The Next Generation of Heroes

Chapter 31, Aiden Lahiffe-Césaire

A/N- I just want to thank you all so much for the support that I've gotten over the almost two years I've been writing.Thank you all for over 1k reads!  

Aiden watched as Annabeth dragged Cayden along. He smiled slightly at the sight. He'd known Annabeth since they were kids, and her enthusiasm for Paris' history had always been strong. And, if anything, it had only grown since the appearance of the new heroes.

He glanced over at Kat, who was happily walking by his side.

Kat caught him staring at her and she smirked. "What? Can't keep your eyes off of my natural beauty?" She playfully said.

"You wish." He scoffed before looking away and directing his attention to Annabeth and Cayden.

The four of them walked on in silence for a bit, with Annabeth occasionally making remarks about a particular art piece as they passed by.

So when he heard Kat shout, "Aiden! Look out!" just before he was shoved to the ground, he couldn't have been more surprised.

Aiden stared up in shock at what had just happened. Kat was suspended mid-air, her body outstretched and her arms held out in front of her. Suddenly, in a flash of light, she was gone. But not before her body took on the exact appearance of someone Aiden knew all too well. Him.

In the distance, he spotted the culprit.

It was a boy who seemed to be around his age, wearing a scarlet suit with black accents. On his chest was an emblem of a broken heart, and his black hair fell down his forehead, fading to a red and then to a pink.

He noticed that both Annabeth and Cayden had gone into defensive stances, with Annabeth closer to him.

"I'll distract him! You guys get out of here!" Cayden yelled in an uncharacteristic bout of bravery.

"What about you?" Annabeth asked, looking worried.

Aiden got to his feet just before Cayden took off running, waving his arms around to grab the villain's attention. "Hey! Over here!"

Aiden grabbed Annabeth's arm and pulled her away. "We should get out of here."

"But what about Cayden? We can't just leave him!" She tugged against his grip.

"I'm not letting another friend risk themselves." He said firmly, not letting go.

She stopped pulling and Aiden let go of her. "Let's go. We can hide at my place until the heroes take care of this"

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry for wha-?" He stopped mid-sentence as Annabeth took off, running in the same direction Cayden had gone.

Aiden stood frozen for a few moments until he saw two flashes of light in the distance. He sighed and turned away. It was only until much later did he realized that the flashes of light he had seen were pink and green, not gold like the light he had seen on Kat.