This method had worked before against Doctor Lizard when he was mindless, but now, against a Doctor Lizard who had regained his sanity, the same tactic was somewhat inadequate.
He quickly saw through Peter's intentions and chose to overpower him directly. With a fierce leap, sharp claws extended from his hands and slashed toward Peter.
Of course, an attack like that could not hit Peter.
The claws scraped across the concrete wall, leaving several long gouges behind.
Peter sprang off the wall, using the rebound to plant both feet squarely in Doctor Lizard's back.
Boom!
A deafening crash rang out.
The concrete below cracked open, and Doctor Lizard was driven almost entirely headfirst into it.
"Crap, did I use too much force?" Peter was a little worried. Without Shadow Spider-Man's influence, he still lacked some ruthlessness.
On top of that, Amazing Spider-Man was still rather immature. Put together, they still had the mentality of a teenager.
However, his hands did not slow down.
His fusion with Shadow Spider-Man, along with experiences like being caught off guard by Hawkeye's explosive arrow, had taught him that before an enemy was completely down, he could never let his guard down.
Peter fired a series of webs at Doctor Lizard's limbs, then pulled spare web cartridges from his pocket and replaced them.
After making his preparations, he turned his Spider-Sense up to its maximum and only then crept cautiously toward Doctor Lizard.
"Doc~tor~Con~nors~~" Peter carefully spoke one syllable with every step, closely watching Doctor Lizard's body on the ground.
The instant his muscles showed any sign of exertion, Peter would be able to react accordingly.
Doctor Lizard did not move at all, as though Peter's heavy kick had knocked him unconscious.
But he was probably not dead.
Peter had fought Doctor Lizard several times already and had a fairly clear understanding of his physique.
Although that kick had indeed been stronger than his previous ones, it should not have been enough to kill him.
Besides, he had not struck any vital area.
Peter relaxed slightly and moved closer again.
Just then!
Splash!
From the severed stump behind Doctor Lizard's bald rear, a tail rapidly grew out. Before Peter's astonished eyes, it hooked around and coiled around his foot.
"Oh! Crap!" Peter cried out as the tail directly lifted him up and smashed him into the sewer ceiling.
Boom!
It was practically Doctor Lizard returning the blow.
Seizing the chance, Doctor Lizard yanked hard, tearing apart the webbing before spinning around to grab Peter.
Peter webbed over his eyes, then grabbed Doctor Lizard's hands with both of his own and began exerting force with his legs.
Snap!
Doctor Lizard's newly grown tail broke off yet again.
But this time, he did not hide it. Instead, he continued exerting force, regrowing the freshly severed tail.
"Whoa, lizards can regrow their tails, sure, but Doctor, isn't your speed way, way, way too fast?" Peter had already escaped while the tail was breaking off.
He retreated once more to the other end of the narrow space, putting distance between himself and Doctor Lizard.
"You little bug!" Doctor Lizard roared, tearing away the webbing blocking his vision. "Why are you stopping me? Why? Once my plan succeeds, everyone will possess power as great as mine! No one will ever get sick again, no one!"
"But that's only your wishful thinking, Doctor!" Peter tried to persuade him. "Other people may not want to give up their identities as humans."
"No, this is glorious evolution, a great and supreme path of evolution. They refuse because they have never experienced this beauty!" Doctor Lizard wore an intoxicated expression. "One day, they will understand!"
Peter felt Doctor Lizard was beyond saving.
Should I just kill him?
Peter hurriedly shook his head, not knowing why such a thought had suddenly appeared.
But once that thought arose, it was like a weed taking root, continuously growing and multiplying.
He thought that if he did not stop Doctor Lizard, if he did not find a way to prevent him, then once his plan was carried out and the Lizard Serum was somehow spread throughout Manhattan, Queens, or even all of New York—
What would the world become then?
Peter returned home, where Aunt May, in her Lizard-Man form, called out, "Peter, come eat."
Peter walked to the table.
Aunt May lifted the lid, revealing a pot of soup made from rats.
Most importantly, the rats had not even been skinned. They were whole—
Peter imagined going to school and seeing a Lizard-Man version of Gwen.
Gwen grinned at him, revealing a huge, bloody mouth. "Peter, look how sharp I've ground my teeth. Want to stick your head in and take a look?"
He went to Delmar's Fast Food at the street corner to buy a sandwich, only to find it stuffed with dried earthworms. The birthday cake he ate was decorated with cockroaches, ants, and all kinds of insects.--
Bleurgh—
Peter shook his head furiously. "No, no, no, no, no! I absolutely cannot let something like that happen!"
However, asking him to kill someone was still beyond the current Peter and Amazing Spider-Man. Without Shadow Spider-Man's ruthlessness, he could not do it.
So—
Peter decided on a compromise once again.
He would capture Doctor Lizard and hand him over to Captain Stacy.
Wasn't that far more convincing than photographic evidence?
No sooner said than done.
Meanwhile, Doctor Lizard realized that he could not do anything to Peter for the time being and began considering retreat.
His goal was only to spread the Lizard Serum throughout the entire city.
Once it was a done deal, even this damn spider would not be able to stop it!
With that in mind, Doctor Lizard began looking for a way out.
He remembered that when he had fought Spider-Man earlier, his body had gotten wet, and Spider-Man's webs had become much easier to tear apart.
"Hehe!" Doctor Lizard chuckled. He had found his escape route.
The next moment, Peter shot forward and pounced at Doctor Lizard.
Doctor Lizard turned and ran. Though he had lived in the city sewers for less than a day, lizards naturally favored damp environments, and his ability to sense water was far stronger than that of ordinary animals.
He knew where to quickly find a passage with water!
Peter did not notice his plan at first, but when the sound of rushing water entered his ears, realization suddenly struck him.
He saw through Doctor Lizard's intentions!
But he discovered that for the moment, there was nothing he could do.
Most of the webs he fired were dodged by Doctor Lizard.
Damn it, if only I had my web shooter! Peter thought.
If he had something like Bouncing Web, then even if he could not hit Doctor Lizard, he could fire it directly in front of him to block his path instead of being as passive as he was now!
Doctor Lizard was incredibly strong, which also gave him tremendous explosive power. He leaped through the sewers with frightening speed.
However, as Peter continued the chase, he gradually found a few ways to deal with him.
Before you continue