Norman Osborn wanted to live as Spider-Man, but not necessarily in one piece.
The Spider-Slayer didn't keep bombarding with micro-missiles. Instead, he opted to use the arm blades that sprang from the outer side of his forearms, aiming to slice Spider-Man into a human stick.
As for the four sharp claws extending from under his armpits, those were for guarding against sneak attacks.
One slash, and the Spider-Slayer knew he'd been tricked. The sensation of the blade cutting through was all wrong.
Before he could pull back, "Spider-Man" exploded with a deafening boom, sending the Spider-Slayer's armored form hurtling backward.
Zzzzt.
The moment the Spider-Slayer hit the ground, a hand reached from behind, clamping down firmly on his shoulder. At the same time, a shock device pressed silently against his back.
The last shock device, used to take down Squid-Man, had been destroyed. Batman had built a new one.
When it came to enemies encased in full-body armor, Batman knew exactly how to handle them—impact force, electric shocks, irritant gases… the list went on longer than both hands could count.
The gel bomb might not directly harm the person inside the armor, but the concussive force from the explosion was guaranteed to make them regret their choices.
The shock device that followed sent the armor crackling with sparks, its internal circuitry already malfunctioning to some degree.
Plan C had worked. Batman didn't linger. Before the Spider-Slayer could recover, he fired his grappling hook and swung to a nearby tree.
His caution proved justified. The instant he left the Spider-Slayer's side, a wave of blue-purple electricity coursed over the silver-gray armor.
"Osborn Enterprises hasn't developed their super-soldier serum yet. The person inside that armor is just an ordinary human," Batman thought.
"But that document was brimming with confidence in the Spider-Slayer, claiming this custom-built armor could perfectly counter Spider-Man."
"That electric surge must be one of the countermeasures designed for Spider-Man."
Like an experienced hunter stalking his prey, Batman moved silently from one tree to another, keeping out of sight.
"They know Spider-Man has a healing factor, so the weapons are almost all lethal—possibly even laced with poison."
"I can't let those blades touch me. I can afford to take a punch to avoid them."
"Without the protection of the Batsuit, I should avoid close-quarters combat unless Plan A becomes viable."
His mind raced, but his hands didn't stop. He attached a device resembling an expander to a canister filled with liquid gel bombs and hurled it at the Spider-Slayer.
By now, the Spider-Slayer was slowly rising from the ground. The earlier gel bomb's impact and the shock device didn't seem to have injured him.
The moment he steadied himself, the canister Batman had thrown reached him, hovering right above his head.
The expander device cracked the canister open, and the liquid gel bombs inside sprayed across the Spider-Slayer, rapidly expanding and solidifying upon contact with the air.
This batch of gel bombs was different from the formula used in Spider-Man's suit. It wasn't volatile or explosive but hardened into an exceptionally tough material.
—Almost like the putty used by auto mechanics, except it dried far faster, solidifying almost instantly upon exposure to air.
"The document mentioned the armor is powered. These specialized gel bombs will likely only buy me three seconds. This is Plan A."
Second one. Batman donned Spider-Man's goggles. From the moment he'd chosen this battlefield, he'd prepared a canister of quicklime and water, which he now threw at the Spider-Slayer.
With a boom, the quicklime reacted with the water, boiling instantly and enveloping the Spider-Slayer in a cloud of white, irritant gas.
Seconds two and three. Holding his breath, Batman's fists rained down on the Spider-Slayer's armor like hailstones plummeting from ten thousand meters.
He didn't use full force, carefully calibrating his strength to penetrate the armor's defenses without being so weak as to lack impact.
Thud, thud, thud!
Drawing on the myriad fighting techniques he'd learned traveling the world, Batman's heavy, relentless fists hammered the Spider-Slayer without pause.
The blows served two purposes: the impact further incapacitated the person inside the armor, and they allowed Batman to quickly identify the armor's critical weak points.
Just as the Batsuit's vulnerability wasn't its exposed chin but its waist, the Spider-Slayer's armor wasn't flawless either. Batman soon pinpointed its weakness.
—The lower back.
While dodging the Spider-Slayer's potentially poisoned blades, Batman couldn't avoid taking a few punches. One even struck him in the eye.
Unfazed, as if the blow to his face hadn't even registered, Batman's assault continued like a storm, leaving the Spider-Slayer struggling to breathe.
Zzzzt!
Another pre-hidden shock device, retrieved with webbing, was pressed against the Spider-Slayer's lower back, unleashing a surge of electricity.
One minute later, facing a battlefield meticulously prepared by a fully ready Batman, the Spider-Slayer lost all ability to resist. His body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
The sun crept westward, signaling the arrival of evening.
The Spider-Slayer… no, with his armor stripped away and his glider nowhere to be found, it was more fitting to call him by his real name: Spencer Smythe.
"Spider-Man…" Spencer's face twisted with rage, his teeth grinding.
He was a robotics expert at Osborn Enterprises. General Ross's super-soldier program had shifted his focus from robots to developing powered armor and gliders.
When Norman Osborn launched the "Spider-Slayer" project, Spencer, confident in his creation, chose to wear the armor himself.
But he never imagined his first battle would end in such utter defeat. Not only was he powerless against "Spider-Man," but his armor had been stripped away.
"No, not Spider-Man." Spencer glanced around, spotting the tattered red-and-blue Spider-Man suit, ruined by the gel bomb's explosion.
Then he saw it—a batarang, clutched in his hand.
"That damned bat!"
His opponent's arsenal was far more versatile than Spider-Man's, and his attacks were merciless. The lower back alone had taken over a dozen brutal hits.
What humiliated Spencer most was that he didn't even know who his opponent was or what he looked like.
Capable of delivering electric shocks, vanishing and reappearing in an instant, releasing noxious gases, and possessing immense strength…
Spencer seriously wondered if this guy was some kind of vampire.
"I failed. Mr. Osborn will fire me… That damned bat!"
Furious and terrified, Spencer froze as a spotlight suddenly shone down from above. New York police officers swarmed in from all directions, surrounding him.
"Don't move! We received a report of someone attempting to destroy Central Park."
"Cuff him!"
Meanwhile, in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York, someone knocked on the door of a row house.
Batman wasn't sure why May Parker had sounded so serious and urgent on the phone, insisting he return home tonight. But to maintain the identity of Peter Parker, he complied.
He knocked, and soon the door swung open. A short, white-haired woman with a face full of wrinkles stepped out, wrapping her frail arms tightly around him.
"Peter! My boy, you're finally back."
"It's your birthday today. I bet you forgot, but this old lady never would."
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