As it turned out, Logan's claws could not only snap Vibranium blades, but they could even leave deep claw marks on the Gargoyle Suit.
The sharpness of his claws was practically unprecedented since Batman had crossed over into this universe.
After just a few short rounds, the Gargoyle Suit—which had been completed less than half a day ago—was already covered in scars.
However, the damage to the Gargoyle Suit was one thing; which way the scales of battle tipped was another.
Relying on Peter Parker's sheer, brute strength, Batman landed a heavy punch on Logan every single time those steel claws slashed past.
Punch after punch, each strike carried more force than the last, as if he were a tireless machine capable of precisely regulating its power.
This resulted in Logan constantly adding scratches to Batman's suit, but at the same time, he was forced to step back repeatedly to deflect the immense force of Batman's blows.
This simple and brutal style of combat lasted for only a dozen seconds or so, yet Batman had already thrown dozens of punches, and the Gargoyle Suit gained countless more slashes from the steel claws.
Logan was at a disadvantage, but with his exceptionally rich combat experience, he knew he couldn't keep locked in this stalemate with Batman.
This guy's strength seemed to have no upper limit, with tons of force stacking endlessly. Logan felt like every time he took a step back, his body sank a bit lower.
He was being driven into the ground by the sheer force of Batman's fists.
Furthermore, as Batman continued to attack and absorb blows, a dark purple aura began to brew across the surface of the Gargoyle Suit.
Incredibly experienced, lightning-fast reflexes, indestructible suit, immense strength, and I have no idea what that purple glow on his armor is supposed to do... Logan rapidly formulated a strategy in his mind.
Seeing Batman lunging forward with another punch, Logan made a split-second decision to stop defending, taking the blow full-on with his chest.
Spurt!
His ribs didn't break, but under the immense impact, Logan's lungs ruptured, and a mouthful of fresh blood immediately sprayed out.
Yet even so, Logan endured the pain, a hint of madness tinting his eyes from the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.
Thud!
Logan tightly gripped the fist Batman had slammed into his chest, using the momentum to close the distance and lunging right into Batman's embrace.
At first glance, it looked like two long-lost lovers embracing each other.
But in reality, the moment Logan rushed into Batman's arms, his other hand rose surreptitiously. His steel claws pointed straight up, thrusting along Batman's chest toward that exposed cleft chin.
If this strike connected solidly, it would pierce right through Batman's head in a single blow.
At the critical moment, Batman's free hand shot out from his side in an uncanny motion, his fingers clamping down like a vice onto Logan's wrist.
At this moment, both Batman and Logan frowned simultaneously.
Batman's confusion stemmed from the fact that his previous punch had just ruptured Logan's lungs, causing him to spit up blood.
Yet now, under the Gargoyle Suit's scan, the organs inside Logan's body were healing at an incredible speed—they had already fully recovered in the brief moment it took for them to frown.
Peter Parker possessed a healing factor too, but it paled in comparison to Logan's.
Moreover, when Batman gripped the wrist Logan used to stab at his chin, he realized there was almost no strength behind the attack. Even if Batman hadn't blocked it, Logan wouldn't have actually pierced his head through.
Logan, on the other hand, was frowning because of the Gargoyle Suit Batman was wearing.
The dark purple aura on the suit was already extremely intense. His animal instincts made it clear to Logan that this glow was some form of energy; if this "Peter Parker" wished, detonating it just now would have been more than enough to blast him away.
There would have been no need to reach out and grab his wrist.
He doesn't want to kill me. The same thought surfaced in both of their minds.
Batman and Logan each took a step back, still watching one another warily.
"Why?" Batman asked first.
"You're not Mystique, nor any of the other people I know." Logan knew Batman was asking why he held back on that last strike. Looking at Batman's chin, he slowly retracted his steel claws.
Logan looked around, found the cigar he had discarded earlier, blew the ash off it, popped it back into his mouth, and pulled out a match to light it.
"I was worried that if you really were Peter, and not some imposter... how Richard would look at me if I killed you with one slash."
"What about you? Why didn't you detonate that energy on you?" Logan took a deep drag of his cigar, then pointed the glowing red cherry at the purple aura on Batman's body. "I've never seen this kind of energy on any mutant."
"It comes from the suit itself," Batman said, offering no further explanation.
Vibranium could absorb kinetic energy, but once it absorbed a certain amount, it would release all that kinetic energy in a single explosive burst. The dark purple aura was precisely the precursor to that discharge.
Batman wouldn't go out of his way to master magic or superpowers, but he had no qualms about utilizing the inherent properties of a material.
"Can we sit down and talk now? How did you find Aunt May's place?" Batman asked.
Logan sat cross-legged right where he was, puffing heavily on his cigar. Curving wisps of blue smoke veiled his face, and his voice drifted out from behind the haze:
"Would you believe me if I said Richard Parker told me? He was worried that things beyond the reach of ordinary people would destroy you, so he entrusted me to protect his son."
Batman's gaze pierced through the smoke, studying Logan's weathered, time-worn face.
Unlike the tissue of lies he spun back at Aunt May's house, Batman could clearly tell that Logan wasn't lying to him now.
"What about you? Are you really Peter Parker, or something else entirely?" Logan asked.
Batman also sat down cross-legged, maintaining a distance of several meters from Logan.
"I am Peter Parker."
"Aside from your looks, you don't share a single resemblance with the Parkers." This was the root of Logan's lingering suspicion.
"If you knew enough about me, you would know that Uncle Ben, who raised me since I was a child, passed away five months ago." Batman mentally apologized to Peter before using Ben Parker as his excuse. "From that moment on, I decided to rid this world of its dark side."
"That's impossible," Logan scoffed.
"Until today, I have never heard Uncle Ben or Aunt May mention anything about you, nor have you ever visited," Batman questioned. "I believe you didn't come here simply to check on an old friend's son."
Logan took a deep breath and snuffed out the cigar against his own palm. As the burn wound rapidly healed, he spoke up:
"You're right. I came because of a man with a shield."
It was that mysterious shield man again!
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