"What is he saying? Is he introducing himself?" Professor Connors asked Dr. Banner, his eyebrows knitted together.
Dr. Banner scratched his head. "He's not speaking English. Let me think... Ancient Egyptian, perhaps?"
Dr. Otto took a wild guess: "I caught something about a 'moon'... Is this guy a creature from the moon?"
"A guy from the moon speaking Ancient Egyptian?" Professor Connors didn't buy that guess. "The moon doesn't have the conditions to support life. He must be introducing that moon-shaped staff," Professor Connors proposed a new theory.
"A self-introduction, but introducing the staff?" Dr. Banner scratched his head even more vigorously; he had been led astray by Professor Connors.
"Let's ask Batman. He's the one who brought him," Dr. Otto said.
This idea received unanimous approval from Professor Connors and Dr. Banner, and the three of them looked at Batman together.
Batman sighed soundlessly.
Inside the Egyptian wing of the Metropolitan Museum, aside from the very first sentence spoken in English, Batman and Khonshu had been conversing entirely in Ancient Egyptian.
He had mastered the vast majority of the world's languages, and Ancient Egyptian was naturally within Batman's repertoire.
But Professor Connors and the others couldn't understand it, so much so that even Dr. Banner, who had originally intended to step forward and shake hands, was left standing there in hesitation.
Just as Batman was about to introduce Khonshu, Professor Morbius unexpectedly answered the other three scientists' question:
"He says he is Khonshu."
"The Moon God of Ancient Egypt, master of time and the moon, the protector of those who travel at night."
Upon hearing this, Dr. Banner stopped scratching his head and exclaimed in unison with Professor Connors and Dr. Otto:
"What?!"
Batman nodded slightly and spoke to vouch for this deity: "That's correct."
The Moon God Khonshu raised his head slightly. Beams of moonlight radiated from the crescent staff—not blindingly bright compared to the laboratory lights, but striking nonetheless.
There was no wind in the laboratory, yet the hem of Khonshu's suit fluttered as if in a breeze, and beams of moonlight condensed into sand and gravel swirling beneath His feet.
"Stop." Batman frowned as he watched Khonshu display His divine power. "You don't need to do this."
Indeed, Khonshu did not need to display miracles to prove His identity as a deity. Khonshu was brought by Batman, and that alone was enough to convince the four scientists of everything.
And that was indeed the case.
The moment they heard Batman personally confirm that Khonshu was truly a god, the mental shock to the four scientists was no less than taking a plane for a vacation, only to discover two buildings directly in front of the aircraft, with a wildly imaginative President Kennedy piloting it.
"Morbius, when did you become an expert on Ancient Egypt?" Dr. Otto nudged Professor Morbius gently with his elbow and asked in a low voice.
His voice wasn't loud, but Professor Connors and Dr. Banner still heard it and turned their curious gazes toward Morbius in unison.
Even Khonshu seemed to regard Professor Morbius with a trace of interest from within His hollow eye sockets.
"Look at my appearance—am I not a vampire?" Morbius smiled helplessly as he was scrutinized by these gazes simultaneously. "During the time I was in hiding, I looked up information on vampires in myths from around the world."
"And then you found Egyptian mythology?" Dr. Banner seemed quite interested in this.
Morbius did not shy away from using his own image to explain:
"Although medieval vampire legends are the most famous, if you trace the roots, basically all legends about vampires come from Ancient Greek and Ancient Egyptian mythology."
"Those are the prototypes of vampires. Like me, they couldn't turn into a swarm of bats and fly away. As for the vampires in modern stories that can turn into bats, that was popularized in the Middle Ages."
When mentioning the word "bat," Morbius quietly stole a glance at Batman.
He suspected that Batman was that very guy from medieval legends who could turn into a pile of bats and fly away.
"Besides, today's protagonist is the esteemed Moon God Khonshu, not me." Professor Morbius quickly steered the topic away before it drifted too far.
Only then did Dr. Banner and the others shift their gaze back to Khonshu, or rather, to Batman standing beside Him.
Scientists, especially those who had reached the level of Dr. Banner and Dr. Otto, possessed a clear understanding of how the world worked.
Even if Batman had truly brought a deity before them, aside from the shock, the scientists felt excitement. They held a certain amount of awe for the Moon God Khonshu, but not much.
They wouldn't prostrate themselves in worship like devout believers, but neither would they rudely interrupt the Moon God Khonshu's display of miracles like Batman did.
Could Batman actually turn into a flock of bats and fly away?
This thought rose simultaneously in the minds of the four scientists.
Even Professor Connors, who knew that the person beneath the bat mask was Peter Parker, couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.
After all, Batman had even brought a deity here; what else was impossible?
Professor Morbius even linked his previous fear of Batman to the concept of "bloodline suppression" found in vampire legends.
"I need you to assist me in accomplishing something," Batman spoke up. "The Moon God Khonshu will also participate in this endeavor."
Working with a god?
Now the four scientists finally put Batman out of their minds and looked at the Moon God Khonshu with a mix of excitement and curiosity.
"What is it?" Dr. Banner shook his hands in excitement, only to be quietly held down by Dr. Otto next to him, stopping this rather undignified motion.
"Do you remember Venom?" Batman asked.
Morbius looked blank. "What Venom?"
"A certain extraterrestrial symbiote, a creature that requires a host," Professor Connors explained.
"I remember," Dr. Otto responded to Batman.
"I have an idea in mind that I need your help to realize," Batman's voice was deep and powerful. "Khonshu needs an avatar, and I need to separate Venom from my body."
"I want to attempt to make them bond with each other."
Professor Morbius was even more confused. What symbiote? What avatar? And what was this about Venom being inside Batman's body?
He had a harmonious relationship with the three scientists on South Brother Island and knew quite a bit about Batman, but this was the first he had heard of an alien symbiote.
"I have come for this very purpose." Khonshu no longer spoke Ancient Egyptian, but switched to a British accent full of gentlemanly flair.
The accent, combined with His white suit, inexplicably added a touch of elegance to Khonshu.
"Tell us how this is to be achieved," Dr. Otto asked.
Batman extended his hand, watching the moonlight radiating from the crescent staff illuminate his palm. He then spoke to the four scientists, who were clueless yet looking forward with anticipation:
"I think, therefore I am."
"It's a poem by Descartes." Professor Morbius nodded slightly; now he finally understood.