Chapter 18 A Brother

Down in the shopping district of Republic City. Opal and Ube waited in a ginormous line. It was so long that it reached over five other stores. Opal was giddy with excitement. In comparison, Ube looked like he was going to keep going at any moment.

"Opal. We've been standing in this line for five hours now. Can we go home!" Ube whined as the bags under his eyes proved that they had been there all morning.

"No way. This is the book release of The Tunnel Lover Two, If I don't get a copy now, I won't be able to read it for months,"

"All that book is about two earthbenders making out in a tunnel," Ube grumbled. Opal gave a mischievous smirk.

"Maybe you might learn something from those books since you're going on a date with Asami," Opal teased, making Ube blush to that of a cherry tomato.

"It's not the date we're just hanging out and being friends!"

"Yeah, last time that happened, she kissed you," Opal teased Ube, making him blush.

"That was just her way of expressing her gratitude," Ube said, trying to be stoic. However, it made him look more foolish than noble. He truly did love Asmai, but rushing in seemed unfair to him and her. Besides this, hanging out and getting to know each other better would be a great experience. Also, it was going to be fun. Ube loved going to the fire festival when he was younger, eating fire flakes, and watching the fireworks.

"Yeah, showing how much she loves you," Opal said. Making Ube groan more.

"This is going to be a long day," Ube groaned.

"Bech, you regret wishing for siblings now, don't ya?" Opal said with a smirk. Ube paused at the comment, making Opal curiously grab her attention.

"You alright?" She asked. Ube glanced at the floor and had a sad look.

"Well, there was one who I did see like a brother, but I'm not sure if he's still around," Ube said sadly, Opal knew a lot about Ube and the many funny stories when he was taken in by Lin, but not much about his childhood when he was on the streets. The only thing she knew was Ube's living conditions and his mother's passing.

"Hey, you can tell me when you're ready, how about we get the book, we can go get some lunch," Opal said, trying to cheer him up.

"That sounds good to me," Ube said.

Shady Shin sat in a luxury seat, but his clothing was quite different, it was a more formal Water Nation suit. No fancy coat or jewelry. A simple blue suit. Standing by his side was Jin, wearing the same thing, only his was red.

They were at a warehouse in the Ghetto section of Republic City. This was one of the abandoned fishing houses. It was only them, but they had a strong front. Refrain from backing down to anyone who would come through that door.

"So this guy, where did you hear about him?" Shin asked.

"You don't trust my judgment," Jin said back. The water-bending gangster smirked.

"No, just you know, last time, you recommended somebody to raid one of the richest people in the world. She turned into some crazy machine person," Shin said honestly.

"We need someone to take out the old gang leaders, this guy is good," Jin said plainly.

"If he's so good, then how come I'd have never even heard of him?"

"You have to understand the best killers are the ones you've never heard of," Jin said. The door to the warehouse opened. The person who approached was very relaxed; his footsteps echoed throughout the space.

He was a tall young man with long black hair. He was a bit more muscular than expected. The teen looked like he was pumping his iron. He wore simple black clothing and baggy pants. His eye color was striking blue.

"My name is Shio, I'm here for a job," He asked, making Shin laugh his butt off.

"Okay, really you! What do you like, eleven, what makes you think you're the killer for the job," Shin asked. Shio raised an eyebrow and quickly grew annoyed with the man.

"First off, I'm seventeen, and second, I don't think you're in any way to negotiate. Especially because I'm hearing you're lacking manpower. You're out of options, so you come to me," Shio pointed out. Shin was about to retort, only for Jin to step in, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"We don't doubt your ability, but we need a demonstration, there's a simple job. One of the leaders of our rival gang is trying to set up his opioid business on our turf now, I could kill him and be done with it, but take this as a test. You succeeded, and we will compensate you correctly. If you don't, our business is done, and we will never contact you again,"

"Sounds like a deal, where is he?" Shio asked.

"He's on the south side of town, it might be hard for you to be subtle, but get the job done," Shin advised. Shio smirked and rolled his shoulders.

"This should be a cakewalk, I'll be back," Shio said, walking out of the doors. Shin narrowed his eyes at the young man as he exited the door.

"Jin, can I ask you something? What is his style of fighting?" Shin asked.

"I don't know. I heard a couple of rumors that he's a fire bender and some that he's an Earth bender, but I know he has an electric touch, let's put it like that," Jin said. Shin took a deep breath and locked his fingers.

"I don't like this; something off about that guy, like that Animo freak. Not to mention, isn't that the guy busted up some of our boys downtown?" Shin said.

"Well, it's a good thing we're sending him on a suicide mission. He succeeds. I don't have to worry about that area. If he ends up dying, then that's great, one trouble to not worry about, There's nothing personal in this game it's all business,"

Opal and Ube sat at an outside table. They were drinking their boa tea.

Opal had gone with a Taro tea, while Ube had stayed with a classic Tai tea. They both sat in silence. Opal was reading her book and finally closed it.

"Okay, done with the first chapter, so you want to talk about what's been bothering you or who?" Opal asked. Ube barely touched his drink but glanced down at the Omnitrix.

"Before I was adopted, I didn't have a lot of friends. I had only one. We were almost like brothers. We used to get into a lot of trouble, but Mom would chew us out. We had the best of times. He was homeless like us, but After that night my mom passed, I never saw him again. Sometimes I would look for him, but it's like he vanished," Ube said, then sadly rubbed his arm.

"What's brought on this feeling?" Opal asked.

"It feels like I'm failing these people, that I'm not good enough. After Vilgax-"

"Ube stop, you need to know that you tried the best you can. Even in the future, you can't just put so much doubt on your shoulder. Besides, you can't take down a mountain in a day. it's a slow process that takes time, hard work, and love," Opal said the last word in a dreamy tone, Ube had a confused look and tilted his head. Opal smiled and coughed into her hand.

"Was that a line from your book?" Ube asked.

"Yes, but you see the point, just keep working at it, and you'll get better!" Opal said with enthusiasm. Ube smirked and let out a laugh. The truth was he felt like he wasn't going all out, he was still holding back.

"I get it, but still, it's difficult, Mom still hasn't let me do any serious crime-fighting, just mostly patrols in the calmer areas," Ube sulked in his seat. His mood was flipped when a tapioca ball was shot at his head.

"One step at a time, doofus," Opal said. Ube had a wide-open mouth that turned into a smirk.

"You're so on!" Ube then pulled out his straw and sucked a boa threw it. He was about to shoot at Opal when the sudden loud bang happened right down a couple of blocks.

"What the heck was that?" Opal shouted. Ube covered his eyes from the oncoming dust but could hear the screams as flashes of light shined past the dirt in the air, showing a silhouette of people. Ube got up and shoved back his sleeve. Revealing the Omnitrix and twisting the dial.

"Wait, what about you're mom, she said only to use it when patrolling!" Opal said.

"Well, this is my time, I think I should take action," Ube said as he ran into an alleyway. He picked the form he wanted and slammed down on the face plate. A brilliant, emerald green flash corrupted from the dark place.

"XlR8!" Ube shouted now in his new form. Zooming out of his cover and going into the fray of chaos. His vizor blocks any dust from constructing his vision.

XLR8 looked around, seeing nothing until a person was thrown his way. He was able to catch the man. He glanced, going to make sure he was alright.

"You alright, buddy-"

The man's neck was crushed, and a hole was in the chest. XLR8 put the man down on the floor and tried to keep his motion in check. He had just gotten into the scene and had to know what was happening.

Ube quickly recognized this man. He was Chin Fu. He was the gang leader of the Red Quakes. This man was on the most-wanted list. Now, the man was dead on the ground.

Ube looked up, seeing more of the lower gang members start to run out of the dust cloud.

The dust began to settle, leaving only one finger standing triumphantly. Around him were many more bodies of dead gangsters. He wore black clothing and a white fox mask with a red marking on it. Ube recognized the creature it was trying to imitate.

This person wore the face of a fox mask and looked at the alien.

"I didn't expect to get the attention of one of the spirits," He spoke. XLR8 kept his guard up and formed a plan to rush this mysterious individual.

"Why did you kill these people!" He asked angrily. The Fox held his hands up high defensively.

"Hey, what's wrong, I thought a spirit of justice would appreciate this," The masked man said.

"I care for justice, not useless killing! you're going to turn yourself in, or else I'm gonna make you!" XLR8 threatened. The masked man held out his arm slowly, almost challenging the spirit to come at him.

"Go ahead, I always wanted to know if I can stack up against a spirit," He challenged.

"You're crazy, wack jobs like you need to be put in a jail cell," XLR8 rushed at the individual, but the masked man stood still and put out his arm and closed pin the alien, making him fly into an automobile.

XLR8 weakly got up, his body feeling a little sore but nothing he wasn't used to, Tertax made sure to test out his endurance many times.

"What are you made of, pure metal?" He said, getting back on his black spherical feet.

"No, I'm just tough stuff now, get lost, or else I'll send you back to the spirit realm," He said. XLR8 ran at the masked Individual at a blurred pace. The man didn't have time to dodge but struck forward, only for XLR8 to run past the attack. The alien quickly struck his leg out at his masked assailant. Hitting him in the side, making him slide into a wall.

"I'm not so punk, so you toss around! Now surrender, or else you're going to get hurt," The speedy alien warned, but to XlR8's surprise, the man got up and dusted himself off.

"You know, I felt you didn't put all of your power behind that kick, but that's okay, I'll show you how you shouldn't hold back," The masked man held out his right arm. Began to twist and form into something else as his right hand took the shape of a mallet.

Instead of trying to swipe at the speedy alien. He slammed the hammer down onto the floor, making a shockwave. Causing XLR8 to fall on its tail and try to balance itself. The masked man raised his mallet and was ready to strike at the alien. XLR8 is finally able to steady himself, preparing to tackle the strange individual through the wall if needed.

Both of them stopped when the sound of police sirens slowly approached them.

"I'd like to continue, but I got to go," The Masked man threw a smoke ball from his pocket. Covering the area in smoke. Being able to dodge any attack, he retaliated by throwing his claws at the space where the mass individual was last. Only to find he hit nothing. Curing to himself, XLR8 ran in a small circular motion, creating a small vortex and clearing the dust.

The masked man was nowhere to be found. Leaving only Ube to wonder what just happened.

"We got to go!" Opal called out. XLR8 looked up at his cousin, letting out a sigh of defeat, he zoomed over and picked her up, taking them far away from the police. He needed to warn the right people about this individual.

Though unknown to XLR8, the masked man hadn't moved very far. He only concealed himself very well. His body began to form back into his soft black clothing.

"Hmm, that's interesting. Why would a spirit pick up some random girl off the street?"

Ube and Opal sat in police chief Lin's office. Both of them had an awkward face. Lin looked to be ready to blow her top. Ube, gulping, looked at his mother with a guilty face.

"So I know I wasn't supposed to pursue the guy, but I can confirm that the perpetrator might have superpowers. Sooo~ let's just say I did the best I could," Ube proudly said. Opal facepalmed her forehead, and Lin let out a tired sigh.

"Ube, have you heard what they have been calling you In the papers?" Lin asked.

"No, you told me the media is nothing but attention-seeking spider rats that would sell out their mother if it gave them the front page," Ube said without hesitation. Lin nodded but set down a new paper.

Opal glanced down at the front page.

Spirits responsible for the damages done to Republic City, Tarrlok calls for a state emergency.

"No way, how could they say such a thing? Ube was there fighting on the front lines to save everyone," Opal said in surprise. Ube just crossed his arms and wasn't surprised at all. He wasn't here to protect people for fame and glory. He was doing it because he had the right to, and it was a personal duty.

Lin could see that Ube didn't care and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Son, the reason I wanted you to stay patrolling the calmer area is so that higher-ups will get off your back. Tarrlok has been gunning for you and wants you to stop,"

"Tsh, that guy couldn't do it, even if he wanted to. You know he's only doing this to get more power!" Ube said, frustrated at the picture.

"That's not the point I'm trying to make. You need to take a step back from the big things. You can still help the little guy. Since this happened near you, I won't chew you out, but next time, you need to call me or Mr. Shin," Lin advised. Ube crossed his arms and glanced at his mom.

"Just call him grandpa, Mom," Ube thought. Even with the truth being said, they felt more divided than together as a family.

"Mom, what this guy wasn't a bender he was tough as stone and could transform his hand into a weapon! I just don't get why he attacked that building," Ube said. Lin scratched your chin if they were dealing with another special case, then Ube was the only one to handle it.

"Listen, we will call you if it gets bad, but right now, these are the best years of your life, and you shouldn't waste them away solving crimes or fighting monsters, I want you to take a little break, tomorrow you're going to be meeting your aunt Suyin,"

Ube gawked at the news and wasn't having any of that. "Mom! She is the one who hurt you, how can I trust this person when she hurt our family? Besides, she sounds pushy and snobbish, and her taste bud is spoiled by fancy food,"

"Hmph hm!" Opal cleared her throat, trying to gain her cousin's attention. The young realized his mistake and felt ashamed.

"Sorry, Opal," Ube said. Lin sighed and feared her child was turning into a workaholic.

"No exceptions! Tomorrow, you are meeting her, and I know you're still bent out of shape about this. Why don't you just blow off some steam when you're going to the non-bending kiddos I know you're gonna deliver food to them, the ones in need, like always," Lin said as her expression slowly turned softer.

"If something does happen, I can't just stand around and do nothing, somebody died today, I know that person wasn't a decent human being, but still, not everyone needs to die," Ube nodded and walked out of the door. Opal looked at her aunt and gave a nod.

"I'll promise to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble," She said quickly, following her cousin behind. Lin was left alone in her office and rubbed her head.

"That boy needs a hobby or a girlfriend, but still, who could have done that hit on that gang?"

After a couple of hours of cooking and packing, there was going to be a lot of pork Boas for the homeless. Ube and Opal journey to the non-bending ghettos. Opal found the place to be quite creepy. It was a strange, empty, hollow feeling. It lacked a certain happiness that most villages or towns had. The people looked hungry and weary.

She held the basket closely and would have felt a little unsafe if Ube wasn't there. Opal glanced at the streets and ran toward Ube's side.

"You grew up here?" Opal asked.

"No, this outer section, this is considered the nicer part of town, I grew up in the deeper parts," Ube said with a straight face. This place was his old home, even if it carried so much sadness.

"I don't understand if Republic City was built by Avatar Aang and Prince Zuko, how did it turn out like this?" Opal asked. Ube let out a sigh he loved those heroes to death, but he did have his critiques.

"I heard this section used to be booming with jobs, but that's when Avatar Aang was around for running. When he passed that's when things started to change. Prince Zuko had to run the fire nation, and Toph left the city. That's when the gangs showed, and benders started to look more favorable than the average person; the higher don't care about this place," Ube said, then his eyes caught onto many more equalist posters.

"The only way people think to get out of this place is being a gangster or joining those equalist nut jobs,"

"Well, at least you made a difference," Opal said. Ube chuckled and wished that were true.

"Hey, I know I'm helping people, but I feel it's going to take a lot longer than-.

Ube stopped when he saw the spot where he would usually give out food. Now, it was taken over as four large black trucks were giving out boxes to the people of these slums. He could also see stands were open, and people were sighing things and giving out clothes.

"What is this?" Ube asked. Taking a closer look at the side of the trucks, they had the future industry logo on them.

"What's happening?" Opal asked out loud.

"Ah, what a pair of familiar faces,"

The two turned to their right, seeing Gommu approach them. He would always have a cheerful face, but today, he looked a little bit more excited. Ube approaches his friend with a befuddled face.

"Hey, Gommu, what's happening here?" Ube asked.

"Oh, you'll never believe it, but Future Industry has bought some of the land here, and they're handing out jobs, food, and a place to live, it's the best thing to happen to these folks," Gommu said. Ube felt a happy smile spread across his face, for years, he'd been trying to bring some attention to the city to help these people, and it finally paid off.

"That's wonderful! What is the occupation?" Ube asked.

"Well, most of them need delivery and manufacturing, even some accountant jobs," Gommu said. Ube smiled and patted his old friend on the back.

"Then let's get you down there, get you some work!" Ube said with excitement.

"Wow, blow your rolls down there, son I chose to be like this, and some would rather stay like this as well. The older individual finds this open hand to be a bit strange," Gommu said. Ube and Opal were completely confused by the old man.

"What do you mean?" Ube asked.

"Just be careful when going down there," Gommu said as he backed away into an alleyway. Quickly leaving the youths.

"What's his deal?" Opal asked. Ube looked a bit perplexed. How could this be so wrong? Future Industries was run by Asami's father, who seemed like a good man. An individual who wanted to bring innovation to the world.

"I don't know, but I've never seen Gommu be so spooked," Ube noted. Opal bravely put her hands on her hips.

"Alright then, let's go down and investigate Mr. Hero," Opal said.

"Wait, but I can't -"

"You can't use your powers, that doesn't mean you can't investigate something strange," Opal said with a smirk.

"Oh, I see what you're doing," Ube said with a raised eyebrow. Ube was then pulled by Opal as they reached the tents that were set up. They walked by, seeing many workers handing out boxes of food and clothing. Even booths with interviews didn't look out of the ordinary. Opal still holds onto the basket, but the two find themselves being stopped by a tall individual. He wore simple gray clothing. Black short hair and a long, thin mustache. He had a stern face when looking at the youths.

"Who are you people, and what are you doing here?" He asked. Ube cleared his throat and politely greeted the man.

"Sorry, uh, sir, my name is Ube, and this is my cousin Opal. We came here to help the people, we brought baskets of food for them," He said with a hopeful tone. Opal slowly hid behind the baskets, noticing the tall man's gaze was a bit grim.

"We appreciate the help, but I feel that's unnecessary if you want, you can leave those by the ration tents that we have, Any help is welcome here," He said. Opal found two charity workers. Took them out of Opal's hands.

"It's so nice that future industries are helping these people, I just wonder why now rather than sooner," Ube asked. The thin man didn't respond as he had a very grim face.

"If you want to learn more than here, take one of these," Then pulled out a pamphlet. With the future industry. Logo on it. That had a giant gear well two lightning bolts struck it. However, the logo was in red instead of noble silver.

"Hey, thanks-"

Ube wasn't able to finish his words when the man who was talking to you suddenly vanished. Opal and Ube looked onward with confused faces.

"Did he just vanish," Opal asked. Ube glanced at the pamphlet, seeing that it offered a lot of jobs, strangely enough, martial arts classes were listed. Would a charity offer fighting lessons?

"Opal, I think Gommu was right, something does feel off, it doesn't feel like this is a soup kitchen," Ube said. Opal agreed to see a lot of strong guards to protect some of the tents.

"Yeah, call me crazy, but in Zaofu, this looks almost like a recruitment camp," Opal pointed out.

"But a recruitment for what?" Ube asked out loud. That was the question that was on his mind. Something was off.

"Hey, stop thief! Someone stole one of the boxes!" One of the people from the tents said. Ube and Opal turned their heads as a figure ran past them. Heading towards a dark alleyway. Many of the guards of the tents followed him, and even Opal wanted to help, but Ube's arm stopped her from moving.

"Ube, what are you doing, he's getting away," She said urgently.

"That thief has one advantage that these people don't have. He knows the home territory, but that's something he and I share," Ube said, running off to the opposite end of an alley. Opal panicked and followed behind.

"What are you doing, you're going the opposite way!" Opal cried. Ube smirked, knowing nothing changed about this part of the city.

"Don't worry, these alleyways are connected, not to mention the secret tunnels that some of the Earth benders leave, but our thief ran to one of them, and I know the tunnel he's taking leads to here,"

"Wait, you can't use your Omnitrix, Aunt Lin forbade it!" Opal cried.

"I know that, but that doesn't mean I know how to defend myself. what do you think those two months of training with Grandpa Kanto were for?" Ube said with a beat of confidence. While the alley got dirtier, a figure jumped from a pile of trash that covered a hole in the side of the wall.

"Bingo there, our guy!" Ube said, running faster, leaving Opal in the dust. "Hey, you stop right there!"

The person didn't bother to turn around and kept running. The thief kicked a trashcan to create some hazard to stop his pursuer. Leaping for the trash can, Ube leaped over it with ease.

"You got to try harder than that!" Ube shouted.

Opal found herself trying to jump but tripped and fell on the floor.

Quickly, she got up and dusted herself off. "It's okay… Just go on with… with… without me," Opal said as she was trying to catch her breath.

The chase led to a dead-end. Ube could see he had the person cornered.

"Alright, we could do this easy way with a hard way, you're going to give back that box of food to those people," Ube said, gripping his fist. The thief let out a sigh, dropped the box, and cracked his knuckles.

"You know, since we're giving it out, I thought it was free, but the city just has its head up its ass, so any last words before I beat…" The thief finally turned around. Showing Ube his face, long dark hair, and muscular physique. He looked a little bit older than Ube but still in his teen years. The thief looked completely lost, almost like he was seeing a coast as he studied the person who was standing in front of them.

"Uh dude, you alright? I mean, if you don't want to fight, I get it, but I can't just let you take that food," Ube said. Thinking on the spot, the sole wise words his late mother would always say.

"Food brings-"

"Brings out the best in people, so always make sure to share," The thief said, finishing Ube's quotation. Even Ube was surprised at how the stranger knew what he would say word by word, as if he had heard it a hundred times before.

"How do you know what?" Ube asked. The thief finally had a moment of realization as his face turned to shock.

"Ube, is that you?" He asked.

Ube had felt it, that sudden feeling of brotherly connection to this person. He felt like he was seeing a ghost. His whole world turned upside down again.

"S-shio, is that you?"

The two stared at each other in silence when they walked toward each other and, without hesitation, clasped into a deep hug. Opal finally caught up and could see Ube.

"Okay, Oof! What did I miss, uh Ube," Opal was confused, seeing that he was hugging a stranger. Ube was snapped out of his thoughts and let go of Shio.

Shio nodded and looked to be surprised. Ube glanced back at her with a happy smile.

"Opal, this is my brother Shio!"

Hey guys, I hope you liked this chapter, Now begins the Brother Ark, so a little information about why this fic has been taking so long is that I've been thinking that there should be another bad guy before the big old bad Koh. So why not let Kevin Eleven have some fun or should I say Shio Juu-ichi.

What could happen next? So the next chapter will be posted on the 30th, so sorry for the wait, I've been so busy with the other fic that I got jumbled up with other stuff. So, anything you want to ask about, pm me. Also, I'm glad that I was able to post his chapter for you guys. Next week, I'll be posting A Human Touch, but still, thank you for reading, and I hope you all have a good day. See you next time.