"Clearly, we've been the ones fighting for America all along, so why do people only recognize you so-called superheroes?"
It was evident that this commander was a staunch anti-superhero advocate.
"Why do you think I haven't launched an attack yet? I've just been waiting for you superheroes to walk right into my trap."
As he spoke, he was already moving swiftly, closing the distance between himself and Bruce, who was still struggling to get up from the ground. Seizing Bruce by the throat, he slammed him onto the ground and dragged him several meters.
"Cough, cough..."
Even with the protection of his armor, Bruce found himself struggling to breathe.
"Uncomfortable, isn't it?" The commander smirked, his tone dripping with mockery.
But the expression he wanted to see never appeared on Bruce's face.
Instead, Bruce simply curled his lips into a calm, almost taunting smile.
"You're just jealous of them," Bruce said. "Jealous that they're loved and admired by the public. It has nothing to do with honor or duty."
"You're just envious."
"Envious that superheroes stole all the glory you think should be yours... Envious of the power they have—power you've never even come close to possessing... Envious that—"
A vein bulged on the commander's forehead as Bruce spoke. His grip on Bruce's throat tightened with fury.
He didn't give Bruce a chance to finish. With a furious snarl, he flung Bruce through the air.
This time, it was clear—the commander was truly enraged. Bruce crashed violently into a residential building.
"Ugh..."
A pained groan escaped Bruce's lips.
To the commander, that sound was the sweetest music in the world.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you," he said, stepping forward slowly, savoring the moment. "After all, America still needs you so-called superheroes for certain tasks."
He continued approaching, clearly intent on breaking Bruce not just physically but mentally as well.
But just as he was about to reach Bruce, the Dark Knight—lying among the rubble—suddenly moved.
With a sharp whoosh, his grappling gun fired.
The commander tensed, expecting an attack. But instead of striking him, the grappling line wrapped tightly around his neck several times.
Bruce pulled the trigger again, propelling himself toward the commander at high speed.
The commander attempted to intercept him mid-air, but Bruce's reflexes were far beyond his expectations.
In an instant, Bruce dodged his grasp and landed effortlessly behind him.
And just before touching the ground, he had already planted a small explosive device on the commander's back.
The moment Bruce landed, he mustered all his strength and hurled the commander away.
Before the commander could even hit the ground—
Boom!
The explosive detonated.
The powerful blast sent the commander flying once again, this time crashing violently into a command vehicle.
The soldiers inside the vehicle, realizing something was wrong, abandoned it and fled.
Bruce, however, collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily. But even as he did, he swiped across his gauntlet, hacking into their command channel.
Adjusting his voice modulator, Bruce finally spoke.
"All personnel, stand down immediately. Restore everything to its original state."
The voice was identical to the commander's.
Some soldiers found the order strange, but none dared to question it.
Slowly, they began to withdraw.
"May, take those two and leave," Bruce instructed. He knew they couldn't stay here any longer. "Head to the old Kane Manor."
If the U.S. military could find this place today, then New York's supervillains could find it tomorrow.
Bruce understood all too well—the best he could do was buy enough time for Aunt May and the others to relocate.
"Are you okay?"
Aunt May could tell from Bruce's voice that the young man was clearly feeling weak.
"Don't worry. You all go ahead—I'll catch up soon." Bruce slowly got to his feet.
Aunt May didn't say anything, but Bruce knew she had accepted his suggestion.
His faceplate clicked back into place, displaying the GPS locations of Aunt May and the others.
By now, Aunt May had already taken the two Spider-Men and left the Spider Cave.
Seeing this, Bruce finally felt a bit relieved.
The commander, who had been left dazed by Bruce's explosion, was beginning to recover and was now stepping out of his command vehicle.
It was clear that he hadn't suffered any serious injuries—just the shockwave from the blast had knocked him off balance.
Now that he was back on his feet, he turned and saw his wrecked command vehicle, which had been crushed by his own fall.
Fury surged through him.
"You're dead meat!" The commander grabbed the underside of the vehicle with both hands and, to Bruce's surprise, lifted it effortlessly.
With a face full of rage, he turned toward Bruce.
In the next second, he hurled the command vehicle straight at the Bat.
Bruce reacted quickly—he had already aimed his grappling gun at a nearby building.
But just as he fired, the grappling gun malfunctioned.
Now, Bruce could do nothing but brace himself for impact. He knew the damage would be severe.
At that moment, a figure appeared in front of him, intercepting the incoming command vehicle.
The expected violent impact never came.
Bruce opened his eyes to see a woman clad in a crimson spider suit, holding the command vehicle above her head.
"Don't give up—not yet." Jessica smiled at Bruce as she held the vehicle.
"Hey, big guy! Is this yours?" Jessica shouted at the commander before casually tossing the command vehicle back at him.
The commander barely managed to catch the vehicle thrown by Spider-Woman.
But by the time he set it down, Spider-Woman and Bruce were nowhere to be seen.
"ARGH!!!"
He pounded the already mangled front of the command vehicle in frustration. But no amount of destruction could quench his fury.
"I'll hunt you all down!"
Meanwhile, Bruce and Spider-Woman had already caught up with Aunt May and the others.
"You could've just left. Why did you come back?" Bruce's first words upon landing beside them were a question—why had they risked returning?
"Aunt May was worried about you," Jessica answered simply, explaining why she had come back to rescue the Bat.
Bruce turned to look at Aunt May, who was watching him with concern.
"...Sorry." He apologized to her, then reached into his utility belt and pulled out a detonator-like device.
With a press of the button, a loud explosion erupted in the distance over Queens.
Bruce didn't hear what the others were saying. He only felt his eyelids growing heavy.
(End of Chapter)
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