Batman strictly controlled his strength, not unleashing the full force of Peter Parker's body, which currently exceeded thirty tons of power, right from the start.
He needed to first probe the current durability of Vulture Toomes, Scorpion Mac, and Shocker Schulman, then decide the range within which to restrain his power.
With a crash of shattering window glass, Batman launched his attack on all three simultaneously.
"Fear Takedown," as the name implied, was Batman using his exceptional stealth to suddenly strike the enemy, rapidly knocking out multiple foes in succession while they were gripped by fear. In Gotham, he had suppressed numerous villains led by Scarecrow and countless henchmen in a single night, and not long ago, he had nearly wiped out the Manhattan gangs in half an evening—all relying on this very technique.
An ordinary person could be floored with a single controlled punch or kick from Batman, but the three in this room were no ordinary men; the battle suits they wore absorbed most of the force from Batman's strikes.
"Probe complete."
Batman silently adjusted his power as his wrist flicked, sending a batarang flying toward a corner of the room's wall. Instead of embedding deeply into the wall upon contact, the batarang ricocheted off at the precise angle Batman had calculated in an instant, striking the room's light bulb.
Pop!
It was deep into the night. As the batarang shattered the bulb, the room plunged into darkness—only Batman's eyes glowed faintly white.
After a brief probe to gauge the trio's resilience, Batman immediately recalibrated his strength.
"Schulman! He's here!"
Scorpion Mac roared, unscathed after taking a lash from the edge of Batman's cape across his chest. He swung the hooked tail behind him and charged straight at Batman.
"I know!"
Shocker Schulman responded instantly in the darkness, clenching his fists and unleashing a powerful air-punch toward a spot in the room.
Bzzz—
Amid the low hum of vibration, the daylight lamp circuit they had pre-rigged activated. Blinding floodlights flared to life one after another, illuminating the room from every direction.
Vulture Toomes was sent flying by Batman's punch, but since Batman had held back on that first strike, Toomes emerged unharmed. Mid-air, he twisted, unfurling his wings with a whoosh and streaking toward another corner of the room at blinding speed.
There lay the holy water they had retrieved from the church earlier that day—prepared specifically to counter Batman.
After triggering the daylight circuit with his punch, Shocker Schulman spun quickly, snatched a crucifix from the table behind the sofa, and hurled it skyward. He followed with another vibro-gauntlet blast.
Under the shockwave, the crucifix whistled through the air, streaking toward Batman like lightning.
Scorpion Mac whipped his hooked tail in from another angle, stabbing at Batman while both hands stayed busy—one clutching a bulb of garlic, shoving it toward Batman's exposed chin.
From the moment Batman crashed through the window, only a few seconds had passed, yet the three coordinated seamlessly, clearly having rehearsed their roles and anticipated Batman's arrival tonight.
They had miscalculated one crucial detail: Batman was not a vampire.
Garlic, holy water, crucifixes, daylight lamps… None of these held the slightest effect on him.
Clink!
Spider-Sense combined with Peter Parker's superhuman agility allowed Batman's fingers to intercept the crucifix just before it reached his face. At the same moment, his other fist—almost as if it had eyes—blocked Scorpion Mac's garlic-wielding hands.
Batman's arm didn't budge an inch, but Scorpion Mac let out a strange yelp, feeling as though he had slammed into solid steel; the impact left his hands throbbing.
The next second, Batman released the crucifix, letting it fall toward the floor. He whipped his cape forward, shielding himself completely from the holy water Vulture Toomes splashed his way.
Clang!
The crucifix hit the ground. At the same instant, every daylight lamp outside the building blazed to life, bathing Batman's silhouette in harsh light.
Pop, pop, pop…
Concealed beneath the successive clicks of the lamps, another attack struck silently.
Batman had blocked the holy water, the garlic, and the crucifix—but Scorpion Mac's tail hook had only now unleashed its true force.
The tip of the tail gleamed coldly under the floodlights. In that moment, the eyes of Scorpion Mac, Vulture Toomes, and Shocker Schulman all locked onto Batman.
It seemed, in the next second, Batman's body would be pierced clean through by that barbed tail.
"Simulated sunlight, crucifixes, holy water—all useless against Batman. He's not a vampire?" Vulture Toomes clung to the ceiling, a nagging sense that something was off gnawing at him. Their entire group had treated "Batman is a vampire" as fact and built their battle plan around it. Yet the anti-vampire measures had failed completely, leaving Scorpion's tail—never intended as the primary weapon—as their best shot at victory.
"He has a shadow. That at least proves Batman is some kind of living creature, and anything alive can be defeated."
Vulture Toomes stared at the shadow behind Batman and silently repeated the thought.
Scorpion Mac's lips curled into a smirk as he eyed Batman—close enough to touch, overwhelmed by their relentless triple assault. Rescued from Ryker's by Shocker Schulman and briefed on the plan to take down Batman, Scorpion had donned his suit without hesitation. He hadn't forgotten how Batman had bound him to subway tracks, terrorizing him. Once he took Batman down, Scorpion planned to strap him to the rails and let him taste that same despair.
Last time, he hadn't seen clearly. This time, Scorpion saw it: beneath the mask, a human chin. Beneath that black armor was just another man—like them.
And no man could withstand his hook.
Shocker Schulman's heart was in his throat, eyes unblinking on Batman. He had waited far too long for this moment.
"He has a shadow, so he's not the ghost those three idiots claimed. Scorpion's tail hook is the ultimate weapon Toomes and I poured our hearts into—it has to…"
Staring at Batman and his shadow, Shocker's realization hit in a flash. The next instant, he sensed something wrong.
Every wall of the house was ringed with daylight lamps, meticulously positioned to turn the room bright as noon… In conditions like these, how could Batman even have a shadow?!
Schulman didn't have time to warn Scorpion. The next second, he witnessed the impossible.
Batman's shadow—which should not exist—writhed to life. In the blink of an eye, it morphed into a monstrous maw. A scarlet tongue lashed out, coiling tightly around Scorpion Mac's hook.
Crunch!
Beneath the tongue's grip, the jagged, tooth-lined jaws clamped down on the scorpion tail, locking the hook—bearer of the trio's hopes—immobile.