Chapter 26: The True Culprit
The sun rose. Harry Osborn lay in bed and turned on the massive television mounted on his bedroom wall.
"Oscorp has suffered a major tragedy. Multiple research personnel perished during the night. Police are working to apprehend the perpetrator, but based on the degree of damage to walls and equipment, some claim the killer couldn't have been human..."
"What?!" Harry stared at the television screen showing seven or eight sheet-covered bodies being carried from Oscorp Tower.
The news reporter continued speaking to the camera, but Harry had no interest in hearing more. He scrambled out of bed and rushed from his bedroom, about to run to his father Norman's room when his steps suddenly halted.
Norman wasn't in his bedroom at all. He lay shirtless in the hallway, sleeping soundly.
"Father, are you all right?" Harry hurried over and shook Norman several times.
"I... I don't know. What happened?" Norman woke groggily from his son's jostling.
"I just got up and found you lying in the hallway, Father. You must be overworked." Harry said. "Something happened at the company."
"What? What happened?"
Hearing the keyword, Norman immediately climbed up from the hallway floor, asking anxiously.
Harry opened his mouth but found this situation difficult to describe with words. He simply pulled his father to his bedroom and pointed at the news still playing on the giant screen.
"It happened last night."
On screen, the reporter was naming the deceased one by one. Without exception, all were technical personnel who'd worked at Oscorp for over ten years.
The company's development was inseparable from their research—they were core members among the core.
Additionally, the bodies of those fifty homeless people from sublevel two were also exposed simultaneously due to the presence of police and media. General Ross's military influence could no longer suppress it.
Whoosh!
Norman's breathing suddenly became rapid. His eyes filled with bloodshot veins, his face incredulous.
"Who did this? Who?!"
In an instant, the faces of executives from competing companies flashed through Norman's mind, but he ruled them out one by one.
"No, they wouldn't use such bloody methods to compete. They don't have the guts..."
"Was it Spider-Man? I sent Spider-Slayer to kill him—is this his revenge?"
Norman's face contorted. He gripped his son's arm tightly.
"Harry, get dressed and come with me to the police station."
"Father?" Harry looked at his father with confusion.
"I need to see Spencer Smythe," Norman said. "I think I already know who the killer is."
At the abandoned shipyard, Batman continued pushing Peter's body to its limits. He could feel this body growing stronger with constant training.
Since Peter's height was simply too short—relative to Bruce Wayne—Batman had even created a specialized diet to gradually transform his physique closer to Bruce's.
The abandoned shipyard had no television, but Batman had purchased a radio as a substitute. Currently it was broadcasting news about the bloody murder case at Oscorp last night.
"Who's the killer?"
Batman kept both body and mind running.
Last night he'd searched Oscorp from top to bottom again without finding Norman anywhere.
Those researchers hadn't been conducting human trials either—they'd been engaged in heated discussion.
"I can only confirm the incident occurred after I left Oscorp. But I need to personally visit the scene to investigate the specific details."
"News reports say the destruction at the scene was massive, unlike anything human. Can't rule out another monster like Squid-Man emerging from Oscorp's human experiments."
Thud!
Batman dropped the twenty-five-ton weight on the ground with a dull impact.
He changed into his flannel shirt and stopped by Peter's rented apartment briefly. The landlord's daughter Ursula was waiting at his door again.
"Hi, Peter."
"Harry Osborn called earlier, said he can't come to school for a while. I knocked, but you didn't seem to hear."
Batman nodded. He hadn't forgotten his surface identity was still the engineering student Peter Parker.
"Ursula, I was sleeping too deeply. What happened?"
Ursula handed him today's edition of the Daily Bugle, which featured the Oscorp tragedy from last night.
Batman's masterful acting successfully fooled Ursula, making this simple, genuine girl think he'd just learned the news. She quickly consoled him.
"I know Harry's your friend. I hope this doesn't affect his studies."
"Let's hope not," Batman said.
Today was Monday—Peter should attend school, but Batman had no time.
Oscorp was currently sealed off by police. Peter's identity wasn't suitable for investigating the scene, and going as Batman risked being treated as the suspect.
Batman would need to go tonight. For now, he needed to visit Dr. Octavius's lab first.
"With Oscorp—his experiment's sponsor—experiencing a murder case, Otto will inevitably assume his experiment will be delayed indefinitely..."
Thinking of those Gotham scientists who'd gone to extremes for various reasons—Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, Professor Pyg, Man-Bat...
No matter how small the possibility, Batman didn't want Gotham's tragedies replayed in New York.
"Brooklyn," Batman told the cab driver, then closed his eyes to rest briefly during the ride.
....
"Contact Brooklyn precinct. Don't spook him."
At Manhattan precinct, George Stacy issued orders with unusual composure.
Last night's violent gang assault case had no leads yet, and this morning Oscorp employees arriving for work discovered the sublevel three massacre due to the heavy smell of blood.
Simultaneously exposed was the human experimentation on sublevel two, leading to Oscorp being completely sealed off.
"According to interviews with Oscorp employees, the company halted almost all sponsored experimental research projects, pouring most funding into developing this so-called 'super soldier' program. Could there be some connection to the sublevel three murders?"
While George Stacy juggled non-stop phone calls about this series of cases, barely able to keep up, the New York Power Authority also called.
"Abnormal electricity usage detected underground in Brooklyn."
Meanwhile, Brooklyn police received a report that Dr. Octavius's lab had experienced massive noise yesterday. When police went to investigate, they found Otto and his experimental equipment had vanished without a trace, leaving only inhuman giant claw marks at the scene.
Dr. Octavius's fusion experiment sponsor was Oscorp—also among the halted projects.
The destruction on sublevel three and the claw marks in Otto's lab. Last night's murders and Otto's mysterious disappearance. Halted experimental projects and missing equipment with abnormal power usage...
George Stacy tentatively identified Dr. Octavius as the murder suspect and coordinated simultaneous action with Brooklyn precinct.
Woo-woo!
A string of police cars filled with fully armed officers roared toward Brooklyn.
***
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