Chapter 255: Hulk Also Wants to Taste
From beginning to end, Eclipse Knight hadn't spoken a single word. To everyone in the laboratory, he appeared as one silent, cold-blooded assassin.
He simply stood there quietly. Yet in Dr. Octavius's eyes, he resembled someone who might erupt any moment, transforming into consecutive afterimages again.
Professor Morbius's transformation had exceeded everyone's expectations. Fortunately, though he'd become stronger—even capable of flight—Morbius's personality remained unchanged.
"Well done, Morbius." Dr. Octavius quietly called to Morbius, giving him a thumbs up.
Heaven knew how tense Octavius had been moments ago. The instant Morbius charged toward Batman, cold sweat had already seeped from Octavius's back.
Fortunately, Morbius wasn't charging at Batman—rather blocking Eclipse Knight's attack.
"Robin? No—Eclipse Knight." Dr. Octavius wiped his forehead. "Can you hear me? I need conducting some capability tests on you."
Eclipse Knight silently glanced at Octavius.
His current height was slightly shorter than Batman's—approximately matching former Peter Parker's height. Even his physique bore similarities: equally slender and athletic.
"Robin?" Batman also called toward Eclipse Knight.
Eclipse Knight still didn't speak. Silently placing the crescent dart back into his chest's crescent moon symbol.
Only then did Dr. Octavius realize the crescent darts were extracted from Eclipse Knight's chest.
Through subtle rustling sounds, Eclipse Knight's height gradually diminished point by point. The bandage wrappings on his body decreased progressively. Pitch-black symbiote exposed itself once more.
He'd reverted to Venom Robin's appearance again.
"Robin? What just happened?" Dr. Octavius used mechanical tentacles retrieving paper and pen, prepared recording data anytime.
Venom Robin didn't speak, looking toward Batman.
Batman nodded slightly:
"Describe truthfully."
Seemingly influenced partially by the previous silent Eclipse Knight, current Venom Robin appeared less lively than before.
He contemplated briefly, slowly speaking:
"Just now... I subconsciously wanted eliminating all threats."
While speaking, Venom Robin looked toward Batman:
"Among everyone, Batman posed the greatest threat. So instinctively, I wanted taking him down."
"After moonlight illumination, did you birth a new personality, replacing you for thinking and actions?" Dr. Octavius asked his most concerned question.
"No. Wait, maybe yes. That's not right either..." Venom Robin struggled.
Batman stepped forward several paces, gently patting Venom Robin's head.
"Give me chocolate." Venom Robin extended his hand. "After eating chocolate, maybe I can describe it properly."
WHOOSH!
Chocolate immediately appeared at Batman's fingertips. Venom Robin cheered, accepting it and stuffing it into his mouth.
Professor Morbius rubbed his eyes from the side. He'd been able reacting to Eclipse Knight's previous attacks—even precisely catching Eclipse Knight's fist amid consecutive afterimages.
But Batman's maneuver—even Professor Morbius hadn't comprehended how chocolate appeared.
"Hulk also wants tasting." Hulk stomped with heavy footsteps—THUD THUD THUD—walking to Batman's side while extending his large hand.
Dr. Octavius's mouth corners twitched, watching Batman responding to all requests. Like magic, chocolate appeared in his hand again, placed in Hulk's palm.
WHOOSH!
Even eating chocolate, Hulk's palm movements brought wind sounds. In one eyeblink, chocolate had disappeared into Hulk's mouth.
"Hulk didn't taste it."
Hulk extended his hand toward Batman once more.
Dr. Octavius extended his hand, pressing his mouth corners.
Batman didn't laugh at Hulk. Simply extracting another chocolate bar—this time tearing open packaging before placing it in Hulk's palm.
WHOOSH!
Hulk raised his palm, once again throwing chocolate into his mouth. After chewing, he extended his hand a third time.
"That's enough, Big Underpants!"
Venom Robin panicked. That was his chocolate. Batman letting Hulk taste was acceptable—but why repeatedly requesting?
Even requiring Batman personally unwrapping!
Even Venom Robin himself hadn't received this treatment multiple times!
Venom Robin rapidly stepped forward, blocking Batman's front, firmly protecting this Batman who could anytime, anywhere, endlessly conjure chocolate for him.
Hulk—caught off guard receiving "Big Underpants" nickname—observed Venom Robin blocking his continued chocolate requests. His nose heavily snorted:
"HMPH!"
Due to height differences plus Hulk's enormous lung capacity, this nostril-exhaled "hmph" completely sprayed onto Venom Robin's face.
"Old Bat! I'm fighting him!" Venom Robin's mouth twisted with anger.
But before he could attack with bared teeth and claws, Venom Robin's body suddenly lifted airborne.
Dr. Octavius—unwilling wasting more time—extended mechanical tentacles, interrupting one black and one green's competition, wrapping Venom Robin and replacing him on the moonlight platform.
Batman didn't stop Octavius's intervention. If Venom Robin wanted, he could easily break free from Octavius's tentacles.
But Venom Robin didn't—obviously using this as face-saving excuse.
"That was natural moonlight's focused effects. Now we'll test unfocused moonlight's influence on you."
"Prepare yourself, Robin."
Dr. Octavius instructed, removing prisms, letting pale white moonlight shower upon Venom Robin.
This time Venom Robin showed zero changes.
"Good. Next is artificially simulated moonlight—"
---
After consecutive tests, Venom Robin grew impatient:
"How much longer?"
Following seven-eight different intensity moonlight tests from different sources, Dr. Octavius also felt slight fatigue:
"One final test remains. In extreme environments without moonlight absorption, what condition will you become?"
"This experiment might not guarantee your safety. But if necessary, I'll use moonlight healing you."
Venom Robin stretched lazily:
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Words barely finished—Venom Robin sensed something ominous. Only hearing Batman's low, powerful voice:
"Hulk. Fight him."
CRACK!
Finger bones produced consecutive crisp sounds as Hulk cracked them. Hulk's mouth opened wide, one fist punching toward Venom Robin from distance.
WHOOSH~!
Even without close-range attacks, Hulk's fist brought hurricane winds surpassing Eclipse Knight's generated gales.
Through this alone, Batman rapidly determined even normal-state Hulk exceeded Blonsky's Abomination transformation considerably.
BOOM! BOOM!
Where Hulk's fist winds struck, both Venom Robin and Dr. Octavius flew backward simultaneously, crashing successively into walls three-four meters distant.
Dr. Octavius's mechanical tentacles directly read neural signals—extremely fast reaction speeds. The instant before wall collision, he controlled tentacles bracing against walls, avoiding solid impacts.
Venom Robin's reaction speed was similarly fast. But unlike Octavius's collateral damage, Hulk's punch primarily targeted him.
Despite fast reactions, caught off-guard Venom Robin still solidly smashed into walls under Hulk's punch, then plopped onto the floor.
"Hehe, nice one."
Climbing from ground, Venom Robin extended his long tongue, licking mouth corners. Both hands reached backward, forcefully gripping.
CRACK!
Batman's specially-reinforced laboratory walls were gouged with two deep pits by Robin.
His body slowly leaned backward against walls, using legs and arms like compressed springs, then suddenly charging—BANG—shooting forward, heavily colliding with Hulk's chest.