Villain Retirement

In a dimly lit room; an almost echo of clicking noises filled the darkness. A pair of eyes were also reflecting what little light the room had; countless letters and numbers reflected on them as Bernard's fingers moved without pause.

There were also bottles of alcohol surrounding him; with most already empty. There was also a sound that has been ringing through his ears for quite a long time now; but the only thing he did was glance at the source of the ringing, only for him to return to whatever it is he was doing.

[Aren't you going to answer?] Prophet's voice then whispered into his ears out of nowhere, [Diana has called you 142 times now.]

"No time for that, Steve," Bernard breathed out; his fingers still typing without end, "This is more important than anything."

[...That is correct.]

"Why didn't you tell this to me earlier!?" Even with his voice rising, Bernard's eyes did not lose focus.

[Because you were directly working under the Government. I could only tell you now that you've told me everything you have done for them.]

"...To think they were hiding something like this… I knew I shouldn't have allowed them to control me, fuck!"

[You did it for Hannah, I understand that you would do anything for your children. But the Government has truly been hiding things from you… Even Dark Millenium, you were unaware she was Silvie-1 and alive, right?]

"Hm," Bernard furrowed his eyebrows as he nodded. And after a few seconds, he let out a small breath, "Alright, this one is also done."

[Good work, Berns. Do you want to take a rest?]

"No, there are still privately-owned ones to take care of," Bernard muttered as his fingers once again began moving, "If we want to be protected from the Themarians…

…we need all the satellites."

[...]

[Yes, of course. Imagine thousands of evil Megawomen rampaging– who do you think could stop something like that?]

"...My son."

[...]

[...]

[Your son is Darkday, correct?]

"Yes."

[That is good. That is why we need to get them here first before they could go to the other planets. The universe depends on Earth to save it. We need to stop them here so…

…let's call them.]

"I know, what do you think I am doing? Stop disturbing me," Bernard let out a small scoff as his other hand stopped typing; moving towards a bottle of alcohol and proceeding to drink it whilst his other hand continued to type.

And soon, his phone once again rang, showing Diana trying to reach him.

[Are you sure you don't want to answer that?]

"No, I told my wife that I will no longer hide anything from here," Bernard breathed out, "If I answer that, then I need to tell her all about this… it's better for her not to know anything."

[That's good. Diana has already suffered en– We have trouble.] The tone of Prophet's voice suddenly changed– almost turning feminine, [I guess we'll finish this ourselves. Thank you for all the help, Bernard Ross.]

"...What?"

And before Bernard could type again, all the screens in front of him shut down– opening once more, but now showing the different shows of different TV stations.

"What are you doing, Prophet!?" Bernard stood up as he slammed his fists on the keyboard, "I told you, we have no time to was–"

And before he could finish his words, a thundering sound suddenly filled the entire room. The almost dozen monitors in front of him, almost dropped to the floor as everything started to tremble.

"..." And before Bernard could even blink, another explosion erupted. Light, suddenly drowning the entire room as the thick metal door that separated his room to the outside was forced open– strong enough that it flew across the room and embedded itself to the wall.

"Bernard, are you– I finally found you!"

Bernard could only squint his eyes as the light from the outside room bombarded his eyes; but soon, as they slowly recovered, he saw a silhouette slowly approaching him.

"...Adaeze?" Bernard then whispered, "What are you doing here?"

"You fucking bastard!" Empress's response, however, was wrapping her hand around Bernard's neck, "I should be the one asking that! What are you doing locking yourself up in this fucking stinkhole when your best friend is dead!?"

Empress's eyes started to dart around the room. And seeing the almost hundreds of empty bottles of alcohol, as well as Bernard's stench that smelled like an abandoned winery filled with mold, the only thing she could do was click her tongue in frustration.

"He didn't just die, Bernard! He fucking shot himself!"

"..." Even with the pressure around his neck, Bernard's eyes were completely calm; only glancing at Empress's face as she continued to scream at his face. But with a small sigh, a rocket suddenly emerged from his sleeves, instantly combusting and causing his hand to plunge straight towards Empress's arm.

And with his two fingers folded, he poked several points on Empress's arm, causing her to drop him on the floor.

"What are you saying, Adaeze?" Bernard then let out a small sigh as he shook his head, "I was just talking with Steve earlier."

"...What?" Empress furrowed her eyebrows; her eyes, turning to one of the monitors that were clearly reporting Prophet's death. No, it wasn't the only screen that was showing it– most of the stations were.

"He's dead, Bernard," Empress then said as she pointed at the monitors, "He killed himself, look at the news!"

"No," a small chuckle escaped from Bernard's mouth as he looked at the monitors, "He didn't kill himself, I shot him."

"What?"

"It turns out that he knew I was going to kill him all along, and his death was some kind of intricate plan– he's alive somewhere."

"What the fuck are you saying, Bernard?" Empress scoffed, "Have you gone crazy!? Look at the fucking new–"

"It's fake," Bernard once again chuckled as he waved his hand, "Don't listen to the news, you know who I am right? I know everything. Hehe… Everything."

"Bernard…" The corners of Empress's mouth began to lower as she finally noticed Bernard's appearance. His hair was completely uncombed; his beard that have already grown out, completely a mess as the residues of alcohol stuck to it.

"What is happening to–" And before Empress could finish her words, she finally realized something.

Bernard knew that Riley is Darkday. It was impossible for him not to know. She thought that Bernard was just in denial and was just processing Prophet's death in the worst way possible… but she was deluded because of her feelings for him, he already confessed right in front of her for god's sake.

Prophet was investigating Riley… He didn't kill himself and he wasn't killed by Riley… It was Bernard.

"You fucking bastard!" Empress could only grit her teeth as she raised her fist, "You killed your best friend just to protect a monster!?"

Her fist was only an inch away from Bernard's face… but before it could make contact, it stopped as soon as Empress's eyes met with Bernard's. To see him so weak and defeated… She had seen him many times in this state before, but never like this.

And so, her fist that was already intent on breaking Bernard's face slowly opened. And instead of inflicting pain, her arms instead started to wrap gently around Bernard.

"What… are you doing, Adaeze?" Bernard then whispered; his words, slowly becoming sedated.

"It's… alright, Bernard," Empress then said as a small tear began to appear on her face, "What… whatever you've done, I understand. I will always be here for you because...

…I'm the only one that truly loves you."