Chapter Summaries

When Dr. Connors transformed into the Lizardman and attacked Midtown High School, Skye and Gwen helped evacuate students while Peter became Spider-Man and fought him. Lake let the Special Response Unit handle the assault as Homeland Security and the FBI analyzed Osborn’s research materials.

• Skye reassured Gwen that Lake would keep Peter’s identity secret, and Peter told them Dr. Connors was planning something after he saw a device on Connors’s computer.
• An alarm sent students fleeing Midtown High School, and Peter, Skye, and Gwen rushed inside to help as the Lizardman attacked.
• Peter changed into Spider-Man and drew the Lizardman away while Skye and Gwen helped carry injured students to safety.
• George Stacy arrived, and Big Black ordered the Special Response Unit to secure the school and capture the Lizardman.
• Lake told Skye not to enter the fight and said Jiaying had gone to the school; he then checked on the analysis of Osborn Bio-Industry’s research materials.

Dr. Lizard escaped after the Special Operations Force captured Spider-Man and the Mayor publicly blamed him for the recent attacks. Gwen worried about Peter, while Lake and Skye recognized the political maneuver and expected the federal government to intervene.

• The Special Operations Force failed to stop Dr. Lizard, and Spider-Man was incapacitated by a horse tranquilizer dart.
• Dr. Lizard escaped through a sewer, while Big Black's agents restrained Spider-Man and took him away.
• The Mayor announced that Spider-Man had been captured and accused him of helping Dr. Lizard, prompting citizens and media to turn against Spider-Man.
• Gwen visited Lake with Skye and worried about Peter; Lake explained that Spider-Man would likely be prosecuted as a scapegoat.
• Skye reasoned that Lake would intervene to prevent the Mayor from winning the political fight, and Lake remarked that someone should already have gone over.

At NYPD Headquarters, Peter Parker was pressured to confess to crimes while being interrogated without a lawyer. Ron Trotter and his legal team arrived, publicly declared Peter innocent, and challenged the confession as invalid because police had not read him the Miranda Warning.

• Big Black accused Peter of setting a trap and showed him photographs linking him to several cases; Peter was confused and denied designing any trap.
• The prosecutor offered Peter a plea deal for second-degree murder, threatening a first-degree murder charge and additional counts if he refused.
• Ron Trotter and his team arrived at NYPD Headquarters as media gathered, and Tom Nixon identified Peter as their client.
• Ron condemned the Mayor's Office and the District Attorney's Office to reporters, declaring Peter one hundred percent innocent.
• Tom learned that Peter had already been questioned and confessed, then argued that the confession was invalid because police had not read Peter the Miranda Warning or informed him of his right to an attorney.

Ron defended Peter Parker against charges of first-degree murder and thirteen other counts, securing his release on bail as Peter’s identity as Spider-Man became public. Lake prepared to fight the case in court by bringing journalist Rachel Edwin into the effort to shape public opinion.

• Ron rejected the plea agreement, challenged the prosecution’s evidence, and refused to let Peter Parker plead guilty.
• The District Attorney’s Office charged Peter with first-degree murder and thirteen additional offenses, but Ron secured bail by producing one million dollars.
• Aunt May reunited with Peter outside the courthouse, where reporters revealed that the public knew he was Spider-Man.
• Lake and Skye discussed how the media had shaped opinion against Peter, and Lake said the real confrontation would take place in court.
• Lake brought Rachel Edwin to help with public opinion, and Skye offered to explain the case and introduce her to Peter.

Lake recruited Rachel Edwin and Tony Stark to counter the campaign portraying Peter Parker as a villain and to protect him from the African American mayor’s influence. Tony agreed that Peter could be worth cultivating and offered access to his media outlets, though Pepper revealed their management had already suffered scandals.

• Lake asked Rachel to help portray Peter as a superhero, but she warned that New York media favored the mayor and distrusted federal agencies.
• Lake suggested that Tony Stark controlled enough media outlets to counter the mayor’s campaign, and Rachel realized the idea during their visit to Stark Industries.
• Tony explained that staying neutral protected Stark Industries, but Lake showed him footage of Spider-Man and described Peter Parker’s spider-induced mutation.
• Tony agreed Peter might be worth cultivating and asked how he could help, so Lake requested use of Tony’s media outlets.
• Pepper told Lake and Rachel that Tony’s outlets had internal scandals and that management was considering consolidating them into one media group.

Pepper offered Rachel the presidency of a consolidated Stark Media, and Rachel worried that accepting would make Lake’s friendship with Tony look like favoritism. Lake arranged for Rachel to take the job by investing in the group, with Tony accepting a future Cloth and a place among the Twelve Zodiac Houses as part of the deal.

• Pepper offered Rachel the presidency of the newly established Stark Media and explained that Stark Industries planned to consolidate its media outlets.
• Rachel asked Lake whether she should accept, concerned that her connection to him would make Tony her boss and raise questions about her appointment.
• Lake asked Pepper about the consolidated group’s value, then offered five hundred million dollars for half of it and arranged for the remainder to be paid with a promise to Tony.
• Tony accepted Lake’s offer of a Cloth like Saga’s and a place among the Twelve Zodiac Houses, and Pepper agreed to the investment.
• Lake told Rachel that the deal was done and that she no longer needed to worry about making his relationship with Tony awkward.

Lake and Pepper launched Beyond Media with Rachel Edwin as its president, provoking a media backlash as Peter Parker’s hearing approached. Beyond Media then published Rachel’s interview with Peter and presented him as New York’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

• Lake asked Rachel when he could see Helen, and she explained that Helen and Josie would likely remain in Washington until after June.
• After the court scheduled Peter Parker’s jury-selection hearing for late April, Stark Industries announced it would acquire forty percent of Tony Stark’s media group and establish Beyond Media under Rachel’s leadership.
• Borg Media and other outlets attacked Peter Parker, while Lake told Caroline to use the conflict as an opportunity to clean up New York’s media outlets.
• Beyond Media began operating within twenty-four hours, laid off eighty percent of its staff, and filled 2,351 advertised positions within a week.
• Rachel and Pepper announced that Beyond Media had Tony Stark’s full Iron Man copyright authorization, and Rachel’s interview and documentary portrayed Peter as a hero.
• Beyond News printed the slogan calling Little Spider New York’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Skye explained to Peter and Gwen how public relations had made Peter New York’s “friendly neighbor,” while Peter reflected on how he had sold Spider-Man’s rights and his own future to Beyond Media. The chapter left Peter learning that the deal’s first payment was $100,000, enough to help Aunt May, even as he struggled with the cost of becoming a media commodity.

• Skye questioned Lake about Peter’s favorable newspaper title compared with her own “Demon Emperor” label, and Lake explained the slogan-driven publicity campaign.
• Lake told Skye that Dr. Lizard was likely hiding and developing a transmissible lizard serum while federal agents monitored Osborn Bio’s building.
• The day before Peter’s trial, Skye and Gwen visited Peter and Aunt May, and Peter admitted he regretted ignoring Skye’s earlier advice.
• Peter revealed that he had sold Spider-Man’s rights to Beyond Media, signed on for three productions, and been suspended from Midtown High.
• Skye reminded Peter that the deal could help Aunt May, and Aunt May told him that its first payment was $100,000.

Peter struggled with the feeling that his reputation and success had been arranged for him, but Skye urged him to live up to his title as New York’s good neighbor. Days later, his first court appearance began with a carefully chosen image before Judge Laura Birch.

• Peter told Skye that being called New York’s good neighbor bothered him because he had not earned the title himself.
• Skye and Gwen helped Peter choose his court clothes while Tom Nixon advised him on how to present himself the next day.
• Skye told Lake and Rachel that seeing Peter’s limited wardrobe made her feel she had too many clothes, and Rachel suggested donating some before shopping again.
• Three days after the jurors were selected, Peter arrived at New York Court wearing an outfit intended to make him seem like an ordinary, hardworking student.
• Judge Laura Birch took her seat and opened the Peter Parker case.

While Peter Parker’s trial moved quickly toward a verdict, Lake prepared to contain Dr. Lizard’s airborne virus experiment in Queens. He left Dr. Connors’s fate in the hands of the operation and arranged funding for regenerative-serum research before the jury announced it had reached a verdict.

• Lake monitored Dr. Connors retrieving the virus-conversion device from a Queens sewer and confirmed that the equipment had been disposed of through Osborn Bio’s procedures.
• Dr. Connors inhaled the misting compound and transformed fully into Dr. Lizard while retaining his reason and continuing his plans to spread the Lizard Virus.
• Tiffany told Lake that Dr. Helen Zhao’s team had developed a neutralizing serum, and Lake approved ten million dollars for further regenerative-serum research and planned to seek Osborn Bio’s authorization.
• Lake confirmed that FBI, Coast Guard, and Homeland agents had surrounded the designated area to prevent Dr. Lizard from escaping.
• After nearly six hours of proceedings, Peter Parker’s jury deliberated for fifteen minutes and announced that it had reached a verdict.

Peter Parker was acquitted of the murder charges but received community service for other offenses, while prosecutor Little Spider accused the court of fixing the trial and was taken away. Lake explained to Skye that Little Spider had deliberately made himself famous and expected custody to help him seek protection from a powerful official.

• The jury found Peter Parker not guilty of all three murder charges but guilty of several other charges, and Laura Birch sentenced him to 120 hours of community service.
• Little Spider was stunned by the verdict and accused the court of fixing the trial, so a bailiff took him away.
• Lake told Skye that Little Spider had acted as a tool for the African American and that the District Attorney's Office had not supported him.
• Lake reasoned that Little Spider had accused the court to get taken into custody and was likely preparing to call the Federal Bureau Chief or the Homeland Bureau Chief.

Lake and the federal agencies tracked Dr. Lizard as he tried to leave Queens and prepare to release the Lizard Virus. The chapter ended with Lake ordering Operation Spring Breeze and law enforcement converging on Dr. Lizard before he could finish setting up his spraying device.

• Skye told Lake that Peter Parker had received 120 hours of community service and would have to repeat the grade because he could not attend New Jersey University's July preparatory course.
• Lake arrived at the Homeland Building Operations Center, where Tiffany reported that Dr. Lizard had destroyed his lair's electronic equipment and was moving through Queens under drone surveillance.
• Federal vehicles repeatedly blocked Dr. Lizard's attempts to reach Brooklyn, Manhattan, or the port, forcing him to climb onto the roof of a thirty-story apartment building.
• Lake learned that Deputy Director Bass was still on Gardiners Island and agreed that the FBI would take the blame if Bass discovered the operation.
• After Tiffany estimated that Dr. Lizard needed about ten minutes to assemble his spraying device, Lake ordered Operation Spring Breeze once the device was nearly ready.
• Tiffany's team illuminated Dr. Lizard with a drone floodlight, sounded the alarms, and alerted the Special Operations Force as federal vehicles converged on the building.

After the mayor forced federal agents to withdraw, Tank Big Black’s Special Operations Force stormed the Queens apartment building to capture Dr. Lizard alive. Spider-Man rescued residents left behind during the operation, while Dr. Lizard fought back and destroyed an armed helicopter.

• Lake ordered Homeland Security and FBI agents to withdraw after recording the mayor’s demand, then recalled the drones and left the scene.
• The mayor told Tank Big Black to capture Dr. Lizard alive in exchange for access to regenerative serum.
• Tank Big Black shoved Mrs. Robin aside while charging upstairs, and Spider-Man carried her outside before rescuing two children from the fourth floor.
• A police officer stopped Spider-Man from joining the Special Operations Force assault and asked him to help evacuate nearby residents instead.
• Dr. Lizard attacked the Special Operations Force on the rooftop, and an armed helicopter blasted him out of the air.
• Dr. Lizard leaped into the armed helicopter, tore through it, and crashed back onto the rooftop.

Dr. Lizard turned Big Black and nearby soldiers into Lizardmen, then sent them to spread the transformation through New York. As Manhattan was sealed off, Lake refused the governor’s request for federal help and coordinated with Councilman Andrew, who was poised to replace him.

• Dr. Lizard infected Big Black and special forces soldiers with lizard serum, transforming them into Lizardmen and ordering them to convert more people.
• Manhattan’s bridges and underwater tunnels were sealed, and Skye learned from Gwen that Queens had many Lizardmen.
• Lake met with the New York governor, played a recording of the mayor ordering Homeland Security to stay out of the case, and told the governor to seek help from the FBI.
• Lake cut off the governor’s communications and spoke with Councilman Andrew, promising federal support once Andrew took office.

Lake learned that Spider-Man had rescued many people during the Lizard outbreak in Queens, reducing the casualties and frustrating Lake’s expectations. Tiffany showed him that survivors’ public accounts were blaming the New York mayor rather than Homeland Security, leaving Lake to reconsider Spider-Man’s actions as politically useful.

• A week after the Lizard outbreak began, Lake reviewed footage showing the infestation contained to parts of Queens while S.H.I.E.L.D. struggled to stop Dr. Lizard’s infection machine.
• Tiffany reported that the casualty count was lower than Lake expected because Spider-Man had saved many people.
• Lake complained that Spider-Man’s rescues had undermined his plans, but Tiffany argued that Spider-Man was on their side.
• Tiffany showed Lake hospital interviews and online posts in which survivors thanked Spider-Man and blamed the New York mayor for the disaster.

Lake learned that Tony had gone into seclusion in Texas to work on nanotechnology, then checked the antidote serum as S.H.I.E.L.D. pressed its assault on Dr. Lizard’s lair. The chapter ended with Crossbones spotting a massive figure inside the breached building.

• Lake called Pepper Potts and learned that Tony had isolated himself in his Texas laboratory, beyond even Jarvis’s reach.
• Lake visited Dr. Helen Zhao’s storage facility and confirmed that the antidote serum was ready as the hearings against Black Governor and the African American governor approached.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. agents captured Lizardmen over several days while Dr. Lizard retreated and worked to improve his virus.
• Dr. Lizard prepared to spread his improved virus throughout New York, believing he was leading humanity toward evolution.
• After the poison fog dissipated, Nick Fury and Alexander Pierce ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. to storm the lair, and Crossbones spotted a huge figure behind the blown-open entrance.

Lake discovered that Dr. Lizard had escaped underground and was likely heading toward the Bronx, so Homeland Security and federal forces mobilized as New York’s new governor and mayor took office. After S.H.I.E.L.D. handed over the scene, Lake authorized a massive helicopter assault on the block.

• Crossbones was struck by the Tank Lizard, which withstood gunfire and a rocket blast before rampaging through the S.H.I.E.L.D. cordon.
• Lake ordered a thermal scan, concluded Dr. Lizard had escaped through an underground route toward the East River, and redirected drones and Jack’s team toward the Bronx.
• Governor Andrew and New York’s new mayor requested federal assistance, and Homeland Security and the FBI mobilized while Caroline announced that the first antidote serum was on its way to Queens.
• Phil Coulson handed control of the scene to federal and Homeland agents after S.H.I.E.L.D. captured and restrained the Tank Lizard.
• Lake authorized the armed helicopters to open fire, and twenty helicopters unleashed their Metal Storm Vulcan Machine Guns across First Block.

Federal and Homeland Security forces attacked the Lizardmen’s First District with armed helicopters, while Lake discovered an underground tunnel and learned that Dr. Lizard had escaped beneath the East River. At the river, Lake used his Saga form to strike Dr. Lizard with a golden fist, piercing him as he headed for the Bronx.

• Twenty armed helicopters devastated the Lizardmen’s First District, and federal agents entered to finish off survivors and neutralize the Lizard Virus.
• Lake found a hand-dug tunnel beneath the apartment building as Dr. Lizard and about thirty Lizardmen escaped through it toward the Bronx.
• Tiffany reported that Saga had reached the East River pier, and Lake switched to his Saga clone and met Jack there.
• Lake sensed Dr. Lizard beneath the river, tore off his clothes, and punched through the East River with a golden fist.
• The golden fist pierced Dr. Lizard’s torso and carried him forward before exploding.

Saga killed Dr. Lizard and his followers, but Lake realized that Dr. Lizard’s final device was missing and ordered an investigation. Meanwhile, a sedated Tank Lizard broke loose aboard a S.H.I.E.L.D. transport aircraft, leaving the agents scrambling to survive.

• Saga defeated Dr. Lizard, the Lizard Warriors, and the Lizardmen with one punch, then urged Jack to keep training his Cosmo.
• Lake noticed that Dr. Lizard’s equipment was missing and sent Helen Zhao to identify a device found at the lair.
• Lake let S.H.I.E.L.D. withdraw with the captured Tank Lizard, while Coulson hurried his agents onto a transport aircraft.
• The transport aircraft was forced to detour around New York City’s no-fly zone, and the Tank Lizard woke from sedation.
• The Tank Lizard struck an agent with its tail, killing him and destabilizing the aircraft as the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents tried to sedate it again.

Tank Lizard escaped the transport plane with Dr. Lizard’s hidden Lizard Virus, but Spider-Man intercepted it before he could release it. Peter, Gwen, and Skye were left facing the chaos in Brooklyn as Tank Lizard pursued them.

• Tank Lizard broke free of his chains aboard the transport plane and attacked a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
• Peter, Gwen, and Skye looked at houses in Brooklyn while Peter worried about being recognized as Spider-Man.
• Gwen told Peter that all three houses he had chosen were in Black neighborhoods, and the group then saw a transport plane dive toward the buildings before crashing into a park.
• Gwen spotted Tank Lizard on an apartment roof, where he spat out Dr. Lizard’s device containing purified Lizard Virus.
• Spider-Man webbed the device from Tank Lizard’s hand and leaped away with it.