Chapter 36: The Tesseract
'Norman Osborn's hair shows signs of being flattened, but in all his public appearances, he's never had a habit of wearing hats.'
Batman followed Harry into Osborn Manor, taking in the first floor's grand reception hall at a glance.
'Before opening the manor door, he wore a work white shirt rather than home pajamas. Based on the shirt's wrinkles, he'd been curled in a fetal position on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket.'
'This posture couldn't flatten Norman's hair in the pattern created by wearing a hat or helmet.'
Batman often operated in his suit. For proper fit, the helmet portion had to conform tightly to his head shape. Therefore, after removing the suit, he needed to fix his hairstyle.
He absolutely couldn't let anyone discover "Bruce is Batman," so he was exceptionally cautious about details.
Norman clearly hadn't noticed this. His hair was even pressed tightly against his scalp. To ordinary people, this might just seem like Norman under tremendous pressure, neglecting details.
But to Batman's eyes, this was tantamount to Norman dancing naked while shouting "I have problems."
However, this at most added weight to Batman's suspicions. It couldn't prove Norman was the killer who murdered those Level 3 researchers.
Walking with Harry through the manor's corridors, Batman used covert methods to place adhesive listening devices in various corners.
The sedative gas's effective duration wasn't long, but even after wearing off, Harry's emotions remained relatively stable. This had something to do with "Peter Parker" being nearby.
Batman didn't brush Harry off either. He listened carefully as Harry told him things Harry himself probably didn't know what he was saying, occasionally offering comfort.
"Thanks, Peter." Before leaving, Harry walked Batman to the manor entrance. "I'm much better now. You should go to school, or Aunt May will definitely worry."
"I will."
Batman spoke, declining Harry's offer to personally escort him before turning to leave.
'Listening devices have formed a surveillance network in Osborn Manor... Harry is currently in his study.'
Walking some distance away, Batman pulled out a miniature earpiece from his pocket, making judgments based on intercepted sounds.
He didn't continue leaving Osborn Manor. Instead, he circled back, found the batarang that had released the sedative gas, then truly departed.
'School isn't necessary, but for exams or assessments I must go to avoid...' Batman paused internally. 'Avoid Aunt May's worry.'
"She's a key figure maintaining Peter's identity. I can't let her develop any suspicions."
Hailing a taxi, Batman leaned back and closed his eyes:
"Brooklyn, Stark Tower."
Tony had purchased Batman's half-finished AI model for one hundred million dollars. Over half was paying for the model itself—its ahead-of-its-time thinking and knowledge.
Besides the hundred-million-dollar payment, Tony Stark still hired Batman and his newly established shell company as technical consultant, as per their verbal wager.
Until Batman's commercial empire was truly established, Peter Parker's identity needed a convincing income source. Stark Industries' technical consultant position was temporarily reliable.
"Peter!"
Just stepping from the elevator, Batman heard Tony Stark's greeting:
"Thanks to your AI model, Jarvis's learning capability is stunning... I'm now willing to admit you're slightly more genius than me. Just a tiny bit."
"Tony." Batman looked at Tony Stark, who seemed perpetually holding a drink.
"Want one?" Tony raised his glass.
Batman declined:
"I don't drink."
Tony drained his glass, then poured another:
"Then you're missing much fun... Though perhaps precisely because you stay constantly sober, you developed this era-spanning AI before me."
"War is often the cradle of technological progress. But clearly there's no war now. How did you 'boom' leap ahead of the world technologically?"
Batman looked at Tony's noticeably heavier dark circles than before:
"I studied some WWII-era technology. Many techniques provided certain inspiration."
"Including some inventions by your father, Howard Stark."
"From a purely technical angle, some of his design concepts... were incredibly ahead of their time. Especially some pioneering work in energy fields."
Tony shrugged indifferently. He didn't want discussing his father with outsiders, but Batman mentioning "energy" struck a chord:
"You're interested in energy fields?"
Batman didn't speak—tacit acknowledgment.
Now Tony seemed somewhat excited. Having been outmatched by Batman in artificial intelligence, he somewhat impatiently pulled Batman to Stark Tower's underground level.
Here stood a massive, horizontally-placed ring device composed of enormous electromagnetic coils and a complex energy core, currently emitting bright blue-white light.
"This cold fusion reactor is called the 'Arc.' I improved and built it based on blueprints my father left. It can provide nearly unlimited electricity for the entire tower with zero pollution."
Tony told Batman with somewhat boastful tone.
"Stable, but easily destroyed." Batman evaluated the Arc Reactor. "I'd rather develop a small, portable energy source... Like what newspapers once mentioned—that square object Howard salvaged from the Arctic."
"Unfortunately, only that one record exists. I've barely seen that blue cube in any subsequent documentation."
Speaking here, Batman revealed his intent. From entering Stark Tower, nearly every word Tony said was within Batman's plan.
Batman had successfully steered the topic toward the "Tesseract"—part of his plan to return to Gotham.
Short-term, Batman didn't plan hacking the CIA again. Instead, he'd try learning about the Tesseract from Tony.
"You mean the 'Tesseract'? My father's materials described that thing... It was researched by an organization my father helped establish, called... what was it?"
Tony pinched his brow, thinking hard:
"Seems like... Strategic Homeland Defense Enforcement... something Bureau? Anyway, a multi-nationally supervised yet independently operating organization."
.....
"I'm an agent from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. I'm Phil Coulson."
In Manhattan Police Station's detention room, a gray-suited man stood before Dr. Otto:
"Otto Gunther Octavius. Can we talk?"
***
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