Stark's handling of the man pulling strings behind the scenes didn't concern Bruce.
While Stark might not be the most virtuous figure, he was at least dependable in situations like this.
He would bring Ford back.
What Bruce needed to do now was resolve the hostage crisis at the hospital.
But before that, he planned to pay a visit to Kingpin in prison.
Just like Falcone, the former underground emperor of Gotham, the power Kingpin wielded wasn't something that could be wiped out in a short amount of time.
Even though Bruce had already cleansed all of New York once, it was impossible to eliminate every trace.
New York was simply too vast—
Vast enough to hide countless evils.
At the same time, New York was too small—
Small enough for you to always trace everything back to its source.
At the moment, Presbyterian Hospital in New York was completely surrounded by security, but no one dared to charge in.
The people inside were a bunch of lunatics—practically treating their lives like they meant nothing.
According to surveillance operatives, nearly every one of them was wearing explosives.
If the police attempted a forceful entry, it was highly likely that the hostiles would detonate themselves, taking everyone with them.
If that happened, New York would definitely be making international headlines.
"Where's Officer Jefferson?" asked Maria Hill, the current on-site commander, maintaining her usual calm.
She knew that as long as the people inside didn't get what they wanted, they wouldn't do anything completely insane.
But no one could be sure. The prolonged standoff might trigger them to go feral and start killing hostages.
That possibility couldn't be ruled out.
Hill needed to discuss a strategy with someone.
"No contact yet."
The officer in charge of reaching Jefferson shook his head. He had already tried every contact method he knew.
But no one had any clue where Jefferson was.
They even called the hospital where his wife worked—only to find out she hadn't shown up either.
This gave Hill a massive headache.
She was starting to question why she ever turned down S.H.I.E.L.D.'s offer. If she'd accepted, maybe she wouldn't be the one handling such a mess right now.
But she quickly slapped her own cheek—how could she even think like that?
Right now, the most important thing was rescuing the hostages inside.
"Should we try contacting the Bat?"
An officer suggested this to Hill.
In a situation like this, maybe the Bat really was needed.
Of course Hill understood that—but the problem was, she had no way of reaching him.
What was she supposed to do? Shine the Bat-Signal in broad daylight and hope he showed up?
Besides, the perpetrators were demanding the release of Kingpin. And now the entire city of New York knew who Kingpin really was.
If they actually let him go, the NYPD's reputation would be torn to shreds.
Bzzz~ Bzzz~ Bzzz~
Just then, Hill's phone started vibrating wildly.
She frowned and pulled it out.
To be honest, ever since the hostage situation at the hospital began, she'd already gotten tons of calls.
Most of them were telling her to try and meet the captors' demands—after all, if they could catch Kingpin once, they could catch him again.
But everyone knew the real reason they managed to capture Kingpin last time.
And it had very little to do with the NYPD.
This time, however, the caller ID didn't show any familiar name—just a bat symbol.
"Hello?" Hill answered, a little tense.
"Maria Hill. Listen carefully. I'm bringing Kingpin in. I need your cooperation," Bruce's voice came through the receiver.
Hill immediately looked around, trying to spot where the Bat might be watching from.
"Don't bother. I'm not on-site," Bruce said, knowing exactly what Hill was doing. He didn't want to waste time—he needed help from the NYPD.
Hill felt a little awkward, but she didn't show it.
"What do you need from us?"
"Avoid provoking them. Pull your people back a bit until I give the signal," Bruce said as he approached the prison gates. The other screen in his Batmobile showed live intel on the hospital.
Even though the captors had already disabled all hospital surveillance, for Bruce, there were no secrets left in New York.
Every one of their positions was already mapped out in his mind.
Still, even with that advantage, Bruce didn't dare storm the hospital directly.
He had never truly trusted anyone—especially not desperate men with nothing to lose.
Besides, Bruce was convinced that this situation was connected to someone inside the prison.
Inside the prison, a man was calmly savoring the steak in front of him.
A pristine napkin, freshly opened premium wine, a waiter by his side holding a glass of red, and the man's composed demeanor—
The setting hardly looked like a prison.
It resembled a high-end restaurant.
Of course, no high-end restaurant would ever tolerate such poor interior conditions.
Even though all the other inmates were salivating over his meal, none dared say a word.
Even a first-time inmate could tell that this guy was not to be trifled with.
Two meters tall, with a massive build—he was intimidating just by standing still.
And if you knew who he used to be, no one would dare cross him.
Wilson Fisk—once the underground emperor of New York.
Now, he simply savored his lunch with quiet grace.
But just before he could finish, a figure landed directly in front of him.
The motion knocked over his steak.
The waiter beside him was instantly horrified.
He knew exactly what happened to the last guy who interrupted this man's meal—and he never imagined anyone would dare flip Kingpin's table.
But Wilson Fisk merely wiped his mouth calmly and looked at the intruder.
When the waiter got a good look at the new arrival, suddenly everything made sense.
It was a bat.
"What is it, Mr. Bat?"
Wilson Fisk gazed at Bruce with composure.
"Don't you know interrupting someone's lunch is extremely rude?"
Suddenly, the calm Kingpin struck—his fists crashing down on Bruce, who was now standing on his table.
But Bruce easily rolled backward, dodging the blow.
"For someone like you, there's no point in talking manners," Bruce said as he stood up, locking eyes with the massive man.
Kingpin burst into hearty laughter at Bruce's words.
He snatched the red wine from the waiter beside him and downed it in one gulp.
Bruce just stood there, silently watching his every move—making no attempt to act.
"You came here—looks like the chaos outside must be pretty serious."Kingpin wiped his mouth after downing an entire bottle of red wine.
"As expected."
Bruce stared intently at Kingpin. Just as he had guessed, this man never stayed quiet—even behind bars.
"Hahaha, trying to take me out of here?"Maybe Kingpin already knew why Bruce had come. Suddenly, he moved.
Despite his bear-like build, he ran like a cheetah.
In a split second, he burst through his cell door and charged straight at Bruce.
The sheer impact of that massive body coming at him was enough to make anyone tremble.
Unfortunately for Kingpin, Bruce was already used to this kind of thing.
Instead of backing down, Bruce charged straight at him.
"You couldn't beat me last time—and this time will be no different!!"
Kingpin swung his fist toward Bruce's face.
The punch carried such force that it sliced through the air with a whistle.
Even in a world filled with superhumans, no amount of size or strength can completely negate the effects of inertia.
Bruce had no intention of taking that punch head-on. Instead, he dove into Kingpin's chest, driving his knee into it.
Kingpin's momentum came to a halt, but Bruce was also sent flying by Kingpin's bulk.
He rolled several times before finally stopping.
Kingpin's strong, muscular build had completely absorbed the impact of Bruce's knee.
It only left a faint red mark on his chest.
But Bruce didn't feel discouraged. When facing someone like this, the key was to stay calm.
And to make the other guy lose his cool.
"Just like I told you before—New York will never be yours."Kingpin moved his body, which had gone stiff from a lack of sparring partners.
"I will be New York's one true king."
He stretched out both arms as if welcoming the cheers of his subjects—greeting the howls of the inmates around him.
"You know what? I knew the moment you found out those people's goal was to break me out, you'd come for me."
Kingpin began walking toward Bruce.
"But I didn't expect you to come now. A bit late, aren't you?"
"As long as I can stop you, that's enough."
Bruce lunged at Kingpin again.
To Kingpin, the Bat's movements didn't amount to much. He understood his own strength—and Bruce's as well.
"You think I've just been doing nothing in prison?"Kingpin threw a punch at Bruce's chest, but Bruce dodged it.
Still, Kingpin grabbed Bruce's cape with his other hand.
"You've got eyes in New York? So do I!"
Even though nano-tech detached the cape right away, Kingpin still managed to toss Bruce aside.
"I've watched most of your movements. I've seen what you can do!"
He flung the cape aside.
"You're a smart guy—but I'm no fool either!"
He charged forward like a moving tank.
He wanted to crush everything in front of him.
And that included the Bat.
Bruce tried to move, but his sudden evasive maneuver had reopened the wound on his back.
Though he was used to the intense pain, it had already begun to affect his performance.
He slowed down.
Kingpin didn't.
As someone who trained constantly, he could easily tell Bruce was injured.
He struck with overwhelming force—Bruce had no choice but to brace himself and meet the blow head-on.
He threw a punch to counter Kingpin's.
But Kingpin's much larger fist sent Bruce flying.
He slammed hard into the ground.
Even with the protection of his nano-suit, the injury on Bruce's back had worsened.
The nanotech was only barely keeping him from bleeding out.
"Hurts, doesn't it?"Kingpin grinned. "You showed up with injuries and still dared to come after me."
He rushed forward and hammered both fists into Bruce's abdomen.
"How little do you think of me!!!"
The force passed right through Bruce's body, cracking the concrete beneath them.
Kingpin reached out and grabbed Bruce's head.
He squeezed, like he was trying to crush a rubber ball.
Bruce, however, grabbed Kingpin's wrist, found leverage—and with all his might, slammed his knee into Kingpin's ulnar nerve.
The blow to the funny bone made Kingpin's hand go numb in an instant.
His grip on Bruce's head loosened, and Bruce broke free.
But the damage to Kingpin's elbow wasn't something that would go away immediately.
He could still feel the numbness in his right hand.
He could barely move it properly.
Bruce, on the other hand, was fine.
Not only had he used his knee for the strike, but his suit had also reinforced itself at the point of contact—
Forming a sharp spike that stabbed directly into Kingpin's ulnar groove.
"Hah... hahaha."Kingpin clearly felt the blood dripping from his elbow, but just smiled.
"Now this is a fair fight, wouldn't you say?"
He didn't care that he was bleeding. Like a tiger charging down the mountain, he came at Bruce again.
To Bruce, a one-armed Kingpin was significantly less dangerous.
Most of Kingpin's attacks relied on both arms. Taking one out limited his options drastically.
When Kingpin swung his left fist, Bruce blocked it directly.
Kingpin tried to swing his other arm, but his right hand couldn't even form a proper fist.
Still, he forced his right arm to slam into Bruce's head.
His raw power remained—it still sent Bruce flying.
Now, blood trickled from the corner of Bruce's mouth.
But both of them knew...
Kingpin was no longer the force he once was.
"I am Kingpin! I am the King of New York!!!"
(End of Chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09