Daredevil Matt and Erica's wedding took place about a year ago, but since both of them disliked extravagance, the wedding was just a simple meal with familiar friends followed by a honeymoon that lasted nearly three months.
Not long after the trip began, Erica discovered she was pregnant, but they had already left the country and were eager to start a new journey. They did not want to return just because of this and Erica didn't feel any discomfort, so they continued their itinerary.
The only benefit that ninja training brought to Erica was an extremely strong physique. She didn't feel too uncomfortable during the first three months, but they still gave up intense activities like mountain climbing and diving, focusing instead on museum visits and enjoying local delicacies.
After enjoying their trip thoroughly, the couple returned home to prepare for the birth of their child. Matt's teacher, Stick, also visited; he thought it very possible that the child might inherit the talents of both parents.
However, Matt and Erica did not want their child to have any talents beyond those of ordinary people; they just wanted him to grow up safely.
Erica was not old, and her pregnancy was relatively smooth. It was just that during several examinations near childbirth, they discovered that the baby's position was somewhat incorrect and it didn't adjust before the birth, so it was a bit difficult.
Childbirth was inherently dangerous and Erica was greatly weakened this time. Matt had been working as a freelance lawyer and, seeing this situation, stopped taking cases to focus on taking care of Erica and the child at home.
His superhero career also came to a temporary halt because the newborn needed to be fed too frequently, every couple of hours, and it didn't stop at night.
In order to let Erica get a full night's sleep, Matt had to stay up with the child, taking on the heavy responsibility of night feedings. That's why Daredevil hasn't appeared in Brooklyn or any superhero teams lately, and the training of young heroes has also been put on hold.
Things have gotten a bit better lately; mainly because Erica's health has recovered. They both take turns looking after the child at night. Last night was Erica's turn, and Matt got a good night's sleep. Therefore, today, he let Erica catch up on some sleep during the day.
After receiving a call from Kingpin, Matt stood in silence for a while. Erica came downstairs, rubbed her messy hair, and said, "Is there another problem?"
"Aren't you going to sleep a bit more?"
"I have already slept for five or six hours." Erica walked into the kitchen and said, "I'll make us something to eat first, and after feeding the child, you can go."
Matt didn't say much, he pushed the stroller next to the island platform and sat down on a chair, rocking the cradle.
Recently in the Brooklyn Area, an invisible man emerged who stole things and went into women's baths, causing quite a stir and also being connected to a significant technical director kidnapping case.
Erica made a disgusted expression and said, "Since we've been away, all kinds of demons and ghosts have dared to run wild. Sooner or later, we need to go back and teach them a lesson."
Erica cracked an egg by the pot, and the egg mixture sizzled as it hit the hot surface. At that moment, the door was knocked. Matt went to open it, and Shiller stood outside holding things.
"Have you had lunch? I specially bought some ingredients." Shiller handed the ingredients to Matt and said, "How's the child? Still fussy at night?"
"Much better, but he woke up three times again last night, and Erica couldn't sleep because of it. Why did you come over at this time?" Matt closed the door and carried the groceries inside with Shiller.
"Asking you to come out of retirement isn't easy; I had to come over to check on the child first, then decide whether you still need to continue being a superhero dad."
Matt laughed and said, "You'd make a caring father yourself."
Shiller put the groceries on the island platform and started to sort them into the refrigerator. Erica turned around and said, "Are you serious? You don't plan on cooking pork ribs in the middle of the day, do you? What's that dish called again? Sweet and sour pork?"
"Sweet and sour spare ribs. We can't have that for lunch right now; the pork here has to be marinated for a long time to remove the gamey taste. However, I did buy a fish; maybe I can stew it."
Shiller placed various seasoning jars on the table, showing Matt how to marinate meat, then took a chopping board and cleaned the fish.
Apparently, the fishy smell had irritated the child, who started to cry loudly. Matt had to pick him up, continuously swaying him up and down to soothe him.
"It seems he's inherited your keen senses." Shiller tied up the trash bag containing the fish guts, and the crying gradually subsided.
"We're not sure if that's a good thing. I'm not too keen on Little Jack becoming a superhero, but if he really wants to, we won't stop him."
"I hope he receives professional training," said Erica. "Considering our identities, danger is never far away. If he remains an ordinary person, when disaster strikes, running away may not be an option. It's better to hold the knife in your own hands and control your fate."
"That's marriage for you," Shiller sighed. "One disagreement leads to more; do you remember how conflicted you were about whether to have a child or not?"
Both laughed. Erica shook her head and said, "It all happened so naturally. The moment I felt another heartbeat inside my body, I knew I didn't have a choice."
"In fact, we seriously discussed whether to keep the child. After all, we were travelling a lot at that time, and we were afraid that such an environment would affect his health. But, in the end, his performance won us over. He's a healthy, lively little guy who hasn't made it too hard on his mother."
"I heard you invited Steve to be his godfather? Steve was over the moon, bragging about it at the central base for days."
"By contrast, Tony was quite upset," Matt said with a laugh. "The kid wasn't even a month old when he started dropping hints, but in the end, we didn't choose him."
"It's best not to let him and Pepper discuss anything about the kid. Their disagreement is even bigger. Pepper is fed up with Tony droning on about his kid inheriting his amazing Wisdom and becoming a supreme genius second only to himself."
"Tony isn't mature enough," Erica commented. "Having high expectations for a child is a form of harm, as if they don't deserve parental love unless they achieve something. Giftedness is hard to predict, and having the lowest expectations is the only way to appreciate their every little step of growth."
"What's the deal with that invisible guy?" Matt asked.
"No big deal," Shiller answered. "My guess is it's just some kid who woke up with Unique powers and got in over his head, the same old story, times have changed."
Erica and Shiller cooked a meal together, which could be described as a fusion of Eastern and Western styles. Erica fried bacon and eggs while Shiller steamed fish and made rice, and they all ate until their plates were clean.
"Are you sure you don't need someone to help look after the kid?" Shiller asked, concerned, looking at Little Jack, whose eyes were rolling around in his stroller. Having a child with such hypersensitive senses was a challenge for any parent, let alone for new parents like Matt and Erica.
"It's fine," Erica said as she pushed them both out the door. "There will always be one of us at home, we'll have to get used to it."
After they left, Matt said in a whisper as if he were a thief, "In a way, Erica has become much gentler. I could never have imagined her patiently soothing a crying child for hours. But sometimes she's as fierce as a tigress, possessing a strong sense of ownership over anything related to Little Jack."
"You can't completely deny the impact of hormones," Shiller insisted. "They transform a person from the inside out, especially affecting mothers, while fathers grow in a different way."
"Are you saying improvement comes from fear of being scolded?" Matt laughed and said, "You wouldn't believe how many times Erica yelled at me before I finally learned the right way to hold and feed a baby."
"I thought that wouldn't be difficult for you, since you can handle so many teenagers," Shiller said, spreading his hands helplessly. "There can't be anything harder than that."
They got into the car, and Shiller started driving while filling Matt in on what had happened. Shiller said, "I have a rough idea of everyone with invisibility powers, but this guy must be a nobody, so I don't know much about him."
"A person who uses invisibility for the first thing to peek in a women's bathhouse wouldn't make much of a name for himself," Matt scoffed and then said, "I stopped wanting to do that when I was four."
They quickly arrived at the Block News Agency, where Eddie gave him a big hug, and Venom roared about wanting to eat the baby.
"We've pretty much determined the target," Eddie said. "Brooklyn Area has no shortage of scumbags, but most of them are junkies and vagrants reaching the end of their road, clearly lacking the capability to pull this off. When it comes to making minor mistakes continuously without committing any major ones, it has to be those troublesome teenagers."
Eddie pulled out two mugshots of young men with black hair, their faces showing not a hint of sadness or remorse, but full of disdain.
"John and Parker, a pair of cousins," Eddie explained. "Previously sentenced to community service for theft. Following their adulthood, they were jailed for a year and a half for robbery and extortion and have only recently been released."
Having glanced at them, Matt seemed to recall something. "Are they the two troublemakers I've seen around Vite Street? They even tried to steal from my base but I chased them away."
"They're not just troublemakers anymore, they're adults now, almost 20 years old," Eddie continued. "But recently, the younger cousin John went crazy, insisting he saw a Demon and even injuring two passersby. He's been sent to the hospital."
"His older cousin Parker has disappeared and hasn't been seen in a long time. I suspect he's the mysterious invisible man."
Eddie unfolded a newspaper and laid it in front of them, saying, "First, security footage captured the image of a gun being raised, matching Parker's height. And this camera captured the sight of bushes being parted as if by invisible hands, suggesting a similar build."
"Parker Robbins's father is also a thug with some reputation in Brooklyn, having worked with Kingpin in the past. Peter's already been informed of the findings, and Kingpin should soon figure out a way to deal with him."
Sure enough, Eddie received a call shortly after and said, "Witter Street Community Hospital, let's go."
Rushing to the small two-story hospital, they passed through a courtyard to the ward, where Peter and Kingpin were already there waiting.
"Mrs. Robbins was left in a coma after an accident," Kingpin explained. "She's staying in the long-term care unit of this hospital. Parker's name was found on the hospital's visitation records. He was just here yesterday and has been coming almost every day."
"I think we can wait for him here," Peter suggested. "Maybe even have a word with him..."
Suddenly, a scream came from the entrance. Peter turned his head and was surprised to see a familiar face.
"Miles? What are you doing here?"