Mod Superhero (Book 6 STUBBING on Oct 27th)

Chapter 7.10 - Holding Pattern

Even though Emmett and Clara meditated in one of the training room demiplanes. It was almost identical to the other training rooms, an empty void roughly the size of Athena's old apartment, with swirls of fog that defined the perimeter.

This demiplane was notable because Emmett had created it, and because it was currently filled with fire and nanites.

Emmett sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by his swarm. Nanites close to Emmett wrapped around him like a snow globe of dark water. The swarm sloshed around him, occasionally letting his face peek through. Thin tendrils of nanites stretched across the room toward Clara.

She hovered fifteen feet away, eyes closed in meditation. Her breathing was slow and controlled, but the air around her crackled with heat. Tiny waves rolled off her body, distorting the space. The deeper she tapped into her fusion powers, the more intense the aura became. This was her at low-power, safely within the limits of the demiplane and Emmett's own parameters.

Nanite tendrils wrapped around Clara's sphere of power. More nanites suffused Clara's sphere, surfing the currents, absorbing her power, and feeding it back to Mod through his tendrils. He'd done something similar when the Brotherhood had gone after his parents, except that time he'd absorbed Clara's energy and turned it back into offensive lasers.

Instead of routing that power to weapons or to his fusion canister, Emmett guided it outward—through the web of nanites he'd stretched through the demiplane and back toward the lab itself.

That part of the technique wasn't new either. He'd done something similar when navigating McGuire's stronghold, feeling his way through its impossible architecture. But this was the first time he'd maintained a stable loop—drawing from Clara's excess power, funneling it through the demiplane, and feeding it directly into the lab's reserve systems.

The flow of power resonated through Emmett's mind and body in a low, steady hum. He felt every part of it: The pulse of energy arcing down through his nanite paths, branching through the backup lab's conduits. Across the compound, batteries topped off one after another.

Emmett opened his eyes and surveyed the waltz of technology and power. Each cycle added a little more stability. A little more flow.

But they weren't done. Not yet.

Next time, he'd try it at higher output. Or stretch the loop further, test how much distance he could cross without degradation. There were limits—there always were. He just hadn't found them yet.

For now, Emmett allowed himself a breath. A rare moment of satisfaction.

It felt good. Like progress. Like control.

His gaze settled on Clara, still floating in the heart of the room, surrounded by the shimmer of her own making. It was just the two of them—and the thrum of energy weaving between them.

Emmett felt the disturbance before he saw it. Through the web of nanites stretched between the demiplane and the lab, he sensed a familiar signature. The pulse of a particular gait, the slight fluctuations in the local wireless field—McGuire.

Most people would've asked TINA to patch them through first. Not McGuire. He'd just walk in.

And promptly catch on fire.

Emmett smirked. He and Clara should probably wind down before McGuire got there.

Without raising his voice, he whispered through the nanite storm: "We're about to have company."

Across the room, Clara's breathing shifted. She eased out of her deep focus, her body lowering inch by inch. The ambient heat that had been radiating from her began to ebb. She drew in a slow, controlled breath, letting the glow around her dim.