Villain Retirement

"Ei…w…woah… It worked."

Perhaps it would not be an exaggeration to say that the evaniels completely perked up as soon as the orange-haired individual suddenly appeared in front of all of them, without any warning whatsoever.

Even if something happens instantly, that does not actually mean that it actually just happens without any signs or any hints, there will always be something that gives away that something was about to appear — the evaniels are capable of seeing this. Instantaneous teleportation, warp jump; there will be a fraction of a nanosecond where the air would flicker.

But when the woman appeared, she just… appeared out of nowhere. She gave no signs at all. She was just suddenly there with an awkward smile on her face and awkwardly waving at everyone.

"Wow…" The woman subtly fixed her slightly curly hair as she looked at everyone, "I feel like I'm in a room full of celebrities. I was just watching all of you just moments ago and now I'm suddenly hear — I wanted to straighten my hair, but didn't really think my abilities would actually work. Wow, this… wow. Hannah suddenly mentioned my name and asked me to come here, so I did just that. But before that, I was watching the Tournament with the kids and—"

"Paige." And before Paige could tell her entire day to everyone, she quickly turned her head toward Riley as soon as she heard him calling for her.

"Riley! Wah," the awkward smile on Paige's face turned into a brighter one as she quickly approached Riley and just casually him a hug in front of everyone,

"Is this the first time we'll be seeing each other after all the multiverse thingy? My memories are a little foggy since I always make doubles of you. Is that weird? Is that weird that I do that? I mean, I don't think so, but…"

"...Who the fuck is that adorable weirdo?" Gracy could not help but lean closer to Hannah, "Don't you dare fucking tell me that he has another woman?"

"That's Paige," Hannah lightly slapped her own forehead as Paige won't stop talking, "She's… I think she's the only person that Riley considers a friend, by definition."

"...That hug is looking more than a friend type of hug, though. It screams 'I want to fucking have your babies' type of hug, like with the Japanese."

"Which Japanese?" Hannah sighed.

"...There's another Japanese that likes Riley!?" Gracy's eyes turned wide.

"Technically, not anymore. I guess you could call it a phase," Hannah sighed again, "Speaking of which, she actually deserved to be one of the people representing the planet. But then again, all this turned to shit…

…and it's time to stop it." Hannah focused her attention on Paige and Riley, only to see that she was still endlessly talking to Riley with a stupid smile on her face.

"...Technically, you were betrayed a few hours after you visited the orphanage and sent to that prison thingy that turned out to be another universe," Paige placed her hand on her chin, "I wasn't worried, though. I knew you would come back, you always do. By the way, you do remember the kids, right?"

"I only saw them briefly, Paige," Riley tilted his head to the side as he looked Paige in the eyes.

"Yep, yep. They are asking for you for some reason — I kept telling them that you and I aren't married, but they keep teasing me," Paige rolled her eyes, "I guess they might have seen the double I created of you back in the office. Also, the reason the school was built in the first place was because of you. To prevent supers that have mental issues like us from going psycho. Heh, and also—"

"Paige!" Hannah raised her voice as she gestured something to Riley.

"Oh, right! Uhm…" Paige finally let go of Riley and took several steps back, "...This Tournament does not involve death, right? 'Coz I actually wanna live now. Even the Other Paige actually wants to live since she finds things interesting nowadays. You remember her, right?"

"Yes, and yes," Riley nodded his head.

"Okay then," Paige then looked at Ahor Zai, "I wanna try fighting Riley Ross."

And with a slightly excited giggle escaping her lips, she and Riley were warped to the center of the flat planet.

"..."

"..."

"Wait." And a few seconds after they were gone, Queen Adel was the first to break the growing awkward silence that suddenly lingered in the air, "How is that illusionist even a match for Riley Ross? I recall her being a passive member during the war — no, the only thing she did was try and prove your innocence during the trial."

"Paige is capable of creating an entire planet with a snap of her fingers." And finally, after being so down and quiet for the past few hours, Aerith finally joined the others again as she looked at the hologram of Riley and Paige,

"An entire world with living inhabitants—all with a consciousness of their own. She could even make a planet filled with themarians — and it is real for her."

"I know what she is capable of, Aerith," Queen Adel let out a small scoff as she crossed her arms, "But in the end, it is only real for her."

"...It is also real for Riley."

And with those words escaping Aerith's lips, Queen Adel's eyes almost glittered from excitement — as for the first time ever, everyone saw a smile crawl on her face.

"Woman!" Queen Adel screamed, causing a wave to ripple and reverberate across the field, "Kill him, end him now!"

"...Did I forget to mention that the two are practically soul mates?" Aerith let out a long and deep sigh as she covered her ears, "She won't kill him. She has… a skewed sense of loyalty for him."

"...Why do I hear a hint of jealousy in those words?" Gracy, who was previously leaning close to Hannah, was now leaning closer to Silvie, "Gasp, could mom actually be jealous with that ginger?"

"...Did you just actually say 'gasp'?" Silvie very slowly turned her head to Gracy, "And I don't know, Mom's not really the type to express her feelings. That's the reason why she and Gary weren't close."

"But she expressed her feelings with her lips when she and Riley were—"

"I am right here, you know?" Aerith raised her voice as she glared at Silvie and Gracy, "And no, I am not jealous — we have already established that Riley only has romantic feelings for me, and me only."

"I didn't realize you were so proud of that, Mom."

"I am not!" Aerith quickly looked away, "I am just saying."

"Oh fuck…" Gracy could not help but let out an amused giggle, almost hopping in place as she looked back and forth between Nannah and Chihiro Prime, "This universe is so fucked up — you two have been to a lot of universes, right? Please tell me there are more fucked up universes out there."

"There are plenty more," Nannah was the first to respond, "In fact, if you factor out Riley… then this is probably the most peaceful and normal universe out of all I have been in. But then… RIley's a very colossal factor."

"Yeah?" Gracy smiled and nodded as she focused on Chihiro Prime, "What about you?"

"..."

"..."

"Hello, Earth to Chin chin taberu," Gracy stood in front of Chihiro, "You alright?"

"Who is that?" Chihiro completely ignored Gracy as she quickly approached Hannah.

"Huh? That's Paige," Both Hannah and Silvie looked at each other, "I'm pretty sure you've met her before. Paige Pearson? The only person that could actually beat Katrina in talking? Sweet psycho Paige?"

"That's not Paige Pearson," Chihiro looked at Paige's hologram, zooming it in on her face.

"Well…" Silvie placed a finger on her chin as she hummed, "...I guess you died before the two of you actually got to know more about each other."

"That's not Paige Pearson," Chihiro repeated; the tone of her voice, now slightly deeper than before.

"Might just be a different-looking variant," Hannah shrugged as she glanced at Nannah, "I mean, that happens a lot, right?"

"It does." Nannah started thinking about Chihiro's words as she started searching the Nexus database for information about Paige Pearson, "But variants will always somewhat look similar to each other even if they are of the opposite sex. In other cases, some will look like their parents instead, or their children."

"And…?"

"I'm searching up Paige Pearson now," Nannah's eyes started moving, "And…

…Chihiro's right."

Nannah tapped her sleeves, and as she did so, another hologram popped out of it — several images of the same woman.

"Who is that supposed to be?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she looked at the brown-haired woman; no resemblance to Paige whatsoever.

"Paige Pearson," Chihiro was the one to answer her, "In all the lives of the other Chihiros I have experienced, Paige Pearson has always looked like that. She is a student of Mega Academy in its 2nd year, and became a D-Rank superhero after graduating, and an A-rank when the aliens started appearing… she has the power to control all animals, even from another planet."

"...That's right in most cases," Nannah nodded as she continued to scan Paige Pearson's files.

"That woman, whoever she is…" Chihiro once again focused on the hologram, "...is not Paige Pearson. And should not be Paige Pearson."

"But she was actually born here," Hannah was still slightly confused, "Her birth certificate even says so—I saw it from Mom's desk when they opened the orphanage."

"Could it be a RAT?" Nannah started searching her database for anyone that looked similar to Paige, "I… am not seeing anyone that looks like her."

"Orphanage?" Chihiro stared at Hannah, "I keep hearing a mention of an orphanage? Why?"

"Yes," Hannah nodded, "She was left by her parents in front of an orphanage… which turned out to be some sort of fucking looney bin."

"Are you telling me…

…we don't have information about her parents?"