"Maybe you had to lose them so you wouldn't lose yourself."
- Unknown
...
"I don't trust you."
Batman said it bluntly.
"Tsk, you're not exactly careful with your words."
Phantom Thief clicked his tongue and continued, "But you should know that we don't have any time to waste right now, and Gotham can't afford to wait."
"The Man-Bat virus leaked this time is not entirely comparable to Kirk's original serum. The mutated people have completely lost their sanity and are driven solely by their animal instincts, while Kirk still retained some humanity in the beginning."
"This means that the mastermind behind this incident likely changed the formula of the Man-Bat Serum, and here's the evidence."
The Phantom Thief calmly explained and pointed to a strange creature lying on the ground, not far from the alley behind them.
It was different from the countless Man-Bats in the sky.
It looked more like a person than a bat, especially its head, which had mostly returned to its human shape, with only fur and claws remaining unchanged.
It looked like a Man-Bat that had used a low-quality antidote and only partially reverted back to a human form.
It was the Man-Bat that attacked them when Batman and the Phantom Thief found the origin of the virus not long ago.
The two of them easily defeated it and then used the antidote on it.
However, they used Batman's antidote this time because Phantom Thief couldn't produce the Reverse Man-Bat Inhibitor on a large scale.
It would be easier if there were only a few Man-Bats, but there were at least hundreds of thousands of them in the East District, and that number was rapidly increasing.
Even if the Phantom Thief stole Bruce Wayne, he couldn't come up with such an astonishing quantity.
The reason he had taken out the antidote earlier in Robinson Park was twofold.
Firstly, to make Batman understand the "reason" why he took the Man-Bat serum so that Batman wouldn't hold continuous hostility towards him for it in the future.
He knew that eliminating Batman's hostility was impossible, but at least he could make it less serious.
On the other hand, it was also because Batman didn't carry the antidote at that time.
So, where did Batman's antidote for the Man-Bat come from?
Just look up to find out.
Above the Phantom Thief and Batman, there was a black aircraft in the sky that looked like a bat.
It was the Batwing.
Man-Bats kept flying around the Batwing, but the non-lethal weapons on the Batwing pushed them away or knocked them down, keeping them from getting close to Phantom Thief and Batman below.
Well... all those chaotic laser beams and the missiles causing explosions that light up the entire sky are all "non-lethal."
When they heard from the infected person they encountered on their way to Robinson Park about the dire situation in the East End, both Batman and the Phantom Thief realized the seriousness of the situation.
So Batman temporarily called in the Batwing as the main force against the army of Man-Bats and also transported a lot of antidote serum for the infected bats.
However, they were surprised to find that the antidote effects were ineffective after Batman used them.
There could be many reasons for this.
For example, the Man-Bat virus released now might have altered the original formula of the Man-Bat serum, which made the mutated Man-Bats even more aggressive.
Or maybe Batman's antidote was developed based on Kirk's DNA combined with the Man-Bat serum, and this would make it more like a special drug for Krik and less useful for other people.
There was a good chance for both reasons.
On the other hand, the Phantom Thief's antidote does not have this issue.
The Reverse Man-Bat Inhibitor produced by the system is designed to cancel all DNA changes based on the Man-Bat serum, thus effectively repairing any unknowns based on this formula.
Unless it wasn't created primarily using the Man-Bat serum.
"Batman, your current Man-Bat antidote is not the best way to help these infected people right now. How long do you think it will take to get samples and change the antidote? Can Gotham afford to wait?"
Phantom Thief pointed out the key issue seriously.
"While I have the antidote that can perfectly cure these infected bats, as you have seen, I do not have a large amount. However, I know Wayne Enterprises can strengthen the effectiveness of the antidote and spread it across the entire city."
At this point, his meaning was clear, the Phantom Thief intends to use a device to spread the Reverse Man-Bat Inhibitor throughout the city to solve the current Man-Bat plague.
"From here to Wayne Tower, there will be countless Man-Bats blocking the way. I need that big guy up there to help."
The Phantom Thief pointed to the Batwing in the sky.
Batman remained quiet for a while, and his expressionless face didn't show his thoughts.
Batman knew in his heart that the Phantom Thief was right—his antidote for the mutation Man-Bat would have to be improved further before it could work, and that would take time.
The Phantom Thief already had a ready-made antidote, so using it directly was naturally the fastest and best solution.
Moreover, Wayne Enterprises did indeed have a similar device, which Batman had instructed Lucius Fox to create years ago, specifically for dealing with city-wide bio-attacks, such as Fear Toxin, Joker Venom, Poison Ivy's toxic spores, and more.
This problem would be solved easily if Batman did what the Phantom Thief planned.
But even though things were very bad, Batman's suspicions about the Phantom Thief didn't change.
Even if he knew it was impossible, he still thought about what would happen if Phantom Thief was an undercover agent for the mastermind behind this.
"Why involve yourself in this? This is a life-threatening situation. You're just a thrill-seeking thief who enjoys the applause. Why are you so eager to save these people who have nothing to do with you?"
Batman finally spoke.
"Huh? Because I can save them. I do what I can and don't do what I can't. Isn't that just common sense?"
The Phantom Thief raised an eyebrow and asked in response.
"If you really want a reason, it's because the Man-Bat virus will eventually spread throughout Gotham, which is unacceptable for every person in Gotham, including myself."
Batman continued, "But you don't need to personally risk yourself. You can hand over the antidote you have, then go somewhere the virus hasn't reached yet. Today, I can let you go."
"No."
The Phantom Thief firmly shook his head.
"I can't accept that condition. I don't want my name to be missing from the list of heroes who saved the city. Just consider it my vanity to want to enjoy being a hero for a while."
Batman frowned and thought, 'If I suddenly make a move to subdue the Phantom Thief and take the antidote from him... No, the chances of success are less than fifty percent. It is more likely that he will destroy the antidote in an instant when I make a move...'
After some consideration, Batman eventually made a decision and agreed to cooperate with the Phantom Thief.
"From now on, don't think about leaving my sight. I'll be watching you."
Batman spoke while looking into the Phantom Thief's eyes.
"You finally came to your senses. It wasn't easy to convince you."
After getting Batman's agreement, the Phantom Thief couldn't help but express his relief.
"So, should we come up with a name for this temporary duo?"
The Phantom Thief suddenly said it on a whim.
"Let's call ourselves the Black and White Duo. How about that?"
"...You're really not good at making jokes."
Batman replied with regret. He realized that agreeing to the name proposal was a bit hasty.
Perhaps taking the potion from the Phantom Thief was the right choice.
What he didn't know was that even if he had acted earlier and successfully subdued Phantom Thief, he still wouldn't have gotten the Reverse Man-Bat Inhibitor.
Because at this moment, the Phantom Thief hadn't bought it from the system yet.
"Is that so? I was actually serious. If you don't like that name, we can think of something else."
The Phantom Thief just shrugged.
"Shut up."
Batman coldly silenced the Phantom Thief.
For some reason, Phantom Thief's naming behavior reminded Batman of the early days of Robin. Back then, Robin enjoyed naming various things, especially those related to Batman.
Batarang, Batmobile, Batwing, Batcycle...
These names were all actually given by Robin, and Batman didn't particularly like giving his equipment names, even though Robin's choices were quite similar.
Robin even named the vomit bucket he prepared for the first time while training to drive the Batmobile "Bat Bucket" to deal with the motion sickness caused by the high speed of the vehicle.
Back then, Robin was so innocent that he would take whatever Batman said as the guiding principle and execute it without hesitation.
Unfortunately, now... sigh.
At this moment, a rope ladder drops from the plane in front of Batman and the Phantom Thief.
Although it was called a rope ladder, it didn't feel like an ordinary rope at all, but rather like some kind of soft metal material.
The location of the Phantom Thief and Batman was in a deep alley, and the Batwing couldn't land to pick them up. The flying Man-Bats circling in the sky also blocked their path to climb onto the roof.
So they had no choice but to use the slightly old-fashioned method of ascending the rope ladder.
The Batwing lowered its altitude, almost sticking to the rooftops of the buildings on both sides of the alley.
The entrance below made it less likely that the Man-Bats would attack the rope ladder.
At Batman's request, the Phantom Thief climbed the ladder first.
Just as Batman had said before, he wouldn't let the Phantom Thief leave his line of sight.
The two of them entered the interior of the Batwing at the fastest speed, and the entrance closed instantly.
"So this is what the inside of the Batwing looks like?"
The Phantom Thief looked at the high-tech cockpit in front of him and felt a hint of excitement.
In all of Gotham, how many of the supervillains had seen the true appearance of the Batwing?
It's likely that if someone got on the Batwing, they would be locked in the prison cell at the back of the plane and would not be able to see what the cockpit looks like.
The Phantom Thief quickly suppressed his curiosity, as they had a more important mission to complete right now.
"Sit in the co-pilot seat and don't touch anything."
Batman's cold voice came through.
"Tsk, don't you know that the more you tell someone not to touch something, the more they want to touch it?"
The Phantom Thief waved his hand.
Batman shot him an icy glare.
"Alright, I'm sitting now."
The Phantom Thief raised his hands in surrender and obediently took his place in the co-pilot seat.
"Wow, this seat is pretty nice. It's quite comfortable."
After sitting for a few seconds, Phantom Thief showed a slightly surprised expression.
He jokingly added, "I thought that after I sat down, the seat would release some handcuffs or a collar or something to restrain me."
"..."
Hearing the Phantom Thief's words, Batman's expression instantly changed, and his hand behind his back stopped moving toward a certain spot.
"I know you don't trust me, Batman, but I haven't trusted you either."
At this moment, Phantom Thief's face suddenly became serious, as if his previous casual attitude were just an act.
"You were definitely planning to activate something, right? Or should I say, ever since I stepped onto the Batwing, I felt like I was stepping into a massive trap."
Phantom Thief said with a smirk.
"Moreover, when we were on the ground, you were actually thinking about taking the antidote directly from me, right?"
"What I want to say is that, luckily, you didn't do that. Well, no, it's more like you didn't have the chance."
The Phantom Thief showed an extremely confident expression.
"Do you know? Before learning how to steal, you have to learn how to hide things. There's nothing I can't steal, and at the same time, there's nothing people can find on me."
"Do you want to make a bet? You can activate the button on your seat now, or you can directly knock me out and search me, but you won't find what you're looking for."
Phantom Thief looked at Batman confidently, completely relaxed, as if he were really allowing Batman to do whatever he wanted.
But that's impossible, as Phantom Thief's heart was already pounding, and he had even summoned his system.
As soon as Batman made an unusual move, the Phantom Thief would buy that item at the fastest speed and instantly stop functioning for the entire Batwing.
Fortunately, the imagined scene did not happen.
Batman sat calmly in the pilot seat and said calmly, "You're thinking too much."
"Alright, let's just say I'm overthinking."
The Phantom Thief replied calmly.
The two sat in silence in their positions, with Batman piloting the Batwing towards Wayne Tower, breaking through the swarm of bats surrounding the East District.
During the flight of the Batwing, more and more Man-Bats came to attack, but none of them could break through the Batwing's defense and only slowed down its speed.
Nevertheless, the speed of the Batwing still surpassed that of a regular helicopter.
'The scanning results show that Phantom Thief does not have the antidote to the Man-Bat Virus.'
At this moment, under Batman's helmet, he was watching the scanning records transmitted by the Batwing.
As it turned out, the Batwing had automatically scanned Phantom Thief as soon as he stepped onto it.
However, the scan results were not good, as Phantom Thief's body data turned out to be a mess.
It managed to scan many objects he carried, like a Card Gun, Grappling Gun, Triangular Glider, Bulletproof Cloak, Smoke Bombs...
All of Phantom Thief's commonly used equipment was displayed.
Yet, there was no sign of the Reverse Man-Bat Inhibitor.
This was also the reason why Batman finally gave up on taking action against the Phantom Thief. He couldn't determine what the Phantom Thief was relying on.
...
patreon.com/Sothisq
You can find up to 20 advance chapters on my patreon.
DROP MORE POWER STONES