Chapter 31: Since When Did the Difficulty Get an Update?!
It had only been two or three days since Ghost-Spider first appeared.
Furthermore, Peter's arrival in this universe had already changed the seemingly inevitable curse that condemned Spider-Man's loved ones to die.
As a result, Gwen was far more inexperienced than her counterpart in the original story.
She possessed tremendous strength and an admirable sense of justice, but she barely understood how to control her powers.
She knew even less about the brutality of combat or the darkness lurking beneath the surface of the world.
If Peter continued protecting her excessively, never allowing her to fight independently or accumulate experience, how could she possibly become stronger?
A flower raised in the safety of a greenhouse would never learn to withstand the wind and rain.
If he constantly sheltered Gwen beneath his wings, she would never truly develop into a capable superhero.
'Maybe I really should give her a chance to grow on her own.'
With that thought in mind, Peter withdrew his hand from his costume.
He understood Dr. Connors's abilities quite well.
Although Gwen probably couldn't defeat the Lizard, she should be capable of preventing widespread casualties and holding him off until the police arrived in force.
Even if she found herself outmatched, her Spider-Sense should help her avoid any truly fatal injuries.
As long as her life wasn't in danger, why shouldn't he let her handle the situation herself?
Even getting thoroughly beaten by the Lizard would provide her with valuable combat experience!
Of course, there was another consideration, and it was perhaps the most important one.
The Manhattan Bridge was only about two to three miles from Peter's home in a straight line.
At his maximum running speed, he could reach the scene in just one or two minutes.
If things took a turn for the worse, he could intervene immediately and use the Horse Talisman to heal Gwen's injuries.
Having made his decision, Peter ended his conversation with Herman and increased the volume of his police radio.
Then he settled down to listen carefully to the live updates coming through the police frequencies.
...
"Hmm-hmm-hmm~"
On the Manhattan Bridge, even the heavy traffic couldn't dampen Sage's excellent mood.
The secretary rolled down her car window and gazed at the glittering city lights, humming happily to herself.
After everything she'd accomplished today, it wouldn't be long before she became a multimillionaire!
It was a fortune large enough to support a lifetime of extravagance.
She was still humming cheerfully, imagining the luxurious life that awaited her, when—
BOOM!
SKREEECH!
A heavy impact suddenly struck the roof of her car.
A moment later, razor-sharp claws punched through the metal!
Like someone opening a can, the claws tore the entire roof away.
Dr. Connors, now transformed into the Lizard, stared down at Sage.
His crimson, slit-pupiled eyes gleamed with violent, chaotic emotions.
He recognized this woman.
She was the one who'd driven him into a corner with her vicious threats and humiliating words!
Sage looked up at the enormous reptilian humanoid towering more than ten feet above her, its entire body covered in dark-green scales.
Its cold, vertical pupils were fixed directly on her.
A warm sensation suddenly spread beneath her.
She had wet herself in terror.
Screaming hysterically, Sage curled into a ball and frantically tried to escape through the car door.
Unfortunately...
A massive tail pressed firmly against it.
No matter how desperately she pushed, the door refused to open.
As the monster's enormous claws reached closer, Sage squeezed her eyes shut in despair.
She was certain she was about to die.
But just then—
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Several strands of white webbing shot through the air.
The first two struck the Lizard directly over his eyes!
More webbing immediately followed, wrapping around his massive body until he resembled an enormous cocoon.
"Hey, big guy! Picking on an unarmed lady isn't exactly gentlemanly behavior!"
"Uh... not that you look much like a gentleman right now, either!"
"But anyway, your friendly neighborhood Ghost-Spider isn't going to let you get away with it!"
Gwen descended from above in her Ghost-Spider costume.
She even took care to strike an appropriately heroic pose as she landed.
It was a special entrance she'd designed herself after repeatedly replaying the Arbiter's landing from earlier that afternoon.
Gwen had assumed that once she restrained the monster with her webbing, she'd be free to deliver as many witty remarks as she liked.
Unfortunately, the next moment, the Lizard effortlessly tore through his restraints.
He opened his enormous jaws and unleashed a deafening roar.
"Yikes! What brand of protein powder have you been taking?"
Gwen dodged his attacks with the help of her Spider-Sense, continuing to taunt him.
"And while we're on the subject, when was the last time you brushed your teeth?"
Apparently, being a natural smart-mouth was a universal Spider-Man talent.
Although Gwen was still a complete rookie when it came to fighting, her ability to annoy villains was already approaching professional standards.
Unfortunately, she was beginning to feel a little too pleased with herself.
Whoosh!
The Lizard's massive tail suddenly lashed through the air like lightning.
He'd anticipated the position where Gwen would land after her next swing.
Before she could react, the tail struck her directly!
The tremendous force sent her flying through the air.
Her slender body slammed into a bus behind her, leaving a massive dent in its side.
"Ugh!"
Gwen felt as though all her internal organs had been knocked out of place.
The pain was so intense that she nearly lost consciousness.
That single strike wiped every trace of complacency from her mind.
'Are you kidding me?!'
'Did somebody update the difficulty without telling me?!'
'A supervillain called Shocker appears at lunchtime, and now there's a giant lizard monster running around at night?!'
'And this thing hits even harder than Shocker's shock waves!'
'I wonder if that Arbiter guy heard about this.'
'Or was he really just passing by earlier today?'
While Gwen's thoughts were racing in every direction, her Spider-Sense suddenly sounded another warning.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, she hurriedly forced herself to stand.
Fortunately, she'd barely escaped the dent in the bus when a taxi came flying toward her!
CRASH!
The tremendous impact overturned the bus.
It rolled violently across the bridge before colliding with the guardrail, destroying a long section of the barrier.
The sensation of narrowly escaping death finally forced Gwen to concentrate.
She realized that relying on someone else to save her wasn't an option.
She had to depend on herself.
Once again, she used her agility and webbing to launch a series of hit-and-run attacks against the Lizard.
This time, her strategy proved surprisingly effective.
As Gwen accumulated combat experience, she gradually began suppressing the monster through superior mobility and cleverly placed webs.
She also noticed something unusual.
As the fight continued, the creature appeared to be getting slightly smaller.
Its enormous body was gradually shrinking.
Gwen's spirits rose.
'Maybe I can actually beat this thing!'
Just as she began thinking she might be able to finish the fight in one decisive push, a woman's desperate cry sounded behind her.
"PLEASE! SAVE MY CHILD!"
Gwen instinctively turned toward the voice.
A small car had been pushed toward the edge of the bridge by the shock waves from the battle.
It was teetering dangerously close to falling into the water below!
And sitting in the back seat was a boy of about seven or eight.
He was clinging to the car window, sobbing uncontrollably.
Gwen's heart clenched.
Without thinking, she fired a strand of webbing that attached itself precisely to the unstable vehicle.
Then she pulled with both arms!
Her extraordinary strength actually dragged the entire car back onto the bridge!
Having rescued the child, Gwen released a long breath of relief.
A wonderful feeling of pride and satisfaction welled up inside her.
But just as she turned to continue fighting the Lizard...
She witnessed a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Chapter 32: The Two Green Villains Join Forces
Schlick!
When Gwen turned around, she saw the Lizard's razor-sharp claws pierce straight through Sage's chest.
The secretary's face was frozen in absolute terror.
Even after the Lizard tossed her body aside like a piece of garbage, her eyes remained wide open, as though she couldn't believe she'd just been killed.
Gwen stared at the scene.
Her mind went completely blank.
As a teenage girl with an overwhelming sense of justice, her first instinct was to blame herself for Sage's death.
'If I'd been more careful...'
'If I'd paid attention to the cars on the bridge sooner...'
'I could've saved both of them!'
But now...
Looking at Sage's lifeless eyes, Gwen felt an unbearable wave of guilt.
She was convinced that her own inadequacy had gotten the woman killed.
Desperate to make up for her failure, Gwen recklessly charged toward the Lizard, determined to prevent him from escaping.
'At the very least, I have to make sure the killer faces justice!'
Driven by that thought, she hurled herself directly into the monstrous creature.
Her anger really did seem to lend her additional strength.
She slammed into the Lizard hard enough to knock him off his feet, aided by the fact that the serum's effects were already beginning to wear off.
Gwen immediately climbed on top of him and began punching him repeatedly.
Her fists hammered into his face, striking so fiercely that even the Lizard's incredibly durable body was left battered and bloodied.
But that was as far as her advantage went.
Although anger had increased Gwen's strength, it had also temporarily disrupted her Spider-Sense.
The Lizard seized the opportunity.
His massive tail wrapped around her body, restraining her movements.
Then he raised one clawed hand and slashed directly at her abdomen!
Fortunately, his claws had already begun showing signs of breaking down as the serum's effects faded.
Otherwise, that single strike would almost certainly have torn Gwen's stomach open.
Looking at his thick, muscular right arm gradually disintegrating before his eyes, the Lizard seemed to witness something even more terrifying than the battle itself.
He cast one final glance at Gwen, whom he'd thrown heavily onto the ground.
Then he looked up at the armed helicopters circling overhead.
He didn't dare remain any longer.
Scrambling up the bridge's steel framework, the Lizard quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Gwen struggled back to her feet.
She wanted to pursue him, but the distance between them had already grown too great.
Worse still, she could hear the faint sound of approaching police sirens.
Remembering what had happened at the bank earlier that afternoon, Gwen gradually regained her composure.
She couldn't afford to stay.
Clutching her abdomen, where blood was still flowing from the claw wounds, Gwen fired a strand of webbing and swung away from the bridge.
...
'Oscorp!'
Watching his right arm deteriorate completely, Curt Connors felt a single name rise unbidden into his mind.
The Lizard's monstrous form was gradually reverting to that of a human.
He had to return to Oscorp Tower and inject himself with another dose of the serum.
And there was something else he needed to do.
Revenge!
Norman Osborn, the man who treated human lives as though they were worthless, would pay for what he'd done!
CRASH!
The Lizard smashed through the glass curtain wall on the lower floors of Oscorp Tower.
Employees and security personnel unfortunate enough to encounter him were torn apart by his claws.
He staggered toward his laboratory, completely unaware that someone outside the building was quietly watching him.
The observer wore dark-green metal armor and stood upon a flying glider.
"Curt Connors?"
The Green Goblin—or rather, Norman Osborn—stretched his mouth into an exaggerated grin.
His eyes gleamed with excitement and curiosity.
"Well, well. It seems my backup plan was a success..."
"Or perhaps a failure?"
"YEE-HAW!"
Seeing the half-human, half-reptilian Connors about to reach the Lizard Serum, Green Goblin suddenly let out a wild cry.
He dived through the air.
His glider easily shattered the glass wall, carrying him into the laboratory at incredible speed.
Before Connors could react, the Goblin had snatched up an entire case of Lizard Serum!
Seeing his only hope stolen, Connors roared furiously.
His mental state was already extremely unstable.
He reached toward the airborne Goblin, desperately attempting to grab him.
Unfortunately, the serum had almost completely worn off.
His body had already shrunk to approximately normal human height.
How could he possibly reach someone darting around high above him on a flying glider?
Despite his frantic efforts, Connors couldn't even touch the Green Goblin.
Instead, the Goblin repeatedly struck him with razor-sharp projectiles, leaving his body covered in wounds.
"Oh, poor Connors! Just look at you!"
The Goblin mocked him mercilessly.
But when he noticed that Connors's reptilian scales were almost entirely disappearing, he quickly lowered his glider.
He injected Connors with approximately one-third of a syringe of Lizard Serum.
In the Goblin's judgment, that dosage produced the most useful transformation.
Connors would no longer be as indecisive as he normally was, but he also wouldn't become so violently unstable that communication was impossible.
After administering the injection, Green Goblin stepped off his glider.
Then he removed his helmet.
"Osborn?"
Connors stared at him, a low growl rumbling from his throat.
"Oh, I'm so glad you still recognize me!"
Green Goblin looked down at Connors, his voice dripping with amusement.
"Unfortunately, Norman Osborn is dead."
"You should call me..."
"Green Goblin!"
"YOU! DESERVE! TO DIE!"
Connors, still trapped somewhere between human and reptile, unleashed a piercing roar.
Green Goblin ignored the threat.
Instead, he began slowly circling Connors, studying him as he spoke.
"Unstable..."
"It appears your genetic structure, just like mine, is on the verge of collapsing."
He quickly realized that the Lizard Serum was a failure.
In fact, it seemed even less successful than his own performance-enhancement formula.
At least he retained his intelligence and a clear sense of self.
Or so he believed, having convinced himself that he'd already destroyed his former, weak personality.
Connors, on the other hand, had produced a monster incapable of controlling its own actions.
What Green Goblin needed was a genuine cure.
Something that would allow him to retain his newfound power while perfectly stabilizing his genes.
A cure that would free him, Harry, and every future generation of their family from the hereditary disease that had plagued the Osborn bloodline!
And to achieve that...
A name immediately appeared in his mind.
Peter Parker!
Connors's research reports had described in meticulous detail how Peter had helped him complete the decay-rate algorithm.
Because of that information, Green Goblin had become convinced that the young man—or perhaps the research materials left behind by his parents—held the key to saving the Osborn family.
'That's right!'
'It's him!'
In the blink of an eye, a mad plan took shape in Green Goblin's mind.
"Listen to me, you miserable creature!"
Ignoring Connors's growling, Green Goblin began speaking in a voice filled with persuasive enthusiasm.
"We aren't enemies!"
"We're the same now!"
"We're both superior beings who have been abandoned by this world!"
Green Goblin walked toward the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows.
Looking down at the endless streams of traffic outside, he continued his speech.
"Look at them!"
"Those fragile, stupid, insignificant humans!"
"We should rule over these inferior creatures! Enslave them!"
"Perhaps we should even begin transforming them into beings like ourselves, one by one!"
Listening to the Green Goblin's words, Connors instinctively began considering the idea.
'A kingdom populated entirely by Lizard-Men...'
'That doesn't sound so bad.'
"What exactly do you want?" he finally asked.
Hearing that question, Green Goblin's mouth stretched into another enormous grin.
"We need to find Peter Parker immediately!"
"That boy will be the key to opening the door to our new world!"
Chapter 33: Comfort and the Hunt
Tap, tap, tap!
Thanks to the combat experience he'd inherited from Makoto Kyogoku and the enhanced hearing granted by the Lizard Serum, Peter instantly recognized the person approaching his house.
Gwen.
He wasn't particularly surprised by her unexpected visit.
In fact, he'd more or less anticipated it.
Whenever Gwen experienced a serious setback, the person she most wanted to confide in was usually Peter, her childhood friend.
With that in mind, Peter left his bedroom and headed downstairs, pretending he was looking for a late-night snack.
Just as he reached the ground floor, the doorbell rang.
Perfect timing.
Peter turned and opened the front door.
"Gwen?!"
He arranged his face into a suitably surprised expression.
His voice was just loud enough for the two adults listening from the living room to hear.
Almost the instant he called her name, Peter's enhanced hearing picked up the television volume being quietly reduced by several notches.
He couldn't resist rolling his eyes inwardly.
'Uncle Ben, Aunt May, you're both getting on in years. Why are you still such hopeless gossips?'
While Peter was silently complaining about his guardians, Gwen released a long breath of relief.
Then she leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Take me to your bedroom. Don't let Uncle Ben or Aunt May follow us."
Peter nodded knowingly.
His sharp eyes briefly swept across the wounds on Gwen's abdomen.
Then he turned toward the living room and called out, "Aunt May! Uncle Ben! It's Gwen!"
"She's having trouble with a few homework problems, so she came over to ask me for help. I'm taking her upstairs!"
"Oh, and she said she's trying to lose weight lately, so please don't make her anything to eat. She'll get upset!"
In the living room, Ben and May exchanged amused smiles.
Their expressions carried the unmistakable understanding of two adults who thought they knew exactly what was happening.
"Of course, of course! You young people concentrate on your studies. We won't disturb you!"
Uncle Ben gave Peter a mischievous look and raised his eyebrows suggestively.
He even deliberately increased the television's volume afterward.
...
Click.
Only after Peter locked his bedroom door did Gwen finally allow herself to relax.
Her legs nearly gave out beneath her, and she almost collapsed into his arms.
She'd traveled all the way from the Manhattan Bridge while badly injured.
Only she knew how much blood she'd lost along the way.
An ordinary person would probably have gone into shock by now.
Seeing how pale her face had become, Peter didn't waste time asking unnecessary questions.
Instead, he pulled a first-aid kit from beneath his bed.
He'd already prepared it in advance.
After helping Gwen sit on the edge of his bed, he carefully lifted the hem of her shirt.
Three horrifying claw marks stretched across her smooth, pale abdomen.
This was the first time they'd been in such close physical contact under circumstances that crossed their usual boundaries.
Gwen could clearly feel Peter's warm breath brushing against her stomach.
A strange tingling sensation spread around the injured area, making her cheeks grow faintly hot.
"How did this happen?"
Peter asked casually while cleaning the wounds with cotton balls soaked in alcohol.
The stinging sensation made Gwen draw a sharp breath.
"Hiss..."
It also swept away the romantic thoughts that had briefly distracted her.
She took a moment to organize her words before repeating the explanation she'd already prepared.
"Have you seen the reports about what happened on the Manhattan Bridge?"
"I... I happened to be there earlier."
"And I ran into that giant lizard monster..."
Gwen hesitated.
"I saw it trying to kill Ms. Sage. You remember her, right? The secretary from Oscorp we met before."
"I wanted to help her, but then... I got caught up in the fight and was accidentally injured."
Her voice grew quieter.
It was filled with guilt and frustration.
"Later, Ghost-Spider came and saved me..."
"She was really amazing. She managed to drive the monster away."
"But Ms. Sage still died."
Gwen lowered her head.
"Peter, do you think I'm useless?"
"If I'd just been a little braver, maybe I could've saved Ms. Sage..."
Listening to her story, Peter couldn't help commenting inwardly.
'You silly girl. Even now, you can't resist making your superhero identity sound impressive, can you?'
'Aren't you afraid I'll tell you one day that I've fallen in love with that mysterious Ghost-Spider?'
Of course, teasing her in his thoughts was one thing.
Once Peter finished cleaning her injuries, he became serious.
"Gwen, this wasn't your fault."
"You already did everything you could."
"You even got injured trying to help someone. There's no reason to be so hard on yourself."
As he carefully wrapped bandages around her abdomen, Peter continued in a thoughtful, gently guiding tone.
"Think about it."
"That lizard monster deliberately targeted Ms. Sage in the middle of all that chaos."
"Doesn't that suggest something?"
Gwen looked up.
Peter continued, "It suggests that this probably wasn't a random attack. He may have been trying to settle a personal grudge."
"If killing Sage was his objective from the beginning, then even if you—or Ghost-Spider—had saved her temporarily, he could've simply attacked other people on the bridge to distract you."
"Then, while you were occupied rescuing them, he could've gone back to finish what he'd started."
"So you really don't need to blame yourself for everything that happened."
"As long as you know you did everything you reasonably could, that's enough."
Peter's reassurance gradually eased the burden weighing on Gwen's heart.
At the same time, his explanation made her reconsider several details she'd previously overlooked.
Suddenly, a name flashed through her mind.
'Dr. Connors!'
If her suspicions were correct...
'Doesn't that mean Oscorp might still be in danger?!'
"I understand now, Peter. Thank you!"
By the time Peter finished bandaging her wounds, Gwen had already made up her mind.
She didn't dare linger.
After thanking him sincerely, she hurriedly explained that her father might discover she'd sneaked out of the house.
Then she left and rushed home.
Watching Gwen disappear into the darkness, Peter immediately understood what she intended to do.
She was almost certainly planning to investigate Oscorp.
After a brief hesitation, he quietly followed her.
He knew that, considering how much time had passed, Dr. Connors had probably already left with the Lizard Serum.
Even if Gwen rushed over immediately, she was unlikely to find him.
Nevertheless, Gwen was still injured.
And the Lizard, after receiving another dose of the serum, would likely be in an extremely unstable state, incapable of recognizing friends or family.
If Gwen encountered him again, something disastrous might happen.
Peter wasn't willing to take that risk.
As he'd expected, Gwen's investigation of Oscorp proved fruitless.
She found no trace of the Lizard.
In the end, she could only leave in disappointment.
However, neither Gwen nor Peter realized that someone had been watching.
As Gwen swung away from Oscorp Tower, two pairs of eyes followed her retreating figure from the darkness of the executive office on the top floor.
"Oh? So there really is another one of our kind."
Beneath his helmet, Green Goblin struggled to suppress an increasingly delighted grin.
He watched Gwen disappear into the distance, his eyes filled with greed.
He was certain that this girl calling herself Ghost-Spider was a perfect specimen.
"You should've let me capture her," Connors complained from beside him.
"No. Acting now would only alert our prey."
Green Goblin's eyes gleamed with calculation.
A plan that could accomplish two objectives at once rapidly took shape in his mind.
"Instead of frightening them off tonight, why don't we arrange a little surprise tomorrow?"
"We'll visit Midtown High School, where Peter Parker studies."
"And then..."
Green Goblin smiled.
"We'll simply wait for our prey to come to us!"
Chapter 34: The Arbiter Returns
The following morning was bright and sunny.
As usual, Midtown High School was filled with the noise and energy of teenage students.
Groups of students wandered through the corridors, chatting about last night's game or discussing their upcoming exams.
None of them realized that an enormous crisis was quietly approaching.
BOOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted above the school!
Green Goblin descended from the sky on his glider.
The pumpkin bombs in his hands exploded across the athletic field, leaving two enormous craters behind.
Before the students could even understand what was happening, he let out a wild cackle and charged straight into the school building!
As he went, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Peter Parker! Oh, Peter Parker!"
"Where are you hiding, my good boy?"
At almost the same moment, a beastlike roar erupted from one of the restrooms.
Dr. Connors, who'd spent the entire night hiding in the sewers, burst out through the bathroom.
The two supervillains began rampaging through the school, destroying everything in their path.
Whenever they encountered a student alone, they demanded the same thing.
"Where is Peter Parker?!"
...
Inside the chemistry laboratory, Peter stared at the Green Goblin soaring around outside the window.
For a moment, his brain seemed to stop working.
'What's that flying through the sky?'
'A bird? A cloud?'
'No! That's the fucking Green Goblin!'
'I've seen everything there is to see—'
Peter mentally crossed out that thought.
'Okay, no. I definitely haven't seen anything like THIS before!'
'Seriously, what the hell?!'
'Wasn't I supposed to be dealing with the Lizard?'
'Where did the Green Goblin suddenly come from?!'
Peter had to admit that the Goblin's unexpected appearance had taught him an important lesson.
From this day forward, he would never again trust the supposed timeline of when a supervillain was meant to appear!
...
"Peter! Run!"
Felicia Hardy, who'd been attending physical education class, came rushing toward the laboratory.
She was panting heavily as she shouted through the window.
"There's some freak outside trying to kidnap you!"
'Damn it!'
Almost simultaneously with Felicia's warning, Gwen realized something was terribly wrong.
She glanced at the seemingly bewildered Peter standing beside her.
Then she looked at their classmates, who were already panicking.
Gwen immediately made a decision.
"Peter! Come with me! It's too dangerous here!"
"No!"
Peter pulled his hand out of Gwen's grasp.
Then he spoke with an expression of solemn determination.
"You heard that guy outside! He's looking for me!"
"If I stay here, everyone else will be safe!"
"Gwen, you need to go!"
"As long as you contact the police quickly enough, I'm sure I'll be fine!"
Gwen froze for a moment.
But after considering his words, she quickly realized that his suggestion was indeed the most reasonable course of action.
"Then make sure you find somewhere safe to hide!"
After giving that instruction, she hurried out of the chemistry laboratory.
She had to change into her costume as quickly as possible.
Only then would she have a chance of saving Peter!
"Ah-ha! There you are, my good boy!"
Less than a minute after Gwen left, Green Goblin came crashing through the laboratory wall on his flying glider.
His deranged laughter reached Peter before the villain himself even entered the room.
Peter didn't bother being polite.
He immediately grabbed a beaker filled with chemicals and hurled it toward the Goblin!
BOOM!
The beaker struck the wall beside Green Goblin.
The violent impact caused the chemical mixture inside to explode.
The blast was powerful enough that it nearly knocked Green Goblin straight off his glider!
"Oh? So you're pretty good at chemistry, too!"
Green Goblin chuckled mockingly.
He clearly didn't take Peter's little trick seriously.
But just as he was about to rush forward and capture the boy...
A figure in a black-and-white superhero suit suddenly swung into the laboratory on a strand of webbing!
Ghost-Spider had arrived!
She delivered a powerful kick directly into Green Goblin's back, knocking him off his glider.
Then she turned toward Peter.
"Leave this to me! You need to run!"
Unfortunately, her impressive entrance lasted less than three seconds.
A massive tail suddenly smashed through the wall on the opposite side of the laboratory!
Gwen failed to dodge in time.
BANG!
The tail struck her and sent her flying across the room.
Dr. Connors, now fully transformed into the Lizard, demolished the remaining wall and charged in from the neighboring classroom.
Meanwhile, Green Goblin had already climbed back onto his glider.
He couldn't resist providing some theatrical commentary.
"You irritating little bug! Your time has come!"
'Hiss...'
Gwen drew a sharp breath.
The claw wounds she'd suffered the previous night seemed to have started bleeding again.
But there was no time to worry about that now.
If she wanted Peter to escape alive, she had to keep these two monsters occupied.
Gwen immediately fired a strand of webbing toward a nearby metal cabinet.
Once the webbing attached itself, she seized it with both hands.
Then she swung the enormous cabinet like a wrecking ball!
CRASH!
The heavy metal cabinet slammed into the two villains, sending them both flying backward.
"Just a friendly reminder!"
Gwen shouted.
"Bugs and spiders aren't the same thing!"
"Tch! Let's hope your fighting skills are as impressive as that mouth of yours!"
Green Goblin, who'd now been knocked around twice, gave an irritated snort.
He immediately hurled several razor-sharp projectiles toward Gwen.
Thanks to her Spider-Sense, Gwen managed to twist and dodge, avoiding every one of the blades.
But before she could catch her breath, the Lizard charged toward her with a ferocious roar.
The two villains launched a vicious, coordinated assault.
And Gwen, already suffering from injuries, was battered from one direction to another like a spinning top.
...
Neither Green Goblin nor the Lizard noticed that Peter had quietly slipped away while their attention was focused on Ghost-Spider.
But rather than running downstairs, Peter calmly turned and entered the men's restroom.
The moment he stepped inside, the panic and confusion vanished from his face.
They were replaced by absolute calm and indifference.
"Well, this hasn't gone exactly as expected."
"But everything's still more or less under control."
Peter's eyes narrowed.
"Now then..."
"It's time to put things back on track!"
...
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Gwen was already a rookie superhero, and the injuries she'd sustained the previous night only made matters worse.
After exchanging merely a few attacks with the two supervillains, she was knocked to the ground.
A relentless storm of blows followed.
Her slender body was sent crashing down again and again.
Sometimes the explosions from Green Goblin's pumpkin bombs threw her across the room.
Other times, the Lizard's overwhelming physical strength forced her into a desperate retreat.
As the failures piled up, Gwen's determination gradually began to waver.
'This is too hard!'
'Dealing with either of these monsters alone would already be incredibly difficult!'
'And now I'm supposed to fight both of them at once?!'
'This is just bullying!'
Just as Gwen's despair was growing, something unexpected happened.
Both Green Goblin and the Lizard suddenly felt an inexplicable chill!
At that exact moment, a calm voice sounded nearby.
"Rookie, it looks like you could use some help."
To Gwen, those words sounded like music from heaven.
She instinctively turned toward the speaker.
And sure enough, there it was.
That familiar yet still mysterious black-and-red suit!
The Arbiter had arrived!
"Where the hell did this guy come from?"
Green Goblin, who paid little attention to street-level news, turned toward the Lizard in confusion.
Unfortunately, Connors had already lost most of his ability to communicate.
Instead of answering, he unleashed a beastlike roar and charged straight at Peter.
Peter didn't bother dodging.
He simply turned toward Gwen and smiled.
"Rookie, I'll leave that clown over there to you for now."
"Give me one minute."
"In sixty seconds, I'll come help you."
His outrageously arrogant declaration left Gwen, Green Goblin, and even the Lizard momentarily dumbfounded.
'Has this guy lost his mind?!'
He was facing a monster more than ten feet long, one that could demolish a building without much difficulty.
And he was claiming that he'd only need one minute to finish the fight?
"ROOOAR!"
Realizing that he was being underestimated, the Lizard immediately raised his enormous claws.
He intended to tear this insignificant little human apart!
But what happened next left everyone staring in disbelief.
One hand.
The Arbiter, dressed in his black-and-red suit, used only one hand to catch the Lizard's descending claws!
And then...
BOOOOM!
Before Gwen's and Green Goblin's astonished eyes, Peter executed a movement resembling a shoulder throw.
With a single clean motion, he sent the enormous monster crashing to the ground!
Chapter 35: More Humiliating Than Painful
'How dare he call me a clown?!'
Green Goblin had initially been furious when Peter referred to him that way.
He'd been preparing to teach the insolent stranger a lesson he'd never forget.
But when he watched Peter casually knock the Lizard to the ground with a single move, completely disregarding the enormous difference in their sizes...
The look in Green Goblin's eyes immediately became much more sober.
'Uh...'
'On second thought, being called a clown isn't really that big of a deal.'
...
Meanwhile, the Lizard, who'd been thrown onto the floor, felt as though his brain had stopped working.
'Did I just...'
'Get knocked down by a human?'
Because of the influence of his reptilian genes, Dr. Connors's thought processes had become rather unusual.
He instinctively considered ordinary humans inferior creatures.
Only the Lizard-Men deserved to be regarded as superior beings!
Yet now, a noble Lizard-Man had been knocked flat by one of those inferior humans!
The realization filled him with uncontrollable rage.
He unleashed a threatening growl and began struggling to his feet on all fours.
At the same time, his thick, muscular tail swept sideways like a steel whip!
The attack tore through the air with a terrifying whistle.
It carried enough force to send a car weighing more than a ton flying!
But faced with this devastating strike, Peter's expression remained unchanged.
He simply raised his right hand.
Then, before the incredulous eyes of the Lizard, Green Goblin, and Gwen, who was watching from some distance away, Peter casually caught the enormous tail in his palm!
The tremendous kinetic energy seemed to vanish the instant the tail touched his hand.
It was like throwing a stone into an endless ocean.
Peter's body didn't move an inch!
"What?!"
Disbelief filled the Lizard's vertical pupils.
'How is this possible?!'
'How can such a tiny human casually stop my strength?!'
But before he could recover from his astonishment, Peter suddenly tightened his grip.
"Time for takeoff~"
The next instant, the Lizard felt an irresistible force pulling against his tail.
His enormous body, weighing several tons, was lifted directly off the ground!
Whoooooosh!
Peter swung the monstrous creature through the air like a hammer thrower launching his hammer.
The Lizard traced a perfect arc across the room.
BOOOOOOM!
A reinforced concrete wall shattered as though it had been made of paper!
The Lizard's enormous body crashed into the corridor beyond.
The impact demolished the concrete section of the corridor's railing, while the metal guardrail above it was bent completely out of shape by the tremendous force.
"H-how is this possible?!"
Gwen stared at the scene, her mind going blank.
She'd exhausted herself just trying to survive against that monster.
Yet now, the guy calling himself the Arbiter was casually swinging it around like a toy!
'Is this guy...'
'Is he even human?!'
"ROOOAR!"
The Lizard shook his dazed head and unleashed another furious roar.
As a creature possessing physical strength comparable to Peter's, he wasn't going to be defeated by two simple moves.
Rage overwhelmed the last remnants of his rationality.
Abandoning all restraint, he threw himself toward Peter again, relying purely on his most primitive instincts.
His razor-sharp claws tore through the air, striking with deadly force.
His thick tail also swept toward Peter again, threatening to fold his body in half like a smartphone!
But Peter remained perfectly calm in the face of the Lizard's reckless assault.
He shifted sideways and effortlessly avoided the tail.
"Want to get a little exercise?"
Peter smiled.
"Fine. I'll play with you for a while!"
As he spoke, his fists began moving.
They left a succession of blurred afterimages in the air!
Gwen was still fighting Green Goblin, desperately dodging his pumpkin bombs while trying to keep him occupied.
When she noticed Peter's actions, her heart nearly leaped into her throat.
'Has he gone crazy?!'
'He's actually abandoning his superior fighting techniques to trade punches directly with that monster?!'
'Doesn't he understand how dangerous that is?!'
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Just as those thoughts crossed Gwen's mind, the dull sounds of fists striking flesh began echoing through the ruined corridor.
She instinctively turned to look.
And what she saw left her stunned.
The Arbiter really was exchanging attacks directly with the Lizard!
Yet he appeared utterly relaxed, as though the fight required no effort whatsoever.
No.
It wasn't merely that he appeared relaxed.
He genuinely wasn't feeling any pressure!
The bastard even found time to stretch out an arm and yawn!
That gesture didn't cause much physical damage.
But the humiliation was devastating!
The Lizard's yellowish-brown eyes gradually turned completely bloodred.
He began attacking Peter with almost mindless fury.
Their confrontation reduced the corridor to rubble.
Huge craters appeared across the floor wherever their blows landed.
The walls and classrooms they passed were torn apart, one after another.
Down on the athletic field, the evacuated high school students had initially been so frightened that they could barely breathe.
But as the battle continued and the destruction grew increasingly spectacular, something strange happened.
The students began cheering!
After all, the Arbiter and that giant lizard were currently demolishing their school!
It was practically a dream come true!
What student hadn't occasionally fantasized about blowing up their school so they'd never have to attend another class?
And now that fantasy was becoming reality right before their eyes!
Every additional punch the Arbiter or the Lizard landed against a nearby classroom might mean another day off school!
Some of the seniors were even beginning to wonder whether they could simply stay home until graduation.
Imagine that!
No more classes.
No more exams to worry about at school.
Just an extended vacation all the way until graduation!
What could possibly be better?
"THAT'S SO COOL! ARBITER, DO ME A FAVOR! PUNCH THE CLASSROOM NEXT TO YOU!"
"NICE! I LOVE YOU, ARBITER! I WANNA HAVE YOUR BABIES!"
By this point, Peter and the Lizard had demolished almost an entire floor of the school building.
And the Lizard's movements were beginning to slow.
Noticing the change, Peter decided to add a little verbal humiliation to the beating.
"Hey, seriously?"
"I haven't even started trying yet, and you're already running out of steam?"
"YOU INSIGNIFICANT HUMAN!"
The Lizard roared angrily.
"STOP RUNNING YOUR MOUTH!"
Unfortunately for him, the fact that he could deliver such a coherent response was itself proof that he was weakening.
If the serum were still exerting its full effects, he wouldn't have been capable of speaking so clearly.
"Running my mouth?"
Peter gave a cold laugh.
The next instant, his body transformed into a black-and-red blur!
BOOOOM!
A straight punch struck the Lizard directly in the abdomen like a heavy artillery shell!
Caught completely off guard, the monster took the full force of the blow.
His tough scales shattered beneath Peter's fist.
His eyes bulged so violently that they looked ready to pop out of their sockets!
"And I'm not finished yet!"
Peter gave the airborne Lizard no opportunity to recover.
He stamped heavily against the floor and launched himself forward at astonishing speed.
Then—
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
A relentless barrage of ordinary punches erupted from his fists!
The Lizard felt like a tiny boat caught in a raging storm.
His massive body had become little more than an oversized punching bag.
He couldn't find even the slightest opportunity to retaliate.
All he could do was stagger backward under Peter's endless assault as the repeated cries of "ORA!" echoed through the corridor.
After taking an unknown number of blows—certainly hundreds—his body finally crashed into the rubble.
His joints were twisted out of shape.
The monstrous reptilian form had completely shrunk back to normal human size.
Dr. Connors struggled to rise from the wreckage.
He tried once.
Failed.
Tried again.
And again.
But no matter how hard he struggled, his body refused to cooperate.
Finally, his vision went black.
He lost consciousness completely.
Dr. Curt Connors, the Lizard...
Was no longer capable of fighting!
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