THE WORD AROUND is that college is all about cracking the books and all-nighters in the library. But that's not entirely true. For most, it's all about the festivities. The fun, fun, fun!

Y/N looked out the lab window, seeing students that evening wearing costumes and walking around, joyful and laughing amongst their peers. There were also some booths giving out snacks, candies, and drinks. A few groups also had music playing from their speakers.

A well known frat house at ESU was hosting costume party. People were ready to attend and celebrate. But not Y/N. He was to himself in his professor's lab, helping him with a lesson plan.

Y/N would consider him a single fun kind of guy...without the exclamation point at the end—just fun.

"Mr. L/N?" Dr. Connors called out from the table. "What's going on?"

"Oh." Y/N looked back. "Nothing, sir."

He pushed himself from the window back to the nearby table while on his swivel chair. Y/N resumed typing on his laptop. Connors walked up to him.

"I hope you're not thinking you'd rather be out there having mindless enjoyment instead of helping with the upcoming lesson plan in cell regeneration."

"No, sir. I was just about to check the regeneration rate."

"You say it like you're checking your email." He leaned in and checked the screen. "Have I not made it clear the importance of this experiment?"

"No, I get it, sir." He replied. "Reptilian DNA somehow can program cells to reconstruct missing appendages."

"Legs. Skin." Connors walked back to an enclosure by the window. "Chlamydosaurus kingii—the frilled lizard."

Y/N joined him and looked at the reptile. The scientist continued.

"Attacked by a predator, it'll leave its tail behind so it can escape, only to grow a new one later."

"Huh. Interesting feature." Y/N replied.

Connors turned around. "And?"

"And I suppose if a man could do that..."

"You're finally getting it."

Connors lifted his right arm, showing the prosthetic he had gotten a few months ago. He gazed at it.

"What would someone like me give to regenerate my arm?" He added. "An accident takes it away...and an injection of hybrid DNA brings it back."

Seconds later, a timer goes off. It lets Connors know to move into the next step in the process.

"Time to incrementalize the enzyme reagent. How's it holding?"

Y/N sat back down and looked at his laptop screen.

"Cellular regeneration is at a rate of...two to the third power every 10 seconds."

"My God..." Connors walked back to his microscope and looked into it. "This is better than I expected."

Y/N sat back in his seat and glanced at the screen again. Dr. Connors kept looking into the microscope until he spoke again.

"On second thought, I'm gonna need some time to analyze these results. Maybe you should go out and have some fun after all."

"Really? You sure?" Y/N stood up. "You said we wouldn't be done until 8 o'clock."

"Not tonight."

Y/N closed his laptop and took it with him. He stopped at the door and looked back at the professor, who was focused on the data in front of him.

"Uh...good night, then."

Dr. Connors didn't say anything back. Y/N left the lab. Moments later, the older man immediately ran to the door and locked it.

He removed his prosthetic and put it on the table. Connors then filled a syringe with a bright purple serum. As he did so, the reptiles in his many enclosures seemed interested and looked on.

Dr. Connors held the syringe up by his stump, taking in a breath as he seemed to hesitate. After a few seconds...he finally jabbed it into his skin.

"Uhh!"

He threw the empty syringe aside as discomfort was immediately felt. He groaned, gritting his teeth as his stump heated up and began to thump. He planted his forehead against the table as he leaned over.

"Argh! Argh..."

Connors quickly went to the large microscope and pushed away the dishes he had underneath, now replacing them with his stump. He looked back at the screen that magnified what was being seen...and he witnessed the stump starting to grow little by little.

The reptiles in the enclosures started to react. One scratched the glass, and one jumped around. Two snakes took turns striking the glass with their mouths.

Connors stepped away and leaned against the table again, groaning in pain. The reptiles were still sounding away within their enclosures. One lizard finally let out a rather loud hiss.

The scientist took a deep breath. He opened his now dark yellow eyes...showing his slit pupils.

OUT ON THE campus courtyard, Randy, Flash, and Harry were out and about. They were dressed up for the festivities, with varying degrees of effort put into them.

Randy spotted Y/N walking and called out to him.

"Hey! Y/N!"

The young man feigned a smile as he went up to them.

"Hey guys."

"What's up?" Harry greeted. "Where have you been?"

"Just working with Dr. Connors." Y/N eyed their costumes. "Heh, you three sure have been having fun."

Randy's costume was Men In Black inspired as he was dressed up as Agent J. Flash was obviously Spider-Man, a relatively cheap one at that. Then there was Harry, which kind of confused Y/N.

"What are you supposed to be?" Y/N asked him.

"Come on, is it not obvious?"

The young man had a long black coat, gloves, a belt buckle, and black pants. Y/N was still somewhat stumped.

"I don't know...a Vogue model?"

"Dude..." Harry opened up his arms. "I'm Paul Atreides."

Randy backed him up. "The guy from Dune."

"Oh, right." Y/N pointed. "You did say you were reading that."

"And it's a great read," Harry replied. "Huh. Never thought I'd say that about a book I'm not forced to look at."

"And you?" Flash looked at Y/N and started to over-exaggerate. "Wait! Wait! Let me guess...uhhh...you're a loser college student."

"Hilarious," Y/N replied. "I'm actually a hardworking college junior who studies the field they plan on succeeding in and works for the money they use to buy the things they need."

Flash glanced at Harry. "Dude, I think he just dissed you."

Harry shoved him. "That was to you, moron."

Moments later, MJ joined the group. She came up wearing not a costume...but her tennis gear. Randy decided to play along.

"Oh, my God...you're Serena Williams?"

She chuckled.

"I just came from practice, but, yeah, sure. Let's go with that."

Y/N looked at MJ, who gazed back at them. He gave her a cordial nod.

"Hey, MJ." He simply greeted.

She nodded back. "Hey."

Harry, remembering they had an argument over a week ago and knowing that the two were going through some things, decided to change the subject immediately.

"Hey! How about we all grab a bite? Then maybe we can go to a late showing of that new Final Destination movie."

"Bro, I heard that film was wack." Flash butted. "We should go see Equalizer 4."

"Dude, that does not go with the spooky vibe I'm going with."

"And random scenes of death and gore are?"

"Uhhh...yeah."

Flash sighed and looked toward MJ. "Is Paul coming? Does if he even like that kind of shit?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know."

"Paul's not coming," MJ added. "Something about having to see his dad or something."

"See? So it doesn't matter." Harry said.

Randy chuckled.

"Hey, whatever is cool with me." He put an arm around Y/N. "As long as Y/N gives the laptop a rest and has some fun for once."

There was a moment before Y/N's eyes widened, and he looked down at the laptop in his hand.

"Oh crap...the laptop! I forgot I have to give Dr. Connors this week's notes for the lesson plan!"

Without another word, he ran in the other direction. The four friends looked on, Flash chuckling and shaking his head.

"Hey, he plays that loser college student role pretty well."

Late that evening, Curt Connors walked down a lonely street a few blocks from campus. A bandage covered his entire right hand, and he rubbed his shoulder, grunting a bit.

He passed by a security guard who stood beside his truck by the doors of the small bank. He recognized Curt as he often took the same path to the subway.

"Evening, Doc. Hey, you a little late tonight. Usually, I'm able to set my watch by ya."

The man didn't respond and kept walking. The guard arched a brow before taking his bag and going to the door of the security truck.

Suddenly, he heard the revs of a motorcycle. He looked back and saw someone in a balaclava speeding toward him. They shot their double-barrel shotgun at him, but the guard was able to dive inside.

He quickly tried to reach for this pistol, but the robber was already at his door. He aimed his shotgun right at this face, and the guard put his hands up slowly.

"H—How about if you just take the truck?" The guard asked as he stepped out of the vehicle.

The robber didn't say a word but happily obliged. He hit the guard in the back of the head hard with the stock of his gun and brought him to the floor.

"Vermin. That's what you are."

The robber looked back at the person who spoke. It was Curt Connors. He aimed his shotgun at him, but the scientist wasn't phased by it.

"Someone talking to you?" The robber asked.

"I was just offering my observation. Parasites have gotten a bad rep. When, in fact, they are a necessary part of the animal ecosystem. Vermin...should be wiped out."

The robber hit the man in the stomach with the barrel of his shotgun. Connors grunted to the floor as the robber stood over him.

"We'll see who gets wiped out." He taunted, aiming the shotgun at him.

Before he can pull the trigger, a glob of web stuck to the barrel of his gun. He looked up, seeing Spider-Man on the roof of the nearby building. The robber fired the weapon, breaking away the webbing before running to the truck.

The robber immediately turned the vehicle on and sped away, leaving Connors on the floor. Spider-Man swung off the building and chased after the criminal.

The hero scurried across the walls of buildings as he kept an eye on the truck. He stopped crawling fast, ran on the walls, then leaped off and landed on the vehicle's hood. The robber let out a gasp, and Y/N started tapping the windshield.

"Hi! Are you the local welcome wagon?" He climbed over and stuck his head through the open window. "I'm here to give you a brush-up course in manners."

The robber brought out his shotgun and fired, but Y/N deftly dodged.

He started climbing the side of the truck and headed toward the back.

"Okay..." Y/N neared the underside of the truck and webbed the axle. "We'll move right to the advanced course."

Spider-Man leaped off the truck and let it keep going but held the web line that was stuck to the axle. He spun around a nearby lamppost and tied the line to it.

Seconds later, the web pulled the back tires right off the truck. It skidded through the street, leaving sparks behind it. Ultimately, the robber swerved and hit the side of a building.

Dazed, the robber escaped the wreck, but it soon ignited. He immediately ran, but the truck exploded, and the man flew forward.

Luckily, he was able to land safely thanks to the bed of webbing Y/N left nearby. The robber hung upside down on the web, where he opened his eyes and realized where he was.

"What the—?"

Spider-Man had his arms crossed as he stared at the defeated criminal. He tapped the webbing, allowing it to shake and making the man wiggle around the trap as well.

It amused the hero.

Some cops arrived at the scene. An older officer, Abbey, questioned Connors.

"So, Spider-Man is in cahoots with street thugs now?" The cop remarked as he wrote on his pad. "Who would've thought?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Connors asked. "I said Spider-Man saved me."

The cop, one of the several non-believers of Spider-Man within the force, doubted him and simply replied sarcastically.

"Right...sure."

Connors moved on and turned to the police cruiser beside him, where the robber was currently held.

"As for that punk..." Connors began. "He should be strung up until his eyeballs are pecked out by Corvus brachyrhynchos—"

"Crows," Y/N said as he walked up to them. "The American Crow. Yeah, I hear they're quite the eyeball peckers."

"Mr. L/N." Connors turned to him. "I thought I told you to go home."

"I—I uh...was just trying to catch up to you with the lab results."

Officer Abbey stepped up to them.

"Huh...you mean this kid was there too? See anything, young man?"

"Um...no. It all happened so fast." Y/N replied.

"How do you know how fast it happened if you didn't see it?"

"Uh...actually...I, well..."

Abbey rolled his eyes.

"You kids. You want your fancy clothes, your PS8s, and are scrolling all day through your TikToks, but God forbid you should stick your neck out for anyone."

"It's...PS5. We're still on the PS5." Y/N corrected. "The 6 doesn't come out until—"

"Whatever." Officer Abbey handed him a card. "See if you can jog your memory in the next 24 hours. I want to talk with you down at the precinct."

Y/N looked at the card he had just given. Abbey walked away and entered the cruiser.

Meanwhile, Connors kept glaring at the robber in the backseat. He kept glaring until his eyes changed, and he let out a quiet growl. It startled the criminal, and the police car soon drove off.

Connors, without a goodbye to Y/N, just walked away. The young man let out a sigh and looked back down at the card in his hand.

Y/N entered his apartment. He expected it to be just him, but to his surprise, Harry was there. The young man was out of his Dune-inspired costume and on the couch watching television.

"Hey." Harry greeted.

"Hey." Y/N greeted and put his keys down. "I thought you'd be out and about."

"Nah. I'm right here. Just me and little Tobey over there."

He gestured toward Y/N's room, where his pet jumping spider was. Y/N gave him the name Tobey thanks to Anya, who named him after he took it to May's place. Her reasoning was funny, as she explained that she believed Spider-Man's real name was Tobey.

Hey, maybe in some other universe.

Y/N nodded and went up to the sofa.

"You know...if it was because of me, it's all right. You guys could go out without me. I'm used to it."

"I know." He replied. "But it wasn't you. MJ suddenly said she couldn't go out and went back home. Same with Randy, who had something to do with that movie he's in. Flash...well...we decided it'd be sus if just the two of us went out."

Y/N chuckled and sat down. There was a beat before Harry spoke up again.

"Hey, is...uh...what's up with you and MJ?"

Y/N looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Look, I remember the argument you two had a couple of weeks ago. That day when Paul first showed up."

He just sighed. Harry added.

"Is it about Paul?"

"What? No." Y/N answered.

"Oh, all right. Just asked because...you know...new guy and all—"

"It's not about him," Y/N emphasized.

"All right."

Y/N nodded and looked forward. Again, there was another moment of silence before Harry tried once more.

"Hey, man, you can tell me what's up. You know I'm there for you."

"I know." Y/N replied.

"So just let it out. Tell me."

"Harry, it's not—"

"Come on, man. What could it be?"

"I'm not ready to—"

"Dude..."

"It's just that—"

"How bad can it really be—?"

"Harry!" Y/N exclaimed and stood up, startling his friend. "Listen to me!"

He kept quiet and looked at Y/N. He continued.

"I'm not going to tell you. Not now. Shit, not ever! Not until I want to."

"Dude, you gotta relax." Harry butted.

"Relax? Really?"

"Take a chill pill."

"A chill pill? Are you serious?" Y/N scolded.

"I'm just saying—"

Y/N stepped up to him.

"Did I tell you that when you were drugged up and shoved MJ at the party? Huh?"

Harry stared at him, getting up as well.

"Listen, man..."

"Tell me. Did I?" Y/N interjected.

Harry was quiet for a few seconds before responding.

"No."

"Then watch what you say next time." Y/N butted before storming to his room and shutting the door.

Harry rested his hands on his hips and let out a sigh. He looked back at the door, wondering what was happening with his friend recently.

• • •

THE NEXT EVENING, Y/N was at the police station. He sat in a rather dimly lit room with Officer Abbey. Through the window on his right, he could see two other officers questioning the robber in the other room.

"So I don't get it." Abbey paced around the room as he held a cup of coffee. "The doc sends you home, but you come tra-la-la-ing back just after we nab the perps."

"Yeah...I was...um...out looking for a pay phone, actually."

"Out looking for a pay phone?"

"Yeah...to call for help."

"Kid, you know pay phones have basically ceased to exist. It's 2027."

"Oh, really?"

Abbey scoffed. "You're the only college kid I've seen without a smartphone glued to his face."

"Well, you see..." Y/N thought for a second. "My battery died."

Abbey leaned on the table.

"Did you or did you not see said perpetrators?"

Before he could answer, the lights flickered before they ultimately shut off. The entire floor of the station had gone pitch black. Abbey brought out his flashlight and pointed it at Y/N's face.

"Stay here. The generator will kick in in a second."

Abbey soon left the room. Like he said, the generator kicked in, and the emergency lights in the room turned on, giving the room a red glow. Y/N looked through the window and saw the robber from last night looking back at him within his dimly lit space.

Y/N eyed him a bit before looking forward. Suddenly, his spider sense went off, and he darted his eyes back to the glass.

He heard screeching, and the robber looked to his left, eyes filled with fear. He quickly got up, but his room's red lights shut off before Y/N could see what it was. All he could hear was the shouts of the man.

Y/N got up and looked through the glass, cupping his eyes to look further in. He heard quiet hissing and crunching before it got silent again.

Suddenly, the robber's body was thrown against the window, staining the glass with blood. Y/N stepped back with a perplexed expression, which was soon replaced with determination.

As the lights in his room flickered, Y/N immediately undressed and left his Spider-Man suit on, putting on his mask last. He soon ran out of the room.

Meanwhile, Officer Abbey and two other officers stormed into the room they had the robber in. They pointed their flashlights and saw the dead man on the ground, his face scratched up and his left hand amputated and on the other side of the room. One officer was horrified by the sight, and he hunched over, gagging.

Suddenly, there was a growl, and a tail knocked the flashlight out of Abbey's hand. He reacted by blindly firing into the room, and his colleagues did the same.

The creature immediately scurried to the open vent in the ceiling. Spider-Man, stuck to the ceiling out in the hallway peeking in, climbed in and quickly crawled to the same vent. The cops caught sight of him and fired as well.

"There's two of them!" Abbey shouted into his radio. "Headed for the roof!"

Spider-Man quickly crawled into the ventilation system after the creature. He finally made it outside to the roof, darting his eyes around after perching himself on the vent's exit.

His spider sense blared but didn't react fast enough before a heavy tail hit him and sent him flying forward. He landed on the ground with a grunt.

"Ugh!"

Y/N looked over and saw the sizeable lizard-like creature running up to him. Before he could get up, it wrapped its tail around his feet and threw him aside. Y/N hit the side of a vent and landed on the floor.

"Argh!"

It immediately hurried to the roof's ledge and climbed down the building. Y/N ran over, looking over the side but seeing no sign of the creature anymore. He squinted his eyes, confused and wondering if what he had seen before was really what he had assumed.

The Lizard.

Spider-Man went back to the vent they came out of. He saw a torn piece of cloth sticking out of it, which he took. He'd have to look into that further and determine if it was the Lizard. And if it was the Lizard...then it likely was Connors.

"On the ground! Now!"

Spider-Man turned around and saw the three cops from before aiming their guns at him. Abbey continued shouting.

"You're under arrest!"

Immediately, Y/N sprinted off the rooftop and leaped into a swing, escaping the authorities as they fired blindly.

Later that night, Captain Jean DeWolff was called to the precinct where the incident happened. She spoke with other officers who witnessed the intrusion and attack on the robbery suspect. Her fiancé, Carlos LaMuerto, soon joined her.

"What are they saying?" Carlos asked the two standing in the hallway outside the room with the dead robber.

"You won't believe me." Jean replied.

"Please, we've been in the city a long time...nothing is unbelievable."

Jean crossed her arms and sighed.

"A...lizard. A lizard came in and killed the suspect. It might've attacked this kid in the other room, too, but thankfully, it looks like he was able to escape."

"A lizard?" Carlos asked. "Like...a large man-sized lizard?"

Jean nodded. Carlos took a second to process the claim.

"Spider-Man was here, too." She added. "Officer Abbey says he thinks he was with that man-lizard, and I can go all day about his opinion on the wall-crawler. You wouldn't like it."

"Okay. So Spider-Man was after this creature. Why? And why did said creature want to kill the suspect so bad?"

"Good questions. And questions we're going to need answers for soon. The commissioner wants this resolved quickly so the mayor doesn't get on his back any more than he already is, especially after the entire Black Cat acquittal and Klum's drug operation."

"All right."

"I spoke to him. He wants you to find this thing and put a stop to him."

"Really? What about Sin-Eater?"

"Luckily, and weirdly, he hasn't struck in a few weeks. So until he does again, we need you on this case."

Carlos nodded. He was willing to help in any way he could. He wanted to further keep the city safe for its people, for Jean, and for their son.

"Then count me in. I'm on it."

• • •

J. JONAH JAMESON was at his desk looking over the pictures Y/N presented him. He scrolled through the tablet that had the snapshots.

"Amazing." He said as he looked at them. "Lizard tail, lizard foot, Spider-Man, lizard, spider...cop! Well, it's good to know the occasional human is in your viewfinder."

Jonah put down the tablet and sat back against his seat.

"This godforsaken town is overrun by animals!"

"Actually..." Y/N pointed. "Spider-Man is a...man."

Jonah sat up and glared at Y/N.

"Sorta." The young man added.

"Oh, goody! He's a man!" Jonah stood up and went to his window. "So what's next? The Human Rat?"

"I can think of a candidate." Y/N said under his breath.

"Hey, I wonder if that's taken..." Jonah remarked and moved his hands animatedly. "The Human Rat. Outlives entire civilizations. Overruns whole cities at will." He looked back at Y/N. "Huh? Huh? What do you think?"

"I'm not sure if—"

"Why the hell am I asking you? You're a photographer. A shutterbug. An overpriced one at that."

"I didn't even invoice these..."

Jonah pressed the button on the phone at his desk. "Miss Brant! Give me an invoice for Y/N L/N ASAP!"

He began to look at the photos again.

"Four...five...six photos. 45 bucks each. Make that 270. I'll bump it up to 280."

"How about 300?"

"Ugh! Fine. You're robbing me blind!" Jonah back down. "I'll send it down to Miss Brant. Now, go out there and snap some more photos. You're wasting time. Just remember, this is a high-class media company, not Animal Planet."

Before he could respond, JJ got a call and immediately answered. Y/N sighed and walked out of the office.

Y/N arrived at Connors' classroom but found a note saying that he had canceled that day's lecture. Y/N arched a brow and looked over his shoulder.

He ran to the lab where he and Curt often worked. Y/N knocked before opening it, and he saw someone sitting in the corner of the dark room with a blanket over them. Their face was hidden and directed toward the window.

"Dr. Connors?"

"...Mr. L/N." He spoke back in a raspy tone.

"You canceled class. You never cancel...anything."

Y/N stepped inside.

"Stay back." He told Y/N, still facing the window.

"I thought your experiments were promising. Maybe we should continue."

"Yes...on myself."

"You sure you're all right?" Y/N asked. "Maybe I should get you into the infirmary."

"No!"

Y/N looked over at the papers on the table beside him. He picked one up.

"These papers. You're writing up your experiment?"

"Can't write without the right arm. Know how I lost it?"

"You mentioned to me not that long ago. An industrial accident?" Y/N asked.

"Government contractor. Testing a...new kind of explosive." Connors answered.

"You were involved in that?"

"Of course not. Studying reptiles. Georgia swamp. No one knew I was there."

Y/N put the paper down. He then looked at his fingers, seeing bits of what looked like scales. He looked back at Connors as he continued.

"After seven years...court threw out my case. Someone pulled strings."

Y/N stepped closer, but Connors moved his swivel chair to the next window. He still hid his face and was underneath the sheet he had.

"Go home, Y/N."

"Sir...you're not well."

"Please...go...now."

Y/N stood there for a second before walking to the door. Before he left, he webbed the lab coat the scientist had on the rack and took it with him.

Dr. Connors heard the door close. He turned around, snarling with his fully formed lizard snout and showing his teeth.

Harry and his father were in the latter's office within the Oscorp building. The young man put his hands in his pockets and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the skyline.

"You see, son..."

Norman walked up and put a hand on his child's shoulder, looking at the same view. He put a reassuring grip on him.

"All these people, every single one out there, look to those who strive to ensure they live out their daily lives for the better. They look up to the men and women who put their necks out for their benefit. Those men and women...they're leaders."

Harry simply nodded. Norman turned to him, his hand still on his shoulder.

"Are you a leader, Harry? Or are you a follower?"

Harry looked at him. There was a beat before he finally replied.

"A leader, father. Nothing else."

Norman nodded. He moved his hand from his shoulder to his back before pulling him in for a firm hug.

"Of course you are." He replied. "Your mother thought so, too."

They embraced for a few more seconds before Harry spoke again.

"Father, I'm sorry about what happened before. You know...times when I might've made you angry or displayed any sense of disinterest. Laziness. I'm sorry—"

"No, Harry," Norman interjected and parted, looking at him. "No apologies. An Osborn never apologies."

Harry nodded. "Right."

His father nodded back and patted his shoulder. They both looked back at the window.

"I brought you here so you can see all this. There's potential in you, Harry. The future of Oscorp will one day be in your hands...and with that...the city will also look up to you."

"Really?" Harry chuckled. "Father, I'm not looking to become a city official or anything. Not like you."

"My goal of becoming mayor is just an extra step in my goal of achieving prosperity in this city. What you end up doing is all up to you. But, as I said, people follow great leaders. Not just mayors, governors, or presidents, but icons. We see that every day with the costumed folk that run around. But you can be better than that, Harry. I know you can."

The young man appreciated his words. He smiled and turned to him.

"Thank you, father. I'll do the best I can." He replied. "But, what if I make a mistake? Nothing's ever perfect."

Norman sighed. He had made mistakes before and done things he regrets, all of which he never apologized for. But, as his son said, perfection is very rare. He looked back at the view ahead.

"You learn from them, Harry. And become a better man because of it."

Y/N was in his room that evening. He was also alone in the apartment, as Harry told him he'd be with his dad at Oscorp for the next few hours.

He sat at his desk on his phone, listening to a recording he had just made about his recent findings.

"I've compared three DNA samples—stray hairs from Dr. Connors' lab coat, skin particles on the clothing fragment I found on the police station roof, and these strange scales I picked up from his papers. All three have DNA from the same individual—Curt Connors."

Y/N pressed record and spoke into his phone.

"But the genetic sequencing has changed over time to resemble reptilian DNA. As much I respect Dr. Connors and his work, I have no choice but to stop his experiments, the experiments on himself, before he decides to move on to anyone else."

Y/N moved his swivel chair, facing the enclosure he had Tobey in. He tapped the glass and looked at the spider before speaking into his phone again.

"Just like how my variant took it upon himself to stop the Connors in his world, I finally have to do the same."

The young man returned to ESU during the late hours of the day. He went to Connors' lab and found the door ajar. Y/N entered the dark room.

"Doc? Dr. Connors?"

Y/N looked around, seeing the room in disarray. One of the windows was also broken. He turned to the desk nearby, seeing a single lamp lighting a folder on the table.

He went over and picked it up, opening it. Y/N saw it was court documents in a civil suit between Curt Connors and Kingsley Corporation, later renamed Oscorp Industries.

He read more of the document. It was just like how Connors described the time he lost his arm during a government contracting accident. In late 2019, Roderick Kingsley had been testing the WAFER explosives and was oblivious to Curt's presence in the Georgia swamps. The case continued for years until it was suddenly thrown out recently.

Y/N looked at another page. It was a magazine article of Norman Osborn, detailing his recent rise to power in the corporate world and selection as New York City's Public Advocate. There was also another page, which was an old newspaper clipping with a picture of both Kingsley and Osborn. Kingsley's face was scratched out...and a red circle was around Osborn's.

The young man was immediately hit with the realization. Y/N looked up and out the broken window...where he could see the Oscorp building in the distance.

"Oh, my God..."

The Lizard climbed the skyscraper to the top floor, where he assumed Osborn would be. He scaled the walls and made it to a window, where he saw Norman sitting with Harry on the sofa, talking.

Harry looked over his father's shoulder and saw the creature outside. His eyes widened, and he pointed.

"Dad!"

Right when Norman turned around, the Lizard broke the glass with a punch and leaped inside. The man quickly grabbed his son's arm and ran out of the office.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man was swinging to the building. He spotted the broken window and swung faster, ultimately diving inside and landing in the office on all fours.

Norman and Harry ran through the hallways. The former stopped near a fire axe on the wall, breaking the glass with his elbow. Norman took the axe out and held it.

The Lizard scurried down the hall. It darted his eyes around, trying to find the Osborns in the dimly lit corridors, but couldn't find them.

Suddenly, Norman emerged from an adjacent hallway and swiped his axe, cutting three fingers off the Lizard's hand. It roared loudly and stumbled back as Norman ran away with Harry.

The Lizard growled as it recovered, and its fingers quickly grew back.

Spider-Man was looking for the creature. He walked out of the office and strolled through a walkway. Unbeknownst to him, the Lizard was underneath the walkway he was on, lightly snarling.

Later, Norman and Harry ran into a nearby conference room and hid there. Harry was behind his father, who still held the axe and was determined to protect his son.

It was quiet for a while before the chairs by the large table started to shift. Norman ran over and held the axe over his head, ready to strike whoever was underneath.

"Argh!"

There was nothing there. Suddenly, the Lizard jumped out from the other side and landed on the table, roaring at the two. Norman was about to swing the axe, but the Lizard quickly scratched his arm and forced him to drop the axe.

"Ahh!"

Norman fell back, and Harry shouted. "Dad!"

The young man immediately picked up the axe and was prepared to take on the Lizard. Norman held his bleeding arm and called out.

"Harry, no!"

The Lizard growled at Harry. Before it can attack, a voice called out from behind it.

"Hey, scaly..."

Both Osborns looked ahead, and the Lizard turned around and saw Spider-Man stuck to the ceiling.

"Know where I can get a little tail?"

The Lizard growled, but it was quelled right when Y/N dove into him and tackled the creature. A struggle ensued as Harry quickly helped his father up, and they moved toward the door.

The Lizard swiped his tail, but Y/N jumped and stuck to the window. He quickly leaped off right when the creature attacked again, leaving six deep scratch marks across the glass.

It chomped at Spider-Man as he landed, but the hero ducked and countered with an uppercut that sent the Lizard back onto the table.

"Spider-Man?" Norman called out. "What is this?"

"An Animal Planet special!" He shot back. "Just go on! Go!"

Harry and Norman quickly left the conference room, and Y/N resumed his fight with the Lizard.

Spider-Man leaped at it, but the Lizard moved aside and hit the hero with his tail, sending Y/N against the window.

"Oof!"

He got up but was immediately tackled by Lizard, and the two broke through the window and began to fall off the building.

Spider-Man shot two web lines at the tower and pulled himself back up. He stuck the wall and looked down, seeing that the Lizard also managed to use its claws to stop its fall and stick to the side of the building.

"Good. I seem to have your undivided attention." Spider-Man said. "It's not too late to turn this thing around."

The Lizard frantically climbed the wall toward Y/N.

"Is it, Dr. Connors?" He added.

It growled and opened its mouth as it neared Spider-Man. The hero quickly climbed toward the roof as the Lizard gave chase.

Finally, he made it to the roof. The Lizard jumped over the hero and landed a few feet before him. Y/N balled his fists as they circled each other.

"I think I can help you. I know all about your experiments."

The Lizard pounced at Y/N but jumped away and stuck to the nearby cell tower. He looked down and shouted at the Lizard.

"Think about it, Doctor! You have your arm back, but at what price?!"

The Lizard seemed to instinctively touch its arm after hearing that as if it was Connors who reacted. Still, its animalistic tendencies prevailed, and he leaped at the hero.

Just as it did, Y/N stuck two lines of webbing to the Lizards's back and jumped off the cell tower. He landed on the roof vent and stuck the same lines to the large fan. It rotated and pulled the Lizard off the tower, where it slammed into the grate.

"We don't live in a jungle," Y/N said. "Once I turn you in, I'll find a way to help you."

Suddenly, a police helicopter arrived. It shined its light at the two on the roof vent. An officer spoke through the loudspeaker.

"Spider-Man! You and your accomplice are under arrest!"

Y/N shielded his eyes.

"Accomplice? We just met!"

As he looked up at the chopper, the Lizard broke the grate and freed itself. It pulled on Y/N's, bringing him off the roof vent.

"Ugh!" Y/N grunted as he landed on his back.

The Lizard grabbed him by the throat and picked him up. It held Spider-Man by the large spinning blades of the fan, where it raised its claws to strike him.

Suddenly, a beam blasted by the Lizard's feet. It sent the creature flying back, and Y/N was let go and landed on the floor again. He groaned and looked to the side, seeing who saved him.

It was Black Tarantula, who had just used to optic blast ability. His eyes turned from red back to their usual color.

"Wha...?" Y/N reacted.

The fellow costumed hero came over and helped the young man up. Y/N was still taken aback.

"You can do that?!" He asked.

Carlos shrugged.

"Only like...several minutes at a time. It gets me tired."

"Ah."

The Lizard recovered and faced the two spider-themed super-beings. The chopper still hovered over them but didn't intervene since LaMuerto, a department-affiliated hero, was present.

"All right, let's kill this freak." Carlos said.

"No. No killing." Y/N butted. "That's a person...one that needs all the help he can get."

LaMuerto looked at Spider-Man, his inspiration, for a moment before ultimately agreeing with him. He nodded.

"Lead the way."

Y/N went first and attacked the Lizard, followed by Black Tarantula. The Lizard was frantic and held his own against the two heroes.

Carlos was thrown toward the vent and landed by the spinning blades. The Lizard knocked Spider-Man away with his tail and quickly sprinted at LaMuerto.

He lunged at him, but Carlos quickly dove away, causing the Lizard to strike the rotating blades that ultimately cut off his right arm. The creature roared in pain.

"Ugh!" LaMuerto made a face beneath his mask. "Nasty!"

The chopper shone a light at the Lizard, who still writhed in pain. The creature got annoyed quickly and picked up the metal grate he damaged before with his tail. He threw it at the chopper, damaging the tail rotor.

"Shit!" The pilot reacted. "It got us! We're going down!"

Both Black Tarantula and Spider-Man saw the pilot and copilot in peril. The chopper was spinning and about to plummet to the streets below. Meanwhile, the maimed Lizard scurried toward the ledge of the rooftop.

Knowing what was the moral priority, the two heroes chose to save the pilots.

Carlos jumped up and grabbed onto the door of the chopper, pulling it off and grabbing both pilots. He leaped off and landed back on the roof.

The empty helicopter continued to plummet. Spider-Man dove off and immediately started to expel vast amounts of webbing onto the chopper and the nearby buildings, creating a net.

Thankfully, he could bring the chopper to a halt before it can crash into the street below. The startled pedestrians were in awe and pointed up.

Y/N caught his breath and swung back to the rooftop, where Carlos was tending to the pilots. Spider-Man turned and gazed upon the skyline, wondering where Connors could have gone.

• • •

BLACK TARANTULA AND SPIDER-MAN had pretty much worked overtime from then on. After the former reported what happened to the people he had to report to, he rejoined Spider-Man to figure out how to stop the Lizard.

He met Spider-Man at Connors' lab. Y/N, still masked and in his Spider-Man costume, was there getting something prepared. Carlos, on the other hand, had his mask off.

"What's the plan?" LaMuerto asked, crossing his arms.

"We need a serum to change the doctor back. The longer we wait...the more animalistic he becomes."

"That back there wasn't already as bad as it could be?" Carlos replied.

Y/N shook his head. "Unfortunately, no."

"How do you know?"

The young man sighed. He remembered his encounter with the Lizard variant a few years ago.

"I just do."

Y/N had a vial of Connors' blood that the man had stored in the lab. Carlos walked over, seeing the various tools and glassware in front of them.

"Tell me what I can do to help." He said.

"Well, this might be...a little out of your forte," Y/N replied. "You see...I know a thing or two about science and chemicals and—"

"Hey, you think I was some bum before I got my powers? Come on, I won plenty of science fairs, was valedictorian in high school, and graduated with a degree in biology."

Y/N smirked beneath his mask. "You don't say?"

Carlos chuckled and looked back at the tools.

"So, tell me what's up. I'll follow your lead."

Y/N and Carlos ended up developing a serum for Dr. Connors. During the process, Y/N got to know a bit more about LaMuerto.

He was told how he grew up looking up to heroes like Spider-Man, how he met his fiancé, Jean, in high school, about his son, Fabian, and his time in the army. Spider-Man, on the other hand, didn't reveal much about himself, only that he still goes to school. But to Carlos, that was enough, and he respected his privacy.

Now, with the serum ready, they had to find Curt Connors. And that became easy since news later that morning reported that a lizard creature was spotted downtown and attacked some officers.

They arrived at the scene and saw the injured being tended to. Among the people there was Lieutenant Watanabe.

"Spider-Man." She greeted him first, then turned to Carlos. "LaMuerto."

"Hey, Yuri." Y/N greeted back.

"Lieutenant." Carlos, now masked, replied. "Where is the creature?"

"Down in the sewers. I'd have men down there, but I don't want to risk it."

"We'll take care of it," Carlos said, gesturing to the Spider-Man. "Come on."

Carlos walked toward the sewer entrance. Yuri turned to Y/N.

"Wow. Working together? City got two Spider-Men now?"

He chuckled.

"Like that's ever going to happen."

Spider-Man soon joined LaMuerto and entered the sewer through the large grate.

Spider-Man and Black Tarantula scoured the dark and wet spaces of the sewers. The smell was starting to get to Carlos.

"It frickin' reeks." He remarked.

"You'll get used to it." Y/N replied.

"What?"

"Been down here plenty of times."

"Why?"

Before he could answer, a loud growl reverberated through the tunnels. They sprinted ahead to a large open area within the sewers, where the walls were covered in some slime-like material.

The Lizard was by the wall. The two noticed four people, two being cops and two being civilians, within the goo. The creature was snarling and hissing at them.

"Dr. Connors!" Y/N shouted. "What are you doing?!"

The Lizard stepped away and faced the two heroes. He let out a growl before he suddenly began to speak.

"Sssssspider-Man! Sssssoooon...you shall witness the birth of a brand new sssssssociety."

"Uh..." Carlos arched a brow. "Since when can the walking suitcase talk?"

"He's evolving." Y/N replied.

"A sssssssssity of ssssssuperior beings. And then...an entire world!" The Lizard hissed. "Nothing you two do will sssssssstop it!"

Moments later, three capsules of goo on another wall started to tremble. Three lizard-like humanoids popped out and screeched, brandishing their claws. They were once civilians who Connors kidnapped the night before that were now turned into reptiles.

"Oh, crap." Y/N reacted.

Carlos shook his head. "More of him?"

"Likely weaker versions. We gotta fix them before they become more feral."

The Lizard roared, commanding his spawns.

"Feast on their flesh!"

Immediately, the lizard spawns charged at Spider-Man and Black Tarantula. The fight began, with Connors himself also joining the fray.

Black Tarantula dealt with the other reptiles while Spider-Man took on the Lizard. Connors swiped his tail, but Y/N jumped over it. The Lizard tried to strike him with his claws, but Spider-Man dodged it.

"Okay...psychopathic lizard who was once a man I respect has no qualms about hurting me."

Lizard attacked again. Y/N backflipped away but quickly did a handspring kick that impacted Connors' face. He snarled.

"Be grateful. In death...you will be sssssspared ssssssubjugation by the rightful rulers of this planet!"

The creature frantically swiped at Y/N, who weaved away from the strikes. Y/N web-zipped several yards away from the Lizard and gained some breathing room.

"That would be the mice, right?" He replied. "I'm pretty sure it's the mice."

Spider-Man and Lizard continued fighting. Meanwhile, Black Tarantula was about done dealing with the spawns.

The Lizard wrapped its tail around Y/N's neck and held him up. It roared and opened its mouth, ready to chew on Spider-Man. Suddenly, he was hit by a beam that forced the Lizard to let go and stumble back.

"All right, Syzoth," Carlos called out. "Ready for Round 2?"

Y/N chucked while on the floor. He understood the Mortal Kombat reference and was proud of the quip.

"That was a good one..." He got up and groaned. "Ugh."

The giant reptile recovered and roared at them. Black Tarantula and Spider-Man stood side by side, facing the Lizard before finally engaging it.

The relatively agile and strong Lizard was able to hold his own versus the two super-powered beings. They exchanged swipes, kicks, punches, tail whips, webbings, and the occasional optic blast.

"Stop it, Connors!" Y/N exclaimed. "This is gonna end well for you. Let us help!"

"Never! I won't sssssssuccumbs to the likes of you...monkey ssssspawn!"

"Hey, I can deal with the attempted murder. But the name-calling? That really stings."

Lizard leaped at Spider-Man again, but he dodged and rolled away. Black Tarantula charged up his optic blast and hit him again, sending him to the floor. Immediately, Y/N took this chance to try and inject him with the serum.

"Hold still, doc!"

Before he can jab it in, the Lizard swiped at him and caused Y/N to drop the syringe gun. He wrapped his tail around his torso and slammed him to the ground before tossing him aside.

Carlos saw the syringe nearby and ran toward it. Lizard caught wind of this and immediately pounced at him, tackling Carlos and pinning him to the floor.

The Lizard had both of his hands held and growled in his face. Black Tarantula tried to use his optic blast but still needed to recharge. Lizard dug his claws into his wrists.

"Argh!" He shouted in pain.

Connors opened his mouth and was about to bite his face but stopped upon feeling a sharp prick in his neck. Spider-Man was on him, who had leaped onto his back and jabbed the syringe into him.

The Lizard roared and threw Spider-Man off of him, but the deed had already been done. The serum injected into him was acting fast, and his scaly skin began to revert to normal.

"Nooooo....nooooo!" The Lizard hissed.

He fell to his knees and hunched over. Soon, his tail shriveled up and practically turned into dust. His body also shrunk. Finally, his newly grown right arm also shriveled up and died.

All that was left was a half-naked Curt Connors in his tattered pants and lab coat. He panted and heaved as he lay on the dirty, wet floor of the sewer.

"Doctor Connors?" Y/N called out as he walked over to him. "Doc?"

The man still lay there, breathing heavily. He looked up at the hero with half-liddled eyes.

"G—Get me out. Take me...out of here."

Y/N turned to Carlos, who stood there with his arms crossed. He nodded at Spider-Man, who nodded back.

It was a job well done. Now, they needed to get the kidnapped civilians and Connors back to the surface.

• • •

HARRY FINALLY CAME home after several hours at the police station and his father's penthouse. When he arrived, Y/N was there.

"Hey, man." He greeted Harry.

He simply waved. "Hey."

"Dude, I heard what happened at Oscorp. You all right?"

Harry made a face and scoffed. "Why do you care?"

Before he could walk away, Y/N stepped in front of him. He had a soft expression on his face.

"Because I do."

Harry didn't say a word and kept looking at him. Y/N reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're my best friend, Harry. I love you. I don't tell you that enough, man. And for that...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for blowing up on you that day. I'm just...sorry about how I've been acting."

He took in his apology. Harry nodded and looked down for a moment, smiling a bit.

"No need to apologize, man." He replied.

Y/N smiled back, but it soon fell. He let out a breath through his nose and looked down. He was pondering if he should tell him what he wanted tell him when he came home. Ultimately, he decided to do so.

"I think you should know...what I found out about Indy."

Carlos LaMuerto had just come home. He had talked with the commissioner and DA McBride about the Curt Connors situation, and they were figuring out what to do with him.

As he made it inside, he was met with exclamations from his son. Fabian ran over, and Carlos carried him.

"Hey, niño." He greeted and kissed the boy. "Mama's home?"

"In here." Jean called out from the kitchen.

Carlos carried Fabian with him as he went into the kitchen. Jean was there by the island on her laptop as the food was heating up in the oven.

"Hola, Mamacita." Carlos greeted her happily and kissed Jean on the cheek.

Jean chuckled, turning to him and kissing again but on the lips.

"What's up with you?" She asked.

Carlos put Fabian down, who immediately ran into the living room to watch television.

"What do you mean?" He replied.

"I've never seen you this happy on a random Monday night."

He shrugged but was still grinning. Carlos went over to the fridge to get a beverage.

"I don't know...it just feels nice. Doing some good in the world." He closed the fridge and held the bottle. "Making a difference...like the heroes I looked up to."

Jean smiled. She left the island and went up to her fiancé, where she leaned on the fridge.

"I'm happy for you. Good job on that Lizard catch."

"Can't get all the credit." He took a swig of the beer. "Without Spider-Man...things would've gotten nasty."

"But without you...how would've things gone?"

Carlos thought about it. He chuckled and looked down at his bottle.

"I guess our tandem worked very well, then. How do you think the department's going to take that? Since, you know, some still see him as a nuisance."

"I'll handle it. As long as you were involved, they sorta see it as you monitoring the vigilante."

Carlos snickered. "I'll let you put your spin on it, sure."

Jean went back to check the food in the oven. Carlos glanced at the calendar nearby, seeing a date marked for next month. The man smiled.

"A few more weeks." He said.

"For what?" Jean asked but quickly remembered. "Oh, right."

"The wedding." He replied and walked over to her, snaking his arms around her waist. "Oh, it's gonna be beautiful, isn't it, Mrs. LaMuerto?"

"DeWolff-LaMuerto." She corrected.

"A little long, don't you think?"

"But it sounds unique, right? Captain DeWolff-LaMuerto."

Carlos shrugged. "Eh."

Jean snickered, turning to her fiancé and kissing him on the lips. Suddenly, their son called out.

"Papa! Look! Look! It's you on the tele!"

"Coming, mijo!" Carlos called out and let go of Jean. "Oooh, gotta see if they got my good side."

Jean shook her head and laughed as Carlos left the kitchen. She turned back around and continued prepping the food...

Unbeknownst to her, she could be seen from the kitchen window. A masked figure stood by a tree across the dimly lit street...staring at her with fists clenched.