Villain Retirement

"..."

The helicopter wasn't really a helicopter, not quite. As it ascended above the clouds, jets started to propel it forward; a boom, thundering in the air as a skirt of wind followed it for almost half a kilometer.

Angela could really only raise an eyebrow as she saw this — when she was just a teenager training under Megawoman decades ago, there were barely even any jets or planes that were capable of flying like this, let alone a helicopter.

It's truly a shock how technology just seems to be leaping exponentially. No doubt, the remnants of the aliens that attacked them a couple of years ago had a hand in that.

But alas, no matter how advanced the technology seemed to improve… the supers still seemed to be the most valuable asset on the planet. After all, while the aircraft was moving more than twice the speed of sound through the sky… 

…she and Riley were underwater, casually moving through it as Riley created some sort of sphere that basically served as their submarine that was also moving at supersonic speeds — hopefully, this doesn't affect marine life too much.

They have been following the aircraft that carried Soul Conqueror for more than 3 hours now across the North Atlantic ocean.

"We seem to be heading back to the Americas, Angela."

"What, how would you—"

Angela took off her attention from the aircraft as she heard Riley's words, only to see him checking the map on his phone.

"What? How does the map even work?"

"...Technology, Angela," Riley sighed almost as if he just said the obvious answer, "At this speed, it would only be a matter of minutes until we reach land…

…and I think I might have an idea of the location of their base," he then muttered as his eyes were fixated on the Googoru maps.

"What? Where!?" Angela slightly raised his voice as she looked back and forth between Riley and his phone.

Riley, however, did not answer; instead, a small smile just slowly crawled on his face as he closed the maps.

"Well…

…I might be wrong."

***

"Well… it would seem I was right."

Riley and Angela were now above land — floating in a sky that Riley was very familiar with, Toronto. Out of all the places they would make their base, this would have the most dramatic flair since.

"Do you see where their base is, Angela?"

"..." Angela did not really answer him as she just focused on the ruined city below them.

"..." Riley slightly tilted his head to look at Angela's eyes, only to see her irises moving weirdly — it reminded him of the time he and Megawoman were traversing through the expanse of space at high speeds.

"..." Riley then very slowly floated directly into Angela's view.

"Kya!"

And as soon as he did so, Angela quickly covered her face and squealed like a teenager.

"..."

"..."

"...Please don't do that," Angela only shook her head, before pointing towards a certain area, "It's there. There are lots of people underground."

She didn't really even need to find it, as soon, the helicopter landed near the area where she was pointing to.

"Okay."

And as soon as the aircraft landed, Riley grabbed his phone and started going live.

"What are you doing!? You'll be ruining our ambush!"

"Ambush? What ambush?" A small, but slightly chuckling smile appeared on Riley's face as he pointed the camera towards Angela, "Go…

…get your revenge, Crimson Paladin."

"What are—"

And before she could finish her words, Angela felt herself diving towards the ground… straight towards the helicopter.

"Why can't you just be normal for one second?" Angela closed her eyes as she gripped her sword with both hands — and without even waiting for the blades of the helicopter to halt; Angela had already swung her sword multiple times; creating a sphere of slashes as she shot through the aircraft.

"..." Angela then rolled as she emerged from the other side of the helicopter, before stabbing her sword through the ground to prevent herself from propelling any further.

And as she stood up… the helicopter collapsed into almost a thousand pieces.

"Hmph," she then hummed as she waved her sword, cleaning away all the debris, oil, and blood that attached themselves to it. Her posture, however, suddenly became stiff as she saw Riley, pointing a camera straight at her face.

"Can… can you not point that thing at me?" She quickly looked away.

Riley only shrugged, before panning the camera towards the many pieces of the helicopter. And as he approached the wreckage, the shards and parts all started to fly away… leaving only the mangled bodies that were also diced into pieces.

"...Which one is the Soul Conqueror?" He then said as he focused on all the heads that were surprisingly still all intact.

"I think he's that one."

"Hm," Riley then quickly zoomed in to where Angela was pointing, only for the camera to capture a bald man wearing a suit; the lower part of his body, probably lost somewhere as his guts just spewed out.

"Boom," Riley then pointed his finger towards the Soul Conqueror, gesturing his hand like a gun. And as he did so, a hole appeared on the bald man's head.

"Why… did you do that?" Angela breathed out.

"We can never be too sure with these telepaths, Angela," Riley then said as he started poking the Soul Conqueror's head with a stick, "Especially the bald ones."

"Where did you even get that?" Angela said as she saw the stick that came from god knows where, "And can you stop doing random stuff!? You're like a small child."

"I am just imitating Gary for the views, Angela."

"Why do you imitate the weirdest traits of people?" Angela could really only sigh before finally turning around and looking at the ground several meters away from them.

"What are they doing now?"

"They are panicking," Angela quickly said; the tone of her voice no longer containing a hint of playfulness.

"What is their base like?"

"A big box. Ending there, there, there, and there," Angela pointed in four different directions, "It's as tall as a skyscraper."

Riley quickly nodded as he heard Angela's words, before slightly flicking his hand; almost as if controlling a marionette with his fingers.

And as he did that, the ground started to tremble.

Seeing this, Angela just sighed — she already knew he was going to do something like this; that was why she described the size of the base in the first place. Riley Ross… has a flair for the dramatic.

"As expected of the most heinous supervillain in the world."

"I'm retired, Angela."

And as soon as Riley said that, a snap whispered in the air. Followed by a thundering rumble that drummed in the air like a million parades; the concrete desert, turning dark as a colossal hunk of metal suddenly emerged from the ground.

It truly was as Angela described it — a metal box the height of a skyscraper.

"So, this is the House of Super," Riley then said as he stepped forward, placing his hand on the wall of metal in front of him; the tone of his voice, clearly breathing out his disappointment,

"It's…

…just a giant dumpster."