Shade: Unbound

Finn found Aiden’s behavior peculiar, to say the least. It might have been their first time interacting without masks since the reveal, but there was a certain eagerness and anticipation in place of the relaxed attitude he was used to from the older boy.

It became apparent when Aiden started talking while they were waiting for Lyra. He’d figured Finn out. Without mentioning specific names, it was clear he knew what Finn hadn’t said that one time at the mall.

And now he was being asked to come play on some sort of dance pad game with the guy. It was simultaneously befuddling and embarrassing. A similar experience to Casey’s birthday, except it was easier this time because his body was so much clearer in his awareness. He knew where every tendon, muscle fiber, bone, and nerve was. He suspected it was the same for Aiden, but then, the oldest Wardell sibling had been doing this for far longer.

More concerning was that they were drawing a crowd. He didn't want to stand out so much doing exceptional things in public. School was one thing, but he didn't need random people suspecting he had powers. Though, that didn’t seem to be the conclusion they were coming to. And recording video wasn’t allowed here, fortunately.

They didn’t have as many observers for the other games, but they were all just as easy to beat. Aiden was clearly trying to get him somewhere alone without actually asking.

When they separated from Lyra and the others, he soon found himself herded into the VIP section. Aiden took a seat on a luxurious red chair intended for a racing machine, while Finn took the one next to him when he gestured. Neither of them made any move to start playing.

“I consider myself rather good at spotting patterns,” Aiden began, “but I never would have guessed who your father was when we first met.”

“...I’m not really like him,” Finn replied, staring at the idle starting screen.

“I wouldn’t say that. I merely said it wasn’t immediately obvious to me.”

Finn remained quiet for a minute, then asked, “So you met him?”

The Junior Ace captain smiled. “Back when they paraded me around as the next great thing—newly manifested, full of potential. The higher-ups couldn’t wait to introduce me to every prominent figure in Central. Noor, Omnibus.” He looked at Finn. “Shiftseeker.”

There wasn’t anyone else in the room with them, but the fact that Nar was dropping names now meant that he was confident nobody was listening in. Likely because of a power he had equipped. This dialogue was between the two of them and no one else.

Regardless, Finn kept his tone low when he spoke. “What did he say to you?”

“That I never had to worry about going out of style.”

Finn cracked a small smile of his own. “That sounds exactly like him.”

A beat later, Aiden’s expression got a bit more serious. “He truly did help me when I was starting out, though. I’ve always felt like I owed him greatly. Even after he passed.”

Though Finn knew his father would have disagreed with that sentiment, he still appreciated it. He’d never gotten to meet anyone who knew his father like this without him knowing. And everyone his family had been involved with before they moved, they had since lost contact with. Having someone who really saw and appreciated Dad the way Finn knew he deserved was amazing.

So why did it hurt so much?

“It’s not my intention to center this around myself,” Aiden continued, “but I believe seeing him through that particular lens to be appropriate. He possessed a certain presence, something mesmerizing, that I’ve long admired—and, if I’m honest, have been striving to cultivate in my own way. Whether I ever achieve that same gravitas is irrelevant, I think. There’s a kind of contentment in knowing he never wanted me to replicate him, but rather, to navigate my own path. And I suppose that’s the true lesson, isn’t it?”

For the first time since Finn had met him, the Wardell prodigy looked reflective and a bit withdrawn. Staring down with his hands idly resting on the wheel in front of him. “I haven’t the slightest idea what I would have done if I’d never met him. The other heroes were pleasant enough, but…” he trailed off.

“They weren’t the same,” Finn supplied.

“Precisely.”

It wasn’t surprising; he’d met his fair share of heroes, having lived in the central district for the first decade of his life. There were many things young Finn had been unsure about, but the question of his favorite hero wasn’t one of them.

His father was charismatic in a way others weren’t, true, but it was more than that. He always seemed to know when to prop someone up, and when to give them a little push so they could walk forward on their own. And if that opinion was biased, then he didn’t care. He would gladly hold onto it regardless of what other people might think.

Aiden’s words lingered in the space between them, heavy with a reverence that made Finn’s chest tighten. He hadn’t anticipated this—hearing about his father from someone who knew him, not as some distant symbol, but as a real person. His father’s absence had carved out an emptiness in Finn’s life, one he’d been quietly carrying with him for so long, even when he tried to ignore it. But now, talking to Aiden, it was as if that emptiness was being filled with fragments of the man he used to be.

“He never mentioned you by name,” Finn said. “But, looking back, I think he did talk about you to me a couple of times. Six or seven years ago, right?” At Aiden’s nod, he pushed on, “He had faith in you. And seeing you now, I don’t think that faith was misplaced.”

The blond boy stared at him, surprise evident on his face. “That means a lot, you know. More than I can express in words. And I don’t say that solely due to your relationship with him. I know you’re not the type to dole out compliments easily.”

“I guess I’m not. Maybe I should take it back,” Finn joked.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Aiden responded.

“Don’t give me a reason to, and I won’t.”

It was odd, being here like this, no matter how much Finn thought about it. It was just a conversation he’d never expected he would get the opportunity to have. And now that he had, his perspective had shifted. You could be in the thoughts of others without ever knowing. The links between people, the shared emotional ties people sometimes never learned about. Human interaction was an intricate web of connections, interwoven from countless meetings of information exchange, both relevant and inane.

And at this moment, he found himself uncovering another such connection that might never have been found if he had said no to a simple invitation to a party. He was relieved that he hadn’t, in retrospect. But it emphasized how many elements of his surroundings might make themselves apparent if he let them.

Like Lyra standing on the other side of the arcade, conversing with Casey and Colette, for instance. Her lips were pursed as the other girls talked to her about… something he couldn’t quite make out from the movement of their lips and tongues or the contraction of their lungs.

He blinked.

People.

He could sense people.

Nothing was hidden from him now.

He instantly sat straighter. How had this happened? He didn’t remember spreading his colors into the environment to map anything out. As a matter of fact, he knew he hadn’t because his power was not in active use at all. All the colors in his range were untouched, even by those invisible ones he used to sense everything.

That meant this new aspect of his power was passive. He couldn’t turn this off; he would always be aware of what was going on around him. That was also the reason he didn’t miss the return of Aiden’s smile despite having turned his head the other way. And the other details of the blond boy’s physique, which he found was obviously enhanced.

Had he known about this part of his power, and never spoken up about it? Finn didn’t bring it up even as they got up and walked back to the others. He sensed Aiden using his power to send a message to Colette, who was now herding the two younger girls back to their previous meeting spot.

This was going to take some getting used to, Finn could already tell; having that element of mystery from simple things like turning a corner and walking into view taken away probably removed all sorts of minor psychological effects from social interaction that worked on normal people. He would have to be careful about that. He didn’t care that much what other people thought of him, but it would be disastrous if someone found out he had powers just from the way he acted.

Maladjustment to interpersonal communication in his civilian life wasn’t the only potential issue this brought, though. If anyone found out he had this power in particular, he could be dead within the week. Being able to see underneath anyone’s mask so long as they were in his general proximity offered so many advantages, it was frankly ridiculous. Perhaps not in direct combat, but being able to memorize someone’s face while they thought their secret identity was safe, then tracking them back to their house, their base of operations, and any other locations they frequented? That was dangerous.

So, considering Aiden had Finn’s power, it was unlikely he would go babbling about it. Still, Finn didn’t intend to tell anyone except two people about this new sensory ability.

When the girls came into view, he had already assessed each of their general moods. Casey seemed amused, Colette excited, and Lyra… nervous, fidgeting and glancing back and forth rapidly. The effect was exacerbated as soon as she laid eyes on him. He sensed her muscles tense and her breathing and heartbeat quicken.

What was her problem? She’d seemed fine when they entered, so what changed? It must have been something they’d said to each other.

“Finally done?” Casey asked her brother, tapping her foot. “What did you even talk about that’s gotten you to act so strange?”

“A mutual acquaintance,” was all Aiden said.

They went through the arcade games again after that, this time at a much more sedate pace. Aiden was no longer inclined to set the record on any of them, instead just speaking with Lyra and Colette in his usual manner.

Finn was left playing whack-a-mole with Casey. If this had been before his breakthrough, he could have just not used his power to cheat. Now, however, the internal mechanisms of this machine were clear as day to him whether he wanted them to be or not. Meaning he always knew where the next mole was going to be. He decided to let the blonde girl win anyway. It would draw less attention.

“I’m guessing you’re also, like, not going to tell me what you talked about?” she asked, quickly slamming her mallet down.

“You’re guessing correctly,” Finn said, missing the next one on purpose. “You don’t want to tell me what it is you discussed either, do you?” He glanced at Lyra, who was distractedly playing some shooter game and losing hard.

“No, I don’t.”

“Then we’re even.”

Casey huffed. “I suppose we are.”

After Casey’s narrow victory, she put the mallet away with an exaggerated sigh, throwing her hair over her shoulder like she’d just won a world championship. “Well, Allister, it seems some of us don’t need extra advantages to win at whack-a-mole,” she quipped, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He shot her a flat look. “You’re right. The true test of human excellence is how fast you can hit plastic rodents with a foam hammer.”

“This is going in my portfolio.”

“I’m sure that’ll open a lot of doors for you.”

The younger Wardell sibling crossed her arms. “You mock me, but I’m getting a gold medal for my efforts soon enough.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

They joined up with the rest, and their evening at the arcade drew to a close after some more time spent getting drinks, talking, and playing more games. Lyra never quite managed to relax, and Finn knew better than to pry.

When the Wardells and Colette—who shot Lyra a quick thumbs up—eventually departed, Finn walked with Lyra for the small part of their respective routes they had to travel together. Alone. Without his disguise. It made part of him paranoid, but seeing as he’d already shown up as Finn and been seen with her it made no difference at this point. And it wasn’t like there would have been a point in showing up in disguise from the start. His connection to Casey could be found by anyone willing to do a bit of digging.

Although he could have put himself at ease and taken another way home, that felt improper for some reason. Not to mention she had to be informed of his discovery.

They spoke up at the same time.

“Hey, I wanted to-” “There’s something you need to-”

“You can go first,” Lyra said.

“Put up a barrier.”

“Okay,” she said, doing so without question.

He began telling her without fanfare. “I can sense people, and all things within my radius. Without any active input from me, everything around me is obvious to my senses.”

“That’s great!” she exclaimed before gasping. “Wait, when you say you can sense people, is it to the same level as you can sense yourself?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Lyra suddenly had this faraway look in her eyes as she muttered to herself. “You can sense… inside me…” Her gaze refocused on him.

She began blinking rapidly, staggering back. Her arms moved to cover her privates as she retreated.

Then she sprinted away at full speed.

Finn remained where she left him, frozen as she bolted into the night.

A few minutes later once she left his range, he sighed.