Riley Ross-Chapter 75: Tomorrow Came

[NEWS ALERT – DING DING!]

Well howdy there, folks! I’m Kitty standin’ in for our lovely Lorraine while she’s out sick—bless her heart, and girl, we’re all sendin’ up a prayer for a speedy recovery.

Now, on to somethin’ a little less doom-and-gloom for once—let’s take a break from all them dark and dreadful murder stories and dive into somethin’ a little more... offbeat.

Word just came in that Mega Academy is movin’ their annual student visit to Phoenix’s Wrath Memorial up to the very first week of the school year. And if you’re sittin’ there askin’, "Kitty, what in heaven’s name is Phoenix’s Wrath?"—well, sugar, that’s the site where millions lost their lives in what can only be described as one of the most tragic, senseless acts of destruction caused by a beloved superhero gone, well... plumb crazy.

Now normally, them bright-eyed newbies don’t make the trip till they’ve designed their very first superhero outfit—which don’t usually happen ’til the end of their first month. But now? They’re gettin’ a front-row seat to history right out the gate.

This little field trip’s also become quite the public spectacle throughout the years, y’all. It’s the time when the brand-spankin’ new faces of our bright and proud America Mega Academy are introduced to the country, shakin’ hands and strikin’ poses before they even throw a punch in the super entertainment world.

Now, here’s the juicy part: Could this early visit have somethin’ to do with the string of super-related murders we’ve been hearin’ about? Is this the school’s way of sayin’, "Hey y’all, not all supers are bad eggs"—even though, statistically speakin’, about 70% of crime’s committed by folks with powers?

Mm-mm-mmm. This is getting interesting, citizens of the US and A. Somethin’ don’t sit right. What are they tryin’ to pull here? And if the students don’t have their flashy suits and secret identity masks yet, how in the world are they plannin’ to stay anonymous? I mean, if one of ’em accidentally goes shootin’ lightning bolts at a soda machine, y’all will know exactly who it is come graduation.

Maybe uniforms? Hmm. But y’know who else had uniforms? A certain group back in the 1940s, and I ain’t namin’ names, but let’s just say Megawoman handled that mess before it turned into World War III.

Anyway, I’m Kitty, and you’ve been watchin’ ABC-ZBN News, where the truth’s always hotter than your ex-husband’s new girlfriend.

Y’all take care now. Ciao!

***

"How long did they say we’re staying there?! Why are you not packing anything?! Move your white ass!"

"I am still sleepy, Sister."

Several hours later in the same day, Riley was woken up by Hannah barging on his door and strutting like she owned the room. He looked outside the window, and judging from the shadows—he hadn’t even slept for thirty minutes.

"The field trip is tomorrow, Sister. We have twenty three hours before we are required to be in school."

Riley sat up slowly, his messy hair even more chaotic than usual—probably not a single strand pointing in the same direction. He rubbed his eyes lightly, mouth slightly open as he watched his sister charge into his walk-in closet and start tossing clothes around like she was looking for contraband.

Fortunately for him, his extracurricular outfit, the vanta-black suit and helmet, was hidden safely beneath his bed. If she’d found it, there would’ve been questions. So many questions.

Not that it stopped her from saying plenty anyway.

"Ugh. Why do I even bother?! All you have are the same gray clothes! You’re a teenager now, you need to dress like one!"

"And how does a teenager dress like, Sister?" Riley asked, calmly patting his thin blanket and folding it in his lap, making sure every crease was perfectly aligned.

Hannah didn’t answer immediately. She just stared at him with eyes narrowed to slits, like she was trying to laser through his skull. Then, slowly, she approached the bed, placing one knee on the mattress and leaning in until she messed up the blanket and her forehead touched his. Her breath was warm against his cheek, and the only thing they both could see were their eyes at a funny angle.

And it was only until Riley blinked that she finally said something.

"Something’s off about you. Are you hiding something from me, Riley?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me about it?"

"I would prefer not to, but I can."

"Hmm. Very sus."

Her eyes narrowed even further as she leaned away from him. She stared at his face, pursing her lips as if she was trying to read his mind.

"Meh, I don’t really care what sort of albino rituals you’re getting into. Ack, you’re gonna make your puberty everyone’s problem. Yak."

Hannah stuck out her tongue as she moved away from the bed, her entire body shivering while she rubbed her arms.

"I already packed your things so you don’t have to worry about anything."

She gave one final shiver before turning around and walking away.

"And also, Mom said breakfast will be ready in thirty minutes."

And with those words, she hastily left the room. Not before, for some reason, switching Riley’s light on and off, before leaving it on and disappearing into the hallway—she didn’t even close the door.

And while Riley was about to have breakfast with his family, like he hadn’t just committed heinous crimes just hours ago, Tomoe...

...Tomoe was in front of her computer.

Her pair of glasses that she was now wearing, flickering as it reflected the four monitors in front of her. She wasn’t even using a mouse, only a single keyboard, as her eyes darted everywhere. The three monitors handled all of her mother and Erik’s digital presence—from their phones, right down to the dating apps they use to cheat on each other... she even programmed a bot to control her step-brother’s Roblox.

All of these were to make it seem like they were still up and about, moving through their daily lives. And of course, Tomoe already made it seem like they abandoned her all on her own.

Alone.

She was... alone now.

This was what she wanted—to be rid of them. To be rid of the monsters that have plagued her since she was a child.

But why... why doesn’t she feel anything? She thought for sure that after they were gone, she would finally be able to express herself, to be who she was. But now it feels as if... they took all of her with them.

They weren’t dead yet, of course. Her mother and Erik were... alive. Unfortunately so. For her and for them. What she saw back in the warehouse it was...

"No."

She shook the image away from her head, drowning herself in her work. But how could she truly wipe the image away when her fourth monitor was displaying the warehouse? She didn’t know where he pulled it out, but Riley handed her a surveillance camera before they left to install it in the warehouse.

And now, even though the camera wasn’t exactly pointed at them, she... could still hear them groaning in pain.

She knew why she didn’t gain the euphoria she wanted to feel—she might have escaped her old monsters, but she threw herself right into the wide mouth of Riley Ross.

It wasn’t until she felt her stomach grumble that her eyes and hands stopped moving.

She stared at the monitor, blinking a couple of times before looking down.

"I... can eat out from now on."

Tomoe quickly pushed herself away from her desk, rolling with her chair as she spun around in place.

"I can... do whatever I want."

And with that, both she and Riley got ready to eat breakfast at the same time. And soon, tomorrow came for Tomoe.

***

"Everyone, please listen up!"

And once again, the Baby Crew were altogether in the classroom like nothing happened at all—even Gracey was still crossdressing as a boy. As for the reason why, she seemed to have no plan on telling them just yet.

There was something else that was different, however—Spectacular Mustache Man was not the one in front of them, but a senior student whom the Baby Crew were already familiar with.

Katherine, aka the Scarlet Mage.

Her voice wasn’t that loud, but it could be heard throughout the entire hall as everyone was intent on listening to her, especially the boys. Their eyes followed her as she walked back and forth in front of the class, her feet passing by dozens of suitcases that were almost identical to the suitcase storing Riley’s new outfit.

Courtesy of Bernard Ross, no doubt.

"My name is Katherine Reeds," she introduced herself to the class while trying to avoid Riley and the rest of the Baby Crew’s gaze, "I also go by the name of Scarlet Mage—my identity to the public is not a secret, so it doesn’t matter if you tell it to anyone. But for most of you, hiding your identity is still a must. And so... the Academy has prepared suitcases for all of you that have your name on them!" She bellowed, "It has been arranged alphabetically, so each of you could just grab it and go!"

"What... is it?"

"Although I’m not sure about the details since this is the first time they’re doing this... fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

...I believe these are uniforms."

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