Chapter 72: Hail Hydra!
"Perhaps only this kind of objective makes sense for why General Ross would endure pressure from all sides to militarily supervise Oscorp."
Watching the second email also mysteriously self-destruct, Professor Connors couldn't spare curiosity about how that "private detective" had accomplished it. He looked at Batman with a grave expression.
"We cannot let General Ross succeed."
Batman nodded slightly. He and Oscorp's scientist-director Professor Connors had now aligned their objectives. "Professor Connors, you're an expert in the biological field. I need you to quickly analyze which biotechnologies or experiments at Oscorp might be exploited by General Ross. I'll 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 this happen." Professor Connors said.
"I'm going to bring someone capable of attracting General Ross's full attention," Batman said.
Data transfer wasn't as simple as plugging in a flash drive and pulling it out minutes later. This required time.
Peter Parker's identity could only go this far. Now it was time for "Batman" to take the stage.
Without alerting anyone, Batman quietly left Oscorp. After repeatedly confirming no one was following him, he slipped into the abandoned City Hall subway station.
As the Batmobile's crimson lights illuminated, Batman—having shed his lab coat and donned his Batsuit—followed the subway lines straight toward Oscorp.
Beep-beep-beep.
On the Batmobile's display, a red dot flashed continuously.
That was the miniature tracking device Batman had installed on General Ross in Professor Connors's laboratory without alerting anyone.
The device, resembling a button fastened to Ross's sleeve, was accompanied by a listening device.
The Batmobile accessed New York's subway line information. With the Prophet AI's assistance, it rapidly approached Oscorp, emerging onto street level at a subway exit one kilometer away.
ROAR!
The Batmobile's thunderous engine echoed at the far end of the road before Oscorp, accelerating madly toward the building.
The massive sound made it impossible for soldiers stationed around Oscorp to ignore the brazenly charging Batmobile. Almost simultaneously, General Ross—having received reports on the top floor—pressed himself against the window, binoculars raised to his eyes.
Batman didn't plan to directly arrest General Ross, even knowing he was on the sixtieth floor.
Similar events involving external military occupation had occurred in Gotham. Batman knew very well that directly arresting General Ross would have minimal effect on stopping gamma radiation monsters from being created.
The military's chain of command would remain intact. Ross's deputy would immediately assume command. Operations wouldn't stop.
Moreover, once Batman succeeded, the military's primary mission would shift from nominally supervising Oscorp to capturing the terrorist who attacked the general. Batman would be unable to move freely, with endless consequences.
"Decapitation" wasn't limited to physically capturing someone. What Batman had arranged for Harry Osborn to do beforehand was sufficient to neutralize General Ross's threat.
What he needed to do now was create as much chaos as possible, buying time for Professor Connors to transfer various biological experiment data.
"Stop! Whoever's in that vehicle, stop immediately!"
When the Batmobile was three hundred meters from Oscorp, a soldier had already climbed into a parked armored vehicle, shouting through the vehicle-mounted loudspeaker: "Stop the vehicle immediately! Open the door, hands on your head, crouch in place!"
"You're suspected of launching a terrorist attack on military forces! Stop immediately!"
No matter how loudly the soldier shouted, Batman remained unmoved, even accelerating the Batmobile further.
Unless General Ross was bold enough to deploy grenades or other high-powered weapons against merely an unidentified vehicle in the city, ordinary bullets posed little threat to the Batmobile.
Even if Ross dared use such weapons, "Spider-Man's" spider-sense would detect the danger and evade in advance.
And if General Ross did that, Batman would gain another method to completely take him down.
"Don't use any weapons! Several of you, use your bodies to force him to stop!"
"Whether he hits you or not, I'll award you medals and bonuses when you get back!"
On the sixtieth floor, General Ross listened to his subordinates' reports while observing through binoculars, issuing orders simultaneously.
Soon the soldiers below executed General Ross's command. Ten soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking the Batmobile's path.
The Batmobile showed no signs of slowing, instead accelerating further. It charged up to the ten soldiers before suddenly drifting to a stop, while Batman's figure ejected through the pre-opened roof.
Roll, roll, roll...
Batman threw several smoke grenades. White smoke immediately enveloped the area.
On Oscorp's twentieth floor laboratory, Professor Connors was startled by the massive engine roar.
Though human curiosity drove him to look out the window at what was happening, his responsibility as a scientist made Professor Connors suppress that curiosity.
He knew the person Peter Parker mentioned—capable of "attracting General Ross's full attention"—was already in action. He needed to act quickly too.
Using the laboratory computer, the one-armed Professor Connors worked as fast as possible to screen experimental data at Oscorp that General Ross might exploit.
His speed wasn't fast, especially in such time-critical circumstances.
Professor Connors instinctively glanced at his empty right sleeve, sighed, and continued working.
With fully functional hands, he could work faster. But as Oscorp's only remaining scientist-director, Professor Connors possessed clearance higher than most research staff. Only he could complete this task.
Bioelectricity, cross-species genetics, neurotechnology and consciousness control, genetic engineering...
Professor Connors's gaze swept across biological technology projects, transferring all technical data he believed might be exploited.
...
Wyoming, about one hundred kilometers from the Cube Prison, in a desert area, Black Widow Natasha was driving an off-road vehicle at full speed.
This was a vehicle the Cube Prison occasionally used for patrols. Natasha had secretly driven it out. On her passenger seat sat a briefcase containing Dr. Banner's blood.
The briefcase was specially manufactured to detect and shield internal gamma radiation, ensuring it wouldn't affect others during transport.
Driving continuously, Natasha stopped beside a long-dead tree, taking the briefcase as she exited.
The area had been empty, but with Natasha's appearance, two masked figures suddenly emerged.
Natasha said nothing, handing over the briefcase.
But the instant the case left Natasha's hand—WHOOSH!
An arrow shot through, piercing the briefcase's handle before embedding deep in the ground, only the fletching trembling slightly.
SWISH!
Natasha and the two masked figures almost instinctively drew pistols, aiming toward where the arrow came from. The case containing the blood sample dropped to the ground.
Fifty meters away, Hawkeye Barton—having pursued Natasha all this way—had his bow drawn, his face full of confusion. "Why are you doing this? Where are you sending Banner's blood?"
Creak...
The bowstring made subtle sounds as Hawkeye pulled it taut, aiming his arrow directly at Natasha. "We've been partners for so many years. You need to give me an explanation, Natasha!"
Natasha sighed inwardly, turning the question back on Hawkeye Barton. "I think you're the one who needs to explain, Barton."
"Why are you working for Hydra? For power, or for money?"
Hydra?! Hawkeye's heart jumped. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Natasha kept her gun trained on Hawkeye. "Dr. Banner's blood is worth millions if you find the right buyer. You know that."
"So why have you colluded with Hydra?"
Hawkeye's heartbeat accelerated. He understood now who those two masked figures were.
But he still didn't understand what Natasha was doing. Betraying the organization? Or a double agent?
He had to take down these three people and get answers.
The Cube Prison codename suddenly received during their SHIELD return flight, the blood drawn from Dr. Banner, Natasha's actions, the two Hydra operatives meeting her...
The mysteries tangled tightly together. Hawkeye momentarily felt an invisible hand tightly gripping his throat.
But just as he was about to release his arrow, Natasha suddenly moved.
BANG BANG!
Two gunshots. The bullets' targets weren't Hawkeye Barton, but the two Hydra operatives beside Natasha.
Bullets precisely opened holes in their foreheads. The two Hydra agents collapsed to the ground in unison.
"I'll miss working with you, Barton."
Natasha said quietly, then another bullet hit the hesitant Hawkeye Barton's abdomen before he could shoot his arrow, making him lose combat capability. He could only clutch his abdomen weakly and collapse to the ground.
"The blood was just bait. You took it, Hawkeye."
Walking to Hawkeye's side, Natasha looked at this partner of many years and spoke quietly. She used her communication device to contact SHIELD. "Director Fury, SHIELD has been infiltrated. I personally witnessed Agent Barton conducting transactions with Hydra."
"Hydra has been eliminated. Should Hawkeye be detained in the nearby Cube Prison?"
One hundred kilometers from the Cube Prison, far beyond its signal blocking zone.
After receiving Director Fury's confirmation, Natasha bound Hawkeye and threw him in the vehicle, returning to retrieve the briefcase containing Banner's blood sample.
But this briefcase capable of detecting and shielding gamma radiation now displayed a gamma radiation index of 0, though the blood sample inside remained intact—the earlier drop hadn't broken it.
Natasha frowned at the blood for several seconds, then contacted another signal. "There's a problem with Dr. Banner's blood."
She briefly explained what had just happened.
On the other end, a male voice—deep and powerful: "Very good. Transport Dr. Banner directly to Manhattan, New York. You need not involve yourself in what follows."
"Hail Hydra."
Natasha responded with an equally steady, powerful voice: "Hail Hydra!"