VS Doctor Lizard

This method had worked before against a mindless Doctor Lizard, but now, facing a rational Doctor Lizard, it was proving insufficient.

He quickly realized Peter's intention and opted for a brute-force approach. With a powerful leap, sharp claws extended from his hands, lunging at Peter.

Of course, such an attack wouldn't hit Peter.

The claws scraped across the concrete wall, leaving several long gouges.

Peter bounced off the wall, using the recoil to push off Doctor Lizard's back with his feet.

BOOM!

A deafening sound.

The concrete below cracked, and Doctor Lizard's head and shoulders became almost entirely lodged in the hole.

"Uh oh, did I use too much force?" Peter worried. Without the influence of Shadow Spider-Man, he lacked a certain ruthlessness.

Coupled with Amazing Spider-Man's current immaturity, the two combined still amounted to little more than youthful impulsiveness.

However, his hands were still quick.

His experiences merging with Shadow Spider-Man and being ambushed by Hawkeye's explosive arrow had taught him never to let his guard down until the enemy was completely incapacitated.

Peter quickly fired a volley of web fluid at Doctor Lizard's limbs and then pulled spare web fluid from his pocket to reload.

After preparing, he maxed out his Spider-Sense and cautiously approached Doctor Lizard.

"Dr. Connors," Peter whispered each syllable deliberately as he took a step, carefully observing Doctor Lizard's body on the ground.

The moment his muscles showed any sign of tensing, Peter would be ready to react accordingly.

Doctor Lizard remained motionless, seemingly stunned by the powerful kick.

But he was likely not dead.

Peter had fought Doctor Lizard a few times now and had a decent understanding of his physical resilience.

While the recent kick had indeed been stronger than before, it shouldn't have been lethal.

Besides, he hadn't struck any vital areas.

Peter's tension eased slightly, and he moved closer.

Just then!

SWISH!

From the stump of Doctor Lizard's tail, a tail rapidly shot out and, to Peter's astonishment, coiled around his leg.

"Oh! This is bad!" Peter exclaimed, being lifted by the tail and slammed into the sewer ceiling.

CRASH!

This blow was essentially a counter-attack.

Seizing the opportunity, Doctor Lizard yanked hard, breaking the web fluid, and turned to grab Peter.

Peter blinded him with web fluid and then grabbed Doctor Lizard's arms, bracing his legs.

SNAP!

Doctor Lizard's newly grown tail was broken again.

But this time, he didn't hide it. He continued to exert force, and the tail that had just broken grew back.

"Whoa, lizards can regrow tails, but Doctor, you're way too fast!" Peter had already escaped during the tail-breaking moment.

He retreated again to the other end of the narrow space, creating distance between himself and Doctor Lizard.

"Bug!" Doctor Lizard roared, tearing off the web fluid obscuring his vision. "Why are you stopping me? Why? If my plan succeeds, everyone will have abilities like mine! No one will ever be sick again, no one!"

"But that's just your wishful thinking, Doctor!" Peter argued. "Others might not want to give up their humanity."

"No, this is glorious evolution, a great, supreme path of evolution! If they refuse, it's because they haven't experienced its wonder!" Doctor Lizard said with a look of ecstasy. "One day, they will understand!"

Peter felt Doctor Lizard was beyond saving.

Maybe he should just kill him?

Peter quickly shook his head, wondering why such a thought had suddenly crossed his mind.

But once the thought appeared, it was like a wild grass taking root, constantly growing and spreading.

He realized that if he didn't stop Doctor Lizard, if he didn't find a way to thwart his plan, and if the Lizard Serum were somehow spread throughout Manhattan, Queens, or even all of New York!

What would the world become then?

Peter returned home. Aunt May, in her Lizard-Man form, called out, "Peter, come, dinner's ready."

Peter walked to the table.

Aunt May lifted the lid, revealing a pot of soup made from rats.

Most importantly, the rats hadn't even been skinned; they were whole—

Peter thought about going to school and seeing Gwen in her Lizard-Man form.

Gwen grinned, baring her teeth in a terrifying smile. "Peter, look how sharp my teeth are. Want to stick your head in and see?"

He went to the Delmar fast-food joint on the corner for a sandwich filled with dried earthworms; the birthday cake he ate was decorated with cockroaches, ants, and all sorts of insects.

Ugh—

Peter shook his head frantically. "No, no, no, no, no! I absolutely cannot let something like this happen!"

However, to kill someone, the current Peter and Amazing Spider-Man weren't ruthless enough without Shadow Spider-Man's ferocity. He still couldn't do it.

So, Peter decided to compromise again.

He'd capture Doctor Lizard and hand him over to Captain Stacy.

Wouldn't that be more convincing than photographic evidence?

No sooner said than done.

Meanwhile, Doctor Lizard, realizing he couldn't deal with Peter for the time being, began to consider retreating.

His only goal was to spread the Lizard Serum throughout the city.

Once it was a done deal, even that annoying spider wouldn't be able to stop it!

With that thought, Doctor Lizard started looking for an escape route.

He remembered that when he and Spider-Man had fought earlier, his body had gotten wet, and Spider-Man's web fluid had become very easy to tear.

"Heh heh!" Doctor Lizard chuckled. He had found his way out.

The next moment, Peter suddenly lunged forward, pouncing at Doctor Lizard.

Doctor Lizard, however, turned and ran. Although he had only lived in the city's sewers for less than a day, lizards naturally preferred damp environments and had a much stronger sense of water than ordinary animals.

He knew where to quickly find a passage with water!

Peter didn't realize his intention at first, but when the sound of rushing water reached his ears, he suddenly woke up.

He had seen through Doctor Lizard's plan!

But he found that he was powerless to do anything about it for the moment.

The web fluid he shot was mostly dodged by Doctor Lizard.

"Damn it, if only I had my web-shooter!" Peter thought to himself.

If he had something like the Bouncing Web, even if he didn't hit Doctor Lizard directly, he could shoot it right in front of him to block his path. He wouldn't be so passive like this!

Doctor Lizard's strength was immense, giving him great explosive power. He leaped through the sewers with great speed.

However, in the chase, Peter gradually found some techniques to cope.