Green light flickered through the sturdy tubes, and Dr. Lizard's fractured cervical vertebrae began healing much more slowly. Meanwhile, the healing power Yuri had received from Ajak pulsed at high frequency inside him.
Intricate patterns along the tubes swelled and contracted, and the golden light upon them flickered. Waves of ecstasy washed over Yuri, as if his soul were ascending to heaven. He forced himself to stay focused and kept up his pace, following behind Mark I at a short distance.
"What did you do to me?!"
Only now did Dr. Lizard realize something was wrong. In his experience, reverting from his Lizard form to a human one would cost him his newly grown arm and immense strength, but before that happened, it would always heal his other injuries.
But he was about to return to human form, and his neck showed no sign of healing. Panic set in. Losing his Lizard form wasn't the frightening part; the frightening part was that he couldn't even pick up the gene serum and inject it into himself!
Yuri let out a satisfied breath. He glanced down and quickly pulled the tubes out of Dr. Lizard's body. There was a difference between eating his fill once and being able to eat his fill every time, and Yuri would undoubtedly choose the latter.
"As you can see, your healing ability is useless against me. I suggest you behave yourself and don't try anything funny. We're more than three thousand meters above the ground. I doubt you'd survive that."
The healing factor began to take effect. It gathered around the neck of the doctor, who was gradually returning to human form, and in just a few seconds transformed him from a quadriplegic back into a one-armed man.
The doctor watched in agony as his arm crumbled inch by inch. He clung tightly to the arm of the Steam Armor, afraid he might accidentally fall.
He figured the Metal Giant was right. Forget his current human form—even in his giant lizard form, he wouldn't survive a fall from this height.
The sprawling mansion on the coast was already clearly visible. The two suits of armor, one small and one large, slid down the runway and into Tony's luxury garage.
Once they had come to a stop, Yuri tossed the doctor to the ground. Seeing that Tony was still wearing his armor and on guard, he waved a hand. "Relax and show your face, Tony. I promise he'll have forgotten everything that happened just now by the time we leave."
Dr. Lizard got to his feet on all fours, staring in horror as Yuri climbed out of the Steam Armor on his own. "What do you mean, forgotten everything that happened just now? What did you do to me?!"
Tony was also removing his suit piece by piece with the help of his mechanical assistants. When Dr. Lizard saw his face, still beaded with sweat, he cried out, "What the fuck! Tony Stark?!"
Tony ignored him and looked to Yuri for confirmation. "You promise?"
"I promise!"
Yuri nodded, then snapped his fingers softly beside the doctor's ear. "Tell me everything you know about the lizard you turned into."
The doctor's eyes went blank for a moment, then he told Yuri everything about how and why he had transformed into the Lizard Monster, holding nothing back.
Yuri treated it as another retelling of The Amazing Spider-Man. The only thing that interested him was the "Decay Rate Algorithm" the doctor mentioned, because when he heard the details, the healing power inside him began pulsing faintly again.
But Tony was lost in thought long after hearing the story. At last, he understood why the little guy in the skintight spider suit had said Dr. Lizard "didn't deserve to die."
"So."
Tony glanced at Yuri, who seemed to be thinking as well. He leaned close to the doctor's blank-eyed face and whispered, "Do you know who that Spider-Boy is?"
The doctor: "..."
Tony: "???"
Yuri chuckled at Tony Stark, frozen awkwardly in place. Pretending he hadn't heard, he asked the doctor, "What did he just ask you?"
The doctor answered without hesitation. "He asked me if I knew the real identity of that Spider-Man."
Tony walked over to Yuri's Steam Armor and bent over, sticking out his butt as he tried to hide from the embarrassment under the guise of examining it.
Yuri saw right through him but didn't say a word. Instead, he deliberately raised his voice. "Not just Mr. Tony Stark—I'm very interested in that question too!"
The doctor obligingly replied, "Spider-Man's real identity is Peter Parker. He attends Midtown High School and once interned in my lab. His father was a great biologist, and the Decay Rate Algorithm was his greatest work."
Just then, the artificial intelligence Jarvis suddenly spoke over the loudspeaker. "Mr. Stark, should I create a file on this person?"
Tony had been staring at one of the exhaust vents on the back of the Steam Armor. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he had no choice but to show his face. He decided that as soon as Yuri left, he would give Jarvis a good talking-to—at the very least, teach him when to speak and when not to!
"Go ahead."
Tony acted as if nothing had happened. He leaned against the Steam Armor and waved a hand. "If anything else comes up, you can call me... There are guests in the house, aren't there? You'll scare them."
Yuri played along, hunching his shoulders and tucking his head in. "That's right, Jarvis. I'm really scared of you."
"Ahem."
Tony cleared his throat. The corners of his mouth lifted and his eyes narrowed into a practiced smile. "Well then, Mr. Yuri, please come into the living room. I think a few drinks might help ease your fear. What do you say?"
Yuri nodded and happily agreed. He pointed at Dr. Lizard, who stood there dazed and stupid-looking. "What about him? Is he coming to drink with us?"
"Best not."
Tony shook his head at once. He didn't want someone at the table suddenly throwing back his head and howling, then transforming into a Lizardman in the middle of their drinks.
"All right, then."
Yuri raised his right hand. The Steam Armor slowly split open down the middle. His bright golden eyes turned white in an instant, and the doctor obediently walked inside.
"Ka-chunk, ka-chunk, ka-chunk...!"
One of Tony's eyebrows shot up. He leaned back and pointed at the Steam Armor, which had shrunk down by one size. "Unless I'm mistaken... you locked him inside?"
"Yeah."
With a snap of his fingers, Yuri put the doctor inside the Steam Armor to sleep and erased all his memories from the past hour.
The pure white vanished, and the golden light returned.
Yuri stared at the mustachioed man whose eyes were shifting uneasily. "Some people are bound to get bad ideas and use certain methods to get inside my armor. I'll make them understand what it means to catch a turtle in a jar—to lock the door and beat the dog!"
"Wow!"
Tony turned and walked away. He absolutely refused to admit that he was one of those people. How could the great Tony Stark possibly leave his greatest creation unused and climb into someone else's less-than-great creation?
He silently made a note in his little book, signing it with the name of some narrow-minded, judgmental man with a strange eye condition.
"Ring, ring...!"
Tony picked up the phone. It was exactly 10:00 p.m. New York time, and the caller ID showed his dear Uncle Obadiah!
"Beep!"
The call connected, and Obadiah's deep voice came through the receiver. "Big nephew, aren't you home?"
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