Mod Superhero - STUBBING AUG 17TH!

Chapter 7.80 - Ultimatum on the Moon

Mod stood alone on the lunar surface, feet half-buried in moondust, looking up at the Earth.

Photographs couldn't do it justice. The planet was a magnificent sphere of blue, green, and white. Crisp and vibrant. Mod didn't need to breathe, but it took his breath away all the same. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

But Earth's beauty wasn't the first thing Mod noticed, nor was it what haunted him now.

Photographs always made the Earth look so much larger from where he was. He'd expected the Earth to loom in his vision. But as Mod saw it, the Earth wasn't much bigger than the moon seen at night. Mod held out his arm—he could cover the image of Earth with just two fingers.

Every battle Mod had ever fought, everyone he'd ever loved, everyone he'd ever known had lived there. Humans, vampires, mages, superheroes, every page of history, every technological achievement and every spark of magic, every drop of blood spilled, every moment of joy and fear and hate, all of it was right there.

That was home. That was it.

It looked so small and fragile, floating in the endless dark.

While Mod contemplated the view, notifications came in one by one:

TERRESTRIAL ANTIMATTER REACTORS ONLINE

TOTAL PLANET COVERAGE

VAMPIRE CURE ACTIVATED

REALITY LOCK ACHIEVED

Mod watched it unfold through a mix of vision and sensor data. Dark rings of antimatter energy encompassed the entire globe. Earth was locked down. No one's powers were working anymore. The vampire cure was running its course.

Soon, Earth would be free.

He knew TINA was down there, managing the aftermath, but Mod couldn't help but worry. He thought about his friends and teammates back on Earth. Mod wanted to be there with them. Would've given anything to be there with them.

But he stayed on the moon. Alone.

Mod could've split himself into nanite clones. He didn't have to be by himself. He'd already gone to see Clara. Mod had come so far that the processing power was negligible now. He'd split apart and put himself back together so many times... But something else kept Mod in self-imposed isolation.

Everyone was sacrificing something. This was his burden.

So he waited.

And pretended that he could see his loved ones from two hundred thousand miles away.

A few minutes passed, and TINA's quiet voice came through the comms.

"Lock is stable. ...Athena is gone."

Mod silently acknowledged TINA's message. Nanites pooled around his eyes, but he had no tears to cry. Not anymore.

There had been a chance, however slim, that Athena could've survived. That TINA could've saved her. But it would've involved upgrading her brain—just like Mod had done so long ago. Her body might die, but her mind would survive. She would survive.

Athena refused.

Now she was gone. Venture was gone. And the world was lesser for it.

No... their sacrifices weren't in vain. The world would be better for it. Mod would do everything in his power to make sure of that.

Paragon flew toward the moon, moving so fast that Mod couldn't get an accurate measurement of his speed. If there had been an atmosphere, he would've been engulfed in a fireball. As it was, there was nothing to mark the Dunaman's approach.