Chapter 347: What Is the Old Bat Doing?
"Electro, we need to terminate the plan." Tony Stark addressed Max Dillon, who had transformed into golden electrical energy and was moving through Manhattan's power grid.
"Tony? I've already found the first bomb's location. Confirmed it's radio-frequency detonation... You're sure about terminating?" Max Dillon's voice carried confusion.
"Correct. I don't want to screw this up. Or rather, I want to see what our old friend Batman actually intends to do." Tony's tone was measured.
Standing atop the Empire State Building, Tony Stark had already spotted the Batmobile approaching from distant streets through his Mark VI armor's auxiliary functions.
"Rendezvous at the Empire State Building." Tony dropped the statement, then dove off the rooftop edge. His hands gripped the Batmobile's roof, lifting it with his repulsors' assistance, and returned to the tower's summit.
Clang clang.
Tony Stark rapped his knuckles against the Batmobile's dark window.
"Get out, Peter."
The Batmobile remained motionless. Just as Tony Stark grew impatient and prepared to hack into the vehicle's systems to force it open, a young, energetic voice spoke behind him.
"You don't need to open it, sir."
WHOOSH!
Iron Man Tony Stark spun around with lightning reflexes, his palm repulsor glowing with building white energy.
"Please don't tell me you're the young man Batman said he'd send to coordinate with me." Tony Stark stared at this figure wearing white eye lenses, moving as lightly as a jumping spider.
"That's me, Mr. Stark." The figure confirmed.
"...You're Spider-Man, right? Two months ago you were quite active in New York. The newspapers ran your photos daily." Tony Stark's tone carried uncertainty.
"Oh my God, Mr. Stark, I'm so glad you know about me!" Batman adopted Peter Parker's personality and speech patterns. "Actually I've been incredibly busy these past two months, plus... uh, anyway, I was really worried I couldn't find balance between my two identities, but fortunately besides me there's also Batman and Iron Man, you know Mr. Stark, I've always wanted to..."
"Stop, stop, stop." Tony Stark couldn't help pressing his hand to his forehead. "Are you always this talkative?"
"Sorry Mr. Stark, I'm just, I'm just..." Spider-Man spoke with excited, stammering energy.
Tony Stark thrust out one hand toward Spider-Man, stopping the chattering figure from continuing. He tilted his head to one side, speaking quietly to Jarvis.
"Pull up all footage of Spider-Man from two months ago, Jarvis."
"Based on body structure comparison, the current Spider-Man's physique differs from what limited footage exists online of Spider-Man from two months ago," Jarvis AI reported. "Much more muscular."
Tony glanced discreetly at the muscle definition outlined by Spider-Man's form-fitting suit.
"I can see that."
"Mr. Stark?" Spider-Man spoke up nearby.
"Don't talk yet. I need to contact Batman to confirm his plan." Tony said.
"Batman told me the entire plan before sending me here. Our first step is using this Batmobile to conduct radio frequency detection across all of Manhattan—oh, it shouldn't be called the Batmobile anymore, it's been converted into a radio signal detector." Spider-Man continued talking.
Tony Stark felt his temples throbbing. His head seemed to be expanding continuously under Spider-Man's constant chatter.
He didn't dare respond. He simply opened his metal faceplate and used eye contact to signal Spider-Man to open the Batmobile.
So Spider-Man muttered quietly to himself while opening the Batmobile, triggering its transformation sequence. The vehicle shifted from four-wheeled car configuration into an upright tower-like device.
"Mr. Stark..."
The moment Spider-Man opened his mouth, Tony Stark interrupted.
"You can just call me Tony. And you can speak directly when you have something to say."
Spider-Man nodded rapidly.
"Tony, what we need to do now is wait. Let the radio detector scan all of Manhattan. Its operating principle is to exclude legitimate broadcast and communication signals, filtering only abnormal, dormant, or signals with specific encryption characteristics."
"By the way, Batman mentioned another cool guy who's covered in electricity. Where is he?"
Tony Stark groaned internally. He didn't know what this Spider-Man actually looked like, but one thing was certain: this guy was extremely young.
Peter Parker—Batman—was also young. But whether in or out of costume, Peter's composure and maturity beyond his years remained consistent.
But this Spider-Man... if Tony ignored that muscular physique, he'd suspect this guy hadn't even graduated elementary school. Otherwise why was his mouth so loose?
"Max Dillon, come babysit." Tony said quietly to Electro, who was heading their direction.
The words barely left his mouth when Electro Max Dillon appeared atop the Empire State Building in a surge of golden electrical light.
"I've confirmed all bomb locations, but I'm not a bomb disposal expert." Max Dillon's first words were a status report. "Tony, what do you mean 'babysit'?"
Tony Stark pointed discreetly at Spider-Man.
Spider-Man had already jumped back a considerable distance the instant Max Dillon appeared. Though masked, Tony could still read the wariness radiating from Spider-Man's posture.
"Electric guy, you're Electro Max Dillon that Batman mentioned?"
Electro looked at Spider-Man with confusion.
"That's right. It's me."
"Perfect, everyone's assembled. I want to report to Batman that we're about to begin the next phase of the plan." Spider-Man looked like he wanted to shake Electro's hand, but seeing the electricity covering the man's body, he didn't step forward. He remained in place, mouth running non-stop.
Inside the Batcave, Venom Robin sat at the workstation watching the Empire State Building rooftop through the camera integrated into Spider-Man's eye lenses.
Venom Robin doubted his eyes. His brain. His sensory systems in general. Otherwise he couldn't explain why Batman—who'd always been cold and hard as stone—would put on a bright, form-fitting costume to impersonate Spider-Man while talking incessantly.
"What is the old Bat doing?" Venom Robin's tongue curled, retrieving at least three kilograms of chocolate from the cabinet under the workstation and stuffing it into his mouth. "Garrett wants to use bombs to force Batman to appear. So Batman shows up as Spider-Man and doesn't appear as himself at all?"
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