Riley Ross

"I have your abilities now."

Riley said it so casually, almost as if he himself wasn't experiencing this for the very first time.

"Oh, but of course…" He whispered as four of them looked at Replica Ricky's clones. "I don't really have your abilities. You still have it. We… both have it? Confusing."

"What… what are you?!"

Replica Ricky and his replicas all took several steps back, huddling together like a pack of scared chicks whose nest was suddenly invaded by a large human hand. They all looked at each other before the replicas all focused solely on the original.

"Huh…" All the Rileys tilted their heads to the side, looking at their palms before pointing them at the Replica Rickys.

"But do you know what's not confusing?" He said. "Is that I know I can do this."

"Wh—"

The replicas surrounding Replica Ricky all disappeared at the same time—no. Replica Ricky slowly looked ot the ground, only to feel pounds of dirt and sand surrounding his feet. All of his clones were flattened at the same time.

"You…" Replica Ricky's eyes widened at Riley, but Riley wasn't even looking at him at all. Instead, Riley's replicas started to crumble… only for another batch to replace them.

"Interesting," Riley whispered, glancing at his clones before focusing on Replica Ricky, who was no longer there.

"Don't you fucking do anything!"

He was behind Kitty now, his arm wrapped around his neck.

"I'm getting distracted." Riley sighed, shaking his head as he truly didn't notice Replica Ricky moving. But either way, it didn't matter.

"Bang!" One of Riley's clones pointed a finger right at Replica Ricky's forehead, releasing a telekinetic bullet that instantly pierced through his head.

But of course, Riley already knew that was another replica.

But it didn't matter.

"So, this is how your powers work?" Riley muttered, looking at his clone, whose finger was raised, and then watching it crumble to the floor. "It… requires minimal energy—and then the replica you create would also replicate your current condition. And…"

Riley's replicas started creating their own replicas.

"...Their replicas will replicate their current condition, becoming weaker and weaker. But as for me, the source—I am not losing stamina at all, other than from the replicas I have initially created."

I do not want to sound like Gracey, but deus ex machina. Although I will still put my time and effort into stretching the limits of my power after this, this solves my main problem. My stamina…

…I can just let my clones do the heavy lifting for me. Unfair, yes. But when has it never been?

"Replica Ricky, I'm truly sorry about this…" Riley sighed, and more and more of his clones started emerging from the darkness, "...But it would seem the universe has deemed this world doomed. A shame, you could've saved them all."

"What are you—"

What followed after that was something Kitty couldn't quite fathom at all. She could explain it, probably—but she couldn't quite understand it.

Replica Ricky would summon a replica, and the dark-clad hero would also summon another to instantly shut it down… and then just crumble after it was done. This repeated again, and again, and again.

The previously confident Replica Ricky was reduced to… nothing. She could hear him whimper and panic, on the verge of tears. He almost looked… pathetic.

"You're Kitty from ABC-ZBN, right?"

"Huh?!"

Kitty found herself jumping in place, her neck almost breaking with how fast she looked to her side. The dark-clad hero was casually standing beside her.

"Huh…?" Kitty turned to look at who she thought was the original dark-clad hero, and then back at the one beside her. Who… even was the original?

"You're Kitty from ABC-ZBN, right?" He repeated. Kitty didn't answer at first, gulping in a large amount of air and saliva, trying her best to remain calm as she stood beside him.

"Y-yes…?" she answered. "That's… that's me."

"Where's your accent?"

"H-huh?"

"Your accent. I've listened to you several times."

He… was asking about that now? When he was fighting against Replica Ricky?

"That… It's fake," she whispered. "I…I do it to get noticed since people… people seem to like it."

"You're pretending." Riley sighed. "I'm familiar. But, if you do start to get noticed, would you stop doing the accent?"

"I… don't know?" she muttered, her eyes glancing at the battle happening in front of her from time to time.

"You should drop the accent and be yourself," he said. "I like this voice of yours more. It's beautiful."

And it reminds me a lot of Sister.

"W-what?" Kitty's head snapped toward the person beside her. For a moment, she completely forgot that there was a battle happening in front of her. "What… what are you even saying at this time?"

"I'm saying I like the way you speak now," Riley said, shrugging as he stepped forward. "So, why don't we get you noticed? Do you have a phone with you?"

"Y-yes…?"

"Then I'm giving you permission to record and livestream what's about to happen."

Riley snapped his fingers, and some of his clones instantly crumbled away, while most suddenly flew behind Kitty. "Quick, before I change my mind."

"Wh—" Kitty didn't even finish her words. She immediately grabbed her phone from her pocket and started going live.

"I'm recording now, M…wait. What do I call you?!" Kitty gritted her teeth, forgetting to ask for the dark-clad hero's name before she started the livestream. She looked at the viewer count. It was already going up by the thousands, and she still hadn't introduced anything.

"I don't have a name yet," Riley said with a shrug, glancing over his shoulder. "It's up to you."

"You mean… I get to choose?"

A privilege. More than.

Whenever a new superhero appeared for the first time, it was up to whoever discovered them to name them—in this case, since she just happened to be a reporter, Kitty had all the power in the world right now in terms of building an image for the dark-clad hero in front of her.

And now, she had the privilege of naming him.

But what?

What exactly could she name a hero that almost disappeared in the darkness?

Shadow something? Shadowhelm? Silhouette?

What name could she actually bestow on someone who looked like he could swallow everything, even the night?

He could turn the night into the darkest day.

"...Darkday."

That's a supervillain's name. But for some reason, it resonated with her.

"Huh…" Riley turned to her. "...That is the same name Megawoman called me."

"Mega—You know Megawoman?!" Kitty hurriedly asked, but Riley completely ignored him and extended his palm toward Replica Ricky.

"I'd advise you not to summon another replica."

"Wh—"

Replica Ricky found himself sliding toward Riley. He tried summoning a replica, but he quickly disintegrated it when he realized there was a cocoon that would crush him inside it. Now that Riley didn't have to worry so much about his stamina, the difference in levels between them started to surface.

Yes. Replica Ricky was strong, S-rank perhaps.

But he and Riley weren't even in the same realm—and Riley was very aware of that.

"Kh—?!"

Replica Ricky could only grit his teeth before his face flew straight toward Riley's palm, his hand clapping over his mouth and covering it.

He tried to struggle, only for both his knees to fold the wrong way.

"What the—?!" Kitty gasped, her hand shaking as soon as she saw Replica Ricky's legs crumple. She… truly didn't expect that. Neither did Replica Ricky.

Riley had already taken his arm, and now both of his legs were gone. He couldn't even register the pain at all. Only the thought of him having a single limb left was racing in his mind.

"D-Darkday!" Kitty bellowed. "This is live! The… the people are watching you! A hero shouldn't—"

"Oh…" Riley sighed, shaking his head at her. He then turned to look at the city, and when he saw silhouettes flying and running toward them, his feet started to leave the ground. "...I think I gave you the wrong impression."

"W-what…?" Kitty blinked, her phone following Darkday as he floated in the air while carrying Replica Ricky. "What do you… what do you mean?!"

"I'm not a superhero," Riley admitted. "Nor am I aiming to be one."

"Are you… are you a supervillain, then?"

"Am I…?" Riley tilted his head. "Right now, I guess you can call me a… vigilante. I'm not a good person."

"But you saved—"

"The murders that have been happening lately. The one you and Lorraine are reporting about—it's me."

"Huh?"

"Ryan Roman, Stephanie and Mark—I am the one who killed them. I tortured them too," Riley casually confessed. "And a few days from now, there will be another victim."

Kitty's eyes widened. She almost lowered her phone when she heard that, but for some reason, she didn't have the urge to run away at all.

She… didn't feel at risk.

"Why… why did you kill them?"

Well, because I can and I wanted to. But, fortunately for me… Tomoe provides.

"A little bit of search would show you the reason," Riley tightened his grip on Replica Ricky's mouth. "Ryan Roman, Mark and Stephanie—what do you think they have in common?"

"Wh—"

"Don't answer now. Sadly, the real heroes are coming." Riley started to ascend. "I told you, I would get you noticed. Everyone…"

Riley waved at the camera.

"...That's Kitty reporting, and this ABC-ZBN news."

And with those words, Riley flew away with Replica Ricky.

"Wait! Where are you taking him?! Are you throwing him to the police?!"

"No. Replica Ricky is my guest from now on. I'm taking him to...

...the Guesthouse."