Marvel: The Sole Player

Marvel’s fame within the DC Universe wasn’t exactly household, but its popularity was definitely not low.

Spider-Man, being one of Marvel’s top-tier stars, with that layer of popularity boost, Darian instantly crashed into the sightlines of Gotham’s citizens.

Everyone began wildly speculating about this Spider-Man’s true identity.

Was it the familiar Peter Parker from the comics, or was it someone else?

For a time, opinions were divided.

However, regarding this supernova Superhero, most citizens held an approving attitude.

And this all stemmed from Darian’s frequent crime-fighting performances during this period. The citizens of Gotham just wanted to live peaceful lives; for them, such Superheroes were naturally the more, the merrier.

Coupled with the innate likability bonus of the Spider-Man identity, the citizens naturally categorized him as a friendly neighborhood superpower, just like Spider-Man in the comics.

However, this was only the perspective of ordinary citizens.

Within Gotham’s criminal circles, the atmosphere was completely different.

Now, the entire criminal underworld was spreading the word: this newly emerged Spider-Man was an utterly terrifying individual.

Not only was his physical prowess absurdly strong, but he also wore high-tech gear. His methods were even more ruthless; broken arms and legs were considered light injuries.

Most crucially, this guy didn’t hold back.

Any criminal who dared to resist, he wouldn’t leave alive, sending them all to meet their maker.

Such a radical style was worlds apart from the comic book Spider-Man who never killed.

But bizarrely, this Spider-Man insisted he had a no-kill rule, claiming all criminals who died by his hand were merely asleep, just sleeping very peacefully.

This mental state was just as sound as the patients in Arkham Asylum.

Gotham’s criminals originally thought Batman was terrifying enough, but they never expected a Spider-Man to suddenly appear mid-journey, with methods even more deranged than that dark-clad fellow.

Even a conspiracy theory began quietly circulating, suggesting Spider-Man was likely a secret alt account created by Batman.

To maintain his own positive image, the Dark Knight specifically created a shell account to satisfy certain unknown, perverse desires of his.

But regardless, Spider-Man’s appearance made the already difficult survival environment for Gotham’s criminals even more dire.

Previously, some criminals, to avoid Batman, specifically adjusted their schedules to operate during the day.

Now, great. Spider-Man fully took over the daytime, awaiting them was a ruthless individual even more brutal than Batman.

Nights were even more terrifying. With Batman and Spider-Man both online, the entire city of Gotham directly turned into a real-life horror game.

You never knew from where a dark Bat might emerge the next second, or a red-and-blue Spider-Shadow might drop from the sky.

Some unluckier criminals encountered Batman and Spider-Man one after the other.

One such criminal was first beaten up by Batman. Finally, after Batman left, Spider-Man showed up.

Spider-Man felt since he was already here, he shouldn’t waste the trip. So he made the criminal get up and commit more crime, then proceeded to beat him up again.

What the hell kind of thing is that for a person to do!?

Gotham is a city with an extremely severe criminal circle culture.

The criminals here are extremely xenophobic.

Even though they fear Batman to death, in their eyes, Gotham has only one Superhero, and that is Batman.

In their view, Spider-Man is just a newbie internet celebrity riding on the comic’s popularity hype.

How could he be mentioned in the same breath as their Batman, who has been active for over a decade, practically year-round without rest, and often engages in intimate interactions with his fans?

Thus, a rather powerful gang decided to organize a counterattack, meticulously laying out a trap, swearing to take down this pesky little spider.

Result: in less than ten minutes, that gang was completely wiped out.

No survivors among the entire group.

This directly intimidated Gotham’s underground forces; no one dared to provoke this Spider-Man lightly anymore.

Strangely, although both Spider-Man and Batman operated at night, the two had never appeared together to date. It was unclear if it was accidental or intentional.

And precisely because of this, more and more criminals firmly believed in that conspiracy theory: Spider-Man was Batman’s alt account.

Otherwise, how to explain that obviously expensive, high-tech suit?

Surely Spider-Man didn’t also learn from Batman and go to Wayne Manor to sell... hooks to Bruce Wayne to get it, right?

Batman: "..."

It seemed he would have to find time to pay another visit to The Penguin.

Darian was also quite surprised by this.

He had been so active in Gotham, yet that Bat-brat who treated this city as his own backyard hadn’t come looking for him until now. But upon second thought, he guessed the general idea.

Probably, after Batman’s initial encounter-kill by him, having gathered enough information, he was secretly crafting a tailored countermeasure plan, waiting for the right moment to strike.

After all, that guy’s modus operandi was like that—never fighting an unprepared battle.

Darian was quite looking forward to it.

To wait for that day, he had so far only used the Spider-Man suit, keeping dozens of trump cards in reserve, specifically prepared to surprise the Bat-brat.

However, Darian had no intention of truly becoming Gotham’s guardian deity, learning from Batman to sweep through criminals year-round without rest, vowing to purge this city of its evil.

Having read the comics, he understood clearly: Gotham was a cursed land.

The darkness here was like those pearls in Crime Alley that never hit the ground—an irreversible fact. No matter how hard one tried, it was futile.

Forcing a reversal would only trigger worse chain reactions, possibly even activating the entire Universe’s reset mechanism.

Of course, this was all the official line.

In reality, if all of Gotham’s criminals were cleared out, DC’s writers would have nothing to draw, Batman—DC’s golden boy—would lose popularity, and the entire Universe would naturally go down with it.

So, after building enough public presence, Darian reduced his frequency of appearances.

Now, he was an undisputed Superhero.

With this identity, even if the Bat-brat came to cause trouble for him later, in nature, it would only be a friendly spar between Superheroes.

Just like Superman vs. Batman, where Batman almost beat Superman to death, but it still didn’t change the fact that he was a Superhero.

However, completely disappearing was not an option.

The Spider-Man brand had just been established, its popularity high. Suddenly vanishing into thin air wouldn’t be good either.

Darian simply let the advanced artificial intelligence integrated into the suit take over patrol duties, controlling the Spider-Man suit to fight crime on his behalf, while he himself stayed home slacking off.

As for Selina, this woman knew Spider-Man was Darian. Relying on this backer, her modus operandi became even bolder than before.

Whenever the Spider-Man suit stormed into some gang’s territory to deliver justice, she would quietly follow right on schedule, looting all the valuables inside.

The Spider-Man suit’s AI recognized Selina as an ally, so it didn’t attack her. It even helped clear out gang members along the way who might pose a threat, giving her a smooth, unobstructed path.

Darian’s face darkened when he received the action report.

What was supposed to be a proper crime-fighting operation, how did it turn into a gang-style home invasion robbery?

Just as he was planning to properly teach this disobedient alley cat a lesson, his communicator suddenly rang.

He looked down; it was a call from Director Gordon.

After answering, Gordon’s anxious voice immediately came through, with background noise full of police sirens and chaotic shouts.

"Officer Darian, emergency situation!"

Gordon’s voice was almost a roar: "The Joker gang suddenly attacked Arkham Asylum, causing a large-scale riot inside. All officers are heading to the scene now. We’re severely understaffed and need you to report for duty immediately to provide support!"

[NPC James Gordon has issued you a new mission]

[Mission: Arkham Asylum]

[Objective: A full-scale riot has broken out at Arkham Asylum. The super-criminals imprisoned there have collectively escaped. Please go to Arkham Asylum to quell the riot.]

[Reward: Determined by player contribution.]

Arkham Asylum riot?

Darian raised an eyebrow, immediately interested.

An Arkham Asylum riot—this was Gotham’s signature show, staged periodically. He never thought he’d get to experience one.

"Understood, Director. I’m on my way."

Darian hung up and said to Selina: "Stay home tonight. Don’t go out. I have something to handle."

Selina was quite surprised: "What’s wrong?"

Darian stated plainly: "Arkham Asylum was attacked. Probably quite a few super-criminals escaped. Right now, Gotham is a giant mob spawner. With your luck, you might run into a few just by turning a corner outside."

Selina gasped, immediately raising her right hand as if taking an oath: "You go ahead and leave with peace of mind. Leave the house to me. I promise I won’t take a single step out the door!"

Knowing Selina was terribly afraid of death and definitely wouldn’t seek trouble by going out, Darian walked to the garage, got into a black sedan he’d picked up from some gang’s territory, and floored the accelerator, speeding toward Arkham Asylum.

Gotham’s night was, as always, gloomy.

The dim yellow halos cast by streetlights sped past the car window. The streets along the way were more chaotic than usual.

News of the Arkham Asylum riot had clearly spread. Opportunistic looters swarmed the streets, and some creatures lurking in the darkness also seized the chance for some free shopping. Scattered flames and broken glass were everywhere.

Darian ignored the minor skirmishes on the roadside, heading straight for the peninsula where Arkham was located.

The closer to the destination, the worse the road conditions.

Several GCPD police cars blocked the intersection, officers taking cover behind doors with guns raised.

Opposite them was a group of criminals in black-and-white striped patient uniforms, brandishing all sorts of makeshift weapons, demonstrating against the police, not allowing the officers to pass.

Some had baseball bats, some swung chains, and one guy was carrying a fire hose he’d ripped off from somewhere, the jet of water pinning the officers down, making it hard for them to lift their heads.

Darian took out a portable police siren and stuck it to the roof through the car window.

Woo—woo—woo—

The piercing siren suddenly blared.

The officers turned, seeing a colleague arriving, their spirits lifting.

The gang of criminals also noticed the speeding sedan, grinning as they blocked the center of the road, clearly intending to stop both car and driver.

The leader cursed: "Damn cops, this road is not..."

Before he could finish, they saw the black sedan not slowing down but instead revving the engine louder.

Their smiles instantly froze. It was too late to dodge.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thump—!

After several dull thuds, the obstructing criminals were sent flying.

"Where did these speed bumps come from?"

A confused mutter drifted from inside the car as it drove straight over the moaning bodies, disappearing down the street.

Leaving only the stunned officers on the scene, looking at each other in disbelief.

Arkham Asylum was located on a peninsula on Gotham’s east side, connected to the main city only by a narrow waterway.

Usually a gloomy forbidden zone, tonight it had descended into a living hell.

Darian could see from afar the direction of Arkham Asylum lit by soaring flames, thick smoke billowing into the sky.

The main GCPD force had already arrived on the scene, setting up a temporary perimeter around Arkham Asylum’s exterior. Police cars formed a barricade end to end, officers standing guard with guns, the atmosphere exceptionally tense.

Gordon stood behind a police car, shouting hoarsely into a walkie-talkie, coordinating the police force.

Darian parked his car outside the cordon, pushed the door open, and ran into his partner Harvey.

"Harvey, what’s the situation?"

"The situation is worse than we thought."

Harvey shook his head, his face lacking its usual playful grin, his expression unprecedentedly serious.

"The Joker gang not only blew the gates open but also sabotaged the internal control systems. Now, all the cells in Arkham Asylum are open. All the criminals have been released from their cells."

"Before we arrived, a large number of criminals had already escaped, including several super-criminals like the Joker. But Batman has gone after them."

He pointed at Arkham Asylum behind him and continued: "Our current task is to prevent the remaining criminals from escaping. Those maniacs aren’t low-risk. If they all pour out, the whole of Gotham will fall into chaos."

Darian looked toward Arkham Asylum’s main building.

Flames reflected in the shattered windows. Figures could be seen moving inside from time to time, mixed with alarm sounds and screams. The entire building was like a boiling pot, ready to overflow at any moment.

Just then, Gordon walked over quickly and said gravely: "Officer Darian, you came just in time. I need to organize a special task force, led by me personally, to enter Arkham Asylum and reactivate the control systems."

"Once control authority is restored, we can reseal the entire Arkham Asylum, isolating the remaining criminals inside."

He paused and stated plainly: "You are my first choice, but this mission is extremely dangerous. You have the right to refuse."

Darian was now recognized as the GCPD’s top combatant, so Gordon naturally listed him as the primary choice.

As soon as he finished speaking, the system prompt popped up again.

[NPC James Gordon has issued you a new mission]

[Mission: Regain Control]

[Objective: Recapture the control systems of Arkham Asylum.]

[Reward: EXP +1000, Gordon Favorability +10, Anchor Fragment *1, Random Item *1]

***************************

Thoughts on where the plot is heading? Let me know in the comments! If you’re enjoying the ride, please leave a quick review and toss a few Power Stones my way. Every bit of support means the world! 🙌