"Oracle."
Batman reached up and pressed the earpiece hidden beneath his cowl.
"I've hacked into Miracle Tower's computers and blocked Project Ten from executing."
In the Batcave, Batgirl Barbara typed on her keyboard.
Atop Miracle Tower, the launch platform for the third wave of missiles, which had been about to deploy, came to a halt.
Dr. Hugo turned around, gazing at the man before him.
"It seems I underestimated you, and I underestimated Clear Watt."
Dr. Hugo calmly put his glasses back on, looking at Batman.
"Do you really think that's still Clear Watt? You must be well aware of the trajectory of his life over the past twenty years. This isn't like the obsessive doctor he once was."
Batman looked at Dr. Hugo.
"Perhaps it's the success of the treatment plan I implemented at Arkham? Besides, none of that matters anymore. It seems I've lost. But it's fortunate you came. As long as I can eliminate you, the next time someone tries to destroy Gotham, there'll be no one to stop them."
A smile appeared on Dr. Hugo's face.
"Activate Project Eleven, password—Wayne!"
Batman's pupils constricted. He lunged forward, his right arm wrapping around Dr. Hugo, his left arm blade pressed forward. An elbow strike shattered the window glass, and his cape spread out behind him as he leaped out.
*BOOM!*
The top of Miracle Tower exploded with a roar.
In the sky not far away, Qingshui, seeing no third wave of missiles approaching but instead the tower top exploding, swiftly flew towards Miracle Tower.
Thus, he naturally discovered Batman, gliding through the night with Dr. Hugo, and gave chase.
Batman's left hand used a special joint lock to restrain the struggling Dr. Hugo, while his right hand controlled the gliding cape. Suddenly, he felt the surrounding airflow being wildly churned, making the cape unable to maintain balance. He plummeted in circles, as if thrown into a washing machine.
"Bruce! The Puppeteer is after you!"
Barbara shouted into the comms.
"I know, Oracle! Activate Reserve File 1263."
Batman quickly pressed a spot on his right shoulder where the cape connected.
"Engaging jet pressure stabilization system."
Some of the material filling the Bat-suit's cape rapidly underwent a chemical reaction, releasing a large amount of gas that filled the cape's interior. This gas then quickly diffused outwards, stabilizing air pressure by dispersing the airflow.
Even if it could only stabilize for a very short time before being disturbed again, that brief moment was enough.
Meanwhile, Batgirl in the Batcave opened Reserve File 1263 on her computer.
Anti-Puppeteer Project, initiated!
*BANG!*
The Grapple Gun fired, hooking onto a nearby high-rise building. It then automatically retracted, swinging Batman into the distance, where he shattered the glass of a building and rushed inside.
*BEEP—*
Batman activated the Pulse Signal Jammer on his Bat-suit, disabling some of the White Knight's infrared imaging and fire control functions.
Qingshui followed closely, rushing in.
"Batman, you know my target isn't you. Hand over that arrogant fool you're holding, and I won't bother you."
Qingshui used his ability to manipulate airflow to spread his voice throughout every part of the building. He also tried to sense sound waves reflecting along the airflow, attempting to precisely locate Batman's position in a sonar-like manner.
This technique had only just been developed, and Qingshui wasn't very proficient with it yet.
It required extremely strong brain computational and analytical abilities, but fortunately, as a Puppet Master, that was his specialty.
"Found him!"
Qingshui immediately looked in a certain direction.
"Cough, cough. You don't have to do this. I've already lost. You can just hand me over."
Dr. Hugo, held by Batman like a dead dog, coughed and said.
Batman said nothing, simply using sonar, infrared vision, and other equipment to pinpoint Qingshui's position. He swiftly circled through the building, trying to buy time.
However, he was heading towards the rooftop.
Because the people inside the building, after being startled, immediately screamed and ran downstairs, wanting to leave the building.
This also made things easier for Qingshui.
"Aha, there's nobody in front."
The White Knight clenched its fists and activated its pneumatic device, punching a large hole in the wall.
This way, it wouldn't have to take a detour.
Punching left, punching right, it chased Batman unimpeded all the way to the balcony.
At that moment, a Batplane was flying steadily about two meters above and parallel to the balcony floor.
The fact that it could use turbine engines to achieve flight maneuvers only helicopters could manage was some kind of black magic.
At that moment, Batman was escorting Dr. Hugo onto the Batplane.
"You don't seriously think this plane will fare any better than those helicopters did, do you?"
A whirlwind stirred, and amidst the rising dust in the dark night, the White Knight's towering figure exuded an oppressive presence.
Had it not been affected by Batman's Pulse Signal Jammer, and had its internal electronics not been fried, the White Knight's glowing V-shaped blue eyes would have looked incredibly cool in this scenario.
"No, I never intended to use this against you," Batman said in a low voice, looking at Dr. Hugo, who was now securely restrained and lying beneath the pilot's seat.
Inside the Batplane, the whirring of machinery abruptly ceased as Batman donned a new suit of armor.
The heavy, black metal had a distinctive, almost otherworldly texture.
"Master Bruce, I must remind you that while Promethium batteries have a much greater capacity than nano-batteries, they are far less stable. Furthermore, we haven't tested whether doing this will cause a reaction between the Promethium batteries and the Promethium Alloy in the suit," Alfred said from the Batcave, holding a cup of coffee and standing behind Barbara as he looked at the screen.
"We don't have time for more tests, Alfred."
Batman pressed a button, free-falling until he landed in front of Qingshui.
The Anti-Puppeteer Armor!
After numerous modifications and redesigns, this suit was equipped with an airflow stabilization system similar to the one previously installed on Batman's cape. Its extreme weight was specifically designed to prevent excessive interference from air currents.
Additionally, its outer shell was plated with Promethium, granting it incredible defensive capabilities and immunity to most energy attacks, including magic. An electric motor was also integrated internally, making this suit an almost perfect exoskeleton armor.
*Boom!*
Two metallic fists, one black and one white, collided, sending out a shockwave.
The Anti-Puppeteer Armor remained completely still, while the White Knight stumbled back several steps.
This wasn't because the White Knight was weaker than the Anti-Puppeteer Armor; it was due to the latter's immense weight.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Read 1111+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------