Villain Retirement

Even with V's eyes being entirely covered by the green streaks of lightning that were emerging from every pore in her body, they were still able to see the sudden clearing of the skies; Los Angeles, finally once again being greeted by the stars and the moon.

Of course, V also saw the reason for this– Aerith's body suddenly and instantly compressed into a ball, and that ball of meat, bones, and blood was probably already somewhere floating aimlessly in space, frozen by its deadly chill.

…If Riley could have done that from the start… why didn't he just do it? If he had the ability to actually neutralize, or as he did, to completely throw the enemy away from the planet with just a single flick of his finger… why didn't he? Everyone was doing their best to get out of this situation and to save as many lives as possible… so why did he only do that now?

Even now, V was also trying her best. If it wasn't for her using almost all of her efforts in trying to restrain the roaring lightning that wanted to burst out from her body, then this place would have surely been wiped out from the map already.

Of course, that might be an exaggeration on her part– but the members of the Hope Guild had always told her that her powers were too dangerous to not be kept in check. If a bunch of S-grade Superheroes was telling that to her… then the damage she would probably inflict was catastrophic.

And if she wasn't putting all of her strength in trying to stop her powers from losing control, then she would have probably already asked Riley why he didn't do that ball-space thingy from the start.

But alas, she knew that if she so much as opened her mouth to talk, she would lose focus. And with the loud and exploding sputters that were surrounding her endlessly, she can't even hear the words that Riley was saying to her; all she could really do was watch as Riley ever so slowly tried to reach his hand towards her for some reason.

"..."

She already told him to run, right? She used the last of her focus and strength to specifically tell Riley to run away. So why was this white-haired tolkien elf still here? She already knew of Riley's condition, but no one told her he was also crazy as hell.

V's eyes then turned towards Riley's hand, which was still slowly moving towards… her face. No, could it be?

Was Riley Ross perhaps… trying to see if she is okay? Did Riley Ross choose to remain here because he wanted to check on her?

And as soon as that thought raced in her mind, V once again used most of her spare strength in trying to shake her head– as if telling Riley to just abandon her and run away. Even if they were indeed the same age, V was already a veteran superhero; and not just any superhero but a member of the best Superhero team in the world.

But alas, even with her trembling head, Riley's hand still slowly approached her face. And even if just a single finger were to make contact with the ocean of lightning that is her skin, then Riley Ross's entire body might disintegrate into nothing but dust.

Even the floor beneath her was slowly crumbling– almost turning into quicksand as she felt the soles of her feet slightly digging through the ground. The clouds of dust peacefully floating around her, almost like fireflies as they very subtly exploded.

Riley Ross was right in his earlier assumption; V's mecha suit served as a limiter to her powers.

The mecha suit absorbs large amounts of energy; even just a single finger needs the same power as an entire electric truck at maximum power. The large amounts of electricity her body was releasing helped kept her powers sedated; because as Empress described it– V's power was almost endless.

The mecha suit kept her powers tame. Without it, the electricity coming out of her body would shatter and destroy everything in its path as it continued to grow. She could try her best and hardest to keep the lightning within her body– but that would probably eat her from the inside. Of course, she was not sure that is really what would happen, but that is what it certainly feels like right now.

Ever since she was discovered by the Hope Guild; Whiteking had quickly produced the mecha suit for her… and that was almost 10 years ago. And with that new armor protecting her and her surroundings, she was trained by Empress in some sort of island which was supposed to be something like a training ground for Megawoman's disciples.

The only time she isn't wearing her mecha suit is when Whiteking is present. For 10 years, she had basically lived inside the mecha suit– and that was no exaggeration to call it as such. The mecha suit had its own shower, a toilet system; not to mention it was always at a temperature that she liked.

And now… she was vulnerable; akin to a turtle that lost its shell. But instead of her insides and blood littering the streets, it was a violent torrent of lightning that threatened to scorch anything within its path.

And Riley Ross happened to be in that path. Once again, she wanted to tell Riley to just run away; but if she put her energy elsewhere, then the bursting torrent of electricity within her would surely explode– probably erasing the entire city.

"..."

And so, with Riley's hand almost only just a few inches away from the ocean of lightning that is her skin, the only thing that V could do was close her eyes; not wanting to see the fate of those who dared to even touch her.

Tears were already starting to come out of V's eyes as she imagined Riley's entire body disintegrating into nothing. But even her tears were not allowed to live as they exploded almost in their birth.

'Sorry,' was the only whisper she could muster inside her mind. And soon… she felt a pressure surrounding her neck.

"!!!"

V then quickly opened her green bright eyes, which quickly strayed downwards to look at Riley… who was currently lifting her up by her neck. His arm, almost seemingly infected by a million green ants as the electricity wrapped around it.

V thought that Riley would be in so much pain right now; his face, however, expressed otherwise.

Riley Ross was smiling, still smiling. And instead, the pressure that she thought would disappear from her neck tightened even heavier. Riley seemed to be saying something as his mouth moved; but once again, V was unable to hear even a single whisper.

The only thing she could hear were the sputters… and maybe some few broken bones cracking around her neck?

…

…

Wait… is Riley Ross trying to kill her?

"!!!"

And as soon as she thought of that; as if a switch being turned on, or maybe in this case, off; something that she was not allowed to do happened. Something that the members of the Hope Guild specifically told her never to do–

—She panicked.

"No!" V then finally let out her voice; almost like thunder as the electricity dancing around her feet finally crawled away; like a flame in a field drowned in pollen, rippling and covering the ground bit by bit– like a cobweb forever unfolding by itself.

That growing cobweb, however, was suddenly swatted away as V's vision almost faded to black… with Riley slamming her through the ground without any warning.

And now, the growing cobweb of violent lightning was completely drowned by the sudden ripple of the ground; the earth itself, almost swallowing the crawling lightning whole as it lifted a few levels from the sheer force of Riley's sudden slam.

"..."

That enough force should have been more than enough to turn V's head into a paste. But aside from feeling the whiplash of her head moving at an extreme speed… she felt nothing else.

Wait… Was Riley Ross actually trying to help her? It made sense, she thought. If she was unconscious, then the lightning around her would probably also become sedated… or it could also wreak even more havoc. But whatever the case would be… was Riley Ross actually trying to save–

And before she could finish her thoughts, her vision once again faded monetarily. And as soon as she woke up from the very momentary stupor, she saw the lights of Los Angeles below her; the helicopters that had been watching them since earlier, now within her eye level from afar.

And in front of her, blocking the light of the moon, was Riley's silhouette.

"..." Did Riley Ross fly her here so that she could release her powers instead? Without having to worry about killing anyone?

And as soon as that thought entered her mind, any hesitation within her disappeared. And like a raging thunder roaring through the skies, she finally opened her mouth and let out a shrilling and deep scream that could be heard in all of Los Angeles.

And not only that– the electricity that rippled out from her was enough to turn the tragic night almost into day. And from the view of the satellites, it was almost as if a small part of the world exploded.

And soon, V slowly felt the burden inside her getting lighter and lighter; she could finally hear her own breaths again. She then turned her head towards Riley, who was, surprisingly, still in front of her– not even a scratch despite the storm that just erupted.

"W–"

And before V could even say anything, Riley suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist.

W… what are you doing!?" V then almost pushed Riley away– but the electricity she just emptied out inside her was once again already growing at an incredible rate. It is as Empress said… her powers were almost endless.

"It's alright, Ms. V," Riley Ross then whispered into V's ear,

"We are just going on a tour…

…in England."