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Chapter 17– The Crusade has Begun.
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"... Batman." I slam the phone back onto the receiver, ending the conversation there.
Some might say that I was an idiot for revealing myself, not dragging the conversation out, and not trying to gather all the information I could. But the simple fact of the matter is, though I am dressed and playing the act of a superhero, I am not one. It is not my goal to stop the big criminal known as Kingpin, and I am not focused on bringing Wilson Fisk down and sending him to prison. The other heroes can take care of that like they usually do.
My one and only goal is to become a nuisance, to become a big stick that gets jammed in the cogs of the machine that is Wilson Fisk's criminal empire, to halt and destabilise all operations. So it is only to my benefit and the progress of my goal that he knows I am coming for him because that will weigh on his mind and be a little fact in his noggin that is constantly bumping around.
I have basically just come up to his big gates and started rattling on the bars with my baseball bat, screaming, little pig, little pig, let me in. I have messed up a serious business arrangement for him and depleted a source of weaponry and advancements. And all I have left him with is a name, Batman.
The fact that he called this facility minutes after it was reported, thinking that he was getting ahead of the curve, his expectation were completely overturned when I picked up the phone. No doubt he is going to look up Batman, have his men do a detailed search and get whatever eggheads he can force together to start investigating me at full force.
Well, maybe not full force, but definitely, a good amount of effort will be going into finding out everything they can about Batman. This will at least take a little bit of the heat off of Felicia, maybe. All I know is that it isn't a bad thing that I just did that. This will give Felicia and me time to try and find something to hold over Fisk's head so that he will leave Felicia and her mother alone. Guys like Fisk always have dirty closets. Either we blackmail, or we bring him down, whichever comes first.
*BOOM* *BTOOOOOM* *BOOM*
It was around a minute or so later, after I slammed down the phone, that I suddenly heard explosions and rumbling all throughout the facility. Peeking my head over the desk from my hiding spot behind it, I can see all the AIM agents suddenly become startled and drop everything they are doing to go and pick up weaponry, already knowing of the threat that has come upon them. I watch as they all begin to run around like headless chickens before- SPIDER SENSE!
I quickly ducked behind the desk and stayed steady, trying to avoid the danger that was rapidly approaching. I don't know what was on its way here or how dangerous it actually is, but I know that my spider sense never lies. I am not going to be an idiot like Peter and doubt it because it is my ability, and then I would be doubting myself, and I refuse to doubt myself.
"Sir, we are under attack. What are your orders-" I hear the door open, and then one of the AIM goons asks before stopping after realising there is no one inside. No doubt they came to ask for orders from their superior, who right now is passed out on the floor next to me behind the desk. I am glad I did that because, with no reason to stay, the AIM agent quickly leaves either to go find his boss or to go help fight. Either way, he is out of my hair.
I wait a few moments before one again, peeking my head out from cover and by then, everyone is already moving to meet the attack and defend this place. I slink forward to look out the window, and I can see the last of the scientists shuffling through the doors to attack their attackers. I don't see any of the grunts heading to any other place in the facility, which means that there is no other entrance to this secret facility, so they have to fight, or they can't access it, which is why they are going to fight, since that is the only way out of here.
With them occupied, I quickly leave the room only to come face to face with the black vizor of a yellow hazmat suit.
"Wha-" I don't give them time to do anything else and punch them in the throat, now knowing that the suit isn't that protective, and I stop them from calling their comrades. Then, acting quickly, I slide around the choking agent and wrap my arms around his neck and press on it until he slumps down in my arms, and I gently lower him to the ground, not wanting to make any more noise.
Looking around, I can see no one else around, so this guy must have just been a straggler. Though just in case, I jump high up onto the ceiling and start to move around with my keen eye looking in every which direction, but I fail to spot any more guys in yellow. Moving on, I jump back down onto the passageways and then I quickly hop over the railing and grab onto it to swing myself underneath it, which is where I attach myself and stay hidden in the shadows.
I wait for a moment more and look around a bit more from my hiding spot in the shadows since you can't be too careful before I hop down. Then, crouching low, I begin to move through the maze of little labs they had down here, checking the ones I go past and being disgusted by the sights inside, none of the test subjects having survived the cruelties they were subjected to.
Ignoring that and pushing it out of my mind, I rise to walk upright, satisfied that there is no one watching at the moment, or at least no one watching that can do anything about my presence here. I move quickly and finally arrive at the cage full of prisoners, all of whom are surprised to see me but don't say anything, frightened by my ominous visage.
Which is all the more frightening since I am in a pitch-black suit, and my mouth isn't even uncovered, leaving no hint of the human behind the suit. It is probably why Bruce Wayne did it, to not be too frightening, or perhaps it is like in the Nolan trilogy where he wants everyone to know that it can be anybody behind the mask.
"Y-YOU!? W-WHAT ARE YOU!? GET THE HELL AWAY FROM US!" When I near the cage, one of the newly induced prisoners manages to find their voice and begins to shout at me, which causes me to stop a few inches away. I stay still and focus on my senses, spreading them throughout the facility to see if anything is reacting to the prisoner's cries, but there is nothing.
"S-STOP!" The man cries once more as I resume my path. But I ignore him and continue on, and when I finally get to the cage, I reach my hands out and grip two of the bars. Then, with my grip firm, I begin to wrench them apart, the metal squeaking and groaning as I force them into a new position, widening them enough that all of the inhabitants of the cage can get through. I have done this for a reason, I could have just broken the lock on the gate and opened the door, but I need these people to listen to me because if they all run off like headless chickens, they will probably die, so showcasing my strength should make them more agreeable.
I step back far enough from the cage, allowing them ample room to all get out, but none of them makes a move, and they all stay still and silent, even the one that was so vocal earlier. So then, realising that my strategy may have been even more effective than I anticipated, I step back a little further before opening my mouth to speak.
"Stay low, stay quiet and stay behind me. I am free in you all, but you are still not safe. Listen to me exactly, and you will live to see the sun." I say, my modulated voice making some of the prisoners flinch at its harsh edge, but I ignore it. They stay still a second longer, with none of them moving as I look at them before one of the younger prisoners, a girl no older than eight, steps forward and proceeds to try and exit the cage.
I watch as she clambers over, and I notice that she must have been one of the older prisoners that have been here awhile as she hobbles on her feet to the opening. And then she begins to try and lift herself out of the cage, finding it hard to get through the bars, and myself and the others are all just watching her struggle.
Kicking myself for not acting sooner, I quickly move over to her, the girl freezing at my movements before I crouch down and look at her, and she looks back at me. I move my hands and gently grab hold of her under the armpits before lifting her out of the cage and setting her down on her feet. I hover for a moment before I am assured that she is steady, and then I look over towards the people, still hesitating.
"Hurry up. They may be back any moment. Either stay here and wait for them or come with me. It is your decision." My words reach their ears, and they all look toward one another, waiting for somebody to make the first move. And then, an old man at the back sitting against the cage bars gets up and hobbles over. He actually looks like his legs were asleep, he must have been sitting there for quite a long time, having given up all hope, but now for some reason, he is moving again. Watching the older man move, the others also feel emboldened enough to follow him, and they all begin to exit the cage one after the other.
Once outside of the cage, they all stand around and wait awkwardly. Seeing the prisoners patiently standing still and not saying anything, I nod my head, pleased that they are following my orders and that they have the will to live. Then, watching as some of the newer prisoners take to carrying or supporting the children or those too old or injured to move quickly, I turn around and begin to move without looking back, assured that they are following me when I hear their feet shuffling behind me.
I begin to walk towards my destination, but instead of taking them to the stairs which would lead up to the entrance and to their freedom, I rather walk to a wall. I can't take them out there because it is now a veritable warzone with AIM and what I presume to be Shield fighting with no holds barred, using high-tech and experimental weaponry like it is going out of fashion. To take them out there right now would be risking their lives, so as much as I hate it, they will have to stay inside this wretched place a little longer.
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"Stay near the wall. Don't move away from it, and keep behind me." I order as we reach the wall of the room, and then hugging it, we begin to walk along it sticking to the most hidden place we can until I signal to stop right beside a door. Earlier, as I watched the AIM soldiers reacting to the attack, I saw them all coming into this room and then leaving it with weapons on them, so it stands to reason that this must be their armoury. And right now, this is the only place I can envision these people behind me will be safe for the time being until AIM is defeated.
With all of the prisoners waiting out of sight, I quickly turn and look through the little window into the room in which I can see it is fully stocked to the teeth with guns and all sorts of dangerous items meant to inflict pain, all either laid out on shelves or hung on the wall. Thankfully there are no guards or anything inside, so I go to push the door open, but my hands meet resistance, and the door does not budge an inch.
I look down at the door, which is when I spot a little keypad to the right of the entrance, restricting my access to this room without knowledge of the actual passcode. I stare at it for a moment before I realise I will not be able to decode this without some sort of specialised tool, and I don't have time to waste here since I should go and help take out AIM.
Deciding to go with a true and tested method, I gesture for the prisoners to move back, which they all do, and then with sufficient distance between us, I punch the keypad, destroying it in its entirety. Violence and damage are always the best alternatives when there isn't another option, it might not be a likeable thing, but it is an effective one. I reach my hand forward and try the door again, but to my immense frustration, it doesn't budge again, and so I will have to double down.
If violence and damage don't work, then there is only one thing you can do, use even more violence and damage. I rear back and kick my foot at the point of the door where the lock is usually paced, and with a bang, it is thrown wide open. I step into the room and look around for a second and make sure it is all clear before stepping back out and motioning for the prisoners to enter the room, which they all do one by one.
For some reason, this facility is a lot less secure and protected than I would expect an AIM facility to be. There is seriously something wrong here. The only possible reasons I can think of are that this facility was only recently set up, the security has been shut down for some reason (maybe Shield did it), the scientists were neglectful of their safety and focused more on their research, or they relied on the fact that this place was secret. Whatever it is, this is working in my favour.
"W-Why are we here? I thought... that we were being freed?" The same guy who was shouting earlier speaks, though this time he is more soft-spoken and not so loud. They were all blindfolded when they arrived at this dreaded place, and so they had no idea of the layout. And they didn't question where I was taking them, but now I had just led them into a room with no other exit. They are obviously confused.
"This facility is under attack. And there is only one way in and out. Which is where the battle is taking place. You will have to stay here until the yellow hazmat suits are gone and dealt with." I speak calmly, understanding that these people are scared and vulnerable. They don't need cold and inhuman interactions. They need to feel safe and assured that their freedom is already a done thing, so I explain the situation to them.
"So, we are just supposed to stay here and wait? Then what was the point of taking us out of the cage? You should have just left us in there!" The same man asks again, finding his voice, and it is slowly regaining its confidence. That is actually a good point there, but he forgot one fact.
"I will not let a single one of you remain inside that cage. You are not animals. You are human, and you deserve to be treated as such." At my words, they all go silent, and while the newer prisoners are quiet, having been cowed into it, I can tell my message resonates more with the others that have been here longer. I can see the lights in their eyes slowly righten up, even if it is just a smidgen, as they are reminded of their rights as living sentient beings.
"Stay here. One of you should keep watch at the door for the people coming to take you away from this." Saying so, I see some nods of understanding from a few of the people, and with that, I turn and make my way out of the room as an older gentleman rises from his seat and walks to the door. I don't need to look back to know that man is watching me walk away through the window in the door, knowing exactly what his job is.
I have every confidence that these people will all be free before the day is up. However, that does not mean that I can just leave them unattended and unprotected in an enemy base. This is why I took them to the armoury, where they are surrounded by all sorts of weaponry they can use if they find the need to. I may have told them to have someone keep watch for their rescuers, but that was only to reassure them and keep them calm when I meant something completely different.
The man watching the door understood precisely what I meant, which is why he is at the door. He is not waiting to catch sight of the people coming to free them. Instead, he is there to watch in case assholes dressed in yellow hazmat suits walk through that door. If they do, then they will use the weaponry to make a last stand, though I am sure it won't come to that. However, I will not risk or endanger their lives due to my own self-assuredness and confidence. That would be foolish.
Walking away and towards the exit, I find myself thinking that I have just wholly made a left turn from the kind of image I wanted to project of myself. I was supposed to be the cool, calm, stoic Batman that had a piercing gaze, but I just got all mushy and used way too many words there. Well, you know what? That is all Batman as well. He is the type of dude that sits on the swings and holds the hand of a girl about to die or sits down and talks with a struggling child. I am perfectly Batman.
Shaking my head to rid myself of such stupid thoughts, I leap up directly onto the passageway above and right in front of the double doors. Double doors that are no longer open, and this time I was not able to stick a Batarang in the middle of them, but it seems like these guys here are too focused on experimentation and not on security. I reach down and press the button next to the door, and with a little clicking sound, I hear the door open.
As I slowly push open the door, I can't help but think the particular AIM agents in this facility are pretty idiotic and arrogant. They rely solely on their secrecy for protection and not having doors locked from the inside because they don't think anybody would be able to get in. Shaking my head, I open the door just enough that I can pop my head outside and take a look at some of the going on, and it is not pretty in the least.
It can be best described as a gun side with both sides duking out and firing at each other from a distance, the AIM soldiers hunkering down here at the loading bay behind crates and pillars, while further down the way are what I presume to be-. Yep, going by the dark blue, nearly black body suits they have on, along with their contrastingly white boots and gloves along with the belt and harness around their upper chest to hold their equipment, those are Shield agents.
But the one stark difference in this fight between the two is their firepower. The Shield agents are all hiding behind the big X-Ray device and their own vehicles that they drove down here and are firing standard tactical weaponry. However, the AIM agents clearly have the upper hand here since they, along with using the same weapons as Shield, are also utilising high-tech and possibly experimental weaponry. I can see a few beams being shots at the Shield agents and forcing them to stay in cover, and it is clear why when the beam slams into a car and seriously dents the chassis of the vehicle.
With the way things are going, those prisoners stuck in the armoury are going to have to use those weapons to defend themselves when the AIM bastards come back to their lab victorious. Clearly, it is up to me to get involved and stop such a grave reality from coming to pass, and I am going to use my fists to prevent it.
Seeing that most of the AIM assholes are focused on firing down the passageway at the Shield agents, none of them are looking behind them, and so their flank is unprotected. With all the bullets being fired, it is pretty noisy, so no one takes any notice when I sneak forward on the roof of the room directly on top of one of the AIM agents.
Knowing I won't be able to stay hidden or sneaky for long, I decide to take out as many of them as I can undetected before it becomes an all-out slugfest. I drop down directly on top of the AIM agent and grab hold of the back of his skull and smash him to the ground as I come down, landing gently on the floor.
Satisfied that he is out for the count, I go to jump back onto the ceiling- I quickly jump backwards, avoiding the hail of gunfire that just came at me, my spider sense working correctly. I guess I am not as stealthy as I thought I was since some of the AIM agents just noticed me, and they have already informed their fellow agents about my presence.
I don't stop moving after hopping back and quickly transition into a series of backflips as the trail of gunfire follows after me, and on one of my flips, I pull out a Batarang and fling it directly at the guy shooting at me. My aim is accurate, and it embeds itself in the hand of the goon, making him cry out and drop his weapon and giving me some much-needed relief.
Note to self, try to pull back on all the flips and acrobatics. No doubt what I just performed are some of Spider-Man's telegraphed moves and could reveal my existence. But sometimes, if you have to flip, then you flip, I should still try to limit myself.
I don't have time to relax, however, as his other buddies are still aiming at me, and so I quickly dip into my utility belt and pull out a smoke bomb which I immediately throw at the ground. A cloud of smoke envelopes me entirely, and using that cover, I leapt back up and flipped to attach myself to the ceiling feet first.
I immediately run forward and out of the smoke. Then, using the element of surprise, since they did not expect me to be on the ceiling, I jumped off the roof railing a right hook into the closest agent. Then, leaping up, I land a heavy kick on the goon that is still cradling his hand that has my Batarang in it, and using his face as a platform, I jump to land a powerful knee into another AIM minion's face.
All three of them drop to the ground, and they will not be getting back up.
I quickly spot a few more agents turning to fire their guns, and unfortunately, they are aiming from three different angles, covering all my escapes. Fighting my urge to launch a web at two of the goons to take their guns since I don't use web shooters anymore, I jump up into the air, going to land on the ceiling and going to push off to launch at another target.
SPIDER SENSE!
"AGH!" I let out as a powerful beam strikes me right in my gut, unable to dodge since I am in the air, and it blasts me away. The pain of that blast was so immense that I would have surely cried out even longer, but the attack stifled my voice and knocked all of the air from my lungs.
"GAH," I grunt as my back slams into the wall, my body now embedded in the concrete next to the doors I just exited around thirty seconds ago. Feeling like I was just hit by a train, I take a moment to breathe, surprised my lungs didn't just force their way out through my mouth.
Reaching out a hand, I grasp the wall and pull myself out, ignoring the pain which will surely leave a big purple bruise tomorrow.
I really do have to stop with all the theatrics. This suit just isn't made for it. It isn't spandex.
Note to self, be better.