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Angering a monster and not leaving immediately? That's a great way to get eaten.
Even Peter took a second to process how close they'd come.
"Thank God," Aunt May breathed, a silent prayer slipping out.
Uncle Ben checked his watch. "May, call Sylas down, Lunch is ready."
"Oh! Lunch!" May grabbed the banister and called up the stairs. "Sylas! Sylas!"
"Coming, Aunt May!" Sylas answered, jogging down.
"Table's set," May said.
"On it." Sylas fell in beside her as they descended.
The TV was still running live coverage of the Midtown incident. Sylas caught a line from the anchor and blinked. He hadn't realized the count had been updated to three students dead.
"Those two kids' parents…" May's voice thinned. "They must be devastated."
Ben squeezed her hand. "I'm just grateful our boys got away with scrapes."
Peter stretched, testing his back. "Feels… way better, actually."
"Careful," Ben warned. "Don't pull the dressing loose."
He paused Peter's bruises already looked lighter.
"Lunch!" May called from the dining table.
"Coming! I'm starving," Peter said, springing up despite himself.
Sylas was just as hungry. They took their seats.
"Dig in," Ben said, and knives and forks went to work.
Mid-meal, the newscaster cut in:
"Breaking security confirms a Lizard sighting inside Oscorp Tower. The creature is currently contained on the upper floors. Nearby residents should avoid the area."
Ben stood to switch off the TV.
"Wait—Uncle Ben, can we leave it on?" Peter asked a little too fast. "Could be important."
Ben considered, then sat again. "Alright."
"Evacuations continue," the anchor added. "Most personnel are out, but some senior staff remain trapped on the upper levels."
Peter shoveled two quick bites, dabbed his mouth with a napkin. "I'm done!"
"Done? I thought you were 'starving,'" May said, suspicious.
Peter froze, then improvised. "Right—uh—promised a friend I'd grab lunch with them and I'm running late."
May frowned. "But—"
"It's fine," Ben cut in gently. "Let him go."
"Thanks, Uncle Ben!" Peter grabbed his backpack and headed for the door.
His stomach flipped Ben had definitely put two and two together.
"I'm gonna hit the restroom," Sylas said, standing.
In the hallway bathroom, he opened the window and whispered, "Move."
Twenty [Shadow Ninja] spilled from the darkness, one after another, vanishing into the alley's light shafts. He washed his hands, dried them, and returned to the table like nothing had happened.
---
Alleyway
Peter ducked into the nearest alley, checked both ends, then ripped open his bag. In seconds, the suit was on and the mask was down. Spider-Man fired a webline and swung hard toward Oscorp.
---
Oscorp – Sub-Basement Lab
"You're telling me a lizard has taken my building?" Norman Osborn snarled.
"Y-yes, sir," the aide stammered.
Norman brought up the live security feeds. On the upper floors, the Lizard prowled through a lab, sweeping vials and components into a case like he knew exactly what he wanted.
"This is my company," Norman snapped. "What are our people doing, applauding?"
"Police have the tower surrounded. Our men can't move freely without drawing fire."
Norman stepped in close, eyes cold. "This is my turf. I will not be upstaged by a reptile in my own house."
The aide swallowed. "Understood." He hustled off to rally a private response team.
Norman's gaze slid to the armored exosuit racked on the wall. He wasn't ready to wear it yet. He needed that serum finished first.
---
Upper Floors
"This. And this."
The Lizard tossed reagents into a silver case, talons clicking across glassware.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Gunfire cracked. Shells skittered across tile.
A half-dozen suited men with carbines fanned out—and did nothing but ding scales. Bullets flattened and fell.
"Where's Norman, little mice?" the Lizard hissed.
Downstairs, Norman stiffened. He knows me?
The Lizard stalked straight through the fire, seized the nearest gunman, and tore him apart. Panic broke the line.
"Run!" someone screamed.
He dropped the case, unshackled by weight, and ripped through them with tail and claw.
In under a minute, it was over. Silence. Blood. Shattered glass.
The Lizard flicked gore from his tail, grabbed the case, and turned to leave—
"Going somewhere, Gatorade?" Spider-Man hit the landing, double-webbed the Lizard's ankles, and yanked. The creature crashed down; the silver case skidded, spinning out across the floor.
The Lizard shredded the webs and lunged for it.
"You want this so badly?" Spider-Man snapped out a line, yoinked the case into his hands, and hugged it to his chest.
The Lizard's eyes glowed a poisonous green. "Give it back."
"Yeah, that's a no. Stealing is bad, kids," Spidey quipped, tossing a thumb toward the shelves. "We return property to where we found it."
"Die, insect."
The Lizard coiled and sprang. Peter had no room—he brought the case up as a shield.
THUMP!
The metal crumpled, Vials burst, Fluids poured across the floor, colors swirling as they mixed.
"No—NO!"
The Lizard dropped to his knees, scooping at the slick with both hands. It streamed through scaled fingers to the tiles.
"Sorry," Peter said, not sorry at all.
The Lizard rose slowly, voice a guttural growl. "Spider-Man… I didn't hunt you. You hunted me. Why keep ruining my work?"
"If you stop hurting people, turn yourself in, and cooperate, I'll disappear," Peter said evenly. "You have my word."
The Lizard's smile showed too many teeth. "Delusional." He planted a foot, twisted—
WHIP!
His tail scythed for Peter's ribs.
Peter vaulted, the tail obliterating concrete instead. KRAK—a spiderweb of cracks clawed across the wall.
"Close one," Peter breathed. That's another round of antiseptic if that hits…
Neither combatant saw the shadows peel from the ceiling above the trapped employees one by one, silent figures in ink-black armor swaddled people and ferried them away, stepping through slivers of darkness that weren't there a heartbeat before.
The [Shadow Ninjas] moved with purpose. Justice Points don't wait.
At the Parker home, Sylas kept eating like a model citizen. When the plates were cleared, it would be his turn to move. His orders were already issued: if the Lizard bolted, the [Shadow Ninja] were to track and report and keep reporting until Sylas arrived.
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