"Riley! Stop! Please, stop! Riley!"
"Sis, relax. You're gonna wreck your beautiful voice before he even hears you."
"But—"
"He'll calm down soon enough. I remember being like that too... Well, not that creepy, though."
The metal ball continued to spin around Riley, faster and faster, while his wide, unsettling smile remained unchanged. His clear eyes looked completely lost, as if trapped in some trance.
Everyone watched him, each with their own reaction.
Hera's gaze was sharp, unreadable. Jericho, on the other hand, had a grin creeping onto his face. Pauline's hand was covering her mouth, her eyes wide in shock. Bella, meanwhile, had a snarl on her lips, one arm draped protectively over Hannah's shoulders.
"Okay, that's really creepy."
"What are you talking about?" Benjamin, however, also had his hand covering his mouth as he whispered, "It's… kinda hot."
"What the!? N—You gay?" Bella shot him a look.
"What? No!" Benjamin scoffed before pointing at her. "Are you!?"
"No, you!"
And just like that, the two devolved into swatting and lightly punching each other.
Meanwhile, Hannah used the opportunity to step forward, freed from Bella's hold. She reached out toward Riley, trying to get his attention, but it was useless—his eyes were now shut tight. And then—
More blood.
Not just a trickle this time. It spurted from his nose.
"Shit! Fuck!" Hannah's hands flew to her head, fingers gripping at her hair as she watched in horror. "Riley, stop it! Riley! Please! No… Riley, just—"
Before she could finish her words, Hera suddenly shoved her aside.
"Move."
And without hesitation, she stepped forward, caught the metal ball with one hand, and delivered a brutal punch straight into Riley's liver with the other.
His entire body folded. Riley couldn't even react as the pain caused his entire body to collapse and his mind to faint.
"Easy there, Whitey." Hera sighed as she caught Riley, keeping him from hitting the platform. She then turned her attention to the metal ball, surprisingly still struggling against her grip—despite Riley being unconscious, it was still trying to move.
"Huh… I feel like you're gonna give the instructors here a real hard time, kid. Nice."
With a short breath, Hera slammed the metal ball down onto the platform and stomped on it, sending a deep crack spiderwebbing across the ground.
Everyone flinched, instinctively stepping back.
"All of you, proceed to the next test," she said, pointing at the group as she started walking away. "I'll take Whitey to the infirmary."
Hannah immediately tried to follow, but before she could take more than three steps, Hera raised a single finger at her.
"I said all of you. That includes you, princess."
"But he's—"
"Tut tut," Hera wagged her finger. "Focus on your own tests. You don't need to baby your brother—he's not a child."
"He's twelve."
"That's a grown-ass man in some countries," Hera shot back with a casual wave of her hand, and once again, she started to walk away. "And besides, from what I just saw, Whitey here is gonna have better control over his powers than you in just a few months of training."
"Don't call him that. And—wait…" Hannah suddenly gasped. "Does that mean he passed the test!?"
"Duh." Hera shook her head, adjusting Riley's weight in her arms. "No one fails here. You think Mega Academy's just gonna throw you out and risk you turning into a villain? Please. Mega Academy was made to nurture us… and control us."
She sighed, shifting Riley slightly before cracking her neck.
"Anyway, I'm late for an audition."
A smirk curled onto her lips as she glanced back at the group.
"I gotta say…" she muttered.
"…This might actually be a good year."
***
Some unknown time later, Riley woke up for the first time in a long while to the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling.
He blinked a few times, unmoving.
"Is this heaven?" he whispered to himself. Everything around him was immaculately white. "Am I dead? Hello?"
Riley waited for someone—anyone—to respond. But when no answer came, he finally glanced around and realized he was lying in a bed, tucked under a blanket.
"Oh."
He was about to sit up and pull the blanket off, but instead, he rested his head back against the pillow.
I have powers now. Interesting. I should test them as much as possible.
He collected his thoughts for a moment before lifting his head again. Taking a slow breath, he focused on moving the blanket with his mind.
At first, nothing happened. But when he flicked his finger, the fabric shifted slightly.
"Oh?" His eyes blinked in mild curiosity—until he realized…his finger had physically pulled the blanket down by an inch.
With a disappointed sigh, he lifted his entire arm this time, and the blanket was yanked off completely, tumbling to the floor even though he didn't put any force on it.
"Hmm."
That worked. Do I need to wave my entire arm?
Riley immediately sat up, pressed his palms together, and narrowed his eyes in deep thought.
After a moment, he climbed out of bed, picked up the blanket, and carefully spread and fixed it back over the mattress.
"Interesting. What else can I move?"
His eyes scanned the small infirmary room. A glass of water sat on the bedside table, next to a piece of paper and a pen.
He raised his hand slightly, about to test his abilities on the glass, but then shook his head.
"No. I might break the glass, and that is school property. That would be against the rules."
His gaze drifted around the room again.
"But everything here is school property… oh no," he slightly sighed at the realization, "Perhaps, I should float myself?"
"Pft."
"Hmm?" Riley stopped talking to himself as soon as he heard someone breathing from the other side of the white curtain.
He tilted his head, before turning toward the source of the noise.
A white curtain separated him from the other half of the room. He stared at it for a second before waving his hand to try and open it with his mind..
Surprisingly, the curtain slid open on the first try.
And on the other side, a girl sat on a bed, two large tubes connected to her back. But it wasn't the tubes that first caught Riley's attention—it was her glowing green hair and eyes.
She was covering her mouth, but as soon as she met his gaze, her entire body trembled… and then, suddenly, she burst into laughter.
Riley tilted his head at her, watching as she struggled to contain her amusement.
Without a word, he waved his hand again—this time, attempting to close the curtain.
But nothing happened.
He stared at her for another awkward second, then walked over…and closed the curtain himself, manually, with his hands.
"W…wait! Wait!"
The girl leaned forward, grabbing the curtain to keep it open. Her voice still trembled with the effort of stifling her laughter.
"I'm… I'm sorry. It's just… you were talking to yourself so seriously. I just—" she covered her mouth, failing to contain another chuckle. "You mentioned school property, and then floating yourself, and I couldn't… Okay, I'm sorry."
She finally calmed down, leaning back and holding her chest as she caught her breath. When she looked back at Riley, her glowing green hair shimmered in the light, almost painting his entire view with its radiance.
"My name's Victoria," she introduced herself, reaching out a hand. "What about you?"
"No, my name's not Victoria."
"What? No!" A small giggle escaped Victoria's lips, her teeth showing as she looked at him. "I was asking for your name."
"Oh. My name is Riley."
"Well… hello, Riley. I'm Victoria." She extended her hand again.
"Hi, Victoria." Riley greeted her back but only stared at her hand. "I apologize, but I do not like being touched by people."
"Oh…" Victoria blinked, green sparks trickling from her eyes. "I… understand. I also don't like being looked at by people."
"Oh." Riley also blinked before proceeding to close the curtain.
"Wait! Wait!" Victoria yanked it open again. "That was… I didn't mean you should close the curtain!"
"I apologize, Victoria."
"You… don't have to apologize every time," she sighed, shaking her head before pointing at the table beside Riley's bed. "Dr. Lopez asked me to tell you to fill out that questionnaire as soon as you woke up. She… should be checking in on you in a couple of minutes."
"Thank you, Victoria." Riley bowed his head before sitting back on the bed and pulling the table closer. "Is this the second test?"
Victoria nodded. "Mhm."
Riley immediately started answering the questionnaire.
"So… you're also a freshman, huh?" Victoria tilted her head. "Oh, sorry. You can answer the paper first."
"It is fine, Victoria." Riley shook his head as he continued writing. "I can move my hands and talk at the same time. Father says I am very good at multitasking."
Victoria paused, then let out a small gasp as realization hit her. She covered her face. "Oh. Riley… you're Riley Ross. Of course. You're Whiteking's son."
Riley's hand paused before he could encircle another answer. "You are not supposed to know that, Victoria." He blinked. "Do you happen to know him?"
"Know him? I… owe him my life." Victoria took a deep breath before rolling her shoulders and glancing back, making the tubes behind her dance. "You see these things? Your dad made them for me. They help me… contain my powers."
"Hmm. Interesting."
"Do you know what's more interesting, though?" Victoria giggled as she leaned closer over the bed. "Your dad's superhero name is Whiteking, but you're the one who's like… all white. He's not even white. Only his armor is. He's, like… tan."
"He does have more melanin than both of us, yes."
"Pft. You're funny," Victoria grinned, her teeth once again showing as she chuckled. "And you really are all white. This is… the first time I've ever seen someone who looks weirder than me."
Riley's hand stopped moving again as he slightly glanced up at Victoria.
"You do not look weird at all, Victoria," he casually said before returning to his paper.
"What? Pft…" Victoria grabbed a handful of her hair and held it up for Riley to see. "My hair is green and glowing, and my eyes are also green and glowing."
"Green is one of the most common colors in the world, Victoria," Riley replied without looking at her. "How can it be weird when it is the color of forests scattered across the planet? The leaves before they wilt. Most fruits and vegetables are green. The signal for go at the traffic lights is green. Algae is green. Mold—all things, I believe, that represent life."
Victoria opened her mouth to respond, but the words got caught in her throat. A lump formed there, and her eyes burned.
She gripped her blanket, biting her lip lightly as Riley's words replayed in her mind again and again. If she spoke now, she knew only a sob would come out.
No one… had ever said that to her before.
She looked at Riley, inhaling deeply and swallowing the emotions rising inside her.
"Thank—"
Before she could finish her words, Riley spoke over her.
"You are very common, Victoria. So you do not need to worry."
Victoria just stared at him, her mouth still slightly open.
"Wow…" she muttered, blinking. "Thank you, that's… very nice of you to say."
"You are welcome, Victoria." Riley nodded, still writing. "I am also very common. The clouds are mostly white, cotton is white, the blankets in this clinic are white. White paint is white."
Victoria let out another small giggle. "So, we're just two common people, huh?"
"No." Riley shook his head, placing the pen down. "I am special."
"...Right, okay." Victoria rolled her eyes but smiled. "What about being blonde, then? Is that common? Bulwark's all gold."
"Gold is…"
Their conversation continued, growing more random with each question they asked each other. But soon, it came to an abrupt end as Dr. Lopez returned.
"Good, you're awake."
Dr. Lopez pulled the curtain aside, nodding at Riley before glancing at Victoria. "And I see the two of you have met. I'll be borrowing your boyfriend for a bit, is that alright with you?"
"W…what!? What do you mean boyfriend!?" Victoria gasped, pointing an accusatory finger at Dr. Lopez. "I'm twelve! You… you should be fired for harassment! Riley, be careful with her. She eats children."
"Correction, I only eat misbehaving children."
"Ah, stay back!" Victoria wagged her finger at the doctor as if it was a weapon, while Dr. Lopez dramatically dodged imaginary attacks.
Riley looked between them for a few moments before tilting his head. "You also have telekinesis, Victoria?"
"What? No…" Victoria's voice immediately softened as she giggled. "Anyway, it was really nice to meet you, Riley. Good luck with the test, and just be yourself!"
"Hmm. Thank you."
Riley followed Dr. Lopez out, but not before glancing back at Victoria. She waved at him. He didn't meet her eyes, but after a moment, he raised his hand and waved back before walking away.
As they strolled down the hall, Dr. Lopez smiled. "Are you curious about her?"
"I am curious, Dr. Lopez," Riley nodded. "Throughout our conversation, there were moments when she only acted our age."
Dr. Lopez blinked in mild surprise. "...You noticed that?" She shook her head and sighed. "I guess you really are his son, huh."
"I am adopted, Dr. Lopez."
"You know what I mean."
Dr. Lopez sighed again before glancing at Riley. "And about Victoria—some kids just… grow up faster than most. You're pretty mature yourself, don't you think?"
"No." Riley shook his head. "I like milk, Dr. Lopez."
Dr. Lopez let out a small laugh. "That's… not really an indication of maturity." She then stopped in front of a door. "Anyway, here we are. Just wait here while I hand them the questionnaire. They'll call you in soon."
"Okay." Riley nodded. "What is the next test, Dr. Lopez?"
Dr. Lopez chuckled. "It's not a test," she said, resting a hand on the door.
"It's an interview."