Harleen watched me in silence from the table, trying to fit the pieces of the impossible puzzle before her: child's stature, magician, adult's mind, a killer, a millionaire, a chef.

  [System Notification] [Transfer Complete: Marcus has loaded "Alpha Squad" Units into the Inventory.]

  A few seconds later, just as we were finishing eating, my cell phone vibrated on the table with Marcus's message.

  "Did they accept?" Harleen asked a bit anxiously, with a piece of food still in her mouth.

  I just smiled, wiping the corners of my lips. "Watch and learn."

  I stood up and walked to the center of the living room. With a simple thought, I activated the "unload." The air in the room distorted violently for a millisecond, as if reality were folding in on itself. There was a dull pop of atmospheric pressure.

  FWOOSH!

  Out of nowhere, a complete squad of tactical soldiers, armed to the teeth and carrying boxes of medical supplies with the Atlas Corporation logo, materialized in the middle of the carpet.

  "But what the...?!" Harleen jumped in her chair, almost choking.

  The soldiers stumbled slightly, dizzy from the aggressive dimensional travel, but their elite training took over. They shook off the disorientation in a second, assessed their surroundings, and locked their eyes on me. Upon seeing my mask, they nodded respectfully, recognizing the "contractor" who had brought them.

  Maintaining my role, I spoke to them with the authority of a demanding client. "You are now at ground zero," I told them coldly. "Deploy and secure the outer perimeter. Start helping civilians and repelling looters. I expect to see how efficient Atlas really is and if it was worth trusting you."

  The squad leader approached with professionalism. "Yes, sir! We will prove we are worth every penny."

  In unison, they exited the house with military precision, taking up defensive positions.

  I looked at Harleen, who was alternating her gaze between the door they had left through and me, completely stunned.

  "That," I said calmly, sitting back down to finish my meal, "is what five million buys you."

  While the chaos was being organized outside, I took the opportunity to send another encrypted message to Marcus. I ordered him to take Ophelia and her main team out of the Inventory at a secure location. Her mission: to initiate negotiations with Hydra using Ophelia as an intermediary. Business had to go on.

  A few days passed. The situation in Gotham stabilized slightly in our zones, but my daily life became... peculiar.

  Wherever I went, Harleen followed me. A strange and fascinating dynamic had developed between us. In quiet moments, within the temporary bases I established, she adopted almost an "older sister" role: she scolded me if I didn't eat, tried to clean me up, or arranged my things with a clumsy maternal instinct. But as soon as a shot rang out or danger arose, that facet crumbled and she turned into a scared puppy hiding behind my back, seeking absolute protection in my shadow.

  I assigned her an administrative role in the shelters to keep her busy and close. Watching her, I could see flashes of what was to come: that fierce loyalty, that emotional dependency, and that spark of latent madness. The Clown Queen of the future was taking shape, but this time, under my supervision.

  On the other hand, Atlas Corporation began to grow at an accelerated pace. With Ophelia handling the dark deals with Hydra, our private army started receiving cutting-edge technology. Simultaneously, Marcus was doing a masterful job in public relations, selling Atlas to the press as the "Angels of Gotham."

  Not only did he gain the city's favor, but he took advantage of the panic to close juicy contracts, providing exclusive security to the desperate elite who would pay anything for protection.

  However, not everything was perfect. Checking my Augmented Reality Map and surveillance reports, I realized a miscalculation.

  Bane. Even having cut his logistics and external supplies, the man wasn't a simple doped-up brute. He was a tactical genius.

  Realizing that the "Ghost" had betrayed him and shut off the tap, Bane rationalized his remaining resources with terrifying intelligence. He regrouped his men, looted police armories, and adapted his strategy.

  Far from stopping, his advance became more aggressive and desperate. He was a wounded and unstoppable beast that kept advancing toward the central precincts, city hall, and worst of all, toward my safe bases. If I didn't do something soon, in a few days the whole city would be lost, and my investment would turn to ashes.

  And there I was, watching the outcome from the safety of a gargoyle, monitoring everything through my Augmented Reality Map. Below, in the city hall plaza, a visibly wounded Batman and a still inexperienced Robin tried to stem the tide.

  They moved well, but the fatigue was evident. Then, I saw the pattern on the map: an ambush. Bane was guiding them toward a dead end, with snipers on the roofs and heavy artillery ready to execute them.

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  Bane was ready to break the Bat... again.

  "Not on my watch," I murmured.

  I sent a command via message to a trained group and Ophelia.

  —[Execute Maneuver: Spectral Jump].

  Ophelia and her shooters, positioned strategically within my range, were absorbed into my Inventory.

  I moved at superhuman speed across the rooftops, and deployed them again in strategic locations to hunt down Bane's snipers.

  For any external observer, it was as if they teleported: disappearing from one point and reappearing instantly behind the enemies, weapons ready.

  Pffft. Pffft. Pffft.

  The sound of silencers in unison was music to my ears. In seconds, thanks to Ophelia and the group's weapon mastery, along with the tactical surprise, Bane's numerical advantage was eliminated in two seconds. His men fell without knowing what hit them.

  Below, Bane stopped. He looked up, expecting covering fire that never came. He was confused, alternating his gaze between the panting Bat and the scared Robin.

  I decided it was time for my entrance. I emerged from the shadows, standing on a low ledge, perfectly illuminated by the moon and the city fire.

  "Come on, Bat-man," I shouted with amusement, my voice amplified by the modulator. "Bane is right there in front of you, all alone and without support. Let's see what you can do now."

  Bane turned his huge body toward me. The Venom veins pulsed in his neck and his bloodshot eyes showed pure hatred.

  "Ghost!" he roared, his voice shaking the ground. "We had a deal with your people in New York. You not only cut my logistics... now you also help the Bat? Have you stooped to being the Bat's lapdog? Traitor!"

  Bane charged toward me, ignoring Batman, intending to crush me like a bug for the betrayal. But before he could reach me, a black shadow stepped in the way. Batman, seizing the distraction, launched his attack.

  The fight began.

  "I didn't become a lapdog," I replied, sitting on the ledge and literally pulling a bag of popcorn from my Inventory. "I just wanted to see a worthy fight. The Broken Knight vs. The Doped Monster. Place your bets!"

  I started popping popcorn into my mouth from under my mask, disappearing into the ghostly fabrics without showing my face, while I watched.

  Below, Dick Grayson—the first Robin—watched the scene paralyzed, clutching his staff. This was his debut, and what a first mission he had landed. I could see the fear in his stance; the reality of Gotham was much more brutal than the training at the manor.

  "Boss, everything went well," said Ophelia, materializing beside me with her sniper rifle on her shoulder. She also stood watching the fight below, fascinated. "That human... Batman... moves with a will of steel. He should be unconscious from his wounds."

  The fight ended like in the best comics. Bane had the strength, but Batman had the rage and the intelligence. Using the environment, and taking advantage of the fact that Bane was blinded by the anger of my betrayal, Batman managed to cut the Venom tubes.

  But even without his drug, Bane was still a hulk of 2 meters and 150 kilos of pure muscle, capable of snapping spines like twigs. Batman, on the other hand, seemed to be on his last legs, breathing with difficulty.

  I waited to see some kind of final martial art, but the only thing I saw was that bastard Batman running in my direction, guiding the enraged giant right toward the base of my building.

  "What the hell...?" I murmured.

  "I don't have your damn ethics, Batman!" I shouted, making the pistol appear in my hand to finish Bane myself.

  But then, my [Augmented Reality Map] flickered violently in red.

  [WARNING!] [Massive Energy Spike Detected] [Radius: 40 meters]

  It wasn't instinct; it was pure information. Batman wasn't fleeing toward me seeking help; he was using me as bait to lead Bane into a kill zone.

  "Ophelia, get in!" I ordered, while my bag of popcorn fell into the void, forgotten.

  I absorbed her into my Inventory instantly. I felt a slight and annoying drain of mental energy upon forcing the initial entry, which vanished a millisecond later when she voluntarily accepted the transfer from within.

  I moved with inhuman speed, but the danger radius was too large to outrun. I wouldn't make it in time.

  Without hesitation, I jumped toward a high wall, hanging only by my hands, my body suspended in the air, just a second before hell broke loose.

  ZZZZZZZ-CRACK!

  A blinding light burst from the plaza floor, followed by a high-voltage electrical circuit emerging from devices hidden in the sewers and streetlamps. Batman covered Robin and insulated himself by wrapping himself in his cape, but Bane took the full discharge of an industrial power grid.

  The giant roared as his muscles convulsed, frying in a cage of blue lightning, until finally, he collapsed, smoking and unconscious. The bodies of the mercenaries I had taken down earlier also danced violently from the current.

  The electricity couldn't jump from the floor to my suspended body, but it did climb rapidly up the metal and concrete structure I was holding onto. It was going to fry my hands.

  'Now!' I shouted mentally.

  I activated {Portal Hands}. I opened two invisible portals flush against the surface of my palms. Instead of electrocuting me, the lethal current entered through my hands and was swallowed harmlessly into the void of my Inventory, stored as pure energy.

  Silence returned to the plaza, broken only by the smell of burnt ozone and the smoke rising from my gloves.

  I peeked out cautiously from my elevated position. Batman, breathing heavily and clutching his side, looked up at me. Robin was ready to throw a Batarang, but Batman gestured for him to wait.

  He knew I had escaped his trap.

  "You are cautious... and intelligent," Batman said, his voice raspy with pain. His white eyes fixed on me, silently acknowledging that his plan to electrocute us all had failed. He probably assumed I used some kind of insulating glove. "But I also see what you did before. You eliminated the snipers. You cleared the path."

  He stared intently at my mask, trying to psychoanalyze me again. "You still have some goodness. You don't need to follow this path of darkness."

  "Spare me your speeches, Batman," I interrupted, conjuring a piece of candy and popping it into my mouth under the mask, feigning an indifference I didn't feel (the bastard almost fried me alive). "I only helped you because I was bored and because I didn't like Bane."

  I stood up, ready to leave, but first I pointed at the Boy Wonder.

  "Oh, and by the way..." I shifted my gaze to Dick. "I'm still not a fan of your boy's suit. Those traffic light colors are screaming 'shoot me.' I don't know how he agreed to go out like that without feeling like a moving target."

  Dick gritted his teeth, visibly offended, but remained still on his mentor's order.

  "So your 'safe houses' were also out of boredom?" Batman countered, demonstrating why he is the world's greatest detective. "I've seen the reports. Zones protected by Atlas, medical supplies, civilians safe... I know it was you from transport logistics. Stop acting the tough guy."

  I stayed silent for a second... I didn't answer. I simply stepped back into the shadows.

  "It might be that I still have some goodness, but that doesn't change our deal, Bruce," I said, my voice turning cold and cutting. "Don't set foot in New York again."

  And with that, I vanished into the darkness, leaving the Bat and his apprentice victorious, but with more questions than answers.