Chapter 245: Batman VS Robin
"Boxing, fencing, Klurkor, Muay Thai, martial arts, wrestling."
"Whether armed or unarmed, regardless of circumstances, I require—beyond detailed protocols—personal capabilities responding to various contingencies."
"I formerly mastered one hundred twenty-seven combat forms. But including extraterrestrial civilizations, combat skills alone exceed two hundred—all reaching pinnacle mastery."
"Horsemanship, lockpicking, stealth, intimidation, tracking, hypnosis..."
"If you possess sufficient knowledge, every technical term you know falls within my mastery. Each one supports my protocols."
"Psychology, willpower, mental fortitude..."
Bat Island's central area. The uncompleted Parker Manor foundation. Batman and Venom Robin stood positioned. Low voice continuously drifted through air.
"Alright, alright, Old Bat—I know you're amazing." Venom Robin appeared somewhat impatient, yet couldn't restrain curiosity. "Dad, physical and knowledge training I understand. But I previously visited your memory's depths... witnessing those things—how were they accomplished?"
"Training, learning, and necessary time investment." Batman said.
"You're planning teaching me everything you know?" Venom Robin extended his long tongue, licking his face.
"Correct, Robin."
"Aren't you afraid after I learn everything you know, you'll lose control over me?" Venom Robin pressed. "Plus I possess symbiote abilities and moon bird-guy's covenant you completely lack."
"Moon God Khonshu." Batman corrected. "What I teach you was never about defeating me."
Venom Robin let words enter one ear and exit the other. He planned—once learning Batman's complete skillset—immediately challenging this Old Bat, showing him how wrong severing their connection was.
Beyond previously at North Brother Island continuously calling Lizard-transforming Professor Connors, this represented Batman's second-most extensive speech since arriving:
"I teach you combat to control power, not be controlled by power. I teach you tactics to assess situations, not indulge in destruction..."
"These skills resemble chocolate I buy you. They maintain your existence but don't define who you are."
"I'm Robin. What else could I be?" Venom Robin selectively ignored Batman's words again.
"You're certainly Robin." Batman slowly raised his fists. "Come. Attack me. Use all your methods."
"You said it." Venom Robin's mouth opened wide. Raising his hand, consecutive crescent darts produced whistling air-cutting sounds, flying toward Batman simultaneously from seven-eight angles.
CLANG CLANG CLANG!
Crisp metallic collision sounds continuously rang through air. Each sound represented one crescent dart intercepted by batarangs.
But this represented merely Venom Robin's first painless attack. What followed was his full-power offensive.
His arms drooped groundward. Pitch-black symbiote-composed limbs immediately pierced Parker Manor's foundation.
Black symbiote matter writhed, shuttling through the foundation. Massive black spikes emerged without warning—like sharp bamboo shoots.
Spikes continued emerging from ground. Venom Robin had already leaped into air first. His bandage suit rapidly melted into cloak form. Simultaneously the cloak lifted. Hundreds of symbiote strands shot upward from his back in thread-like streams.
Watching Batman dodge spikes while maneuvering left-right on ground, Venom Robin grinned. Pale white moonlight instantly covered those pitch-black symbiote threads.
In eyeblinks, those threads transformed within moonlight into hundreds of moonlight spears, descending from above regardless of sequence—densely stabbing toward Batman.
This wasn't finished!
Venom Robin's hands rapidly reached toward his lower back, extracting paired white short sticks reverse-gripped in both hands—resembling paired daggers.
Airborne, his feet writhed into two massive tentacles grabbing toward Batman. Both sticks thrust straight toward Batman's eyes.
SCREECH!
Venom's mouth erupted with sharp shriek. Ear-piercing noise immediately enveloped fifty-meter radius completely.
As Batman had said, though Venom Robin hadn't yet employed all methods, his opening still displayed what he considered most powerful offensive.
Ground, air, sound, grappling, noise, blinding.
Consecutive attacks manifested completely within merely one-two seconds. Batman appeared exhausted dodging ground-emerging symbiote spikes, seemingly possessing zero capability blocking Venom Robin's other offensives.
Indeed, next instant Venom Robin had already—via feet-transformed tentacles—mounted Batman's neck, gripping short sticks and viciously stabbing downward.
WHOOSH!
Just as short sticks nearly stabbed Batman's eyes, Venom Robin's movements froze. His mouth corners couldn't help rising high:
"Dad, you lost."
"No." Batman's voice remained low, standing motionless in position. "You lost, Robin."
Venom Robin touched Batman's sharply protruding pointed ears:
"Don't worry, Dad. I won't tell anyone I, Robin, achieved crushing victory against Dad in first battle. I'll preserve your dignity."
While speaking, he inserted both sticks back to his waist, lowering center of gravity, attempting sliding groundward while embracing Batman's neck.
But precisely as he slid down, Venom Robin suddenly discovered his body had lost control.
His supposedly fifty-plus-ton strength couldn't even maintain neck embrace. Both arms went limp, losing strength. Both legs resembled cotton.
THUD!
Venom Robin fell buttocks-first onto ground, collapsing into puddle of soft mud.
"Ground control, aerial suppression, sensory interference, close-range stabbing." Batman observed Venom Robin collapsed on ground, using his shadow to block overhead blazing sun for him. "Beautiful concept."
"But tactical assessment... zero points."
Venom Robin remained collapsed on ground, possessing zero strength supporting standing.
He didn't understand what went wrong:
"Old Bat, what did you do to me?"
Batman's brow furrowed. He crouched, extending his hand to remove a patch Batman had attached the instant Venom Robin's feet-transformed tentacles grabbed him:
"You haven't even noticed this extra attachment until now?"
"What is this?" After Batman removed the vibranium resonance patch, Venom Robin immediately recovered strength, rapidly jumping from ground, perching on Batman's shoulder while observing the silver patch in his hand.
"Vibranium resonance patch. Forms specific frequencies with vibranium isotope composing your body, causing internal structural disharmony." Batman explained.
"Wait—I've never seen this thing. When did you make it?" Venom Robin ripped off his face mask—as though it blocked his vision—incredulously staring at Batman.
Batman stood upright, expressionlessly glancing at Venom Robin:
"Before departing for Bat Island. Created directly before you."
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