“So, it was a pretty slow day. A few guys came in earlier to give me their names, but most of the-”

“Wait, why were they giving you their names?” A sharp look from his daughter reminded Victor that she was angry with him. “Never mind, please continue.”

Jennifer took a deep breath. “There were only a few customers at that time, then one of them screamed for us to look at the ‘Power Entertainment’ channel. Everyone opened their phones and we saw this!”

Jennifer pressed the screen of a tablet she had and showed Victor a recording of his fight with the Green Leaper. From the angle of the camera, Victor assumed it was taken from one of the flying drones the Green Leaper had. Jennifer pressed the screen once more, and the view changed. Victor was now viewing the fight from another angel, most probably from another drone. On the right of the screen, there was a series of messages. Victor couldn’t quite believe what he was reading.

“Are these people commenting on my fight?”

“Yes, and in real time. It was streamed for the world to see. This is just a recording. The viewers were commenting on it as it happened. Most of them were shocked that you managed to beat the Leaper. She is pretty well-known in Velocity City.”

“She is? What rank is she?”

“D, but she is climbing up fast. Her flashy fights had gained her a lot of fans.”

“She was too flashy.” Victor looked at the screen as the fight went on. He saw the comments on the right and couldn’t help but shake his head. “This seems so wrong. Is this allowed?”

“Of course. It’s no different from a passer-by seeing a fight between a villain and a hero and then recording it. There’s no law stopping people from uploading the fights onto the internet. With monetization, they could even earn a few bucks from it.”

“That’s hardly the case here. That hero came looking for me just to record that fight.”

“Which isn’t illegal.”

“Why? I wasn’t wanted by anyone. I wasn’t in costume. Be the Gap, I didn’t even have a mask on. She can’t be allowed to just stop someone on the street and then beat them up for no reason?”

“She can if the other person is a known villain. Oh, don’t give me that look. It’s not as if this didn’t happen in your day as well. Besides, you are going to earn a lot of money from this victory.”

“We didn’t record our fights for the world to see. Only idiots begging to get caught do that. And what do you mean by I am going to earn?”

“The Green Leaper is a celebrity hero. She has a contract with a local hero company and get paid to fight villains. Her company put her fights up on her internet channel and as a party to her ‘program’, you are entitled to a share of the profits.”

Victor’s eye widened. Jennifer acknowledged his shock with a nod and explained. “You see all these people commenting on the right? They are subscribers. They paid money to the company. When a fight is on, the company will notify them via a message, and they can log on to view the fight live. Depending on their subscriptions, these subscribers could also comment on the fight as it happened. Some of them could even give gifts if the fights are good. See these balloons, cars, and planes on the screen? Each one of them represent a reward tier. These are the gifts the subscribers gave for the fight between you and the Green Leaper. You are entitled to a share of the gifts.”

“You are joking.”

“Oh no, there is legal precedent for this.”

“There is?”

“Oh yes! It happened early when one of the heroes started an internet channel and begun showing his fights on it. The response was good, so he began broadcasting it live. Viewers began giving him money, and advertisers came knocking. Seeing the demand, some of the other heroes began copying him. Then one of the villains they beat up sued.”

“And he succeeded?”

“It was a ‘she’ actually, and only partially. The judge ruled that the villain can’t sue the hero for beating her up due to ‘historic precedent’, but she can take a cut of the money the hero made from the video.”

“What about the Samaritan Law?”

“Doesn’t come in because the villain wasn’t committing a crime at that time. There is a distinction there. If the villain was committing a crime at the time of the fight, or wanted by the authorities, then he is fair game and not entitled to a share of the money. However, if the villain was just minding his own business, like you, then he is entitled to the money.”

“That is insane. You are telling me these celebrity heroes are going out picking fights with villains every single day?”

“Pretty much. Of course, most celebrity heroes are smart enough to pick on villains they have a chance against. No one is stupid enough to go after Crimson Ripper or Old Man Tech. They pick on villains who are not known to be good combatants, or villains who are in the lower tier.”

“I’m not in the lower tier. H.A.V.E have me in on the C-list.”

“Your reputation was built on the fact you didn’t snitch. Your reputation as a combatant is not good. After all, you are just a martial artist and the Green Leaper is a hero with a variety of superpowers.”

“So, she thought she had a good chance against me. She must have been waiting for me.”

“Taking out a villain on the C-list would have done wonders for her subscriptions.”

“Wonderful. Why haven’t the villains taken out these celebrity heroes yet?”

“Why would they? This is a good way to make a living. If you think about it, the heroes are the one who is doing all the work. They need to set up the channel, signed with advertisers, get the lawyers and accountants in place, and then buy equipment like the video drones. That’s why most celebrity heroes are signed contracts with entertainment companies. The villains just need to show up for the fight. Some villains even advertised their availability for them.”

“You are joking.”