Chapter 190: The Old Man
"How is that possible?"
Black Widow stared at Nick Fury with obvious disbelief.
She'd infiltrated the Adirondack Mountains facility three times. During the first two operations with Hawkeye, she'd covertly prepared while he remained unaware.
Before the third operation, she'd imprisoned Hawkeye in the Cube, then entered the Adirondack facility using Crossbones Rumlow as human courier.
If the Tesseract data was corrupted, all her efforts had been wasted.
"I regret delivering this news, Natasha." Nick Fury's expression was grave. "Either the Adirondack research team made errors, or someone tampered with your data."
CRACK!
Natasha's spine went cold. She recalled that during her Adirondack data theft, another mysterious operative had been active simultaneously.
At the time, she'd worried the mystery figure might plant viruses in the Tesseract data. But for an extended period, nothing had materialized.
Even Black Widow had concluded she'd overestimated the threat.
But now, hearing Fury confirm the Tesseract data was compromised, Natasha finally understood.
Exactly as Fury said—she'd been played.
Natasha immediately recounted everything that occurred at the Adirondack facility. Fury's expression darkened progressively throughout her explanation:
"So this mystery operative almost certainly planted a virus in your transmitted data, corrupting the information and possibly even tracing location D-4?"
Despite the Cube prison's potential exposure, Fury still used designation codes.
"Correct. If I didn't know who was responsible before, I might have leads now." Black Widow said.
Nick Fury didn't look at Black Widow. Instead, his gaze followed the direction Tony Stark and Agent Hill had departed, speaking aloud:
"How many people could build firewalls that block that egomaniac? How many could infiltrate the safe house undetected? Who could bypass the formidable Black Widow, penetrating the Adirondack facility right under your nose?"
"The world contains countless people. Perhaps someone could accomplish these individually. But the problem is all three incidents occurred in New York."
Black Widow clenched her fists. If she'd initially felt reluctant about Fury assigning her to Stark Industries—even questioning the Pym situation—
Now, even without Fury's directive, she would volunteer for New York deployment.
"It's Batman." Natasha said through gritted teeth.
"Exactly." Fury confirmed. "Based on capabilities and technology he demonstrated in my safe house, I suspect he's genuinely capable of all this."
Black Widow nodded. She showed no indication of leaving—clearly the problem remained unresolved:
"What about location D-4? If Batman's truly responsible, he definitely knows the Cube's position."
"I don't believe Agent Nineteen alone can stop him."
Nick Fury obviously shared that assessment. He studied Black Widow intently:
"That's why I need you contacting Hank Pym. I don't need their minds. I need Ant-Man and the Wasp."
---
Inside New Mexico's gamma bomb research facility.
Batman concealed himself in shadow. He'd navigated ventilation ducts and drainage systems to reach the facility's center-left position.
Though spider-robots had already provided personnel distribution data before his physical arrival, Batman verified everything visually upon arrival.
A massive metal cage dominated the space. Beyond patrolling soldiers, virtually every other operative had concentrated here.
The cage was metal construction. Thick bars measured three fingers' width. Inside wasn't a monster but an elderly man who appeared remarkably comfortable.
His skull was an entire size larger than normal humans—width nearly matching his shoulder span.
The oversized cranium hadn't allowed his features adequate spacing. Instead, his nose, eyes, and mouth compressed together, rendering his appearance both comical and grotesque.
The cage contained wall hangings, a television, and a sofa. The TV played "Dora the Explorer." The old man reclined comfortably on the sofa, laughing at the cartoon.
Snacks and beverages covered the table before the sofa. Books scattered across the nearby floor.
Beyond the cage itself, he appeared entirely ordinary—just a homebound individual with an abnormally enlarged head.
But ordinary people didn't warrant deploying most facility personnel to this single location.
"Most Hydra soldiers' body language and micro-expressions indicate noticeable tension."
Batman observed silently from concealment.
He noted the underground passage entrance sat directly beneath the cage. Accessing it would require neutralizing these Hydra soldiers and the old man.
"Subject's cranium is extremely enlarged—possibly from gamma experimentation. Cage positioned directly above the entrance. General Ross clearly believes he can guard the passage. As for the Hydra soldiers, they're more likely monitoring this old man."
Instantly, Batman selected the optimal protocol from the dozens he'd prepared aboard the Batwing before departing for New Mexico.
Batman had categorized gamma radiation mutations into several classes: intelligence, physical, and surreal.
Regardless of which category applied to this caged old man, Batman would immediately execute the corresponding contingency.
CLINK. CLINK.
Several crisp sounds erupted without warning among the Hydra soldiers surrounding the cage.
They instinctively looked down. Most saw nothing. A few spotted cylindrical objects rolling near their feet.
Before they could react, blindingly intense white light—capable of literally blinding anyone viewing directly—suddenly replaced the facility's internal illumination.
These weren't upgraded sonic grenades lacking concussive force. These were strobing smoke grenades.
Accompanying the white light came extremely dense white smoke composed of sedatives, anesthetic gases, powerful hypnotics, and white phosphorus. Normal humans breathing the mixture would immediately experience numbed respiratory tracts, mouths, and nostrils—briefly unable to breathe or cry for help.
Since Batman had precisely calculated these Hydra soldiers' distribution patterns, his strobing smoke grenades achieved perfect coverage.
WHOOSH!
Inside the cage, the old man's head snapped up the instant the grenades clattered to the floor. His skin rapidly shifted to crimson.
White light and thick smoke obscured all vision. But rather than panicking, he curiously inhaled two deep breaths of white smoke, savoring it before slowly exhaling.
He wasn't concerned about the gases. After gamma radiation exposure, testing had confirmed immunity to virtually all toxins. His body was hard as steel. His strength exceeded twenty tons.
But suddenly, through the smoke, a black hand gripped the cage's iron bars. The next moment, he and the entire cage lifted into the air.