Chapter 140: Overwhelming Pressure
Just minutes ago, Shocker Schultz and his two accomplices had been brimming with confidence, certain that three men equipped with combat suits far exceeding normal human capabilities could easily defeat Batman.
Scorpion's barbed tail, Shocker's shockwave gauntlets, Vulture's aerial support—they should have worked together flawlessly.
And in truth, their coordination had been perfect. They'd used every tactic at their disposal, executed every part of their plan.
At first, they'd believed Batman was a vampire and prepared an entire arsenal of countermeasures accordingly.
Then, they'd assumed Batman was simply human like them, just wearing advanced armor—something Scorpion's barb could easily pierce through.
But the moment Batman's shadow came alive and transformed into that savage maw with rows of gleaming teeth, everything they thought they understood shattered into incomprehensible chaos.
Shocker Schultz didn't hesitate. He cranked his shockwave gauntlets to maximum power—level five.
Last time in that abandoned apartment building, he hadn't gotten a clear shot at Batman. This time he wasn't holding back, even if it meant turning his partner Scorpion Mac into paste right along with their target.
His gauntlets emitted a violent humming roar. Visible ripples distorted the air itself.
Schultz didn't fire from a distance. Instead, he discharged a shockwave behind himself, using the recoil to rocket his body toward Batman while his other fist extended forward, aimed to pulverize everything in its path.
He'd already tested level five shockwaves in that apartment building—the blast had punched clean through every floor from a distance. He refused to believe Batman could withstand that kind of destructive force. Even a Tyrannosaurus Rex would be reduced to shredded meat under this attack.
Once again, Shocker Schultz underestimated the depth of Batman's arsenal.
"Barbara, flash grenade."
Batman's words came lightning-fast. In the blink of an eye, a flash grenade dropped from his utility belt.
Everything happened in an instant. Batman still had one hand blocking Scorpion Mac's garlic-wielding fists, the other gripping his cape, while Venom's maw clamped down on the scorpion tail.
It looked like Batman had once again been cornered, stretched too thin, backed into a dead end with no way out.
But setting aside all of Batman's technological advantages for a moment—he was still a master martial artist, proficient in virtually every combat discipline known to man, capable of controlling every movement of his body with absolute precision.
He lifted one foot slightly, using the exact tip of his armored boot to strike the flash grenade's trigger button with surgical accuracy. That same micro-kick sent the grenade sailing directly toward Shocker Schultz.
Vulture Toomes had no idea what that round object Batman just kicked was. He wasn't about to gamble and find out.
For his own survival, Toomes chose to blast through the ceiling and take to the sky. Whether to gain distance or escape entirely, the open air was the only place the Vulture considered truly safe.
Behind his mask, Schultz's eyes widened in horror the instant the flash grenade reached his face. The next second, it detonated.
Almost simultaneously with the explosion, Venom abruptly retracted back into Batman's body. But Batman had already released his cape, one hand now clamping onto Scorpion's barbed tail like an iron vise.
It still wasn't over. Gripping Mac's tail, Batman bent his knees and launched himself upward, carrying Scorpion Mac with him as he crashed through the ceiling in pursuit of Vulture Toomes, both villains now sandwiching him in midair.
Below them, inside the two-story house, blinding light seared through the darkness. High-frequency sonic waves caused Schultz to lose control of his shockwave gauntlets. As his level five blast discharged uselessly into empty air, the flash grenade's concussive force hammered into him in rapid succession.
Airborne now, Batman raised one hand and made a slight flicking motion, targeting Vulture Toomes as he reached twenty meters altitude.
Enhanced by over thirty tons of strength, the centrifugal force from Batman's subtle wrist movement combined with his modified version of Peter Parker's web-shooters sent pitch-black webbing streaking upward at speeds far exceeding Toomes' flight.
With a sharp thwip, Vulture Toomes hadn't even reached what he considered a safe altitude before the dark webbing ensnared him completely.
Then, as Batman yanked downward, Toomes lost all control of his flight trajectory and plummeted.
CRASH!
Batman descended back through the shattered ceiling, Scorpion Mac in one hand and Vulture Toomes in the other. The moment he landed, the flash grenade's blinding light, sonic assault, and concussive shockwaves finally dissipated.
Shocker Schultz lay sprawled face-down on the floor like a beaten dog. Taking the flash grenade at point-blank range had completely stripped him of any ability to resist.
"Robin," Batman's voice rumbled low. "Strip them of their equipment. All of it."
Venom erupted from Batman's body in a mass of writhing black tendrils. In seconds, the symbiote had removed Schultz's shock gauntlets, Toomes' green flight suit, and Mac's scorpion armor.
"Mission accomplished, old man!"
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
Batman's palm struck the back of each man's head with lightning speed, knocking all three unconscious.
---
September in New York had brought cooler temperatures, a crisp edge to the air that became downright chilling when the night wind hit exposed skin.
When that cold wind came from four hundred meters up, at the very top of the Empire State Building, while hanging upside down wrapped in webbing—that chill transformed into a desperate urge to piss yourself.
Scorpion Mac and Shocker Schultz opened their eyes. The instant they realized their predicament, they screamed in terror and instinctively struggled.
The moment they moved, gravity took over. Their bodies entered freefall. Wind shrieked past their ears, forcing their eyes nearly shut. Droplets of urine streaked through the air, falling alongside them.
Shocker Schultz screamed with every ounce of strength in his lungs, but his voice vanished completely into the howling wind. Only then did he notice his gray kinetic-absorption suit had been removed, along with his shock gauntlets—both gone without a trace.
Scorpion Mac suffered the same fate, his scorpion suit stripped away, leaving him in nothing but his underwear.
"FU-FU-FU-FUCK!"
Mac's mouth filled with rushing wind. After forcing out that single curse, he squeezed his eyes shut and waited for death.
Four hundred meters wasn't particularly high by Earth's standards. Under gravity's pull, it took less than ten seconds to reach the ground.
Shocker Schultz's mind went blank. He lost control of his bladder. His pupils dilated to the point of near-unconsciousness. His entire life began flashing before his eyes.
When he and Mac dropped to within twenty meters of the pavement, Schultz suddenly felt a sharp tug. Multiple strands of pitch-black webbing descended from above, catching them both.
After a violent elastic rebound, they rocketed back upward at tremendous speed, yanked from twenty meters above certain death all the way back to the top of the Empire State Building.
"Why did you break them out of prison?" Batman's low voice emerged from the shadows beside them.
"Re-revenge," Schultz stammered, still not recovered from the roller coaster of the past few seconds.
Freefall from four hundred meters, then yanked back up—the double impact left his entire body screaming in agony, like he might vomit blood. His head pounded with waves of pain and dizziness.
Facing Batman's interrogation, Schultz answered almost reflexively.
"Revenge against who?"
"You."
"Was there another objective?"
"No."
THUD!
Batman struck Schultz unconscious. His voice manifested like a ghost directly beside Scorpion Mac's ear.
"After you escaped, what assignment did Kingpin give you?"
Every prisoner in Rykers had escaped during the breakout. Every prisoner except Kingpin himself.
Certainly Kingpin's shattered bones played a role in that decision—but Batman didn't believe that was the only reason.
"He said... he said... I can't tell you."
Scorpion Mac's body had been strained nearly to its breaking point by the high-intensity forces. He felt ready to pass out. But he still instinctively tried to keep Kingpin's secrets.
"This is the top of the Empire State Building. Throughout the entire year, maintenance workers only come up here twice to service the antenna tower. The next maintenance visit is four months away."
Batman's voice held no inflection whatsoever, simply stating facts with mechanical precision.
"Tell me, and I'll deliver you to the police. Otherwise, I'll tie you to that antenna tower. I hope you can last four months up here."
A strand of black webbing shot out as he finished speaking. Scorpion Mac's courage shattered instantly. He'd recovered enough mental clarity to understand the choice before him—survival or loyalty to Kingpin. He chose the former without hesitation.
"Kingpin said he learned about some Japanese guy through Lester before all this! He wanted me to make contact!"
"Name?"
"Oyama Kenji."
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