Chapter 343: Garrett's Plan
The sudden and inexplicable loss of his abilities hadn't broken Batman.
Hours of brutal combat against Blade hadn't stopped him either.
Batman clearly remembered the bug he'd planted in Manhattan Police Headquarters long ago activating last night, intercepting Garrett's plan to use a bombing to draw him out.
The fight with Blade had simply consumed too much time, completely destroying Batman's plan for a few hours of desperately needed rest on South Brother Island.
Watching the Spider-Man suit gradually take shape, Batman silently analyzed the possible causes of his body's abnormality.
"Like Hulk and the Lizard Professor, Peter Parker's body underwent genetic mutation after being bitten by that spider. That mutation gave him super strength and other abilities."
"Did some external factor cause the genes to revert to normal, eliminating the abilities with them? Or was it an internal factor?"
Batman reviewed everything he'd encountered recently. The top suspects were the primitive world accessed through the full-wave projector, Ant-Man Hank Pym's Pym Particles, and the symbiote offspring spawned by Venom Robin.
But when he'd been in that prehistoric world, the Arkham suit's sensors hadn't detected any suspicious radiation, viruses, or gases.
Batman hadn't touched Ant-Man's Pym Particles with his bare hands either—unless some kind of Pym Particle-based field inside Pym Technologies Tower had affected him.
As for the final possibility—that the symbiote offspring had somehow influenced him—Batman hadn't conducted detailed research yet. He couldn't determine if the symbiote was responsible.
Beep.
The production line's machinery chimed. All components of the Spider-Man suit were complete.
Batman hadn't followed Peter Parker's original design exactly. He'd improved and upgraded it significantly.
Peter Parker's Spider-Man suit was, fundamentally, just clothing. That kid had relied entirely on his inherent abilities to be Spider-Man.
But for Batman, now stripped of those powers, the suit needed to do more than disguise him—it had to provide sufficient combat capability.
Given that the various extraordinary individuals in this world routinely operated at ton-level strength, Batman had equipped the suit's interior with a comprehensive auxiliary power system.
Even without Peter's super strength, the suit would allow Batman to exert over five tons of force.
Worth noting: Batman had designed this suit by referencing Tony Stark's Mark series armor. A miniaturized arc reactor—Batman's own replica design—powered the suit and all its capabilities.
"New York Police Department has approved your plan, Mr. Garrett." Captain George Stacy looked at the Black Knight. "But the police cannot participate directly. We can only serve as emergency response and defense."
Inside Manhattan Police Headquarters' captain's office, Garrett smiled noncommittally.
"Then I'll need to make small adjustments to the plan."
"I need to be informed, Garrett," Captain George said.
"Of course you do." Garrett nodded. "My plan is this: I'll pose as a Hydra operative who's infiltrated SHIELD. After gaining your trust, I'll plant numerous bombs throughout New York."
"That sounds terrifying." George's brow furrowed. "And the quantity of explosives you'd need—the precinct simply can't provide that."
"You only need to know it's a disguise. I'm a SHIELD agent. My target is Batman. I'm not actually insane enough to bomb New York." Garrett patted George's shoulder reassuringly. "As for the explosives shortage—you don't need to worry about that."
George's expression turned puzzled. If Garrett didn't need the police to supply the bombs, where would he get enough explosives to destroy half of Manhattan?
That wasn't a small number.
But Garrett seemed to have anticipated this question.
"Remember those SHIELD transport helicopters that came to move the dinosaurs the day before yesterday?"
George nodded.
"They brought sufficient explosives for my use when they arrived, per my instructions. They also left personnel behind to help me position the bombs." Garrett's tone was matter-of-fact.
Something lurched in George's chest. His frown deepened involuntarily.
The SHIELD transport helicopters had arrived the day before yesterday. But Garrett had only told him about the bombing plan yesterday. A full day's difference.
How had Garrett known the New York Police Department would definitely approve this fake bombing operation? If they'd refused, what did he plan to do with the already-positioned explosives?
Remove them? Or proceed covertly regardless of police approval, bypassing the department entirely?
Captain George stared at Garrett's confident, refined features without speaking.
Half an hour later, after Garrett left the precinct, George watched through his window as the man rode his flying horse into the sky and vanished. George reached for the phone on his desk.
But his hand froze mid-dial. After hesitating several seconds, he set the desk phone down and grabbed his personal cell phone instead, heading straight for the precinct rooftop.
"Agent Coulson, this is George Stacy from Manhattan Police Department."
George stood on the rooftop, speaking into his cell phone.
"Captain Stacy." Agent Phil Coulson's voice came through the speaker.
"I need to ask—does SHIELD actually have someone named Garrett? Nathan Garrett?" George cupped his hand around the phone, speaking quietly while his eyes constantly scanned the sky.
"According to SHIELD's internal security protocols, I should say no." Agent Coulson paused. "But you know me—I've never been great at following SHIELD regulations. Yes, we have someone by that name."
George exhaled in relief. He'd been worried Garrett wasn't actually SHIELD at all. Apparently he'd been overthinking.
"That's good. That's good... By the way, what does SHIELD plan to do with those dinosaurs and primitive people after transporting them?... I'm not fishing for classified information. I just need to file a basic report with New York PD."
Agent Coulson's voice carried confusion.
"As far as I know, thanks to bureaucratic red tape, the U.S. Department of Defense, animal protection organizations, SHIELD... and a whole parade of agencies I can't name... are still fighting over jurisdiction."
"We still haven't confirmed whether SHIELD will actually take custody of those dinosaurs and primitive people."
"I'm afraid you'll need to keep using your interrogation rooms for a while longer."
With each sentence Agent Coulson spoke, George's heart sank further.
If those transport helicopters bearing SHIELD's white eagle insignia two days ago hadn't actually been SHIELD—who had they been?
***
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