"Barbara, is the energy structure analysis complete?"
In the abandoned City Hall subway station, Batman's voice remained as low and gravelly as ever.
"The analysis is done, Bruce," Oracle's AI responded. "This energy exhibits an extremely high entropy increase rate and a peculiar negative energy signature. It seems to strip the target of its energy and structural stability rather than simply heating or impacting it."
"Its external manifestation looks like a film negative, primarily in black and white."
Batman rubbed his stubble-covered chin.
Even during those three days when Harry Osborn had forcibly confined him to a hospital bed, Batman had found time for essential training—muscle memory, conditioned reflexes, and comprehensive physical conditioning.
His body had grown noticeably stronger, muscles bulging in a way that made this Peter Parker physique a far cry from the lean, agile frame of before. Even his jawline was starting to develop a cleft.
"According to Shulman, the energy weapon he developed and those gauntlets called 'Dread' are powered by energy derived from Mr. Negative."
"So this Mr. Negative might be the first person with extraordinary abilities I'll encounter in this world."
Standing in the middle of the City Hall subway station, Batman fell silent, his mind racing through the intelligence he'd gathered tonight:
"Shulman wasn't lying—he's never seen Mr. Negative's true appearance. But from his description, the man is around thirty years old, with neatly combed hair and distinct East Asian features."
"When he appeared before Shulman in his black-and-white Mr. Negative form, he was wearing a suit and tie."
"Perhaps that's his usual attire as well."
As Batman pondered in the subway station, Shulman—bound in a corner with webbing covering his eyes and mouth, trussed up like a mummy—was also deep in thought:
"Bruce?"
"Is that the name Batman uses when he's pretending to be human?"
"He's talking to that woman named Barbara, having her provide technical support?"
To Shulman, Oracle's AI voice, devoid of any synthetic electronic trace, sounded like that of a normal woman.
As for Batman, Shulman was now thoroughly convinced the man wasn't human at all but some unknown monster wrapped in a human shell.
It had been an hour since their confrontation in the Queens apartment building—or rather, since Batman had utterly crushed him.
"The trio didn't get caught by Batman. Did they escape? If they're smart, they'll go to Mr. Negative for help. He needs my tech—he'll definitely find a way to track me down and get me out of here!"
"Wait, no—I've already told Batman everything about Mr. Negative. If he finds me, he'll kill me."
"But staying with Batman doesn't seem much better. If he's a man-eating monster, I hope he starts with my legs…"
"No, wait—he hasn't sent me to the police, and he hasn't done anything to me. Does Batman want my energy weapon tech? But the energy comes from Mr. Negative. Sooner or later, I'll be exposed…"
Batman glanced back at Shulman, noting the man's breathing had briefly quickened.
He ignored it and turned to the computer, its screen displaying a map of Queens with three blinking red dots.
The trio who had tested the firearms and led Batman to Shulman's apartment had been tagged with listening devices and micro-trackers the moment they made contact with him.
Whether they were spooked by the commotion caused by Shulman's Dread gauntlets blasting through the apartment building or simply hiding like snails, the trio hadn't moved more than half a meter in the hour since Batman had left with Shulman. They were still in the same building.
From the audio feed, Batman could tell they weren't dead—no groans of pain, just the occasional sound of movement.
From Shulman's statements, Batman had learned the trio were "disposable assets" sent by Mr. Negative, meant to be eliminated after testing the guns.
Batman, however, was using them as bait, hoping to lure out the elusive Mr. Negative.
The name "Batman" had already begun to spread through New York, but few had encountered him directly. Mr. Negative wouldn't likely kill the trio outright—he'd keep them alive to interrogate them about Batman.
Yet, judging by the faint snoring coming through the listening devices, Batman's plan had likely fallen flat.
Batman shook his head slightly. Two strands of webbing shot out, sealing Shulman's ears.
The sudden loss of hearing startled Shulman.
"Batman must have realized I overheard his name, so he quickly blocked my ears! I was right!" Shulman thought, a surge of triumph washing over him, as if he'd finally uncovered a piece of the puzzle.
"Shulman's breathing spiked for six seconds," Batman noted silently.
Bringing Shulman to the Batcave, blindfolded and gagged, had been deliberate. Even letting him overhear the names "Bruce" and "Barbara" was intentional.
No one in this world knew that Peter Parker was his real name—"Bruce" was just an alias.
Batman wasn't pinning all his hopes on the trio as bait. Shulman was also bait, but not for today.
With Shulman's ears sealed, Batman sat at the workbench and began reviewing information on another computer screen.
Earlier that night, before heading to Hell's Kitchen to meet Black Cat, he'd tasked Oracle with tracing Stark Industries' weapons orders based on the confirmed "SI-03" gun oil and compatible firearm models.
After nearly a full night, Oracle hadn't disappointed. It had compiled a list of all orders involving the gun oil and firearms.
Batman's white lenses retracted, revealing his dark eyes as he meticulously reviewed the orders without pause.
The deeper he dug, the more his brow furrowed. Stark Industries, primarily a weapons manufacturer, was a company Batman had largely ignored because it sold exclusively to the military, never to private organizations.
Oracle's traced orders confirmed this: every transaction was clean, with buyers being the Army, Navy, Air Force, various military units, or S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D., as an international organization backed by multiple nations, naturally did business with Stark Industries.
But that was precisely the problem. The orders were too clean, leaving Batman's trail cold.
The firearms used by the four men who took Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, from Ravencroft Institute were likely Stark Industries weapons, their gun oil unmistakably SI-03.
Batman didn't dwell on this dead end. Instead, he multitasked, thinking through the problem while remotely accessing Parker Industries' computers to place industrial procurement orders.
Unlike his previous purchase of memory fiber equipment and materials, which had hidden orders for the Arkham suit and cape, this time Batman was acquiring production equipment for rescue gear—part of a future collaboration with Silver Sable under his Peter Parker identity.
Tucked within these orders were scattered automotive parts and a material he'd seen during his last procurement but couldn't afford at the time: Vibranium.
Batman was preparing to build a Batmobile capable of switching to combat mode and transforming into a tank, as well as countering Ant-Man with the "David Plan" and addressing Mr. Negative's "negative energy" abilities.
Once a plan was set, Batman would continuously refine it until it became a reliable strategy, never letting it languish as an empty folder.
"Also, Barbara," Batman said, "initiate the 'Battering Ram Plan' for the Hulk and the 'Ouroboros Plan' for the Lizard."