Shade: Unbound

The following morning, Finn was lost in his thoughts. He had—much more gently—escorted Lyra home later that night. The thing was, her home wasn’t really a home at all. He knew it was a bed and breakfast in his district, making him wonder where Lyra actually lived, and why she hadn’t wanted to go there.

Jack picked up on it too and offered to investigate, but Finn declined, saying he didn’t want to pry into her personal life. He expected her to show him the same courtesy, so it was fair. He did plan to offer her help, but if she refused, he would leave it at that.

“Look at you,” Jack had said when he explained his thoughts. “Already worried about our new colleague?”

“If she doesn’t want us meddling with whatever she’s going through, that’s fine,” Finn had replied. “But I need to make sure it won’t affect her performance on the field. Especially if we’re taking her to infiltrate Venin.”

Finn had discussed the mission request with Jack the day he received it, and his friend was excited about it, though he did suggest they take their time before accepting. Finn agreed.

With a third team member on their roster, Finn would have more backup in case something went wrong. She would have to show she was up to the task in the coming weeks, but Finn couldn’t deny she showed a lot of promise.

It distracted him to the point where he almost ran an extra lap around the gymnasium. He was back in school, and it was time for physical education. Finn had always been middle-of-the-pack, but after manifesting his power, his classmates seemed so slow. So sloppy.

He had come up with an excuse to sit out this class last week due to his injuries, but this time he was participating in dodgeball after the warmup. From the opposite team, Ines aimed the ball at him, and for a moment he wanted to dive out of the way. He’d grown accustomed to having guns pointed at him, but this was a mere ball. Recentering himself, he caught and threw the ball back with precision. She tried to dodge, but Finn had thrown it in a curve. It hit her legs and she was out.

Doing this a few more times, he began to notice the rest of his team thinning out. Eventually, it was just him against four on the other team. He briefly considered playing this out, then Jules reminded him of why it was a waste of time with his poor excuse for a throw.

But just as he was about to run into a ball and go over to the locker room, he saw people cheering for him on the bench. People he normally never talked to. While he never did his best to stand out in class, it wasn’t like he was trying to be invisible. As Shade, yes, but Finn Allister?

He’d never given it his all.

Finn had always viewed school life as a transitionary period, at best. He had expected to form a power and move on from this institution. And he had gotten one. A strange one, but a power nonetheless.

Even after revealing himself to Jack, he had only started getting ahead of his schoolwork to free up more time for training. But here and now, he experienced for the first time the kind of attention famous heroes got whenever they made a public appearance. Or at least something close to it. He would reach that point as Shade someday, but here and now, he didn’t want to let these people down.

Wasn’t that what being a hero was all about?

He caught Jules’ ball and dodged two more before launching into a daring sprint towards the opponents. His movements were agile and calculated, evading the incoming throws with finesse.

As the game intensified, Finn's mind became an intricate web of calculations and observations. He anticipated his opponents' movements, exploiting their weaknesses with each throw. The ball seemed to obey his will, curving through the air with uncanny accuracy.

The crowd's excitement reached a crescendo as Finn executed a breathtaking series of dodges and catches. His teammates on the bench, once strangers, were now his supporters, their cheers pushing him to give his all.

Finn eliminated his opponents one by one, until it was just him and the final adversary. The tension in the air was palpable, but Finn remained calm, channeling the energy of the moment.

His opponent lunged forward, hurling the ball towards Finn. Time seemed to slow as Finn evaded the throw, his body contorting and catching the projectile in a single motion. With a flick of his wrist, he launched the ball back, aiming true.

The sphere sailed through the air, closing the distance with precision. It collided with the opponent's outstretched hand, sealing Finn's victory. The gymnasium erupted in thunderous cheering, a wave of admiration and respect washing over him.

He was surrounded by his teammates when he came to the benches, and Finn received their compliments and friendliness politely, as he presumed a hero would.

While being celebrated like this wasn't the reason he wanted to be a hero, it reminded him of who he was protecting.

It made him feel closer to his dad.

He was walking back to the locker room when Ines called out to him. “Finn! You're coming to Casey's party tomorrow, right?”

“He is!” Jack said with a hand on his shoulder before he could say anything. Finn raised an eyebrow at him.

From the sidelines, he caught Casey herself looking at him with interest, like he was an old automobile at a car sale and she just found out how much horsepower it had. He ignored her.

People were still recounting the match to each other, and Finn followed their conversations. He'd made some mistakes, like not keeping the proper distance and the timing on some of his throws. It could have gone more smoothly.

However, when he neared the locker room door, Finn felt a blow to his back and fell on his knees. He turned to see it was Jules who had pushed him.

“What the hell is your problem?” Jack pushed the other boy back.

Jules scoffed. “Oh, don't mind me, I'm just figuring out what power Finn was using. It's not precog, because he didn't see that coming.”

“What?” Finn got up, confused.

“Don't play dumb with me. I might be a pleb, but I'm not blind. You could have played that match in your sleep. You didn't break a sweat," he frantically gestured back to the gymnasium. “You weren't even out of breath!”

“You think I was using powers to play dodgeball?” Finn said, taken aback.

Jules curled his lip in disgust. “No, I think Yán Mó himself had his hand up your ass and was using you as a sock puppet.” He rolled his eyes. “Of course you were using powers!”

Finn glanced at Jack, who seemed as flabbergasted as he felt.

Jules kept ranting. “Well motherfucker, don’t keep us in suspense. Say what you manifested. Enhanced balance? Strength? Vision? All of the above!?”

Before he could say more, the crowd parted behind them.

Mr. Cotherman, the teacher for this class, stepped between them.

“Jules,” he spoke in a low baritone, his muscular frame rising to its full height. “I’m going to say this once, and only once. Pressuring other students to disclose their manifestation is strictly forbidden. And for good reason. Do you have any idea what consequences not just you, but I, the principal, and the entire school board would face if one of our students had their secret identity leaked? No, I didn’t think so.

“Public use of powers within regulations is permitted under the condition that one hasn’t signed a contract preventing them from doing so. And you know who signs contracts like that? The DHD operatives. The Junior Aces. The people protecting this city. And if anyone is going to hold them accountable for breaking the rules, it’s most definitely not you.”

Jules was looking at the ground now.

Their gym teacher began walking away and spoke over his shoulder. “As for Finneas, I’ll tell you right now that no use of powers had to be involved there. He is good, but you also suck at dodgeball.”

*******

The day was over before Finn knew it. He’d successfully hidden his bruises in the locker room, which he stupidly only now realized he could hide with a simple use of his power, and sat through the following classes before walking towards the entry gate.

Meeting up with Jack, he asked what had been on his mind. “So why do you want me to go to this party?”

“Maybe I just want you to have fun for once,” Jack smiled.

Finn’s gaze was unrelenting.

“Okay, okay, and maybe I also want you to do some info gathering,” Jack admitted.

“Why there? And why as myself?”

“Because Casey’s family is going to be there,” Jack said.

“And?”

“Well, let’s just say her father has his fingers in a lot of pies.”

“You want me to investigate Casey’s family at a birthday party? Do you have evidence of any crimes they committed?” Finn was getting the idea that Jack had been preparing for this.

Jack shrugged. “There have been rumors floating around about her family's involvement in some less-than-legal activities. I'm not saying it's true, but if there is any truth to those rumors, we could potentially uncover valuable information or connections that could help us in the future.”

Finn narrowed his eyes. “Three things. One, won’t Casey host her party at some other venue? Two, how do you know it’s going to be at her house? And three, if it is, am I supposed to sneak through their property?”

“No, she said so, and not exactly. You don’t need to sneak through their whole property—which is huge by the way; the Wardell estate could probably house every class in our year.”

Finn questioned the likelihood of overhearing anything significant amidst a crowd of intoxicated teenagers.

“I don’t know what you’ll find there, but it’s definitely worth checking out,” Jack said, which wasn’t convincing at all.

Finn crossed his arms, still skeptical about the plan. They were treading into murky waters, potentially invading Casey's family's privacy without solid evidence.

"I understand there are rumors, but we can't just start prying because of hearsay and nothing else," Finn pointed out. "Investigating someone's family without evidence is wrong. What if they're innocent? It could ruin their reputation."

“You're right, Finn. We need to be cautious and avoid jumping to conclusions. But sometimes we have to take calculated risks,” Jack sighed. “I'm not asking you to accuse or punish anyone. Just observe, listen, and gather any useful information discreetly. Invisibly, if you can manage it without getting caught. If there's nothing worth pursuing, we'll back off.”

“Alright, I'll gather information if anything catches my attention,” Finn acquiesced. “But I won't go digging for trouble. If we don’t find anything solid, we'll drop it and move on.”

“That’s all I’m asking for. And it’s a good way to improve your nonexistent social life.”

“As if yours is any better.”

"I acknowledge that my social connections may not be extensive at the moment,” Jack conceded, “but I'm working on expanding them. That's why I suggested you do it instead, since I've already begun living vicariously through your cam and mic."

Finn exhaled through his nose and shook his head.

“And it’s not today, so we still have time for our plans with Lyra. And chances are she’d appreciate the break when we’ve put her through her paces. Not sure though, we don’t know her that well yet,” Jack said, pulling out his phone to check his news feed. Finn wondered just how much time his friend spent searching for workable leads.

Jack froze. “Finn, look at this.”

When he leaned over to check what his friend was seeing, Finn was shocked. It was an article titled, ‘Mysterious Duo Takes Flight: Vigilante Heroes Soar Through the Sky’ with a picture of himself in costume using his grappling hook to swing past a building, his arm hooked around Lyra with her bird mask on.

Finn might have been making strides, but so was Shade.