Chapter 159: Bat in the Shadows
The moment Tony Stark asked that question, Batman knew the billionaire was already suspecting his dual identity.
This didn't conflict with the trust Tony had shown by letting "Peter Parker" modify the arc reactor—literally placing his life in Batman's hands.
'Tony raised this suspicion later than I anticipated.'
'I expected him to question me immediately after returning from the Middle East. It seems he and Sable's rescue team didn't engage in much conversation during the journey back.'
Batman had already prepared for this question. After brief consideration, he responded:
"Tony, remember our first meeting?"
Only a month had passed, but for both Tony Stark—who'd survived his Middle Eastern ordeal—and Batman—who never stopped working—that initial encounter felt like ancient history.
Tony Stark walked leisurely to the bar and poured himself a drink:
"Of course I remember."
"Before obtaining funding from you, I accidentally invented a new material," Batman said, maintaining his Peter Parker identity. "That became the memory fiber Parker Industries currently manufactures."
Batman used his words to solidify his "Peter Parker" persona:
"I recognized memory fiber's market potential and filed for a patent through Professor Miles Warren at school."
"But if the university handled investment and licensing, my profit share would've been pathetic. So I decided to sell that half-finished AI model."
"You were my ideal buyer."
Tony Stark drained his glass in one gulp and immediately refilled it:
"What does this have to do with Batman?"
"After I established Parker Industries, that guy found me one night," Batman said in Peter's voice. "Honestly, before he appeared beside me, I thought he was just an urban legend the gangs had invented."
"So you formed some kind of partnership with him?" Tony Stark asked. "You provide money and memory fiber, Batman occasionally provides some information?"
"Something like that." Batman said.
The story he was telling as Peter Parker matched perfectly with what he'd told Sable as Batman.
Even if Tony Stark or anyone else investigated Peter Parker's background, they'd only find the narrative Batman had carefully constructed.
Tony Stark nodded thoughtfully, accepting Batman's explanation:
"If he has any intentions that aren't in your best interest, Peter... you need to tell me. I'll teach him a lesson for you."
"I will." Batman smiled. "When are you planning to move against Obadiah?"
"Tonight." Tony said.
"How do you guarantee the fish that bites is Obadiah himself, not hired mercenaries and assassins he sends?" Batman asked.
Batman wouldn't act like a nursemaid arranging every detail of Tony Stark's plan. Only when Tony was completely out of options would Batman intervene.
"While you were modifying my reactor, I did some thinking," Tony said. "I've figured it out now."
"Good luck."
As the last moments of daylight faded, the Stark Industries boardroom's massive floor-to-ceiling windows framed New York's crimson skyline.
Inside Stark Tower's conference room, a meeting chaired by Pepper Potts was underway. She was describing the promising future of Stark Industries' transformation to the board members.
Tony Stark's chair sat empty, but the Stark Industries board had long since grown accustomed to his absence.
Obadiah Stane sat among the board members, a kindly smile on his face as he watched Pepper.
"This means we'll completely eliminate our dependence on weapons contracts and pioneer a broader, more socially responsible future in clean energy and life sciences."
The moment Pepper finished speaking, Stark Industries' internal video call system suddenly rang.
In such an important venue as the board meeting, Pepper should have immediately disconnected it. But the video display showed the caller was Tony Stark himself—the master of this tower.
"My apologies, gentlemen." Pepper addressed the board members with obvious embarrassment.
She was considering whether to simply hang up when Obadiah, seated at the head of the long table, smiled and spoke:
"It's Tony calling? Pepper, you should answer. Let's see what brilliant insights our Tony Stark has this time."
The other board members remained silent, but clearly they weren't pleased about the playboy potentially disrupting their meeting again.
Caught between defying the board members and opposing Obadiah, Pepper hesitated before choosing the former and pressing the video call button.
In the video feed, Tony Stark's face appeared unusually pale, his body slumped weakly against the couch:
"Pepper, come to the top floor."
"Mr. Stark, I'm chairing a board meeting." Pepper frowned.
Seeing Tony Stark's weakened condition in the video, Pepper addressed the other board members apologetically:
"I'm sorry, Tony looks like he's had too much to drink again—"
Obadiah interrupted her. The bald, bearded man walked to Pepper's side with a serious expression, looking at Tony Stark's face in the video call:
"Tony, are you alright?"
"Huff... huff..." Heavy, labored breathing was his only response.
"Tony?" Pepper stared in confusion at Tony Stark's gasping, speechless state. "Do you need me to call a doctor?"
"Huff... hurry..." Tony's voice sounded impossibly weak.
Pepper immediately grew anxious. She could no longer worry about chairing the board meeting and hastily transferred the video call to her phone:
"Tony, hang on! I'm calling Metropolitan Hospital right now!"
She broke into a run toward the exit, leaving the board members behind in the conference room.
In the meeting room, the Stark Industries board members exchanged bewildered glances. Obadiah maintained his serious expression, his face almost grave:
"Gentlemen, it seems Tony's experiencing some difficulties. We'll postpone the meeting agenda. I need to check on Tony."
With that, Obadiah also abandoned the board members and strode rapidly toward the elevators.
At the same moment, outside the conference room on Stark Tower's fifty-first floor—in a position the floor-to-ceiling windows couldn't reveal—a massive bat-shaped shadow silently climbed toward the top floor.