One Professor Warren wasn't enough, as there were numerous genetic issues on South Brother Island that needed his attention, and even Batman required an analysis of his own body as Peter Parker at the genetic level.
However, two Professor Warrens turned out to be just right, each having his own clear division of labor.
Granted, in the beginning, Professor Connors and the others were fairly repulsive toward Jackal Warren, viewing him as nothing more than a cloned organism possessing Warren's memories.
They weren't even willing to say more than a few words to Jackal Warren.
Yet this situation began to ease on the Jackal's second day on South Brother Island, all because Dr. Banner spoke up.
Dr. Banner wasn't closely acquainted with either Miles Warren or Jackal Warren, and on top of that, he was different from Professor Connors.
When Connors transformed into the Lizard, his consciousness remained Connors; the brutal, ferocious wild beast instinct had been thoroughly subdued and merged into one with Professor Connors.
Dr. Banner was different; although he and the Hulk inside him shared certain memories—such as his ex-girlfriend Betty or General Ross—at their core, Banner and the Hulk remained two distinct personalities.
Over the past two days, whenever Professor Connors or Professor Morbius called out the name "Warren," Jackal Warren would instinctively respond, only to silently lower his head upon realizing they weren't calling him.
Dr. Banner took all of this in. Thus, he brought along Dr. Otto and found an opportunity to gather Connors and Morbius together.
"Professors, we can't let this continue," Dr. Banner said, getting straight to the point. "Both Batman and I treat Jackal Warren as an independent individual, according him sufficient respect and courtesy."
Just as Professor Connors was about to counter, Dr. Banner immediately cut him off:
"I know what you're going to say. Hear me out first."
Professor Connors and Professor Morbius exchanged a glance, keeping quiet.
"Even if it's hard for the two of you to view Jackal Warren as an independent individual, you must at least show him basic respect. I don't need to spell out what would happen if you didn't show respect to the Hulk, do I?" Dr. Banner said earnestly.
Neither Professor Connors nor Professor Morbius were stubborn, pedantic men, nor did they engage in academic exclusionism.
Previously, their rejection had stemmed purely from the belief that Jackal Warren wasn't the real Warren; hearing Dr. Banner's explanation now, the two couldn't help but reflect on it carefully.
"You're right, Dr. Banner," Professor Morbius nodded. "If we keep excluding Jackal Warren, we'll effectively be creating a monster with our own hands—even if he was brought back by Batman himself."
"As long as you understand," Dr. Banner said, letting out a sigh of relief.
Holding a PhD in psychology, Dr. Banner saw through the Jackal's awkward situation and the attitudes of Connors and the others at a single glance.
It was fortunate he noticed it; otherwise, as time went on and the negative emotions building inside Jackal Warren overflowed, no one could say for sure what he might do.
After all, Jackal Warren's current task was to clone a Batman, serving as the contingency plan for extreme circumstances mentioned by Batman.
Dr. Otto pictured a scenario in his mind of two expressionless Batmen simultaneously stating "I am Batman," causing a wave of goosebumps to rise across his skin as he hurriedly shook his head to erase the terrifying image.
Scientists had no need to sit together for hours like gossiping housewives; being intelligent men, they immediately adjusted their way of interacting with Jackal Warren after weighing the pros and cons. Dr. Banner even went out of his way to stand beside the Jackal to work alongside him.
At the same time, inside the underground Batcave on neighboring Batman Island, Batman's lips curled up ever so slightly, a rare smile appearing on his face.
"Professor Warren's situation is temporarily resolved. It's time I started my own work," Batman murmured under his breath.
Venom Robin and Thor sat in a corner of the Batcave; Thor was primarily responsible for telling stories while Robin listened.
They were talking about amusing anecdotes from Asgard, such as the time Thor disguised himself as a bride to travel to Jotunheim and retrieve his hammer.
Batman didn't disturb them, instead fixing his eyes on the cold computer before him.
The microchip had finally been completed last night, which was also the final piece of hardware required by the Alfred AI.
The software had also been finished by Batman after working day and night over recent days; everything was prepared.
Batman typed in a string of execution code, his finger hovering over the Enter key for a full minute. Just as even Robin noticed something was off and prepared to ask, Batman pressed down heavily on the button as if making up his mind.
Hummm—
As Batman struck the keyboard, a massive super-cluster server—deep beneath the Batcave, using the East River directly as its cooling system and an artificial sun as its power source—slowly roared to life.
From this moment onward, a project lasting three months, consuming vast amounts of Batman's funds, and ranking as the third most important thing since his arrival—just after fighting crime and returning to Gotham—finally came to an end.
The energy from the artificial sun continuously powered the massive server cluster. Lines of code cascaded down the main screen as self-diagnostic routines scrolled by at a speed unreadable to human eyes.
Venom Robin had already stood up, watching as faint blue projections spread across every corner of the Batcave, gradually converging toward a designated spot.
Core temperature, memory allocation, emotional simulation matrix, memory index, language generation module...
Once all self-diagnostic routines were completed, the main screen in front of Batman suddenly went dark.
"What manner of wondrous object is this?" Thor asked.
"Shh..." Venom Robin held a finger up to his lips.
Robin realized that the issue wasn't a glitch in Batman's system; rather, this creation—which Batman had spent months laboring over until its completion today—seemed to be breathing.
Like a person taking a deep breath right before speaking.
In the next second, all the projections inside the Batcave merged into one. Within the shimmering blue light, an elderly man stood quietly—wearing a suit, with white hair and beard, his posture straight despite a slight stoop.
Robin saw the old man's eyes; they were a pair of eyes that held neither pity nor reproach, only silent concern and eternal understanding.
Those eyes were currently gazing at Batman.
Venom Robin's eyes widened. He knew who that was, and he knew how much that old man meant to Batman, how important he was.
The slightly stooped elderly man in the meticulous suit looked at Batman and spoke slowly:
"Good evening, Master Wayne. I must say, the experience of being awakened from a pile of code is rather ungentlemanly. However, considering you were the one who wrote the code, I shall forgive the rudeness."
"I presume that since I am appearing here, rather than preparing your breakfast in the kitchen of Wayne Manor, it implies another unconventional turn of events has occurred. Let me guess... Did you blow yourself into another universe again? Or did you manage to swap bodies entirely this time?"
"Alfred," Batman's voice remained low and steady, yet Robin caught a faint trace of a tremor in it. "Neither. Or rather, both."
Alfred nodded, a touch of gentle banter in his voice:
"Very well. Compared to that outcome, I was far more concerned that you had finally learned to use a microwave, only to land yourself in the hospital."
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