Villain Retirement

Arlington Hero Cemetery.

A graveyard of heroes that have made a difference to the world— no. Perhaps it was better to say that it was a resting place for those that have wanted to make the world a better place. There are thousands and thousands of them; their lives and even their death, not for themselves but for others.

It is also the place where they were supposed to build a monument for Megawoman, but then Riley returned her to the world.

"..." That felt almost like a lifetime ago. And for Riley…

…perhaps it is as he technically died.

"...Pft."

A small chuckle whispered through the skies as Riley chuckled at his own thoughts. Truly, a lot has happened since he formally rested the mantle of Darkday— one might even say that his stagnant life moved forward drastically… and this dying world would agree.

Riley continued to fly for a few more minutes; the sun, almost being absorbed by his long black hair. And finally, he arrived above the airspace of the Arlington Hero Cemetery… and it was completely unscathed unlike the rest of the world.

Riley could even say that it was peaceful. It made sense, of course— the House of Super would never destroy a place where the legacy and glory of supers of the past are prevalent.

"...Oh,"

Riley then quickly descended to the ground as his eyes suddenly landed on a familiar silhouette in the very center of the cemetery— it wasn't human, no; but a statue.

A statue of Megawoman.

"..." Aerith isn't dead yet— did they end up building the monument after all? Perhaps they took Megawoman's departure from the planet as a sign to finally bury her legacy. Or was this already here even before he and Aerith left?

"..." Riley then looked around to see if anyone else was in the graveyard, before letting his phone float as he took a photo of the statue, with him standing in front. This would be a good photo to show Aerith once they meet again— perhaps also remind her of her time on Earth once they leave for the stars.

"Good," Riley whispered to himself as he checked the photo. A few seconds after, however, he took a deep breath and allowed his eyes to see the entirety of the cemetery's horizons.

He did not realize it when he landed, but there should be many here… which Riley himself buried. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps?

There should also be many that did not require burial; either for the reason of religion or simply that there were no remains to be buried. And of course, there was also the fact that some were actually alive— his Guests.

If he was right, then his Guests should be in the care of the villain organization, Endless Dark. An organization led by none other than his Second Subordinate, Nightqueen… Tomoe Reynolds.

"..." Riley could not help but nod as his thoughts wandered towards Tomoe. She… has always been loyal; even now, she continues Riley's work even without him asking her to.

It just truly is disappointing that she was Hannah's friend, Riley thought as his sighs almost crawled throughout the entire cemetery. And soon, he started walking around to find where Alice Lane is buried.

Of course, he had no idea if Alice even had anything to do with the so-called 'situation' that was reported to Empress— either way, it didn't matter. He was just… curious.

"Where could you be, biological mother?"

The last time they were together, he was 2 years old— any memories of that time have already been completely overwritten. In fact, the only memory he has of Alice was through photos, and she was always wearing a mask.

He didn't even know what she really looked like.

No, that wasn't entirely right. The last time he saw her was back in London. An illusion, hallucination, a ghost? There really was no way for him to know.

And perhaps it also didn't matter that he knew what she looked like? After all, her bones would have already melted by now.

"..."

Riley continued to walk across the cemetery; checking the names of the heroes buried there.

"Oh, I remember him."

"They… didn't cremate her? Interesting."

"He didn't get buried with his daughter?"

"I thought she was of a different religion."

Riley whispered to himself each time he recognized a name etched on the gravestones— and he recognized a lot of them. He put them there, after all… and he always strived to remember the names of those who he had killed.

When Riley started getting… the urge to end life, for some reason, he wanted to get something from the slaughtered. At first, he wanted to get a fragment of their possession, but he had nowhere to place them all and it would be too messy.

And so, he settled with their names…

"Oh, I remember your screams. I think I still have it on my phone."

…as well as a recording of their screams.

Riley checked on his phone. He had already transferred all of the files from his old phone, and that included the raw files of his victims' screams— a list.

A list that took him almost half an hour just to scroll to until he could finally find what he was looking for.

"Super 321,420. This should be you," Riley then faced his phone towards the gravestone before playing it— and as soon as he did so, an almost visceral and cracking shriek raged in the peaceful air of the cemetery.

"It truly is quite memorable, Summit," he nodded to himself as he replayed the recording over and over again, "You have the same ability as the Caesar. He was a lot weaker, though. You…

…you could have even been a part of the Hope Guild if you lived."

"..."

"..."

"Hm," a small sigh then escaped Riley's lips as he finally stopped playing the scream and hid his phone; his eyes, still staring at Summit's tombstone,

"What could have been if I wasn't there, right? You could have been a great hero, Summit. And not just you, but everyone here."

"..."

"I'm not just surrounded by death and corpses, but also lost futures…

…I understand that now."

Riley took in a deep breath as he looked at the sky; the clouds, starting to form the darkness. And soon, thunders began to reverberate in the air as the first drop of the rain fell. But before this drop could reach the ground, it withered away.

"Not this time," Riley whispered. And as he did so, the clouds suddenly rippled away, once again opening the sky and letting the sun bathe the grass.

"In life, the darkness I created became your end. You do not have to carry that darkness in death, Summit… you are at peace, and for that, I apologize."

Riley's eyes did not leave Summit's grave, "I do not know if this would offer any of you relief, but you would be pleased to know that I can never join any of you."

Riley finally stepped away as he once again started walking through the cemetery,

"My future is to live. My future is to walk eternally with death beneath my feet. There will be more graves, not just in this plane… but even in the stars," he whispered as he looked to the sky,

"I have seen what's out there. There will be billions— trillions more of you. Perhaps that is the reason why I do not die, the reason why I will walk forever…

…because life will never end. It will always flourish until I stop it."

The grass beneath Riley's feet stopped dancing as his steps finally halted, "Perhaps that is my purpose… mother."

Riley's sigh once again almost whispered throughout the entire cemetery as he looked at the grave in front of him,

'Here lies Ms. Phoenix, beloved daughter, and mother.'

"Hm," Riley quickly stepped a few meters back to check if the grass around her grave was altered, or disarranged in any way— but it was completely clean; nothing at all amiss.

"I thought you were the same as me. No. Perhaps it is better to say that I thought I am the same as you… a being not capable of death," Riley then whispered to himself as he stared at Alice's grave,

"I… don't really know what I expected when I saw that there was activity in this area. But I suppose it is safe to say it's not you."

"..."

"..."

And after a few breaths, Riley sat on the ground, crossing his legs as both his palms brushed the grass around him.

"Hello mother," he then said, "We haven't formally met and probably never will, but I am your son, Riley Ross. Although I suppose you know me as Riley Lane, but I don't think the name works well, no?"

"..."

"..."

"Your future. I wonder what it would have looked like if you were just a normal mother, and I was just a normal son? Would you have taken care of me?" A small but subtle smile appeared on Riley's face,

"I heard you have the same temper as Hannah, but completely almost like a child that never really grew up. Would… you really have been alright with a future together with me?"

"..."

"..."

"Would have all of these graves beside you been prevented? Would I be the monster I am now?" Riley breathed out, 

"It is all quite fascinating, really. I used to not think of anything else but the present, but now I find myself curious about the past and what could have been. And right now, I am even wondering…

…if I could have been human if you would have just taken care of me."