In reality, even Batman himself could not be entirely certain whether he would receive any intelligence.
Although the group of people from Rykers Island left no clues behind after their prison break, the very absence of clues became a clue in itself.
Batman had not forgotten Adrian Toomes, the Vulture—a man whose only desire was to achieve his dream of soaring into the sky, but who had nearly been led astray by Shocker and the others.
Logically speaking, the Vulture would not have broken out of prison. He was still waiting for his sentence to end so he could come find Batman.
Yet, the traces at the Rykers Island scene indicated that the Vulture had followed along with the escape, and there were no signs of a struggle whatsoever.
Either the person who took them was incredibly powerful and capable of subduing these individuals in an instant, or...
The Vulture had simply decided to beat them at their own game, following the criminals out of New York and waiting for an opportunity to send intelligence back to Batman.
This was merely a hypothesis. Batman intended to alter his strategy immediately if he went a certain period without receiving any intelligence.
He could not keep the Justice League hiding on Batman Island forever, idly watching while Manhattan fell under Hydra's assault.
Fortunately, just as the sky began to gradually brighten, the first ray of sunlight leaped over the horizon, and the moon was about to vanish into the skyline, the intelligence arrived.
Though separated by thousands of miles, the Vulture had managed to transmit the information back.
Batman Island was equipped with an extremely sensitive radio receiver. At a certain moment, it picked up an incredibly faint radio wave traveling from the surface of the moon.
Decoding and compiling the radio wave, Batman looked at the information displayed in the intelligence, and a sense of relief washed over his heart.
Compared to the criminals of Hydra and Latveria, Batman had actually been most worried about the Vulture; he feared that a man he had worked so hard to guide onto the right track would lose his way once more.
With the arrival of the intelligence, the worry in Batman's heart evaporated into nothingness.
"Justice League," Batman spoke. "Move out."
As soon as his voice fell, Professor Connors ripped off his white lab coat, his bones creaking and snapping as he transformed back into his lizard form.
Venom Robin, Professor Morbius, and Doctor Otto exchanged glances. Just as they were about to say something, the Lizard Professor grabbed Doctor Otto with one claw and flung him onto his back.
Robin was not afraid of water, and Professor Morbius could fly. The only one who needed to ride the Lizard Professor to reach Manhattan was Doctor Otto.
The Hulk also roared, intending to charge out, but his steps were blocked by Batman just as he moved.
"Hulk, wait."
"Hulk doesn't want to wait." The Hulk's face slumped instantly.
"Hulk, there's no need for you to take action just yet," Batman said. "You are my trump card. You will only be played at the most critical moment."
The Hulk hesitated for a brief moment, and in that exact instant, the Lizard Professor and the others rushed out of the Batcave at lightning speed, leaving Batman Island behind as they plunged into the East River.
"Act according to my commands," Batman said to the members of the Justice League through the communication system, patting the Hulk's overly developed muscles.
"No problem."
"Understood."
"Hurry up and say it, old Bat."
The voices responded one by one over the communication system.
Batman glanced at the giant projection screen, watching Iron Man fly aimlessly after defeating the Grim Reaper, as well as the footage of Hawkeye being surrounded and forced to rely on Blade to bail him out.
It was glaringly obvious that the group led by Tony Stark had not only failed to formulate a concrete plan, but they also lacked proper communication.
Although the members were assembled on short notice due to a sudden emergency, Batman would absolutely never allow himself to make the same mistakes Tony did.
"Hulk, wait two more minutes." Batman continued to placate the Hulk.
Though somewhat reluctant, the Hulk obediently sat down on the ground next to Batman, propping his chin with both hands as he stared at him.
Batman nodded at the Hulk, then began to hand out assignments one by one:
"Robin, go three blocks east of the abandoned shipyard. The Black Knight, Dane Whitman, is locked in a bitter struggle over there." [Translator's Note: The source text mistakenly uses "Dane Garrett" (the Golden Age Blue Beetle) for Black Knight, but references the Marvel character Dane Whitman.]
"That guy is too weak, just leave it to me," Venom Robin responded.
During the brief moment that had just been delayed, they had already crossed the East River. Without even giving a greeting, Venom Robin sprinted directly toward the abandoned shipyard.
As he watched the figure recede into the distance, Doctor Otto briefly had the absurd illusion of "an axe with legs running away."
"Lizard Professor, I need you to enter Manhattan's sewer system. Use your ability to command reptilian creatures, and utilize them to track down the Red Hulk, Madame Hydra, and the Green Goblin."
"At the same time, you must continuously monitor the ground vibrations. If there is any abnormality, inform me immediately. I may redeploy you to any location for support at a moment's notice."
The Lizard Professor flung Doctor Otto off his back with another claw. His golden, vertical slits of pupils narrowed slightly as he lifted his head to sniff the air, then quickly dove into the nearest sewer line.
"Received."
"Doctor Otto, your target is the high-rise building opposite Stark Tower..." Batman proceeded methodically, arranging missions for them one by one.
"I noticed that after these Hydra soldiers entered Manhattan, a faction of them specifically headed toward Stark Tower. However, they did not enter the building; instead, they stayed in the building opposite it."
"I suspect Madame Hydra is hiding there."
"My mission is to find Madame Hydra?" Doctor Otto lowered the goggles on his forehead and asked.
"No," Batman said. "Your mission is to rendezvous with Wolverine, Black Widow, and Daredevil, and then proceed together to the suspected hiding place of Madame Hydra."
"Are you sure they won't mistake me for Hydra and attack?" Doctor Otto turned his head to glance at the four purplish-black mechanical tentacles extending from his back.
"With Wolverine there, that won't happen," Batman said. "Trust my judgment."
"Of course I trust it," Doctor Otto said.
As his voice fell, two of the tentacles behind Doctor Otto alternatively lifted and dropped, driving his body forward at high speed, while the other two remained on standby at all times to prevent any sneak attacks.
"What about me?" Seeing that everyone else had a mission except for himself, Professor Morbius asked hurriedly.
"Your mission is highly specific," Batman said. "From this moment on, your external identity is 'Batman'."
"Huh?" Professor Morbius failed to react for a moment. "I already thought of a codename for myself, called 'Doctor Midnight'."
"Very good, Doctor Midnight," Batman's voice was deep and low. "I need to use you as bait to draw out the Red Hulk and the Green Goblin. Can you do it?"
"I can. Tell me what to do," Professor Morbius said.
"Go show yourself. Show yourself in front of the Hydra soldiers as much as possible, and then leave... I will provide you with the specific route as follows. The first step is Fifth Avenue..."
"No matter who you encounter, you only need to say one phrase: 'I'm Batman'."
"That is your mission."
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