Kapitel 44: Clash of Shadows
"I don't know... I don't know... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have stolen it. Please, let me go, I'm sorry..." He started to cry.
Soren glanced at the lawyer who was standing beside him—they were both confused.
Was he really that scared just because Soren had asked him a question?
Soren tapped the window again, raising his voice, "I'm asking you, where's my backpack?"
"I don't know!" the young man yelled hoarsely.
Then he sobbed, burying his head in his arms, "Please... he took it... he took everything..."
"Who? Who took it?" Soren quickly asked.
At that moment, a police officer approached, holding a report in his hand.
He spoke from behind Soren, "He says he was attacked by some kind of creature on the street. A 'monster' beat him up, tied him up, and dropped him at the police station. What's odd is that this guy claims the monster didn't steal most of the cash and jewelry he had taken, just a backpack he grabbed from a coffee shop."
"A monster? What kind of monster?" Soren was puzzled.
The more he heard, the more it sounded suspiciously like something that person would've done.
The police handed Soren an A4 sheet of paper.
On it, drawn in black ink, was a crude sketch of a giant moth.
Its wings were stretched out wide, heavily shaded in black, making it look like some sort of winged demon.
The moth's mouth was filled with sharp, menacing fangs.
Soren stared at it: "..."
Soren: "...???!!!"
It was obvious who this was.
Another familiar face.
—Bruce Wayne, seriously, what's your problem???
Soren was both amused and exasperated, nearly crumpling the paper in his hand.
Why in the world had Gotham's Dark Knight traveled all the way to New York City to take the law into his own hands?
Not only did he catch the guy who stole Soren's backpack, but he also took the backpack!
What had Soren done to make Batman so obsessed with him?
Maybe if Batman just told him directly, Soren could fix it.
...
After realizing it wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D. but Gotham's very own Dark Knight who had taken his notebook, Soren actually felt less anxious.
Maybe Batman's territorial instincts were just way too strong.
Soren's presence at the Falcone warehouse must have made the Bat feel threatened.
Soren sighed, feeling like giving up.
Forget it, Soren thought.
There was no way he could keep his identity hidden from Batman forever.
Maybe it was better to just come clean, clear the air, and make Batman stop seeing him as a threat.
It would also make Soren's future activities a lot easier.
Soren waited a few more days, but Batman didn't seem to be making any new moves.
Nothing happened.
Growing impatient, Soren started planning a risky trip back to Gotham City when his phone buzzed with a few anonymous messages from an unknown number.
The first two messages were photos.
The first showed his notebook, open.
The second was of a small round device, about the size of a button, glowing faintly with a blue light.
Soren recognized it instantly—it was the gene suppressor he had been trying to make for so long but had never managed to complete it.
…Bruce Wayne, the top genius inventor of Earth, managed to decode the New Earthian script from just the sketches in Soren's notebook and create the gene suppressor he had been dreaming of.
Soren clutched his chest.
Here was a human, working tirelessly to make him a suppressor, selflessly helping others.
This was the spirit of true kindness.
Batman was indeed the real American hero!
He was wrong, terribly wrong.
Had he known that Batman was such a kind-hearted bat, he would have begged him to make the suppressor from the very first meeting.
The third message contained a time and address.
The location was Gotham Harbor, and the time was tonight at midnight.
…
The night in Gotham was dark and dense, with thick clouds blocking out even the sliver of moonlight.
Soren transformed into his Angemon form and flew from New York to Gotham, landing at the harbor.
This part of Gotham Harbor faced the Metropolis across the river but was clearly separated from it.
Gotham's sky was painted in shades of light gray, deep black, and scattered red lights, while the neighboring city of Metropolis, just across the river, had a rich, deep blue night sky.
The Dark Knight of Gotham stood silently on top of the winged building at the harbor, like a lifeless statue of a god.
His silhouette cast a long, dark shadow on the concrete below.
The shadow stretched out like a mournful requiem for buried sins, a sharp sword cutting through the darkness, then blending back into it.
Once Soren landed on the ground, he changed back to his usual self—after all, it was Soren Hargreaves who received Batman's anonymous messages, not the Angemon.
He began to climb the metal stairs on the outside of the winged building.
His movements were light and almost silent, with only the faint rustle of his clothing.
After climbing ten flights of stairs, he was slightly out of breath and had a thin sheen of sweat.
He took off his hat and, standing against the backlight, approached Batman.
Batman, however, remained silent, his lips pressed tightly together, his steel-blue eyes showing no emotion.
Soren, eager to discuss the suppressor, cleared his throat and began, "I—"
"You are not from Earth," Batman said first.
"—Yes," Soren admitted straightforwardly, "but I actually—"
Before he could continue, the ultrasonic emitters disguised as ordinary floodlights on either side of him began to emit a sharp, piercing sound!
The intense ultrasonic attack distorted the air and struck Soren's eardrums.
The high-frequency sound waves drilled into his brain like a power drill.
His eardrums felt like they were vibrating, his temples throbbed, and it felt as if someone had detonated tons of explosives in his head.
The intense pain made him grit his teeth and groan, bending over and covering his ears, but the ultrasound continued to assault him like a wild beast!
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein