Shade: Unbound

Finn gingerly shifted his body onto the soft bed sheets, releasing a tired exhale. He was thoroughly fatigued, and he made a mental note to devise a better plan for entering his house undetected in the future.

When he got discharged from the hospital, Jack had suggested that he refrain from purchasing anything from the Aegis store until the next day. Finn agreed and was now ready to indulge in some much-needed rest, as recommended by the physician.

"Based on our physical examination, you have sustained three fractured ribs, internal contusions, and a fracture in two bones of your arm," the doctor had informed him. The medical professional had then administered an injection of a gel-like substance into his arm and chest to help keep his bones properly aligned during the healing process.

What Finn hadn’t expected was the touch that followed. The doctor put his glowing finger near the fractures and said this would speed up the recovery process. Healers were rare, even minor ones, and he was fortunate that he had been seen to by one. It meant he wouldn’t have to wait as long before he could go on missions again.

Finn had inquired if there was anything that could be done to alleviate his bruises, but the doctor told him that they would subside naturally. He had been provided with a few painkillers, but they would not aid him in concealing the marks from his mother. For the time being, he would have to wear long sleeves around her to hide his injuries.

When he woke up the next day, moving around was noticeably easier. If he had felt like a truck had hit him the previous day, he now felt as though it might have been a scooter.

Despite his recovery, showering and getting dressed turned out to be quite bothersome. He ate breakfast and went to school.

When their history period started, Finn was zoning in and out of the lecture regarding the fall of South America. He was starting to notice he was working so efficiently that he was already ahead of the material the teacher was covering. But when he and Jack went over it together, Finn did gain a new appreciation for how dangerous summoning abilities were. Especially ones like Seraphim’s.

At lunch, he looked over the Aegis store with Jack. Finn knew better than to blow all his credits on a single purchase; he now saw the value of having many different tools at his disposal, especially ones that would help him escape dangerous situations. But he still needed the bare essentials.

In the end, they settled on a set of advanced grappling mechanisms, toggleable adhesive boots and gloves like Moonflower had, and some light but highly durable armor that wouldn’t restrict his movement too much.

Finn still had some credits left and wanted to spend those on cheaper items such as a pair of noise-canceling earbuds that could protect his hearing from loud noises and some drones, but Jack assured Finn he would get those himself.

They spent some time browsing the store to set goals for what he was buying next, with a priority on offensive options. After his encounter with Frenzy, he was well aware of how weak he was compared to even weaker villains who didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

He browsed the weapons section and was immediately overwhelmed by the wide range of choices. There were traditional weapons like swords, bows, and guns, as well as more exotic ones like energy blasters and sonic cannons.

Finn knew he couldn't afford anything too expensive, but he also didn't want to compromise on quality. The question was whether he could save that much with the gear he had already bought.

His eye fell on a pair of lightweight gauntlets that could fire bolts and waves of concussive force. They weren't the most powerful weapons in the store, but they were versatile enough to be used in close combat or at range. They were expensive, though. Far out of his current budget. He added it to his list of things to reevaluate later.

He saw a few other weapons that interested him, but he skipped over the lethal ones. Some ranged options would be nice, but not necessarily priority with his improved mobility. Part of him felt that he was jumping the gun with all this forward planning. Yet another part of him couldn’t advance soon enough.

Finn closed the app when lunch ended and went to his next class with Jack. It was English, but once Mr. Lewis finished his presentation, everyone was only talking about one thing.

The Junior Aces.

Across the country, the DHD had a separate program for their adolescent heroes. Though there were exceptions, a lot of promising teens with powers in Apexia were assigned to a squad with their peers and trained to work as a unit, all under the guiding hand of an adult squad leader.

And the squad located in their district called themselves the Junior Aces, mainly due to their leader.

People couldn't shut up about it right now because they had just announced their newest member.

Finn watched the broadcast on Jack's phone. The new recruit was a girl, which was surprising since the Junior Aces had been an all-boys team up until now. Her power hadn't been showcased yet, but she apparently went by Damsel.

Compared to the garish outfit of her leader, her armor was much less colorful, though still striking in its own way. The chainmail cuirass on her torso shone in the sunlight and flowed into her maille skirt, which had a sheathed sword attached to it. She wore a medieval style knight’s helm that left the lower half of her face covered by nothing but a thin, transparent veil.

They were currently on a podium with a crowd of reporters hounding them with questions, which Damsel started answering when she had joined her new teammates.

"So, Damsel, how does it feel to be the first girl to join the Junior Aces?" a reporter near the front asked the newly minted heroine.

Damsel looked calm and collected as she replied, "It feels great to be a part of such a prestigious team. I'm honored to be given this opportunity."

“How do you work with your team to coordinate your efforts and achieve your goals?” queried another.

“I’ve gotten to know them fairly well over the past few months, and I’m confident in following Nar’s lead,” she said, gesturing to the team captain.

It was obvious to Finn that they wouldn’t announce Damsel’s membership within the first few days of her joining. They obviously had a rigorous training process to get her acquainted with the team and combat scenarios well before she was ever revealed to the public. So while Finn had more experience in the field, she had far more practice with her power than him. Though he was surprised they allowed her to do public speaking this early in her career.

A third reporter asked, "And what do you hope to accomplish as a member of the Junior Aces?"

"I hope to help protect the people of Apexia and to use my abilities for good."

“Can you tell us about your powers?” someone else tried.

“I am not at liberty to do so, no,” Damsel laughed politely. “But you will see soon enough; it won’t be long before I go on my first patrol.”

They bombarded her with more questions, but Damsel fielded them well, until the press conference ended.

Finn was intrigued by the new recruit. He found himself pondering what sort of powers Damsel possessed and how she would blend in with the existing team.

He was also reminded of the fact that he had never actually met any DHD heroes face to face. So far, he had stayed mostly out of the public eye. Jack had searched him up and found some mentions of him on the internet after he rescued those hostages, but nothing that was gaining real traction like Damsel’s first appearance. Finn wouldn’t mind working with her team, as long as they didn’t force him to join their ranks.

When they left school that day, Finn finally got a response from this Calliope person who had messaged him yesterday. They seemed fine with his terms, so he said he would get back to them when he “had time.” Which was to say, when his broken bones had repaired themselves.

It was definitely annoying that he had to sit on his ass and wait for his fragile little body to heal, but that didn’t mean his practice stopped entirely. His legs were still functional, and his powers didn’t require any physical exertion to train.

By this point, he was almost comfortable with his camouflage technique. Maintaining borderline invisibility while people were looking in his direction from multiple angles was hard, but doable. He just had to visualize a mental map of the environment in his head, and project it onto himself using his power as a medium, while also hiding any traces of his presence in his surroundings.

Keeping himself invisible while moving was even harder, yet he was also making progress on that front. If he took slow steps, and kept moving at a constant pace, he wouldn’t be spotted by sight. He would have to make a lot of adjustments once his new gear arrived.

Which was another thing. The Aegis store delivered their packages to specific dropoff points at designated times. They listed a few separate locations throughout his city, and he got to pick one. Or he could suggest one and wait for it to get approved. Once it got delivered, he could pick it up and use the app to gain access to their items.

While Jack was intrigued by the Aegis store's delivery system, Finn remained skeptical about the organization's extent of influence and the potential consequences if it fell into the wrong hands. Assuming it hadn’t already.

Finn couldn't shake the suspicion that there was more to the Aegis organization than met the eye. He couldn't determine their motives with certainty, but acknowledged that they provided chances for individuals to improve and make a positive impact.

Despite this, Finn exercised caution when accepting missions from anonymous clients as he feared they could be unknowingly assisting villains in exchange for meager rewards. The thought of his own abilities being used for the wrong purposes made him apprehensive. He didn't want to be a pawn in someone else's game.

On the other hand, he also didn't want to let his fear hold him back. He believed that he could do good with his powers, and he was determined to make a positive impact in the world. He just had to be careful and choose his battles wisely. Unless those battles came to him. Then he had no choice but to fight.

In the meantime, he continued to hone his skills in the privacy of his own home. He experimented with his powers, trying to push his limits and discover new ways to use them. It was a slow and tedious process, but he knew that he had to be patient if he wanted to get as strong as he needed to be.

He was in his bedroom practicing his illusions on one of the walls when the notification came in. He opened it, expecting to see another message from Calliope, and was surprised to be wrong. As a matter of fact, he was surprised the alert hadn’t come from Aegis forums at all. It had instead come from his mission catalogue.

For the first time since signing up, Finn had received a request to do a mission. Someone else had approached him. Naturally, that rang some mental alarm bells, but he decided to at least see what the objective was.

It was a request to infiltrate a warehouse known to belong to Venin, one of the most powerful gangs in Apexia. The description detailed the address, the layout, and what his target was. It was some old-looking wooden box, but Finn had no clue what was inside.

He had up to two months to accept or decline, and he saw the enormous payout for the mission. More than quadruple the payout for the recovered painting from yesterday, and the reward could go up depending on his performance. He was even given the opportunity to form his own team for the mission if he wanted.

The client was listed as anonymous, but since he would be stealing from criminals anyway, Finn wasn’t sure if he wanted to refuse it outright. It was a big opportunity to test his new capabilities.

At the bottom of the request, he saw Moonflower had recommended him for the job, and the whole thing started to make more sense to him. Still, the fact that she hadn’t accepted the job herself and instead passed it on to him was concerning.

Between this, his training, his studies, and his upcoming meeting with Calliope, Finn's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and possibilities. He knew he had to make a decision about the mission, but he also didn't want to rush into anything without careful consideration. The fact that Moonflower had recommended him was simultaneously reassuring and unsettling. She had given him no reason to distrust her judgment, but he also questioned why she couldn't do the mission herself.

Even if he wasn’t certain whether this mission was worth the risk, Finn was glad that someone had enough faith in him to tell other people he was prepared to take on a task this big. It made him feel like a real hero.