Villain Retirement
chapter-329

"I'm… I'm a big fan of yours, Nuclear Seraph…

…as… as well as your brother!"

"What… did you say?"

"Oh."

"Hm?"

Paige had no idea what was happening; but 2 of the members of the Baby Crew, Katrina and Bella suddenly pulled her away as she was talking to Hannah. Did she say something wrong? Was she not supposed to mention her brother?

That was it, wasn't it? Paige thought as she looked at Katrina and Bella's expressions.

"Don't… mind her," Katrina sighed as she blocked Paige from Hannah's view, "Her brother… is kind of a taboo in–"

"What did you say?"

"Bro, not cool," Gary also stood in front of Hannah as a cold whisper once again fumed from her mouth, "You can't just lash out on strangers like that. It–"

"You, what did you say?"

However, contrary to the expectations of the Baby Crew, Hannah did not approach Paige… but instead her partner, Paragon.

"What did you say?"

"My mother's a friend of Empress, we just got lucky."

And without even any hesitation or being weirded out, the Baby Crew watched as Paragon answered Hannah; his eyes, showing not a single sign of agitation. Most would probably feel a little peeved when someone approaches them like that, but… Paragon just seemed to shrug it off.

…As expected of someone with a superhero outfit that makes him look like a futuristic ivory ninja. They were superheroes themselves, but they somewhat looked completely normal when standing beside Paragon.

His obviously pale skin that's only visible from his forehead; his long jet black hair and eyebrows, his dark eyes that seemed like they would suck you in– it was almost as if he was similar to…

…Bulwark.

There was just something special and eerily alien about their aesthetic.

"..." As for Hannah, the only thing she could really do was look at Paragon from head to toe– her eyes squinted to the point it was almost closed.

"Is there something wrong, Seraph?"

"No, it's nothing," and after a few more seconds, Hannah's eyes finally left Paragon as she shook her head, "And it's Nuclear Seraph, at least know the name of the people that would promote your business."

"Okay, Nuclear Seraph."

"..." Hannah once again turned her eyes towards Paragon as she heard his voice. It was completely different… but it truly feels like she was talking to Riley– no. Not even before he spoke, Hannah felt like Paragon was Riley.

The way he carried himself is just too… similar to him.

"Paige… Paragon, excuse us for a bit," Hannah then bobbed her head as she looked at Gary and the others, "You guys, follow me for a sec."

"..." Gary, Bella, and Katrina looked at each other for a single second, before giving a collective sigh and following Hannah,

"Sorry, it'll be just a sec– Nuclear Psycho calling us."

"O… okay?" Paige could only scratch her head as she returned to Paragon's side, "The Baby Crew… they're more like normal people than I thought."

"No," Riley shook his head, "They are special…

…just like you, Paige."

"Hm…" Paige squinted her eyes as she looked at the Baby Crew huddling up, "What… do you think they could be talking about?"

"Don't you guys think Paragon looks like Riley?"

"Hannah, come on."

Gary wanted to leave the circle as soon as he heard Hannah's words, but couldn't as Hannah grabbed his arm.

"I'm serious," Hannah said as she looked all of them straight in the eyes, "Don't you guys see the similarity?"

"What, now every person you see with pale skin is Riley?" Gary sighed as he shook his head, "Next time, you're going to say Empress and Bella are the same person because they're both black."

"...There's level to the blackness, man," Bella hit Gary in the stomach, "In the community, Empress might as well be considered white and–"

"Guys, focus."

"I… I don't really see it," Katrina meekly said as she leaned out of the circle to look at Paige and Paragon, "I mean, Paige and Paragon seem to be a couple, no?"

"..." The others turned to look at the two, only to see Paige leaning awfully close to Paragon as they seemed to be talking together.

"...They could be siblings," Gary muttered, "Even more proving he's not Riley. Why are we even talking about this? Riley… just let it rest, Hannah."

"..." Hannah let out a small but deep breath as she looked at the two.

"Imma ask them what's up," Bella then said as she moved away from the circle, "Hey! Is you two a couple or what!?"

"B… Bella!"

"What? We wasting time."

"..." Hearing Bella's shout, Paige quickly looked at them and answered,

"...No?" Before turning her head towards Paragon and asking the same question, "...Are we? A couple, I mean?"

"No."

"Hm," Paige only blinked as she once again turned to the Baby Crew, "No, we're not, guys! But maybe we could be in the future, no one knows!"

"See!? Did you see the way he answered Paige?" Hannah loudly whispered as she huddled back in the circle.

"I… I still don't see it," Katrina said, "And… Riley isn't really the kind of guy that would let anyone that close to him, right?"

"Let's stop talking about Riley, come on. We're back on the ground, for fuck's sake," Gary then completely stepped away from the circle,

"Let's just go out there and have some fun!" Gary's eyes then lit up in red as he once again approached the crowd; his arms, stretched to the side; a big smile, plastered on his face,

"Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency, everyone!" Gary roared as he pointed at the signage of the small building, "The only Superhero Agency that the World Government openly supports!"

A wide smile quickly formed on Paige's face as soon as she heard that– she hadn't even stepped foot inside the building, and yet she suddenly already owned one of the most famous superhero agencies in the world.

Of course, she didn't really work for it– but honestly, who cares? If life gives you advantages, you take it and grab on to it hard.

"E… Everyone!" Paige then stood beside Gary as she also stretched her arms to the side– and as soon as she did so, the sky above them suddenly turned dark; the sun previously shining down upon them, now a moon.

"W… what the fuck?" Gary then quickly took a few steps back as day suddenly turned into night… but only within their area. If they were to look towards the horizon, the sun was still pretty much bathing the land.

"I… I invite all superheroes, aspiring and veterans…" Paige, however, continued to address the confused crowd, "...to check out Paige and Paragon's Superhero Agency!"

And suddenly, flowers started to bloom in the night sky– silent fireworks that reflected in everyone's eyes; blanketing the sudden darkness with light.

"You… are you doing this?" Gary then took in a small gulp as she looked at Paige– but before Paige could have a chance to answer him, they were suddenly drowned in a white light.

The area around them didn't turn back into day, no– but instead, the light that they thought was the sun… was actually Paragon, now floating in the air.

And circling around him, were almost a hundred giant swords made of light. Everyone squinted their eyes from the heat as well as the extreme brightness that the swords emitted; all except Gary… and Hannah.

"Fuck… that's cool," Gary said as he took another gulp.

"Still think it's Riley?" Bella approached Hannah; her eyes, slightly covered by her hands.

"Actually…

…yeah."

As for Hannah, the growing suspicion inside her… grew even stronger. The feeling that was coming out of the swords that Paragon summoned…

…it was similar to hers.

And very soon, everything returned back to normal as the moon once again turned into the sun. Paragon, who landed back on the ground, was quickly welcomed by Paige's arms as she leaped towards him in joy.

"We… we're actually doing it!" Paige squealed as she hopped up and down, "To… to think this idea just sprung from us trying to get your license back. Come on, let's… let's go check the inside!"

And without even waiting for anyone else, Paige dragged Paragon inside the building– finally entering it after almost an entire hour of just being outside.

"Did you guys just fucking see that?" Gary's mouth was still wide open as he returned back to the rest of the Baby Crew; his finger, still pointing at the sky,

"Those two are fucking OP as fuck."

"Well… they are recommended by Empress," Bella shrugged, "She must have had them locked up in some facility or some shit."

"You guys still wanna hang, though? I mean, I don't think they really need us to promote this thing after what they just did."

"S… shouldn't we at least go inside?" Katrina joined in on the conversation, "We have nothing else to do anyway?"

"Maybe we could–"

"We're joining." And before anyone else could say anything, Hannah started to walk towards the building.

"...I guess we could stay–"

"No, I mean we're joining. We're joining the Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency."

"...What?"

***

"...Your new strays really do know how to put on a show."

"Stop calling them that."

Inside the Baby Crew's jet, Empress's eyes reflected the fireworks that Paige had summoned; waiting for it to be over before turning back to Aerith, who was casually sitting at the pilot's seat and checking the panels.

"And so? Surely, you didn't just do all of this for theatrics?" Aerith then said as she glanced at Empress.

"...You're right," Empress then approached Aerith as she pressed something on the panel, causing a screen to show up in front of the windshield,

"Thousandblade– he might be coming here."