Chapter 1.2.30 — Venture 8

While Emmett and Clara were en route, Dr. Venture stood in the hub of section 006, the biomedical wing of the lab. He was watching the wall monitors intently as they replayed drone footage of the mutagen bust. He intended to watch all of it, but right now he was focused on Athena’s fight with the gravity warper.

Ever since Emmett had run into her a few weeks ago, Venture had spent considerable time digging up information about the Class 3-3 super. He knew about the many uses of her forcefields, their weaknesses, roughly how much force they could withstand and how much force they could produce.

Not only that, but Athena supposedly had increased physical abilities comparable to a Class 2 ranking. On the other hand, her future-sight wasn’t documented at all, despite her admissions to Emmett.

But all the archived information and rumors in the world paled in comparison to seeing a super in action. Between this fight, and Athena’s fight with the super called Feedback, Venture had more than enough data to form his own opinions.

Clearly, she was gifted with a versatile power, and also extremely proficient in its use. But there were so many nuances one missed without witnessing such a super directly.

First, her physical abilities were likely understated. She might not be a Class 3 super physically, but she was damn close. There was no way anyone less could react to changes in gravity the way she did while also reforming her barriers. Her future-sight could explain some of that… Not only could she see slightly into the future, the power also gifted her with a more immediate ‘danger-sense’.

Despite her hand-gestures, she could conjure forcefields at the speed of thought, possibly even faster—some abilities could even react at the speed of unconscious thought. Once again, this lent itself to Athena having a danger-sense.

Those three abilities—barriers, physical prowess, and danger-sense—combined to create a truly formidable super. One worthy of designation 3-3.

Not only did Athena’s brief fight install a newfound respect in Venture, it also laid bare the weaknesses of the DSA’s power classifications:

Despite the -0-1-2-3 designations after the main ranking, someone with Athena’s combination of abilities could not be accurately classified. She was given the designation 3-3 because she could likely punch up to Class 4, but even that wasn’t accurate enough—

Class levels were about threat level and match-ups against others of their own class. A 3-2 would likely beat a 3-0 or a 3-1. A 3-3 with negation powers would almost always win against 3-2. But where did that leave someone like Athena, who could likely fight several Class 3 supers at the same time?

She was even good enough to beat Feedback—a super that by all measures was a hard counter to her powers.

Venture watched the playback of Athena’s fight one more time with equal parts satisfaction and apprehension. Somehow, Emmett had allied himself with one of the most powerful and experienced Class 3 supers in Belport. It could just be coincidence… but the cynic in him didn’t believe that.

For now, Athena would be a valuable mentor and powerful ally, but allegiances could change—Venture would make sure he had countermeasures ready.

Just in case.

When Venture was sure he hadn’t missed anything on the tapes, he moved on to examining footage of Clara.

She’d spent most of the time engaged with a single super—one infused with a lesser-known Gnosis mutagen. After watching the replay of Clara’s fight with hair-girl, Venture nodded with approval. Clara wouldn’t be pleased with the fight or her power limitations, but she’d handled herself adequately.

All Clara’s life, she’d been forced to walk a fine line between using her power and maintaining control over its output. Because of those extraordinary demands, Clara had better self-control than most veteran supers. Thanks to her rigorous training they’d only ever experienced mild setbacks.

This fight was likely one of the most difficult of Clara’s young life—if only because of the increased limitations she’d been under. Those limitations affected not just output, but also how quickly she could swap between weapon systems, like the sonic blasters. If Clara was at full power, she would’ve decimated her opponent.

Venture’s one complaint about the fight was that during Clara’s escape at the end, she’d inadvertently left Emmett open to attack. It was forgivable—this time—because Athena was there as backup.

Venture decided he would commend her for the rest of the fight, and hope she took the praise to heart.

He moved on to Emmett’s footage and studied it from every angle. And as he did, a smirk of satisfaction crept across Venture’s face.

Emmett had made excellent progress during his training this past month. Between the various mutagens, his prosthetic arm, mods, and hard work, he’d become a considerable threat. Both Clara and Venture pushed Emmett to his limits, but they were still only pushing him so far. And so, it was one thing to see Emmett’s skills in the relative safety of the Gray Room, but seeing him adapt to new threats on the fly was something else.

Especially the invisible super.

Invisibility was a very potent ability, especially when one had super strength or any other abilities to capitalize on the advantage. Low-level supers often didn’t have the sensory abilities or otherwise to nullify it—

Emmett didn’t either, but he’d found another way.

The smoke and noise maker had rendered both of them deaf and blind, and then Emmett had capitalized on it. Not only that, but he’d used the cover of smoke and noise to get the drop on hair-girl.

In those early weeks, Venture wasn’t sure what to make of Emmett’s swiss-army knife approach to weaponry. Most supers, including Clara, made due using three or four weapons skillfully, instead of using a hundred different ones. But he couldn’t deny the effectiveness.

Emmett’s adaptability and versatility would make him formidable.

Most superheroes would be thrilled to have one worthy successor. Venture might have two.

~

By the time his proteges returned, Venture was almost as excited to see them as Emmett was to see which mutagens he’d found. Emmett emptied the pocket of his hoodie, dumping the vials on the table with almost dangerous gusto.

Emmett said, “I think I’ve seen some of these before, but not all of them.”

From a cursory glance, Venture agreedl. “TINA, can you confirm?”

“Yes. The pink vial contains a strength mixture that had diminishing returns when combined with Mutagen-A and other variants. The dark red vial stimulated bone density, but results in protrusions and claws. The bright blue vial increases the body’s tolerance to extreme cold. Those other two vials will need to be examined to determine what they will affect.”

Emmett sighed, and Venture felt his frustration. Two duds, one with potential, and two unknowns. Now Emmett was looking at the vials intensely, like he needed to choose something.

Like a power addict.

Venture had seen them before, usually in a similar position to Emmett. Ever since Gnosis had invented mutagens, they’d become known as one of the few guaranteed ways to get powers.

Clara regarded Emmett worriedly. “You know, you don’t have to make a choice right now.”

Emmett spared only a quick glance in her direction. “But if I have choices, then I should choose something, right?”

Oh, to be young again.

Venture rubbed the stubble of his chin in thought. “What are you leaning toward?”

“Either the cold resistance mutagen or the bioelectric mutagen. Do the nanomachines in my bloodstream help with either of those?”

“If you’re leaning toward the bioelectric mutagen, then I’d rather you wait. It’s a potent ability, but not without risk. We’ll need to reconfigure your prosthetic arm to channel the electricity away from your heart.”

Emmett nodded decisively. “Then I’ll go with the cold resistance mutagen, and hope the other two will be useful in a few days.”

Venture regarded his power hungry protégé. “Well, then what are you waiting for?”

Clara looked at them both with a mix of irritation and disbelief. When Emmett met her eyes, she replied, “Go on, guinea pig.”

Emmett didn’t waste any more time, and downed the vial in one gulp.

Everyone else watched and waited for the inevitable disgusted reaction… but it never came.

Emmett smiled, no doubt pleasantly surprised. “That actually wasn’t too bad. It tasted like raspberries.”

Clara groaned and rolled her eyes, and Venture had to admit that he felt a little disappointed as well.

Shouldn’t the price of power be bitter and not sweet?

~ ~ ~