Villain Retirement

"We… should take precaution. The AI said Prophet went to school here, so it's probably best to check there first so we wouldn't waste any time."

"Shouldn't we separate, then? It'll save us more time so we can get out of this creepy place, teach."

"You stupid? This is why you white and off-white folks get involved in all the horror movie shit."

"You are sounding mighty racist right now, Bella."

"Enough arguing."

With the abandoned small town seemingly devoid of any life, the only sound that was pestering in the air were the voices of Bella and the others. And though they try to keep their voice down, their words still manage to seep into the crevices of the houses and buildings due to how quiet everything else was– creating small echoes with each of their steps and each of their breaths.

"And student Bella is right," Nightwalker then whispered as they continue to walk ever so carefully, "We don't know the terrain so it is best to stick together."

And so, with those words, everyone just nodded to each other; their steps becoming even quieter so as to not attract any attention to whatever was still living in this somewhat creepy town.

And finally, after walking for what seemed like half an hour, they reached a school; or at the very least something that resembled it.

"...Am I the only one finding this creepy?" Daniel slightly raised his voice as he stared at the abandoned school in front of them.

"..." A small clanging then whispered in the air, garnering the attention of everyone. They slowly turned their heads, only to see Nightwalker holding a chain and a lock.

"It's open," Nightwalker muttered.

"Hm," Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache slightly wiggled, "It's probably the only thing that's moved in this place for years… I wonder what happened to this town?"

"W–"

"I smell blood, dried."

"W… why are you trying to scare us, teach?" Bella then slightly moved closer to Riley as soon as she heard Nightwalker's words.

"Oh?" Daniel, who saw this, quickly let out a smirk, "Who thought the brave and mighty Bella would be scared of something like this?"

"Fuck you," Bella quickly replied, "You bandanas won't understand, I'm black– that makes me the first candidate to die."

"Shh," Nightwalker then gestured for the two to stop talking, "It's… inside."

And without saying another word, Nightwalker's body suddenly turned into a dark cloud, flowing and flying straight towards the inside of the abandoned school.

"Follow him!" Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache instantly extended towards the school, sticking onto its dusty walls as he swung himself forward.

Although Bella wanted to laugh, she still followed along with Daniel as they all rushed inside the school… all except for Riley.

"..." Riley was looking in a certain direction to the side of the school; his eyebrows, slightly lowering as he kept his stares for more than a few seconds. But after a few more breaths, he just let out a small sigh and followed the rest.

"..."

"..."

"Saw us?"

"Did he see us?"

"Saw… see us."

And soon, multiple sets of red eyes reflected the moonlight; their whispers, almost the same as the rustling leaves.

***

"...Shit."

In a dark room somewhere in the country, Bernard was currently lying on the ground. The room looked like a normal living room, except for the fact that there were multiple monitors lighting up the room.

There was also a small red dot of light flickering on one of the monitors; bright enough to reflect on the walls. Bernard's eyes, however, were completely unresponsive even as this red light drowned his eyes.

And perhaps if he were to look, then he would realize that the images on the flashing monitor showed Riley and the group entering the abandoned school. But alas, Bernard remained sprawled on the floor, ignoring everything that was happening in his room.

There is, however, one thing that moved– his mouth. The mutters and whispers that were escaping from it were quiet, but for him, it was enough to drown the alarm ringing in the air.

"Killed him…" He whispered, "Why… why did I do that?"

"He was my best friend… my brother… no. He is my best friend," Bernard's mouth continued to move; not knowing whether to smile or turn into a frown.

"I've… I've known him longer than anyone," he whimpered, "Why would I even… for a monster?"

"No…"

"No."

"He's my son… my son. I would do anything for my family… anything. My family… anything for my fami–"

"You're losing it, Bernard."

"Who is there!?" And without even a fraction of a second, Bernard quickly stood up as a somber voice suddenly whispered into his ears out of nowhere. His eyes scanned the room also in less than a second. But the only thing that reflected in his eyes was the fading monitors as well as the red light that waved to him over and over again.

And even though it was already blinding his eyes, Bernard still did not bother to look at the monitors.

"Who's there!?" Instead, he just repeated his words.

"We just saw each other… and you've already forgotten about me?"

"!!!" Bernard then quickly tapped his arm twice. And as soon as he did so, a small thunder whispered in the air; a bracelet, suddenly flying towards him from somewhere in the room, propelling straight around his wrist. And without even so much as a short pause, the white bracelet exploded and unfolded, crawling across his arms like some sort of centipede.

It first covered his shoulders, then his face. Before continuing towards the rest of his body; ending with a snap as a cape flowed from behind him.

All of these happened in less than 2 seconds.

"Who's there!? Show yourself!" Bernard then once again roared, pointing his arms forward as a sort of rocket expanded from his arms.

"I feel offended, Bernard. Why don't we just have a drink for old time's sake?"

"..." Bernard continued to look around; his fettered steps failing to mask his worries.

"...Seriously? Just relax. Relax."

"What…" And finally, after a few more moments, Bernard finally realized where the voice was coming from– it was from one of his dozen phones scattered on the table. Bernard quickly rushed towards it, pushing all the other phones to the side as he grabbed it.

And as soon as he saw who was on the screen, his helmet quickly unfolded; showing his eyes that were already on the verge of tears.

"S… Steve?" Bernard then took in a small gulp, "You… you're alive?"

[Why wouldn't I be?] Prophet, who was on the other side of the screen, smiled, [I can calculate the future, remember?]

"You… you're alive."

[I'm alive.]

"How… how is that possible?" Bernard's whispers were enough to crack his voice; a small smile, also slowly but stutteringly growing on his face.

A sharp sigh then whistled in the air as Prophet's breaths were enough to pierce Bernard's ears, [I faked it,] he then said,

[I knew there was no way I could calmly talk to you because we were talking about your son.]

"W… what?"

[And I forgive you, Bernard.]

"You… forgive me?"

[Yes. I forgive you because you're my brother.]

"..." Bernard's eyes started to tremble as he heard Prophet's words crawling through his ears. His eyebrows slightly furrowed, but after a few seconds, the only thing he could do was close his eyes; the tears grasping on his face, finally trailing towards his cheeks.

[But of course… you owe me big time,] Prophet then chuckled.

"O… Of course, of course," Bernard's smile trembled as he also responded with a chuckle.

[Then…

…can you tell me everything you've done for the Government?]

***

"Fuck me…"

"Is this… Prophet?"

"No beard and fewer wrinkles on the face… but it's him."

"So, you're telling me that his beard was fake all this time?"

"Why are you even asking about that? Did… did he kill himself?"

Riley, Bella, Daniel, Spectacular Mustache Man, and Nightwalker were now inside a classroom. Their eyes, reflecting the corpse seated on a chair a few meters away from them.

The back of the corpse's skull was completely blown to smithereens. The sound of maggots, flies, and several other insects eating his brains, whispering and whistling in the room. The blood around him was already completely dried and seemed like they would need to scrape it off to remove them.

But most importantly, there was a gun just below his hanging arm– and judging by the broken tooth beside it… it was triggered in his mouth.

Bella and Daniel had already seen hundreds of corpses when the Dark Millenium hijacked the planes to crash in their school… but for some reason, seeing someone they knew and respected slowly being eaten by time was…

…enough to make them puke.

"I've already signaled the authorities of our location," Spectacular Mustache Man then breathed out as he placed his arms on Daniel and Bella's shoulders, "Maybe it's best for the three of you to wait outside."

And unlike before, Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache looked wilted; almost facing the floor.

"N… no," Bella quickly moved to the side, "I'm… going to see this through."

"Y… yeah, we've already–"

"I found something."

"What– put that down!" Spectacular Mustache Man then quickly raised his voice as he saw Nightwalker holding what seemed like a smartphone.

"It's fine," Nightwalker said, "My palms do not leave prints– and the kids are right, they have the right to see this through."

"You–"

[My name is Steve Bridges.]

And before Spectacular Mustache Man could say another word, the phone suddenly lit up– showing Prophet's face.

[And if you're watching this…

…then I am probably already dead.]