Chicken Little
<infobox> <title source="name"><default>Chicken Little</default></title>
<image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group><header>Basic Information</header> <label>Civilian Name</label> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Gender</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Death</label> <label>Age</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> <label>Relations</label> <label>Family</label></group> <group><header>Professional Status</header> <label>Occupation</label> <label>Classification</label> <label>Unique Features</label> <label>Alignment</label>
<label>Status</label><format><label>Location</label> <label>Teams</label> <label>Previous Team(s)</label> <label>Base of Operations</label></group> <group><header>First Appearance</header> <label>Worm Debut</label> <label>Ward Debut</label></group> </infobox> Aiden Tate, also known as Chicken Little,<ref>Interlude 10.z II</ref> is a junior member of The Undersiders.
Personality
A quiet, solemn boy who worries a lot.<ref name="22.x">Interlude 22.x</ref> Aiden had regular nightmares and intermittent sleepwalking, screaming in the night, until one night he dreamed about space-whales.<ref name="I26 e2">Interlude 26</ref> After that, they stopped.<ref name="22.x"/>
Four years later Aiden worries less and plans what to do about it more.<ref>Interlude 10.z II</ref> Further, he wanted to get people working together.
Was noted to have a habit of giving things lame names, with his cape name and the name of his eagle being prime examples.<ref>Interlude 10.z II</ref>
Relationships
Tattletale
Tattletale took Aiden on as her protege, and taught him about things; about what specifically is unspecified. He grew accustomed to people swearing from being around Tattletale's men.<ref name="End"/> Aiden admired and loved Tattletale, but didn't want to end up like her or Imp.<ref name="10.z 1">“I’m loyal,” he said. “The Undersiders are badass, and the Heartbroken, like these two are-”
He looked at Candy, then at Darlene. Seeing Darlene chewing on her thumbnail, he took her hand away from her mouth and gripped it tight.
“-some of my favorite people.”
Darlene squeezed his hand.
“Darn,” Kenzie said.
“Is it weird if I say I love Tattletale and Imp and I don’t want to end up like them?”
“No,” Kenzie said. - Excerpt from Interlude 10.z II</ref>
Rachel Lindt
Aiden seemed to be close to Rachel, referring to her as Aunt Rachel.<ref>“I couldn’t, though. They’d get hurt and that would suck. Aunt Rachel’s dogs get hurt or die a lot and it sucks.”
“Aunt Rachel?”
“Bitch, or Hellhound, but she doesn’t have a secret identity, obviously-”
“Nonono, obviously. Yes, I know her name and everything, I get it. I just blanked.” - Excerpt from Polarize 10.6</ref>
Kenzie Martin
Despite being on opposing sides, Kenzie and Aiden got along well when they met.<ref>Polarize 10.6</ref> Against Tattletale's wishes, Aiden visited Kenzie in the hospital after she was shot, and leaked Tattletale's files to Breakthrough.<ref>Kenzie’s source had given us some information. Photos of bulletin boards, with some more photos of notecards, all with Tattletale as the dubious source, I had the PRT data from Dragon, I had my notes from the Patrol, and I had my own notes. - Excerpt from Blinding 11.3</ref> Antares and Tattletale eventually agreed upon a plan for the two young capes to communicate.<ref>“Fine. I’ll agree to that. But Chicken Little is still grounded. He can’t talk to his friends on the phone.”
“Some conversation.”
“I’ll cut twenty percent off his sentence of being grounded forever,” Tattletale said. She glanced back at Chicken Little, who ducked his head.
“Seriously,” I said. “At limited times per day. Or a limited number of messages,” I suggested.
I heard Kenzie groan behind me.
“That would be workable,” Chicken Little muttered, barely audible.
“Feathers and chat. Some meetings allowed if they’re both on good behavior. I’ve read her rap sheet, and I want to make sure he’s protected.” - Excerpt from Blinding 11.3</ref>
The Heartbroken
Aiden got along well with some of the Heartbroken, considering Candy and Darlene to be some of his favorite people.<ref name="10.z 1" /> Darlene had a crush on him and was jealous of Kenzie.<ref>“I’m not confused. I really do like it, and I’m glad other people do too. I get being jealous.”
Darlene dropped one of the makeup things.
“Oh, whoops, foot in mouth,” Kenzie said. “Can I blame the pain drugs?”
“No,” Darlene said.
“You can blame the drugs,” Candy said, giving Kenzie’s lap a pat.
Jealous? Oh. - Excerpt from Interlude 10.z II</ref> They did seem to torment him to some degree, however, playing 'kissing tag' with him, apparently to test his character.<ref>“You lost to the Heartbroken. Samuel wanted to see what you were made of, I didn’t say no. Maybe that’s not fair, maybe his idea of a good test is screwed up because the asshole that spawned him was flinging him into situations against capes and cops before he could even read. Most of the rest of them are like that. They were cannon fodder, they were punching bags, they were slaves to make and bring food… nothing about that was healthy or good for anything except making them very, very dangerous.”
“I like some of them,” Chicken Little said, pronouncing ‘some of them’ with a mumble that turned it into ‘sumblum’. - Excerpt from Interlude 10.x II</ref>
Rain O'Fire Frazier
Aiden thinks that Rain is a total badass.<ref>Black 13.2</ref> Rain, in turn, thinks of him as a good kid, questioning his choice to be a villain when they first met<ref>Interlude 10.z II</ref>
Taylor Hebert
Taylor was only around Aiden for a short while,<ref name="II10.z e2">But this was the kind of thing they needed. Alliances, solidifying ties. When people were hurt, they needed to be taken care of. He’d learned that sort of thing from Charlotte and Forrest, from Sierra, and from people who had passed more quickly through his life. Taylor had only been around for a short while, but she had made an impact too. - Excerpt from Interlude 10.z II</ref> not long after his parents died.<ref name="II16.7" /> As a warlord, she paid Charlotte to look after him and the other orphans;<ref name="22.x" /> Aiden spent more time around other Undersiders like Grue than he spent around Taylor.<ref name="II16.7" /> However, she did make enough of an impact on him,<ref name="II10.z e2" /> such as possibly giving him a mug of hot chocolate,<ref name="II19.8" /> for her shard to bud onto him.
Two years after Gold Morning, Aiden barely remembers her. Although it felt bad for him to say, as she did help him, Aiden doesn't miss Taylor because he didn't know her. He thinks about her occasionally but admits he thinks about her less and less as he can only ask the same questions so many times.<ref name="II16.7" />
Appearance
He is still young and small with typical bad posture.<ref>The fact that everyone was waiting for the hooded executioner to lead the kid villain away gave me a chance to observe and think- he wasn’t good at projecting his voice. His frame was more similar to Kenzie, but he slouched some like Chris did. Chris, though, had a natural volume, possibly because of subtle changer effects. I felt an urge to coach him, and correct something that seemed so obvious, which might have been why I was fixated on it. - Excerpt from Pitch 6.8</ref><ref name="II16.6"/> He carried a pigeon with him when he first got his powers,<ref name="27.1">Excerpt from Extinction 27.1</ref><ref name="End"/> later he is accompanied by flocks of birds. He has red-brown hair, in a fauxhawk style.
His costume consists of a coat and face mask. The mask is full-face, with a red crest on top, two black dots for eyes set low on the mask and a small beak. <ref>Hard, round, circular, with two back dots for eyes, a red crest at the upper center, and a small beak. - Excerpt from Interlude 10.x II</ref> The coat has coat tails with a feather cut to look like bird wings.<ref>Chicken Little reached into the front pocket of the coat that had been built into his costume- it had tails at the back like an old fashioned coat, but the tails had a feather-like cut to them, like a bird’s folded wings. His mask was full-face, with beady black eyes set fairly low, in a way that made the forehead and the crest at the top stand out more.- Excerpt from Polarize 10.6</ref> He has reinforced padding straped on his clothing to accommodate larger birds of prey.<ref name="II16.6">And then Chicken Little, who couldn’t come off as anything but a kid, when surrounded by so many others who seemed so bad at acting like regular kids. The amusing thing was, he was showing off more power than the others, with three birds perched on his shoulders, where his red jacket had straps arranged to be extra padding and grip-points for talons. But he didn’t seem more powerful. - Excerpt from From Within 16.6</ref>
Abilities and Powers
He can see through birds' eyes when he isn't controlling them and, when he is controlling them, the birds go where he 'pushed' and moved away from where he 'pulled'.<ref name="I26">Interlude 26</ref> He cannot control them individually, rather he sets 'invisible flags' or rally points where birds get pulled towards. Alternatively, this can be used to make the influenced birds move in a wave, told to attack targets on their way and similar actions.<ref name="WoW">Writebow: Can't control them indviidually
[...]
Writebow: Sets invisible flags. Birds get pulled to that point.
Writebow: Or uses flag to have them all move in a wave, attacking on the way, etc. - Comment by Wildbow archived on Spacebattles</ref> His control was fine enough to make an individual pigeon hop from one knee to the other, then back again.<ref name="27.1"/>
He was later seen controlling a flock of birds, and can likely control full flights of such.<ref name="WoW"/> He gained a large amount of firepower when he was given "Chicken Large".
Aiden triggered with a bud of Taylor's Administrator Shard that allows him to control small simple life forms. In his case, birds.
History
Background
Aiden was born in June 2005.<ref name="II10.x e1">“You forgot my birthday.”
“Four month belated birthday.”
“Isn’t it six months?” He started counting on his fingers. “September, August…”
She pulled her hand back away from the handle at the back of, the truck, moving it in fits and starts as he went from August to July, July to June…
He stopped, looking up at her with the mask in one hand. She smiled down at him.
“Four months, yeah,” he said. - Excerpt from Interlude 10.x II</ref><ref name="II10.z e1" />
His full history is unknown but he was presumably the son of Brockton Bay natives. His mother had red hair, freckles, and wide hips.<ref name="II16.11" /> Before his parents died, he had some Armsmaster merchandise and the video game "Seasoned Heroes Northeast".<ref name="II16.7" />
Post-Slaughterhouse Nine
Taken in by Taylor Hebert and moved into her headquarters along with other children that were orphaned by The Nine. Cared for by Charlotte<ref name="I26 e2"/>
Post-Echidna
Drew a picture after having strange dreams of space-whales, after Skitter came home the night her identity was revealed.<ref name="I26 e2"/><ref name="22.x"/>
Post-Timeskip
Triggered from an old nightmare, the first in a long time, a day before Gold Morning,<ref name="I26">“He triggered yesterday. It… didn’t take much. Which is probably good.”
Aidan hung his head.
“That’s excellent,” Tattletale said. She looked at the seven year old. “How are you?”
“Okay. Had a nightmare for the first time in a long, long time. I woke up and I was sleepwalking, and I didn’t know where I was… I got scared, and then it happened.” - Excerpt from Interlude 26</ref> possibly with the return of the Slaughterhouse Nine.
The drawing he had done earlier was brought out again to jog Tattletale's memory at a critical time.
Gold Morning
Was at the gathering before the Undersiders went to the Cauldron meeting.
Aiden was no longer staying with Charlotte.<ref name="28.6">Cockroaches 28.6</ref>
Post-Gold Morning
Aiden was taken under Tattletale's wing, and looked after between lessons by her soldiers, although Charlotte still checked up on him.<ref name="End">Interlude: End</ref>
Early-Ward
Kept Tattletale company when she met with an old Brockton Bay resident.<ref>Glare 3.1</ref>
Post-Fallen Fall
Chicken Little was present at the meeting with the unnamed hero team,<ref>Pitch 6.7</ref> he was escorted away after Precipice was brought in via video conferencing.<ref>Pitch 6.8</ref>
Post-Goddess' Takeover
Chicken Little accompanied Tattletale to go after The Needlepoints when they were being pursued by March. He was present when Breakthrough met with Tattletale and got along well with Lookout.<ref>Polarize 10.6</ref>
He visited Kenzie when she was at the hospital and tried to form a pseudo-alliance.<ref>Interlude 10.z II</ref> This led to him sending pictures of Tt's notes,<ref>Blinding 11.3</ref> this got him into trouble.<ref>Blinding 11.4</ref>
Post-Time Bubble Pop
Aiden started a team with Darlene, Candy, and Kenzie Martin.
Helped out Tattletale and Antares with some detective work.
Welcomed Lookout back from Earth Shin and was invited to the Wardens HQ.<ref>Interlude 15.a II</ref> Helped out Lookout with some tinkering.<ref>Dying 15.1</ref>
The Ice Breaks
Chicken Little was alongside The Undersiders and Breakthrough during the oversight of Titan Oberon and Eve, but was delivered back to Wardens base once thing got hairy. <ref name="II18.4">Radiation 18.4</ref> He stayed together with The Chicken Tenders and Lookout during the following battles with titans.
Feeling helpless during Lookout's mental break, Aiden volunteered to recover Lookout's tech from The Firmament and investigate some possibilities on the personal behalf of Imp and Tattletale.<ref name="II19.8">Infrared 19.8</ref><ref name="II19.f">Infrared 19.f</ref>
Aiden infected himself with the Victoria's plague with some help from Juliette and without Tattletale knowledge, which led to Darlene and Candy following along too.<ref>“it would be because Juliette froze Roman so Chicken Little, Candy, and Darlene could touch him and get the effect. Well, technically, it was Chicken Little doing it, then Darlene did it because he did, and Candy joined in after…” - Excerpt from Last 20.10</ref>
Chapter Appearances
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Trivia
- Chicken Little's name is pegged as Aiden as it is spelled different ways in the story and in WOG.
Fanart Gallery
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Image by S7YX based on WB's notes
-
Image by NumberWangMan
References
<references/>
| Leader | Grue {{#switch: former | deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Skitter {{#switch: former |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Tattletale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Members | Bitch • Foil • Imp • Parian • Regent {{#switch: deceased | deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Chicken Little | |||||
| Subordinates | Atlas {{#switch: deceased | deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Barker • Biter • Cassie • Charlotte • Forrest • Bryce Kiley • Sierra Kiley • Chicken Large • Snuff | |||||
| Associates | Accord's Ambassadors • Bitch's Dogs • Coil's Organization • The Heartbroken • The Needlepoints • Sons of Bitch • The Chicken Tenders | ||||||||||