Chapter 50: Subduing Curt Connors
"You're back, did anyone see you?"
Ben quickly asked as he saw Connors return carrying something.
"No."
Connors placed the equipment on the ground.
"When I took the device, Iron Man was trying to find you, scanning the river, and some people were cleaning up the battlefield."
Connors recalled walking through Stark Tower and seeing a man pulling a woman with a very large backside out of a ventilation shaft.
He thought for a moment before asking, "They didn't look like police, who were they?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D.," Ben said. "They're pretty much the ones who handle these kinds of things."
He set Doctor Animo aside and transformed into Grey Matter to begin researching Animo's Variometer.
Seeing this, Connors added, "I've stopped its program, but I don't know how to reverse it."
"Don't worry, I can handle it."
"Then what about him? Are you going to hand him over to S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Connors asked.
Before Ben could reply, Doctor Animo scoffed, "No matter where you lock me up, I, the genius Doctor Animo, will definitely return!"
"Return?" Ben sneered.
"Why would you think I'd spare your life?"
Hand Doctor Animo over to S.H.I.E.L.D.?
How could that be possible!
Ben shook his head without a second thought.
Did he not know what kind of organization S.H.I.E.L.D. was?
Even setting aside the part infiltrated by Hydra, just looking at Nick Fury's faction, they weren't good people.
This so-called King of Agents was suspicious and distrustful of everything. He was like someone with paranoid delusions, seeing threats in everything and wanting to control all power.
Moreover, these people were constantly thinking about that Super Soldier Serum. If Doctor Animo fell into their hands, he'd probably be out of prison as soon as he was in.
Unlike Connors, Doctor Animo was a mad scientist at his core. Even if he were imprisoned for decades, it wouldn't change his desire to destroy the world.
Even with the Null Void Projector, Ben had no intention of imprisoning him.
That place was no different from practicing witchcraft, and it could even turn Doctor Animo into a powerful Null Void King.
He had no interest in dealing with that old fart.
Besides, the Ancient One only said he needed to resolve these Multiverse Crises, but she didn't clarify how.
So, Ben would solve it his own way.
Since Doctor Animo was so eager to become a Mutant Creature, then let him die as a monster!
Only dead enemies were good enemies!
Not long after.
Ben learned how to operate the Variometer.
He reversed the program and turned Connors back into a human.
Compared to Doctor Animo, Ben valued Connors more.
He had intelligence and was not evil.
"I know the secret of your watch now, and I imagine it's difficult for you to make choices freely?" Connors said.
Ben seemed a bit surprised by this.
"I'm planning to start a company, and I hope you'll work for me," he said.
"Why not?"
Connors was smart and open-minded, not feeling too dejected about the possibility of his future life being controlled by Ben.
"If you hadn't made the serum, I probably would have made a huge mistake by now," he said self-reproachfully.
"I'm very grateful to you, so I have no reason to refuse."
"All my inventions and creations can belong to you. I only have one request," Connors said. "As long as you use them to benefit humanity."
"Of course."
Ben nodded.
"This incident is inseparable from you. The Lizard Man first appeared at Osborn Tower, everyone knows that. And to prevent the company's stock from continuing to fall, several members of the Osborn Board of Directors have already placed all the blame on you. Now, if you show up, you'll likely be arrested by the police immediately."
"Those bastards! They're the ones who wanted to conduct human experiments when the technology wasn't mature!"
Connors clenched his fists in anger but felt helpless.
"Don't worry, after things settle down, I'll get you a new identity. You'll have to stay here for a couple of days temporarily. Once my laboratory is ready, you can move there."
Connors didn't object to that. He had something else on his mind.
"My wife and son..."
"They're being watched by the police right now, but they're both safe."
Connors nodded.
Then, Ben transformed into Four Arms and completely destroyed the Canary Device.
As for the Gene Variator, it wasn't large, so he simply took it with him and left.
Next, Ben took Doctor Animo out of the sewer.
He planned to cremate Doctor Animo, but the methane concentration in the sewer was too high. If ignited, it would cause a violent explosion.
On the way, he also contacted Felicia and Mary Jane, confirming they were both okay. At the same time, he told Felicia that their date tomorrow was still on.
Meanwhile.
In what was now the ruins of Stark Industries.
Iron Man descended from the sky, his armor opening.
"Found nothing, they just disappeared!" Tony's expression was grim.
Never mind the other monster, but this Heatblast, who claimed to be some kind of security guard and whose body temperature reached thousands of degrees Celsius, had actually vanished into thin air?
You've disappointed me, Tony Stark!
Nick Fury arrived at some point, saw Tony, and walked over with a dark expression, launching into a tirade.
"Two monsters were fighting fiercely in Stark Tower, destroying the entire building and two surrounding streets, causing tens of billions in damages!
"And our superhero, Iron Man, not only got beaten black and blue, but couldn't even find a trace of them!"
Tony's expression was even darker than Fury's.
"Shut up, how much better are you?"
"What good did you and your agents do? You only showed up to clean up after they left! I'm not interested in hearing you put on a show for me!"
Tony was furious.
Almost all the losses tonight were at Stark Industries, and naturally, Tony would foot the bill for tens of billions of dollars.
His own building was blown up, and this Egghead Fury dared to come over and yell at him, the nerve!
And...
"Who knows if this monster wasn't created by you guys!"
Hearing this, Nick Fury actually felt a bit uncertain himself.
He knew very well that S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't created such a monster, but the military had indeed created a green monster, whose terrifying power was no less than the one that appeared tonight.
However, military matters were unrelated to S.H.I.E.L.D., and they even had a bit of animosity.
Seeing that force wouldn't work, Fury switched to a softer approach.
"Regardless, as you've seen, some strange creatures have become a threat to us. And your abilities are not enough to deal with them," Fury said.
"We need a specialized team—"
"Your Super-powered Boys team again?" Tony scoffed.
"It's the Avengers, and you might not even qualify to join!" Nick said. "We need to evaluate you."
The chapter on Doctor Animo has concluded, with his ending modified.
Initially, I even considered turning Tony into Lizard Man, but as I wrote, I decided to delete it. Heh.
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