The nanite clone lunged again.
Antony twisted sideways, flinching, and felt a punch graze his ear. He stumbled, backpedaled, and turned to keep the clone in front of him. Another punch caught him on the chin—just enough to make him wince.
Antony fired back with his own series of punches—one of the combinations he'd been practicing. Left, right, left, right. The clone slipped and blocked them all, then countered with a punch to the ribs. Antony shuffled backward, muttering a curse and focusing on keeping his hands up.
Meanwhile, the clone advanced with robotic patience.
He almost wished the thing had a face or an expression or something. The entire clone was nanite-black, smooth and featureless. In that way, it was like the rest of the demiplane. Wisps of smoke curled at the edges of the room, and the light was ambient and soft—somehow everywhere and nowhere at once. Despite numerous practice sessions, the place still felt like a dream he couldn't wake up from.
Or maybe a nightmare.
TINA's voice buzzed in his ear, flat and sterile like the rest of the room.
"Keep your elbows in..."
"Mind your footing..."
TINA's voice continued, but Antony couldn't shake the feeling that her mind was somewhere else entirely. Of course it was—she was probably managing half the base systems, listening to ten channels, running simulations, monitoring vitals, coordinating God-knew-what. Coaching him in a training match he'd never actually need was probably at the bottom of her list. Still, it made him think of every absent-minded coach he'd had over the years—the ones who tossed out generic advice while checking their phones, never really watching, never really caring. There was something hollow in the way TINA said, "Keep your elbows in", like she was reading it off a clipboard she wasn't even holding.
Antony tried not to take it personally.
Antony grunted and barely slipped another punch. "Tina... You can stop... trying to encourage me."
"Would you like to try another exercise?"
"No. This is fine." It was only half a lie.
Antony wasn't planning on being on the front lines. If everything went according to Emmett and TINA's plans, then Antony and the rest of the family would be safe underground until everything blew over.
Still, Antony felt like he should be doing something. It didn't feel right to sit on the sidelines.
Antony went back and forth with the nanite clone for what felt like an hour—in reality it was only a couple minutes.
The thing that finally threw him off was seeing Emmett's face in the clone. It was just his imagination, but in the moment, it felt like Emmett was coming at him.
Antony hesitated.
The clone lunged again, wrapping him up in a tackle.
In Antony's mind, he would roll back with the tackle, plant his foot in the clone's chest, and kick it across the room. What actually happened was he got dropped. Hard. He hit the mat with a thud, knocking the breath out of him.
The clone rose, stepped back, and then waited patiently in a neutral stance.
Antony groaned and lay flat on the mat for a moment. The floor was cool through his sweat-soaked shirt. Every muscle ached.
"Do you feel alright?" TINA asked. "...Your vitals are within tolerance."
Antony sat up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He looked at the clone again. "It doesn't matter if it's a blank face... Hard not to see my brother standing there."
YOU ARE READING
Mod Superhero
Science-FictionFor this cyborg, power is just an upgrade away. Emmett was used to being caught between college and his engineering internship, but when he gets caught between a powerful hero and an even stronger villain, he becomes collateral damage. Instead of d...
