The Child of the Shadow

I awoke in a dark room, completely empty aside from my bed and a table beside it with an alarm clock on top.

"4:00 am? I guess it's time to get up."

I say that as I get up and walk to my closet. I open it and bring out a black tracksuit. I put it on and go to open my door. I am greeted by a familiar face,

"Good morning Master Lorem. I see you are up early again."

In front of me stood a beautiful woman wearing a maid outfit. She has a petite figure with short black hair with a dark blue streak running down the side.

"Good Morning Nu. Care to join me for my morning jog?" I ask her if she wants to join in my exercise, although I know she doesn't need it, I just like being with her.

"No, I can't today. I have much work to do around the house due to a certain someone's birthday party." She says in a somewhat scolding tone.

"However, I do hope you can stay safe out there. Platinum city is getting more and more dangerous, especially for students."

I smile and nod as I walk out the door, Nu, was an android maid given to me by my father for my 14th birthday. We'd been friends ever since that day.

"Huh, has it already been eight years?"

Although she may be an android, she is more than capable of showing a wide range of emotions, including happiness, sadness, and even love. Sometimes I wonder how my father managed to ever achieve such incredible technological feats. My father, Marcus Umbra, was the man who- through technological advancements- led the entire world into a new era. Feats that seemed impossible 40 to 50 years ago became commonplace in less than two decades. Androids that look and act exactly like humans. The discovery of resources capable of sustaining us for thousands of years. And, on top of that, the discovery of innate special abilities akin to superpowers. My father has been a core researcher in the study of superhuman abilities and had a crucial role in over 80% of the world's population obtaining powers. I'm often questioned by other people about my father or whether or not I will be as great as him. This forces me to wear a mask outside to avoid recognition.

As finished my jog in the park, I took out my phone and saw that an hour had passed. However, I looked over to my side to notice a group of people huddled around something.

"That's how it is? This early in the morning and yet Platinum City is still busy."

I decided to walk over to the group of people to see what all of the fuss was about. However, when I got there, I was shocked to see what was there. Two corpses slumped over together on a bench, one male and one female. Both of them look to be in their late twenties. They had appeared to be a couple before they had died. But, that isn't what caught my eye. The two had been gutted around their torsos and had their intestines hanging out. The males' appeared to be pink, with red blood spilling out. On the other hand, the female's blood was black, and her intestines were clear. In front of the two written in red blood read 'Bot Fucker'.

"So that's how it is huh?" I felt my blood boil at what had transpired, "The woman was an android, so she and her lover were targeted. No. Looking at the wounds on his body, the man must have tried to protect her."

There had been much hate surrounding the Androids my father had produced. They had many human characteristics and required food, water, and air, just like humans. But most importantly, they were able to reproduce with either another android or a human. This garnered backlash from a lot of the population. Fortunately, a vast majority of the world's population accepted them with open arms. The androids were given citizenship and rights similar to humans and were even allowed to marry humans. Unfortunately, the parts of the population that disagree didn't stay silent.

Numerous hate crimes happened across the globe. As a result, many Androids and even their human lovers were targeted. Fortunately, my father foresaw something like this. He asked the governments of many major countries to form a task force dedicated to these hate crimes. Due to my father's influence, Each of the countries agreed, and as a result, ADPA was formed. The android defense and protection agency is dedicated to stopping these hate crimes against androids and humans with excessive violence. Thanks to ADPA, many of the hate groups were wiped out completely. Out of fear, nearly all of the small groups disappeared. However, there were still a few groups like this one with no brain cells. It seems they want to send a message to those who support androids, but what they really did is paint a target on their backs. And murder an innocent couple while doing so.

"It really is quite sad, you two had to die due to some idiot's poor decisions,"

I muttered to the corpses sitting in front of me,

"However, you guys can rest easy, since those guys are probably going to get what's coming towards them very soon."

I closed my eyes and quietly prayed for them. Afterward, I began to jog back to my home. My jogging mood had been ruined. Thankfully, I didn't bring Nu. I would've hated for her to see that. Later that day, I had heard that the ADPA conducted a raid on a home near the subway. As a result, nearly everyone there was killed. Two of the surviving members were tried and sentenced to death. As I said... Idiots.

I had arrived home earlier than expected, so Nu was still in the kitchen preparing breakfast. I went upstairs to take a shower while I was waiting. As I was taking my shirt off, I noticed the tattoo of an S on my wrist. It was given to me by my father on my 14th birthday. He stated that it was the key to using what he'll be leaving behind. I had no idea what it meant at the time. All I knew was that it looked pretty cool.

He also left numerous black and red-colored outfits for me to wear. He said they were self-cleaning, so I did not need to wash them. They all had different designs, but they had one thing in common. All of them had the same S pattern on the sleeves. As I stepped into the shower, I felt a chill down my spine as the cold water hit my skin. Over the years, I had gotten used to taking cold showers due to my father making me take them. Apparently, they are great for the body. I wash all the sweat off my body and hair and begin applying the body wash.

As I finish washing my hair, I turn off the water and grab the towel and begin to dry up. As I step out of the shower, I spot Nu in the doorway. She was holding a pair of clothes.

"I have prepared some clothes for you to wear today, Master Lorem."

She held out the outfit with a smile and handed it to me,

"Thanks, Nu."

"I suppose breakfast is ready now?"

I asked as I received the clothes from her. A pair of black pants with a black shirt. There was also a black and red hoodie to wear with the outfit.

"Yes, today, breakfast consists of a buttered English muffin, bacon, eggs, and steak. Along with that, I have prepared a glass of freshly brewed coffee, black, just how you like it."

She lists off the items on the menu as I put on my clothes.

"That sounds great."

"Will you be eating with me as well?"

I ask in a curious tone as I finish putting on my outfit. "If you so wish. I would be happy to accompany you at the dining table." Although she says that, she already knows my answer,

"Alright, then I guess that's a yes."

We make our way to the dining room after putting on my shoes. Just then, I feel a vibration in my pocket.

"Hmm?"

I reached in to grab my phone to check what it was. To my surprise, it was my sister.

"Is everything alright?"

"It's nothing. It seems my sister is calling me right now,"

I answered her question in a reassuring tone. It had been about six months since I spoke to my sister. I wondered how she's been feeling since 'that' incident.

"Oh, Madam Clara is calling? It has been a while. You should answer."

I nod when she says that. I didn't exactly plan on ignoring her. Due to my busy school life, I had not gotten the chance to speak to her. However, now that summer break has started, I have no reason not to answer.

"This is Lorem speaking,"

"Oh my, has it been so long that my esteemed brother has become estranged from me?"

She answers immediately in a joking manner, "Answering like that even though you know it's your big sister."

It seems I answered the phone with my normal tone out of habit. I forgot that it was my sister I was speaking to. Well... She appears to be in a better mood than I had thought. Although, it has been quite a while since 'that' had happened.

"Whoops, sorry. Force of habit. I meant hello sister, how ya been?" I change my tone to a more casual one as I continue walking. "It's been a while since I've last talked to you. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine. What matters is that I have just gotten off the plane to Platinum City, My friend and I are planning on living together in the mansion with you. That's fine right?"

I asked her out of concern, but her reply threw me off. Hmm? She's in Platinum City? With a friend?

"What? Oh sure! That's fine, but when were you planning on telling me? Should I send an escort or pick you guys up?"

"No no, that's fine. We're planning on taking a tour of the city. I want to see how much has changed since I left. We'll probably arrive sometime tomorrow."

I wanted to make sure that they would remain safe on their trip here, but she shrugged me off. I sat down at the dining table and continued talking as Nu had brought out the food she had prepared and placed it in front of me.

"Thanks, Nu."

"Oh, is Nu there with you? Put her on, I want to say hi to her!" When I thanked Nu, it seemed like my sister heard.

"Kay."

I handed Nu the phone. She took it and started talking as she went back into the kitchen. While she was doing that, I started eating the food.

"Incredible, as expected from Nu."

Unfortunately, we could not eat together, but at least it seems she is happy talking to her.

"Oh dear, I hope she doesn't tell her about what's going on at school."

She might make fun of me, or worse! She might try to get involved. I shuddered at the thought. Her getting involved in my personal life would be terrible. Just then, a ring came from the door. "Hmm, who could that be?" I walked over to the door to see who it was,

"Jace, Sophie? What's up?"I opened the door to find two of my friends from school.

"Prez, we've got a problem!"