Chapter 23: The Bat-Signal Lights Up

Shadow Spider had just taken a seat when Bruce spoke.

"How much longer do you plan to stay in this world?" Bruce asked, pushing a glass of water toward him.

Shadow Spider's hand, which had been reaching for the glass, suddenly froze in midair.

He widened his eyes, staring at the man before him in disbelief.

After a moment, he lowered his hand—but he didn't take the glass.

He had no idea what to make of this man.

He had no superpowers, yet he seemed to know far more than he should.

Bruce simply crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, silently studying the black-and-white Spider-Man.

Shadow Spider adjusted the brim of his hat, his monochrome presence clashing starkly with the vibrant colors of this world. "It seems like you know far more than I do."

Bruce remained indifferent. "Everyone knows that this world's Spider-Man is dead. But now, including you, I've met two different Spider-Men."

"Even if I were slow, I'd still realize that shouldn't be possible."

"Especially when one of them looks completely out of place in this world."

Shadow Spider glanced down at his own outfit, then at the world around him.

He understood exactly what Bruce meant.

Though he only ever saw the world in black and white, he was well aware of how out of place he looked here—just like that little mysterious cube that had always piqued his curiosity.

He could never see this world's colors.

"So… you're not one of Kingpin's men?" Shadow Spider finally turned to Bruce and asked.

Bruce didn't answer directly. Instead, he threw a question back at him. "Are you a supervillain?"

Shadow Spider suddenly laughed.

"I like you." This time, he finally picked up the glass of water Bruce had given him earlier.

"I like women." Bruce replied flatly, clearly uninterested in entertaining his remark.

Shadow Spider froze for a second, then quickly understood what Bruce meant.

"I hate how completely humorless you are." He sighed, lifting his mask just slightly before downing the entire glass of water in one go.

"Alright, I'm leaving."

Setting the glass down and adjusting his mask, Shadow Spider had no intention of lingering any longer.

In his mind, he had already categorized Bruce as someone who wouldn't harm anyone.

Of course, if Bruce knew about this classification, he would have strongly disagreed.

After all, in just a few days in this world, Bruce had already put more people in the hospital than he could count.

Some of them were likely permanently disabled—perhaps even destined to spend the rest of their lives as bedridden vegetables.

As Shadow Spider reached the door, he glanced back at Bruce. "If the chance ever comes, I'd like to see if we could be friends."

Bruce didn't answer.

Shadow Spider didn't feel any sense of loss. He simply shot out a web from his wrist and left the scene.

Bruce quietly closed the door to his room and resumed his training regimen.

Compared to the red-and-blue-clad, middle-aged Spider-Man with a belly, Bruce had a much better impression of the Shadow Spider-Man.

Perhaps it was because they were both skilled detectives.

Or maybe because Shadow Spider-Man spoke far less than Peter Benjamin Parker.

But sometimes…

There are certain people you just can't afford to think about casually.

Just as Bruce was about to pick up where he left off with his training, he noticed something in the distance. Against the darkening sky, a highly familiar symbol appeared.

In this world—

The Bat-Signal had been lit.

Wiping his hands, Bruce instantly knew who was behind this.

Who else could it be but that Spider-Man he had sent away with a few sharp questions earlier?

"A bit nostalgic," Thomas remarked as he viewed the Bat-Signal through Bruce's eyes.

"Trouble's coming," Bruce muttered. He knew full well that the guy wouldn't have called him just to answer a simple question.

It was highly likely that they had discovered something crucial from Ock Max—or hit a major roadblock.

"Are you going?" Thomas questioned, feeling that Bruce shouldn't rush into this.

Right now, Bruce had only the gear he brought with him—no backup, no logistical support, no one providing cover from the sidelines.

Heading into a battlefield full of super-powered individuals in this state was far from a wise choice.

Turning toward the bathroom, Bruce responded to the voice in his mind—the Batman within him.

"My name is Bruce now, but my identity is Batman."

"And what kind of Batman ignores the Bat-Signal when it's lit?"

Thomas wasn't surprised by Bruce's decision.

If anything, this was exactly what any Batman would do upon seeing the Bat-Signal.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Gwen and Miles found themselves baffled by Peter Parker's actions.

"Are you sure this will work?" Gwen asked, skeptical. "I still think my plan is better—we should find a place to fix this key first, then deal with everything else."

To her, Peter's idea was nothing short of absurd—lighting the Bat-Signal and expecting someone to show up and help them?

That was the kind of thing that only happened in comic books.

How could it possibly work in the real world?

Granted, the fact that they had traveled to another universe already felt like something straight out of a comic book.

But at least there was some scientific reasoning behind that.

Batman, however, wasn't even from their universe.

"Trust me, he'll come," Peter Parker said with absolute confidence. "As long as he's still a die-hard Batman fan."

Gwen sighed and nodded, though she clearly wasn't convinced that Batman actually existed in this world.

"There really is a Batman," Miles quickly chimed in. "I saw him when I was working with this Peter. He was dressed exactly like Batman."

Although, at the time, that Bat didn't seem particularly fond of him.

But how could he admit that to Gwen?

"He's coming! He's coming! He's here!" Peter Parker suddenly exclaimed, his earlier restlessness vanishing in an instant.

He eagerly waved at Gwen and Miles.

By the time they walked over, they saw it—

A figure was already standing tall on the rooftop opposite them.

"Wow…" Gwen finally believed it.

Until now, she had thought Peter's claims were ridiculous.

But seeing Bruce in person—she realized that everything Peter had said was true.

Batman was real in this world.

(End of Chapter)

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