Chapter 16: Not Spider, But Bat
Norman wanted Spider-Man alive, but not necessarily intact.
The Spider Slayer didn't continue bombarding with miniature missiles. He planned to use the arm blades extended from his forearms to directly slice Spider-Man into a human stick.
As for the four sharp claws under both armpits, those were for guarding against sneak attacks.
One slash down, and the Spider Slayer knew he'd been tricked. The sensation of the cut felt completely wrong.
Before he could retreat, "Spider-Man" exploded thunderously, throwing the Spider Slayer's form backward.
Hiss—
The moment the Spider Slayer landed, a hand reached from behind and firmly pressed his shoulder, while a discharge device silently pressed against his back.
The previous discharge device used against Squid-Man had broken. Batman had made a new one.
For enemies completely encased in armor, Batman knew too well how to subdue them—shock force, electric current, irritating gas... he couldn't count them all on two hands.
Though gel explosives might not directly injure whoever was under the armor, the shock force from the explosion definitely wouldn't let them off easy.
The discharge device used immediately after made the entire suit crackle. The internal electrical systems had malfunctioned to some degree.
Plan C succeeded. Batman didn't linger. Before the Spider Slayer recovered, he fired his Bat-Claw and flew into a tree.
His caution proved correct. The instant he left the Spider Slayer, blue-purple current flowed across the silver-gray armor.
"Oscorp's super soldier serum hasn't been developed yet. Inside the armor is just an ordinary person."
"But that document was quite confident about the Spider Slayer, believing this specially built armor could perfectly counter Spider-Man."
"That electric current just now was presumably one of the methods targeting Spider-Man."
Batman watched his prey like an experienced hunter, silently moving from one tree to behind another.
"They know Spider-Man has healing ability, so the weapons equipped are almost all lethal, possibly even poisoned."
"I absolutely cannot let those blades touch me. I can sacrifice dodging punches for this."
"Without the Batsuit's protection, I should avoid close combat as much as possible, unless a situation arises where I can execute Plan A."
Thoughts racing, Batman's hands didn't stop either. A device resembling an expander was fitted onto a canister of liquid gel explosive, which he tossed toward the Spider Slayer.
The Spider Slayer was slowly climbing from the ground. The gel explosive shock and discharge device hadn't seemed to hurt him.
The instant he steadied himself, the canister Batman threw had already reached above his head.
Then the expander device burst the canister open. The liquid gel explosive inside splattered all over the Spider Slayer, rapidly expanding and solidifying upon contact with air.
This gel explosive's formula differed from what had filled the Spider-Man suit. It no longer possessed explosive properties, but became exceptionally hard after solidification.
Like body filler mechanics commonly use, except it dried much faster—completing solidification almost the instant it contacted air.
"That document mentioned the armor is powered. The specially formulated gel explosive should only buy me three seconds. This is Plan A."
First second: Batman put on Spider-Man's goggles, throwing a prepared canister of lime and water toward the Spider Slayer.
With a boom, quicklime meeting water immediately boiled. Large amounts of white irritating gas enveloped the Spider Slayer.
Second and third seconds: Batman held his breath. His fists fell like hail from ten thousand meters, heavily pounding various parts of the Spider Slayer's armor.
He didn't use full strength, precisely controlling his force to transmit through to inside the armor while not being too weak to pose a threat.
Bang bang bang!
Batman employed various fighting techniques learned traveling the world. His heavy, powerful fists bombarded the Spider Slayer almost without pause.
On one hand, using the fists' impact force to further eliminate the person inside's ability to resist. On the other, rapidly determining this armor's key connection points.
Just as the Batsuit's weakness wasn't the exposed chin but the waist, the Spider Slayer's suit wasn't flawless either. Batman quickly discovered the weak point.
His lower back.
During this, to avoid the Spider Slayer's possibly poisoned blades, Batman unavoidably took several punches, one even striking his eye.
Batman remained unmoved, as if the face punch hadn't been his. His attacks like a violent storm nearly left the Spider Slayer breathless.
Hiss!
Another pre-hidden discharge device was retrieved by Batman using webbing. Seizing the opportunity, he discharged it against the Spider Slayer's lower back.
One minute later, facing Batman who'd prepared the battlefield and made thorough preparations, the Spider Slayer completely lost ability to resist, his body going limp.
The sun gradually moved west. Evening time.
The Spider Slayer... no, now with his armor stripped and glider gone, calling him by his real name Spencer Smythe was more appropriate.
"Spider-Man..." Spencer's face twisted, grinding his teeth.
He was a robotics expert working at Oscorp. Because of Ross's super soldier program, his development direction no longer limited itself to robots, instead developing powered armor and gliders.
After Norman established the "Spider Slayer" project, confident in his own product, Spencer chose to personally suit up in the Spider Slayer armor.
But he never imagined his first battle would end in such complete defeat. Not only was he helpless against "Spider-Man," now even his armor had been stripped away.
"No, not Spider-Man." Spencer looked around, seeing the red-and-blue Spider-Man suit blown to tatters by gel explosives.
He saw more clearly what he held in his hand—a throwing star shaped like...
"Damn bat!"
His attack methods exceeded Spider-Man's. He struck more mercilessly. Just the lower back alone had been pounded over ten times.
What humiliated Spencer was not knowing who his opponent was or what they looked like.
Could discharge electricity, could vanish and appear instantly, could release pungent gas, possessed tremendous strength...
Spencer seriously suspected this guy was some kind of vampire.
"I failed. Mr. Norman will fire me... Damn bat!"
Spencer felt both angry and afraid. Then a spotlight shone down from overhead. NYPD officers surrounded him from all directions:
"Don't move. We received a report of someone attempting to damage Central Park."
"Cuff him!"
Simultaneously, in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, a townhouse door was knocked.
Batman didn't know why Aunt May had been so serious on the phone, so urgently demanding he must return tonight. But to maintain Peter's identity, Batman complied.
He knocked on the door. Soon it opened. A short, wrinkled, white-haired old woman came out, spreading thin arms to embrace him tightly:
"Peter! My child, you finally came home."
"Today is your birthday. I bet you forgot, but I wouldn't forget."
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