Marvel’s Shadowed Knight

Peter Parker extended his hand toward Bruce, but this time, the gesture was no longer just a polite formality.

Even Gwen, who had thrown harsh words at Bruce earlier, was now looking at him.

"We're friends, aren't we?"

Peter Parker smiled.

He was genuinely curious about what kind of person this Bat standing before him truly was.

But Bruce simply took Peter's hand in a firm grip. "Batman. Nothing more."

With that, he let go.

He turned and looked toward the outside of the lab.

The collider was clearly starting to reach its limit, and other universes were pressing in on this one.

"What you all need to do now is return to the worlds where you belong." Bruce's nearly emotionless words were hard for the Spider-People to accept.

"I knew it. I should've ripped off your mask when I had the chance." If he could go back one minute, Peter Parker would definitely tell himself to yank off that cowl while he was beating the Bat senseless.

Otherwise, this guy would just keep playing mind games with them!

"Honestly, you're never gonna make friends acting like this!" Peter grumbled, walking up beside the Bat and giving his shoulder a light punch.

"But, lucky for you, I've got a soft heart." Peter suddenly grinned at him.

"Guess I'll take one for the team and be your friend, so you don't have to go home crying about having none."

As he spoke, Peter swiftly snatched the key from Gwen's hand.

Gwen opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but Peter just gave her a reassuring smile.

Then, with a quick flip, he swung toward the control panel.

"Don't get too excited now!!!"

Even as he dropped, his voice rang loud and clear toward the Bat.

"He's right."

Spider-Noir stepped up beside Batman.

"We'll be friends."

"Me too!"

Peni was perched on her SP//dr mech, smiling as she addressed the Bat.

"But next time we meet, make sure to have some candy ready—otherwise, I might just cause some trouble!"

"If possible, I'd like us to sit down and have a hot dog together one day."

Spider-Ham's words were much simpler, yet just as sincere.

"See you around."

And with that, Spider-Ham swung off into the portal, leaving only Batman and Gwen in the lab.

"I bet someone like you has a hard time making friends." Gwen watched as the others disappeared into their respective universes, then turned to Batman.

"Even your image alone is enough to make people afraid of you."

Batman remained silent, standing still.

His black cape completely enveloped him, making him look less like a man and more like a demon sculpted by a master artist.

"But... maybe I can save you a spot as a friend. Just in case you ever change your mind."

Gwen removed her mask, turning to look at the Bat beside her.

"Thank you... for not making me go through the pain of losing a friend again."

She didn't wait for his response.

In the next moment, she swung off toward Peter.

Now, only the two of them remained in this universe that wasn't theirs.

"Ready?" Peter grinned at Gwen.

"Yeah." Gwen took a deep breath and nodded.

"Goodbye, Spider-Man."

With those words, she let go of the wall.

But just as she released her grip—

She heard Peter call out.

"Look! The Bat!!!"

As she turned her head, Gwen clearly saw the face of the Bat, exposed in the collider's bright light.

Bruce was holding his mask in one hand, revealing his face.

"Not a bad-looking face," was the last thought that crossed Gwen's mind as she fell back into her own universe.

"Looks like we're friends now."

Peter Parker gave Bruce a nod—then relaxed completely, allowing himself to fall into the universe where he truly belonged.

Bruce, meanwhile, put his mask back on, lifted his hand, and pulled out a Batarang.

With a precise throw, it struck the green button on the control panel.

As the collider initiated its self-destruction, Bruce fired his grappling gun, lowering himself straight into a human-shaped crater in the ground.

Wilson Fisk and Tombstone had already crashed through the bottom of the collider's containment structure.

Now, Bruce's priority was to get both of them out of here.

If they remained, they wouldn't survive.

Or worse—they could be sucked into another universe, only to eventually perish from cellular decay, rejected by the foreign reality.

That wasn't something Bruce wanted to see happen.

He needed Fisk alive—at least long enough for the world to witness him being sent to prison. Even if only for a short time, it was necessary.

By the time Bruce dragged the two massive figures onto the lab's platform, his grappling gun had already been discarded—it was out of time to retract.

Gripping the two, he broke into a sprint.

The energy collider, created by Fisk, had begun releasing a powerful gravitational pull, sucking everything nearby into its core.

If Bruce hadn't been fast enough, all three of them would have been pulled in.

"BOOM!!!"

A series of explosions erupted, one after another.

Even from Manhattan, the glow from Brooklyn's blast could be clearly seen.

It was enough to keep half the city awake.

Another explosion of this magnitude in New York—no one could be sure whether it was a terrorist attack.

If another incident like the Twin Towers happened, New York would forever be marked in the annals of counterterrorism failure.

Police, counterterrorism forces, and the National Guard all rushed toward Brooklyn at full speed.

Even patrol officers on their rounds were redirected to check out the scene.

Jefferson Davis was among them.

Or rather, he was already in Brooklyn, frantically searching for his son.

That made him the first officer to arrive on-site.

When he saw Wilson Fisk and Tombstone tied to a nearby fire hydrant, his jaw dropped in disbelief.

Even more unsettling—right beside them, embedded in the ground, was a Batarang.

The whole scene was bizarre.

Meanwhile, on a nearby rooftop, Miles Morales had been watching everything unfold.

He had arrived too late.

"You're late."

A deep, terrifying voice spoke from behind him.

"AHHH!!!"

Miles jumped in shock—so much that he nearly fell off the roof.

At the last second, he shot out a web and pulled himself back.

"Hey! You're gonna give me a heart attack!"

Staring at the Bat, Miles was genuinely annoyed.

Sneaking up on people like that—it was seriously scary.

But Batman didn't seem to care.

"The Prowler isn't dead. And I haven't found any trace of him. You should stay on guard."

With those final words, Batman turned and disappeared into the night.

(End of Chapter)

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