Chapter 33: Batman vs Doctor Octopus
In the Manhattan Police Station detention room, "Spider Slayer" Spencer sat on a cold bench with a furrowed brow. Hidden in his sleeve was a spoon he'd stolen during dinner.
He wanted to live, but Norman wanted him dead before midnight tonight.
Oscorp had already used over fifty homeless people's lives for experiments. Judging from Norman's twisted face during the day, Spencer was convinced Norman wouldn't mind adding his family's lives to the tally.
After struggling internally for a long time, Spencer aimed the spoon handle at his own eye, then slammed his head against the wall.
"Norman, you must spare my child..."
That final thought passed through his mind. Spencer lay motionless on the detention room floor.
....
"I hope Father can be released soon."
In a Queens apartment, Alistair Smythe lay in bed unable to sleep, staring blankly at the wheelchair beside his bed.
The apartment's soundproofing was poor. He could clearly hear his mother tossing and turning next door, occasionally hearing a sigh.
"The news says Father destroyed many protected plants in Central Park. He might face about five years in prison."
"But Father is a scientist. Mr. Norman from Oscorp will definitely bail him out... Once daybreak comes, I'll use this explanation to comfort Mother. I hope she'll feel better."
A whistling sound came from outside the window—not like a car, more like the jetpack sounds from movies.
Alistair paid no attention. Perhaps some car, or a neighbor's kid playing with a remote-controlled aircraft.
But the next second—crash.
Alistair heard his mother's window next door shatter. Hollow yet sharp laughter rang out. His mother screamed.
Then—splurt. No more sounds from next door.
Alistair's mind went blank. He instinctively reached for his phone to call police, but soon his room door was kicked open. A head was thrown into Alistair's hands.
"Mother..."
After seeing what he held, Alistair—whose legs were paralyzed—felt power surge into his lower limbs. He wanted to escape, to call police.
Just before he could create a medical miracle, the menacing laughter rang out again in his room. Alistair saw the person who killed his mother approach his bed.
With just one claw strike, Alistair's heart was torn from his chest and crushed. Before dying, he saw the killer's form clearly: a devil entirely green, with only yellow light flashing at the eyes.
The next moment Alistair lost consciousness. A pumpkin bomb dropped to the floor beeping. The Green Goblin rode his glider through the roof into the sky.
Boom!
The pumpkin bomb exploded thunderously. Flames and smoke completely engulfed the apartment. Shrill laughter gradually vanished into the sky.
....
Drip, drip.
Water droplets echoed in the quiet sewers.
Batman moved silently through Brooklyn's sewers, continuously approaching where Dr. Otto had battled police during the day.
Only one corner remained from the combat site. Batman's ears began hearing clanging sounds—someone hammering something.
He quietly peeked out. Dr. Otto was working with his back turned, four mechanical tentacles working simultaneously, repairing experimental equipment damaged in today's battle.
Click.
Armor on his outer arm moved aside. Batman opened his micro-computer, attempting to hack Dr. Otto's tentacles.
Yesterday in the laboratory, Batman had seen clearly—though those four tentacles connected to nerves, a chip was still responsible for converting neural signals to electronic signals for actual tentacle control.
If he could hack the mechanical tentacles, dealing with an overweight middle-aged scientist would be much simpler.
But...
"Failed. Cannot read tentacle electronic signals."
Batman looked at Dr. Otto from around the corner. This time his gaze focused on observing where the tentacle roots connected to the body, seeing the destroyed chip.
"Chip destroyed, but Dr. Otto can still control tentacles... meaning these tentacles are no longer driven by electronic signals, but directly connected to the doctor's nervous system."
"Did this transformation turn Dr. Otto from a seemingly cold yet world-caring nuclear physicist into the murderous Doctor Octopus?"
Within moments Batman had made his deduction. Then he stepped from around the corner.
Deductions were still just deductions. Batman needed to verify them, then target measures to restore Dr. Otto to normal.
Whoosh!
Almost the instant Batman stepped out, though Dr. Otto still faced away, his four tentacles lifted almost simultaneously. The three-claw structure opened and closed like a viper's tongue.
The mechanical tentacles' reaction made Dr. Otto also turn around, watching Batman approach step by step through the sewers:
"Hiding your face, skulking around. You want to stop me?"
Batman stopped, maintaining a ten-meter gap from Dr. Otto:
"No. I came to help you."
He didn't plan to immediately battle Dr. Otto now. Above ground here was a busy district. Fighting could easily damage surroundings.
"Dressed like that, I don't think you're sincerely here to help."
Doctor Octopus grinned. Two mechanical tentacles behind him pressed the ground then pushed hard. His body immediately charged at Batman.
While airborne, the other two tentacles crossed Doctor Octopus's shoulders and stabbed viciously at Batman.
One aimed at the chest, another at the head. Doctor Octopus not only gave Batman no room for explanation—his opening move aimed to take his life.
"Acting style completely different from before. Cannot confirm if influenced by mechanical tentacles or if Otto's hidden evil was amplified."
Chill exploded inch by inch from his spine. The "danger sense" Batman had specially trained seemed to slow time slightly.
Batman advanced instead of retreating. Tentacle tips scraped past his shoulder armor, raising a spray of sparks.
Simultaneously his right hand swept out. Two bat-shaped throwing stars slightly thicker than ordinary projectiles shot silently toward Doctor Octopus's mechanical tentacles.
"...Are you joking? Using throwing stars against my tentacles?"
Ting.
The throwing stars were unsurprisingly blocked by lightning-fast tentacles. Dr. Otto mocked.
Batman said nothing. His left hand swept past his belt. A canister of gel explosive was thrown. Dr. Otto caught it with a tentacle, glanced at it, casually tossing it at his feet.
"If your entire ability is just throwing odd things, then stop wasting my time."
Dr. Otto looked coldly at Batman. His four tentacle tips extended spikes.
'Chip damaged, tentacles directly controlled by nervous system...' Batman calmly thought, taking from his belt one of the newly-made tools: noise device.
The next moment, a high-frequency noise virtually inaudible to humans but extremely destructive to precision mechanical sensors and direct neural feedback systems directly poured into the mechanical tentacles' control system, transmitting through the neural network straight to Doctor Octopus's brain.
"Ahhhhh—!"
Doctor Octopus let out a shrill scream, as if countless needles pierced his brain.
His tentacles convulsed and spasmed violently, like out-of-control pythons wildly striking the sewer walls and floor.
The noise tool—or sonic tool—Batman had prepared after his battle with Daredevil. But used on Doctor Octopus now, the effect was equally stunning.
Whoosh whoosh.
Two bat-shaped throwing stars were flung out. That canister Doctor Octopus had casually discarded immediately ruptured. Special chemical liquid rapidly expanded and hardened, covering and fixing Doctor Octopus's feet.
Huff! Huff!
Doctor Octopus gasped heavily. Batman's series of attacks accelerated his heartbeat, chest heaving. One tentacle barely lifted toward Batman.
But now the tentacle's speed and strength were far worse than before. Batman easily dodged.
Just as Doctor Octopus gritted his teeth, preparing to forcibly overcome the sonic tool and gel explosive's interference, he suddenly noticed faint white smoke rising from those two slightly thicker bat-shaped stars blocked earlier.
Throughout the battle, Batman had never approached Doctor Octopus. Therefore Doctor Octopus's heavy breathing had inhaled a large portion of that gas.
"Sedative gas?" Doctor Octopus asked. As he spoke, his heart already held the answer.
Batman said nothing. Another specialized throwing star flew toward the now-unresisting, completely zen Doctor Octopus. This time: an anesthetic dart.
Like dealing with the "Spider Slayer," Batman had similarly prepared multiple combat plans for tracking Doctor Octopus—including plans to create special bombs based on tentacle characteristics after failure, and plans attempting to tear off tentacles.
But none were needed. Doctor Octopus was completely defeated by the thoroughly prepared, comprehensively planned Batman.
***
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