“This… I’m actually flying.”
“You’re being floated, there’s a big difference.”
“Tch.”
“Is it really alright to bring a child to this mission, Riley?”
“I believe she is older than me, Silver Moon.”
“R… right.”
Even with the wind violently threatening to rip off their faces, Riley, Katherine, and Tomoe were still able to have a somewhat clear conversation. Katherine didn’t have to think about it– Riley put up a barrier in front of them… which was now more evident now that they were passing through the clouds.
Tomoe might not think too much about it since she was so overwhelmed by soaring through the skies with just her body for the first time, but for Katherine, it was different. Katherine could fly, but there were two limits hindering her from going above a certain speed.
First was what she was just thinking of now– wind resistance. Although her skin was tougher than most normal humans, she didn’t have the extreme durability that most strength-oriented Supers have. Even if she wore a helmet similar to Darkday, one wrong move; one wrong pebble at 100km/h would probably put her out.
Second– It wasn’t her style. She flies, yes– but flying at a high speed pulls away most of her attention from everything else.
And so, for Riley to not only put a barrier around them, float Tomoe, and fly on his own; he was doing all of this at a very high speed. Once again showing the monstrous control he had over his powers.
It almost reminded her of one of the previous members of the Hope Guild– Ms. Phoenix. Besides Mega Woman, Ms. Phoenix was probably the one that had the most impact on her growing up.
During her time, Ms. Phoenix’s telekinetic abilities were unrivaled; her most notable feat was holding a whole island in place, preventing it from being devastated as a huge earthquake wished to devour it.
Perhaps her only flaw was that she could get too violent sometimes, sending most of her opponents to the prison with a mangled limb or two. The government announced her retirement when Katherine was about 11 years old, for the reason that she was going to take care of her child– she never appeared in public after that.
Well, wherever she was, she hoped that she was living a good life with her family– most heroes could not do the same.
But still, to this date, no superhero had come close to reaching Ms. Phoenix’s telekinetic abilities… only a villain– Darkday himself.
…Who was stronger between the two? Katherine then thought as her eyes turned towards Riley. Riley’s control was more than likely higher than Ms. Phoenix’s, but what about raw power? Riley had shown to be more than capable of lifting several buses in the air, and there was also that quake during the simulation exercise…
…but is he capable of lifting an entire island like Ms. Phoenix?
No, it didn’t even matter if Ms.Phoenix’s raw power was stronger, Riley had other abilities– Ms. Phoenix’s neck would probably be twisted without her even knowing what hit her.
It was no wonder that Mega Woman lost– there was probably no longer anyone to stop Riley if ever he once again dawns the world with Darkday. And so, once again, Katherine gathered her resolve; she would do everything in her power not to allow Darkday to see the light of day once again.
She just needs to show Riley that there was also joy in saving people– and this moment was the best time to do that.
“I see it,” Katherine then pointed her finger to a colossal silhouette hidden in the sea of clouds.
“How… did this get past the government’s satellites?” Tomoe muttered, “Losing sight of Darkday is one thing because he is the greatest creature to ever exist in the whole universe, but to miss something this big?”
“Because this isn’t the only place that needs surveillance,” Katherine replied, “Even now as we attempt to rescue these children, thousands are being harmed and killed by villains all over the world. I am more amazed as to how they managed to get their hands on a floating ship like that…
…A colossal flying ship capable of passing through the satellite’s radar, an energy source enough to lift something as massive as that in the air for an entire day, it’s almost like–“
“Alien technology, Silver Moon.”
Riley, who had been keeping quiet the whole flight, finally spoke as they all stopped in the air to survey the flying ship from afar.
“The Academy also has an abundance of it,” Riley added, “Do you have any news of any alien entities entering the planet, Silver Moon?”
“…No,” Katherine breathed out, “Do you think this has something to do with Mega Woman?”
“Knowing that is supposed to be your job, Silver Moon,” Riley then turned his eyes towards Katherine’s, “You have not given me an update on Mega Woman for a month.”
“T… that’s… Things have been busy in school with this exercise and all. It will be even busier now that something like this has happened.”
“…Understandable.”
“…” Tomoe, who was quietly watching from the side, could not help but once again furrow her eyebrows. This feeling of being left out… truly, the difference between First Subordinate and Second Subordinate was almost heaven and hell.
“I can help you gain information about Mega Woman, Riley,” Tomoe then said, the tone of her voice stern and clear.
“And how are you going to do that when you’re stuck in the Academy?” Katherine was the one to answer her with a light scoff.
“I… I’m going to find–“
“There’s movement up front!”
And before Tomoe could finish her words, an ominous creaking noise sang in the air– almost like a horn looming and whispering over their ears.
“It’s starting to move, Riley. What do we do, are we going to chase it!?”
“Wait… I think it’s moving towards us, Ms. Scarlet Mage!”
“What!? Let’s hide! Riley, what are you still doing– Riley?”
She didn’t realize it earlier since she was too focused on the colossal floating ship heading towards them, but Riley had one of his hands raised above his shoulder, his fingers slowly moving closer towards him.
“You… could it be?”
“Kya! He’s pulling it! He’s the one pulling it towards us!”
Katherine slightly leaned her head to the side as her ears almost ruptured from Tomoe’s childish shrieks. Add that to the whale-like sound coming from the colossal floating ship, it almost felt like she was in the middle of a choir thousands of meters up in the air.
“I thought this was a covert mission!?” Katherine then yelled since it was hard to hear her own voice from all the wailing. Just earlier, she was wondering if Riley’s raw power would match that of Ms. Phoenix, and although this was far from lifting up a whole island in the air, it was still an impressive feat considering how effortless he was doing it.
But there was also the fact that the ship was already floating, so it shouldn’t be too hard to move– This wasn’t the time to be admiring and analyzing Riley’s powers; as the oldest one in the group, she should be the most level-headed one.
“This isn’t a covert mission, Riley!” Katherine once again raised her voice as the colossal ship was only meters away from them now. And seeing as her whole horizon was now blocked by it, it was probably even bigger than a naval ship.
“It is a covert mission, Silver Moon…
…or at least it will be.”
***
“What’s going on!? I thought we were going to wait until everything settles down before we move!?”
“Won’t the satellite pick us up if we move this fast!?”
“Hahaha!”
A fleeting red light; a siren that mixed with all the panicked voices echoing through the hallways… and a muffled laugh seeping from a dark room coming from No. 7, whose arms and legs were currently bound in the air by a floating block of what seemed to be liquid metal. But surprisingly enough, he still had his helmet on.
“We… we’re fucked,” No. 7 continued to chuckle as he shook his head, “You guys are fucked.”
“Do… you know something about this, No. 7?”
“I wish I could tell you, Ms. Friday,” No. 7 then turned his head down to look at the woman in front of him, “But I can’t.”
The woman called Ms. Friday was also wearing a helmet similar to that of Darkday’s; but instead of a simple full black suit, she had on a skirt that reached only above her knees; partnered by a pair of boots that reached below it.
“I killed August because I had to, Ms. Friday,” No. 7’s chuckles started to die down, “You’d probably do the same if you were me. But can you tell me something, Ms. Friday?”
“You’re not the one asking questions here,” Although Ms. Friday’s tone was still calm, the slight movements of her head gave away her worry.
“Is Darkday really our leader? You’ve seen him, right? You’re one of the Weekdays. You serve directly under him… are you sure it’s him?” No. 7 continued to talk, his words slowly fading.
“What are you talking abo–“
“Ms. Friday!”
And before Ms. Friday could finish her words, the door of the room they were in slid open as a No. 69 barged inside.
“There… there are intruders!”
“…Already?” Ms. Friday calmly turned her head towards No. 69, “Are they inside the ship?”
“Y… Yes, Ms. Friday! They wouldn’t be intruders if they were outside!”
“…”
“…”
“S… sorry, Ms. Friday!”
“How many? Do we need to call for backup?”
“That’s…
…there’s only three.”