Chapter 1.1.16 — Wrong Side of Town

Emmett was about to walk out of the lab when Dr. Venture stopped him in the hallway outside of section 003.

Venture stood ominously in front of Emmett, blocking his path. “Before you go, we need to talk.”

Emmett swallowed dryly, wondering if it was related to whatever was eating at Clara.

“You’ll be allowed to train here with the understanding that you don’t neglect your studies. Your work in the lab and your classes take priority. Heroics is a young person’s game. You’ll be retired and normal much longer than you’ll be a cape or a mask.”

Emmett sighed, slightly relieved to be hearing this speech instead of something more serious… but also slightly annoyed to be hearing this speech.

Emmett nodded, trying his best to keep a serious face. “Anything else?”

Dr. Venture pulled something from the inside pocket of his lab coat and tossed it to Emmett, who caught it.

A silky gray mask. The fabric felt thick and weighted to the touch, almost like it was filled with a thin layer of sand.

“If you’re going to go running around the city, you should wear that. The fabric is specially made to alter your face shape so that you can’t be identified through cameras.

“It’s not foolproof,” Venture continued. “You’ll need to vary the routes you take to and from your apartment. Get a spare phone for emergencies and leave your normal one at home. Wear layers of generic clothes that you can ditch at a moment’s notice. Your identity is one of the most precious things you have. Guard it.”

Venture sighed and his eyes narrowed—somehow he looked even more serious than he already did.

“If you become an active mask, you’ll need to keep your nose clean and keep to the Code. Don’t give anyone a reason to follow you too closely. If you screw up too many times or too badly, capes or DSA will track you down. It’s much easier for them to find you than it is to hide from them.

“And that will affect our relationship.”

Venture’s final words echoed and hung heavy in the hallway.

Emmett understood. It wasn’t just his ass on the line—it meant that his actions could affect Dr. Venture and Clara, too. Not to mention his family.

Emmett rolled the mask over in his fingers, tracing the seams and the strange material. Now it felt even heavier in his hands.

He nodded.

Venture turned and walked away.

~

With the warning fresh in his mind, Emmett jogged down Champion street. He passed his normal bus stop and kept going, breathing deep and savoring the chill evening air.

The last of the sunset was red in the sky when Emmett made it to the West End and climbed the first fire escape he found.

Emmett stood on the roof, looking out over the city of Belport and deciding where to go. He’d make his way home eventually, but Emmett felt restless—

And without giving it too much thought, he started leaping across rooftops, heading south toward the bay.

Most of his time in college had been spent between the Eastside and West End. The former was where the majority of prominent companies had located their factories and warehouses—Gnosis being one of the biggest. The West End was made up of various middle income housing blocks, including Emmett’s block in The Woods.

The North side of Champion street and Belport was exclusively upper income housing—the Heights. Coincidentally, the portion of Belport that Emmett was least familiar with.

But as Emmett leapt from rooftop to rooftop, running toward the bay, he couldn’t actually remember the last time he’d actually been on the south side of town. The bay and the surrounding area of Belport were touristy—built up and gentrified over the last ten years. Pushing out almost all the lower income housing into stretches of slums that lined the highway.

He was crossing into one of those stretches now, passing above and perpendicular to the L train rails. Rows of graffiti covered, cramped apartments stretched up and down Eighteenth Street. Somewhere down the street, shouts were punctuated by a bottle shattering.

Emmett took one look across the street and realized that he wouldn’t be able to just jump across—the highway was four lanes wide. He would have to climb down and cross on foot.

He took a deep breath and peered over the side. No fire escape… But the alley behind the building was empty.

Why not put his training to use?

Emmett took a few steps back and leapt off the roof. He sailed across and hit the side of the building, sliding down a few feet before springing across to the opposite wall and repeating the process.

It was a short drop, and moments later, Emmett was standing in the middle of the alley, savoring victory.

He pulled his hood up and set out toward Eighteenth Street, walking quickly and purposefully—mask still on.

He had to walk the block to get to a crosswalk. Nervousness bubbled up in him. Back in high school he’d went with his old friend Manny to the docks, then made the mistake of trying to cut through the slums so they could catch the bus back to the West Side—they didn’t make it far before they got mugged, right there on Eighteenth. They wound up begging for change and calling Manny’s parents from a payphone, back when those were still a thing.

It was hard not to think about that as Emmett walked down the street, trash crunching beneath his shoes. The L train rattled in the air as it passed.

Despite his nerves, Emmett couldn’t help but look around. He passed boarded-up stores and others with barred windows and reinforced doors. Shouts echoed from a nearby apartment, and across Eighteenth a drunken brawl spilled out of a bar.

There were other people walking, minding their business, keeping their heads down, but most seemed completely unfazed by the commotion.

But there were two people that drew Emmett’s eyes: Two men walked toward him wearing masks.

The one on the left was the taller and broader of the two—standing a head taller than Emmett and the other one. He wore a skull mask, and platinum blond hair hung out from behind it. His denim jacket was covered in patches and frayed ends.

The second was rail-thin and wore a dark green tracksuit and a matching mask.

For a moment, Emmett wondered if they were posing as supers. It was rare, but he’d read about it. Usually, it ended poorly for someone claiming to be a super when they really weren’t.

But there was something about the way the two guys carried themselves that made Emmett sure that they weren’t bluffing. Both of them were supers.

The stranger thing was that despite all Emmett’s years living in the city, he’d never seen masks walk the street. Was that normal on this side of Belport?

Emmett did his best not to look at the two supers as they passed. And as far as he could tell, they didn’t pay him any mind either.

Emmett stopped at the intersection and waited for the light to change before making his way across. Soon he’d be back on the rooftops and racing toward the bay.

Emmett slipped into the nearest unoccupied alley.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here…”

Emmett turned to find both of the masks staring at him from the alley entrance.

They walked toward him, the man in green walking just in front.

“Haven’t seen you before,” Green Mask said. “You lost boy?”

Emmett suppressed his urge to scoff at the comment and met the eyes behind the mask. Emmett felt a little more confident; Green Mask didn’t sound any older than he was.

“Just passing through,” Emmett replied.

The hulking man in the skull mask scoffed. “Lost and stupid.”

“These are our streets,” Green Mask said. “And you’ve taken up enough of my time. Toss me your wallet and then get the fuck out of here.” He held out his hand expectantly.

Emmett stared them down, ignoring the sweat dripping down his neck. He could run or he could fight… And Emmett didn’t particularly like his odds being outnumbered and facing two unknown supers.

Emmett slipped his hand into his pocket like he was reaching for his wallet—

Then he bolted down the alley.

A breath later, he’d leapt up to the fire escape and then leapt up again to the next roof.

Emmett sprinted across the roof, heading in the direction of the bay, but something slammed into him from the side and sent him sprawling across the tar.

He rolled to a stop and looked up to see Skull Mask standing across the roof.

“Did I say you could leave?”

Skull Mask sprinted across the roof—covering the distance in a blink. Emmett had assumed his enemy had some generic spread of super strength similar to what he had with Mutagen-A, but Skull Mask was on a whole other level—

It was everything Emmett could do to get his hands up in front to block the next attack.

Skull Mask pummeled him, and Emmett tucked his arms in close and backed away frantically. His head was knocked to the side, the wind knocked out of his chest—it didn’t matter how he tried to guard himself, Skull Mask was punching through his blocks.

It didn’t help that Emmett didn’t know how to fight. He’d been in precisely one fight: On the playground in elementary school. For as strong and as fast as Emmett felt now, he had no idea what he was doing, and Skull Mask was stronger and faster than he was.

Emmett tried to swing back, but Skull Mask lunged for him, grabbing his arm and pushing him backward toward the edge of the roof.

He slid back until his foot caught on the outer ledge of the roof, and Emmett caught a glimpse of the alley below, gasping in panic. Emmett wrenched his arms down and pushed forward with all his strength.

With his feet against the ledge, he had enough leverage to push Skull Mask back several steps.

The two fighters paused, staring each other down.

Then Green Mask appeared from behind his ally.

“I didn’t plan on working this evening,” he said, holding out his arms out in front of him. Dark smoke rose from the roof and then rushed toward Emmett in a wave.

Emmett recoiled, his first thought that the tar of the roof was on fire. But as the smoke reached him, wisps of it coalesced into tendrils and then into hands, reaching toward him like ghouls climbing out of black waves.

He shivered and was already turning to run when the first hand reached him, grabbed his ankle, and held him in place. Emmett wrenched his leg, but it wouldn’t budge.

More hands grabbed his left wrist, clutched his legs and waist, each ice cold to the touch.

Then something slammed into the side of his head, sending Emmett sprawling across the roof. His vision swam—the dark fog was everywhere, blotting out all but the black of the night sky directly above him.

Skull Mask strode out of the smoke, cracking his knuckles. He smirked and added, “It’s almost not fair.”

Emmett rolled to his feet, but icy hands seized him and held him in place—

Everything but his right hand.

Skull Mask swung and Emmett tried to block, but he was fighting one handed. Punch after punch slammed into Emmett, and even the few that managed to get his right hand in front of still sent him reeling.

Every time he was knocked back, smoky hands grabbed him and held him still.

The next punch sent Emmett sprawling to the ground. Blood dripped onto the tar and Emmett’s face and mask felt wet with it. Desperately, he rolled onto his back, trying to scooch away from his attacker—to the edge of the roof—anywhere else. Icy hands grabbed him and pulled him down as Skull Mask knelt down over him.

“Don’t worry, rookie,” he said. “I’m not going to kill you.”

Emmett brought his right hand up in front of his face to defend himself.

From somewhere in the smoke, Green Mask said, “We got a stubborn one.”

Skull Mask’s face wrinkled in irritation. He hauled back and punched down at Emmett’s face.

Emmett turned to the side, barely avoiding the next two swings.

Skull Mask grunted in frustration and grabbed for Emmett’s neck, trying to choke him.

Emmett grabbed his wrist and squeezed.

The next thing he heard was Skull Mask scream in pain, followed by bone crunching—

Skull Mask’s wrist snapped in his hand.

Emmett’s eyes were almost as wide as his attacker’s and it was several moments of struggle before Emmett realized what he’d done. All that time, he didn’t let go.

Skull Mask was clutching his broken arm and trying to pull away, but he was still sitting on top of Emmett. Emmett pulled, using leverage against him. His mechanical arm won out easily, and a moment later, Emmett was holding Skull Mask by the throat.

Skull Mask pawed impotently at Emmett’s arm and at Emmett’s face, but he was clearly overcome with panic.

He wasn’t sure how hard he could squeeze without breaking the guy's neck, but he wasn’t about to let up.

Emmett sneered, “Let me go. Let me go. Now!”

A second later, the smoke vanished, and the rooftop slums of Belport came back into view.

“Alright, alright, man,” Green Mask said. He stood across the roof, holding his hands up in surrender. “Don’t do something you’re gonna regret.”

Emmett grit his teeth and pushed himself up, all the while not letting go of Skull Masks’s throat. Blood dripped down the front of his hoodie. His whole body shook with adrenaline and rage.

Emmett hauled Skull Mask to his feet and glared at the two supers. Without thinking, Emmett shoved him toward Green Mask.

Skull Mask was hurled backward across the roof, skipping backward like a stone across a pond, and careened into Green Mask, taking them both over the side of the roof.

As surprised as Emmett was, he didn’t stay. He ran and leapt to the next roof, running as fast as he could toward the bay.

He only made it two blocks.

Out of nowhere, a suit of armor materialized in the air. Hot streams of air billowed from the foot thrusters and across the roof, causing Emmett to step back. It hovered in front of him—humanoid, sleek, and matte gray.

Emmett stared at the newcomer, half in awe and half apprehensive. He doubted they were working with Skull Mask and Green Mask—but it would be a bad time to be wrong. Unconsciously, he squeezed his mechanical arm.

The figure lowered themselves to the rooftop and their thrusters cut off completely.

“You can relax,” she said.

Even though her voice was slightly muffled and obscured by static, Emmett immediately knew who it was, and he almost collapsed with relief.

~ ~ ~