Batman chose to trust T'Challa, but that did not mean he trusted the nation of Wakanda.
Even with T'Challa himself, Batman did not fully place his faith in the man just because of a few words. People change. Batman had seen far too many good men turn bad, and bad men turn good.
The reason he dared to hand over that exorbitantly expensive piece of vibranium to T'Challa so easily was because he had a plan.
The current Batcave lacked a true laboratory, so most of Batman's research on the vibranium had been limited to the physical and chemical levels.
To study the metal's molecular stability, Batman had previously coated its surface (using vapor deposition) with trace amounts of an artificial radioactive isotope that had a specific, predictable decay cycle.
The isotope would naturally decay to undetectable levels within a week, leaving no permanent trace. Its particle emissions were so faint they posed no danger to any living thing or the environment, and they were nearly impossible to pick up with conventional equipment.
This had originally been just one of Batman's research methods. But with T'Challa's visit, that same method conveniently became a way to track the vibranium.
Batman would set up a highly sensitive Geiger counter inside the Batcave to monitor the metal's location.
If T'Challa's movements ever contradicted what he had told Batman, the Dark Knight would immediately scramble in the soon-to-be-ready Batwing to intercept and neutralize him.
Even if T'Challa kept his word and brought the vibranium back to Wakanda, Batman would still use the decay signature of that artificial isotope to further analyze the technological level of the hidden African nation.
Multiple birds with one stone. A finger-sized chunk of vibranium couldn't be used to build a Batwing anyway. All Batman was really losing was the money he'd spent buying it; in exchange, he gained far deeper intelligence on Wakanda.
In the middle of the East River, on Roosevelt Island beneath the Queensboro Bridge, Batman did not linger long. After confirming that T'Challa had not doubled back to cause more trouble at Silver Sable's rescue company, he headed for Batman Island.
Construction on the island had already begun.
Although the island's title now belonged to Batman, and every virus and toxin accumulated over the past century had been neutralized by the anti-venom he'd deployed, in the eyes of ordinary New Yorkers it remained the same hell on earth that had once made the city tremble: a place littered with corpses, junkies, needles, and drugs.
Compared to the handful of so-called "haunted houses" scattered across the boroughs, this very real history of contagion was far more terrifying.
As a result, not a single construction worker was willing to set foot on the island, which suited Batman perfectly.
He had modified every piece of heavy equipment shipped to the site so that the Prophet AI could operate it remotely. The AI followed Batman's blueprints to the letter, one hundred percent.
Work on the island was divided into two main efforts. The first was a grand, ostentatious manor designed to fool the outside world, an almost exact replica of the old Wayne Manor he had once known.
It sat at the island's core: the area Batman had reserved for himself.
Directly beneath the manor, stretching all the way down into the subterranean caverns, was a new Batcave several times larger than the surface structure.
Besides the elevator platform reserved for the Batwing, Batman had also designed an underground garage for the ever-growing fleet of Batmobiles he knew he would eventually need.
There was a training area, a medical bay, a Bat-submarine dock, an independent power system, server racks for the Alfred AI, a central command center, safe houses and containment cells, an intelligence listening post…
Equipment fabrication and maintenance workshops, biochemistry labs, physics and materials-science labs, electronics and digital labs, a containment zone for exotic items, simulation testing grounds for gear and tools…
In Batman's design, more than fifty distinct zones were distributed according to the underground topography. Some were completely isolated, others interconnected, and a few even shared space with neighboring sections.
Right now, the most urgently needed facility was the Batwing's takeoff and landing platform.
The prototype aircraft slated for conversion into the Batwing had already arrived at the Port of New York. Batman had not gone in person to receive it. Instead, he handled everything through the trusts and shell funds he had set up via his Wall Street intermediaries.
Disassembled into multiple segments and stored in specially fabricated shipping containers, the prototype's shipping records had been altered by Batman himself. Since no one was willing to deliver cargo to the former North Brother Island, still infamous for its viral history, the pieces were scheduled to be rerouted tonight to Rikers Island instead.
Once the aircraft elevator and launch platform on Batman Island were complete, Batman would simply carry the disassembled airframe over himself, by brute force if necessary.
After double-checking with the sensors and detectors he had placed during his battle with Anti-Venom that no viral or toxic residue remained, Batman stood silently on the construction site that was becoming Batman Island.
Aside from the absence of fire, thick smoke, and ash, the sight of old buildings being torn down was eerily similar to the scene when he had executed the Knightfall Protocol long ago.
Only that time it had signified the destruction of Bruce Wayne.
This time it marked the true rebirth of Batman in this world.
"Ayo, Aneka."
On a commercial flight from New York to Wakanda's embassy in the United States, in the first-class cabin, T'Challa turned to the two women who served as both his aides and his bodyguards.
Like most African nations, Wakanda's embassy was located in Washington, D.C.
At the prince's call, Ayo and Aneka immediately rose to their feet despite being in first class. They crossed their arms over their chests, fists clenched, palms inward. "Your Highness."
T'Challa waved his hand repeatedly, signaling that such formality wasn't necessary, and that the matter on his mind had nothing to do with state affairs.
"Batman saw through our disguise."
Ayo and Aneka exchanged a glance. Their first reaction was disbelief. "Impossible," they said in unison.
Seeing the doubt written across their faces, T'Challa turned to gaze at the clouds outside the window.
"Every move we made at Silver Sable's company was completely exposed to him. I tried to breach their surveillance network and failed. Instead, Batman turned the tables and monitored us."
Ayo and Aneka sat back down. Aneka still shook her head. "That proves nothing, Your Highness. Just a hacker with exceptional skill."
T'Challa looked back at them, a rare seriousness entering his eyes. "I was using a Kimoyo bead."
Aneka instantly fell silent.
"Kimoyo" meant "of the spirit," and the beads represented the absolute pinnacle of Wakandan technology: instant global communication, holographic projection, remote medical diagnostics, environmental scanning, and countless other functions.
Yet even with a Kimoyo bead, T'Challa had failed to pierce Batman's defenses. He hadn't even been able to trace the man directly from his vibranium purchase on the international black market; he'd been forced to go through Silver Sable instead.
That was no longer within the realm of what a mere "hacker" could accomplish.
"This means Wakanda's centuries-old policy of isolation is not invulnerable when faced with the intellect of a single individual," T'Challa said. "He is not an opponent we can simply overwhelm with technology. He is someone who must be treated as an equal in wisdom and strategy."
"Isn't that giving him a bit too much credit, T'Challa?" Ayo asked, her voice lacking its earlier confidence.
T'Challa regarded them both. He knew that Wakanda's technological supremacy had bred in his people an almost genetic sense of superiority; they could crush most nations on Earth without breaking a sweat.
But right now, at least for T'Challa, that superiority had vanished completely in the face of Batman.
"My initial attempt to hack his comms was arrogant. I assumed my technological edge and underestimated his capability."
"Father taught me that true power comes from wisdom, not from showing off. I nearly made an enemy instead of a friend because of my arrogance."
"He could have refused the deal outright. He could have tried to copy the vibranium or exploit it for himself. Instead he confronted me openly, honestly, and ultimately returned it. That kind of magnanimity surpasses many so-called civilized heads of state."
"I hope Wakanda never has to stand against him as an enemy."