Villain Retirement

The Mega Academy.

The Hero Association.

The Age of Heroes has been going strong for decades now, giving the people hope that they were safe from those who wish to do them harm. But perhaps it was only truly now that it was being fully embraced by the world– or perhaps one could even say that the Age of Heroes was truly just beginning.

The Mega Academy could be argued to be extremely faulty, broken even. It was the first-ever batch of supers actually being taught their powers– gathering them all in one place so that the fire of competition would blaze inside them, allowing them to strive to be more than their peers and predecessors.

The first-ever batch of students experienced tragedies, resulting in deaths that amounted to more than ten thousand students. It was a tragedy that would soon not be forgotten by the entire world– it just so happened that more tragic things drowned them lately.

The Mega Academy was a tragedy, yes. But for the students that lived in that reality, it made the 1 year they spent even more meaningful; more intimate.

The Mega Academy is flawed, yes. But it also produced thousands of heroes. Putting heroes in thousands of cities that might be out of reach in normal circumstances.

The Mega Academy was, in a way, successful with its mission.

And now, there was the Hero Association.

Whether or not the government actually learned from its mistakes with the Academy, the masses could only doubt. Because why would they even build the Hero Association Tower right in the middle of the busiest city in the US?

Almost every New Yorker voiced out their dismay, displeasure, and complaints to the government; even going as far as signing petitions and going to rallies– practicing their given right of democracy.

But alas, as always the case with democracy– those that were sitting at the top could only hear themselves. Their so-called democracy, only effective during the times of election.

The rallies still continued. But now that the Hero Association Tower was officially opened, it was treated almost like a tourist attraction for those that do not live in New York. Non-participants and those who do not work in the Tower are not allowed to observe or watch the tests, however. But still, the crowds gather in front of the building. After all, it was not every day that you would be able to see a barrage of supers walking in and out of a public establishment. There was also the fact that those gathered in front would also be the first to hear the news if ever someone does well in the tests.

And so, almost every hour, a crowd was gathered in front of the Tower. Waiting, hoping that they would be able to see the birth of at least another Grade-A Superhero. And since it was now hours past noon…

…the tests should be starting soon or are already ongoing.

"I bet all the news about you are exaggerated."

The telekinetics have yet to start their test, but it would seem there was something happening on their floor; the whispers of the registrants, filling the entire hall.

As for Riley, he was currently facing the man that suddenly approached him out of nowhere; moving too close to him as he seemed to be trying to provoke him for some unknown reason.

Interesting, Riley thought. These kinds of encounters usually only happen in Italian Mafia Reborn– with random people provoking and pissing the main protagonist for no reason at all. It felt normal in the anime, but now that Riley was experiencing it himself… it was weird.

"I bet every news about you is exaggerated. There's no way you could–"

"Oi! Why are you trying to start something?"

The man seemed to have a lot more to say, but before he could finish his words and move even closer to Riley, a slightly tan-skinned woman moved between them; her dark eyes, looking at the man that was provoking Riley from head to toe.

"All of us are just here to take the test," the woman then scoffed, "Can you stop comparing your dicks to people that aren't even interested in your itsy minnie little willy?"

The man then immediately raised both his hands in defeat; not even rebuking the woman as he walked away. But before he could get far and disappear into the crowd, however, he once again turned his eyes towards Riley.

"I'll just let the results of the test speak for itself," the man said before he finally went back to where he was previously standing.

"...The fuck?" The tan-skinned woman could not help but raise an eyebrow as she watched the man leave, "Is that guy for real? Cringe. Anyway, best of luck to you, Riley Ross."

And with those words, the woman just left– only glancing at Riley once before she too, returned to her spot.

"..." Riley could only wonder what exactly just happened. But after a millisecond of trying to ponder, he just shrugged his shoulders and just once again stared at nothing; waiting for the test to start.

Fortunately, he didn't even need to wait long as a hologram of a person suddenly appeared in the very center of the 35th floor.

"..." Riley could not help but think the hologram was similar to the one Whiteking used when they were in the shelter in Toronto. But since the Hero Association Tower and the shelters were owned by the government, it made practical sense for them to be similar.

[Greetings, future superheroes.]

The man in the hologram then started to speak, causing all the registrants to shut their mouths and listen, 'less they want to get the lowest grade.

[We started a little late today, but it is good that our test is as simple as pushing a button,] the man in the hologram chuckled as he seemed to have pressed something beside him. And as soon as he did so, numerous holes started opening from the floor.

And from each of the holes, emerged cubes– stone, metal; all sorts of materials in the shape of a cube. The size, roughly the same as a trash bin. The cubes were scattered neatly everywhere in the huge testing hall– numbering almost double the 50 registrants.

[We prepared several cubes for all of you,] the man in the hologram then clapped his hands, [Just choose and pick whatever you're more accustomed to moving. You are allowed to do whatever you want with them– lift them in the air, crush them; it doesn't matter. We will be giving you 30 minutes and we will be watching each of your moves carefully…

…fly high, supers.]-- and with those parting words, the hologram just disappeared.

"..."

"..."

"That's it?"

"I heard the Body Enhancement types had to fight each other."

"...What? No. My cousin took the test a week ago, she said they just had to carry something."

And very soon, whispers breezed through the air; all talking about how their information on the tests differed from one another. And very soon, most of them reached a conclusion–

–-Could it be that the test was whatever their interpretation of it was? The man in the hologram did say they could do anything they want to.

"..." Most of the registrants turned to look at each other, seemingly trying to gauge whatever it is their peers would be doing. Some, however, were already approaching the cubes; and without any hesitation, started moving them and letting them float in the air as high as they possibly could with their telekinetic powers.

A lot of the cubes were trembling, with a few already dropping to the ground. But even though the cubes were obviously filled with weight, they did not leave any sound nor a tremble in the ground– not even so much as a speck of dent.

It would seem that secretary Jane was not lying when she said that the Tower was made with some sort of special material, Riley thought as his eyes looked at the cubes raining down the testing hall.

But still, none of the registrants gave up– seemingly persevering to get that good grade. But amongst all the weaklings, there were a few that caught Riley's attention, perhaps less than a dozen of them.

One of them was the woman that got between Riley and the random stranger. Like the others, she too was letting her cube float– the only difference was that hers was now in the shape of an hourglass.

The others started imitating what she was doing; reshaping the cube. But alas, try as most of them may, their control was not as smooth and fluid.

The other one that caught Riley's eye was the man that was trying to provoke him earlier. Why, you might ask?

Because he was currently sitting on a cube, flying in the air, and… seemingly approaching Riley's position at a speed that was definitely not in-door friendly.

"Why don't you try moving us away if you're that strong!?" The man then screamed, enough to garner the attention of all the registrants,

"Do something! I dare you, fake shit!"

"Okay." And without even pausing or hesitation, Riley pointed his palm toward the man and the cube that was flying toward him.

"!!!"

And almost like a droplet of water dropping to the ground, the cube that the man was riding on suddenly splattered open. The man seemed to try stopping the cube from shattering; but alas, before he could do so… the splatter suddenly wrapped around him.

The seemingly liquified cube, completely swallowing him whole before returning to its original solid shape…

…with the man still inside.