Speeding all the way from New York, thousands of miles away, the Batwing II streaked across the sky, arriving at the battlefield of the Gamma Base in New Mexico.
The instant the "Oracle" AI onboard the Batwing II connected with the signal receiver in Batman's cowl, Batman issued a rapid command:
"Barbara, destroy the jet!"
Da-da-da!
A machine gun extended from the underside of the Batwing, unleashing a torrent of bullets toward the jet containing The Leader. Simultaneously, Batman pulled several Batarangs from his waist and flung them outward.
High-frequency oscillating Batarangs and Gel-Explosive Batarangs flew into the sea of fire surrounding Batman.
Under the effect of the solidifying gel, the inferno at the Gamma Base instantly stagnated. The gel completely encased most of the combustible materials, leaving the flames with nothing to burn.
Batman knew Venom's weakness was fire; how could he not prepare for it?
The Gel-Explosive Batarangs served a dual purpose: beyond restricting the movement of monsters, they were also Batman's tool for extinguishing fires.
At this moment, both effects took hold simultaneously. Part of the gel bombs briefly restricted Red Hulk's movements, while the other part covered the combustibles within the Gamma Base.
As the flames subsided, Venom surged from his body once more. Only this time, it did not form a battle suit; instead, countless pitch-black tentacles extended from Batman's back.
Batman had been holding back his true strength from start to finish. Before the new Batwing arrived on the battlefield, he had done nothing but use Venom to form a suit and a longsword, and to repair his body.
He hadn't even used the high-frequency oscillating Batarangs.
All this concealment was for the sake of launching a decisive strike right now!
The tentacles did not grab directly at the Gamma Green Goblin. Batman knew the opponent's speed was extreme; catching him directly was unrealistic.
But that was never Batman's goal. He wanted the Gamma Green Goblin to walk right into the trap!
Swish!
Countless pitch-black tentacles writhed and twisted behind Batman, looking like a massive, tangled fishing net.
Sure enough, the Gamma Green Goblin relied on his speed to vanish from sight. But at the exact moment he disappeared, the high-frequency oscillating Batarangs emitted a series of shockwaves from various directions across the Gamma Base.
The function of the high-frequency oscillating Batarangs was to cause a certain degree of dizziness through sonic vibration.
Batman had used this tactic once when dealing with Abomination, and he hadn't used it since.
But now, under the unexpected assault of the shockwaves, the Gamma Green Goblin's vanished figure reappeared.
Bang!
He slammed into a broken wall of the ruined Gamma Base. Immediately, countless pitch-black tentacles swarmed over, wrapping around him.
While Batman dealt with the Gamma Green Goblin, the Batwing's barrage successfully shot down the jet carrying The Leader.
The full-moon-shaped Batwing was no longer the disposable tool modified from a Harrier GR9; it far surpassed its predecessor in maneuverability, speed, and firepower.
The Leader attempted to fight back, but the Batwing, controlled by the Oracle AI, was incredibly agile. It first hacked into the enemy jet's system while dodging attacks, then used its guns to shoot it down.
Thud! Thud!
One sound was The Leader falling from the sky and crashing to the ground. The other was the Gamma Green Goblin, entangled in Venom's tentacles, being heavily thrown into the cage formed by the cockpit of the disposable Batwing.
Clang!
The cage snapped shut. The structure, originally supported by four alloy pillars, instantly dropped. The four alloy stakes transformed into a frame, trapping the Gamma Green Goblin firmly inside.
Then, Gamma inhibitors, potent sedatives, and powerful anesthetics surged forward all at once, the needles piercing the Gamma Green Goblin's skin and injecting the fluids into his body.
Urgh!
The Gamma Green Goblin resisted for only a moment before quieting down completely. His body shrank rapidly within the cage.
From a hunched figure covered in scales with claws on his hands and feet and pointed ears, he quickly reverted to the form of a naked middle-aged man.
It was Norman Osborn.
In the blink of an eye, the situation had reversed. Red Hulk had just broken free from the solidified gel, only to find that both The Leader and the Gamma Green Goblin had been defeated.
Just as Red Hulk let out a roar and prepared to attack—Boom!
A violent explosion blasted a crater in the ground beneath Red Hulk's feet, causing him to lose his balance momentarily and fall.
Another move Batman had set up by feigning weakness earlier, an attack saved for this very moment: the Gel Explosives!
He had previously been using the solidifying gel of the Batarangs merely as a tool to restrict movement.
But Batman never forgot the tool's full name: "Solidifying Gel-Explosive Batarang."
Exploding was what it was truly meant to do!
Amidst the firelight from the explosion, Batman patted the Venom on his body. "Hide, Robin."
Venom was already extremely weak; continuing to use it to fight Red Hulk would likely kill it.
The threat of the Gamma Green Goblin had been neutralized, and with The Leader losing his jet, his threat to Batman was negligible.
Currently, only one opponent remained: Red Hulk, whose body emitted heat that Venom could not withstand.
Yet, Batman stood straight as a ramrod. Watching Red Hulk slowly walk out of the flames of the gel explosion, he lifted his foot and walked toward him.
The various darts in his utility belt were exhausted, the bullets from the Batwing were ineffective against Red Hulk, and Venom was critically weak. However, Batman's steps showed no hesitation; in fact, they were gradually speeding up.
Red Hulk also quickened his pace, his stomps making dull thuds against the ground. He casually swatted away obstacles in his path, his walk turning into a jog, and finally, a full sprint.
Watching the Red Hulk charging wildly toward him, Batman's expression remained unmoved. Instead, he extended both arms and flexed his muscles.
Ding! Ding!
With two crisp sounds, the capsules containing raw spider-silk fluid inside the Bat-claws were ejected and fell to the ground. Simultaneously, two new capsules popped into Batman's hands and were loaded into the Bat-claws.
Before setting out, Batman had not only changed the firing position of the Bat-claws from the outside of the forearm to the inside.
He had also prepared hundreds of different formulas of raw spider-silk fluid for this operation, compressing them into individual capsules that could be swapped out at any time.
At this point, every preparation Batman had made for this mission, aside from the Alpha Protocol, had been put to use.
On one side was Batman: his tricks exhausted, left with only hundreds of spider-silk formula capsules, and physically drained from a series of battles.
On the other was Red Hulk: possessing reason, boasting strength greater than the Hulk, and radiating intense heat from his body.
"The advantage is mine."
Batman broke into a heavy run, charging head-on toward Red Hulk.
The 1v1 duel officially began.
Near Ryker's Island Prison, on Ryker's Island.
Daredevil was trapped in a heavy encirclement. On the ground nearby lay a corpse that had been drained of blood.
The corpse was wearing an orange prison uniform; clearly, it had been an inmate of Ryker's Island Prison.
Daredevil had rushed here the moment he saw the news of Ryker's Island being destroyed, but he was a step too late. The greatest threat locked inside, Kingpin, had already been released.
"Stop him," Kingpin said, sitting in an electric wheelchair outside the encirclement, looking at Daredevil.
Having said that, Kingpin no longer looked at Daredevil. He turned and headed toward a helicopter parked on the island.
"For Kingpin!"
The prisoners swarmed forward, acting as if stopping Daredevil for Kingpin was a matter of immense glory.
In just a few minutes, Daredevil, besieged by over a hundred prisoners, took countless punches. Trickles of blood flowed down from the cracks in his mask.
Police cars were blocked kilometers away from Ryker's Island; the police couldn't get through at all. Kingpin was in prison, but he had planned his release long ago.
When he heard that the Crimson Dynamo was wreaking havoc at the Stark Expo and Batman didn't appear, but rather Tony Stark's bodyguard, Iron Man, went to stop it, Kingpin knew it was time to execute his release plan.
Bang!
A fist slipped through Daredevil's two billy clubs and smashed heavily onto his head.
Daredevil instantly felt a wave of dizziness. He knew he couldn't stop these prisoners today.
But soon, a sinister wind blew across Ryker's Island. In the next instant, a dark shadow appeared beside Daredevil.
Listening to the figure's almost inaudible heartbeat and breathing, Daredevil asked:
"Who are you?"
The newcomer opened his mouth, revealing dense, sharp teeth as he looked at the surrounding prisoners and the bloodied Daredevil beside him. Sharp claws slowly extended from his hands:
"I am Batman."
Daredevil's breath hitched. Even though his eyes couldn't see, he couldn't help but turn his head to face the newcomer's direction.
"Another Batman?"