Chapter 1655: No Time to Die (18)_1

The moonlight over Gotham tonight shines exceptionally bright, clouds, as if suddenly emitting compassion in the night, drift away from their usual lingering spots. The silhouettes of the towering buildings under the moonlight resemble the black keys of a piano, while the dancing figures amidst them play a stirring nocturne full of beats.

The lean Spider Man gracefully leaps across the gaps between the buildings, exploiting his spider-silk to do continuous swings between edifices, like a bird dancing in a storm.

The muscular Batman, on the other hand, unleashes overwhelming power from his well-sculpted muscles. Each time he touches down, it's like a weighty hammer striking the ground. When he glides between buildings with his bat wings opened, a pervasive shadow engulfs all, a shadow filled with unspeakable fear.

"Whizzing."

Several Batman darts, dark and hard to spot, grazed past Spider Man's arm and ear, not one hit its mark. Spider Man resembled a flawless air-stunt performer, extending his limbs, he manages the most precise and beautiful evasion within split seconds.

A massive shadow passed overhead, with his cloak spread out, Batman's bat wings entirely enveloped Spider Man. Not one to be outdone, Spider Man, who is about to swing again using his spider silk, raises his arm fitted with a Spider Silk Launcher. The silk fires out but slips off upon touching Batman's cloak, as like droplets sliding off on roof eaves.

What the hell, Spider Man thought, what material is his cloak made of? Why does the enhanced spider-silk adhesive from Mr. Stark seem ineffective? Or is there something wrong with the city's rainwater?

Surprisingly, similar thoughts have also risen in Batman's mind. There must be an army backing this agile youngster in front of him. Avoiding the Batman dart like an accurate prophet is one thing, but why can't his recently updated Batman dart cut off the spider silk?

As the chase progresses, their astonishment deepens, mostly stunned at the other's abundant stamina and focused concentration during a high-intensity aerial dodge.

Spider Man originally intended to wear out Batman by turning it into an endurance fight. He has never met a match in aerial urban battles before, although Spider Man's massive strength is often praised, his actual strength lies in his agility, flexibility, balance, and spider-sense that brings an extended time experience than an average person.

What is a second in the eyes of an ordinary person might extend up to ten seconds for Spider Man when his attention is focused. This is especially critical in aerial chases. Spider Man has more time to adjust his posture in mid-air, ensuring every attack and evasion optimizes time, effort, and results efficiently.

However, Batman excels in these aspects too. His grappling hook and bat cloak ensure he can swing and glide in the air. Moreover, there are not many in this world who could rival Batman's concentration. He ensures that every movement is fully under his control, leaving nothing to chance.

Batman also waits for Spider Man to display signs of fatigue. He deems it inevitable and does not need further deduction. One could tell just by observing the youngster's age - probably around sixteen or seventeen, not even at the peak of male physical strength.

Batman reasons that Spider Man's endurance and concentration should be on par with Dick's. In less than two hours, he should stumble into inaccuracies due to the exhaustion of physical strength or scattered focus.

But their chase lasted five official hours, with them circling Gotham's metropolitan area six times. Until the break of dawn, neither triumphed over the other.

Of course, Batman realized his initial judgment lapse about an hour in. He could adjust his strategy and force Spider Man to a halt using another method, but curiosity piqued Batman's interest – he wanted to see where this youth's limits truly lie.

In the end, Spider Man's boundary remained unmeasured, though the thickness of roof structures were close to being measured. If this continues, they might as well shave every high-rise in Gotham.

Finally, Batman, with a sudden speed boost, dove and hooked onto the top of the tallest building with his grappling hook. As the grappling rope rapidly retracted, he came to a stop on the roof, seized the end of his cloak, and with a strong swing, gradually relaxed his strength and stood on the edge of the roof.

Spider Man stopped at the rooftop of the closest high-rise building, hands on hips looking at Batman across the street stating, "Not chasing anymore? I could keep this up for a day."

"Do you have superpowers?" He asked, though already knowing the answer.

Unfortunately, Spider Man doesn't understand this peculiar tone of questioning, he nodded vigorously and answered, "Yes, I have superpowers. I was bitten by a spider and obtained spider-like abilities, but not entirely spider-like, my strength is enormous and I don't tire."

"Oh, don't bother throwing your little flying darts; you won't hit me. My Spider-sense is highly sensitive, like a radar warning of danger, I know where you're aiming before you throw, I have plenty of time to dodge."

"Also, despite being Spider Man, I don't spin webs, this Spider Silk Launcher on my hand is self-made. I updated it a couple days ago, but the adhesive doesn't seem to work on your cloak."

"Are you the Batman everyone speaks of? You're cooler than expected, I thought you'd be a giant bat with human limbs; never thought it was just the cloak."