"I've been to over thirty law firms since this morning, and not a single one is willing to take on the case against Kingpin."
"Even if someone was willing, they'd give up after being persuaded by their colleagues."
For the first time, Batman felt stumped by something.
Whether it was the Justice League being infected by Joker's virus, or him having his spine broken by Bane and thrown into a demon pit, Batman never felt it was as tricky as simply finding a lawyer this time.
Because lawyers often deal with various forces, they understand Kingpin better than ordinary people—the underground Gang emperor who began to expand his influence in New York a year ago and now virtually occupies the entire Hell's Kitchen.
It was precisely because they understood that no lawyer was willing to take on this business.
"Perhaps you could try looking for those rookie lawyers; maybe they don't understand Kingpin's power and would dare to team up with you?"
"Of course, it's more likely that you and that rookie lawyer would be found in a trash can one morning, shattered into countless pieces."
This was the advice given by the burly, bald lawyer at the twenty-fourth law firm Batman visited.
Batman responded with a heavy punch to the guy, and this big man, who was two heads taller than Batman, acted extremely weak, covering his face and not uttering a sound after being hit, not even daring to say another harsh word.
The search for a lawyer was fruitless.
"Perhaps it's time to try Plan B...?"
Batman constantly thought about a series of questions in his mind: Dr. Otto, Kingpin, cooperation with Stark, the Tesseract, the Osborn murder case... At the same time, he moved ceaselessly through various parts of New York, buying a large number of parts.
These included components for making night vision devices, thermal imagers, sonar devices, gas masks, miniature radio receivers, ice skate blades, listening devices... almost everything with purchasable accessories on the market.
It could be said that apart from his cape, batmobile, Bat wings, and their associated items like electromagnetic launchers and missiles, Batman armed himself to the teeth as much as possible.
With so many items, Batman rented a pickup truck for transport, and each time he met a different seller, he wore different clothes, hairstyles, and accents.
Sometimes Batman even wore shoe lifts or deliberately hunched his back to vary his appearance.
Although this was overly cautious, to successfully achieve his goal of returning to Gotham, Batman didn't mind perfecting all these details.
Creak!
Driving the rented pickup truck, Batman parked the vehicle in an uninhabited alley about twenty miles from the Abandoned Shipyard, then wrapped all the purchased parts in waterproof bags and threw them into the Sewer.
He had already scouted New York's Sewer system in advance; from here, he could follow the Sewer all the way to within two kilometers of the Abandoned Shipyard.
Batman spent the next several hours busy with this task until he ensured all parts were accounted for and placed in the Sewer without getting wet.
As soon as it got dark, Batman could take these parts one by one to his temporary operational center.
"I wonder how Dr. Otto is doing now... If he really killed those researchers on the third floor of the Osborn Group, I won't be able to continue cooperating with him."
New York's Sewer was not as clean and tidy as rumored; the stench remained its main theme.
Even with his strong will, Batman didn't intend to endure the hardship; after finishing his work, he returned the rented pickup truck and went back to Peter Parker's apartment for a refreshing shower.
"Tonight, I need to go to the Osborn Group to investigate whether Dr. Otto was truly responsible," Batman thought to himself.
"Target identified as Dr. Otto... He has four metal tentacles behind him, just like... just like an octopus. Officer, please give the order."
In the Sewer of Brooklyn, the atmosphere was unusually tense.
Over fifty fully armed SWAT Officers from Manhattan and Brooklyn, carrying rifles or submachine guns, slowly formed a encirclement, surrounding the makeshift "laboratory" built in the Sewer.
Close enough, the Police could clearly see Dr. Otto, with disheveled hair and a bulging figure, busily conducting experiments among the staggered experimental equipment.
Behind Dr. Otto, four mechanical tentacles, each about three meters long, worked in concert, allowing Dr. Otto to almost simultaneously operate four or five different instruments.
These instruments were connected to wires pulled from the Sewer walls, occasionally sparking.
The Police were all hidden around the corner of the Sewer, not yet discovered by Dr. Otto, who was engrossed in his experiment.
"Send one person to disarm and negotiate with Dr. Otto, try to avoid provoking his emotions, and focus on appeasement."
"We are still unclear about the special abilities of Dr. Otto's octopus tentacles; currently, we know they possess immense strength, and other functions cannot be ruled out..."
"Dr. Otto is a World-leading nuclear physicist; do not shoot unless absolutely necessary, prioritize using a Taser to incapacitate him."
On the ground, George Stacy sat in a Police car and instructed.
"Yes, Officer," the Police Officer reporting from the Sewer replied.
Soon, Captain Fick of the Brooklyn Special Operations Team removed all firearms except for a pistol holstered at his lower back, raised his hands, took a few steps, turned a corner, and emerged from his hiding place:
"Dr. Otto, my daughter has loved physics since she was a child and considers you her idol. I never expected to meet you here."
"Who?!" Dr. Otto suddenly turned his head and stared at Fick, who had his hands raised.
Almost at the same moment, the four metal tentacles behind him also suddenly left their respective experimental instruments, unanimously pointing their tips at Fick.
Similar to the claw marks left in the empty laboratory on the ground, Dr. Otto's metal tentacles also had three claws that opened and closed at their ends.
Gulp.
Even though Fick was an experienced SWAT Officer, facing a scientist who was possibly insane and four tentacles swaying like pythons, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
"I'm Fick, Dr.," Fick forced himself to remain calm, "It must be hard to conduct experiments underground, right? We've prepared a new laboratory for you on the surface. Would you like to come and see it with me?"
Dr. Otto shook his head, turning to glance at his nuclear fusion device:
"No, I won't go. My experiment is almost complete. I've already found the problem, and I'm not far from success... Changing locations would waste too much time."
"Dr., believe me, the new laboratory will not only save your time but also provide you with a more comfortable environment, shortening your experimental time..." Fick tried to persuade him.
"No, Fick, I ask you to believe me instead... Give me some time, and my nuclear fusion will surely change the World!"
Dr. Otto still refused; he couldn't wait to see the day his experiment succeeded and didn't want to bother with it any longer.
"Nuclear fusion is very dangerous, you..." As soon as Fick heard the word "nuclear fusion," he seemed to immediately grasp the key point, pointing to the constantly flickering sparks on the exposed wires.
But before he could finish his sentence, Dr. Otto angrily interrupted him, his tentacles behind him flailing menacingly, one of them extending, almost touching Fick:
"You don't understand! No energy is safer than nuclear fusion! I won't blow up the entire Brooklyn like in the movies; I will only usher the World into a new era, no longer dependent on energy..."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
While Dr. Otto was explaining about nuclear fusion energy, whether it was his emotions or his tentacles that made the Police perceive him as a threat, black muzzles immediately pointed at Dr. Otto.
"Don't shoot, my tentacles pose no threat," Dr. Otto raised his hands, "There's a chip behind me that firmly protects my brain. I'm not some out-of-control terminator, just a scientist who wants to change the World for me."
Seeing that words couldn't make Dr. Otto voluntarily leave the Sewer, Fick could only change his strategy, his lips moving slightly as he whispered into the communication system:
"The target's tentacles can connect instruments to power, so they likely have insulating properties. We need to incapacitate Dr. Otto and destroy the chip behind him... Gunmen one, two, three, and four prepare, fire Tasers."