Starting With Batman

Charlie got up early in the morning, multitasking as he brushed his teeth and checked the news on his phone. He scrolled through the headlines until one caught his eye...

A notorious gang leader had marched himself into the FBI office with evidence in hand.

In a surprising turn of events, a notorious gang leader reportedly surrendered to authorities, exhibiting an unusual level of desperation. Witnesses claim the man was eager to turn himself in, with one source stating, "He even requested indefinite detention just to avoid having to deal with things when he eventually got out."

Despite the dramatic nature of the surrender, the agent on the scene declined to comment, leaving many questions unanswered. The specifics of the situation remain undisclosed, fueling speculation about the motives behind the gang leader's actions.

As this story develops, authorities are continuing their investigation, and more details are expected to emerge. In related news...

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Charlie, who had been orchestrating events from the shadows, was left speechless.

It's one thing to turn yourself in, but to bring your own evidence and beg to stay in prison? That was a new one.

Charlie hadn't anticipated that his nightly vigilante work would push someone to such extremes. At most, he thought these guys might skip town, lay low in another city, and wait for the heat to die down.

He had even been toying with the idea of tracking them down, imagining the day he'd fly the Batwing over to pay them a visit after they'd settled in their new hideouts.

He could picture it: the gang leader, having found some semblance of peace, surrounded by cronies and indulging in the good life—eating hot pot, singing songs. And then, out of nowhere, the lights would cut out, and a 1.8-meter-tall bat would drop from the sky, fast-forwarding straight to "Batman is still chasing me!"

[TL Note—I take back everything bad I've said about the author. This man is too innocent.]

These days, Charlie has been trying to expand his operations beyond Riverton. After all, having every superhero in the city wandering around all day might eventually lead someone to suspect that there was more at play. To be safe, he had even sent Batman to patrol other cities a few times.

It turned out his remote-controlled heroes could operate just fine in other locations. The only limitation was that Batman was currently the only one with a long-distance flying vehicle; the other heroes didn't yet have the means to travel quickly between cities.

But this gang leader had found an escape route: prison. As long as he surrendered quickly enough, Batman wouldn't have time to catch him. The guy had learned the value of a fast retreat.

Of course, for Batman, even if behind bars, it wasn't out of the question for him to go in and rough someone up.

However, once someone was in prison, they were no longer flagged as a hostile target, and it would be a time-consuming and ultimately pointless endeavor.

But it didn't really matter. Charlie was casting a wide net. The criminals in the entire city, and even in the surrounding areas, were his experience packs. If one slipped away, plenty were left, so he wasn't worried.

During the day, while taking a break from his nocturnal activities, he'd recover his energy, attend classes to adjust his mood, and check the Ninth Special Service Division app to see if there was any new information.

It's been a few days since the incident with Ethan. With no tasks issued by the division, his chat logs remained empty. However, yesterday afternoon, just as he was about to log into the game, he finally got some news from Tara.

The news wasn't significant; it was simply Tara informing him of the duties he would be responsible for as a new agent. Looking at the details of his assigned role, Charlie raised a brow, guessing that this role might be because he had mentioned that he was a college student or perhaps due to the lack of physical prowess displayed during his examination with the professor.

Tara mentioned that the job would likely involve odd tasks online, like sorting data, filing, or doing some online statistics.

After scrolling through the app for a while, he didn't find any further updates about his assignment and closed the app. Just as he was about to place his phone down, it vibrated in his hand, lighting up with a notification from another messaging app:

"Mom is coming over tonight."

Charlie was startled by the sudden notification.

He didn't know when it had become a habit, but he always made sure to prepare whenever his mother visited. He'd lock up his Reading' materials on the hard drive and hide any questionable items that could cause awkward questions.

But, as the saying goes, even the wisest can make mistakes; Charlie had occasionally been caught by his mother with strange items or "study materials."

So he preferred that his mother didn't see his room if possible, but that was just wishful thinking.

That evening, his mother, Megan, arrived at his apartment. The moment she stepped through the door, she was taken aback, gasping audibly. It was a pity she wasn't exclaiming, "My son is destined for greatness," but rather, "How can it be this messy?"

Charlie, with a dark expression, tried to explain that he wasn't messy, just that things were arranged a certain way. But throwing the dirty clothes that hadn't yet made it to the laundry basket and were fermenting didn't exactly help his case.

After failing to dissuade his mother from cleaning, Charlie had no choice but to join her in the house-cleaning project.

"Mom, leave the headphones on the table. I use them every day and won't find them if you move them..."

"Hey, put that box there; don't move it. The computer accessories are still useful..."

At first, he tried to defend his "strategic" placement of items, but he quickly gave up.

Charlie knew his mother likely understood that tidying up wouldn't make much difference. After a couple of days, everything would return to its original place, and the apartment would look the same as before.

She knew, but she didn't care.

"The temperature will drop in a few days, so remember to wear more layers. I'll take out the thick quilt for you and put it on the cabinet."

"And your closet is a mess, with everything scattered around. I've sorted it for you by season: here's autumn, and here's winter... Make sure you remember and don't throw things around casually next time."

Megan kept talking while she worked, not pausing for a moment.

[TL Note - This is so fake; no mom acts like that. I mean, she'll clean up your shit... After slapping you around for a bit]

Charlie didn't say much, just kept nodding.

As people grow up, they leave their hometowns and familiar environments to face the unknown. Some might become famous, others highly respected professionals, and some might even wear capes and save the world multiple times.

But no matter how much time passes, in front of their mothers, they're always just kids who need to be cared for.

Megan kept talking—about how Charlie's cousin was doing, how his uncle was hospitalized, how unreasonable his father was at home, and how he messed up the house...

When she asked how Charlie was doing, he just smiled and said everything was fine on his end.

All he did now was attend classes, slack off while getting paid, and at night, drive superheroes around to relieve stress. What could be wrong?

If there was anything bad, it was probably for the people who got beaten up.

"Why are you out of laundry detergent?" Megan shook the nearly empty bottle.

"Uh, I was planning to get some in the next couple of days..."

"Go as soon as you think of it, or you'll forget later."

There was a business district right across the street from the apartment. It only took ten minutes to go shopping, but every time Charlie thought he'd get it next time, he always seemed to forget.

It wasn't until his mother urged him that he finally went out to buy laundry detergent.

As he walked through the business district, Charlie stopped when he passed by a Starbucks shop on the second floor. He was surprised to find that it wasn't crowded.

That was unusual. The chain stores across the city always had long lines. Even at less busy times, there was at least a half-hour wait.

Charlie never understood queuing for half a day simply for a cup of Coffee. As a nerd, he'd rather clear another level in his game. So even though the shop was right across from his home, he had never tasted it.

Seeing that there was no line today, he thought he might as well try it and bring a cup back for his mother to taste. So he walked in.

"Hello, what would you like?"

The server had a very friendly attitude, smiling all the way and speaking in such a sweet tone that it was almost too much.

Charlie chose two options recommended by online reviewers and ordered a glass of each.

"Okay, here's your receipt."

The server tore off the printed receipt and handed it to Charlie. As their fingers touched, Charlie noticed that her hand felt unnaturally cold.

"We have a promotion this week: order one medium cup of coffee and get a free snack of your choosing."

The server smiled and placed a beautifully packaged small box on the counter.

But for some reason, that delicate box made Charlie feel uneasy.

He lifted the lid of the box and froze the moment he saw what was inside.

It looked like a tentacle.

A squirming tentacle that seemed to be covered in blood and ink.

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