Villain Retirement

"You haven't even had your period, little girl."

"!!!"

It was almost too sharp, the gasps. Some even sounded like a whistle, creating an orchestra of disbelief and amazement. None of them had really tried to talk to Talia like that, as she was silently and obviously considered as the ruler of this place — she was the very first to come upon this place. But most importantly… she looked like a child.

In truth, even Hera wanted to slap herself in the face for saying that, but it had to be done. This is what they were aiming for, after all. Now that they have set it up perfectly, all that was needed of her was to act, and act she will.

"...What's so good about having a period? It's not like any of you could have children."

And once again, gasps filled the air as some of the Hera felt Talia's words pierce through the very core of their existence. It was true, none of them could have children. For some reason, their body doesn't allow them as it sees having a baby as a threat to them.

"Stop this now, Hera," Talia crossed her arms before gesturing to the soldiers to start forcing the other Heras to leave, "You are disrupting the natural order of things here."

"Disrupting?" Hera glared at the soldiers, causing all of them to stop in their tracks, "The only one that's disrupting anything here is you, little girl."

"I am not a little girl!" Talia raised her voice as she looked Hera in the eyes, "I am the same age as any of you! It's not my fault that I stopped again when we were sent to this paradise!"

"Paradise…" Hera closed her eyes and smiled, "...What sort of paradise is this that it has soldiers watching our every move? These people just want to be part of something bigger than this place."

"...And you think this is something bigger?" Talia pointed at the building, "It's make-believe!"

"It's showbiz, sweetie. I don't expect you to understand," Hera crossed her arms as she stood close to Talia, literally towering over her, "And if you say that this is make-believe, does that mean that everything here is? The beach, the nice lake, the mall."

"I… didn't say that," Talia's eyebrows began to lower, "Everything here is for everyone!"

"It doesn't seem like it," Hera looked down on Talia, "Why are you trying to stop this, little girl? We are going to make movies, T.V shows, and maybe even some cartoons you would like."

"I am not a child!"

"Perhaps you're threatened?" Hera's voice deepened as she looked Talia in the eyes, "Threatened by the fact that people would realize that out of all of us, you are the most useless one."

"..." Talia did not really answer Hera and just returned her glare, "You… you don't deserve to be here. You think just because you've achieved something none of us have, you're better?"

"Not at all," Hera shook her head as she looked at all the Heras watching them, "The very reason I built this place is so that every one of us could achieve what we want. We've become soldiers and heroes that save people… but deep down we know that we have always just wanted to perform in front of people. We're actors."

"We… don't need any of that," Talia also looked at the other Heras, "Isn't it more important that we're happy and having fun? We don't have to work here if we don't want to! Everything is free!"

"But that's wrong," Hera strayed her eyes away to look at her building, "And all of us know it. We created banks when we didn't need to, we created jobs when we didn't need to. Because what is the point of resting when there's no reason to rest at all? Don't you have something you want to do, Talia? Something other than just taking a nap and watching us?"

"What… what else would I need? Everything is here!" Talia's voice started to crack as her eyes very slowly turned red, "Everything is here!"

"Except everything else," Hera closed her eyes and sighed, "If we weren't such good actors playing our roles, we would have already all lost our minds in this place. This is a dollhouse, Talia. We're not supposed to be her—"

"We are! We are supposed to be here!"

And to everyone's surprise, Talia began to cry—no. She began to bawling and screeching, evene lying on the ground as she practically threw a tantrum, "Where else are we supposed to be if not here!? It is not fair that all of you got to live a life out there and I am stuck here!"

"..."

"Why doesn't anyone want to stay here with me!?" Talia curled into a ball as her tears and snot trailed toward the ground, "What are you even going to do out there!? You're all dead! If you think you should be out there, then think about the people who have already died in your universes! Do you think you deserve to continue living out there when they are already gone!?"

"..." Hera's breaths started to stutter as she watched Talia just sprawled there, crying her eyes out and swallowing her gasps. It was obvious from their first meeting that although Talia has indeed lived as long as them, her emotional growth has practically stopped.

But it has to be done.

"Haven't you ever wondered what's out there for you, Talia?" Hera sat on the ground and placed her hand on Talia's forehead, "Don't you want to get to know more people?"

"Why do I need to do that?" Talia bit her lip, "I have all of you."

"Don't you want to grow up? Get your first period, get a boyfriend, get married, get divorced," Hera let out a soft chuckle that resounded through all the Heras there, "Unlike the rest of us, you can still live your childhood."

"Mommy and daddy are gone," Talia's cheeks began to tremble, "There's nothing there."

"You have—"

"We have done it your way, Heras."

And all of a sudden, for some reason, the air turned eerily quiet as a voice unfamiliar for most of the Heras there whispered in the air. They did not immediately turn to look at the owner of the voice, however, as they were looking at all the albinos that were very slowly walking toward them all.

Riley's clones were just previously doing all the tasks they needed to do. But now, all of them were circling the Heras; their face, completely emotionless.

"What…"

"No, no…"

And almost instantly, all the Heras that were present on the island crouched to the ground and clasped their heads; their bodies, trembling to the point that it rose several temperatures up. And as they were busy trying to fight their own instincts that did not know what to do, Riley descended from the sky and landed in front of the crying Talia.

"W…what…" Talia was not even done wiping her tears as she felt her entire body convulsed. She felt this very same feeling before, when King tried to open up her brain. But there was, however, something different about it.

"Riley, what are you doing…!?" Hera watched as Riley placed his foot on Talia's face.

"Plan B, Miss Hera."

"We don't have a plan B!"

"We do now," Riley looked Hera in the eyes, "I start trying to kill everyone here, including you. Perhaps that will send you back to the multiverse."

"If your plan works, then you and Caitlain will be trapped here forever!"

"It does not matter, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head, "If you do manage to return to our universe, please make sure Hannah is safe."

"R—!!!"

And before Hera could finish her words, she found herself suddenly blown away; her back latched onto her building. She tried to free herself, but she was completely pinned to the wall.

"N… no," Talia's breaths once again stuttered as she felt the sole of Riley's shoe very slowly crushing her face, "Why… why are you doing this…!?"

"Because Plan A did not work, Miss Talia," Riley did not even look at Talia as he put more weight onto his foot, "Plan A was convincing you and the rest of the Heras to leave this place, but it was obviously not working. So, I suppose torture it is, the—"

"Talia!" Hera did not let Riley finish his words as she screamed as loud as she could, "King… Aren't you angry at that old fucker!?"

"..." Talia's entire body trembled, whether or not she heard Hera's words was something only she knew.

"He took everything from you!" Hera practically roared, "Don't you want revenge!? He killed your mommy and daddy too! Aren't you angry!?"

"There is no use in trying to persuade this child, Miss Hera," Riley flicked his finger, sealing Hera's mouth as he finally looked down on Talia, "She obviously does not care for anyone else but herself. She does not care about her mother and father, and that their killer is still out there. She is…

…a weak and scared toddler."

"I…" Talia gritted her teeth as she practically sucked in all her tears and snot,

"...I am not a child!"

"Then grow up…

…Miss Hera."

"!!!"

And with those words, a wave of energy suddenly pulsed throughout the entire island—no, throughout the entire domain. The sky began to crack, with the sun shining from the distance withering away.

And as even the very air itself started to crumble, a bright flash blinded everyone. And as their vision returned to them…

…they found themselves inside a circular auditorium, all of them, now inside the Council of Ross's space station.

"Hm," Riley nodded to himself,

"Plan B always makes for a quick conclusion."