Prologue 3: Villain Retirement
"...Mega Woman."
Riley's slightly sedated hum whispered throughout his small room as he remained staring at the naked mangled corpse inside his closet. "They are mourning you, they are crying for you...
...and yet they don't even know that you're still alive."
Riley then slowly raised Mega Woman's head, and as he did so, the sound of her bones cracking and hitting one another creaked in the air. There was a slight movement in her eyes, but that was it.
No groans, no whispers, not even signs of breath escaped from her mouth-- and yet she still lives.
"Tell me, Mega Woman. What exactly do I need to do to kill you?" Riley then pushed Mega Woman's head away, causing it to hit the back of his closet and her whole body dropping to the ground, "Because of you... I will also have a hard time dying from now on. Do you know what the means, Mega Woman?"
Riley then let out a long and deep sigh as he shook his head. His monotonous tone, completely gone as he talked to a living corpse.
"I won't grow anymore!" Riley then stomped on Mega Woman's head repeatedly, not too hard for it to crash through the floor, but still hard enough to crack the surface of the closet.
"...What's going on upstairs?" Diana, who was still watching his husband give a eulogy, could not help but blink her eyes a couple of times as she turned her head to the ceiling.
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"It's probably just Riley doing his albinism rituals or something, don't mind him."
"Hannah, I told you so many times not to tease your brother like that."
"It's fine, it's fine."
Diana let out a sigh as she saw her daughter nonchalantly waving her hand around. She knew she didn't have a normal family. The fact that her husband was one of the core members of the biggest superhero team in the world already made them different from the rest.
Her daughter had also awakened her powers at a young age. Some families would kill to have a daughter like Hannah. Hannah, however, did not even practice her powers, saying that if she grew any stronger, then she would have a responsibility to the people-- and she didn't like that.
Riley... well, perhaps Riley was the most problematic of them all. Riley was the biological son of one of the previous members of the Hope Guild-- who had to be put down by Bernard and her other teammates.
Along the way, she became crazy-- even almost killing Riley, who was only 2 years old at that time. Bernard and the others found her strangling Riley, whose hands and feet were completely bound by chains.
Truly, if they came to the scene any second sooner, then Riley would have already died. They had troubles in pulling her away from her son, screaming and shouting that Riley needs to die; that he was a monster that should not have been born to this world.
When Diana heard that story from her husband, she completely burst out in tears-- causing her to adopt Riley there and then even though she hasn't even met toddler Riley. But as soon as she met him, she once again burst out in tears.
As Hannah keeps referring him, Riley was an albino-- his hair, his skin, as white as snow. For his own mother to call him a monster just because he looked different was truly such a tragedy. She quickly rushed to hug him, but alas, Riley did not seem to want to be touched.
She couldn't blame him, of course. After what his own biological mother did to him, it would be even more surprising if he didn't grow cold.
But alas, 14 years after, Riley was still the same. And surprisingly, the only one that could actually have a somewhat normal conversation with him, and even touch him, was Hannah. Because of this, he had to be completely homeschooled-- there was also that his skin was sensitive to sunlight, so she and Bernard opted to have Riley just stay with them for now.
"Look at the outside, Mega Woman."
Upstairs, Riley was lifting Mega Woman by his hair, with the two of them bathing on the sunlight that seeped from his window.
"It's still peaceful even without you," Riley took in a long and deep breath as he rested Mega Woman's head on his shoulder, "...But it had also become boring. You're supposed to be from another planet, right? Can you point me where you're from so I can visit it?"
Riley tried raising Mega Woman's hand, but it fell as soon as he let it go. Seeing this, Riley could not help but let out a sigh, "It's your fault no one can kill me on the planet anymore, Mega Woman. And even if they do manage to win, I will just become like you-- unable to do anything but still alive...
...That's not good, Mega Woman, that's not good at all-- I need to die. You should have at least told me when you're going to recover from this."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I'm bored with you now, I'm returning you."
Riley then let out a sigh as he stood up, carelessly dropping Mega Woman's body to the floor as he walked towards his bed. And with just a single hand, he casually raised the whole mattress from its frame.
He then lifted up his other hand, causing the bedframe to split in two, revealing what seemed to be a set of dark leather clothing, as well as a black helmet that was dark to the point that it almost looked as if your arm would fall to the abyss if you dared touch it.
"Once you recover, I'll be waiting back for you. Okay, Mega Woman?" Riley then said as he looked towards Mega Woman's body, "And don't tell anyone about my identity, you're the only one I trust. But it's okay if you do since I'll just kill everyone that knows. But please don't tell my sister...
...Okay, Mega Woman? That's a promise."
***
"Although the void that Mega Woman had left behind is vast, almost unending; we, and the other superheroes that are still here, promise you that we will try our best to fill that void."
In the center of the city, Whiteking, Riley's adoptive father, continued his eulogy for the fallen hero; his words, heard by the thousands that surrounded him, and the billions that were listening to him through their screens and their radios.
And even though there were thousands, not even a single breath could be heard from them as they listened to the man standing on the pedestal, completely clad in white. Besides the members of the Hope Guild, other superheroes were also present, giving their utmost respect to Mega Woman.
"Maybe someday, a great hero will once again come to us. But there will only be one Mega Wo--"
"Oh my god!"
"What the fuck!?"
Before Whiteking could finish his long and gratifying speech, the crowd that was completely silent all started to gasp at the same time, clamoring and yelling words of panic. All of them were looking at the sky; Bernard also noticed that all of the superheroes became stiff, with some of them holding out their stance as they too, looked towards the sky.
Seeing this, Bernard quickly looked to the sky behind him, but before he could even fully turn his body, he felt a slight breeze suddenly waft beside him, followed by a quiet thud.
"..."
With the crowd once again suddenly falling quiet, Whiteking could not help but take in a gulp as he slowly turned his head towards the noise.
"Mega Woman!"
And as soon as he saw the mangled corpse that was suddenly sprawled beside him, the only thing he could do was slightly back away. And as he did so, he felt something lightly hitting him on the back.
"Nice speech, Whiteking."
"!!!"
Bernard quickly grabbed one of the guns that were securely fastened on his waist, but before he could point it towards the individual that suddenly stood near him, it was quickly slapped away. The other superheroes also leaped onto the stage, surrounding the black-clad individual in no time.
"D… Darkday!"
They all muttered.
And while they were completely focused on him, the people that were there to pay their respects to Mega Woman, all could not help but shriek and panic. They were all here to send her off, but suddenly, Mega Woman was thrown in front of them-- her corpse, completely mangled up. But even though their panic was at its peak, none of them could move.
They could feel their breaths weakening at every beat; their blood rising up to levels that they shouldn't.
"Relax."
A voice then echoed and pierced their ears, waking them all up from their stupor. They all looked back towards the pedestal, only to see that Darkday was now the one standing there.
"I did not come here to harm any of you."
Darkday then raised both his hands, his palms facing the crowd. Even with almost a dozen superheroes surrounding him, he didn't even hesitate to turn his back on them; instead, his focus was completely on the crowd.
"As you can see, I have returned your messiah," Darkday then said, the visor of his vanta-black helmet almost sticking to the microphone, "You're welcome."
"Darkday, how dare you-- Kh!"
"You've had your chance to speak, Whiteking. And it was very nice, good job."
Before Bernard could finish his words, he felt an arm wrapping around his neck, threatening to take off the white mask that covered half his face. He then looked towards Darkday, only to see another exact replica of him slowly emerging from his body; duplicating themselves on their own and guarding him in a circle.
"Mega Woman is alive," Darkday then said. And although this was wonderful news, none of the crowd could express their joy… how could they, when they could clearly see how mangled her body is. Even those who were just watching from their screens could not believe what they were seeing, completely shaken up by Darkday's sudden appearance.
"Maybe in a few weeks, or months, or maybe even a year; she will rise again."
Darkday's long but deep sigh echoed throughout the air, "But until then, you have to settle with the other weaker heroes. But do not fret, people. Until Mega Woman rests; until Mega Woman can not save your pathetic lives, I too shall take a rest."
The other superheroes could not help but look at each other from Darkday's words. In truth, they all might show themselves ready to fight him at any time, but how would they even hope to defeat someone who was able to toy with the most powerful superhero of all time?
"Until Mega Woman remains asleep," Darkday then lowered his hands, placing them on the podium, "I, Darkday…
...will retire."
***
"...Even with Mega Woman receiving the best possible care, there are still no signs of her waking up. They are doing--"
"I am bored."
Riley let himself fall on his bed as his monotonous voice almost filled the entire room, only drowned by the sound of the news that he was playing on his phone. It has been a month since he announced his retirement to the world, and he has not donned his suit since then.
His life had become as monotonous as his voice-- waking up, eating, pretending, sleeping. He was no longer finding any excitement in watching the videos he took of Mega Woman. There was this itch growing inside of him; an itch that could only be scratched by the scent of blood lingering through the air around. A void that would only be filled as a life fades away in his hand.
"...In line with this, the world government has announced the beginning of a new project-- an academy. An academy that would help nurture and one day hope to train the next superhero…
...that will become the next Mega Woman."
Riley blinked a couple of times as he lifted his phone in the air, his eyes carefully watching the news anchor that was talking on the screen. And with every second the news was reflected through his eyes, a smile also slowly crawled on his face.
"Interestingly stupid...
...I'm in."