Apparently, Dr. Venture was ready to start right away. 

While Venture and TINA prepped for surgery, Emmett decided to call Max and check in. In the chaos of the assault, his injury afterward, and then talking about upgrades, Emmett had almost forgotten about his friends. It wasn’t just Emmett and Clara that had been caught up in a battle. 

Emmett took the call in the living room of section 001. Clara stood beside him—she was just as eager to check in with everyone else. 

Max appeared on the wall screen. He was on the roof—the only quiet or private place in the shelter. Behind him, the city was eerily dark; the night skyline of Belport was a shadow of its former brightness. Max didn’t look much better. His shaggy red hair looked even more disheveled than normal, and it looked like he hadn’t slept since the battle. 

Despite all that, Max’s face lit up. “Hey buddy! Buddies… So you guys survived! That’s good. Clara wasn’t exactly forthcoming about what happened, and your dad was super cryptic… Which is normal, I guess.”

Clara chuckled. “Max was very worried about you.”

“Uh, yeah! You guys may be dating, but we’re roommates. It’s a bond that women just can’t understand.”

“We can’t understand what?” Cherry’s voice caused Max to flinch. 

“Oh, nothing dear!”

The rest of the group walked into view. Cherry, Krystal, and Larian all wore their old civilian clothes. The girls’ bright red and bright blue hair came into view. Both Cherry and Krystal managed smiles, while Larian waved from behind them. 

Emmett tried not to react, but his friends all looked rough. Even Cherry and Krystal’s smiles looked forced. Larian just looked distant… At least they were all alive, and no one looked seriously injured. 

It was a small comfort. 

“How are you guys holding up?” he asked. 

The girls’ smiles faded, and even Max’s facade wavered. 

Max said, “We’re here. It was rough. A bunch of capes got injured and… we lost one. Surprised you didn’t hear about it.”

Emmett felt a pang of shame that he hadn’t thought about it. Since he woke up, he’d been worried about other things, including checking on his friends. Maybe a part of him didn’t want to know how things had gone for the Summit… 

Liara, the cape that was injured in the Deep One’s initial assault, had been flown to hospital further inland. She was stable and supposed to make a full recovery… in two to three months. 

Emmett had pushed aside the thought. He couldn’t help everyone and he couldn’t be everywhere at once. 

“...I got injured too, so I haven’t gotten caught up yet. I’ve been out the last couple hours.” Emmett’s news caused the group to perk up.

Krystal said, “You look pretty good now. Maybe I should take you up on those nanites.”

Cherry elbowed Krystal and mouthed for her to shush. “Yeah. Make that two doses.”

From the back, Larian added sheepishly, “I’m glad you’re alright. So is Indovu.”

Emmett managed a smile. “Glad you all are alright too.” 

It was a nice sentiment, but it didn’t lift the lingering air between them for long. 

“We could’ve used the backup…” He must’ve seen the dejection on Emmett’s face, because he immediately backtracked. “I mean, you guys weren’t exactly sitting on your asses. The Doc told us that you guys saved one of the shelters.

“So, are you gonna tell us about that explosion or what?” Cherry asked, mouthing the word explosion. 

Emmett looked to Clara, wondering just how much he was allowed to talk about. 

She answered for him. “That was nothing. Just Mod using his newest gadget to take down a monstrosity.”

There was a mix of gasps and open-mouthed stares on the other end, but Max just rolled his eyes. 

“Of course, he took down a monstrosity. He probably did it blindfolded and with both arms tied behind his back. Really, at this point I’m not impressed unless he beats a Class five villain.”

Cherry nudged him. “Don’t be jealous.”

“Me? Jealous?” Max blew a raspberry.

Krystal glanced at both of them through the camera. “So, when are you coming over to hang out?”

Emmett and Clara shared another glance. “Probably not for a day or two,” Emmett replied. “I’m still recovering…”

A flash of dejection spread across the group, but they managed it well.

Krystal said, “That’s probably best. You two should take some time to rest. Just don’t forget about us.”

“No way,” Clara replied. “Don’t forget about us, either.”

Max, Cherry, Krystal, and Larian all waved, and then the screen went blank. At the end, the only one that looked dejected was Max. 

Silence followed. 

Clara wrapped her arms around Emmett’s chest and hugged him tightly. “Why did you lie to them? Why didn’t you tell them the real reason you wouldn’t be around for a couple days?” 

The questions hadn’t come out accusatory, but they still made Emmett wince. He hugged her back and rested his head against hers. 

“I don’t know. Just didn’t want to worry them, I guess. Didn’t want to worry Max more than he already is.”

Emmett chuckled. Clara didn’t.

“Just promise you won’t go pushing us away?”

“Yeah. Of course not. …You think I would?”

Clara looked up at him. “It’s kind of what happens with supers. I mean, look at my dad.”

He couldn’t imagine pushing away Clara or his friends. They were in this together. Then again, how often did people try to push away their friends? Things like that just kind of happened, or that’s how it seemed to Emmett, at least. 

Finally, Emmett nodded. “I promise. I promise I won’t go pushing you guys away.”

~ ~

Experimental surgery in the middle of the night or in the middle of a war wasn’t the best timing, but Venture was willing to make an exception. 

For the second time that day, Emmett was back in the immersion tank of the medbay. He was already sedated and floating in the middle of the tank. The saline mixture was regulated to keep him suspended, comfortable, and to moderate his body temperature, should it be needed. Several hanging arms administered injections to Emmett’s neck and along his spine. 

Originally, the surgery was only going to target Emmett’s brain, but Venture and TINA had elected to expand it. Nanites would change Emmett’s brain tissue from organic to synthetic, but they wouldn’t stop there. 

They would follow his spinal column, changing his nerves as well. Once his spinal cord was synthetic, the nanites would flow outward to his limbs and organs. The process would take the better part of twenty-four hours—longer than originally anticipated—but by the end, every nerve in Emmett’s body would be synthetic. 

Thankfully, Emmett had agreed—especially when TINA pointed out the necessities. She was worried about his body’s continuity—about Emmett’s brain moving faster than his nerves and body would allow. Any disconnect between the two would be disconcerting and potentially dangerous. 

There were similar concerns when someone developed super strength. Most times, their nervous system was able to compensate—they wouldn’t walk through a wall and destroy it, or accidentally hug someone too hard. Their brain unconsciously gated their strength. 

For Emmett, not only would his brain be more resilient, it would also become faster. His processing speed would increase and his reaction time would decrease, similar to that of a speedster. 

Venture saw that kind of change first hand. An old colleague, who would later be known as Sergeant Rush, gained the power of super speed. Even though his powers grew slow compared to some supers—eventually topping out at near mach 1—his transition was typical for a speedster. 

His power would come and go in flashes. At first, it was uncontrollable. Sometimes, his friends would appear to be walking in slow motion, or their speech would slow down until it was unintelligible. Other times, he’d finish writing a paper in minutes as opposed to hours—sometimes his fingers moving too fast for the keyboard to register their inputs. 

Sometimes, he couldn’t slow down. He recounted instances of friends and family moving in slow motion despite his protests, their faces slowly morphing into shock and finally to horror as the seconds drew on. Venture had been there one time—Rush suddenly began moving in a blur, his motions so fast they made the air in the room quiver. He burst out of the room and then back in several times. The gusts of wind were so powerful they scattered papers and knocked over chairs. 

Coincidentally, it’s common for speedsters like Rush to also have depressive episodes. Rush would sit absolutely still, unable to cope with the speed of the world around him and worried about hurting someone else. During these episodes, his startle reflex would often be delayed or exaggerated when someone tried to engage with him. 

Eventually, Rush’s body adapted and his powers took on the typical speedster experience. 

Human beings were made to experience the world at a certain speed. Their entire frame of reference is built around it. So most speedsters willingly experience the world at a normal speed. They are capable of moving quickly and seeing the world in slow motion, but their consciousness actively adapts against it. This was similar to the frame-rate of a movie or video game. If it slows down too much, it breaks the illusion and can even cause nausea. 

Interestingly, their unconscious mind can still override this when they experience danger. In one instance, Rush was having a normal conversation with his partner until time seemed to freeze. The kitchen window was in the process of shattering—a bullet was pushing through. The sound of shattering glass reached him first, and unconsciously triggered his power. 

But even with the best simulations, there was no way of knowing how Emmett would experience the world after his surgery. But at least his brain and nerves, and therefore his body, would move at the same speed. 

For now, TINA would actively limit Emmett’s thinking speed, similar to how she limited his prosthetic arms, locking them out of unnatural movements. But eventually Emmett would adapt. Eventually, he would break through her restraints, but this way they could keep the training wheels on him for a while.  

Dr. Venture stood to the side of the room, alternating between watching readouts on the wall monitor and using overlays in his glasses to watch the surgery itself. He was supervising, though really he was closer to moral support at this point. TINA was doing the real work. 

This would be as much a triumph for her as it would be for Emmett. 

Hopefully, it wouldn’t all be for nothing. 

Venture tried to suppress a sigh and failed.  

“Are you alright?” TINA’s voice came from his earpiece. It almost gave the illusion of her being beside him and putting a concerned hand on his shoulder. 

“Yes, TINA. Just tired.”

“You should get some sleep. I can handle Emmett’s surgery. Despite your own upgrades, you still need rest.”

“You know I can’t. Not with everything going on. Not until I know, for certain, that Clara and Emmett will be safe.”

TINA didn’t respond. They’d discussed the topic to the point of redundancy the last few days. There was nothing she could say, no data that she could present, that would reassure him. 

They were in the middle of a war. And even if it resolved in the least destructive terms, their struggles wouldn’t be over. 

TINA had found a disturbing web of communications between the telecom company, Aquarius, the Summit of Heroes, and several world governments—including the several high-ranking politicians of the Allied States of America. 

Their plans were about rebuilding and restructuring in the wake of the war with the Deep Ones. It wouldn’t happen overnight—there were laws that would need to be written and far too much infrastructure to overhaul. But it would happen. The conspiracy would change the face of their world in ways that most couldn’t imagine. 

Over the last few days, TINA had traced involvement to several super organizations, including the Menagerie and two members of the Binary Brotherhood…

Two people Venture thought he could trust. Yet, their involvement didn’t surprise him—this conspiracy needed artificers to pull off. 

Neither Venture nor TINA were sure how to proceed. They only knew about the conspiracy because of TINA’s monitoring. AI’s were outlawed, and so was monitoring world communications. Revealing evidence would put everyone in danger—TINA, Venture, Clara, Emmett… 

The only thing Venture knew for certain was that he had to prepare them for the fallout. 

Venture’s mind raced while he watched Emmett in the submersion tank—while he underwent experimental surgery that would both ensure his survival and mark him as an outlaw. 

Venture’s chest tightened at the thought. 

One of the hardest parts was that Emmett trusted him. It had been a long time since anyone but Clara had trusted Venture like that, and Venture didn’t want to betray that trust. 

He thought of Emmett calling his friends just an hour ago and declining to tell them about his surgery. Was it an issue of trust—no. More like some misguided attempt to shield them from worry.

Venture understood the sentiment, even if he didn’t agree. The last thing Emmett or Clara needed was to isolate themselves. 

Especially when the world would soon be against them. 

~ ~ ~