—almost elevating his view of the forest. Instead of scurrying around the underbrush, he felt like a giant striding through the trees, occasionally even peeking out over the treetops.

Maybe cyberspace hadn't changed—Emmett had.

It felt smaller. Less strange.

It felt like a smaller version of Emmett's superhero journey.

He'd started out as a Class 1 super, bumbling his way through a large and overwhelming world. He'd grown steadily more competent and more powerful until he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the pillars of the superhero world. Beings like Midas and Ichabod and Paragon weren't untouchable giants—not anymore.

Even TINA looked different. Emmett used to see her and Bastion as storm clouds that spanned the horizon. They'd been bigger than giants—bigger than titans. They'd appeared on the scale of landscapes.

But now, TINA felt like the forest itself—more confined, more tangible. Emmett knew she was spread out across the internet, and that his perception of her was only in his head, but it was still a stark difference from his first glimpses of her. At the same time, just because TINA and the forest circuitry of the backup lab felt smaller didn't mean they were any less impressive. If anything, Emmett's appreciation of them had only deepened.

In the real world, Emmett was still climbing up the ladder behind Dr. Venture.

In cyberspace, he emerged at the edge of the forest. TINA waited there. She appeared in the form of a glowing bird sitting on a low branch.

Emmett snorted a laugh.

TINA tilted her head quizzically toward Emmett. "What's so funny?"

"You look like Phoebe the Phoenix from Full Throttle Heart, except blue instead of red."

"That's your mind's interpretation of me."

"I know. Doesn't mean it's not funny."

TINA ruffled her feathers, scattering sparks of blue fire. Clearly, she didn't find it as funny and changed the subject. "I'm surprised you tracked me down. Your upgrade turned out even better than the simulations."

Emmett nodded. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of cyberspace."

"That's an understatement."

"...Wait. What do I look like to you?"

"You're still human."

"Oh..."

"Don't sound so disappointed. Cyberspace is similar to outer space, in that it's relatively empty, but there are other things running around. If we stick with your forest metaphor, then some security systems would appear like rodents or insect hives. They're not intelligent, per say, but they have autonomy in a rudimentary sense. Of course, they're nothing compared to Bastion or myself."