Why insist on inventing a superhuman serum?
Honestly, Bant didn't want a world overflowing with superpowered people. Because you never knew what someone would do the moment they got abilities. Even among superheroes, plenty were basically still kids at heart, let alone villains.
Bant's words woke Connors up on the spot.
Because he'd seen two successful examples, Peter and Bant, Connors had unconsciously imagined the Lizard Serum as something equivalent to spider powers.
"If that's the case, it'll be much easier," he said. "Dilute the serum, reduce the potency, and the influence will weaken."
After his first transformation into the Lizard, he had changed back not long after.
But Bant shook his head.
"Dilution won't work, Doctor."
Simply diluting the serum was the stupidest option. If you could dilute it, someone else could concentrate it. And if they couldn't, they could just buy it in bulk and recreate the original serum anyway.
In this line of work, the most important thing was keeping the formula secret. Once it got cracked, patent law was just scrap paper. The people who wanted the formula most were probably the U.S. military and S.H.I.E.L.D.
If they really cracked it, what could you do? Sue them? Who are you accusing in court?
Besides, diluting the serum didn't solve the side effects at all.
"My suggestion is to redesign the equation and improve the serum," Bant said.
In Bant's plan, the serum was purely a treatment drug. Once the superhuman aspect was removed, the side effects would naturally disappear too.
And the serum had to be a consumable. It could treat disabilities, but it absolutely could not give people terrifying self-healing abilities.
Bant even planned to release multiple generations of serum, each with different levels of effectiveness. Only the strongest version would truly achieve limb regeneration. The other versions would be weaker.
That way, the serum would deliver maximum value and generate profit for Primus.
But Connors clearly wasn't fully on board. This had already drifted from his original intent.
Still, he only fell silent for a moment and didn't voice any objections. In the end, the serum had never been solely his work. More than ten years ago, he had researched it together with Richard Parker. Even the side-effect-ridden Lizard Serum had been completed on the foundation of formulas Richard left behind.
As for the serum Bant envisioned now, it was even further from Connors' invention. He had no right to dictate Bant's thinking.
Besides, he understood that a company had to consider profit first. At the very least, Primus was still developing in a way that benefited humanity.
That was enough.
"Then how do we protect the serum formula?" Connors asked.
Connors truly didn't want this incident to happen again. In the end, Dongwu's battlefield had been Stark Tower, but when that monstrous bird fought Iron Man in the sky, it inevitably affected civilians below. Later, when Bant slammed Dongwu into the river, the waves nearly capsized several cruise ships.
"Start at the source," Bant said.
He took out Dongwu's Gene Variator and explained, "We just need to make sure one essential key material is controlled by us."
Connors couldn't help nodding. That way, even if others tried to crack the serum, they'd be helpless in the face of an unknown component.
"Then let's start from scratch!" Connors cracked his knuckles. "It'd be best if we could build a small ecological environment."
"I saved a space for it." Bant nodded. He'd rented an entire floor, and only two labs were being used so far. There was still room.
And it wouldn't be long. Once the Stark Expo began, he'd have his own building.
Right, Hammer?
The two of them huddled together and researched for quite a while. Connors kept marveling at Grey Matter.
In his eyes, Grey Matter sometimes seemed oddly clueless about certain "basic" things, yet the problems Connors couldn't solve would be pointed out by Bant like a miracle.
"We don't need full mutation," Bant said. "We only need to enhance that special stem cell."
Their progress was fast. They were already planning how to induce mutation in lizard genes.
Just then, the doorbell rang outside the company.
Connors immediately tensed. He hadn't forgotten that, officially, he was still a fugitive.
"Relax. I invited Norman Osborn," Bant said.
He hopped down from the table. While still in midair, he slapped the Little Broken Watch on his back and transformed back into human form.
"Norman Osborn?" Connors got even more nervous. That was his former boss.
"I'll explain the rest later. When he arrives, you just tell him the serum is finished. Don't reveal anything else," Bant reminded him.
Bant had long planned to cure Norman and Harry's hereditary disease. But he didn't want to expose the Little Broken Watch, so he intended to use the serum as an excuse.
He went to open the door for Norman, with Harry following behind.
The moment Norman stepped in, he looked around Bant's lab with deep appreciation. Primus couldn't compare to Oscorp, but Norman seemed to see his younger self.
Of course, he had never been this outstanding back then.
As he walked further in, Norman finally noticed Connors.
"Curt?" He frowned, shocked. "It's you."
"Long time no see, Mr. Osborn," Connors greeted him calmly.
After the initial panic, Connors relaxed quickly.
Honestly, what did he have to be afraid of?
Because together, he and Bant were just too strong.
So strong that even if the man standing here wasn't Norman but Iron Man, there was no need to worry. What could the other side do to him?
Whatever. He could just lie flat.
"I took in Dr. Connors, and together we completed the serum," Bant explained.
He took out a small vial of liquid. In reality, it was anesthetic he'd prepared in advance.
"The Oscorp executives told me you couldn't wait anymore and wanted to test an unfinished serum," Connors sighed. "And you saw what happened."
"I didn't know about this," Norman said.
His expression darkened. His health had indeed been getting worse, but it was nowhere near the point where he couldn't wait. How could he be that impatient and rush into human experimentation? Besides, from start to finish, he hadn't even seen a trace of the Lizard Serum.
"Looks like they've wanted me dead for a long time," Norman said, shaking his head bitterly.
"Now their hopes are crushed." Bant smiled. "Uncle Norman, the serum can cure the Osborn family's genetic defect. That's why I invited you and Harry here."
"You're serious?" Even Norman clenched his fist, losing composure.
Harry, still in the dark, asked in confusion, "Wait, what genetic defect?"
Norman hesitated again and again, but finally told him the truth. "It's a hereditary disease unique to the Osborn family. Every Osborn dies before fifty…"
"What?" Harry's eyes went wide.
He didn't have a strong sense of his own death yet, but he hadn't forgotten that his father would be nearing fifty in just a few years.
"That's the past now," Bant said confidently.
He raised the vial high, as if it were a flame of hope.
But Connors understood. It was just a cover.
The real flame of hope, the true Prometheus, had always been that watch.
/-\
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