Chapter 1.2.21 — Time Out

Emmett didn’t answer right away. He kept his eyes on the ridiculous super standing across the roof.

McGuire looked like a crazed adventurer who’d been isekai’d from a wilderness expedition and decided on a whim that he was a super. Now he had a hand hovering just over his backpack like a wild west gunslinger.

Emmett didn’t know whether the guy would pull out a concealed pistol or a rubber chicken.

“Hey, are you sure you’re up for this?” McGuire asked. “Because I can come back tomorrow.”

Emmett snapped back to reality and quickly considered his own options hidden in his arm and his utility belt.

McGuire must have seen something change in Emmett’s eyes, because he flashed a smile.

“Alright, let’s do this. Three… Two… One… Go!”

Emmett reached into his upper arm compartment and grabbed two smoke pellets.

McGuire pulled out a slingshot.

By the time Emmett tossed the smoke pellets, McGuire had fired the slingshot, hurling something that looked like a cross between bolas and an old spring toy. It spread out as it flew at Emmett, and it was easy to imagine the projectile wrapping around him and tangling him up.

But whatever Emmett had in mind was nothing like what happened.

Emmett felt like he saw the ridiculous sight in slow motion: The balls on either end of the spring popped as tiny rockets ignited—hurling the bolas forward at super speed.

He might’ve been able to dodge out of the way before, but now the bolas hit him square across the chest. The balls wrapped around him completely, pinning his arms flat against his body. More pops sounded, causing the bolas to twist together into a knot.

Smoke from the pellets filled the rooftop. Meanwhile, Emmett struggled against the bolas. The wire was thick, clearly made for restraining and not made to be a weapon. His left hand was pinned low on his waist—close enough to reach the knife in his utility belt. A second later, he was trying to cut himself free.

McGuire stepped out of the smoke, trying his best to wave it away. “Aha! You’ll never be able to cut through my super snare—”

The bolas snapped.

“Aw, that’s not fair.”

Emmett pulled at the rest of the wire to free himself. Meanwhile, McGuire reached toward his backpack.

Before he was fully loose, Emmett slung his whip toward the super. Thankfully, his enemy didn’t appear to have super speed or super strength, because Emmett’s whip wrapped around McGuire’s leg. He pulled, and the super toppled right over.

There was the briefest look of horror on McGuire’s face as he fell, followed by, “That’s really not fair!”

Emmett pulled, sliding his writhing enemy across the ground.

With a look of panic, McGuire grabbed two things out of his pack. A piece of chewing gum and a small disk. He quickly chewed the gum, spit it onto the disk, then stuck it to Emmett’s whip. A shock went through the whip and through Emmett’s arm, making him flinch. Immediately, the whip went slack around McGuire’s feet and he was able to wriggle free.

Emmett tried recalling the whip, but every time he tried moving any cybernetic part of himself, a jolt of electricity interfered with his commands.

“What the—”

Emmett’s disbelief was cut off by McGuire’s slingshot. This time, something cushiony hit Emmett directly in the face and wrapped around his head. A moment of panic set in before Emmett realized he could still breathe—he was just blind.

He tried grabbing for more smoke pellets to even the odds, but a jolt of electricity shot through his arm and the compartment wouldn’t open.

Shit.

Emmett reached up with his still-working hand and tried pulling the cloth free. It took him a second to get a good grip on the smooth fabric.

He was running out of options. Despite his utility belt, most things weren’t useful—not now. He couldn’t swap mods with his arm disabled. He still had the noise makers and sonic grenades, but the latter might be too powerful. It didn’t seem like McGuire had enhanced strength, so his hearing might get permanently damaged or he might even get crippled if Emmett struck him physically.

Instead, Emmett called, “Time out!”

“No way!”

A second later, something heavy knocked into Emmett’s stomach. It felt like he’d been hit with a baseball bat—he doubled over, the wind knocked out of him. A second blow hit Emmett in the shoulder, nearly knocking him off his feet.

Emmett’s breath was ragged, almost as much from the disbelief as from the pain. How was this guy knocking him around like this? Had McGuire been hiding his true strength to throw Emmett off guard?

Instinctively, Emmett ducked—

And felt the whoosh of air from McGuire’s weapon as it passed overhead. At the same time, Emmett reached for his utility and grabbed the taser.

Then he jabbed it forward and pressed the button.

McGuire yelped and then fell with a thump.

“...Okay. Time out.”

A second later, Emmett tore the fabric wrap off his head, careful not to take his mask off with it.

McGuire was just starting to climb to his feet. His arms wobbled with effort. His jacket must have saved him a little, but he was clearly still feeling the effects of the taser. McGuire raised his hands, one of which held a comically large set of brass knuckles. “What? You want some more?”

Emmett just shook his head, then busted out laughing. He tried to stammer an explanation, but all he managed to get out was, “No.”

“Shucks,” McGuire said. He slipped off his brass knuckles and shoved them in a side pouch of his already overstuffed backpack, then adjusted his mask. Neither sight helped Emmett recover faster.

~

A few minutes later, Emmett stood straight up again, his stomach cramping from laughter. McGuire had joined in, but Emmett couldn’t tell if the fellow super was laughing earnestly or just humoring him.

“I’m sorry about the taser,” Emmett muttered. “You didn’t leave me much choice.”

“You could’ve actually fought,” McGuire said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Emmett shook his head. “I don’t think that would’ve gone well for you.”

“Because you have super strength?”

Emmett felt like he’d been caught in a lie and the laughter dropped from Emmett’s voice. He still wasn’t sure if he could trust McGuire. So he hadn’t wanted to show all of his tricks, but apparently Emmett had shown more abilities than he’d meant to.

“...What do you mean?”

“That’s why you didn’t attack at all. All you did was react. I know I said we were sparring, but you could’ve taken it seriously, you know.”

“Sorry,” Emmett replied. “I didn’t mean anything by it.” He reeled in his whip and plucked the shock device off of it. Instantly, feeling and control returned to his prosthetic arm. It looked like a tiny watch battery. Emmett offered it to McGuire, but the super waved it away.

“They’re only good for one use. Besides, I’ve got more where that came from.” McGuire patted the side of his bag for emphasis.

Emmett pocketed the device; McGuire didn’t seem to care. “Can I ask you something? How did you know I have super strength?”

McGuire walked over to the bolas laying on the ground and held it up for emphasis before pocketing the remains. “This isn’t any old wire… You cut through it with a tactical knife. That requires super strength.” Emmett nodded, and McGuire chuckled awkwardly. “And your arm… Well, that was obvious when you kept pulling things out of it.”

Emmett swung his prosthetic arm, making sure everything felt right and he wasn’t just imagining it. …Everything did.

Emmett reached out with his right hand—his metal hand. “I’m Mod.”

McGuire shook it and winced. For a second, Emmett thought he’d squeezed too hard, but then McGuire winked and said, “Gotcha.”

Emmett rolled his eyes.

~

For the next hour, McGuire and Emmett hung out on the roof of that building, talking about tricks, traps, mods, gadgets, and random tech. They kept it light, and both seemed hesitant to talk about gadgets they hadn’t used during their sparring session—

Almost like they were saving the rest of their tricks for another sparring session.

McGuire did confess that all of his gadgets were homemade, a fact that he seemed prideful of. He claimed it gave him an advantage over other tech supers because they ‘had no idea what to expect.’

McGuire was a gadgeteer, as he referred to it. McGuire claimed he had a knack for making small and quickly cobbled together devices.

Emmett didn’t agree—the term knack was used to describe minor powers or those that were hard to categorize. Even if McGuire’s methods were strange, he’d been able to knock Emmett on his ass—that was not a minor power. But he didn’t argue with McGuire.

Emmett skirted the details about his super strength and his prosthetic arm, and thankfully McGuire had the sense not to pry. There seemed to be an easy understanding between the two supers about what was fair game to talk about and what was off-limits. The arrangement reminded Emmett of making friends with peers in his college classes, and, in a weird way, McGuire was really the first peer super that Emmett had met. Dr. Venture and Clara almost felt like family, and Athena felt like a mentor.

Eventually, both of them agreed that it was getting late.

Emmett was about to leap away when he turned and asked, “Do you have a burner phone?”

“Yeah.”

“We should do this again sometime.”

McGuire’s eyes lit up. “Rematch!”

Emmett rolled his eyes.

~ ~ ~