PFC Chapter 3901 The Nameless Bat (71)
Chapter 3901 The Nameless Bat (71)
Chapter 3901 The Nameless Bat (Seventy-One)
Peter left the gems and blueprints with Harry, and while working in the lab, he kept thinking about Harry's words. Why did the mutants get into trouble?
Of course, that's not to say they shouldn't have accidents. In fact, to be precise, since the merger of Marvel's Earth 616 and DC's Earth 1, mutants have been the ones who have had the most accidents.
Mutants are the biggest destabilizing factor in the Marvel universe, but Superman and Wonder Woman in this universe aren't going to tolerate them. The X-Men are a little better off, but the Brotherhood of Mutants is truly being chased around by them and is being beaten to a pulp in just a few days.
Superman and Magneto became mortal enemies, fighting every few days in the solar system. Today I'll give you an uppercut, tomorrow I'll shove you into the sun, and they fight to a standstill.
Magneto, though powerful, was restrained from unleashing his full power for fear of impacting Earth; Superman, with his somewhat supernatural powers and Wonder Woman providing support, was able to keep Magneto under control. This made the Brotherhood of Mutants much more subdued, and nothing unusual happened in the past week.
Surprisingly, the Brotherhood of Mutants was fine, but the X-Men were in trouble. Peter knew a bit about the mutants at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters; they wouldn't fight for no reason, and even if they lost control and wanted to destroy something, they wouldn't choose densely populated residential or industrial areas. Peter believed Professor X still had that much of a bottom line.
That means something must have gotten out of their control, and destroying just one thermal power plant might be the best outcome they could achieve.
Peter sighed inwardly. It was a pity that, in order to understand the state of the unfamiliar universe, the Sorcerer Supreme and most of the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj had chosen to wander the cosmos, and no one on Earth could contact them, not even the members of the Illuminati. Otherwise, Strange would have been perfectly responsible for rebuilding the magical defense network.
But exploring the universe is equally important. Peter knows very well that although there are no demons in this universe, there are many mysterious and powerful beings. If we don't understand them, we won't even know who did it if Earth suffers one day.
Furthermore, the sorcerers, who are heavily reliant on contracts, must find new contract partners; otherwise, they would have no power to protect the Earth. The Sorcerer Supreme's departure was truly a last resort.
After all, they came from their own Earth to this side, which means they abandoned everything else except Earth, and they have to start from scratch. Now is the most difficult time, and they can't rely on the Sorcerer Supreme for everything.
Peter put down what he was holding, walked out of the lab, picked up his phone, and said, "Hello? Iron Man? It's me, Peter. I have something very important to tell the Avengers. Could you let Captain America and the others know so we can get together tonight?"
Slightly distracted, Peter finished his afternoon work, called the fast-food restaurant owner to ask for leave, and then rushed to the Avengers headquarters—since Manhattan was located in the Metropolitan Area, he had to take the intercity rail. By the time he arrived, the Avengers were almost all assembled.
“I’m here,” Peter said, panting, as he pushed open the door. “Sorry, I live quite far away…”
"Is that a bit far?" Iron Man asked, pulling back his mask. "The S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers have all been assigned to Metropolis, but you went to Gotham. How long has it been since we've all gotten together?"
“Have you forgotten me?” Banner scoffed. “I also work in Gotham. Oh, I forgot, it’s called Forward York City now.”
"What a piece of crap!" Iron Man couldn't help but complain. "The key word for New York is New, not York! Now the name sounds like some British city has run away from home!"
“Is it possible that York is actually a city in England?” Natasha asked.
“Alright,” Peter interrupted their chatter, “I really have something important to discuss with you! Put down the pizza and soda first…”
The group put away their food, and Peter sighed, saying, "I don't know if you've been paying attention to the information in the multiverse, I mean this one. The Batmen have started collecting energy in their respective universes to build a magical defense network. I think we should do the same."
“We used to have it,” Captain America said, “but perhaps because the two universes are less compatible in terms of energy, all the magical energy we originally possessed is no longer usable. The mages had to leave the universe to find new contract partners, and even if we wanted to build a magical defense network now, we are powerless to do so.”
Coulson nodded and said, "That's true. Stephen warned us before he left that Earth could be in great danger now that it's no longer protected by the magical defense network. But it's also a coincidence that Superman and Magneto are always fighting in space, and each time they fight so fiercely that it has deterred many villains. Otherwise, we would have even less peace now."
“I have energy,” Peter said.
Everyone looked at him, and Peter cleared his throat and said, "Do you remember when I made a pact with a god?"
“Oh right, how could I forget you might be the first sorcerer among us,” Iron Man said. “Even though you gave your spider powers to a terrible kid, being a sorcerer at least saved your life.”
Peter shook his head and said, "Actually, I haven't contacted him for a long time, but luckily, when I had this idea, I went to him, and he agreed to lend me his power. Does any of you have a way to summon the mages back?"
Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads. Iron Man hesitated for a moment before saying, "Putting aside the difficulty of interstellar communication, these sorcerers always prefer to go to those remote and obscure places, which may not even be in the same dimension, or they may be in some very remote spatial crevices, where it is impossible to contact them at all."
“Then we’ll just have to do it ourselves,” Peter said. “I got a detailed blueprint from a friend in the Fighting World—the magic academy the Batmen went to taught this, so it’s not a secret. We can build it according to the blueprint first, and then make modifications when the wizards come back.”
"Is it really that urgent?" Captain America couldn't help but ask. "As things stand, Earth isn't in a life-or-death situation yet, is it?"
“No, I think Peter is right,” Iron Man said. “The point isn’t how the magical defense network protects the Earth, but that if the Batmen move, we have to move.”
“Does this make sense?” Natasha asked.
"Our universe's Batman... well, let's not talk about that," Iron Man shook his head and said, "In other words, we've already lost a battle. If we don't keep up now, this universe will definitely fall behind. If some multiverse-level catastrophe occurs in the future, we may have to rely on others for support. In that case, we will have no say at all and will only be dragged down and become weaker and weaker."
Everyone fell silent. Peter continued, "There must be a reason why the Batmen chose to act at this time. Perhaps a multiverse-level catastrophe has already occurred, and it is precisely to deal with the disaster that they are in such a hurry."
These words sent a chill down everyone's spine. Captain America stood up, looked at Peter, and said, "You had a premonition?"
"Why do you all rely on my intuition?" Peter said helplessly. "I've already told you I'm not Spider-Man."
“No, no, no, Peter, I’m not talking about spider sense, but the deeper reason why the spider totem chose you—you are someone with a keen sense of crisis. If you feel uneasy, then something has probably happened.”
As soon as Captain America finished speaking, Coulson's phone rang, and everyone's heart skipped a beat.
Coulson picked up his phone and walked out, but before he even stepped outside, his expression turned serious. A few minutes later, he returned and said, "There's been an explosion at the chemical industrial park on Northern Island, suspected to be the work of superhumans."
Captain America didn't hesitate any longer. He tapped his shield and shouted, "Avengers, assemble!"
Although Peter no longer has superpowers, he has become an amateur sorcerer, and he also provides technical support to the current Spider-Man—who was originally Batman Bruce Wayne on Earth 1—in private. So he also came to the scene of the explosion.
"My God," Iron Man exclaimed, flying through the air, "this isn't an explosion. What kind of bomb could possibly slice a chemical building in two?!"
Captain America, standing on the rooftop, also looked grim. He exclaimed, "This is a terrorist attack! What happened?!"
Natasha put away the grappling hook, slowly shook her head, and said, "There's no black box. I mean, the cameras didn't capture anything. The other party probably did it outside the park."
Soon, Spider-Man Bruce Wayne arrived. He stood on the rooftop looking at the building, his complexion even worse than the others.
Since becoming Spider-Man, he has always been a loner and can't really be considered a member of the Avengers, though he gets along well with the others. Aside from Iron Man, who thinks he's too incompetent to be a superhero, the others admire his persistence.
“Something big has happened,” Spider-Man Bruce Wayne’s voice was low. The others looked at him, while he looked at the building and said, “That’s the Penguin’s property, he’ll probably be…”
"Jesus Christ! What the hell is going on?! James Gordon!!! You better show up in front of me in three minutes with your bunch of shitty cops and explain to me how my new campus turned out like this!!!"
The Penguin's roar was even louder than the noise of a helicopter rotor, showing just how angry he was. Bruce took two steps back and stood with the Avengers.
When Penguin got off the plane, he was stunned to see a row of superheroes standing neatly opposite him. He didn't dare to move forward and just stood there awkwardly.
Fortunately, another figure rushed up to the roof and walked quickly toward him. Penguin thought it was Gordon and went to meet him, but it turned out to be star detective Harvey Bullock, followed by a reporter.
“Mayor!” Brock greeted the penguin warmly, shaking his hand, and said, “I heard there was a terrorist attack at the chemical industrial park you invested in? That’s horrifying! But no worries, I will definitely help you find the culprit and bring them to justice!”
"Who is that guy?" Iron Man asked Bruce in a low voice.
“Harvey Bullock, a…star cop.”
"Celebrity? Police officer? English words can be combined like that?"
“Yes, in any case, he’s famous. He’s said to have uncovered many major cases and murderers who had been hiding for years…” Bruce’s face darkened, and he added, “except for my parents’ case.”