Mod Superhero

Chapter 7.47 - Vigil

Golden Boy's vigil was held in the Sim Room. TINA worked with Wight to recreate the layout and decor of Golden Boy's hometown church. Wight explained that Golden Boy wasn't religious, but that he wanted to be interred with the rest of his family. Wight would make sure Golden Boy's ashes got there, but didn't elaborate on how he would make that happen. TINA didn't spill the secret, and Emmett didn't pry.

Everyone gathered in the Sim Room that night, their nanite clothes reformed into more appropriate black suits and dresses. Emmett's family showed up, including Darryl, Marlene, and the nephews, who wore their own tiny black suits. Marlene insisted the boys come too—not out of some morbid sense of righteousness, but because supporting family was the right thing to do. They were there, not just for Emmett, but for Clara and the rest of the Resistance members.

TINA broadcast the vigil to other Resistance bases.

The evening was a blur—a painting made in broad strokes and left out of focus. Emmett wasn't sure if that was a leftover human coping mechanism or his new artificial mind throttling back his emotions... He wasn't sure it mattered.

Wight spoke first at the vigil. The former spymaster walked up to the pulpit and delivered his words with the steadfastness and poise of a politician. He spoke about Golden Boy's service record, his time on the Summit of Heroes, and then his time as a Resistance member.

"For all his years of service as a soldier and a super, Golden Boy was also a man. Tonight, I hope that his teammates will share stories about him—more than just training with him or fighting beside him. It's easy to remember the hero, but we also need to remember the man."

Wight shifted behind the pulpit. He told a story about Golden Boy first learning how to fly. How he'd come back down, crash landing on the tarmac. Medics and researchers had rushed out to help him, only to find Golden Boy lying at the bottom of the crater, giddy like a schoolboy.

Throughout the story Wight kept his poise, but smiled twice—at the beginning of the story and at the end. That's all most people would've seen. They wouldn't have noticed the hitch in Wight's chest as he spoke, the way his knuckles flexed as he steadied himself on the pulpit, or the faint glint in his eyes.

But Emmett didn't miss anything.

As Wight closed his speech, Emmett could feel the weight on the old spymaster's shoulders, even if no one else could.

"Golden Boy was a soldier, a super, and my friend. And I will miss him."

Emmett waited for Wight to finish, then walked up to take Wight's place. Wight placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder before walking back to his seat.

All afternoon, Emmett had been wracking his brain about what to say—whether to say something about the super or about the man... Something that would inspire the rest of the Resistance... Something to carry them through this moment and all the way to the end.

Instead, Emmett took Wight's advice to heart. He could've picked any number of moments from the history that he and Golden boy shared, but Emmett focused on one that meant the most to him. Something that carried Emmett through the last two years.

"The first time I saw Golden Boy was during the war. Like some of you, I was conscripted by the Summit. I was in Belport when the first Deep Ones set foot on the coast. I remember the chaos—the scale of it."

Emmett paused, taking in the knowing glances of fellow supers who were there on the coast, and family who had watched through cameras.

"We were doing well, holding the line... until the first monstrosity appeared. It was humbling to face down a monster the size of a building. None of us were a match for it. The only thing we could do was retreat. I'd never felt so small...

"Then Golden Boy appeared. Flew down out of the clouds like a real superhero. He took the monstrosity out in one blow. Then he carried it out of the city—this tiny golden man carrying a building-sized monster on his back like it was nothing.

Emmett smiled. "I still felt small after that, but I had hope. I'll never forget that. Being a superhero isn't about saving the day, it's about inspiring others to be better, to keep fighting. It's about hope. Golden Boy was an inspiration to us all. I will never forget him."

~

That night, after the vigil, Emmett and Clara went to their room. As soon as the door shut, Emmett embraced her and didn't let go.

For the first time since they'd been back, Emmett let himself go. It felt like the weight of it all suddenly piled onto his shoulders, threatening to pull him down. His emotions came unregulated, and silent tears welled up in his eyes. He sagged in Clara's arms.

"Woah, you're heavier than you used to be."

Emmett braced himself so she wasn't holding him up. But he didn't reply, and he didn't let go. Clara didn't let go either.

Finally, Clara whispered, "That was close, huh?"

"Too close," Emmett replied quietly. He shook his head. "I keep thinking that if it were anyone else—McGuire or Lock or..." Emmett couldn't even bring himself to say Clara's name—the thought alone felt like it would drag him through the floor and down into the ground.

Emmett muttered, "I'm glad it was him and not... I—shit. I don't mean that—"

Clara shushed him and pulled back enough to look Emmett in the eye. "You don't have to defend yourself. Not to me. I can't imagine what you're feeling... Just remember that it's okay to feel. It's okay to feel all of it."

Emmett and Clara embraced again, and it was a long moment before they separated. He just needed to feel her—to make sure she was still there. Until the tears stopped.

Eventually, they separated, and Emmett wiped his eyes.

"I want to show you something," Clara said as she walked across the room. She knelt down and picked up something from behind her dresser. Then she brought it over to him.

Emmett recognized it immediately. It was the remnants of the Mirror of Borrowed Fates.

After Emmett had connected to the mirror, he had taken it apart, carefully separating the glass from the frame. The frame was beautiful, but completely inert. All the magic was contained in the glass itself. So Emmett had given the old silver frame to Clara for her metalwork.

Instead of cutting the frame apart, she'd kept it in one long, unbroken piece, which she'd twisted around on itself. At first glance, it looked like a flower, petals spread wide, with a single long stamen coming out. It wasn't until he looked closer at the tip of the flower that he realized what it was.

A superhero taking flight.

The tip of the flower was shaped into a tiny figure—the classic superhero flight pose, one hand outstretched toward the sky. The base of the sculpture wasn't made of petals, it was shockwaves.

Emmett took in the sight and smiled—the weight of the day lifted with that tiny superhero.

Again, Emmett saw the partnership between the old and the new—their vision for the future.

If TINA's plan was going to work, if this new world without supers was going to succeed, then they needed that kind of support. Venture had said that they would drag everyone kicking and screaming into the future, but that wouldn't work. Their vision of the future would only work if everyone got behind them. They needed a way to unite the old world and the new one, to show the world that things could change without leaving anyone behind.

Clara set the sculpture down, and their fingers intertwined as she looked up at him. Her engagement ring pressed tight between their real and synthetic skin. Their own small promise amidst the sea of larger ones.

Emmett couldn't think of anyone else he'd rather share that future with. Or the present.

He whispered, "I love you, Clara. Now and forever."

Clara rested her head on his chest, echoing his words.

~ ~ ~