General Ross was willing to endure pressure from all sides to impose military supervision over the Oscorp Group; perhaps this goal was the only thing that made sense to him anymore.
Watching the second email miraculously self-destruct, Professor Connors didn't have time to wonder how that "private detective" had managed it.
He looked at Batman, his expression grave. "We cannot let General Ross succeed."
Batman gave a slight nod. On this point, he and Professor Connors, the scientist-director of Oscorp, were in complete agreement.
"Professor Connors, you are an expert in the biological sciences," Batman said. "I need you to quickly analyze which of Oscorp's biotechnologies or experiments General Ross might exploit. I will assist you in transferring the core data."
"Leave it to me. But how do you plan to transfer it? General Ross won't just let that happen," Professor Connors questioned.
"I'm going to invite someone who can sufficiently attract General Ross's attention," Batman replied.
Transferring data wasn't as simple as plugging in a USB drive and unplugging it a few minutes later; it required a significant amount of time. The identity of Peter Parker had served its purpose. Now, it was time for "Batman" to make his appearance.
Without alerting a soul, Batman slipped quietly out of Oscorp. After repeatedly confirming he wasn't being followed, he entered an abandoned municipal subway station.
As the Batmobile's crimson headlights flared to life, Batman—having shed his lab coat and donned his Batsuit—drove along the subway line, heading directly towards Oscorp.
Beep beep beep.
On the Batmobile's display, a red dot blinked incessantly. It was the miniature tracking device Batman had covertly planted on General Ross's sleeve back in Professor Connors's lab, complete with a listening device attached.
The Batmobile accessed New York's subway line data and, with the assistance of the Oracle AI, rapidly closed the distance to Oscorp, emerging from the subway onto the surface about a kilometer away.
Boom!
The roaring engine of the Batmobile thundered from the end of the street facing Oscorp, accelerating madly towards the building.
The powerful sound waves made it impossible for the soldiers stationed around Oscorp to ignore the brazenly charging vehicle.
Almost simultaneously, General Ross, who had received the report on the top floor, was once again at the window, binoculars in hand.
Batman had no intention of directly apprehending General Ross, even though he knew the man was on the sixtieth floor. Similar incidents of external military deployment had happened in Gotham, and Batman knew that capturing Ross would do little to prevent the birth of a Gamma Ray monster.
The army's chain of command would remain intact; Ross's deputy would immediately assume control, and the operation would not cease. Furthermore, if Batman succeeded, the army's primary mission would shift from nominally supervising Oscorp to capturing the "terrorist" who attacked a General, leaving Batman with no room to maneuver and endless trouble.
"Decapitation" wasn't just about physical capture; what Batman had arranged for Harry Osborn to do was already enough to neutralize the threat posed by Ross. His task now was to cause as much disruption as possible, buying time for Professor Connors to transfer the various biological experiment data.
"Stop! Whoever is in that vehicle, stop immediately!"
When the Batmobile was still three hundred meters from Oscorp, a soldier had already climbed into a parked armored vehicle and was shouting through its loudspeaker:
"Stop immediately! Open the door, put your hands on your head, and squat down! You are suspected of launching a terrorist attack against the military; stop at once!"
No matter how loud the soldier shouted, Batman remained unmoved, even accelerating the Batmobile further.
Unless General Ross was audacious enough to use high-powered weapons like grenades against an unidentified vehicle in the city, ordinary bullets posed no significant threat to the Batmobile. Even if Ross dared, Spider-Man's Spider-Sense was acute enough to detect the danger and allow for evasion. And if Ross did resort to such measures, Batman would have yet another method to bring him down completely.
"Don't use any weapons! Send a few men to stop him with their bodies! Whether he hits them or not, I will award you medals and bonuses when you return!" On the sixtieth floor, General Ross listened to his subordinates' reports through his earpiece, watched through his binoculars, and issued the order simultaneously.
Soon, the soldiers below complied. Ten soldiers stood shoulder-to-shoulder, forming a human barricade in the Batmobile's path.
The Batmobile showed no sign of slowing. Instead, it sped up, rushing directly towards the soldiers before skidding to a dramatic halt. Simultaneously, Batman's figure ejected from the pre-opened roof.
Fizz...
Several smoke grenades thrown by Batman hit the ground, and white smoke instantly enveloped the area.
In the lab on the twentieth floor of Oscorp, Professor Connors was startled by the massive engine roar. Though human curiosity urged him to look out the window, his scientific sense of responsibility made him suppress the impulse.
He knew that the "guy who could sufficiently attract General Ross's attention," as Peter Parker had described, was now in action. He, too, needed to move quickly.
Using the lab computer, the one-armed Professor Connors screened through Oscorp's experimental data, identifying anything General Ross might exploit, working as fast as he could.
His speed was not what he wished it to be, especially with every second counting. He glanced subconsciously at his empty right sleeve, sighed, and continued his work. If he had both hands, he could work faster. But as the only remaining scientist-director at Oscorp, Professor Connors possessed higher clearance than most researchers. This task fell to him, and him alone.
Bio-electricity, cross-species genetics, neuro-technology and mind control, genetic engineering... Professor Connors's gaze swept over the various biotechnology projects as he began transferring all the technical data he deemed exploitable.
In a Wyoming desert about a hundred kilometers from the Cube Prison, Black Widow Natasha was driving a jeep at full speed. It was a vehicle occasionally used by Cube Prison for patrols, which Natasha had secretly commandeered.
On the passenger seat lay a briefcase containing Dr. Banner's blood sample, specially manufactured to detect and shield internal gamma radiation, ensuring it posed no risk during transport.
Driving along, Natasha pulled over beside a withered old tree and got out, briefcase in hand. The place was utterly deserted, but with her arrival, two masked figures emerged from the emptiness.
Natasha silently held out the briefcase.
But just as the case left her hand—Whoosh!
An arrow flew through the air, piercing the briefcase's handle and embedding itself deep in the sandy ground, its fletching trembling slightly.
Swish!
Natasha and the two masked men instinctively drew their pistols, aiming in the direction the arrow had come from. The case containing the blood sample fell to the ground.
Less than fifty meters away, Hawkeye Clint, who had been pursuing Natasha, stood with his bow drawn, his face a mask of confusion and betrayal.
"Why are you doing this, Natasha? Where are you taking Banner's blood?"
Creeak...
The bowstring groaned faintly as Hawkeye drew it taut, the arrow aimed directly at his partner.
"We've been partners for years. You need to give me an explanation, Natasha!"
Natasha sighed inwardly, but her retort was sharp. "I think you're the one who needs to give an explanation, Clint. Why are you working for HYDRA? For power? Or for money?"
HYDRA?!
Hawkeye's heart skipped a beat. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Natasha kept her gun trained on him. "Dr. Banner's blood is worth millions if you find the right buyer, and you know it. So why are you colluding with HYDRA?"
Hawkeye's heart began to race. He now understood the identities of the two masked men. But he still couldn't comprehend what Black Widow was doing. Betraying the organization? Or was she a double agent?
He had to take all three of them down and get to the bottom of this. The Cube Prison codename he'd received upon returning to S.H.I.E.L.D., the extraction of Banner's blood, Natasha's actions, the two HYDRA agents meeting her... The mysteries were tightly intertwined, and Hawkeye vaguely felt an invisible hand tightening around his throat.
But just as he was about to release the arrow, Natasha moved first.
Bang! Bang!
Two gunshots rang out, but the bullets weren't aimed at Hawkeye. They struck the two HYDRA agents beside Natasha, piercing their foreheads with precision. The agents fell to the ground in unison.
"I will miss working with you, Clint," Black Widow Natasha whispered.
Then, another bullet hit Hawkeye in the abdomen. He hesitated, failing to loose his arrow in time, and fell to the ground, clutching his wound weakly.
"The blood was just bait, and you took it, Hawkeye."
Walking up to her fallen partner, Black Widow Natasha looked down at him and whispered her farewell. Then, she activated her portable communicator.
"Director Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated. I personally witnessed Agent Clint making a deal with HYDRA. The HYDRA agents have been eliminated. Should Hawkeye be imprisoned in the nearby Cube Prison?"
One hundred kilometers from Cube Prison, they were already outside its signal jamming zone. After receiving Director Fury's confirmation, Natasha bound Hawkeye, threw him into the jeep, and retrieved the briefcase containing Dr. Banner's blood sample.
However, this briefcase—designed to detect and shield gamma rays—now displayed a gamma radiation index of zero, even though the blood sample inside was perfectly preserved and hadn't shattered when it fell.
Black Widow Natasha frowned, studying the blood for a few seconds. Then, she contacted another signal.
"Dr. Banner's blood is problematic," she reported, briefly explaining the events.
On the other end, a man's voice replied, deep and powerful. "Very good. Transport Dr. Banner directly to Manhattan, New York. You no longer need to intervene in what happens next."
"Hail HYDRA."
Black Widow Natasha replied, her voice equally calm and resolute. "Hail HYDRA."
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