Morbius's heart pounded wildly. The instinctive perception of danger that came with becoming a vampire made him afraid to make any superfluous movements.
At the same time, he knew very well that if he opened his mouth to say "No," what awaited him would certainly not be a friendly gaze from these three terrified monsters in their transformed states.
Just one look at the Hulk's explosive muscles and the Lizard's ferocious bone spikes left Morbius with no doubt that, in front of them, he was like a crawling infant trying to challenge an entire aircraft carrier fleet.
"I choose to join."
Morbius didn't hesitate; he spoke almost the very second after Batman offered the choice.
The moment the words left his mouth, Morbius immediately felt that heart-stopping sensation of being preyed upon by monsters recede like the tide.
The Hulk turned back into the honest and kind Dr. Banner, the Lizard turned back into the one-armed Professor Connors, and Dr. Octopus retracted his mechanical tentacles, smiling slightly at Morbius as if he hadn't been the first one to transform into a monster just moments ago.
"Phew..."
Morbius let out a breath of relief, finally daring to truly step inside the laboratory.
The terrifying aura that always shrouded Batman also quietly retracted. He closed the laboratory door, then extended a hand toward Morbius.
"Welcome to the team, Professor Morbius."
Dr. Banner felt around for his glasses and put them on, then leaned in toward Morbius with a trace of curiosity, looking him up and down.
"Morbius? The world's youngest Nobel Prize winner?"
Dr. Banner looked at Morbius's gray-black, skeletal face—which resembled a bat far more than a human—wearing the expression of someone who rather wanted to immediately put Morbius on the operating table for study.
Dr. Otto added a correction:
"To be precise, the youngest, and the only genius biologist to refuse to accept the Nobel Prize."
Morbius instantly felt a bit ashamed. His academic achievements might sound loud enough compared to others, but compared to Dr. Banner, who held seven PhDs and was a genius among geniuses, he was still far behind.
And Dr. Otto was one of the world's top nuclear physicists. When Morbius saw the artificial sun inside the tokamak device in the lab, he understood that this doctor of nuclear physics had already achieved stable, controllable nuclear fusion.
This was clearly another top-tier titan Morbius couldn't hope to rival.
As for Professor Connors, strictly speaking, his academic achievements were the lowest among everyone present.
Professor Connors didn't shy away from this fact; he even took the initiative to crack a small joke at his own expense:
"Compared to you all, my greatest achievement isn't academic, but rather controlling the beast inside my body with the help of Dr. Banner and Batman."
He patted Morbius on the shoulder with his left arm.
"Now you need to do the same. We've all been through it, we understand the embarrassment and the trouble. You're one of us now."
After speaking, Professor Connors' gaze drifted past Morbius to exchange a subtle look with Batman.
Batman gave an imperceptible nod to Professor Connors, inexplicably feeling a trace of relief.
Whether in Gotham or elsewhere, in the Justice League or any other organization, aside from Superman Clark and Alfred, very few people could coordinate so tacitly with him as the three scientists of South Brother Island.
Possessing both sufficient wisdom and sufficient power, the three scientists of South Brother Island had successfully intimidated Morbius without any prior prompting from Batman, with Professor Connors wrapping things up to ease the previous tension.
This kind of coordination—requiring no facial expressions or words to hint at, executed perfectly even when Batman wasn't initially in their line of sight—made Batman approve of them from the bottom of his heart.
But the necessary contingency plans would still remain.
Batman stopped speaking. Watching Morbius gradually get acquainted and converse with the three scientists, he silently retreated to the side, continuing the Gamma antidote research Dr. Banner hadn't finished, allowing Dr. Banner to relax for a while.
Three hours later.
Morbius had completely integrated into the South Brother Island environment, and the team of science monsters officially expanded to four members.
With the help of the original three scientists, Morbius established a plan step-by-step to analyze his own abilities, search for a cure to suppress his vampiric urges, or simply find a substitute for fresh human blood.
Batman didn't disturb them. He took the completed Gamma antidote and left quietly.
Though called an antidote, strictly speaking, it was still an inhibitor.
According to the judgment of Dr. Banner and Batman, the situation of the four Gamma monsters was almost the same as Dr. Banner's: the mutation caused by Gamma radiation had completely rewritten their genes.
Unless their respective complete genetic chains were re-edited, a single vial of medicine could not cure the Gamma monsters' problems at the root.
Right now, rather than curing them, it was more about controlling them better.
"Tony, how is the situation with Max Dillon?"
Inside the Batcave, Batman injected the antidote into the Abomination (Blonsky) and Red Hulk (General Ross) respectively, while opening an encrypted communication channel to speak to Tony Stark.
"Terrible," Tony Stark's tone was somewhat heavy.
Batman frowned slightly, suspecting that developments had exceeded his expectations.
Batman had arranged for Tony Stark to contact Max Dillon. Having reminded Tony to try his best not to conflict with him, he was ninety percent sure the two would have a pleasant conversation.
Previously, Tony Stark had clearly gone to Max Dillon's home to make up for his daughter's missed birthday. According to Batman's deduction of subsequent developments, there shouldn't have been any issues.
Either Batman's analysis of Max Dillon's family situation and human nature was flawed, or Tony Stark was pranking Batman.
"Report the situation," Batman's voice was low; he already had a guess.
"Max Dillon he... can't drink." Tony Stark couldn't keep up the act; his voice became relaxed again as he laughed loudly. "Did I scare you just now?"
"No."
Batman's voice remained low. After closing the communication channel, he looked toward The Leader.
He did not plan to process the five individuals—counting Harry Osborn—for the time being. Whether researching or curing them, it was not something that could be solved overnight.
They weren't like Professor Morbius, whose conscience was still intact; their mental states were more chaotic than the last.
Batman needed to start sorting through a lead regarding Hydra.
"The Leader, original name Samuel Sterns, was once a mover. According to the clues I've investigated, his work scope was in the northeast of New York, range..."
Batman pulled up a map of New York and circled an area with his hand.
"A mover, suffered Gamma radiation, and was taken away by General Ross. And behind General Ross is Hydra."
Batman's fingertip slid slowly across the map, finally stopping on the mountain range extending to the northeast of New York—the Adirondack Mountains.
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