"W… what is this!?"
The reporters that were inside their helicopters all started to scramble their microphones. Once Riley entered the perimeter of the prison, they were no longer allowed to stay and capture footage. They were asked to stay away for at least 500 meters, as they were already disrupting the prison's normal operations.
That was no problem for them, however, as there was absolutely nothing but empty land within a kilometer– allowing them a clear view of the prison without any obstructions.
And so, the only thing they all could do was hop onto their helicopters; their cameras, all pointed at the prison waiting for something to happen. But even after hours and hours of waiting, the prison remained quiet.
But still, none of them budged– even hiring the help of Supers that were capable of flight to supply them additional gasoline as they didn't want to miss even a single second. All of them have reviewed the videos scattered all over the internet– and it, without doubt, painted Riley Ross as Darkday.
And with Whiteking missing, there was no one to even deny if the videos were real. Of course, even with them covering the news of Darkday's possible capture, the world was not actually focused on them as most were mourning and in shock at the sudden destruction of London.
In the eyes of vultures, however– Darkday was the more enticing news.
And so, they waited. And finally, their patience paid off as even from afar, they could see some sort of activity inside the prison. Their eyes widened, however, as an entire chunk of the prison floated in the air.
"This… could it be Riley Ross finally showed his true colors!?"
"As… as you can see! An entire infrastructure is now currently floating in the air, this is a feat that only powerful telekinetics are capable of!"
"Will the world once again finally be covered in darkness!?"
"It… it's opening up!"
The almost hundreds of cameras all zoomed in as the floating box opened; almost like a flower bud being forced to bloom; its stigma, revealed to be a white pollen that stood at the center– Riley Ross.
"It's Riley Ross! He's wearing a prisoner's uniform!"
"Is this it!? Was he found guilty!? Is he really Riley Ro–"
"I want to see my sister!"
And before the reporters could continue their jobs, an almost piercing scream reached even their ears– its source, Riley Ross.
"...Sister?"
"Does… the prison also have his sister in custody?"
The reporters then all scrambled to call their contacts inside the prison. But with the prison being on its highest alert level, all the signals inside the facility were cut off.
But if it's like this… then wouldn't it be possible for them to approach the prison?-- they all thought in unison. However, as soon as one of the helicopters entered inside the 500-meter restriction, they were shot down by a missile.
"!!!"
"The… the prison is shooting at us!"
"They shot down the reporters at ABS-ZBN!"
"We… we're receiving reports that the government has taken Riley's family and friends hostage!"
"The prison is currently holding a minor against her will."
"It would seem they are preventing any of Riley's acquaintances from talking!"
And just like that– the media changed its tune.
Their cameras, however, still pointed directly at Riley Ross… whose face was clearly angered and agitated.
"Hannah!" And once again, even from afar, his screams filled with emotions roared in the air… and soon, several more blocks parted and lifted from the prison. These blocks then surrounded the platform that Riley was floating on, before all opening up at the same time and causing a screeching noise to whistle in the air.
The people inside the rooms and halls could only widen their eyes in shock as they suddenly find the confines they were in floating in the air.
"Sister!?" Riley's body then rotated in place as his eyes looked at the rooms he just opened up. And as soon as he confirmed that his sister was not there, the room closed… beyond its original form– squishing everyone and everything inside it, whether it was a prisoner or a guard.
Christopher, who was still surprisingly still alive, finally let go of the pee that he had been trying to stop from bursting out. All this time… he was interviewing someone like this?
Of course, he knew what Darkday was capable of. But he was also confident that the transparent cube that he was confined in was enough to hold him off as even the strongest Supers he had interrogated could not crack it open… but the cube opened up for Riley like he owned it.
"B… Bulwark!" Christopher then crawled towards Bulwark, who was only staring as Riley fulfilled his words to kill everyone he saw, "D… do something! Call the Hope Guild!"
"...Hope Guild is currently still dealing with the monsters that all suddenly appeared everywhere," Bulwark replied, not even sparing Christopher a glance, "...Where is Riley's sister?"
"She–"
And before Christopher could finish his words, he saw Bulwark suddenly flying away– almost as if hit by an invincible truck.
"Kh!" Bulwark tried to resist the heavy force that forcefully threw him away, but found each of his movements to be futile. With Darkday, he could at least still feel himself able to fight back…
…with Riley, however, it was almost as if his power was… absolute. Almost like a wall that could not be moved no matter what– like a train in a certain video game he and Prophet used to play that wouldn't budge even when the track it was moving on was blocked by a hundred tanks.
And so, the only thing that Bulwark could do was soften his landing as the invisible force pushing him away threw him all the way towards the empty ground– the earth around him, parting violently as he continued to move farther and farther away from the prison.
But as soon as he was below one of the helicopters, the force just… vanished. Bulwark quickly tried to fly back towards the prison as he surrounded himself with a golden aura in the shape of a fighter jet.
"!!!"
The nose of this golden fighter jet, however, quickly shattered and flattened as it moved forward. Bulwark quickly canceled his powers; not fast enough, however, as the momentum still pushed him forward.
"Kh," Bulwark then slightly let out a groan as his palms and knees felt something hitting– No, blocking them from moving forward. Bulwark then quickly patted the empty air in front of him, only to feel a sort of invisible wall blocking his path.
"..." Bulwark then quickly flew away in an arc, his palm, trailing in the air as if touching something.
"Riley…" Bulwark then stopped flying as his eyes trailed across the prison as well as the empty lot that surrounded it. Bulwark then slowly landed back on the ground, his eyes, staring at the ground which currently had some sort of line forming on it– a line that stretched across the horizon.
"What… have we done?"
If Bulwark was right… then Riley Ross currently had an invisible dome surrounding the prison in a 500-meter radius– effectively isolating them from the rest of the world.
"..." Bulwark then grabbed a phone from his pocket– a radio that allowed him to call the members of the Hope Guild. Although he had already quit the team, Empress still let him hold onto it.
They should still be busy dealing with the monsters that were still roaming everywhere– especially now since V was out of commission. But stopping Riley's rampage was the priority right now if they don't want another Darkday roaming the planet.
And so, Bulwark let out a signal; his eyes, still watching as Riley dissected the entire prison almost like legos.
"Hannah!?"
"Y… your sister is in holding 2–"
Riley continued to scream; not even hearing Christopher anymore as he now actually tried to tell him where his sister was. It wasn't supposed to be like this, Christopher thought. He was supposed to be the one to spearhead that would finally put Darkday into prison… no. They should have killed Riley when they had the chance, even if he wasn't Darkday.
But kill him… how?
Christopher then stared at his prison, chunks of it slowly being eaten away as Riley continued to pluck it like some sort of bread.
"Hannah!?"
"R… Riley!?"
"!!!"
Riley's body then almost instantly disappeared from his spot as soon as he heard a familiar voice reach his ears; his silhouette, then appearing in front of one of the blocks that floated in the air.
"Riley… what?"
"Silvie Savelievna."
"What…" Silvie, who was inside the room that Riley pulled from the prison, could not help but slightly step forward; her eyes, staring at the destruction that Riley had caused, "...Why–"
"Have you seen my sister!?"
"W… what?" Silvie then once again repeated; her eyes blinking from hearing the tone of Riley's voice. This was perhaps the very first time she had heard him sound like this. He… almost seemed normal now.
"I… We got separated, I haven't seen her–"
And before Silvie could finish her words, she felt herself suddenly being pushed away– Riley and the prison, getting farther and farther away within a blink. And before she could even utter another word, she felt a certain warmth cover her back.
She turned around, only to see Bulwark, as well as a gigantic golden hand catching her. She then quickly returned her gaze towards Riley… only to see the room she was just in being crushed almost into a ball.
"N… no, Riley! Someone else was inside!" Silvie screamed as she quickly tried to fly back… only for her head to almost bleed from the impact of hitting Riley's invisible dome.
"Silv–"
"What have you guys done!?"
And before Bulwark could even say anything, Silvie slammed her fist towards the invisible dome, causing the air itself to almost crack as the ground beneath her all rippled away.
"Riley tried to save… save everyone and you repay him like this!?"
The last time Silvie saw Riley was when he stayed behind to stop… the other clones. The image of Riley's silhouette getting smaller as he stayed to fight the monsters was still freshly ingrained in Silvie's mind. For her… that was the image of a hero– the very reason she was created.
And so, she could not help but think– if the Government was done with her, will they also treat her like this?
No, she knew the answer to that. Megawoman was Earth's savior– and look what they have done to her, creating monsters in her image.
The Government… they can't be trusted– Silvie then thought as she watched as Riley continued his rampage… seeing it almost as a sort of rebellion to a government that tries to control them. Her head started to hurt just from the sheer thought, but still… she did not stray her eyes away.
"Hannah! Where are you!?"
"...Riley!"
Another familiar voice then echoed through Riley's ears– and like with Silvie, he quickly appeared in front of the room where the voice came from.
"M… Master Riley!"
"Tomoe…" Riley could not help but furrow his eyebrows as once again, the voice was not owned by his sister.
"Are you alright, Master Riley!?"
"Have you seen my sister!?" Riley then stepped onto Tomoe's floating room; as soon as he did so, the head of the man that was interrogating Tomoe burst into a cloud of blood.
"N… no," Tomoe, however, completely ignored it as she returned Riley's gaze. She then suddenly felt her body being pushed away… but before her feet could leave the floor, the heavy force suddenly stopped.
"Night Queen," Riley then whispered; his eyes, still staring deep into Tomoe's eyes.
"...Find my sister."
And as soon as Tomoe heard Riley's words, the somewhat bewildered expression on her face disappeared,
"Your orders…" Tomoe then said as she bowed her head,
"...I receive with all my heart, Master Riley."
***AUTHOR NOTES***
I have a new book called, "Manaless Magician", that I joined in a contest-- might be worth checking out and voting for while waiting for this book. No, actually.... please vote for it if you like it lol.