On the top floor of a sixteen-story building in Hell's Kitchen, the exterior looked worn and abandoned, its windows grimy and cracked. But inside, the space was lavish beyond imagination—imported carpets, solid wood furniture, and soft lighting that exuded quiet authority.
Kingpin stood by the window.
He leaned on his cane, his massive frame unmoving, his silhouette towering over the city below.
Ten minutes passed.
He did not blink.
His gaze pierced through Hell's Kitchen, cutting across rooftops and streets, fixed on the distant sky above central Manhattan.
There, a brilliant searchlight pierced the clouds.
And within that light—
A Bat-shaped symbol burned against the night sky.
"Boss?"
Behind him stood a short, brown-haired man with a compact but unnaturally muscular build. His name was Walker, one of Kingpin's most trusted subordinates.
Kingpin finally spoke.
"Walker," he said calmly, turning his broad shoulders away from the window, "go find Maddie's father."
Walker blinked in confusion.
"Maddie?" he asked. "The little girl you saw on the street a few days ago? The one who got separated from her father?"
Kingpin nodded slowly.
For a brief moment, his face softened, his voice carrying an almost fatherly warmth.
"Tell him this," Kingpin continued. "If he doesn't want to lose his daughter again, he will climb the Statue of Liberty tomorrow night."
"He will demand that Batman appear."
"And he will demand that Batman reveal his true identity."
Walker's eyes widened slightly.
"I'll give him a large sum of money," Kingpin added. "Call it… compensation."
Kingpin turned back toward the window.
"I want to see whether that man is truly a devil born from legend," he said quietly, "or just an ordinary human pretending to be a god."
His tone hardened.
"Don't let this lead back to me."
Walker bowed his head.
"Yes, Boss."
He turned and left quickly.
Walker understood better than most.
First, there was the man in the tight red suit—Daredevil—roaming Hell's Kitchen, gathering evidence, arresting Kingpin's men, and hunting for Kingpin himself.
Now, Batman appeared intermittently, sending more men to the police.
Walker knew Kingpin was angry.
But at this critical moment—when Kingpin was on the verge of seizing absolute control of Osborn Group—he would not allow anyone to gain leverage.
Kingpin's grip tightened around his cane.
"Three days," he muttered to himself. "At most, three more days."
"Once Osborn Group is mine, Daredevil and Batman will be nothing more than clowns."
His eyes remained locked on the Bat-Signal glowing above Manhattan.
---
Meanwhile, on Roosevelt Island, between Manhattan and Queens.
Black Cat crouched beside the unconscious burly man, her expression grim.
"Very few people have ever seen Kingpin's real face," she said quietly.
"Only a handful of people truly earn his trust."
She glanced at the scattered bodies around them.
"All orders flow through those few. They imitate him, pass instructions downward, layer by layer."
"That's why Kingpin is almost impossible to find."
Black Cat clenched her fist.
"I've gained his initial trust," she continued. "But if everyone here is injured—and I walk away without a scratch—that trust will shatter immediately."
Her eyes hardened.
She reached down and picked up the pistol the burly man had pulled earlier.
Without hesitation, she raised it and aimed at her own thigh.
Bang—
The shot never landed.
A Batarang flashed through the air, ripping the gun from her hand. The bullet grazed past harmlessly.
"There's no need for that," Batman said calmly as he stepped forward, tossing the pistol into the East River.
Black Cat stared at him, stunned.
"But I have to keep Kingpin from suspecting me," she said blankly.
Batman turned his head toward one of the buyers lying nearby.
Ellie.
The thin woman with the nose ring.
"She's your solution," Batman said.
Black Cat hurried over and checked Ellie's condition.
Unconscious.
But unharmed.
Unlike the others, most of her bones were intact.
Batman had been careful.
"You planned this?" Black Cat asked, surprised.
Instead of answering, Batman delivered a controlled chop to the back of Black Cat's head.
Her body went limp instantly.
Batman caught her before she hit the ground.
"I plan everything," he said quietly.
He searched her sleeves and pockets, retrieving her recorder and camera.
Inside was carefully collected evidence—mentions of Kingpin selling cigarettes, coded conversations, timestamps.
Batman did not fully trust Black Cat.
Even though Kingpin was responsible for her father's death.
Right now, he trusted only himself.
He also pulled a miniature tracking device from his utility belt and concealed it within the white plush collar of Black Cat's leather suit.
Finding Kingpin and collecting evidence were tasks Batman pursued simultaneously.
Once everything was done, Batman tied the entire group with black spider silk and dropped them near a police station in Queens.
---
The weather in New York worsened.
Heavy clouds swallowed the sky, completely blotting out the moon.
Against this darkness, the Bat-Signal burned brighter than ever.
For a fleeting moment, even Batman felt disoriented.
It was as if he had returned to Gotham.
But the feeling vanished quickly.
He raised his hand and fired black spider silk, anchoring himself to the wall of a tall building.
Without a cape, Batman detached a glider module salvaged from a Spider-Slayer unit and launched himself forward.
His destination was clear.
The Manhattan Police Department.
The Bat-Signal had been lit there for a reason.
And it was where Batman intended to go.
Dr. Otto.
The case files.
The truth.
---
Agent Phil waited anxiously on the rooftop.
But Batman never appeared.
Instead, he infiltrated from below.
Batman hacked into the police station's internal surveillance system, shutting it down silently, and moved directly to Chief George Stacy's office.
The files were there.
Using enhanced vision, Batman read through the documents in total darkness.
His assessment was confirmed.
Dr. Otto's tentacles were controlled by a chip.
The chip had been destroyed by electroshock tranquilizer rounds used during his arrest.
But something else caught Batman's attention.
Among the files lay a document bearing the seal of the Homeland Strategic Defense, Counterattack and Logistics Support Bureau.
It stated:
All victims' families had been compensated.
Dr. Otto was exempt from punishment due to non-subjective criminal intent.
Two options followed.
One: Serve the organization.
Two: Remain under permanent supervision—freedom effectively revoked.
"This organization…" Batman thought, eyes narrowing.
"Multinational. Enormous authority."
"And authorized to research the Tesseract."
Suddenly, things clicked.
No wonder the supernatural data he once searched for was so scarce.
It wasn't missing.
It was controlled.
"Perhaps," Batman thought, "it's time I hacked them."
---
Three floors above.
Agent Phil stood on the rooftop, gripping a head of garlic tightly.
His hands reeked of the pungent smell.
Buzz.
His earpiece crackled.
"Coulson. Stand down."
Agent Phil stiffened.
"Why?" he whispered. "I'm still waiting to meet Batman."
The voice on the other end sounded exhausted.
"While you were waiting, he hacked into our system."
"Our entire system."
"What?!" Agent Phil's eyes widened. "Are you certain it was him?"
"Yes," the Director replied helplessly. "He accessed everything right in front of a dozen senior technicians."
"Like we were… naked."
"He even left a blank file with a Bat symbol."
Agent Phil dropped the garlic.
"Did you track him?"
The reply came after a pause.
"He didn't hide."
"He's inside the police station."
"Directly beneath your feet."
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