Peter waited for Bant to get the car sorted out, thinking he might as well take a break. But the moment Connors saw him coming, he lit up and immediately dragged Peter into the lab.
Connors truly appreciated Peter's intelligence.
Sure, the earlier Lizard Serum had been calculated using the documents Richard Parker left behind, but the fact that Peter could understand those formulas at high school age was more than enough to prove he was extraordinary.
The only thing Connors was dissatisfied with was Peter's laziness.
In this teenager's mind, the desire to become a superhero was far greater than the desire to become a scientist.
Connors found it infuriating, like iron that could have been forged into steel but stubbornly refused to be tempered.
He even felt it was a kind of betrayal of Peter's own talent.
Just like how Richard Parker had betrayed their research back then, leaving alone and vanishing without a trace, which had always left Connors dissatisfied.
But Connors also understood.
For a teenager, who wouldn't want to be admired, worshipped, the center of attention? And Spider-Man's powers were another kind of talent Peter possessed.
Still, Connors didn't think Peter had to choose only one.
"Strength." Connors raised his left hand and clenched it into a fist. Then he raised his right hand and clenched it too. "Wisdom. They're both your gifts."
Then he brought the two fists together, symbolizing two different talents merging.
"You should learn to use them together. That way you won't be wasting what you were given."
"I'm just… sometimes too busy." Peter shrugged. He didn't hate studying or research. He just didn't have that much time.
Then the two of them walked into another lab.
Connors said, "The self-healing potion is already very mature. The problem is production can't keep up. Once we build the new ecological park, it'll be fine."
"Then what's your plan now?" Peter asked.
He set his backpack aside, changed into a white lab coat, then skillfully sterilized himself and put on a mask and gloves.
"Of course, I'm planning to research other potions." Connors took out the Variable Device, then reached into a nearby cultivation chamber and grabbed a chameleon.
Developing a new potion wasn't easy at all. Even with the Variable Device, there was still a long road ahead.
First of all, the mutations caused by Dong Wu's Variable Device would turn animals into massive monsters, and Primus wasn't a zoo. They didn't make money off that.
What Connors needed to do first was simulate the mutation state, then target one single ability in an animal and mutate and enhance that ability alone.
That was why the self-healing serum only boosted a person's healing ability, rather than granting humans superpowers.
Because from the very beginning, what Bant mutated was only the self-healing factor inside a lizard.
"Eunice, simulate the experimental data," Connors said, while taking a tiny sample of chameleon cells. He made a slide and placed it under the microscope.
"If Little Wonder could help, the research would move much faster," he added.
But in reality, Bant had long since handed over the entire biotech project, especially reptile-based tech, completely to Connors.
Little Wonder was very smart, but he couldn't do everything personally. Otherwise, there would've been no point in bringing Connors under his control.
Meanwhile.
Bant was still modifying the old junker.
Among the different levitation methods, he ultimately chose sonic levitation.
The technology itself had existed for a long time, but applying it to a car, making a multi-ton object fly freely and controllably, was not easy.
On top of that, there was the issue of the destructive force caused by sound waves.
Of course, it wasn't easy for Bant either, but it wasn't impossible.
What really had him running around nonstop was all the other modifications to the old junker.
He planned to install weapons and other propulsion devices, and also give it partial transformation capability to reduce air resistance.
In his design, the car's maximum flight speed would need to be high enough to break through the atmosphere. For that, the old junker would also need the ability to operate in space.
"Too bad vibranium is such a pain to get."
He sighed.
If most vibranium wasn't controlled by Wakanda, and if money alone could buy it, he would've already wanted to use a vibranium alloy to build the old junker's outer shell.
"I remember there's vibranium in Antarctica too?"
Climbing out from under the car and canceling his transformation, Bant took a sip of water. A piece of information he'd once half-read floated up in his mind.
Antarctic vibranium was Vibranium B, also called Anti-Metal, and it was said to be found in the Savage Land region of Antarctica.
This type of vibranium didn't absorb vibrational waves like Wakandan vibranium. Instead, it emitted special vibrations that damaged other metals.
Even adamantium couldn't withstand Anti-Metal's vibrations. Its internal atomic and molecular bonds would be disrupted, and it would be liquefied.
Clearly, Antarctic vibranium wasn't suitable for making defensive gear. But if used properly, it could be made into a weapon.
The problem was that large-scale mining in Antarctica wouldn't be easy.
Not because developing it was too hard, but because it would be difficult not to be discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. or even other nations.
"Better to build an invisibility force field first." Bant thought it over and decided to set it aside for now.
At the very least, this car's defense was already far stronger than the black egghead's car, and he wasn't actually going to drive the old junker into war.
"Best if I had a small lab for forging equipment, just in case."
As he was thinking, Peter and Connors walked out of the lab with dejected faces.
Clearly, today's experiment hadn't produced any results.
"Experiment didn't go well?" Bant asked.
Peter shook his head and dropped into a chair, exhausted. "Completely impossible. Every calculation comes out abnormal. I'm guessing it's wrong from the foundation. The formula for the Lizard Serum is totally different when you put it on a chameleon."
Connors was already used to it. He comforted him, "Failure is very common, Peter. Sometimes you have to work for years just to make a little progress. But once you succeed, it can bring huge change."
But that kind of speech obviously couldn't get Peter energized right away.
The sense of achievement from doing experiments couldn't compare to being a superhero.
Then, as if he remembered something, Peter said, "Oh right, Dr. Connors. Next week, Uncle Norman's lawsuit against the Green Goblin is going to start. I think you'll be free soon."
Hearing that, Connors shook his head, not holding out much hope.
Cases like this sometimes dragged on for months, even close to a year. Restoring his reputation was still far away.
"It won't take that long." Bant shook his head. "The evidence is complete. As long as Norman releases it, your name will be cleared."
As for actually sentencing the Green Goblin, Bant had no hope at all.
The people who wanted the Lizard Serum would never let the Green Goblin truly be punished by the law.
Thinking of that, Bant took out the remote control for the neurotoxin and let out a cold laugh.
That was exactly why he'd deliberately left this as a backup. When the time came, no matter who tried to rescue the Green Goblin, all they'd get would be a corpse.
Knowing he wouldn't be trapped in the lab all day anymore put Connors in a much better mood.
At that moment, Peter brought up his original reason for coming.
"Photos? Don't even think about it."
Bant rolled his eyes. "Come on, Peter. Primus might not be earning that much yet, but the potion formulas alone are worth hundreds of billions. You want a hundred-billion CEO like me to dress up as a spandex model and take photos for you just to earn a few hundred bucks?
"Besides, James is constantly trashing Spider-Man in the newspaper. I'm not into getting myself scolded…"
He rejected Peter on the spot.
Peter didn't look too disappointed. He changed the topic. "Fine. But are you really planning to take this car to the expo? It doesn't look futuristic at all."
"Of course not. This is for my own use. This coming summer vacation, my family can take a road trip," Bant said.
A car meant for an expo had to look different.
Like those so-called future concept cars, it needed a sci-fi appearance to impress people.
Soon.
The day of the trial arrived.
Bant wasn't interested at all. You could even say he didn't care, because he knew Norman and Matt had prepared thoroughly.
Their goal was never to ensure the Green Goblin got a specific punishment.
They wanted his assets.
Unlike Bant, Peter cared a lot about this lawsuit.
On one hand, the Green Goblin was the villain who had attacked his best friend, Harry. On the other, Peter wanted to see how the law would deal with an evil criminal like this.
So when the day of judgment came, Peter entered the courtroom with Norman.
His strong heartbeat immediately caught Matt's attention. The blind lawyer recognized him as Spider-Man almost instantly.
But Matt didn't expose him. Instead, he greeted Peter as if they were meeting for the first time.
Peter didn't recognize Matt either. After politely greeting him, Peter sat beside Harry.
The two began whispering to each other.
Both Harry and Peter thought the outcome had long been decided. The Green Goblin would definitely be judged. It was only a question of how heavy the sentence would be.
Because in their eyes, the fact that Storm was the Green Goblin was beyond doubt, and all the other criminal evidence had already been collected.
But reality left them stunned.
In court, when Matt, wearing sunglasses, listed the Green Goblin's crimes one by one, the defense attorney immediately fired back, trying to get him off the hook.
Peter couldn't understand it.
Why, when the Green Goblin's evidence was solid, was someone still defending him?
How could he still stubbornly claim that his green skin wasn't caused by using stolen potions, but was just a skin condition?
How could he, clearly a heinous supervillain, openly twist it around in court and accuse Matt and Norman of discriminating against him as a "skin disease patient"?
He even wore an extremely arrogant, smug expression as he counteraccused Matt and Norman on the spot.
Matt remained steady and answered fluently, never losing control.
At the same time, through Peter's heartbeat and breathing, he could feel Peter's confusion and anger.
He wanted to turn around right then and tell him:
"Because of benefit."
"This is reality, Spider-Man."
/-\
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon! (+1 Chapter daily)
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally)