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Dr. Conrad Bortz was a brilliant geneticist who lived near Syracuse, New York and worked for Genetech.

He was incredibly wealthy and lived in a large mansion with extremely high security. Wally West commented that it made "Fort Knox look like a picnic shelter", with guard dogs, photoelectric traps, bulletproof mylar windows, a gas chamber, and a staff of security guards.

One of Bortz's employees at Genetech was Jerry McGee, a brilliant but mentally disturbed scientist who was working on developing super athletes. McGee injected himself with the steroids and electrode implants he had developed. He went after Bortz, claiming that Bortz had tried to steal his work. McGee collapsed from kidney failure during a battle with the Flash at Bortz's mansion.

It was Bortz who recommended that Dr. Orloff of the Siberian Puleski Institute be brought to the U.S. to treat McGee.

A pharmaceutical company approached Bortz about developing a nerve stimulant. He agreed, but did not realize until later that he was actually synthesizing Velocity 9 for mobster Nick Bassaglia. Vandal Savage imprisoned him, along with Wally West, in Bassaglia's mansion, and then attempted forced him to inject Wally with Velocity 9. However, Bortz was able to inject Savage instead. Enraged, Savage knocked him out and ran away. Bebeck and Cassiopeia of the Kapitalist Kouriers arrived on the scene and took him to the hospital.

Wally lost his speed as a result of his Velocity 9 dose, and Bortz collaborated with Orloff and McGee to find a way to return it to him.

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