Villain Retirement

"What the hell!? Let us out! My brother is out there risking his life for us!"

"I am afraid that's just not possible, child. Heroes have always sacrificed themselves for the greater good… and the last I checked, members of the Hope Guild are already in the scene."

"I don't fucking care, you fucking bisexual sun god! Please, my brother!"

In the inner gates of the USMA, Hannah was currently punching the said gate; her strikes, each containing a burst of flame that was enough to cause the people nearby to feel a flush of heat scorching their skin.

The Academy gates, however, did not budge one bit as it was currently being reinforced by Bulwark's abilities; the golden barrier, only rippling and dispersing Hannah's flames by letting it scatter and crawl through the walls, leaving the gate completely untouched.

Silvie wanted to try and break the gates as well, but Hannah did not let her do so as she was already attracting too much attention to herself; if the people were to find out that the monsters were actually clones of Megawoman… and that she too was a clone, then the masses would surely call for Silvie.

Gary did not have that reservation, as he helped Hannah in trying to bring down the gate… but his strikes were too weak to do any damage. The only ones that were perhaps truly choosing to do nothing were Bella and Tomoe.

Tomoe was confident enough that the worse thing that could happen to Riley was him probably getting bored. As for Bella, well… she was still completely in shock at what Riley had just done.

Los Angeles was about 4000 kilometers (2,500 miles) away from Massachusetts, and for him to be able to fly them back here while still remaining in Los Angeles was a feat that perhaps only the strongest of telekinetics could achieve.

"Hannah… your brother…" Bella then could no longer help herself, "He legit as hell… Just how strong is he?"

"Probably as strong as Ms. Phoenix," Gary worded out as he once again tried to kick the gate; creating a ripple as the golden barrier shielding it shook, "She is his moth—or you could also say he's as strong as Darkday as well."

Gary almost slipped out Riley's real parentage—forgetting that only the permanent members of the Baby Crew should be privy to that information. However, his words seemed to have been a mistake, as Hannah's flames almost targeted him instead.

"Never put my brother and that monster's name in the same sentence!" Hannah yelled.

"That… was actually a compliment," Gary said as he quickly raised his guard, "But… I get what you mean. But you have to agree though, Riley is strong af. I wonder who would win— I'll stop talking."

"…"

Bulwark continued to watch Hannah and Gary take down the gates of the Academy and his barrier; his sighs, almost echoing throughout the entire campus. For someone to be compared to Ms. Phoenix and Darkday… Riley Ross truly is something special.

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Darkday, however, is evil incarnate himself.

He could still remember the Battle at Toronto. The Hope Guild… was treated almost as a nuisance. No, not even—they were almost like toys that Darkday just played with; the fact that none of them died was proof of that.

The only ones that could actually really prove to be somewhat useful against the Darkday clones were him, Empress, and surprisingly, Whiteking.

Throughout the thousands of years of Bulwark's existence, he had met an even more number of Supers that used their powers and abilities for bad things… but they all had reasons for doing the things they did—they all had goals.

One created a prison to create his own army, hoping to rule the entire world only to be poisoned before she could do so. Bulwark knew her as a child, and she was always looked down upon because she was born a woman into a family that only produced warriors, thus craved for power.

Some used their powers to become kings, gods, or some to just live a life without enemies. But Darkday?

Darkday just appeared. No reason, no goal. Almost as if he was just wreaking havoc and death just because he wants to.

…

Or maybe Bulwark was seeing this wrong? Perhaps Darkday exists to truly just inflict pain and suffering to the world? His goal, just to end life itself?

But what would his rationale be? Every being should have a goal to what they are doing—even animals.

"…" Bulwark then let out a small sigh as the drumming of Hannah and Gary's attacks once again roared in his ears. This was no time to worry about Darkday—one of his students was out there, sacrificing his life so that his friends could live.

Riley Ross… he seems to be overprotective of his sister; maybe even obsessed. One of the traits that people like Riley usually always have. He had met people like him before; back then, however, there was no official title for them… people just thought they were somewhat crazy.

Ms. Phoenix's biological son… Does Riley's condition have something to do with him almost dying by his mother's hand as a child?

In truth, he almost became Riley's adoptive father. When the Hope Guild was choosing who the best candidate was to take care of Ms. Phoenix's child, he was the one who gained the most votes.

Empress was looked at, at first. But since she already lost a child, she refused and said that she couldn't bear to lose another. Also, she just inherited the leadership of the team and didn't want any distractions.

Tempo was just too young back then.

Dr. Snipe, a previous member, was just too old to take care of anyone.

Butcher wanted to take care of Riley—of course, no one agreed.

And so, the choices were refined to only him and Whiteking. Whiteking immediately backed out, saying that Bulwark was the best choice as out of all of them, he had the most experience dealing with children—after all, everyone is a child to him.

Whiteking had a small daughter that time so he just flat-out refused. However, as soon as Diana arrived, the only thing that Bulwark could do was take a step back. As they say, no one could eat a mother's instinct.

But what if… just what if Riley grew up with him? Would he have been able to train Riley into someone that would be able to defeat Darkday?

"…" Bulwark quickly let out a small sigh as soon as the thought entered his mind. What's done is done—fate has already played its cards. One could also say that if Ms. Phoenix did not die, then it was possible that Darkday could have been stopped.

They all should have tried harder in saving Ms. Phoenix from herself. None of them realized Ms. Phoenix's slow descent into madness—but they should have. Ms. Phoenix just arrived at their meeting hall one day, already pregnant; no one knew the father.

They should have realized there and then that something was wrong. But alas, even amongst the members of the Hope Guild, Ms. Phoenix was somewhat isolated because her powers were just… almost too great.

They were only able to defeat her because her mind was already gone… and because they asked Charlotte to help them defeat her—a favor that Bulwark regrets asking even until now.

Riley Ross… Riley Ross could actually be considered as the child of everyone in the Hope Guild, not just Ms. Phoenix's, not just Whiteking's.

Riley Ross… should not sacrifice himself.

And with that thought entering his mind, Bulwark quickly ordered to open the gate. And as soon as Hannah saw this, a small victorious smile instantly crawled on his face—which was soon almost littered with blood as her nose flattened as she tried to rush outside.

Sadly for Hannah, even with the gates opened, Bulwark's golden barrier was still very much alive.

"W… what is this!?"

"You don't have to worry, child," Bulwark then glanced at Hannah as he passed through the golden barrier without any resistance,

"I will bring your brother home."

***

"Please… Please run away!"

Back in Los Angeles, V's high-pitched screams almost thundered through the streets; partnered by the rumbling of the lightning that was crawling from every pore in her body.

Still, even with the almost deafening noises, Riley still remained near V; the expression on his face, containing an almost child-like curiosity as he continued to look at V from head to toe. The electricity that was coming out of V surrounded her entire body—much like Hannah's.

V's powers, however, seemed to have a life of their own as minuscule bolts of lightning seemingly tried to reach out to Riley; unable to do so, however, as they were stopped by the invisible armor surrounding him.

"…Interesting," Riley however whispered as he felt a slight tickle subtly crawling on his cheek.

If Hannah took off her limiter, will her power also become like this? Will her fire be enough to scorch the entire world with just a single step?

…Burning the entire world—one could only imagine the screams the Earth would produce. Maybe he should start thinking of borrowing—

And before Riley could finish his thoughts, a shrilling noise that almost drowned V's frantic screams erupted in the air. Aerith, who was pushed away by Riley earlier, once again leapt out of the building she was in, quickly rushing towards Riley.

"…I am bored with you now, monster."

Riley then quickly grabbed Aerith's face as soon as she got near. And with a small but deep breath escaping from his mouth, Aerith's entire body… instantly compressed into a ball the size of a watermelon.

And without even looking at his creation, he flicked his hand, causing a skirt of wind to form around the ball—ripping the clouds above as Aerith… or whatever remained of her to fly straight through the expanse of space.

"I…" Riley then turned his attention towards V; whose trickling eyes were as wide as they could be as she stared towards the skies,

"I found a new toy."