Villain Retirement

"I haven't really fought Father before head-on."

"And you still won't, I'm not your father. And your Bernard is probably weaker than me."

"Hm."

The voices of the two were calm, but for the one watching them, it was anything but. Gracy was grateful that she was saved, but a little pissed off that Whiteking just threw her away like she was some sort of trash. Granted, that was probably the best outcome she could ever want—after all, if Whiteking finds out that she is Megawoman's daughter, she would probably slit her throat without a second thought.

She wanted to join in on the fight, but seeing what he was seeing now… she would probably just be a fly that they would swat away and not even notice.

The two were talking calmly… but everything around them had already been obliterated into dust. Toronto was already filled with countless debris from the ruined building. The bridges were destroyed, some of the sidewalks and roads have already caved down. But now, they were just dust. From a literal concrete jungle to a concrete desert.

Gracy knew that Whiteking was strong since he was the one to kill her mother, which now probably not only makes him the strongest person on Earth but also probably one of the strongest in the universe.

So, who exactly is the person fighting him right now… and did she actually just try fighting him?

"It is true that you are stronger than the previous Bernard Ross I killed."

Riley casually waves his hand while floating back; creating a telekinetic barrier that stops—no, that slows down each of Bernard's strikes. Each hit, causing the area around them to just… melt away from the force. Riley had been wondering how Bernard was able to kill Aerith, and now his answers were slowly being answered.

The Bernard Ross of this universe is strong, very much so. His orange glowing eyes indicated that he has the Guardian Force, but there was something else—even the Bernard he killed in the previous universe was a Guardian, and yet he wasn't this strong,

"Are you injecting the same thing the Reubens are injecting into their body? A serum made from Aerith's… things."

"...You've been to several universes?" Bernard completely ignored the latter part of Riley's words as he continued pushing Riley back; each of his strikes, getting closer than the last.

"3, including mine. And what about you, Bernard Ross?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he no longer used his hand. He just let himself float back as he summoned barriers to protect him repeatedly, "I have an assumption that you have probably traveled to countless universes."

"I have," Bernard let out a small scoff as he suddenly stopped attacking; both his feet, now planted on the concrete sand, "And I have been to many, saving them from dying by their own hands—and now, I will save mine from you."

"Hm, interesting…" Riley casually placed his hand on his chin as he too, completely relaxed his feet on the ground, "...But what makes you think you need to save your universe from me, Bernard?"

"Because you're a World Ender. I have encountered many of your kind—and you only really need just one reason to lash out," Bernard let out a short but very deep breath as he looked in the direction where Aerith's statue was erected.

"And what reason does Aerith need?" Riley quickly asked as he also looked in the same direction.

"Aerith is not a World Ender," a small and sorrowful smile crawled on Bernard's face.

"But you killed her."

"Because she is a Reason."

"Hm?"

"A Reason for two Enders to snap," Bernard closed his eyes, "Caitlain—Diana Ross. Diana sees Aerith as the hope of their race, and once Aerith becomes obsessed with saving her people, so will Diana… and she will do anything to do that. The other one is Hera who, if the proper events are triggered, will eventually be in dispute with Aerith. And I am sure you are aware of the nature of Hera's abilities."

"Oh," Riley squinted, "Do you now find it odd that the same people could exist, even though past events should also be different?"

"I do. But there are just some things with no answer to," Bernard's eyes once again started to glow orange, "Like you. A Random Anomalous Type and a World Ender that just happened to enter into my universe."

"So, you are like a multiversal superhero, Bernard?"

"Absolutely not," Bernard chuckled, "I have killed so many innocent people that have not yet done anything. I have killed myself, my daughter, my wife… just because there were signs that they could or would potentially end their respective universes. Do you know how many times I have looked my daughter in the eyes as her soul leaves her body?"

"..."

"She's confused, hurt, and betrayed. Asking why her father would do something like that—but pretending to be their actual father is the fastest and safest way to do it," Bernard's voice slightly trembled, "Even my own daughter had to do it to different variants of me, and her mother... and herself."

"Hm, sounds interesting," Riley nodded his head, "It does feel somewhat different when it's family, no? When I tortured the Bernard Ross of the previous universe, and dismembered and decapitated him, I felt a little different from how I usually do whenever I do something like that."

"...I see," Bernard's feet started to leave the ground; the sands, following him and showing the growing rage inside of him as they all trembled, "In all the worlds I have been to, I have never had a son or adopted one. And of course, it just had to turn into a psychopath."

"Oh, what I am is not your fault, Bernard," Riley shook his head, "I was born to be this way—Nothing told me."

"Nothing…" The orange glow in Bernard's eyes flickered, "...You have been in contact with a Preprimordial?"

"I have," Riley casually nodded, "I have also met Death, who does not seem to like me very much for some reason. I suppose I should not be surprised that you are aware of the existence of Nothing, Bernard Prime."

"Bernard… Prime?"

"Yes," Riley nodded, "I have met Alice Prime in the previous universe. She is capable of creating a pocket universe in the palm of her hands—I still don't quite know the purpose of it. Alice is my biological mother, by the way."

"...Why are you revealing all of this so casually?"

"You are Bernard Ross. If I don't kill you, you will find out eventually," Riley shrugged, "Also, I do not really know when I am going to die now since I am sick—I have dementia."

"You… don't."

"Hm?"

"I am scanning you right now—you don't."

"...That's what the Diana of the other universe also said," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "Could it be I am only sick in my own universe?"

"...What?"

"Perhaps even the universe itself truly does not want me there," Riley sighed, "I suppose it is its way of correcting its mistake because it gave birth to me. You called me a Random Anomalous Type, correct? Nothing also told me that there is only a single me in the entire multiverse."

"You—"

"Whiteking!"

"Oh, that's the cue for me to disappear," Riley turned to look up, "I have a feeling we will meet again very soon, Bernard."

"Wait, you—"

And before Bernard could even finish his words, Riley just suddenly disappeared. He was going to scan the area for him, but Hannah already landed in front of him; wearing her outfit and ready to go to battle.

"Where is it!?" Hannah's bulky armor made him look even bigger than her father, "I received an alarm from the AI that said you were battling with a World Ender! Where is it!?"

"That's…" Bernard watched as Hannah started looking around. He… had never really seen Hannah like this before—she was still the same, but there was a certain bounce in her movements. Even yesterday when they talked, she couldn't wait to get back to the RAT. If he tells her his true identity…

…it would crush her.

"...It was a false alarm."

"What? But I clearly saw you fighting with something from the satellite!"

"It was a false alarm," Bernard repeated as he flew toward his daughter, "It's nothing you need to worry about. But we do need to talk about something."

"What? What is it?" Hannah did not really look at Bernard and just continued to search the area.

"When we talked before, you said nothing happened during your Expedition."

"Y…Yes?" Hannah flinched, trying her best to feign ignorance as she continued to search for nothing, "Nothing… nothing happened."

"You discovered a new universe."

"That's…" Hannah finally turned to look at Bernard, before letting out a small groan and shaking her head, "...It's more like they discovered us."

"And?"

"...I don't really know the full details, but there were… well… there were already multiple variants there," Hannah chuckled awkwardly, "And a Bernard variant was fucking dead, which I don't know if it was the Bernard of that world or not… and they also kinda summoned a lot of portals which I had to intercept?"

"You…" Bernard's voice quickly became strained as his eyes glowed orange,

"...Why didn't you tell me!?"

***

"...Oh."

"..."

"What's going on, you two?"

A few hours later, with the ambience of the night fully covering New York, Riley was back at Hannah's penthouse—the two of them, casually having dinner…

…with Bernard Ross.

"Well," Riley gestured to Bernard to take a seat, "I told you I had a feeling we will meet again, I cooked for three, Mr. Ross. Feel free to join us."

"Wait…

…the two of you talked before?"