Marvel’s Shadowed Knight

The clown lying on the ground burst into laughter as he looked at the unconscious Miles.

To him, anyone who interfered in his conflict with the Bat deserved to die.

But before he could utter another word, the Bat had already lifted him up again.

"What now? More torture?"

He laughed maniacally, staring at the Bat, completely lost in madness.

The Bat, however, simply gazed at him coldly.

Gradually, the clown's laughter faded.

He could no longer maintain his frenzied facade.

Then, the Bat spoke, shattering his resolve completely.

"You're not the Joker. You're just a coward pretending to be insane."

Without waiting for a response, the Bat drove his elbow into the clown's mouth.

A sharp pain shot through him, and something foreign filled his mouth—his own teeth, knocked loose by the blow.

He tried to say something, but another elbow strike came crashing down.

Again, to the mouth. More teeth flew out.

"You won't have the chance to play this little role anymore."

The Bat hoisted him high into the air and brought him down, spine-first, onto his knee.

The sound of vertebrae snapping was barely noticeable against the wailing sirens.

Only the Bat and the bloodied, mute figure beneath him could hear it.

The clown's mouth hung open, but no sound came out.

"And as for HYDRA… I'll root them out, one by one."

Without hesitation, the Bat reached into the clown's mouth and retrieved a small object.

It was valuable evidence.

And he had no intention of leaving this Joker impersonator behind.

After dropping the clown, the Bat walked over to where Miles lay on the ground.

"For someone with superhuman physiology, you should be awake by now."

He crouched down, staring at Miles.

"If you don't want to wake up, that's fine—I'll just rip off your mask and toss you outside."

Miles suddenly flipped over, attempting to grab the Bat, but he was too slow.

"Call S.H.I.E.L.D. Get them here. Preferably your contact."

The Bat effortlessly dodged Miles' sudden attack.

Miles' eyes shifted to the side, where the mangled and broken figure of the clown lay. His white eyes narrowed in shock.

"You went too far."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. will see things my way." The Bat's voice was cold.

He studied Miles from head to toe, making the young hero uneasy.

Miles could feel the weight of the Bat's gaze, but he forced himself to maintain composure, unwilling to reveal any weakness.

That only confirmed what the Bat had already suspected—Miles had nothing of value to offer S.H.I.E.L.D.

Perhaps they had acknowledged him before, but now? S.H.I.E.L.D. likely had no real investment in him.

The Ultimate Alliance had suffered severe losses, but at least its members were still heroes.

And Nick Fury still had the Avengers.

The only question was how much power Fury could still wield.

Just then, the wailing sirens outside suddenly stopped.

A crimson figure dropped from the sky.

A Few Moments Earlier...

Back when the Bat had knocked Miles unconscious, S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't been particularly concerned about him.

They had enough problems already.

The fact that they were even willing to send someone to check on him was a sign of respect—respect for the name Spider-Man.

America was already chaotic enough. Another rogue Spider-Man would be the last thing S.H.I.E.L.D. needed.

Even so, Nick Fury had arranged for Spider-Woman to monitor this new Spider and determine whether he was truly worthy of the mantle.

They had also placed a small tracking device on Miles.

They needed to know if anything happened to him.

The moment Miles lost consciousness, his tracker sent an alert straight to Spider-Woman's communicator.

Outside, the police remained on high alert, unsure of the situation inside.

If it was a terrorist organization, they couldn't afford to storm in recklessly.

Who knew if there were suicide bombers waiting inside?

At that moment, a Chevrolet Suburban had already pulled up in front of the NYPD officers.

Jefferson Davis, the first to arrive on the scene, frowned slightly when he saw the man stepping out of the vehicle.

However, he didn't show any signs of concern.

He walked forward.

"Looks like fate keeps bringing us together," Jefferson said as he approached the man.

"Do you need me to show my credentials, officer?"

"It's best if you do. These days, we can't afford to take any chances." Jefferson tapped the body camera on his chest, speaking to the man with a hint of resignation.

The man showed no displeasure and simply smiled as he handed his credentials to Jefferson.

But this time, instead of an FBI badge, it was a S.H.I.E.L.D. identification.

Jefferson didn't know what to say, but all he could do was fulfill his duty and turn to verify the authenticity of the credentials.

Then again, in a world full of superhumans, no one would be foolish enough to forge a S.H.I.E.L.D. ID.

By the time Jefferson returned, there was no need for the man to say anything—he had already started instructing his team to clear the area.

At the same time, a shadowy figure slipped into the warehouse.

Back to the Present

Spider-Woman looked at Batman without saying a word, then turned to the disheveled Miles and said, "You're not quite up to standard."

Before Miles could respond, she was already walking toward Batman again.

She stopped at a distance that was safe—relatively speaking—for someone facing Batman.

Of course, for Spider-People, that distance was merely a blink away.

"This thing should belong to S.H.I.E.L.D.," Batman said, tossing a small device.

Spider-Woman caught it effortlessly, without hesitation.

The moment she saw the miniature device, she knew something was off.

"Why is S.H.I.E.L.D. tech in your hands?" She ignored the battered humanoid figure behind her, focusing her sharp gaze on Batman.

"You should be asking me how S.H.I.E.L.D. tech ended up in the hands of a terrorist organization," Batman shot back without hesitation.

Spider-Woman paused for a moment before replying.

"We'll investigate, but not right now."

"Besides, I think you should come back to S.H.I.E.L.D. with me. Superheroes can't just operate freely out in the open like this."

Batman ignored her suggestion and simply said, "This guy might be of some use to you. Though, I probably knocked out most of his teeth. I'm sure you have your own interrogation methods."

He stepped aside, revealing the full extent of the battered man's injuries before slowly fading into the shadows.

"Are you real or fake?" Spider-Woman suddenly changed the subject.

But there was no response from the darkness.

Only the sound of a grappling hook firing and the rustling of a cape as it disappeared into the wind.

"So… is he real or not?" Miles asked as he stepped up beside Spider-Woman.

It was a question that had been bothering him. Peter Parker had always dismissed Batman as some kind of obsessive fan, but now Miles wasn't so sure.

"He's real. But we don't know how he got to this universe," Spider-Woman replied with a nod.

She couldn't believe that a mere superfan from this world could make her feel such a sense of danger.

And if he really were from this world, there was no way he would've stayed silent during the chaos Magneto caused earlier.

The only explanation was that he had arrived in this world recently.

Miles, still confused, muttered to himself, "But Peter and the others always suffer from dimensional rejection when they travel between universes. Why didn't he? And the comics…"

Before he could make sense of it all, Spider-Woman grabbed his suit and, along with the battered captive, leaped into the night.

"You need proper training."

That was the only thing she said to Miles as she took him away.

(End of Chapter)

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