Avi2112
patreon
Chapter 45:
🕑 Added 2024-06-21 05:03:48 +0000 UTCYou leave your car parked discreetly in an empty alley in Hell's Kitchen, ensuring it's out of sight. With a Bluetooth earpiece connected to your phone, you're ready to receive updates directly from D.A.I.S.Y.
Approaching a nearby dumpster, you touch it with your hands, activating your power, Metal Constructs, allowing you to manipulate metal with your imagination.
Focusing, you conjure up a heavy, condensed half mask, envisioning it forming from a portion of the dumpster. As the mask takes shape, some trash bags spill out from its gap, but you pay them no mind.
Placing the half mask on your face, you use your power again to mold it further, covering half your face and fully encasing your head. This ensures your striking red hair is concealed.
Pulling out your mobile phone, you use the camera to inspect your new appearance.
"I am Batman" You say doing your best Christian Bale impression.
You admire your new look in the camera. Smirking at your impromptu Batman helmet, you find it a bit heavy but manageable. After taking a few selfies, you focus again, touching the dumpster to conjure up a weapon.
The metal moulds into two sturdy Batons.
You craft metal straps to secure them around your legs, enabling you to holster the batons on the outer part of your thighs, one on each leg.
With your phone tucked away in your pocket, Bluetooth earpiece in place, and clad in black attire, you blend seamlessly into the night, minimising the risk of attracting attention. The bracelet on your wrist provides an additional layer of security.
You eye the sizeable metal pipe ascending to the roof and decide to emulate Matt's technique from the video.
With determination, you begin your ascent. Surprisingly, in less than 20 seconds, you find yourself on the roof, gazing down at the ground in astonishment. Your newfound agility and nimbleness leave you pleasantly surprised.
"D.A.I.S.Y. guide me," you whisper softly into the night.
"Go straight through 3 rooftops and then jump to the right building," D.A.I.S.Y. instructs through your Bluetooth earpiece.
With D.A.I.S.Y.'s guidance ringing in your ears, you take a running start at the edge of the rooftop. Momentum propels you forward as you leap the ten-foot gap to the adjacent building. In that fleeting moment of mid-air suspension, your gaze instinctively darts downward.
Despite the dizzying height, an unexpected calm washes over you. The absence of fear catches you off guard, a lingering effect, perhaps, of your prior encounters with Anti-Dravity. Indeed, by all logical accounts, you should no longer harbour any trepidation of heights.
You reach the other roof easily, the rhythmic beat of your heart syncing with the rhythm of your footsteps as you follow D.A.I.S.Y.'s directive.
Your Tesla, sleek and modern, was far too conspicuous to drive through Hell's Kitchen unnoticed, especially at this late hour. And although you haven't designed any of your 'Super Suits' yet—an endeavour that seems increasingly necessary now that you possess powers—the impromptu helmet you've fashioned will have to suffice for now in hiding your identity.
As you traverse the rooftops, you ponder the limitations of your abilities. Full-body invisibility, while formidable, is not a sustainable option, its duration limited to just a few fleeting minutes.
The thought crosses your mind that perhaps it's time to devote some practice to mastering your powers, acclimating yourself to their nuances and pushing their boundaries.
"You will reach Matt in 5 minutes," D.A.I.S.Y. announced as you gracefully bounded across the rooftops.
"Alright, don't say anything unless it's urgent. He'll definitely hear you," you whisper as you activate your Power: Invisibility.
After precisely 5 minutes, you come to a stop and you peer ahead at the rooftop in front of you.
There he was, Daredevil in his iconic Black Mask suit, standing as if he were expecting you.
"What are you doing here, Mr. Watson, and why are you following me?" his voice echoed across the rooftop.
You were taken aback. The question came from Matt, who stood on the next rooftop, a considerable distance away. What surprised you even more was that he wasn't even looking in your direction as he spoke. It dawned on you that his superhuman senses were no mere exaggeration – they were finely tuned beyond belief.
You undo your Invisibility, considering its minimal impact on someone like Daredevil. With his heightened senses, it's likely he's detected your presence through the sound of your movements or other subtle cues.
Then, you leap and cross the roof. "I could ask you the same question, Mr. Lawyer," you say with a friendly smile.
Matt stands up and looks straight at you, as if he could see you through his black cloth.
He stares at you silently, his expression grave. "If jumping on rooftops at night is some hobby of a rich man like yours, then I suggest you leave me alone and go elsewhere," Matt says, his attention refocused towards the front.
You can sense some urgency in his voice.
"No, it's not a hobby. It's actually my first time doing this," you reply awkwardly. "I've recently been blessed with some... gifts, like you, and I thought I should use them for some good … like you," you say sincerely. "Though I'm usually very busy, meeting you today made me feel like this is as good a time as any to start." You chuckle nervously.
"So you already knew about me and had some kind of surveillance on me?" Matt's voice carries annoyance. "Leave it. Right now I don't have time for this. Look, I know you're powerful, but this is different. They're real gangsters. They'll kill you first and think about it later," he says in a grim tone.
"How do you know that I'm powerful?" You ask, genuinely curious.
"Today morning when we first met, I could hear your heartbeat. It's very powerful, and even your body—it feels like it's hiding a powerful strength within it," Matt replies seriously, his gaze fixed on you. "But what I am about to do is very dangerous, and I don't think a young billionaire like you, who has such a bright future, should risk your life away," he adds, shaking his head in denial.
"I don't think I'm going to be in any danger tonight," you assert confidently. "And now that I'm here, why not include me in whatever thing you're doing? I've heard rumours of how a man in the black mask is saving innocent people all around Hell's Kitchen. And if you don't include me, I'll just follow you," you say with a cheeky smirk.
Matt sighs. "Alright, can you see the huge warehouse in the front?" he asks, pointing his face downward ahead.
This was the pier area of Hell's Kitchen, so there were many huge warehouses here, and this one didn't look any different to you.
"This warehouse is the place where the Russian Mafia keeps all their 'products' here, before they send them away by boat or ferry," Matt says seriously.
"Products?" You ask, raising an eyebrow under your mask.
"Girls, women, underage, young, whoever they can kidnap, they bring them to warehouses like this, stuff them in containers, and ship them," Matt says with a chilly calm.
You were stunned hearing him talk about human trafficking. You had seen it in movies, heard it in the news, but this was reality, raw and unfiltered. It was real, and it was happening in front of you, right inside that building. Your teeth clenched hard, and you balled your fists. Inside your heart, an ember started to burn.
"I had pried this information out of a guy's mouth yesterday. Tonight might be shipping night, so if I don't stop them, many innocent girls' lives will be ruined forever," Matt said with determination.
"What about the police?" You tried to ask.
"These Mafia people have rooted in this place for years. They have contacts everywhere. Before the police even arrive here, they would have shifted to a different place. Trust me, I have tried it," Matt said with a heavy sigh. "That's why sometimes you have to become God's fury and punish these evildoers yourself," Matt said, making a fist with his hands, anger palpable in his voice.
In your mind, there were a lot of different ways you could handle this information. You were very close with the Police Commissioner, and you were sure that at least he wouldn't sit still if he knew about this happening. But Matt had a point. They would have to dispatch personnel, and that would definitely alert the thugs here.
In the end, the simplest way to end this was to take matters into your own hands. Now that you knew that there were innocent girls trapped so near you, you couldn't sit still.
"You can still back down if you want. But if you want to help me, then follow me. We have to hurry as I don't know when they are going to ship them away," Matt said with urgency as he went to the side of the roof to go down.
You followed him down the roof, and you had decided not to use most of your powers in this upcoming fight.
It was your firm belief in using the right tools for the job. The Russian mafia may be dangerous and ruthless, but they were, in the end, normal humans, not some Super Humans.
Employing your full range of powers against them seemed like overkill—a misuse of the extraordinary abilities you possessed. Like the popular saying, 'You don't hunt rabbits with a bazooka'. You would most probably adjust your strategy to match the threat level, keeping your capabilities in reserve for true emergencies.
There is also a deeper, more logical reason for not using your powers. This operation was likely a one-night alliance between you and Matt. You are busy with so many different things, so you can't keep going out every night for this vigilante business, especially when you don't even live in Hell's Kitchen. Ultimately, you are not the real 'Batman,' and this is not your 'Gotham'.
You will definitely help Matt out if he needed help or do some vigilante work when you are free or if you had heard some news like this kind of human trafficking business, but it would be just limited to that.
So revealing your powers tonight could escalate future conflicts for Matt. If the Mafia knew they were dealing with Super Humans, they might enlist powered individuals themselves, complicating Matt's solo efforts. Keeping your powers hidden preserved the status quo, making it safer for Matt to operate independently in the future.
"Lets go in silently through the roof," Matt said as you both neared the building from the side.
Well, you had come out tonight for some fun, but it looks like things are getting serious now.
_
Secret Roll Number 1: 39/100
Secret Roll Number 2: 59/100
_
