Chapter 59: Boiling Night Sky
"Hello? Manhattan precinct?"
"Can you take me away? I robbed, I stole, I'm a criminal—come get me!"
"Me too! I scammed a rich guy years ago. That's a crime, right? Take me too!"
"Please let me go to jail!"
Captain George Stacy was overwhelmed tonight. Emergency calls came one after another, not a single second of peace.
"Auggie, draft tomorrow's schedule. We need a psychiatrist to evaluate Norman Osborn."
Standing in the chaotic precinct, Captain George told his assistant Auggie:
"Also... tomorrow we need to process paperwork to release Dr. Octavius from custody. Free up a holding cell for us."
Assistant Auggie wiped cold sweat from his forehead. He knew tonight was destined to be sleepless—likely working through till dawn.
"Captain Stacy, even freeing one cell won't help..."
Auggie pointed at the operators still continuously answering calls:
"These guys have gone crazy somehow—fighting to turn themselves in. We've cleared more cold cases tonight than in six months."
"And their locations are all different—from Manhattan's Upper East Side to downtown. Like they planned to enter the precinct together."
Captain George Stacy scratched his head in frustration.
"I know. I even suspect these guys are Kingpin's men, trying mass imprisonment to spring him out."
"If that's true, Kingpin's being pretty stupid." Auggie shook his head.
"Captain, we've got a lead!" An operator stood up covering the phone receiver. "The guy on this call mentioned 'Batman'!"
"Really?!" George rushed over in two strides. "Ask what happened!"
The operator quickly continued communicating with the caller, then spoke with an ugly expression:
"He says he's surrounded by a bunch of Batmen. He'd rather go to prison than continue being tortured."
Hearing the word "Batman," George's already furrowed brows knitted even tighter:
"Have him provide locations. Send out all vehicles including Major Crimes. Bring in all these surrendering guys first."
The operator acknowledged. Soon the entire precinct's squad cars departed with sirens wailing, heading in all Manhattan directions.
Captain George sighed, returning to his office. He stared at the batarang removed from Norman Osborn's suit on his desk.
Initially he'd thought Batman was just another spandex-wearing guy like Spider-Man. But now he'd overturned that notion.
Batman didn't necessarily refer to one person. Very likely an organization, a group... possibly not even human.
Otherwise he couldn't explain why so many Manhattan suspects unanimously chose to surrender tonight.
WOO-WAH WOO-WAH—
Police sirens pierced Manhattan's night sky. Besides Hell's Kitchen two nights ago, all of Manhattan hadn't been this lively in ages.
Behind apartment windows along streets, heads cautiously peeked out, wanting to see what was happening.
Downtown Manhattan residents—where guns outnumbered parents—each tucked various firearms on their bodies, hid them under pillows.
Washington Park in downtown Manhattan—a squad car approached from afar, rapidly heading here.
Bats circled here. Startled by headlights and sirens, they fled in panic—looking like some vampire transforming into countless bats like in movies.
Cornett lay in Washington Park, staring at the pitch-black sky with lifeless eyes.
His rear was wet, hot, and slightly slippery. Nearly every bone below his abdomen had been shattered.
But Cornett felt nothing until the siren sounded—only then did his eyes emit a trace of light.
Cornett hastily propped both palms on the ground, crawling forward. Ignoring something foul dropping from his pant leg, he crawled while waving at the squad car:
"Great, wonderful! I'm here!"
"I just tried assaulting a lady! I'm a rapist! Take me away!"
"This park is haunted! There's a demon!"
Cornett would never forget what just happened.
Jobless, parentless, without family or money—tonight Cornett had targeted a waitress, forcibly dragging her into Washington Park to do something.
The waitress was much weaker, unable to resist.
Just as Cornett was about to succeed, he discovered in terror that the waitress—neither pretty nor young—suddenly vanished in an evil wind.
Replacing her was a black figure, cold to the point of despair. Without saying a word, he simply extended both hands, silently crushing every bone in Cornett's groin and legs.
Cornett, who'd easily subdued the waitress, couldn't budge this black figure despite all his strength—until he was literally knocked unconscious by pain, then awakened by pain again.
After repeating three times, Cornett completely collapsed.
Similar scenes played out across Manhattan right now. As few as one or two people, as many as gangs of dozens.
Either their bones were broken, or they were tied up like dumplings in black webbing, scattered like human art installations on the ground.
Madman, demon, ghost, bat, vampire, werewolf, Jack the Ripper...
Their descriptions of the perpetrator varied, but the "bat" symbol remained consistent. All this was Batman's work tonight.
Atop the Empire State Building, over four hundred meters high, wild wind made Batman's cape snap and flutter. The inferior cape damaged by the Green Goblin added a touch of loneliness to his figure in the night.
He looked down at flashing squad cars shuttling between crime scenes. Manhattan's night sky seemed to boil with activity.
After leaving Queens, Batman used the Batmobile's high mobility to traverse subway tunnels, using radio and Peter's frighteningly keen senses to monitor every crime scene he passed.
"I know you're a good child..."
Aunt May's words seemed to still linger in Batman's ears. He spread his cape, jumping from the Empire State Building's top. After catching himself with the grappling hook and cape, he landed safely, then drove the Batmobile straight to Hell's Kitchen.
Kingpin had been imprisoned, but his remaining forces still occupied Hell's Kitchen. Turk and Mac had mentioned Kingpin's two other subordinates—Turk and Bullseye Lester—still posed a threat.
Batman wouldn't let them become the next "Kingpin."
Meanwhile, in Hell's Kitchen.
Bullseye held a small tracking device, carefully examining it. He'd just obtained this from Black Cat's white fur collar when brushing past her.
"Black Cat, I think you need to explain what this is?"