Batman had noticed a problem when he first infiltrated the Pym Technologies building last night.
Even though Ant-Man possessed Pym Particles and could, in theory, enlarge food, cut it, and enlarge it again to provide a virtually infinite supply for his ants, he hadn't done so. Instead, he allowed the ants to decompose and consume the dinosaur carcasses they had scavenged.
Venom Robin's mind was entirely consumed with finding an opportunity to fight Ant-Man or focusing on superficial details. This was exactly why Batman hadn't completed Venom Robin's training yet, and he didn't blame the boy for it.
However, as for Batman himself, he never easily overlooked any detail he observed.
It was much like his dealings with the Atom. Because the Atom's favorite habit was calling someone and then traveling at the speed of light via electronic signals—a behavior Batman found incredibly irritating—Batman had conducted secret, in-depth research on him.
Almost no one knew why the Atom could multiply his strength when growing or retain it when shrinking, or why his weight fluctuated along with his size.
But Batman knew.
The Atom used a combination of his own physiological mutations and a compression matrix to control his weight. The mass gained or lost during size shifts didn't actually vanish; it was shunted into another dimension.
Batman deduced that Ant-Man operated on the same principle. No matter how Ant-Man's size changed, his total mass remained constant, but a portion of that mass was either temporarily stored in a sub-dimension or underwent a specific reaction with the Pym Particles.
Regardless, this meant that no matter how small Ant-Man became, his body always contained ten percent water.
And that water became the secondary unconventional defense system of Batman's Vulcan Armor: microwave heating.
According to the laws of physics, the density of microwave energy deposition is inversely proportional to mass. This meant the smaller Ant-Man became, the greater the heating power per unit of mass!
Shrunk down to the size of an atom, he was nearly cooked through in an instant.
"Come out, Ant-Man," Batman said, standing in the corridor outside the laboratory, addressing the Ant-Man currently inside his armor. "Trust me, you don't want to enter my body."
Although Batman hadn't engaged in a "fight" in the traditional sense from start to finish, he was currently experiencing continuous, searing pain inside his own body.
To ensure the microwave layer wasn't his only defense against Ant-Man, Batman had taken a series of precautionary measures on himself.
One was inducing an allergic reaction—a tactic that sounded like it had nothing to do with combat, but was actually extremely effective. Batman had intentionally sensitized himself so he could treat Ant-Man as an allergen to be attacked.
Once Ant-Man moved toward the interior of Batman's body, the immune cells would identify him as a pathogen of abnormal dimensions. Within minutes, they would form a phagocytic net to surround him.
Ant-Man would either fall to the attack of the immune cells or grow large enough to ignore them—but by then, Batman would have another trick waiting for him.
Namely, toxins.
The bouts of intense pain Batman was feeling now were the toxins taking effect. These toxins had merged into his blood and muscles, significantly decreasing his physical strength.
This was precisely why Batman had abandoned his cape in favor of the Vulture wings; they required almost no physical exertion, only control.
Faced with Batman's various methods and warnings, Ant-Man responded with a heavy thud.
Ant-Man first expanded his body just enough to fill the gaps within the armor, then shattered the internal microwave layer with a single punch.
However, this only broke a portion of it. Microwaves continued to sweep in relentlessly from other parts of the suit.
Ant-Man couldn't help but let out a muffled groan. He couldn't afford to delay any longer; he felt like he was about to be well-done. He had to leave the microwave layer, burrow into Batman's body to cause internal damage, and completely take down this unknown individual!
"Bring it on, Batman! Let's see what you've got inside!" Ant-Man's face twisted in agony.
But before he could truly enter Batman's body, he was attacked again. This time, it was electricity.
In addition to the unconventional first layer of microwave defense, there was actually a discharge system inside the suit!
If he stayed small, he was continuously heated by microwaves; if he grew, contact with the inner lining of the suit resulted in electric shocks.
Unless he returned to his standard 1.83-meter height, Ant-Man was trapped in a dilemma before he could even touch Batman's skin.
But Ant-Man knew that in his normal state, he was absolutely no match for Batman. In its base form, his suit was just an outfit; it provided very little defense or power. He might not even be able to defeat Black Widow, who mastered countless killing techniques.
In the blink of an eye, Ant-Man's three paths were blocked. Aside from turning into a giant, he had almost no other options.
"Crap! I want to call the police!" Ant-Man cursed under his breath through gritted teeth.
He was 104 years old. Yesterday, when facing the Batman who had come to steal Pym Particles, he had felt the urge to call the police for the first time. Today was the second.
But just as the words left his mouth, Ant-Man's eyes lit up. He thought of a way.
"No, I have one more move. I'll grow large to destroy his suit first, then shrink back down and dive in!"
"I don't believe he has any more tricks up his sleeve!"
Ant-Man didn't hesitate. He pressed the button on his suit, and his entire body expanded rapidly, surging from the millimeter scale back to his normal size.
CRASH!
Batman's Vulcan Armor was blown apart by the suddenly expanding Ant-Man. Except for the innermost lining, the external plating and the microwave layer were completely rendered useless.
"Yes!" Ant-Man's eyes flashed. He immediately shrunk his body again, the entire process taking less than a second.
But just as he prepared to dive into Batman's body once more, another event occurred that Ant-Man hadn't anticipated.
Almost the instant Ant-Man burst the armor, Batman was already retreating at high speed.
By the time Ant-Man shrunk, Batman had already backed away three meters. Then, the dual wings on his back flapped violently!
WHOOSH!
Since the wings from Adrian Toomes—the Vulture—were capable of carrying Batman's body in flight, they were certainly capable of whipping up a gale strong enough to blow Ant-Man away.
The blast of wind hit Ant-Man, sending him flying before he could even get close to Batman.
With a splat, Ant-Man's sesame-sized body slammed hard into the abdomen of a giant ant. In an instant, he tore through the creature's abdominal carapace and sank inside.
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"
A frantic, enraged roar erupted from the giant ant's abdomen. Ant-Man roared as he returned to full size, bursting through the ant's belly and getting covered in viscous, foul-smelling fluid.
Just as he was about to recklessly transform into his giant form to pin Batman to the ground with one hand, Batman was nowhere to be seen. He only heard the whirring sound of flapping wings.
In the next second, Ant-Man watched helplessly as Batman flew upward from the first floor of the Pym Tech building, clutching the unconscious, limp-limbed Black Widow in his arms.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the two of them flew out through the skylight glass Batman had shattered at the beginning, vanishing into the vast night sky.
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