Lizard Doctor

The lights in the Osborn Group's underground laboratory were still on at midnight.

Professor Curt Connors stood before the lab bench, the shadow of his missing arm stretched long behind him. Before him sat a syringe filled with fluorescent green liquid—the final version of the regenerative drug.

"All the white mouse trials succeeded. Bones, muscles, and nerves regenerated completely," he murmured, lightly running his fingers over the syringe. "The only side effect is becoming somewhat irritable, along with a slight increase in aggression. Hmm... completely acceptable."

The words Norman Osborn had said when rejecting his application for human trials surfaced in his mind: "I would prefer to proceed steadily and begin human trials only after the drug's safety has been completely confirmed."

"Wait a while longer? No, I've waited long enough." He took a deep breath and pressed the needle against his mutilated right shoulder.

"For science, and for myself!"

The instant the serum entered his veins, searing pain swept through his entire body.

Connors dropped to his knees, a pained roar tearing from his throat. His skin began to writhe, muscle fibers twisting and multiplying like living things.

At the stump of his right shoulder, bone grew wildly like vines, wrapping around newly formed nerves and blood vessels. A complete human arm was reappearing.

"It worked! It worked!!!" Connors trembled as he touched his new right hand, tears spilling from his eyes. He had waited far, far too long for this moment.

But before he could properly savor the joy of success, he realized the changes in his body had not stopped.

His nails hardened and lengthened into sharp claws. Fine green scales emerged across his skin. Tearing pain shot through the base of his spine, and a thick lizard tail burst through his clothes, slamming onto the laboratory floor.

"No! No, no!! This is wrong!!!" Connors staggered toward a mirror, only to see a face gradually becoming reptilian. His pupils narrowed into slits, his jaw elongated, and his tongue began to lengthen and split.

Lizard genes were changing his human appearance and eroding his humanity.

His thoughts began to blur. A primal rage burned in his chest, but his remaining sanity fought desperately to suppress it.

"I have to... leave..."

Professor Connors—or rather, the man becoming Lizard Doctor—quickly gathered the experimental data and key equipment, smashed open the emergency exit door, and vanished into the New York night.

The next morning, the head of security at Osborn Group knocked on Norman Osborn's office door, pale-faced.

"Sir, the company laboratory was robbed! Dr. Connors is missing, along with precision equipment worth at least two million dollars!"

Norman frowned. "The surveillance footage?"

"It was deleted, using Dr. Connors's authorization."

Norman tapped his fingertips against the desk. His experience with the Green Goblin incident had immediately alerted him that something was wrong.

Just as he was about to pick up the phone and call the police, the office door was pushed open again.

"Father, wait!" Harry strode in and lowered his voice. "This may not be an ordinary theft."

Norman narrowed his eyes. "What do you know?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Dr. Connors has been researching cross-species regenerative serum. You knew that, Father. But what you may not know is that he likely experimented on himself last night."

Norman's expression darkened instantly. "You knew about his plan all along?"

"No! But Peter and Lin warned me before that Professor Connors's theory carried risks." Harry quickly explained, "If he really mutated, calling the police will only make things worse."

Norman fell silent for a moment. The last Green Goblin incident had nearly destroyed Osborn Group. He could not risk having "Lizard Man" make headlines again, especially on the front page of the Daily Bugle. The Daily Bugle's young owner was sharp and aggressive, the sort who loved watching chaos unfold. They would love nothing more than letting everyone in New York know about a story this big.

"How do you want to handle this?"

"Let us try," Harry said firmly. "Lin Hai has special abilities, and Peter is also... uh, pretty skilled. With Gwen providing scientific support, we can resolve this quietly."

Norman stared at his son for several seconds before finally nodding. "One week. If you fail, or if this causes public panic, I'll bring in the police and even the military." It was hardly strange for a research conglomerate as large as Osborn Group to cooperate with the United States military.

Harry agreed.

That afternoon, the group of four gathered at Harry's safe house. A large display showed a map of New York's sewer system.

"Professor Connors—or Lizard Man—is most likely hiding in the drainage hub near Osborn Tower. There's enough room there for laboratory equipment, and it's close to the East River, making it easy to get water," Gwen said, pointing at the screen.

Peter crouched on a chair, his fingers unconsciously tapping against its back. "How can we be sure he still has his sanity? What if he's already become a complete beast? Facing him directly would be dangerous."

"The serum's mutation is gradual." Lin Hai examined the modified life detector in his hand. "He was still able to delete the surveillance footage and take the data last night. That means at least some of his humanity remains."

Harry pulled up a set of data. "The question is, what does he want? If he only wanted to cure himself, why run?"

"Because he knows Osborn Group would capture him. He draws more attention as Lizard Man than he did with one arm," Gwen analyzed calmly. "And now, I'm guessing he wants to perfect the serum and reverse the mutation."

Lin Hai nodded. "Or worse. If the lizard genes have influenced him too deeply, he may believe humans need to 'evolve' into perfect creatures like lizards."

Silence filled the room.

"So, what's the battle plan?" Peter broke the silence.

"Two teams." Lin Hai traced routes across the map. "Peter and I will enter through a maintenance shaft and make direct contact. Gwen and Harry will provide real-time surveillance and evacuation support from the surface."

"What if he attacks you?" Harry asked. Even knowing Lin Hai now possessed considerable combat ability, he could not help worrying about his friend's safety.

Lin Hai took several test tubes filled with emerald liquid from his backpack. "This is a sedative I made. It contains special calming plant compounds and concentrated Life Force. It should be able to neutralize the activity of the Lizard Serum. But that's only if—"

"Only if he's still willing to listen to us," Peter said softly.

The stench of New York's sewers mixed with the smell of chemical agents. Peter wore modified night-vision goggles, his web-shooters ready at any moment. Lin Hai held the life detector, its emerald glow casting green shadows across the tunnel walls.

"The signal is getting stronger. It's around the bend ahead," Lin Hai said in a low voice.

The two slowed their steps. Beyond the corner came the sound of liquid dripping, along with the heavy breathing of some massive creature.

Peter took a deep breath and rushed out, but the sight before him froze him in place.

A nearly three-meter-tall Lizard Man stood with his back to them, operating laboratory equipment. Green scales covered his entire body, and his tail left deep scratches across the floor as it swept behind him.

Hearing them, he—or rather, it—slowly turned around. Yellow slit pupils glowed in the darkness.

"Peter... Parker?" Lizard Man's voice was hoarse and torn, but Connors's tone was still recognizable. "And... Lin Hai?"

"Professor, we're here to help you." Lin Hai stepped forward, hiding the sedative behind his back.

Connors's lizard face twisted for a moment. "Help me? Norman sent you to capture me, didn't he?"

"No!" Peter hurriedly said. "Harry convinced Mr. Norman to give us one week to bring you back! The serum can be improved, but you need a proper laboratory..."

"Improved?!" Connors suddenly flew into a rage, smashing the water pipe beside him with one claw. "You don't understand at all! This isn't a flaw—it's evolution!"

His voice grew increasingly muddled, and the tone that belonged to Connors gradually faded away.

"Professor! Control your emotions!" Lin Hai shouted. "Anger will accelerate the mutation!"

But it was too late. Connors's pupils completely narrowed into the slits of a beast. He threw back his head with an inhuman roar and lunged at them.

Lizard Doctor had officially gone berserk.

"Fall back!" Lin Hai grabbed Peter and leaped backward, flinging out three seeds at the same time. The seeds burst open in midair, transforming into tough vines that wrapped around Lizard Doctor's legs.

Peter took the opportunity to shoot webs at the ceiling and swing behind Lizard Doctor. "Professor! Wake up!"

The answer was a sweeping tail strike. Peter barely dodged as the concrete pipe where he had been standing shattered into pieces.

Gwen's urgent voice came through their earpieces. "He's becoming fully feral! You need to inject the sedative immediately!"

"Easier said than done!" Peter rolled away from the claws. "He's faster than a car right now!"

Lin Hai suddenly rushed toward the lab bench and grabbed a test tube filled with blue liquid. "Professor! Do you want more people to become like you?"

Lizard Doctor's movements paused.

"Look at this!" Lin Hai raised the test tube high. "What you're making now isn't a regenerative drug at all—it's Lizard Serum! It's been mixed with the aggressive genes of laboratory lizards! If it leaks, innocent ordinary people will turn into highly aggressive humanoid lizards!"

Lizard Doctor's assault slowed slightly as his remaining sanity battled his animal instincts. "No... that's impossible!"

He looked down at his body, fear flashing through his eyes.

Now! Lin Hai hurled the sedative vial, while Peter shot webs around Lizard Doctor's arm.

But Lizard Doctor's terrifying animal instincts detected it. With a sweep of his tail, he knocked the sedative away and violently broke free from their restraint.

Professor Connors, transformed into Lizard Man, seemed to have inherited the lizard genes' talent for escape. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Lizard Doctor grabbed a batch of the regenerative drug he had developed—or rather, Lizard Serum—and fled through the deep sewer water.

Sewage churned beneath their feet as Lin Hai and Peter stood beside the shattered laboratory equipment, their expressions grim.

"He took at least twenty doses of Lizard Serum." Lin Hai picked up an empty test tube from the ground. Emerald Life Force flowed around his fingertips as he analyzed the residue. "The concentration is higher than before. He's accelerating the mutation process."

Peter shook the sewage-soaked web-shooter on his wrist. "We have to catch up with him!"

"No." Lin Hai pressed a hand to his shoulder. "He's thinking like a cold-blooded animal now. The sewers are his territory. If we chase after him recklessly, we could be ambushed."

Gwen's voice came through the earpiece. "Lin is right, Peter. Come back first. Harry has pulled up the sewer layout near Osborn Tower. We need to make a plan."

Peter unwillingly glanced at the dark waterway, where Lizard Doctor had long since disappeared. He gritted his teeth. "Let's go."

Lin Hai and Peter could only return to Harry's safe house with the one remaining vial of Lizard Serum, hoping they could use it to develop the purification drug from the original movie.