By the time Hawk and Gwen reached the second floor.
The Lizard was already gone. In his place was Dr. Connors, restored to human form, though the injury to his chest remained and was irreversible.
Blood seeped from the corner of Dr. Connors's mouth, but as he watched Hawk approach, he forced a smile onto his face.
"Thank you!"
"..."
Hawk said nothing. He merely looked at Dr. Connors and raised an eyebrow.
Gwen, standing beside him, asked in confusion, "Doctor, why did you want to kill me?"
She could not understand it.
If Dr. Connors had acted because of what happened on the Williamsburg Bridge, he should have gone after Spider-Man.
If Dr. Connors wanted blood, he should have gone after Hawk.
So why had he set his sights on her?
Leaning against the wall, completely drained of strength, Dr. Connors chuckled at Gwen's question.
But as his chest rose and fell, a flush of red appeared on his pale face. With a puff, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his breathing became extremely weak.
At death's door, with his eyes about to close forever, Dr. Connors spoke the final words of his life.
"I don't know either."
"Maybe..."
"I was seduced by a demon."
"I'm..."
"Sorry!"
Thud!
As he barely finished speaking, Dr. Connors's one-armed left hand dropped to the floor with a crisp impact as his eyes closed for good.
Dr. Connors was dead!
Seeing this, Hawk withdrew his gaze from Dr. Connors's corpse and looked at the Spider-Man standing nearby. "You're still not leaving?"
Peter, still stunned that Dr. Connors had been taken down with a single punch, snapped back to his senses and looked at Hawk.
"What about you?"
"Spider-Man killed him. What does it have to do with Hawk?"
"I'm not Spider-Man."