Starting With Batman

A dark red figure crouched on top of the tallest building in the city, his presence a silent sentinel over Riverton's sleeping landscape. The city, draped in the shroud of night, seemed to lie peacefully within a vast, intricate tapestry. Different shades of black intertwined to form the primary hues. At the same time, the distant glow of red and green lights, typical of an urban sprawl, punctuated the darkness like errant brushstrokes on an artist's canvas.

But he couldn't actually "see" any of this.

For this dark red figure, a superhero known as Daredevil, was blind.

After acquiring the new hero, Charlie couldn't wait to put Daredevil through his paces. Unlike the previous street-level heroes, who bore similarities to Batman but fell short in most aspects, Daredevil brought something unique to the table. Though he, too, was a street-level hero known for his combat skills, Daredevil possessed a remarkable superpower that set him apart.

His power wasn't rooted in physical strength or agility but in an extraordinary sense of perception.

Daredevil, whose real name was Matt Murdock, was known to many as a lawyer—a fact that had earned him the nickname "Lawyer Matt."

When Matt was a child, a terrible accident involving a truck loaded with chemical reagents changed his life forever. The truck overturned, spilling its radioactive contents, which blinded Matt. Though he lost his vision, the accident unexpectedly enhanced his remaining four senses to superhuman levels, giving him a unique ability called "radar sense."

[TL Note - I thought that on his way home from school, he took a detour into a construction site, and a forklift swerved to the side, causing the forked edge to tear open nearby chemical reagents, thus blinding him... oh well, I guess it's the same thing]

In simple terms, this ability allowed Matt to perceive the world in a way far beyond the capabilities of ordinary humans.

With radar sense, Lawyer Matt navigated his surroundings differently than others. Instead of relying on sight, he primarily used his heightened sense of hearing.

But his hearing was unlike that of Superman, who could detect the sound of a pin dropping on the other side of the planet. Daredevil's hearing was more akin to sonar, mapping the world around him in a highly detailed, three-dimensional manner. Although his range wasn't as vast as Superman's, the sounds Matt detected enabled him to construct vivid, accurate 3D models of his environment in his mind.

[TL Note - Much like Toph Beifong from Avatar the last airbender]

In essence, Lawyer Matt "saw" with his ears, interpreting sounds into images in a way that far surpassed the capabilities of ordinary hearing.

Because of this extraordinary ability, solid walls and other obstacles were meaningless to Lawyer Matt's senses; the entire world was rendered transparent in his mind's eye.

His radar sense allowed him to visualize entire streets and buildings in his mind, and if he concentrated, he could even detect the slightest movements within these structures, such as the soft creaking of floorboards or the muffled conversations taking place inside.

And this incredible ability was vividly displayed on Charlie's monitor. When he switched to Daredevil while navigating the urban landscape, the screen instantly transformed into a muted, gray-toned world.

The visual effect was strikingly similar to Eagle Vision in the Assassin's Creed series, a filter that made hidden details and objectives stand out amidst the gray backdrop.

At that moment, Charlie's experience felt similar to using Batman's detective vision but with far greater depth and detail, enhancing the immersion tenfold.

The first noticeable improvement was the range of detection. Daredevil's radar sense covered nearly twice the distance of Batman's detective mode, and within this expansive range, no movement went unnoticed by Lawyer Matt.

Additionally, Daredevil's auditory enhancement was nothing short of extraordinary. As Matt perched on the rooftop, Charlie could clearly hear every sound from the bustling street below, from the honking of distant cars to the whispered conversations of the pedestrians. The game's audio design made it feel as though Charlie had been transported directly into Daredevil's world, with 360-degree surround sound enveloping him from all sides.

And this was with Daredevil's hearing automatically suppressed. With his full hearing activated, the sheer volume of information and noise could overwhelm a person, leading to sensory overload and potential mental breakdown. Fortunately, Matt had undergone extensive training since childhood to filter out unnecessary noise and focus on relevant sounds, a skill that had become second nature to him.

Charlie discovered that he could manipulate Daredevil's radar sense to enhance his hearing further, allowing Matt to target specific directions or rooms for more precise monitoring. In these cases, Matt's hearing became so acute that he could detect even the faintest whisper or the subtle rustle of clothing from hundreds of feet away.

After just a few minutes of gameplay, Charlie found the experience to be both exhilarating and disorienting. It was as if he had fully immersed himself in Daredevil's first-person perspective. Every movement of the character brought with it a cascade of sound effects, creating an intense sensory experience that was unlike anything Charlie had encountered before. He could hear every word of the conversation taking place in the barbershop below, where Aunt Linda was once again boasting about her good looks.

However, the visual information on the game screen was limited to what Lawyer Matt could detect with his radar sense.

When playing as other hero characters, Charlie could usually stand at a high vantage point and gaze out across the city, the horizon stretching out to where the city met the sky. But with Lawyer Matt in control, the area beyond his detection range was a blurry, indistinct void, leaving the screen shrouded in darkness.

Moreover, Lawyer Matt's ability to detect extraordinary events was more sensitive than Batman's. As Charlie guided Daredevil across the rooftops, an exclamation point suddenly appeared at the edge of the screen, indicating a detected event.

Based on Charlie's past experience, if he had been playing as another hero, this event would have remained hidden at such a distance.

Without hesitation, Charlie directed Daredevil toward the source of the signal. In the dead of night, the red-clad hero deftly pulled out the short stick strapped to his leg and swung it, sending the attached rope flying through the air.

The short stick was Daredevil's signature weapon, a versatile tool similar in function to Batman's grappling gun. It allowed him to swing between buildings, scale walls, and traverse the city's rooftops with ease.

Fans of Daredevil would recognize the similarities between him and Batman, two heroes who often walked parallel paths. However, Daredevil lacked Batman's wealth, advanced equipment, and extensive training. Despite these differences, both characters shared a deep commitment to justice, a determination to protect the innocent, and a complex moral code that often set them apart from other heroes.

But Daredevil wasn't always the brooding, complex character fans knew him to be. In his early days, despite his tragic backstory involving the death of his father, Daredevil's storylines were relatively straightforward, lacking the depth and complexity that would later define him. He spent much of his time battling low-level street thugs in outlandish costumes, while his personal life revolved around clichéd love triangles with his best friend and secretary.

It wasn't until Frank Miller, the legendary writer behind such iconic works as Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, took the reins of Daredevil's story that the character underwent a dramatic transformation.

Miller brought his signature darkness, grit, and psychological depth to Daredevil, reshaping Lawyer Matt into a character with many of the same qualities that had made Batman so compelling. Under Miller's direction, Daredevil became a more complex and nuanced figure, grappling with inner demons, facing off against more dangerous and cunning villains, and navigating a world filled with moral ambiguity.

And yes, Lawyer Matt inherited another of Miller's trademarks: despite his relative poverty, he led a life filled with romantic entanglements. His past relationships included Karen, his loyal secretary; Typhoid Mary, a dangerous supervillain with dissociative identity disorder; and Erica, a deadly assassin from the Hand, among others.

[TL Note - I thought Electra was a member of the Chase???WTF???]

Even Marvel's iconic Black Widow had been romantically involved with him at one point.

Of course, considering Black Widow's extensive dating history, it was hard to keep track—she had enough ex-boyfriends to field two football teams, complete with substitutes.

It was often difficult to determine who was chasing whom in these relationships.

…

Samuel stood on the pier, his hands tucked deep into his sleeves, shivering as the cold wind blew across the water. The night air was frigid, biting at his skin, and the waves lapping against the dock only intensified the chill.

Yesterday had been his eighteenth birthday, but the day had passed without so much as a word from anyone. His parents, long since divorced, had moved on with their new lives, leaving him to navigate the world alone.

He had dropped out of high school two years ago, and since then, his life had spiraled into a chaotic blur of poor decisions and questionable alliances. Aimless and desperate, he had fallen in with a rough crowd, drawn into the criminal underworld by promises of money, power, and a sense of belonging.

Lately, luck seemed to have turned in his favor. Big D, a notorious gang leader with a fearsome reputation, had taken an interest in him. Big D was known throughout the area for his ruthlessness—his subordinates feared him as much as his enemies did.

And Samuel was no exception.

This was his first mission under Big D's command, and Samuel was determined not to mess it up. All he wanted was to get the job done, keep his head down, and avoid drawing any unwanted attention. He had been told to talk less, do more, and never ask questions—a rule he intended to follow to the letter.

But when the shipment they had been waiting for finally arrived, and the container doors creaked open with the sound of heavy metal chains, Samuel's resolve faltered. He couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock at what he saw.

Inside the container were… people?

---

On a serious note, to all my readers, if you ever encounter or even suspect trafficking at play, please report it to the local authorities.

I believe you all are mostly like Charlie, are primarily passive in your actions, and find it troublesome to stand up and get involved. Still, even an anonymous report goes a long way.

With all the love and positivity in the world

-One sword

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Thank you, and Sword out!