Chapter 345: A Weight Lifted
"Dinosaurs invaded Manhattan. Our so-called hero Spider-Man never showed up."
"Now a terrorist has hidden bombs throughout Manhattan. Does Spider-Man still refuse to appear?"
"Let the Daily Bugle expose Spider-Man's true face! We need a real hero—Batman!"
Inside the Daily Bugle's editor-in-chief office, J. Jonah Jameson felt quite satisfied with the slogans he'd conceived. He nodded at his staff.
"Go. Print exactly what I just said."
"Mr. Jameson, I think Spider-Man hasn't appeared in two months. Maybe he's already given up being a superhero." Betty—the voluptuous beauty Eddie Brock had coveted for so long—spoke up.
"Oh, he gave up being a superhero?" JJJ took a massive puff from his cigar and wagged his finger at Betty. "First of all, he's not a superhero. Just a masked vandal."
Betty hesitated, but JJJ continued.
"That was the Spider-Man coverage. Now let's draft Batman's newspaper spread. Write this..."
"A pathetic copycat who poorly imitates Spider-Man. Over fifty thousand people have called for Batman's arrest. The public needs Spider-Man, not a clown!"
Betty had completely lost any inclination to flirt with her other colleagues. Garrett's bombs planted throughout Manhattan were one concern. The other reason was that JJJ had been married for years—his daughter was practically Betty's age.
"Jameson, we need evidence before publishing this content. And aren't the Spider-Man and Batman articles contradicting each other?" Betty asked.
"All we need is an attention-grabbing headline! HEADLINE! Understand?!" JJJ roared furiously. "Contradictions? To hell with it! Just do what I said!"
He swung his legs up onto his massive desk, waving Betty away repeatedly to drive her from his office.
"Unreasonable..." Betty shook her head and left through the door.
Outside Manhattan Police Headquarters, a large crowd holding umbrellas had gathered at some point. Some wore business suits. Others wore oil-stained work clothes.
Not everyone chose to remain inside buildings. Many had opted to leave structures entirely, gathering in the most open street areas possible to wait out this man-made disaster.
The bridges extending from Manhattan to other boroughs were now packed solid with vehicles. Everyone wished they could sprout wings and flee Manhattan.
At schools, students had been herded onto athletic fields, young faces drenched by rain. At hospitals, doctors and nurses worked desperately to transfer patients.
But Manhattan was enormous. No one knew where Garrett had actually hidden the bombs. No one could guarantee the places they were evacuating to were actually safe.
Panic spread gradually from Upper Manhattan to Lower Manhattan, from Hell's Kitchen to Wall Street. Everyone stared anxiously out windows.
Captain George Stacy stood on the precinct rooftop, looking down at the crowds on the streets below.
"I trusted Garrett initially because he fought those dinosaurs with extraordinary effort. He helped me handle the aftermath of the dinosaur invasion. He even revealed his true face openly inside Manhattan Police Headquarters without hesitation."
"But now, another SHIELD agent—Phil Coulson—says SHIELD never deployed transport helicopters. Either he or Garrett is lying."
"Whoever it is, I'd rather believe the worst-case scenario: Garrett is a terrorist. His target is indeed Batman, yes. But if Batman doesn't appear, Garrett might actually detonate those bombs."
Captain George Stacy stood on the rooftop in the pouring rain. He wore a fedora, rainwater streaming from its brim.
"Now I must choose. Continue trusting Garrett like New York PD does? Or trust that bat?"
George forced himself to make a decision. The moment he'd stepped onto this rooftop, his hesitation had already ended.
WHOOOSH!
George yanked the tarp off the massive bat-signal lamp. Then his hand gripped the power lever and pulled down hard.
CLUNK!
The enormous searchlight activated. Yellow light angled upward into the oppressive black clouds, projecting a circular bat symbol.
George was gambling with his limited intelligence on whether Batman was truly trustworthy.
Either he'd bet correctly and save Manhattan, or he'd bet wrong and go to prison alongside Batman.
Looking up, George stared at the bat symbol in the clouds. A trace of worry flickered through his eyes.
Time passed second by second. As Garrett's three-hour deadline approached, the rain continued its relentless assault.
George stood in the rain waiting for Batman to appear. He hadn't moved a single step.
Inside the Batcave.
Batman had finished researching the full-wave projector. Just as Venom Robin expected him to begin implementing his plan, he watched the old Bat stand beside the Batmobile and modify it beyond recognition.
During that time, Batman had also isolated a separate area within the Batcave to confine the metal-masked Black Widow.
If not for the crowds currently packed on Manhattan's streets, Venom Robin would've thought this was just another ordinary day.
"Old Bat, the Bat-Signal's lit," Venom Robin said.
Batman nodded and stood.
"Good."
Venom Robin felt confused.
"What's good?"
"Preparations are complete." Batman told Venom Robin. "Time to move."
Venom Robin frowned at Batman. He sensed something wasn't quite right.
When he saw Batman using mechanical arms to modify the Batmobile instead of manually lifting equipment weighing a mere seven or eight hundred kilograms, his heart lurched.
SWISH!
Venom Robin lunged forward one step and grabbed Batman's arm, immediately discovering the problem.
"You've lost your powers?"
Batman nodded.
"Are you planning to abandon stopping Garrett?" Venom Robin asked again.
"No."
"Without powers, how do you plan to stop him? Just by sitting in the Batcave?" Venom Robin's voice rose sharply.
"Without Spider-Man's strength, I'm still Batman." Rather than anger at Venom Robin's interrogation, Batman smiled again.
"Why are you smiling?" Venom Robin wanted to destroy that infuriating smiling face.
Batman's smile was genuine. Spider-Man's various abilities had been something that caused Batman extreme anxiety all along. He'd needed to constantly intensify his self-restraint and vigilance.
But now, with the powers gone, Batman had actually set down a weight he'd been carrying in his heart.
***
20+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces