Riley Ross

[I apologize, y'all! I know you all miss me and our afternoon greets and news, but something came up this morning that I know all of you would like to know about. And, I will also bring you extremely, extremely exclusive news at the end of this. But first, let's talk about what's happening in our very own Mega Academy of the US and A! Lorraine's supposed to be with y'all, but she's been busy lately for some reason and has been going out of town. So, I guess you're stuck with me… and for the better! Now, let's talk about our freshies.

I know some of you are still unaware of this, but this year's batch is being called the strongest batch in history, y'all! In all of the history of Mega Academy, whether here, abroad, or outer space by a mile! By a mile, y'all!

They are literally being dubbed as the Monsters of USAMA! I know that news about them is being drowned by all the bad things that have been happening lately and whatnot, but believe it or not, Mega Academy is the strongest it has ever been!

I know all of you want me to cover the trials that are happening right now, as of this moment. But everyone's doing that already. What I will be covering are the so-called Monsters of the USAMA.

Of course, even amongst the monsters, there are those who will stand out amongst the others.

First up, we have the obvious one—the youngest superhero in history, the Sweet Snowy Little Baby Boy, Riley Ross himself!

I don't want to spoil much about him, since everything about him is literally on the internet now!

And now, we move on to the next one, the leader of the Baby Crew, which Riley is also a part of—the Nuclear Baby!

Her powers? You guessed it—Nuclear, baby! Mega Academy still hasn't released much about her, but I am telling you now… Her powers are above the upper echelons of the S-rank! S plus plus, Mega!

Next up, we have another member of the Baby Crew, the Baby Monarch! We have another Megawoman-lite in our hands, y'all. And we have two—but I'll introduce you to the second one in a sec, because we need to talk about another member of the Baby Crew.

You all know her, we all know her—a future prospect of the Hope Guild, Whiteking's protege, the Fae of the Verdant Lightning, V! That's right, y'all. If you're still unawares, V officially started her school year this year! But want to know something?

I have inside scoop that V is straying away from Hope Guild… and is currently also in the Baby Crew!

Say what?! This Baby Crew, just who are they?! And I want you to know that they still have three other members who have the same potential as them!

And now, we move out of the Baby Crew.

And go to Howlstar! A super who has the ability to shapeshift into a werewolf, but not just any werewolf, no—a werewolf with the ability to release energy beams with his howl!

And now, we get to the other Megawoman-lite. And this ain't just a normal Megawoman-lite, no. We get someone like this every year, someone who chooses the name—but I am telling you, y'all. This one's the real deal.

Megagirl! It is unknown to what extent, but she has all of Megawoman's abilities, down to the minor telekinesis! And from what I've heard, Riley Ross and Megagirl have already fought before, and it was devastating to the point that the instructors had to get in between them to stop them!

And right now, this new generation of monsters is facing their seniors, who were also considered the monsters of their generation!

But now, I bring less exciting news, a tragedy that you would first hear from me. News that no other broadcasting channel has gotten yet, or is not allowed to release in public just yet. I can share this with you… because the one responsible for the news gave me first-hand and direct permission.

Darkday.

Another of Darkday's victims has popped up just early this morning, and this one is very tragic. The victims are a married couple, and with them, a child even younger than Stephanie. But make no mistake!

The child is not a victim of Darkday, but rather the said married couple. They snapped the child's neck. They snapped… their own child's neck. How can a parent be so barbaric against their own children? There have also been previous reports against the father, who had sexually assaulted his stepdaughter several times while the mother did nothing.

Now, you'd ask—why did Darkday not stop the little boy from being murdered by the father in the first place, well… Why don't you hear it from him? Here, right now. This is an exclusive recording of Darkday, and his statement regarding the murder piece he is calling—The Cradle.

'I'm not a hero, I've been clear about that, and I want everyone to be clear about that. I'm not an avenger either, nor am I on the side of justice. I am… a reaction. A violent reaction against a violent action. I am consequence simplified. But most importantly, I relish in your pain and suffering—the people I've killed so far, I tortured them. Don't try to romanticize, idealize, or otherwise glamorize what I did, and what I'll do from now on. I'm punishing them, I'm merely feeding the thirst inside me. Right now, it's targeted at them for… reasons. But my victims could've easily been you. Remember that. Am I evil? I consider myself as such, and you should too.

And lastly, I have a message for Megawoman.

Megawoman, you should've seen what I am when we met in the sky. You could've prevented all of this from happening.

You could've prevented the dark day that is coming.'

You heard him, y'all. He's not a hero, he's not trying to be. Take what you will with that… and this is your reminder to be safe out there.

I am Kitty, and this is ABC-ZBN.]

***

[Hera]

"What the freak?!"

This was supposed to be a hostage scenario, a simulation on how Hera and the other candidates would deal with an extremely difficult hostage situation. But now, the hostages were safe, and most of the civilians had been evacuated.

And yet they haven't announced the end of her trial at all. They haven't announced the end of the trial…

…even as the bridge was collapsing right in front of Hera's eyes.

Hera could feel millions of fingers crawling at the back of her neck, her body sensing danger everywhere. On the collapsing bridge, Hannah was there—she was the one who completely melted the middle part of the bridge, and she caused the air to turn heavy as she vaporized parts of the river instantly.

They all probably would have cancer now if it weren't for the special suit she was wearing that completely nullified the radiation. Well, at least that was how Hannah explained it to them.

And right now, the reason she had to release enough power to completely obliterate the bridge was because of her opponent—Silvie Savelievna, self-proclaimed Megagirl.

She could see Silvie's skin scald, but it healed instantly. Whether or not it was from her own regeneration, or Raphael's doing… she wasn't quite sure.

Silvie was fearless, however, shooting straight toward Hannah even with the intense heat she was releasing—heat that completely distorted the air around her to the point you couldn't actually see anything anymore.

And then, farther to Hera's left was Bella and Howlstar, fighting against Gracey… and destroying everything.

"Shit…"

And now, she watched as the second building started to crumble and fall down.

Hope Guild was still not failing her? Just… what exactly do they want to happen here?

But of course, the worst of them all.

Riley Ross.

Hera closed her eyes, opening them as she stepped forward to the edge of the riverbank.

And there, Riley was standing at the very bottom of the river.

Yes. Standing.

The water around him was completely parted in a circle, creating a sort of arena as he stood at the very center.

"This kid…" Hera's lips twitched. "...Right after I introduced you to show business."

Hera then jumped, landing a few meters away from Riley.

"Hero."

And surprisingly, Riley was the first to say something, even stepping forward with his hands stretched to the side.

"You are right where we want you," he said, tilting his head to the side as he looked Hera in the eyes. And then, with a sigh, he pulled his hood and revealed himself.

"Here. Alone."

"What… are you even saying?" Hera raised an eyebrow, and Riley quickly shook his head.

"Please play along, Hera—this is the script they gave us."

"You guys got a script?" Hera blinked. "You mean it wasn't a hostage simulation from the start?"

"Yes, Hera."

"...Then what was it?"

"Your defeat."

"Huh?"

"I am playing as the archnemesis of the hero, Hera." Riley shrugged. "In this case, your archnemesis—and my plan right now… is to end you once and for all."

"You've…" Hera could feel the fingers crawling through her skin become more violent.

"...You've got to be kidding me right now."

"No." Riley raised his finger, and as he did so, Hera felt the ground beneath her feet vibrate. She quickly looked to the side, and behind the wall of water… a silhouette became clearer and clearer.

It… was a large ship, moving underwater toward her.

"I am killing you right now," Riley said. "Acting, of course."