"Sorry for cutting it close," I tell Danny after I come back up from the back. "There was a slight incident on the way here."

"Slight incident?" He raises an eyebrow, curious, and I tell him about the encounter. "I've run into some of those freaks. Honestly, what they're doing is going to cause the Patron to get involved."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You said he was trying to scare her, right?" Danny asks. "And that Crunalz literally warned him against instilling fear in the general populace and it was causing power users all over to be attacked?"

Oh, right. That's not a straight-up riot or anarchy or something, but it's definitely a sizable problem, something that can cause a problem city-wide. It becomes an even bigger problem if this problem is purely out of fear that people are advocating, because some types of fear turn ugly fast. I can see it counting as something the Patron would get involved with. Are the vigilantes and authorities attempting to step in before he does, then?

Or has the Patron given them a chance to deal with it first?

"That makes sense," I tell him. "Let's hope it stops fast. They're also targeting children with the comments. It's not their fault if they awaken violently."

"Yeah," he shakes his head. "It's sad."

A customer enters the restaurant, so we stop our conversation while he helps her, then I get to work preparing her order.

"So you said yesterday," Danny says once the customer has received her food and taken a seat. "That Crunalz is your favorite vigilante. How does it feel having met him live?"

"Technically, I didn't meet him," I say. "We saw each other from a few yards away. And I've met him before."

"Wait, really?" He gives me an amazed look. "You didn't say that!"

"You didn't ask," I shrug. "I've met a fair few vigilantes if you go by just encountering them. Crunalz, Sovirna, Lumrax, Helziva, Noxila, Umbrailn, Zevimas, Rorult, Shmenst, and others."

"By the Patron's blessing, you are lucky," he gasps. "You're insane! When? Where? How?"

I'm saved from answering at the moment by the arrival of a group of four, and Danny takes their orders, then I spend a minute preparing them before setting them on the tray. Once the customers are seated, Danny gives me an inquisitive look, and I know he's about to ask again. I shrug at him.

"I wander around a fair bit," I tell him. "When I'm not working. Keeping moving keeps me warm, and it's better than just sitting at home, being cold. I've wandered a lot. It's resulted in some interesting experiences."

I'm not going to mention that I only knew Crunalz before he awakened his powers, nor that Noxila and Umbrailn were my parents and that Sovirna was basically an aunt to me before my parents' deaths.

"I can tell!" He exclaims. "You have got to be one of the luckiest citizens of the lower districts!"

"I wouldn't call myself that lucky," I mutter. "My parents are dead, my brothers are dead, and every friend I ever had before my parents died also died. I've spent the last four years barely eating and sometimes missing bills, and things only just started turning around. Possibly."

Danny stops for now, and we return to work in silence. I feel a bit bad for killing the mood. Maybe I am lucky, but I don't always feel it even right now, even after the incredible luck I've experienced with this offer. What if the Patron decides I haven't developed the skills necessary? Then I'm back to how I had been, just maybe with a little bit more money.

Fortunately, Danny's not the type of dwell on things for long, and within half an hour, he's back to chatting.

"So the vigilante with the crystal chains appeared again last night," Danny tells me. "Over in the middle districts. Haisken District, specifically. I did some digging, and he apparently is new. That appearance two nights ago was his first one. Because he showed up in the middle districts after being in the lower districts, no one's entirely sure what area he's claiming as part of his, or if he's going to travel around."

Haisken District? That's close to the upper districts. The new vigilante traveled pretty far, what could have caused that? As much as I know about the vigilantes, I know that it's rare for them to cover such a huge range. They also tend not to travel very far. Sticking to one area allows them to build up a rapport with the people in that area, causes them to be trusted more by the locals. That can make things easier for them, especially when they're asking questions.

While many new vigilantes do travel until they settle into an area that they've decide is under their protection, they don't travel six miles.

"How do you think Crunalz would fare against the new boy?" Danny asks.

"If they got into a fight?" I ask.

"Yeah," he answers.

"He'd win," I answer. "Golden chains might be useful, but Crunalz is one of the strongest for a reason. His ability can affect both temporary and permanent manifestations from other power users. If the new guy tried binding him, Crunalz would simply break the chains. He's talented in hand-to-hand combat, swift, and intelligent. The new guy's only hope would be to flee, just like everyone. Crunalz is the type of person who you have to take down before he notices you, and he has pretty good awareness of his surroundings. He's one of the very few vigilantes no one's managed to catch by surprise. In the entire history of Sivalshi City."

Honestly? Crunalz is the main reason I'm not freaking the hell out about Sivalshi's rush to the north. While it's making me anxious and worried, I know that I'd probably have panicked and started doubling down if it weren't for Crunalz.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Though his powers are limited, Crunalz will probably be the difference between survival and destruction for Sivalshi City if whatever the turtle's fleeing catches up to us. As long as he doesn't run out of magic in the fight, he'll probably be able to handle most of it. Him and the strongest Sivalshi Guardian combined would probably deal with everything unless it's far too much.

"Okay, okay, that's fair," Danny says. "So if you could date any vigilante, which would it be?"

"I mean, I'd have to be able to see them," I say. "But, assuming you're basing this on their powers and activities, then we'll also assume that they're physically my type."

"So, what, big-chested redheads with the most gorgeous green eyes ever?" He grins.

"That's you," I roll my eyes. "But let's say that, assuming a vigilante was physically my type, then based on the powers, activities, and displayed personalities of them, I'd have go with either Crunalz or Orwitz."

"Shocky boy, really?" Danny snorts. "You like that static power, huh?"

We're interrupted by the arrival of more customers, so we take a couple of minutes to handle that before returning to our discussion.

"My only issue with him," I say. "Is his energy levels, no pun intended. Orwitz is a rather hyper guy, which isn't really my thing. However, his lightning god form? That's pretty badass, and he literally stops bullets in their tracks. He also doesn't have a preference for what type of issue he steps into – he'll step into anything. I kind of find that attractive."

"So you don't like the hyper?" He asks as another customer arrives.

We have to stop talking for a bit while we deal with customers and he cleans up tables, but as soon as we have time to breathe again, he asks me again about the hyper.

"No," I answer. "I'm a rather calm, slow-paced guy. Or, well, was. I've been training lately, so things a little bit faster-paced, but I feel that if I were to date someone who's hyper and outgoing, I'd probably feel a bit small and overwhelmed."

Which… honestly doesn't do favors for Zane, as much as I like him. Now that I think about it, Zane's a bit outgoing and strong in personality. If I dated him, would I feel small when with him? I don't right now, but I'm pretty sure I might the more we hang out.

Still, though, I think I could tolerate it better than Lucas's irrational hatred of the Patron. Why does this have to be so difficult? Zane wants to give me a chance with Lucas because my feelings for the trainer are stronger, but Lucas still has that major, glaring flaw.

Deciding to stop thinking about who I want to date, I Danny a curious look.

"So assuming they were physically your type," I tell him. "Age, sex, looks, et cetera, which vigilantes would you want to date?"

"Helziva, definitely," he tells me. "Calm and passionate, but so badass. I mean, have you seen footage of her when she goes hell mode? Fire and stone, lava and destruction. The way she took down those-"

"Okay, okay!" I chuckle. "I should've said other than Helziva."

Danny made it clear during our discussion yesterday that he crushes on her pretty heavily. It took me an hour just to convince him that Crunalz could best her with ease if they ever got into a fight.

"Let's see," he thinks for a few moments. "Shanus and Tholus. As women, of course."

"Who?" I'm unfamiliar with those two vigilantes.

"You don't know who they are?" He asks.

"No," I answer. "Haven't heard those names before."

"Huh," he says. "Well, that doesn't surprise me. They don't get much media coverage and considering that you made it evident yesterday you don't watch too much news, that means your chances of coming across a piece on them is low. I'm not actually sure when they started, but I think it's something like six or seven years, maybe eight. They tend to travel all over, usually hunting big players in the underworld. It's thought that they're twins, because they have the same powers."

"Twins don't always have the same abilities," I remember what Lucas told me when I asked him about that the other day. Only in cases where the bloodline is awakened, such as with me and him, would it be likely for siblings to possess the same set of abilities. "Wait, powers? As in, more than one?"

So there are vigilantes who display multiple abilities?

"Yeah," he nods. "The Shadow Twins – that's what they're more commonly called – are among the only vigilantes known to have multiple abilities, which is why I find it weird they get so little coverage. I've only heard of maybe a handful of powers users who can do multiple things, and they're two of that handful."

Shadow Twins? They have shadow-based powers?

"What can they do?" I ask.

"Their more famous one is a shadow whip," he tells me. "It's their primary means of offense and defense. They actually like to use multiple of them, almost like tentacles around them, when defending against an onslaught of projectiles. Then there's their ability to disappear into shadows."

"Teleporting?" I ask.

"No," he answers. "They're not moving between two places, they just become invisible, in a sense, when stepping into shadows. If the shadow's interrupted, then they're forced back into view. One of their best features is that they become stronger and faster the darker it is, literally drawing on the darkness for strength. It's pretty amazing."

Twin brothers who have shadow-based abilities? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that there are others like that out there. It's possible that we might even be distant relations. If it weren't for the fact that my brothers died to the plague, then I'd suspect they were them.

They'd also probably be significantly more powerful than me by now if they were running around as vigilantes, and there's no doubt they'd have shadow-walking. The fact that the Patron wants me because he needs a teleporter is evidence enough that my brothers aren't still around and secretly playing vigilante. Well, that and the fact that my brothers wouldn't have abandoned me.

The reminder my brothers are gone depresses me a little. I've been thinking about them more lately than I used to, and I hate this. I hate feeling so alone in this world. Maybe I should try to look into my family tree, see if I can find any living relatives? I might find the Shadow Twins if I do. Finding family that I didn't know I had will help some, I'm sure of it. Would we get along, though? What if I find family and discover that we don't get along at all?

What if they hate the Patron with a passion? I'd probably feel even more alone, now.

"So," I decide to push those thoughts away. "If the Shadow Twins were hot women, you'd want to date them? Separately or together?"

"At the same time, of course," he says. "It'd only be fair. Why would I choose one sister over the other, especially when they're already used to doing everything together? That's assuming they were both interested in me and didn't have issues sharing, anyway. But we're talking about fantasies, so that's assumed."

"What about in real life?" I ask. "Would you actually date two people at once?"

"Sure," he says. "If they both were fine with it. Otherwise, nah. I'd stick to just one."

I don't think I could handle dating two guys at once. It seems like it would be a lot of work. Maybe if all three of us were dating at once, but I'm still uncertain about that. How would the relationship work, anyway?

"So," Danny nudges me. "You seemed to get pretty depressed there for a minute. Everything alright?"

"Yeah," I give him my best attempt at a smile. "I used to have a set of twin brothers a little bit older than me."

"Used to?"

"Plague."

"Oh, man," he says. "I'm so sorry, Kieran. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's fine," I tell him. "I just… don't generally have people, so it hits me sometimes."

"Yeah, but I made you upset," he puts a hand on my shoulder. "I wouldn't have mentioned them if I'd known, I don't like making good people upset or sad, and you're good people."

"You didn't know," I snort. "Thanks, though. So if you had to pick between one of the shadow sisters, which would you pick?"

"You really know how to pick the hard questions, don't you?"