Villain Retirement

"W… wow, we even have a bar."

"Paragon, look at this!"

"Are you… are you our receptionist?"

"There's 6 floors! Half of the top is our office!"

"W… what the freak… I don't know why we need a giant aquarium but I love it!"

In less than an hour, Paige had already scoured every inch and corner of the small building. There were lots of things inside the establishment that one wouldn't really find in a conventional Superhero Agency, for the reason that the place was previously a small hotel– Paige came to know this when she introduced herself to all the staff in the building, even the ones that were working on maintenance.

And of course, throughout this tiny escapade, she was dragging along Riley with her. If it wasn't for Paige finally getting tired, then the two might have scoured even the scaffolds and basement floors of the building.

"L… let's go back to the lobby."

"Okay."

And finally, Paige seemed to have fully exhausted herself as she just let herself lean on Riley's back as they rode the elevator down.

"How… how are all of these possible, Adam?" Paige then said before burying her face on Riley's back, "It almost feels like you have the same abilities as me– able to create and make anything happen, except it's actually real."

"Your abilities are real, Paige," Riley whispered.

"Only for me," Paige meekly chuckled.

"And isn't that real enough, Paige?"

"Hm?" Paige pulled herself away from Riley's back to look at his eyes.

"If it is real for you, then it is real enough," Riley then said as he returned Paige's gaze.

"A… Adam…" Paige then took in a small gulp… before tiptoeing on her feet and leaning closer to Riley; her eyes closed as she softly puckered her lips.

"..." As for Riley, the only thing he could really do was blink a couple of times as he stared at Paige's… face. What… exactly was she trying to do? Of course, Riley was now aware enough that she was trying to kiss him…

…but he had a mask on.

And before anything could really happen, a quiet beep rang in the air as the elevator doors opened– allowing everyone on the other side of the door to see how close Paige and Riley's faces were… mostly the Baby Crew.

"..."

"..."

Paige then subtly opened her eyes, before quickly turning them towards the Baby Crew and almost jumping in fright. She, however, forced herself to recover as she stepped out of the elevator with a smile on her face.

"You… you guys are still here!?" Paige gasped, "If… If I knew, we would have invited you to tour the building!"

"..." The members of the Baby Crew were still a bit confused as to what they just witnessed. But as soon as Riley got out of the elevator and the doors closed, Hannah stepped forward.

"It's fine, Paige," Hannah shook her head as she stretched her hand to Paige, "We would have a lot of chances to tour it in the future."

"...Hm?" Although Paige was confused by Hannah's words, she still shook her hand, "What… do you mean?"

"The Baby Crew, well… At least, I am," Hannah breathed out as she turned her eyes to Paragon, "...Will be part of the Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency from now on."

"...What?"

"I already submitted my application at the front desk, you can review–"

"You're in! Of course, you're in!" Paige almost violently shook Hannah's hand repeatedly, "D… did you hear that, Adam!? We have one of the top superheroes in our agency!"

"...We're in as well," Gary then stepped forward as he sighed, "We come as a package."

"W… what!?" Paige then quickly let go of Hannah's hand as she went on to shake the hands of Gary, Bella, and Katrina– excitedly welcoming them all to the agency.

"But… what exactly do we do here?" As soon as she reached for Katrina's hand, however, her question suddenly put a stop to Paige's excitement as she looked at Paragon… before looking back to Katrina.

"I… actually have no idea."

Superhero Agencies.

No one really knows when they started to sprout in society, but in truth, their birth could be traced back to the rise of the media and entertainment industry in the mid-1900s. The only reason why they were not as prevalent then was because of Megawoman, who did not approve of using the superheroes as some sort of marketing tool– they were meant to save and improve lives, after all; not to entertain.

But of course, as in the case of any other forms of industrial media, there was no way to stop it. Their advances became more aggressive with the loss of Megawoman a few years ago– but it wasn't until Megawoman truly left the planet as well as the death of Darkday 2 years ago that everything changed.

Of course, they could have been stopped since Empress took the seat of the highest authority on the planet– but she didn't. The world needed a change from all the depressing and stressful events that had been happening to them.

And so, the thing that Megawoman and Empress have been trying to prevent became the key to distracting the people from all the horrible things and tragedies that have been dealt with them again and again in a short span of time.

And throughout the 2 years that the agencies and their superheroes have been active– most of those that were opposed to it realized that it wasn't that… bad. It can be a bit tacky and tasteless at times, but it was a much-needed change.

And so, what exactly does a superhero agency do?

Their superheroes are commercialized– not like Hera, who was a full-blown celebrity that's already involved with many films, but a superhero that saves people's lives… and actually earns money doing it through sponsors as they stream their daily lives of being a hero.

And the agency makes all of that possible without adding any burden to superheroes.

"I… I see."

Paige, Riley, and the Baby Crew were currently sitting casually in the lobby as the agency's head receptionist explained all of this to them.

"But… can't a superhero just do that on his own?" Gary raised his hand, "Even now, there are actually companies contacting me to endorse their products."

"Well…" A small smile started to crawl on the receptionist's face, "...That's why those who apply in Superhero Agencies are mostly those that are not that known– C-listers and below."

"...C-listers?" Katrina furrowed her eyebrows.

"Oh, unknowns. They–" And before the receptionist could finish her words, the door slid open as people started to enter. There have actually been crowds trying to enter the building after they endorsed it grandiosely outside, but they were asked to leave since they were just there to get an autograph of the Baby Crew.

Also, the agency wasn't really opened to the public yet… as they didn't have any sponsors in the first place. But the thing is… did they even need sponsors?

"Come to think of it… we're not really getting paid, are we?" Gary then looked at the rest of the Baby Crew, "I mean… they buy us stuff, but our bank accounts really never–"

"When did you and Paragon meet?"

And before Gary could finish telling his discovery, a small smile appeared on Hannah's face as she looked at Paige. This smile might look friendly on the outside, but the members of the Baby Crew know otherwise.

"Uh… I guess we met yesterday?" Paige said as she turned her head to Riley, "Wait… we've only known each other a full day!? It feels longer than that!"

"That is because you talk a lot, Paige."

"You… only met yesterday?" Hannah squinted her eyes as she focused on Paragon.

"Y… yeah, in the Hero Association Tower."

"...I thought you guys was like a thing?" Bella joined in on the conversation, "I rewatched the video of you guys and the truck driver."

"W… well, since Paragon knows my entire life already, we might as well have known each other for a very long time," Paige then said as she leaned closer to Paragon, "Right, Paragon?"

"...I suppose."

"I… see. And what are your abilities again?" Hannah asked.

"Well, I can materialize anything I could think of."

"What the fuck?" Gary stretched his arms to the side, "That's fucking insanely OP. You could say 'No More Supers' and there wouldn't be supers anymore!"

"N… no, it's not like that," Paige forced a chuckle. Before leaning closer to the Baby Crew and whispering, "It's an illusion more than anything. Only I can interact with them physically."

"That's still fu–"

"And you, Paragon? What exactly is your ability?" Hannah interrupted the conversation as she looked Paragon straight in the eyes, "I could see it has something to do with summoning lights and beams– hot enough to heat the air within their surroundings… but you could also fly?"

"Yes."

"And judging by the video that Bella showed earlier, you also carried the truck driver with one hand, so that means you have super strength as well," Hannah squinted her eyes, "That's… a lot of powers you have there."

"I know," Paragon nodded, "I am strong. Probably stronger than all of you combined."

"..."

"Nah, it's not him, Hannah," Gary then shook his head, "He won't say anything like that."

"...I don't know, I mean..."

"..He?" Paige was about to ask what the Baby Crew were talking about, but before they could do so… the entire building suddenly trembled; the windows, shaking as a loud explosion suddenly erupted outside.

"!!!"

"That…

…That's our jet!"