Villain Retirement

"Let go of me! I'll kill this fucker with my bare hands!"

"C… calm down, Hannah!"

"No, fuck this clown! Let go of me!"

The sound of Hannah's screams almost echoed throughout the entire campus; shaking the entire mall as Gary and Silvie were pinning her down on the ground. They were now outside the Korean Shaved Ice store, as Charlotte kicked them out as soon as Hannah started getting wild; almost burning down one of the tables.

Whiteking was completely silent since earlier, no longer uttering a single word as anything he seem to say just gets filtered out from Hannah's mind. He couldn't blame her, of course– the only one to blame here was him for being a weak man.

The only thing he could do was wait for Hannah to calm down. And seeing her outburst now, he would need to wait just a little while longer. Of course, Whiteking already expected Hannah's reaction– he was more worried about his other child; after all, he had no idea how he would react at all.

And seeing Riley just standing on the side and watching as his sister run amok… Bernard was starting to get quite worried. But still, Riley just continued to watch.

Hannah's outbursts did not seem to have any signs of ending; but still, not even once did she use her powers ever since Silvie and Gary were trying to stop her from burning her father here and now.

The crowd was already starting to gather; their stares and whispers, almost enough to pierce one's face.

But finally, when Silvie and Gary thought they would have to make Hannah fall asleep for her to stop, a voice gave them solace.

"Hannah, stop this at once!"

Their solace, however, came with a certain cold– a literal cold. The sound of a hiss loudly whispered into both their ears as Diana, Hannah's mother, suddenly ran towards them while spraying a Whiteking-grade fire extinguisher.

"..." Silvie and Gary could only look at each other as both of them were now covered in dry fractals.

"Wha… are you seriously trying to cover for him right now!?"

With Silvie and Gary completely distracted, Hannah was finally able to leave the ground– immediately rushing towards her father and grabbing him by his shoulder pads. "This disgusting piece of shit cheated on– Wait…"

Hannah then quickly let go of Bernard as her eyes focused on Diana, "Don't tell me… you knew?"

"This is a matter between your father and me, Hannah," Diana's tone was as cold as the contents of the fire extinguisher she was holding.

"And why did you spray me even though I wasn't on fire!?"

"You weren't?" Diana raised an eyebrow, "And this is an adult matter and by no means involve you–"

"W– Are you hearing yourself right now, mom!?" Hannah almost choked on her words; her face almost wincing as she slowly approached her mother, "What do you mean it doesn't involve me!? I'm your fucking daughter!"

"Watch your mout–"

"Riley, help me out here!"

"What do you require me to do, sister?" Riley finally opened his mouth.

"Weren't you listening!? Dad cheated on mom!"

"I miss the part where that's my problem, sister," Riley blinked a couple of times; his face, clearly showing his confusion, "But if you want me to kill father so you would stop being sad, then–"

"I'm not sad!"

"..." Riley's hand was already stretched towards Bernard but put it down as soon as he heard his sister's words. Bernard also let out a subtle but very deep sigh as he slightly backed away as Riley's attention strayed away from him.

"You are sad, sister," Riley then said, "You wouldn't be crying if you weren't."

"W… what?" Hannah blinked a couple of times as she heard her brother's words… and after a few seconds, her eyes moved slightly erratically as she quickly touched her cheek, only to find her palms wet.

"Hannah," Diana then wiped the tears trailing on her daughter's face, "Let your father explain."

"No, why would I–"

"You're turning into an adult now… you need to be able to listen."

"Oh, I listen to reason, mom," Hannah let out a mocking chuckle, "But seriously… are you really trying to defend him–"

And before Hannah could finish her words, her mother's caring and gentle touch transferred to her shoulders… turning into a grip that felt like it would maw her flesh right off.

"Is that what it looks like?" Diana's tone then completely changed as almost everyone within the vicinity felt a sudden change in gravity, "Does it look like I am defending your father?"

"Y… Yes?" Hannah took in a small gulp as her tears soon turned into sweat, "Y… you're not?"

"No," the weird smile on Diana's face did not seem to falter, "That's why I told you… you should listen first…

…Are you ready to listen?"

"...Yes?"

"Good, now let's talk like adults, okay?" Diana then said as she dragged Hannah back inside the Korean Shaved Ice store; Charlotte seemed to want to complain first, but as soon as she saw Diana, the only thing she could do was return to the counter with a small whistle.

"..." Bernard also quietly stepped back inside, leaving only Riley outside; who did not seem to have any interest in whatever was happening.

"...You should probably join them?" Silvie muttered.

"Perhaps you are right, Silvie," Riley breathed out as he shook his head, "It is too bad that we do not get to confirm if your mother is truly Megawoman today."

"That's…"

Of course, Silvie would lie if she said she wasn't the least bit disappointed. But after seeing Hannah like this… everything else seemed secondary.

"There… is always next time," Silvie waved her hand; letting out a small chuckle as she signaled that everything was really alright. There was, however, a small hint of the disappointment inside her crawling from the inside as she dropped her hand– her smile, also slowly becoming sedated. As she watched as Riley walked away.

"We'll be waiting somewhere."

"...We're not going with them?"

"...Why would you even join?" Silvie could not help but blink a couple of times as she looked at Gary.

"Because we're friends? Isn't that what you said back in class earlier?"

"...I think master Riley and big sister Hannah's situation is entirely different, Gary," Tomoe, who had been quietly standing beside Riley, finally joined in on the conversation as Riley left for the Korean Shaved Ice store.

"..." Gary squinted his eyes, as if unconvinced by the logic of the two females. But after a few more seconds, shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyway…" He then muttered, "Are we sure miss Diana…

…is not a Super?"

***

"Empress!? The Empress!?"

Once again, Hannah's loud screams echoed throughout the tiny store, "How long have you known this, mom!?"

"I knew immediately."

"When was that!?"

"A few months after you were born," Diana breathed out, trying her best not to seem agitated. But now that Hannah knew that her mother was just feigning her calmness, the little bits of hesitation and ire in her eyes were now obvious.

"This has been going on even before Riley was born!?" Hannah slammed her palms on the table,

"Why didn't you leave him, then!?"

"Because of you, Hannah," Diana then also slammed her palms on the table– her movements almost a mirror of Hannah's… or perhaps it was better to say that Hannah mirrored her.

Bernard seemed to want to say something, but with the two most important women in her life clearly mad, it would be suicide to even breathe loudly. Diana said they were here to let him explain… but he knew that wasn't truly the case. And so, he could only listen.

"I stayed because of you," Diana continued, "And despite what you might think– your father and I… we were happy; we are happy. When you were born, I knew my life was no longer mine… it was yours."

"...Mom," Hannah shook her head, still clearly frustrated with what's happening. But with the warm expression oozing out from her mother's eyes, the only thing she could really do was sigh in regret.

"Now it's time for your father to speak." That warmth, however, quickly faded away as Diana's eyes strayed away from Hannah and onto Bernard, "Tell our children why you did what you did."

"I…" Bernard took in a small but very deep breath as his eyes wandered around the store, "...was just stressed."

"...What?"

"Let the little shit continue," Diana gestured for Hannah to calm down before she could start being hysterical again.

"It's only been a few years since I was able to join the Hope Guild," Bernard muttered, "I… am just a normal human without any special abilities, Hannah. The work I had to do to get to where I am is… No, there's no use making excuses with that…

…But with you suddenly being born, everything just… seemed chaotic and out of place."

"So you fucked a co-worker?"

"...Yes," Bernard's head turned to the ground, "She… she was just there. But I want you to know that I never once loved her."

"But you said you slept with her again."

"That… was after Darkday almost wiped us out," Bernard muttered.

"Let me guess… because she was conveniently the–"

"Because I am not a good husband. That… is the only true thing I could tell you," Bernard then dropped to the ground, his knees meeting with the cold hard floor, "I am not asking for your forgiveness… but please…

…please do not strip me away of the privilege of being your father… because this family is also my life."

"I…" Hannah stared at Bernard for a few seconds. There were so many words that were wishing to come out of her mouth, but none stepped forward as she just looked to the side. Her family wasn't perfect… but she was proud of it– but now, she had no idea what to think anymore.

"Riley…" Bernard then dragged his knees to turn to Riley.

"I do not care about your sexual love affairs, father."