DC X Rider Ch 163

Haruka’s mind short-circuits. The sweet, unassuming girl who loved Earth sitcoms is… this? Green skin, glowing eyes—it doesn’t compute.

A White Martian lunges, claws extended, but Megan—no, Miss Martian—doesn’t even flinch. With a flick of her wrist, a stack of metal pipes hurtles through the air, slamming into the Martian with bone-jarring force.

Haruka and Miss Martian stand back-to-back, a united front against the chalk-white horde closing in. The air crackles with telekinetic energy.

“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, Megan,” Haruka says, his voice strained.

Miss Martian doesn’t look at him. Her eyes are locked on the enemy. “Later, Haruka. Right now, we fight.”

She raises her hands, and the ground trembles. More pipes, scrap metal, and twisted machinery rise into the air, poised to strike. The battle is far from over.

Haruka’s shout barely registers over the din of battle. He slams the Faiz Edge into the ground, the blade humming with PHOTON ENERGY.

[FAIZ EDGE, MATERIALIZE]

The sword springs to life in his grip. The White Martians surge forward, a tide of bony white faces and crimson eyes. Haruka dives into the fray, the Faiz Edge a blur of silver and red. He ducks under a wild swing, the Martian’s claws scraping against his armor. A quick thrust, and the Faiz Edge pierces the Martian’s chest. The creature dissolves into shimmering dust.

Another one comes at him, teeth bared. Haruka parries the blow, the Faiz Edge singing as it clashes against bone. He spins, slashing upwards, bisecting the Martian with brutal efficiency.

Beside him, Miss Martian is a whirlwind of telekinetic power. She levitates chunks of debris, turning them into guided missiles that slam into the White Martians, sending them sprawling. Her eyes glow with an otherworldly intensity as she hurls a Martian into a rusted-out machine press, crushing it instantly.

But for every Martian they take down, two more appear. Haruka feels the strain in his arms, the weight of the Faiz Edge growing heavier with each swing. Sweat beads on his forehead beneath the helmet.

A Martian grabs his leg, claws digging into his armor. Haruka stabs downwards, the Faiz Edge piercing the Martian’s arm. The creature shrieks, releasing its grip. He kicks it away, but another one slams into him from the side, sending him stumbling.

He barely regains his balance before a telekinetic wave slams into him. Haruka goes flying, crashing into a pile of metal scraps. The Faiz Edge clatters to the ground.

Dazed, he looks up to see Miss Martian struggling. She is surrounded, her telekinetic shields faltering under the relentless assault.

Through the ringing in his ears, Haruka sees Miss Martian get knocked backward, sprawling onto the grimy concrete.

“Megan!” he shouts, his voice tight with worry.

He can’t let them get to her. Not now. Not after everything.

His hand fumbles for the Faiz Phone, his thumb pressing down on the [ACCEL] app.

[COMPLETE]

[START UP]

The world warps. Sounds distort, stretching and thinning into a high-pitched whine. The air shimmers, becoming thick and viscous. The White Martians move in slow motion, their every gesture exaggerated, like figures trapped in amber.

Haruka doesn’t waste a second. He slams the Faiz Pointer onto his right leg.

[CRIMSON SMASH]

He explodes forward, a blur of crimson light. His leg connects with the nearest White Martian’s chest, and the creature implodes in a shower of dust and bone. He doesn’t stop, doesn't pause. Each kick, each strike, a devastating burst of photon energy that obliterates his foes.

The warehouse becomes a graveyard of shattered Martian bodies. They fall like dominoes, their chalk-white forms collapsing into heaps of dust. It's a dance of destruction, a symphony of violence. He’s a force of nature, unstoppable, relentless.

But time is running out. He feels the seconds ticking away, the energy coursing through him threatening to overload.

[3…2…1…]

[TIME OUT, DEFORMATION]

The world snaps back into focus. The sounds return, sharp and jarring. He stumbles, his body screaming in protest. The remaining White Martians, realizing their advantage is gone, scatter like cockroaches into the shadows, disappearing into the maze of rusted machinery.

He ignores them. His gaze is fixed on Miss Martian.

He rushes to her side, kneeling beside her. “Megan! Are you okay?”

He gently cups her face, searching her eyes for any sign of injury. She’s breathing heavily, her green skin slightly bruised, but she meets his gaze, her red eyes filled with a fierce determination.

“I’m fine, Haruka,” she says, her voice strained but steady. “Just… winded.”

He exhales, a wave of relief washing over him. He’s still reeling, his muscles aching, his mind struggling to process what just happened, but seeing her safe… it eases the pain. He helps her to her feet, his grip firm, reassuring.

He relaxes his grip slightly. He did not sense any serious injuries.

Haruka watches as the green fades from Megan’s skin, the red dissipating from her eyes. In its place, the familiar features of Megan Morse materialize—the kind, slightly awkward girl with a fondness for Earth sitcoms. Except now, Haruka knows it’s a carefully constructed façade, a mask worn to navigate a world that wouldn’t understand the truth.

He pulls the Faiz Phone from the Faiz Driver, deactivating the transformation with a flick of his wrist. The armor vanishes in a flash of light, leaving him in his everyday clothes, standing in the middle of a ruined warehouse.

He looks at Megan—Miss Martian, whatever she wants to be called—with the same look his parents used to give him when he messed up. It was a look that could curdle milk. The look says "I'm not angry, just disappointed".

Megan avoids his gaze, her eyes darting nervously around the warehouse. For the first time since he’d met her, she seemed unsure of herself, vulnerable.

“Explain,” Haruka says, his voice flat.

Megan bites her lip. “Are you… mad?”

He can see the distress etched on her face, the worry lines that weren’t there before. He guesses it: She’s afraid I’ll hate her now. Afraid I’ll see her as some kind of monster.

Without a word, Haruka pulls her into a gentle embrace.

"I'm not mad."

“But… I’m not human…” Megan whispers, her voice thick with emotion.

Haruka squeezes her gently. “That doesn’t matter. Whether you’re human or not… you’re still the Megan who watches sitcoms with me. The Megan who gets excited about ice cream. That will never change.”

Tears well up in Megan’s eyes, shimmering in the dim light. She clutches him tightly, burying her face in his chest.

Haruka feels a slight discomfort, a pressure building in his ribs. He realizes Megan is unconsciously using her super strength, her embrace threatening to crush him. He winces, but doesn’t say anything. He just endures it, letting her cling to him, offering comfort and reassurance without words.

He wraps his arms around her, returning the hug, knowing that underneath the layers of alien biology, shapeshifting powers, and intergalactic secrets, she is still Megan Morse—a friend, a confidante, and someone who needed to know she wasn’t alone.

After Megan calmed down, Haruka pulled back, holding her at arm’s length. He searched her eyes, his brow furrowed with a question he had to ask. “Did you… did you know?”

Megan’s gaze flickered. “Know what?”

“That I was Kamen Rider.”

She didn’t look surprised, not even a little bit. A flicker of guilt crossed her features, quickly replaced by a nervous smile. “Well… yeah. I did.”

Haruka’s jaw tightened. “How?”

Megan bit her lip, avoiding his gaze. “I… I can read minds, Haruka. I knew from the moment we met.”

He nodded slowly, processing the information. It made a strange kind of sense. He had always felt a certain… knowingness from her, a sense that she understood him on a level that no one else did.

“So, you’ve known all along?” he asked, his voice tinged with a mix of surprise and resignation.

“I’m sorry, Haruka,” she said softly, reaching out to touch his arm. “I didn’t want to keep it from you, but… it’s kind of a habit. And I was trying to figure you out.”

He sighed, letting the revelation wash over him. In a life filled with the extraordinary, it figured that the first person he’d truly connected with had been reading his mind the whole time.

“Alright,” he said, pushing aside his lingering shock. “That’s… a lot to take in. But right now, we have bigger problems.”

He gestured towards the ruined warehouse, towards the shadowy corners where the remaining White Martians were likely lurking. “Why did those white aliens attack you, Megan? What are they?”

Megan’s expression turned grave. “They’re White Martians, Haruka. They’re from Mars. And they must have followed me here.”

“Mars?” Haruka repeated, his mind reeling. “As in… the planet?”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “And they’re not here for a friendly visit. They intend to conquer Earth.”

“Conquer Earth?” Haruka echoed, incredulous. This just kept getting better and better.

“They think this planet belongs to them. The Green and White Martians are constantly in a civil war. Most of the Green Martians died, so I fled to Earth. More are coming, Haruka. This was just a scouting party."

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to process the implications. Alien invasions, secret identities, mind-reading roommates—it was all too much. But one thing was clear: this was bad. Really bad.

“We need to inform the DEO,” he said, his voice firm. “They need to know about this.”

He glanced at Megan, his expression serious. “Can you fight them?”

She nodded, her eyes glowing with determination. “I can. But they’re strong, and there are many more. We need all the help we can get.”

He activated his Faiz Phone. “Then let’s go. Follow me, Megan. We're about to have a very long night.”