How the hell did she know!! What's going on! How does she—When did she—ARGH!
Kite paced back and forth in his bedroom thinking about what happened at school.
——
As Kite clashed with her he felt the same sensation he did when fighting Keith.
Rebellion energy!? Oh, 'cause why the hell not!
Nova—or more so Veyra flipped away from Kite, her feet skidding across the floor.
"Mhm, now would be too easy to take you down…"
Kite frowned hard, "Oh yeah well—" but before he could finish his sentence Verya turned her back on him and began walking off.
"I want you to know I could ruin your life at any moment. I know your secret, I know your powers, so watch out Paladin. Plus...my boss said I shouldn't do it now."
——
Kite felt his anger boil over, he clenched his fist and CRACK!. His fist made contact with the wall, leaving a few cracks in it. He sighed and let his fist fall off the wall. He walked over to his bed and sat down, his head hanging low. Just then there was a knock on the door.
"Kite? Are you okay there?"
He let out a sigh, "I'm fine mom!"
There was silence at the door for a moment.
"Okay then, dinners ready, do you want me to bring it to your room?"
Kite sighed heavily once more, "I'm…I'm not hungry mom."
There was silence, silence for a while. His mom had already left the door but Kite just sat on his bed. Eventually he took out his phone and texted Keith.
"Yo Keith, I got some really important news. Like I saw another Quasar Stone."
He pressed send but all he got was no answer back. He sighed, Keith did say he was going to be offline for a while, all he'd have to do is wait and for him to respond.
"Ai? You there?"
There was silence, no words from Ai, nothing.
"Answer me dude! 'Cause I swear on everything that is good in this world if you don't—" Kite cut himself off.
He slowly got up from his bed and threw on a black hoodie before walking out of his room and downstairs. As he walked down the stairs, he grabbed a set of keys and made his way to the front door.
"Kite honey, where are you—"
Kite cut his mom off, "I'm going for a walk!"
He said as he unlocked the front door and stepped out, slamming it slightly behind him. He sighed heavily as he walked out from the driveway onto the sidewalk.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking aimlessly, his mind racing with thoughts.
So let me get this straight…some random girl shows up with—with some random stone, and almost kicks my ass, then just disappears like nothing happened! And Ai won't respond!
He sighed once more. He then stopped in his tracks and looked up at the house where the Sinclair family had just moved into. The lights were off, the driveway was empty.
I know the dad's a cop so he's probably out…and the mom probably stays at home….
His thoughts wandered off.
I could try and steal the stone….No, that's wrong…but it's also…so right!
He contemplated a bit, staring at the house like a psycho. He took out his phone and checked the time, 10:30pm. He put it back in his pocket before making his way to the backyard hoping over the fence with ease.
As he made his way around to the back he looked up at the two story house.
And how am I supposed to get up there?
As if telling him something the Nexus Stone began to pulse lightly. Kite took this as the opportunity to try and transform, but nothing happened.
Argh! This stone is useless!
Just then Kite felt a weird tingling feeling in his fingers. He looked down at them to see his fingertips were glowing ever so slightly. He frowned before something clicked, he looked up at the house then back at his fingertips, almost as if he was picking up what the stone was putting down.
No way this works….right?
He thought to himself as he slowly walked up to the house placing his fingers on it slowly. He took a deep breath and lifted his feet up onto the wall. His feet slipped a bit but his fingers remained stuck to the wall
Electrostatic Adhesion, huh?
He couldn't help but smirk as he kicked off his shoes and socks letting his barefoot touch the wall. With this he climbed up the wall with ease making his way to the highest window.
He looked in through the window and saw it was the bathroom, and it he tried to open it but it was locked
He stared into the dark bathroom for a second, trying not to groan.
"Of course it's the bathroom…"
He carefully maneuvered sideways along the wall, testing each foothold like a climber on a glass cliff. The siding groaned faintly beneath his weight, but his grip held strong. The electrostatic charge from the Nexus Stone pulsed just enough to keep him stuck.
A few feet to the left—a slightly larger window, with a faint glow behind the blinds.
Bingo.
Kite climbed toward it, his heart pounding. He had no idea what he was going to do if someone was actually in there. But curiosity—or maybe desperation—was driving him.
He crouched on the narrow ledge outside the window, careful not to make a sound, and peeked through a gap in the blinds.
There, on the desk beneath the window, was the same bag he saw earlier—and next to it, a small case. Glowing faintly from within it was the unmistakable light of a Quasar Stone—pulsing purple.
Same stone Veyra used to almost knock his head off at school.
Kite's breath caught. That's it.
He tested the window. Locked, again.
He narrowed his eyes and place his hand on the window and focused the faint hum of energy to his fingertips, and zapped the lock. It clicked open with a satisfying snap. He slowly pushed the window up and slipped inside, landing silently on the carpet.
The room was dim, lit only by the crimson pulse of the stone. Posters still rolled up in the corner. Some boxes unpacked. But one thing was very clear—this was Nova's room.
But where was—
The door creaked open.
Kite spun around and saw her.
Nova—stood there in pajamas, hair tied back. She didn't look surprised. She looked ready.
"Wow," she said flatly, stepping into the room. "Breaking and entering? Real Paladin behavior, huh?"
Kite backed up, raising his hands, but his voice was sharp. "You threatened me. Said you knew my secret. That stone—you don't even understand what it's doing to you."
"I understand it better than you understand yours," she snapped. "It chose me. I didn't need some suit or some fancy transformation. It just gave me power."
The purple stone floated up from the desk, swirling toward her outstretched hand. Its glow intensified, reflecting in her eyes.
"I could take you down right now," she said, stepping closer. "But I'm not going to. Because this? This is bigger than us."
Kite gritted his teeth. "You keep saying that. But all I see is someone losing themselves to something they don't control."
"Funny," Veyra said, a hint of a smirk curling her lip. "That's what it said about you."
"What?"
She pointed to his chest—to the Nexus Stone beneath his hoodie.
"You think it's just a tool. A power-up. But you don't get it, do you? These stones… they talk. They watch. They choose. And they've been around longer than you can imagine."
Kite's mouth went dry. Something in her voice sent a chill down his spine.
"…What's that supposed to mean?"
"What I mean is," Veyra whispered, stepping close enough for her breath to hit his face, "you're not ready for what's coming, Paladin of Pulsar."
Then—she shoved him.
The force was small, but her stone flared and exploded with a pulse of kinetic energy. Kite was blasted backward, crashing through the open window with a grunt and falling off the second story.
But before he hit the ground, the Nexus flared to life. A burst of energy wrapped around him like a shield, slowing his fall just enough for him to land with a rough thud on the grass below.
Kite rolled onto his back, staring up at the dark sky, chest heaving.
"She's insane," he muttered.
Then he sat up, coughing. The stone around his neck was warm—angry, almost. He looked down at it.
"You better start talking soon," he said. "Because if she's right… I need answers."
His phone buzzed in his hoodie pocket.
Keith: "I just got back online. Call me. We need to talk. It's about the stones."
Kite's eyes narrowed.
"Perfect timing."
Kite sighed, slipping his phone back into the pocket of his hoodie. The grass still clung to his clothes, and the chill of the night air bit into his skin, but none of it bothered him as much as the stone's silence. It had saved him—again—but refused to say a damn thing.
His stomach growled loudly as he rolled over onto his stomach and got up. Right. Food. He put on his shoes before leaving the Sinclair property.
A few blocks later, under the glow of a buzzing neon sign that read "KwikMart 24/7," Kite walked into the gas station. The automatic doors wheezed open, hitting him with the smell of burnt coffee and overly sugared air freshener. The inside was dead quiet, save for the soft static of a tiny old TV behind the counter.
He wandered the snack aisle, eyes scanning over rows of candy and chips, and eventually settled on a bag of sour cream and onion. Then he grabbed a strawberry drinkable yogurt from the cooler—because, well, there was no rule that said heroes couldn't drink yogurt.
At the counter, the grizzled clerk didn't look up until Kite tossed the items down. The man gave him a slow once-over.
"You look like hell."
Kite gave a weak smirk. "Thanks. It's the newest trend. Trauma chic."
The clerk grunted and started scanning his stuff. Kite paid in crumpled bills and loose change, then took his food and stepped out into the night.
The air was colder now. He cracked open the yogurt and took a swig, savoring the fake strawberry taste. His brain was a hurricane of thoughts—Nova, the stone, Veyra's words—but he tried to ground himself with the simple joy of artificial dairy.
Then—
POP-POP!
Gunfire. Close.
Kite froze, mid-step.
Screeching tires echoed down the block, followed by shouting. Around the corner, headlights flared. A beat-up silver sedan came swerving into view, two guys in dark hoodies sprinting out of a convenience store, one clutching a duffel bag, the other brandishing a pistol like a maniac.
"Of course," Kite groaned. "Can't even enjoy yogurt in peace."
He reached instinctively for the stone beneath his hoodie—nothing. No glow. No hum.
"Really? You pick now to nap?"
The robbers jumped into the sedan. The engine roared, tires screaming as they peeled off down the street.
Kite took a breath, dumped the yogurt into a trash can, and sprinted after them.
No plan. No suit. Just adrenaline and bad decisions.
He ducked between buildings, running parallel to the street, scanning ahead. The sedan was barreling down the road when it took a hard turn—and that's when Kite cut across a scaffold, vaulted onto it, and leapt just as the car sped beneath him.
WHAM!
He landed on the hood with a heavy thud, denting the metal. The driver swore, jerking the wheel. Kite clung to the windshield wipers, legs splayed across the hood like a bug on a bumper.
"Hi," Kite shouted, "you guys really suck at getaways!"
The passenger raised the pistol inside the car, pointing it directly at him.
Kite's eyes widened. "Oh no you don't—"
He kicked off the windshield, flipping back onto the roof just as the shot cracked the glass. The car swerved hard—
CRASH!
The sedan plowed into a parked SUV. Metal crunched. Glass exploded. The airbags deployed with a muffled FOOMP.
Kite was thrown off the roof, hitting the pavement and rolling hard. His shoulder burned. He groaned, dragging himself to his feet just as the car door flew open.
The driver stumbled out, dazed, bleeding from his forehead. As Kite stepped forward, ready to pin him, something caught his eye.
A rose tattoo.
It was inked on the man's neck, barely visible under the collar of his hoodie—black petals, thorny stem. Kite's breath caught.
That symbol.
He'd seen it before—back during the fight in Midtown, and again in those grainy news reports about the "Rebellion" group. Underground movement. Criminal network. The Rebellion.
The man tried to swing at him, but Kite ducked, sidestepped, and slammed him against the hood.
"Where'd you get the tattoo?" Kite demanded. "Who gave it to you?"
The man groaned, slipping into unconsciousness.
"Great."
A shout rang out behind him.
Kite turned—just in time to see the other robber sprinting down the block, duffel bag still in hand. No gun now, just speed.
Kite made a move to follow—but then froze.
The second man had a matching tattoo. Same rose. But this one was burned into the skin, scarred like a brand.
That one didn't look like some gang ink. That one looked ritualistic.
Before Kite could react, the man rounded a corner—and disappeared.
"Damn it!"
Sirens screamed down the street. Red and blue lights lit up the road. Kite gave the unconscious driver one last look, then darted into a nearby alley and vanished into the shadows.
———
Several blocks later, breath ragged, Kite finally stopped beneath a broken street lamp. He pulled out his phone, fingers shaking slightly from the adrenaline.
"Update: Stopped a robbery. One guy was unconscious. Other one escaped. Both had rose tattoos. One was branded. Ring any bells?"
He paused, then added:
"Also—no armor. Barely any powers. I'm running on fumes and yogurt. Call me."
He stared down at the Nexus Stone under his hoodie. It was glowing faintly now, like it was slowly waking up.
"…You're hiding something. And so are they."
The stone pulsed once, a soft vibration against his chest.
Kite narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah. Thought so."