Villain Retirement

"They… are going to board our ship?"

For those that have spent all their life on Earth, everything that has been happening felt surreal—no. It truly didn't seem real; like they were living in some sort of futuristic dream.

Days just passed for them, and if they were to be honest, it didn't even feel like they have left Earth since they still have not seen anything that could be considered… alien; minus the actual aliens in their ship, of course.

But now, the reality that they truly were no longer on their own planet hit them like a strong splash of water.

And this situation… weren't they in trouble?

Diana, a Themarian that is supposedly banned from her own planet. Although most of them were still completely unaware of what she did to become so, it probably wasn't anything good. Still, they couldn't really imagine what exactly it was that she did since Diana had been nothing but welcoming and friendly to all of them.

And then there's Aerith. Although they still don't know if it was just some sort of title, they kept hearing everyone calling Aerith the Rebel Princess. Was she really a princess in Theran, or was it just some sort of title?

No matter what the case was, Aerith and Diana being a Themarian should already be enough to cause a violent stir.

And then lastly… Riley Ross— the one who supposedly destroyed Hotis 4J and the very reason for this blockade. If he was t be discovered, then their space adventure would have been cut short before it could even start.

"Can't we just go around?" Hera, who just accidentally stowed away, was the first to speak up, "I don't know about you guys, but space is a large space."

"They will hunt and shoot us down." And once again, to everyone's surprise, the one who answered Hera's question was someone that had been eerily quiet and clearly depressed during the entire flight— Princess Vera.

"Everyone needs to yield whenever there's a blockade, even the Elders are not an exception."

"...What do we do, then?"

Everyone then started looking around; their eyes, however, quickly stopped scanning the deck as soon as they landed on Paige.

"Yes, I can hide us." Paige nodded as soon as she saw almost everyone looking at her. They didn't even need to say anything.

But alas, before they could let out a breath of relief, Aerith let out a sigh that resounded through each of their ears.

"Paige's powers can't conceal heat and sound. They will easily discover you," she said in an almost chuckling manner.

As soon as everyone heard her words, however, they just all turned to look at Riley. And like with Paige, they didn't even need to say anything. Riley was capable of bending light itself and has shown to be able to completely hide his presence using his telekinetic abilities.

"Right… what's with this setup?" Aerith once again let out a slightly heavy breath as a small smile subtly crawled on her face, "Anyway, it will look weird if there was only a single person on the ship, so… Hannah and I will be the ones to welcome our guests."

"...But won't they recognize you?" Hannah asked as she heard her name coming up.

"Not at all," Aerith chuckled, "The universal… military does not have any records pertaining themarians; or rather, they are not allowed to. And we don't really plaster our faces for the universe to see either."

"Wait…" Hannah's eyes slightly started to squint, "You mean there's no like… universal social media?"

"..." Aerith only glanced at Hannah as she heard her words; her eyes, slightly wide with curiosity, "Come to think of it… I don't think there is."

"...Maybe father can make one as soon as he wakes up," Hannah's eyes also widened, "We.. we'll be fucking rich! Heh… hehe."

"...Paige, Riley… you know what to do."

And with those words being uttered by Aerith, she and Hannah started to leave the deck to wait for the patrol to arrive.

"..." And while all the things that have transpired for the past few minutes were happening, Diana was just completely at a loss; blinking her eyes as she looked at everyone.

Did… they forget that she had the technology to literally disguise herself using sophisticated hologram technology? Why…

…didn't anyone ask her?

***

Although Hannah see me completely composed; in truth, a violent excitement was already filling up her insides. She had faced many aliens before, and a group of evaniels are even staying and resting on Earth… but never once has she been the visitor. In this case… wasn't she and the other humans the ones that are alien?

"..." Hannah quickly shook her head off of the thoughts that were pestering and echoing in her mind.

"Don't be nervous, they can smell that," Aerith said as she very gently patted Hannah's back, "Just act natural, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Hannah sighed as she continued to shake her head, "These people that are about to board our ship, are they also Guardians?"

"No. Guardians respond to threats as it happens. The people responsible for blockades are a completely different department— like some sort of military patrol. They… are most probably searching for Riley's clone."

"My brother– my brother… did he really kill everyone on the planet?"

"You don't need to worry that much," Aerith waved her hand, "Hotis 4J is a place where criminals and outlaws are 99% of the population, if they disappear, maybe the universe would be better off."

"...I never thought I would hear something like that from you, Aerith," Hannah could not help but blink a couple of times as she heard Aerith's voice, "Especially not from a hero that has not, even once, intentionally killed a villain."

"Because I didn't need to. I was strong enough that I could apprehend the villains without harming a single bone in their body," Aerith smiled; if one were to look in her eyes, one might be able to see the things she has experienced.

"...Right."

"You know what they say, 'never meet your heroes'," she breathed out, "And most of the villains on Earth are just people that have been dealt the wrong cards and weren't strong enough to overcome them— that is what I noticed from all the villains I caught. And perhaps the only real exception to this… is your brother."

"..."

"He's more like a themarian that way; most of us do whatever we want without caring for others."

"Themarians…" The tone of Hannah's voice slightly turned serious as she stared at the entrance door of the ship,

"My mother… what was she like?" She then asked.

"The only thing you need to know about your mother now is that she is old and famous enough that we had to study her in our College," Aerith chuckled, "Your mother… is probably one of the most famous individuals in the entire universe."

"Fuck… for real? You guys were learning about mom?"

"You'll find out when we get there," Aerith once again let out a small chuckle, "If we get there, that is."

And with those words, the door in front of them finally opened. And immediately, Hannah's eyes turned wide. How could they not, when a giant frog that stood 3 meters tall stepped inside the ship?

It almost felt like the human-frog could swallow Hannah whole with ease, judging by how wide its mouth was.

"..." Hannah then looked at the human-frog's companion; and if it wasn't for the tail waving from the back of his waist, Hannah might have thought him human.

The two soldiers then started looking at Hannah from head to toe, before also doing the same with Aerith as they started checking on their database.

"..." Hannah wanted to take in a small gulp. Although Aerith said that no one should be able to recognize her, Hannah still could not help but feel something ominous was about to happen. Add the fact that he couldn't even understand the two as they started talking to Aerith in some sort of weird language, she was completely in the dark.

She understood them just fine during the comms on the ship… could it be the ship had some sort of automatic translator?

"Stop thinking too much."

And while Hannah was already thinking too much, Aerith very lightly tapped her on the arm,

"There's no point in worrying, you're just unnecessarily stressing yourself."

"I'm not worried," Hannah shook her head and sighed, "I know what my brother is capable of."

"..."

"..."

"...Now that I said that, I feel a little worried," Hannah took in a small gulp as she glanced at the two soldiers, who were just walking around and looking at the silver walls, "What… are they even doing right now?"

"They are scanning the ship. Now, stop worrying— you're even more suspicious like that," Aerith whispered.

And then, finally, after what seemed like an entire Earth minute, the two soldiers once again started talking to each other. And judging by the smile crawling on Aerith's face, everything seemed to have gone well… one could even say that they were talking too casually.

They were probably taking more time talking than they actually did scanning the ship, whatever it was that Aerith was saying, it seemed to be putting the soldiers in a good mood.

They were also glancing at Hannah from time to time. Now, whether or not they were laughing at her or not, Hannah probably didn't want an answer.

Thankfully, after a few more shared chuckles, the soldiers started walking away— not even a single incident.

"Leaving so soon?"

But then, as the inner entrance door slid open…

…Riley welcomed them on the other side.

"...Fuck."

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