"Director Fury, I don't believe dropping Hawkeye into New York alone—without even briefing him on the mission—was the right choice."
Inside the Helicarrier command center, Agent Hill spoke to Nick Fury.
"So, conversely, Batman doesn't know he is Hawkeye's target either, right?"
After closing the encrypted channel with Batman, Nick Fury's face darkened. He stared at Agent Hill standing beside him with his single eye and said:
"As long as Hawkeye and Batman make contact, whether they clash or cooperate, it is all part of my next phase."
Agent Hill shook her head. She knew Nick Fury wouldn't reveal his next steps to her in advance, but right now, aside from Hawkeye, there was another issue:
"Garrett has arrived in New York. He hasn't made contact with any Hydra agents yet; instead, he's investigating leads on Batman."
"Aren't you afraid of Garrett making contact with Batman?"
Nick Fury glanced at Agent Hill:
"Afraid of what? You're worried Batman will be recruited by Hydra?"
"Rest assured, I am fairly confident Batman isn't Hydra, and I am absolutely certain Batman would never join Hydra."
"By the way, has the Gamma Base in New Mexico still failed to find any of Batman's residual cellular tissue?"
Agent Hill shook her head:
"Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons didn't collect any data, and I don't agree with your view, Director Fury."
Nick Fury looked at his capable assistant with a faint smile:
"Let's hear your high opinion, Agent Hill."
Hill spoke bluntly:
"I don't think Batman is a disguise for anyone we know. For instance, we previously suspected he was Captain America, Steve Rogers, who has been missing for sixty-one years."
"But Steve couldn't fight the monsters at Gamma Base and not leave even half a cell behind."
"Then what do you think his identity might be?" Nick Fury lit a cigar and asked.
"A vampire, or some similar creature," Agent Hill said.
"A vampire? Hah!" Nick Fury laughed loudly, but his smile quickly vanished. "Though, you have reminded me of something, Agent Hill."
Agent Hill looked at Nick Fury in confusion.
"A year ago, S.H.I.E.L.D. intelligence picked up rumors of suspected vampires in Japan. Do you remember?" Nick Fury asked.
Agent Hill nodded:
"Agent 13 infiltrated an underground location in Yokohama, Japan, and witnessed a hunter calling himself 'Daywalker' slaughtering vampires... Although we didn't succeed in recruiting the Daywalker into S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent 13 has maintained contact with him."
"Wait, this isn't your next plan, is it? Hawkeye, Garrett, Black Widow, and now the Daywalker?"
"Letting S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, a Hydra spy, Batman, and a vampire hunter treat New York like a forest, making them all hunters and prey to one another?"
Nick Fury exhaled a smoke ring, watching the soft white smoke rise slowly in the windless command center. He reached out and patted Agent Hill on the shoulder:
"This is just a small part of my plan."
"However, you can now arrange for Agent 13, Sharon Carter, to head to Yokohama, Japan."
New York, Manhattan, Stark Tower.
"I need to reintroduce you, Batman."
Tony Stark held up his wine glass, walked over to Max Dillon, and draped the arm holding the glass over Max's shoulder:
"This is the Stark Group's Chief Electrical Engineer. He can discharge a little electricity."
Tony seemed unable to resist showing off to Batman, hurriedly gesturing for Max Dillon to unbutton his shirt.
Max Dillon chuckled and complied. A miniature Arc Reactor was clearly visible on his chest, emitting a cold white glow.
Tony Stark quickly set his glass aside and tapped the back of his hand against Max Dillon's body:
"Capable of storing and releasing electrical energy, but unable to generate electricity himself."
He then tapped his knuckles on the miniature reactor on Max Dillon's chest with his other hand:
"A reactor possessing nearly infinite energy, but requiring an external device to utilize its efficacy."
Tony Stark clapped his hands together right in front of Batman's eyes with a snap:
"One plus one is greater than two. The combination of a perfect body and a perfect energy source gives us our 'Electro,' Max Dillon."
Max Dillon chuckled and buttoned his shirt back up:
"I originally thought I'd spend the rest of my life existing only as an energy form—unable to eat, unable to hug my wife and daughter—but Tony Stark solved that problem with his brilliance."
Tony Stark hurriedly wagged his index finger, denying Max Dillon's statement:
"Not me. Us. The two best engineers in New York solved this problem by joining forces."
"Congratulations," Batman said in a deep voice.
Compared to Morbius becoming a vampire, Professor Warren remaining unconscious from heavy injuries, and Harry falling into a deep coma...
Max Dillon's condition was unexpectedly optimistic. Although there was no smile on Batman's face, he genuinely felt happy for Max Dillon.
However, when the words left his mouth, they remained the cold, impersonal questioning typical of Batman:
"What stage are the stability and compatibility tests at? Is there a critical threshold for delay or overload between the reactor's output fluctuations and your discharge capacity?"
Tony Stark yelled at Batman in dissatisfaction:
"Come on, we're engineers, inventors! We tested everything you just mentioned ages ago."
Max Dillon nodded, still chuckling.
He had heard about Batman from Tony Stark... or rather, aside from Max's body and the reactor, the topic they discussed most was Batman.
From the initial targeting and hostility, to Peter Parker asking Batman to create a new element to save Tony, and then to their first cooperation on that rainy night.
It could be said that for Max Dillon to possess the powers of "Electro" while retaining a normal human appearance, Batman had played a significant role.
According to Tony Stark, "Batman is a lump of magma that someone dug out from under an iceberg in the North Pole."
Therefore, Max Dillon held no hostility toward Batman. He simply watched with amusement as Tony Stark's slightly exaggerated body language contrasted sharply with Batman, who stood like a ruthless stone.
Sure enough, Batman's next sentence was still delivered in a cold tone, asking a question clearly born of concern for the safety of Max Dillon and others:
"Do you have a fail-safe mechanism in case of extreme emotions, severe injury, or strong external electromagnetic interference?"
"I need to ensure you won't inadvertently lose control of your abilities and cause irreversible harm to those around you, or to the daughter you're trying to embrace."
Max Dillon was an adult, an engineer capable of chatting happily with Tony Stark; he wasn't stupid enough to miss the concern hidden within the words.
So he smiled gently and told Batman:
"Don't worry, we've finished testing all of that. Even in an unconscious state, I won't hurt any living creature—except for mosquitoes and fleas."
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