Chapter 221: Of Course, Kill Him!
Morbius—suspected vampire transformation, possibly possessing echolocation abilities similar to Gotham's Man-Bat.
Max Dillon—body generating electricity, creating strong déjà vu for Batman regarding certain metahumans.
The former could be weakened through environmental noise disrupting echolocation. The latter could be short-circuited through water exposure.
Deploying the Batwing to release silver iodide flares and generate artificial rain accomplished both objectives simultaneously.
Every rain-soaked location had become the battlefield. One side: Batman and Tony Stark. The other: the still-absent Electro, vampire, and Green Goblin.
"Tony, begin operations." Batman approached the Empire State Building's edge, surveying the city below.
Wearing the new Mark IV, Tony didn't immediately depart. Instead, he glanced curiously at the Batwing within the cloud layer, then at Batman's wind-whipped cape:
"You can't fly?"
Batman regarded Tony briefly:
"I've investigated every recent New York incident. Zero evidence indicates Max Dillon's involvement in criminal activity."
"Avoid conflict when possible. You're not apprehending a criminal, Tony."
Batman didn't address the flight question.
If necessary, Batman could conduct sea, land, and air operations with Batwing and Batmobile support.
That assumed Venom remained dormant. If the symbiote were active within Batman's body, pure physical capability alone enabled combat operations up to five hundred meters altitude.
Whether Batman could fly was ultimately irrelevant.
"Don't worry. I've got zero interest fighting someone who's a walking power plant."
Tony said this while mentally filing away the fact that Batman couldn't fly.
'If we ever become enemies, maintaining distance for air-to-ground engagement would leave Batman completely defenseless.' Tony calculated silently.
Without further commentary, Tony regarded Batman posing dramatically at the building's edge with a slight grimace, then turned and flew toward the marked map coordinates.
Wind howled. Rain poured.
Batman waited alone for Morbius and Harry Osborn's arrival.
Water struck Batman's armor and cape, droplets coalescing like mercury on lotus leaves before sliding away rapidly.
One minute. Two minutes.
Just as Batman concluded the bat-signal alone wouldn't attract Harry and Morbius, prepared to activate alternative measures—two figures appeared atop a distant skyscraper. One green, one black.
They studied the Empire State Building's direction, examining the solitary figure standing in the fierce wind. Batman simultaneously studied them.
After roughly ten seconds' observation, the distant pair apparently reached decision. One rode a Green Goblin glider, the other utilized wind currents for sustained gliding. They approached the Empire State Building in rapid sequence.
Batman remained motionless. Only when Harry's distorted laughter reached his ears did his brow furrow slightly.
Within moments, Harry Osborn and Morbius scaled the Empire State Building's exterior walls, positioning themselves on Batman's left and right flanks.
Sewer stench and blood scent assaulted Batman's senses.
Morbius's appearance matched Batman's cave sketch almost perfectly—gray-black skin stretched over bone, virtually zero visible muscle mass.
Harry Osborn presented entirely different appearance. He wore complete Green Goblin armor, the glider hovering beside him, facial expression twisted into a grin identical to Norman Osborn's madness.
Flanked left and right by Harry and Morbius, Batman remained positioned at the building's edge, completely unmoved. He spoke first:
"Harry Osborn. Michael Morbius."
Batman's low voice pronouncing both full names simultaneously startled both figures.
"Oh, you know little Harry?" Harry's mouth stretched wide, revealing rows of teeth. "Pity he's not here. I'll pass along your regards."
Morbius no longer possessed any trace of his former melancholic poet demeanor. Disheveled hair, mouth full of fangs—he resembled a blood-drinking demon.
His voice had grown hoarse, discordant against the rain's steady rhythm:
"I thought 'Batman' was just New York urban legend. Surprised someone actually exists."
Batman's ears tracked heartbeats, nose analyzing breath composition. Spider-sense transmitted waves of warning through every raised hair follicle.
He detected extreme hostility from both Harry and Morbius. Upon reaching the Empire State Building's summit, they'd immediately flanked him left and right, ready to attack at any moment.
'Like Norman Osborn, Harry's super-soldier serum injection generated a Green Goblin personality. The Goblin has suppressed Harry.'
'Can't determine yet whether Morbius also suffers personality fragmentation. But since they haven't immediately attacked, perhaps verbal and psychological intervention could resolve this.'
Batman rapidly assessed current circumstances before speaking:
"I'm here at Peter Parker's request. Handling your situation."
Hearing Peter Parker's name, Morbius's hostility seemed to diminish fractionally:
"Peter?"
"Ohhh, Peter!" The Goblin voice remained shrill. "Where is he?"
Batman read their reactions impassively, gauging mental states:
"Before departing, Peter entrusted me with your biological data, personal relationships, and his deepest concerns."
"He asked me to prevent you from destroying yourselves. And to stop you from harming everything he loves."
Morbius emitted a gurgling cold laugh—sound resembling a severed throat.
The figure now designated Little Green Goblin fixed green eyes intensely on Batman's face, expression showing genuine anxiety:
"Where did he go?"
Little Green Goblin repeatedly demanded Peter Parker's location. Batman's voice remained steady:
"You want to find him?"
"Of course we need to find him." Morbius's gurgling laugh continued.
"For what purpose?" Batman pressed.
Little Green Goblin's anxiety appeared completely genuine:
"I'm his brother. He disappeared without a word. Shouldn't I search for him?"
"As for what happens after finding him..."
Little Green Goblin's grin expanded progressively, mouth stretching nearly to his ears. The shrill voice became painfully piercing:
"Kill him, obviously!"
Morbius revealed his full complement of fangs, flashing to Batman's side in an instant. One hand's razor claws pressed against Batman's spine:
"Right. Kill him, naturally. What else?"
The moment Morbius finished speaking, Little Green Goblin rapidly drew a green electrified blade from behind, charging Batman. The shrill voice erupted simultaneously:
"As for you... you personally sent my father to prison, causing his disappearance. Killing you counts as revenge. Plus it frees up the name for our vampire to use temporarily!"
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