Villain Retirement

The cracks on the wall were things that could be said to almost be a constant happening in his life, but at the same time, Riley did not recognize them. He was used to causing destruction, at a level that could not even be quantified—but this little damage that he had done in front of him; the cracked interior wall of Nana's ship, the shattered screen… they were unfamiliar.

Unfamiliar in a way that he never truly intended their destruction. And he could say, he could truly say that something like this has only happened once in his life— the very moment he discovered his telekinetic abilities. After that, any destruction or death within his path was all by intent, beautifully crafted, and calculated even.

And this, right now, in front of him…

…was a destruction led by impulse; maybe even frustration.

Frustrated?

Is that it? Was he feeling frustrated? He doesn't know… he can't be, right?

After all, he had never truly felt frustrated before—he thought himself incapable of feeling such.

Anger? Many times. He used to lash out whenever someone he doesn't like touched him, but he had learned to tolerate it ever since he gained a sense of social skills. But even then, his anger was directed, targeted, concise… fleeting.

But this… this frustration, it crawled through his neck like a condescending whisper; inaudible, but each word with weight. Even now, as he looks at his hand and thinks of the words that Hera told him… his hand starts to ball into a fist.

His eyebrows too, started to furrow on their own. He…

…doesn't like it.

It was like there was a puppeteer pulling his strings; he wasn't in control and he didn't like it.

Riley needs to be the one in control.

"..."

But as he continued to look at his slightly trembling hand as he tried to control it, all it did was make it worse; the urge of wanting to punch the already ruined wall was once again filling his head.

It was different from the whispers he gets, no. The whispers he gets that tells him to hurt and kill people are, in a sense, quite literal—whispers. But this… it felt like the urge was coming from inside him.

It starts in his stomach, and then just climbs up and filled his head.

"...Oh," he then slightly tumbled forward as he slightly lost control of his legs,

"That didn't work," he then whispered as he lightly shook his head—he tried to prevent whatever it was that was climbing inside him, but all he stopped was the blood and oxygen moving to his head.

"..."

"..."

And so, the only thing that Riley could really do was sigh as his eyes darted back and forth between his hand and the broken wall. If he couldn't stop whatever it is he is feeling, then he will just let it be and move on—it's just a minor lapse in his brain, he is sure it will be gone before he notices it.

Riley then let out another breath, and as he did so, the cracked and dented wall started to unfold itself; returning to what they once were. But alas, even though the metal bits that fell to the ground were practically welded in, the web of damage was still obvious.

Not to mention the screen was still pretty much eviscerated.

This is why Riley doesn't like not being in control—things that should otherwise have been saved from his existence end up being needlessly wasted and destroyed. There… is no beauty in a destruction that he does not mean to happen.

And since he did not mean for it to happen—

"...I need to pay for this," Riley whispered to himself as he tried to retrieve anything he could from his pockets… only to find his current suit doesn't have one. He was still wearing the black Paragon outfit beneath his cloak, and even if it did have pockets, it didn't matter.

Hera holds the money forc—willingly given to them by Nana.

Will they accept Earth money? No, even if they did, Riley also didn't have any in his person. If he was right, then the people of the Known Universe were also using some type of universal currency…

…where will he even get something like that?

"..."

"..."

Riley started looking around, trying to see if he could get an idea of what to do from Nana's ship. He didn't look long, however, as his eyes quickly settled on the shattered screen in front of him.

"...Oh."

***

"Hey you, let me out!"

"Don't talk to me! You think we're just going to let you out because you're beautiful!? You disrespected an officer, you don't get a free pass!"

"I just accidentally bumped into him! He should be honored he was able to touch an actress! Hey, you! What kind of stupid law is this!?"

Back in the city's local jail, Hera was trying her best to just not burst through her crystal confinement. It would be easy for her to do so, but she truly did not want to find herself with a bounty on her head.

The people of the Known Universe seemed to be obsessed with bounty hunting; but then again, the same could be said of Earth.

The battle between Good and Evil, and the poor people caught in between. Hera just didn't want to find herself on any side of that since the Known Universe is… definitely infinitely more troublesome than Earth.

"At least let me get a lawyer or something!"

"It's no use, Hera."

As for Captain Nana, she seemed to have already accepted her fate; her back, surrendered to the crystal wall,

"The local police of Febuvan is, to say it nicely, shit."

"Febuvan? This city?"

"...The planet. You've never been here before? It's a Guided civilization, so everything is basically rushed," Nana finally removed her back from the wall as she heard the confusion in Hera's voice,

"Come to think of it… Our white-haired friend is listed to be from the Unknown, could it be—"

"Yep, we're from the same planet," Hera could really only let out a sigh as she sat back on the crystal floor, "...What do you mean Guided civilization?"

"Oh, you know… planets that weren't technologically advanced, but approached by a higher civilization."

"So… basically a colony?"

"I—I guess? Wait… So, if you're from a planet in the Unkown, that means I'm talking to an alien right now!?" Nana's small eyes turned wide as she turned her head up to look at Hera.

"Well… If you put it like that," Hera blinked a couple of times as her voice slightly hummed.

"But wait… Riley has telekinetic abilities… but you can shapeshift? What exactly is—"

"Move! Move it!"

And before Nana could satiate her curiosity, the large crystal door leading to their cells suddenly and heavily slid open; the voices of panic, celebration, awe, and fear just rushing from it like a wild torrent.

Nana, Hera, and the other poor souls that were locked in their cells all quickly moved to the front of their cells to see what was happening, only to see almost a dozen officers surrounding a white-haired humanoid. And unlike the rest of them that were still treated loosely, the white-haired humanoid was bound. His eyes were covered by some sort of metal blindfold, his mouth was the same.

His wrists and ankles, chained tight to the hovering metal stretcher he was bound to.

"That… isn't that our friend!?" Nana jumped as she latched herself on the crystal bars of her cell, "Did… did he get caught!?"

"...No."

And while Nana was practically sticking her eyes to Riley as he was dragged across the fortified hallway, Hera was shaking her head and backing away into her cell,

"Darkday doesn't get caught, Captain Nana. This planet's fucked."

"...Dark day? What dark day?"

"This is what I was trying to prevent," Hera then once again let herself fall to the floor as a sigh heavy enough to fill her room scattered in the air. Her ebony-like skin, returning to its original light-brown color as her size returned to normal,

"It would seem you're in the front row seats, Cap."

"Front row seats of what?" Captain Nana's face was turning from worry to panic even though she had no idea what Hera was talking about,

"Y… You're not making any sense! Front row seats of what!?"

"The performance of the devil himself."