Everything was in place. The trap was set, Max had been dealt with, and Peter had zeroed in on Doctor Connors thanks to the police radio he had snatched. All that was left was to trap and cure him, then he could focus his attention on the biggest problem of them all. He had only one shot at leading him into the trap, if he put a foot wrong the whole plan would be foiled. He couldn't be seen yet, and so kept to the wall, crawling along slowly, precisely, observing his foe as he waited for the right time. 

It came around sooner than he expected. Within seconds Peter realized exactly where Connors was headed. The playful laughter and screams of children drew closer, all of them so blissfully unaware of the imminent danger mere meters away. He needed no further confirmation, and webbed over to the next building. From there, he adjusted his aim, shot another web and swooped down, cutting Connors’ path. 

“Sorry, that might be a park but it's not about to become Jurassic.” He quipped. 

“Parker!” Doctor Connors spat, as though the name left a bad taste in his mouth. 

“Connors.” Peter greeted in return, hiding a smug smile beneath his mask. 

“Do you have a death wish or something?” 

“Or something.” He shrugged. 

“How pathetic!” Connors scoffed. 

“Bite me, Barney.” 

As the words passed his lips, Connors swished his tail violently and Peter jumped back to avoid being knocked over. Just like he'd hoped, the Lizard advanced towards him, confirming that he would likely give chase if he were to run. When he flicked his tail again, Peter webbed over to the nearest wall and waited until his foe started charging for the building to web over to the opposite one. Connors came to a halt, inches away from leaving a lizard shaped, dinosaur sized hole in the wall, and turned around sharply. By the time he reached the building, Peter had already sprung to another. He kept this up for a few minutes, webbing from wall to wall until he was ready, then swung down again and shot an ice web at Connors, temporarily blindsiding him. The Lizard shrieked, clawing at the ice that stuck in and around his eyes and Peter took the opportunity to bind his legs together using regular webs, and with one swift, harsh yank, Connors lost his balance. 

Peter leapt out of the way as his foe came crashing to the ground. It wasn't over yet though. He waited, watching as Connors finally broke the iced webs over his eyes, and when the latter managed to get back on his feet, Peter started running. As he had hoped, the Lizard gave chase. Before long the wailing of police sirens chimed in with the commotion and a brief look back over his shoulder confirmed that there were at least two cars in pursuit of them. He had to lose them before leading Connors to Oscorp, and before they called for backup. Too much attention and it was game over. 

With that in mind, Peter turned a sharp corner, taking him in a completely different direction. Both the Lizard and the two cop cruisers made the turn after him. He didn't really have an idea of what he would do next, this situation hadn't occurred to him while he'd been thinking up the plan. Though in hindsight, he probably should have expected as much. He would need to find a way to ditch the cops before going anywhere near Oscorp. 

Straight up ahead there was a bridge, and as he raced on towards it, he had an idea. Peter kept running until he neared the middle of the bridge and rather abruptly whirled around, then started running towards Connors and the cops. At exactly the right moment, as the former attempted to catch him, he ducked down and slid effortlessly through the Lizard's legs and hauled himself up to the top of the bridge on a web. Below he could see the cop cruisers come to a skidding halt, tires screeching against the asphalt, missing Connors by little more than a couple inches. He watched patiently as the cops poked their heads out of the windows, dumbfounded over his disappearing act, and slowly lowered himself behind them on another web, hanging upside down, leaving them completely unaware of his position. Gripping the web with his feet, Peter freed both his hands and then shot two more webs at the cars. He made sure to triple them, and then ascended back up the web that he was perched on, lifting both cruisers off the road as he went and tied both webs to the support beams of the bridge once he reached the top, leaving the cars dangling mid-air. After making sure they would hold, he slid back down the web and leapt off of the top of the first cruiser, curling himself into a ball and rolling back onto his feet when he landed on the ground behind Connors.

“That's better, just you and me now, old fossil.” 

“And this is where the Lizard squishes the spider.”

“Hmm, we'll see about that.” 

Peter moved before Connors could react, taking off back the way he'd come and prompting the latter to chase him. Without the hindrance of cops, it was easier to cut a clean path towards Oscorp. Their game of tag was over before it had really begun as they reached the parking lot. Using the front entrance to the building was far too risky. Not only with the possibility of being caught, but there was also the risk of setting off alarms and being picked up on the security cameras. At the back of the building, those chances were lesser. He waited until Connors had almost reached him and then burst through the fire exit, shooting a web at both security cameras to block them, and another at the alarm before it could make a sound. 

The Lizard barged through barely a second after without any regards to the dangers, and Peter sidestepped, pressing his back flat against the wall to avoid being barrelled into. Beside him, the door slammed shut and the sound echoed throughout the hallway. Peter's heart thudded in his chest. It was one thing to have led Connors to the trap, but it was another entirely to be almost in it with him. If he screwed up now, he had everything to lose. Everything depended on him. 

He knew he had to instigate. It was the only way to force Connors into the corner where he needed him. There was too little room for a slingshot move or any of his other tricks, giving him no choice but to attack head on. Peter drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, relieving himself of any doubt he had been holding onto. With no hesitation, he pushed himself off of the wall and sprang towards the Lizard, leaping in the air and landing a kick square in his chest. He dropped back on his feet, finding his balance with ease, and whirled around hastily to shoot several ice webs, not missing a single beat. As Connors’ movement slowed, eventually stopping altogether due to the frost of the webs, Peter saw his chance and took it. 

Snatching one of the worthless reprints off the wall, he took a running jump, smashing the painting over the Lizard's head. He jumped back when the latter took a swipe at him, narrowly avoiding having his chest shredded, and ducked down to avoid another hit. Getting hurt would be a bigger hindrance than even the cops had been, only slowing him down when he needed to be faster. But without taking a risk, he was stuck in a cycle of dodging blows and making feeble moves that did little damage, and did nothing to lead Connors towards the trap. 

Peter advanced towards him again, picking up speed to avoid several hits that would have dealt great damage. As the Lizard took another swing, Peter grabbed his arm and pushed himself into the air, landing in a crouch on the reptile's shoulders. Before Connors could shake him off, he slammed his fingers down on both web shooters and started to crawl in a spider-like manner all over him, covering his scaled green skin in thick layers of web. The ice around Connors’ feet began to crack as he thrashed and flailed, trying and failing to land a single hit. Eventually, with one swift jerking motion, he managed to throw him off. Peter jabbed the web shooter again as he flew through the air, instantly discovering that he was fresh out of them as his back hit the heavy metal doors with a sickening crack and he crash landed on the floor. 

He didn't feel a thing at first besides the tingling in his left arm, but the numbness quickly gave way to overwhelming pain that shot up his arm and spread through his shoulder blades and spine. A little further down the hall, the Lizard was still stuck within the webs, not having broken through any of them from what he could see. That gave him a small fraction of time to gather himself. Peter swallowed, grimacing at the discomfort, and grit his teeth as he rolled over onto his stomach and forced himself back on his feet. It took several breaths for the pain to subside, and even then it didn't completely stop, but rather than dwelling on it, he pushed himself forward. 

Discarded against the wall there was a metal serving trolley, giving him an idea. Instead of charging at Connors head on, and risking another injury, he ran for the trolley instead and pushed it with as much force as he could manage. He didn't bother slowing down as he rammed the trolley into the Lizard, causing the latter to lose balance and land directly on top of it. Trapped by the webs and unable to get up, Connors remained on his back on the trolley as Peter continued to run with it. 

Though heavier with an oversized reptile on top, Peter managed to get the trolley all the way to the ground floor room where, only a short time ago, they'd held him. It had been a fairly smooth process so far, but it wasn't over just yet. He still had to get Connors into the tube and activate the vents to shower him with the cure, and after having held out long enough to make it that far, the webs that bound him were beginning to tear. Before he had the chance to make a move, all of the webs ripped apart, freeing the Lizard and allowing him to get off of the trolley with little effort.

“Uhh… have a nice ride?” Peter attempted to joke, though he couldn't quite find his humour. 

“Not so much, but it's a consolation prize to know that it's the end of the line for you, Peter!” 

In a sudden movement, Connors lunged forward with the intention of attacking. Peter stumbled back to avoid the blow, and swerved out of the way of another. He managed to block and dodge several more times until he slipped, jumping at the wrong time and being knocked flat on his back with a flick of the Lizard's tail. He rolled over onto his stomach just as the latter swung his hand, causing his claws to slice through his back instead. Tears of pain pricked Peter's eyes and he blinked them away with difficulty, clenching his jaw to keep from screaming. As Connors came at him, he sprang back to his feet and leapt up to the ceiling to stay out of range. He crawled along cautiously, prompting the Lizard to follow along below, waiting for when he would drop back down; a moment that never came. While he was busy staring up at Peter, he didn't realize that he had walked straight onto a small black platform. 

Peter moved an inch further and then dropped down, slamming his hand down on a big red button that brought down a cylinder of impenetrable glass around the Lizard. Despite the pain he was in, a wide grin broke across his face as he flipped a switch and watched the vents inside the tube open, and the cure he had fed into them earlier rained down over Connors. 

“Well, you were right; it is the end of the line. Just not for me.” He shrugged, and winced at the surge of pain. “Have fun behind those bars again, freak!” 

With all things said and done, Peter strode calmly over to the fire alarm and jabbed the button. As it started to wail, he sprinted for the door and bolted back down the hall towards the fire exit that he'd entered through. 

Gwen's smile fell from her face, staring in complete and utter disbelief at the state of the bedroom. Everything was everywhere. Mud painted the bed sheets brown, shredded polaroids and paper plastered the floor, and the carpet stained red next to a plastic cup it had been spilled from. In the center of all the mess, Simon sat. She had been gone from the room for only a matter of minutes while preparing the ingredients to make some dinner. The pizza boxes she held in both hands slipped from her grasp and landed on the floor with a dull thud as she tried to take it all on.

“What have you… Simon, why would you do all this?”

Instead of providing an answer, Simon remained silent with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Gwen waited, with her arms folded across her chest, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. 

“Well?” She prompted. “Last chance to explain yourself. If not then you get no desert after dinner and you're grounded for the week.” 

The twinkle in Simon's eyes faded as he scowled and stood up, revealed to also be covered in mud. “You can't do that.”

“Oh, I absolutely can do that and I will if you don't explain yourself.” 

“I was bored.” He shrugged.

“Bored?” She repeated, eyes wide in surprise. “And you think that it's okay to trash this room, which you're not even supposed to enter without permission, just for that reason?”

“Why not? It's not like you can do anything.”

“Is that so?” She questioned. “Right, well I don't know why you're behaving so appallingly, but since you seem to believe that then you can go to the bathroom and wash yourself up, then you are having your dinner and going straight to bed after that. There will be no TV for you tonight or tomorrow night, and no desert either. Consider this a lesson.” 

At this, Simon laughed. “You can't punish me, you have no power over me. You're not my mom, thankfully.” 

“Okay, that's it. Go get cleaned up and be downstairs for dinner within an hour, you've just lost TV privileges for the week!”

“This sucks, I hate it here!” 

“Maybe you should have thought about that before behaving like an animal.” 

Without giving much of a response, Simon stormed out of the room, brushing off her as he did. Left alone with the mess, Gwen heaved a sigh and dragged herself into the room, unsure of where to start with the clean up. 

Peter flexed his fingers, examining his wrist as he finished adjusting his refilled web shooter. He hadn't attempted to swing yet, but he could tell it would be a painful experience with the scratches on his back. That, and the fact that after putting as much distance between himself and Oscorp as possible, he'd popped his shoulder back into place. Going after Venom would be risky, but it would also be worth it. He had told Gwen in his note that he wouldn't be home until it was all over, and he'd meant it. 

He took a couple of steps, mentally bracing himself, and then launched a web at a building, using it to throw himself into the air. It didn't hurt quite as much as he thought it would, making the pain fairly easy to ignore as he swung along. 

Finding Eddie was easy. Peter had managed to track him down within minutes, locating him outside one of the bars he circled on a regular basis. Approaching him, however, was another thing. There were things that needed to be taken into consideration, including making sure that no innocent people became casualties. Instead of going straight in for the attack, Peter waited. He followed Eddie, keeping his distance to ensure that he would not be noticed, all the way to a derelict building site. Once he was certain there was nobody else in the area, he lowered himself down to the ground from a web, stopping Eddie in his tracks. 

“Miss me?” He quipped, wobbling his eyerbrows beneath his mask.

“Parker!” 

“In the flesh.” He confirmed casually. 

“What are you doing here? Did you learn nothing from your last beating?” 

“Enough of the interrogation.” He barked. “This feud between us ends now!”