Riley Ross-Chapter 191: Not-So-Casual Conversation With The Megawoman

"Your abilities truly are convenient."

Megawoman curiously looked around, her mouth slightly opened as the sound around them faded away almost instantly.

"Even if I tried to focus my hearing on that person, I can't even hear him breathing."

"You told me to isolate our voices, Megawoman. I believe it would not be ethical if we still hear them, and they can not hear us."

"Ethical, huh?"

A small chuckle escaped Megawoman's lips. She took a sip of her coffee and then sighed as she looked away.

"You… truly don't feel anything now that you've killed two people?" she asked.

Riley tilted his head, blinking before he answered her question.

"I would not say I truly do not feel anything," he said with a shake of his head. "Is it bad if I told you that I feel relieved, Megawoman?"

"No," Megawoman answered without any hesitation. "In fact, relief is the most common feeling one would have after taking a life."

"I was under the impression that it should be guilt, Megawoman."

"That comes after. And we are talking about actively taking a life, Riley Ross, not accidentally." Megawoman looked him in the eyes. "Because let's not fool ourselves, the two people you have killed, you fought them with the intent of killing them."

"I am twelve, Megawoman."

"That's even worse. And we both know you don't actually act like it." Megawoman sighed, shaking her head as she closed her eyes and took another sip of her coffee. She glanced at Riley and then sighed again, probably for the tenth time.

"But tell me, even just a little. Didn't you feel relief after killing your opponent?"

I felt happy before, during, and after Megawoman. But of course, you do not need to know that at all.

"I suppose what I felt could very well be relief, Megawoman. But I would not know—as I said, I do not process my emotions and feelings the same as other people."

"How do you know that you don't process it the same as everyone else? Do you have the ability to know what they're feeling, and how they're feeling it?"

"I do not, Megawoman. My understanding is based on the most common bibliographic description of emotions and feelings." Riley shrugged and then finally returned Megawoman's stare.

"I suppose you are asking this to validate the feeling of relief you feel after you kill your enemy, Megawoman?"

"No." Megawoman scoffed and chuckled. "I've long accepted the fact that more often than not, ending someone actually ends the problem. And that is what I want to tell you, Riley Ross—it is okay to shame yourself and feel guilt upon taking a life, but as long as you know it was necessary, and that in turn you'll save more lives in the future, then it's okay."

"You believe that the end justifies the means, Megawoman?"

"Not at all." Megawoman shook her head. "How you save a life matters, but the fact that you saved them in the first place matters most. It is okay to kill, as long as you know that it would save more lives."

"You have already told me that before, Megawoman."

"Huh?" Megawoman raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm pretty sure I haven't? When did I tell you that?"

"When you snapped my biological mother's neck in half, Megawoman," Riley said without any hesitation, tilting his head to the side. "Although if you ask me, you should have done it before she destroyed most of Ohio."

"...This talk isn't going how I'd hoped it would. Although I guess that's the staple for you, huh?" Megawoman pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Can I have my turn in asking you several personal questions, Megawoman?"

"Shoot."

"Shoot what, Megawoman?"

"I mean, ask your questions. As long as they're within reason, I'll answer them."

"How many people have you killed? Wait, let me rephrase that. How many lives have you taken on and outside of Earth, Megawoman?"

"I…" Megawoman blinked a couple of times, grabbed her cup of coffee, and took another sip. "I should've chosen another drink for this. This would sound so wrong coming from me, but… would you lose trust in me if I said that I've lost count already?"

"Never."

"Hm?"

"I would never lose trust in you, Megawoman," Riley said while looking Megawoman straight in the eyes.

"...You'll be a problem when you grow up." Megawoman chuckled. "You do know you shouldn't trust a stranger, right?"

"You are Megawoman. Sister had posters of you all over her room, and she still has." Riley shrugged. "Father also said that if there comes a time when everyone has let me down, look up and call for you—I believe that aside from Mother, you are the only other creature he respects. I believe that alone automatically classifies you as not a stranger, Megawoman."

"And what about you?"

"Hm?"

"How do you feel about me, Riley Ross?" Megawoman squinted, leaning in closer to Riley as she looked him in the eyes.

"You make me nervous, Megawoman—and that is something I have never felt about anything else in my entire life."

"Pft. Give it a minute, you're only twelve." Megawoman waved her hand, scoffing as she leaned back. "And anyway… I heard that you're being suspected of being Darkday."

"Yes, Megawoman. I believe the director of the FBI's Superhuman Affairs has been suspecting me for a while now."

"Are you?"

"I do not blame him for thinking that way, Megawoman." Riley sighed. "This individual, known as Darkday, appeared only a few days after I awakened my abilities. Abilities which we happen to share."

"Isn't he your godfather? Prophet?"

"He is, Megawoman."

"That must be awkward."

"Not at all, Megawoman. He has not yet fully approached me about it," Riley said, shaking his head with a subtle sigh. "You seem to know a lot of things even though you have retired, Megawoman. Are you coming back? I have someone I know who would be excited to have you come back. Her name is Tomoe Reynolds."

"Your girlfriend?" Megawoman teased.

"No, she is not my friend."

"Huh. And no, to answer your question, no. I'm still pretty retired," Megawoman chuckled. "But that doesn't mean I won't go out of my way to help and save people."

"You retired a few days after killing my biological mother. Did you retire because of that?" Riley asked. Megawoman was about to wave her off, but her small giggle faded away and was replaced with a wry smile.

She then looked around before focusing solely on Riley.

"You can keep a secret, right? Ugh, I don't even know if I should be telling a twelve-year-old this. Adaeze has been telling me I should try therapy, and this is sort of like therapy, right?"

"As someone who had been in hundreds of sessions, Megawoman. I believe I am qualified to tell you that anything can be therapeutic." Riley shrugged. "Even talking to a twelve-year-old."

"Okay. Don't tell this to anyone." Megawoman placed a finger on her lips. "I think that was more of the catalyst for my decision to quit. I didn't need it, but it's what eventually made the decision easier for me. And… it's not because I killed her, it's because I couldn't save her."

"Go on, Megawoman." Riley took a sip of his milk, froth sticking onto the top of his lips as he clasped his hands together to listen to her.

"Everyone could've prevented it from happening, you know?" Megawoman closed her eyes. "I wasn't always there, but I still saw it—Alice slowly changing. Her mind eating her from the inside. Your father saw it; everyone in the Hope Guild saw it. It didn't just happen overnight, you know? I… shouldn't even be the one telling you this. I don't even know if I should be telling you this."

"I do not mind, Megawoman."

"Your mother, Alice. Like you, she was… special," Megawoman said, her voice extremely gentle. "But she was also much different from you. She was unruly, she didn't listen to anyone, she created trouble wherever she went—but that's the reason why the people loved her. She was just… so unapologetic and funny."

"I am aware of that, Megawoman."

"It wasn't until she gave birth to you that she became more mature. She made a promise to herself to take care of you, and she loved you very, very much."

"I am also aware of that, Megawoman."

"That was also the time we all started noticing that something was wrong, and that her mind was deteriorating. She was getting worse. I believed the Hope Guild tried getting her help, but…"

"It was useless."

"Yes." Megawoman sighed. "She was… so young. She was a baby herself, and she left a baby in the world. And that baby was the true reason I retired."

"You retired because of me, Megawoman?"

"Yes." Megawoman nodded. "It all just happened so fast. One day, your mother was there, and just like that, she wasn't. I realized how important it was to spend every bit of your time with family. I retired to spend more time with my daughter."

"You truly do have a daughter, Megawoman?"

"Hmhmn." She chuckled, waving her hand at him. "But I guess, instead of getting closer to her, I just… I'm not? I retired, but now I'm busy with a job like everyone else. Her father and I also got a divorce, so—I don't even know why I'm telling you this. You don't need to know that."

"I suppose you were not used to not being busy, Megawoman."

"...No." She sighed. "In my people, the women are the ones who are conventionally stronger. We're the ones who travel across different planets to hunt for food."

Riley's eyes turned wide, and he quickly put up his guard upon hearing that.

"What?" And of course, when Megawoman saw how he reacted, she quickly raised an eyebrow and smiled. "No. It's not what you're thinking."

"You are not here to farm humans, Megawoman?"

"What? No! What?!" Megawoman extended her hand to Riley, almost wanting to pinch his cheek. "In our star system, almost all the planets are livable and have different forms of life, so—ugh. You don't need to know that."

Riley squinted at her.

"You are not going to eat me, Megawoman?"

"No! Look. Themarians and humans live in completely different worlds." Megawoman sighed, covering her face and wondering why she was even explaining this all of a sudden. "Earth to Mars? That's like… only traveling to the next city for us. Our sense of scale is completely different."

"I understand, Megawoman."

"You do?"

"Yes."

"Then who are you texting?!" Megawoman suddenly lifted up their table, and Riley was indeed texting someone with his phone.

"I am texting Sister just in case, Megawoman."

"There's no 'just in case' here! And where did you even get that phone from?!"

"It does not matter, Megawoman." Riley casually slipped his phone into his pocket. Not before, of course, hitting send. "Let us go back to talking about your daughter—why do you not just spend more time with her? She is enrolled in the Academy, correct?"

"You… Yes." Megawoman nodded.

"Then, may I suggest an option for you?"

"...What option?"

"Become a special adviser in the Academy, Megawoman."

"I… don't think she is going to like that." Megawoman shook her head. "And not to mention the implications of me joining an establishment that has my title on it. The public will be in chaos."

"Are the public's thoughts more important than spending more time with your daughter, Megawoman?"

"...I guess, you're sort of making sense?" She placed her hand on her chin. "Should I? Wow. You weren't kidding, this really is therapeutic."

"Hm." Riley nodded. "And also, it would also ensure that you would personally know the quality of the produce you are sending out, Megawoman."

"What?"

"The students of Mega Academy. Are they not your cattle, and the Academies the farms—"

"For the last time, Riley Ross…

…we don't eat people!"

"...But do you want to, though?"

"No! What…"