Chương 84: Chapter 84 Strong Stance! Hawkeye Arrives!

"Wait!"

Before Anton could speak, he saw Eddie running from the end of the street, dragging April along.

Eddie appeared calm and collected, but April, pulled along beside him, was gasping for breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Captain Stacy, the turtles are not the enemy!"

Eddie, unwilling to reveal Venom identity, had chased George for quite some time and quickly explained, "The turtles are here to help. They're not accomplices of the Lizard Man!"

"What?"

George recognized Eddie.

As New York self-proclaimed top star reporter and now editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, Eddie was no stranger to George.

George tone was filled with doubt: "Are you saying these turtles are Batman allies?"

To him, the four turtles seemed no different in essence from the Lizard Man.

This was the main reason for his suspicion that the turtles were allies of the Lizard Man.

After all, if the people present all had animal-themed names, why didn't he suspect Spider-Man or Batman?

To George, while Batman, Spider-Man, turtles, and the Lizard Man all had animal-related motifs, the turtles appeared to be actual turtle mutants, just like Curt Connors becoming the Lizard Man. In contrast, Spider-Man and Batman were humans wearing suits symbolizing animals.

"Ask Batman, and you'll see!"

Eddie couldn't explain much more to George, but he knew Batman would clear up the misunderstanding.

"Yes, they're my allies," Anton confirmed, then glanced at the defeated Green Goblin, shrugging. "Though they're a bit late to the party."

"Alright, then," George finally relaxed.

This battle elevated his trust in Batman to an almost unimaginable level.

He knew that without Batman stepping in during both the Lizard Man incident and the current Green Goblin crisis, the entire city of New York would have been in grave danger.

Not only New York citizens but even the NYPD owed Batman their gratitude.

"What about the Green Goblin…"

George chuckled, rubbing his hands. It seemed like another chance for the NYPD to claim credit had arrived.

"Sorry, I have to take the Green Goblin with me," Anton replied, catching George completely off guard.

George immediately sensed trouble.

This time, Batman seemed to have a different approach than before.

"He more useful in my custody."

As Anton finished speaking, the Batmobile, having been summoned via autopilot, flew overhead.

Everyone could see the Lizard Man still dangling from the back of the Batmobile, rendered immobile and now reduced to a "stick."

Of course, by now, the Lizard Man had partially regrown his limbs, looking as terrifying as ever.

"The Lizard Man!"

George Stacy gaze landed on the grotesque figure, and he finally understood why Batman wouldn't hand over the Green Goblin and Lizard Man to the NYPD.

Even if they were handed over, the police couldn't keep them secure.

"Damn it!"

George felt a wave of frustration but couldn't find a compelling argument to convince Batman to leave the Green Goblin with the NYPD.

"In that case, I'll be off!"

Anton entered the Batmobile and took off into the air.

Before leaving, he gave Spider-Man a meaningful glance. The latter understood, shooting a web to enter the Osborn building and retrieve the Lizard Man antidote.

The turtles, seeing this, realized their trip had been in vain. They exchanged looks and quickly disappeared into the sewers, vanishing from George and the others' view.

Eddie didn't immediately follow the turtles back to their lair.

He and April stayed behind, planning to document how the NYPD handled the aftermath of the Green Goblin incident.

This was headline news!

At the same time, Eddie called his apprentice, Phil, instructing him to bring the Daily Bugle professional equipment to Manhattan to cover the aftermath of the Green Goblin incident.

…

Moments later.

Anton and Spider-Man met again on the rooftop where it all began.

"Inject him," Anton said to Spider-Man, nodding toward the Lizard Man, still bound to the Batmobile, his limbs now nearly fully regrown.

"No, Spider-Man!"

"Professor, this is for your own good!"

Spider-Man, despite his reluctance, gritted his teeth and injected the antidote into the Lizard Man, whose face was filled with terror and resistance. He refused to return to the pitiful state of being disabled.

Soon, the Lizard Man transformed back into Curt Connors.

This time, Connors returned to his original state of having a missing right arm, contrary to Anton expectations of him becoming a "human stick."

It was likely because his limbs had almost fully regrown while in his Lizard Man form.

Spider-Man sighed in relief upon seeing this.

At that moment, a helicopter approached the rooftop where Anton and Spider-Man stood.

Both of them looked up.

A figure carrying a bow and arrows swiftly descended via a rope dropped from the helicopter, landing agilely on the rooftop.

Hawkeye!

With such a distinct appearance, Anton immediately recognized the newcomer.

At a time like this, there was no one else who would walk around carrying a bow and arrows except Hawkeye.

"Batman, Spider-Man!"

Hawkeye greeted the two on the rooftop without showing any surprise.

Before arriving, he had already learned from news reports about the Green Goblin incident in Manhattan.

He had rushed here intending to assist, but upon arrival, it was clear he was too late.

The Green Goblin incident was over.

Scanning the scene, Hawkeye glanced at the unconscious Green Goblin and Curt Connors, who had reverted to his human form.

"My name is Clint Barton, but you can call me Hawkeye," he introduced himself quickly, then nodded toward Batman. "Hand them over to me."

"You can take Connors," Anton replied, understanding Hawkeye words. Then, in a calm but firm tone, he added, "But the Green Goblin stays with me."

"No," Hawkeye said firmly, refusing to yield to Batman tone of finality.

Though he hadn't communicated with Coulson, as a senior agent, Hawkeye had the authority to make decisions.

To him, both Curt Connors, the Lizard Man, and the Green Goblin should be placed under S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

"Hawkeye, I'm not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent," Anton said, his brow furrowing as he looked at Hawkeye coldly. "Strictly speaking, we're merely collaborators. And it S.H.I.E.L.D. that sought me out for cooperation. You have no authority to order me."

The two fell silent, and the atmosphere grew tense, the air thick with an unspoken challenge.

Spider-Man looked nervously between them, sensing the situation was headed south.

Anton refusal to hand over the Green Goblin stemmed from two main reasons.

First, there had been no prior agreement about the Green Goblin with Coulson before the incident erupted. Handing Connors over to S.H.I.E.L.D. had been purely out of convenience, as Anton didn't want to deal with the aftermath himself.

From a certain perspective, S.H.I.E.L.D. functioned as a "waste recycling" organization that specialized in cleaning up messes.

That prison, established overseas during the Kingpin incident after discussions with Coulson, was essentially a "junkyard" managed by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Second, the Green Goblin mental state remained unstable.

Considering Norman Osborn connection to him, and the fact that Harry was not only a supporter of Batman but also an investor in his movies, Anton sympathized with the Osborn family hereditary disease.

Standing in solidarity with his friend, Anton planned to attempt curing Norman mental illness and genetic condition.

If successful, or if it proved impossible, he would reconsider how to deal with the crimes committed by Norman as the Green Goblin.

When the time came, handing Norman over to S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't be out of the question.

As for curing the genetic disease, Anton already had a preliminary plan.

To be honest, if Coulson had come instead of Hawkeye, the matter might have been resolved through a friendly conversation.

However, Hawkeye aggressive stance greatly displeased Anton.

"If you insist on taking the Green Goblin, then you won't be taking Connors either. I'll handle him myself," Anton said with a cold smile, his gaze fixed on Hawkeye.

"You'll regret this," Hawkeye replied, meeting Batman gaze with a deep stare. He then took the bow off his back, preparing to use force.