"No cameras!"
"Please step aside! We're not going to ask twice!"
"Move or we will be forced to kick you out!"
Riley's eyes were once again blanketed by a bright light; this time, however, it came in flashes of white. Unlike the core of the Earth which was a consistent and almost organic luminance, the almost endless clicks that were snapping in the air right now showered Riley in a storm– almost erasing him due to the light merging with his white hair and skin.
Snap, snap, snap– the shutters of the cameras that were pointed at him did not stop. Even with the consistent warnings of the men wearing red uniforms, the reporters did not budge.
This was the 2nd time Riley Ross was walking in a hall, surrounded by a number of people who had a number of questions equal to that of the flashes bombarding him. The first one, he walked with his family in the halls of the Academy.
This time, however, he walked alone.
His wrists, bound tightly by some sort of silver chain; his hands, completely covered in some sort of cast… even his mouth and half of his face were covered. And perhaps if they didn't need him walking, his feet would have probably also been bound.
He was surrounded by complete strangers– the only one present that was familiar to him was Bulwark, who was currently walking a meter behind him; the look on his face, even more complicated than it was a few hours earlier.
And a few hours earlier, Bulwark had no idea he would be escorting Riley in chains.
***
A few hours earlier.
Bulwark just touched down at Los Angeles, only for him to see V and Riley almost shooting in a straight line up above the skies. The sole reason he left the Academy was to rescue Riley from the monsters that suddenly appeared out of nowhere– but now he was moving away at a speed that could only be described as lightning fast, quite literally.
He could also see a black blur following them, a silhouette that could only belong to Tempo. And so, with no choice but to also follow them, a golden light in the shape of a jet started to form around Bulwark.
And with a small eruption and a ring of wind surrounding him, Bulwark started to trail behind them.
"..."
Perhaps trailing behind them was an overstatement. Although Bulwark was already confident with his speed since he was able to replicate the rockets of modern machinery with his abilities… it was still a speck of dust compared to the speed that Tempo and V were going– which was probably at the same speed as a strike of lightning.
He was just initially supposed to rescue Riley… but with V obviously also in trouble, his work seemed to have doubled.
"...Never pass an adult's responsibility to children," Bulwark let out a small but very deep sigh as he continued to fly; the individuals he was following, no longer to be seen.
He continued on like this for minutes, until finally, his eye caught a man waving at him from the ground– Tempo, who was grabbing V by the wrist and seemingly not letting her go.
"Why… are you here?" Bulwark quickly asked as he landed in front of the two. His question, however, was also quickly answered as soon as he saw the look on Tempo's face; the last time Bulwark saw Tempo's face like this was after they fought Darkday– he didn't need to stay anything for Bulwark to know that something bad happened.
"Bulwark? What are you doing here?" V then stopped trying to escape Tempo's grip as she looked at Bulwark, "I thought you quit from the guild? Do you know what's happening? This dude isn't telling me anything."
"..."
"And why do I feel so weak? I can barely feel any electricity trying to escape from my skin," V let out a small breath as she looked at her hands, "Wait… don't tell me I'm cured!? I don't have powers anymore!?"
V's eyes then trailed towards Tempo… who quickly avoided her gaze.
"What… why aren't you saying anything? What happened?" V's voice started to become agitated, "And where's Riley?"
"I have the same question," Bulwark then said as he too, focused his eyes on Tempo, "Is he still alive?"
"He is," Tempo then also let out a trembling sigh; doing his best not to show V any signs of distress, "But he was fighting a blonde man the last time I saw him. I wanted to help but–"
"I understand," Bulwark raised his hand to stop Tempo from talking. Judging by his trembling voice, it was obvious that he was hiding something– and Bulwark knew what.
The electricity surrounding V was almost completely gone; only letting out some small sputters here and there. That could only mean one thing– she drained her power. And for someone with V's raw power, that could only mean a destruction of the highest level… and V was completely unaware of it.
"Go, just hide her somewhere for now," Bulwark then gestured for Tempo to leave. But before Tempo could nod back, a loud beeping noise rang in the air; the sound, coming from the console attached to Tempo's sleeve, which was currently blinking in red.
"..." Tempo then quickly pressed something on his ear, only for a deafening scream to welcome it.
[Where are you!?]
"...Butcher?"
Tempo almost pulled his head back as Butcher's voice roared in his ear. He then quickly pressed something on his arm, allowing Butcher's voice to be heard by Bulwark and V.
[Where are you!?] Butcher repeated.
And as soon as Bulwark heard his voice, he could not help but furrow his eyebrows. For Butcher to sound this alarmed… this was something that has never happened before.
[Oh shit,] Hera's voice then joined in; her breaths, almost cracking the speakers attached on Tempo's sleeve, [This is crazy, have you guys seen the news!?]
"...What's happening?" Tempo's confusion was obvious as his eyes moved back and forth between V and Bulwark.
[...You guys don't know? It's all over the intern– Fuck, why aren't these things dying!?]
"What's all over the internet!?"
[Whiteking's son,] Hera then grunted as she seemed to be fighting with something, [He's suspected to be Darkday.]
"...What kind of nonsense is that?" V was the first to react as she snarled, "I was just with him earlier."
[It's all over the internet. All the videos and photos are convincing as fuck… this is crazy,] Hera breathed out loudly, [Oh shit! It's Whiteking! There's a video of Whiteking saying Riley Ross is Darkday!]
"...Where is Riley Ross right now?" Bulwark's eyes quickly squinted as he looked at Tempo.
"He… is in London."
"Hide V for now," Bulwark then said as a golden aura slowly started to form around him.
"...Hide me? The fuck does that mean?" V once again snarled, "And what do they mean Riley is Darkday? That's impossible. He saved me earlier and–"
And before she could finish whatever it is she was trying to say, she disappeared along with Tempo; leaving only Bulwark left on the ground.
"..."
Riley Ross is Darkday?
Bulwark's eyebrows started to furrow from the thought. But after a few seconds, his eyes began to widen.
Prophet said the one who murdered him was the most dangerous man on the planet– that description could only belong to Whiteking since Bulwark himself was the one who described him like that to Prophet.
"..." It was slowly starting to all make sense now.
Did Whiteking kill Prophet because he discovered Riley's secret? It was impossible for Whiteking not to know that Riley was Darkday considering what he was capable of.
But if Riley Ross really is Darkday… then Prophet would have surely told him. The two vowed for there to be no secrets between them, and Prophet has not failed that vow even once.
"..."
"..."
Bulwark let his thoughts roam around for a few seconds, before the golden aura around him once again formed into some sort of jet, shooting instantly towards the skies as it let out a loud explosion.
It took a couple of minutes for him to finally reach London… or at least what was left of it. For miles, there was nothing but an ashen desert; with the only activity being the dozens of helicopters hovering in the air, as well as more than a hundred individuals wearing a red uniform– a uniform reserved for Supers serving in the military.
They were also present during the fight with Darkday– but were personally ordered to retreat by Megawoman and just asked to evacuate as many civilians as possible instead.
"..." Bulwark then slowly descended from the sky, and as soon as his feet landed on the sand, an officer approached him.
"Riley Ross is currently underground," the officer then presented Bulwark a table, showing an aerial view within the perimeter they were in.
"..." Bulwark was about to look at the tablet, but before he could do so… Riley Ross suddenly emerged from the said hole. And almost in instinct, Bulwark summoned several chains and ropes which swiftly wrapped around Riley's body.
Everything happened so fast, and before anything could even register in Bulwark's mind, Riley was taken to one of the most secure facilities in the world; which also happens to be quite near– Her Majesty's Prison Leeds for the Super Gifted.
As the name suggests, it was a prison for Supers. Of course, Riley Ross was just a suspect; but considering what he was being suspected of, the only thing that the authorities could do was send him here.
Whether or not the videos were true…
…Riley Ross will temporarily be held in prison.
***AUTHOR NOTES***
I have a new book called, "Manaless Magician", that I joined in a contest-- might be worth checking out and voting for while waiting for this book. No, actually.... please vote for it if you like it lol.