DC: A Cop in Gotham

Chapter 72: Face-off

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There had to be a reason for Batman's sudden change in attitude, but he didn't give Dean any time to figure it out. His decisiveness was beyond anything Dean had expected.

"Flash."

The moment Dean focused all his attention on Batman's hand reaching for his utility belt, Batman uttered the command. Instantly, the ceiling of the safe house erupted with an intense, blinding light. Dean reflexively shut his eyes and moved backward to avoid direct exposure.

Batman wasn't immune to the light either, but this was his safe house—his territory. He knew every inch of it. Even without his vision, he could fight. Taking advantage of Dean's brief moment of disorientation, Batman retrieved a spray canister from his belt and unleashed its contents.

It was a gel-based compound that expanded upon exposure to air, forming a thick, durable restraint. His target wasn't just to restrain Dean's movement—it was specifically to seal off the Omnitrix. If Dean couldn't activate his transformations, then half of his combat potential was already neutralized.

The gel spread rapidly, wrapping around Dean's right forearm and hardening over the Omnitrix, rendering it inaccessible. At the same time, his fingers could no longer properly grip his sword. Batman had successfully disabled both his transformation and his melee combat in one move.

But Dean had anticipated this. Batman targeting his most exposed weapons was inevitable—it was the logical course of action. However, Dean never relied solely on his most obvious advantages.

Which is why, the first thing he had pulled from his warehouse wasn't a system-extracted item, but a cryogenic pulse gun he had confiscated from Mr. Freeze.

The moment Batman's gel expanded over Dean's arm, an icy blue beam shot from the gun in Dean's left hand, aimed directly at Batman's leg. The gel and the ice struck their respective targets at nearly the same time.

Batman had succeeded in sealing Dean's Omnitrix and his sword hand. But Dean had successfully frozen Batman's right leg to the ground.

For a brief moment, there was a perfect stalemate. The bright light shut off, the battlefield momentarily still. One couldn't transform, the other couldn't move. It was unclear who had the upper hand.

But Dean smirked, his confidence unwavering. "Batman! I knew you'd prepare an 'Anti-Dean Plan.' But didn't you expect that I'd be preparing an 'Anti-Anti-Dean Plan' every single day?"

His expression, his voice—there was something unsettling about the way he said it. In that moment, he almost seemed like the darker one between them.

Batman didn't respond with words. He acted. Reaching into his belt, he pulled out a vial of defrosting agent and poured it over his leg. The ice immediately began to melt. At the same time, he threw a batarang at Dean, his hand moving with perfect precision.

Dean didn't hesitate either. He released the gun, drew the Changhong Sword, and cleaved the batarang in two. But the instant the blade made contact, the batarang released a dense yellow smoke that erupted between them.

Dean instinctively held his breath, his muscles tensing, but within seconds, dizziness crept over him. His limbs felt slightly sluggish.

Batman calmly threw a small capsule into his own mouth, neutralizing the gas's effects. "After our first encounter, I asked Lucius to refine the anesthetic formula. This version activates upon skin contact—it doesn't need to be inhaled."

Dean gritted his teeth, trying to shake off the drowsiness. "But the effect… isn't as strong as you expected."

He forced himself to stand firm. "Did you miscalculate my resistance to anesthetics?"

Batman's eyes narrowed slightly.

This gas was strong enough to knock out an elephant in three minutes. Yet Dean was still standing—only slightly affected.

Was he really just human?

The blood tests had confirmed it.

Except…

Batman forced that thought away.

DeanHe can't know.Dean

Batman saw the slight stiffness in Dean's grip on the sword. "You're bluffing. The anesthesia has taken effect—you can't move now."

Dean exhaled slowly, a smirk creeping onto his face. "I can't move, Batman… but I can DeanmakeDean myself move."

His fingers trembled slightly, refusing to respond properly, but he wasn't relying on them. Using his consciousness to access his warehouse, Dean willed an object forward. A small, familiar talisman—marked with the symbol of a rooster—slipped into his open mouth. The moment he bit down on the Chicken Talisman, the power of telekinesis coursed through him, and he seized control over his own body like a puppet on strings.

His arms jerked unnaturally, but with sheer mental force, he reached into his belt, pulling out the Accel Drive. His thumb flicked over the memory switch.

DeanDean"Very good!"DeanDean

The transformation sequence activated instantly, red armor forming around him, his sluggish muscles overridden by the powerful mechanical exoskeleton of Kamen Rider Accel. The gel Batman had sprayed onto his arm cracked and crumbled away, freeing his movements entirely.

At the same time, Batman finished thawing his own leg, stepping forward as the two found themselves once again at a deadlock.

Dean turned the handle on his belt, sending a burst of exhaust smoke billowing from his back.

He grinned. "You let me break free while I had the upper hand. Now, everything's back to a fair fight. But you don't have magical tools or an Omnitrix, Batman." He cracked his knuckles, rolling his shoulders as the armor hummed around him. "You lose."

What he said was true. In pure frontal combat, Batman didn't hold an advantage against Accel. But then…

Batman DeansmiledDean.

Dean's gut twisted with instinct. DeanDeanSomething's wrong.DeanDean

"But how do you know this wasn't part of my plan?" Batman asked.

Dean's reflexes screamed at him to move. He didn't hesitate. He immediately yanked the handle off his belt, preparing to transform into motorcycle form and DeanleaveDean.

But it was too late.

With a swift motion, Batman pulled a switch from his belt.

The walls of the safe house hummed with energy—suddenly, an intense magnetic force burst to life behind Dean. Before he could react, the transformation locked in place, and the full weight of the magnetic field yanked him backward.

His body slammed against the wall, locking into place.

Dean, now halfway between humanoid and machine, was stuck—suspended against the wall like a high-end display model in a luxury motorcycle shop.

His eye twitched. "…Oh, you DeanknewDean I was gonna transform into Accel."

Batman stepped forward, nonchalantly inspecting Dean as if admiring his work. "Of course."

Dean struggled for a moment, but the magnetic force held firm. He couldn't transform back without creating an opening, and Batman was too fast for that. Even if he used his telekinesis to eject the Accel Memory and cancel the transformation, the brief second of vulnerability would be enough for Batman to subdue him physically.

"Wait, Batman, let's talk," Dean said, raising his voice slightly. "I'll give you the box."

Batman remained silent.

Dean sighed. Even if he could retaliate, it wasn't worth it. He had enough grenades stored in his system space to blow open the safe house. If he poured them out and pulled the pins with telekinesis, he could give Batman a DeanveryDean nasty surprise.

But this wasn't a death match.

He wasn't willing to go that far against DeanBatmanDean. Not for a box.

Dean willed the magic box out of his warehouse, letting it drop onto the ground. "Don't touch it with your hands."

Batman approached cautiously, pulling out a specialized metal container from his belt. Using a pair of mechanical arms, he carefully sealed the box inside, locking it away.

With that done, he finally turned back to Dean—who was still very much stuck to the wall.

Batman observed his immobilized form for a moment, then remarked, "Nice bike."

Dean immediately canceled his transformation, dropping to the ground with a grunt. He dusted himself off and crossed his arms. "Don't even DeanthinkDean about riding it. That thing is DeanmineDean."

Batman raised an eyebrow, his voice dry. "Actually, it DeanfeelsDean good to be ridden."

Dean stared at him. "…Batman, you DeandoDean know I'm still single, right?"

For a moment, the tension that had filled the room during their battle evaporated. The two of them stood in silence before letting out a quiet chuckle.

The fight was over.

Dean busied himself retrieving the items he had thrown across the room, but as he worked, he paused. His voice turned serious. "…Batman." He glanced up, meeting his mentor's gaze. "You DeanreallyDean can't tell me why you couldn't leave the box with me?"

Batman stood still for a long moment before finally speaking.

"I didn't take the magic box out of distrust, Dean." His voice was low, unreadable. "There are some things… that you would be better off DeannotDean knowing."

After speaking, Batman took Pandora's Box and left, leaving Dean alone in the safe house.

"It's called a Deansafe houseDean, but it turns out it's just a giant trap specifically designed to counter me," Dean muttered, rolling his shoulders. "What's next? Filling Superman's safe house with kryptonite? Lining Green Lantern's with nothing but the color yellow?"

He sighed, shaking his head as he walked toward the center of the room. Despite the loss, he wasn't particularly frustrated. Losing to Batman wasn't exactly an embarrassing feat, especially considering this was Batman's own territory. Neither of them had truly gone all out.

"At the very least, I now know part of Batman's plan to counter me… and that means I can prepare accordingly."

He stretched out his arms, flexing his fingers as he analyzed the fight in hindsight. DeanMagnetism…Dean It was a hard counter to several of his abilities. The Accel Driver, the Changhong Sword—both were metal-based and susceptible to strong magnetic interference. His Omnitrix, while more resistant, was still affected by Batman's tactics.

Batman had exploited that weakness perfectly.

But if there was one thing Dean had learned from his time in Gotham, it was that weaknesses could be DeanovercomeDean.

He smirked. "Reverse thinking—if Batman designed a counter plan to beat me, then that means I just got a tailor-made training program to Deanbeat himDean next time."

Dean had no delusions of being on Batman's level yet, but an acquired weakness could be DeaneliminatedDean through the right preparation. The only question was DeanhowDean.

"I need something that Deanisn'tDean metal… or at least, something that can counteract strong magnetic forces."

His mind drifted toward possible solutions. Should he look into non-metallic weapons? Some kind of energy-based alternative? Maybe even a defensive tool specifically to negate strong electromagnetic fields? The system's extraction function might be his best bet.

He flexed his fingers again, staring at his hands.

"I don't know what the best counter will be… but I DeanwillDean find it."

His smirk faded slightly as his thoughts returned to Batman's last words. DeanThere are some things you would be better off not knowing.Dean

"Batman… saying something like that just makes me DeanwantDean to get to the bottom of it even more."

Something about all of this felt… DeanoffDean. He had a strong suspicion that the real problem wasn't just the magic box, but something connected to DeanhimDean. Maybe it was finally time to take a trip back and figure things out for himself.

But before that, there were still plenty of other loose ends to tie up.

Dean exhaled, shaking off his thoughts. One problem at a time.

He turned and walked toward the exit, stepping out of the safe house and into the Gotham night, his mind already forming the next step of his plan.

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