Perched on one knee atop the pickup truck, Batman's dark silhouette remained as still as a statue, unmoving no matter how wildly Scorpion Mike swerved the vehicle below him.
"Where is he? Head toward West 39th Street! Get me a gun and shoot that Dracula down!"
In Scorpion's eyes, the elusive Batman was practically synonymous with a vampire, so he simply referred to him as "Dracula."
Tat-tat-tat!
Actually, even without Scorpion's orders, the Kingpin's gang members had already pulled their cars closer, gripping submachine guns or pistols as they unleashed a frantic barrage at Batman.
"Barbara, activate riot control mode."
From his position on the roof of the pickup, Batman spoke in a low voice.
As soon as the words left his mouth, six modified guns—three on the left and three on the right—rose from the hood of the Batmobile, which was tailing the pickup closely, and roared to life!
Under the Oracle AI's precise aiming, these non-lethal bullets rained down wildly on all the vehicles except the pickup, knocking the guns from the gang members' hands as they poked out of the windows and tearing into their skin.
The intense pain forced the gang members to clutch their wounds uncontrollably, screaming without end. But Batman ignored them, one hand firmly adhered to the roof thanks to the dual suction functions from Peter Parker's tech and his own gloves.
His other hand clenched into a fist, and he smashed it down onto the pickup's windshield.
With a single blow, the windshield's surface spiderwebbed with dense cracks, forming a deep dent, while the section connected to the roof warped upward.
Batman seized the raised edge of the windshield and ripped the entire pane free from the vehicle's frame.
Just as Batman leaned in and reached out again, preparing to grab the steering wheel and yank Scorpion Mike and Walker out from where they hid inside...
Bang!
A bullet grazed Batman's palm.
Thanks to his trained "Spider-Sense," Batman had anticipated the bullet's trajectory before it even left the barrel, and he chose not to dodge.
But he also abandoned his plan to forcibly extract Walker and Scorpion, shifting his strategy in less than a second.
"Barbara, fire the grappling hook. Engage forced braking," Batman commanded.
As he spoke, the Batmobile's Oracle AI reacted instantly.
From beneath the Bat symbol at the front of the vehicle, a palm-sized grappling claw launched with a bang, embedding itself firmly into the pickup truck's body.
In the next instant, the Batmobile slammed on its brakes. The immense friction brought the car screeching from high speed to a dead stop, forcing the pickup to halt along with it.
The vehicles stopped, but inertia hurled Scorpion and Mike forward. They flew through the now-open windshield from the driver's seat and tumbled out onto the hood.
They hadn't even hit the ground when Batman fired a batarang to snag them, knocking both unconscious with a single punch each.
In the spacious office on the top floor of the sixteen-story building in Hell's Kitchen—dilapidated on the outside but lavishly decorated within—Kingpin's usually gentle, fatherly face was now twisted in rage.
Surrounding him were ten burly men: some with hands covered in thick calluses from years of punching, others with leg muscles coiled like steel cables, and a few even wielding knives.
Despite their numerical advantage and weapons, the men encircling Kingpin all had shifty eyes, and some even trembled in their calves.
Someone shouted, and the ten experts from around the world charged at Kingpin from every direction.
Kingpin's face contorted, resembling a tyrannical brute with a menacing glare.
Without retreating a single step except for necessary pivots, Kingpin's fists—each as large as an ordinary person's head—creaked with tension.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of thunderous impacts echoed, like punches slamming into sandbags, as Kingpin's blows sent the experts flying backward one by one.
It took only ten punches for the ten men. Kingpin's white suit remained utterly pristine, but the hurled strongmen clutched their chests or abdomens, spitting blood and unable to rise.
Thud!
Several couldn't endure it and passed out on the spot.
Black Cat, Bullseye, and Shocker stood off to the side, only approaching once Kingpin had wiped his hands with a handkerchief.
"Kingpin, according to reports from our subordinates, it's confirmed that Walker and Mike were captured by Batman. But their current location is still unknown."
Shocker—Shulman—spoke first.
Kingpin regarded Shulman without a word, staring intently into his eyes until Shulman was drenched in sweat before finally shifting his gaze.
"With Walker and Mike gone, I have to advance my plan."
Kingpin seemed to be forcing his voice to remain calm, but tonight, not only had Walker evaded capture, but another trusted subordinate, Mike, had also vanished. He was practically grinding his teeth as he continued:
"Tomorrow, I'll officially join the Osborn Group's board of directors. I'll unite with the other shareholders to vote Norman Osborn out and seize absolute control of the Osborn Group as quickly as possible."
"At that point, I'll control the entire underworld of New York—and even the whole world."
Meanwhile, in the subway tunnels of Manhattan, the Batmobile glided silently along the tracks, arriving at the abandoned City Hall Station.
Before it was converted into the Batcave, this spot still served well as a parking area for the Batmobile.
Though this Batmobile had been hastily modified and was somewhat rudimentary, it still featured a stealth mode—reducing noise to evade detection—just like his vehicles back in Gotham.
Avoiding any prying eyes, the Oracle AI interfaced with the city's subway system to plot the optimal route ahead. Meanwhile, Batman glanced at the portable computer on his forearm.
It displayed a map of Hell's Kitchen, with a sixteen-story building at the center marked by a blinking red light.
"From last night until now, Black Cat has lingered at this location four times, for a total of twenty-five minutes."
"Excluding other spots, there's a ninety percent chance this is Kingpin's hideout."
The tracker he'd hidden in Black Cat's white fur collar the previous night had been transmitting her position to Batman all along.
Based on Black Cat's movements, Batman had ruled out various locations, pinpointing the one on the map as the most likely for Kingpin.
Stowing the portable computer back into his gauntlet, Batman turned his attention to the unconscious Mike and Walker.
"On Monday night, Anthony—a gang member who'd forced the 'Zegan Gang' to join Kingpin—gave me a piece of information..."
"Those in charge of relaying Kingpin's orders, claiming territory, and handling illegal deals all share one trait: they wear suits."
And right now, the knocked-out Walker and Mike were dressed in nearly identical black suits.
"After the Osborn Group exposed the murder case on the third basement level, Black Cat told me Kingpin was coercing other shareholders to forcibly acquire shares."
"Given the stir over finding Walker tonight, the loss of Walker and Mike will surely rattle Kingpin. He'll speed up his entry onto the Osborn Group's board—even pushing to vote out Norman Osborn and claim absolute control."
"The soonest this could happen is tomorrow."
"It's time for Silver Sable to contact the lawyer willing to take on the case against Kingpin."
With the clues converging, Batman had nearly pieced together all of Kingpin's moves.
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