The next morning, Emmett was watching the rooftops pass by from the bus window when he saw a missed call from his mom. He must’ve missed it ringing. 

He checked the voicemail.

“Hi Emmett, just calling to say hi and see how you were doing. We’re talking about getting together one of these Sundays. Antony has a couple of weekends off from their games. Darryl is figuring out when the grandkids are free. We would love for you to be there too. Text me when would be a good weekend for you to visit. Love you.”

Emmett sighed. Classes and work kept him busy, and there were few breaks that lined up for the whole family. He hadn’t imagined how little he would see everyone once he and his older brother, Darryl, moved out. And it still frequently blew his mind that he was an uncle. His nieces and nephews grew so much every time he saw them—it even felt like his siblings and his parents were changing each time. 

Emmett put a reminder in his phone to check his schedule when he got back to the apartment, then texted his mom back.

Emmett 10:24 AM: On the bus. I’ll check my classes and call you when I get home. Love you Ma

He pocketed his phone and went back to staring out the window and at the passing rooftops. 

Emmett was sure that Dr. Venture would give him time off if he needed it. He just wasn’t sure how much he could afford to take off with classes still going. 

Either way, Emmett would make time. 

~

On Tuesdays, Emmett had Statistics and his last elective, Modern Government and Applied History. They actually weren’t bad—in fact, they were easy compared to Monday and Wednesday.

If anything, Emmett actually enjoyed history class. It was a nice brain break, even if it wasn’t his first choice for an elective.

Both classes passed in a blur—

Except for Allison catching him after history. She waited for class to end and for him to walk past her row.

“Hey, Emmett,” she said, brushing long brown hair behind her ear and walking beside him, high heels clacking on the floor. 

“Hey,” was all he could respond. 

“So… I was wondering if you wanted to get together tonight and study?”

Emmett’s mind went suddenly blank. There was something he had to do tonight—Emmett knew this. What was it?

Then an image hit him—Dr. Venture waiting expectantly for Emmett to arrive before they started the evening’s experiments. 

“I can’t,” he stammered. “I have work tonight.”

“Oh, well, maybe another night then.”

“Yeah,” Emmett replied. 

Allison gave him a small smile and walked off to join her friends, leaving Emmett walking alone down the hall, listening to the receding clack of her heels.

Allison was just talking about studying, right?

The image of Dr. Venture waiting for him came back—the doctor and Clara.

Maybe Emmett was reading into things. 

Emmett looked back over his shoulder at Allison’s group—and met Allison’s eyes as she glanced back at him, too.

He turned back around, and muttered, “Shit.” He was never any good at this stuff. 

~

Later on the bus from campus to Eastside, Emmett texted Lock. 

Emmett 12:01 PM: Hypothetically, if a girl asks you to study, is she interested in you?

Lock 12:02 PM: Study group? No. Study alone…? Likely 

“Shit.” Emmett ran a hand through his hair. 

What was he supposed to do with that? Allison was cute… funny… Emmett would be lying if he said he wasn’t interested.

But he liked Clara.

Lock 12:03 PM: Clara or different girl?

Emmett 12:03 PM: Different

Lock 12:04 PM: I say go for it

Lock 12:04 PM: Otherwise you might be waiting forever

Lock 12:05 PM: Maybe Clara’s Dad will third wheel

Emmett 12:06 PM: Funny. Catch you later

Emmett stuffed his phone into his pocket and sighed. Of all the stuff going on, why did this feel so complicated? Of course Emmett wanted to wait for Clara… but did he, really? 

In a way, waiting for Clara was easy, even if it was unknown. It was safe.

Even though he was a senior, Emmett still felt like the nervous wallflower he’d been all through grade school. And it sucked. 

Lock 12:08 PM: Don’t wait up. Long night tonight. 

Emmett scoffed; no worries there. He was going to spend the night doing homework and wondering what the hell he was doing with his life. 

~

Later that evening in the lab, Emmett and Clara were in testing chamber one, staring at racks of battery designs. The thin strips of batteries hung from the racks and glowed white with varying intensities, making the chamber look like an overgrown alien jungle. 

Emmett and Clara went around the room. Each carried a tablet to both download information and make adjustments.

For some rows, this process was quick—like adjustments to input and output charges. These batteries dimmed or glowed brighter in response. Other parameters, like the internal structure, took longer. These strings of batteries would shimmer and flash like light reflecting off water as the changes took place. 

But none of them was as dramatic as the testing from yesterday. 

Once they settled into their task, Emmett asked, “What do you think your dad is working on?”

Clara glanced at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, like while we’re down here doing this… Couldn’t he make all these changes from upstairs?”

She looked back at her tablet and the rack in front of her. “Maybe. Maybe he values our input.”

“He values our input on batteries?”

Clara nodded and got a faraway look in her eyes, like she wasn’t staring at the racks but was staring through them. 

She said, “We talked a little after you left yesterday. Dad wants me to take a more active role in the company.”

“That’s good, right? …Why don’t you sound excited about that?”

Clara shrugged. “I kind of like where I’m at right now, you know? If I… Well, it would be more responsibility that I’m not sure if I’m ready for. Business can be intense—from what I hear.”

Emmett eyed her, almost chuckling. “We are still talking about technology, right?”

“Yeah,” she said suddenly and punching something into her tablet. “What else would we be talking about?”

Now Emmett did laugh, and a hint of a smile crossed Clara’s face. 

He asked, “Are you sure you want to follow in your dad’s footsteps? Is that it?”

Clara paused again, but only for a moment. “No. I’m sure I’m staying in the family business. The stuff we’re doing, we’re not just building things, we’re making a difference in people’s lives. I’m just not sure I’m ready to take the leap.”

Emmett could respect that last part; he’d often felt the same way. He wasn’t exactly the leaping type—maybe he was the wading-in type. 

But it felt reassuring to hear that someone else felt the same way. 

~

As the evening went on, it seemed like Clara’s mood lifted. 

Emmett joked that it was because he was leaving soon. Clara took mock offense. 

It was because they had more testing to do—testing both Clara and her father insisted they didn’t need Emmett for. 

That was fine enough by Emmett. He was already beat. When his shift ended, Emmett bid Clara and Dr. Venture a good night. 

Then Emmett rode the bus home. He leaned back against the seat, headphones and music on, and scrolled the super news. 

He was tired and had to fight to stay awake. 

A pothole jolted him awake. 

Emmett shifted in his seat and kept scrolling. 

The bus rattled again, and more than a few passengers muttered curses. 

An alert buzzed through on Emmett’s phone, one that made the breath catch in his throat. 

ATTENTION: Super Battle Ongoing. Sighted on Champion Street. Moving East. Take shelter immediately. 

The bus shook again, this time violent enough that Emmett had to brace himself against the window and the seat in front of him. Brakes squealed, passengers gasped, and a moment later, traffic up and down the street had stopped. 

Everyone on the bus froze, and Emmett realized that car alarms were going off along the street.

Hands shaking, Emmett switched over to his radio app—

“...unknown supers…”

“...teams engaged…”

“...Class three point three…”

“...we’re pinned…”

“...moving fast…”

“...send…forcements…”

The rest was a garbled mess, and again the alert repeated, overshadowing everything else—

ATTENTION: Super Battle Ongoing. Sighted on Champion Street. Moving East. Take shelter immediately. 

There was a crunch of impact somewhere ahead—metal squealing and concrete shattering. The sound made Emmett shudder. He couldn’t tell how far away it was, but it was much too close. 

People were running past on the sidewalk now. People on the bus let out a mix of gasps and shouts. 

Emmett switched off the radio. His throat was painfully dry. 

Several people at the front of the bus demanded to be let off, but the bus driver was already ahead of them. They dashed off, stumbling down the stairs, and joined the growing stream of panic on the street. 

More people in the rows were shuffling and pushing to get off the bus. 

Emmett didn’t move. He was staring at the windshield and the street beyond. Trying to see what was coming. 

He didn’t know if it would be safer on the bus or in a building… but he knew that depending on the super, they might never make it past the street.

And being caught out in the open might get them killed. 

“Stop,” Emmett said, but his voice was hoarse and the words came out pitifully quiet.

Only the man next to him heard—he was off and running a moment later. 

The alert blared in his headphones again, and Emmett yanked the cord to pull them free. 

Another impact rattled the street up ahead. Emmett gripped his phone and seat in front of him. Now it sounded like every car alarm in the city was going off—Emmett’s head ringing with alarms and screams. 

Sparks showered across the street as a power pole toppled over—just two blocks away! Then lights flickered up and down the block before going out. 

“Shit. Shit!” Emmett muttered. 

Emmett had heard about earthquakes, though he’d never actually been in one. He knew that sometimes little quakes preceded the big one—

That was how the next few moments felt. 

A deafening screech sounded through the street. Something hurtled through the cars to the right of the bus, cutting them in half and sending them scattering across the street like toys. 

It happened so fast that Emmett couldn’t see what was going on. He only heard the sound and then felt the roof of the bus caving in as entire halves of cars crashed down on top of it. 

Emmett dove to the floor, his scream drowned out by the squealing of collapsing metal and shattering glass. Emmett covered his head with his hands, but shards rained down on him and the floor. He felt dozens of knicks on his knees, elbows, and hands—

But it was all a distant, all a blur. 

Then the world flashed white and yellow. And quiet. 

Emmett was hurled from the bus. Then rolled in a crumpled heap across the road. 

Emmett blinked, eyes blurry with sweat—with red.

He was face down on the street. In the distance, he could just see the smoking remains of his bus. It was cut in two—one half standing on its end against a nearby store. Two other people were laying on the street. They didn’t move.

Emmett had to get up. Had to get out of the road. Get to shelter. 

It was stupid, and Emmett laughed at himself—his jaw felt numb. Depending on the super, nowhere on the block was safe. 

Emmett tried to push himself up, but his right arm wouldn’t move. His left arm was pinned beneath his body. Emmett tried to push himself up again, but his whole body spasmed with pain. 

He couldn’t move. Couldn’t get off the street. 

Emmett felt a warm pool of liquid forming beneath his chest. A puddle of red. Then he felt cold. 

He was going to die on the street. 

Somewhere in the distance, Emmett heard the muted impacts of a super battle. One he hadn’t even seen. 

Something exploded in the distance—a tiny fireball. Emmett wasn’t even sure if he heard it or felt it—felt anything anymore.

The last thing he saw was a growing speck in the sky… A car hurtling through the air, growing huge in his vision.

Or maybe it was a truck.

~ ~ ~