The instant those golden slit pupils flashed, ink-green scales rapidly spread across Professor Connors's body.
His bones cracked and popped as his spine lengthened section by section, vicious claws and fangs emerging into view.
"Damn bald ape! You stupid slab of meat!"
With an enraged roar, the Lizard lunged straight at the Hulk.
Batman made no move to stop him. He wanted to see just how much of the emotional-control training Connors had been grinding away at these past weeks actually carried over once he became the Lizard.
And, equally important, after Batman had given Hulk all the emotional validation he could want, whether the big green guy would still be so easy for the Lizard to provoke.
Before heading to Mexico, Batman had to be certain that the moment he left, the three scientists on Ryker's Island wouldn't immediately tear each other apart the second his back was turned.
It was the same reason he'd built Otto that battle suit and those tentacles.
The Lizard was clearly still nursing a grudge over the last time he transformed, when Hulk had brutally ripped his tail clean off. Those golden eyes locked onto Hulk with murderous focus, and a massive claw slashed down toward the green giant's head.
Hulk snorted through his nose at the incoming strike. He threw up one enormous fist to meet it and, never one to miss a chance to taunt, sneered:
"Dumb crawl-crawl freak."
BAM!
Fist met claw with a thunderous impact. A violent gust whipped through the lab, sending the curtains that divided the different work zones billowing wildly.
Fortunately, most of the equipment had been specially secured: either mounted on wheels so it could be rolled out of the way or bolted solidly to the floor. Nothing went flying.
Two scientists who got along perfectly well in human form had now both turned into monsters. Otto Octavius reluctantly set aside the fusion experiment he'd been dying to start.
Unlike previous times when he'd shrunk away the moment these two hulked out, this time Otto radiated confidence. He didn't retreat a single step. Arms folded across his chest, he simply watched the Lizard with calm assurance.
Behind him, his tentacles quietly anchored themselves into the floor, keeping him utterly motionless against the howling wind kicked up by Hulk and the Lizard's clash.
"ROAR!" The Lizard bellowed, clearly incensed by the nickname. "I am the pinnacle of evolution! You're nothing but an overgrown childish frog!"
"You ripped off my tail last time. This time I'm taking your arm and—"
Hulk cut him off mid-sentence.
"Crybaby bug! Come on then!"
To Hulk, the Lizard's obsession with that lost tail was nothing more than "crying about it."
The Lizard literally jumped up and down in fury. He sprang onto the ceiling, scuttling across it like a gecko, then whipped his thick tail down at Hulk with bone-breaking force.
Compared to the Lizard's nonstop insults and mockery, Hulk didn't look angry at all. If anything, he seemed positively smug.
"Crybaby bug! Tail-less bug!"
He casually swatted the incoming tail aside with one massive swing.
Standing silently off to the side, Batman watched these two monsters trade blows while still finding time to invent childish nicknames for each other, and he seriously began to wonder if the Lizard's IQ was being dragged down by proximity to Hulk.
If he closed his eyes and filtered out the heavy thuds of claw meeting fist and the howling wind, ignoring the Lizard's roars and Hulk's bellows, just listening to their banter would make anyone think two kindergarteners were bickering on the playground.
In stark contrast to Batman's silence, Doctor Octopus, in a remarkably relaxed mood, watched the spectacle with genuine interest and turned to Batman.
"Batman, aren't you going to stop them?"
Batman glanced at him. "That's your job, Doctor."
In the brief moment they spoke, Hulk caught the Lizard's next tail swipe in both hands. The Lizard, furious, started thrashing his tail wildly.
"Don't grab my tail, you goblin!"
KABOOM!
Mid-sentence, the Lizard's tail smashed straight through the lab ceiling. Hulk went sailing skyward.
Naturally, the airborne Hulk once again yanked the Lizard's tail clean off. Clutching the still-wriggling severed appendage, he crashed back down with another earth-shaking boom, carving a deep crater into the floor.
Plop!
Hulk casually tossed the twitching tail toward Doctor Octopus. Ock reacted instantly, two tentacles whipping out from behind him to catch it neatly.
"Hulk is not a goblin!" Hulk roared on the spot, only to cut himself off mid-roar when he noticed the Lizard's now tail-less rear. He doubled over laughing. "Big lizard lost his tail again!"
"If they keep this up, the lab is going to take a lot more damage. Doctor Octopus, stop them," Batman said.
"Right."
Beside Batman, Ock gave a quick nod. The four tentacles behind him coiled like springs, then launched him high into the air.
Smack! Smack!
Mid-flight, two tentacles clamped onto the Lizard's and Hulk's heads respectively while the other two waved menacingly behind him.
"Enough!"
"Stay out of this, octopus!" Hulk snarled, grabbing the tentacle on his head and preparing to fling Ock across the room.
But the instant Hulk's fingers closed around it, Ock released him, hanging in midair supported by the remaining tentacles. Those tentacles now seized all four of the Lizard's limbs.
"Professor Connors, calm down! Remember everything you've learned these past weeks. Control your reason. Don't let instinct take over!"
Compared to Hulk, the Lizard was clearly the far more unstable one.
Crack-crack-crack…
A series of rapid pops came from the stump where the tail had been. A brand-new tail sprouted almost instantly.
"I'm a perfectly evolved new species. No matter how many tails you rip off, I'll just grow them back."
The Lizard hissed coldly at Hulk, then twisted violently to hurl Doctor Octopus away.
But Ock's voice kept pouring into his mind: "Connors! Look at your hands! You're a scientist, yet this 'evolution' is regressing you into a primitive beast!"
"Curt Connors, the man who swore to use regenerative technology to save countless lives, where did he go?"
Hulk rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Hulk hates this complicated crap. Right now he's just a giant crazy lizard."
Ock frantically waved at Hulk to shut up; he was trying to bring Connors back to his senses, or at least stop the reptile brain from driving the bus.
"Hulk," Batman said, stepping up beside the green goliath, "I'll be gone for a while. I need you to guard this place."
Batman, as always, started by giving Hulk the respect and emotional acknowledgment he craved, treating him as his own person, never once mentioning Banner.
It worked like a charm. Hulk immediately thumped his chest and declared:
"No problem, Bat-boy."