Whoa!
Police sirens wailed through the Manhattan night as two fire trucks raced down the street toward the Manhattan Police Department.
Chief George, along with the firefighters, rushed repeatedly into the burning police station, thick with flames and smoke, rescuing prisoners from the holding cells one by one, along with some vital documents.
But there was one area they couldn't approach, no matter how hard they tried.
It was a few holding cells deep inside the station; the walls and floor, damaged by the explosion, had caved in and were firmly embedded in the ground.
Without heavy equipment like excavators or cranes, it would be impossible to shift them by hand, especially with the raging fire and dense smoke in that section.
Where could they find such machinery in the dead of night? Even if it was available, it wouldn't arrive in time.
The firefighters on the scene were at a loss; all they could do was blast water cannons at the flames, hoping to buy a sliver of hope for those trapped inside.
"Ogg, how many people are still stuck in there?" Chief George asked his assistant, his face smeared with soot and ash, though he didn't seem to care about his appearance.
"Three people haven't been rescued yet... They were all in those deepest holding cells, and one of them is Dr. Otto."
His assistant, Ogg, replied while checking the list of prisoners who'd already been saved.
"No matter what, saving lives comes first." Chief George's brows furrowed tightly. "Contact the nearest construction site and get me an excavator or a crane..."
Boom!
No sooner had Chief George finished speaking than another collapse rocked the already precarious rubble pile.
Dust and smoke billowed up, scattering in the wind and forcing Chief George and his assistant, Ogg, to back away a few steps while covering their mouths and noses.
Captain Becker, the fire chief, his clothes and face blackened by smoke, approached Chief George.
"Chief, this calls for the U.S. Search and Rescue Team. Without a professional structural engineer on site, we can't risk proceeding with the rescue. Otherwise, we might end up killing people who could have been saved due to amateur mistakes."
"We can't take that chance, and we can't let you bring in heavy equipment on your own."
Chief George sighed deeply. As the chief, how could he not know this? He just wanted to get everyone out as fast as possible.
"Agent Phil..." Chief George turned to Agent Phil Coulson, who'd been silent the whole time.
He didn't finish his sentence, as Agent Phil shook his head, gesturing for him to wait, and instead fixed his gaze on the collapsed area where the fire department was stumped.
Chief George glanced at Agent Phil, wondering if it was his imagination, but he thought he saw a flicker of anticipation in the agent's eyes.
With the fire department helpless and three people still trapped in the rubble, what could he possibly be looking forward to?
Just as Chief George puzzled over this.
Creak... A harsh screech of bending metal suddenly echoed, followed by a series of clanging mechanical collisions.
Everyone from the fire department and police station turned their eyes to the deepest part of the holding cells, toward the collapsed area. Several tons of reinforced concrete slabs shifted abruptly, then were hurled aside with a thunderous crash.
Right after, a mechanical tentacle extended out, its three-clawed grip flaring open like a cobra's hood, before slamming down heavily onto the nearby debris.
Click!
With a sharp snap, this first mechanical tentacle anchored itself firmly, and then one, two... three more tentacles emerged from the ruins.
Through the swirling smoke, a figure in a prison uniform rose slowly. Dr. Otto hovered high amid the rubble, supported by the tentacles.
Whoosh!
Everyone involved in the firefighting effort couldn't help but step back a few paces. The officers from the Manhattan Police Department retreated behind vehicles and other cover, drawing their pistols and aiming at Dr. Otto.
Agent Phil didn't budge. He'd spoken with Dr. Otto and knew the truth behind the doctor's killing of police officers in the sewer.
Dr. Otto had simply run out of funds and couldn't cover the massive electricity costs for his experiments, which was why he'd ventured into the sewer. The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division backing him could solve that issue.
Chief George didn't retreat either; a similar spark of anticipation flashed in his eyes, just like in Agent Phil's, and he kept his gaze locked on Dr. Otto's fourth tentacle, which hadn't yet extended.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As Dr. Otto's mechanical tentacles lifted and fell in alternation, his form gradually cleared the rubble, and at the same time, the final extending tentacle came into view for everyone.
The fourth tentacle was coiled tightly, securing the two other people who'd been trapped with Dr. Otto.
Whew—
Chief George exhaled in relief, shared a look with Agent Phil, and both stepped forward to meet Dr. Otto at the same time.
Clap! Clap!
Someone hesitated, then applauded a few times to celebrate the successful rescue, but was quickly hushed by a colleague nearby.
The story of Dr. Otto single-handedly killing thirty-one police officers in the sewer still dominated the headlines of the Daily Bugle.
Even though he'd just saved two other trapped people, the fear most felt toward Dr. Otto still overshadowed any other feelings.
In front of the Manhattan Police Department, as the fire department and police sighed in relief now that everyone had been rescued, Batman held his breath inside Osborn Manor.
Norman Osborn had returned to the manor and was slowly approaching the study.
Batman showed no sign of panic; his mind stayed perfectly calm.
First, he secured the damaged suit to his Bat Belt, then his eyes swiftly scanned the secret room. After that, he pulled down the light switch there.
Thud!
The secret room plunged into instant darkness, without a shred of light.
"Tap tap tap..."
Seeming in high spirits, Norman Osborn hummed a tuneless melody under his breath as he entered the study. The next second, his pupils shrank to pinpoints, and his humming lips trembled slightly.
"Harry?"
Staring at the shifted bookshelf and the exposed pitch-black opening, Norman Osborn called out softly.
No one responded.
Inside the secret room, it was utterly dark. Norman Osborn quickly drew a short knife from his combat suit, gripping it in a reverse hold, and crept in cautiously, his body low.
Tap, tap... The faint footsteps were the only sound in the secret room at that moment. Norman lightened his steps even further until the space was silent enough to hear a pin drop.
He knew the place like the back of his hand; even in total darkness, he didn't collide with anything. Instead, he navigated around all obstacles perfectly, his reverse-gripped knife swaying slightly, poised to strike at any instant.
The secret room wasn't large, and Norman soon checked every corner. His knife probed out several times but touched nothing.
Thud!
With a soft click, Norman Osborn reached the light switch in the secret room and flipped it on. A dim, eerie green glow immediately lit up the space.
Almost simultaneously, he held his knife horizontally in front of him, and his eyes darted around the secret room, but even with the light on, it remained empty.
"Ho—"
Norman had just started to laugh, his mouth open, when he suddenly sensed something and looked up.
A completely black figure with two sharp, pointed ears clung to the secret room's ceiling, watching him silently, its eyes looking incredibly menacing in the dim, eerie green light.
The next second, whoosh!
Countless bats shattered the study window, swarmed through the dark hallway, and flooded into the secret room. At the same time, Batman swooped down from the secret room's ceiling.
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