Chapter 29: Riley Ross is…

Darkday.

Perhaps it was some sort of celestial humor, but like his first subordinate, Riley’s supervillain name was also bestowed upon him by another. However, unlike Scarlet Mage, whose name was collectively thought of by the masses, his was given by a single individual.

It was 3 months after his first appearance; when the media and most of the news outlets in the US were only just starting to get a hold of his deeds from the authorities. The government doesn’t generally announce the rise of a new supervillain, not until they were sure that they were truly a threat to the country.

Most of the wannabe supervillains mostly just end up as normal criminals; apprehended by either the police or the superheroes before they could even cause a miserable chain of events that would warrant them being tagged as a supervillain. This helped minimize the panic of the citizens, as the birth of a new supervillain was not to be taken lightly.

Riley has killed a superhero and some civilians during his first appearance– but that was it. After that, all trace of him was gone. Throughout the 3 months, he truly only made an appearance one in each month; and after the last one, the government no longer had a choice but to let their country know of his existence.

Riley massacred half a thousand people; people who were just casually going on about their days and strolling inside a mall. The media knew of this incident, but had no idea who was responsible for it– after all, it wasn’t until everyone inside the mall was dead that they knew of what happened.

There was only one survivor, Replica Ricky– a superhero who was able to make copies of himself. He described the perpetrator as an individual wearing fully clad in black and wearing a somewhat oversized jet-black helmet. And as soon as the government got wind of this description, they finally announced Riley’s existence.

Replica Ricky told the government that he was able to deeply wound the new supervillain, catching him off-guard at the very last minute. But this didn’t seem to faze the villain, as he quickly killed his duplicate afterward.

Replica Ricky was sure that if the villain knew that it was only a duplicate he killed, he would have surely hunted him as well. And all of this information was taken in by the government– He was, however, still nameless.

Only revealed to the media as to how Replica Ricky described him. But with his existence already out there, every up-and-coming superhero wanted to get a piece of him, waiting for the mysterious black-clad supervillain to once again make his appearance.

And they did not even have to wait long. With Riley’s child-like excitement growing with each day, he could no longer contain his urges to bathe himself in the pained screams of his victims. Immediately, a few days after his existence was scattered in the news, he once again made his appearance– this time right in the middle of the city.

It was just like any other day; until multiple busses filled with people started hovering in the air, covering a part of the city in shadows.

It was just like any other day; until the busses started shooting down from the sky. The fires, the screams, the dust that covered that suddenly the eyes of the people; all combining to create an orchestra of chaos.

It was music to Riley’s ears, almost causing his body, which might have been undergoing puberty at that time, to shiver in delight.

The response of the police and the superhero were swift, arriving at the scene not even a quarter of an hour after the busses had fallen. However, one might consider them still too late as hundreds of people had already died.

One of the reinforcements that arrived was Replica Ricky, as he was the only superhero alive that had already encountered Riley. He was with several other superheroes, ready to apprehend and catch this new evil supervillain before he could wreak more havoc.

But alas, they were outmatched. With the media recording live through their helicopters, the world was able to see how Riley slaughtered the superheroes; playing with them like dolls as their bodies were twisted beyond recognition.

It did not even take half an hour, but Replica Ricky has found himself the only survivor once again. The people already mourned for him as they saw the black-clad individual slowly hovering towards him… but then, there was a boom; a whistle traveling in the air that made everyone watching through their screens excited.

The media held the same sentiment, as they all zoomed in their cameras towards the approaching sound.

And there, higher above the skies, a silhouette approached; faster than the speed of sound, and yet held a grace as if in a ballet– Mega Woman has finally arrived.

She stopped right above all the chaos, looking at the destruction that the new supervillain had caused. There were cars buried inside the buildings, children lying lifeless on the ground… darkness caused by all the dust and debris that floated in the air.

Her eyes continued to wander as she dropped to the ground, searching for the villain that was responsible for all this mayhem– and yet there was no one.

The media also scattered to look for the black-clad villain, but when they pointed their cameras to the ground again, he was no longer to be found. He disappeared… along with Replica Ricky.

It was right at that moment, when Mega Woman stood right on the center, surrounded with nothing but darkness that everyone realized that a new supervillain had dawned upon them– one that could not be ignored.

Mega Woman then once again flew to the air, creating a thunderous explosion that cleared out all of the dust; once again allowing the sun to reach the ground and fully revealing the onslaught that had transpired.

And as she reached the sky, she stood in front of one of the helicopters and looked directly in front of the camera that one of the people from the media was holding.

“This… is a dark day not only for the people of this city but for the whole country. This dark day will come again, but I promise all of you… I will be there to put an end to it.”

And with a short message, she once again flew away into the skies; leaving the people with a name for the new supervillain– Darkday.

In a sort of ironic kind of way, Mega Woman was the one who gave birth to the supervillain that would one day be known as the worst of them all.

And Mega Woman did come whenever Darkday makes an appearance, but their meeting would always be brief, as Darkday immediately disappears as soon as she comes to save the day. Their meetings were plenty, but that is a story for another time.

“Bro… you alright?”

“Yes.”

Riley’s reminiscing was quickly disrupted as he felt a hand approach him from the side, which he quickly avoided.

“Good,” Gary nodded as he let out a short but deep breath, “You just kinda spaced out on us while we were thinking of our superhero names. Anyway, listen to this; Silvie is Mega Girl, as you named her. I will be the Dragon Monarch because it sounds hella cool.”

“I have also decided on mine,” surprisingly, Bella and her brother were still in front of the group, “But I’ll keep it a secret until Spectacular Mustache Man arrives.”

“Such a romantic, sister. Then I shall also do the sam–“

“Mega Girl isn’t decided yet!” Silvie suddenly stood up from her seat before Ben could finish his words. Her voice, clearly showing her frustration before sitting back down, “This is all your fault, Riley!”

“I think it really suits you, Silvie,” Riley shook his head before taking a glance at Silvie, “You remind me of Mega Woman, after all.”

“Everyone here wants to be Mega Woman, of course I would remind you of her!” Silvie crossed her arms as she pouted.

“Give it up, Silvie,” Gary sighed, “Everyone here agrees that–“

“Shut up! I still haven’t forgiven you for what you did yesterday!”

“T… that’s…” Gary could only let out an awkward chuckle as he once again returned to his seat, dejectedly.

“I am not going with Mega Girl!” Silvie once again repeated and showed her displeasure, “I am sure many others have already thought of it as well!”

“But I think you’re the only one that has the right to use it, Silvie.” Riley once again shook his head.

“Look, I really appreciate you comparing me to Mega Woman… but I am not going to take that name!”

“I see. That is your choice, Silvie,” Riley once again shook his head, this time with a sigh, “It’s truly such a shame…

…Especially since you look like her.”

“W… what?”