Mod Superhero

Chapter 4.16 - Guy's Night, Interrupted

Mod, Arsenal, and McGuire finished their patrol that first afternoon, then returned to the Summit staging area to get relieved.

Arsenal stopped a block away from the gate.

Mod was going to stay at the shelter tonight, that way he could see his family. Mod, McGuire, and the others had settled on the excuse that they were helping the Summit with relief efforts. That gave them the excuse to go on patrols. There was a lot of work to be done, and not much else for civilians to do besides help out.

At first, Mod had been worried about being so close to his family while still working as a cape. One day in the future, he might come out to his family about his work, but that was a distant possibility. A problem for future-him.

TINA reassured him that the Summit had protocols for times like these when capes and their families were in close proximity. They had protocols to help keep superheroes' identities secret—separate work groups for civilians and capes, even standardized lingo and excuses.

Mod hadn't really thought about it until now, but staying in the shelter meant that he might meet the rest of his friend's families. But Arsenal was leaving, which meant she wouldn't meet his family.

"You sure you don't want to stay?" Mod asked.

Arsenal shook her head. "It'll be easier this way. I'll see you tomorrow for patrols."

McGuire socked Mod's arm. "Yeah, we can have a guys' night tonight."

Even with her helmet on, Arsenal rolled her eyes. "Just don't get into anything too crazy without me."

"Never," Mod replied.

The bottom half of Arsenal's helmet flipped up, and Mod took the invitation to kiss her. He had to lean slightly up to meet her lips and his nose brushed the cold metal of her helmet. Mod wished he could've held her close.

McGuire waited silently, his arms crossed and face unreadable behind his baggy mask.

"Not a word," Arsenal said. Then she cloaked and shot off into the sky.

~

Mod and McGuire walked the rest of the block to the Summit staging area in silence. They went to the men's room, changed into sweat clothes, and stuffed their suits into backpacks. Emmett and Max kept the backpacks with them so that they could report directly from the shelter in case of an attack.

If anybody asked about their backpack, they had a spare set of uniforms for their volunteering. The Summit even gave them a yellow T-shirt to complete the illusion.

Emmett zipped up his pack and turned to check on his friend. Max was rolling up his explorer's jacket and mask.

Even though it had only been a few days, it felt like it had been much longer since Emmett had seen his roommate without his uniform on. Max's hair was a mess and he looked even skinnier, despite the oversized hoodie he wore. His eyes were narrowed and focused in a way Emmett had only even seen when he was sparring... or playing video games.

Max pulled a smaller purple backpack out of his superhero pack. He grabbed his enormous explorer's backpack like he was going to roll it up.

"You're not really—"

Max leaned on top of his pack, using his bodyweight to compress it down and roll it up. Somehow, even stuffed with gadgets as it was, Max compressed it down to half the size. Then he grabbed the small purple bag and stuffed his explorer's pack inside the purple one.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

Max glanced up as he worked. "Yeah, it's not as small as I hoped, but it's less conspicuous." Max cinched the purple drawstring tight and found Emmett still staring.