Batman's AI technology was worthless to the average person.
But Tony Stark was no average person. In the eyes of a genius, the technology Batman brought to the table could be applied to weaponry, aerospace, automotive, medical, industrial…
Practically every field Stark Industries touched.
Faced with this guy—who was still a student yet to graduate from Empire State University but wielded such advanced tech—Tony Stark chose to pay for knowledge.
"Sir, congratulations on officially meeting a remarkably gifted young man," Jarvis said to Tony Stark after Batman had left.
"Young? He only looks young. Talking to him feels like my father came back to life and possessed him," Tony Stark quipped, never one to hold back.
"Sir, that metaphor may not be entirely apt, but it seems you're in good spirits," Jarvis replied.
Unlike the lighthearted atmosphere at the top of Stark Tower, the mood in Brooklyn was tense.
Special Operations Team Captain Feck worried that a single stun gun wouldn't be enough to incapacitate Doctor Otto. He deliberately arranged for four sharpshooters to fire simultaneously from different angles.
The shooters were skilled, their weapons designed for counter-terrorism, and the electric rounds hit their mark, sending non-lethal but disorienting currents through Doctor Otto's body, making him convulse.
Crack.
A spark exploded behind Doctor Otto, and Feck's goal of destroying the chip controlling the mechanical tentacles was achieved.
Every step of the operation went as smoothly as planned, but the outcome left Feck utterly baffled.
One of Doctor Otto's tentacles showed no mercy, piercing Feck's chest with terrifying speed and force.
"I clearly destroyed his control chip with the current… Why…?" That was Feck's final thought before death.
"Open fire!"
Someone shouted, and the rat-tat-tat of gunfire echoed through the sewer. Bullets rained mercilessly toward Doctor Otto and his experimental equipment.
Sparks flew—some from bullets striking the tentacles, others from the electrical discharge of damaged machinery.
Just before the police opened fire, Doctor Otto used two tentacles to rip an entire brick wall from the sewer, holding it as a shield. He glanced at the experimental equipment hit by gunfire, one machine already sizzling ominously.
Boom!
Two idle tentacles grabbed the now-defunct machine and hurled it outward.
Rat-tat-tat!
The gunfire continued. The machine exploded into a fireball midair, but the remaining bullets kept targeting Doctor Otto, still hidden behind the wall.
The brick wall didn't hold up long under the barrage. In just over ten seconds, it crumbled into a pile of debris, and dust clouded the air, obscuring Doctor Otto from the police's view.
"Hold fire!"
With Feck dead, someone new took command. The police cautiously advanced, guns raised, toward Doctor Otto.
Through the hazy shadows, it appeared Doctor Otto had collapsed, his tentacles no longer thrashing.
Since the experimental equipment couldn't be submerged in water, Doctor Otto's setup was on a small platform in the sewer, accessible only by wading through knee-deep water.
As the police carefully trudged through the water toward the platform, the four tentacles suddenly sprang to life.
Two grabbed the sewer's ceiling, hoisting Doctor Otto's body upward, while the other two seized thick electrical cables.
Zzt!
Without hesitation, Doctor Otto plunged the cables into the water. With a bzzzt, every officer collapsed lifelessly.
Expressionless, Doctor Otto surveyed the fallen police, then slowly descended back to the platform. He retrieved a pair of goggles from the remaining equipment and put them on.
Without a glance back, his four tentacles took turns gripping surfaces, carrying him away like a giant octopus.
"Feck, report in!" On the surface, George Stacy shouted into his radio.
The comms were silent.
"Anyone there? Report what's happening down there!" George's heart sank, sensing things had gone terribly wrong.
"Billy, go down and investigate. Report what you see—"
Before Chief George Stacy could finish his orders to a nearby officer, the street nearby erupted with a boom.
Doctor Otto, aided by his four mechanical tentacles, emerged from the sewer back to the surface.
"Medical team! We need rescue down there! Everyone else, stop him!" George Stacy abandoned the radio, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Not only did the police hear him, but Doctor Otto did too. One of his tentacles grabbed a nearby vehicle and hurled it toward them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Over a dozen cars, large and small, were tossed by Doctor Otto, turning the street into a chaos of black smoke and flames.
By the time George Stacy's called-in armed helicopter and rerouted police cars arrived, Doctor Otto was long gone.
Abandoned Shipyard.
Dinner was, as always, a meal tailored to Batman's precise specifications. Days of relentless training had already resulted in subtle changes to his height.
With the Batsuit's enhancements, he had surpassed six feet, and continued training suggested there was still room for growth.
But at the moment, Batman wasn't training. He donned goggles and set to work overhauling the Batsuit.
The first priority was the Bat-helmet. Batman took the components he'd purchased earlier—disassembling and reassembling them to meet his exact specifications—before installing them inside the helmet.
These included night vision, thermal imaging, sonar, a gas mask, a micro-radio receiver, and necessary padding adjustments to accommodate the new equipment.
With these upgrades, Batman's nighttime combat capabilities would be significantly enhanced.
The standard combat boots were discarded. Batman repurposed armor from the Spider-Slayer suit, integrating it with new boots and adding a Bat-transmitter and retractable skate blades to the soles.
The blades could serve as a tool for rapid movement on smooth surfaces or as an emergency weapon.
The Bat-gauntlets and gloves' retractable blades were upgraded to sharper, tougher materials, now equipped with electrostatic adhesion and a shock discharge device.
While Peter Parker could naturally crawl on vertical or smooth surfaces, Batman had to prepare for the possibility of those abilities failing.
Additionally, Batarangs, gel explosives, cable saws, painkillers, sedatives, adrenaline, noise devices, hemostatic spray… Batman methodically assembled tools for every scenario.
The Bat-belt was replaced as well. The second-hand combat belt couldn't handle the sheer number of gadgets, so Batman switched to a brand-new, state-of-the-art tactical belt used by the U.S. military.
Aside from the Bat-cape, which required special memory fiber, and vehicles, which demanded custom engineering and exorbitant costs, Batman had equipped nearly every component within his reach.
He even added a microcomputer to the inner side of the Bat-gauntlet, allowing him to hack systems and software on the fly.
After triple-checking that all tools were as reliable as before, the clock struck 10 p.m.
Without a moment's rest, Batman geared up, combining his web-shooters with a grappling hook to form the Bat-claw. He swung toward the Oscorp building.
As he swung, Batman tuned into the micro-radio receiver integrated into his Bat-helmet, listening to reports about the afternoon's events in Brooklyn.
"Doctor Otto killed over thirty police officers in the sewer before escaping!"
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