Professor Connors's limb regeneration experiment had achieved its first success in a mammal.
After a brief moment of jubilation, Professor Connors chose to keep the good news to himself, telling no one.
He even prepared himself to abandon this successful test case, pretending as if nothing had happened.
The Osborn Group was currently under military supervision by General Ross, but the latter's reputation was particularly notorious. Like his friend Professor Miles Warren, Professor Connors had also heard the rumors circulating in academic circles about General Ross's misdeeds.
Professor Connors strongly suspected that once General Ross learned of his experiment's progress, he would immediately demand human trials. Conducting human trials with immature technology was little different from intentional homicide.
Furthermore, Norman Osborn had already set a precedent for that kind of recklessness; he was now in a mental hospital. Connors would not allow himself to make the same mistake.
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone rapped gently on the glass door of Professor Connors's laboratory with their knuckles.
Professor Connors did his best to appear devoid of any joy from the successful experiment. He raised his remaining left hand to rub his forehead as he looked toward the door.
Standing outside was General Ross. The redneck was surveying the lab's interior through the glass, several soldiers flanking him.
"Please, come in," Professor Connors said, sighing inwardly. It seemed his greatest fear was coming to pass.
"Professor Connors." General Ross left the soldiers outside and entered alone, his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes, sharp beneath grizzled eyebrows, scanned the laboratory before he offered the greeting.
"I'm in the middle of an experiment, General," Professor Connors said, unwilling to deal with Ross from the bottom of his heart. "This really isn't a suitable time for a visit."
General Ross's hair, eyebrows, and thick beard were all a grizzled white, and the chiseled wrinkles on his face made him look aged, yet he seemed in good spirits, his eyes bright and piercing.
"I'm not here to observe an experiment, Professor Connors. I want to know what stage your reptile gene research has reached."
As expected, this redneck is here for my experiment.
Professor Connors sneered inwardly, then adopted the same disheartened tone he used after every past failure. "To be honest, General Ross, my experiment is still in the theoretical stage."
General Ross's eyes, beneath his gray eyebrows, stared intently at Professor Connors, as if judging his truthfulness.
Professor Connors looked down at the empty sleeve of his right arm, his voice tinged with undisguised hope. "More than anyone, I hope the research succeeds. I wish my arm could grow back right now. But it can't."
General Ross shifted his gaze from Professor Connors to a glass cabinet inside the laboratory. It was divided into a dozen equally sized compartments, each containing a small white mouse.
Since Professor Connors hadn't yet disposed of the deceased test subjects, the single living white mouse stood out conspicuously.
Professor Connors's heart immediately sank.
"Professor, this?" General Ross stood before the lone surviving mouse, his voice laced with suspicion.
Just as Professor Connors's heart pounded and he racked his brain for an excuse, the laboratory door was suddenly pushed open.
Batman's enhanced hearing had allowed him to clearly overhear the conversation from a distance. He rushed over, pushed open the door, and said apologetically, "Sorry, Professor, I was careless yesterday. It seems one of the white mice wasn't injected with the reagent..."
Batman's sudden intrusion made the already nervous Professor Connors's heart sink again, but he was no fool. He quickly seized the lifeline the unexpected intruder offered.
"I hope this only happens once. If it happens again, you can leave my laboratory," Professor Connors said sternly to the man he didn't recognize at all.
Batman cooperatively stood by the door with a suitably chastened expression, saying nothing more, looking every bit the employee who had made a grave mistake.
Though neither knew the other, and this was their first interaction, the two clever men played their parts perfectly. General Ross showed no outward sign of suspicion.
Phew.
About five minutes after General Ross left, Professor Connors breathed a sigh of relief. He believed he had successfully deceived the General; his results would not become a tool for the man's evil deeds.
Professor Connors turned his gaze to Batman's ID badge, looking at the name "Clark" on it. "You're not Harry. Who are you?" he asked in a low voice.
An ordinary person might not recognize Harry Osborn, but Professor Connors, as a scientist and director of the Osborn Group, not only knew what he looked like but was also aware of the "Clark" identity Harry had used as a low-level employee.
"I'm Peter Parker, Harry's good friend," Batman replied, also keeping his voice down. "I was sent by Professor Miles Warren."
"What are you here for?"
"To expose General Ross's ambition," Batman stated.
Professor Connors shook his head, indicating he didn't understand. He had already concealed his progress. In his view, there was nothing more to worry about; at least his experiment was safe.
Batman did not explain further. "There's an email in your inbox, compiled by a private detective agency I hired. I think you need to thoroughly understand what General Ross has done."
Professor Connors grew even more puzzled, but his hands didn't hesitate. He quickly opened his email on the laboratory computer.
The email Batman mentioned was right there. Unlike the information Daily Bugle reporter Eddie Brock had seen, this content focused on the origin of the Hulk. Batman had collected it through various channels ever since he first learned of the Hulk's existence by hacking into the CIA.
"General Ross once commanded a missile base and nuclear research facility in a desert base in New Mexico, primarily working on the Gamma Bomb project..."
"Dr. Bruce Banner was appointed as the project director."
"During a gamma ray test, Banner became the Hulk due to exposure to a massive dose of radiation."
Professor Connors quickly read through the information. These were details even he, within academic circles, had been unaware of.
"Gamma rays... the Hulk..." Professor Connors repeated the words under his breath. But before he could process it fully, the email seemed to trigger a program and automatically erased itself completely, leaving no trace.
Immediately, a second email arrived. This one contained a series of experimental logs.
Professor Connors glanced at the silent Batman and continued reading.
A few minutes later, Professor Connors's face completely darkened. These logs were Norman Osborn's experimental records from his research on the Super Soldier Serum, conducted after he began cooperating with General Ross.
They also contained a key term: "gamma rays."
General Ross's entry into the Osborn Group under the guise of military supervision—his true objective was now starkly clear from the contents of these two emails.
He wanted to use the Osborn Group's biotechnology and gamma rays to create, and even mass-produce, the Hulk.
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