The East End, beneath the streetlights at dusk.
Lynn sat on a roadside bench, holding a bottle of whiskey.
"Jason, your mom died?"
Jason nodded, his head lowered, his emotions strangely muted.
"She died of an illness a few days ago. I left her some Hachimi Southern and Northern Mung Beans, but they didn't seem to help."
He didn't know why the Hachimi Southern and Northern Mung Beans worked for him but not for his mother.
Nor did he know why losing both parents hadn't stirred any emotion in him.
"Jason, your godfather needs a favor."
Lynn took a sip of whiskey, then spoke.
"What is it, Godfather?"
Jason raised his eyes to the handsome man beside him.
The sun was setting, slowly sinking below the horizon and spilling its last light over the city.
The fading sunlight fell on Lynn, gilding his profile.
"I'll take you somewhere in a bit. Once we're there, I just need you to watch someone and make sure he doesn't escape."
Lynn looked down at Jason and spoke earnestly.
Though Jason was young, he possessed astonishing wisdom far beyond his years. He caught on instantly.
"Who did you kidnap, Godfather?"
"Bruce Wayne," Lynn answered.
"Your job is simple. Watch him, don't let him run, and wait for me to come back."
Lynn shifted his backside, trying to get more comfortable.
"Haven't you always said you wanted to see other cities? I'll take you to Metropolis afterward, and we can go see Supergirl."
"Godfather, I don't want to see Supergirl."
"No, you're still young. You don't understand the true value of boobs bigger than your head."
Jason: "..."
Fine. He really hadn't seen boobs bigger than his head before.
"I know what you're thinking. I'll bring your parents back to life afterward, then have them take you to Metropolis."
Lynn reached out with his right hand and ruffled Jason's hair with a smile.
"But my dad said dead people don't come back to life."
"Then let's make a deal. Help me with this, and I'll bring your parents back so they can take you to Metropolis. If you don't believe me, we can pinky swear."
Looking at Lynn's earnest face, Jason nodded.
He held out his right pinky and hooked it around Lynn's.
The fading sunlight gradually stretched their shadows, swallowing them in the city's bustle.
Just then, an ill-timed voice rang out.
"Look at this jewelry! And these handbags! My brothers stole them all from the Diamond District."
"What the fuck? You're saying they're fake? Kid, why don't you take a look at my skin color? You seriously think I'd sell knockoffs? You think knockoffs don't cost money?"
"Holy shit! You can fucking question my character, but you can't question my merchandise!"
A beautiful Black woman was doing her utmost to sell the products she'd acquired through a five-finger discount.
One look at her matte complexion was enough to tell you that the products in her hands couldn't be more authentic.
Quite a few of the boxes even bore authentication marks such as bloodstains and footprints.
A vein twitched on Lynn's forehead. He abruptly stood up from the bench and walked over to the stall.
"I'm in a really bad mood right now. If you haven't paid taxes on your looting, then as an IRS agent, I'll have to come down hard on you!"
The Black woman glanced at Lynn, then cursed contemptuously:
"Fuck! How could a goddamn Asian like you be an agent of our United States IRS? I'd sooner believe your mom's a bitch!"
The young Black man beside her snickered and chimed in, "Hey, buddy, if you're not buying, then get the fuck out!"
"Tsk. You really can't talk sense into these guys."
Lynn shook his head and pulled a Vulcan Gatling Gun from his system inventory.
"In that case, you can all die!" His lips spread into a smile straight out of Homelander's playbook.
Rat-a-tat-tat!!
Homage to the Gatling Gun Bodhisattva: depleted uranium rounds purified the six senses, thirty-six hundred revolutions in a breath, delivering all souls with boundless mercy.
Lynn slowly exhaled a stale breath, his frustration easing considerably.
"Much better."
Beside him, Jason stared at the scene in utter shock, completely dumbfounded.
Th-this was a bit much, wasn't it?
They'd only been looting, and that warranted getting mowed down with such terrifying firepower?
Lynn put away his gun and stood upright. With a thought, he brought up his blue panel.
[Main quest: Investigate the outsiders in Gotham] [Quest description: A group of outsiders has recently arrived on the Gotham map. Investigate their identities and their reasons for coming here.] [Rewards: Random items ×2, random skill ×1, 30 EXP, Gotham reputation +50] [Note: Gotham does not welcome outsiders, especially those damned out-of-towners.]
"Phew... After thinking it over, I've decided to use Bruce Wayne's Batcomputer to investigate these outsiders."
Looking at the quest panel before him, Lynn recalled his investigations over the past few days.
He'd originally thought that, with his identity as an IRS agent, he could find the outsiders as long as he obtained the police department's records.
It turned out those records hadn't been updated in five years, making finding any outsiders out of the question.
"Good thing Gotham has a freak like Batman."
Lynn couldn't help feeling grateful that Batman was enough of a freak to install surveillance cameras and listening devices throughout the city.
Those devices were more than enough to collect everyone's information in the Batcomputer's database.
All he had to do was swap identities, appearances, professions, and so on with Bruce Wayne. Then he could retrieve the information he wanted from the Batcomputer and complete the quest.
"Let's get started, then."
Lynn opened the system map and began searching for Bruce Wayne's location.
"Kidnap Bruce Wayne, swap identities with him, then impersonate him to finish this quest."
Before long, Lynn found where Bruce Wayne was.
"Tsk... A playboy through and through. He's actually at the Imperial Hotel."
With his target located, Lynn didn't hesitate. He first drove Jason to his villa, then raced toward Bruce Wayne's location.
Parking outside the Imperial Hotel, Lynn changed into the Big Bear Outfit and shouldered a rocket launcher,
then charged straight inside.
The next instant-
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions and gunfire rang out one after another.
"Master Bruce, robbers have broken into the Imperial Hotel where you're staying."
Still bleary-eyed, Bruce Wayne heard his butler Alfred's voice in his ear.
"What's going on, Alfred?"
The previous night, he'd attended a high-society gathering and spent a passionate night with his lover before going out as Batman to catch criminals in Gotham's streets and alleys.
He'd finally returned at three thirty in the morning and was just about to fall asleep.
Then, at four, that so-called Tony Stark had called him, telling him to wake up and go back to sleep.
Bruce Wayne had been furious on the spot, wanting nothing more than to catch the man immediately and throw him in prison.
"A robber wearing a Bear Head Mask and iron armor, with a rocket launcher on his shoulder, is robbing the Imperial Hotel where you're staying."
Hearing that someone was committing a crime, Bruce Wayne immediately became much more alert.
"Send over my Bat-Armor, Alfred."
He hurriedly sat up, about to get out of bed.
But then, as though something had occurred to him, Bruce froze.
"Of course. Will you need anything else, sir?"
Alfred asked again on the other end of the call.
"Sir? What's wrong?"
"Alfred, what did you say the robber was wearing?"
"A Bear Head Mask and iron armor, with a rocket launcher on his shoulder."
"Excellent. There's someone standing right in front of me wearing a Bear Head Mask and iron armor, with a rocket launcher on his shoulder."
Alfred: "..."