Aiden sat quietly on the back porch of his house and waited. Inside, his Father was vigorously yelling at his Mother - as was the norm for this time of day.
Aiden wasn't quite sure what they talked about while he was outside. He could hear them well enough, but he didn't fully understand all the words. It could be anything really. It wasn't even always his Father doing the yelling. Today, what few snippets of the conversation he understood confused him. His father seemed to be mad at his Mother for selling their house. Aiden found that strange. A few months ago, selling the house and going somewhere else seemed to be the only thing his parents could absolutely agree on.
Now it was just one more thing for them to scream about.
He had once asked one of his teachers what he should do at times like this. He wasn't asking about how to make the yelling stop or to help his parents be happy. He just wanted to know if there was anything he could or should be doing while he waited. This happened to him fairly often after all. He had spent more time on the little deck behind his home than in even his own room. He had come to love the place, to claim it as his own in some small way. Sometimes his Mom brought her friends over, and they played on the deck too, but that wasn't all that common because his Father didn't like it.
Regardless, he spent a lot of time kicking his legs back and forth in the backyard. His teacher, for what reason he couldn't fathom, had seemed positively horrified at the question. Then she asked a bunch of her own questions.
That was one of the few times both his parents managed to agree on something. Or so he gathered given that they chose to yell at him together that night.
He had since acquired better ways to spend his time when his parents started yelling. Even as young as he was, Aiden understood that Brockton Bay was dangerous and that he shouldn't wander around it by himself. That was before though. Now the city was nice. All the people were smiling, and all the bad guys had run away, thanks to Nexus.
That was the logic Aiden had applied the first time he had gotten up and gone to walk around the city by himself, his Armsmaster toy in hand.
He would have brought a different toy, preferably a Trainwreck one, but to his great disappointment, such a thing simply didn't exist. One of his friends at school had one, but apparently, his father had made it himself using a 'three dee printer' - whatever that was.
Originally, he had stuck to just walking up and down his own street, occasionally digging around in people's bushes, or ducking into the few green areas between houses. He didn't want to go too far and get in trouble. But well - he hadn't. His parents hadn't even noticed he was gone, actually.
So each time they set him outside to wait for them to finish yelling, he went exploring.
And each time, he ranged further and further away before returning. It wasn't that he really intended to go further away. It was just that Aiden had a preference for nature. Trees, grass, and water. None of these things were particularly abundant in his tiny suburban neighbourhood - so he had gone further and further away.
Today, he was walking along the side of the culvert that ran behind most of his neighbourhood and beyond. The ugly concrete pathway was a long time interest of Aidens, but he had only recently managed to muster the courage to go down into it. The sloped concrete walls of the culvert were there, he was told, to allow the water to rise when it rained - preventing the creek within from overflowing into people's back yards. Most of that information had gone over Aidens head when he'd had it explained to him, but what he did recall was the fact that he could die if he slipped and fell into the water.
Aiden didn't fully grasp what that meant, but he didn't like it regardless.
So it was that he was very carefully trudging up the edge of the culvert, waving his Armsmaster toy around, and generally enjoying himself when he came upon a man. Three men actually. All of them were standing in the shadows of a bridge that passed over the culvert, and Aiden instantly frowned when he saw them.
Two of the men looked like anyone he might see on the street. Just normal people. The third, however, was a black man with greying hair and a tattered, unseasonable long coat covering his form.
"No fucking justice in this shit hole city anymore. Back when Kaiser was around, you'd be fucking dead for coming here and daring to dig around behind my restaurant." One of them cussed, lashing out with a kick that caught the old black man on the shoulder and earned a grunt of pain from him.
"It was just trash! I was hungry and it was just trash!" The old man cried out, clutching his wounded shoulder and shimmying away on his but as best he could.
"It was my trash you stupid fuck! You start eating there now and the next thing I know a whole army of you degenerates will be lining up at closing time. Then what huh? You gonna pay me for all the customers you scared away just by showing your stupid face near my store? Gary fucking help me teach this fucking thing a lesson!" Growled the man.
"Boss he's just a hobo I dunno if-" The much more worried looking companion of the first man stuttered out.
"This is why you never got your fucking tats you pussy. You weren't willing to do what had to be done. He's a fucking hobo - no one is going to notice if he goes missing."
"No, wait, please! I - I can get money! I'll steal it if I have to just don't-" The old man cried out in terror.
"Shut up!" The first man spat at him, kicking him again.
Now, Aiden didn't fully understand everything the men had just said. But he had been around his parents long enough to recognize a swear word when he heard it. He had also watched enough cartoons to know that these were obviously some very bad people.
To Aiden's mind, this was the exact moment when a hero would show up. Just as the men were about to hurt the old man again, someone like Aspirant or Huntsman would do a flip over the edge of the culvert, and call for them to halt or something else cool like that. Having not yet been noticed by anyone in the area, he watched for a second as the men continued to liberally bludgeon the old man, craning his head back to try and spot the hero as they arrived.
But as the seconds ticked by and no one came to help, Aiden was left with the realization that this was it. No one was coming - likely because no one knew anything was wrong. He briefly debated screaming as loud as he could for help to rectify that, but the image of his mother flashed through his mind's-eye, berating him for ever making so much noise and disturbing other people.
He bit his lip, suddenly unsure of what to do, but knowing he had to do something. Then he looked down at his Armsmaster action figure and asked himself;
'What would Trainwreck do?'
And the answer to that, of course, was obvious.
This was how Aiden Tate found himself running straight at the men, still biting his lip to restrain the terrified scream in his chest from exiting his lungs and making trouble for the people nearby. He barely even considered what he would do after he had succeeded in his charge, but the sudden stumbling of the man whose leg he rammed into, followed by that same man stumbling backward and falling into the creek made him feel like maybe everything would be okay.
Unfortunately, he had failed to account for several factors.
For one, Aiden was not a very large child. In fact, he was somewhat underfed and scrawny - something his teachers had taken note of but failed to do anything about. Second, because the water level in the culvert was so low, the creak was only really ankle deep.
So while yes, he had knocked the grown man into the water, that same man took maybe a single second picking himself back up and striding towards Aiden with murder in his eyes.
"You little-"
"Sir we can't- he's a kid! Nexus will-" The other man, who was now to Aiden's left as he stood between him and the old man, cautioned.
"I don't fucking care! He's just some fucking kid. Bet no one even notices him when he goes missing, I mean it fucking happens all the goddamn time here!" The man raved as he bent forward to reach towards Aiden, who was frozen with fear and indecision.
Faintly, Aiden started to hear something approaching them from a distance, but despite the renewed hope of heroic intervention, he was still completely unable to bring himself to move or even speak when the man stretched forward to grab him.
"Hasn't been like that in months…" The more reasonable of the two men grumbled - though he notably didn't try to stop his compatriot either.
Aiden watched - as though in slow motion - as the man's hand moved towards him, wondering with pure terror what would happen when he succeeded. He'd never been beaten up before. Would it be like when his father found out he spilled juice on the carpet in the basement? Or would it be worse?
He was spared from having to find out by a most peculiar thing.
Three pigeons. Each one was plump like they were someone's pets and had merely escaped somehow. Their plumage was pristine and shiny, completely at odds with the unpleasant dirty appearance pigeons were known for, or as his father liked to say, 'Flying Rats'. But perhaps the most notable thing about them was the longer than seemed reasonable talons on their feet. Talons that were liberally slashing and stabbing at Aiden's aggressor, causing him to flail and beat ineffectually at them.
"What the- the hell is up with these fucking-" The first man complained, though the second merely paled.
"Shit, those things don't normally come this far out." The second man hissed through clenched teeth as he carefully backed away from them. When he was a sufficient distance away, he turned and sprinted, clawing his way up the side of the culvert and out of sight.
Aiden was dimly aware of these things. They looked like pigeons but definitely were not actually the common animal. His friend who lived near the big castle told him that Nexus had made them to protect people. He called them Guardian Angels and said that he even got to pet one once. Aiden had been quite jealous at the time.
Now, as they left bloody streaks on the face of the man they were attacking, he wasn't so sure.
The distant sound of something approaching grew as the angels attacked man, and Aiden - remembering the old man behind him - turned to see if he was okay, which had the entirely intentional effect of moving him further away from his attacker.
"Sir?" He asked politely, just like his father had taught him to when speaking to his betters.
"I'm okay, nothing broken. You should go, kid. No telling how long he'll be distracted." the old man coughed out, levering himself up and then wincing when it became obvious he was too weak to push himself fully to his feet. Aiden tried to help him up but was too small and weak himself to really make much difference.
"The angels will bring Nexus here, so it's safe." He stated adamantly, causing the old man to look at him strangely - like when he said something he shouldn't and a teacher noticed.
He never got the opportunity to actually say anything about it though, because several things happen all at once.
For one, the angels all spontaneously flew away. Second, the man they were attacking let out a howl of outrage and spun to face Aiden again. And third - a massive wall of water slammed into everyone in the culvert as it flowed downhill towards the bay, sweeping Aiden, the old man, and the bad man up.
The old man, perhaps in a feeble attempt to protect Aiden, kept a decent hold on the child as they were fully submerged, but he needn't have bothered. Aiden found the entire experience surprisingly painless. In fact, he would almost describe the gentle swell of water as it swirled him around as a caress. In the relative darkness beneath the surface, he could almost see the shape of a woman swishing around the liquid around him.
Aiden had no idea how long he was underwater, but curiously he never felt the need to breathe. Eventually, he just allowed himself to be dragged along - losing his grip on his Armsmaster toy in the process - until he was eventually deposited on the sands at the edge of the bay, a significant distance from both his starting location and his home. In fact, he had no idea how he would even attempt to get home from here.
He shook his head to shake the stars out of his eyes and turned to the old man nearby to see if maybe he would help, then paused when he got a good look at him. The old man was staring mesmerized at something… that was directly behind him.
Heart suddenly jackhammering, Aiden whirled around to face whatever this new threat was - privately he kind of hoped it was sharks - only to stop in shock.
Because behind him, there stood a woman. Mostly. She wasn't wearing any clothes, which Aiden thought was icky and weird, but from the waist down her entire body was made of clear water that widened out at its base as though she was wearing the shore of the bay itself as a dress. Indeed, instead of shifting back and forth, the waters of the bay were remaining perfectly still at this exact moment - directly beneath her. She had long nearly ethereal hair of a color Aiden wasn't sure he had a word for and thin elfin features.
"Hello, dear child." The woman said with a kind smile, leaning over to be closer to eye level with him.
"Um, hello." He replied slowly, then winced and closed his eyes out of reflex.
"Why do you flinch at the sight of me? Have I hurt you so?" The woman asked with a caring tone that made Aiden slightly uncomfortable.
Because he had never quite experienced anything like it before.
"No, I just-" Aiden paused, forcing himself not to make any 'um' or 'ah' noises and swivelling his head to eye the old man again who was just watching events unfold with stark surprise on his face. "-I'm not supposed to make stupid noises when I talk. Because it makes me stupid." He finally explained, trying to recall exactly what his father had said.
"Hmm." The lady in front of him hummed, standing and turning to the old man. "I will heal you in exchange for a boon." She half asked, half ordered, her tone becoming suddenly cold and imperious as she slid forward across the water to be in front of her target.
Aiden noticed that when she moved further inland, the water moved with her, and hurriedly jogged through the sand to catch up to her before his shoes got too wet.
"A what?" the old man asked dumbly.
"A b- a favour. A task, a request. Would you like to be healed?" She stated in an exasperated voice, suddenly sounding slightly less… old-timey… when she talked.
"...what favour?" the man asked carefully.
"I require clothes to fit the boy, a tent, a gas lamp of some kind, and-" She paused, turning to regard Aiden before turning back to the old man. "-a chicken dinner."
"I don't have any money to buy that stuff with." the old man pointed out, his voice almost expectant sounding.
"Here. You may take what you want from it so long as my needs are met." The woman stated imperiously, waving a hand and causing a briefcase to drift up onto the beach from beneath the bay. Cautiously, the old man limped over to it, bending over and popping the shockingly dry briefcase to reveal more money than Aiden had ever seen in real life - although briefcases full of money were fairly common in the tv shows he was allowed to watch, so it wasn't like he didn't understand the concept.
"And… I can keep the rest?" The old man confirmed.
"Yes, yes there's always more where that came from. Young Man, what is your name?" The woman questioned Aiden suddenly turning away from the old man.
"Aiden, miss." He responded quickly.
"My name is Nimue. Always remember that money is unimportant. You will only end up like him if you spend your life pursuing it." Nimue said kindly, gesturing at the old man who lifted an eyebrow but wisely chose not to speak.
"Yes, miss." Aiden dutifully acknowledged.
"Good boy. You are very innocent, do you know that? And so brave." She said with a smile, shifting so that she at least looked like she was sitting on the beach before patting a spot beside her.
Aiden at this point had already concluded that Nimue was a new hero of some kind, which to his mind, meant that she was automatically at least as trustworthy as his teachers. If you couldn't trust the superheroes, what was the point in trusting anyone? Thus, it was completely without guile that he took a seat next to the woman. The sand beneath him was surprisingly comfortable and warm as he sat in it - not at all the freezing cold he had been expecting from the beach - and he felt a sense of calm contentment wash over him as Nimue tousled his hair and smiled down at him.
"So just-" the old man started.
"Be about your task." Nimue cut him off politely, before adding "Should you forget the specifics, merely consider what you would need to live comfortably here by the bay."
"You said you'd heal me though!" the old man countered instantly.
"You have been healed from the minute you set foot in my waters. Congratulations, you no longer have cancer." Nimue grumbled at him before turning back towards Aiden, even as the old man blinked and patted himself down in disbelief.
"What was I saying?" she asked him thoughtfully. The old man had already turned to jog across the beach as though his life depended on it.
"You said I was brave?" Aiden asked more than stated.
"Why yes! Yes, you are! Tell me, do you know what most people would have done in that situation?" She asked him with that same tone his teachers used when they were providing lessons.
"Called the police?" He offered hesitantly.
"No, dear. They wouldn't. The truth is, they would have done absolutely nothing. Do you know what chivalry is?" She asked him.
"Like, knights and stuff?" He asked.
"Yes! Just like that. Let me tell you-" She smiled at him, a huge glimmering smile that made Aiden feel warm and tingly inside just seeing it.
They spent a lot of time just like that, talking to each other. Nimue taught him all sorts of things about chivalry, and how to be a knight, and how important it was to always try to do the right thing. She taught him about magic, and about how she was one of the only fairies in the world right now. She asked him about his favourite foods, his favourite toys, and who his favourite hero was.
She had been very polite when she had told him he was wrong and that Nexus was obviously a better choice than Trainwreck, which Aiden didn't think was fair.
After all, Nexus had all the powers. Nobody at recess was allowed to pick her when they were playing because they could just make up whatever they wanted, and that was no fun for everyone else.
At length, the old man brought Nimue everything she had asked for and more, thanking her profusely for healing him with tears in his eyes and swearing he would never forget this favour. Nimue had just watched smugly on as he left them behind, only to call him back from halfway up the beach when she realized she had no idea how to build the tent.
Aiden watched the entire thing while feeling almost surreal about it all. The entire thing was just… nice. He imagined that if his parents were ever happy at the same time, that this would be what it would feel like to go to the beach with them.
Still, it was getting dark, and he was starting to get worried about how he was going to get home. He was sure his parents would have to notice he was missing eventually, and they wouldn't be very happy with him if they had to come to find him.
When he had made Nimue aware of this fact, however, she had merely directed a strained smile towards him, and gestured at the half finished tent that the old man - who said his name was Aron - was building, then at the unopened chicken dinner resting atop a plastic bag nearby.
"I'm truly sorry that I am unable to help you Aiden, but I cannot stray too far from my waters. I'm sure that if your parents love you, they will come for you. Why not stay here tonight?" She offered.
Aiden didn't really have to think about it that hard. He was hungry and the beach was surprisingly comfy anyway. As long as Nimue kept him safe then one night shouldn't be so bad right?
"Okay." he agreed.
It wasn't much more than a week later that Aiden realized that his parents… probably weren't coming. Aron - who had come back every day to see him - had even given his name to the police and asked if there were any missing person reports. There weren't, however, and after spending a day under the care of the police while they tried - and failed - to contact his parents, Aiden had eventually opted to just run back to Nimue.
He was much less bothered by the situation that he felt he probably should be - but Nimue kept him fed, and cleaned his clothes for him, and Aron helped him get to school every day so… really it wasn't any different from normal for him. As the days continued on, he realized that it was honestly better than it was before. Nimue and Aron helped him with his homework, and for some reason, he never had trouble finding his way back to the beach - despite Aron claiming that he could never seem to find the exact spot they were in until Aiden had woken up for the day, almost as if he was being forced to wait to find it somehow.
Thus, Aiden Tate, found himself something of an urban legend.
Thus, the tale of the Blessed Child of the Bay began.
Thus, a knight was born.