Chapter 42: Onwards

“I… will go and talk to them.”

“What? What for? Stop being so nosy and let’s just go.”

Even with the slightly thick long gloves covering her arm, Silvie could still feel Hannah’s slightly warm hand touching her wrist, holding her back from approaching the media flocking outside the gates.

“No,” Silvie gently removed Hannah’s hand as she stepped away, “We didn’t spend days designing our costumes just for them to treat it like that. As the Mega Student, I feel like I have some sort of responsibility to tell them off.”

“You… don’t really need to treat that role so seriously,” Hannah could not help but let out a small sigh, “The Academy didn’t even give you a set task for that, right?”

“Even so,” Silvie shook her head, “You guys can go ahead if you want to. I… I’ll go talk to them.”

Seeing Silvie still walking towards the frenzied crowd, both Hannah and Gary could only shake their heads; slightly vexed from her slightly over-the-top sense of… integrity.

As for Riley, his eyes still wandered around elsewhere, not even minding all the noise and chaos going on around him as he followed Hannah and the others without any concern.

“E… Everyone, please listen!” Silvie then immediately raised her voice as she reached the barricade blocking the media from entering the Academy, “Outsiders are not allowed inside the Academy, so please; if I may ask all of you to step back!?”

“E… every–“

And before she could say another word, the mask of the student behind her was snatched away, causing him to bump towards Silvie; and due to Silvie’s innate durability, the student shoved himself away.

“N… no!” And with his hands on the ground, he had no way to hide his face.

“Stop, please stop!” Silvie immediately blocked him from the cameras. But considering how many flashes of light burned through their eyes before she could do so, there were probably already hundreds of photos of his face.

And since he was wearing a costume and a name tag, he would have no choice but to change both.

Realizing this, Silvie could not help but take in a long and deep breath. And after a few seconds, she roared.

“Enough!”

Her scream was enough to create a small ripple, blowing away the dust that gathered around her and slightly pushing the reporters near her. “The students will talk to you if they want to! But pulling them towards you will only make them scared and run away! Half of the students of the Academy are minors, you all should be ashamed of yourselves for treating them like this!”

“…”

With Silvie’s words lingering in the air, the crowd’s excited rambles slowly became whispers. Their cameras were also gently pointing down as they all took a good look at Silvie, their eyes staring at the name tag attached on her chest.

Seeing the crowd now quiet, Silvie could not help but let out a short but deep sigh.

“Thank you,” she then said, “We still have a school exercise today, but I am sure the Academy will allow you to come back la–“

“Mega Girl!? Are you related to Mega Woman!?”

“How many of you are there!?”

“How are the living conditions inside!?”

“How is it like living with the other superheroes!?”

“W… wait–“

“What are you learning inside!?”

“I heard you accepted everyone that enrolled, is that true!?”

“No, I–“

“I see some costumes are quite revealing. What do you think of the objectification of female superheroes in general!?”

“Wait, I can’t–“

Try as she may, Silvie’s words were not getting through. Instead, the crowd seemed to have become even more aggressive, even pushing the barricade as some of them were starting to force themselves in.

“No, please! You are not allowed to enter the Academy, it is against the rules!” Silvie roared; but alas, her words were no longer being heard.

“Let’s just leave, Mega Girl! These imbeciles are not worth your time!” Hannah then once again grabbed Silvie’s arm, pulling her away from the oncoming horde of reporters, “Riley, you can float chuuni up, right?”

“Maybe.”

“Good, let’s get going,” Hannah nodded as her feet began to flicker. However, before they could combust, Silvie once again removed her arm away.

“What are you doing!?” Hannah once again grabbed Silvie’s arm, but this time, she was not even able to budge her, “…Mega Girl?” Hannah could only furrow her eyes as she saw Silvie staring at a single reporter; a reporter who went over the barricade.

“Mega Girl, what are you doing?”

“You went over the barricade.”

Hannah tried to call Silvie’s attention. Silvie, however, just walked towards the intruding reporter and casually lifted him up by the collars before destroying his camera.

“That’s against the law,” Silvie then said as she looked the man straight in the eyes. The man was slightly squealing in the air as he tried to remove Silvie’s hand. But alas, for someone like him, Silvie’s grip might as well be an iron cuff.

But finally, after a few more seconds, he felt his feet once again touching the ground. He then quickly looked at Silvie, only to find that he was back on the other side of the barricade with the other reporters.

“P… please,” Silvie then stuttered, the cold tone that previously persisted in her voice just moments ago now completely gone,

“Please stay on your line,” she then meekly chuckled before bowing her head several times, “I… I truly apologize for breaking your camera.”

“T… that’s,” the reporter could only let out a whisper as he slightly took a step back. His fellow reporters near him also pointed down their cameras in fear that it would be destroyed.

“Thank… thank you for understanding!” Silvie once again bowed her head before returning to Hannah and the others.

“What… was that all about?” Hannah immediately said as she blinked her eyes a couple of times as Silvie returned to them.

“S… someone went over, sorry,” Silvie let out a short but deep sigh as she shook her head, “But that seemed to calm them down, I think we can go now! Let’s go, everyone!”

Silvie then raised her hand, signaling to the other students that it was safe to cross and get to the buses. Of course, the flashes of light and the endless shuttering clicks in the air still persisted, but not even a hand dared to go over the barricade anymore even as the students walked near them.

“So, was I the only one not expecting that?” Gary then said as they watched as Silvie assisted the other students, “…I read a character like her once, it’s–“

“Don’t,” before Gary could finish his words, Hannah shook her head as they followed and walked beside Silvie, “Let’s just get this over with.”

“That’s not very Mega Woman-like, Mega Girl.”

“W… what!?” Silvie, who was assisting the other students as she too walked towards the bus, could not help but slightly stop in her tracks as she heard Riley’s words, “What do you mean?”

“Mega Woman would smile as she warned them, and they would just comply,” Riley said with a small sigh, “But it is understandable. Her presence alone is enough to silence everyone; you still have a long way to go, Mega Girl.”

“R… right,” Silvie muttered as she took in a small gulp, “I… I will take that into consideration next time. Thank you, Riley.”

“Hm.”

“…Did your brother just smile?”

“She’s fond of Mega Woman or something,” Hannah nonchalantly waved her hand, before pointing towards a slightly empty bus, “That’s enough, Mega Girl! Let’s go there so we can sit at the back!”

Hearing her friends calling for her for the nth time, Silvie finally stopped assisting the other students as the four of them rushed to the almost empty bus. And as they wanted, the seats at the back were vacant, allowing the four of them to comfortably sit there. It took a few minutes before the bus they were in was filled; and seeing as there were no more students approaching the parking, it would seem they have all boarded the buses.

“Man, even the bus is fortified.”

“That’s the government for you, wasting our taxes.”

The sound of Gary tapping the windows caught the attention of the other students already sitting there; and as if some kind of domino, they also started tapping the windows and all the other parts of the bus; only to realize how thick the walls and panels were.

“W… wait, the people… the people are gone!”

“What?”

“Holy shit, where are they!?”

And then, out of nowhere, the horde of media that made their otherwise short walk completely unbearable was nowhere to be seen; with not even a single soul remaining. All that was left were the barricades, several cameras attached to tripods, as well as… a handful of mannequins similar to the ones they could find in the simulation training hall.

“So there… there really was no media?”

“…But I thought I was getting interviewed.”

“So everyone was a hologram!?”

“Close.”

And as the students started to clamor, a voice could be heard entering the bus. It was a man wearing a green one-piece suit that completely covered his entire body, even his face. On his head, however, was a hat one could find being worn by a bus driver.

“What you saw just now was an illusion, generously produced by one of the instructors in the Academy. The real reporters were asked to take a break in the meantime; be warned though, they would be the ones welcoming all of you home once we come back from our little exercise,” the man then said as he stepped in front of the students, “If anything, more so than villains, they are our number 1 enemy. They would find ways to drag your name to the ground as long as it gets enough traction. The media are not your friend, please remember that.”

“…”

“Also, please wear your designated seatbelts; we will be departing shortly. As for my name, you may just address me as Green Fly.”

Green Fly then curtsied, a pair of wings silently fluttered behind him.

“Where are we going, Mister Green Fly!? The instructor said you’ll be the one to tell us!”

“Straight to the point, I like it,” Green Fly then let out a small chuckle as he sat on the driver’s seat, “Some of you may feel a little uncomfortable with where we’re going, but the Academy deemed it important that you see and feel it.”

“We’re going sightseeing!? So this is a field trip!?”

“Not quite,” Green Fly muttered as he fixed the mirrors to see the students behind him, “What you’re going to see…

…is the aftermath of the Battle of Toronto.”