"Tie me up as well."
Morbius looked as if he were surrendering completely. In this moment, he was no longer the murderous, bloodthirsty vampire, but the Morbius who possessed a poet's melancholic temperament.
"No." Batman looked at Morbius. "Your condition is different from Harry's."
Morbius lowered his head, staring at the ground.
"My situation is worse, isn't it? I killed thirty-one people. The one who should die to atone for my sins is me."
"Death does not enable you to atone, Morbius," Batman stated.
"Then what exactly do you want me to do?" Morbius grew agitated, unable to stop himself from slightly parting his lips to reveal his fangs.
Batman did not answer the question directly, but instead asked, "The plasma you took from the Metro General Hospital blood bank—how did it feel after you consumed it?"
Morbius shook his head.
"In short, not good. I can feel that plasma only supports my bloodlust for a short time. In the long run... I will likely lose my reason again and crave fresh blood."
"When you can no longer control this bloodlust, can you accept killing others again? Last time it was prisoners; what about the next time? When the day comes that you lose your mind and are forced to attack ordinary people?" Batman pressed.
Morbius couldn't answer. His eyes were filled with confusion, and his face bore a look of shattered fragility.
"I don't know."
"So, come with me, Morbius," Batman said. "I'm taking you somewhere."
Although the New Goblin hadn't caused harm to others, his mental state was extremely unstable and required a certain degree of treatment. Even if he was like the Hulk and couldn't be fully cured, at the very least, they had to ensure he wouldn't hurt anyone before he could be released.
Compared to the New Goblin, although Morbius's mental state was relatively stable, he had already committed extremely serious capital crimes.
Considering that New York didn't have a prison designed to hold super-criminals like Gotham did, and the Cube—known for detaining supernatural forces—was very likely a Hydra nest, Batman had to weigh the pros and cons and take appropriate measures.
"Where are we going?" Morbius asked in confusion.
Batman shook his head slightly and didn't speak. After double-checking that the five people unconscious in the Batcave wouldn't wake up anytime soon, he took Morbius and left.
South Brother Island.
Hiss—
The laboratory was relatively quiet. Professor Connors' severed right arm was currently connected to a mechanical arm, with the faint sound of hydraulics sounding occasionally.
"Dr. Otto, I think the plan you provided is better. Reading muscle electrical signals can indeed simulate human movement one hundred percent..."
Professor Connors spoke in a low voice to Dr. Otto beside him.
"I have a bolder idea now, which is to combine your unfinished limb regeneration technology with prosthetics... strictly speaking, not as crude as I initially imagined, but..."
Dr. Otto was also discussing with Professor Connors in a hushed tone.
They tried to keep their voices down as much as possible to avoid disturbing Dr. Banner, who was not far away, buried in the development of a Gamma cure for General Ross and Blonsky.
Dr. Banner was wearing glasses at this moment, looking every bit the honest and simple scientist. No one could connect him with the violent Hulk.
Just then, the laboratory door was gently pushed open. Dressed in black, stained with mud, and with hair plastered to his forehead by the rain, Morbius stepped inside.
In an instant, the gazes of Professor Connors, Dr. Banner, and Dr. Otto all converged on him.
"Bat..."
Dr. Otto greeted out of habit, but before he could finish, he realized that the person appearing wasn't Batman at all, but a strange monster he had never seen before.
Charcoal-black skin wrapping tightly around bones, sharp claws, and exposed fangs—it was clearly a monster that had suddenly intruded.
In the next second, four cold mechanical tentacles slid out from behind Dr. Otto like pythons shedding their skin. Two snapped downward to grip the floor, propping his body into mid-air, while the other two extended upward, baring their claws.
Dr. Otto usually wore a dark brown trench coat to cover the green combat suit Batman had made for him. But as the mechanical tentacles engaged, Dr. Otto no longer hid the suit, letting the coat flap freely.
Morbius stared blankly, then couldn't help but grin slightly to reveal his fangs, his body crouching slightly into an attack stance.
But there wasn't just Dr. Otto in the lab; there were two other, far purer monsters.
The moment he saw Morbius bare his teeth, Professor Connors' eyes rapidly turned into golden vertical pupils, and a warning hiss like a lizard's escaped his mouth.
His spine emitted a tooth-aching crackle, and the sound of scales growing was like countless grains of sand rubbing together. Green scales covered Professor Connors' body, hideous bone spurs grew all the way from the back of his head, and a thick, heavy tail slammed onto the ground with a loud thwack.
The four-meter-tall Lizard's head almost touched the ceiling. His massive frame blocked more than half the light in the laboratory, making him look like a mutated dinosaur that had walked out of a sci-fi movie.
Even though he had become a vampire, Morbius's worldview remained that of an ordinary person. He didn't assume the whole world was full of supernatural powers just because he possessed vampire abilities.
But looking at the hideous and terrifying Lizard now, Morbius still took a small step back and opened his mouth to let out a roar.
"Ah!"
Amidst this roar, Dr. Banner, who had the slowest reaction, finally moved.
This wasn't because he was dull, but because from his angle, he could see Batman following behind Morbius.
If Batman were introducing a new partner, given his usual caution, he would definitely step into the lab first and then introduce the newcomer to the three of them. But Batman hadn't done that; instead, Morbius had stepped into the lab while Batman remained hidden behind the door.
In that instant, intelligent as he was, Dr. Banner immediately understood Batman's purpose in letting this gray-skinned monster enter first.
"Intimidation"!
So, Dr. Banner reached out, took off his glasses, placed them gently to the side, and slightly rolled his shoulders.
Rumble—
A skeletal explosion even more violent than the Lizard's erupted from within Dr. Banner's body, adding a series of muffled thunderclaps to the rainy night out of thin air.
His white lab coat pulled tight before being silently torn to shreds by suddenly expanding green muscle fibers. Muscles stacked like bedrock, and veins pulsed like cables, leaving no doubt about the terrifying power contained within this body.
The three scientists, having completed their transformations, didn't move. But Morbius had no doubt that if he dared to move even an inch, those sharp claws, cold tentacles, and angry fists would tear him to pieces simultaneously.
Three gentle and refined scientists had successively turned into a killing machine, a mountain of rage, and a prehistoric hunter.
This was the scene Morbius saw in the span of just a few seconds. An immense sense of oppression made him feel a fear that radiated from his very marrow.
In this moment, Morbius finally realized how laughable his strength of less than a ton really was. He had the urge to turn and run.
But Batman behind him exuded an aura even more terrifying than the three monsters before him, leaving Morbius in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.
Just as the oppressive pressure in the air was about to solidify and crush Morbius completely, Batman spoke:
"Power takes many forms. The kind that is out of control and consumes you is merely the cheapest kind."
"Here, power is harnessed. Each of them was once lost, but they all chose to sign a contract with their inner monsters that is more difficult than death. Now, it is your turn."
"Morbius."
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