Denouement

EIGHT

Shade reappeared a few blocks away and slid against the brick wall. Her mind was reeling from the last twenty minutes. She took gulping breaths of the cool autumn air in attempt to calm her racing pulse.

Keenan was Falcon.

Sweet, goofy Keenan who would never hurt a fly. The same kid, who for all his teasing and pestering would go to the ends of the earth for his friends. And he had in fact. When Rachel's parents were getting divorced in middle school, he would try everything in his power to make her smile. He always made her smile. He made everyone smile, even at his own expense.

Keenan was Falcon.

Aurelia had pummeled him countless times. Had beaten and battered him senseless. She felt immediate hot shame as all the fights between her and Falcon flew through her mind. Suddenly, a whole new realization hit her. How did he know what her father had said to her before he died?

Démêlez le fil pour vous retrouver. Unravel the thread to find yourself.

Her stomach bottomed out at the thought of Keenan or rather Falcon having such sensitive information about her. How long would it be before Keenan connected the dots from Shade to Aurelia? He knew that Aurelia's parents were dead, that she spent her early life in Paris and that she spoke fluent French. One slip up and Keenan would know.

Her breath were still coming quickly as the shadows that concealed her pulsed and throbbed with her rapid breathing. They seemed almost like a living thing. They were in a way. They were just as much a part of her as anything else.

She needed to get home, to do something productive. Distract herself. She took a deep breath, and the shadows around her became solid, no longer pulsing around her. She steeled herself as she slunk back to her apartment.

→ → → → → → → → →

Keenan sat against the door to the roof where Shade had cornered him. He was still shocked at how she even managed to wrestle his mask from him. It had happened so fast. He had gotten cocky. Shade had kept herself scarce the last month or so, and he had gotten over confident. Thought that she was passing threat. He was dead wrong. She was as much a threat as ever.

Her shadows were always menacing, but as she stared down at him and slid the mask off slowly, just for the hell of it. In that moment he knew she was completely feral, and there was no reconciling with someone like that. Not to mention that she always beat the shit out of him whenever they scuffled. That had never been fun.

His back was beginning to hurt from his position against the door. He slowly got up, and took a deep breath. He couldn't be walking around the city without his mask, so he resorted to his bird form. He had to find Aria. She would know what to do.

→ →

Keenan was perched on the fire escape of Aria's building, lightly pecking at her window. He did it a few more times when a soft glow illuminated her window. She opened the window for him and he shifted back into his human form. Aria took in the sight of him; no mask, a fresh bruise on cheek, and a tear across the left shoulder of his suit.

"What happened?" she asked bluntly.

"Shade," Keenan ground out.

Aria shook her head, "what do you mean, I thought she was a low level threat? She hasn't been spotted in weeks."

Keenan sighed, "that's what I thought too. But that's not even the worst of it." He glanced the floor, but Aria shifted on the bed to be closer to him. She brought her hand to his face, made him look up at her. "She knows who I am."

Aria's eyes widened in shock, "how did she manage that?"

"She caught me off guard during my last sweep of the city. I hadn't seen her in weeks. It seemed like she was gone. I -I was over confident in myself."

Keenan's gaze settled on the ground again. Aria looked as if she had something to say. He looked up at her, eyes questioning.

They had a bond that few shared. The kind that comes with time and patience. They could read each other like an open book, so for Aria not to be telling him something was rather worrying.

"Did you fight her?" he asked, leveling his gaze at Aria. Now it was Aria's turn to stare at the floor. "Aria, please. Just tell me."

Gaze still fixed on the ground she spoke, "yeah a few weeks ago. She ambushed me, Granite, Sparrow and Prophet. She took out all four of us like it was nothing. But then she cornered me and interrogated me about you."

"What did she ask?"

"About how you were acting, and what you had to do with her. But I couldn't tell her anything, because I don't know anything. Keenan, why can't you tell me what's going on? I'm not Granite or Sparrow or the Prophet. We're closer than that and you know it."

Keenan looked embarrassed for keeping Aria in the dark. He couldn't explain to her what he was doing just yet. Now that Shade knew who he was, his plans would be altered to stay a step ahead of her.

"I'll tell you next week," he said and Aria's face darkened.

He could see that he had clearly angered her. Her from began to flicker, as it so often did when her emotions got the best of her. She took a steadying breath and her form solidified again.

"Next week and no later, Falcon."

He froze. Aria only used his other name when she fuming. He knew he had screwed up and knew for certain that this would not easily be forgotten.

He could play that game too. He gently pecked her on the cheek, and she recoiled instantly. "Good night, Fission."

And with that he shifted into his bird form and flew out the window into the night.