Thump!
No sooner had Anton knocked than the door swung open.
Matt, wearing his signature sunglasses, stood in the doorway, greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in months.
"Batman, it's been a while."
Though blind, he could identify the person at the door. He greeted him calmly and asked, "You didn't just come to say hello. What's up?"
"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Anton chuckled.
"Come in."
Matt stepped aside, creating an opening for Anton.
Anton entered the modest living room and, as if he were in his own home, poured water for himself and Matt before speaking leisurely.
"The situation in Hell's Kitchen lately hasn't disappointed you, has it, Matt?"
Anton greeted him casually, then said, "But, I came to see you today because of something. Of course, it's not a problem..."
Matt listened attentively.
Anton was straightforward: "I plan to form a superhero team, to help each other out. It's called the Justice League. I hope you can join and become one of us."
"Us?"
"Me, Venom, and Spider-Man."
"Spider-Man?"
Matt raised an eyebrow.
Anton was a little surprised. Judging by Matt's reaction, he seemed not only familiar with Spider-Man but also quite close to him.
However, as far as he knew, they'd only met once, during the Kingpin incident.
It seemed these two had some contact he didn't know about.
As he pondered this, he saw Matt's willingness to join and recalled that, although the two characters had no interaction in the movie universe, their relationship in the comics was very good. They knew each other well, understood each other's true identities, and were considered close friends.
"Spider-Man has been in Hell's Kitchen frequently these past two months. I've seen him quite a few times, and I have a good impression of him."
Matt explained, then after a moment's thought, he didn't hesitate: "I agree to join your superhero team, but I need autonomy. You understand what I mean?"
"Of course."
Anton nodded. "I won't control anyone. The reason I'm forming this alliance is because everyone needs a place to relax. Also, if there's a crisis that's difficult to resolve, we can help each other."
"Very good. I have a situation right now where I could use your help." Matt nodded, not at all polite.
"Uh!"
Anton was stunned: "Say it."
"Hell's Kitchen has been relatively peaceful lately. As you said, the High Table is a law-abiding organization. I plan to live a normal life for a few days… but a troublesome organization has reached into Hell's Kitchen." Matt spoke softly, "The Foot Clan. Go and take care of them for me."
Clearly, this guy just thought Hell's Kitchen was too quiet without Kingpin around.
It seems that even Madame Gao, The Hand, and the Russian Mafia have been handled by the High Table, so he relaxed for a while and didn't want to be a superhero. He wanted to go back to being a normal person.
At least, he didn't want to be a hero for the next few days.
"Live a normal life for a few days?"
Anton's expression was complicated.
He understood that, whether in the movie or the comic, the story of Matt Murdock, including his career as Daredevil, couldn't be called a lighthearted read. It was a convoluted, soap opera-esque tale of grudges and entanglements.
Matt lost his mother at a young age, his father in his youth, and his wife later in life. The people around him, his friends and family, all suffered one after another. It was a tragedy.
Anton was deeply impressed.
In the comics, when Matt was invited by Captain America to join the Avengers, he said something.
"Being a superhero is torture for me!"
Honestly, Daredevil had been on edge for so long. In other versions of the story, he wasn't exactly a stranger to going dark.
This guy needed a break!
Coincidentally, just over two months after the Kingpin incident ended, when Matt had just started to think about relaxing, Anton showed up, saying they could help each other...
Matt naturally found a reason to smoothly pass the Daredevil job to Anton.
But, speaking of which…
"Foot Clan?"
Anton's expression was strange.
He wasn't unfamiliar with this organization. He was surprised, saying, "How did this organization appear in Hell's Kitchen?"
These two names just didn't go together!
One was Mirage Studios, the other was Marvel Comics.
What a mess this world had mixed together!
"It was originally a Brooklyn gang, not as powerful as Kingpin, but still noteworthy," Matt said. "After Kingpin was arrested, the High Table took control of Hell's Kitchen, causing some conflicts. Many gangs planned to take advantage of the situation, and it was one of them."
After a pause, he added meaningfully, "It's also one of the most active ones, and perhaps there's more to it than meets the eye."
"Is that so?"
Anton considered this, then readily agreed to Matt's request: "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. I'll handle the Foot Clan."
He didn't mind giving Matt a couple of days to rest.
After contacting Spider-Man and Matt, he didn't have much else to do. Might as well find something to occupy himself.
The Foot Clan, now integrated into the Marvel worldview, was a situation he didn't fully understand.
However, Anton, drawing on the plotlines in his mind, could grasp the situation more easily than others.
Most importantly, the appearance of the Foot Clan meant that four little turtles were currently living in the sewers.
If I could get the Turtles to join the Justice League as mascots, that'd be great!
"The Justice League's temporary base is set up at the Daily Bugle. If anything comes up, you know who to contact there."
Anton then took his leave.
He left with those words and got up to go.
To be honest, Batman's identity wasn't a secret at all to Matt's senses.
Matt's super senses didn't rely on sight to recognize someone; he used hearing.
Anton's voice, the sound of his footsteps, even the changes in his tone – all of these were what Matt used to identify a person.
Batman's identity would be hard to hide from such a "monster" with super senses.
As for Venom's true identity, which was actually the Daily Bugle's editor-in-chief, Eddie Brock… Anton wasn't too sure if Matt knew about that.
Of course, Anton had reason to believe that this wouldn't be a difficult puzzle for Matt to solve either.
As for why he agreed to Matt's request...
First, he felt sympathy for Matt.
Second, after learning of the Foot Clan's existence, he developed a different kind of interest in the matter.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Bringing these four interesting turtles, and Master Splinter behind them, into the Justice League as formal members, not to mention the increase in the Justice League's combat power, simply using them as mascots would be a very good choice.
Besides, Anton quite liked the four turtles.
The original work and the movies emphasized that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles could only live in the sewers, that underground world belonging to them, and at most, come out during the Halloween parade.
But Anton felt that in a place like Marvel, the four turtles didn't need to hide themselves so diligently.
This may be a chaotic world, but it's also a tolerant one.
The existence of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles isn't exactly shocking, just a bit odd.
Especially after the Battle of New York.
People can accept aliens; Earth-born turtles are nothing.
If Anton were to debut the four little turtles as an idol boy band for DC Comics, he might even start a "pet turtle" craze.
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)