Chapter 202: Electric King
BZZT. BZZT.
Under sustained electrical current exposure, Max Dillon's body had charred almost completely. He lay motionless, rigidly prone.
His chest rose and fell minutely. Though still breathing, survival seemed improbable.
Professor Miles Warren bore a gaping neck wound from Morbius's bite. His body draped across a table, waist bent at unnatural angles, ribcage virtually collapsed inward.
Internal organs pulverized by Morbius's tremendous strength. Currently, opening his mouth expelled pink-tinged bloody foam.
Harry Osborn fared no better. Morbius gripped Harry's shoulder with one hand, neck tilted sideways. Morbius's fangs pierced Harry's carotid artery, consuming blood voraciously.
As Harry's blood volume rapidly depleted, his struggles gradually weakened until both arms dropped limply.
"Morbius..."
Witnessing Harry's imminent exsanguination, Warren's feeble voice emerged.
Morbius's skin had shifted to ashen-gray coloration. Long hair cascaded wildly. Eyes glowed crimson. Nose had collapsed into bat-like configuration.
His ears similarly sharpened—resembling bat anatomy.
Hearing Warren's weak summons, Morbius froze immediately. He regarded Warren with obvious confusion.
"Warren." Morbius responded once before casually discarding Harry.
Observing the laboratory—devastated within moments—surveying the electrocuted Max, Warren's body broken at the waist, then motionless Harry—
Morbius realized what he'd done. But airborne blood scent diluted rational thought. He grabbed Harry from the floor again.
The instant Morbius prepared to bite, every hair stood erect. Skin transmitted tingling sensation.
CRACKLE. CRACKLE...
Feeling positioned within a static field, Morbius turned toward the sound source. The charred-black Max Dillon was moving.
Massive carbonized sections flaked from his body. But beneath the char, exposed tissue wasn't expected pink—but gold.
Before Morbius could react, Max spotted the disheveled Morbius first, instinctively raising one hand.
ZAP!
Golden electrical current erupted from Max's palm, detonating against Morbius's chest in a fireball.
"What was that?" Max recoiled from the discharge emerging from his hand.
He examined his palm—seeing only concentrated golden current.
Lifting his gaze, Max discovered the world appearing vastly different.
He could perceive electrical current flowing through wall circuitry. His body felt impossibly light—as though capable of levitating at will.
"ROAR!"
Attacked, Morbius casually dropped Harry again, lunging toward Max with bared fangs.
Morbius's eyes blazed completely crimson. He charged on all fours like a predatory beast.
Before closing distance, Max gestured again. Another golden discharge struck Morbius, hurling him backward.
"What have I become? What did you do to me?"
Max advanced, shouting his demand. But received only Morbius launching from a different angle.
"Get away!"
Max roared. But this time he couldn't repel Morbius. Instead, his own body transmitted profound weakness.
He swept his arm. Only weak golden tendrils emerged before Morbius tackled him.
CRACKLE!
Upon impact, electrical current across Max's body surged violently, scorching Morbius with burning-flesh stench.
Initially Max could resist marginally. But as electrical reserves depleted rapidly, he began experiencing pain from Morbius's talons raking across his body.
Agony blanked Max's consciousness. Instinctively he grabbed severed electrical wiring, pressing it against himself.
Electrical charge replenished, Max finally generated sufficient force to throw Morbius off. But still couldn't reproduce the initial effortless golden discharges.
Max observed wall circuitry. Understanding dawned.
Ignoring Morbius, Max strode toward the wall, punching through with tremendous force.
CRASH!
The wall shattered. Max seized exposed wiring without hesitation, tearing cables free before gripping both severed ends.
BZZT!
Instantly, the entire twentieth floor's lighting died. Experimental equipment, electronic devices—everything lost power. Only emergency red warning lights activated along walls.
Then twenty-first and nineteenth floors. Twenty-second and eighteenth—
Radiating from floor twenty, Oscorp Tower experienced total blackout.
Operating elevators halted abruptly. Ongoing experiments failed due to power loss. Personnel using computers and equipment stared at blank screens, frozen in disbelief.
BEEP! BEEP!
Emergency alarms shrieked. Sound penetrated Morbius's sensitive ears.
Morbius clutched his ears. The relentless audio triggered overwhelming irritation.
But observing Max—body crackling with electrical discharge—Morbius didn't attack again. Instead he pivoted, crashing through window glass before leaping outside.
Seconds after Morbius departed Oscorp Tower, Max similarly approached the shattered window, experimentally extending one foot.
His suspended foot hung outside the building. But his body didn't plummet earthward. Instead remained firmly positioned in midair.
This discovery excited Max tremendously. He attempted stepping forward with his other foot, similarly treading on atmosphere.
His body never fell. Even with stationary legs, he could navigate aerially by manipulating electrical currents.
Recognizing this capability, Max hesitated no longer. His form shifted, transforming into golden electrical discharge before vanishing completely.
Oscorp Tower had descended into chaos following sudden power failure.
Emergency experiment terminations. Rescue operations for elevator-trapped personnel. Phone calls attempting police contact. Confused individuals uncertain what action to take.
Virtually everyone panicked—consequently, Warren's twentieth-floor laboratory remained unattended.
As time elapsed, Warren and Harry's breathing grew increasingly faint.
Nearly ten minutes passed before Harry suddenly regained consciousness from shock-induced unconsciousness.
Surveying the devastated laboratory, Harry recalled everything that had transpired.
***
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