Clatter!
The sharp sound echoed through the abandoned shipyard like a gunshot.
Almost the instant Black Cat finished speaking, her silent subordinates moved in perfect unison. Jackets shifted, arms rose, and handguns appeared as if conjured from thin air, all aimed directly at Joseph and his group of burly men.
The atmosphere turned lethal in a heartbeat.
At the same moment, a dark figure descended silently from the massive gantry crane overhead.
No one noticed him.
Unlike Spider-Man, Batman didn't swing flamboyantly through the air on long arcs of webbing. He could do it if he wanted to—but to him, it was unnecessary and inefficient. Flashy movements drew attention. Attention invited variables.
Tonight, he wanted none.
Using compact bursts from a web-shooter adapted for stealth, Batman moved like a shadow slipping between shadows. Each attachment was precise, soundless, calculated. He closed in on both factions without alerting a single soul.
Below, Joseph stood calmly with eight guns pointed at his chest.
"You've misunderstood, Ms. Black Cat," he said mildly, spreading his hands. "We came empty-handed. No weapons. Isn't that proof enough of my sincerity?"
His palms were clearly visible.
Black Cat's smile remained, but something sharp flickered in her eyes.
"Oh, your sincerity is overflowing," she replied sweetly. "But earlier you called me Miss Black Cat. Now it's Ms. Black Cat."
Her finger brushed the safety of her pistol.
"I'm very unhappy," she continued softly. "Can I fire a shot?"
The smile vanished.
The safety clicked off.
In her heart, she whispered words meant only for herself:
I'll use your name to shake every underground force in New York, Kingpin. This is only the beginning.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the shipyard.
With it came a thick, acrid stench—fishy, rotten, and metallic.
It lingered in the air like an unspoken warning.
Black Cat's men shifted uneasily, glancing around. They hadn't noticed anything at first—but now the smell was unmistakable.
Joseph inhaled deeply.
Unlike everyone else, his expression did not change.
"Well now," he said with a faint grin. "Trying to double-cross me like in the movies, little Black Cat?"
He raised his voice.
"Good thing I hired a judge for tonight's deal."
He stomped his foot.
"Come on out—Squid Man."
The ground trembled.
With a deafening crack, the concrete split open, and a torrent of filthy sewer water erupted upward. Joseph cursed as the foul liquid splashed across his face and coat.
Before anyone could react, a thick, greenish tentacle burst from the mud.
Then another.
And another.
The water churned violently as a grotesque figure clawed its way up from below. Soon, a humanoid Squid rose from the broken ground, standing upright on two powerful tentacles.
Four tentacles mimicked arms and legs, while four more writhed behind it like living whips.
The monster stood taller than any man present.
Bang!
Black Cat fired instantly.
The bullet struck the creature's body—and ricocheted harmlessly away.
The Squid Man barely flinched.
"Eyes!" Black Cat shouted. "All guns—aim for his eyes!"
No one responded.
Silence.
She turned slightly—and froze.
The men behind her were gone.
Just seconds ago, they had been standing in formation, weapons trained forward. Now there was nothing. No bodies. No screams.
Only darkness.
The abandoned shipyard loomed like a massive, open maw, silently swallowing everything within it.
A chill crawled down Black Cat's spine.
No… that's wrong.
The Squid Man had been hired by Joseph. But Joseph's men—those expressions—
Terror.
Not fear of her.
Fear of something else.
Before she could think further, a shadow detached itself from the darkness and lunged toward her.
She fired blindly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
No impact sounds.
No screams.
Nothing.
She stopped firing, heart pounding, and swung her gun toward Joseph instead.
If she was going down, she wouldn't go alone.
Joseph saw the barrel level at his forehead.
He didn't flinch.
The shot rang out.
Joseph collapsed instantly, a clean headshot dropping him to the ground.
No final words. No regret.
At the same moment, an overwhelming force struck Black Cat's wrist.
Her gun flew from her hand, clattering across the concrete.
Something wrapped around her—tight, unyielding.
She was yanked into the air.
The breath was knocked from her lungs as webbing cinched her arms and torso, lifting her effortlessly off the ground. Her leather suit creaked under the pressure as she struggled, legs kicking instinctively.
She tried to grab her attacker—but her arms were bound tight.
With a sharp hiss, another strand of webbing snapped into place, cocooning her completely and suspending her helplessly in midair.
Her briefcase of cash was plucked from her grasp.
Then the shadow vanished.
Joseph's men finally reacted.
"Boss!" one shouted, rushing forward. "He's still breathing! He's alive!"
They swarmed him, lifting his limp body without hesitation. Within seconds, they fled, abandoning the crates of weapons they had come to buy.
The Squid Man stood alone.
The deal was over.
The battlefield had shifted beyond comprehension.
He had seen it.
Men vanishing into thin air.
An unseen predator moving faster than thought.
The massive industrial machinery around him now cast elongated, twisting shadows, each one seeming alive, as though something far worse than him lurked within them.
For the first time in a long while, the Squid Man felt fear.
When he tried to move, his body refused.
Something invisible held him in place.
An unseen restraint.
Panic surged.
Fortunately for him, his body possessed one critical advantage—slime.
With a desperate effort, he twisted, forcing his slick form through the unseen grip. The restraint slipped.
He broke free.
There was no hesitation.
He chose to run.
"I need to get back to the sewer—no—something's coming!"
A shadow descended from above.
Instinct took over.
The Squid Man reared back, exposing the funnel organ beneath his neck.
Splurt!
A massive cloud of thick, black ink exploded outward, blotting out vision entirely.
He didn't look back.
He ran.
He ran until he burst out of the shipyard and onto the street beyond, gasping, heart pounding like a drum.
A jogger nearby screamed.
"What the hell is that?!"
The Squid Man didn't care.
He tore open a manhole cover and vanished underground, disappearing into the sewer system.
The couple stared after him, stunned.
"Did you—did you record that?" the woman whispered.
"I… I did," the man said, shaking. "But who'd believe it?"
She grinned suddenly.
"Sell it to the Daily Bugle. We're rich."
They laughed, utterly unaware of the presence watching them from afar.
Back in the shipyard, Batman stood silently atop a crane, his gaze fixed on the manhole cover.
He chose not to pursue.
Not yet.
The Squid Man's physiology made him difficult to restrain without preparation. Webbing alone wouldn't be enough.
Batman turned his attention to the shipyard itself.
Gang members hung cocooned in webbing, suspended from beams, cranes, and scaffolding—silent proof that the night had not gone as planned for anyone involved.
The city had eaten its own.
Black had devoured black.
And somewhere in the darkness, a new war had begun.