Chapter 36 Identity Exposed?

Anton and Eddie finally remembered Phil Urich, their neglected associate with the same name as Phil Coulson.

They bid farewell to Annie and Levis, left the hotel, and contacted the forgotten Phil.

"Boss! Editor! You guys are incredible!" Phil exclaimed, his excitement barely contained. "Your video is all over the internet! Screenshots of you two are everywhere, especially the one where you jumped out of the sky to save someone. Everyone's saying it's the craziest footage of the year! That video blogger must be raking it in from all the views!"

"What?" Anton looked at Phil in feigned confusion, playing dumb. "What are you talking about? I didn't jump out of any sky car. You've got the wrong guy."

"No way, boss! You're Batman—you can't fool me!" Phil had long suspected Anton was no ordinary person, given his interactions with Anton and Eddie. Being in San Francisco, he'd pieced things together and felt certain Anton was indeed Batman.

"Careful with those words, Phil. You're misleading people," Anton said, patting Phil's shoulder with a smile. "By the way, you did great in helping us expose the Life Foundation. When we're back, you'll work as Eddie's assistant, and you'll be getting a bonus big enough to make your head spin."

"Thanks, boss!" Phil grinned, then sheepishly asked, "But, uh, could I get your autograph? Just sign it as 'Batman' or even 'Bruce Wayne.' I'm, well… I'm Batman's biggest fan."

Anton sighed, exasperated.

"Oh, and about those monsters on the Golden Gate Bridge—one of them was Carlton Drake. But the other…" Phil's voice trailed off as he looked at Eddie, swallowing nervously. "That other monster… was it you, by any chance?"

"It's not a monster; it has a name," Eddie replied, annoyed. His brief thought of sharing part of his bonus with Phil vanished. "It's called Venom. It's an alien symbiote."

"I have to admit, it looked a little… unusual," Phil said carefully. "It's like… when God was creating it, he might have sneezed and accidentally overdid it a bit."

Eddie's jaw clenched.

"I don't like him," Venom's voice echoed in Eddie's mind. "He called me ugly. I'll eat him! He must be one of those 'bad guys' we agreed on."

"No, he's just got a big mouth," Eddie muttered, keeping his voice low.

"What was that, Chief?" Phil asked, curious.

"I was talking to the 'monster' you mentioned. It's currently living inside me," Eddie replied, his voice icy. "You called it ugly, and now it wants to eat you."

"Uh…" Phil turned pale, quickly backtracking, "I didn't mean it looked ugly! I just thought… it looked a little… unrefined. Yeah, that's it—unrefined!"

Eddie rolled his eyes. That still meant "ugly."

"Alright, I need to head back to New York for some business," Anton interrupted. "Eddie, you want to join me?"

"I'll stay here a couple more days," Eddie shook his head.

Anton understood immediately, recalling Annie and then Levis, whose figurative "green hat" seemed even greener. He turned to Phil.

Phil, though curious to stay and catch up with Eddie, shuddered at the thought of Venom and said, "Boss, of course I'll go back with you."

Anton nodded, bidding Eddie farewell. "See you in New York."

"Yeah," Eddie replied, watching them leave.

"Boss, is this your private jet?" Phil asked, his eyes wide with envy as they boarded.

Anton had flown commercially to San Francisco, but to make the return trip easier, he had Jameson arrange for the family's private jet.

"This is awesome!" Phil looked thrilled, imagining the bonus he'd soon receive.

"Gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts. We'll be taking off shortly," the flight attendant said, smiling at Phil, who was completely smitten.

Anton, meanwhile, closed his eyes, accustomed to the luxury.

After a few hours, the jet landed in New York, where Betty was waiting for them outside the airport.

"Betty," Phil grinned, "long time no see!"

"Phil," she nodded, before turning to Anton, her face serious. "We have a problem."

"What?" Anton asked, caught off guard. "What could be wrong?"

"It's about Batman's identity," Betty replied, raising an eyebrow. "A lot of people now believe you're Batman. The internet's practically sealed the verdict."

"No way," Anton shrugged, feigning innocence. "They don't have any proof!"

Betty noticed that he didn't outright deny being Batman.

"Don't forget, you flew to San Francisco, and then Batman showed up there and took down Carlton Drake, a major enemy of the Daily bugle," Betty continued.

"How would anyone know I was in San Francisco?" Anton's brow furrowed.

"You shouldn't overestimate airline confidentiality," Betty scoffed, almost amused. "Anyway, you might want to prepare for media inquiries."

"Damn it! Damn airline!" Anton's expression darkened.

It wasn't that his identity as Batman absolutely had to remain hidden, but he wasn't Tony Stark; he wasn't planning to go public. At least, not yet.

"For now, don't respond to any online rumors," Anton said, thinking it over. "I'm not taking any media interviews, not even from the Daily bugle."

"Got it." Betty shrugged, then added, "Oh, by the way, Batman's box office has surpassed 400 million domestically, and it's hit 200 million internationally. A global total of 600 million—congrats, genius director."

"Well, it's not over yet. There's about two weeks left in the release cycle," Anton allowed himself a smile. "I'm aiming for a billion worldwide."

"Also, Jim's been looking for you. He wants to throw a party to celebrate The batman global success, now that it's passed the 600 million mark," Betty continued. "It could be a great opportunity to announce the Jameson family's entry into the entertainment industry."

"Good idea," Anton nodded. "Tell Jim I'm on board with the plan."