Chapter 1654: No Time to Die (17)_1

The night in Gotham was still dark and cold, countless fights, screams and blood stirring within the city. The brilliant neon lights seemed like a fragile shell, masking the facade of civilization while the cold spotlight swayed in the sky.

Separated by a river, lit up skyscrapers and crowded slums stared at each other from afar. When the soul-draining rainfall began, all outlines seemed to dissolve and collapse.

In the city enveloped by the rain, a bright light suddenly lit up, the iconic bat symbol becoming the only unshaken thing in the rainstorm.

A dark figure standing at the highest point of Gotham leaped downwards. Its terrifying figure reflected in the mirror-like puddles on the street.

"Wee-woo—wee-woo—wee-woo—"

The sharp siren sounded from the end of the street, the police car lights seemed oddly appealing in the dark. Gordon led several officers out, pulling out his pistol from his belt and pointing it at the individual wearing the peculiar mask in the bank.

"Black Mask! Drop the gun, raise your hands!"

The robber known as Black Mask was wearing a black jacket and a skull-shaped black mask that wrapped around his face. With a pistol in his hand, he and a few of his mob minions shouted at the tellers crouching down with their hands over their heads.

"Boss, there are at least twenty of them here and apart from the bank employees, we've got two ladies, three gentlemen, and even a five-year-old girl as hostages. This is hard to handle."

Gordon turned to look at the officer delivering the report sternly and asked, "Are the snipers in position?"

"They've been ready. But the location is not ideal for our snipers. We haven't found a good spot yet."

"Black Mask is much trickier than other robbers, or he wouldn't have survived in Gotham till now. Don't worry, let our negotiator handle him. The Bat Light is on, Batman will be here soon."

After the officer acknowledged and left, Gordon squinted at the boastful robber inside. His face was grave, not full of anger but of a striving for thought and countermeasure.

But the current scene was nearly unsolvable for the Gotham Police Department. The crime scene chosen by Black Mask was an old bank located on an old street on the east side of Gotham City. There are no tall buildings and the deco style windows are small with some thick wooden frames, leaving no good spot for the snipers.

Black Mask likely followed the parents with the child here. The hostages were too vulnerable, police couldn't act recklessly. Now, the only one that could break this deadlock seemed to be Batman.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the side of the staircase, Gordon's spirits lifted. Batman was here!

But after the sound of shattered glass, the one to appear behind Black Mask wasn't the familiar black figure.

"Batman, you finally… Who are you?!"

"Um, hi, is there a bank robbery going on here?"

A somewhat immature voice came from the unfamiliar figure, he shrugged, "Wow, dude, your mask is really cool. Where did you get it? I guess it's definitely not from Macy's, right?"

"Also, you do know that robbing a bank is not right, right? By the way, the guys you left in your rear have been taken down by me. Don't look at me like that, I just wanted to ask for directions."

The strange figure tiptoed back a few steps, then spread his hands, "Drop the gun, let's talk about your mask issue, alright? Or do you plan to pose here until we all miss dinner time and I can't go home?"

"No matter where you came from, strange man, get lost!" Black Mask raised his gun and pointed it straight at the stranger's head.

"You are so rude, even ruder than that golden weirdo who threw me from two meters high. Anyway, I'm not a weirdo..."

The stranger twisted his shoulder with no signs of stress. Murderous intent was rising in Black Mask's eyes. At the moment when he pulled the trigger, time seemed to freeze.

A hand covered in a battlesuit extended at an incredibly fast speed to his wrist. The moment the gunfire lit up, his wrist and gun were twisted in a different direction.

"Bang!"

"Crash!"

The fired bullet shattered the glass window beside him, a scream resounded followed by a cold punch which flew right past Black Mask's ear.

"Bang!"

Black Mask went flying off the ground like a sack, an uppercut sent him flying into the ceiling. A loud crash later, the chandelier came crashing down, followed by another punch that directly smashed Black Mask into the opposite wall.

"I'm not a weirdo, I'm Spider Man!"

Everyone in the room was stunned. None of them could see Spider Man's movements clearly. To the normal people, Spider Man seemed to have teleported, twisting the gun, then landing two punches on Black Mask, pinning him to the wall, unable to come down.

Gordon had the quickest reaction, he shouted, "It's a super-criminal! Snipers, get ready!"

"Hey, what are you doing? Didn't you see that I just coolly beat up a bank robber? I'm not a criminal. I'm just a passerby who unfortunately got kidnapped here!"

Spider Man shouted incredulously.

"Bang! Bang Bang Bang!"

Suddenly, Black Mask's henchmen opened fire. Instantly, bullets flew chaotically within bank's hall, ricocheting from the counters, smashing into tables, causing ornamental flower pots to "bang" and explode, and launching chairs straight out the front doors.

In yet another series of actions so swift they'd be invisible to the average person, Spider Man gracefully dodged all the bullets, flinging the hostages from within the bank's hall like sandbags.

Immediately afterward, he didn't hesitate; with a few rapid punches, he floored all the criminals who had just shot at him. Then, at lightning speed, he darted back inside the bank hall and lifted a crying little girl into his arms.

He brought the girl over to Gordon and placed her down, saying, "You're the commissioner, right? I'm entrusting her to you. I still need to ask for directions, so goodbye."

As Spider Man turned to leave, Gordon stopped him and asked, "Your name is Spider Man, can I take it to mean you're kind of like Robin?"

"What's a Robin? I'm not a bird, I'm Spider Man."

"Alright, new Robin, you do have a cool title. But, where are you asking directions to? Can't find Batman?"

"Who's Batman? How dare he steal my title? Moreover, isn't using a bat for his symbol a bit weird? Dear God, he hasn't been bitten by a bat, has he?!"

Spider Man shuddered, his whole body shaking as though he was dancing in place. Then, making a few gestures he said, "I just want to go home, but from the top of the building I just saw that this place is nothing like New York. Do you know where the nearest train station or airport is?"

"Where's New York?"

"God, you don't know New York? But this place doesn't seem like some backwater town. How can anyone not have heard of New York?"

"Listen, kid," Gordon stepped forward and put his hand on Spider Man's shoulder, "Though I can't help with the place you're looking for, you did a good job today. Tell Batman when you see him, the switch on the bat light was a bit worn out when I used it earlier today. If he has time, he could come and fix it."

"I'll ask once again, who is Batman?"

"God, you don't know who Batman is?" Gordon stared at Spider Man, "Where did you just crawl out from? And if you're not Robin, why would Batman allow you to fight crime in Gotham?"

"You're saying a bunch of weird things." Spider Man shook his head in confusion, stepping back, "If you're not going to tell me where the train station or the airport is, I'll ask someone else. I'll be going now, bye."

After saying this, he extended one arm in the stunned sight of everyone present, shot a strand of spider silk, attached it to the roof of the nearest building, and then leapt up into the rainy night, disappearing at the end of the street.

Gordon stared wide-eyed in the direction where he had disappeared, then shook his head, muttering, "Another strange person from who knows where, looks like I need to ask Batman."

After the case was closed, Gordon returned the crying little girl to her parents, then went back to the police department to prepare his report. As he was sorting his files, a stealthy figure appeared behind him.

"Did you see his performance today?"

A familiar, confident question. Gordon turned his head and saw Batman hidden in the shadows. He sighed, not having time to complain about Batman's sudden appearances and disappearances before thinking of the person who had just claimed to be Spider Man.

"Batman, don't tell me you've picked up another Robin, and he's had a falling out with you, denying he's Robin, trying to be independent, and fighting crime alone in the city?"

Gordon's voice was filled with resignation. Batman clearly hesitated for a moment before responding, "Why would you think he's Robin?"

"From his build and voice, it's easy to tell he's young, probably still in high school. He's also wearing a conspicuous skin-tight suit, causing trouble for criminals. What could forge a link between him and you better than the name 'Spider Man'?"

Gordon looked up at Batman while sorting his documents, a look on his face that clearly said, "You might fool others, but you can't fool me."

"He isn't my Robin." Batman's voice was still dark and slow, but became even more assertive, "But he has the potential."

"That's odd, there's actually a righteous young boy in this city who hasn't heard of Batman?" Gordon shook his head, turned back and sat down, continuing with his report.

"Unless he isn't from this city."

"That's also possible," Gordon nodded, paused, and continued, "I wonder where he got all that weird gear. I thought only you could make such things."

"I'm curious as well."

"Do you want him to be your Robin?" Gordon put on his glasses, turned back and looked at Batman, "Aren't there already enough members in the Batman Family?"

Batman was silent for a moment, then said: "They've all been quite busy lately, and I need an assistant."

"He doesn't seem like your typical assistant, you must have noticed his performance today. He's either incredibly gifted and strong, or he has some superpower. He's nothing like the orphans you've taken in before."

"But I can't possibly let him run around freely in this city." Batman's voice revealed a hint of seriousness for the first time.

"I won't allow a strange person with an unknown background and abilities to fight crime in this city. He could become a destructive super-criminal at any moment."

Gordon turned a page in the report, said, "That makes sense, but I think you should respect this kid's opinion."

"If he refuses, I'll send him home and make him to stay away from this city forever."

Gordon paused his work for a moment, let out a sigh, and looking out to the still-rainy night outside the window said, "Let's hope he means no harm. Apart from us, nobody should drown with this city."