-"Hey Arnold, Portland are trailblazers in the art FAILURE to win at life" and "GCPD building feels like it's Alcatraz

Chapter 5-"Hey Arnold, Portland are trailblazers in the art FAILURE to win at life" and "GCPD building feels like it's Alcatraz."

Gotham City,

at a work-stopped construction site,

 Under the newly dawning sun, 

A dual-position company person who served both as the project supervisor and head Foreman scratches his head in confusion.

What this man was gazing at is the completed foundation slabs of a building in front of his eyes that had just dried in a section on the massive construction site that was previously earmarked on the return schedule to be operated on today.

 But somehow it was already finished first thing in the morning when he arrived, this was leaving him confused.

"Ah, this must be the work of that guy Arnold who asked me for a raise some time ago." the supervisor and head Foreman thought rationally. 

Seeing these slabs of the building's foundation set up perfectly in advance, he was at a loss for what to do now.

  But he knows he can't simply ignore his employee going above and beyond like this. 

"I mean, Arnold is evidently such a hard worker, I technically can't give him a raise now, according to the rules of the company."

"Maybe, I should same pay promote Arnold in name and give the guy some overtime hours as some sort of compensation for now." Said the project supervisor and head foreman while rubbing his chin in thought.

 He pondered about the reward for the 'workers' handiwork, totally unaware that below where his feet are planted on, that freshly dried concrete, is a hazardous sealed item...

15 feet underground is a recently bought old lead safe with two lead boxes one fitting inside the other holding two chunks of glowing radioactive green rocks, kryptonite!

Kryptonite is one of the few things capable of hurting or killing one of the most resistant and powerful species in DC existing under a healthy yellow sun, Kryptonians.

•••

 Not far from the site a man was stomping off the excess clay on his work boots with a slightly more relaxed face and demeanor than he had compared to a few hours ago.

While he blissfully whistled and hummed a customized tune from his former world under the morning sun:

"Dc life's a hurri-cane, here in, goth~tham

Bat-cars, lasers, clear aero~planes, it's a, plot- blur!

Solve Riddlers myst~tery, or Gothams, Hist~tory!

In Goth~ham!, oo woo, oo

Every Day they're out, making crimes in-

Goth-ham!, oo woo, oo

Grey out Tales, of both good and bad times, in

Gotham! whooh ooh

Gotham!, oo woo, oo "

 He sang joyfully but was totally unaware he just helped a stranger inadvertently to get into the good graces of his supervisor's eyes.

  While he was enacting a conspiracy to hide contraband items from some particular groups of stubborn and meddlesome do-gooders eyes. 

Even if he did know that his actions helped a desperate man named Arnold unintentionally, he would probably just shrug and say: 

"Karma+ 1UP"

•••

   After securing the two kryptonite samples acquired the night before, I immediately thought to seal them far away from me and the people close to me at a temporary work-stopped construction site I was aware of before because of a prior job.

 After sealing it away from me underground like a grade school time capsule, I finally could relax again.

 The kryptonite is now in a break in case of emergency only, or a heavily rainy day status.

 It's now considered out of sight out of mind until then to me.

 Since I'm free like never before, I decided to travel around the city in a lazy mode for once.

 I can't sign in at all for the day, or else I would have signed in on the kryptonite just now for Marvel Worlds Rewards before sealing it away.

 The reason I'm sign in free is that I had signed in for the day in the early morning hours before, just after the sign-in systems midnight reset, when I had signed in on the clueless Starfire to get the mutant gene of Havoc this morning.

 My day is usually spent keeping my senses sharp and my head on a swivel for opportunities to sign in on targets.

I'm always on the lookout for a sign-in on people places, or things of interest for Marvel Rewards.

I'm usually in a high-tension state, and typically a bit frantic because of the fear of missing out on valuable once-in-a-lifetime chances.

 I'm used to being always on the lookout for sign-in opportunities since my arrival here in D.C. or I've been caught up in my new daily life.

 I never really had time to be relaxed and view the city with my own eyes as a citizen, and not with various ulterior motives at the forefront of my mind like at the beginning of my journey here.

While doing my best predator imitation in the stealth camouflage mode that the White Tiger Talismans provided me, I visited different districts, toured the touted landmarks, survived the shady slum side, and endured the unabashed arrogant prestige of the affluent side.

All the true faces of Gothams' underbelly were uncovered in front of my eyes, when they don't know your watching while partly invisible they don't hold back their true nature.

 I had helped as many people as I could who I deemed to be victims when my annoying conscience kicked in.

They were mostly women and children, innocently caught up in crimes in front of my eyes.

While I was in a partially invisibly camouflaged state, I was watching Gotham from the darkness after I solved the threats previously, in an incognito manner, which probably mistakenly added some fame to Batman's lore.

 I knew that even though I felt good helping some of the people who needed help, for some, despite the temporary aid only delayed the cycle that continues for them tomorrow.

 After a whole day and sometimes late into the night while performing my own examination of Gotham city, I reach a verdict in my heart.

If I had to describe Gotham City, it's like all the worst parts that Portland Oregon of my former world has to offer on a full moon night, but the disarray isn't just for one full moon night, but 24/7, and 365 days of some form of chaos for Gotham city.

 I used Portland as an example because in my last life it's the only place I experienced that's a comparable city with a widespread distinctive distortion, that's not just a district, or one side of the town is crime heavy like Chicago, but a city-wide warping lack of laws and morals.

Also, the looks of apathy on all the citizens, business owners, and police in Portland is on a familiar level of dispassion in their eyes that is comparable to Gotham.

 But obviously, this fiction-based world has more "eventful" crime in it.

 But if a comic writer used Portland Oregon as a source material inspiration for Gotham, I wouldn't be too surprised.

Random Small tent sites pop up sporadically around the alleyways of the city.

 Homeless people are pushed out of sight on the main city streets of the wealthy side of town by indifferent police for better visual aesthetics for the rich, local media, and the infrequent tourist.

 Unofficial/Official drug zones to overdose in the public eye and it's even more prominent in the slums where drug use is even more open, with the addition of solicitation to buy anything illegally under the sun.

Sounds like Gotham or Portland? 

God, I hated living in Portland in my past life, in some ways Gotham is a better city to live in to me as at least the criminal elements have some form of ambitions (granted it's often a crazy ambition, but ambition nonetheless) unlike the walking dead in Portland.

 Gotham perpetually has cloudy skies, stick-up robberies, and pickpocket thieves, and grifters who brazenly steal from you and when do catch them red-handed, they try to shamelessly sell you back your own property.

In conclusion, this city is a deprived cesspool where the strong prey on the weak, and the weak seek strong backers to combat the strong.

 So far every Gotham City store that's not a major corporate brand or offshoot that I've been in is either under the protection of this gang or that mafia.

I could tell these are a group of street thugs or professional strong guys by their mannerisms and street clothes attire or fitted black suits, either way, they are dressed the same, they are all stone faces and look ready to rumble at the drop of a hat.

These are the hard-boiled guys of Gotham that are suspiciously hanging out in front of these places that they have no business being in front of all day, like lingerie shops and women's shoe stores.

 If they don't have a "Special Interest", then it's clearly because of a Safety Protection Fee that they are there. 

Either way, it's an extortion or shakedown.

They are around the clock existence at these shops is another deliberate telling clue that these businesses are under protective surveillance by various forces.

But sadly the Gcpd can do nothing meaningful to stop certain crimes, and some cops are even on the payroll of the criminal's bosses and gangs.

I said 'some cops', well, I think its like 'Most cops' are on the payrolls of many Gotham crime syndicates.

This makes these dirty cops so brazenly corrupt that they, in real-time, try to look for ways to aid the criminal's crimes.

Sometimes they take cash bribes in front of the affected citizen's eyes who called them for help in the first place.

Corrupt cops often, help extort citizens together with the criminal suspect.

 This is the reality of the situation here for small business owners or some residents and they are all realistic about the truth.

 For a price, they can get some piece of mind to do business and live life. 

In the citizen's demoralized eyes it's worth it.

They just half to pay an exorbitantly high protection fee monthly for a few days with no worries about others needlessly finding fault, or demands for random bribes and abuse.

There is no bat family or superheroes who can truly intervene to change that extortion mentality; if the ones who are truly affected by crime fleecing are still more or less comfortable with the situation in Gotham and unwilling to fight back out of fear;

-then nothing can be done by outsiders, if the citizen's hearts in this city are cold to the warmth of heroes' aid, and their hearts barely are beating for any form of freedom or revolution under the oppressive Gotham crime regimes.

•••

  After a long day of thinking about many messy things, I think these heroes' approach isn't worth the turbulence it brings to their lives.

 After my own experience tonight as one of the heroes who 'temporarily' saved these victims of extortion and crimes, I've concluded like many others that if these Gothamites don't change their mindset to resist, then they will just end up blaming heroes as outside interlopers, and accuse them of making their lives in Gotham more difficult with the various gangs, and organized crime members who will eventually return with a vengeance and take out their frustrations on them.

 Who would want to give their bare and still bleeding heart of love to this unappreciative city?

 How long can you truly love something that doesn't replicate that feeling back to you in the slightest?

I originally wanted to join the Justice League as a peripheral member and consider the hero job to gain access to daily sign-in rewards easily by finding excuses to interact with a gaggle of superheroes with friendly comradery.

Sure I'll probably get a label as a touchy-feely, enthusiastic kind of guy, I can deal with that.

However, spending some time integrating into something so one-sided if you are not one of the big 7, the crowd may not love but blame you instead is a questionable thing to consider.

  If I save someone desperately and they start mouthing off at me, while point-tapping my head in reprimand, like am some kind of Japanese salaryman bowing my head repeatedly, enduring his superiors finding fault with him, like it's part of the job requirements.

Or like some agitated by grief or fear flash mobs do to some heroes who endure as they shout and try and fight them knowing by their hero code they won't fight back against hysterical citizens.

If they did any of these kinds of things to me, their Savior...

I'd calmly ask any and all of them... 

Who gave them the courage to address a super-powered being with disrespect like that, with no fear in their heart and mind?

Who put the battery in their backside that's got them all so charged up, with no concerns for the consequences of tugging on a superman's cape?

Who gaslit them to think they were strong enough, and that the Savior was a cowardly virgin-hearted bitch enough to just endure their foolishness?

 If it was me in that situation, then-

...I'm going to end up on the evening news, later on, that night, with charges of felony battery, and a new mark on my permanent record in Batman's counter heroes file.

My heart isn't as good or big as others, to let someone unappreciative of my help reprimand me, then bully, and blame me on top of it, no way that's happening, I'm dragging the culprits, and I'm slagging them up something good, regardless of the consequences.

Sure, I'd get into massive trouble with public- opinion, but those bastards are going to learn that day, not to wake up sleeping lions.

Worst-case scenario, I Dodge that Batman and Johnny law, then I'd just change my action avatar's attire and hero's name and swap out public system skills with private ones, and hit the streets again.

Well, that is if I was a hero in that situation that is.

My point, is I may be overly cautious in my second life, but I'm not going to take shit off some background character whom I saved, who the illustrators beyond the 4th wall are probably too lazy to give a name or draw a face on.

These heroes of D.C. seem to have spoiled the Masse's thoughts with unintentional rottenness.

 This is what Lex Luthor is afraid of, and why he's averse to Superman's intrusion into the nature of the people's daily life, and having codependent thoughts seep into the populace's consciousness.

If a person is about to jump off a building and an alien man in a red cape is immediately there to talk him down; is it truly helpful to society? 

Is saving those who, after thinking hard, have already chosen to give up and given in to their circumstances, and have chosen to die?

 Will that saved person truly change for the better, or drag others into their pessimistic suicidal quicksand in the future?

I, as a reborn soul, who originally died unwillingly before, I have NO sympathy for those who don't have an ounce of respect for life,..even their own.

If Charles Darwin saw these things, he would shed tears in frustration in his coffin, at the interference on natural survival of the fittest, and argue that the existence of heroes and villains itself is fucking up the nature of human life.

A Bank robbery with hostages in metropolis happens, the police response is likely "let's wait for Superman", meanwhile, these people's ability to critically think up ways to solve a threatening engagement with armed people becomes neglectful and rusts with time, thanks to their co-dependence on Superman, or on heroes always being there, the survival skills of the masses are slowly being impacted.

Thus Lex is a staunch Humanist.

Humanists believe humans need to learn, to suffer, and Excell beyond learning and suffering to reach a divine state of humanity's limitless potential to evolve under pressure.

Progression seems to hit a stalemate when you expect others to carry your societal burdens and relieve humans of the crushing pressure that in some people make them turn into diamonds among humanity.

Even as a mutant, I am a bit of a humanist, believing most people need to suffer some adversity to progress into a better self.

 But I'm not a heartless person, seeing sometimes people need help beyond their means or endurance refusing aid, not helping them to some extent when I can.

Like if I saw a little girl on a bicycle and a speeding car were about to strike each other on a roadway, if I can help at that moment, then I would if it's in my power to do so.

Why interfere?

While it's true most need some experiencing adversity to progress, but some painful experiences benefit no one in the end and a valuable life lesson could still be learned by both participants if they live on.

I'm not a Savior, but I'm also not an irredeemable psychotic villain by nature either.

For example, Like that Meat face mask-wearing Professor pyg, who likes to lick the blood of innocent lives off his butcher's knife in ecstasy, a fucking warped and disgusting guy, who doesn't deserve another Arkham sentence but a pine box.

Or 

The more famous Harley Quinn, who everyone seemed to love in my past world in movies and even in her adult audience cartoon.

Which to me currently in a DC world, now creates a phenomenon, one that seems to be constantly reoccurring of examples of 'it's all good... when it was fictional'.

When reading a Harley Quinn story previously it was,"Wow, or Woah, it's a lot to take in, but it's a good idea on paper", these were my previous thoughts taking in DC content in film, comics, and movies before.

But now, I'm here...

In this flesh and blood alternative reality, and after some retrospective reevaluating,....it hits differently now.

This Crazy Psychotic Former Side Kick Bitch, Harley Quinn, once gave exploding video games to murder several children for no reason(never a reason), other than for kicks and giggles.

I know I'm no saint, but God Damn that's cruel senseless evil.

I'm not the best person, but I'm far from the worst thing being alive.

With so many irrational and hidden things in this world, I've chosen to stay surface-level in my interactions, never digging deeper, unlike a certain Metropolis Daily Planet female reporter.

I can avoid those threats by not being too inquisitive with what's in front of me, and sticking to what's concerning me, my circle of people, or things profitable to me in some way, otherwise, I'm not doing it or getting involved.

Even if I help or rescue some people occasionally, I'm not leaving a name for a thank you behind, or asking why they needed help at all in the first place, not until I have power enough to counter-attack "certain people", to gain a steady foothold in this City is the plan now.

  Maybe I was wrong in thinking this way or it's that this world is wrong and just too dependent on a stranger's aid. 

I push this chaotic ideological struggle to the back of my mind and focus on what's clear, and that is Marvel Worlds' rewards.

I formed a plan in my mind after narrowing down my options and decided I would approach the Gotham police department to go sign in harvesting.

The Gotham city police department is like an island with no nearby buildings around it, with nothing I can parkour off of to reach the top.

The root top perimeter is high-fenced off with barbed wire.

There are flood lights and motion sensor lights all around the alleyways and rooftops.

The Bat signal itself is in the center of a key-locked chain link kennel cage so I can't stick my hand inside and reach in for a quick touch.

I thought I could send Charlie with bolt cutters to get the Bat Signal to me, but I learned even if we can enter the cage the signal lamp is bolted down to the roof, so I can't ask Charlie to transport it back with the bat signal with her bounce ability.

Not to mention live surveillance video cameras are all over the roof, these are all safety measures to prevent vandalism that the Gcpd probably experienced before, as the bat signal is an attractive nuisance for those who want fast fame, it's an easy target.

"The GCPD building feels like it's Alcatraz." 

"How many times did someone mess with these officers before now to become so defensively on edge."I said to myself out loud.

The only way to perform the sign-in on any one of the targets is from inside the building.

I pack up my cheap camera drone and leave as stealthy as I came, while I'm thinking about the difficulty of invasion with this urban fortress building with borders like an island in the city.

Nevertheless, I Made this my target for tomorrow's return of sign-in privileges, I scouted the surroundings again briefly from across the street and I returned home with a plan.

|Chapter 5-end|

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

MARKOV MARVEL WORLDS SYSTEM REWARD:

|A part of Markov's Mind, Body, And Soul`

(-Knowledge/Talent/Skills/Power/Abilities-)

{{{-Wolverine X-gene: Hyper Healing Factor, Screwball's Parkour Mastery, 'Havoc' Summers X-gene: Plasma Energy Conversion and Energy Blast-}}}

SYSTEM REWARD ITEMS: 

| Items That Markov can outwardly manipulate, equip, or operate.|

(Occult, Magical, And Technological Resources/Weapons /Tools/ Attire /Attachable Commodity. )

{{{-Captain America's Shield, WW2 Hydra Energy Gun, White Tiger Amulets Of Power. (Complete Collection Of Three.)-}}}

Random Miscellaneous Sign-In Reward Items in System Storage Space:

(Items and commodities Markov has a glimpse at once at but most likely never taken them out of the system storage space, because of his disappointment in its practical uselessness.)

{{{-Tony stark Fountain Pen, Peter Parker's homeroom notes, Shields Leather Eagle Action Team Jacket, Tony Stark's Mustache Comb, Jubilee's Hot Pink Sun Glasses, Nova Core outfit, Gambit's spare 52 Deck sexy lady playing cards, Inhuman Black Bolts Combat Costume, Peter 'Star Lord' Quill Sony TPS-L2 Walkman Headset (+Loaded Cassette Tape Mixtape), Steve Roger's Brown Bomber Leather Jacket, Etc...}}}

****If you have ideas for 'Miscellaneous'(Trash) Marvel Worlds reward items for Markov past Sign Ins to be added to the end of the next chapter, then leave them in the comments.🙂****

____

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