Starting With Batman

After confirming that the smiling man's head had been reduced to a paste and that he was thoroughly, unequivocally dead, Charlie finally allowed himself a sigh of relief.

The sight of a man, fully armed with a shield, hurling himself off a building as if shouting "Demacia!" might have looked utterly insane to any onlooker, but Charlie had his reasons for taking such a drastic approach.

[Editor's note - A League of Legends Reference]

Captain America, after all, had experience with free-falling. One only had to recall the opening scene of Captain America 2, where he jumped out of a plane without a parachute, plunging straight into the ocean below. Once in the water, he easily infiltrated a ship, showcasing his unparalleled skills. Later in the same film, he dropped from the upper floors of the Aegis Trident building, landing with the grace of a cat and continuing his mission without so much as a stumble.

In comparison to those feats, a mere six-story building was nothing more than a small obstacle to him.

Once the task was confirmed complete, Charlie operated Captain America to leave the scene and logged off from the game. He felt the tension release from his body as reality crept back in.

It was time to cook.

[TL Note - I think you all know what meme to drop]

As the saying goes, people need food to function, and even heroes are not exempt from this basic rule. Charlie, who hadn't eaten dinner yet, had been so engrossed in the game that he hadn't noticed his hunger. But now, with his nerves relaxing after the intense session, his stomach made its demands known. Feeling the pangs of hunger, he hurriedly grabbed the packed meals from the table.

Most of the food has gotten cold, so Charlie decided to heat them up in the microwave.

---

Meanwhile, Ninth Special Service Division officials arrived at the scene, swiftly sealing off the area and taking the situation under control. The efficient operation left no room for error.

Felix, who had been on the scene, was immediately recalled to headquarters.

What had started as a routine investigation with a low threat level had rapidly escalated. News had spread that Batman and one of his shield-wielding allies were involved, drawing significant attention within the organization.

Moreover, the source of infection they were dealing with was suspected to be related to the Laughing Disaster, an event that had ended not long ago but still lingered in everyone's memory. There was a possibility that the source of infection had not been fully eradicated, making this a situation that required top-level attention.

According to standard protocol, agents were expected to submit a report to their superiors within a few days after a mission concluded. However, given the heightened concern and potential risks involved, the higher-ups demanded an immediate on-site report from the agents involved.

There were, however, two agents assigned to this mission. While Felix was quickly recalled to headquarters, Charlie, who was just settling in for a meal at home, received a sudden message instructing him to rush to headquarters to report as well.

Charlie was genuinely startled when he received the notification.

A report? What did they want him to report on?

Should he provide a detailed account of the various gourmet dishes he had sampled in Walgarh?

He couldn't see how this was his fault. After all, he was just following orders without any personal feelings involved. As the old saying goes, "The servant must obey." The captain had instructed him to eat and drink well, and so he did—perfectly reasonable, right?

The car arranged by headquarters arrived downstairs at his residence in record time. Charlie stepped in and soon found himself heading back to the flying graveyard, which he disliked so much. It wasn't long before he was face-to-face again with the generous captain who had provided him with food and drink earlier.

Felix greeted him with the same friendly demeanor, showing no signs of dissatisfaction with his teammate's seemingly lax approach. He even asked, with a smile, if the dinner had been to Charlie's liking.

Naturally, Charlie expressed his sincere gratitude for Felix's generosity.

Fortunately for Charlie, the leadership wasn't interested in the team's division of labor or cooperation arrangements. During the entire meeting, he remained a silent observer, essentially invisible while Felix presented the report.

None of the leaders seemed to care about Charlie's actions; their focus was solely on the outcomes.

Just as before, the video equipment Felix carried had captured the entire battle. The moment the experts saw Batman drop a smoke bomb and vanish without a trace, they exchanged puzzled glances, each more baffled than the last.

What kind of ability was that? None of them had seen anything like it before!

This ability wasn't documented in any known cases involving infected individuals.

And who had insisted earlier that Batman was just an ordinary person?

All eyes turned simultaneously to Professor Miyazaki, who furrowed his brow in deep thought before firmly stating, "He's an ordinary person; there's no mistake about it. This might be some kind of advanced space technology or a sophisticated cloaking device."

The collective gaze then shifted to the Minister of the Equipment Department, who was visibly annoyed. He rolled his eyes and pointed out that his department handled equipment, not magic. Did they think he could pull a miracle out of thin air?

The discussion yielded no conclusive answers, and then the footage of Captain America appeared on the screen, causing the room to erupt once more.

Recently, there had been rumors circulating in the city about the emergence of other mysterious heroes. However, the veracity of these claims had been questionable, with some reports muddled by the actions of overenthusiastic citizens attempting to imitate the heroes. Until now, there had been no evidence linking these disparate events.

But this footage changed everything.

Commander Ross narrowed his eyes as he watched the scene unfold. This confirmed their previous suspicions.

Batman wasn't acting alone. There was a formidable organization of unknown size and strength backing him. What was certain was that this organization was unparalleled in both individual power and technological capability.

If this were true, the situation was far more serious than anyone had anticipated. A lone knight in full armor was one thing, but an entire organization with unknown motives and capabilities was a different beast entirely.

No matter how strong an individual was, there were limits. But if this organization could send one hero after another, how could anyone hope to withstand that?

The senior officials quickly engaged in a heated discussion. Some speculated that this was an ancient super-organization, still active today, while others suggested it might be alien in origin. What was clear was that this was an extremely large and powerful entity with goals unknown and strength beyond anything they could currently comprehend.

Charlie remained silent, blending into the background as he listened to the speculations. He found the whole situation oddly amusing.

The mysterious organization they were imagining was far less grand than they thought. In reality, he was the only member of the organization, from commander to janitor.

The truth was, he didn't even need to go out into the field himself; there was a specialized humanoid super-powered mecha for that. All he had to do was sit comfortably at home, controlling everything remotely.

For now, Captain America's performance in the battle had been more than enough to astonish everyone.

The moment they saw him take a direct hit from a rocket and come out almost unscathed, jaws dropped. People with special abilities or awakened powers were rare, and those who did exist were usually just a bit strange. It was unheard of for someone to take a bazooka blast head-on and remain unharmed.

"That shield," Dr. Hines pointed out, his eyes narrowing as he examined the footage. "It's not even scratched on the surface."

Everyone quickly noticed this too, feeling as if they had seen the impossible.

A thin, light material that could withstand rockets without even scratching? If someone had proposed this idea without the footage, they would have been laughed out of the room and sent for a psychological evaluation.

But assuming the material was real, what happened to the rocket's kinetic energy? Where did it go?

The room buzzed with speculation as they replayed the footage. The shockwave from the explosion had almost seemed to lift the roof, yet the man holding the shield had remained the only thing standing in the debris. It was as if he were immune to the laws of physics.

Then they saw Captain America beat the smiling man down from the sixth floor with a few powerful punches and kicks before nonchalantly jumping down after him without hesitation.

The complexity of those maneuvers made them wonder if he had somehow circumvented Newton's laws altogether.

The disbelief was palpable. If Batman had given them the impression of a mage in technological armor, then Captain America was clearly a warrior—a tank with rough skin, thick flesh, and a powerful punch.

Seeing the reaction to Captain America, Charlie couldn't help but wonder what would happen when he eventually introduced someone like Superman into the mix. These officials would probably lose their minds entirely...

---

[TL Note - they would spew a mouthful of blood in astonishment]

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