Chapter 14 – Sparks and Silhouettes
The workshop smelled like ozone and hot metal the scent of progress.
Steven sat hunched over his latest prototype, fingers twitching with excitement as the magnetic coil finally locked into place. Across from him, Sera adjusted the crystal regulator's housing with meticulous care, her brow furrowed in concentration.
They didn't speak much when they worked like this. Not because they didn't want to. But because their movements had started to sync naturally like a rhythm only they understood. A sideways glance, a nod, a half-gesture that was all it took.
He paused, finally, wiping sweat off his temple and grinning. "Okay. Repulsion Bracer, Mark II. Ready for testing."
Sera raised an eyebrow. "You sure you calibrated the capacitor properly this time?"
"Hey," Steven said with mock offense, "I learn from my explosions."
She gave him a flat look. "Your last 'learning experience' almost lit my sleeve on fire."
"It was a minor combustion event. Completely contained. Mostly."
Despite herself, she laughed and that sound was quickly becoming Steven's favorite kind of success.
She stood, walked to the far side of the workshop, and raised a padded practice shield. "Alright, genius. Show me what this baby can do."
Steven adjusted the bracer on his arm, aimed carefully, and activated it.
With a sharp hum and a flicker of blue light, a kinetic blast launched from his wrist, smacking the shield with enough force to push Sera back half a step.
Her eyes widened. "That… actually worked."
"Told you." He beamed. "I may not have a Quirk, a power ring, or magic, but I've got physics and stubbornness."
She lowered the shield and walked over, inspecting the bracer. "You're building weapons now?"
"Defensive tools," he corrected. "Kinetic redirection. I've got a few more ideas queued up."
He reached for his schematic notebook and flipped to the updated list bold, messy handwriting scrawled across the header.
Project Archive – Echo Tech
Repulsion Bracer
Recon Visor
Shock Ring
Web Slinging Gauntlet (In Progress)
Holo-Map Display
Hex Pulse Boots
Arc Reactor Core (Pending Funding)
Sera looked over his shoulder. "You're seriously trying the web thing?"
"I figured if I can get the tension coils and rapid-release system working, it could double as a grappling mechanism. I mean, imagine it rooftop traversal. No magic. No problem."
"You're obsessed with this 'Spider-Man' guy you mentioned."
"Hey, he was a broke teen who saved his city with science. I relate."
She nudged his shoulder gently. "Well, this broke teen needs sleep too."
He smiled at that. But then his expression shifted, quieter. "You know… I don't think I could've come this far without you."
Sera blinked, a little caught off guard. "What do you mean?"
"I mean it." He set the bracer down. "You're the only person who ever took me seriously. Even when my ideas sounded like madness. You stayed."
Her gaze softened. She took his hand in hers warm, callused from hours of tinkering, just like his.
"I didn't stay," she said softly. "I chose to be here."
The silence that followed was heavy, but not uncomfortable. Like the pause before a spark became flame.
Eventually, she broke it with a grin. "Now help me sketch that web launcher before you get all sentimental again."
Steven laughed, grabbing the graphite pencil. "Only if you promise not to yell when it jams and yanks me into a wall."
"No promises."
And just like that, they returned to work two minds, one heartbeat, inventing a future in a world neither of them fully understood.
But they understood each other.
And for now, that was more than enough.