If there was one thing that could be said about the current situation, it was that it was a good distraction from my boring patrol coming up. While Silhouette stood unwavering, the pistol still against the side of my head, I felt rather… happy.

  [A rather archaic weapon for you, is it not?]

  “The right tool for the right job, Gunquake,” he responded. “This is one of the illegal firearms you are meant to be investigating. How unfortunate your quarry caught you snooping around and put an end to you.”

  I had to admire that. While there wasn’t other evidence of such gangs in this building… although, I hadn’t checked the other floors. Perhaps this had been the perfect setup.

  [Interesting. Thank you for bringing me closer to the case.]

  Silhouette sighed, his single eye flickering. “You could at least pretend to be worried. Are you that dissociated from your own mortality?”

  [Are you still pretending to be a threat?]

  He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. Silhouette lowered the gun. “You should be more diligent brother. I do have a contract to kill you.”

  I turned to him. His posture was more relaxed, but he hadn’t unloaded the gun. Not that he’d need it to kill me, most likely - but just as when I had entered the building, I didn’t consider him a threat. The news was a little surprising, so I tilted my head.

  [Oh? Anyone I know?]

  “Even if I’m not going to do the deed, I’m not going to reveal that.”

  Disappointing. I wondered if it was the World Government, one of my detractors amongst the League’s directorship, or even Maestro. The fact that my brother ran hit jobs on the side made sense, and amused me, given my history.

  [Are you really tarnishing your reputation by letting me live?]

  Silhouette shrugged. “While my contracts are under the stipulation that I don’t kill innocents, we both know you don’t even graze such a word. However, I have decided to add family as a no-go.”

  [That’s why you’re my favorite brother. I take it the contract will go to someone else?]

  “Yeah.” He looked over at the windows at the front of the building. “The client is resourceful and used to getting what they want. But this is the last time I’m pulling your ass out of the fire, brother. Be thankful that they didn’t know about our kinship beforehand.”

  Few did, but that small circle included some at the League. That meant it wasn’t Director Kingston at the least, or those who worked closely with him. Maybe it was an entirely new figure looking to get into trouble. It was a smart decision to withhold their name, otherwise I’d have to dig out some of my old skills.

  [There was probably an easier method of telling me than putting a gun to my head.]

  “Just sibling things, I guess. It took me a while to accept and understand that we were of the same stock, but every time we interact, I believe it all the more.”

  [Well, I’d offer to get a drink sometime so we can catch-up, but…]

  I lifted up a finger and tapped at the side of my neck, indicating the nutritional canister.

  “We are indeed brothers.” Silhouette pressed on a recessed button on the front of his suit, popping open a flap on the right side of his stomach. There was an indentation that looked as though it accepted small spheres. “Nutritional balls. I cannot eat or drink normally either.”

  [Cybernetics?]

  He shook his head and closed the flap. “Minimal and functional only. I cannot remove my mask, otherwise my face would disintegrate from my skull. Some manner of disease. Before you ask, yes, I’ve tried. Some organ and skin cybernetics to keep me alive, but nothing notable.”

  [Your invisibility?]

  “My superpower, although I feel as though you are asking because you know the answer already, but want my response.”

  [Imagine that I am smiling right now.]

  “Same, brother.”

  Much like how my magical abilities came from the infused nanites running through my body, that’s how he functioned. Not quite magic, not quite tech - which is why I could sense his uniqueness when others couldn’t. Kin by design, even if not by nature.

  [How much have you learned about your past? Our past.]

  He made a grunting noise, and his yellow eye hummed. “To be frank, I care not for what was before. The old me who worked for the World Government is long dead. Mistakes and actions they committed are not weights that drag me down now. Same goes for any allegiance or disagreements we might have had.”

  I held out my hand for him to shake.

  [To our futures, then.]

  He returned the gesture, but then pulled me in for a hug. “Don’t expect this to be anything more than a rarity, Gunquake. My position means I am unable to fraternize with… anyone, really. So no need to invite me to your next party.”

  [The League really has you that pinned down?]

  “There are several reasons. Certain expectations are placed on me and being seen socializing with you could be harmful for both of our careers.”

  [Shame. My inner circle has been growing, and you’d always be more than welcome to be a part of it.]

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  He sighed and then stepped away. “A temptation that is more deadly than this gun. Here, Gunquake.”

  With a quick motion, he removed the magazine and emptied the chamber of the pistol. He then handed them both over to me. An olive branch and a clue for my personal quest of digging up the cause of illegal firearms becoming more common in Goldarch.

  [Appreciated. The League won’t give me any tech to protect me from bullets until I solve the case. Ironic, huh? Oh, and you can call me Dubs.]

  Silhouette crossed his arms and hesitated for a moment, before his yellow light dimmed slightly. “Xan. Few know this name, but it seems only right my only family would. Just don’t go spreading it about.”

  [My lips are sealed.]

  I tapped on the side of my re-breather with the end of my gun-arm. Despite him being a S-Rank hero and far more experience and deadly than me, I saw us as equals. Silhouette could sense it too - the bond that joined us in blood. I respected his wish to leave the past alone, even if there were still questions on my mind that needed answers.

  Perhaps in time he would want to know more. If that came to pass, then I’d be there to support him however he needed. Assuming I hadn’t been assassinated, anyway.

  [What do you think about my decision to join the Heroism Arena?]

  He replaced his posture as I put the firearm away in one of my pouches. “Reckless and fueled by emotion.”

  [You don’t think I could beat Maestro?]

  “If this was a fight, then I would have faith that you would succeed, albeit not without some struggle. That is irrelevant, however. The Arena is about tests of heroism, of which I am undecided on whether you have the necessary experience to come out in first place.”

  I rubbed at the side of my head. Silhouette almost sounded disappointed, which added barbs to his statement. Not that he was wrong, but I much preferred the positive and encouraging attitude of the Natural Disasters… all of whom were eager to train me. Hmm.

  [Interesting. Perhaps you have some advice or training to provide then?]

  “No.”

  [Oh. So you really did call me out here just to warn me there was a price on my head, but I should be thankful you had no intention of collecting it.]

  His eye did a strange pulse, as if it was rolling. “I have something to give you, but if you’re going to be a child about it, I might just keep it for myself.”

  [Do we need to fight for it?]

  Silhouette chuckled. “If you had this same personality from before our rebirth, then it doesn’t surprise me you caused a split in the group. No, not everything is a challenge or something to be fought over. Is it wrong to have wanted some conversation with my brother before parting ways?”

  Surprisingly, he was being earnest. It struck me how lonely it must be for him, not only as a S-Rank hero put on such a high pedestal, but as a stealth based hero he was naturally out of sight. With similar gear keeping him alive, there wasn’t much of a normal life he could live. Now that he accepted our shared history, he had someone he could bond with.

  [Hmm. When I surpass you and become S-Rank, I will still invite you to hang out.]

  He chuckled again, but this time much more animatedly. His singular eye-light grew brighter as he held his chest. “No offense intended, but you are quite some way before that is even a distant possibility.”

  [My promise still stands, no matter how long it takes.]

  Silhouette shook his head and sighed. “Were I not shackled to the rules of the League, perhaps there is more I could do to help you. Together, we would be quite the team. Unfortunately, this is the best I have to offer at present.”

  From the back of his suit, he unclipped a small box. A discreet case sealed with a lock. He lifted it up and held it out for me to take.

  [Should I even ask?]

  “A V-Force drive,” he replied. “Something tells me you’re in the market for one.”

  [Oh. Our plans are that transparent, are they?]

  He tilted his head to the side as I took the box from him. “There are a few people in the League who monitor the dark web for anything untoward. The contract for the theft was deemed unimportant by the department, but I connected the dots.”

  [So you stole this yourself?]

  “I have recommended that the Natural Disasters be the ones chosen to arrest the gang. You’ll get the credit for stopping them without having to worry about disappearing some of the tech taken.” He looked out at the window again. “Don’t assume you’re the first to think of such a plan, as there are plenty of heroes desperate for attention and praise. Once found out by the League… well, let’s just say that’s the last time you’d ever be found.”

  [Pulling the gun on me seems a little immature now, knowing you had all this planned.]

  “We both know if I wanted you dead, then you would be.”

  Either from a distance, or before I even knew it. His aloof, mysterious mask was figuratively falling away. Having him as an occasional ally, alongside my partnership with Kingston, was helpful with surviving the ebb and flow of the League. As if he could read my mind, his light dulled, and he continued.

  “Politics in the League are… complicated as of late. A few different cliques in the directorship are clamoring for power and control. All of us need to keep our noses clean and jump when told. Once the dust settles and there’s a new hand guiding the ship, we want to be alive and in their favor.”

  [You make it sound like there will be a purge.]

  Silhouette turned from me, as if he was ready to leave. “Don’t get complacent, Dubs. Goldarch is a fragile state that appears strong.”

  [Is this goodbye then, Xan?]

  He waved me off as he turned fully. “Enjoy your patrol. I’ll be watching the Arena.”

  I tilted my head as he started walking off toward the darkness, his form shimmering and fading from view.

  [You know I can sense you. There’s no need to showboat for me.]

  “Keep thinking that,” he whispered, his disembodied voice swirling around the open space. “That’ll ensure you’re always a step below me.”

  I sighed, although it was an action more out of contentedness than anything. Knowing that Silhouette saw the past as just that, and he wasn’t going to be my enemy anytime soon, was a relief. That he embraced our kinship was just icing on the cake. Both of us fractured toys left to neglect, but had found new purpose and energy for living. It was a shame that he couldn’t join my motley crew of misfits, but everything had the right time and place.

  Just like the shell I had loaded in my shotgun all this time.

  V-Force drive burned into life as I raised my arm. Synapse connection pulled the trigger.

  Around forty-five feet down the long room, my ammunition struck one of the concrete pillars on the edge. The Water shot burst and sprayed across the area.

  A few seconds of silence passed before Silhouette shimmered into view beside the pillar. Part of his suit was now soaked.

  [Don’t get complacent, brother.]

  He flipped me off before vanishing again, leaving me feeling rather validated. He had given me lots to think about. More vague threats about the stability of Goldarch and someone wanting me dead… but neither felt like problems I could currently solve.

  Instead, I went to share some of the good news.

  //Dubs: I have an important package to give you when I return.

  //Clara: Really, Gunquake? I’d prefer to go without distraction…

  //Clara: But for you, I’ll make an exception.

  //Dubs: It’s specifically for you to work on.

  //Clara: I appreciate the flattery.

  //Dubs: The package is a V-Force drive.

  //Clara: Even better, then. Dare I ask how you procured it?

  //Dubs: I’ll fill you in when I’m home.

  //Clara: How exciting~

  I closed the chat down, figuring I was potentially getting brain damage by trying to communicate with the techie. Undoubtedly, handing the tech over to her in the early morning once I returned would cut down some of the time that making my arm would take.

  Whether that was going to be before the Heroism Arena or not was still something I was hesitant to ask. I glanced over at the wet pillar before turning and walking out the way I came. As much as I wanted to avoid my patrol, I had to do my duty.

  If there was one message that lingered within my mind from my brief chat with Silhouette, it was his warning not to get complacent. The fact that there was a power struggle going on within the League was a dangerous thing for Goldarch - especially since a few of those in power didn’t like me.

  I made the mental note to check in with Director Kingston.

  If there was any change to be made, I wanted to put my finger on the scales.