Chapter 1.1.10 — The Jump

The last two hours crawled by, and then Emmett left the lab without much of a goodbye—

Which felt weird.

Even if Dr. Venture and Clara hadn’t officially accepted him into their operation, even if he wasn’t officially a super or a cape… Emmett couldn’t help feeling as if everything had changed.

Even if it—technically—hadn’t yet.

He couldn’t help seeing the lab in a different light. Instead of working on weapons tech, were they actually working on tech for supers? Was the lab underground because it was easier to hide and reinforce that way?

Obviously, Emmett saw the doctor and Clara in a different light too—still unable to shake the nagging suspicion that Clara was a super; ‘following in her father’s footsteps.'

But as Emmett grabbed his things and left the lab, he realized it wasn’t just those things.

As he walked down Champion Street, he realized that everything had changed.

He was walking the streets when he should be dead—that was among the first things that hit Emmett. And walking past Gnosis in a body more or less made by them. He had no way of knowing just how much of himself he owed to Gnosis, but he assumed it was a lot. That and Gnosis probably made enhancements for other heroes.

The evening was getting colder, but despite that, Emmett wasn’t cold at all—even with the wind. He didn’t even feel the need to put his hood up or cover his hands.

Shortly after that, Emmett realized he’d walked past his normal bus stop, but that didn’t bother him.

He kept walking, and after ten more blocks, realized he wasn’t tired in the slightest.

Dodging and weaving through crowds felt easy, though that might’ve just been his imagination.

Emmett started jogging. He wanted to run, to sprint, but decided against it. Sprinting down Champion Street was sure to get stares.

He’d never been much of an athlete, but after jogging ten more blocks, Emmett wasn’t tired in the slightest.

By the time he crossed into downtown, with the skyscrapers and high rises, a smile was plastered on Emmett’s face. He passed electronic ads and news displays showing clips of supers—

One day that might be him.

In a way, it felt like the entire world was different—like he really had been isekai’d. There was a whole new world layered on top of the one Emmett had lived in all his life.

A world that was his. He was a super.

Emmett scanned the high rises as he jogged and the rooftops as he passed from downtown to the West End, looking for supers.

One day that could be him—

Emmett stopped on the sidewalk, dumbfounded and frozen as the crowd passed around him. He barely noticed even as some elbowed past him.

Why did he have to wait for one day?

He was a super. That could be him now.

Excitement welled up in Emmett until he was laughing out loud like a crazy person. He laughed so loud that people started avoiding him and laughed so long that his stomach started to hurt.

When Emmett finally stopped laughing, as if on cue, he saw a super leap across the rooftops.

Emmett stood there like an idiot, stomach still sore from laughing, looking up at where a super had been.

And decided to follow them.

~

It took Emmett longer than he would’ve thought to find a way up to the roofs. He walked five different alleys and across another block before he finally found a fire escape behind a secondhand clothing store.

Thankfully, the alley was empty. The problem was, the ladder wasn’t down and the bars were ten feet off the ground. The only way to reach it was to jump.

Before being remade as a super, there was no way Emmett could have made it. Even if he could have, Emmett wasn’t even sure if he still would have been able to do a pullup.

He would’ve been stuck, dangling impotently from the bars until his hands gave out and he fell.

But he wasn’t powerless anymore.

Emmett rubbed his hands together, both trying to warm them up and psych himself up.

Then he jumped—

And easily grabbed the bars.

Again he laughed like a maniac, then pulled himself up effortlessly. He climbed over the railing and stood on the platform, looking down on the alley below.

Then he turned and ran up the fire escape stairs to the roof, metal clanking with each step. He pulled his hood up and cinched it taut—it wasn’t much, but it would suffice for what he was about to do.

Moments later, Emmett stood on the roof. It was flat like the small section of his apartment roof, except that this roof had pebbles across top of it. They shifted beneath his feet. It was a strange sight, even though Emmett had only ever been on two other roofs in his life—his apartment roof and his parents’ roof—and he could see other businesses that had similar designs.

But the strangeness was short-lived and replaced with something ominous or prophetic… like he was standing on the shore and the rocks were all that separated him from something new.

Emmett walked to the edge of the roof and looked across the alley to the next rooftop.

It didn’t look that far.

Then he peered over the edge—leaned over the edge.

The alley was a long goddamn way down. How high was he? Had he climbed five or six stories?

Emmett’s stomach turned, and he backed away to steady himself. Carefully, he stood and counted the windows next door—

Five. He was five stories in the air.

And if he fell… It was five stories to the ground. He wasn’t sure how much stronger his new body was compared to his old one, but he imagined falling five stories to the ground wouldn’t feel good.

“Don’t do it.”

“What?” Emmett half-turned, careful to hide his face, and found a woman standing across the roof. She had long, braided white hair, and wore a mix of leather and denim covered in dull shards of mirror. The outfit managed to both be intimidating and strange for a super. She might’ve been middle-aged—her hair was so bright it had to have been dyed.

“Don’t jump,” she said.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not worth it.”

Confused, Emmett looked at the next rooftop and then peered over the edge again. “It’s definitely worth it,” he replied, trying to work up the courage to jump.

“You’ll regret it.”

Emmett scoffed. “No, I won’t.”

“Yes, you will.”

Emmett shook his head and ignored her. He stepped back and took a deep breath. Then he ran to the edge and jumped—

And slammed into something invisible at the edge of the roof.

Emmett bounced back and was sent sprawling across the roof, rocks scattering around him.

He sprung to his feet, expecting pain, but felt more surprised and slightly embarrassed than hurt. If anything, he wasn’t hurt at all.

“What the crap!” he exclaimed.

“I told you,” the woman said with a shrug.

Emmett walked over to the edge and felt around in the air for what he’d crashed into, but felt nothing. He scoffed again, this time in irritation.

Then he backed up and readied himself to try jumping again.

“You know,” she said, “People usually learn their lesson the first time.”

“And what lesson is that?” Emmett asked, pausing.

“That they shouldn’t throw their life away. That it’s a permanent solution to a temporary problem. I don’t want to sound cliché, but it’s been a long morning, so that’s all I’ve got for you.”

Emmett turned. “I’m not trying to jump. I’m trying to jump.”

Her face wrinkled in confusion. “I’m not sure I’m following you.”

“I’m trying to jump across the alley. To the next roof.”

“Oh. Ohhh. Well, that’s good, I suppose…. But why?”

“I just got powers. I’m a super.”

“But you’re not sure if you can jump across an alley?”

Emmett sighed. “No, because you keep interrupting me.”

The woman chuckled. “Well, then go ahead. See what you can do.”

Emmett glared at her a moment before turning back to the task at hand. It felt like he’d lost all the momentum he’d been building up throughout the day, but he took a deep breath and focused.

Then he ran to the edge and leapt.

For a moment, Emmett’s stomach dropped out from under him and it felt like he might not make it.

Then he sailed over the alley and cleared the next roof with almost ten feet to spare. He skidded to a halt on the stones of the roof and laughed.

That had been easy—far too easy.

And freaking awesome.

Emmett turned and found the white-haired woman standing beside him on the roof, taller and much closer than she had been before.

Finally, Emmett asked, “Who are you anyway?”

~

Her name was Athena, and apparently she’d been a registered cape in Belport for years.

Emmett shook his head. “Sorry. I’ve never heard of you.”

Athena shrugged. “Don’t be. Most of us don’t make the news. I don’t think I’m even listed.”

“Really?”

“The Division of Superhuman Affairs doesn’t bother to list most of us. There’s a lot of supers that don’t make it through registration. They either wash out or realize that being a cape isn’t right for them. Most of the A-list heroes get credit and the spotlight, which is fine by me. Less people that I have to talk to.”

“You’re talking to me.”

Athena chuckled. “I guess I am. So, newbie, why don’t you keep going. I’ll stay behind in case you have any questions.”

Emmett looked from Athena to the next roof and then beyond. The roofs stretched out across the district like islands.

For a moment, he was torn between asking Athena questions about her powers or testing out his own… For a moment.

Emmett ran to the end of the roof and leapt to the next, and then the next and the next. He cleared each gap easily and kept going without pausing—without even breaking stride. His feet pounded out a rhythm as he ran.

Emmett had no idea how fast he was going, but shingles and rocks and roofs passed in a blur as he hurtled down the blocks.

The next jump was across a street instead of an alley, and he didn’t pause to consider just how far it was. Emmett leapt from the edge of the roof—as high and as far as he could.

He hurtled over the street—

But he wasn’t going to make it. He’d be lucky if he could even grab the ledge. Actually, it looked like he might crash through a fifth-floor window.

Just as his arc slowed and it looked like he wouldn’t make it, Emmett felt like he’d stepped on an invisible platform in the middle of the air. He practically tripped over it—

But it was enough that he cleared the edge and fell hard on the roof. Emmett rolled to a stop.

When he stood, Athena was standing beside him.

“Got a little over eager there,” she said.

“That was you, wasn’t it?” Emmett replied, standing and stretching to see if he’d hurt himself. But he felt fine and brushed himself off.

Athena put out her hand and pushed against an invisible wall. “I can create barriers.”

As she pushed, Emmett could just make out a distortion in the air, like looking through thick glass. As soon as Athena stopped pushing, the barrier vanished.

“They’re handy for crossing wide streets. Not too shabby in a brawl either. Good for keeping people from jumping off roofs too.”

Emmett scoffed. “Thanks for saving me, I guess. I can barely see your barrier. How do you see where to put it?”

“I don’t really need to see them. It’s kind of like touching your nose with your eyes closed, or like finding your way around your room in the middle of the night.”

“So you can’t see in the dark?”

“No. Funny enough, that seems like a pretty rare power.”

Emmett smiled. “Look, I have to go… This might be weird, but you’re the first super I’ve talked to. How am I going to run into you again?”

Athena crossed her arms, incredulously. “You really are new to this. Do you even have a name yet?”

“Well… no.” Emmett hadn’t even started thinking of one. He wasn’t even sure what his new body could do.

Athena smirked. “Give it some thought. Most days, I like to do some laps around downtown. Good luck coming up with a name. Took me weeks before I finally decided on mine.”

Then Athena ran and leapt off the roof. She was gone before Emmett could ask how she came up with her name.

~ ~ ~