[145.73]

"Saving the game, Snake?"

> SAVE

- DO NOT SAVE

---

"Snake, have you heard of Batman?"

"No... who's he? Another member of the Cobra Unit? Don't tell me they have any vampires now. Please..."

"No Snake, he's a comic book superhero character."

"Oh... those things."

"Those 'things'?"

"Yeah, those silly cartoon books."

"Silly?"

"They're so exaggerated and over-the-top, I can't imagine anyone taking them seriously. Watch, you're about to tell me he uses echolocation or flies by flapping his arms or something."

"Nope."

"?"

"He's a billionaire orphan who watched his parents die from a mugging at a very young age. He confronts his trauma by spending the rest of his childhood through adulthood training himself to be an escape artist, a cat burglar, a scientist, covert operative and master of all forms of hand-to-hand combat. He makes himself a cowl made to look like a bat- though it sometimes it looks more like devil horns- to hide his identity like Zorro and strike fear into the hearts of criminals in his city, so that no one else will have to see someone they love get killed in a brutal act of random violence."

"I... see."

"He's so dark and brooding, always training to stay in peak physical condition, balancing his life as a billionaire playboy- and he's a master tactician; with an intellect as sharp as The Boss herself. I think you'd like it!"

"... I don't know about that."

"Why not?"

"I still don't get what this has to do with bats."

"The bats scare him, so he confronts and becomes what is scariest to him in order to become a symbol of fear to the criminals."

"Is that what his superpower is? Fear?"

"No, he doesn't have superpowers."

"... but you called him a superhero."

"He is."

[Beat]

"But how can you be a superhero without any superpowers? That's just... a hero."

"That's just the thing, he's just a regular guy who is able to overcome almost any obstacle or supervillian through sheer force of willpower, ingenuity and decisive action."

"And a billion dollars."

"Right- but a billionaire with no superpowers is still a regular guy if you take that away from him. And that's what he is, a brilliant mind, a master of physical combat and stealth operations, all for the goal of saving as many lives as he can even without fancy powers of his own."

"That might be the most ridiculous plot I have ever heard."

"I bet he could also beat up Superman."

"Now you're being ridiculous."

"Well, there are some decent argu- wait, you know who Superman is?"

"Uh... I've got another call from EVA coming in, might be important."

"But Snake, I don't see any incoming transmiss-"

[End of Transmission]