"A rat that doesn't belong here."
"I do believe this is the first ti soone is comparing to a rat."
"I don't an a rat, it has another aning."
"Hm, your naming sense is the sa no matter what universe, Bernard Ross."
"...I see. So, Anna was right."
Whiteking, not currently known as Bernard Ross in this universe. In truth, more than 24 hours ago, Bernard Ross received a notification from their AI, Anna, that a potential threat has passed through a portal and entered their universe.
At first, Bernard was a little dismissive of this, as occurrences like this should have been a top priority for the AI—but no. The AI only told Bernard in passing, almost as if the AI itself was dismissive of the threat.
And so, Bernard did not really think much of it in the first few hours, as the thing that might have passed through was just so sort of ant. If it was a mosquito, then the AI would have also notified him at once.
This had happened thousands of tis before, and Bernard did not think much of it. He went on with his day just shrugging his shoulders—but soon, Bernard got this weird urge and checked with the AI to see what it could possibly be…
…only to see a few minutes of the surveillance completely deleted.
***
"Anna! Call everyone back and close all the gates once everyone has been gathered!"
[At once, Whiteking.]
A day ago, right after the mont that Bernard discovered that a few minutes of surveillance footage was missing, he imdiately scrambled to take action—rushing through the long gray hallways of his base of operations.
"What's going on…?"
"Why were we called back? I was… having dinner with my family."
"You did what!? Do you want to get terminated!?"
"Ah, Whiteking. What's going—there he goes, always busy."
And as a countless number of people started erging from the walls, Bernard just continued running through the hallway. His helt, reflecting the pink suit that all of the people were wearing, a suit similar to what Hannah was wearing underneath her armor when she just got back from Riley's universe. That is because that is also where they just ca from—another universe.
All of them greeted Bernard as they saw him, but Bernard completely ignored all of them until finally, he reached the end of the hallway. And just like most of the design in this secret base… it was just an empty gray wall.
"Anna, let inside the main server."
[Of course, Whiteking.]
And just like the rest of the hallway, the wall in front of Bernard opened up—this ti, however, the other side wasn't just an empty gray room. Instead, there were strips of light everywhere; pulsing as if the entire room was actually alive.
Bernard imdiately entered the large room, making his way to the center and standing in front of a small screen with just a single… keyboard in front of it.
[What are you trying to look for, Whiteking?]
The entire room pulsed in rhythm with the voice of the AI, the light coming from the strips, crawling toward Bernard almost as if sothing was actually approaching him. Bernard, however, completely ignored the AI as he just started typing sothing.
The sound of Bernard's taps and the clacking of the keyboard quietly drumd in the room for almost an entire hour. His breaths, slowly changing into groans of frustration as he couldn't seem to find whatever it was he was looking for.
[It is ti for you to consu your caffeine, Whiteking. Do you want to send soone over to give it to you? Or do you just want to leave it outside the data center?]
"Stop talking, Anna," Bernard could not help but click his tongue, waving his hand as he gestured to the AI to leave, as if she was actually there, "Don't bother ."
[Perhaps if you asked what you are looking for, you would have been done by now,] the lights in the room started to beco erratic as the volu of the AI's voice increased.
"You won't know anything," Bernard once again waved his hand, "Soone hacked your system and deleted so files, we could potentially have a threat in our hands right now."
[No one hacked , Whiteking.]
"As I said, you wouldn't know," Bernard sighed; his eyes reflecting random strings of letters and numbers, "Like I wouldn't know soone tampered with my mind if they erased my mory of them doing it. You are compromised."
[...But I do rember my files being deleted, Whiteking.]
"How would you—"
[I was the one who deleted them, after all.]
"...You what?" And finally, the endless tapping that have been plaguing the room instantly stopped; Bernard's fingers, completely frozen as he just looked to where the light in the room was brightest,
"You… did what?" He then said; the tone of his voice, filled with a certain calmness of disbelief.
[I deleted them, Whiteking.]
"...Why?" Bernard took a step back away from the console, "Why would you even do sothing like that?"
And without even waiting for the AI to say sothing, Bernard's armor started to morph and change form—his eyes that could be seen from his helt, now glowing orange.
[Because the one that entered our universe told so, Whiteking.]
"Why would you even follow a command from soone other than and Hannah!?"
[Because he was very charismatic, Whiteking.]
"...What?"
[He reminded of both you and Master Hannah. He also knew a lot of things about you, as well as Master Diana.]
"Don't… say that na," the light in Bernard's eyes literally faded away as his voice cald down, "I don't get it, Anna. You let him have access to you just because he was charismatic?"
[Well, he also threatened to destroy and the entire planet.]
"Why did you not start with that!?"
[Because he told to tell you he was charismatic once you discovered the—]
"Wait, wait…" Bernard sat on the floor as his helt… retracted into his face. And although it was just a glimpse, the Bernard of this world is actually quite slim; but as soon as the helt entered his pores, he slightly beca chubbier,
"...You an a World Ender was able to pass through the portal without the alarms going off?"
[Yes, Whiteking.]
"...How?" Bernard's eyes started swaying left and right as his breaths beca gasps, "Who is it?"
[I don't know, Whiteking.]
"What do you an you don't know!?" Bernard roared, causing the lights in the server room to flicker several tis,
"Xra, Caitlain'Ur, Bernard Ross, Hera, Cherbi, Ahor Zai, Vivati, Nyx, Jeff, Ha—Just who is it!? We have a list of hundreds of entities capable of destroying their universes and you are telling you don't know whose variant it is!?" Bernard stood up from the floor,
"...Don't tell it's an old god?"
[I do not know because he is not registered in my database, Whiteking.]
"Not registered…?" Bernard raised an eyebrow, "We should know almost everyone there is, and everyone there ever was!"
[Correction, I should know. You just access the data from .]
"The semantics don't matter, wow could you—"
And all of a sudden, Bernard's eyes slightly turned wide as his breaths montarily stopped.
"...Don't tell it's a RAT?"
[He is a Random Anomalous Type, Whiteking. That is also why I did not notice his existence—he is even the one to greet first, so polite, that one.]
"Wait, wait… A world-ending RAT is on our Earth right now?" Each of Bernard's breaths beca heavier than the last.
[Please stop calling it RAT.]
"This is serious, Anna! Restrict all dinsional travel until I turn it on again!"
[Very well.]
"And don't let our agents leave until this matter is resolved!"
[But tomorrow is a holiday, Whiteking.]
"I don't care! And also…
…find Hannah!"
And with that, Bernard left the room—eting Hannah a few minutes later, who seed to be having a date with so—Wait.
His rebellious and loud-mouthed daughter…
…on a date?
***
"Wait… It's you!"
Back in the present, Bernard just ca to realize the identity of the masked man floating in front of him.
"Of course…" Even with his helt on, it was obvious that Bernard has a look of disbelief on his face right now, "...My mind was a little busy then, but it makes sense that only soone weird from another universe would actually date my daughter."
"So, you also share Bernard Ross's stupidity when it cos to his family."
"...Who are you?" Bernard very carefully started circling around Riley, "And why did you co to my universe?"
"An open door is a sign of welcoming people…" Riley shrugged as he followed Bernard with his eyes, "...is what I read sowhere. Your portal was open, so I entered it before the Hannah of your universe could close it."
"Damn it… of course, it would be her," Bernard groaned in frustration, "Who are you?"
"Darkday."
"..." Bernard imdiately scanned Anna's database to search for a similar na and occurrence, but nothing ca up, "That sounds like a supervillain's na. Are you human?"
"Correct on both, Bernard Ross," Riley nodded.
"Since you know a lot of things about and my daughter, then you must be close to our variants in your universe."
"I was adopted to the family, Bernard Ross," Riley revealed casually, "Please don't tell the Hannah of this world, she seems to like . It would hurt her feelings."
"...Shit," Bernard Ross did not really even doubt Riley's words. After all, the only way Riley could get that much information from them is that he is family—if so…
"...You need to die."
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