Peter Parker's body possessed immense potential—this was something Batman had confirmed within three days of crossing over into this world.
The manifestation of this potential within the Batmobile was that the massive machine was less a vehicle and more a modular weapon system that Batman could deploy at a moment's notice. Batman hadn't even followed his previous designs by building an internal, ejectable motorcycle; instead, he had reinforced the chassis with several plates of heavy metal armor.
When the Batmobile split in two, held vertically in Batman's left and right hands, it made him look like a bat with gargantuan forelimbs.
Thump!
The Hulk took a step forward. He stared intently at Batman but didn't attack immediately, though heavy breaths snorted rhythmically from his nose.
"Hulk angry," the Hulk rumbled in a low, muffled voice. "Hulk want to fight!"
"Hulk, you are a nuclear bomb. You can't just strike wherever you want. You need someone to help you make decisions—even if it's just to help you think."
Batman gripped the two halves of the split Batmobile, maintaining a defensive rather than offensive posture as he spoke to the Hulk. If he could avoid this fight, he would. The dinosaur situation wasn't fully resolved yet, and this was no time for the Hulk to trigger another conflict.
"Hulk has his own ideas!" the Hulk roared at Batman.
Batman's mind raced. One hand subtly loosened its grip on the Batmobile, reaching toward his utility belt. He spoke again, following the Hulk's lead:
"Is your 'idea' to fight me and defeat me easily, or would you rather have a satisfying battle with someone like the Lizard?"
"The big lizard, of course!" Hulk grinned. "Where is he?"
Seeing that the Hulk had indeed taken the bait, Batman felt half the weight lift off his shoulders. He slowly extended a hand toward the Hulk, and then—zip—a bar of chocolate appeared between his fingertips.
The Hulk snorted, clenching his fists as he walked toward Batman. Batman remained perfectly still, holding the chocolate out.
It wasn't until the distance between them was less than two meters that the Hulk stopped. He looked down at Batman from his towering height, his face still etched with fury. However, for a fleeting moment, a flash of cunning crossed the Hulk's features. He reached out with lightning speed, snatched the chocolate, and tossed it into his mouth.
Crash!
Almost the exact moment the Hulk opened his massive maw to swallow the chocolate like a single bean, a dark shadow descended from the sky at extreme speed, slamming heavily into the ground beside them.
Batman and the Hulk both turned their gaze toward the point of impact. Neither man—nor monster—retreated a single step despite the sudden intrusion. Batman knew the falling figure was Venom Robin; the Hulk remained unmoved out of the absolute confidence born of his own raw power.
A shallow crater, less than a meter wide, had been gouged into the pavement. Within the pit, Venom Robin looked up at the Hulk and Batman, pointing a finger at them while stammering:
"You... you two..."
The Hulk quickly gulped down the chocolate. Batman remained expressionless, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Venom Robin continued to sputter. Faced with the Hulk, who possessed the sheer strength to crush him, and Batman, who couldn't suppress him with raw power but whom he nonetheless couldn't seem to beat, the symbiote-host was at a loss for words.
"Give me one!" Venom Robin finally demanded, reaching a hand out toward Batman.
"Robin, take the Hulk back to South Brother Island. Go from here toward the Adirondack Mountains..." Batman whispered, handing Venom Robin a bar of chocolate.
"The dinosaurs aren't fully dealt with yet," Venom Robin said, chewing the chocolate while glaring at the Hulk.
"I don't need you or the Hulk for the remaining dinosaurs. Do as I say," Batman said, lifting Venom Robin and tossing him onto the Hulk's shoulder. "Go!"
As he finished, Batman noticed the Hulk showed no intention of following orders. He quickly added:
"Once the current situation is resolved, I'll arrange for the Lizard to fight you."
Only then did the Hulk bray a grin. His knees bent slightly, crushing the pavement into a massive crater as he leaped into the air with a thunderous boom.
With a few massive bounds, the Hulk and Venom Robin quickly vanished from Batman's sight.
Almost the moment they disappeared into the distance, a crashing sound echoed from the upper reaches of the Empire State Building. A knight clad in black armor, riding an equally pitch-black winged horse, came flying out, locked in a mid-air struggle with a dinosaur that had leaped onto the steed's back.
Batman glanced up at the knight and lowered his voice again, speaking to Tony Stark, whom he had previously webbed and flung into the distance:
"Tony, are you alright?"
"I wouldn't have been if you'd shown up any later. But now?" Tony Stark's voice crackled through the comm channel. "I'm feeling pretty good."
"Where did this knight come from?" Batman asked. "Eleven minutes ago, he flew toward Manhattan from the direction of the Hudson River. Nine minutes ago, he encountered you over Hell's Kitchen. Three minutes ago, he entered the Empire State Building."
Batman's voice was incredibly low; his lips barely seemed to move.
"During the interval between the nine-minute and three-minute marks, he spent almost the entire time hunting dinosaurs within the observation range of the NYPD's armed helicopters."
"What are you doubting, Batman?" Tony Stark's voice came through the encrypted link. "If Peter is allowed to transform into Batman, can't someone else step up when New York is in crisis?"
"Did you experience sudden physical discomfort earlier? Nausea, dizziness, things like that?" Batman asked.
Tony Stark's voice paused for a moment.
"True. To get to the omni-wave projector in time, I gave myself a shot of adrenaline. What happened just now was likely just a side effect of it wearing off."
"You were affected by infrasound, Tony," Batman said.
"What do you mean?" Tony asked.
Batman didn't answer. Instead, he suddenly tilted his head.
"Batman? Hey!"
Tony was still calling out, but Batman had already leaped into the air, using his webs to swing at high speed toward the Baxter Building.
Earlier, while confronting the Hulk, Batman had subconsciously filtered out distant sounds to focus his attention. But now, he realized something was wrong with those sounds.
He had heard the voice of Wilson Fisk—the Kingpin.
A few breaths after Batman swung away, atop the Empire State Building, the Black Knight, Nathan Garrett, sat atop his winged horse and looked down.
"A pity. They didn't actually fight?" Nathan Garrett sighed.
His plan was to earn trust by hunting dinosaurs and saving civilians in full view of the public and the NYPD.
The first step was halfway complete. He had deliberately ensured that all his actions took place within the sightlines of the helicopters patrolling the skies. Compared to Batman's shadows and secrecy, Garrett believed his contrasting behavior would win the NYPD's favor.
In fact, if necessary, Garrett was prepared to remove his visor and answer the NYPD's questions in his capacity as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Garrett.
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