Riley Ross-Chapter 188: Hands On

[This just in, y'all! Your girl here was lollygagging up here in New York, trying to get some eats while interviewing some folks who lost their businesses and assets during Ricky's Stampede, and you won't believe what happened next! Times Square is up in ruins again due to a super attack! But this time, it isn't the doing of a villain, no. It is the doing of Anastasia Boyka! Yes, that's right, y'all—one of the people who infiltrated Mega Academy! Why did she attack New York, you might ask?! Why… because of Riley Ross! That's right, y'all… Riley Ross and Anastasia Boyka are fighting over New York! Oh, what's that?! What do I mean by "over New York"? Well…

…you wouldn't guess where I am.]

Kitty quickly switched to streaming with her phone, which was already attached to a selfie stick. And there, everyone who was tuned in to her news finally saw the real situation.

Kitty was floating in the air, and behind her were also other people who hovered excitedly in the air. Well, half of them seemed excited. The other half, however, were either unconscious or crying in prayer.

How could they not be, when beneath them was Times Square. Or at least, whatever remained of it after Anastasia's attack. Replica Ricky's stampede couldn't even compare to the damage Anastasia had done in one single move.

The ground was completely in smithereens, almost as if someone had slammed a colossal shovel through Times Square multiple times. Even some of the buildings were still crumbling—luckily, almost all of the buildings were empty due to safety concerns and renovations.

In short—

[Riley Ross has saved all of us! That's right, the Sweet Snowy Little Baby Boy saved me! And look, right now, he's fighting with Anastasia!]

Kitty switched to the main camera of her phone, and everyone who was watching her saw Riley in random directions in the air—kicking and punching.

[You won't be able to see it, but he is fighting with her right now!]

That wasn't true at all.

Well, it was true, but the Riley that everyone was seeing was fighting nobody at all. But he was fighting Anastasia, battling her in a world no one else could see.

In fact, they were actually fighting right next to Kitty, hovering just micrometers above her selfie stick.

"You are a better combatant than Sister. Highly impressive, Ms. Anastasia," Riley said… as he was being choked out by Anastasia, while simultaneously kicking a clone that was sneaking an attack behind her.

He was about to say something else, but Anastasia just stabbed him several times in the chest before pushing him away and then swinging the knife above her head, practically slicing a foot that was coming down at her.

She then proceeded to grab that foot and throw it toward a Riley that was rushing toward her. She wasn't allowed to rest at all, however, and soon, she found dozens of smaller Rileys crawling up her feet.

But she didn't panic at all. Instead, she instantly grew bigger to shrug them off before clapping them out of existence. And with a squint, she went smaller again to prevent him from going inside her.

She was going to escape after causing the destruction in New York earlier, but Riley didn't let her go. Where she went or became smaller, there would be a Riley waiting for her.

It was as if his cloning abilities were limitless. And to add to that, he also had her abilities… and then his original ability to move things with his mind.

Just… what manner of creature was this child? — were her thoughts.

Was he a weapon America was hiding?

No. He was Darkday—if anything, he was probably Bernard Ross's weapon.

How exactly was she going to defeat someone like this? Can she even tire him out? Does he even get tired?

Anastasia had hundreds of thoughts in her mind, but that didn't stop her from fighting against Riley Ross—or even overwhelming him.

Her only consolation was that his telekinetic abilities did not work on her due to her intangibility when small.

But the more their tiny war went on, the more a single thought won in her mind.

The thought that Riley Ross was unbeatable.

Anastasia changed in size again, sweeping her leg across multiple Rileys and obliterating them. She grabbed one by the neck and then spun in the air before kicking him toward another Riley.

It… truly was endless. The only way this was going to end was that she would somehow kill or incapacitate the original Riley long enough to escape.

Either that… or hold someone hostage. But knowing that he was Darkday now, he probably wouldn't care at all. She needed someone he cared about.

His sister.

But how exactly was she getting to her when she couldn't even think of a way to get out of her situation? There was something she could try… but that was her last resort.

But considering what's happening, or rather, what's not happening, it would seem she would actually have to resort to it now.

"Stop!"

And finally, she initiated the conversation. All the Rileys who were flying toward her all stopped in unison, tilting their heads at the same time before one of them hovered forward.

"Are you ready to join my ranks, Ms. Anastasia?" he asked, but to Riley's surprise, Anastasia only laughed at him.

"You… really think I would join you?" Anastasia covered half her face and then brushed her hair up before pulling something from her waist bag. "You killed the man I love."

"No, I did not." Riley shook his head. "Did you not see the news, Ms. Anastasia? I was stripped of all the responsibilities regarding your lover's death. And I have to agree with the law. After all…"

Riley pointed at his head.

"It was you who scrambled my brains, which accidentally caused my ability to turn your lover's head into a hundred pieces."

Anastasia's face twitched, but she closed her eyes and controlled her emotions before it could get the best of her. Her smile returned, and then she showed the thing she pulled from her bag to Riley.

"A flashlight?" Riley asked, and Anastasia quickly shook her head in response.

"This flashlight houses multiple nuclear warheads. I'll put it in terms you will understand, bogey man," she said while shaking the casing. "An initial explosion would trigger, which would scatter the nuclear warheads as they return to their normal size. It is strong enough to destroy a quarter of New York—your home, and your mother included. But most importantly, it will destroy you. I don't know how strong your regenerative abilities are, but this will ensure that nothing of you is left."

"But are we not intangible, Ms. Anastasia?" Riley blinked while slowly waving his hand, letting his arm pass through whatever microscopic thing was in front of him.

"Not from this bomb," Anastasia smirked. "This is a weapon specifically made by my country to kill me if I go rogue. I stole it from them, of course."

"Oh?" Riley blinked. "We are affected by a nuclear explosion even when we are morphed? How would you know that, Ms. Anastasia?"

"I'm not in the mood to explain," Anastasia raised her voice. "Now, you either let me go or I trigger this."

"Sister is not home, Ms. Anastasia." Riley shrugged. "I do not care if all these people die. So—"

"Then why are we even talking?" Anastasia smiled, pushing her finger through a pin on the side of the casing.

"You are going to do it, Ms. Anastasia?" Riley blinked again. "How can you be sure that my real body is even anywhere near where we are?"

"Oh, I am sure you are near." Anastasia's eyes became softer. "You and I are the same. We're both… hands-on."

And with those words, Anastasia pulled her hands off the casing. And the original Riley, who was actually the normal-sized one pretending to fight Anastasia in front of all the floating masses, smiled and stretched his arms to the side, welcoming the nuclear explosion that was about to happen.

At 0.001 seconds, a prick of white-blue light burst into existence, like a star born the size of a dust, smaller.

At 0.01 seconds, the light thickened into a sphere. To the microscopic Rileys, it was already blinding. To the rest of the world, it was still nothing.

At 0.02 seconds, the tiniest shock surged. The tactical nukes inside the casing started to hurl everywhere.

At 0.03 seconds, the scattered micro-nukes began to distort—growing, stretching… unfolding.

At 0.04 seconds, the expanding sphere of light from the initial explosion finally became large enough for the original Riley and the others there to see it. Especially for Kitty, who was actually only inches away from the explosion.

The image, however, hadn't quite reached their brains yet.

At 0.05 seconds, the air molecules suddenly wavered... because she arrived.

Megawoman.