You can read ahead up to 45 chapters on my patreon and I've also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/GGS6395
When Dr. Connors was released, he seemed to be in good shape.
Despite suddenly finding himself in a new place, he didn't appear disoriented or disturbed. His mental state appeared stable.
So, when Arthur spoke to him, he was relaxed and didn't think there was anything wrong.
However... just as Arthur put on his hat and finished his last sentence, Dr. Connors didn't hesitate before he grabbed a pen from the table and lunged at Arthur, shouting, "You stabbed me with a knife!"
Banner was stunned, momentarily forgetting how to react.
Arthur was also taken aback but quickly grabbed Dr. Connors' wrist. **"Why are you so upset? I may have stabbed you, but I didn't kill you. You're acting like I did something truly horrible to you."**
Now that Dr. Connors was back in human form, he was no match for Arthur. Within moments, Arthur disarmed him and put the pen back on the table. **"This is my favorite pen. If you had broken it, I would have been the one ready to fight."**.
It was only then that Banner snapped out of his daze. After thinking about it, he still wasn't sure what to do.
His power required transformation, and once transformed, he lost control.
So, even though Dr. Connors was very agitated, Banner couldn't help subdue him. He was worried that if he transformed to subdue Dr. Connors, the place would be uninhabitable afterwards.
Realizing this, Banner decided it was best to maintain his cool, detached demeanor.
Dr. Connors soon calmed down and patted his head as he apologized, "Sorry, I didn't mean it. You know, some aftereffects take time to wear off."**.
**"Seems like I caused you quite a bit of emotional trauma," Arthur remarked, blinking. Lizard had been just as upset last night.
Arthur then pulled up a chair. **"No worries. Please, have a seat."**
Dr. Connors looked at Arthur, then at Banner. **"Why?"**
**Good question!"** Arthur nodded in satisfaction. **"So, why what?"**
**"...Does talking to you always have to be so exhausting? I think you understand what I mean."** Dr. Connors glanced at Banner, who remained silent and looked reliable.
On the outside, Banner appeared aloof, but inside he was just wondering what he should have for lunch.
He completely ignored Dr. Connors' pleading look.
Feeling the unfriendliness of both men, Dr. Connors sighed and said, **"Why didn't you turn me over to the police? Instead, I'm here? What is this place? A lab?"**
As he spoke, he suddenly noticed two equations on a small blackboard.
His expression changed slightly. **"I think I understand why you brought me here. I thought you were a superhero, but it seems you're not as pure as I thought."**.
**Well said, though you got one thing wrong," Arthur replied with a smile. **"I'm not a superhero; that little red spider is."
**"Peter Parker!"** Dr. Connors' lips curled into a small smile. **"He's a good kid."
**"I don't think I'm at the stage where I need to be discussing the next generation with a middle-aged man," Arthur shrugged. **"Actually, I invited you here because I hope you can help us complete a research project.
There wasn't much surprise on Dr. Connors' face.
One of the two equations on the blackboard seemed somewhat familiar to him, but the other one he clearly recognized.
This was something Arthur had taken from his computer!
From these two equations, Dr. Connors could already guess Arthur's purpose.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Who are you working for?"
Arthur glanced at Banner, who had already fallen into a state of complete detachment, lost in thought. With a slight twitch of his mouth, Arthur replied, "We don't work for anyone. We're just trying to save ourselves."
"Save yourselves?" Dr. Connors was surprised by this answer and found it hard to believe. "Why? What's happening to you?"
"It's not me, it's my friend," Arthur said, looking over at Banner. "You can probably tell his mind isn't exactly... sharp."
"..." Banner gave Arthur a cold look.
Dr. Connors was both shocked and a little sorry. "So the Hulk is actually..."
"Hey!" Banner couldn't stay silent any longer. "Are you two trying to make me angry? I don't particularly like myself when I'm angry. And neither should you!"
"All right, all right," Arthur shrugged and turned to Dr. Connors. "Don't be fooled by his calm demeanor. When he gets angry, he turns into a massive, green, muscle-bound monster. When he goes berserk, he could split the earth in half."
"If you hadn't added that last bit, I might have actually believed you," Dr. Connors said, still in shock.
"Reality doesn't change whether you believe it or not," Arthur sighed slightly. "I think you can understand that kind of suffering, right? A lifetime of research, only to become... what? A giant lizard wagging its tail and trying to turn the entire city into giant reptiles? When you became the Lizard, that helplessness of not being able to control your own actions - didn't you feel that deeply?"
This more serious tone caused Dr. Connors to fall silent.
Now that he had returned to his original form, the part of him affected by the serum had also returned to normal.
His thoughts were no longer extreme, and as he remembered his past actions, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
"My friend is plagued by a similar affliction," Arthur continued. "He is the victim of a military experiment - a flawed equation, an immature human experiment. The result was the creation of the Hulk! When he becomes the Hulk, he loses control of his actions, easily enraged, prone to violence. Isn't this similar to when you became the Lizard?"
"I see," Dr. Connors sighed quietly. "So this is what you mean by 'his mind is not sharp'?"
"You could put it that way. When you can't control your own mind, isn't that essentially a lack of mental sharpness?" Arthur shrugged.
"Your choice of words is hard to grasp," Dr. Connors said, blinking. "So the purpose of this lab is to develop some kind of mental medication?"
A slight smile curved on Arthur's lips. "No, we're aiming to create... the perfect serum!"
When Arthur fully explained the concept of the perfect serum to Dr. Connors, he was left utterly stunned.
"That idea is absolutely insane! How could anyone conceive such a crazy plan?"
His expression shifted several times before he finally looked at his own arm. "If the serum is perfected, then my arm..."
"Could be restored!" Arthur declared firmly.
---