Silver Sable International expanded rapidly over the course of two months. Not long ago, they moved out of their previous office building and into a factory.
This factory happened to be a weapons plant formerly owned by Obadiah Stane under Ajax Security, which Stark Industries had also previously used as a warehouse to store weapons.
Since Stark Industries had completely abandoned its weapons division from top to bottom, selling off its factories and warehouses at low prices, Silver Sable managed to snag this weapons factory at a total bargain.
It was late by now. Silver Sable toyed with a dagger in one hand while using the other to brush her short silver bangs behind her ear.
She had just had a few drinks with her subordinates—partly to celebrate Silver Sable International firmly getting on track, and partly because she had been in a bad mood lately.
The factory contained a collective dormitory for her rescue team, and Silver Sable had a lounge of her own.
She planned to stay in the lounge tonight instead of heading back to her home in Brooklyn.
Walking through the corridors, Silver Sable looked at her door with bleary eyes. Her upper body practically leaned against the door as she clumsily unlocked it and lunged straight toward the bed.
But while mid-air, a sudden chill struck Silver Sable's heart. Her previously hazy gaze instantly turned razor-sharp, her slender eyebrows arching slightly as she reverse-gripped the sharp dagger, holding it diagonally across her chest.
She didn't crash onto the bed. The exact moment she hovered over it, she kicked out into the air, relying on her core strength to forcefully twist her entire body around, landing with one foot on the edge of the bed and the other on the floor.
Clink!
With a faint, crisp sound, a bomb popped out from the edge of the bed, and Silver Sable snatched it out of the air.
With one hand reverse-gripping her dagger, she quickly brought the bomb to her mouth and bit down on the pull ring.
"Who's there?"
Silver Sable spoke coldly into the empty air.
The room was pitch black, and Silver Sable couldn't see who it was. She kept her eyes warily fixed on the shadows while continuously shifting her center of gravity.
If the opponent turned out to be someone she couldn't handle, she would immediately drop the bomb, crash through the window to escape, and rally her men to completely cover the lounge with heavy firepower.
"Me." Out of the darkness, a deep voice echoed just as a pair of eyes glowing with white light lit up.
Silver Sable frowned, her voice carrying a hint of uncertainty. "Batman?"
She blinked hard to let her eyes fully adjust to the darkness inside the lounge, faintly discerning the iconic sharp, pointed ears right above those eyes.
"It's me," Batman said in his low rasp.
"Whew..." Silver Sable let out a breath, carefully releasing the bomb's pull ring. "How did you find this place?"
"Because..."
Before Batman could finish, Silver Sable cut him off. "Because you're Batman. Alright, alright... Good thing it's you. I thought that guy who came last time had shown up again. I almost detonated the bomb."
Batman took a few steps out of the darkness and stood in front of Silver Sable. He frowned slightly as he noticed her slightly flushed face and the scent of alcohol on her breath. "Last time?"
"About a week ago, a mysterious man dressed in black broke into this factory just like you did. I only traded a few blows with him before I was defeated," Silver Sable said.
"Describe him," Batman said.
Without turning on the light, Silver Sable spun around and sat on the edge of the bed. She leaned back, propping her head up with one hand, looking up at Batman with a completely unbothered posture. "He was a bit over six feet tall, heavily muscled, and covered from head to toe in black fabric."
"Oh, right. His weapon was very strange—a round shield, also completely pitch-black."
"What was his goal?" Batman asked, sketching a rough mental picture based on Silver Sable's description.
Silver Sable rolled her eyes. "How should I know? After he knocked me down, he kept asking me about things from two years ago, asking if I remembered... So much happened two years ago, how am I supposed to know what he was talking about?"
"He didn't say anything else?" Batman asked.
"No. Once he realized he wasn't getting any answers, he left. I tried to track him down afterward, but his counter-tracking skills were incredibly sharp. I couldn't pull it off," Silver Sable said, looking a bit frustrated.
Batman silently noted this down. It was of no use to him right now, but it might turn into a clue someday.
"What about you? Why are you looking for me in the middle of the night instead of hunting down criminals?" Silver Sable asked, shifting the topic.
"I need your help with something," Batman spoke. "Assemble an Antarctic research expedition. Under the guise of a rescue operation, I need you to lead the team yourself."
Silver Sable suddenly sat up straight on the bed.
A rescue mission important enough for Batman to seek her out personally and explicitly request her leadership—could it be another ultra-wealthy tycoon like Tony Stark?
"Who are we saving?" Silver Sable's voice was full of anticipation.
"We aren't saving anyone. You're going to bring something back for me." Batman shook his head. "I will give you a set of coordinates. You need to go there and take environmental samples."
Silver Sable's excitement instantly deflated. Compared to taking environmental samples, she preferred high-stakes, thrilling rescue missions; they made her feel like she was back on the battlefield.
"And after that?" she asked.
"I have my own arrangements for afterwards," Batman said.
"When do we start?"
"As soon as possible. Preferably right now."
"That won't do."
Batman looked at Silver Sable. "According to my observations, you haven't taken any rescue contracts over the past three days. You have plenty of time right now. I will cover all the expenses for this trip."
Silver Sable scoffed, her tone dismissive. "Don't insult me with that dirty money. If you want me to drop everything and leave right this second, you have to offer something else."
Batman's brow furrowed even deeper as he considered whether to deploy his negotiation tactics. "What do you want?"
"A kiss." Silver Sable's lips curled upward, her face slightly flushed.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Batman didn't react at all, but a snort of stifled laughter echoed from a dark corner of the room. "Pfft."
Silver Sable's eyebrows instantly shot up. She completely forgot about flirting with Batman; a third party had actually witnessed a moment that was embarrassing even by her standards.
A sudden surge of murderous intent flared within her. Staring intently at Batman, she demanded, "Who is that?"
Batman fell silent for two seconds before turning toward the darkness and gesturing. "Robin, come out."
Under Silver Sable's murderous glare, a mass of darkness coalesced into the shape of a pint-sized brat, who swaggered right up to Batman's side.
"He's your...?" Silver Sable immediately redirected the source of her anger toward Batman.
"My son," Batman said expressionlessly.
"Don't tell me you're a divorced, middle-aged guy traveling with his kid." The look in Silver Sable's eyes shifted from fury to utter bewilderment.
Batman remained silent for a few seconds. "Something like that."
"Bullshit, Batman," Silver Sable sneered. "I just watched this little guy morph into human form from a puddle of god-knows-what. Don't tell me you can pull off that trick too."
Venom Robin couldn't stop his lips from curling into a grin. His gaze darted back and forth between Batman and Silver Sable, thoroughly curious about what Batman would do next.
Would he shut Silver Sable up with a forceful kiss? Or find an excuse to send him away so the two of them could get up to something?
Venom Robin felt like he had just found his own brand of entertainment.
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