Villain Retirement

"...There's really nothing to look at there."

"It is an interesting sight, mother. How fast are we moving?"

"I would need to check to be sure, we don't really have a gauge of speed during hyperdrive."

"Hm, interesting."

Riley's eyes were like mirrors, reflecting the streak of lights that danced endlessly in front of him. Diana's ship looked like it did not have any windows from the outside, but the large and empty silver atrium that Riley was in right now was filled with the view of the ever-changing expanse of space.

Speed— the concept seems to be thrown out as soon as one reaches space. Even when he and Aerith were traveling from Hotis 4J, he was completely unaware of how fast they were going because of the lack of visual measurement and air resistance.

Such things, Riley could never really fathom even if he wanted to. But even still, there was a growing curiosity inside him that seemed to wish to crawl out. Ever since he had seen Megawoman in the news and TV, Riley has always been fascinated with what sort of life she had led— and now he was finally slowly uncovering it.

"...Sometimes I really wish I could know what you're truly thinking, Riley."

And as Riley suddenly became silent, Diana could really only stand by his side as she too, looked at the moving scenery,

"It has been a while since I last saw this. I… have remained on Earth for too long. I learned a lot too."

"...Did you know I was Darkday, mother?"

"Not at first, no," Diana sighed as she shook her head, "When Alice died and you came into my life, I tried my best to actually become a mother for her sake. And then there came a time when I had to mix both lives due to my never-ending curiosity."

"...Does that mean you weren't trying to be a mother to Hannah?"

"...Not at first, no," Diana could really only close her eyes as she answered Riley, "I wondered what offspring Bernard and I would have; if it would yield an astonishing being with a mind capable of changing the entire universe as we know it."

"You clearly failed in that, mother. Hannah is very simple-minded and stupid."

"...Don't let your sister hear that," Diana let out a small chuckle. But after a few more moments, her eyes turned melancholy as she turned to face Riley,

"You children may have been a curiosity at first, but don't you get mistaken, young man…

…I would die to protect both of you."

"..."

"You and Hannah are my children, nothing in this universe will deny that to me… and I won't let them."

"Hm."

"..."

"..."

"Right, good talk," Diana then took in a deep breath as she started backing away, "Remember, Riley…

…you're still my sweet little boy. So please, if you want to talk about something you don't understand, I would like it if you approach me first."

"I will think about it, mother."

"...Always so cold to me, I'm hurt… very hurt!"

"..." Riley could really only watch as her adoptive mother, a being that was more than ten thousand years old, dramatically clasp her chest as she very slowly made her way out of the atrium. She did not even mind that Paige, who was entering the atrium at the same time, was looking at her with a completely stupefied expression.

"Paige."

"M… Mrs. Ross," Paige awkwardly smiled and instinctively waved her hand as Diana greeted her, and she remained with her hand raised even as Diana disappeared into one of the many intersections of the large silver hallway.

"Your mother… seems different from all the things I've heard about her," Paige's sighs quickly reached Riley's ears; her slightly curly hair, still seemingly wet from the shower,

"Anyway, I didn't wanna disturb your meditation, but your sister and Scarle—I mean Katherine are at it again. Hannah… really doesn't like her that much, huh?"

"Hm," Riley nodded as he finally removed his eyes from the hypnotizing view; and as soon as he did so, all the windows in the atrium instantly disappeared—causing the hall to lose its brilliance as the silver walls returned to their brutal simplicity.

"They have been like that even in the Academy, Paige," Riley then said as he started walking, not even waiting for Paige to fully approach him,

"Perhaps it is because her romantic relationships have always failed, and she hates to—"

[Hyperdrive, offline. We have now entered the Alphari Zone. We will be docking in Hotis 4J. ETA, 10 minutes.]

And before Riley could finish his words, a monotonous voice started to echo throughout the entire atrium.

"...Hotis 4J?" Paige raised an eyebrow as she heard the announcement, "Where have I heard that before?"

"..."

"..."

"...Oh."

***

"What's going on?"

Everyone was now on the flight deck; and although it was called that, there were no visible controls or even a pilot's seat. What was there, however, was a hologram right at the very center of the deck— a hologram that seemed to have a 3D map of the ship's surrounding area.

And there, one could see many other ships in front of them, almost in line. The ship's announcement said that they would be docking soon, but an hour has already passed.

And due to this, the others could no longer just sit still, seemingly all having the same idea as they made their way to the flight deck.

"There's a blockade," Diana was waving her hands in the air, zooming out the hologram before once again zooming in, this time on the nearby planet.

"Is that… a giant candy?" Karina was the first to respond as she leaned closer to the hologram. If it wasn't for Katherine pulling her away, then she might have tried to take a bite of it.

"Hotis 4J," Aerith was the one to answer as she stood beside Diana; her eyebrows furrowed, "It's dying."

Karina's description of the planet was not that far off— as even more so than an actual sanctuary where millions of space travelers rest, it resembled that of a burning coal more.

"How would we even dock there?" Hannah asked.

"We can't," Diana quickly shook her head.

"I guess we take a detour to another planet?" Hera, who accidentally joined the journey, chimed in.

"...I thought you wanted to go home?" As the one standing next to her, Katherine could not help but ask.

"The idiot can take care of himself. I'll just count this as… a vacation," Hera's voice slightly died down at the end as she looked at the wasting planet.

"..."

"I am very sorry, everyone," and as silence filled the air, Riley stepped forward and raised his hand,

"I destroyed it. If I knew we will be stopping here for supplies, I wouldn't have ordered my clone to kill everyone."

"...You what!?"

[Racing Ship Anna, please respond.]

And before anyone could start asking any questions, an unfamiliar voice reverberated in the air.

"This is the racing ship Anna, what seems to be the problem?" Diana raised her hand, gesturing to everyone to remain silent.

[We are doing a routine check on every ship passing by Hotis 4J. Please cooperate and gather all of your essential personnel in the flight deck…

…and prepare to be boarded.]

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