Red (part 1)

"You heard that, folks! There's a new superhero in town—and his name is Pulsar Knight!" Sam's voice rang with excitement as she turned to face the camera, her smile barely hiding her disbelief.

Kite, hovering just behind her, rolled his eyes. "Nice branding," he muttered under his breath. Then, out of the corner of his eye—something. No, someone.

His gaze snapped upward.

There. Perched on a rooftop not too far away, barely more than a silhouette against the setting sun. A person. The person. The one he'd been chasing ever since the energy signature first spiked.

Without a second thought, Kite's body lit up with a vibrant pulse of blue light as he launched himself into the sky, leaving the stunned reporter mid-sentence. The camera caught only a streak of light shooting into the sky before the screen cut to static.

When he landed, the rooftop was…empty.

"What the—?" Kite blinked, taking a cautious step forward.

Movement.

A flicker of red and black just in his peripheral vision. He spun around, fists raised—but no one was there.

Then, suddenly, a loud synthetic voice blared inside his helmet. "WARNING: DARK REBELLION ENERGY DETECTED!"

Kite's brows knit together. "Dark Rebellion—"

Before he could finish, a sharp blow slammed into his back, sending him flying forward. The impact knocked the air out of him, and he hit the ground with a hard thud, rolling until he finally came to a gasping halt.

"OOF—! Okay, ow. That one's gonna leave a bruise."

As he struggled up, groaning, Kite's eyes locked onto a figure now standing before him. Dressed in crimson armor, surrounded by a dark aura that seemed to ripple with restrained rage, the figure stood tall and silent. The helmet was angular, sleek, but there was nothing friendly about the energy that pulsed around him.

"WARNING: DARK REBELLION ENERGY CONFIRMED," the suit's AI repeated with more urgency this time.

Kite squinted. "Ai, talk to me. What am I looking at?"

"I've detected a concentrated source of Rebellion energy embedded within the Paladin's suit," Ai replied calmly.

Kite tilted his head. "Wait, Paladin? You're telling me this dude's one of the good guys? I mean that was my theory, but still!"

"That was the original intention," Ai said. "But the presence of Rebellion energy suggests corruption."

"Great. A corrupted space knight with a sword. What's next, a dragon?"

As if on cue, the red figure lunged. In a blink, a massive crimson sword formed in his hand. It wasn't elegant—this thing was a beast. Thick, jagged, and humming with unstable power, the blade came down like a guillotine.

Kite barely dodged in time, his boots kicking up dust as he launched into the air. The sword struck the roof, carving a crater where he'd just stood.

"Okay, not friendly," Kite quipped. "And definitely not compensating for anything with that sword."

Hovering just out of reach, Kite looked down. "Yo, Ai. What's that thing jammed into the back of his helmet? Looks like someone stabbed a tiny fork into his brain."

"Scanning... It's the source of the Rebellion energy," Ai confirmed. "A talisman. If implanted, it overrides cognitive function and corrupts the host."

Kite narrowed his eyes. "Cool. So... evil mind-control jewelry. Got it."

The Paladin—no, the corrupted Paladin—rushed again, swinging wildly. Kite ascended higher, keeping his distance.

"Can you not fly?" he taunted, raising an eyebrow.

No response. Just cold, locked-in eye contact from behind that crimson visor.

Ai answered instead. "The Paladin of Eclipse lacks aerial capabilities."

"Hahaha!" Kite grinned. "Well, sucks to be you—"

Mid-boast, something snapped tight around him.

"What the—?!"

Chains. Red and black, slithering like serpents from a panel on the Paladin's back, had wrapped around him midair. They yanked him downward with violent force, slamming him into the rooftop hard enough to rattle his teeth. The breath escaped him again as he hit the ground, pinned by the writhing energy restraints.

"LET GO OF ME!" Kite shouted, struggling, the chains grinding tighter with every twist. "Okay, I take it back! You're very creative!"

The Paladin walked forward, slow and methodical, like a predator savoring its catch.

"Think, think, think…" Kite muttered, eyes darting.

The moment the red knight stepped within striking distance, Kite coiled his legs and kicked up with all his strength. His boots collided with the Paladin's gut, sending him stumbling back.

The chains loosened just enough.

Kite broke free in an explosion of energy, the chains shattering into shards of dark red light. Without missing a beat, he lunged forward. Red swung the blade, but Kite ducked, skidding under it, and drove his fist into the corrupted Paladin's stomach.

As Red doubled over, Kite darted behind him, yanked the talisman free from the back of the helmet, and hurled it onto the rooftop where it cracked in a burst of black energy.

Red's suit shimmered—then disintegrated into particles of fading light.

The figure beneath crumpled to the roof, unconscious.

Kite stood over him, panting. "Well… that was fun."

He looked down at the guy. Older than him by a few years. Black hair that brushed his chin. A red leather jacket over a black T-shirt. Around his neck, a stone that pulsed faintly—red and black, still warm with dormant energy.

Kite's gaze shifted to the broken talisman as Ai scanned it.

"It's a Rebellion talisman," the AI confirmed. "Anyone it fuses with becomes consumed by its energy. Think of it like… possession by corruption."

Before Kite could respond, a groan escaped from the fallen figure.

The guy stirred, clutching his head. "Damn... my head feels like it got hit by a truck..."

He blinked. His eyes opened—and Kite's brows rose. One eye was a deep crimson, the other a pale, icy blue. Heterochromia. That was rare.

"Uhhhh…" the guy stared at Kite, clearly trying to piece things together. "You just gonna stand there and look heroic, or...?"

Kite blinked. "Are you seriously talking to me like you didn't just try to impale me with a medieval death sword?"

The guy looked around, then down at the shattered rooftop. "Wait. When the hell did I get up here?"

Kite crossed his arms. "You don't remember trying to use me as a kebab?"

He shook his head. "No... Nothing. Just fragments. Like a dream."

"Typical Rebellion symptoms," Ai interjected. "Most affected individuals suffer memory loss or severe confusion."

The guy jumped. "Who said that?!"

Kite smirked. "My suit. Get used to it. It talks. A lot."

"Okay, that's actually kind of awesome," the guy said, stepping closer. "My Paladin suit doesn't come with a personality."

"You know what a Paladin is?" Kite raised a brow.

"Yeah. First thing I was told when I found the stone." He tapped the glowing red gem around his neck. "They said I was chosen or something."

Kite narrowed his eyes. "Makes sense… I guess."

The guy extended his hand. "Name's Keith."

"Kite," he replied, shaking it. "So… you remember nothing from the last hour?"

Keith scratched his head. "I remember chilling on a skyscraper. Then... darkness. Rage. Like I was trapped in the back seat of my own brain."

Kite eyed him carefully. "You're not gonna snap again, are you?"

"Nah. Promise."

A long beat passed.

"So… how do we get down from here?" Keith asked.

Kite grabbed him by the collar. "Like this."

He took off, dragging Keith through the air as they soared down into a narrow alleyway.

"Whaaa—! You can fly!?!" Keith shouted gleefully as they landed.

"Yeah," Kite muttered. "You're welcome."

Keith staggered a bit after landing, still disoriented. His boots scraped against the cracked asphalt of the alley as he tried to catch his breath.

Kite watched him carefully, arms folded. "You good? Or do I need to keep you leashed like a possessed pit bull?"

Keith winced. "I said I'm fine, alright? You already ripped that freaky rock outta my head."

He rubbed the back of his neck where the talisman had once been embedded. The skin there still glowed faintly red, like a scar not yet healed.

Kite tilted his head, scanning Keith again. "You sure? 'Cause that sword you were swinging was definitely aiming for my kidneys."

Keith met his gaze, eyes clearer now—though the crimson one still shimmered unnervingly in the dim light. "I didn't ask for that thing to take over. I didn't even know what was happening. One second I'm in my suit just chilling on a skyscraper, next thing y'know I'm awake on a building roof, with someone telling me I tried to kill them!"

Kite muttered. "Eh, I wouldn't know. I've never been possessed by anything. Unless dreams count, cus then I have, minus the giant sword and demonic rage."

Keith gave a dry chuckle, then paused. His hand hovered over the red-black stone hanging from his neck. "I thought it was just… a cool rock. Found it in an alley a month ago. Started having weird dreams. Next thing I know, I'm turning into some kind of superpowered knight." He said, venting about the time he found the stone

Silence stretched between them for a moment. Sirens wailed faintly in the distance, still responding to the earlier chaos on the streets. The wind tugged at Kite's jacket as he studied Keith.

Keith finally broke the silence. "So... what now?"

Kite considered. "Now? We figure out what the heck is going on, figure out the whole Rebellion thing y'know."