"Listen up. I'm saying the rules only once. Break any one of them, and the mission ends immediately. You'll go straight back to the Batcave."
"This isn't punishment. It's for protection."
Excluding the part on North Brother Island where Batman had to use Venom to remotely lure Anti-Venom into a trap ahead of time, tonight was the first real mission for Batman and his Venom Robin.
Batman drove the Batmobile, with Venom coiled up in the much smaller passenger seat beside him, head raised high with eager excitement.
Sticking close to Batman, Venom's current intelligence was completely that of a child, possessing all the emotions a human toddler might have—including a curiosity so intense it bordered on terrifying.
A human child might do things intolerable to adults out of curiosity and an undeveloped sense of morality, and Venom carried the same risk.
But Venom had always stayed by Batman's side, educated by carefully selected children's programming and Batman's personal guidance.
It might be a bit weak in other areas, but Venom's "obedience" was beyond question.
That was why Batman hadn't refused to bring Venom out tonight.
Even so, Batman still had to give Venom one final reminder before they began:
"Our primary principle is no killing. Tonight, your role is to use your strength and shape-shifting to restrain, disarm, and disrupt. You're not even allowed to injure anyone unless absolutely necessary."
Venom propped up its head to peer at the scenery outside the Batmobile, but they were driving through the sewers—there wasn't much to see out there.
Compared to the outside, Venom preferred staring unblinkingly at Batman.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want you getting your hands dirty too soon," Batman said in a low voice.
He didn't want Venom to become another Jason Todd.
"The TV says this is called 'caring,'" Venom said innocently, looking at Batman. "Dad, you're caring about me, right?"
Batman didn't answer the question and continued:
"In non-combat situations, you must stay attached to me. You're not allowed to reveal your true form without reason. Without my explicit permission, you're forbidden from leaving my body or attempting to bond with anyone else."
Venom nodded repeatedly. In its eyes, Batman was the best host in the world—it had no interest in bonding with anyone else.
"In combat, my orders take absolute priority. When I say stop, you stop everything immediately and wait for my instructions."
As soon as Batman finished speaking, Venom chimed in: "Of course, Dad. I'll be really good."
Batman suddenly twisted the steering wheel. The Batmobile executed a near-180-degree drift and came to a steady stop in the sewer. Batman extended his hand to Venom:
"And the most important rule: everything we see, hear, and experience is top secret."
"You're forbidden from revealing my identity, the location of the Batcave, or any details of our tactics to anyone."
"Remember, we walk in darkness to serve the light. You have immense potential, but that potential must be controlled by will."
"Starting tonight, you're not just my student—you're the reliable partner I hope to have. Don't let me down."
Batman's voice was unusually grave. His face showed no expression, and his eyes locked onto Venom with unyielding intensity.
Venom was startled by Batman's demeanor. It instinctively shrank back, not immediately taking his hand.
"If there are no other questions, the mission starts now." Batman watched Venom, waiting for the symbiote to make its decision.
After just half a second of hesitation, Venom surged forward with a splat, wrapping around Batman's arm. Its voice rang out at the same time:
"No problem, Dad!"
"As Shocker said, Batman really is a creature of the night. We made all that noise on Rikers Island during the day, and he didn't show up to stop us."
"That means he's very likely coming for us tonight—after all, night is his home turf."
Vulture Toomes, wearing his emerald-green flight suit, crouched on the couch in his own living room, speaking to Shocker and Scorpion MacGargan sitting across from him:
"How are the preparations?"
Shocker nodded. He was also wearing his iron-gray kinetic-absorption battlesuit, with the fear gauntlets still on his fists:
"We've set up fifteen high-powered floodlights around the house that can simulate sunlight. Each one has a cross mounted on top."
"We'd better pray these actually work on Batman."
Vulture Toomes shook his head:
"I can't guarantee it, but both of you have faced Batman before. Based on what you've told me, he's practically indistinguishable from the vampires in legends."
"Even if he's completely unaffected by crosses, holy water from churches, or garlic, that doesn't mean we can't put up a fight."
Shocker clenched his fists. The gauntlets gave him a strong sense of security, and his voice carried much more confidence:
"One-on-one, none of us stands a chance. But three-on-one? The advantage is ours."
He turned to Scorpion MacGargan and asked:
"Mac, how's your compatibility with the suit?"
Scorpion MacGargan had barely participated in the conversation betweenShocker and Toomes. He was completely focused on feeling the green battlesuit on his body.
This was a sleeveless suit crafted by Shocker and Toomes from the leftover materials after building their own gear.
The suit was green, wrapping around everything except MacGargan's arms.
Unlike the striking wings on Vulture Toomes's back, Scorpion MacGargan had no wings. Instead, a three-meter-long retractable tail with a barbed stinger extended from his lower back.
As his name suggested, the suit MacGargan wore was the Scorpion battlesuit.
He looked incredibly excited, his scorpion tail raised high in the air, swaying left and right.
At Shocker's question, Scorpion MacGargan grinned. His tail suddenly shot forward.
Ding!
Like lightning, the tail that had been swaying gently a second ago pierced the doorknob in Toomes's house the next, precisely destroying the lock cylinder.
"If I'm not compatible with this suit, then no one in the world is," Scorpion MacGargan licked his lips. "It's like it was custom-made for me—the perfect weapon."
Meanwhile, outside Toomes's two-story American standalone house, Batman silently observed the hidden—but easily spotted by him—sunlight-simulating floodlights and the crosses mounted on them.
The straight-line distance between him and the three men inside was less than twenty meters. At this range, Batman could hear their conversation with crystal clarity.
"Toomes, Shocker, MacGargan."
"Toomes participated in the Rikers Island prison break plan, but it's possible he was manipulated by Shocker."
"Shocker's weapons seem upgraded. I don't yet know how much force Scorpion MacGargan's suit can withstand. Toomes's flight suit has no additional weapons."
Batman silently analyzed the situation inside the house and slowly moved to the window.
The curtains blocked his view from inside, but he didn't even need to activate the Arkham suit's detection functions. Peter Parker's body had already given him superhuman senses sharp enough to pinpoint the exact positions of all three men.
Crash!
The window shattered as Batman smashed through it. His wide cape flared open the moment he landed. The Fear Takedown—etched into his very instincts—was unleashed simultaneously on all three targets.
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