"..."
Riley's abnormally white skin currently reflected a series of videos and images in front of him coming from a projector; videos of him in his earliest days as Darkday and until his latest appearance. His latest appearances were of no surprise to him… but for there to actually be images and videos of him the very first day he started dawning the identity of Darkday?
In a way, Riley sort of already expected Bernard to know that he was Darkday but didn't really follow through with the idea. After all, Riley had always known Bernard to be one of the world's greatest superheroes– for him to not stop Darkday even if he was his adopted son is something Riley thought Bernard wouldn't do.
…But seeing as Bernard's secrets and imperfections were slowly coming into light; Maybe Bernard wasn't really the hero Riley thought he was.
"..."
Bernard was hiding the fact that he was Darkday. But for these videos to exist would mean that Bernard just archived them somewhere and did not delete them… Why?
Was Bernard going to use it in the future to have him arrested? But didn't he just surrender him from the start if that was the case? It would have been easy for even a Class B Super to neutralize him in his early days.
…Bernard could have prevented the death of millions of people. As a superhero, wasn't saving lives the priority?
Was Bernard going to reveal him at the start, but chose not to? And now he just collected hundreds of videos of him?
"..."
Can he get a copy of all this footage? He could let his guests watch it since they are probably bored with the repetitive movies on Webflix.
Riley's mind slowly started to wander as he continued to watch the videos being projected to him. Soon, however, the video stopped.
"Is this not you?"
Riley then turned his head towards the man sitting at a table; positioned on the other side of the transparent cube he was now currently confined in. They were in some sort of spacious holding bay, with Riley completely separated from everyone else in the hall– almost like an animal in a zoo surrounded by tourists.
"..." Riley then returned his eyes towards the image projected on the transparent wall of the cube he was in, only to see a photo of him just having taken off his helmet. He stared at this still image of him for a few seconds, before proceeding to look at every person surrounding the cube.
Bulwark was still there, standing behind the man that was currently interrogating Riley. Christopher– that was the name of the interrogator if Riley remembers clearly.
Riley then once again turned his head towards Christopher, before finally opening his mouth and answering his question.
"No, that handsome young man on the video is not me, Mr. Christopher."
"..." Christopher looked him in the eye for a couple of seconds; his sighs, deep enough to be heard inside the cube, "You know you can get in more trouble if you're lying."
"I am not lying, Mr. Christopher," Riley answered without batting an eye.
"There are less than 6,000 albinoes in the US. And even in that statistic, you look rare. This is clearly you, Riley Ross."
"Yes," Riley then answered, "It is me but at the same time it is not, Mr. Christopher. The video is edited."
"Hm…" Christopher then strayed his eyes away from Riley, and onto some sort of file planted on his table. He turned its pages for almost half an hour– not even saying anything to Riley. But finally, after a few more turns of the pages, he looked back towards him.
"It says here you have some form of autism," Christopher then breathed out, "So, there are only two scenarios here. Either you are not lying, or lying just comes naturally to you."
"...I suppose," Riley shrugged.
"So I am going to ask again… Is this not you?" Christopher gestured towards the projection.
"No, it is edited," Riley shook his head, "You can ask Tomoe Reynolds, she is good at editing photos and videos, Mr. Christopher."
"Ah, yes! Tomoe Reynolds," Christopher then once again turned the pages of the file on his table, "Tomoe Reynolds– an avid fan of Darkday. One could even say obsessed with him."
"..."
"..."
"I am aware of that, Mr. Christopher."
"Did you also know that Tomoe Reynolds was a recluse before she attended USMA?" Christopher muttered, "She killed her father in self-defense because he has been molesting and raping her several times when she was just a little girl."
"...Rape her?" Riley blinked a couple of times, "Did Tomoe not kill her father before that happened, Mr. Christopher?"
"Oh, no. The clinical reports say otherwise," Christopher shrugged as he once again checked the file, "She was supposed to be put in childcare, but her mother was able to fight for her custody in the court."
"..." Riley could only slightly look to the side as soon as he heard Christopher's words. To think his Second Subordinate had gone through something like that… it would seem he was neglecting her too much for him to not know information as crucial as this.
So her hatred for her mother was truly warranted. Maybe he should kill her for Tomoe once all of this is over?
"I wonder… does Tomoe Reynolds know that you are Darkday?" Christopher then squinted his eyes as he looked Riley directly in the eyes; even from the thick transparent wall between them, Riley could feel some sort of pressure seemingly trying to pierce his mind.
But it just ends there.
"Hm, I can't seem to read your mind," Christopher let out a small chuckle, "I believe Darkday also has the ability to resist any mind invading abilities. If you're not Darkday, then reading your mind shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"I can't turn it off, I am afraid," Riley shook his head, "And I do not resist any mind invading abilities, Mr. Christopher– I am immune to them."
"So are you saying you are Darkday?"
"No, Mr. Christopher."
"No, you're not Darkday; or no, you don't want to talk?" Christopher smiled, "We could get you a lawyer if you want to."
"No, I am not Darkday," Riley let out a small sigh, "And I do not need a lawyer, Mr. Christopher."
"That's good," Christopher once again let out a small chuckle, "I was just being polite. Now let's go back to our topic… I find it hard to believe that Tomoe doesn't know your true identity."
"I don't believe that's my problem, Mr. Christopher."
"She was a recluse… not to mention she is diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder. The only connection she really had before was with other avid fans of Darkday on the internet. Are you saying someone like that just so happens to be friends with you?"
"She is not my friend, Mr. Christopher."
"The file I am holding says otherwise."
"Then the file you are holding is wrong," Riley said, "I do not have any friends, Mr. Christopher."
"Really now?" Christopher scoffed as he once again turned the pages of his file, "But you seem pretty close with one Katherine Read? She is known as the Grade-A Superhero, Scarlet Mage… and it says here the two of you have some sort of… relationship?"
Christopher squinted his eyes as he slightly leaned his head closer to the file, trying to see if he read it clearly,
"The two of you… are lovers?" And for the first time, Christopher's voice slightly wavered.
"We are not lovers, Mr. Christopher," Riley shook his head, "But we do have sexual intercourse 5 times a week."
"..." Christopher blinked a couple of times as he once again looked Riley in the eyes. But after a few seconds, he closed the file in his hands and let out another long and deep sigh, "Interesting…
…I should confirm that with her later," Christopher then said.
"...Hm?" Riley blinked.
"Oh, she's here," a small smile slowly crawled on Christopher's face, "She is being held in another room."
"..."
"In fact, everyone involved with you is currently here… All except for your father. We can't find him no matter how hard we try," Christopher then tapped the table a couple of times, "Did he escape? I wonder… did you become Darkday because of Whiteking? Did he train you to be a weapon? If that was the case, then maybe we can lessen your punishme–"
"Wait."
And before Christopher could finish his words, Riley moved for the very first time. His steps, taking him nearer towards Christopher with each passing moment; closing in on the transparent wall that separated them.
"Are you saying my sister is here, Mr. Christopher?"
And hearing the tone of Riley's voice changing for the very first time, the small smile on Christopher's face quickly widened even further.
"Yes," he said, "You will get to see them soon. That is… if they are not involved in you being Darkday."
"..."
"Because if they are, then I am afraid they would also have to pay for hiding the fact that you are Darkday," Christopher let out a sigh as he shook his head, "This will all be over once you–"
"Christopher," Bulwark, who was quietly watching the interrogation unfold, finally stepped forward,
"I don't think it's right to threaten the child," he then said– bewildered at how stupid the man was. If Riley Ross truly is Darkday, then they were lucky enough that he was cooperating or at least playing along with them.
For him not to take precaution to a being that has killed millions; The arrogance and ignorance of those who have not fought in war are unmatched; completely oblivious of the monsters that reside in it-- this is true now and throughout history.
And if Riley actually was not Darkday… then they were bullying an innocent child.
"It's fine," Christopher smiled, "The glass he is in is reinforced with the to–"
The smile on Christopher's face, however, instantly faded as soon as the thick glass between them suddenly split open in a circle– almost without any sound and without any resistance; like a plastic bag being torn open.
"Guards!" Christopher quickly stood up, violently flipping the table as his feet instinctively moved away– the arrogant expression on his face, completely gone. As for Bulwark, he swiftly summoned a golden wall to try and keep Riley inside the cube.
This golden wall, however, shattered as Riley placed his palm on it.
"!!!"
Riley Ross then casually walked out of the cube, before turning his head towards the giant metal door he walked into to enter the holding bay.
"Riley Ross, wait!" Bulwark roared before Riley could even take a step towards the door, "If you step out of that door, they will consider you guilty! If you're really not Darkday, then go back inside the gla–"
"Do not move! If you do, we will be forced to kill your family!"
And before Bulwark could finish his words, Christopher interrupted him.
"We're safely holding them in a room for now. But if you do anything, we will–"
"You…"
"!!!"
Flashes of red then quickly filled the entire room as a deafening siren roared through the air. The room they were in– no, the entire prison, shaking with every step that Riley took towards Christopher.
"...What did you say?"
***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.
