Dr. Connors emerged from the filthy sewer water, covered in grime. The effects of the lizard serum had worn off, returning him to his human form. Pain coursed through his entire body, but he paid it no mind. Instead, an itching sensation nagged at him as if he had lost something vital and desperately wanted it back.
"Huff Hoo Huff Hoo."
He breathed heavily, looking around in confusion, unsure of his surroundings.
"What happened… Ah!"
Brief flashes of memories from his time as the Lizard surged through him. He experienced it all from a third-person perspective, witnessing the Lizard's rampage and the destruction he had caused. He saw himself wreaking havoc and taking lives, a realization that filled him with horror and left him on the verge of vomiting.
"What have I done…"
Dr. Connors desperately searched for a way out of the sewers. Fortunately, he discovered a maintenance hole and climbed out. He rushed home, trying to avoid as many people as possible.
He arrived home, carefully trying not to alarm his wife and son. His wife caught him as he headed to his room to change clothes.
"Kurt? Are you there? My god… what happened to you?" Martha, Curt's wife, said.
She had brown hair and blue eyes and wore a robe while waiting for Curt. Although she heard him come in, she did not expect his clothes to be torn and reek like he had just emerged from the sewers.
"Curt, what happened? Did you get into an accident? Are you okay?" asked Martha
"I'm okay, Martha. Nothing bad happened to me."
"Then how did your clothes get ripped?"
"Just a minor accident that happened in the lab. An intern mixed the wrong chemicals and melted my clothes."
Martha was confused but decided to believe her husband. "Okay, I believe you. You had better take a bath, as you smell awful. Don't want to wake up Billy with your stench."
"Right…"
"Daddy?"
Billy, the son of Curt and Martha, woke up when he heard his parents talking. With blond hair like his father's and blue eyes like his mother's, he wanted to greet his father. However, the moment he noticed the foul odor, he backed away.
"Ew, dad, you smell."
"Haha, sorry, boy. Why don't you get back to your room and sleep? It is already past your bedtime."
"Okay~"
As Billy retreated to his room, Martha looked at Curt and pointed towards the bathroom. Understanding the message, Curt went to the bathroom and showered.
As Connors showered, memories of what happened after taking the serum began resurfacing. He recalled becoming a giant lizard monster and going on a destructive rampage in the city. He felt relieved knowing that Spider-Man and Spider-Woman were there to stop him.
"I should destroy the serum… If Norman gets it, who knows what will happen."
As he made plans to destroy the lizard serum, his chest suddenly felt constricted, and his eyes turned yellow.
"No"
When Connors took the serum, another personality was born—the Lizard. The Lizard, aware of Connors's plan, resurfaced. He despised Connors for his weakness and feared he would never become his complete self again if the serum were destroyed. He looked at the stump of his right arm and clenched his left fist.
"Must become whole."
…
Peter and Gwen had searched all night for the Lizard but found no clues about his whereabouts. It was the next day, and both had bags under their eyes and could barely stay awake in class.
"Stacy! Parker! Wake up! No sleeping in my class!"
"Yes, sir!" They both jolted upright, sitting straight, but their drowsiness soon kicked in, causing them to slump back into their seats.
Ace grew worried about them and decided to talk to them after school. He knew what had happened since the news reported the incident with the Lizard last night. It seemed his warning wasn't enough to prevent the Lizard's emergence.
He approached Peter and Gwen to discuss what had happened at his mansion. They agreed, and all three went to Ace's mansion after school.
"I heard from the news that you two fought a giant lizard," said Ace
"Yeah, and let me tell you, its breath stinks," said Peter, remembering the Lizard's breath. He did not want to experience that again.
"Where did it come from? I thought Vermin finally reared its ugly head," said Gwen
"Did you guys notice anything strange on it?" asked Ace
"Come to think of it. It was wearing ripped clothes when we were fighting. Do you think it was a human before?" said Gwen
"That does sound plausible. He could have been a person who mutated into a lizard, and Peter, didn't you say Dr. Connors's serum was about to be completed?"
"Yeah? What about it? Wait, you don't think…"
"The serum was based on a lizard, right? That lizard could have been Dr. Connors."
"No! It can't be!"
Peter didn't want to believe that the Lizard was his mentor, Dr. Connors. However, in the back of his mind, he couldn't shake the feeling that it might be true.
"Calm down, Peter. Even I don't want to believe it to be true. Was there anything different the last time you saw him?" said Ace
"...Dr. Connors looked distressed yesterday. We injected a mouse with the serum for observation, and then Mr. Norman Osborn visited. He and Dr. Connors talked, and when Mr. Osborn left, Dr. Connors looked troubled. Come to think of it, I think I saw Mr. Osborn being attacked by the Lizard last night."
Ace narrowed his eyes. Norman Osborn is one of Spider-Man's many villains, also known as the Green Goblin. He hadn't expected Osborn to appear now. Ace was wary of Norman, knowing he was a cunning and cruel man; as the Goblin, his insanity only worsened. However, Ace decided to set that aside for the moment. He needed to focus on why Norman had visited Connors last night.
"Peter, do you think you can take us inside Oscorp? If Connors is the Lizard, the mouse should have been mutated. We need to check for confirmation."
Peter hesitated, still struggling to believe Connors was the Lizard, but he had to know the truth. He could only hope his fears were unfounded.
"Alright, but we better be quick. Don't want security to kick us out."
The three of them headed to Oscorp to inspect Dr. Connors's lab. Since Peter had frequented Oscorp so often, the guard allowed Gwen and Ace to enter without hesitation. Upon reaching the floor of Connors's lab, they found it eerily quiet.
"That's strange; usually, there are other scientists present." said Peter
Peter saw one of the scientists he saw in Connors's department and asked him what happened.
"Hey, Jim."
"Oh, hey, Peter."
"Where is everybody?"
"You did not get the message? Dr. Connors said that we could take a week off."
"Was there anything weird about him?" Ace asked
"Well, he seemed jittery and in a hurry. He quickly got all his research material and some chemicals and stormed off."
"Thank you," replied Ace. He then went to Connors's lab to check, and Gwen and Peter hurriedly followed.
They got inside the lab and saw it cluttered as if someone was in a hurry. Peter checked around, and all the serum data was gone.
"Dr. Connors took all the research with him. Even the data in the database are gone," said Peter
"This is getting even more suspicious. What made him high tail and run like this." said Ace
Ace and Peter discussed where Dr. Connors had gone, but Gwen interrupted them.
"Uh, guys, you might want to see this."
Gwen beckoned Ace and Peter over, and what they saw shocked them all. The mouse Peter and Connors injected with the lizard serum had grown in size, developing green scales, sharp teeth, and claws.
The creature behaved aggressively, with numerous scratch marks visible inside its cage. It growled and cried at them as though it wanted to tear them limb from limb. The other caged mice trembled, fearing the mutated mouse lizard's presence.
"Peter, is that yours and Connors's experiment?" asked Ace
"Yeah… we injected it with the serum yesterday."
"My god… if a mouse is like that. Imagine if it is a human. No, we already saw the result." said Gwen
"We need to find him and fast. Before he causes even more harm," said Ace
"Dr. Connors…" Peter was disheartened. He now had undeniable proof that Dr. Connors was the Lizard. Feeling responsible for Connors' transformation, Peter knew he had to stop him personally.
"Don't worry, Doc. We'll get you back. I promise," Peter vowed to himself, determined to find a cure for Connors.
***
Extra chapter reaching 9000 cumulative power stones. 6740/9000
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