Riley Ross

"Tch. Future super terrorists."

"Masked pigs."

"Fucking supes."

"Get out of Phoenix's Ring!"

"Why… the hell are they cursing us even though the Dragon Monarch is literally giving them food? I'll spit on this thing!"

"Gracey, don't!"

The Baby Crew was now serving food to the people living—no. To the people surviving within the Phoenix's Ring.

The Phoenix's Ring—that was what the people learned to call the ring of melted buildings that stood as the perimeter of the flat wasteland of Ohio. But for such a strong name, its history and the community within it are anything but.

Unlike a phoenix, these people weren't reborn. None of them were even originally from Ohio. These are the people who saw opportunity, only to find that they were only digging dirt—they all had their own homes for free, and yet they were living worse than the homeless.

Ironically, in a way, they migrated themselves into refugees.

No one could open up shops because no one wanted to deliver in these parts, such a complete contrast compared to the area where the hotel was built.

The Phoenix Hotel that Riley and the others were staying at was actually also in the ring, but of course, strategic planning and feasibility studies were made when they built that. The people who took to the ring didn't study at all.

And now, they were just one step away from being considered living in a slum.

"I don't care about any of that!" Gracey scoffed at Pauline as soon as she finished explaining the situation of the people to her, "They're being given charity, and they have the nerve to look at us funny? They're all better off starving to death."

"Bitch, please." Bella snuggled in between Pauline and Gracey, "Ain't no damn wonder why you on that dumb list."

"Wha—your brother's also in the list!"

"Pfft, deserved." Bella scoffed, but her lips quickly turned into a smile as she grabbed a boxed meal from the table in front of them and handed it to the next person in the line. The person she gave it to, however, glared and snarled at her.

"Okay… maybe you ain't wrong. Let me spit on that thing and—"

"Guys!" Pauline quickly grabbed the rest of the boxed meals and placed them on her side of the table, "These… these people just need help, that's all."

"Yeah, no." Gracey rolled her eyes, slicking her hair back to make sure they were all in place, "If we were gonna have a surprise community service, I wouldn't have picked this."

"Oh…?" Bella raised an eyebrow, the cadence of her words changing as she smirked at her, "And what, pray tell, do our local dragon monarch considereth as community service?"

"I wanna dress up in like, our superhero outfits… and then visit someone with cancer that has like, only three days to live or something."

Pauline almost choked on her own breath as soon as she heard that.

"D-did you have to be so specific about the date?" She muttered, "Anyway… the teachers seem to be on their guard today."

"Ayo, they better not be on they asses." Bella clicked her tongue as she looked around, "Because if them Dark Millennium clowns pop up out here on we our crib? I'll shank the shit out of 'em assholes. And why the hell I gotta be on food duty?! V's on crowd control with H, and she ain't even on the crime-fighting class, but we out here passin' snacks?! Like nah. Why we the ones servin' food to these n—"

"Bella!"

And while Pauline was losing her mind trying to contain Gracey and Bella, Hannah and Victoria were busy trying to make sure no one was cutting in line. But like Pauline, they were having a hard time as none of the people could even be talked to civilly—all of them wanted to get ahead and didn't care for those behind them.

"Jesus…" Hannah sighed, shaking her head as she had just warned someone for the third time. She didn't curse or yell at them, however, and only breathed out her frustration. Victoria, on the other hand, wasn't having a hard time at all.

With her hair glowing green and with sparks of electricity crackling from her eyes, the people didn't want to mess with her at all… it didn't help at all that she was only smiling at them.

Unfortunately for the rest of the freshmen, their situations were more like Gracey and the others', with the crowd making it unnecessarily hard for them even though they were trying to help.

No.

They were forced to help.

And now, this is the point where one would wonder where Riley was. Well…

He volunteered to be on clean-up duty. And he was, perhaps, receiving the worst of it.

He was a super, and he looked completely different from the rest of them. And unlike Victoria, his abilities weren't outright displayed for everyone to see.

"Pft…" Someone in the crowd deliberately threw a carton of milk right in front of Riley, and it was still half-full, too. The man's friends, who were lounging on top of a totaled car, seemed to have found it amusing too, as they all laughed at Riley while slapping each other's stomachs.

Riley, however, didn't react at all to their antics and just picked up the trash with his tongs. He placed it in his bag and moved on without even as much as a glance.

Of course, the group didn't appreciate this at all. They all jumped out of the car and blocked Riley's path, surrounding him on all sides and leaving him no room to move at all.

He had no choice but to acknowledge their presence now.

"Excuse me," he said while looking at the ground, "I need to go that way. I would appreciate it if you and your companions moved, Vagrants."

"What did you call us?!"

"Did this freak just call us ants?!"

"You think just because you are a super you're better than us?!"

The group raised their voice, garnering the attention of the bystanders closest to them. As for Riley, he blinked a couple of times, slightly confused as to why these people suddenly started shouting at him.

"I do not believe I am better than any of you at all, Vagrant," he glanced at the shoulder of the man who screamed at him last, "If anything, you are more human than I ever would be—but being a super does not have a correlation to that. My thoughts merely make me more inferior."

"What the fuck… why do you talk like that?" One of the men extended his hand toward Riley, only for it to be caught between Riley's tongs.

"I would appreciate it if you do not attempt to touch me, Vagrant," Riley sighed while shaking his head, "It would do neither of us good."

"You're really starting to piss us off, freak."

"Perhaps that is because you spilled your milk?" Riley tilted his head, "Might I suggest getting new ones from the—"

And before Riley could finish his words, someone from behind him tried to reach for his trash bag. Riley swiftly stepped to the side to avoid the man before slipping past the space he created and escaping the little circle the group made.

Riley didn't say another word and just started walking away—but of course, as overgrown children, the group once again blocked his path… and they threw whatever trash was in their hands to the ground all at the same time.

They were going to move closer to Riley, but to their surprise, the trash that they threw didn't make contact with the ground at all and went flying straight toward Riley's trash bag. He then finally glanced at their shoulders, sighing as he hung his tongs at his waist.

"I have learned about your demographic from one of Father's lessons," he said, perhaps more so to himself than the people in front of him, "And I was inclined to categorize that lesson into fiction, but to think that you and your companions are real. I have to say I am very amused, Vigrants."

"Are you calling us poor?!"

"No, but I assume you are," Riley once again sighed. "What I am inferring to, however, is that you and your companions are completely illogical."

"W—"

"And criminals, too. The first litter could be considered a mistake, but you deliberately littered again, and therefore are now subject to the law." Riley shook his head before he put on his sunglasses, covering his entire face with his holographic bunny mask, "And as I am officially in the superhero registry, I am obligated to dispose of you."

"What are you even—"

And once again, before any of them could finish their words, they felt their throat and lungs lock as a sudden pressure fell upon them. Well, they would soon find that the pressure wasn't on them at all; it was around and next to them.

At the car where they were previously lounging on top of.

And it happened almost instantly. Almost instantly, the car was flattened into the ground.

Not fully, not at the same level as Alice, but enough that it looked like a burnt-up pancake.

"Now…" Riley whispered,

"...If you and your companions could cooperate willingly, that would be nice."