Chapter 44: Batman VS Green Goblin
Norman Osborn had become the Green Goblin. He who should have instilled fear in others was now startled by Batman.
Almost by instinct, the Goblin—injected with super soldier serum—maintained his "startled" appearance while subconsciously raising his arm defensively before his face.
In the hand raising that arm, he quietly concealed the short blade he'd been gripping tightly.
He was just waiting for Batman to reach him, then he'd plunge the knife into his body.
"Everything's as I predicted!"
Behind his mask, the Goblin's mouth stretched wide. He couldn't wait to see his blade injure his opponent, watch him lose combat capability, then be disemboweled.
From excitement, the Goblin's breathing grew rapid, his grip on the blade tightening further.
Whoosh!
Just as Batman was airborne, about to make contact with the Goblin, the blade sliced through air, stabbing viciously toward Batman.
"Everything is within my plan."
Batman remained expressionless. The moment he'd entered the chamber and seen the pumpkin bombs, blades, bullets, and micro-missiles, he'd already prepared to face the Goblin.
Whether the Goblin entered the chamber or not, whatever weapon he chose, Batman had planned responses within seconds.
This included pressing the "bat-beacon" button on his boot sole the instant he heard footsteps, and the serrated blade pre-deployed on his gauntlet's exterior.
The instant they made contact, a crisp "ting" rang out. Batman precisely blocked the Goblin's supposedly perfectly concealed blade with his gauntlet's pop-out blade, then applied slight pressure to send the knife flying.
The Goblin froze. After his blade was knocked away, he instinctively threw a punch.
'Based on Norman's destructive force on Oscorp's sublevel three, his physical strength exceeds what I learned about 'Captain America' when hacking the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.'
'But I still need to control my strength, test him, avoid killing him with one strike.'
'Based on continuous testing of Peter's body strength plus the Batsuit's protective capability, Norman Osborn's strikes remain within tolerable damage range.'
This was likewise part of Batman's plan while clinging to the chamber ceiling.
Now facing the Goblin's punch, Batman merely crossed his arms to block rather than directly grabbing and breaking the man's arm.
BOOM!
Batman flew backward, heavily striking the chamber wall. The hard cement surface shattered in a large section, half his body embedded in the wall.
'Norman Osborn lacks professional training. From his attack and blade-concealment technique, his close combat relies entirely on the super serum's enhanced reaction speed, strength, and instinctive behavior.'
Batman jumped down from the wall, having assessed Norman's capabilities.
"Heh-heh—"
The Goblin laughed neurotically. His foot pressed hard, body suddenly charging Batman. Another blade appeared in his palm.
Seeing Batman just extracting himself from the wall, the Goblin stabbed straight toward Batman's heart.
But this time Batman didn't continue testing. He seized the Goblin's wrist and twisted hard.
Able to shatter walls barehanded, able to send Batman flying into a wall—the Goblin's physical capabilities had been greatly enhanced by super soldier serum, allowing his body to withstand his own super strength.
But the Goblin's formidable physique couldn't handle Peter Parker's twenty-five tons, which under Batman's professional technique could even reach thirty tons.
CRACK!
The Goblin's arm broke with a snap.
Batman didn't foolishly endure damage, leaving Peter's precisely mastered abilities unused to instead pit "Bruce Wayne's" strength against the Goblin.
He pursued efficiency, not self-indulgent sentimentality.
So the Goblin's upturned mouth now twisted downward in agony. He couldn't spare time to clutch his broken wrist, instead rapidly pressing a button on his intact hand.
Whoosh!
The green blade stored with the pumpkin bombs flew to the Goblin's hand in an instant. He gripped the hilt single-handed, then his green suit and blade seemed to conduct electricity, lighting up.
The Goblin retreated while swinging the blade with tremendous force.
Though completely lacking technique, the super soldier serum's speed enhancement made the green blade-light seem like an impenetrable sphere.
Pfft.
Batman raised his arm. With the extremely faint sound of a nitrogen spring, contained high-pressure nitrogen shot webbing fluid at extreme speed. It met air in an instant, solidifying into thread flying toward the Goblin.
Sizzle—the black webbing met green blade-light but failed to slow the swinging speed. Instead, the webbing seemed to evaporate and disappear.
Plop, plop.
In the chamber, the flying bats knew nothing of evasion. The instant green blade-light touched them, they fell to the ground.
Watching the Goblin who'd made himself like a porcupine with no opening, Batman couldn't help frowning slightly.
If he had his cape, Batman could easily use it to break the Goblin's blade-light and take him down effortlessly.
But now his back had no cape—only the device salvaged from Spider-Slayer's glider.
The Goblin swung his green blade tirelessly while slowly retreating toward the glider in the chamber. He jumped backward.
The glider steadily lifted the Goblin airborne. Just as Batman was about to fire webbing again to stick to the glider, a roaring sound came from behind him.
Besides this chamber's glider, there was the one the Goblin used when going out!
The latter now charged madly toward Batman. During flight, its front deployed two sharp spikes—undoubtedly creating two massive holes in anyone they struck.
BOOM!
Batman dodged sideways. As it passed him, he grabbed it and slammed it heavily to the ground.
In that same instant, the Goblin used his blade to cut through the chamber ceiling, ascending on the original glider and fleeing into the distance.
"Hahaha!"
Mad laughter echoed through the night sky. When Batman pursued outside, he could only see the glider's tail flame disappearing into the horizon.
The guy had escaped.
Batman remained calm, not continuing to watch, instead returning to the chamber.
Turning off the bat-beacon on his boot sole, Batman turned his gaze toward the bombs and weapons in the chamber.
Just as he planned to clean out everything to prevent Norman from returning for them to continue his crimes, Harry Osborn's voice suddenly rang out.
"Father?"
Awakened by Batman and the Goblin's battle sounds, Harry stood before the study bookshelf uncertainly, staring at the eerie green chamber inside.
Thunk!
A smoke grenade flew from the chamber, bursting with a pop. Harry was immediately engulfed in white smoke.
Before he could react, Batman's figure rushed from the chamber. A controlled chop knocked him unconscious.
When Harry woke and rose from the floor, passing through the bookshelf, he saw only an empty room glowing with eerie green light—nothing inside.