Villain Retirement

"You are telling me that you have the brain to discover multiversal travel from scratch, but the only solution you found to help this world… is to share your freaking sperm?"

"...No. I really need you to let me explain. You're the Alice I met back then, right?"

"There is no need to explain, Bard. We are only here to take you back to the space station."

"Riley, You… won't tell my daughter?"

"That while she turned herself into a literal sun to save a universe from an eternal chill, her father was being tortured by a universe filled with women by having to share his sperm to select women?"

"...She what? Wait… don't tell it to her like."

"I will not, Bard. I promise."

"Thank you, thank you!"

"Jesus… we caught you lacking, dude. I can't even imagine the Bernard of my world doing something like this."

"I told you, I could explain!"

Riley and Bard were still in Bard's… special room, with the guards outside completely unaware that Alice had already infiltrated their building from the window. Alice initially just wanted to wait outside at the cafe; watching from the spy camera she attached on Riley's chest while she chilled and drank her sweet drink — but as soon as she saw a variant of Bernard Ross barely even clothed and speaking in a somewhat seductive voice, she knew she had to witness what was happening in person.

And seeing Bard panic, she knew she made the right call.

"Please, just let me—"

"Savior, is everything alright in there!?" And before Bard could finish his words, a knock drummed from the door, "Are you in distress?"

"No! Don't come in!" Bard raised his voice.

"...The psychiatrist is hearing some distress in your voice, Savior."

"No, n—"

"We're coming in!"

And with that as her only warning, the guard standing outside Bard's special room barged inside; already with a gun in her hand. But as soon as she took another step, she and the people behind her quickly disintegrated into nothing.

"What did you do!?" The apologetic tone of Bard's voice instantly faded away as he rushed toward Riley, but Alice blocked his path and trapped him in an invisible cage.

"I am not here to save these people, Bard," Riley shook his head, "I just need you to return with us."

"I will! That wasn't even a question, but why did you even have to kill them!?"

"But I did not, Bard."

"What…? Then…" Bard then turned to look at Alice Prime, who only shook her head and shrugged. Bard was confused for a couple of seconds, but closed his eyes after a while and let out a very long and deep breath, "It's the Dust."

"...The what?"

"What killed the other half of this universe," Bard opened his eyes and looked at both Alice and Riley, "The worst part of it all is that it's not even a disease, it's not a virus…

…it's all already in their DNA like some sort of cancer, except there is no killing this one, because removing it would also kill its person."

"Damn."

"And now it would seem the universe wants to take its other half, Bard," Riley let out a small hum, "I thought the people of this world would just eventually die out, as the other universes King sent us to are dead or dying. But it would seem this universe does not want to wait."

"Yes," Bard once again let out a sigh as he started getting clothes from his closet, "We should… leave."

And as soon as Bard said that, Alice no longer tried to hide her abilities — casually ripping off the walls of the building. And as the three flew off, the scene of chaos that Riley was expecting was starting to unfold.

Cars, crashing into one another. Unkept flames slowly started to spread throughout the city. But perhaps the most ominous of it all were the people just turning to dust before they could even hold the hand of the people they loved.

There were screams, but none of them could really convey what their owners wanted — there was only the Dust.

"..." Bard only glanced at this for a few moments, before just shaking his head as he focused on the path ahead. And as they reached the front of the portal, Bard took one final look as he entered first.

Alice was also about to enter the portal, but stopped as she looked at Riley.

"You lied to him," Alice said, "I can feel your telekinetic waves everywhere, my little evil baby monster. You're the one doing this."

"Yes," Riley did not even hesitate and nodded, "I believe it is much better for them to die now by my hands — instead of suffer from inevitability."

"And the other universes your clones enter?"

"They have also been ordered to destroy everything if it is not already," Riley glanced at the chaos he created, "Even the universe I saved where I found Gracy, I left a clone so he could destroy anything that is left once we were gone, Alice Prime."

"You…" Alice looked Riley in the eyes for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh of her own, "You are who you are, I suppose."

"I am the End of all stories, Alice…" Riley whispered as a small, but somber smile crawled on his face, "I have never pretended not to be… except perhaps maybe one or twice."

"I guess after all this King fiasco is gone…" Alice looked Riley in the eyes, "...We'd be trying to kill you next."

"Unlike King, there is no winning against me, Alice Prime."

"We don't know about that, don't be too cocky, my boy," Alice started wagging her finger before just disappearing into the portal.

"I do know, Alice…" Riley also started walking as he walked toward the portal, and as he did so, the ground beneath his feet turned to dust, and not even a second later… the entire planet disappeared,

"...Because all of you have already lost the very moment I came into existence."

***

"Dad!"

And as soon as Riley entered the portal, he saw Nannah quickly rushing toward Bard and leaping into his arms. He also saw Hannah there, carrying a weak smile on her face as watched as Nannah reunited with his father—something she would never be able to do anymore.

And so, upon seeing the sadness in her eyes grow, Riley started walking toward her and stretched his arm open.

"I am also back, Sister."

"Go fuck yourself," Hannah, on the other hand, seemed to have no plan to forgive Riley anymore as she just turned around and walked away as soon as her eyes met Riley's.

Riley did not seem to mind, however, as he just shrugged and lowered his arms. And as soon as he did so, he saw Caitlain flying to the auditorium and landing close to Nannah and Bard.

"Ah, Dad! This is Caitlain, a variant from a dying universe a million Cherbis."

"...A million cherbis?" Bard's eyes quickly widened as he looked at Caitlain, only to slightly back away as soon as she saw her face, "...Diana?"

"...No, I don't go by that name," Caitlain raised an eyebrow as she started looking at Bard from head to toe, "...You're fatter than your other versions."

"This… isn't fat," Bard could really only stare at Caitlain. Perhaps out of all the variants he had seen of his wife, Caitlain resembled his Diana the most, mostly due to the fact that she was thin and always had a tired expression on her face.

His Diana's tired expression was from experimenting on everyone, even her own daughter.

But Caitlain's tired expression was clearly from trying to save her world from the Cherbis, but being defeated all the same… and Bard was familiar with this feeling.

"I'm… Bard," and without him even meaning to, he instinctively reached for Caitlain's hand.

"Caitlain. I've actually been wanting to meet you," Caitlain smiled and firmly shook Bard's hand, almost causing him to fall toward her, "I heard you're the smartest guy in this room?"

"...No. I'm just more knowledgeable in more areas than most," Bard sighed, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Caitlain."

"Hm…" Caitlain and Bard looked into each other's eyes; almost as if reaching some sort of understanding, "Anyway… want to have sex with me?"

"Sorry… what?" Bard blinked his eyes. It would seem… they had a different understanding, after all. As for Nannah, she could really only quickly turn around and leave as soon as she heard this, truly not wanting to hear more of it.

But as she just suddenly turned around, she did not see Alice standing there and accidentally bumped into her. Not her fault, of course, as Alice had been suspiciously quiet ever since they returned to the space station.

"Ah! The spy cam!" Alice dropped the thing she had been holding since earlier. She and Nannah tried to catch it, but alas — it only caused them to miss it altogether as it dropped to the floor, and as soon as it did so…

…a hologram projected out of it.

[Please, you may approach me, Madam… you do not need to be shy.]

"What… the fuck is this?" Nannah could really only back away several steps as she saw Bard sensually sitting on a large, luxurious bed… almost completely naked.

Caitlain, who was still holding Bard's hand, could not help but raise an eyebrow as she looked back and forth between the hologram and the actual person, "Oh… I guess you're going to show me a very good time, then?"

"Dad…?"

"...I can explain."