In the moonlight, Venom Robin revealed a second form, distinctly different from the usual state where the symbiote and moonlight merely coexisted.
His entire body was pure white, even his head completely covered by a white shroud. His eyes emitted a faint white glow, and his physique had shifted from that of a boy to something more slender, yet it lost none of its sense of power.
A raised silhouette of a crescent moon appeared on his chest, and around his waist hung a white belt similar in design to the utility belt.
"Hiss..."
To call him Venom Robin at this moment seemed inappropriate. His image was far more in line with the pure appearance of the Moon God Khonshu's avatar: the "Eclipse Knight."
As he took a deep breath, the white cape behind him rose automatically, though there was no wind.
If this were the juvenile form of Venom Robin, he would be cracking wise by now.
But the Eclipse Knight did not. He stood silently on the moonlight platform built by Doctor Octopus, silently scanning everyone in the laboratory with his glowing white eyes.
Finally, his gaze stopped on Batman. The two looked at each other from a distance, watching one another in silence.
In a flash—too fast for even Doctor Octopus, who was closest, to see clearly—Otto only heard two whistling sounds merge into one as a crescent dart and a Batarang collided in mid-air.
The crescent dart spiraled back into the Eclipse Knight's hand, caught with lightning speed, while the Batarang fell to the ground with a ding.
"Robin?" Doctor Octopus called out tentatively. The Hulk also uncrossed his arms, clenching his fists and watching the Eclipse Knight warily.
The Eclipse Knight ignored Doctor Octopus's call. He flicked his cape, and in the next second, moonlight bloomed throughout the laboratory, as if countless figures of the Eclipse Knight had appeared out of thin air.
Even the Hulk couldn't react in time. The figures layered over one another, a mix of illusion and reality, rushing toward Batman.
The Eclipse Knight's movement kicked up a series of whirlwinds in the lab. Batman took a step forward, precisely locking onto the Eclipse Knight's true body amidst the countless figures.
But just as Batman was about to strike, he suddenly turned his head to look at Professor Morbius standing nearby.
Amidst the whistling wind, Professor Morbius's body slowly floated into the air.
Morbius was wearing a long black trench coat. The hem fluttered in the air, and there was a bulging movement beneath the clothes, as if something were about to break out of a cocoon.
Meanwhile, the Eclipse Knight had arrived behind Batman, trailing countless afterimages. His speed undiminished, the crescent dart in his hand stabbed straight toward the back of Batman's heart.
Just as the Eclipse Knight was about to succeed, Batman seemed to have anticipated it. He tilted his body slightly to dodge the attack and followed up with a kick.
Batman's kick also missed. The Eclipse Knight was extremely fast, leaving afterimages in the air; his speed was almost on par with the Gamma Green Goblin from before.
Having missed the kick, Batman's gaze remained locked on Professor Morbius. Simultaneously, he rolled to the right, dodging another assault from the Eclipse Knight.
Crunch, crunch...
Just as the Eclipse Knight was about to attack again, a series of muscle-tearing sounds erupted from Professor Morbius's body.
Professor Morbius threw his head back, opening his mouth to reveal a mouthful of fangs and letting out a roar.
The Hulk couldn't track the Eclipse Knight with his eyes. Just as he was getting anxious, he heard the howl from Professor Morbius and immediately opened his large mouth as well:
"ROAR!"
A roar like a thunderclap on flat ground erupted from the Hulk, clearly a demonstration of power.
Fortunately, despite the show of force, the Hulk clearly remembered Batman saying he needed to obey orders to attack, so he didn't charge in.
The Eclipse Knight stopped his movements, standing not far away, silently watching Professor Morbius.
As he stopped, the strong winds in the lab gradually dissipated, and Professor Morbius, who had been suspended by the wind, began to fall toward the ground.
But just as Professor Morbius was about to land—Riiip!
The tearing muscles on Professor Morbius finally burst through his sleeves. Five long, slender bones pierced out from the outer wrists, outer elbows, and shoulders.
These bones had joints like bat wings, and between each adjacent bone, there was a gray-black membrane connected by blood vessels.
Unlike the legendary vampire wings that grow on the back, Professor Morbius had surprisingly grown a pair of broad membranous wings from his armpits.
A second before he hit the ground, Professor Morbius moved his arms, flapping the membranous wings and causing his body to hover once more.
Flap! Flap!
Professor Morbius flapped his wings, slowly attempting to control the membranous wings under his armpits without moving his arms.
This seemed to be etched into his instinct. Without much trial and error, Professor Morbius succeeded on the first try.
Suspended in the air, Professor Morbius let out two cold laughs, a smile appearing on his skeletal face.
Not everyone in the lab was observing Professor Morbius's new changes—at least, the Eclipse Knight was not.
The moment Professor Morbius laughed, the Eclipse Knight once again turned into streaks of afterimages and rushed toward Batman.
At the same time, the smile on Professor Morbius's face vanished. His increasingly sharp red eyes snapped toward Batman, and he rushed over at almost the exact same moment as the Eclipse Knight.
His speed was equally fast. The Eclipse Knight left behind white silhouettes, while Professor Morbius left behind a trail of black ones.
Thud!
Batman stood motionless in his original spot.
Less than twenty centimeters before Batman's eyes, a spread-open gray-black claw caught a white fist gripping a crescent dart.
Creak, creak...
This time it wasn't the sound of tearing muscle, but the contest of strength between Professor Morbius and the Eclipse Knight.
The Eclipse Knight's strength was obviously inferior to Venom Robin's state where the symbiote and moonlight coexisted; he actually fell into a stalemate against Professor Morbius's claw for a moment.
But ultimately, Professor Morbius's strength was no match for the Eclipse Knight. As the white fist slowly applied pressure, Professor Morbius's arm was forced back inch by inch.
Seeing that Professor Morbius's arm was about to break, Batman secretly shook his head at the Hulk, then reached out and grabbed both of their wrists.
"The Eclipse Knight's strength has decreased, to about ten tons. Professor Morbius's strength has increased, to about seven tons."
As soon as Batman made contact, he gauged their strength levels and used his fifty-ton strength to separate them with ease.
"Professor, are you still lucid?" Batman asked Morbius first.
"I have never been this lucid." Professor Morbius lowered the claw Batman had pulled away and flapped his underarm wings to fly backward several meters.
"Bloodlust?" Batman asked again.
"Intense, but I can still control it." Hearing the word "blood," Professor Morbius couldn't help but lick his dried, black lips.
"Professor, catch!" Doctor Octopus immediately extended a mechanical tentacle, clamping a bag of blood plasma prepared in advance, and tossed it over. Professor Morbius caught it and impatiently tore an opening, pouring it into his mouth.
After downing a bag of plasma, Professor Morbius took a few deep breaths. He looked down again at the two membranous wings under his armpits:
"Heh, I can fly now."
The Hulk grunted.
Professor Morbius tried to retract the wings. The bones of varying lengths extending from his wrists, elbows, and shoulders slowly folded back against his arms.
In less than two seconds, the wings were completely retracted, leaving no trace of their outline.
"I'm fine, Batman." Professor Morbius clenched his fists, feeling his body, now several times stronger than before, and said to Batman, "What's the situation with Robin?"
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