Chapter 216 - In The Mind Of A Monster
A few hours ago, Riley was waiting at the large holding bay, inside the transparent cube he was being securely confined in. Bulwark and his soon-to-be interrogator were still not there; the Super guards and soldiers, however, were already there surrounding every inch of the holding bay.
Holding bay– that was truly the best description Riley could think of. Why would they even waste this much space just for a single guest? He thought. There wasn't even a bed, but only a single chair right in the middle– is this how the government uses their budget?
"..." And with that thought suddenly entering his mind, Riley let out a small cough, causing all the people guarding him to flinch; with some even instinctively using their abilities in fear– after all, the young man inside the cube could be Darkday.
This somewhat worsened Riley's cough, however, as he slouched himself on the chair provided for him.
"Should… we check up on him?" One of the guards whispered; this was heard by one of the soldiers, however, who quickly warned him not to even move from his spot if he doesn't want to get in trouble.
It was a good thing he was warned; else, they would have all noticed that Riley wasn't actually coughing, but trying to hold laughter that has been wanting to escape his wide mouth.
How could he not laugh? He could not help but compare this accommodation to his own guesthouse. He made sure that all of his guests were comfortable. They have their own bed, free meals, and time to use state-of-the-art toilet rooms– they even have their own entertainment areas so that they can physically socialize with each other.
Riley opted to use transparent enclosures close to each other so that even if they were confined, they would be able to still see each other and wave– even teaching all of them sign language so that they would be able to communicate.
In that way, all of his guests were comfortable. Of course, there were still complaints with his services– especially from his latest guest from the Dark Millenium. Thankfully, he also has a new Warden to take care of things for him and let Diley rest.
Still… to think he would find himself inside a transparent confinement– who knew?
"..." Riley then turned his head up, slightly flicking his finger. And as soon as he did so, a small hole opened up on the glass.
"Pft," Riley once again covered his mouth. With just a single thought, the confinement was damaged? With his accommodations, even someone of Gary's strength wouldn't be able to make a dent even if he punched with all his might– that is, if Gary was not hiding his true strength.
He was still the son of Megawoman, after all. Who knows what he could be hiding.
"!!!"
Riley then blinked a couple of times; his nostrils also slightly pulsated as he tilted his head to the side.
"...Sister?" Riley then let out a small whisper. That was fast, Riley thought. Did they try to grab her as soon as they had him in custody? This…
…is good.
The smile on Riley's face could no longer be hidden as his body almost trembled in excitement. He had thought of many things that would be happening soon, but to think it was the best scenario he could hope for.
Of course, Riley had thought of the time he would be captured– it was part of the risks with his hobby, after all. Sooner or later, he would be caught, so he had already thought of the things he would be doing once it happens.
The easiest option was to kill everyone else but his sister– but that would surely make Hannah hate her enough to commit suicide.
The second option was just to leave the planet– but that would probably cause him to just fleet through space until he dies of old age. But with Megawoman's abilities… he would probably just float until he manages to find another planet to terrorize. Who knows how long that would take?
After all, through the billions and billions of planets that they have found– only two had intelligent life. Earth and Megawoman's planet, Theran.
He had many more options thought out, but he wasn't exactly being held right now as Darkday, but as Riley Ross. He could just make one of his clones come out as Darkday and kill people while he was inside– but Darkday's cloning ability was well-known, people would probably just approach that angle. And besides…
…Diley was already inside somewhere in the prison.
And so, with a lot of thoughts circling in his mind, he had come up with one solution that had the chance to disassociate him with Darkday. His greatest power– his autism and looks.
Stupid, one might think– but the reason of being in the spectrum had allowed Riley to do basically anything he wanted in his life… and others would just be blamed for it.
"Kek," Riley once again covered his mouth– his hand, however, was not enough to cover his smile that reached from ear to ear. How could he not, when he found the perfect scapegoat?
The Government itself.
A child diagnosed with autism, tortured and held by the Government for almost an entire day. Of course, he was suspected as Darkday. But even if just a single doubt that he was not was lit up inside the masses, then that will start to spread like wildfire.
A chance– he thought as he looked at the cameras plastered all over the holding bay. The only thing to do now was wait for a chance.
And seeing Bulwark finally enter along with whom he could only assume to be an interrogator, that chance was about to come his way.
"..."
"..."
He waited and waited quietly– until finally,
"Do not move! If you do, we will be forced to kill your family!"
There it is, Riley thought as the interrogator, Christopher, raised his voice.
To threaten the family of someone with autism, what is that if not something to get enraged about? Riley had seen the videos already and even Bernard's recording of saying he is Darkday– but the masses are easy to sway especially when confronted with a wounded puppy. He was still a little stirred by his sister being threatened, of course– but he knew she was safe.
"..." Riley then turned his eyes towards Bulwark– his most credible witness of the Government's mistreatment.
Of course, it would still rely on luck whether or not people would really disassociate him with Darkday. And since that was already out of his hands, it was time to finally have an excuse to continue his fun.
Riley's feet left the ground, lifting the entire holding bay he was in with him– throwing away Bulwark since he was done with him and started destroying the prison bit by bit in an excuse to find his 'sister-in-distress'.
90% of the people in the prison are criminals– this would also help in swaying the masses' opinions.
And so, Riley continued his rampage; plucking parts of the prison as if it was only some sort of lego. He stopped, however, as soon as he found Silvie– he had no use of her, however, so he quickly threw her away to where Bulwark was.
The next one he found was his Second Subordinate. He was about to also throw her away because she would just end up getting in the way– but decided not to do so.
It would somewhat be a loss for him to lose a loyal subject, but if Tomoe, a 16-year-old girl, were to be killed by the soldiers and guards in the prison while just trying to find her friend, it would further stain the Government's reputation.
And so, without thinking any further, Riley ordered Tomoe to find Hannah. And to Riley's expectations, she was quickly surrounded by almost a dozen guards.
"..." Contrary to his expectations, however, Riley killed the guards almost instinctively. He was wrong– if Tomoe was to die here, then the pain that Hannah had building up inside her would probably worsen. That was something that Riley wouldn't allow since he was already rampaging here.
And so, Riley continued his rampage– making sure that the lines of all the surveillance cameras were still intact even if the holding bay was not. And true enough, his rampage was being caught in all directions– after all, the one handling the control room right now was Diley; surrounded by the unconscious bodies of the ones that should be handling it, recording everything with a proud expression on his face.
And soon, his First Subordinate joined him, creating a bubble and isolating them from the rest of the world, carrying a question she already knew the answer to–
"You… already know where Hannah is, don't you?"
Of course, he knew. This entire prison was currently in his hands right now.
"Hug me, Silver Moon."
"...What?"
"Hug me and release this bubble you created," Riley repeated his words.
"..." And although Katherine was still confused as to what Riley was doing, she still followed her orders; hugging him and releasing the bubble they were confined in.
As soon as he did so, however, a sharp piece of metal suddenly flew straight into her hand.
"This– !!!"
And before she could continue her words, her hand that held the metal spike went straight to Riley's stomach. The floating platform then slowly descended to the ground– the tremble that has been shaking the entire prison, fading away as Riley's body rested on Katherine's body.
"R… Riley?" Katherine's breath stuttered.
"I'll live," Riley, however, just casually whispered in her ear, "Now scream."
"W… what?"
"Scream so the people could hear the pain of killing your lover."
"..."
And so, she did.
Loud enough for the world to hear.