Shade: Unbound

For the first few days after Lyra Chen manifested her power, everything seemed great.

Her parents were more supportive of her singing career than they had been in years, her practice was going better than ever, she felt like she had direction again.

Lyra’s manifestation had ended up becoming a fond memory, despite the rather ominous vision. When she got her power, she didn’t know what to do with this sensation suffusing her body, so she just started humming a tune in her room. She didn’t realize her window was open until they got a noise complaint. Her parents hadn’t approached her sooner, too enraptured by her song.

Her ability to shape sound waves was, albeit limited, very much to her liking. Oftentimes, she heard stories of people getting saddled with powers they never wanted or needed, and she was glad she wasn’t one of them.

As she continued to experiment with her power, Lyra discovered new ways to enhance her singing. She could manipulate the acoustics of her room to make her voice sound richer and fuller, and she could even create her own backing tracks with the sound of her voice.

Her family never had much. That was why they had initially been dismissive of Lyra’s aspirations and wanted her to choose the stability of a regular job instead. Now? She had convinced them there was an actual chance.

But good things never lasted forever.

Lyra's positive momentum came to a halt when she secured a gig at a bar. At the beginning of the night, things were going well. She had put on her mother’s best dress, and her mother had come to watch her perform in it at the front of a small crowd. She did a few songs as practiced. On the fifth, however, she noticed something strange.

A voice.

You can do more. Why are you being so careful? Let go.

Her own, but also not.

Do you really think you can live your life only showing people a sliver of your true potential?

Lyra was taken aback by the voice in her head. It was like someone was speaking to her directly, but she couldn't see anyone around her who might be doing so. She tried to ignore it and continue with her performance, but the voice persisted, urging her to let go and push her powers to the limit.

Feeling a bit unnerved, Lyra decided to take a break after the next song. As she was walking offstage, a man approached her and introduced himself as a talent scout. He was impressed by her performance and wanted to offer her a recording contract. Lyra was ecstatic, but the voice in her head grew louder, urging her to take things even further.

That's when things started to go wrong. Lyra's powers, fueled by the voice in her head, began to spiral out of control. The sound waves she created spiked in volume and frequency, causing glasses and bottles to shatter and people to clutch their ears in pain.

In hindsight, Lyra should have stopped there, but she didn’t. The annoyance, the disdain, the people getting up and leaving.

And her mother. That look of disappointment?

Utterly devastating.

Despite her better judgment, she prepared for the refrain of the current song, and let go.

It was exhilarating, before she looked back down at the crowd and saw it.

People sliding off their chairs, falling to the ground in agony. Including her mother. She wasn’t even conscious anymore, blood pouring out of her ears.

Lyra didn’t even realize she was already on her knees beside her mother. It was all too much. She couldn’t take it anymore. She waited for the ambulance to arrive and ran. As far as she could, she didn’t care where, as long as it wasn’t back at that damned bar.

Eventually, her run slowed to a walk. She began to catch her breath. And the guilt began catching up with her. She had hurt so many people. And her own family. She didn’t even know if they all survived or not. If her mother...

Lyra saw her reflection in one of the windows of the houses she passed. She felt sick to her stomach. That gaudy dress. She looked ridiculous. And those heels. Why had she thought she could stand out? Why had she thought she could be different? What gave her the arrogance to believe that? She had flown too close to the sun, and burned not just herself, but other people too.

“Mama…” she whispered, her vision blurring. In the middle of the sidewalk, she broke down sobbing.

Lyra cried for what felt like hours, feeling as though the world had crumbled beneath her feet. She had always dreamed of being a singer, of using her voice to touch people’s hearts. Now those dreams were nothing but a distant memory. She gazed up at the sky, seeing the twinkling stars above, but they offered her no solace. The night, once a canvas for her dreams, now seemed to mock her with its silent indifference.

On some level, Lyra had expected someone to lend her a hand. Someone who would tell her it was going to be okay and make her favorite honeyed tea.

Of course that someone wasn’t coming. She had made sure of that.

Lyra aimlessly wandered the streets, lost in a daze of guilt and despair. Every step she took felt heavy, burdened with the weight of guilt and sorrow. The echoes of shattered glass and agonized cries reverberated in her mind, a haunting symphony that reminded her of the havoc she had unleashed.

Yet she couldn't bring herself to go home, to face the reality of what she had done. She sniffled, hugging her body to stave off the brisk night air.

The night wore on. Lyra found herself in an unfamiliar part of the megacity. A different district. The streets were dark and deserted, and she felt a shiver run down her spine as she realized how vulnerable she was. Or was she?

“Is this what you wanted?” she said, her voice hoarse. “I did what you asked, and I’m lost. Now what?”

The voice in her head didn’t deign to respond. Lyra could have almost laughed. What was she doing, rambling to herself like some crazy person?

A few blocks down, she ended up near an old residential building when a van drifted to a stop next to her. She froze, wondering if her misdeeds hadn’t caught up to her after all.

Turning, she could see four armed guys getting out, one of them coming right at her.

Let him.

Lyra tried to run away, but she was dragged into an alley by her hair. He pulled her up against the wall and brandished a knife. She made a futile attempt to push it away from her. He was saying something, but she couldn’t hear it over the pounding in her head.

Just one scream, and he won’t bother you anymore.

She knew she could stop this guy if she wanted, but she didn’t want more people weighing on her conscience. Maybe she deserved this. If this was her end, she would stop hurting people.

But she wouldn’t see her parents ever again.

Release it. Don’t hesitate.

Faced with a choice between death and admitting she was a monster, Lyra panicked.

But she would not be making that choice today.

The man assaulting her buckled. Lyra scrambled away and watched a figure in dark clothing promptly knock him out with a single punch.

Lyra watched with wide eyes as the figure tied up the man, held a finger to their lips, and shooed Lyra into the building next to them.

She did as her savior instructed and ran inside. Once there, she ascended to the next floor. Taking a peek out of the window, she caught a glimpse of the chase going on. Two of the bad guys ran after the mysterious new arrival, who went through the door of the opposite building and leaned against the wall next to the door.

What took Lyra by surprise was when they changed colors to match their environment. The two giving chase went in and missed their target completely, splitting up to search other parts of the building. The hero stalked after them, and then Lyra ducked again.

She didn’t know what happened after the fourth man with the gun started shouting for her to come out. She even heard gunshots, making her curl into a ball. And then a siren. But at length, the shrouded rescuer came up behind her and beckoned for her to follow.

When she got up, she realized this person was smaller than her. Which threw her off. They’d seemed so large earlier.

“Are you alright?” he asked as they neared the van. He. A male voice. But young. Probably close to her age.

Lyra realized she was taking too long to respond and hurriedly nodded. But the boy had more to say as they walked out. “I almost didn’t realize you were here. If that guy had just decided to shoot you instead of sending his lackey…” He trailed off, glancing at her.

Her eyes widened when she thought of that possibility. Would the voice have let her die? Would she let herself die? She didn’t want to think about it right now.

“Thank you,” she said softly. When nobody else showed up for her, he did. He didn’t hesitate to jump into danger to save her life when she had been this close to giving up on herself. That meant more than she could convey with words.

“It was nothing. Just don’t wander around alone in these kinds of places at night. Don’t you have a safety routing app?”

“No, I do. I’m sorry. I was just dealing with a lot. I- I did something I can never undo, and I just wanted to get away from it all, and then I ended up…” She sighed. She didn’t think he wanted to hear her life story right now. “I was lucky you happened to be here.”

She saw him look up and stare at her face for a while. Peering into those squinting eyes, Lyra abruptly felt self-conscious. She looked terrible right now.

Then, he checked his phone and looked through some kind of app. It took Lyra a second to realize he must have been completing a mission for Aegis. She had never been big on hero work, but today had started to change her perspective. This boy had risked his life to save her, and she was just standing there like an idiot while these people around her worked to bring these criminals to justice. The police nearby had already arrested all the thugs.

She owed this boy her life. And she would have to repay him someday. But in order to do that, she needed some way to look him up later. She didn’t even know what he was called.

“What’s your name?” she tried.

The boy paused for a moment, as if considering. “Shade. Call me Shade.”

The conversation ended at that point, because a police officer strode up to talk to her. She looked to her side and saw nobody there. Shade had already left.

Lyra was offered a blanket and a ride home by the cop. She wanted to accept, but she was terrified of going back. The shock had started to wear off, and even if she were willing to face her parents, she knew just how much trouble she would be in if she did. Not just from them, but also the rest of the world.

If she went back, she was definitely facing legal punishment or some kind of program she didn’t want to be a part of. Best case scenario, the DHD would strongarm her into joining their ranks.

Did she want that?

You don’t live to be caged like a rabid animal.

She shook her head. What she wanted didn’t matter. She was far past that stage.

She was going to repay the debt she owed no matter how long it took.

But she was going to do so on her own terms. Like Shade.

Lyra refused the police officer, but the officer insisted he at least take her to a more populated area, which she reluctantly agreed to.

During the ride, she expected him to have a lot of questions for her, but he mainly seemed concerned with her well-being and whether she knew anything about those gang members.

She checked her phone for the first time since running away. It had blown up with missed calls and texts from her father. She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up the news. The incident at the bar had been reported, though it was overshadowed by a headline of a hero named Mistral. And several others. It was pretty far down, actually. Shouldn’t such a freak accident have gotten more attention?

Lyra herself wasn’t all that important, but all those people didn’t deserve to be forgotten, not after giving her a chance to show off her talents.

The article listed a dozen people injured, but no deaths. She almost broke down from relief, but she kept it together for now. Some were still in critical condition.

She thanked the man and got out of the car near a hotel. She had some money left. From her part-time job, not from her parents. Then she realized she wouldn’t be able to register her name there without being apprehended. So she had to wait for the stores to open again to get a change of clothes.

Plodding over to a public tap, exhausted, she leaned down and washed her face. Was she really going to sleep outside? What if she encountered more thugs while snoozing on a park bench?

Lyra walked towards the hotel, trying to blend in with the crowd. Her heart was racing as she realized that she was completely on her own now. She had no idea where to go or what to do next, but she knew that she couldn't stay in one place for too long.

As she entered the lobby of the hotel, she noticed a group of people gathered around a TV screen. For a brief moment, she had been worried they were watching a news report about the incident at the bar. They weren’t. It hadn’t even happened in this district, so it made sense. But every glance she got made her anxious, made her question herself. She tried to ignore them and headed towards the reception desk.

"Excuse me, do you have any available rooms?" Lyra asked the receptionist, trying to sound as composed as possible.

The receptionist looked up from her computer screen and scanned Lyra from head to toe. "We do have a room available, but I'm afraid I'll need to see some identification."

Lyra felt her heart sink. "I don't have my ID with me," she lied, hoping that the receptionist wouldn't catch on.

The receptionist raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "That's fine, but I'll need you to pay in cash upfront," she said, handing Lyra a form to fill out.

Lyra quickly filled out the form and handed over the cash. She was relieved to have a place to stay for the night, but she knew that she needed to come up with a plan soon.

She collapsed on her bed the minute she entered the room.

The following morning, she blinked at her unfamiliar surroundings when her phone's alarm went off. The next second everything came rushing back.

For a time, she just lay there. She didn't set any alarm the previous night; this was just the standard one she had for schooldays. Huh. School. How long would it be before she entered a classroom again, if ever? She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

Showering was the first thing she did, and it invoked some silent tears when she tried to sing out of habit. She didn't stay there for long.

Having breakfast with a dress on would have been strange, so she stopped by some stores and bought two outfits and some shoes in addition to a backpack. The clerk gave her an odd look for her attire, but she played it off by saying she was hungover.

She changed in a private stall and went back to the hotel to pack her stuff and charge her phone. Seeing her mother's dress in the plastic bag, Lyra didn't have the heart to throw it away. She took it with her.

Dressed and fed, she was down to her last few apos. So she needed to make more, and she only knew of one way to do that.

Aegis.

Lyra was already making an account as she walked. She tried to look for a remote area to start practicing, but it was difficult.

While she had no plans of singing again, she hadn't explored every possible avenue of power. Mainly due to the fact that she'd never had plans to become a fighter of any kind until yesterday.

It was a good thing her powers were invisible. It meant she could hone the less overt aspects of her powers in front of other people. Such as silence, for example. She focused on dampening the sound waves created by each footfall, and the result was an eerily silent gait.

For her next idea, she did need total privacy, so she did her best to find a spot in the park. Few people were here. The sky was overcast, and most would be attending their job or education. She found a small forest near the edges and entered.

Whilst nobody was watching, she clapped, then captured the sound and concentrated it into a ball and threw it at a tree with her hands. It made the tree sway a little. Granted, its trunk was relatively thin. But it was something.

She practiced until she could do it consistently, then switched exercises. Hopping into the air, she focused her power on her feet and amplified the sound waves of her landing, adding some reverberation to the ground. She launched herself up into a tree, flailing around as she fell through the branches. Okay, less power next time.

Sometime later, she changed into another outfit. This one was darker and hid her identity.

Although Lyra hadn't chosen to become a stealth based operative, those missions seemed to have lower levels of risk. The ones that went for less credits, anyway. But she wasn't too concerned with that. The exchange rate from credits to apos was amazing.

What was worrying was that most of the missions had to do with Homeland, a name she recognized. She read from the descriptions that it was a villain gang. According to a search on the internet, they were a group of nationalists fighting against the expansion of Apexia. The latter part tracked with what she already knew, but she only now realized the extent of their widespread gang presence. As far as she was aware, there were no such criminal establishments in her old district.

At present, she was in their territory, which explained why the hotel hadn’t asked too many questions. And the cop, as well. How hadn’t he been able to identify and arrest her? Was the police understaffed? Regardless, she was on her own now.

But she was also in Homeland’s territory. She had to be careful.

She mostly focused on the smaller, low-risk tasks, such as retrieving lost items or gathering data. The former was made easier by her power. Reverberating sound from walls helped her locate items if she knew what materials they were made of.

Retrieving boxes and snapping pictures in broad daylight and such a crappy outfit wouldn’t have been her idea of heroism twenty-four hours ago, but she had to do this. With the help of her power, few people spotted her. That didn’t make it less awkward.

A few hours later, she finished her last mission for the day and decided to experiment. Her power made listening in on conversations happening dozens of meters away possible, so she made use of it. She wasn’t eavesdropping; she was keeping these people safe. By listening to their problems. And some other stuff her parents wouldn’t have wanted her overhearing. She filtered those parts out.

Around sunset, Lyra inevitably caught wind of a crime happening in real-time. She ran towards it. Guessing the robber’s escape route, she managed to cut him off. He was shoving his way through the throng of people. Upon spotting Lyra, he tried to take a turn into an alley. She was glad he chose to get away from other people.

Rather than risk a wrestling match, she clapped and concentrated the sound into a ball, carefully aiming at the spot his legs were about to be. It swept him off his feet, and he went tumbling head over heels.

This was the perfect time for a one-liner about how it was over, but Lyra just kind of stood over him, hoping he wouldn’t get up and keep fighting. He didn’t.

A middle-aged woman jogged up behind them. “My purse!” she was shouting. Lyra picked it up and held it out to her. “I can’t thank you enough. You saved me so much time,” she said.

She was about to speak, but she didn’t want her voice to be recognizable. She used her power. “It was the least I could do, ma’am,” she replied in a voice that sounded like she was speaking into a fan, keeping an eye on the prone robber.

“It’s good that we have people like you around. With all the gang activity, these bastards think they can just get away with anything.”

Lyra had no clue that was the case, so she just nodded along.

Having settled that, she noticed some people were staring and even filming her at the end of the alley. She didn’t know what to do with the criminal in front of her, so she was glad when the police showed up to arrest him.

Leaving the scene, she exchanged her credits for money. She had no idea what she thought would happen, but no wads of cash magically appeared in her hand. She was presented with a list of drop-off locations where she could pick it up.

When she arrived at the location she had selected, she could already see a small box waiting for her behind a container. Opening it with her Aegis scanner, she picked up the money and left.

She could have gone back to the hotel, but she wasn’t comfortable staying there more than a single night. Luckily, there were many bed and breakfasts in guest houses nearby. Lyra tried to filter for ones that wouldn’t ask too many questions, but she wasn’t sure what specifications to look for.

Lyra changed back to her normal clothes and found a small guest house a few blocks away from where she was. It was a bit run-down, but it was cheap and seemed safe enough. She paid in cash and checked in. The room was small, with a single bed, a nightstand, and a small dresser. It was clean though, and the door had a lock on it.

Sitting on the bed, Lyra closed the Aegis app and read the messages her father had sent her throughout the day. She regretted it instantly. The texts started out angry, but he had resorted to pleading a few hours ago. Without meaning to, Lyra read the messages in his voice.

Unlike Lyra and her mother, her father had not been born in Apexia. Lyra remembered the times she and her mother would jokingly make fun of him when he struggled to pronounce a word in English. They would correct him and laugh afterwards.

She missed her parents. She missed listening to them talk.

Looking back at those moments now, she would have given anything to experience them one more time.

*******

The next few days passed in a blur. Lyra kept herself busy during the day by training and procuring regular items for her nightly outings. Additionally, she altered her appearance by getting a haircut and wearing non-prescription glasses. Her hair was now chestnut brown, which was a stark difference from her usual jet-black hair. Looking at herself in the mirror was weird, but it confirmed her new identity.

Furthermore, she bought a new phone, figuring that it would be simpler to dispose of her old one rather than risk being traced through it.

At night, she would complete more Aegis missions. She had a run-in with a couple of Homeland members, but she disengaged and escaped. Her improving control over her powers made that easier than she would have guessed. Having a gun pointed at her was frightening, but she couldn’t afford to stop just because she was afraid. Her goals involved more than just herself.

Conversely, she also learned her goals would take more than just herself to reach. She needed allies, and she had a certain hero in mind.

Contacting Shade had been easy when she was more acquainted with Aegis forums. She sent him a message, but it took a few hours before she got a reply.

Lyra was disheartened when he didn’t instantly trust her. It made sense, but it made setting up a meeting difficult. She wanted to agree to his terms off the bat, but that would seem suspicious.

She knew that revealing her true identity would resolve this issue, but she didn’t trust the forums enough to do so. She also had doubts about whether Shade was the same person she had previously interacted with. There wasn’t much public information on him besides his listing as a stealth type hero.

They ultimately agreed to meet whenever Shade had time. Lyra brooded. She was asking favors from a person who didn’t need her help. A person to whom she already owed a debt.

Lyra kept herself busy with small-scale hero work. She would often follow a criminal with her power and wait for them to make a move before intervening. They tended to make suspicious phone calls, so it worked out for her. It was a risky strategy, but it allowed her to gather more information and minimize the chances of an altercation.

A few days later, Lyra got the message providing a place and time.

Her breath hitched.

It was time for Calliope to meet Shade.