Mod Superhero

Chapter 7.48 - Watch Party

For the second time that week, Emmett watched the finale of the original Full Throttle Heart. The first time, he'd been watching it with Icarus. This time, the two of them were joined by Clara, McGuire, Cherry, Krystal, and Larian. It was a watch party by necessity. But even though they were at separate bases and Icarus was digital, it helped them maintain camaraderie.

After escaping from Bastion, TINA had caught up with Krystal and Larian's group and escorted them to a safe location. Rather than bring them to an existing outpost, she'd decided to construct something new.

Emmett was no stranger to looking over TINA's digital shoulder. He'd made a point to watch her build everything in their arsenal at least once. Resistance bases were all tight corridors and modular rooms, efficient and secure—more submarine than home.

But this base felt smaller than normal. Emmett had to double-check TINA's construction to make sure he wasn't crazy.

It hadn't taken long for TINA to notice him double-checking her work. The resulting conversation happened just as quickly.

"A larger base won't be necessary," she said wordlessly.

"Why not?"

"Because preparations are nearing completion for the Dunamen's arrival. After that, the Resistance won't need to hide underground anymore. We won't need to hide anymore."

She said it so matter-of-factly that it caught Emmett off guard. TINA was right, of course—expanding the temporary shelter into a permanent base was unnecessary. Emmett traced her current trajectory, and it was better than they'd hoped.

In roughly two months, the Dunamen would arrive. By then, TINA would have multiple antimatter reactors up and running—

Enough to cover the entire world.

The Dunamen would arrive and find themselves severely underpowered and overwhelmed. They'd be forced to go back to their homeworld, and leave humanity to chart their own future.

That was the plan anyway.

In cyberspace, Icarus nudged Emmett. "You're missing the final battle!"

Emmett gave the tiny pixie a playful shove. "I am watching. Besides, I've seen this show a hundred times."

"It's the principle!"

Emmett rolled his digital eyes. "Now you sound like McGuire."

Back in the physical world, Emmett and Clara were cuddled up on the couch in McGuire's room, with McGuire sitting on the other side of it. Icarus chimed in from a speaker on the side table. Krystal and Larian were in the new outpost, and Cherry was at a third. A nearby monitor showed feeds from the other Resistance bases. Between the minimal lag and the laughter, it almost felt like they were all in the same room.

They were watching the last episode of Full Throttle Heart and were on the final battle. Most of them had seen the show before, but it was the first time for Larian and Icarus. Commentary and questions were spaced throughout.

McGuire pointed at the screen. "Look at those minions in the background. I wish they'd had a bigger budget and saved more for the final battle."

Larian said, "There's so much happening, I can barely follow it."

Clara snorted. "Ignore McGuire. He's too harsh sometimes."

Krystal replied, "McGuire's just a very dedicated fan."

Icarus chimed in, "And an aspiring writer! Tina sent me some of his fanfiction."

"How—what?" McGuire muttered.

Cherry said, "Oh! Send it to me too! I'm always looking for more fics—"

"Absolutely not!" McGuire interrupted, pausing the episode. "Sharing fanfiction is a sacred act, and I'm afraid we're just not at that level yet."

Cherry grumbled, "McGuire, we've fought supervillains and creepy fish-men together... How much closer could we get? You know what, don't answer that."

McGuire turned to the screen and winked. "You show me your fanfiction, I'll show you mine."

Clara said, "It's a shame that the original Full Throttle Heart only got one season. They totally could've stretched it out. We never got to see the—"

"Spoilers!" Larian said.

Krystal replied, "Yeah, but if they dragged it out any longer than it might've sucked. Look at the spinoffs—they're definitely not as good as the original."

Larian waved at the camera. "Alright, alright. Some of us are trying to watch the show."

The camera panned up to Gormangach on the stairs of his tower. Silence fell across the room as the necromancer began his monologue.

Emmett was there, arm around Clara, half watching. He laughed at jokes and responded to the chatter, but only a fraction of him was really present. The rest of him was elsewhere—

He was running simulations, checking TINA's construction progress, and going over contingency plans. He was thinking about the future—both immediate and distant. About their own final battle between the Resistance and the Brotherhood and everyone else. And about his own final battle between himself and Paragon. And about what came next.

Emmett felt like he was stretched—not just across cyberspace but across time itself. It reminded him of the first time he'd surfed cyberspace. It was right after his original body escaped the lab. In order to contact TINA, he'd hopped into the mainline and felt his consciousness drifting downstream. He remembered losing sight of the shoreline. Losing sight of his physical body. It had been unsettling—almost horrifying.

Emmett, TINA, and Icarus had spoken at length about the sensation. For TINA, the sensation was natural. Icarus and Emmett had both taken time to acclimate to it.

Eventually, it became routine. Now, Emmett was always in at least two places at once. When it came to planning and simulations, sometimes it felt like he was in two different times at once.

Lately, Emmett had realized the importance of grounding himself.

Regardless of what Emmett became, he was a person. He had a physical body, and he'd spent most of his life that way. But even those truths weren't enough to keep him here.

Back in the physical world, the credits were rolling.

Cherry asked, "Alright, Larian, what did you think?"

On the monitor, Larian slumped back in his seat with a look of tired satisfaction. "I understand why you guys are bummed that they only made one season."

Cherry replied, "Spinoff time!"

Krystal elbowed Larian. "I know I said the spinoffs aren't as good, but you'd like them."

That comment got McGuire onto a tangent about powerscaling between the different versions of Truck-kun, to which Larian countered with warnings of spoilers. Icarus chimed in, encouraging them to decide on a spinoff to watch and begin watching it immediately. Emmett stayed quiet, content to listen. Clara leaned against him, nodding along to the theme song.

Slowly, Emmett receded from cyberspace. He stopped his simulations and muted the storm of updates. He let himself slow down and just enjoy his friends' company, if only for a little while.

And with it he felt a pulse of something rare:

Peace.

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