Anton looked at the boy next to Phil Urich with a curious expression. "Kid, did you really get a photo of Spider-Man? Let's see."
Eddie, catching on, nodded, and the boy handed over a digital camera. Eddie flipped through the photos and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Not bad! These are solid shots. Are you offering them exclusively to us, or are you planning to sell to other papers too?"
"Just to you," the boy said, a bit nervously. "I'm a big fan of Batman and of The Daily Bugle."
Eddie's smile widened at the exclusive. "Great. I'll give you $1,000 per photo—there are six here. Phil, help him get his payment."
The boy breathed a sigh of relief, watching Phil lead him out to collect his $6,000. As he walked, he turned back, asking, "If I get more shots of Spider-Man, should I bring them here?"
"Absolutely," Anton interjected, looking pleased. "As long as you keep them exclusive to us, you'll get the same rate."
Just before the boy left, Anton asked, "By the way, what's your name?"
"Peter. Peter Parker."
The moment the boy walked away, Anton allowed himself a small smile. 'So young Spider-Man has just wandered into his own base', he thought, amused by the irony.
Leaving The Daily Bugle building with $6,000 in his pocket, Peter felt a surge of excitement. It wasn't the first money he'd ever made, but it was by far the most, and it came at the perfect time.
He could finally afford some upgrades for his Spider-Man gear. His debut look, featuring an ill-fitting red face mask, an oversized sweater with a spider logo, and mismatched sweatpants, was far from ideal.
It was less "superhero" and more "kid playing dress-up." He'd seen enough teasing online to realize that an upgrade was due.
Peter planned to use his newfound funds to buy materials and make himself a proper suit. For the sake of secrecy, he'd be crafting it solo, designing something durable yet flexible enough to handle web-slinging and wall-crawling.
He'd actually been inspired by the night he met Venom and Batman. The encounter had set the wheels turning, and he realized he could monetize his own photos as a source of income.
The idea had hit him during that night's chaos, when Venom snapped a photo after taking down the Kingpin. It had gone on to become a viral front-page story.
The connection between The Daily Bugle and Venom wasn't lost on Peter, either. He'd noticed that Venom and Batman both had ties to the paper. For Peter, being associated with The Daily Bugle meant joining the ranks of heroes he admired.
"Hey, Peter!" A familiar voice brought him out of his thoughts as he left the building.
He turned to find Harry Osborn waiting, and a broad smile spread across his face. "Harry! What are you doing here?"
Harry chuckled, explaining, "I came by to talk about some business and spotted you walking in. I figured I'd wait and say hi."
He paused, grinning as he added, "I was at Oscorp recently and ran into Dr. Connors. He thinks highly of you and suggested you might make a great assistant. What do you say? Interested?"
Peter's eyes lit up. "Absolutely! That would be amazing. Working with Dr. Connors would be a dream."
After Peter left, Eddie turned to Anton, noticing his unusual interest in the young photographer. "Anton, you seem to be pretty curious about that kid."
Anton shrugged nonchalantly. "Just impressed, that's all. Getting decent photos of Spider-Man isn't easy, yet he managed it. It shows he's got some skill."
"Maybe he just got lucky," Eddie replied, unconvinced.
Anton merely smirked. "Let's wait and see."
With that, Anton headed out of The Daily Bugle, satisfied with recent events. Although he'd glimpsed Spider-Man's true identity, he had no intention of interfering with Peter's journey.
Every hero had to find their own path, their own reason for donning a mask. Still, Peter's choice of The Daily Bugle for his exclusive showed that the paper was earning a reputation among New York's up-and-coming heroes, a detail that made Anton feel a sense of pride.
Back at DC headquarters, just one floor below The Daily Bugle, Anton checked in with the team on the upcoming superhero novel series.
"Superman: Man of Steel" was underway, alongside stories for Cyborg, Flash, Wonder Woman, and Shazam. The writers had tackled the daunting first steps, fleshing out characters and storylines.
The new novels would be serialized online, with The Daily Bugle's official site hosting a dedicated section.
Given the massive buzz around Batman, Anton was confident the novels would find an audience. Traffic was already high, thanks to Batman's serialized second instalment, The Dark Knight.
Between The Daily Bugle's advertising power and the longstanding loyalty of its readers, the platform was poised for success. Anton was thrilled; not only was he creating fresh DC content, but the additional revenue from novels would also support other projects.
The ring of his phone broke his focus. It was Jim, calling from Los Angeles. "Anton, the crew is set, and we've got most of the budget sorted. When can we start shooting Cyborg?"
"The sooner, the better. I'll be in Hollywood tomorrow," Anton answered. "How's production on Batman and Superman going?"
"They started yesterday. Progress is slow, but it's the usual teething stage," Jim replied. "My main worry is you, Anton."
Jim felt a bit helpless. While they hadn't yet secured all the funding, the crew managed to cobble together resources to keep filming.
His concerns weren't unfounded. Pulling together the financing for three films simultaneously was a major undertaking.
Even though the core funds were in place, they were still juggling numbers and looking to stretch their resources.
With three movies in production, they were being cautious with the budget, sharing funds where possible and setting aside extra for other essential needs.
Anton, eager to launch the second phase of his cinematic vision, pushed Jim to prepare everything quickly. After the crew was assembled, he arranged for them to start work as soon as possible.
Casting and directing had been organized well in advance. Back when Batman celebrated a global box office of over $600 million, Anton and Jim had already discussed the next steps, deciding to start preparations for Batman's sequel.
However, Anton recently surprised Jim by accelerating production for three films simultaneously.
By the time they wrapped up casting for Superman and Cyborg, Jim felt that all his years of unsuccessful dieting had finally paid off—the intense workload had certainly taken its toll!
Now, with filming officially underway, his responsibilities were cut nearly in half, and he could finally breathe a little easier.
"Don't worry, Jim. I know what I'm doing," Anton reassured him. Despite his relaxed attitude, he knew the pressure was on.
He'd gotten the hang of production schedules, and this time he planned to finish the film in roughly three months. He wanted to wrap quickly, not only to release as early as possible but also to build momentum for the DC brand.
With Cyborg in the pipeline, he had a solid roadmap for the next phase of DC's cinematic universe.
In his mind, Cyborg's popularity wasn't just about potential box office earnings but a more valuable currency: fan engagement. Every new fan brought their passion, influence, and support, all of which could drive DC forward and chances to complete his system's conditions .
….
patreon.com/Vks_sh