Nate hesitantly glances out of the one-way glass of the office. He sees the bionic arm, the brunette hair with blond highlights, the cocky smile-- it’s certainly his brother. He turns back towards Zion and Reese.

“You have a brother you’ve never told us about?” Zion asks.

“Half-brother.”

“Oh, our bad,” Reese says. “You have a half-brother who’s an agent? And you never thought to tell us any of this?”

“He’s not an agent,” Nate interrupts. “He’s a tournament fighter.” Zion and Reese go silent. “Leon is my dad’s son from his second marriage. He’s six years younger than me. He did taekwondo most of his life, but when he had a bad elbow break, cybernetics were the best fix. But it disqualified him from regular competition. So he put everything behind him and moved onto tournament fighting. He’s good, but it feeds his ego. So much so that he flat-out replaced his arm with a bionic one.”

“I fail to see how any of this poses a problem for us.”

“It doesn’t-- for you. But Leon and I never really got along.” Nate leans against the desk and exhales. “After my parents split, my dad moved on. Him and his new girlfriend tied the knot and Leon was born. He was the product of a healthy marriage-- or, that’s how it seemed at the time-- but Leon always went on about how it seemed like our dad was more excited to see me when I’d stay with them on weekends. He spent most of his childhood trying to prove he was “enough”. And I think he still is.

“Whatever my dad, or school, or life dished out, I was the type to grin and bear it. I just took the punches as they came. It led me to some terrible decisions, but I’ve learned and grown from them. But Leon has always been combative. He wants to win, even if there’s nothing to be won. I broke away from my dad, his habits, his beliefs-- but I don’t think Leon has.”

Reese places her hand on his shoulder. “Nate, you don’t have to train him.”

Nate turns and looks at Reese. “I don’t think it was a mistake that he chose to come to Goddard,” he says. “I think this is exactly why I have to train him.”

Nate rakes his hair back and walks to the door. He nods for his two colleagues to follow him out of the office and into the facility.

The moment Nate walks onto the training floor, Leon’s eyes meet him. A slight smile creeps across his face. A middle-aged woman in a more complex combat suit already stands before the group of trainees. “They’re all yours, agents,” she says.

“Thank you, General Morales.” The three of them stand in a row, facing the seven individuals. Reese tries to silently gauge which ones are already agents and which ones are tournament fighters. “Welcome to the Goddard Institute of Cybernetics. My name is Nate Anastasio. These are my colleagues, Zion Scott and Reese Franklin. We’ve all been ACA agents for over four years and we’re excited to have you. For the week you’re here, you’ll learn a number of combat techniques. Generally, all we hope for is that you go home knowing at least one more thing than when you came in the door.” Nate pauses. “The six of you, head over to the other side of the sparring floor. Agents Scott and Franklin will get started.”

As all the other trainees head over, Leon stands still. The small smile on his face has grown into a sly grin. “You really love to single me out, huh?” he says.

“Wasn’t my intention. Just wanted to get a good look at your face. Six years really does something to you.”

“You should come visit, then. So that Dad will shut the hell up about you not visiting.”

Nate chuckles. “Maybe someday. How’s the tournament fighting going?”

“You’re just asking to be nice, huh? Agents are all about rules and formalities and protocols. Do you guys do anything for fun?”

Nate rests his palm on the left side of his neck. “I’m surprised you went for “boring” before you went after the literal 10-inch metal scar on my face.”

“I was getting there. Seems like they threw you into a fight you couldn’t win. Imagine that-- you finally got beat. How’d it feel?”

Nate reaches around and embraces Leon. He’s taken aback by the gesture. “It’s good to see you, Leon.”