Marvel’s Shadowed Knight

Their collaboration had not affected anyone else.

At least, not yet.

For now, Bruce managed to get some decent sleep.

Though not for long.

There was still much for him to do.

New York had yet to find peace. With Kingpin behind bars, countless small-time thugs saw this as their opportunity to rise.

Hell's Kitchen, once locked down like an impenetrable fortress, had once again become a battleground for various factions.

During the day, the NYPD had no choice but to assign officers to prevent civilians from entering Hell's Kitchen.

At the same time, they reinforced the blockade—ensuring that no one could easily leave either.

"How much longer do we have to stay here?" one officer asked irritably, leaning against his patrol car as he spoke to a senior colleague.

"That depends on when those guys inside decide to calm down," Jefferson Davis replied, keeping his eyes on his phone.

Right now, he was more interested in checking on his son's school updates.

"Tch, not likely," the younger officer sighed, taking a sip of his coffee.

Everyone still remembered what Hell's Kitchen used to be like.

Back then, barely anyone wanted to be assigned patrol duty in this part of the city.

If you were stationed here, chances were you'd end up investigating a homicide.

And not the kind with an easy-to-find culprit.

As for when peace had finally returned—no one could say for sure.

"Maybe things will settle down once another Spider-Man comes to clean up this mess," the officer mused, unconsciously looking up.

At this moment, he truly hoped to see a figure in a red-and-blue suit swinging above them.

"To be honest, I don't see what's so great about Spider-Man. I'd rather just finish my shift and go home to my son," Jefferson muttered, still staring at his phone.

It was Friday, after all.

Yet here he was, stuck working overtime.

"Hey! Hey!"

His colleague didn't respond. Turning to look, Jefferson found him staring in shock.

Curious, Jefferson nudged him.

"You won't believe what I just saw! There's really a Batman in our city!"

Clearly, the officer was letting his imagination run wild.

The whole "Batman" rumor had already been debunked. There was no Batman here.

The only bat-related figure that had ever existed had already perished in a terrorist attack.

"You've been reading too many superhero comics," Jefferson chuckled, patting his colleague on the shoulder.

The officer opened his mouth to argue, but at that moment, Jefferson received notice that their shift had ended.

"Alright, this is no longer our problem." Jefferson stretched before heading to the driver's seat. "I'm driving this time—you always run red lights."

The officer hesitated, wanting to insist that he had truly seen Batman.

But in the end, he just shook his head, dismissing it as too much caffeine.

Yet, he had not been mistaken.

A shadow had indeed passed over them.

Under the moonlight, a new suit gleamed—cold and unyielding.

From above, the Bat surveyed the chaos below.

His eyes burned with hatred for the criminals who thrived in the disorder.

This kind of chaos would only bring more suffering—more families torn apart, more lives destroyed.

"Don't forget what you need to do, Bruce," Thomas' voice echoed calmly in his mind.

"Give me one second," Red Death replied casually. "I promise none of them will make it out alive."

"No!"

But everyone heard it—the protest from another voice right after Red Death had spoken.

Of course, no one here cared to listen.

Batman least of all.

He knew exactly what mattered most right now.

First, he had to drag Hydra out into the open—at the very least, he needed solid proof of their existence.

For most people, Hell's Kitchen was nothing but a troublesome place.

For Hydra, however, it was the perfect hunting ground.

Especially for weapons deals.

The Hydra agents who had attacked him before were armed with some of the most advanced technology in the world.

But none of it had raised suspicion—after all, even elite mercenaries could afford gear like that.

Except for the missile at the end.

After losing an entire squad of highly trained operatives, Batman knew they'd be restocking their arsenal and preparing for another assault.

Luckily, he had managed to uncover a deeply buried transaction.

The deal was set to take place at the docks in Hell's Kitchen.

Tearing his gaze away from the chaos below, Batman resumed his mission, soaring toward the port at full speed.

There, a ship had already docked.

"You're late today."

A man on the shore flicked away half a cigarette without even bothering to stub it out.

"Don't even mention it. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been a nightmare today. Electro woke up and caused a whole damn scene."

The guy on the boat sounded exhausted, clearly worn out from the day's troubles.

"Still, I'd suggest you keep a low profile in New York for now. I saw a brand-new Spider-Man at TriTech today."

He spoke with a note of caution.

But his companion clearly didn't care about this so-called "new Spider-Man."

"One Spider-Man's already dead, and yet some idiot still dares to take up the mantle?"

He sneered, completely unfazed by the thought.

"If he shows up, I'll introduce him to my .50 caliber Desert Eagle!"

Patting the weapon at his hip, he oozed confidence.

His partner just chuckled.

"Let's hope the recoil doesn't snap your wrist in half."

With that, he turned to the others and signaled them to start unloading the cargo.

The man scoffed, dismissing the concern. He wasn't stupid enough to make a mistake like that.

Just as they were about to begin the transfer, a Batarang embedded itself into the ship's hull.

Before anyone could react, the embedded device activated.

A pulse of electromagnetic energy engulfed the entire vessel.

"Hey! Who turned off the lights?!"

A shout rang out from below deck.

The man on the boat immediately snapped to high alert.

He had checked everything thoroughly before departure—there was no way a basic electrical failure like this should happen.

"Something's wrong."

He turned, intending to head back to the control room.

But as he spun around—

He was met with a monstrous face.

Batman was behind him.

(End of Chapter)

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