Mod Superhero: Initialize: A Scifi Progression Fantasy Series, page 2
Rugged was probably the best word to describe him; Venture was tall and broad, always wearing his titular greased-stained lab coat. He was always fiddling with his wide glasses, his hands calloused from working as much with wrenches as he did with programming. His face was always covered in stubble and his graying hair looked like he had just brushed it back a moment before someone entered the lab.
Venture glanced over his shoulder as Emmett entered, muttered a greeting, then said to the monitors, “That’s enough for now, Clara. Come back up so we can resume work on the heat sinks.”
Then he pushed up his glasses and turned to Emmett. As he did, the ambient light in the room gradually increased.
Emmett nodded in greeting, but Venture ignored it, instead bringing up a hologram in the center of the room.
“Tell me what you think about this design.”
Emmett examined the diagram while ignoring the doctor staring at him. It was a test—something Emmett had gotten used to over the past months.
The hologram showed a thermoelectric system: Plates of carbon composites meshed together around a heat source. As heat emanated from the source and passed through the plates, the energy was converted to electricity.
Right away, Emmett noticed several things. He gestured to the hologram as he answered.
“Hydrothermal power is preferred in most instances, but this type of system is for small-scale applications where space is an issue. It doesn’t scale well—the heat source can only be so powerful or the plates will melt. Stacking plates isn’t a solution because the heat source will scale logarithmically, but power conversion is linear—”
“If I wanted a textbook answer, I would read a textbook. How would you improve it?” Venture’s voice was firm as a math problem.
“If the scale can’t change, then efficiency or materials are the only answers.”
“Go on.”
“The plates could be rearranged for greater efficiency, or another composite could be used…”
“You’re missing something.”
Emmett grit his teeth and looked over the hologram again. “Additional systems could be used to recycle or remove excess heat…” Then another answer came to him. “Power sources! Using multiple power sources instead of one large one would allow the system to scale.”
Emmett turned, excited and waiting for confirmation. Dr. Venture merely nodded, his face stoic and unchanged.
“Not bad. When Clara gets up here, we’ll work on integrating our heat sinks into the design.”
Venture turned back to the other monitors, leaving Emmett standing in silence.
So he turned back to the hologram still hanging in the middle of the room. There was something familiar about it, but Emmett wasn’t sure exactly what that was.
Before he could get too invested, Clara came through one of the adjoining doors. Her eyes met Emmett’s as it slammed shut behind her.
In many ways, Clara was a reflection of her father: She had the same dark hair, though Clara kept it buzzed short. She was a head shorter than him, but she had his strong build. And Clara definitely smiled more than her father did, but she had that same intensity of focus.
Except she was fond of leggings, baggy sweaters, and beanies instead of lab coats.
“Glad you could make it,” Clara said sarcastically.
“Some of us have classes.”
“Who says you need those?”
Dr. Venture cleared his throat as if to say, ‘I do.’
Clara rolled her eyes. “Some of us get by without it.” She was speaking as much about her father as herself. As far as Emmett had heard, Venture had never went to college.
Venture glanced sidelong at her. “Just because I didn’t enroll in school doesn’t mean I didn’t learn everything I could.”
Clara held up her hands in mock defeat. “It was a joke, Dad.”
The doctor grunted. “I’m sure. Suit up and go to testing chamber two.”
Emmett and Clara shared a smirk and exited through the adjoining door.
Clara led the way down the hall.
“I saw a hero today. On the bus.”
She paused for breath, then kept walking. “Did you see who it was?”
“No. They… Well, I was on the bus.”
“You’re losing your touch.”
Emmett scoffed. “Do you know the odds of running into a super?”
“Do you?”
“Well, no. But why do you think I keep up with the forums?” Clara chuckled, and Emmett asked seriously, “What’s funny about that?”
She called over her shoulder, “It’s just that with the crazy tech we get to work with and experiments we get to do, you still can’t stop thinking about superheroes.”
“You’re not the least bit interested in the supers?”
Clara held up a finger. “I didn’t say that. I was talking about you.”
Emmett shrugged, though she wouldn’t see it. “You’re right. We do get to play around with some pretty cool stuff… That just means I get to dream a little bigger.”
Emmett thought he heard Clara chuckle again, but neither said anything else.
She stopped at the metal door to the testing chamber, grabbed the handles, and spun the release mechanism. The door unlocked with a heavy clang and she pushed it open.
Testing chamber two was a large, domed room, some fifty feet across. It was featureless and almost completely smooth, save for the smaller spherical structure embedded in the center of the floor—it was the heat source that would test their heat sink design, and it was wrapped in coils of refrigerant that glowed with an eerie purple light—
That was different, Emmett realized. They’d changed the refrigerant. They’d been working in testing chamber two for the last few weeks, slowly adjusting the heat sink’s design.
The other difference was Clara and the doctor had added batteries in a thin strips overtop of the coils.
“You changed refrigerant,” Emmett said idly as he searched for any other changes he might’ve missed.
Clara smiled, and her father’s voice came through the intercom speakers at the top of the room.
“Why?” Dr. Venture asked through the intercom. Another test.
“You added batteries,” Emmett replied.
“Correct. Both of you, verify connections.”
Emmett followed behind Clara as she pointed out the new additions. He listened and studied intently.
It almost seemed like the system was missing something… Emmett just couldn’t imagine what. Neither the doctor nor Clara had been forthcoming about just what the system was designed for. For all he knew, it might’ve been some new nuclear design, or a power system for robotics or military hardware—any of those would explain the secrecy.
Emmett worked for Venture, but he was only an intern.
When they were done with their check, both of them retreated to the small, reinforced viewing room where they would be safe from any ambient heat or malfunctions.
Both of them had taken to calling it the “broom closet”, since it was only a little bigger than one.
Emmett and Clara filed inside and peered out through the three inches of plastic that comprised the viewing window.
“We’re ready, Dad.” Clara waited, but no one responded. “...We’re ready down here.”
Clara sighed and stared out the viewing window, inadvertently stepping closer to Emmett, who was already wedged up against the other wall.
They were shoulder to shoulder now, and the small room felt just a bit hotter. Emmett focused on staring straight ahead. Meanwhile, his thoughts raced.
Was this awkward? He should say something instead of just standing there. That’s what a normal person… friend… co-intern would do, right?
“Maybe, uh…” Emmett cleared his throat. “Maybe he went to the bathroom—”
Dr. Venture stepped in front of the viewing window, glaring at him. Emmett jumped.
Venture stepped into the broom closet a moment later. This caused Clara to scooch over another step until she was practically leaning against him.
Emmett tried to catch his breath.
“We’re ready now,” Venture said. He pushed up his glasses and glanced at Emmett out of the corner of his eye. “What’s the matter? Nervous?”
Emmett stayed silent, but swore a smirk crossed the doctor’s face. If Clara noticed, she didn’t give any indication.
“Begin countdown,” Venture said.
TINA counted down from ten, and then the sphere in the center of the room began to heat up. The tubes surrounding it glowed steadily brighter, bathing the room in rolling purple light. Soon the sphere was glowing a molten orange beneath the coils, but even as the heat grew, the purple didn’t diminish. The batteries were glowing too, like thin beacons of white.
All three of them watched silently. Emmett wanted to see the readouts later, but so far, everything was going well.
Soon the orange glow from the sphere was completely eclipsed, and TINA said, “Battery charge steady at one hundred percent.”
“Begin venting excess heat,” Venture said.
Emmett looked over nervously. This was new and unexpected, but he stayed silent. The doctor’s face was stoic as ever, but Clara's eyes were wide and her smile was even bigger.
Steam erupted from the coils, clouding the room, but soon the steam oozed out in a slow and steady fog.
The team watched intently for another few seconds until the TINA’s voice came on again. “Heat sinks holding steady.”
“Cut the power,” Venture ordered.
The power faded from the experiment, but the excitement didn’t leave them.
“That’s cause to celebrate,” Venture said. He’d already turned to leave, but Emmett imagined there was a smile on the doctor’s face that mirrored his and Clara’s.
Chapter 3
Celebration
As it turned out, Dr. Venture’s idea of celebrations was as understated as he was.
There was a small break room near the testing hub—one of the only other rooms Emmett had seen. He’d gotten to sit in it precisely twice, not including this time.
There wasn’t much to it: Several cracked leather chairs were arranged to face a wall of displays. The few times Emmett had been in the room, they were always tuned to the major news channels. A small kitchenette occupied the right-hand wall.
Currently, Emmett and Clara sat idly while Dr. Venture put a frozen pizza in the oven.
Emmett and Clara shared a wordless laugh at her father’s idea of celebration. Despite the facility they worked in, the doctor had a habit of cutting costs on things that weren’t digital or mechanical.
“Tell me again, Dad, why we can’t splurge on takeout?”
Venture waved a dismissive hand. “Big Larry’s has come a long way since the first frozen pizza. This is gourmet compared to the pizza I grew up with.”
Emmett joked, “They didn’t have takeout back then.”
“Cars either,” Venture added, deadpan.
The doctor came over and sat with them, turning intently to the news. Silence settled between them as Emmett and Clara uneasily did the same.
There was ongoing war across the Morrowed Sea, and riots in the South. Domestically, people were in a fuss over the market, though that all sounded like gibberish to Emmett; he’d never been good with economics.
And spliced in with everything were superheroes and villains—the war across the ocean was plagued by warlord supers who harassed the edges of territories and battlefields—sometimes drawing the ire of both countries. Riots in the South were blamed on rogue masks and villains. Domestically, groups tried to pin the stock market dip on the battle between the Summit of Heroes and Antichampions, saying that the Antichampions’ increased activity was affecting investors.
Then there were the brawls that destroyed a block of Dramford and Chicby Hills.
Emmett listened, but his eyes were always drawn to the clips of supers and villains. Only registered capes were shown with any clarity. Most photos and video were almost always far away shots of tiny figures—even so, they dominated the screen when they appeared. Lightning arced, fire swirled, and the air quivered around them. Each super felt like they heralded destruction—Emmett wasn’t sure if the news meant to depict them that way, but it was the overwhelming impression.
As the moment dragged on, Emmett came back to the silence again, and it felt odd to him. He’d spent a lot of time with the doctor and Clara over the last six months, but most of that time was spent working. There was very little downtime since he’d started working here—pretty much those two other times he’d been invited into the breakroom. So Emmett shifted in his seat, unsure of whether it was a comfortable silence or not.
In the end, he decided it wasn’t.
Emmett said, “I’ve got a project coming up for engineering.”
Neither Venture nor Clara responded. They were both watching the news intently. A still shot of the Scarlet King was on the screen. He hovered on the screen, a ball of crackling psychic power. He was an old member of the Antichampions, one who was ousted for over-the-top brutality and rumored to have killed the former hero, Arsenal.
Emmett cleared his throat, “I’ve got a project for engineering coming up.”
The doctor blinked, but it was Clara who turned and answered.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I’m… I’m not sure yet,” Emmett replied, leaving out that he forgot about the assignment.
“What did you do last time?”
Emmett reminded her of his variable electromagnetic shielding—a glorified adjustable mesh—and that he couldn’t reuse a project from a prior class. It was a maddening rule.
“What about your radio locator that you were working on?”
Emmett paused and considered it. It wasn’t flashy, or particularly promising, but Clara was right: He hadn’t used that for a prior class. It had been something he’d worked on in his spare time as a way to better track heroes around the city.
“That might work,” Emmett conceded. “Thanks.”
Emmett briefly thought about using that as an excuse to leave early, but Clara spoke up first, asking if he’d seen the latest Full Throttle Heart.
“No spoilers!” he shouted.
Clara had gotten him into Full Throttle Heart early in his internship. It was an isekai anime about a delivery truck that gets hit by another truck and subsequently reincarnated in a fantasy world as a sentient truck that transforms into a robot to fight crime. Truck-kun had a habit of shouting “Time to get isekai’d” when killing enemies.
It was a satire and comedy, but the last two seasons were getting serious, and Emmett and Clara had been awaiting each new episode with anticipation.
Well, maybe she’d been anticipating it a little more than he had.
When another lull came in their conversation, Emmett asked another hard question.
“Dr. Venture, when am I getting paid?”
The doctor had been watching the news intently—probably zoning out from their conversation. For a moment, it looked like his eyes might’ve widened in surprise, but it was so fast that Emmett couldn’t be sure.
“Knowledge is its own reward,” Venture replied.
Emmett swallowed dryly. Rent would be due soon—he had to muster up the courage to remind the doctor that regular people had bills to pay.
Clara laughed sarcastically. “Very funny, Dad. You forgot again, didn’t you?”
Venture grunted a laugh. “TINA, please credit two weeks' pay to Emmett’s account.”
A moment later, she responded, “Credit delivered.”
“Thanks,” Emmett said.
Venture grunted another reply, but was still watching the monitors intently.
Ever since Emmett had known him, the doctor had been a quiet man, but this evening Emmett wondered if it might’ve been something more. Was the doctor just preoccupied with something… or had Emmett overstayed his welcome? Maybe it was time for him to leave.
As the silence dragged on, Emmett looked at Clara and thought he saw the same uncertainty in her eyes.
But a question came to mind, and Emmett couldn’t help but ask it.
“You really like superheroes, don’t you, Dr. Venture?”
Even as the question left his mouth, Emmett regretted it, and it felt like the last half of the question had just tumbled out.
Venture didn’t respond at first, and Clara looked like her head was frozen looking forward and her face was clenched—like she was trying to be shocked that he actually asked that question.
Venture sighed and tossed Clara the remote control. Then he stood and stretched his arms overhead.
“It’s almost past my bedtime,” he said. “Clara, be sure to close up the lab before you turn in. Good evening, Emmett.”
Dr. Venture shut the door behind him, leaving Clara and Emmett sitting awkwardly.
“It was something I said, wasn’t it?” Emmett asked, slumping further down the couch—of course it was; he wasn’t sure why he asked.
“It’s… complicated,” Clara said. “Dad’s an engineer, and I’m sure you’ve realized that some of the things we’ve worked on are pieces of larger systems… of weapons. Not all of it, but a lot of it.
“I think Dad’s afraid that heroes will put us out of work one day.”
Emmett had gradually turned, trying to read her face. “You don’t sound like you believe that.”
Clara turned on the couch to face him, tucking her legs beneath her. “You’re right. That’s not the whole story. But I’m not even sure I know all of it. One day he might tell you more, just don’t get your hopes up.”
Emmett nodded—at least it wasn’t him.
“You’re cool with not knowing?”
Emmett’s face wrinkled in question. “Yeah, of course. What other choice do I have?”
He’d meant it as a joke, but Clara’s face was serious.
