"Let me see little Peter... let me taste him..."
As soon as she stepped into the private box, Delia—who had been poised and elegant while hosting the auction—let out a seductive gasp. As she spoke, she leaned forward with impatient desire.
Thump!
Her only response was a hand-chop from Batman, delivered with perfectly controlled force—enough to knock her unconscious without causing any brain damage.
With a soft thud, Delia, dressed in her burgundy silk gown, rolled her eyes back and slumped onto the carpet.
Batman picked her up with both hands and tossed her onto the soft, oversized bed in the suite. Without a moment's hesitation, he reached for the utility belt hidden beneath his suit and pulled out a vial of pheromones.
This concoction had originally been prepared for the Lizard; to account for various contingencies, Batman had designed this pheromone to induce a level of aphrodisiac effect when applied to biological organisms.
It worked on humans as well, though the side effect was that it would leave the target's body in a state of extreme exhaustion for approximately three hours.
Splash!
Batman unscrewed the cap and poured the liquid over Delia, then casually rumpled her gown until it looked disheveled and wrinkled.
After locking the suite door to ensure no one would disturb Delia while she was unconscious and weakened, Batman strode to the window. He pressed one hand against the sill, vaulted out, and pulled the window shut behind him.
Since regaining the superpowers he had lost from Peter Parker, Batman had become far more cautious in his actions. He had previously grown too reliant on that superhuman strength—using it even when it wasn't necessary—and he found himself instinctively falling back on it.
But that wouldn't do. Batman knew he couldn't allow himself to become like that.
In truth, whether in Gotham or here in New York, Batman harbored an intense craving for power. He wanted so desperately to change Gotham, to change New York, and to fix everything that was broken.
But setting aside the current state of New York, the darkness of Gotham was something Batman could only barely manage to contain, even with his maximum effort. It kept his psyche perpetually balanced on a knife's edge.
Because of this, he couldn't afford to possess too much power. Otherwise, he would inevitably be consumed by it, descending step-by-step into extremism.
This was why, when the Crime Syndicate of Earth-3 invaded his Gotham, Batman had pulled out a pre-prepared Yellow Lantern Ring to borrow its strength.
Caught between his craving for the Yellow Lantern's power and his utter Revulsion toward it, the ring—which had more than enough energy to finish a battle—had run dry after conjuring only a single swarm of bats in Batman's hands.
"I will only use Peter Parker's abilities again if I encounter an enemy that conventional force cannot defeat," Batman cautioned himself silently.
The moment he landed after vaulting from the window, he spotted a pair of young women in evening gowns walking down a nearby path. Batman immediately adjusted his suit, pulled a pair of glasses from his inner pocket, and put them on, strolling past the girls as if nothing were amiss.
"Tony, report," Batman said in a low voice, raising his right hand to press his index and middle fingers against the temple of his glasses.
Meanwhile, at the after-party for the charity auction:
Tony Stark, who was currently face-to-face with the Kingpin, reached up to adjust his own glasses. He tilted his head slightly, set his champagne flute down on a passing waiter's tray, and lowered his voice:
"Deadlock."
Batman understood immediately what "deadlock" implied. His lips moved slightly, his voice transmitting through the miniature intercom system integrated into the glasses' temples to Tony's ear:
"Stall him. I have Plan B."
"OK," Tony said, glancing around as he continued in a low tone. "These glasses are nice. Bluetooth headsets are already everywhere, and bone conduction tech has been around for a while, but combining them for near-zero latency short-range communication like this? How did you manage it?"
Batman was momentarily speechless. The glasses he and Tony were wearing utilized Version 5.0 Bluetooth communication—technology that wasn't even considered "high-end" back in Gotham.
But here in 2006, limited by current semiconductor manufacturing, RF design, and digital signal processing capabilities, the Bluetooth headsets on the market couldn't possibly achieve lag-free communication over several hundred meters.
In the current market, Bluetooth products were largely ignored by the public due to their short range and slow transmission speeds. Tony Stark had realized the future potential of these glasses—specifically the Bluetooth integration—almost instantly.
"You interested?" Batman asked casually as he headed toward a deserted alleyway.
"Of course I'm interested!" Tony's voice rose slightly before he quickly hushed it. "We'll talk later; I'm still in a standoff with the Kingpin. Also, Norman Osborn—is he one of yours?"
"Yes," Batman replied succinctly.
"OK," Tony said, then deactivated the Bluetooth function on the glasses.
"Three corporations? Forgive me for asking, but which three specifically? Stark Industries, Oscorp, and who else?"
The smile on Kingpin's face grew increasingly "genial" as he looked at Norman Osborn, who stood there in a gray suit with his hair meticulously combed.
Tony Stark feigned nonchalance as he took his hand off the frame of his glasses, snagging a drink from another passing waiter. He turned back to Kingpin and smiled.
"Maybe it's not three. It could be four, five... or perhaps all of Wall Street."
"Trust me, I have the power to manipulate Wall Street... Mr. Norman."
Tony threw out the threat to Kingpin while simultaneously greeting Norman Osborn.
"Is that so?" Kingpin completely ignored Tony's threat, keeping his eyes on Norman, who had suddenly joined the conversation. "What if I were to say those two individuals were products of Oscorp's human experimentation? That they were sent to assassinate me—a law-abiding businessman who follows government policy?"
Norman Osborn's finger twitched imperceptibly. His voice grew increasingly raspy:
"You'll regret doing this, Kingpin."
Tony Stark clapped his hands cheerfully from the side.
"Oh ho! So you're the Kingpin, Mr. Fisk?"
Tony had been playing dumb, calling him "Mr. Fisk" over and over, only choosing to join the fray once Norman Osborn exposed the man's identity.
"You seem very pleased, Tony Stark," Kingpin said, shifting his gaze back to Tony.
"Naturally. If you're the Kingpin... let me guess, how much illegal activity is hidden beneath your 'legal' businesses? Do I need to set Jarvis loose to investigate?"
Tony Stark was practically buzzing with excitement.
"You might not know who Jarvis is. All I can tell you is that he's an omnipotent, super... uh, he's a guy just like Batman."
Tony withheld the fact that Jarvis was merely an Artificial Intelligence, but Kingpin's eyes instantly widened. The "kindly" facade on his face vanished, replaced by sheer, murderous intent.
"You're in league with Batman?!"
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