Villain Retirement

"Interesting…

…You're Alice Lane."

The Deity.

Riley had been wondering what it was ever since he heard of it. Granted, he has been in this place for less than a month, but he truly could not remove the Deity from his mind. After all, back in his universe, his telekinetic abilities were equal only to one—and she was dead.

Nothing had already explained it before, that Riley might and will meet people with the same faces as those he knows—No. Not just the same face. The way that Nothing explained it, they will literally be the same person… but their past, memories, and their entire life might be different.

In this case, as Riley stared at the Deity, he immediately knew what was different in her life.

She's alive.

Alice Lane, his biological mother, the woman that conceived him in the most unconventional way, is alive in this world… or maybe not?

Riley once again stretched his arm toward the translucent figure, only for his hand to also once again just pass through. If this was Paige's illusions, then he would be able to touch her—but then again, Riley's fractured mind was fully capable of making something like this happen.

Frustration.

Riley could finally explain the feeling he had been having in lapses since a long while ago.

He was getting frustrated.

"Are you Alice Lane?" Riley asked, "Are you real?"

[...You know who I am?]

And while Riley's tone was clearly showing his frustration, the shock in Alice's voice was even more obvious. Even with it muffled by the electronic filter from the hologram, her shock was visible even to Riley.

"I do, Alice Lane. I'm—"

And before Riley could finish his words, he felt his entire body be pulled from the ground. The destruction of scenery around him, now completely masked by the familiar, and colorful darkness that suddenly and violently showered on him—literally showered.

Hyperspeed. The color that literally showered down on him was similar to the scenery he had always seen outside the windows whenever the ships in his universe travel on Hyperspeed.

It felt different from hyperspeed, however. It didn't feel like Riley was moving, no—it just felt like his entire body was vibrating.

The temperature was non-existent. Not in a way that it was extremely cold, no. It just felt like he was being blanketed by the warmth of his own skin… like the feeling that there was nothing around him.

The feeling did not last long, however, as Riley could once again feel the weight of the universe wrapping around him as his vision cleared.

"Hm… Interesting," Riley then whispered as he looked around him, only to find himself inside a familiar glass box. Perhaps familiar is not really the word he should use, as his surroundings truly looked the same as the… establishment he was used to seeing.

The Guest House.

Even the walls were the same, created with crystals of ice.

The only difference that Riley could spot were the Guests—they weren't humans. Riley did not really even have to think to identify who or what they were.

They were his universe's most heinous and notorious criminals, the same as him.

"Finally, a real prison," Riley calmly nodded to himself as he looked around his neighbors, only to quickly recognize the Guest that was confined next to his cage,

"Bounty Hunter Kerrigan, it has been a while since we last saw each other."

"..." Bounty Hunter Kerrigan, the Rogue Norinlad, could not help but widen his eyes as soon as they met with Riley's. He seemed to be saying something, but Riley couldn't really hear anything as everything was soundproofed, just like with his Guesthouse.

"Weird. You shouldn't be confined in something like this, Bounty Hunter Kerrigan," Riley didn't care, however, as he still talked as if Kerrigan could hear him, "You are a Norinlad, an intangible being. Or does this cage have some sort of special characteristic not found in our universe? Weird, truly weird."

And as Riley continued to talk to himself, the lights around the Guesthouse started to flicker, causing all the other prisoners to flinch and just sit back down in their beds.

"Hm, they should do more maintenance," Riley, on the other hand, just breathed out in disappointment as he found the establishment lacking. Soon, however, 2 shadows approached from the hall.

Their footsteps, resounding throughout the Guesthouse and even through the soundproofed cages. The prisoners seemed aloof—straying their eyes away in fear of the two people.

And soon, these two shadows appeared in front of Riley's cage.

And as soon as they did so, the soundproofing of all the cages seemed to have been removed as Riley could finally hear Kerrigan speak, or rather… scream.

"Not him! Throw him away!"

"..." Riley blinked his eyes as he heard Kerrigan's words. And it wasn't only him, the two individuals standing in front of Riley's cage also looked at Kerrigan.

"I am saying this for the sake of your people, throw him as far away as possible! Warp him to the end of the universe if you can! He is dang—"

But before Kerrigan can finish his words, his cage's soundproofing seemed to have been activated as one of the people in front of Riley waved his hand.

"We have only met once and you already have such an image of me, Bounty Hunter Kerrigan. That is rude," Riley could really only sigh and shake his head as he looked at Kerrigan, who still seemed to be screaming despite his cage being muted.

"You also know him? What, you're some kind of Mr. Popular where you're from?"

"I suppose you could say I was popular, Alice Lane," Riley then very slowly turned to face one of the people in front of him. And now that she wasn't some form of a hologram, Riley could truly say that it was Alice—except older, but surprisingly not by much. Whether it was good genetics or some sort of ability, Riley wasn't really interested in finding out.

"You're right, it knows your name," Alice's companion stepped forward. And it was, as a matter of course…

…none other than Diana.

"See? I told you, Dee! He knows me by name…" Alice let out a small chuckle as she tapped Riley's cage, "...Maybe I'm some sort of galactic idol in their universe?"

"You can't even sing even with your voice enhanced. What are you talking about?" Diana rolled her eyes before settling them on Riley, looking at him from head to toe,

"And why don't you just ask? That's what they are here for."

"...Right. Hey, you!" Alice once again tapped the glass as she looked at Riley, "How do you know me in your world? What am I, some sort of celebrity?"

"No. You are dead."

"Pft," Diana quickly took in a deep breath as she pretended to stop herself from laughing.

"W… what?" Alice snarled at Diana, before once again focusing on Riley and slamming her palm on the glass, "What do you mean dead!? How can I, the mighty Phoenix, die in any universe!?"

"You went insane and then died, Alice Lane."

"That sounds about right," Diana once again covered her mouth; her muffled laughter, whispering in Alice's ears like a saw.

"The guy's clearly lying," Alice clicked her tongue, "How do you even know me in your world? Just answer my freaking question. Or I will dest…"

"You were my biological mother, Alice Lane."

"...roy you—Huh?"

"Hm. And Diana Ross is my adoptive mother."

"...Ross?"

"..."

"..."

"...Huh?"