Chapter 45: Negotiation in the Shadows
His still-developing body couldn't handle the force of such a powerful ultrasonic attack.
Soren squeezed his eyes shut, biting his lip, feeling his muscles quivering, as if he might be thrown off by the pressure building beneath his skin any moment.
Soren could no longer bear it.
He transformed directly into his Angemon form.
In an instant, a brilliant white light pierced through the darkness, shooting up into the sky.
The dazzling light that was bright as day, illuminated Batman's eyes that were hidden in the shadows.
The Angemon unfurled its six wings.
Amid the turbulence caused by the ultrasonic waves, its golden hair flew wildly in the wind.
Two of its wings slowly rose, then with a powerful strike, smashed the ultrasonic emitters on either side!
...Finally, the piercing sound stopped.
Soren took a deep breath.
Great job, Batman.
You got what you wanted—you forced him to transform.
But this was way too much!
Soren raised his eyes, glaring at Batman in the shadows.
He flew straight toward him, for the first time truly angry at the hero he admired. "Did you even think about what would happen if I really were just a normal person? I could've died! What if it wasn't me, but someone else? What then?"
Even as the enormous Angemon loomed over him with overwhelming force, Batman remained completely still.
"No."
His voice was low and gruff, answering all of Soren's accusations with a single word.
He seemed absolutely certain that Soren couldn't have been anything other than the Angemon.
Soren clenched his fists, frustration bubbling up inside him.
He asked, "Why did you take my notebook in the first place?"
—Unbelievable.
Soren had a brief moment of distraction, thinking that his patience with superheroes had been trained by Clark.
He was actually brave enough to speak to Batman in this tone.
Batman looked up.
"You need this device," he said, holding up the gene suppressor Soren had dreamed of.
The blue light from the device flashed, highlighting Batman's strong jawline. "Tell me, why did you come to Earth?"
Soren's eyes locked onto the suppressor in Batman's hand, unable to look away.
"You give me the suppressor first, and then I'll tell you everything," Soren began to bargain.
But Batman, seemingly on purpose, closed his fist around the device and said in a deep voice, "In Gotham, no one negotiates with me."
Soren countered, "And what if I tell you everything, but you still don't give it to me?"
His concern wasn't without reason.
After all, Batman had a reputation—everyone knew he wasn't the most trustworthy.
Bruce's words couldn't always be relied on.
The only time he might've been honest was when he said, "I'm rich."
Soren knew he couldn't outplay him.
If Batman wanted, he could easily trick him.
Batman, calm and collected, said, "You should understand that this isn't a negotiation. You're the one who wants what I have."
Soren pressed his lips together, about to speak, but Batman's eyes suddenly narrowed as he stared straight past Soren.
Soren: ?
He turned around to look where Batman's gaze was focused.
Behind him, in the middle of Gotham's sea of lights, a whole section had gone dark, swallowed by deep darkness.
Then came the deafening sound of an explosion!
...Of course, this was typical Gotham.
Soren quickly said, "It looks like that whole area just lost power, Bat—Batman?"
When he turned back, Batman was already gone.
Classic Batman disappearing act.
Soren sighed in frustration as he heard the Batmobile rev up below.
He quickly flew out, spotting the Batmobile speeding off into the night.
Without hesitation, he flapped his wings, accelerating his speed to catch up.
Grabbing onto the right door of the speeding vehicle, his helmeted face pressed against the car window.
Soren pounded on the window and shouted, "Batman! Can you at least give me the suppressor first? We can talk about whatever you want after!"
Batman ignored him, his eyes fixed ahead as he slammed the gas pedal, yanking the steering wheel for a sharp turn.
The Batmobile sped down a narrow road, then plunged into Gotham's maze-like underground drainage system, racing toward the blackout zone by the quickest route.
Soren was overwhelmed by the foul stench of the sewer, coughing non-stop as he tried to fold his wings over his head like a shield.
But he refused to let go, still clinging to the Batmobile's window.
He managed to hoist himself onto the roof of the car, smacking the thick bulletproof glass with his large hand, almost cracking it into a spiderweb of fractures.
He held up one finger and pleaded, "Seriously, I'm trying to make a deal with you! If you just give me the suppressor, I'll answer any question you want. I really need it otherwise I will become a deader!"
However, Soren wasn't speaking in his native language, and in his panic, he fumbled his words.
Instead of saying "deader," he accidentally blurted out "daddy."
Batman, catching the mistake, coldly replied, "I have no interest in having a seven-foot-tall alien son."
Even in his Angemon form, Soren's face turned bright red.
He felt his blood rush straight to his head.
Oh no, oh no, this was beyond embarrassing!
Soren swallowed the wave of shame rising in his throat, keeping one hand pressed against the roof of the Batmobile.
He couldn't let go of the chance to get the suppressor, and in his embarrassment, he kept muttering, "No, no, it's not like that! Batman, just listen to me! It was a slip of the tongue!"
However, Batman remained cold and unbothered.
The Batmobile didn't slow down at all, showing no intention of talking to Soren.
The two of them sped through the underground drainage system, taking a shortcut to the area where the power had gone out.
Explosions were still going off in the distance.
The Batmobile shot out of the tunnel, its powerful engine roaring as it climbed straight up the side of a building.
Soren flapped his wings, flying ahead of the Batmobile, already hovering in the sky before Batman could reach the explosion site.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone