Villain Retirement

"Please, Riley Ross! Find yourself in all of this chaos!"

"..."

And like a wind that suddenly stopped blowing the trees, the screams Fred was letting out through the entire neighborhood instantly ceased; his mouth, releasing a foam that was enough to drown him from the inside; fortunately for him, he landed on his sides when Riley released him.

"Find myself… in all of this chaos?"

Riley then lightly waved his hand; and as he did so, Fred's body slid away– making space for Riley to freely walk towards where V was standing; his steps, seemingly taking their time to reach V.

V, who was seeing Riley walk ever closer to him at a very slow pace, could not help but take in a small gulp. She had noticed it before, but seeing Riley walk was a surreal sight in itself. It's almost as if he didn't belong; not in a figurative way… but quite literally and physically.

There was a slight wind blowing around the neighborhood. But Riley's hair remained almost unmoving; only swaying with his body's movements. The baggy clothes striped in black and white were also the same, seemingly not affected by anything around the area.

It was… quite a sight to behold and made her feel slightly… weird.

"What do you mean by that, Miss V?" Riley then uttered as he stopped just a meter away in front of V.

"This… this isn't you."

V slightly stuttered her words; her eyes, however, remained resolute as she stared Riley straight in his, "I… I've read your file– you… when you were just a toddler Ms. Phoenix strangled you. She… she told you you're a monster."

"..." Riley blinked; almost as if gesturing V to go on.

"And… and now this. People accusing you that you're Darkday– putting you in this place," V started moving her hands to explain, "You… you don't have to be the monster the world thinks you are, Riley!"

Each of V's words seems to be filled with all of her emotions, and seeing as the limiter attached to her back was currently going crazy as it lit up the entire neighborhood, she still had a lot of these emotions left to express.

As for Riley, he… was just looking at V; his eyebrows ever so slightly lowered as if to express the only emotion he was feeling right now– a hint of confusion.

"Someone told me the exact same words before, Miss V," Riley then muttered as he blinked a couple of times, "He is currently staying as a guest… somewhere. I wasn't aware that you were a telepath as well?"

"...What?" V also blinked as her overwhelming emotions also turned into confusion. Wasn't the situation dire just earlier? So why does it feel like the situation was suddenly de-escalated just like that?

Could it be… she had a talent in making Riley Ross listen to her? She did hear that people with autism sometimes bond with people; could it be Riley Ross was bonding with her right now? Was that it?

"Grah!" And as soon as V's thoughts started to somewhat settle, Fred woke up. His screams, once again putting V into the reality of the situation.

"W… wait!" V then quickly rushed towards Fred, wanting to help him in any way she could. But as soon as she got near Fred, the only thing she could really do was stand next to him– absolutely having no idea what to do. She looked at the legs of his mecha suit, only to look away as soon as she saw how it connected to Fred's waist.

"S… shit," V muttered as the limiter on her back began to fluctuate, "We… we need to do something!"

V then looked around, looking at the other prisoners that were watching from afar, "This… why isn't anyone coming!? Shouldn't a medic be here by now or even some prison guards!?"

And as soon as the other prisoners heard V's words, they… all went back to their houses. It is exactly as V said– there should have been a medic now, or at least guards to de-escalate the situation themselves. And seeing as there was none of both, it would mean they have completely abandoned Fred. And if they abandoned Fred, then it was because of Alice's son– and to think they almost involved themselves with him with thoughts of getting back at Alice.

The prisoners then all looked through their windows as they looked at Fred, who was still squirming and screaming in pain– his sacrifice, never to be forgotten.

"You do not have to worry, Miss V," Riley then let out a small sigh as he approached V and the squirming Fred, "He will live– his wounds are all closed and all his organs are working properly."

"...What?" V then once again turned to look at Fred, only to quickly turn away again as she saw his skin shredded, merging with the metal parts of the robotic leg. But true enough, there was not even a hint of blood anywhere, not even on the edges of Fred's shredded skin.

The fact that his voice was still filled with vigor should have actually been enough of a sign that he was not actually dying, V thought. But still… wasn't this torture?

"We… we still need to get him help! Can you… remove my leg– my mecha's legs without killing him?"

"Why?" Riley blinked a couple of times, "That would make him short again, Miss V."

"You… you're just playing dumb, aren't you?" V then squinted her eyes as she looked Riley straight in the eyes once more.

"Yes." And with a wide smile slowly crawling on Riley's face, Fred's screaming intensified– the sound of his flesh tearing, whispering in the air as the robotic legs attached to him were slowly being pulled apart.

V was used to violence– she sees it almost every single day. But seeing Riley not even batting an eye as he floated the legs away was truly something she did not expect. She had seen his outburst at the prison in the UK; V thought that a person like that was surely capable of expressing his feelings if he wanted to.

But the almost dead-pan expression plastered on Riley's face right now was making her think otherwise.

But finally, after a few more screams from Fred, the robotic legs attached to him were swiftly and successfully extracted…

…leaving him with no more limbs in the lower parts of his body.

"Q… Quick, let's take him to the house so we can at least try to help–"

"No."

And before V could even finish her sentence, Riley interrupted him with a shake of his head, "I prefer to just leave the short man here, Miss V. Our house is dirty as it is because the previous owner seemed to have not yet cleaned it before I killed him."

"...What?" V once again uttered, "But he will die if we just leave him here!"

"You are a member of the Hope Guild, Miss V. Is that correct?"

"...Yes?" V blinked a couple of times, slightly glancing at Fred to try and see if he was still alive.

"You are a superhero. So why are you trying to help a supervillain, Miss V?" Riley said as he tilted his head, "Even Megawoman ends her involvement with supervillains as soon as she sends them to prison– leaving us… earthlings to decide the fate of my fellow evil men."

"Even still, he–"

"His name is Frederick Watson." Once again, Riley did not let V finish her words; interrupting her as he slowly approached Fred… who was too weak to the point that the only thing he could really move were his eyes, which were trembling as they watched as Riley became bigger and bigger.

"He was born in a circus. His parents, both also dwarves," Riley then stated as if he was reading from some sort of script; his eyes the same as always– as if looking at nowhere in particular,

"He awakened his powers late, killing his parents a week after the fact. Frederick Watson then proceeded to kill several more, almost slaughtering the entire town where their circus was currently located at the time," Riley said without even missing a single breath,

"That–"

"Due to the nature of Frederick Watson's powers, he was not easily apprehended. It wasn't until Tempo, who was yet to be recruited by the Hope Guild by then, decided to stop him that Frederick Watson was captured."

"Even still, that doesn't–"

"Further investigation and interrogation then led to the discovery that Frederick Watson's crimes were not only limited to murder but also rape," Riley casually said as he turned his head towards V,

"He locked the daughter of the owner of the circus in one of the cages meant for a tiger. Repeatedly raping the woman, causing her bones and organs to rupture– killing her in the end."

"How… How do you know all of these?" V, who was previously trying to help Fred up, could not help but slightly back away as soon as Riley was done.

"It can be found on the internet, Miss V."

"You… searched the prisoners before you were captured?" V quietly exclaimed; her confusion, almost reaching its peak.

"I am looking at it right now, Miss V."

"What?"

"It does not matter now, Miss V," Riley then let out a small sigh as he suddenly walked and stood behind V, "After hearing that, do you still wish to welcome someone like that into our new house? Are you…

…going to open your door and let the devil inside, Miss V?"