Memorizing all the data he had just hacked from the CIA, Batman's hands worked tirelessly, crafting tools.
These tools were designed not only to deal with Squid-Man but also included the "gel bombs" he frequently used in Gotham.
The gel bomb was a liquid mixture of various chemicals, stable under normal conditions but rapidly solidifying into an explosive solid upon contact with air.
Crafting gel bombs wasn't particularly challenging; the only difficulty lay in the formula, but for Batman, that was no issue at all.
Paired with the gel bombs were five or six miniature signal receivers combined with ignition devices, forming a detonation system.
The signal receivers were placed in advance before the gel bombs were sprayed. Their task was to continuously monitor for a specific wireless signal, activating the ignition device upon receiving the correct command.
The ignition device would then generate a tiny electric current, fully detonating the gel bomb.
Thanks to Batman's extensive experience in Gotham, he crafted the gel bombs in one seamless process, encountering no difficulties.
Zzt…
Batman attached the detonation system—consisting of the signal receiver and ignition device—to a steel beam, then sprayed the gel bomb over it.
The remote detonation device, repurposed from a car key, was in his hand. Batman retreated over twenty meters to a safe spot before pressing the button.
Boom! The gel bomb exploded successfully.
Since only a small amount of gel was used, the explosion wasn't particularly powerful, but for Batman, it was sufficient.
If he needed more destructive force, he could simply increase the amount of gel sprayed.
With the gel bomb completed, alongside the batarang and high-spec computer, his third piece of equipment was ready. The fourth, strictly speaking, wasn't fully finished.
It was a discharge device modified from an electric baton, capable of releasing a current strong enough to instantly paralyze an ordinary person.
Squid-Man's physical resilience surpassed that of a normal human, so Batman had deliberately increased the device's output, at the cost of making it a one-use item.
Everything was prepared. As night fell again, Batman didn't head to the sewers but instead began setting up the abandoned shipyard.
Zzt… zzt…
Faint sounds echoed intermittently throughout the shipyard's corners. Using the high mobility of his batarang, Batman swiftly began planting gel bombs while stringing up black-colored webbing.
The webbing, already incredibly fine, became completely invisible in the darkness of the night thanks to its black hue.
This was his Plan B, to ensure he wasn't caught unprepared if Squid-Man came to him first.
There were no rumors about "Batman" circulating in the outside world. Since Squid-Man had been hired by Kingpin, the best way to find Batman would be to come to the shipyard.
"The shipyard's sewage system has four main pipelines and over twenty branches. Given Squid-Man's size, he's most likely to appear in one of the four largest pipelines," Batman deduced.
He turned his gaze to a specific spot—the place where Squid-Man had burst out of the ground the previous night, one of the four main sewage pipelines.
This area received his special attention. Gel bombs and webbing were generously deployed, forming a large net.
"If Squid-Man doesn't show up by nine o'clock tonight, he's more likely hiding in the sewers and won't come here."
Wasting no time, Batman descended into the sewers, continuing to set up gel bombs and webbing traps.
The sewer system was vast and complex, so Batman focused on placing traps at intersections within a hundred-meter radius of the shipyard.
Once everything was complete, Batman positioned himself at the highest point of the shipyard—a ship's keel, hoisted high and jutting upward.
From now on, it was a matter of waiting.
Time ticked by. The area outside the abandoned shipyard wasn't a commercial district, so aside from dim streetlights, there were no other light sources.
The shipyard itself was shrouded in pitch darkness. The shadows of ships and industrial equipment loomed like monstrous beasts in the night, ready to devour any guilty soul.
A faint breeze carried a subtle, fishy stench.
Batman remained motionless. He knew Squid-Man had arrived, and his target was the shipyard.
Clad in his night suit, armed with batarangs and gel bombs, with the discharge device placed strategically in the shipyard, Batman was ready. His gaze locked onto the sewage pipe Squid-Man had broken through the previous night.
Silently, a greenish tentacle with suction cups emerged from the broken pipe.
Then a second, a third… all the way to an eighth.
Unlike the humanoid squid form from yesterday, today Squid-Man appeared as a full-fledged squid—a detail entirely absent from the CIA's intelligence.
"But I anticipated this," Batman thought to himself.
As Squid-Man cautiously crawled out of the sewage pipe, inching toward a specific direction, Batman pressed the remote button for the gel bombs.
The modified remote allowed him to detonate specific bombs with precision, avoiding a scenario where the entire shipyard would erupt in explosions.
The explosion went off in the opposite direction of the pipe Squid-Man had emerged from.
Boom! The moment the gel bomb detonated, Squid-Man instinctively bolted forward, sprinting right into the path Batman had pre-planned—a decayed fishing boat.
Five meters, ten meters… Squid-Man was fast, which also meant he fell into the trap just as quickly.
By the time he realized something was wrong, his body was already tightly ensnared by the black webbing.
Panic set in. Squid-Man instinctively tried to break free, his slippery body allowing him to succeed partially. One tentacle, aided by its mucus, stretched out, pulling his body toward the decayed boat's hull.
The moment he climbed onto the hull, another explosion rang out. The gel bomb Batman had pre-sprayed on the boat shattered its already fragile structure, sending Squid-Man into free fall, straight into another webbing trap.
The trap wouldn't hold Squid-Man forever. Given enough time, his slippery body would eventually wriggle free.
"If only I had something sharp to cut the webbing…" Squid-Man's eyes darted around, landing on a metal frame embedded in the boat's hull.
If he could break it off, the sharp edge could help him cut through the webbing faster.
But this, too, was part of Batman's trap. The moment Squid-Man's tentacle wrapped around the metal frame, a powerful electric current surged through his body. His eight limbs convulsed, paralyzed by the shock.
From start to finish, Squid-Man hadn't even caught a glimpse of Batman. Every step he took had been anticipated and orchestrated.
Fear, and a pain he hadn't felt in ages, overwhelmed Squid-Man. What pushed him to the brink of collapse was a low, oppressive, devil-like voice that suddenly whispered in his ear:
"Tell me about the human experiments you underwent at Oscorp. I want to know everything."
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