Unlike when he took off his armor to meet Tony Stark as Peter Parker, Batman put on his Gargoyle Suit once again, arriving in Hell's Kitchen in his capacity as "Batman"—leader of the Justice League and member of the Avengers.
Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist Danny Rand were either sitting or standing along the edge of a sixteen-story rooftop.
Aside from the four of them, there was one other person present who happened to be another acquaintance of Batman—Black Cat, Felicia Hardy.
This building had previously served as Kingpin's headquarters before Black Cat seized it, and it had remained her territory ever since.
Although Kingpin had returned, backed by the government and possessing the status of a legitimate businessman, he had long since moved into the grander, far more lavish Wilson Corporation headquarters.
This shift had both pros and cons for Kingpin. At the very least, he could no longer use gang tactics without hesitation to reclaim territory like he used to.
Consequently, this sixteen-story building remained temporarily outside Kingpin's jurisdiction.
"Hey," Black Cat greeted, raising a hand beside her face and waving her fingers when she saw Batman.
"Black Cat." Batman gave her a subtle nod before turning his gaze toward Daredevil's group.
"Batman, you came at just the right time." Daredevil showed no surprise upon seeing Batman, looking as if he had known all along that Batman would show up in person.
"I'm honored to witness you joining forces," Batman said, getting straight to the point, seemingly having known all along what Daredevil's group intended to do.
The others remained silent, clearly deferring to Daredevil as their leader.
Batman's gaze swept across the faces of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage; the young couple instinctively avoided eye contact with him.
Danny Rand, the Iron Fist, wasn't familiar with Batman, but he had clearly heard plenty of terrifying urban legends about him, his eyes now glittering with curiosity.
Daredevil stood at the edge of the high-rise, looking as though he might fall off at any moment as the cold wind buffeted against him.
He kept his head lowered, speaking as Batman came to stand beside him:
"Batman, do you believe it? In this world, aside from desolate wildernesses, even in an international metropolis like New York, there are still people whose entire scope of activity from birth to death never exceeds an area of less than 2.5 square kilometers."
"Look down there. The people born here, along with the immigrants, illegal aliens, and human trafficking victims—they have never left Hell's Kitchen their entire lives."
Batman looked at Daredevil's jaw without saying a word. He knew Daredevil was speaking the cold, hard truth.
Hell's Kitchen was essentially a condensed version of Gotham. Evil of every kind could be found here; Hammerhead had even dared to throw Molotov cocktails into an orphanage simply to seek revenge against Kingpin.
"Tony's Avengers and your Justice League exist to deal with evil gods from mythology, high-tech criminals from Latveria, and genetically modified Hydra agents... and perhaps even more in the future."
Daredevil's voice was somewhat hoarse; his week-long confession in the Catholic church had clearly damaged his vocal cords.
Yet Daredevil paid it no mind:
"Human traffickers, dealers selling drugs right outside school gates, and cops who stop and frisk people simply because of their skin color... Hell's Kitchen is rotten to the core. But even so, there are still a handful of people here who possess humanity."
"If someone needs to form a league for those poor souls, it can only be us."
Batman looked at Daredevil. "If you ever need help, you can contact me anytime—or reach out to my informant."
Daredevil turned his head toward Batman, even though he couldn't see:
"Your informant?"
"Peter Parker," Batman said.
"No wonder! No wonder the ones who arrived at the scene right after I got hurt were lawyers from the Parker Corporation, and my hospital stay was at Parker Hospital," Luke Cage realized suddenly. "So you two are business partners?"
"He provides the funding, and I provide the muscle." Batman nodded.
"Thank Peter for us. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to deal with those cops that day on my own," Jessica Jones said as she walked over to Batman.
She hadn't forgotten that while she was being interrogated by the police in the hospital hallway, it was the Parker Corporation's legal team that arrived just in time to take Luke Cage away.
"I'd like to meet him if I get the chance," Luke Cage said.
"I'll pass the message along," Batman replied in his low voice.
Danny Rand remained silent, merely looking at Batman with even greater curiosity.
"The world is too vast; someone needs to guard those forgotten corners." Batman steered the conversation away from Peter. "Have you thought of a name for your league yet?"
Iron Fist Danny Rand finally spoke:
"Not yet. We just wanted to defend justice beyond the reach of the law and safeguard hope for the lowest class of people in Hell's Kitchen..."
"Then call it the Defenders," Batman said.
Iron Fist's eyes lit up, though he didn't say anything further.
"Yes—the Defenders," Daredevil said. "There is no better name than that. Batman, thank Peter Parker for me as well. Back when the dinosaurs invaded, his Parker Corporation provided no small amount of aid to Hell's Kitchen."
"I will," Batman said. "Besides witnessing the formation of the Defenders, I have one more thing today."
"If you need our help with anything, just say the word," Daredevil offered. "I'll do everything in my power to assist you."
"It's not about helping—it should be considered a request," Batman stated. "I want to join the Defenders."
"What!" Daredevil raised his head abruptly—not out of instinctive resistance or rejection, but simply because he hadn't expected Batman to make such a sudden request.
The other members of the Defenders widened their eyes at Batman, temporarily unable to fathom why Batman would ask to join.
However, without needing Batman to explain, Daredevil quickly recalled the urban legends circulating among New York's gangs, thugs, homeless people, and hippies from August up to the present moment, and he immediately understood.
"I see... I was only thinking about calling up Luke Cage and the others to form the Defenders, but I forgot that from the very beginning, you've been sparing no effort to strike at crime. What you've been doing all along is protecting those ordinary people at the very bottom."
Daredevil let out a sigh, a trace of a smile creeping into his raspy voice: "You were meant to be one of us all along, Batman."
Batman reached out and patted Daredevil on the arm. He turned around, unfurled his cape, and leaped straight off the sixteen-story roof.
The Parker Corporation's insurance payouts and charitable donations were already being rapidly distributed to those in need, and various gangs and thugs had long set their sights on this money.
Batman didn't mind taking this opportunity to give New York a few more terrifying legends about himself.
After Batman took the lead and jumped, Daredevil "exchanged glances" with the others, nodded, and leaped down as well, with each of them fanning out in different directions into the darkness.
By midnight, New York's police precincts were bustling with activity once again.
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