Chapter 19: Doctor Octopus
"Doctor, how much funding do you need to continue your experiment?"
Batman set down the Daily Bugle and asked.
"That's precisely the problem." Otto looked miserable. "My research is now in its final stages. I only need to maintain equipment upkeep costs and electricity bills—practically negligible compared to the hundreds of millions invested initially."
"But now this supposedly negligible portion has become an insurmountable problem... Thirty million! I only need thirty million more in research funding, and my fusion research will produce results!"
Batman's entire net worth was currently seven million six hundred thousand—not even half of Otto's needs.
Otto hadn't placed his hopes on this young man before him. He voiced these complaints only out of dissatisfaction with Oscorp's abrupt withdrawal of funding.
"Thirty million dollars..." Batman silently calculated.
In Gotham, this amount wouldn't even cover one Batmobile. But now in New York, Batman couldn't produce this much money himself.
'Give me three days. I'm confident I can turn seven million into thirty million. And with Oscorp withdrawing Otto's research funding, this might be my optimal opportunity to enter.'
Batman thought to himself while looking at Otto:
"Doctor, I have an idea... Could you show me the contract you signed with Oscorp before the project was established?"
"You want me to use legal means? It's useless." Otto shook his head but still stood to hand Batman the paper contract.
"According to the contract, even if Oscorp breaches, I'd only gain five years' usage rights to this equipment."
Batman didn't respond, accepting the contract for careful reading.
As Otto said, even if Oscorp withdrew investment for subjective reasons, the entire fusion laboratory wouldn't become Otto's private property.
He had usage rights but not disposal rights. He even had to maintain the equipment at his own expense. Otherwise, if Oscorp resumed research funding and equipment problems arose, Otto would still be responsible.
Batman didn't waste time scrutinizing contract details. He returned it to Otto:
"Doctor, perhaps you should hire a lawyer to analyze this contract from a professional angle. Ideally, someone who could help your laboratory become completely independent from Oscorp."
"I don't even have money to hire a lawyer." Otto smiled bitterly. "Compared to that, I'd rather figure out how to get some money."
Batman also put on a troubled expression, seemingly casually approaching the four metal tentacles: "What's this?"
"A device to assist experiments. But now that experiments can't proceed, this thing's just scrap metal." Otto glanced at the tentacles.
Without lingering long in the laboratory, on Brooklyn's streets, Batman hailed a taxi:
"Lower Manhattan."
He planned to personally find a lawyer for Otto to file suit. Black Cat also needed a lawyer to target Kingpin's money laundering. Perhaps both matters could be handled together.
Batman couldn't meet Black Cat as Peter. He needed to first go to Manhattan to put on the Batsuit, then proceed to Hell's Kitchen.
After Batman left, in Otto's laboratory.
"Thirty million dollars... I only need thirty million dollars to complete my experiment. But where can I get this money?"
Otto still frowned deeply, unable to think of any solution.
"Robbery? No, I can't do that. Unless robbing a bank—otherwise who carries large amounts of cash on the street, conveniently for me to rob? Besides, stolen money can't be spent."
Otto quickly dismissed this dangerous thought.
"Wait, maybe there's a way... If I don't consider equipment maintenance costs, I currently only need high electricity bills for experiments."
"Maybe I could secretly tap into underground cables to power the equipment?"
"No, I can't do that."
Otto struggled internally. Images flashed before his eyes—scenes of his childhood father beating him.
His father had been a power plant worker. The work was exhausting and dangerous. His father practically teetered on the edge of death, but the money earned was pitiful—barely enough for the family to survive.
Worse, his father was an alcoholic. This made the family's situation even more dire. His father often viewed his mother and Otto as burdens, beating them at the slightest provocation.
From that time, he'd vowed never to become like his father. He would become a physicist specializing in nuclear physics.
He would free the world from energy troubles. Never again would power plant workers take out their work frustrations on wives and children.
"I'm benefiting all human society. In my current situation, besides tapping underground cables, I have no choice."
Once tapping underground cables, police would inevitably come knocking. He needed to relocate all equipment to a safer location.
Otto made his decision. His gaze wandered the laboratory, finally settling on those four metal tentacles.
His eyes no longer wavered. His expression no longer showed defeat. Aside from hair disheveled from anxiety, Otto had regained his spirited appearance.
He stood before the four metal tentacles, feeling the neural-system-connected portions inch by inch into his spine.
"Otto's metal tentacles drew inspiration from Squid-Man? I need to visit him frequently these next few days, but absolutely cannot provoke him."
In the abandoned shipyard's deepest section, Batman donned the Batsuit modified from the Spider Slayer armor.
Compared to his most commonly used suit in Gotham, this suit had sharper angles. Primarily gray-black with obvious seams and battle damage traces.
The bat symbol on his chest was formed from the four Spider Slayer underarm claws, usable as weapons when necessary.
The Spider Slayer's arm blades were removed, replaced with three freely controllable pop-out blades. Simultaneously, the bracers integrated the Bat-Claws combining web shooters and grappling gun.
No cape. Batman completely disassembled the Spider Slayer's glider, installing part of the armor and thrusters on the suit's back.
Normally folded up like a carapace. When gliding was needed, they could open. However, they could only glide—not achieve true flight.
Given time, Batman could make the glider's new configuration fly perfectly. But for him, this wasn't a necessary function.
The boots were ordinary combat boots. The belt just an ordinary black tactical belt purchased from a secondhand military surplus store on New York's streets.
The entire suit seemed shabby compared to Batman's dozens of suits in Gotham's Batcave. But this was only temporary.
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