Ren sat on the edge of the Cloud Media building, legs swinging casually over the sheer drop.
Far below, the glittering lights of Central Mayvel stretched out like a sea of stars, neon signs bleeding pink and electric blue across streets, car headlights crawling like slow fireflies between towering glass skyscrapers. The night wind tugged at his new black-and-gold suit.
The chat scrolled rapidly across the corner of his vision, the system handling the stream with perfect, untraceable clarity.
[Viewers: 2.4K]
[Good angle. Untraceable from this position,] the system whispered quietly in his ear.
Ren stayed silent for a long moment, letting the tension build as he read the flood of comments. A small smile formed behind the rigid mask.
"Good evening, chat," he finally said, voice low and calm.
The comments exploded.
[Freelancer008: bro WHY do you keep leaving us on hold 😭 also I’m your biggest fan fr fr]
[my favorite show on the internet. they scheduled Lady Vega’s premiere on the wrong night fr]
[Bonker205: @Freelancer008 "biggest fan" and you’ve never dropped a single cent lmao]
[so what are we doing tonight]
Ren stood up slowly, the city sprawling beneath him like a living map.
"Tonight," he said, voice carrying that dangerous edge, "this entire neighborhood goes dark. And there’s not one thing anybody can do about it."
[User1738: don’t say South Mayvel I have NOT charged my phone bro]
[😂😂 please be DT please be DT]
[User00772: I’ll drop $2,000 if it’s Central]
[NO no no man not Central]
[Joy441: genuinely cannot understand why anyone watches this clown]
[Freelancer008: @Joy441 and yet here you are. so who’s the clown]
"Yeah." Ren stretched his arms out, the suit’s reinforced plates shifting smoothly with the movement. "To whoever’s about to get hit by this... sincerely, my bad."
[at least tell us why]
[last night it was the mom and the bread. what’s the lore tonight]
[IdleKing: it’s a girl isn’t it]
Ren read that last comment and lifted his head slightly, staring out over the glowing city.
『Yeah. And this is Noel’s block. Sleep in the dark tonight, golden boy. 』
He reached down and pulled the blackout bomb from his belt, the small device heavy and cold in his gloved hand.
"I’m a villain," he said calmly. "I don’t need a reason."
[@VillainEater has donated $1,000]
『This woman. Again. 』
[@GlitchObsessed has donated $600]
[wait people are ALREADY donating]
[@Freelancer008 has donated $30]
[Freelancer008: @Bonker205 where you at now 👀]
Ren’s eyes lingered for a second on @GlitchObsessed, the first user to fully take his villain name as their own. A small smile tugged at his lips behind the mask.
Then he stepped off the edge.
He dropped from the twenty-story building like a shadow, the broadcast capturing every detail in crisp high definition.
The Cloud Media tower blurred past behind him, a vertical streak of glowing windows and steel. Wind roared past his mask, whipping at the gold accents on his suit as the city rushed up to meet him.
[User991: that’s Cloud Media. that’s CENTRAL. fuck me sideways I did NOT charge my phone]
[GlitchObsessed: 😭😭 sleeping in the dark tonight and I’m not even mad]
Right before impact, Ren slammed the red anti-gravity button on his chest.
A powerful pulse rippled through the suit. His fall slowed dramatically, almost gently, as he dropped the blackout bomb. The small device tumbled down ahead of him and detonated on the street below in a silent flash.
The entire neighborhood went black.
One moment the streets were alive with neon, streetlights, glowing billboards, and the constant flow of headlights. The next, nothing. Total darkness swallowed block after block. Only the faint emergency lights on a few buildings remained, tiny red pinpricks in an ocean of black.
****
Ashley sat curled on her sofa, legs tucked beneath her, the glow of her phone the only real light in the apartment. The city lights outside the large windows painted soft patterns across her bare skin as she watched the stream intently.
[so what are we doing tonight]
"That’s exactly what I was about to type," she said aloud to the empty room, a small smile playing on her lips. "We need to know. Who are you exposing tonight?"
Her fingers hovered over the screen.
『Wait. This is my verified account. 』
She caught herself.
『That would blow up in my face. I need a burner. 』
She set the phone down on the cushion beside her, shifted her weight, and pulled her laptop onto her lap.
"Tonight," Glitch was saying on screen, "this entire neighborhood goes dark. And there’s not one thing anybody can do about it."
"What?" Ashley’s smile widened, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she created the new account.
@GlitchObsessed. It opened instantly.
"Let me get you something, baby." She typed quickly while speaking under her breath. "I really want to know what’s under that mask."
She entered her card details. The donation cleared with a soft chime.
『A small thing compared to what you’ve done for my career. 』
On screen, Glitch stepped right to the edge of the building. Ashley leaned forward slightly.
"Please don’t die," she whispered, eyes glued to the feed as he dropped.
Then it hit her. "Wait... That’s the Cloud building."
She typed into the chat. She’d just hit send when the entire apartment plunged into darkness.
"Ahh, come on," she groaned, tilting her head back against the sofa. "I haven’t even heated my food."
The stream was still live, but now it was almost completely black. Comments continued pouring in over the dark feed.
[at least say something]
[are you still there??]
[y’all are insane. how’s he supposed to be visible in the DARK]
She started typing quickly. Just. Say. Something.
Before she could hit send, Glitch’s voice cut through the black feed, calm and slightly distorted by the mask.
"I’m still here. There’s just darkness everywhere now." A short pause. "Tomorrow I’ll be live again, and I’ve got something big lined up. Love you all."
The stream ended.
Ashley sighed deeply and sank back into the sofa, the cool leather pressing against her bare back and thighs. The apartment was almost completely dark now, only faint moonlight and distant emergency lights from the street filtering through the large windows, casting soft silver-blue highlights across her skin and the curves of her body.
She stared at the blank screen for a moment, a slow smile spreading across her face.
"Okay," she murmured to the empty room. "I’m getting seriously obsessed now."