"Adrian Toomes, you were manipulated."
Batman had knocked out Shocker and Scorpion and bound them to the television tower atop the Empire State Building. He spoke to Vulture, who had been stripped of his green flight suit:
"Shocker was just using your technology and your ideals to drag you into the swamp of crime."
Batman didn't knock Vulture out. Instead, he let him stand nearby and witness the entire interrogation of Shocker and Scorpion. He didn't subject Adrian Toomes himself to any interrogation tactics.
Vulture had participated in the prison break orchestrated by Shocker, but it all began with Shocker's hatred for Batman, combined with Toomes' own technical skills and his dream of flight.
"Shocker said I was already on his side, that you'd come for me eventually. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon."
Vulture wrapped his arms around himself in the biting wind, trying to ward off the night gusts at four hundred meters up. His voice trembled from the cold.
Without the flight suit, he was just an ordinary man past his prime.
Batman cast a disapproving glance at Vulture. Before tonight's operation began, he had already analyzed the motives behind Vulture's partnership with Shocker.
At its core, Adrian Toomes was simply a man who yearned to soar freely through the sky.
Batman didn't resort to harsh intimidation or coercion. This was a man with no prior criminal record, who hadn't armed himself even after donning the flight suit.
Even when confronting Batman in that room, all he'd done was splash holy water that was utterly ineffective against the Dark Knight.
Walking in the shadows, Batman held himself to an extraordinarily strict standard, but he was never stingy about giving others a chance.
From a legal standpoint, Vulture's involvement in the prison break was a crime in itself; he had to face the consequences.
But in terms of motive, Adrian Toomes had been lured in by Shocker. His original purpose in building the flight suit was simply to realize his dream.
And from a technical perspective, Vulture's talent was both dangerous and precious—it needed proper guidance.
Vulture wasn't a deranged super-criminal. He was an inventor who had taken a wrong turn.
Batman could tell the difference. His ultimate goal wasn't mere punishment; it was to stop crime, protect the world, and save every soul that could be saved.
Beep beep beep.
Batman opened the portable computer in his Arkham suit armor and pulled up the files on the inmates who had escaped from Ryker's Island.
Murder, arson, drug trafficking, shootings...
Like Kingpin and Scorpion, every prisoner locked up in Ryker's was far from innocent. Nearly all of them carried heavy rap sheets.
Batman displayed the criminals' information right in front of Adrian Toomes and asked,
"According to my investigation, you have family and friends of your own. If those inmates you freed end up hurting them, who do you think would be at fault?"
"Spare me, Batman," Vulture said, his tongue feeling numb and bitter in his mouth. "I just took Shocker at his word. I thought that once I helped him build the gear, there was no way you'd ever let me go."
"I... I just wanted so badly to make my dream come true."
Batman's expression remained impassive, his voice flat:
"Dreams are no excuse for crime, Toomes."
"There's nothing wrong with building a flight suit, but using it to aid a prison break is a complete mistake."
Vulture didn't know how to respond to Batman.
Batman didn't say anything more to Vulture either. With one hand, he hoisted Shocker and Scorpion into the air; with the other, he grabbed Vulture and headed toward the Queens precinct.
The Queens precinct was still brightly lit in the dead of night.
It had only been a week since Martin Li's death. Most of the members from his former FEAST shelter were still being held as suspects, awaiting release or sentencing.
Thud! Thud!
Two heavy thumps echoed at the precinct's entrance, followed by bloodcurdling screams.
The officers working late rushed out in a panic. On the ground in front of the precinct, writhing and howling in pain, were Shocker and Scorpion.
After a quick check to confirm they weren't rigged with body bombs and verifying that these two were former members of Kingpin's gang, the Queens precinct cops immediately slapped handcuffs on them and shoved them into cells.
From the apartment building across from the Queens precinct, Vulture watched Batman in the shadows, awaiting his fate.
Batman watched Vulture in return. Aiding a prison break was a serious felony; Batman wouldn't sweep it under the rug just because the motive was pure or no one had been hurt.
But he wouldn't simply haul Vulture off to prison either. Batman would guide him toward the right path instead of letting him spiral further down the road of crime:
"I'm still taking you to the precinct to face trial under the law."
Vulture's face fell; he bowed his head slightly. No one wanted to go to jail, and he was no exception.
Batman continued:
"Once you've served your sentence, if you still want to achieve your dream of flying through the sky, come find me."
"I'll help you put your abilities to better use."
The light had faded from Vulture's eyes, but now it flared back to life. He snapped his head up to stare at Batman.
"Two choices: accept the law's judgment and walk the right path, or reject the offer and waste your genius behind bars. Which do you choose?" Batman asked in a low voice.
Vulture still had a conscience. Batman was willing to give him a chance.
"I choose the first one," Vulture said.
Batman gave a slight nod and pointed to the external stairs of the apartment building where they stood, signaling Vulture to turn himself in.
Batman didn't trust him just because of a few words. Even Vulture's expression, speech, heartbeat, and breathing showed no signs of deception.
Having him walk down those stairs on his own and surrender at the precinct was Batman's final test.
A few minutes later, from the rooftop, Batman silently watched as Vulture knocked on the precinct doors, confessed his crimes, and was handcuffed. Then the Dark Knight vanished into the shadows.
Next, Batman would anonymously provide the precinct with every piece of evidence in Vulture's favor—proof of manipulation, lack of malicious intent, no direct harm—steering the case toward a plea deal, reduced sentence, or probation.
When Toomes finished serving his time, Batman hoped to see a scientist putting his intellect to good use... or a superhero still yearning to soar through the skies.