Silhouette

The rest of the tour went splendidly. By that, James meant there had been no problems or interruptions. Decanov had been grumpy as usual, doing some final checks and maintenance before he would have to spend some time down in the Sunken City to work on the Shadow Den. The only noteworthy thing was the man mentioning he would need to talk to Silhouette at the end of the day. James assured him he would inform the boss before he left. Maggie had been impressed by the machinery as expected, and after that, they just... Hang out. Silhouette did say he expected neither of them to get any work done for the day, after all.

They talked about magic - the practice, not her pseudonym. James had admitted to trying to learn it in the chatroom back when he first found his starter book, so he showed off his weakest spells: small black flames and a downscaled and simplified version of the shadow theater he usually reserved for the ratlings at home. Nothing with offensive or defensive potential. Similar tricks being used by Silhouette could easily be excused by the fact both were simple techniques. Anyone with shadow powers could do the theater thing, and the flame was simply a lantern-free version of the spell used to determine one's elemental affinity, after all. Still, he did bring up the fact Silhouette had helped him learn these, just in case. It wasn't a lie either, much like anything related to his other persona when he brought it up.

Was it paranoid of him to avoid lying? Perhaps. But Blake Black had shown that fae sorcery was a thing, and he knew that while they were rare, true truth detectors existed as well, so he might as well get into the habit of working around those at all times.

In any case, the day had to end at some point. James reminded Maggie he wouldn't be able to hang out like that every day, having to do a lot of work for Silhouette, but he'd try and drop by when he could. At which point she asked why they couldn't go out after work, and...

"Well, I have the kids to take care of."

"Ah, right, I get it... Wait, no, what? Kids? What the hell are you talking about? I thought you showed up here alone!"

"Yup, I did. Doesn't mean I stayed alone. I met them by accident, right after their parents were killed. I took care of them, and... Well, thanks to Silhouette and Black pulling some strings, I'm officially their dad now."

"Nine, dude, I didn't think... Adoption, uh? So... You said kids plural, so I'm guessing they're a pair?"

"There's five of them."

"Holy hell, James! How do you manage five kids? How old are they?"

"They're from the same litter, so all the same age. I don't really know how old they are, neither do they, but from what I've found online they're all less than a year old."

"Less than a year old? That's babies! And what do you mean by litter?"

"They're rats. Sapient rats, though I don't think their biological parents were awakened like they are."

"Oh. Ooooh. Alright, kiddie rats are probably easier to handle than normie kids."

"In some aspects, sure. They're way more independent. In others... Well, it took a while for the youngest to learn he couldn't rip all of his problems to shreds."

"..."

"With his claws. And his teeth."

"I had a feeling. Are they... Safe?"

"Oh, absolutely. They're adorable. The oldest is just the sweetest person I ever met. Perhaps a little too naive for his good, but... Well, he knows the world isn't kind, so I don't really want to push things beyond that. He's a friendly boy but he knows how to defend himself if necessary."

"A lot of emphasis on them being able to fight there, mister shadow man."

"We... Weren't in a good neighborhood until Silhouette opened his business. They had to. And, well, they're rats. They're naturally better suited for survival than either of us are."

"Speak for yourself, I have spells and magic."

"Ah, that you do. Well, it was nice meeting you, but I really need to go pick them up from school now. I mean, they could go back home on their own, but... You know?"

"Yeah, I get it. Go back to your furry kids, I don't mind. Besides, we can always talk online after. By the way, can I... You know, talk about you? You never brought up any of this."

"Well, like I told you, the Silhouette NDAs used to be much stricter. And... Well, I'm not someone who shares a lot. HardCored is probably one of the online things where I've been the most active, I'm usually more of a lurker. That and... Well, the forum rules say we should try to keep anonymity to avoid Villain troubles, but even without that I feel like me having kids was never relevant."

"Dude, the forum is about helping newly Cored people yet we barely talk powers in the chatroom. Well, aside from when newbies pop in asking for help like you did. But... Yeah, I get why you never brought it up before. So... I'll say we're coworkers but won't mention the kids. Is that good with you?"

"Well, I thought keeping it secret until Silence tried to join too would be fun, but I get you don't have the patience for long plans like that."

"Hey! I'll let you know I have tons of patience! Enchanting and magic aren't things you can rush!"

"Sure, sure. But for real, I need to go or else I'll have three grumpy rats to handle."

"Three? Don't you have five?"

"The oldest is too nice and the middle child is... Honestly way too serious and adult for her own good. But yeah, see ya!"

James and Maggie parted, heading down the streets in opposite directions... Until Maggie was out of sight and James vanished behind an alleyway, slithering back to the factory as Silhouette. He really did need to go get the ratlings, but he had promised Decanov to talk. Knowing how antisocial the man was, James knew it had to be important somehow, even if not urgent.

The scientist and engineer didn't react one bit when Silhouette emerged from the dark next to him, and James didn't know if he should feel good or insulted about that.

"You wanted to see me, Doctor."

"Yes. As per our agreements, I will soon depart for a prolonged stay in one of your secondary locations."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I am aware, Doctor. Is there something you need me to do here or do you need to reschedule this work?"

"No, nothing of the sort. I was... I was considering if I could bring an assistant to help me, to have a more reliable hand than the buffoons that I know occupy the area."

"An assistant? Ah, do you perhaps mean the one living with you? Adam, was it?"

The robot's prominent rectangular eyebrows furrowed, but he continued talking nonetheless.

"Yes, him."

"If I may, Doctor... I know we've never discussed our personal lives before, and neither will I force you to now. That being said, I'm curious about him. His personality and his body's design do not match yours, far from it, and were I not aware of your cohabitation I would think you'd hate him on principle. Again, you are free to keep it to yourself, but I would like to know your reasoning for why I should trust a stranger unaffiliated with me in one of my bases."

The Draskian was annoyed without a doubt, going as far as to tap his foot against the ground - something he would normally consider a waste of energy. And yet, he still remained cordial. Well, cordial by his standards.

"You let the boy keep his abomination, no? At least from what I heard from your hired idiots."

"Techlord Junior is a child with no contact with the outside world and who loves their father dearly. They will not leak sensitive information. They are far too loyal to Techlord for that. Even if they wanted to, their difficulties with speech would restrict what they could share if they wanted to. And Doctor? While I understand you and Techlord have some sort of senseless feud going on, I would prefer you abstain from involving an innocent child in your discussions. While their creation was peculiar, they are still a life deserving of respect."

The scientist looked ready to wave off his remark and continue belittling Techlord and his child, but... Surprisingly, he stopped. And, for what felt like the first time in his life, James heard the Draskian say something he had never expected him to.

"I... I apologize. I let my emotions get the better of me. You are right, it was wrong of me to say that about this Junior."

"Doctor, are you feeling well? Admitting fault is not within your habits."

The mechanical man scoffed as he frowned, returning to his usual behavior.

"Because committing mistakes is not within my habits. This was merely a result of personal feelings getting in the way. I... I do not wish to leave Adam alone, not for such a long period. The boy needs support, and sadly I'm all he has at the moment."

"You do not need to share everything, Doctor. Merely proof I can trust him the same way you do."

"No, no. You are aware of Techlord Junior's origins, it is only fair for you to know about Adam."

Well, for once, the rivalry between the two tech specialists served a purpose. If Junior hadn't been Sam's child, James doubted Decanov would have been so willing to share. Well, the man was uncharacteristically emotional at the moment, so perhaps he would have anyway. It was hard to say, particularly without knowing why the Draskian was so on edge.

"The boy is... A boy."

"What an enlightening choice of words, Doctor."

"Spare me the mockery, Silhouette. I am trying to broach a sensitive topic. What I meant to say is Adam is no android. He's human. Or, to be pedantic, was formerly human, not that I like to use this expression."

Had he had eyes to narrow, James would probably have done so.

"Elaborate, Doctor."

"Adam is a cyborg. A botched job, as much as I hate to admit it."

"Your work?"

"In a sense, I must admit. Though I did not design the gaudy body he now inhabits. I do not blame the boy for it, and bizarrely I must admit that I am glad it is so human-like since it helped fight off the dysmorphia somewhat, but that body is still stupid."

"Would you care to begin the story from the start?"

"As I'm sure you're aware, our city is home to the Hero Mecha Man."

"Yes, I do know of possibly the most famous Hero of the city, equaled only by two others."

"What do you know about him?"

"He's supposedly a genius, always exploring new forms of technology to better the lives of Zalcien's citizens and improve his armors and drones to deal with Villains."

"And beyond the PR nonsense?"

"He's an engineer, good at making weapons. On the lazy side though he still does his work. And I know that while he is not robotophobic himself, he has been criticized for his lack of support to the sapient AI community, such as his own creation... Dominique, was it?"

"Dominique, yes. Well, our dear Mecha Man is also responsible for some of the crises the city experiences. Strictly minor ones, of course, anything too damaging or with too many casualties would have him jailed, but it is a known pattern. Well, during one of his usual experiments, he decided to make a mechanical body as close to human as possible."

"No offense, but Adam did not look like a normal person when I met him."

"I said as close to human as possible, not average human. The machine was made in some doubly vain attempt at creating the peak human, I believe. The machine woke up and went rogue almost instantly, though it wasn't truly sapient. If anything, it was closer to an enraged gorilla. In any case, it broke out and went on a little rampage. One unlucky young man was unfortunate enough to be in the area when it happened and the machine decided to toss cars around."

"Oh."

"Oh indeed. Luckily for him, the Heroes caught up with the machine and quickly engaged it. And, it just so happened that I too was in the area following a decrease in the workforce in my job at the time."

"You were fired."

"I was removed from my own project, as usual. Regardless, I was here to see the boy happily replacing the ads at the bus stop be pulped into mulch aside from his head by the massive metal projectile sent his way. I rushed to the scene and, when the Heroes were done securing the machine, begged them to allow me to use it to stabilize the condition of the boy on the verge of death from their actions. Mecha Man disapproved, but his teammates allowed it. It was a rush job, securing the boy's brain and what was left of his spine and ensuring the machine would keep him alive."

"Given what happened next, I understand it worked."

"In the loosest sense of the term, yes. He was stable, but still in a critical condition. It took an entire non-stop day of work at the hospital for him to start recuperating and truly connect to his new mechanical body, and past that he stayed asleep for an entire week. When he finally woke up, he was disoriented. It took a few minutes of screaming for him to realize the pain was solely in his head."

"I see. I fail to see how you failed and why the boy now lives with you."

"I failed because my botched job meant Adam was essentially stuck in this body. Oh, I can modify and alter some bits of it, but the frame? The main body? He's stuck in that. Mecha Man's false flesh connected itself permanently to his human one. Perhaps if the Hero himself and I worked together we could find a solution to undo his design, but it would take months if not years of hard work, and Mecha Man is not known for sticking to one project for long, let alone for cleaning up his mistakes."

"And your cohabitation?"

"The boy's family is alive and well, but it is composed entirely of idiots aligned with the likes of Senator Sigmund. They do not see Adam as their boy, he is a soulless machine pretending to be him in their eyes. A few of his friends recognized him for who he is, but their own families agreed with that robotophobic philosophy, hence..."

"I get it. He had no place to go. And I'm assuming Mecha Man didn't offer either?"

"The Union did on his behalf, but what they wanted was to monitor their tool. They did not care for him as a person. Also, they gave far too much power to his family in the decision-making."

"His family that now hates him."

"Precisely. I offered to the boy to take him in and monitor him purely for his own safety. To see if he adapted to the new body well. I had expected him to be reluctant, given my history and unearned infamy in the city, not to mention I was a complete stranger at the time, but..."

"He accepted. Perhaps he had a bit of hero worship for the man who saved his life? I know the feeling."

"I suppose you would. So, this is our history. I house the boy and ensure there are no problems with his adaptation."

"While also serving as his legal tutor."

"No. He's an adult, and unlike the Union, I realize that while occasionally lost he is fully capable of making his own decisions. I am merely providing a safe environment."

"Trust me, that's often how it starts. To answer your question, you are allowed to have him accompany you to the Shadow Den. Just be mindful that the area itself is not pleasant, and the other residents may unintentionally prove disruptive."

"Ah, the ghosts. I have prepared some tools to help prevent accidents."

"Just remember it's their home first and foremost."

"Of course, I'm no imbecile. I guarantee there will be no problem."