Intense lightning and bursting spider webs erupted from the small device in the Lizard's hand.
The Lizard's upper body was tightly ensnared in less than a second.
The small device that Peter had given to Arthur was put to full use without any waste.
The spider webs, stretching hundreds of meters, almost completely wrapped the Lizard's upper body, creating an airtight cocoon around him!
Arthur had added the electrical charge to the mix, causing the Lizard's body to convulse violently.
However, this presented a different set of problems!
Arthur suddenly realized a critical issue in this plan: the ground was covered in water!
Worse, he himself was standing in the water!
The powerful current flowed through the water, crackling and causing several of the devices Arthur had prepared to activate to burst into spider webs throughout the sewer. The intense current spread quickly, threatening to create an electrical storm!
"Fuck...!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Arthur panicked. In an instant, he blinked out of sight, and when he reappeared, he was already in the air.
He blinked again and found himself on Peter's back, wrapping his arms around Peter's neck to steady himself.
"Hey, hey, hey... slow down, you're choking me!"
Peter shouted, also staring in shock at the dramatic scene below, and after a moment of stunned silence, he said, "Instructor, I think your true strength lies in... how much more ruthless you are than I am!"
Arthur's face darkened when he heard this. This was an absolutely fatal mistake he had not anticipated.
The storm of lightning and webs didn't last long - just two or three seconds - before everything settled down.
Spider-Man, carrying Arthur, watched the aftermath, the two of them were sheltered from the chaos... Amid the billowing smoke, the scene was serene.
"It's so peaceful..." Arthur sighed and then fumed, "But where's the fuck is the Lizard??!!!"
Peter released his grip and they both fell. Arthur's form blinked again and he reappeared in the water.
The current had completely dissipated, and the two looked at each other as they approached the location where the Lizard should have been.
All that remained were shredded spider webs and slightly charred walls, but the Lizard was nowhere to be found.
"Now, we can conclude that the guy got away!!!" Peter said cheerfully to Arthur.
Arthur sighed deeply, "After all this work, and the guy still managed to escape."
"It's okay, Instructor! I think we should be happy! At least with the two of us working together, he shouldn't be able to beat us."
Peter wasn't disheartened and seemed quite pleased with the fight.
"Fighting is always unpredictable. Never underestimate your opponent."
Spider-Man nodded seriously and then asked, "So what do we do now?"
"We find his lair," Arthur said. "I remember where he came from."
"Oh my God, you were watching the whole time?" Spider-Man was surprised. "I thought you went to the bathroom."
"No, I was always watching."
"So you saw him pin me?"
"Yes, I saw him pin you down and do some indescribable things to you"
"I think you definitely have a wrong understanding of the term 'indescribable'!"
Amidst casual banter, the two made their way through the sewer pipes to a certain location.
It wasn't too far from where they found a computer and a lot of experimental equipment.
Before they could be too surprised, the two found a set of stairs leading down. Below them was a larger room filled with various data, including recorded video files of the experiments.
"He's using himself as a test subject!"
Peter took off his mask, overwhelmed by the suffocating atmosphere of the room.
"He may have already gone insane."
Arthur approached the computer and began to scroll through all the experimental data.
When he saw a certain set of equations, Arthur's expression froze for a moment.
He tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, lost in thought.
"Instructor, what do you think he's going to do next?"
Peter's voice snapped Arthur out of his contemplation. After silently memorizing the set of equations, Arthur said, "I don't know, but if he's gone insane, whatever he does next is unpredictable."
Glancing at Spider-Man, Arthur shrugged before he continued to speak, "But the most important thing for us to do is to find a way to locate him."
"Yeah."
Peter looked around before asking, "What about this place?"
"Leave it."
Arthur said, "Now is not the time to deal with this."
...
...
After leaving the sewer, Peter and Arthur went their separate ways. The reason Arthur found it rather strange... Spider-Man had to go home and do homework.
Just moments ago, they were fighting the Lizard in the sewers, and now one of them had to go home to do homework. It was absurd!
By the way, don't American kids have less homework?
Peter couldn't hear any more tsukkomi s, and after admiring his own tsukkomi, Arthur looked back at the sewer entrance.
"They probably won't be back so soon, will they?"
Scratching his head, Arthur turned and headed home.
He didn't want to search for the Lizard alone.
After all, given the current situation, the attitude between them was clearly not friendly.
With Peter not around, if Arthur went to talk to Lizard alone, what if the conversation led to him being torn apart?
...
...
In the lab, Arthur wrote another set of equations on the small blackboard.
Then he crossed his arms and fell into deep thought.
"What is this now?"
Banner, munching on a hamburger in the background, handed Arthur a hamburger as he asked.
"Insights from tonight."
Arthur also started to eat his hamburger as he continued, "Although it's completely different from our main research direction, there seem to be some similarities. Self-repairing abilities, cross-species genes, traits... It's so blatant! Replacing human nature with wildness."
Shaking his head, Arthur glanced at Banner and hesitated before speaking, "Honestly, Banner, you really shouldn't be cooped up at home all the time. Your face has gotten quite a bit rounder!"