The possibility that they might have been involved in a massacre was something that neither Daredevil nor Wolverine could readily accept.
But the harsh reality forced them to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
Only a few minutes after finding an excuse to send away the young couple, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, a red figure hovered outside the closed window of the apartment and knocked on the glass.
The arrival was Iron Man, Tony Stark. Batman noticed that the Mark armor he wore was noticeably different from the one he had worn last time, suggesting that Tony had upgraded it once again during this period.
Batman opened the window, allowing Iron Man to float inside from the outside.
The moment his feet touched the floor, the entire apartment shook slightly. Clearly, the weight of the new armor was substantial.
Compared to the Mark VI, which featured an inverted triangle arc reactor on its chest and incorporated triangular design elements throughout, Tony's current suit looked sleeker and more rounded.
This rounded look wasn't bulky; rather, it contoured smoothly like human muscles, making Tony Stark look impressively imposing.
At least visually speaking.
"The Mark VII," Tony Stark introduced proudly before Batman could even ask, catching the slight look of inquiry in Batman's eyes. "I heard you needed me to take a trip to the Helicarrier, so I figured I'd bring this suit along."
"Good," Batman nodded.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Tony Stark pointed at Daredevil and Wolverine. "Where did you dig up this rock-and-roll duo?"
Wolverine, Logan, glanced at the guy hiding inside the armor, then turned away to look for booze around the apartment. Unfortunately, his search came up empty.
"Daredevil."
"Wolverine."
Batman bluntly uttered the two names.
Daredevil extended his hand for a formal shake, while Logan still couldn't be bothered to pay Iron Man any attention. This guy had made a terrible first impression the second he walked through the door.
"Give me the details on why we're heading to the Helicarrier. I can't just fly in there loaded with weapons and start blasting everyone I see," Tony said, lifting his metallic faceplate to look at Batman.
"Based on our current intelligence, we believe it's highly likely that S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury organized and planned that mission two years ago. Right now, we cannot establish contact with him."
"Furthermore, remember that Hydra list you recovered from Garrett? I handed it over to Black Widow and Hawkeye, and had them return to S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate. However, more than a month has passed, and we haven't heard back from them."
Batman briefly recapped the entire situation for Iron Man.
Gradually, Tony Stark's characteristically flippant smile faded, his expression turning solemn.
"My father was involved in founding S.H.I.E.L.D. If this organization is truly as you say—nearly entirely compromised by Hydra, to the point of sending assets to commit a massacre...
"Then I have an obligation to dismantle S.H.I.E.L.D. It just so happens that the Raft has plenty of empty cells left, enough to lock those bastards up."
Logan finally looked directly at Iron Man for once. Putting aside his immediately irritating personality, this sense of responsibility was genuinely admirable.
But immediately after, Iron Man continued:
"Oh, by the way, Captain America and Hawkeye are easy to recognize—one carries a shield, the other a bow... But what about Black Widow? Does she have a great body? How great are we talking, exactly?"
Logan silently turned his head away. He realized he couldn't put the man's personality aside after all.
Then, he watched as Batman solemnly gestured with his hands to outline a curved silhouette.
"Got it," Tony Stark said.
Clang!
The metallic faceplate snapped shut, and with a sudden leap, he soared out of the open window.
Without wasting a single moment, Tony decided to head straight for the Helicarrier.
Seeing this, Daredevil stood up and took his leave.
"I'll head out too. Keep in touch if you get any news."
Batman nodded to Daredevil and watched him jump out of the window as well, before turning his gaze to Logan:
"Are you new to New York? You can use this apartment as a temporary safe house..."
Before he could finish, Wolverine cut him off.
"No, I've got plenty of places to go."
Batman frowned slightly.
"Where?"
"A bar," Wolverine said.
"Doctor Otto, this is the hair tissue data I gathered from the individual with the adamantium skeleton. Help me analyze it to see if we can reverse-engineer the adamantium formula."
Back in the Batcave, Batman extracted a stray facial hair belonging to Logan from the seams of his Gargoyle suit's gloves. After subjecting it to various analytical tests, he transmitted the data to Doctor Otto on South Brother Island.
Once Doctor Otto confirmed receipt of the data, Batman immediately threw himself back into his work.
"Peter Parker? Please come to Metropolitan Hospital."
Early the next morning, Batman finally finished writing the underlying code for Alfred and stood up from his chair.
At this point, the only thing keeping the Alfred AI from going online was the microchip; most of the other components, such as the cooling and power systems, were already complete.
Most areas inside the Batcave were operational, and the construction progress was finally shifting to the surface of Bat-Island to build Parker Manor—the estate originally meant to serve as a front.
Batman was just about to contact Alice, the CEO of Parker Industries, to inquire about the acquisition and R&D of the microchip company when the call from Metropolitan Hospital came through.
—Batman didn't own a conventional phone; everyone who contacted him had to use encrypted communications. As a result, Batman had pre-installed programs into the systems of Parker Industries, Aunt May, and Metropolitan Hospital to facilitate these calls.
"Professor Miles Warren is awake?" Batman asked, using his youthful voice.
"Yes, he is. Congratulations," the voice on the other end replied.
"Thank you."
He placed the Arkham suit into the armor display case, aligning it alongside the original Spider-Slayer suit, the Arkham suit, the Anti-Venom suit, and the Vulcan armor.
Next, Batman took off the Gargoyle suit he was wearing and placed it into the metallic drop pod he had recovered after last night's battle with Wolverine, ensuring it would be ready for rapid deployment in case of a future emergency.
Changing into a white shirt paired with a grey wool vest and a matching long overcoat, Batman got into the Audi R8 he had bought two months prior and drove straight to Metropolitan Hospital.
It was the peak of the morning rush hour. Batman put his driving skills to use, weaving through the heavy traffic, but it still took him nearly half an hour to reach the hospital.
Peter Parker's handsome features required no explanation, and the innate, commanding aura of Batman was equally captivating. The combination of the two caused doctors, nurses, and patient families alike to stop and turn their heads as he passed.
Among them was Dr. Helen Cho.
Her eyes lit up the moment she saw Peter Parker. As Miles Warren's primary attending physician, she quickly jogged a few steps to catch up to him:
"Peter Parker! I assume the hospital already called to give you the good news about Professor Warren waking up."
Batman looked at Dr. Cho with a smile:
"Yes, Doctor."
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