"I think this is the third time I have been asked that, warden Yakovich. I have refused every occurrence."
"..."
Silence. The birds, the insects, not even the leaves were making any noise as Riley and warden Yakovich just stood in place; Yakovich looking Riley directly in the eyes. As for Riley, he was just looking at nowhere in particular– as he had always done.
"I am afraid this is out of your hands, Ri– Prisoner 666," warden Yakovich once again puffed out another smoke; the tone of his voice still as calm as it was before, "The age of minority in Russia has been moved to 18 three years ago. I have already asked your mother and she has already agreed– as for your father, he has yet to give his response… but we know how this would turn out."
"Then you don't know my father," Riley breathed out, "You do not need to be sad about that, though. No one really knows who Bernard is and what he is really capable of. Even I find myself quite… in awe of his secrets."
"We'll see," warden Yakovich let out a small scoff as the smoke that was coming out of his mouth started to merge with his lips, "In the meantime, we'll just be ready with whatever antics you have in store for us. This prison survived Alice– it will survive you."
And with those words, a part of Yakovich's face faded away– merging with the smoke that was coming out of the cigarette; the fumes, slowly making its way throughout his entire body until the only thing that remained of him was his silhouette… but even that too, scattered and faded.
And with Yakovich gone, the birds, insects, and the leaves once again began to move; the whispers they were creating, all entering to Riley's ears at the same time like some kind of calm… but chaotic orchestra.
"..." Riley's eyes could only look at everything that was moving; wondering what actually just happened. Was Yakovich's power some kind of spatial illusion? Based on everything he had heard so far, Yakovich was the strongest Super in this prison– even stronger than the one ranked 1st.
…No. If Yakovich's power was only emitting illusions, then he wouldn't be the strongest here.
"Interesting," Riley could not help but let out a whisper. But after a few seconds, a small smile crawled on his face as he took a step forward,
"But I can do the same," he then flicked his hand; and as he did so, any noise that whispered in the air was once again gone– the only sound remaining was a series of thuds. The birds that once sang in the air, all falling from the trees they were resting on. The insects, all separated into tiny pieces.
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times, before slightly shaking his head. Being in prison seems to be causing something inside of him to be somewhat impulsive. In truth, he was truly not planning on killing anyone while he was here– but in a place where law seemed to only be treated as optional, it was almost as if a button was switched causing him to be unhinged.
Riley then continued to walk through this garden, the prisoners that he had seen earlier from the outside, still not making their appearance. Warden Yakovich probably ordered all of them to return to their cells– and since he had killed 2 of them, there should be a vacant room right now.
It didn't take long for Riley to reach a metal door; and unlike the hall he was previously placed in where everything seemed rusted, the entryway of the top 50 was quite clean… immaculate even. The door then automatically slid open, causing the cold but comfortable air from the inside to brush across Riley's invisible armor.
It would seem that what Yakovich said was true– they already learned their lesson from Riley's biological mother and started caring for their air conditioning units. Riley then entered; his eyes immediately blinking as soon as he saw the view of the inside.
The large silver halls, the unnecessary tall ceilings… this was the same design as the underground facilities of Mega Academy. Perhaps the same architect? Riley thought as he continued to walk deeper into the hallway; and soon, he finally reached the area where the supposed cells of the top 50 were located; what awaited him, however…
…was a subdivision filled with large houses and villas.
And right there and then, Riley finally realized something as he looked at the view of the clear sky above him. Super Max Prison didn't care for those in the bottom rankings– it was made for the top 50… which could also be considered the 50 most dangerous Supers in the world. They let them live here like kings, letting them forget about the outside world.
If he was captured as Darkday, would he also be placed here?
"..." And with that thought, a small chuckle almost escaped from Riley's mouth. He was already inside, so he did not really have to think about it. There was also the case of Darkday having been waived of all his human rights– the only option was to kill him.
"So, it's you."
And finally, before Riley could approach the nearest villa from the Yard, 3 prisoners approached him– none of them wearing a prison uniform.
"You're that woman's son," one of the men then looked at Riley from head to toe; his braided and already grey hair, moving as he did so, "How did someone like that produce something like you? Aren't you some kind of albino?"
"I suppose," Riley only shrugged his shoulders before returning to look at the villas, wondering which villas the two he just killed owned.
"I knew your mother," the men continued to talk; the two beside him, however, just remained quiet; their eyes almost seemed as if they belonged to the dead– completely unmoving; not even the unusually bright sky above their heads was reflecting on them.
"I assumed that," Riley answered as he continued to look at the two seemingly lifeless men, "Everyone seems to suddenly know about my biological mother."
"...Biological mother?" The old man then slightly furrowed his eyebrows; his face, slightly confused. A couple of seconds after, however, the almost lifeless prisoner on his left let out a small gasp; quickly leaning towards the old man and whispering something into his ear; causing him to widen his eyes.
"So Diana is not your biological mother? That makes sense," the old man said as his breaths almost reached Riley, "But instead, your birth mother is Alice? It would seem your path is surrounded by chaos, child."
"...Are you saying you knew Diana?" Riley then blinked a couple of times, tilting his head to the side as he heard the man's words.
"She worked here briefly. She and Alice should have known each other…" The old man breathed out. He seemed to want to say something more, but his mouth closed as his eyes looked to the side, "...But that is all I can say in that matter."
"..."
"I will not keep you, then," the old man then let out a short but very deep breath as he stepped back– the two prisoners beside him, almost following his movements perfectly, "Alice was a colorful but unhinged thing– I hope you're neither."
And with that, the old man made his way through the subdivision; disappearing into one of the houses that Riley could only assume to be where he lived. Riley had initially thought that he would just spend a little time here and enjoy whatever comes his way…
…But it would seem both his adoptive parents were actually hiding something. Diana always had some sort of crazy strength… could it actually be she wasn't actually a normal human? But no, Riley had seen Diana bleed a couple of times. And besides her gorilla-like strength that appears whenever Bernard or Hannah does something stupid, she should be normal.
"..." Riley then looked at the house where the old man entered. There was a chance that he was just lying; after all, they were in prison– the only innocent thing here were probably the birds and insects that he killed earlier.
But just in case, he should probably ask him again. Riley slowly raised his hand; his finger, pointed at the old man's house.
[Prisoner 666, your designated house is number 22.]
But before he could do anything, warden Yakovich's voice once again entered his ears– his words, echoing throughout the entire subdivision.
"..." Riley looked at the old man's house for a couple of seconds, before finally letting out a small breath and just walking away. He had let himself be tied up for almost an entire day before finally being settled here, the thing he wanted to do the most now was just… rest.
And so, Riley made his way throughout the subdivision inside the prison. He passed by several prisoners along the way. Almost everyone, however, avoided his gaze– with some even somewhat trembling as they looked at him.
These were the top 50 prisoners? If Sophie from Miami was still alive, Riley was sure most of them wouldn't last even a single second against her.
"Tch," Riley could not help but slightly feel irritated at the thought of Sophie. If only Riley had kept her alive, then his Guesthouse would have been more interesting. Riley continued to walk as different scenarios raced through his mind; until finally, he made it to the villa that has the number 22 in front of it…
…only to see that someone else was there.
"...Miss V?"
"Riley Ross…
…We need to talk."