Villain Retirement

"H… Help me!"

The loud crackle that echoed throughout the street; the shards flying everywhere, as well as the screams of the people was a scene that should not be happening often… but it is. Once again, chaos surrounded the streets.

"You shouldn't have resisted! All I wanted was your money!"

Supervillains.

In an ironic twist, they became completely dormant after Megawoman's defeat from Darkday. The people do not really know the reason why, but they were sure that it had something to do with fear. Darkday did not differentiate between heroes and villains– he kills anyone who even breathes his way.

And oddly enough, most of the people that tried to approach him during his rampage were villains. Villains that wanted to join forces with him… but alas, those villains either go missing, or their bodies would be displayed mangled on live television after trying to make contact with Darkday.

One would think that there were too many superheroes appearing due to the Hero Association. But now, almost 2 years after Darkday's death and Megawoman's departure– crimes done by supervillains were at an all-time high. Partnering with the alien invaders that probably visit every month, the Hero Association truly had their hands full; that was the reason why the tests of the association were fairly simple and quick in the first place.

The people were now dealing with threats above and below, quite literally.

And right now, a villain was wreaking havoc in the streets.

"Please… please just take it!"

"I already have it!"

It was a supervillain named Matchstick. He had the ability to cause an explosion every time he rubs his palm on something– and according to men, it wasn't a surprise that he became a villain due to his powers.

"Look, I don't want to hurt you, woman. But next time, don't get in the way of a super!" Matchstick stomped his way towards the owner of the shop that he just blew up. The woman crawled backwards in fear, causing her to tumble towards the road.

"W… w… wait, wait!" Matchstick stretched his hand towards the woman as she tumbled towards the road, but retracted his hand at the very last second as… well, the woman's hand would've been blown off.

But alas, in doing so… the woman got smashed and squished by the tires of a truck.

"...Fuck me," Matchstick could not help but let out a deep breath as the woman's insides littered the ground. The people that were watching the scenario on the side, also held their breaths as some of them focused their phones on the accident.

Matchstick stared at the blood scraped on the road for a few more seconds, before proceeding to run away. But before he could even take 3 steps, he suddenly found himself surrounded by several people in SWAT uniforms– their guns already pointed at his head judging from all the red dots resting all over it.

"What the fuck…" Matchstick quickly raised both his hands in the air, dropping his bags filled with cash and jewelry, "Where the fuck did you guys come from!?"

"Put your hands behind your head and drop to the ground, now!"

"W–"

"I will not repeat myself, down now!"

Matchstick could only grit his teeth as one of the female SWAT members slowly approached him. He wanted to resist, but as soon as he heard the female SWAT turning her safety off, he very slowly dropped to the ground.

"I… I can't put my hands behind my head, I'll die!" Matchstick said as he lay on his stomach; his arms stretched to the side with his palms facing the sky.

"Then just stay there!" The policewoman then stood on top of Matchstick, pinning his left arm with her knee, while carefully folding his right arm so the back of his hand rested on his buttocks,

"Fuck… now what do I do?"

"...What?" Matchstick then turned his head towards the policewoman, only to see her… no longer in a SWAT uniform. He then looked at the other SWAT team members… only to see just civilians surrounding them,

"Wait… what?" Matchstick looked back and forth; completely confused as to what just happened.

"Paragon, where are you!? A little help here!?"

"D… don't tell me… You're a hero!?" Matchstick wanted to struggle, but could not do so as Paige suddenly grabbed his wrist and faced it towards his head.

"Yup," Paige then nodded as a cheeky smile appeared on her face, "We're the new superhero duo, Paige and Paragon!"

And with her words, the people that were watching on the side started cheering and clapping. They have absolutely no idea who Paige and Paragon were, but it was always nice to see villains being owned.

But the unfamiliar superhero said Paige and Paragon… so where exactly is this Parago–

And before they could even finish their thoughts, they heard a sort of whistle– followed by a loud explosion that caused the air itself to tremble. Everyone turned their heads towards the sound of the noise; even Matchstick, who could have used this commotion to run away, could not help but be distracted.

How could he not, when the truck that ran over the woman earlier was now in pieces, burning?

Very slowly, however, a silhouette came out of the fire– his long black hair, seemingly unaffected by the dancing flames; his ivory outfit, untainted even with all the smoke.

And this almost immaculate silhouette… was currently dragging a man by the neck as he slowly made his way; his other hand, a sort of sword made of light.

"Is… is that Paragon?" Matchstick could only take in a small gulp as he watched as the flames flickered behind the superhero called Paragon.

"Y… yeah," Paige also took in a small gulp as he looked at Riley walking towards them; the flames, flickering behind him as he did so, "Shit, he's so cool."

Matchstick was still previously trying to find a way to escape, but seeing this Paragon– any thoughts of running away disappeared from his mind.

"But…" Paige then squinted her eyes as she looked at the burning truck, as well as the man that Riley was dragging,

"...Why did you do that, Paragon!?"

"Because this man is a villain, Paige."

The crowd then all made way for Riley as he threw the driver of the truck onto the sidewalk, "He ran over a woman with the truck he was driving."

"T… that was an accident!" The truck driver quickly sat up, 

"She… she suddenly jumped on the road. These… these people saw it!" He then said as he pointed at the crowd that had their phones up, recording the whole situation.

"No," Riley shook his head as the glowing sword in his hand disappeared, "There weren't any vehicles near you. It probably wouldn't have made any difference if you stepped on the brakes, but you could have steered to the side, truck driver."

"What!? I… I just told you, she suddenly–"

"You had exactly 5 seconds to move to another lane. The woman's death could have been prevented, truck driver," Riley once again shook his head as he grabbed something from his waist– handcuffs, except thicker.

"Restrain your villain, Paige," Riley then gave the handcuffs to Paige, but she refused.

"I… can't. This man has the power to create explosions when his hand palms make contact with anything," Paige sighed, "I… I guess I can't really complain about my abilities that much."

"Matchstick, my name is Matchstick!"

"Anyway…" Paige completely ignored Matchstick as she looked at Riley, "...I think there's a team that should be arriving soon to handle– !!!"

And before Paige could finish her words, she could not help but suddenly jump back… as Riley suddenly sliced off both of Matchstick's hands. There was no blood, however, as the wounds quickly closed due to the heat of his lightsword.

Even the crowd that was watching gasped as they took a few steps back. The truck driver, who still wanted to prove his innocence, completely shut his mouth.

But perhaps the most silent of all of them, was Matchstick as he stared at his now handless arms.

"W… what?" The pain wasn't registering in his mind just yet as he slowly turned his head towards Riley, "What… did you do?"

"I removed your hands, Matchstick."

"What did you do!?" Matchstick roared as he stood up from the ground and rushed towards Riley… who slapped him on the face as soon as he got near, causing him to roll on the ground several times.

"P… Paragon!?" Paige ran to check on Matchstick, only to see him completely knocked out, but still very much alive.

"My job is to remove supervillains, Matchstick," Riley approached the unconscious Matchstick, "And I removed what made you a supervillain forever. Now you're just… a villain like the truck driver."

"Paragon… that's not…" Paige didn't really know what to say. Of course, she knew nothing about Riley and have only really met him half a day ago– but from his actions during the Hero Test, he was a good guy. A little cold, but he seemed to be kind… especially to her.

But now, to see him so ruthless was…

…sort of cool. It was a dynamic that could actually work between the two of them.

And with the crowd now once again cheering, it would seem they thought so too. And so, Paige gently placed Matchstick on the ground before walking toward Riley…

…and raising his hand in the air.

"My name is Paige, and this is Paragon!" Paige then roared, causing the people to cheer even louder,

"And together, we will vanquish this world of all evil!"

***

"We're revoking your licenses."

"Wait…

…why!?"