Riley Ross
Chapter 52: The Illicit Lovers, Discovered

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: The Illicit Lovers, Discovered

"Who found this?"

"Some junkie gettin’ his morning tweak. He’s already at the station."

Riley was right. As soon as death touched the ruined hospital again, life returned in droves. The area was now swarming with people—dozens of them. Half were police; the other half were members of the media.

Reporters pressed in from all sides, desperate to get closer to the scene. But the police had sealed off the entire perimeter. That didn’t stop the more aggressive journalists, some of them even climbed the fences—they didn’t stop even when one of them was tackled to the ground and cuffed.

The frenzy wasn’t unwarranted. The brief glimpse some reporters managed to catch had been more than enough to get them curious. The crime scene was brutal. Grotesque. But most of all—meticulously staged.

Whoever did this... wanted to be seen.

"Dios... it’s a damn mess out there," Detective Jake muttered, squinting through the crowd. "Remind me again why we’re even here, Dors? We already got our hands full with that Megaland desmadre."

"We’re here because of that damn reporter," Detective Dorothy replied, her voice dry. The bags under her eyes were deeper than when they last visited Riley at the Academy.

"She just had to run her mouth and suggest this might be connected to the Roman case," Dorothy added with a groan, shaking her head as she looked up at the ruined hospital’s new ceiling. "And why the hell haven’t they taken that thing down yet? Are they waiting for the family to show up and see her like—"

"Stephanie!"

And before Dorothy could finish her words, a loud, guttural scream cracked through the air. Dorothy immediately turned toward the commotion. A woman was being restrained by officers. The man beside her had collapsed to the ground, wailing like his lungs might give out.

"Th-that’s my daughter! No... no! My baby... my baby!"

"Fuck..." Dorothy turned away, her voice low. "I just had to open my damn mouth."

Jake stood frozen, eyes locked on the grieving parents. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. His hands trembled as he imagined how much pain they were in.

"Do... do you think she’s right?" He asked quietly.

"Hm?"

"Lorraine... you think she’s onto something?" Jake turned slowly to his partner. "Like this and that pedo’s case—what if they are connected?"

"We have no reason to believe that."

"But que tal if she is right?" Jake said, eyes wide. "Wouldn’t that mean... we got a hijo de puta serial killer on our hands?"

"Stop it, Jake," Dorothy waved him off, "The last super serial killer the world has seen was twenty years ago, and the only reason the killer priest wasn’t caught immediately was that the Philippines didn’t have a proper Super Investigations Division at that time."

She turned away from the scene. "Super serial killers don’t stay ’serial’ for long. After the first kill, they escalate immediately. They massacre. Because they can. That’s the trend. That’s the data."

Jake looked at her for a long moment before quietly replying,

"Look, data’s solid... till it ain’t. Just hear me out, partner. What if this Roman dude—what if this ain’t random? What if this is just him... takin’ a little taste, sabes?"

"Then let’s look at the facts again," Dorothy exhaled sharply, her eyes returning to the grotesquely stretched corpse of Stephanie.

"Our killer took down Ryan Roman, a known Rank B supervillain. And he didn’t just kill him, he took his time. Forensics say he was tortured. Now, this... a young super and a cop. The super might’ve been inexperienced, but the cop had a gun—and the killer ignored it completely, which means whoever did this isn’t afraid of a gun. Most likely someone who has already fought and killed a lot of people. But if, and this is a big but if— If this really is just the beginning... if he’s only getting a taste for it..."

She paused, watching the sunlight filter through the ruin’s grotesque new ceiling.

"Then the police, the FBI, hell, the entire world, is about to get very, very busy. So Jake... Yes. I hope Lorraine’s wrong."

Jake looked at her in silence for a moment, then let out a long sigh, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Yeah, well... if she’s right, then we’re screwed, bro. F’d right in the huevos." Jake sighed, rubbing his face. "I haven’t slept in my own bed en days."

He glanced over.

"Also—you hear? The girl... she was a student at Mega Academy."

"I guess the curse is still there," Dorothy scoffed, "How many students have died in the last thirty days?"

"First we got that grad who tried to go full hero on a terrorist group, then the kid who got crushed by a metal beam while tryin’ to get back to school... and now this one."

"Shit..." Dorothy shook her head, "Just one more and it’ll beat the record. Anyway, let’s go back to the Academy."

"We were just there yesterday."

"Someone there might know something," Dorothy waved him off again, "We have a dead cop too. We need to find out how these two are related first... and I have a feeling her friends would know."

***

Back at one of the mock cities in Mega Academy, Riley was gliding along the side of a building—until Silvie suddenly burst through a nearby window and grabbed him by the shoulders.

Without hesitation, the red glow in her eyes flared, firing twin beams of searing energy straight at Riley’s face. But they split mid-air, bending around a telekinetic barrier just before striking him.

That same invisible force shot back toward Silvie, swatting her across the face and sending her reeling. Still, she recovered quickly, swinging Riley like a ragdoll and slamming him into the building.

The wall collapsed before impact, sending both of them crashing through the structure and deeper inside.

"What the fuck..."

The other students watching the battle unfold were practically glued to the scene in disbelief.

"Shouldn’t the instructors be stepping in right now?"

"They’re wrecking that building!"

"What even is this fight?!"

"Why am I even here? All I can do is summon snot bubbles..."

But despite the chaos, neither Spectacular Mustache Man nor Chieftain Amerika moved a muscle. They remained still—watchful, but silent.

Moments later, Silvie and Riley exploded out of another window, with Silvie still gripping him by the collar and pummeling him with rapid punches to the face.

Each strike, however, was stopped cold by a telekinetic field surrounding Riley like a cocoon.

"How much stamina do you have?!" Silvie snarled.

"Aren’t you getting tired of using your powers?!"

"I could ask you the same thing, Megagirl," Riley replied calmly, despite the barrage.

"I do appreciate it—I am learning a lot of new ways to utilize my abilities. But if this is the extent of your power, then I believe I have nothing to learn anymore."

"Oh?" Silvie’s eye twitched. She halted her punches.

"That’s because I’ve been holding back."

"I would appreciate it if you did not, Megagirl," Riley said, shaking his head.

"It would help me understand my own limits better."

"Then I’m done holding back." Silvie’s grin widened as she grabbed Riley by the collar again, spun, and hurled him straight toward the ground. "I suggest you do the same!"

Riley twisted in the air, slowing his descent until he landed lightly on the pavement. He looked up.

Their eyes met, and neither said a word.

Then, Riley stretched his arms to the side.

A breath escaped his lips, and a thin trail of blood began to drip from his nose, sliding down to his chin before falling to the ground.

As it hit the concrete, the earth beneath him began to ripple... and tremble.

"Is this not... fun?"

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