After a month-long interval, the police precincts across New York's various districts were bustling once again.
Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn... Police cars sped through streets and alleys, sirens wailing, bringing back criminals who, after being subjected to Batman's violent interrogations, would rather turn themselves in than continue facing that cold-blooded vampire.
Just like last time, after being hauled back to the station, these criminals—aside from confessing their crimes in an attempt to trade for longer detention or even prison terms—muttered certain words over and over again.
The words most frequently on their lips were "Batman," "Ghost," "Vampire," and the like.
"Auger, any leads?"
In the Manhattan precinct, Captain George Stacy, draped in his police uniform, suppressed the urge to yawn as he asked his assistant.
"What leads could I have..." Assistant Auger looked bitter. "Who knows what fit that vampire is throwing now?"
Captain George Stacy finally couldn't help but yawn. Just a few minutes ago, he had finished dinner at home with his wife and daughter.
Just as he was planning to take a bath and get a good night's rest, the phone lines for the night shift operators blew up.
This wasn't what gave Captain George Stacy the biggest headache; rather, it was another matter triggered by this:
"Whether he's a vampire or not, the NYPD hands over all cases involving Batman to us at the Manhattan precinct, simply because that guy made his first appearance in Manhattan."
"If this keeps up, Rikers Island won't be able to hold them all." Assistant Auger looked troubled. "We can't just dump all the criminals into that mental hospital in the northern suburbs, can we?"
"I'll apply to the higher-ups to build a new prison to house the criminals." Captain Stacy shook his head. "From an objective point of view, Batman's appearance should be considered a good thing."
Assistant Auger curled his lips; he didn't think that vampire causing trouble again—forcing everyone in the precinct to work overtime—counted as anything good.
"You and I both know how rotten New York is beneath its bright and shiny exterior. Crimes are happening almost every moment."
George Stacy continued, "If Batman's existence can lower the crime rate, perhaps he isn't our enemy, but a partner."
Assistant Auger looked at Captain Stacy as if the man hadn't woken up yet and was talking in his sleep.
"Captain, I need to remind you... up to now, we haven't actually seen Batman even once."
Captain George Stacy also realized that what he just said was somewhat inappropriate. After all, Batman was a wanted criminal on the NYPD's list, and he was a police officer; their identities were naturally opposed.
"Keep what I just said between us. While you're at it, go collect the operators' records and see if you can get any useful information from those criminals who turned themselves in," Captain Stacy said.
Assistant Auger nodded and left the Captain's office.
"A month ago, you defeated Kingpin at Oscorp, and then started sending criminals to the police station like a madman. Back then, I could understand that you didn't want Kingpin's remnants to reorganize into new gangs."
After Assistant Auger left, Captain Stacy pulled open his desk drawer and took out a Batarang from the very back. It was slightly longer than a finger, with sharp edges.
This Batarang had originally been stuck in the battle suit of the "Green Goblin," Norman Osborn.
Later, after Norman was diagnosed with a split personality and sent to the Ravencroft Institute, this Batarang was privately kept by Captain George Stacy.
By the rules, this action was neither legal nor reasonable, but Captain Stacy had other ideas.
He wanted to use this Batarang to find Batman, though he hadn't succeeded so far.
Outside the Captain's office, the sounds of footsteps, turning pages, and ringing telephones rose and fell, as noisy as a bar.
"Norman Osborn has been released. He's returned to the Oscorp Group. This has caused Oscorp employees to frantically submit resignation letters, terrified that the tragedy that happened at Oscorp before might befall them again."
Captain Stacy toyed with the Batarang, his ears automatically filtering out the chaotic noise outside as he thought carefully.
"Maybe I should pay a visit to Norman Osborn to see if I can indirectly contact Coulson—who claimed to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent before—or Batman through him."
Of course, not right now. It was already late at night, and besides, Batman was still out there continuously sending criminals into the station.
Amidst his thoughts, more than ten minutes passed. Auger returned with a stack of documents and handed them to Captain Stacy.
"There is indeed news. Almost all the criminals mentioned without exception that 'Batman seems to be looking for a woman'."
Batman looking for a woman?
Captain George Stacy's first reaction was to suspect he heard wrong. His second reaction was that this plot point seemed familiar.
Last year, the great author Stephenie Meyer published a book called Twilight. It also seemed to feature vampires coming into conflict with other forces over a woman.
Captain Stacy hadn't read the book, but his daughter Gwen Stacy was a loyal fan of Twilight. When the book was first released, Gwen shared quite a bit of the plot with him during dinner.
"Did Batman mention the woman's specific appearance to them?" Captain Stacy asked.
"Height around 5.5 feet, white female, good figure." Assistant Auger flipped through the materials compiled by the operators and said, "...There are over a million women in New York who fit this requirement. The one Batman is looking for might just be one of them."
Captain Stacy picked up the phone. While dialing the number keys, he said to Assistant Auger:
"Auger, go check if there are any missing person cases fitting this description recently. Since Batman is asking for her whereabouts through criminals, that woman definitely isn't lying safely in bed sleeping right now."
"Also, send some men to our old precinct address and get that searchlight for me. I'm going to use it later."
Assistant Auger nodded, placed the documents on the desk, turned, and left the office.
Just then, Captain George Stacy's call went through. A somewhat lazy female voice came from the other end of the line, evidently woken up by the phone.
"Dad?"
"Gwen, do you remember that book you always shared the plot of with me last year? Twilight, the novel about a vampire and a human female."
On the other end of the phone, Gwen Stacy was groggy, not yet fully awake from her dream, and unaware that her father, Captain Stacy, was currently frantic over Batman matters.
"The book is in my room. If you want to read it, go in and get it. It's on the second shelf of the bookcase, far left. Remember to close the door, Dad."
"Gwen, I'm not at home right now." Captain Stacy rubbed his forehead. "Tell me about that part of the story, okay?"
Lying in bed, Gwen Stacy rubbed her eyes and sat up.
"Which part do you want to hear?"
"The part where the female lead goes missing and that vampire searches for her like a madman," Captain Stacy said.
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