The Lizard had originally planned to escort the little girl, Lunella, onto her plane before heading to the Adirondack Mountains to back up Batman.
However, when Batman flew the Batwing back to Bat Island, the Lizard realized his worries had been unnecessary.
"Dealt with?" the Lizard asked, looking at Batman as he mimicked a throat-slitting motion with his claws.
Batman shook his head.
"Not dealt with. Merely repelled for now."
"If there's nothing else you need my help with for the moment, I'm heading next door," the Lizard said with a yawn. "Dr. Otto has been rushing me for days. He's finished most of the work on the prosthetics research, and only my part is left."
"I'll go with you," Batman said, his voice low.
With that, Batman walked toward the shore of Bat Island, bending his knees slightly, preparing to leap and glide over to South Brother Island just as he always did.
Just as Batman was gathering his strength, the Lizard waved a hand at him.
"Get on."
As he spoke, the Lizard dropped flat, shifting from walking upright on his hind legs balanced by his tail into a quadrupedal crawling posture.
As he completed the transformation, the menacing bone spikes along his spine retracted into his body, leaving his back relatively flat.
Batman was no stranger to this sight. When the two of them had traveled to the Savage Land, the Lizard had carried Batman just like this.
Without hesitation, Batman abandoned his plans to leap. Pressing his palm against the Lizard's body, he swung himself up and mounted his back.
The Lizard let out a low chuckle, crawled into the waters of the East River, and floated on the surface as he swam toward South Brother Island.
"You mentioned forming a league earlier. When do you plan to officially announce it?" the Lizard asked in a casual, conversational tone as he swam leisurely through the river.
"Professor, you're asking exactly what I've been pondering," Batman said. "But not yet."
Establishing a league wasn't something that could be achieved just by a few monsters sitting around a laboratory shouting slogans; it required the perfect opportunity.
The Lizard glanced back at Batman. Seeing that the man wasn't in the mood for small talk, he simply accelerated, cutting through the East River like a speeding arrow.
A few minutes later, on South Brother Island.
"Look who's back." Dr. Banner had transformed into the Hulk at some point and was currently sitting cross-legged on the floor. The second he saw Batman and the Lizard push open the door and enter, he stood up. "It's the big lizard."
The Lizard flashed his sharp claws at the Hulk, taunting him, "Hey, little frog, want a piece of this?"
The Hulk's eyes lit up instantly. He slammed his hands together in front of his chest, cracking his knuckles loudly. "Bring..."
Before the Hulk could finish, Dr. Otto rushed over to break up the fight. His mechanical tentacles extended from behind him, intercepting the Lizard and the Hulk from left and right. "You two, don't start."
Then Dr. Otto looked toward Batman. "Batman, we have a lead on the Antarctic Vibranium."
Snap.
Batman didn't say a word, silently staring at the source of the sound.
Dr. Otto turned around in confusion, only to see the Hulk and the Lizard each holding a snapped mechanical tentacle.
At this, everyone in the room, including Professor Morbius, fell completely silent.
The Hulk looked thoroughly guilt-ridden. "Octopus, Hulk broke your leg."
The Lizard, on the other hand, didn't feel much remorse. If a mechanical tentacle broke, it could just be rebuilt. He shrugged at Dr. Otto. "I didn't mean to."
He really hadn't meant to. Previously, the Lizard's strength peaked at just under fifty tons. However, during his time on Bat Island, he had undergone an "evolution"—his physical size had shrunk, but his strength had increased exponentially, now exceeding eighty tons.
Against such extreme raw power, the tentacles Batman had forged for Dr. Otto were clearly inadequate, which was why the duo had easily snapped them.
"I know you didn't do it on purpose, but... sigh." Dr. Otto didn't know what to say.
"Doctor, my suit is in desperate need of an upgrade, and your tentacles are no exception," Batman stepped in and said to Dr. Otto. "Tell me more about what you just mentioned regarding the Antarctic Vibranium."
Dr. Otto shook his head, deciding not to argue with two brute-force powerhouses like the Hulk and the Lizard.
"I found some data in the trade records of the Dark Wind Corporation, and based on several other pieces of information..."
Dr. Otto walked over to his workstation and clattered away on the keyboard, pulling up a massive array of windows.
"Look here. The Dark Wind Corporation once assembled an Arctic expedition team, and the sponsor happens to be the guy we've been looking for."
"Garrett secretly allocated the funds through S.H.I.E.L.D.," Batman added.
"Exactly. Cross-referencing this with other files, I am certain their objective was to locate the body of Captain America, who legendary accounts claim went missing in the Arctic," Dr. Otto nodded.
Upon hearing the name "Captain America"—a household name across the entire country—the Hulk and the Lizard exchanged a glance. Sensing a mutual understanding, they dropped their plans to spar and crowded around from either side.
Professor Morbius was caught right in the middle between the two behemoths, craning his neck to peer at Dr. Otto's workstation.
"Did they find him?" Batman asked, scanning the data.
Dr. Otto smiled and explained:
"Apparently not. That operation took place two years ago, after which the entire Arctic expedition team vanished. Consequently, last year, the Dark Wind Corporation put together an Antarctic expedition team."
"We don't know what their objective was this time, but they seemed to have quite a bit of luck. After spending only two months in Antarctica, they discovered a mysterious mineral deposit—the Antarctic Vibranium we mentioned earlier."
"Following that, the Dark Wind Corporation obtained certain classified data from Garrett. They fused the Antarctic Vibranium with steel and gold-titanium alloys, along with other specialized metals, creating a substance known as Adamantium."
Batman scrutinized the files. This was all synthesized by Dr. Otto from a convoluted chain of trade records, a task that required an immense amount of time.
Batman hadn't had the time to spare for such a deep dive, but fortunately, Dr. Otto had completed the task flawlessly.
"Is there any mention of Kingpin in the trade records?" Batman asked.
"Yes," Dr. Otto said, switching to a different page. "Lester, also known as 'Bullseye,' once worked for the Dark Wind Corporation. After they developed Adamantium, Lester was always their primary candidate for it."
"Kingpin used that connection to establish a relationship with the Dark Wind Corporation. Their target for the alloy skeleton upgrade had always been Bullseye, right up until you broke Kingpin's bones and Lester was killed by Black Cat."
"Didn't they try to test the application of Adamantium on their own people? Or experiment on other mammals first?" Professor Morbius asked with a frown.
Dr. Otto looked up and scanned the room. Only then did he realize the voice belonged to Professor Morbius, whose head was barely visible as he was sandwiched tightly between the massive frames of the Lizard and the Hulk. Dr. Otto shook his head:
"Because Adamantium is only malleable when it is first formed. Once it cools, it sets completely and becomes virtually indestructible by any known means."
"Only an individual whose physical endurance and willpower far exceed ordinary humans can survive the agony of having their skeleton replaced with Adamantium. On top of that, it requires incredibly advanced medical recovery techniques to support the process."
"Garrett provided the Dark Wind Corporation with substantial technological backing. Without it, their own capabilities wouldn't have sufficed to replace a human skeleton with Adamantium, and Kingpin would never have been able to make his comeback."
As he finished speaking, Professor Morbius clicked his tongue in wonder, while the Hulk scoffed dismissively. The Lizard merely examined his own claws. Meanwhile, Batman, Dr. Otto's primary conversational partner, fell completely silent.
Dr. Otto turned to look at him. Batman's brow was furrowed deeply, seemingly locked in profound thought.
"Batman?" Dr. Otto nudged him with his elbow.
"The hardness of Adamantium exceeds almost all known materials?" Batman finally asked after being nudged by Dr. Otto.
"Exactly. But at the moment, we can't directly compare it to standard Vibranium, so we can't determine which one is superior," Dr. Otto replied.
Batman nodded. "Sounds like an excellent material."
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