Chapter 1.1.18 — Give Me a Reason

Emmett spent most of Wednesday’s classes alternating between trying to concentrate and staring at the clock on the wall, watching it tick away—

Waiting for his time at the lab—

Waiting until he could train in the Gray Room.

Waiting.

Waiting.

By the time his Machine Design Class let out that afternoon, Emmett was tempted to sprint to the lab.

Instead, he rode the bus.

Emmett wasn’t supposed to draw attention to himself. At first, he assumed that just meant varying his routes across the rooftops, but there was more to it than that. Emmett couldn’t just stop taking the bus home, just like he couldn’t just stop going to class.

So, somewhat begrudgingly, Emmett boarded the afternoon bus toward Eastside and sat in an empty row.

Emmett tried to get comfortable but his heart was pounding and his hands were clammy—

It had been the same every time he’d taken the bus this week. Ever since that night.

He pulled up his playlist of Lime Profond and put in his headphones, focusing on taking deep breaths and on the steady hum of the wheels and the engine of the bus.

Dr. Venture had been right: It wasn’t going to be a quick process to get over that night.

You almost died, Venture said. Go easy on yourself.

After a few minutes of concentration, Emmett pulled out his phone and pulled up the forums—something to take his mind off how he felt.

Besides, he did miss keeping up with the news, and it was hard to scroll or listen to something while running across the rooftops of Belport.

Most of the forums were hit or miss, but Emmett paused at the stories that were either corroborated by mainstream news or expansions on those articles:

Vicious Battle between Long-Time Rivals Tryptarch and Vincent Black.

One-Two Punch of Embezzlement and Security Breach for Gnosis Corporation. A list of villains and masks followed that had possible connections to Gnosis.

War between Shian and Catalina Escalates with Threats of Nukes and Supers.

Gruesome Vampire Attack in Midtown Wardenton. Public Demands Retribution. An anonymous poster linked evidence that members of the city planning committee have ties to the Felwardens and the Cabal of Jesiré, speculating that the wardens and the cabal are in breach of the ancient pact.

Tremors in Deep Sea Trench Believed to be Harmless.

Disgraced Cape, Porcelain, Wanted in Connection with Champion Street Attack.

Emmett’s stomach dropped. He clicked on the link, reading the scant update about the accident—his accident:

Former Cape, Porcelain, also known as Christine Daws, is wanted for questioning in connection to last Tuesday’s attack that left a wake of destruction across Belport’s downtown, injured sixty-three, and killed five. Porcelain was caught on camera, fleeing the scene. The other three supers have not been identified. The Division of Superhuman Affairs asks for anyone with information to come forward. All four supers are approximately Class 2 and 3, and are considered extremely dangerous.

Emmett had never heard of her before—this wasn’t surprising, though. Only the most powerful supers were household names, and very few supers seemed to want ‘celebrity’ status. So a lot of Class 3 and under supers flew under the radar.

Emmett probably knew more low-level supers than most people did, but he had really only categorized supers in his own city of Belport. There were thousands of other supers—probably millions—spread out across the globe.

The last thing that caught his eye was that the article was from two days ago.

Did Venture know? Did Clara? When were they going to tell him?

Emmett immediately began searching for information on Porcelain. The DSA’s website was a good place to start.

At the top of her page, it showed several pictures of Porcelain during her time with the Summit of Heroes. She wore a white mask and bodysuit that covered her entire body, making her look like a bald white mannequin.

Porcelain — Christine Daws. 28 years old. Former Registered Cape with 7 years’ service. Dishonorable Discharge.

Current Designation: Active Villain. Power Designation Class 2.3:

Class 2.0 — Multiple powers with high destructive potential, requiring multiple superhumans to respond.

Class 2.3 — Abilities listed above, including negation powers, requiring special consideration or a coordinated team of responders.

Powers include Self-Duplication. Versatile Energy Manipulation, Limited Reality Manipulation.

Current Location: Unknown.

Emmett scrolled through the rest of the meager information, searching for any other pertinent information. Her last known whereabouts were from two years ago and across the country. Her former nemeses were deceased or retired, and no accomplices were listed.

Then again, the DSA’s website wasn’t exactly the best source of information—

The forums were.

Emmett was about to scroll the forums when the driver announced his bus stop.

Emmett sighed and reluctantly pocketed his phone.

Maybe there was an even better source of information…

~

Emmett descended the stairs of the lab, shoes echoing on the concrete.

“Dr. Venture is waiting for you in section five,” TINA said.

Between the excitement of heading to the Gray Room and his questions about Porcelain, Emmett felt his heart skip a beat.

Emmett didn’t waste any time changing into his bodysuit and heading to the training hub. Dr. Venture and Clara were talking around the holographic table. They stopped when he came in.

“So,” Venture started, folding his arms across his chest, “you made some new friends last night.”

Emmett should’ve realized that Dr. Venture would bring it up. He rubbed the back of his neck. “About that… I was just going to the bay.”

Venture frowned but didn’t say anything. Clara shrugged as if to say something between sorry and better you than me.

“At least you had your mask on,” Venture finally said. “I expect you to work extra hard today.”

“I… I have a question first.”

Both Venture and Clara turned toward him.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Porcelain?”

Clara turned and looked at her dad as if she didn’t know what Emmett was talking about.

Venture pushed up his glasses. “I wasn’t going to—not yet.”

“Why not?”

“What would you do?” Venture asked plainly.

“Track her down. Question her. Find out why she was there that night and who else was with her.”

Venture nodded. “I should’ve expected that you would want to… We’re keeping a lookout for her. When we find her, Clara will be the one to make contact.”

“Okay. I’ll hang back then.”

“You won’t be going,” Venture replied.

Clara smiled, a small and reluctant gesture, like she’d known exactly what her father was going to say.

Emmett scoffed. “I won’t get in the way.”

Venture’s eyes and voice were firm. “You won’t be going.”

Emmett’s eyes fell to the floor and he clenched his fist in frustration.

Venture continued, “Even if you were at a proficient level of training, it would be too dangerous and too personal—”

“What if I get to that level?” Emmett asked, meeting Venture’s eyes. He didn’t look away.

Venture’s glare softened, then he gestured over his shoulder to the Gray Room. “Give me a reason to consider your request.”

~

Emmett stood at the edge of the Gray Room as white tiles rose from the floor and created an approximation of Belport.

Two blue robots stood beside him—both identical.

Before he’d left the training hub, a second white platform and second set of VR gear had emerged from a hidden compartment. Both Dr. Venture and Clara were hooked in and controlling their own robot.

TINA’s voice echoed through the room. “Loading combat training, lesson two.”

“Nervous?” Clara asked.

Emmett nodded. He’d been trying not to think about it.

“Watch and listen,” Venture said as both robots stepped forward and faced each other.

“Lesson two is all about basic combat training. You’ll recognize some of it as a mix of introductory boxing, as well as basic martial arts striking and grappling techniques. These are staples for a reason, and at your current power level, they are the techniques that will serve you best. Most new and Class one supers neglect the basics. At lower power levels, technique is an equalizer.”

Clara added, “But don’t get cocky. Technique will only help so much.”

Dr. Venture cleared his throat. “Let’s begin.”

~

For the next two hours, Venture and Clara alternated between demonstrating and running Emmett through drills:

How to throw a punch and a kick were both relatively simple. Within the first few, he realized the importance of recovering quickly to a guard position—after Clara punched him across the chin with a robotic fist.

In the first few minutes, Emmett realized that his body wasn’t just stronger and faster than before. His coordination was also noticeably better. He’d never been a gifted athlete, but he already felt like he—or rather his body—had a solid grasp on the fundamentals.

When Emmett asked about this, Venture confirmed that Mutagen-A enhanced ‘muscle memory’ and large-scale locomotion. It would not, however, help much with fine motor movements—he wouldn’t learn the guitar any quicker than before.

Funnily enough, for as strong and as fast as Emmett felt, he noticed that his flexibility didn’t seem any better.

Venture said, “Mutagen-A won’t help with that.” The way he said it made Emmett think that there were other Mutagen compounds that did different things, but the thought was quickly pushed aside by Clara’s flurry of punches.

Clara added, “Don’t bother with high kicks. Keep them below the waist or for defending yourself when you’re on the ground.”

Grappling was next:

Venture said, “Grappling has all to do with leverage and your center of gravity.”

Venture demonstrated this by showing various shoves, hip throws, trips, and take-downs on Clara’s robot—then demonstrating the same moves on Emmett so that he could see how they felt.

Only then did Emmett get to try the moves out for himself—

And began to realize that they felt weird—like their weight was changing in the air.

Emmett paused after the third hip throw. “It doesn’t feel right when I pick you up. It’s like the robot gets lighter all of a sudden.”

Ventured replied, “That is the first reason why combat between supers is fundamentally different from normal fighting: Much of the advantage of enhanced strength relies on leverage. Keep your feet planted firmly on the ground, and you maintain your strength. But if someone picks you up off your feet, you lose almost every benefit.

“What’s more, you weigh 183 pounds and 4 ounces. Regardless of your strength, once you’re off your feet you will be thrown around as if you weigh 183 pounds and 4 ounces.”

Emmett thought back to fighting the two masks on the roof of the slums. Emmett had managed to shove Skull Mask so hard he tumbled off the roof—even though the guy easily outweighed him.

Then again, he’d used his mechanical arm to do it.

Emmett looked down at his right hand and squeezed, trying to feel the metal and composite flexing beneath the skin.

Again, the feeling of being powerless came back to him. He should’ve died on Champion street, and even though Skull Mask said he wouldn’t kill Emmett, it sure felt like he was going to. The Code hadn’t felt like much protection, at all.

He’d nearly died twice in a week!

He was sick of feeling powerless. Sick of being at the mercy of other supers.

Emmett made himself a promise: He would learn to fight and defend himself. Learn how to make his body and arm better and stronger. He would do whatever it takes, and he wouldn’t stop until he didn’t feel powerless again.

~ ~ ~