Compared to the vague, ambiguous statements from Nick Fury and Ms. Lucia, Batman's information—precise down to specific dates—was obviously far more convincing.
Captain America and Mister Fantastic, Reed Richards, stared at Batman without blinking. Setting aside their brief encounters during the dinosaur invasion and at the Adirondack Mountains base, this could be considered the first time both of them truly witnessed Batman's capabilities.
No one doubted that Batman was making things up; this much was evident from how Ms. Lucia's expression turned increasingly grim, her eyes flickering continuously.
However, what Batman had to say didn't end there. Those previous details were merely a warm-up; the real bombshell was still to come:
"August 17, 2004: Nick Fury's intelligence source regarding the 'Tinkerer' was a Norwegian named Brennan Hart."
"August 30, 2004: The person who advocated rejecting Nick Fury's proposal for the Secret War was not the President of the United States, but his Security Advisor, Aston Booth."
"November 10, 2004: Quake disobeyed orders and forcibly activated her power to level the castle where Ms. Lucia was located, leaving no survivors except for Ms. Lucia and the Tinkerer."
"Before today, these clues were completely useless. But today, I discovered a mysterious force protecting the supervillains' weaponry, preventing me from disabling their gear the moment they arrived in New York."
"I believe Electro noticed this as well."
Not everyone knew Electro, but Max Dillon's rampant discharge of electricity during the previous battle and his fight against the Latverian villain Living Lightning had left a deep impression.
Seeing everyone's eyes turn toward him, Electro, Max Dillon, nodded, further confirming Batman's claims:
"That's right."
Batman gave Electro, Max Dillon, a slight nod and continued:
"From a scientific perspective, I cannot explain any of this. But from a magical perspective..."
Batman's gaze swept past the crowd, past the police officers, and landed on Loki, who sat atop a stone looking thoroughly elegant:
"You were the one secretly orchestrating all of this, weren't you?"
Since even Thor, the God of Thunder from Norse mythology, had appeared in reality, Loki, the God of Mischief, was no longer a shock—and neither was magic.
The police officers listened to Batman's words in shock and doubt. Under Captain George Stacy's orders, a portion of them quickly raised their guns and aimed straight at Loki.
Thor listened for a long while before finally understanding what had happened:
"Loki!"
He roared in fury, causing the thunderclouds blanketing the sky to rumble ominously once again.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
With a brilliant smile on his face, Loki clapped his hands heavily:
"Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! I fooled everyone, yet I couldn't fool you!"
This was his indirect admission of Batman's words.
"There's just one thing I don't understand. Without having seen my abilities beforehand, how did you make these deductions?" Loki's voice was filled with curiosity.
"Wakanda," Black Panther, T'Challa, stepped forward and explained on Batman's behalf. "Two weeks ago, Ulysses Klaue led international mercenaries in an invasion of Wakanda. Every single one of them was captured by Batman and me working together."
Iron Man, Tony Stark, looked toward Black Panther. He actually recalled Batman mentioning the trip to Wakanda to him, and Tony Stark's reaction at the time had been a simple "F*CK."
"In Wakanda, we encountered a woman calling herself 'Enchantress.' Although we didn't know her origins at the time, the runes left on the weapon of the Executioner beside her provided us with a clue," Batman said.
"Like you, she comes from Norse mythology. I assume she is also in a partnership with you, isn't she?"
Loki neither confirmed nor denied it, the enigmatic smile remaining fixed on his face.
"Enchantress attempted to drag me into an illusion and bewitch Robin, but both methods failed, leaving both my memories and Robin's completely intact."
Batman looked at Loki:
"The only explanation is that you were also present in Wakanda. This was confirmed by one of the international mercenaries, who experienced a brief memory blank on the night of my operation."
"Coincidentally, that Norwegian, Brennan Hart, and the Security Advisor, Aston Booth, also experienced brief memory blanks."
"Loki, Eddie Brock—do either of you have anything else to say?"
Batman had barely participated in today's battle in Manhattan, yet the oppressive aura emanating from him at this moment was far more terrifying than that of Wolverine, who had fought and killed the most.
In front of Batman, it was as if even a mythic figure like Loki was completely transparent—to say nothing of the other superheroes.
Aside from Iron Man, Tony Stark—who had once been imprisoned in the Middle Eastern desert and briefly witnessed Batman's pervasive information-gathering capabilities—this was the first time the others were seeing it.
Even Doctor Octopus, Doctor Midnight, and the other superheroes who were already members of the Justice League and aligned with Batman couldn't help but shudder.
They could easily imagine what they would face if they ever went down the wrong path in the future.
Eddie Brock couldn't help but take a step back, his face looking utterly dreadful, to the point that the phone in his hand began to tremble.
Batman's words just now had been extremely clever: he had placed Loki and Eddie Brock's names side by side.
Even though the superheroes on scene and the global audience watching the livestream knew Eddie Brock was merely a reporter, under Batman's framing, they subconsciously began to suspect that Eddie Brock was also in league with Loki.
In particular, some of the police officers and superheroes on scene were now focusing their stares on Eddie Brock, causing this fearless reporter to instantly feel an overwhelming surge of pressure, as if Mount Everest had suddenly been piled onto his back.
"N-No!" Eddie Brock growled in a low voice.
"I do," Loki said. Unlike Eddie Brock, the smile on his face remained unchanged. "It should have been impossible for Thor to appear in Midgard... Ah, earth is what you call it."
"How did you manage it?"
It wasn't hard for Loki to guess that Batman was the one who freed Thor, the God of Thunder, from the Realm of Silence, but even he had no idea what method this man could have possibly used.
Thor also looked toward Batman. He had been personally rescued by Batman, and his heart had long been filled with doubts.
"It was simple," Batman said expressionlessly, his voice deep and forceful.
Loki picked at his ear, indicating he was listening.
"If I'm not mistaken, everything you went to such great lengths to do was meant to gather the world's most powerful beings in one place, kill them all using the Frost Giants, draw a magic circle with their blood, and sacrifice Thor, the God of Thunder."
What Batman said began to drift beyond the boundaries of what an ordinary person could comprehend:
"I don't know who you made a deal with, but I know you used trickery to deceive Khonshu, the Moon God, having him teach Robin the sacrificial circle aimed at Thor."
"However, I'm sorry to disappoint you—I happen to have studied magic a bit, and I reverse-engineered that sacrificial circle."
Now, it wasn't just Loki; most of the superheroes present and the audience watching Eddie Brock's livestream couldn't help but feel the urge to dig at their ears as well.
What in the world was this guy dressed in a batsuit talking about?!
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)