The engine room of the Helicarrier was just like its other levels: completely devoid of people, pitched in total darkness, and reverberating with a steady, low-frequency hum.
"That is the sound of nuclear fusion reactors at work, Master Wayne," Alfred deduced the very second he picked up the audio.
Having undergone upgrades by Iron Man, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s carrier likewise utilized a cold nuclear fusion reactor to supply its power.
The reactor here was larger, if anything, than the one beneath Stark Tower. Unlike Tony's mostly exposed reactor, however, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s was entirely encased within dense industrial scaffolding and armor.
Massive pipes ran in every direction, clearly intended for power distribution.
In the darkness, Batman pricked up his ears; he could not hear the breathing or heartbeat of a single living organism.
He took a step forward, intending to destroy the reactor directly and render the entire Helicarrier incapable of taking flight.
Yet the moment Batman took that step, though his ears still caught no sound, his Spider-Sense suddenly screamed in alarm.
Simultaneously, Venom Robin and Alfred uttered a low "Hmm?" in unison.
Batman's fists clenched instantly. The sheer force he exerted pushed the kinetic absorption of the Gargoyle Suit's gauntlets near saturation in an instant, causing ripples of dark purple energy to waver across them.
Venom Robin hated studying, but he channeled his natural talent for battle to its absolute limit.
Almost the instant Robin sensed the anomaly, he snapped into a side-step and turned, standing back-to-back with Batman while peering vigilantly into the surrounding darkness.
"Master Wayne, there are enemies ambossing you in your immediate vicinity, but I am unable to detect them," Alfred reported.
Batman's voice remained low, his lips barely moving as the words squeezed out through his teeth:
"I haven't detected them either."
Within his Spider-Sense, dozens of malice-filled gazes locked onto Batman from every direction, even from directly above and below.
Yet his five senses registered zero physical signs of any living beings. Even Alfred was unable to locate their positions using the Gargoyle Suit's X-ray or infrared scanning systems.
Venom Robin licked his lips, violently tearing away the human face mask he wore to reveal the horrifying, monstrous countenance of Venom underneath.
His long, crimson, barbed tongue dangled against his chest as Venom Robin unsheathed the massive battleaxe strapped to his back.
"If you want to fight, come out! I'm counting down from three, and if you keep hiding, I'll blow this reactor to high heaven!" Venom Robin barked.
Before the words could fully fall, both Batman and Venom Robin felt a hand clamp tightly around their ankles.
In a single instant!
The pitch-black engine room suddenly flared with blinding illumination, turning as bright as broad daylight.
Amidst the light, green magical energy flickered, followed by creature after creature—hideous, monstrous, and varied in form—appearing one after another like ravenous ghouls.
Waves of purple energy, thick lethal claws, heavy iron flails attached to chains, crackling yellow-green electricity, fists not even half the size of Robin's palm, and yellow toxic gas condensing into the shape of wild beasts...
Batman didn't even have the chance to analyze their exact identities; his field of vision was completely overwhelmed by this chaotic onslaught of attacks, all aimed squarely at him.
The situation Venom Robin faced was hardly any better.
Before his eyes appeared a massive, iron-gray fist, an elephantine foot as round as a tree trunk, a double-bladed battleaxe half the size of a grown man... and a crowbar.
In a flash, Batman and Venom Robin were plunged into absolute, dire peril!
Standing far behind these attackers was Amora the Enchantress, leaning suggestively against a thick steel beam in an alluring pose as she enjoyed the sight of the father-son duo and Robin being swarmed.
Green radiance emanated from her hands as well; she was clearly casting a spell to plunge Batman and Venom Robin into a mental illusion while they were under siege.
Batman could break free from the Enchantress's mental manipulation in a fraction of a second, but Venom Robin could not.
The last time the Enchantress had invaded Robin's consciousness, she had encountered a pitch-black sword; having learned her lesson, she refrained from intruding into his mind entirely this time, relying instead on pure psychic compulsion.
This immediately left Venom Robin dazed and listless, his posture freezing mid-swing as he raised his axe to strike.
Batman could have evaded these incoming attacks—or at least avoided taking the brunt of the onslaught.
However, the moment he noticed Venom Robin go rigid, Batman altered his move without a shred of hesitation.
He reached out with one arm, violently grabbing Robin by the torso and hauling him into his chest. The broad, heavy cape on his back billowed out with a sharp rustle, wrapping tightly around the boy inside his embrace as Batman dropped into a low crouch.
He then snatched the double-bladed battleaxe from Robin's hand and slammed it down brutally into the deck.
Thud!
While Peter Parker's body possessed immense strength, it was far from indestructible; the Helicarrier's floor did not break through from Batman's single strike.
It merely dented the deck, forcing the trajectory of the attacks originally locked onto him to shift slightly off course.
Even so, the crowbar, claws, iron-gray fist, iron flail, toxic beast-gas, and yellow-green electricity...
Nearly half of the attacks crashed down heavily onto Batman's body.
The Vibranium-woven Gargoyle Suit reached full kinetic saturation in an instant. A dense, thick semicircle of deep purple energy erupted outward with a thunderous blast.
Clatter! Clang!
The throng of attackers was thrown backward by the suit's kinetic release, tumbling across the floor in a heap.
Even so, a select few managed to withstand the shockwave, pressing their assault downward against Batman with undiminished force.
Yet that fraction of a second was all Batman needed. Tucking Venom Robin under one arm with the battleaxe still in hand, he fired a line of webbing from a tricky angle with his free wrist.
Thwip!
The moment the web line anchored, Batman pulled himself and Venom Robin out of the fray, launching out of the encirclement.
Before Batman could even regain his footing, the entire Helicarrier shuddered violently, and a distinct sensation of upward pressure rose from beneath their feet.
The Helicarrier was taking to the skies.
"Batman, your greatest mistake was letting Thor, the God of Thunder, walk away," the Enchantress purred with a seductive smile. "Now look at you. He's gone—whatever will you do?"
"Loki and I went through quite a bit of trouble to gather these creatures just to handle you. But if you grant me one request, I might just let you live through today."
Holding Venom Robin in his arms, Batman felt the boy slowly regaining consciousness. He set him down on his feet and asked coldly:
"What request?"
"Spend a night with me." The Enchantress stared at Batman, running her pink tongue over her bottom lip.
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