Responsibility.

Will there be another way?

________

The man closed his journal and sighed. He finished his journey log for the day, took his car's key, hanging by the door and walked out of the house.

The sun hit his face, warming his body. The man doesn't look past 30, but inside, he's older, way older than he appeared.

The tall man's huge frame filled the seat as he entered his new car, a black SUV he just bought a few weeks ago from Stark Industries, a well-known, high-quality brand among the public and also famous for its high price. Although it was costly, the car was well ahead of its competitors in quality and technology.

A slow rumble of the engine can be heard as the car ignited. He gradually increased the speed as he was exiting the neighbourhood and entering the highway. The wind blew his hair and brought with it the scent of the city.

*Radio tuned in*

"Good Afternoon Folks! Today is a bright and sunny day here in New York City, the concrete jungle that never sleeps. It's time for our 20-minute flash news segment, bringing you the latest headlines in no time.!

Now, starting with the first bulletin.

The New York Police Department has warned the public to stay cautious and alert at night as there has been a rising trend of burglary and assault. There have been no casualties so far, as most criminals only resort to thievery. 

Remember, stay safe out there!

Now, on to. In the next issue, Hammer industry's CEO, Justin Hammer, said that Stark products are all fakes, copied from his blueprints…"

The tall man turned the radio's volume down before dialling a number on his phone. After a few seconds, the call went through.

"Hello, Ben. Are you busy?" Krace asked.

"No, I got some time. Why?" Ben replied.

"Can I visit tonight? got something to discuss with you."

"Sure, might as well have dinner together. May will be cooking her signature tonight." Ben said.

"Ok, see you tonight."

During the past 2 months, Krace has been visiting the Parkers regularly, mostly invited by them to have dinner together. Ben Parker was a kind and caring man. His kindness showed when he realised that Krace needed help during their first meeting. 

Knowing that Krace is from a war-torn country and lost his family, he tries to help him mentally by not leaving him alone and spending time around his family. Krace, unable to decline the man's genuine intention, accepted his invitations and they became close friends.

Feeling indebted to Ben and May's kindness and hospitality, he bought them both new smartphones as a thank-you gift. Although they declined at first, Ben May later accepted it after Krace insisted it was a payment for his past and future dinner.

Krace ended the call and continued driving. He was on his way to meet one of the starting social network developers to invest in their projects, give advice for future developments and give them a self-made program to help with their coding, making it easier and time efficient. Other than a confirmed huge return for his investment, this program will serve as a backdoor for Krace in the future when he wants to access all posts, messages and content posted by other people, controlling the news and narratives subsequently.

.

.

At night, Krace arrived in front of Ben's house. After exiting the car, he was suddenly assaulted by the small 6-year-old Peter.

"Uncle Krace!" Peter hugged him. "Can I also get a smartphone like Uncle Ben and Aunt May? Please!!" Peter begged him.

Krace chuckled and ruffled the boy's brown hair. "Haha, no. You're still too young. I'll buy you something better soon." As they walked inside the house, Krace asked Peter, "Your birthday is coming up soon, right? I'll bring you a fun present."

"Ah, Krace, you're on time. I've just finished setting up the dishes," May greeted him warmly as they entered.

A moment later, Ben came down the stairs, his damp hair indicated he had just taken a shower. "Sorry I'm a bit late, May," he apologised to his wife with a smile. "Just finished touching up the car," he added, casually gesturing toward the garage.

After a feast of May's signature cooking, Krace and Ben hung out on the porch, talking. Krace then brought up a topic.

"Ben, you know I'm starting a company, right? You've been helping with the paperwork for these past weeks. I was thinking when the company grew bigger, I needed somebody to trust and to work with.

How about you be that man? Come work for me.

You don't need to worry about the difficulties. I'll send you to classes and training until you can handle them.

There are also others that will help you. You just need to make sure that the company don't go down the wrong path or get involved with illegal things. I'll also give you 20% of the shares."

Ben was a low-income worker, working as a branch manager of a factory. Although the pay is not much, he managed to fulfil all his family's needs… for now. he's a diligent worker and likes to learn new things. Even after finishing high school, he kept reading and studying. That's one of the few things that make their friendship work, as Ben has extensive knowledge in many fields, making their talk not stale. Basically, Ben and Krace are like a 

The reason he was still doing low-paying work was because he missed the chance to further his studies. Ben's brother, Richard Parker, was a genius, far exceeding Ben, and he knew for Richard to continue his studies at University, they needed a lot of funds. As a breadwinner of two orphaned siblings, he sacrificed his opportunity to help his brother. 

Even the house they're staying right now originally belonged to his brother, Richard. After the death of his brother, Ben and May took Peter as his guardians. Worrying about Peter's upbringing environment and safety, they moved to this neighbourhood after much consideration.

Ben listened to Krace's request attentively, and after a few seconds, he said.

"I'll think about it. I mean, there's a lot to think about."

"Yeah, no rush. It'll take a year before I open the company up for listing."

Krace assured Ben that he didn't need to worry about the company. What Krace need is someone to get his back and guard the company so that it won't harm the innocents. Sure, his main objective in building a huge company was to help him gather resources for his projects, but the other reason was to help people like he used to in his world.

Bruce Wayne, as a billionaire, helped Gotham through his immense amount of wealth. He built facilities, sponsored healthcare, produced cheap products, free food, and many others. Basically, he was the government in Gotham itself because the real government had abandoned the city, the city of psychos and maniacs. The cesspool of mentally unstable people. They saw no profit or benefit in keeping the city there. The Wayne Enterprise also indirectly helped poor people all around the world with their cheap products and charity. 

He didn't know if the world needed a vigilante in a Halloween costume running and flying around, but he knew a lot of money could help a lot of people.

After both of them enjoyed a brief silence together, listening to the city's bustling voice in the distance, Ben asked Krace.

"You know, we rarely talked about what happened that night."

"What night?" Krace asked back.

"The Ghost Rider thing."

"Oh, what about it?" Krace already forgets about it. It used to be the norm, an everyday thing for him, after all.

"What?! I thought you wouldn't say anything because it's like a taboo thing. You know, in case we attract it here. That's why you didn't say a word." Ben was perplexed. He then continued, " I heard he appeared again around a month ago." He shrivelled, "Remembering that thing gives me the creep. I can't sleep for three days straight because of it."

Krace, hearing Ben's comment, only smiled, suddenly, he turned serious and asked, "Ben, the Ghost Rider kills criminals, right? You think he did the right thing? I mean, he only after criminals, and crime also has been less lately because of his actions." 

Ben, surprised by Krace's question, answered slowly. "You're not wrong about that. His actions do make the crime go down, but killing people? Killing is not right." Ben's voice grew louder, "What makes him different from other murderers or serial killers? What if he caught the wrong guy? I mean, there are many people who are wrongly accused of things they didn't do.

Aren't bad people, people too? Shouldn't they at least get a chance to defend themselves in case they are wronged?" Ben asked, but not towards Krace. He was facing the city as if talking with the people who were supporting the Rider. "The least we could allow is for the trained and informed police to kill the criminals, and that also came with a lot of restriction."

The reason Krace brought up this topic was his confusion—confusion about his past. He had killed the Joker, breaking the one rule he swore to keep. He crossed the line. But now, he couldn't stop wondering: if he had killed him sooner, would his family and friends still be alive? Would those millions of innocent lives have been saved? Will he ever need to explode his universe?

If only he had killed him earlier… 

Krace was silent for a moment and replied, "I understand, and I'm with you, Ben, but what if they can't make it, if they can't be there in time? Innocents will be killed, many will die." 

"That…" Ben sighed. "I don't know," he said.

"But I know, if we were there, we should stop them, the criminals. If we can, we must; it's our responsibility." 

Krace repeated Ben's last words, "If we can, it's our responsibility… to help those in need." 

'To help those who can't and those who fell.

For if we don't… this world would be a living hell.'

"To that, I agree." Krace nodded.