Chapter 15: Luring the Enemy
At a Manhattan street corner, a little girl sat on the ground crying loudly.
It was early August. The weather wasn't too hot, but the little girl's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. Sweat and tears made her small face dirty.
Screech—
A passing black sedan stopped beside the little girl. As the man in the back seat exited, the entire vehicle rose five centimeters.
Mid-cry, the girl noticed a shadow falling over her. She instinctively stopped crying and looked up. Standing before her was a tall, fat, bald man in an oversized white suit.
"Little girl, what happened to make you cry so sadly?" he asked in a gentle voice completely inconsistent with his physique.
"I got separated from my father." The little girl looked somewhat fearfully at this frighteningly fat man in a suit.
"My name is Wilson Fisk. You can call me Wilson. What's your name?"
Wilson Fisk—Kingpin—continued speaking gently, pulling a handkerchief from his suit pocket and offering it to the girl.
"My name is Maddie, Mr. Wilson." The little girl accepted the handkerchief. "Thank you."
"You got separated from your father... Do you remember his phone number?" Kingpin crouched down to look at Maddie.
Maddie's face showed embarrassment:
"We don't have a phone at home."
"Your father must also be anxiously searching everywhere for you." Kingpin extended his large hand to Maddie. "Someone of my size is conspicuous enough in a crowd. Sit on my shoulders so your father can spot you from far away."
"But..." Maddie hesitated. This man's physique was too frightening, like a monster.
"Don't be afraid, child." Kingpin said. People on the street suddenly cried out in surprise. He looked up, pointing at a red-and-blue figure swinging between high-rises. "Look, New York has Spider-Man. No one will hurt you."
Whether it was Spider-Man's appearance or Kingpin's consistently gentle manner that made Maddie lower her guard, she carefully climbed onto Kingpin's shoulders.
Kingpin slowly stood, one hand supporting Maddie so she wouldn't fall, the other pulling out his phone to make a call:
"Mr. Norman, time to watch the news... Spider-Man is heading toward Central Park."
Without waiting for Norman on the other end to say anything, Kingpin hung up.
He spotted a disheveled, thin man with red eyes frantically searching for something. Little Maddie on his shoulders obviously saw him too, waving and shouting:
"Daddy! Daddy!"
The thin man looked blankly at Kingpin. Seeing his daughter sitting on the shoulders of a man whose arms were nearly as thick as his torso startled him, but he still approached:
"Um... sir, could you put my daughter down?"
Kingpin held little Maddie with both hands and set her on the ground. Maddie cheered and threw herself into her father's arms.
"Although New York has the righteous Spider-Man protecting it, losing your daughter doesn't make you a qualified father." Kingpin's gentle voice carried a trace of sternness.
The thin man quickly apologized:
"Thank you, kind sir... I was distracted earlier. When I came to, I'd lost my daughter. If it weren't for you... oh, I can't forgive myself."
Kingpin patted the thin man's shoulder:
"My name is Wilson Fisk. If you need a well-paying job, you can find me in Hell's Kitchen."
With that, he opened the car door and got into the black sedan. The vehicle immediately sank considerably.
"Daddy, I just saw Spider-Man." Little Maddie looked up at her father.
Her father rubbed Maddie's head without responding, instead watching Kingpin's vehicle disappear at the end of the street.
Above Manhattan, Batman forcibly endured his psychological discomfort while performing a series of complex aerial maneuvers.
In Gotham wearing the Batsuit and using the grappling gun to traverse the city, he'd pursued efficiency, never making any unnecessary movements that would increase air resistance.
But now he was imitating Nightwing's acrobatic moves, making himself look as much like a real "Spider-Man" as possible.
He wasn't wearing tactical clothing either, but Peter's hidden red-and-blue suit, making himself as conspicuous as possible to attract people's attention.
Batman wasn't showing off. He needed to be visible right now.
He was "luring" Norman's Spider Slayer.
Rather than let the Spider Slayer wreak havoc on the city at an uncertain time, forcing him to hastily don Spider-Man's suit for battle, Batman chose to take the initiative.
Batman also chose the battle location deep in Central Park. This would avoid harming innocent bystanders during combat.
As for today being Saturday when many tourists would enter Central Park, Batman had hacked the municipal system this morning to forge an announcement:
Central Park closed to the public for one day.
Though the government quickly debunked the announcement, it still had some effect, leaving Central Park with even fewer visitors than a weekday.
Whoosh!
White webbing specifically retained for daytime combat shot out. Batman pulled hard on the web, and his body flew along with it.
"Spider-Man!"
At Central Park's entrance, a crowd of passersby excitedly raised phones and desperately gave chase.
Boom!
A miniature missile suddenly appeared from the distance, whistling toward Batman and exploding before him. The red-and-blue figure immediately fell from the air.
Then the Spider Slayer, wearing silver-gray armor and riding a glider, descended from the sky and began bombarding where "Spider-Man" had disappeared.
The armor's sharp, menacing lines made the Spider Slayer look nothing like a human, more like a frightening strange insect.
Most people's fear of insects was innate, especially when insects could fly.
Those New York citizens who'd been excited seeing Spider-Man scattered in panic.
In Central Park, Batman wearing Spider-Man's suit was now staggering toward the park's depths, the Spider Slayer on the glider in relentless pursuit behind him.
As another missile launched, smoke filled the air. Large chunks of earth were thrown up. "Spider-Man's" body flew like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground motionless.
"A trap?"
The Spider Slayer looked at "Spider-Man" with half his body buried in dirt.
According to Oscorp's analysis of "Spider-Man," this guy's physical capabilities, strength, and agility all far exceeded normal humans. He couldn't possibly die from simply taking a few miniature missiles.
"Mr. Norman wants him alive. Whatever he's playing at, I need to be careful... But with this armor specifically built to counter Spider-Man, even in close combat I might not lose."
The Spider Slayer pondered, pressing a button on the armor. Two pairs of thin claws slightly shorter than arms immediately popped out from both armpits, their tips replaced by sharp daggers.
Long arm blades extended from the outer sides of his own arms. He cautiously approached "Spider-Man" in the dirt.
Behind him, Batman—having already removed the Spider-Man suit and filled it with gel explosives—silently pressed the button in his hand.
Due to knowing too little about the "Spider Slayer," Batman had formulated six complete plans to handle various situations. This was Plan C.
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