Eric sat on the couch until Coral burst through the door. “Finally,” she said, stripping off her costume. “Rainbright chased me across half the city, and of course you weren’t there so I couldn’t use lightbending so she nearly got me. Ugh. You’d think she’d be a little less inclined to hunt me down after, you know, we saved one of her teammates.” Coral flopped down on the couch. “You all right? Did something happen?”
“I saw Enmachina’s face,” Eric said. How was he supposed to tell her this?
“Was he someone we know?” Coral asked.
“Nathan.”
Coral was silent for a moment. Then she flopped over the couch’s arm. “I’m an idiot.”
“Come on. I’m the one sleeping with him. Shouldn’t I have known?”
“Maybe if his armor was a bikini.” Coral righted herself. “I mean, seriously! N-machina? His name is Nathan! And his predecessor was Nessa! Both start with N!”
“But… I don’t think--?”
“And I knew his power was to power things. I have analysis! I keep a copy of the freaking thing! I should have known it could power anything. And what’ve we talked about? How it should be impossible for him to have a suit that lets him fly all the time? It only makes sense if you have a completely ridiculous power source and Nathan is completely ridiculous, so it makes sense!”
Eric frowned. “Okay, back up. Nessa is the previous Enmachina? Nathan’s mom Nessa?”
“Well, if Nathan is, then she has to be. There were rumors after the End Battle that Enmachina One was paralyzed based on some video clips from the aftermath. She appeared standing up in the suit once afterwards, to announce her retirement, but that could have been remote piloted. Or it could have been someone else in the suit. But she never demonstrated any other powers, so she’s probably a Mad Scientist. Science doesn’t require legs, so there’s nothing stopping her from building another suit.”
“Right,” Eric said. “And then Raph is Scope.”
Coral tilted her head. “Yeah. I could see that. Raph has powers, but I’ve never touched his bare skin. His powers are supposed to involve feeling every bit of a person’s body, so no wonder he doesn’t want to be touched.”
“Also, he’s Nathan’s black boyfriend.”
“That is also a clue, yes.” Coral tapped her fingers on the couch arm. “Wait a second. Nathan has a pacemaker.”
“Yeah. That’s why he was in such bad shape after we freed him. It broke.”
“We’ve been beating up on a disabled man?!” Coral looked horrified.
“He’s not that disabled. I can confirm he’s medically cleared for strenuous activities. And it’s not like he hasn’t started the fights a lot of the time.”
Coral made a dissatisfied hum and fell silent, except for the tapping of her fingers. “So, Nathan is Enmachina. What are we going to do about it?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Eric said, sitting back. “He’s our archnemesis. I should break up with him.”
“But you don’t want to,” Coral said.
“He’s been lying about his identity.”
“So have we,” Coral said.
“If he finds out about us, it could jeopardize everything we’ve been working for.”
“That was true regardless of whether he was a superhero. Stupid goody-two-shoes.”
Eric smiled. “You sound like you want me to stay with him.”
“Not my boyfriend, not my decision,” Coral said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Whatever you decide, I’ll support you in it.”
“But you have an opinion.”
“Of course.”
Eric sighed. “What’s your honest opinion?”
Coral took a moment to reply. “Honestly? I’d feel a lot safer if Enmachina wasn’t hanging out in our home. That being said, if you broke up with Nathan… that would unbalance things.”
“If I break up with him, we don’t have to close the relationship.”
“I know, but I’d feel bad if I was sleeping with other people and you weren’t.”
“Oh no,” Eric said. “I suppose I’d just be forced to go out and sleep with hot people.”
Coral elbowed him. “Such a sacrifice. So noble of you.”
Eric brought a hand to his chest. “For the greater good, of course.”
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