1 Who Are You?

In the city of Gotham, a place filled to the brim with criminals running rampant through its streets.

People such as the Joker were causing chaos wherever they roamed.

But when things started to look bleak for the city, a hero by the name of Batman arrived to keep its citizens safe.

However, the man was labeled as a vigilante and deemed a criminal as well by taking the law into his own hands.

But instead, of taking lives the Batman always had a rule to never kill, and that rule helped the courageous man become the hero he is today.

After Batman's rising popularity, people began to realize that he wasn't the only superhero protecting the cities as there was another one by the name of Superman!

Everyone knew of the powerhouse alien that protected Metropolis with his abilities such as super strength or the ability to fly faster than a speeding bullet!

It seemed that it was the era of superheroes and villains as they seemed to spring up everywhere you looked. And with the growing amount, an organization named the Justice League sprouted.

Heroes from all over the globe gathered together to help tackle tasks that were too much for one alone. The organization had a few mixed views, but it was an undeniable fact that the people of Earth could rely on this group of heroes to defend them from all types of threats.

Batman prided himself on keeping tabs on potential members, but there was a young man in particular that went completely under the radar.

He had short golden blonde hair with a single braid hanging across his left cheek, eyes the color of elegant rubies, and light brown skin.

The man's features were highly desirable, his body was tall, standing at an impressive 6'3 in height. He had muscles that were lean and compact without a shred of useless fat leaving only the parts where it's required. He could have easily become a model, especially with his straight eyebrows and chiseled jaw.

But how could such a man stay hidden?

It was the fact that he was actually not even born in this world.

He was transferred there without his permission!

Though, instead of trying to form a new life, the young man was wasting his life away in a run-down apartment complex near a bad neighborhood. Things such as security or stable electricity were considered a luxury there and homeless people could be found living in the dark alleyways.

A place filled with suffering and hopelessness that showed on everyone's exhausted faces.

>>>>><<<<<

"Ugh..." The golden-haired man woke up in his terrible excuse of a bed covered with bottles of alcohol. "Another day..." The man groaned, slowly crawling out of bed, and looking around his apartment while shielding his eyes from the sunlight that peered through his window.

His apartment...was an absolute mess.

Trash bags and bottles strung around as if the place was his own dumpster. Most people would wonder how could a person live in this kind of filth, but with his current mindset he didn't care.

A few would say that a home says a lot about the owner's personality and his was screaming, "A piece of shit."

But even if someone pointed it out, it would only fall on deaf ears as he's been living like this for the past few months.

He was mentally already 24 years old but had the body belonging to that of an 18-year-old.

"Ascend!" a strange voice entered his ears.

"Shut...Up!! I don't want to ascend or do whatever you mean! Leave me alone!!" He shouted.

"Ascend to the heavens! Ascend! Ascend! Ascend! ASCEND!!" The voice continued, forcing the man to grip his hair and sweat from his forehead.

"Stop..."

"Ascend-"

"Stop..."

"ASCEND-"

"I said STOP!!!" He screamed while letting out a strange roar that shook the entire apartment complex, causing its inhabitants to think that an earthquake was happening.

But soon after, the tremor stopped and the man was lying bag on his bed.

"Damn it...These powers are nothing but a burden..." He sighed, massaging his forehead. "It's all your fault-"

There was a sudden knock on the door, and immediately a voice belonging to a woman sounded out.

"Ethan! Your rent is due! I need it!" She demanded as she continued to knock on the door.

"Ethan! I know you're there! Hurry up and open the door or I'm calling my brother!"

Ethan sighed once more as his eyes focused on the golden ring on his finger. It was an item storage that he received as a gift when reincarnated into this world. The ring was full of necessities that should last him for several months.

"Not a lot left...but enough to get by for a bit longer..." He continued to look through the contents of the ring with his mind until he came across a small stack of money.

"About.. 3,000 left?...I'll be good for another 2 months.." He muttered as four hundred dollar bills magically appeared in his hand.

"Ethan!" The woman called again, sounding quite impatient.

"I'm coming!!" Ethan shouted back, quickly making his way to the door and opening it.

"I-Oh..." The short and petite woman at the door was the apartment owner's younger sister that took care of collecting rent money. She was quite cute and would be wonderful to go out with if it wasn't for her attitude.

"Finally you answer!" She harrumphed, folding her arms as a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. Her eyes became glued to his body and started to daydream a bit before catching herself.

"Do you have it?" She asked with a fake cough. " If you don't I-Eeek!"

Ethan suddenly grabbed her hand and forced the bills into it before turning back into his room, slamming the door behind him.

The brown-haired woman didn't know what to think but seeing how he reacted made her furious.

"Don't think just because you are a little bit cute that you can treat me this way you b-" She covered her mouth with her hand, her face burning up as she realized she just confessed to Ethan that he looked good.

'Damn it, Alisa! Watch what you say! Ugh...Why is such a man wasting away in a place like this? And how does his body...never mind...' She shook her head and went on to collect the other tenant's rent.

Alisa would never know the reason Ethan still looked great after all these past months is because of the power he was granted after being reincarnated.

Ethan didn't die from a dramatic accident or anything of the like but died simply because he didn't take care of himself. The man was NEET in his old world after he lost both of his parents in a tragic car accident.

A few people came to check on him in the beginning and he'd lie to their face, telling them that he was, "Ok". Though, he was not and in reality, he was suffering as his parents were the only family he had left in that world

So, years crept by and all he did was use his parent's insurance money to buy take-out food and keep the bills paid while he wasted away at his computer. And eventually, his body couldn't take this unhealthy lifestyle and simply gave up...

Just like in his mind...

Instead of expecting nothing, Ethan was met face to face with a giant golden dragon.

A terrifying scene if not for the fact that he was completely numb to his emotions.

The dragon was as massive as a skyscraper and compared to it, Ethan was but a mere ant that it could kill with a simple poke.

" You will be my successor..." The dragon spoke with its mighty voice as it peered through him with its giant red eyes.

Ethan wanted to refuse immediately, but for some reason, he couldn't speak.

"You will have the fire of my heart, the ferocity of my claws, and the strength of my scales. You shall be the one that will ascend above the highest of peaks! You will ascend into the heavens and carry on my will!!"

And just like that, he found himself in the world of DC. He knew immediately as he caught the eye of someone dressed in a bat suit, following after man in clown attire.

For a moment, he believed that maybe he could be a hero and live the dream he had always wanted...

But what was the point of it all?

Even with this opportunity he still didn't feel like continuing on and in the end, he was still alone.

And so, he made do with what he had and continued the same lifestyle of a NEET.

"Ascend your ass...I don't know any of this cultivation whatever bullshit. Just let me be..." Ethan mumbled, closing his eyes to sleep another day away.

Eventually, sleep took hold of him, and soon he opened his eyes to complete darkness as his body floated endlessly through the void.

"Why are you weak?" a familiar voice said.

"Leave me alone!" Ethan roared.

"Why must you give up? Don't you think it's been long enough? You are my successor...you must-"

"I didn't want to be your successor! You forced me and reincarnated me in this dangerous world!"

"It was....#$%&@$%#$%."

>>>><<<<

"Help! Somebody! Get the fuck away from me! Help!" A voice suddenly screamed, stirring Ethan from his slumber. It was coming from downstairs and immediately he knew it belonged to Alisa

Ethan then glanced at the clock by his bedside and it was now several mins past 7 pm.

"Not long enough..." He muttered and tried going back to sleep. A heartless move, but he didn't feel obligated to help the girl

That is until...

"Ethan! Help!!"

Alisa called for him...

"Fuck..." He cursed, gritting his teeth as he climbed out of his bed again.

It would be a lie to say that he hasn't helped anyone since he came to this world as it was how he was able to receive this room without an ID.

He saved Alisa and her older brother from a local gang that was shaking them down for protection money they didn't possess. Ethan had even planned on walking away even then as it seemed too troublesome.

But Alisa happened to see him several feet away from the incident and her eyes were screaming at him for help.

The desperation, fear, and a tinge of hope in her eyes somehow sparked something within him and he acted on it...

>>>>><<<<

Walking down the steps, Ethan arrived to see Alisa being dragged away by a burly guy with four others around him on the first floor of the apartment complex.

"Let go of me, you bitch!" Alisa shouted while trying her hardest to wiggle out of the man's grasp around her small waist.

"Ah, cute and feisty! Just the way I like them!" The burly guy said, licking his lips.

"I promise it only hurts the first time! Hahahaha." He chuckled as the surrounding men laughed along with him.

The joke scared and pissed the brunette off as she bared down on her teeth, her mind working at 100 MPH before she suddenly made the decision to fight back despite the consequences.

Alisa moved almost instantly, positioning herself just right and...

*Chomp!* She bit down hard on the man's left ear.

"Ahhh!" The burly man howled in pain. " Let go!!"

However, Alisa didn't let go and even started to pull on it like a wild animal would to rip flesh, tearing off a big piece of it.

The man immediately lets go of Alisa to cover his bloody ear, howling even more in pain.

"You bitch!! Do you know who I am?! I'm related to the Penguin!"

Alisa quickly scrambled to her feet, spitting out the blood and the piece of his ear at the man's foot.

"He can go piss off!!" She scowled, wiping the blood off her face with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Grr...Men beat her up! But don't kill her! I'm going to make her regret she was ever born!"

After the command, the four men with him started to surround the girl with wicked smiles on their faces.

"Bring it you pussies!" She growled, putting her fists up in front of her face. Alisa wasn't a professional fighter, but she knew a little something to protect herself in this type of environment.

The men charged all at the same time, fighting almost as one as they took on the 5'4 white woman.

Punches came from all directions, but Alisa managed to dodge them by hanging back before dropping to her hands and performing a sweep kick, knocking two of the men off their feet.

"Come on! She's just a tiny girl! Get her!" The burly man screamed as the two other men leaped at her to dogpile on top of her.

Alisa instantly shut her eyes, preparing to feel pain as she knew she couldn't move fast enough, but luck happened to be on her side.

"W-who are you?!!" the burly man stammered out.

Alisa opened her eyes to see a tall man with gorgeous blond hair standing in front of her, holding the men that leaped at her in the air by their necks.

"Ethan!" She cried out with relief and a smile on her face as she got back up to her feet. She'd glance at his strong back through his black muscle shirt and started to fondly remember the first time he saved her from danger.

"Leave..." Ethan bluntly said, glaring at the three other men as he casually held the 200-pound men in his grasp like they were children.

"Don't you know who I am?! I'm-" The burly guy paused as his eyes became locked with the glowing red eyes possessed by the brunette's helper.

At that moment, the man knew how prey felt when they were confronted by their predator with no means of escape. And the sudden realization caused a foul smell to be produced in his pants as a yellow puddle formed underneath him.

"I...I'll g-"

"We'll handle this boss!" The two other men said as they brandished pistols that were hidden under their jackets.

"W-wait!"

*Bang! Bang! Bang!* But the men had already started to fire at Ethan, ignoring the fact that he still had the other two men in his grasp.

And as expected, the men were the ones to take the shots for Ethan as he used them as a shield. The two could barely even groan from pain with their necks tightly held by Ethan's hand, and within seconds they were filled with holes, quickly becoming lifeless in his grasp.

"Hmph..." Ethan then tossed their lifeless corpses as their killers with enough force to send them all flying!

*Crash* The front entrance made out of glass instantly shattered, sending pieces everywhere as they were flung out on the street.

"Ugh..." The two left alive groaned in pain as they pushed their dead partners off of them. They may not have super strength or any other kind of power, but they were athletic and so it only took moments for them to get back up.

"Guh!"

However, before they could even fire their guns again, they were met with the same situation as earlier.

Ethan was now lifting their 400-pound leader in the air while casually walking over the shards of glass with his bare feet.

"I'll give you three seconds to drop your weapons." Ethan coolly said with a scowl. "Or I'll snap his neck and kill you both."

It only took them one to drop their weapons and surrender which surprised him a little.

"Take him-" Ethan stopped and moved his head as a black object narrowly missed his head.

*Whoosh! Ding!* The object was metallic and quite sharp as it stabbed right into the concrete ground, revealing it to be some bat-inspired weapon.

"Batman..." Ethan muttered, glancing at the noticeable Batarang before looking up at the man standing on top of a nearby building, dressed in a bat suit.

"Let the man go..." Batman commanded as he swooped down to the ground.

"Was already doing that..." Ethan frowned, dropping the man.

The burly man gasped for air as he was helped to his feet by his underlings.

"You'll pay for this..." The burly man said, rubbing his neck as he started to run away with his men.

"Not so fast..." Batman instantly reached for his utility belt, pulling out a grapple gun.

*Bang!* The grapple shot out at high speeds, catching up with the fleeing men as its cable wrapped around their bodies before Batman pulled.

"Ahh!" All three of them were forced to the ground in one swift motion, their bodies tightly bound together as they felt a current of electricity run through them, immobilizing them even further.

"The police will be here soon...But now you.." Batman fixed his gaze onto the golden-haired man standing on shards of glass without a shred of discomfort.

"Who are you..."

And that was the start of Ethan coming face to face with one of his idols when he was a kid.

But he didn't move nor did he speak and blankly stared at the man known to all as the Dark Knight of Gotham.

"Answer-"

"Wait! He lives here!" Alisa shouted, waving her hands as she ran out in front of him. "He saved me...er Mr.Batman.."

The hero already knew that, but knowing his nature he used the functions of his cowl to access the Batcomputer in his lair to look up this man's information.

But there was nothing about him anywhere and trained senses told him that this man was dangerous.

'I'll need to..' Batman slowly reached for his utility belt only to stop when he heard the sirens of the police.

"...We're not finished." He said, retracting the grapple that was around the unconscious men and then shooting it towards a nearby building and disappearing into the night.

"Ethan..." Alisa turned to him. "I'll handle the police...You go hide in your room ok?.." She said, gently grabbing hold of his hand as she stared into his eyes.

The brunette knew that he was an illegal and didn't have any form of identification.

'The police would question him and ask who he was...and when they found out...he'll have to leave...' Alisa thought, biting down on her lower lip.

She won't admit it anytime soon, but she was secretly in love with the man. However, Ethan never really left his room for anything which didn't do well if you wanted to know a person better.

Nevertheless, the feelings she had for him were the same as when she first met him.

Ethan sighed and nodded his head before walking back to his room, leaving the girl to talk to the approaching police.

Once they arrived, they immediately apprehended the men that were still alive while calling for an investigator to check the dead bodies.

As all of this was going on, Ethan was gathering everything he owned with his item storage ring. He even used it to get rid of his trash, making the once messy room spotless in a matter of seconds.

Why was he doing this?

Well, it's because he wasn't born yesterday.

Ethan knew the police were going to ask the men they apprehended about what happened and it's possible they will squeal.

'The police will come back and I'll have to deal with them...it's better if I left...maybe I should have just killed them...' He sighed in thought.

'Perhaps...I wasted away long enough already...'

Once everything was done, he wrote a simple note and left it by his open door as his current clothing was replaced by that of a strange black leather uniform and black knee-high combat boots.

The uniform had no sleeves and a hood that shielded his face from prying eyes.

"Goodbye..." He muttered, opening the window before disappearing into the darkness.

Nearly an hour later, Alisa came running up the stairs to check on Ethan, but when she arrived she noticed his door was cracked open.

"Ethan?.." She whispered, opening the door further only to see a completely empty room, void of any signs of Ethan.

"What..." Alisa could barely process what she was witnessing and started to panic until she spotted a note on the floor. "No...No..." She slowly picked up the note and started to read as tears filled her eyes.

After reading it, she bolted back downstairs knowing full well that the man known as Ethan was long gone.

"Woah Woah Woah!" A bald man that looked somewhat similar to Alisa wrapped his arms around her, stopping her from moving.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry. Aren't you going to tell your brother what happened?"

"No! He's gone! I need to find him!" Alisa cried hysterically as she tried to squirm out of her brother's arms.

"Who?...Ethan? I'm grateful for the guy...but isn't it great that he's gone? This apartment is run down, but he-"

*Pah!* Alisa unexpectedly slapped her brother's face as she glared at him.

"You..." Alisa's brother was stunned at his sister's action and eventually let's go of her.

Looking at her brother's stunned expression, Alisa started to tear up even more as her logic caught up with her emotions.

The brunette then slowly fell down to her knees and sobbed as reality set in.

She wasn't going to find Ethan this late at night especially when he said he's not coming back.

>Ethan's Letter<

If you read this letter then know that I am gone. I don't know where I'll go so I can't tell you.

I'm leaving as I'm no longer safe here.

I appreciate everything you and your brother have done for me despite my questionable background.

Farewell,

Ethan.

>Letter End<

>>>><<<<

Later that night, Ethan was found leaping from building to building, gathering his thoughts while enjoying to cool night air that brushed against his skin.

He had never really understood all of his powers, but one night he got curious about them.

And before he knew it, he was leaping 50ft in the air with minimal effort which explained how there was a hole in the alleyway beside the apartment complex a year ago.

"Should I just grab a hotel?..." He wondered as he leaped onto the roof of a tall building that overlooked most of Gotham City.

The city was wide awake even at this time, but even with all the hustle and bustle, there was still a sense of gloom that penetrated the air.

"Now what's a guy like you being all alone up here?" A voice asked with a purr.

"Looking for a place to stay..." Ethan plainly answered, turning to see a woman dressed in a skin-tight black leather suit that showed off her assets and a mask with feline ears

"How about my place?" She teased with her seductive voice.

"I rather not...You hang around the Batman too much."

"You..know me?" She asked, slowly reaching down for her whip.

Ethan shook his head, removing his hood. "Only what I read."

"Huh...you revealed your identity on your own..." She said, feeling a bit confused. "But I can't say that I don't like."

"Is that so?" A familiar voice said.