"For the last time, mom. I'm not going to join your little costume pity party group."
"That is the only way we can get you out of here, listen to reason for once, Alice."
A little more than 2 decades ago, a pair of mother and daughter was currently talking to each other– separated by a thick layer of glass; serving as a barrier that wasn't allowing even a single flicker of dust to pass through.
And on both sides, they were surrounded by more than a dozen guards; as well as a younger-looking warden Yakovich; the veins on his eyes, completely red as he had not closed them for even a single second– afraid to miss anything that would result in trouble
After all, the one called Alice was probably the most troublesome prisoner Warden Yakovich has ever laid eyes upon even through his already many years in the service. There wasn't a day that Alice Lane did not cause trouble for the Super Max Prison– treating it as if it was her own playground.
Some of her most notable antics were but not limited to:
Almost killing every male prisoner inside the prison. She was the only female tenant inside the Super Max– and was complaining about the lack of facilities she was allowed to use; but when Warden Yakovich told her that she wouldn't be receiving any benefits just because she was a woman, Alice decided that it was time to redecorate the entire prison. And by redecorating, she meant trapping the rest of the male prisoners in one hall– almost suffocating them from the lack of oxygen they were getting.
There was also a day that she invited friends over as if it was her own house– controlling the guards and using warden Yakovich as some sort of butler. None of them could resist Alice's telekinetic powers, and so, the only thing they could really do was just play along; after all, it was better than fighting back and hurting themselves in the process.
Then there was that time she got bored– essentially making the Ranking Battles official by forcing warden Yakovich to change the rules of the prison just a little tiny bit.
And then, there was that day. It was in the middle of summer and the prison's air conditioning system broke down; obviously garnering the complaints of almost all the prisoners. It would have been alright if it was just that… but Alice had once again decided to be extra.
She lifted the entire prison into the air. She lifted the entire prison above the clouds just because she felt a small trickle of sweat trailing down her cheek. This stunt cost the prison and the World Government billions and billions of dollars– and if it was not for Alice bringing the prison down almost exactly the same as before, then the damage would have probably been doubled.
…But it was later then discovered that it was Alice herself that destroyed the air conditioning system as a prank.
Alice was a full-grown adult. But warden Yakovich felt like they had a kindergartener in their hands with the way she treated everything as a joke, not even thinking of the consequences of her actions. But of course, why would she even think of the consequences when no one in the prison or in the world for that matter could actually hurt her?
Alice Lane could do everything because she was strong. Perhaps the strongest telekinetic Warden Yakovich has ever seen in his entire life. They asked Megawoman many times for help, but she just laughed as soon as she heard their request– eventually saying that she didn't want to get involved with the government.
Warden Yakovich was completely at a loss as to what to do; anymore, and he would end up losing his mind. But finally, as if answering his prayers, the only person in the entire world that could probably stop Alice has finally shown herself– her mother.
The current leader of the Hope Guild, the Shadow Mimic.
Warden Yakovich could only hope Shadow Mimic had a plan of taking Alice away. If she wanted to break her free, Yakovich would even open the gates for them. The only reason he wasn't really losing his mind right about now was because Shadow Mimic was here– he was sure that Alice wouldn't create trouble in front of her mother…
…she won't, right?
"Listen to reason for once, Alice!" Charlotte once again repeated her words as she knocked on the thick glass that separated her from her daughter.
"Ugh," Alice, however, only rolled her eyes as she leaned back on her chair, "The reason I am here in the first place is that I listened to reason… I listened to you, mom."
"It was for your own good! You were getting uncontrollable!"
"All I did was fly a plane! There wasn't even anyone in it!"
"You crashed it, Alice!" Charlotte slammed her palm on the glass barrier, causing it to tremble for more than a full second, "If it wasn't for our new recruit, your face would have been plastered all over the news as a supervillain!"
"Oh, you would hate that, won't you? News flash! The perfect leader of the Hope Guild has a supervillain daughter!"
"Stop being such a childish hippie and just join us! If prison wasn't enough to get you in your right senses then I am sure experiencing how to be a hero amongst the best of the best would inspire you to be better!" Charlotte raised her voice, "You have so much potential in you, Alice. Don't waste it trying to antagonize me and the people around you."
"Antagonize?" Alice let out a small scoff, "The people here love me."
"..." Hearing Alice's words, the guards within the vicinity all looked at each other. Warden Yakovich, who was already sweating as he was watching the situation, almost choked where he stood; his eyes, already begging for the Shadow Mimic to forcefully take Alice away.
"I get notified of all the pranks you play here, Alice." This time, it was Charlotte who rolled her eyes, "The only thing you haven't done literally is turn the prison upside-down."
"That… is actually a good idea," Alice then let out a small but deep gasp as she raised her hand. And as she did so, the entire prison started to quake. The guards readied to subdue her, or at least pretend to– but before they could even move a finger, they felt their entire body being pushed down to the ground.
"Enough of this, Alice," Charlotte's voice started to lower as she looked her daughter straight in the eyes, "The only way I could think of to rehabilitate you is through the Hope Guild."
"For the last time, I am not going to join your stupid group," Alice once again let out a small groan as she finally stood up from her seat, "Go home, mom. Or better yet, retire– you're getting in on your years."
"I look younger than you, brat."
And with those words, Charlotte stepped forward; the glass in front of her almost looked like it didn't exist as her body went right through it,
"And actually…" Charlotte then placed her hand on Alice's shoulder; and as soon as she did so, the trembling that was getting worse by the second suddenly stopped, "...I'm not asking you to join a costume pity party group, my dearest beautiful daughter…
…I am forcing you."
***
"That is a very interesting story, warden Yakovich."
"It's a horror story, kid."
"So Charlotte truly is my biological grandmother. If I knew Alistair Reuben was not lying, then I would have asked if he knew where Megawoman is."
A cloud of smoke then slowly puffed in the air as Yakovich removed the cigarette he had been indulging himself with halfway through his trip to the past. He and Riley had not moved from their positions for almost an entire hour now; the birds, even settling down on Riley's head as he had just been listening to Yakovich without moving even a single finger.
"Your mother was the worse thing that has ever happened to this prison, Riley Ross," Yakovich let out the last of the fumes from his mouth as he dropped the cigarette between his fingers and stepped on it,
"And I have a feeling you're going to be the same," he then said as he stared Riley straight in the eyes,
"I have already learned my lesson from your mother and I have no plan on repeating it. I have already requested from the Government your immediate removal from my prison, applying for the same condition as Ms. Phoenix. I want you gone as fast as possible."
"You will be asking Megawoman to try and subdue me?" Riley then started to blink a couple of times as a small smile started to crawl on his face, "Could it be you know where she is being kept, warden Yakovich? Even her own son doesn't know where she is right now."
"Own… son? What?" Warden Yakovich could only squint his eyes in confusion. But after a few seconds, he shook his head and once again lit up another cigarette,
"I don't know where Megawoman is, no one does," Yakovich sighed; letting out a cloud of smoke from his nose as he did so, "I am not talking about Megawoman, prisoner 666. I am still waiting for the Government's reply, but the condition for your immediate release I am talking about…
…is you joining and training under the Hope Guild."