Shade: Unbound

“I’m still surprised I managed to convince you to come here,” Jack was saying as they walked off the escalator to one of the electronics stores on the second floor of the district mall.

Finn’s gaze shifted from the glass ceiling to his friend. “This is part of our preparation,” he replied.

“Sure, Finn. Because having fun is beneath you now.”

“It’s not a priority,” he allowed. It really wasn’t. From the day he’d gotten his power, there was rarely ever a moment he spent not working toward improving in some way. Before that, it had been much easier for Jack to get him to join in on whatever he was doing. Which made sense, seeing as he hadn’t been accumulating power back then. And he was glad to be doing that now.

To that end, they had been doing missions at a moderate pace, if only because they spent the rest of their time together in practice. Now that Lyra had officially been included in their training, their teamwork was improving even more quickly than it had been. It felt strange to not have her at his side when he was out on the field. It probably had for longer than he’d realized.

That was one of the reasons why he’d agreed to tell Lyra about the Venin infiltration job to ask her to tag along. Her power complemented his own very well when it came to stealth, and after their dedicated training sessions, even more so. She’d also said yes instantly.

Jack found her lack of hesitation unnerving, after what had happened at the canal. He’d said as much, too. But Lyra had merely shrugged in response, saying she didn’t have a way out, so she would continue to follow them.

To Finn, it was understandable. The incident with the primebeast was still crystal clear in his mind, even a week later. It had exposed some uncomfortable truths to him, some of which he hadn’t been ready to bear witness to; he just couldn’t let that slow him down. He suspected it was the same for Lyra, as well.

Most of all, it had exposed him to his own weakness, in ways he had never quite experienced until now. That meant he knew how far he still had to go.

It meant he needed to go on this mission.

When Moonflower first recommended him to do it, he hadn’t really expected to go through with it, but currently, there was no other option. His reputation among Aegis clients was sure to have tanked, considering they had failed that one mission request that ended with them fighting Orion and Ignis. The task had been to secure the stolen cargo, not to defeat two villains.

And as a result, they hadn’t gotten any requests since that whole debacle. It had boosted their fame among the people of Apexia, yes, but they would need to prove themselves before important groups started trusting them with important tasks.

For that purpose, the upcoming infiltration was going to be a defining event for them. Therefore, preparation was more important than ever. Finn was under no delusion that he stood a chance against the strongest of Viperia’s top guys when he had barely been able to handle the likes of Deft and Panel, and then suffered a humiliating defeat against a moderately powerful beast whose ability he countered.

On top of their purchases from Aegis, they had been making plans to decrease the likelihood of them being detected at all, once they got to that warehouse. This was also the reason they were at the mall; Jack wanted to get something to better conceal his drones, while Finn had tagged along for lights and things with reflective surfaces he could effectively use his power on.

The reason he was going personally was because he didn’t like letting Jack be the one to prepare everything while he just waited around until it was time to suit up. And because he’d rather assess the equipment he was buying personally, since he was the one with the best grasp of how his power worked.

From an outside perspective, one might assume that went without saying, but Jack’s superior understanding of physics had made it so he was often the one thinking of new implications for Finn’s power. However, now that Finn had progressed in his studies and gotten a handle on his limits, that was no longer necessarily the case.

Granted, most of his ideas were still only possible in theory. But it made him think about what other effects changing the color of an object would have when it was subject to external forces.

So far, he had tried to mess with the color of the solar cells on his grappling hook device, but it hadn’t made as much of a difference as he would’ve wanted. He refused to believe there wasn’t something to be discovered there, though.

The preparatory work also extended to the last member of their team. Lyra had been ecstatic when Jack had given her material to study to better understand her power. Apparently, she had really been missing school, and not just the social aspect of it.

Finn couldn’t imagine ever getting to a point where he would miss sitting through lectures for hours on end. Which was not to say that he didn’t see the necessity of education, sometimes, but it was ultimately just a means to an end.

Glancing to the side, he found himself near the back of the store, on his own. A quick look around showed him Jack was all the way on the other end talking to one of the employees. How had that happened?

He was at the audio section, so he passed the computer section and walked toward—

“Finn! Are coincidences common between the two of us, or is it perhaps fate bringing us together?”

He whirled at the sound of his name and identified the speaker. Tall, blonde, green eyes, carefree smile, relaxed posture.

“Aiden…” Finn said warily.

“The one and only,” responded the Wardell heir, approaching him. “But really, what are the odds? I certainly don’t come here often, and, I suspect, neither do you.”

Aiden had not come alone either. A girl stepped up to his side, standing a bit shorter than Finn. She had shoulder-length raven hair cascading in loose waves, framing her slightly tanned skin like a curtain of silk. Above the smirk of her lips, mahogany brown eyes were trained on Finn with apparent curiosity.

“You’re the expert dancer?” she asked him.

Finn realized what she must be talking about. “...You mean from Casey’s party.”

Aiden nodded. “Yes, as you can see, your reputation precedes you.” He put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “This is Colette, my girlfriend.”

“I should say thanks,” said Colette. “Casey’s getting tired of it, but I love teasing ‘er. She was so insistent about not getting a dance partner at the party, but guess what?” She spread her hands to gesture at Finn.

What was he supposed to say here? He had more pressing matters to worry about than Casey’s personal life, and he would rather be left alone to attend to those matters right now. Except, it seemed that these people, whom he barely knew, wanted to engage him in conversation.

Strangely, the first response that popped into his mind was “it was nothing,” but that would be a lie, and not a beneficial one. He definitely did not want to repeat that experience.

He settled on, “Our classmates set us up.”

“Is that not great? A collaborative effort,” Aiden said.

“For a good cause,” added Colette. “Bringing new talent into the family.”

“He is promising,” Aiden inclined his head. “But he would need to go through more tests first.”

“Tests,” Finn echoed.

“You’d be awesome,” Colette assured him. “Having you join us at dinner would be a change of pace for sure. So, be a hero and sign here, here, and here.” She mimed presenting him with a contract and pen.

“Let’s not pressure him too much,” Aiden smiled. “But she does bring up a juicy topic, Finn. What are your thoughts on heroes?”

It was hard, but Finn kept his poker face. “Is this the part where you tell me Casey is secretly Damsel?”

Hearing that, Aiden and Colette exchanged glances, then burst out laughing.

“Can you imagine? Casey putting on the armor?” the girl giggled.

“I’ll ensure she finds out you said that, Finn,” Aiden said, smoothly reining in his amusement.

Despite himself, Finn sighed. It was strange how he found himself getting swept up in Aiden’s natural pull whenever they interacted. At least this time, he didn’t have to fear hidden security measures in the walls. Though he was sure Aiden had other ways of defending himself.

“What reason do you have to be in a place like this?” he asked.

“Ah, that, well,” Aiden replied. “Colette had a little accident.”

“My new pet bird broke my phone, so I have to get a new one,” she said, not sounding the least bit upset about it. “We get to go on the best mall date ever ‘cause of that.”

“It wouldn’t be my go-to location, no,” Aiden said when she linked arms with him. Then he refocused on Finn. “But I hope you weren’t expecting to change the topic that easily; you never answered my question.”

His opinion on heroes? In general? That was a loaded question. And the answer had changed ever since he made his Aegis account, without a doubt. He’d pondered the complexities of interpersonal dynamics within the confines of masked vigilantism, be it heroism or villainy, often enough, but that kind of answer wouldn’t be one a civilian would give. And Aiden seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say about it, for some reason.

“I think…” he began, his eyes searching the floor for words. “I think everyone who goes out there has their own reasons for putting on a mask and making an effort to stop crime. Whether those are good or bad reasons, almost everyone who takes that step believes their reason is convincing enough to risk their life for. Some think they’re invincible, but sooner or later, they’re taught that they can actually be killed. And not everyone is prepared for what they encounter when they’re exposed to mortal danger, usually for the first time ever. Sometimes people come to find out their convictions were insufficient after all, they realize they would’ve stayed home if given the chance to do it all over again. Other times, they become even more sure of their beliefs. They find that this is the only life they would allow themselves to live.

“But none of that matters when something goes wrong, and for their family, only a silent corpse is left. All they can do is scream into the void at the injustice, hoping someone with more power than them will one day show up to make things right. Eventually though, they forget. They forget and they move on.”

That… was more than he’d expected to say. Or wanted to. Was that really how he felt? Had that experience with the primebeast affected him more than he thought? And when had he crossed his arms?

When Finn raised his head again, he noticed Colette blinking at him, clearly taken aback by his response. Aiden, on the other hand, had a look that took Finn a moment to recognize.

Understanding.

Damn it. He should have said something more generic.

“I can respect that stance,” Aiden said after a moment. “Say, Finn, I don’t suppose you happen to have a favorite hero?”

“Do you?”

“Without a shadow of a doubt. It’s Shiftseeker. It’s fine if you haven’t heard of him, given that he passed away some years ago.”

Heard of him? He had lived with him. His own father, how could he not know of him?

“Call me dull or whatever,” Colette said, apparently having recovered from her earlier surprise. “But I’m picking Noor as my fave.”

The most powerful heroine in Apexia? Somehow, Finn got the impression Colette wasn’t telling the truth. Regardless, it was an interesting pick, in this context. Noor was one of the few heroes who both did not wear a mask and used her real name on the field.

“What about you?” Aiden asked Finn.

“Shiftseeker,” Finn spoke in the most neutral tone imaginable. He wasn’t trying to expose their relationship, but saying anything else felt wrong. Not to mention Aiden would know he was lying.

“Oh, really now? I must say, this is quite unexpected from you.”

“He’s not just parroting you?” Colette wondered aloud.

“No, he’s being truthful,” Aiden stated with complete confidence. “I just can’t help but wonder about the story behind it. Assuming there is one, of course.”

“I met him in the central district. I used to live there,” Finn explained. Technically, it wasn’t even a lie.

"You did mention relocating districts last time," Aiden acknowledged. "Central, I see? I do find myself there occasionally, although it can be quite hectic compared to this serene locale."

Apexia was a megacity, so it did not have a capital. But if it were a nation, the capital city would be the central district. That was where the strongest individuals, on both sides of the law, operated. His father had been somewhat of an exception in that regard. He had not been limited to just one district.

As for Aiden’s claim of district A23G being comparatively tame, Finn agreed. Because it was.

Colette hummed thoughtfully. “How’d you meet ‘im? Did he save you?”

Finn shook his head. “I came up to him with some of my… friends when we saw him on the street. We asked him to use his power.” That particular memory had a bitter aftertaste. Having to treat Dad like a stranger so he wouldn’t raise suspicion. Thinking of those other kids as his friends, despite not having had contact with any of them since he left that place…

“Mesmerizing, isn’t it?” said Aiden. “I’ve witnessed it myself.”

“Yeah…” If Aiden had seen or met him, what age would he have been? He didn’t look that much older than Finn. Neither did Colette. Three or four years difference, at most.

Then again, a man of Cyrus Wardell’s means could easily arrange a short meet-and-greet for his son.

Finn decided to ask a question of his own. “What school do you go to?”

“I'm in my first semester at the district university, despite not attending a public high school like Casey. Rather unfortunate. If I had, we might have crossed paths sooner!”

“You only went to that uni because you’re transferring soon,” Colette spoke up. And from the look she was giving her partner, it was obvious there was more to it that she wasn’t saying.

“Yes, next semester if all goes as intended. And who knows?” he addressed Finn. “Maybe I’ll be heading to Central.”

Before Finn could respond, someone called out behind him.

“Finally making friends?” It was Jack, and he had a heavy-looking plastic bag in one hand.

Finn turned back to the older couple. “I still have things to buy. Good luck with your…”

“Date,” Colette supplied.

“I’m going to need it,” Aiden joked. “Don’t worry, Finn. We will see each other again.”

Finn walked in the opposite direction, and when he was side by side with Jack, he noticed something.

For whatever reason, he felt lighter.