Chapter Text
The first time Phoenix Wright died, he saw a big, red, light.
It was the only visible thing in the rain that was pouring profusely on that early afternoon. But it came from nowhere, from a speeding car that hadn’t noticed him crossing the road on his way back home, after school.
Phoenix was only eight years old, and he had no time to process what was happening before he got pushed to the side by an even more sudden force. For one second, he didn’t feel anything.
It was like he was weightless, falling down.
He only knew he was dying.
Then he felt the ground again, and something heavy on top of him.
And a faint, worried, voice.
“Are you okay?”
Phoenix didn’t know how to respond.
He didn’t know if he could respond.
He was frozen, trembling, lying down on the ground, his vision clouded by his tears, and the rain, that was still pouring heavily.
He could still see red, the only color in front of him.
“You don’t look hurt… did you hit your head? I’m sorry, this is my first time saving someone. I should have been faster” the voice continued, and the red moved a little.
…saving?
Was he…?
Was he alive?
Phoenix started to breathe again, and he focused on the red in front of him.
They weren’t the lights of the car that almost ran over him.
It was a little boy, probably his age, dressed like a superhero.
He was just like…
“Signal Red?” he asked, with a trembling whisper, recognizing a little version of one of his favorite superheroes.
“No, I… I don’t actually have a superhero name, yet. But I’m not Signal Red” the little masked man corrected him, and stood up, looking around and shielding Phoenix from any further threat “So… how do you feel? I read that the first duty of a superhero is to make sure people are okay” he asked, confidently.
“I…” Phoenix was still pretty shaken, but he was starting to realize he was alive, well, and not dead.
He couldn’t stop looking at his savior, like he was some sort of god.
“Take your time… do you need me to give you a hand? We are on the sidewalk, so it’s safe if you want to stay there for a little while” not-Signal Red approached him calmly.
“I…” Phoenix wasn’t able to reach for words, but he slowly sat down on the sidewalk, and looked around.
The car was nowhere in sight. The driver hadn’t noticed him, or didn’t care he had almost killed a child.
The only two people around were them.
Realization filled Phoenix with dread.
“I almost died!” he exclaimed, bursting into tears like any normal eight-year-old would have done in that kind of situation.
The little hero jumped in his place, surprised by the sudden emotional outburst.
“It’s… it’s okay… you are okay. I saved you” he tried to reassure him, not knowing what else to do, and sitting beside him.
Phoenix hugged him tightly, looking for a connection, and a reassurance that he was, actually, alive and well.
“Thank you! Thank you!” he whispered, through his tears.
The hero didn’t know what to say, and patted his back, returning the hug.
“Do you want me to accompany you home?” he proposed, after crying for a couple of minutes.
Phoenix nodded, not able to speak.
They walked for a while, the hero in the front, looking around for any eventual danger, and Phoenix following behind, clutching at his coat.
“That… that is my home” he pointed at the house on the other side of the street, and stopped in his tracks, not wanting to cross the road.
The little hero noticed his hesitation, and turned toward him.
“There are no cars coming, it’s okay. I’m here” he reassured Phoenix, confidently, and looking around to make sure everything was fine.
He was really professional.
Phoenix took a deep breath, and nodded.
“Okay… okay…” he took the boy’s hand, and they crossed the street together.
They stopped in front of Phoenix’s house.
“I hope you are fine. Take care…” after making sure Phoenix was safe, the hero bowed a little, and turned around, probably headed towards other people to save and help.
“Wait!” Phoenix stopped him by hugging him one last time.
“Thank you!” he repeated, grateful for his help.
“It’s my duty as a hero” the boy minimized, smiling a bit at the gratitude.
“Can I see you again? I want to thank you better when I’m calmer!” Phoenix asked, with puppy-dog-eyes.
The superhero was taken aback.
“Uhm… I think it’s unusual to meet again someone you saved, but I guess I should make sure you are actually okay” he pondered, probably thinking about superhero rules.
Phoenix wasn’t an expert on superhumans. He wasn’t one, after all. And he was only eight.
“Tomorrow? At the park? After school?” he proposed, hopeful.
“…okay. I’ll be there” the boy nodded “Take care” he then waved at Phoenix, and went back to his duties.
Once inside his house, Phoenix felt way way better.
He couldn’t wait to see Signal Red, or, well, the kid version of him, again.
The next day, it was a sunny day. More cars around. Better drivers.
Phoenix was still pretty agitated, but couldn’t wait to meet his hero again.
A part of him was wondering if that meeting was even real.
“Good afternoon. How are you?” a voice behind him confirmed it had been real.
“Hi! I’m fine! Thank you again for yesterday!” Phoenix quickly turned around and greeted his hero with a big smile.
“I’m glad. And it’s my duty! Don’t mention it” the hero approached him.
“But you are so young! How old are you? Since when are you a superhero? What’s your power? What type it is? Active-evident, right? You were so fast yesterday, it must be active-evident. Not that I’m an expert, to be fair, but…” Phoenix started to press him for information, curious about everything.
“Uhm… I’m… I shouldn’t say my age, but I guess we are kinda the same age. I’m not a superhero, yet. But I want to become one, when I’ll be old enough. And my power…” he hesitated, hiding better under his hood.
“You’ll be the best superhero that ever lived! What’s your superhero name? You look a lot like Signal Red! I thought it was him when you saved me! The Signal Trio are my favorite heroes!” Phoenix didn’t press further about powers.
The hero lightened up when talking about the Signal Trio.
“I like them too! My dad is… he helped me craft my costume! But I don’t have a superhero name yet. And I can’t use Signal Red, it’s copyrighted” he explained, professional.
They sat down on a bench.
“What about Red Signal?” proposed Phoenix after a couple minutes of deep thinking.
The kid snorted.
“Isn’t that kinda the same?” he observed, amused.
Phoenix blushed a little.
It was kinda the same, wasn’t it?
“Well… not completely. I just… I can’t ask for your name, but I want to call you something. Can I call you Red?” he asked, wanting to associate a name to the person who had saved his life.
He was gonna craft a statue in his honor.
Or maybe ask Larry to do that. His best friend wasn’t the most reliable person in the world, but he was the best at arts and crafts in the whole classroom.
“It’s okay… you are… ehm… what’s your name?” Red asked him, a bit uncertain.
“It’s Phoenix, Phoenix Wright” Phoenix offered his hand to shake. Red obliged.
“Oh, okay, Wright. So… you are okay? Nothing wrong?” he made sure. It was clear Red had no idea what else to talk about.
“I’m perfect! And please call me Phoenix!” Phoenix didn’t care, he wanted to spend as much time as possible with his savior. His company was giving him a sense of safety “So… you like superheroes?”.
“I love them! I’m studying to become a great superhero one day! My dad… ehm… are you human?” after starting with excitement, Red abruptly changed the subject. It was probably not ideal for an aspiring superhero to give too much personal information.
Phoenix lowered his gaze.
“Yeah… no powers. I did a test, once, because apparently my dad was a superhuman, so I have some DNA, I guess, but no powers” he explained, trying to remember how his mother had put it when they went to do a power test. It had been a long and exhausting process. After a week of exams, Phoenix had figured out why almost no one ever did the test.
“What kind of powers does your father have?” Red asked, curious “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to!” he then backtracked, worried he might have been too nosy.
“It’s okay, I didn’t even ever meet him. Apparently he had active-evident powers. So, like… he could control them, and the effects were obvious, right? I’m not an expert” Phoenix tried to remember what he had studied about superhumans, hoping he wasn’t embarrassing himself.
“Yes. It’s also the only type of power that allows someone to become a superhero” Red added, with an ounce of bitterness.
“So like you!” Phoenix pointed at him, confidently.
“…well, actually, my power is passive-hidden” Red admitted, in a whisper, not looking at Phoenix in the eyes.
Phoenix blinked, surprised at the revelation.
Passive-hidden superhumans were the second most common type, but they were considered completely useless, like they were normal humans.
“Really?! I thought those types of superpowers didn’t have an impact on…” Phoenix noticed Red was becoming pretty dejected, so he stopped his sentence “…I mean… wow, you are a passive-hidden superhuman and you still managed to be amazing while saving me!” he corrected himself, trying to sound as enthusiast as possible.
Red sighed.
“I think the law should change, regarding superheroes, and it will, one day! I know I can’t control how my powers work and the effects aren’t provable, but I can control what use to do with them!” he got defensive.
Phoenix felt guilty for his lack of faith. That was the person who had saved his life, the day before. It didn’t matter what type of superhuman he was, because he was definitely a hero, just by wanting to use his abilities to do good. He was young, but amazing!
Phoenix put his hands on the boy’s shoulders.
“I’m sure you will! I’m serious! You helped me! You are already a superhero to me!” Phoenix encouraged him, as sincere as possible.
“I… thank you” Red was a bit relieved and pleased at the comment.
“Really! I think you are amazing, regardless of the type of power you have!” Phoenix insisted, starting to shake him to get the message across better.
Red chuckled a little, covering his mouth to disguise it.
“I get it… thank you” he replied, much happier about Phoenix’s new statement.
“You are also really cool! Like… wanting to be a superhero, and stuff. You are super informed and professional!” Phoenix didn’t stop. He had a lot more to say about his hero.
“Stop it! I’m not that great!” Red covered his face more, now super embarrassed.
“Yes, you are! Wow, I wish I was a superhuman, too. To help people like you helped me” Phoenix’s mind started to wander. He knew it was an impossible thought, but couldn’t help but imagine it.
“You can help people without being a superhuman, or you can always awake” Red suggested.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Phoenix turned towards him, interested but confused.
“The awakening. It’s rare, but sometimes a human gets powers during their lives. I don’t know how, though” Red explained, remembering his superhuman studies.
Phoenix’s eyes brightened at the prospect.
“Wow! That’d be so cool!”
***
The second time Phoenix Wright died, he saw an even bigger, redder, light.
This time, a thunder had struck him, causing a fire all around the college grounds.
A sudden, scary almost immediate thing that took him out faster than the lightning itself.
But the red Phoenix saw, instants before the void, was his girlfriend’s red hair, and her amused and satisfied smirk, from across the courtyard.
This time, no one had come to save him.
This time, something awoke in him.
The second time he died, was actually the first he actually left his body, burnt and rotten, behind, and rose from the ashes.
The first time… but not the last.