Villain Retirement

"...Maybe Father can give permission?"

"What are you—"

It was sudden—not instantaneous, but sudden. In less than the time it would take one to blink, a figure of light suddenly appeared in front of Riley; out of nowhere.

And as the figure of light started to fade away, it was replaced by none other than Bernard Ross. Warp, individual teleportation, whatever one might call it, this universe has the technology for it because of Bernard.

"I wonder what the Bernard of my world could have achieved without my existence," Riley did not even greet Bernard as he just calmly approached him ever so slightly. As for Diana, she really only rolled her eyes and shook her head at the Redking's sudden appearance.

"Quite arrogant of you to assume that my other version is lacking because of you," Bernard lowered his eyebrows as he looked at Riley from head to toe, "I was told you are Alice's son, you don't even look alike."

"Well, you don't look like your daughter in my world too, fortunately for her," Riley smiled, "And I do not assume, Bernard, I know. Perhaps out of all the Bernards in the multiverse, the one in my universe is the most lacking because he had to take care of me."

"What makes you think the other Mes in the other universes aren't taking care of you?"

"Because throughout the multiverse, I am the only Riley Ross that exists."

"And how would you know that?" This time, Bernard's guarded tone slowly started to fade away; the hostility in his eyes, replaced by a certain curiosity.

"Because Nothing told me."

"What do you—Nothing?" Bernard placed his hand on his chin, "That's a name?"

"A Preprimordial."

"..." Bernard turned to look at Diana, almost as if asking a million questions in silence.

"There have been known to be myths, but none proven," Diana shook her head, "Preprimordials are beings that exist even before the existence of everything."

"Are… they a threat to us?" Bernard's eyebrows lowered.

"They… are not real, Bernard."

"But the boy says it is."

"Hm," Riley nodded, "I don't usually lie, Diana."

"Usually?"

"Hm," Riley did not really explain any further as he placed his focus back on Bernard. But before he could even say another word, a shower of light slowly started to blanket his entire silhouette.

"Let's not talk here," Bernard then said as he looked at the gathering crowd around them. Suffice it to say, even though the streets of Hope Society were filled with all sorts of famous heroes, Bernard and Diana stood on a different pedestal due to their… feats.

They were celebrities amongst the heroes.

"..." Riley did not really say anything as he watched as the scenery in front of him very slowly started to change, almost like when an image fades into transition to another image. He could hear Diana shouting, but even her voice just became a faded whisper—what Riley did hear, however, was the piercing scream that was zooming toward him in the form of a fist, specifically Empress's fist.

"You dare show yourself here, you fucking bastard!?" The tone of Empress's voice was almost guttural, almost like a cry as she did not let Bernard stop her and even pushed him to the side as she continued to rush toward Riley.

And before Riley could even figure out where he was, he was already deliberating on whether or not to kill Empress there and then—a decision he needed to make in less than a second. But ultimately, he decided to just step to the side and ever so slightly change Empress's trajectory, causing her to punch through a wall.

And surprisingly, all her punch did was cause the entire room to quake.

"..." Riley glanced at Empress's back for a few breaths, before finally having the chance to scan his surroundings. They were in some sort of room, large and perfectly square, and almost empty—except for the table filled with all sorts of bloody paraphernalia that was right at the very center of the room… as well as Bounty Hunter Kerrigan who was trapped in some sort of fluorescent cage in front of it.

"Oh…" Riley completely disregarded Empress as he just approached Kerrigan, who seemed completely out of it as he just stared at the floor, "...The people of my world created a device that would allow them to use another dimension as a prison for criminals like Kerrigan, but you're able to trap a Norinlad with a contraption, Bernard?"

"The technology already exists, I merely… adopted it," a clear but subtle smile could be seen on Bernard's face as he joined Riley in circling Kerrigan's small confinement, "This… bridge to another Universe, was my other version involved with making it?"

"I am not sure, Bernard," Riley shook his head, "I was… preoccupied when they were finishing it."

"I—"

"Bernard!? Are you seriously just going to casually chat with him!?" Empress, who was casually tossed to the side, could no longer take to being ignored as she once again raised her voice.

"Ada, he's just provoking you," Bernard let out a small sigh as he looked at his wife, "The boy obviously knows your temperament."

"Hm, Empress and I were very close," Riley nodded in agreement, "Your other version was fortunate to also be friends with my father, Empress—that's the only reason she's alive. But you…

…You don't have that luxury, Adaeze. I will kill you if the mood calls for it."

"You—"

"Ada, enough," Bernard waved his hand, and as he did so, Empress's body began to be blanketed in a shower of light.

"Bernard…!?" Empress glanced at her hands for a single breath, before just once again lunging toward Riley. But alas, before she could even make it halfway to him, her figure faded away.

"That is rather convenient, Bernard. That's a technology that I have not seen in my world," Riley squinted his eyes.

"Hm," Bernard only grunted as he once again looked at Riley from head to toe, "Enough with the small talk, Traveler. You said you could find Aerith, how?"

"I already told you, Bernard. Except for the things I don't know about her, I know everything about her."

"That doesn't make sense."

"But it does," Riley shrugged, "I know every inch of her scent, Bernard."

"But the Aerith of my world is different from yours."

"She is protecting her species from the villains that want to conquer them—I would surmise they are the same."

"We're not villains," Bernard's eyebrows began to lower as he heard Riley's words.

"Everyone is a villain, Bernard; there are just different variations and perceptions."

"And who told you that?"

"You," a small smile crawled on Riley's face as he looked Bernard in the eyes.

"..." Bernard did not really say anything else as he just looked at Kerrigan. And then, with a wave of his hand, he also teleported Kerrigan away.

"I can bring her here, Bernard," Riley closed his eyes and nodded, "I can bring all the themarians here, my only condition is that I get to keep Aerith."

"...And why would you want that?"

"Have I not told you yet? Aerith and I are lovers," Riley sighed, "I do not really care about anything else. Since Sister is not here, Aerith is the only person that I wish to be with."

"...You're insane," Bernard smirked, "But insane people get insane results. I'll let you use the device…

…just get me the Themarians."