"What…"
What– perhaps was the most used word on the entire planet at the moment. A percent of the world watched as the Hero Association Tower; a striking figure of architecture was suddenly altered almost in an instant.
The Tower was already considered a tourist attraction for some as its design, albeit simple, was enough to leave one's eyes to wonder and wander. But now, it changed into something that could truly be considered a tourist attraction– for in its peak, now stood the statue of the world's mightiest and greatest superhero.
Megawoman.
It took less than a minute. It took less than a minute to reshape and mold a material that is said to be even harder than diamond. And what's more, the form it now held was a statue– a finely detailed one at that.
Tempo, V, secretary Jane, the registrants, and the other people that were floating in the air could not help but hold their breaths; their instincts, no longer minding their distance from the ground as they all stared bewildered at Megawoman's statue.
How could they not? As the nearest ones from the statue right now, they all could see how detailed– No, perhaps the word 'detailed' was not even enough to give it justice. They could even see individual pores on Megawoman's face; the statue's hair, almost individual strands.
Just how good could one's control be with their telekinetic powers to mold something like this? They no longer know what was more impressive; the fact that Riley could freely destroy and rebuild the supposed hardest substance in the world right now, or that he could recreate Megawoman's figure exactly as how they all remembered it.
It was not just a simple resemblance– it was a replica.
And now that several helicopters appeared to surround the Hero Association Tower, even the people from below could finally see the full situation; the news, being broadcast right on giant screens of Times Square.
And soon, the cameras panned towards the people that were floating in the air; focusing on V and Tempo who seemed as shocked as everyone else. And then, finally, the cameras showed who was responsible for this impossible stunt.
Right when the world was starting to forget– Riley Ross once again graced the big screen.
And almost as if on cue, Riley turned towards the camera with a smile enough to fill the entire screen.
"!!!"
And as soon as he did so, the entirety of New York howled and cheered almost at the same time. Most were clapping their hands, and those who hated the government for the things they were doing could not help but almost cry tears of joy.
They didn't realize it before, but it was almost as if the government truly wanted the people to forget who truly made the Age of Heroes possible. The momentary peace they had now, it was thanks to Megawoman and to the heroes who risked their lives in the past.
And Riley Ross just reminded the world of that– most of them knew who he was due to all the incidents surrounding him, the last and latest was destroying a prison as the government held his family hostage.
…And the world government imprisoned him for that.
They tried to make Riley the villain– but he was far from it. No.
Riley Ross… is the face of the oppressed; and also the face of those who fought back.
Riley Ross… is justice– was the hashtag of one of the posts on social media. It was, however, in a manner of seconds, shared a thousand times.
And just like that, Riley once again graced the news; and once again put the government in its place by beautifully vandalizing the very tower they were proud of. And just like that, a certain fan's club was formed on the internet–
Panda-- an allegory of Riley's white and black outfit. What their group represented, yet to be actualized and known.
As for the one responsible for creating this turmoil, he had a satisfied smile on his face as he stared at the statue he made. And ever so slowly, he started to descend to the ground, bringing along with him everyone else; causing some to close their eyes as the feeling of falling drowned their senses.
The association guards quickly opened an area for them to land, pushing away the crowd that had gathered in front and around the Tower. But even though they started to disperse and clump in one area, their cheers still howled; growing even louder as Riley landed right at the entrance of the Tower.
And in the midst of all the cheers… were the other registrants' groans and complaints.
"Ugh… I don't want to be a hero anymore."
"Why… why did I even apply to be a hero when all I can do is bend a spoon."
"I just wanted the ID, I'm not gonna risk my life for this shit."
And as Tempo heard the registrants' words, he quickly turned his attention towards secretary Jane; a smirk, slowly growing on his face.
"See?" He gloated, "I told you having Riley Ross would have the opposite effect."
"This…" The only thing that secretary Jane could do was watch as most of the other registrants walked away without even a word of goodbye; the ones remaining, only those who seemed to truly want to be a hero,
"This… is good," secretary Jane still nodded, "This is temporary, once–"
"Secretary Jane."
And before secretary Jane could finish her words, Riley approached him.
"Is this enough to be qualified for the Grade of S?" Riley then said as he looked up towards the statue he created, "If it is not, then I plan to turn the entire tower into–"
"It's enough," secretary Jane also did not let Riley finish his words, "Let's… go inside for now since I can barely hear myself talking."
Secretary Jane then gestured to the other participants left to follow her inside; her eyes, however, twitched as she saw Tempo seemingly still smirking at her.
"Stop gloating," secretary Jane clicked her tongue as Tempo walked beside her.
"Oh, I'm not," Tempo let out an obviously fake laugh as he trailed behind secretary Jane, "I'm just happy the Hope Guild is getting another crazy member."
"...Crazy is an understatement," secretary Jane shook her head as she glanced at Riley, "The higher-ups…
…are not going to like this."
"That was amazing!" As for V, she quickly latched onto Riley's arms– an action that quickly resulted in a series of flashes drowning the air.
"Are… they together?"
And now, another shocking news started to surface in the air almost in real-time– Riley and V… couples?
It did not remain a question for long, however, as V approached the person that voiced the question,
"We are," she said.
"!!!"
And just like that, another onslaught of tweets and posts appeared on social media.
The rising fan group, Panda, however, seemed to not be liking the news as the leader of the group tried to delete anything pertaining to the news; trying to debunk those who were confirming it and even posting different female superheroes that could potentially be Riley's real lover…
…the number 1 spot belonging to a new superhero called Nightqueen.
However, with V basically confirming it on the spot, any attempts to discredit the information were flagged as misinformation a few seconds after it was posted. Truly, social media could be a frightening place– all of this, happening in the span of a minute.
"Let's go back inside, Riley," V then once again clung onto Riley's arm as she started dragging her back to the Tower. But before they could take another step, someone was able to move past the guards of the tower to block their path.
"I knew it."
Riley, however, instead of being alert, just blinked his eyes as he looked at the tall man that blocked their path; the man was wearing a full grey outfit– his grey cape, not even fluttering with the wind.
"You're the only one capable of shit like that. I could feel your qi from a mile away."
"You know him?" V looked back and forth between Riley and the tall man; her arms, tightening their grip on Riley's arm.
"Yes," Riley quickly nodded as he approached the tall man, dragging V along with him, "He is someone I met during my stay in the Academy, Victoria. He is on the spectrum just like me…
…It's been a long time, Kevin."
"Fuck, it's me, bro! Gary!"