The moment Venom Robin bared his teeth, Batman knew it was bad.
Dr. Banner and the others knew about the time Venom had gone on a killing spree at the F.E.A.S.T. Shelter, and they knew about the great battle between Batman and Anti-Venom on the neighboring North Brother Island.
Their understanding of symbiotes remained that they were something extremely dangerous.
Sure enough, the instant the words "FK Batman" left Venom Robin's mouth, the four scientists completed their transformations in unison, and a suppressed, terrifying aura rushed forth.
Tentacles, tails, sharp claws, and fangs instantly turned the laboratory into a scene as horrific as hell itself.
The white lights and moonlight spilled over the four monsters. Green scales, green muscles, and a green octopus suit turned the area into a sea of green, casting a gloomy green tint even onto the gray-skinned face of Morbius.
This made them look like evil demons; even Khonshu, the Moon God, couldn't help but furrow his brow.
Hiss!
Sensing the threat from the four monsters, Venom Robin grinned, his bright red tongue lolling out as he assumed a posture ready to attack.
But just as swords were drawn and bows were bent, Batman took a step forward and blocked Venom Robin, shielding him from the primal, terrifying auras of the Hulk, the Lizard, and the others with his own shoulders.
"Dad!"
Venom couldn't help but let out a low cry, hiding behind Batman and poking his head out to look at the four scientists turned monsters.
In this instant, it was as if he had turned back into the Robin who could hide inside Batman's body at any time and get chocolate just by acting spoiled.
Hearing this call, Professor Morbius's entire face wrinkled up; he realized he was once again failing to keep up with the rhythm of this bizarre South Brother Island.
An alien symbiote calls Batman "Dad"?
Morbius felt that witnessing a deity with his own eyes tonight was already extraordinary enough, but this scene before him refreshed his understanding yet again.
The other three scientists, however, breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing this familiar form of address, Dr. Banner and the others knew that, at the very least, Venom still retained his previous memories.
Back when Venom was just a newly awakened blob of symbiote, Batman had brought it to the laboratory on South Brother Island to counter Anti-Venom.
At that time, the three scientists had found it absurd that Venom called him "Dad" with every breath, even thinking that beneath Batman's mask lay another large, pitch-black blob of symbiote.
But at least the Venom of that time was a little guy who loved chocolate, posed no threat, and was actually quite useful for the "Anti-Venom" plan.
The reason Dr. Banner and the others had reacted so fiercely just now was simply out of fear that after Venom turned into the Eclipse Knight, he would lose his memories and revert to being that ferocious alien monster.
But upon hearing Venom call Batman "Dad," Dr. Banner and the others relaxed, knowing that Robin still possessed his memories and wouldn't be a threat.
Accompanied by dense, clattering sounds, Doctor Octopus's tentacles and the Lizard's scales and tail retracted one after another. Only the Hulk grunted through his nose in dissatisfaction, puffing up his overly developed biceps.
However, under Batman's signaling gaze, the Hulk did not rush over to provoke Venom. Instead, after flashing his muscles at Batman, he transformed back into the honest and kindly Dr. Banner.
Seeing that everyone else had returned to normal, while only Professor Morbius maintained his gray-skinned, gaunt vampiric appearance, Venom Robin reached out and tugged at Batman's cape:
"Dad, he's not convinced."
Professor Morbius froze for a moment, then opened his mouth to explain:
"This is my normal state."
"He's still not convinced. Dad, let me teach him a lesson for you." Seeing that the Lizard and the Hulk had disappeared, Venom immediately popped out from behind Batman, rubbing his fists together, ready to pick a fight with Professor Morbius.
"Robin!" Batman held down Venom Robin's shoulder. "He is Professor Morbius."
"I don't care if he's Mor-what..."
Venom Robin muttered under his breath, shrugging his shoulders in dissatisfaction. He pushed Batman's hand off his shoulder, then looked at the suit on his body, which was formed from white burial wrappings.
"What is this?"
"This is not armor, but the manifestation of a contract. Its form follows the heart; its light reflects the will. The form you see at this moment is the mirror of your inner Robin," Khonshu finally found an opportunity to speak.
It was as if Venom Robin had only just realized there was a figure with the head of a hawk-bone skull and a human body standing in the lab. He reached out and tugged at the white cloak on his body, looking up at Khonshu:
"How does it compare to what Batman wears?"
"They cannot be mentioned in the same breath." Khonshu raised his head slightly, a trace of pride in his voice.
Venom Robin curled his lip, revealing two rows of ghastly white fangs: "You gave this to me?"
Khonshu slowly nodded, only to hear Venom Robin press on with his crisp, clear voice:
"Who are you? I call Batman 'Dad,' so should I call you 'Mom'?"
The laboratory on South Brother Island instantly fell silent.
Batman remained expressionless, but Dr. Banner and the others were obviously stifling their laughter. Morbius, meanwhile, glanced quietly at Khonshu, worried that Robin's words would anger the deity.
But Khonshu merely stood in place. The moonlight around him dissipated like sand in the wind, and his voice gradually faded:
"I am not your father, nor am I your mother."
"I am Khonshu, the Moon God, and you are my avatar."
"Tch." Venom Robin crossed his arms over his chest, not caring in the slightest about Khonshu's departure, and placed his gaze back on Batman.
"When you need me, I'm Robin; when you don't need me, you cut me loose to become Khonshu's avatar?"
Professor Morbius pricked up his ears.
Doctor Otto ducked to the side and rummaged through boxes, finding some chocolate that had been prepared for Venom earlier but hadn't been finished. He used a tentacle to hand it over from a distance:
"Robin, you know Batman didn't mean that."
In a flash, Venom Robin's wicked white eyes narrowed slightly. He grabbed Doctor Otto's tentacle, and just as he was about to fling this guy who had interrupted him away, Batman caught his wrist:
"Come back with me, Robin."
"I thought you were truly loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D., but I didn't expect that, having grown accustomed to being a spy, your true nature would be hard to change. Tell me, when did you hook up with Hydra?"
Ant-Man Hank Pym sat with his arms crossed, leaning against the back of his chair, sitting face-to-face with the Wasp, Janet, across a table.
An inverted glass beaker sat on the table. Inside the beaker, a fingernail-sized Black Widow, Natasha, was punching and kicking against the glass walls.
"Natasha, you know how much we hate Hydra. Why would you work for them?" The Wasp, Janet, pressed her hand against the bottom of the beaker, watching Natasha, who had been shrunk by Pym Particles, doing futile work inside the glass.
"I never said I was with Hydra." Natasha looked up, gazing through the glass at Ant-Man Hank Pym, who was normal-sized but looked no different from a giant to her right now. "Where did you get this information?"
The Wasp, Janet, giggled:
"It was S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury who told us personally, the very day you arrived in New York."
Black Widow Natasha's heart sank.
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