Dame Edict looked between them by moving her eyes behind that impenetrable black faceplate, keeping her neck mostly still. "Nar. You saw fit to oppose us further?"

"Yes, I did! Why would that be, you might ask? The answer is quite simple. For you see, I happen to take exception to scoundrels such as yourself indoctrinating the children." Aiden replied in a mocking tone as he floated down to Finn's side, poulaines touching marble flooring. "To think you were arrogant enough to assume I wouldn't see! A travesty, truly."

The Homeland executive showed no reaction, faceless gaze following him like a hawk. "You speak as though you have the moral high ground, hero. Yet here you are, once more, aligning yourself with a stray pup who has yet to understand the true nature of the world. Children are nothing more than vessels waiting to be filled. Why should we not offer them purpose?"

"Hmmm," Nar hummed, faking deliberation by bringing a gloved hand to his masked chin. "I believe your views and mine differ significantly on this matter. The youth are born to discover their purpose, not to have it branded onto them by a corrupting influence, Edict."

Behind her, the two other nondescript superhuman guards readied their stances, and their leader made no move to stop them. Finn noted one of two sets of squares in each of the Homeland soldiers' uniforms faintly distorting space, much like the pylon-shaped device behind Dame Edict had done earlier. He was ready for whatever they tried.

In the face of Nar's response, the supervillain didn't waver. "We cultivate new talent to fight against corrupt systems, the prime example being the standing government. Your interruption delays our mission of bringing about a better future."

Bells jingled as Nar shook his head. "I believe we could stand to live without your envisioned future for quite a bit longer. Preferably forever."

But it seemed Dame Edict was done with the conversation. "Now," she commanded, the word falling off her tongue in a simultaneously flat and sharp tone.

In the outline of the aura, Finn saw two lasers springing into being, aimed straight at himself and Aiden.

They evaded the beams of red energy with ease.

As one, they moved to attack. Finn wanted to use his speed burst technique to cover the distance in an instant, and was disappointed that he couldn't. Disappointed, though not surprised.

This was Dame Edict's power. Inside her domain, she imposed laws of her choosing on reality. At the moment, one of them was probably something along the lines of rapid powered acceleration being inhibited. However, even just their normal runs were relatively fast.

It was a quick three steps later when they reached her, aiming to take her down…

And catching only air.

The penthouse was empty save for the two heroes and the shivering man, every Homeland member having teleported away, strange equipment included.

With the confrontation being over, they straightened. "She ran away," Finn said.

"That she did," replied Aiden. "I never expected her to stay. She's not the type to be baited by taunts, so the decision was always going to come down to how she weighed the potential benefit of completing her objective versus the risk of what staying would force her to deal with."

Glancing at the owner of this place, Finn commented, "He's unimportant."

The guy looked vaguely offended.

Nar didn't contradict his words, instead giving the third occupant the bare minimum assurances and a few light jokes before reporting the incident over his comm system and flying outside. The older hero looked at Finn expectantly, and Finn followed him into the air.

Watching the latest addition to Noor's personal team fix the window with one of the powers in his rotation was an experience, that was for certain. Finn hadn't seen Nar in action for a long time, and he had almost forgotten the level of convenience that having an answer to every situation brought.

If he was being honest with himself, Finn wasn't the slightest bit surprised that Nar had made it to his current position. He knew how capable this person next to him was, having been present in the fight against Viperia and bearing witness to how Nar came through at almost every stage of the fight.

He was reassured, he found. To have such an ally back at his side. It had been a long time since he last had someone strong to fight with, rather than against.

When the damage of Finn' entrance was undone, the jester looked at him questioningly. "Shall we go? It's been too long. I have a more suitable place for us to catch up, Shade."

His response was to nod.

Two swirling golden portals opened, a copy of Warp's power but more developed than he had last seen it. Did that mean the original user was stronger now? Finn definitely wouldn't have been shunted to another dimension if they'd had escape routes for a pair of people to get out of the blast radius as opposed to just one.

…But he couldn't say with confidence that that would have been for the best. Not anymore.

With another person, Finn would have been more cautious of being transported to a random location he didn't know. Here and now, though, he didn't feel paranoid about it at all. In fact, he would go so far as to say Nar was probably his most reliable ally. And friend.

What a strange thing to think. But not false, he determined.

"Yeah, let's go," he said, flying into the aureate distortions.

As expected, Aiden didn't suddenly lead him into a trap. On the other side was an empty building, looking dusty but not abandoned for decades like some old structures in A23G. Someone clearly owned this place, it was just not in use.

The remaining portal shuddered as it exported Apexia's golden boy before winking out. With a flourish of his hand, Aiden set up a golden barrier around them and pulled off his mask, though he didn't land. Neither did Finn; they would be having this conversation suspended in midair, he supposed.

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"I must say, I like the homage. Your new look would have made him proud, I think," the blonde boy commented.

There was no need to ask who he was talking about. Finn had done it with a specific design in mind. "It's just a gray suit. I'm changing the colors manually, so it's not much of a costume, but I figured I wouldn't be mistaken for a villain if I went with something like this."

To demonstrate, he undid all his power effects on his body. The leather armor became its original color and his hair and eyes reverted as well. He didn't see a need to pretend anymore. This look could be considered convenient for him… Left unspoken was the pang in his chest at someone recognizing the similarity to his late father's hero outfit.

"It suits you," was the reply. "Take it far, and you'll honor his legacy in ways even I cannot articulate."

"I'll keep it in mind, Aiden," he said. Changing the topic, he asked, "How long were you watching me earlier?"

The jester laughed. "I saw the entire intervention, from the second you broke the glass to your dialogue with Dame Edict. You've become so powerful! I would say you are almost as strong as I am."

Yeah, right. He shook his head. "Liar." Knowing what he did about Nar's growth rate, it would have been a difficult fight for the current Finn even two years ago. After the time they'd spent away from each other, Nar now stood among the ranks of the Unbound without an unbinding of his own. To put it into perspective, the last person to enter Noor's team whilst having no unbinding was Shiftseeker.

Aiden didn't press the point, only smiling that mysterious smile of his until he moved the conversation forward. "I'm serious about your growth being impressive. Your journey has evidently been fruitful." A pause. "Though I'm sure it was very difficult, you've found a way past the bottleneck you were facing. Congratulations are in order, Finn. I'm proud of you."

It was hard to describe why, but Finn felt somewhat pleased to hear his efforts were being acknowledged by someone strong that he had a personal connection with. It didn't make him feel warm and fuzzy inside or anything, but he did get the impression that he had made it to a new level, now more than before. A formalized step into a new realm of power.

"I don't know how to describe it," he replied. "I can't sense any big difference in you compared to how you were before, but I know you're a lot stronger. And not just because you gained access to a new set of powers."

"That's my charm leaking out," Aiden teased. "And I have been working on my skill, yes. That much is true. For what you're sensing, however, I'm still the same. My body has reached the pinnacle of what is practical for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you not experienced it already?" Aiden asked with a tilt of his head. "Your existential contour."

Finn was reasonably sure he had, but pushed for elaboration nonetheless. "Existential contour?"

"Due to how rare it is for superhumans to encounter this power limitation, we lack official terminology for it. I simply thought mine was apt." The young man gazed at the hypnotically slow golden wave patterns running through his barrier. "What I'm referring to is your physical form, and the range of ways you could potentially alter yourself utilizing the nanomachines in your body. Is it infinite?"

It wasn't too surprising that Aiden knew about the nanites, given the number of perception powers he must have cycled through, so Finn didn't pause to acknowledge that. "...No. It's not." Actually, that wasn't the whole truth. "Not without my power losing effectiveness."

"Precisely," Aiden agreed. "You have similarly observed this in me, yes? That my body is optimized well beyond the parameters of any standard human, yet hasn't been turned into any shape more auspicious for combat, not even outside of shifter forms? This is the reason."

He was sensing the older Wardell sibling's enhanced body right this moment, just like he had back when he first unlocked his passive color perception. There was hardly any internal change when he reconciled that memory with the present. "You've hit a ceiling with your body. And I'm going to hit mine soon," he realized out loud.

"Yes," the unmasked jester confirmed. "But this isn't entirely negative. Acclimating to your body to the point of mastery has immeasurable foundational value for the rest of your abilities. I hope that I managed to stress the importance of that lesson prior to your disappearance."

"You did."

"Excellent!" Gloved hands clapped together. "Then you should know what follows from that premise, logically. If one identity has a specific existential outline, then if more than one consciousness were to share residence in a single body…" Aiden began.

"They wouldn't have the same limits," Finn finished. "Would every mind have one outline unique to them, or would the dominant mind take control?"

"Perhaps they would bleed together," his fellow superhuman hinted.

Was there any example of what he… Wait. "You're talking about Lyra."

Aiden didn't deny it.

"You know what's happening to her? You can help me find her, can't you?" Finn stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Is that so?"

He frowned. "Don't act so casual about it. Lyra is like Omega. Do you get what that means?"

At that, the other hero looked genuinely surprised. "Omega shares a body with his power as well? That explains quite a lot. You really should tell me your story, Finn. I'm dying to hear it."

"Later," he dismissed. "Lyra left, didn't she? You can't tell me her whereabouts? She's not responding to me."

"I'm not in a position to help her, I assure you. If I were capable of resolving her issue, I would have done so."

"But you just let her leave? The rest, I can understand. They don't have the context to understand what's happening to her. You? You know what she's going through. Why did you let her out in that state? You couldn't have captured her?"

"Indeed I could have, but what then? Do you think she would have listened, imprisoned and fearful? No, Finn. That's not how you help someone on the edge of becoming something new, especially not someone with Lyra's composition. She isn't just a person anymore. She's a convergence. And convergence cannot be contained. It can only be guided."

"You let her go villain," he accused. "You knew what she was going to do. And you just threw your hands up as if she was a lost cause."

Aiden didn't flinch at the accusation. "I let her go free," he corrected softly. "And what led you to the belief that I wasn't keeping an eye on her?"

He couldn't believe his ears. "You think you're keeping her in check? Until she stabilizes?"

"I can't guarantee that is what will happen, but if I were to tell you that I gathered information using various precognition abilities, would that make you less vexed with me?"

"What?"

The Wardell heir said nothing, giving him time to process.

"You're saying containment would have resulted in something worse. Accelerated power development. Large scale destruction… There's no stopping this. There never was." He wanted to sink through the floor. It felt like the whole world was crashing down on him.

One of Aiden's hands found his back. "It's not hopeless. You will find a way; you always do."

"What about you?" he asked, his throat suddenly dry.

The barrier shed a platform that hovered in Aiden's direction, which the boy sat cross-legged on. "I'll be providing whatever aid I can, and continuing my research into the nature of her condition."

Neither of them spoke for a time.

"I still want to see her," Finn decided. "I need to see it for myself. I'm not going back on my word."

"I wasn't expecting you to," Aiden replied. "Now, on to the story?"

Finn smiled a little. "Alright."

They ended up speaking for hours.

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