Chapter 1.2.27 — Meet Up

Emmett stayed in the lab for another hour after the injections, so Venture and TINA could monitor him. That also gave Clara and TINA time to prepare a backup version of Clara’s exosuit, one tuned down to appropriate power levels. Then the team worked out a plan for the evening.

Their first priority was getting in contact with Athena.

~

Emmett and Clara followed a search pattern around downtown Belport. He jogged the roofs, while Clara flew in her exosuit. Emmett thought he could just make out the shimmer of her cloaking tech in the night sky.

Meanwhile, dozens of Fast-Response Drones were also searching the city. Venture had explained that some energy signatures were easier to scan for than others, but Athena’s powerset wasn’t one of those. So far as he could tell, her powers didn’t leave lasting signals or residual markers, so the drones were forced to rely on line-of-sight techniques.

They searched for an hour—until ten o’clock—and Emmett kicked himself for not exchanging burner numbers like he had with McGuire.

Thankfully, Athena found them.

She landed on the rooftop across from Emmett. Between her height, the glistening shards of her jacket, and her billowing white hair, Athena cut an opposing figure against the skyline.

“You look like you’re a man on a mission.”

Emmett nodded. “I’m actually looking for you.”

Athena crossed her arms and glared at him, like he was a child who’d forgotten to take out the trash.

Emmett rolled his eyes. “Future-sight. Right.”

“So, what’s the occasion?”

Emmett took a breath and reset himself. “I have a friend—two friends—that want to help with the knock-off mutagen deliveries. We might even be able to track the deliveries back to the source.”

“I’m listening.”

“They want to talk to you.”

Athena nodded. “Okay. But we’re not talking here. Follow me.”

~

Athena led Emmett around the Northern outskirts of downtown Belport and toward the West End.

In the mix of cafes, mid-rise businesses, and apartments, Athena led them to one building in particular on a strangely unmarked street. They slipped down the fire escape of the upper floor apartments and through a window on the fifth floor.

The first thing he felt was a slight tingling in his prosthetic arm. It came and went, and Emmett wiggled his fingers to make sure everything worked…

It seemed like everything did. For a second, he wondered if it was the nanite injections or just in his imagination.

He paused just inside the window to take in the sight of the apartment. The walls were spackled over, but not painted, and the wood floors were scuffed and dull. There were a couple mismatched flower couches and chairs along the walls and a few lights, but no TV… By the time Emmett saw the small kitchen, he realized that there weren’t any other electronics in the place—no fridge, no stove either.

It reminded him of when he was little and his parents had refinished the kitchen—like Athena was in the middle of remodeling this place.

Meanwhile, Athena made a sweeping gesture with her hands. “Grab a seat. We can talk here. Are your friends close?”

As if on cue, Clara landed on the rusted fire escape and decloaked. If anything, the futuristic matte-gray of her suit only made the scene stranger. She slowly stepped inside, face unreadable behind her helmet.

Athena had stooped over in the kitchen, and placed two packs of sodas on the counter. “Help yourselves… Oh. I should’ve realized that Mod’s friends would be tech-based. You should find that everything works here in this demiplane except for your offensive systems.” Athena met both their eyes. “Rest assured that my abilities still work here.”

Clara mumbled something, then said aloud, “If Mod trusts you, then so do we.”

“Where is your other friend?”

“Clara, put me through on holographic display.”

Something whirred quietly inside Clara’s exosuit and a moment later, a life-sized blue hologram of Dr. Venture appeared in the room. It was accurate, down to every detail, except that Venture’s face was obscured like he was standing in darkness.

“Apologies for not coming in person,” Venture said.

Emmett watched, mouth slightly agape as the hologram took in the sight of the room. Venture must’ve been using a VR interface, but Emmett could only guess how he was getting camera feeds. Venture paced around the room, taking in the sights as if he was looking through the hologram. Even his voice came from the hologram, instead of from a speaker in Clara’s suit.

“Thank you for inviting us in,” Venture added, quickly introducing himself and Clara as the Doctor and Arsenal.

Athena smirked and cracked open an off-brand cola. “Just don’t try to come here without permission, or try to crack or locate it. This is a private plane keyed to me specifically. This is one of my safe rooms. While we’re, we can speak freely without being overheard.”

Venture turned. “The messages are safe during broadcast?”

Athena nodded, like it was an unnecessary question. “Nothing beats magical encryption, Doctor. The message is secured by purpose and spiritual location.”

“That seems like a handy power to have,” Emmett said off-handedly.

“It is,” Venture replied, “but mixing technology and magic is tricky.”

Athena scoffed. “You mean impossible. You might as well say you’re going to control technology with your mind.”

“That’s not out of the realm of possibility,” Venture replied. “A brain-machine interface…”

Emmett didn’t miss Venture’s glance in his direction.

“Excuse me, Doctor,” Clara said impatiently. “You three can talk shop later. Mod mentioned that we might be able to help each other trace these mutagen knock-offs back to the source.”

Athena smiled at Clara before nodding. “I have leads, and admittedly, we’re having trouble tracking them. How are you going to trace them back to the source?”

Venture said, “We’re going to track the cell phones of the delivery driver and warehouse to look for patterns in their comings and goings. At the same time, we’ll hack the phone companies and scan their comings and goings for the last week—the last month if we can manage it. More data means more processing…”

“How long will it take?”

“Forty-eight hours… give or take.”

Athena raised an eyebrow. “That’s… impressive.”

“You have your magic. I have mine.”

Athena added, “It’s also a little disconcerting that phone companies keep our data like that.”

“They’re supposed to hash it and anonymize it, but if you’re good enough with data, you can separate the signal from the noise.”

Athena rapped her fingers on the countertop as she considered things. “Your terms are amicable.”

Venture’s hologram stood with his arms folded across his chest. “What do you want in return?”

“To work with you three until this is over. Until mutagens are off the streets. Until Gnosis is crippled and dissolves as a company.”

Venture smirked, the expression barely visible behind the shadow. “Gnosis is one of the most powerful corporations in the world. They’re as powerful as some cabals and world governments. What makes you think that this could shut them down?”

Emmett chimed in, “What do you know about Gnosis?”

Athena raised an eyebrow and sipped her cola. “Your boss said the important part already. Gnosis isn’t just a biotech company. They've obfuscated their names and holdings over the years through mergers and name changes, but records go back to over one thousand BCE. And in every iteration, they’ve had questionable business practices. They've traded in slaves, weapons, helped overthrow governments… and now, they’re creating bioweapons for the highest bidders.”

Emmett regarded Athena as she spoke, feeling a weight of years behind her words. She felt tired, like she’d been fighting against Gnosis since the beginning. In that moment, if Athena would’ve said she was a thousand years old, Emmett would’ve believed her.

Venture nodded. “You don’t have to sell us on the mission. We’re with you.”

Athena turned to Emmett. “What about you? If this goes according to plan, then your stock of mutagen vials is going to take a hit.”

Emmett chuckled awkwardly. “If it’s for the best, then I’m in. Besides, I’ve got other options.” He flicked his mechanical wrist for emphasis.

Athena smirked. “I guess you do.” Then she motioned for them to join her around the countertop.

Athena went on to explain that there were several upcoming drops—four that they had exact locations of and three more that they had approximate locations for. She pulled out a notepad from her pocket and drew intersections for each, then passed it to each for consideration.

Venture looked over Clara’s shoulder and regarded the page. “I have enough drones to scan all seven. If you two and Athena are up for it, you can choose one of the four to hit. Wouldn’t want your supply to run out.”

Emmett looked at Clara and Athena, both of whom shared a chuckle. He didn’t even need to ask the question.

Clara’s exosuit nodded. “Yes, we’ll chaperone you while you make more bad decisions.”

Athena said, “When you’re young, everything looks like opportunity.”

~ ~ ~