Silence hung in the room. At first, Emmett thought TINA was going through computations or simulations, but then she spoke up.

“How would you like to proceed, Dr. Venture?”

Venture stood with his head hung. “I’m… still thinking.”

Emmett turned, silencing his confusion and apprehension. “I’ll do whatever’s necessary. I trust you—both of you.”

“It’s not that,” Venture said carefully. “TINA’s already run some simulations. Altering your vision so that you can see the Deep Ones isn’t the issue…”

“...So, what’s the problem?”

“The problem comes with what happens after that. When we send the vision filters to our allies.”

Emmett glanced between Dr. Venture and the living room wall screen. “I mean, we don’t really have a choice right? We can’t fight the Deep Ones on our own. What’s the big concern?”

TINA replied, “Anyone with sufficient programming knowledge will be able to trace the evolution of the visual filters. They will know that a synthetic-organic hybrid brain was used for modeling and that an advanced computer system was used to iterate and finalize the filters.”

Venture added, “In short, the world will know that both you and TINA exist. Members of the Binary Brotherhood will be the first to figure it out, but they won’t keep this quiet. They’ll send it to the Summit, the DSA, and the government… but they might just decide to come for us themselves.”

Venture sighed. “They won’t stop at TINA. They’ll take everything. Clara might be spared.”

Emmett stared at the wall screen, not looking at it so much as staring through it. “What about me?”

Venture turned toward him. “You’re a marvel of science, Emmett, but you’re also intrinsically tied to myself and to TINA. At the beginning, you would’ve been spared. Now, I’m not so sure.”

Emmett walked over to the kitchen table and collapsed into the chair. He felt numb. “I mean, there has to be something we can do, right? We have to do this… The world needs our help with the Deep Ones… We can fight the Brotherhood after.”

“I admire your dedication… but we can’t stand against the combined might of the Brotherhood. And even if we could, they would ask the Summit to intervene on their behalf.”

“But the Summit already knows about us.”

Venture said, “Yes, and no. Wight is a friend. One of the only friends I have left in the Summit. He’s given me certain liberties, but even he doesn’t know the full extent of what we’ve accomplished here. The Summit won’t defend us.” 

Emmett leaned heavy on the table. “Clara will be alright, right?”

“Yes… Whether or not they’ll allow her to remain a hero remains to be seen.”

Emmett rubbed his eyes. At least Clara would be alright. 

There really wasn’t a choice, as far as Emmett was concerned. If the Deep Ones were making weapons, then TINA had to help the rest of the world stop them. 

What else could they do?

Emmett said, “Maybe they’ll go easy on us—especially if we help save the world.”

Venture chuckled darkly. “I have enemies in the Binary Brotherhood. They won’t let this go.”

Silence settled between them. The footage on the screens played silently. 

Venture said solemnly. “I knew this day would come. I just thought we’d have more time.”

Emmett met Venture’s gaze. “What are we going to do?”

“TINA and I are finalizing protocols. We may have to go on the run.”

Venture said that statement like it was self-explanatory, but Emmett couldn’t even stammer a reply. He glanced around the living room, pondering the entirety of the lab. Venture probably had portable resources, but there was no way they could take all the resources of the lab with them. The Gray Room… The Armory… It was too much to even comprehend. 

And they’d have to leave all of it behind. 

Emmett didn’t know what else to do. He stood up, intending to take a walk and digest everything he’d just heard. “Are you going to tell Clara?”

“You can tell her, if you want.”

Emmett nodded. Then walked off toward the biolab to talk to Clara.

~ 

Emmett walked to Clara’s holding tank in the biolab. He paused just inside the door, hand raised like he was going to knock to alert her that he was there. It felt silly—she probably could hear him knock on the door. She probably couldn’t even hear him knock on the holding tank. 

“I can see you,” Clara said, her voice coming through a wall monitor next to the tank. She chuckled. “You can come in. I’m decent.”

A moment later, the monitor displayed a grainy feed of Clara inside the tank. She smiled and pushed back her hair. Even hidden away in the dim light of the holding tank, Clara looked awake and strong… and beautiful. 

“Hey you.”

Emmett rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, then walked over to her tank. “So, what are you up to?”

“Right now, talking to you. I was meditating, but I could use the break. I feel pretty good, actually, considering how long I’ve been away.” Her smile softened. “You look like you’ve got something on your mind. What’s wrong?”

Emmett slumped down against the holding tank, swiveling the wall monitor down with him. He sat on the floor with his back resting against the cool metal and Clara on the screen next to him. 

“It’s about the Deep Ones and what to do next…”

Emmett explained the situation to Clara, telling her about the Deep One’s cloaking and how TINA found a way around it. When Clara began to get excited, Emmett couldn’t bear to look at her anymore. He kept his head down while he told her about the complications that they were about to have—how the Summit and the Binary Brotherhood would know everything. 

“Your dad thinks you’ll be alright.” 

“But what about the rest of you? What about Dad, and TINA, and you?”

“TINA is illegal.”

“What about you?”

“Probably the same.”

Clara groaned in frustration. “I knew you shouldn’t have gone through with it. Fuck!”

Emmett glanced at the screen in time to see Clara bang her first against the wall. He only heard it through the speaker. Her skin glowed faintly. 

Even now, as angry as she was, Clara had to hold herself back. 

“We’ll figure it out,” Emmett said quietly. “TINA and your dad are working on protocols so we can go on the run…”

As Emmett said the words out loud, he finally realized how ridiculous they sounded. Even if they gave up everything and left behind as much of the lab as possible, how were they going to outrun the Summit, the DSA, the Brotherhood, the Menagerie, and however many other superhero organizations will have it out for them?

A dull thump came through the speaker—Clara had slumped down against the wall of the holding tank. She sat down, hugging her knees and tucked into a ball. 

“It’s not fair. They can’t do that, right? With all the bullshit… With all the bullshit that capes like Hunter Nine and corporations like Gnosis get away with on a daily fucking basis, they can’t turn around and make us villains… Can they?”

Emmett wanted to tell her no—of course not, the Summit and the Brotherhood wouldn’t do that… But he wasn’t sure about anything anymore. 

Clara looked so small on the screen now. Emmett didn’t feel much bigger. 

“When I became a hero, I wouldn’t have thought so. Not for a second. But now, I don’t know what to think. I used to think it was simple, you know? Good guys versus bad guys, but that’s not how it is. I used to think your dad was jaded, but I get it. We will be too after a few more years of this shit.”

He groaned and trailed off. 

What about his friends and his family? They’d be safe, right? McGuire and the others weren’t a part of this—not like Emmett was. Maybe Clara and the rest of the gang would be left alone. 

Emmett just wouldn’t be able to see them.

Was that really the best outcome of this? Get labeled a villain? Go on the run for the next few years or even longer? Never see anyone again? 

So much for being a hero. 

“Hey… Is something else wrong?”

“No… That’s it. That’s everything…” It was only a small lie. He chuckled darkly. “I don’t like giving you bad news.”

Emmett turned. Clara cracked a small smile. 

“What?”

“You’re cute when you’re worried.”

Emmett joked, “Tough talk from a woman on the other side of a holding tank.”

The pair shared a laugh. It felt like they were marooned on a lifeboat, watching a storm close in. 

“You’re right,” Clara said suddenly. “Whatever happens, we’ll figure things out.”

Emmett stared at Clara through the screen. For as dire as things seemed, he believed her. All they could do was try.

Whatever happened, they would figure it out. All of them. Together. 

~ ~ ~