Even though Devil Dinosaur was far smaller than the prehistoric Giant Tyrannosaurus Rex once was, at fifteen meters long and standing four to five meters tall, the creature was still far too conspicuous for a metropolis like Manhattan.
"Lunella, I'm handing Devil Dinosaur over to you tonight. Be ready to receive him." After sending the message to the young girl, Lunella, Batman turned his attention toward the scientists on North Brother Island.
Dr. Banner was dozing off; Professor Morbius was practicing low-altitude flight; and Dr. Otto Octavius sat with a look of fanatical intensity before a console featuring at least a hundred buttons, busily working on something.
"Batman, look what I've discovered," Dr. Otto said, not pausing his work. "Based on my analysis of the information Hawkeye sent back from Japan, this so-called 'Antarctic Vibranium' is highly likely a new metal we have yet to master."
Batman had far too much on his plate; with the scientists of North Brother Island serving as his logistics team, he no longer felt the need to handle every detail personally.
Clinton Barton, operating under the mantle of Ronin, had dismantled the Dark Wind group in Japan and obtained their data on Antarctic Vibranium. Batman had handed that data over to Dr. Otto to process.
"Explain," Batman said, stepping beside Dr. Otto.
Dr. Otto handed a series of data sheets to Batman.
"Though they call it 'Antarctic Vibranium,' its specific atomic structure is different. It doesn't absorb vibrations; instead, it actively propagates a vibration field to its surroundings. This field can liquefy nearby metals... Therefore, theoretically, Wakandan Vibranium can also be converted into Antarctic Vibranium."
"Does the data mention the Dark Wind group's reserves of Antarctic Vibranium?" Batman asked.
"Quite the opposite. They don't stock Antarctic Vibranium. Instead, they held a certain amount of Wakandan Vibranium purchased from an international mercenary named Ulysses Klaue," Dr. Otto replied.
"When was this?" At this moment, most of Batman's mental capacity was still occupied with the logistics of delivering Devil Dinosaur to Lunella.
"A year ago," Dr. Otto said, glancing at the Dark Wind group's trade records.
"A year ago?" Batman snapped back to the present, looking intently at Dr. Otto.
Dr. Otto nodded.
"That's right. A year ago, this mercenary Ulysses Klaue suddenly sold Vibranium on the international black market. The total weight was about three kilograms. Kenji Oyama, the leader of the Dark Wind group, bought most of it, leaving less than four hundred grams on the black market..."
Batman immediately thought of the finger-sized piece of Vibranium he had purchased on the black market before the Wakandan Prince, T'Challa, had sought him out.
That piece of Vibranium weighed 370 grams, matching the weight Dr. Otto mentioned.
And when T'Challa had found him while they were on Roosevelt Island, T'Challa had mentioned that the Vibranium had gone missing exactly one year ago.
"Where is the Vibranium purchased by the Dark Wind group stored?" Batman was more concerned with this issue.
"It's all used up." Dr. Otto spread his hands. "The Dark Wind group used a tiny amount of an Antarctic catalyst to liquefy the Wakandan Vibranium and processed it, recombining it with other metals into an alloy. Let me see what it's called... It's called Adamantium."
So that's where Kingpin's Adamantium skeleton came from... Batman nodded. Just as he was about to continue researching the Adamantium data with Dr. Otto, Venom Robin suddenly spoke over the encrypted comms from the Batcave beneath Manhattan's City Hall:
"The Bat-Signal is on."
Batman and Dr. Otto exchanged a look. Together, they left the console and walked to the laboratory window to look out.
The sky outside was pitch black; no lights were visible.
"Robin, verify the situation," Batman said in a low voice. "I don't see the Bat-Signal."
"Of course you don't." There was a hint of confusion in Venom Robin's voice. "It's not coming from the direction of the Manhattan Police Department; it's coming from Hell's Kitchen. And the light is very dim—even I didn't see it right away."
Batman nodded slightly. North Brother Island was separated from Manhattan by the East River and most of Brooklyn.
Unless it was the high-powered Bat-Signal from the GCPD that could shine directly onto the clouds, other lights were difficult to see from such a distance.
"Stand by. I will be there in seven minutes to pick you up," Batman said.
On the other end of the encrypted line, Venom Robin sounded surprised.
"Really?"
"Yes." Batman cut the communication and turned to Dr. Otto. "Doctor, I'll need a favor from you when I return."
"Consider it done," Dr. Otto replied, agreeing immediately without even asking what the favor was. "We'll talk when you get back."
Just as Venom Robin had said, the Bat-Signal lit this time was indeed extremely faint, failing to even reach the clouds.
Batman made his way from North Brother Island back to the City Hall Batcave. After picking up Venom Robin, he left the Batmobile behind. The two of them swung through the air toward the light, relying on webbing and tentacles.
"Daredevil?" A few minutes later, Batman and Venom Robin landed one after another on the roof of the high-rise where the signal was lit. They looked at the figure standing next to the lamp.
"It's me." Daredevil, leaning on his staff, replied upon hearing Batman's voice.
Beside him stood a makeshift Bat-Signal modified from an ordinary spotlight. Even the bat shape seemed to have been hurriedly cut out of cardboard.
"It seems you've run into trouble," Batman said.
"You're right." Daredevil recounted how Luke Cage and Jessica Jones had fallen at the hands of the Kingpin. "I was too careless. I thought the three of us together could easily take Kingpin down, but his body has become incredibly hard for some reason. Plus, those two lack combat experience..."
Standing to the side, Venom Robin couldn't help but shrink his neck a little.
Compared to Daredevil taking two inexperienced people to pick a fight with Kingpin—only to fail and have them captured—Robin realized his own situation was different.
Other than training, every mission Venom Robin had performed with Batman had never spiraled out of control like this. Whether they were traveling thousands of miles to New Mexico or just a few steps away to Pym Technologies, Venom Robin only now realized that when following Batman, everything seemed to unfold exactly according to plan.
While Venom Robin was lost in thought, Batman gave a brief description of Kingpin's condition.
"Kingpin has replaced his skeleton with a metal one. His durability and strength now far exceed the limits of the human body."
"Are you confident you can deal with him?" Daredevil asked.
"I am," Batman said in a low voice. "But I won't be the one taking action."
Daredevil froze.
"Why?"
"I will ask Iron Man, Tony Stark, to bring your two friends back. But not tonight." Batman allowed a mysterious smile to touch his lips.
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