The Unintended Hero

First Encounter

Luke and Crimson Knight are sitting next to each other in the tower near the concert.

"So are you like an alien or does this suit your body? I mean that would just mean you flying around naked.", Luke asks.

Crimson Knight lets out a chuckle and proceeds, "Well no, I am as human as you are." He retracts his helm, reveals his face and continues, "The name's Sam Harper." He smiles.

Luke couldn't but let out a little laugh, "You are, um, old, how do you do the stuff you do?"

Crimson Knight laughs, "Call me an old man already, kid. My suit and technology keep me together. Things are easier when you have motivation."

"What's your motivation?"

"It's selfish. I haven't found anyone who I can trust and pass over my legacy yet. Retirement doesn't suit me yet." He looked at Luke. "Well kid, maybe that will change soon."

Luke laughs.

A clap is heard from behind. "Cute talk.", a dark figure starts walking towards them. "I am very impressed, Sam.", Alastor comes out of darkness. Sam's helm gets back on as he stands up. Luke stands beside him. Alastor scoffs.

"Aw, look at you guys, getting all aggressive. For f**k's sake, just give me the orb and I will doodle-doo, Crimson Knight"

"Most of the creatures who aren't from here don't know me. Who are you?"

"Oh, my name's Alastor, the brother of Ralgod. Funny we haven't met him!"

"Of course, it's Ralgod."

Alastor tilts his head as he senses the presence of the particles in Luke's blood vessels. "What the f**k", he says to himself. He steps forward and attempts to grab Luke. Before he can get a grip, Crimson Knight punches him, making Alastor fall off the tower.

"Luke run!", Crimson Knight says before he flies to the ground. Luke starts climbing down the tower and running towards the concert ground.

The Crimson Knight starts punching Alastor against the ground. Alastor uses a force field to throw the Crimson Knight away. Alastor conjures a sword and walks towards the Crimson Knight. The Crimson Knight remains on the ground, breathing heavily as he looks at the sharp-edged sword walking towards him.

Alastor strikes his sword on the Crimson Knight's chest and gets blasted backwards.

"Suit shield level=44%", a voice says from Crimson Knight's suit. He flies to attack Alastor, but Alastor catches him by the neck and slams him on the ground.

Crimson Knight coughs heavily as he tries to catch his breath. Alastor grabs a dagger from his coat and walks and sits next to the Crimson Knight.

"Well, old man, I think your story has to end now." He smiles and arches to stab Crimson Knight.

Suddenly, a red ball hit his cheek. Two more followed by one. He grabs one, but it seems to dissolve in his hand. He looks around and sees a figure coming out of the dark. It was Luke.

"I am not gonna run!", Luke groans and makes a giant force ball and releases it on Alastor, making him go fall against a tree. Luke runs to check the Crimson Knight. Luke kneels next to the Crimson Knight.

"Are you okay, man? I'm so sorry I didn't run."

"Yeah kid, I'm okay", Crimson Knight coughs.

Luke sighed in relief.

Out of sight, a small dagger hits his shoulder. He falls as his mouth bleeds.

Alastor comes out of the darkness.

"Stupid kid, you made things easier for me. I can just scoop those particles out of you, like ice cream!", Alastor chuckles and continues, "Did you know what was in that dagger? Shroom dust from a place called 'You-are-f****d Land'.

He laughs as the Crimson Knight fails to get up. Luke bleeds from his nose and his facial nerves pop out, bulging out.

Alastor raises his sword to strike the Crimson Knight and makes a battle cry.

He gets interrupted by a woosh and a click sound. He moves his vision toward his hand and finds a shining metal cuff on it. It tightens in his hand as his bones start cracking. He grips the cuff and looks around to see who did it.

Three figures arise out of the darkness, like shining hope. Crimson Knight looks at those figures with a smirk. The figures were none other than The Galagas.

"You might wanna back down now.", Quickshot says. Black Illusion dashes towards Alastor with a battle cry and kicks him against the tower. Labyrinth helps the Crimson Knight get up.

"You came?"

"Well, we just wanted to wish you a happy birthday. It seems like this demon guy wants something from you."

"Not me, the kid. It is messed up. Let's get over this, we can surely talk later."

They both nod at each other as Crimson Knight goes to help Black Illusion. Labyrinth checks Luke's vitals and starts casting a spell as his vitals slow down.

Quickshot works on tools as he sees the Crimson Knight and Alastor. He synthesized a trap for Alastor and ran towards the others.

Meanwhile, near the tower, Alastor gains momentum and punches the Crimson Knight away from him. The tower falls on Crimson Knight. Alastor grabs Black Illusion by his neck and throws him on the floor. Quickshot starts shooting Alastor with his pistol, but it barely scratches Alastor's skin. The Labyrinth keeps healing Luke.

"Oh, I see you...Tyler.", Alastor smirks and continues, "You were a soldier who fought both world wars, f*****g trauma, huh? Serving your country and s**t gets you nowhere. Now, by the grace of...me, I will free you from this mortal life."

Black Illusion takes his helm off as he starts hallucinating. He remembers the war, the battleground, and the mere tricks played by his superiors, just to kill other humans. He remembers his brothers fighting side by side and watching them all die in front of his eyes. He looked up at Alastor as all the voices around him faded.

"Tyler snap back!", Quickshot and Labyrinth exclaim. Black Illusion closes his eyes as Alastor strikes his sword toward him.

A tear drops from his eyes as the sword comes near. Alastor beheads the Black Illusion as the blood sprays on Quickshot. Labyrinth sits as she holds Luke, whose vitals are now back to normal. Black Illusion's head falls in front of Crimson Knight as he crawls out of the debris.

Quickshot loses his calm and attacks Alastor with the same dagger he hit Luke with. Alastor coughs.

"For a human, that was a smart move", Alastor starts coughing as a portal opens behind him."Give me the kid next time or there will be more corpses", he continues, before falling into the portal.

Crimson Knight holds Black Illusion's head as he runs towards the portal, but the portal closes before anyone can reach it. The Galagas look up at the sky as Crimson Knight's jet (CrimsonRide) lands near them.

"Let's move! We need to leave," Crimson Knight urges, cradling Luke's limp form. Without hesitation, the rest of the group trails after him, their eyes fixated on the blazing remnants of the malfunctioning Black Illusion suit smoldering on the ground.

Crimson Knight's Base - Next Morning

Luke opens his eyes as he looks around. He groans h[in pain and flinches as he sees the wound on his shoulder as it is completely healed now. He sits on the little bed he was sleeping on and wakes up to see the Galagas sitting near him and discussing.

"Wait, where am I...woah, what the s**t!", he exclaims.

"Kid, calm down, don't worry about them. This is Maria Stern aka Labyrinth", Sam (Crimson Knight) says as he holds Luke and continues, "This gentleman there is Marc Ward aka Quickshot." He waves.

"I thought you guys were older, you are younger than Sam."

"Well, I was the youngest here. Maria's a witch. She probably eats children to stay like this. Don't worry, she won't eat you, buddy. She saved you!", Marc says as he sips his coffee. Maria smiled, "Well Luke, Sam told us about your powers. You need some training, I'm afraid".

"I am sorry, I don't remember anything from last night, but um thank you for saving my life, Maria. I should go home, my mom will be worried", Luke says as he adjusts his t-shirt.

"Oh Buddy, it's Sunday, it's good that you didn't miss school," Marc says.

Sam gathers Marc and Maria in a corner and whispers, "He's not ready to hear about that Alastor. We would scare him. Don't even mention that the Black Illusion died. We don't want to scare him, the kid has potential." They all agree.

"Luke, you might wanna go home now, your Mum will be worried.", Maria said to Luke. Luke nods and walks out.

Luke's Home

Luke walks near his home. His heart is beating faster than a car engine. He doesn't know how he will face his parents. He can hear his parents arguing as he stands outside. "You don't have any responsibilities in this house, Claire arguing," his dad says. "Oh yeah? Food and those bills just prepare themselves huh?, his mom replies. "I too have responsibilities, I have work to handle! Where should I go?", he exclaims. Luke sighs and rings the doorbell. His mom opened the door.

"Hey hun, Good morning.", She smiles. "Should have called us, son.", his dad says. Luke gets confused by the rather less surprised behavior of his parents. "Jake called us last night and said that you guys were tired, so you slept at his place. Why didn't you call me?".

"Oh..I.I was just too sleepy, very sleepy. Hardly walked out of the car.", Luke replies. His mom nods in assurance as she gives him some water. Luke sits on the couch and sips some water. "Well how was the concert?", his dad asks. "It was good.", Luke nods and says.

"Superheroes, huh? How was Crimson Knight?"

"Sorry what, Dad?"

"Crimson Knight, he was going to appear at the concert, right?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Enjoy your life till adulthood ends, son. No superpower can protect you from the real world."

Luke feels like his dad is going to start a dad talk which will ultimately end as a career talk.

"I am going to be in my room", Luke says, and walks into his room. He lies on his bed and stares at the ceiling.

He remembers that he had to call Jake and thank him for covering him. He dials Jake's number and waits for him to pick him up.

"Hey Luke"

"Oh Jake, Thank you so much for covering for me."

"Of course, so what were you doing with Daisy last night?"

"I..No, I left. I focused on my plan instead."

"Oh bummer, but did you meet the Crimson Knight?"

"It's a lot crazier than that."

"Oh crazy! By the way, Bhavesh knows some more stuff about your powers. Want to meet up this evening at Unity Park?"

"Um Yeah, sure".

Luke hangs up the call and smiles as he stares at the ceiling. It was like that life was perfect for him now. He just has to train. He is not aware of the sacrifices he has to make in the future, but for now, Luke has to look forward to the evening.