"Everyone ready?"
"Let's do this."
Hannah, Gary, Tomoe, and Silvie were currently in front of the jet-truck hybrid– which they have now officially named the Meteolite… named once again by Hannah. There was little to no objection, however, as it was not their current priority.
They were gathered somewhere deep within the Academy grounds; their costumes, all turned into a flat black color in order to better suit their current stealth mission– break out Riley Ross from prison.
"Remember, we only have a few hours until my brother officially becomes a prisoner in the Super Max," Hannah then said as a final reminder, "We do this swift and without fault, okay!?"
"Okay!"
And with that, the Baby Crew got on the truck one by one, the reflection on their eyes glimmering even in the darkness.
"Better strap yourselves– this is going to be a fast ride," and with that, Hannah pressed the ignition.
"..."
"..."
But nothing happened.
"What the fuck?" Hannah once again pressed the ignition, but once again, there was not even a sliver of response, "Did you forget to charge it, Gar?"
"What, of course not!" Gary quickly replied as he unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned towards the terminal, "I charged this full last night like how Julius made a fool of you."
"...What was that?"
"N… nothing."
"Are… are you stepping on the gas?" Silvie said as she also leaned forward.
"Why would it have–"
And before Hannah could respond, the darkness that once blanketed them disappeared; replaced by an almost blinding light that made the others close their eyes except for Hannah, who was clearly seeing where the light was coming from.
She then immediately got off the truck, before letting out an almost piercing scream.
"What the fuck are you doing, dad!?"
"I should be the one asking you that."
A silhouette then slowly emerged from the light, casting shadows to wave down as the silhouette slowly descended to the ground; and as soon as this silhouette landed, the source of the light flew away.
And slowly, the light started to fade from Gary and the others' eyes, finally revealing the sudden intruder that seemed to have stopped their mission before it could start.
"What do you mean you should be the one asking!?" Hannah raised her voice once again, "We're trying to rescue Riley and actually doing something instead of just pretending that this is alright!"
"The rest of you go back to your apartments."
And as soon as Bernard's somewhat deep voice entered through their ears, Gary and the others could only flinch as their feet seemingly moved on their own.
"What!? None of us are going back! This stupid Academy has been going long enough– We're setting out to do what this place has taught us to do, rescue innocent people!"
Hearing his daughter's voice, the only thing Bernard could do was let out a small sigh; he then pressed something on the watch he was wearing. And as soon as he did so, the truck that Hannah had been trying to start suddenly moved.
"Wha–"
And before they could even know what was happening, the truck switched into its jet form and flew away on its own.
"None of you seem to understand," Bernard then let out a whisper. And although his voice was quiet, it seemed to resonate deep into their bones. The others could only try to avoid Bernard's gaze as it strayed towards them one by one; the only one that returned his glare was Hannah.
"You don't seem to understand," Bernard repeated as he looked Hannah straight in the eyes, "Riley is not innocent."
"Riley is–"
"52 people," Bernard once again did not let Hannah speak, "Besides the criminals that were inside the prison, Riley killed 52 innocent people– most have families waiting for them to get home… daughters. Tell me, Hannah…
…how many people does Riley have to; need to kill in order for you to actually see that he is not innocent?"
"That's…" And as soon as she heard her father's question, the resolve that was glimmering in Hannah's eyes slowly faded.
"A hundred? A thousand?"
"Riley won't–"
"20 million people?" Bernard then let out a small but very deep breath as he once again trailed his eyes towards the others, "I truly appreciate that you want to rescue my son– but he has to be punished for what he has done."
"..." Gary and Silvie could only look at each other as they heard Bernard's words. Although they didn't want to admit it, Bernard is right. They were currently letting their personal feelings get in the way of the facts.
Even if it was in a fit of rage; even if it was unfair– Riley killed people. What exactly would the families of the dead feel if they saw that superheroes broke their loved ones' killer out of jail? Wouldn't that be a slap to their faces?
And as much as Gary loved slapping faces– he knew this wasn't right.
Seeing the looks on the faces of the youths in front of him, Bernard once again let out a small breath. He was a hypocrite; perhaps the worst of all.
He said that Riley should pay for what he had done, but he made sure that Riley's true identity wouldn't be exposed… even setting up an old man that only tried to avenge his family as a villain. If these were any other story… then wouldn't Alistair actually be considered the true hero?
But alas, this was Riley's world– everyone was just living in it, Bernard thought. He knew it was wrong… he had always known that he was wrong for even trying to protect Riley. But what could he do?
A man's bane was and will always be their children.
And perhaps it was once again a flawed thought, but he could only hope…
…that the monster he had allowed to roam free would finally find a place in prison. If not, then Bernard could only shudder at the thought of what would be coming out.
***
"Yard time, boys!"
"...Oh."
Riley could hear a loud clanging noise ringing in the air from all directions. And even with his eyes completely covered, it was obvious that the ringing was from all the gates of the prison cells opening.
Riley initially thought that the guards that were escorting him to his cell had some sort of grandiose plan, but to think it was just leaving him completely tied up… how funny.
"Oho, look what we have here."
And like a grain being thrown inside an aquarium, it did not take long until several voices started approaching Riley. And judging by all the breaths that he was hearing, the people that were slowly surrounding his stretcher was a group of 4.
"Holy fuck, that's his skin? I thought it was some sort of bandage at first."
"Derek would go wild seeing a skin this smooth. If his chin is already like this… imagine the rest of his skin."
"We better get a taste of it before Derek gets the news, then. Quick, knock him down so we can untie him."
"What… why me? Don't you think Lee should do it?"
"...Don't tell me you're scared? He's fucking tied up."
"Well yeah, there's a reason why he's tied the fuck up. You do it since you have super-strength."
"Wha–"
"Quit arguing and just do it! My little brother is getting hard already!"
And with that, Riley could hear a small but loud grunt as a loud step started to approach him. But before another step could whisper to his ear, a small smile crawled on his face.
"What are you doing!? Why did you suddenly stop!?"
"I… I can't move!"
"What are you saying, you're just delaying shit. Let me– What… something's here?"
"What are the two of you doing!? You–"
And before the group could once again let out their voices; they could not help but slightly take in a small breath as a weird peal of laughter entered their ears. They first looked at each other, before their eyes all turned towards the source of the laughter almost at the same time.
And as soon as they saw Riley's smile that reached from ear-to-ear, the only thing they could do was slowly back away; his eyes being covered made it even more ominous.
"I… I have a bad feeling about this. We should just leave."
"Y… yeah."
"I agree."
"Yup, let's just go."
And so, with their heads nodding at each other, the sound of their steps soon whispered throughout Riley's cell. These steps, however, stopped before they could pass the cell door.
"Why'd you stop again!?"
"There's… something blocking the path again."
"W–"
And once again, before anyone could open their mouths; another fit of laughter entered their ears. This time, followed by the sound of metal ripping; almost as if it was just a piece of paper. They all turned their heads back, only to see their supposed-to-be prey slowly shredding the kevlar that wrapped him as if it didn't exist.
A light, but very long breath then whispered through the air as Riley started stretching his limbs which were stagnant for almost an entire day; his white skin, slightly merging with the whites of his striped black and white uniform– almost making it look like one could see through him.
"Interesting," Riley then said as his eyes started to look at his new room, "I have watched the episode where the main character was sent to prison in Italian Mafia Reborn… and to think this kind of scene would also happen to me."
"W… what is this kid saying?"
"The main character beat the other prisoners up in the anime," Riley continued to talk; ignoring the words of the men in front of him, "I'm wondering if I should do the same…
…or just kill all of you?"