Marvel’s Shadowed Knight

Miles clearly couldn't understand why they still needed to find that bat when he had already explained that he had seen everything.

But the Peter Parker standing in front of him insisted on tracking down that rather intimidating-looking bat.

"Can we discuss not going after him?"

Following behind Peter Parker, Miles made an attempt to persuade this Spider-Man to reconsider.

If it wasn't absolutely necessary, Miles really didn't want to see that bat again.

Something about him just didn't feel friendly.

"Miles, you have to trust me—he's actually a pretty reasonable guy."

Peter Parker, on the other hand, didn't think Wayne was unfriendly at all. In his eyes, Wayne's demeanor simply meant he wasn't much of a talker.

If Wayne didn't want to talk, then Peter could just talk more to make up for it—simple as that.

"But I can't shake the feeling that whenever he looks at me, there's nothing but deep resentment in his eyes."

Miles shuddered at the thought of Wayne's intimidating glare.

Peter Parker, however, considered that completely normal. From what he remembered, that bat always looked like he was carrying the weight of the world, no matter who he was looking at.

Peter stopped walking, turned around, and gave Miles a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Trust me, he doesn't just look at you that way. He looks at me the same way too."

With that, Peter didn't say another word and sprinted off in the direction Wayne had gone.

"...Alright then."

Since his Spider-Man mentor had put it that way, Miles had no choice but to go along with it.

But to be honest, Peter's speed was something the newly-powered Miles could barely keep up with.

After running for a while, Wayne quickly realized he had two shadows trailing behind him.

Thanks to his training as Batman, he knew exactly how to evade their amateurish pursuit.

To be fair, the older one wasn't bad at tracking, but the younger one was full of holes.

With a quick shot, his grappling hook launched, pulling him toward another location.

This time, however, he didn't move at his usual deliberate pace—he vanished from his previous spot in an instant.

Peter Parker, who had been slowing down to make sure Miles could keep up, was caught off guard by the sudden burst of speed.

He didn't have time to worry about Miles anymore. First, they needed to catch that bat—Miles could wait.

Even though he moved at his fastest speed to reach where the bat should have landed, Batman was nowhere to be seen.

It was as if the guy had suddenly gained superpowers and turned invisible.

"Whoosh!"

A Batarang whizzed past Peter's ear and embedded itself into a nearby wall.

If not for his Spider-Sense staying completely silent, Peter might have thought that thing was aimed right at his throat.

"Was that really necessary as a greeting?"

Turning around, Peter addressed the bat, who was now emerging from the shadows.

"Why are you following me?"

Wayne's words were, as always, short and to the point.

He couldn't figure out what these two wanted from him.

"We might need your help."

The cautious way Peter spoke was something Wayne hadn't expected—he hadn't seen this side of him in the movies.

After all, a guy who would rush straight into Kingpin's headquarters after hearing a kid's account of things couldn't possibly be this methodical.

Then again, maybe it had something to do with the fact that this Peter Parker had always fought alone.

"I… still haven't fully gotten used to my powers. I think… you might need to slow down a bit."

At that moment, Miles finally caught up to the two of them.

"The kid should have already explained everything to you.

You two can handle it yourselves. I have my own plans, so it's best if we don't interfere with each other."

With that, Wayne tossed a smoke bomb.

No matter how sharp Spider-Man's senses were, they couldn't possibly be sharper than Superman's.

By the time the smoke cleared, Wayne was already gone.

"Cough, cough... Looks like you were right."

Miles, still coughing from the smoke, weakly rested his hand on Peter Parker's shoulder.

This time, he was completely convinced—Peter had been telling the truth. That bat really did treat everyone the same way.

Wayne, meanwhile, didn't care what Peter Parker and Miles were planning to do. As long as the story followed its natural course, they wouldn't run into any major problems, and they would eventually find their way to the other Spider-People.

Besides, if these Spider-People didn't go to the private lab funded by Kingpin, wouldn't that mean Kingpin himself might not end up going there either?

From any angle, Wayne felt that if he interfered too much and altered the story's progression, it wouldn't just cause problems for the Spider-People—it could also throw off his own plans.

His decision made Thomas, the voice in his head, quite pleased.

To Thomas, Wayne had made the most logical choice—his own plan always came first.

Only if his objectives remained unaffected would it make sense to help others.

This was exactly why Thomas had repeatedly refused Cyborg's invitations to become a consultant for the U.S. military.

At the time, his only goal had been to maintain order in Gotham. Anything beyond that held no meaning for him.

Before heading home, Wayne meticulously checked the entire neighborhood, making sure Kingpin's informants weren't lurking around.

What he had done today should have served as a clear warning to them.

But caution was always the best policy.

Fortunately, it seemed that both Kingpin and Tombstone had decided to leave this poor neighborhood alone.

There were no more spies keeping constant watch on the Parker house, and the usual homeless drifters serving as mobile surveillance had disappeared.

Wayne landed silently in the backyard of the house he had recently purchased, moving so lightly it was as if he weighed nothing at all.

"Maybe I can finally get some sleep."

Stepping into his home, Wayne carefully put away his gear before rolling his shoulders and heading to the bedroom.

The moment his head hit the pillow, he was out cold.

But just two hours later, his eyes snapped open again.

"Mother fucker!"

Now, Wayne finally understood how Batman managed to fight crime at night, maintain a social life during the day, and still find time to philosophically engage with ballerinas from the Far East.

With this kind of sleep cycle—where just two hours fully recharged him—anyone could pull it off.

Unfortunately for Wayne, he needed to get used to this new way of sleeping.

To him, a good night's sleep meant resting until sunrise.

But outside, the sky was still pitch black.

(End of Chapter)

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