Villain Retirement

"You… what?"

Charlotte's words were not done echoing through the snow and sea of ice, and yet Alice quickly let go of Charlotte, pushing her back so that she could see all of her; almost as if asking her if she said what she just said.

And with a scoff escaping her lips, Charlotte nodded.

"What are you… then?" Alice's eyes squinted as she continued to look at Charlotte from head to toe, "Are you some kind of god or something?"

"Don't be ridiculous, woman," Charlotte chuckled, "If I was, you think I would have time playing this game with you? I would have just sent you back to your world."

"You seriously want me to believe that you're just a Super?"

"I'm not asking you to believe anything."

"Bullcrap," Alice lightly stomped her foot on the icy ground, causing a web of cracks to quickly crawl across the plateau, "What are you? Are you like an avatar of those primordials like that cute Japanese lady?"

"No."

"I don't freaking believe you."

"Then why are we even talking if you're not going to believe a word I say!?" Charlotte also stomped her foot on the ground, causing the cracks to become even bigger, "Just leave!"

"I am not leaving until you stop freaking lying through your teeth," Alice stepped forward, further deepening the cracks on the frozen plateau all the way to the bottom of the iceberg, "I know for a fact you're lying."

"Alice, no matter what world, you really only believe in what you want," Charlotte scoffed.

"And I am guessing that no matter what world, you are a neglectful mother," Alice smirked, "As you said, you share a tiny bit of your consciousness with your variants."

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Then tell me for freak's sake! Talk to your freaking daughter!"

"You're not my fucking daughter!" Charlotte could not help her voice as she stomped her way even closer to Alice; her steps, now completely cracking the iceberg, "My daughter died more than 20 years ago…

…I am the only Charlotte in the entire multiverse whose daughter died before me!"

"That…"

"You think I neglected my grandson…?" Charlotte let out a tiny breath as her head started shaking, "How do I even process something like that? How could I learn how to be a grandmother when I am the only Charlotte that has a grandson in all of the variants? How do I even begin to process something like that?"

"How… you could learn to be a grandmother? The freak is that?" Alice gritted her teeth as she pulled the iceberg back together and forced it to become one again, "What… you only rely on your other variants!?"

"We all do!" Charlotte raised her voice even further, "That is how we grew up! You think I actually have the ability to mimic abilities…? I don't, we don't—we just temporarily borrow each other's abilities and we activate that by touching someone else who has a similar ability. I have more than a hundred million variants."

"..." Alice did not really say anything anymore and just let Charlotte say what she wanted to say.

"Do you know what that actually does to someone? Do you know what we—what I felt when my daughter died in front of me, and we all watched in confusion? That was not supposed to happen, our Alice shouldn't…" Charlotte quickly wiped the tear threatening to trail down her cheek,

"...You think I neglected Riley Ross? My Alice is dead. And he… I blamed him for her death because he was the only thing that happened differently. Your Charlotte was lucky that she died young…

…most killed themselves after what happened."

"...What?"

"They kill themselves because they did not want to personally experience what I went through," Charlotte looked to the side, "The reason why Chihiro mentioned not hearing any news of my variants in most of the universes is that they killed themselves in secret. We don't share our experiences, our memories, our lives—we can turn that on and off anytime we want. What we can't do is shut off what we feel…

…they all felt my pain. And the pain of losing you was just… too much."

"That… seems too much of an excuse for being a bad parent," Alice looked Charlotte in the eyes.

"You won't understand," Charlotte only scoffed, however, "Only my Alice would. If things went differently, she would have still given up her life for the boy. As for your father, I am telling the truth—his name is Lancelot Lane, and he is dead in all the universes."

"Good story, Charlotte," Alice smirked, "But I know you're still lying."

"Why are all of you so stubborn!?"

"I'm not—but you said you just borrow each other's abilities…" Alice then tapped her ear, "...I am speaking with Riley right now, and he told me you used Chihiro's abilities—she's not a Super, Charlotte. She's an avatar of a primordial god."

"..."

"Are you telling me that one of your variants is an avatar of Machina…?" Alice once again looked Charlotte dead in the eyes, "But based on everything I've heard, there should only be one in all the universes—and that's the Japanese lady."

"What? Avatar of Machina?" Charlotte seemed visibly confused, "I have no idea what you're even talking ab—!!!"

"Charlotte!?"

And before Charlotte could finish her words, she suddenly dropped to the ground; her knees scraping the hard ice beneath her as she clasped her head tight.

"Charlotte!? Mom!?" Alice looked at Charlotte for a few seconds, before just also kneeling and immediately putting her hand on Charlotte's shoulder, "I swear to freaking god, if you're preten—Charlotte? Charlotte…!?"

And with a short but very deep gasp escaping her lips, Charlotte's entire body turned limp. Alice caught her, quickly shaking her up to wake her, but to no avail.

"..." Alice checked her pulse, but aside from it being faster than ideal, there was nothing wrong with her and she just literally fainted.

"...What the freak," Alice then gently dropped Charlotte on the cold ice, "I wanted answers…

…now I'm even more freaking confused."

***

"What's happening on their side, Riley?"

"One of Charlotte's variants might be an Avatar of Machina."

"Uhh… that's impossible."

Back in the Mega Academy's Korean Shaved Ice store, Chihiro and Riley were still sitting by the counter. Katherine and Anna were gone, as they have both been called by Bulwark so that they could report to him the situation regarding Riley—and whether or not they needed to take action and evacuate the students.

Riley, of course, told Katherine that he wasn't here to harm anyone—he's a reformed man, he said. No one actually believed what he said, but Katherine didn't really care and just kissed Riley's cheek as they separated.

"I've lived the life of countless avatars, there's always just one in each timeline," Chihiro summoned a pair of glasses, as well as some chalk, and started writing on Charlotte's countertop,

"Machina does not get another Avatar until its current Avatar has perished in all of the universes. That means that in order for another Avatar to exist, me and all of my variants need to die, the same with Hopio, the Avatar before me—the moment his last variant died, Machina created me."

"That seems somewhat familiar to a TV show I have watched once, Chihiro."

"I know what you're mentioning but it's a little different," Chihiro quickly shushed Riley, "But the point is—another Avatar can't exist. And even if it does happen, Charlotte is old; the timeline doesn't match. The only way she could be an avatar is that—Oh."

"Hm?" Riley tilted his head to the side.

"She's an avatar of a different primordial," Chihiro returned all of her tools back to her [Item Box], "But…

…who?"

"This is interesting, Chihiro," Riley started wiping all the drawings Chihiro made on the countertop, before proceeding to telekinetically make another dessert for himself,

"Which of the other primordials have similar abilities to Machina?"

"I… have no idea," Chihiro scratched her chin. She seemed to be done explaining, but as soon as she saw Riley's eyes that seemed filled with anticipation, the only thing she could do was sigh,

"It's definitely not Death, as Machina has told me that she doesn't create avatars."

"I have met Death once, Chihiro," Riley nodded, "She seemed like the type to want to do things herself."

"When… did that happen?" Chihiro's eyes widened, but just shook her head and sighed—there was no use in getting surprised with Riley, "Anyway, it's also definitely not Celestial. She is already aware of everything we are doing since she literally created the first life forms of the multiverse, and eventually gave birth to the old gods which eventually led to us being born—she sees through all of us."

"Hm, I do not like her," Riley squinted his eyes.

"There's Elementia—the one that created the universes and the cosmos. Machina told me it doesn't do anything else other than expanding the universes," Chihiro let out a small hum, "That leaves Ruin and Navi."

"Ruin…? Are Death and Ruin not the same primordial?"

"No," Chihiro shook her head, "Death escorts everything to its end, Ruin closes the universes that have met its end and makes sure it stays closed—a bit complicated, really."

"Ruin is Hell, Chihiro?"

"No. Well…maybe? It's really hard to explain with my meager knowledge," Chihiro once again awkwardly chuckled, "And Navi well—I don't really know what it does. Something about recording everything that happens? All I know about Navi is that it was the first one that introduced the idea of Avatars to the Primordials."

"..."

"That… nothing of what I said actually answered our question, huh?"

"No," Riley shook his head,

"I am curious as to why their names all seemed to be in English, Chihiro."

"..."

"..."