The Fantastic
Spider-man
Night terrors
By
Lee homer
Spider-man created by;
Stan lee and Steve ditko
Disclaimer: All characters, references and locations belong to MARVEL COMICS Ltd. This is purely fan fiction and nothing else.
Oscorp Industries
It had been a slow, but interesting night for Norman Osborn. He had just spent many hours in the conference room, dealing with the chairmen of all the different worldwide counties, discussing the proto-type of a brand new device that was designed for the military. The chairmen were interested at Osborn's proposal and had agreed to sign a world wide contract that would have the device made for all the worlds' military forces. Norman called the device "The Nullifier" and explained that its purpose was to disable enemy weaponry by emitting a high intensity radio wave which could cripple enemy defences. It took some persuading to get the chairmen to agree to his proposal but it all worked out in the end and Osborn couldn't be happier.
As he sat down behind his desk, in his quiet luxury office, his son, Harry Osborn, entered the room. Norman gave Harry a cold stare before revealing a smile.
"Why Harry how nice of you to visit." He said. "What's the matter son you look pretty pissed off?"
"That's because I am!" Harry barked back. "I've had enough of the way Mary Jane treats me. I can't take anymore her flirting with other guy's. One of which being Peter!"
"I've had enough of this moaning Harry." Norman replied, harshly. "You know what you have to do right?"
"No?"
"You have to tell her you're true feelings. She obviously doesn't know how you feel about her, so she thinks you just want to be her friend."
"What are you saying?" Harry asked. "Are you telling me to open up to her?"
"Yeah." Norman replied. "Then she'll know the real you and not the person you pretend to be. Once you tell her, it will be up to her to decide whether she wants you or not. Then you'll know if she's any good or not."
"Why do you make her out to be such a douche bag!"
"Because girls like her are douche bags." Norman replied. "They use you and then leave you heartbroken. It may sound harsh, but I know all this from experience, so trust me when I say that these things. I'm only looking out for you son. Don't forget that."
Harry didn't like what his father said to him as it made him feel uncomfortable, but he knew that bothering further would make him angry and he didn't want that. He turned round and headed back towards the elevator. He turned back on his dad and muttered;
"Thanks dad. I'll see you tonight."
"I won't be home tonight." Norman replied bitterly. "I have papers to fill out."
Harry's face frowned more and he left in the elevator.
The Daily Bugle
Peter Parker always felt nervous when he entered the offices of the Daily Bugle building. It was time for him to hand in the latest photos of Spider-Man to J. Jonah Jameson. Betty Brant sat her desk and sighed heavily as Peter approached her. Peter looked into Jameson's office to see the man wave his fists around like crazy. He then turned to Betty and said;
"What's happened this time Betty?"
"Beats me Pete." Betty replied in frustration. "But he's been running around the place like crazy. He wants to see you right away."
"Great, now what have I done?"
"I'm sure you've done nothing, Pete. I think it's that Eddie Brock. He's up to his usual tricks again."
"You mean that he tried to…"
"Yep, again."
"Well I better get in there. Thanks for the warning, Betty. I'll see you later."
Peter entered the office and stared into Jameson's cold, angry, wrinkly face. Cigar smoke lingered in the air and ash laid upon his desk. Joe Robertson stood next to Jameson and immediately said to Peter;
"Brocks been fired."
"What again?" asked Peter, sarcastically.
"Yes again!" Jameson bellowed. "That no good for nothing reporter tried to sell me fake photos of Spider-Man again, and to make things worse, he tries to blame it on me for giving him a dodgy camera!"
"Well don't worry J.J." Peter assured. "Look at these?"
Peter placed his photos on the desk, in-front of Jameson. Jameson picked them up and scanned them closely.
"That's more like it Parker!" he said in response. "I'll give you fifty bucks for them. Now get out of here. Tonight's headline will be; "Spider-Man. The Menace Strikes Again!" "
"How many more times do I have to tell you? He's not a menace."
"And how many times do I have to tell you. GET OUT!"
Suddenly, as Peter was about to leave, Betty came running into the office.
"City hall reports that they see giant lizards in Central Park!"
"What!" Jameson replied. "Parker, get back here! I want you to get to City hall at once and take some photos of these so called lizards."
"Are they sure that they saw lizards?" Peter asked.
"Well that's for you to find out isn't it!" Jameson replied sarcastically. "GO NOW! Miss Brant?"
"Yes sir?"
"Where is my coffee!"
Peter ran down the hallway and into the Janitors closet. He made sure that no one was watching and changed into "Spider-Man" before crawling up an air-vent towards the roof of the Bugle. Spider-Man shot a web line that attached to a nearby building. He then swung away from the Bugle and swung towards the Central Park area. As he catapulted himself over the busy New York traffic, he thought to himself about what Betty had said to him.
"Giant lizards? She's got to be crazy. The only weird things we get in the city are the whacko's that dress up in awful costumes. Hey wait a minute that includes me right?"
Spider – Man swung round the next block and landed on the wall of a nearby building. He continued to think to himself as he crawled up the wall towards the roof.
"Maybe I can get a better view of the park when I reach the roof. I might find lizards or a man in a lizard suit. It's hard to say, but personally I think that it's a big hoax that some drunken nut made up. They have got to stay off the Jack Daniels."
He reached the roof and gazed over the vast area of Central park that was directly below him. He then set his camera on maximum zoom and set it automatically to take pictures, every 5 seconds. Spider-Man then placed his camera in the exact position and secured it with a strand of webbing.
"I guess it's up to my camera now. It's all in focus and ready to go. If there are any lizards down there then I'll be one of the first to see them."
Central Park
Suddenly, after what seemed to be a disappointing five minutes, the camera stopped taking the pictures. It had run out of film which meant that all of the hundred pictures had been used up. Spider-Man liked his chances of finding some indisputable proof that there were lizards in the park. As he went to collect his camera off of the ledge, his spider sense tingled, alerting him towards the park.
"Uh – oh." he thought. "Well if the pictures don't find anything, my spider sense will."
He shot a web line and swung across to the main park entrance. Landing accurately, he could hear the sound of growling and the sound of frightened people. They were coming from behind him and it made his hairs stand on end. Not wasting any time, he web zipped over to the area where the sounds were coming from. A large crowd of fleeing people sped towards him, revealing an over- turned hot dog cart and a large lizard creature which was eating the food.
"Jesus Christ. It's ugly, but it's real enough." he thought to himself. "The only way that I can get a clear shot of it is by getting closer without frightening it."
Spider-Man quietly crept towards the unsuspecting lizard and slowly raised his camera. He deleted a few of his pictures so that he could free up some space. He took the picture, but the flash made the lizard react and it darted off towards the main streets.
"Well I got the shot." Spider-Man thought. "Now to see where it goes."
Using his web, he tailed the lizard creature along the streets and back alleys. He couldn't lose it because it left a trail of debris and angry people. Picking up speed, he finally caught sight of the lizard which was darting towards a dead end. He thought that he would see it scale the wall, but he was wrong. Instead, the lizard dived through the man-hole cover and darted into the sewers. Spider-Man touched the ground and peered into the man-hole. There was no trace of the lizard anywhere, only the sound of water and the stench of waste. Baffled, Spider-Man took off for the Daily Bugle. He had caught a close up shot of the lizard which he knew would be worth a good few bucks.
Empire State University (ESU)
Gwen Stacy arrived at the science labs of Dr. Curt Connors to attend her after – hours science class. She had arrived early because she needed time to set up her equipment. She placed her books on the table and went to look for Connors. The lab was dark and was accompanied by the sounds of bubbling chemicals and computer machines. She switched on the lights to find that no one was in the lab apart from her. She knew she was early, but not that early. She decided to call out for him in hopes that he would replied.
"Dr. Connors... Dr. Connors?"
She searched the lab carefully but she could find no trace of him, but still she called out his name.
"Dr. Connors? It's Gwen Stacy. I'm here for my class. Are you there?"
She then heard the sounds of crashing and banging, coming from inside Connors office. She began to tremble for she knew that something was wrong. She opened the office door and found Connors in the corner of the room, trembling and screaming in pain. His cold, pale face stared up at her. His eyes were changing along with his skin, his posture and his features. His clothes ripped apart as if he was the Hulk, voice began to change tone, and scales began to appear on his back. His fingers and toes transformed into claws, and a long, menacing, scaly tale emerged from his spine.
"Get out of here Gwen." He mumbled. "HURRY!"
Gwen screamed in terror, grabbed her stuff and fled the lab. She ran to a safe place and nervously dialled 911 as well as Peter's mobile. Suddenly, the side wall of the lab blasted outwards, creating dust and debris. Connors, who had now become a lizard himself, emerged from the dust and smoke and sped off into the city. Gwen didn't know what to do. She just crouched up by a tree and began to cry.
The Daily Bugle
"Parker, I love the photos!" Jameson yelled in excitement. "These will be great to make the FrontPage of the evening edition."
"I'm glad you like them Mr Jameson." Peter replied, nervously. "They were very hard to get at short notice."
"My boy, I'm going to give hundred bucks for these." Jameson said. "You've earned it this time. Here's you're check. Now get out!"
Peter's face lit up with relief. He had never been paid a hundred dollars by Jameson himself before, but before he could celebrate his phone began to ring. He answered it only to hear a petrified Gwen on the other end. His smile had turned into a worried frown.
"Gwen, sweetheart what's the matter?" he said.
"Peter, please get down here at once." Gwen cried. "There was a problem at ESU and I went to Dr. Connors lab and."
"Calm down Gwen. Calm down. I'll be right there. Have you called the cops?"
"Yes." Gwen replied. "Just hurry? I'm scared out of my wits here!"
"Just hang tight I'll be right there."
"What the hell could've happened?" Peter thought to himself, as he rushed down the hall. "Well what ever it is, Gwen needs me."
Empire State University (ESU)
Peter arrived at the campus to find three squad cars and an ambulance. He then saw Gwen sitting in the back of the ambulance, been checked over for any injuries. She saw peter rush over to her and hugged him tightly, her eyes flooded with tears.
"Oh thank god." She wept. "Thank god you're here. It was terrible."
"What was?" peter asked her calmly. "What was so terrifying?"
"Those eyes." she replied in terror. "Those yellow, eyes."
Peter held her in his arms and kissed her on the head. He then turned towards the paramedics.
"How is she?" he asked.
"She'll be fine." The paramedic replied, "She's just suffering from minor shock that's all. She wasn't harmed in anyway."
Peter nodded and then looked at Gwen. She was so distraught and he didn't know what to do.
"Gwen, you can stay at mine tonight." He said. "I can't let you go home in this state. Aunt May won't mind once I'll tell what has happened."
"Really?" Gwen asked, letting out a small grin on her pale face. "You would do that? For me?"
"Gwen. I'm going to take care of you for a couple of days." Peter replied. "I can't let you go home alone in the state that you're in."
Gwen wiped away her tears and hugged Peter as hard as she could. She was so grateful after her ordeal. Peter had phoned Aunt May who was over in Forest Hills. She was more than happy to let Gwen stay. He really cared a lot for Gwen over the years, since her father died. He was the only family she had and when he passed away, she had no one.
"Come on." Peter said to her. "Let's go. We'll take a long walk and I'll get you a drink for your nerves."
Gwen agreed and the pair walked off into the night. They stopped at a nearby coffee stand, where they both bought a drink. As they continued to walk, Peter thought to himself;
"First a lizard sighting in Central Park, now this. Could there be a connection or just a plain coincidence?"
He then looked at Gwen, and held her closely to him as he continued to think.
"Look at her. I can't ask her about what she saw. She's in enough shock as it is."
The Parker House (Forest Hills)
Aunt May had gone to bed; for it was 10 pm. Peter and Gwen arrived and quietly sat down in the living room. Peter could see that Gwen was tired and looked like she could use some sleep. Gwen looked at Peter as if she wanted to tell him about what she saw in the lab. Peter gave a concerned look.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I saw him change." Gwen replied calmly. "I saw Dr. Connors change."
"Into what exactly?"
"A…..A lizard. I saw Dr. Connors change into a lizard."
"A lizard?"
"Yes. His voice changed as well. He told me to get out while I still could."
Peter put his hand on Gwen's shoulder and smiled. He then went to the linen closet and pulled out a duvet cover. Gwen took her shoes off and laid on the couch as Peter placed the duvet on top of her.
"Now try to get some sleep." He said with a smile. "Tomorrow, I'll go to you're apartment and collect a few of you're things. You can stay here until you feel better."
"Thanks Peter." Gwen replied. "You're a true friend."
She gracefully fell asleep and Peter crept up the stairs, into his bedroom. He locked the door and quietly slipped into his Spider-Man costume once more.
"I see a lizard in the park and now Connors becomes a lizard." He thought. "What is this, international reptile day?"
He then opened his bedroom window and swang back into the city as Spider-Man.
Empire State University (ESU)
The lab was empty, and there were only two security guards on duty outside the building. Spider-Man had quietly landed on the roof of the building and crawled down an air vent which would lead him into the lab. The lab was poorly lit but it was enough for the wall crawler to see. The lab looked clean enough. There were no breakages of any kind and there were no spilt chemicals on the floor. Spider-Man then drew his attention to Connors office. The door had been sealed off with yellow police tape, but that didn't stop the web head from entering. He climbed through the window, which was open and looked around inside. All he could see was broken furniture, broken glass, scattered papers and a gapping big hole in the wall. He then turned his attention to what appeared to be clothes. He picked them up only to realise that they belonged to Dr. Connors. Suddenly, a torch shone on him and a voice said;
"I had a feeling that you would show up."?" he replied. "I've been on this lizard thing all day."
Spider-Man recognised the voice and turned round to see Detective Jane DeWolfe standing right behind him.
"Well who wouldn't "What are you doing here?" DeWolfe asked sincerely.
"I came to investigate." Spider-Man explained. "I believe that Curt Connors is in danger."
DeWolfe had to hear Spider-Man's explanation.
"Go On?"
"Well." Spider-Man explained. "For a while now, Dr. Connors has been studying the regeneration effects of lizards. It said in the news that he had perfected a serum that would regenerate dead cells and DNA traces. My guess is that he tried the serum on himself with disastrous consequences."
"Don't be poposterous." DeWolfe replied, snarling at Spider-Man's theory. "Dr. Curt Connors was to wise to do such a thing like that to himself. He knew that the risks were too great."
"That's right. He did." Spider-Man replied. "But he had obsessed over this project that he spent many years to create. He wouldn't care about risks if he was so intent on trying the serum."
He then passed the clothes to the UN – convinced detective.
"Look at the clothes." He continued. "You can see that they were not ripped from the outside. They were burst. And look at the wall. No man would have great strength to go and make a hole like that. Not even me."
Now, DeWolfe began to believe him. She dropped the clothes and said;
"What should we do now?"
"We need to make a reverse serum which will transform the doc back to his normal self." Spider-Man explained.
"I'll get the other scientists from ESU. I'll let you know when the serum is made. All they'll need is Connors notes right?"
"Right." Spider-Man replied. "We better start now. Times running out for the doc."
Oscorp Industries.
Norman Osborne, fell asleep at his desk. He had been working non stop on the preparations of the Nullifier device that his company had been making. Time had seem to fly by and Norman couldn't be asked to drive home. He failed to notice that a lizard type creature was scaling the wall of the building and it was heading towards the office. It was Connors, only he wasn't Connors anymore. The sound of his thumping woke Norman up. He could feel his office shake violently and felt compelled to look out of his window. Suddenly the window smashed and the Lizard creature burst into the room. Using its tail, it forced Norman to the ground with a huge thud.
"Who or what are you?" he asked in terror.
"You did this to me, Osborne!" the creature replied. "You will pay
for what you did to me!"
"Connors is that you?" Norman asked, as he felt like he knew the creature.
"I'm not Connors anymore." The creature replied. "You can call me The Lizard!"
Near by, in the city.
Spider-Man had perched himself on top of a gargoyle which was on the Empire State Building. He couldn't start the search for Connors until DeWolfe could give him the serum which he needed. It was cold up there and the wind was bitter. However the weather didn't bother the wall crawler as he sat still as a statue and gazed around at the city skyline.
"If only I knew where Dr. Connors had gone." he thought to himself.
"I would help him instead of hurting him or even killing him, but I don't even what he looks like. Well it's not hard to spot a giant, scaly green lizard in the city, but hey apparently it happens. I bet it even attracts tourists from now on."
Suddenly, his pager alerted his attention. It was DeWolfe and she had good news. The pager said; "serum has been made and ready to use. Meet me at the Brooklyn Bridge – DeWolfe."
"Finally, I can begin." Spider-Man thought. "I just hope that I'm not too late."
He shot a webline and leaped off of the gargoyle. He swung amongst the skyscrapers at high altitude to avoid obstacles like traffic and pedestrians. Within minutes, the Brooklyn Bridge was in his sights. Spider-Man continued to think to himself until he reached DeWolfe's car.
"I hope that's her. I just have a feeling that Connor's is causing some trouble some where in his Lizard form."
As he swung lower and lower to the ground, he spotted DeWolfe's car. DeWolfe waited patiently, while holding a test tube of the serum. Spider-Man landed directly in front of DeWolfe and starred at the test tube that she was holding.
"Is that the serum?" he asked.
"Yes." DeWolfe replied. "But hurry, I've just heard that there was a break in at Oscorp. People witnessed a lizard creature, scaling the wall towards Norman Osborn's office."
She handed the tube to Spider-Man and he fastened it to his costume with his webbing.
"This all makes sense now." He said. "I'll explain later though. Right now, times running out for the doc."
"Right." DeWolfe replied. "Be careful and good luck."
"Hey." Spider-man replied jokingly. "To me, good luck is bad luck."
He leaped into the air, shot a webline and swung to Oscorp as fast as he could, without dropping the tube.
"If I remember rightly." He thought to himself. "Norman Osborn gave Dr. Connors the equipment and the idea to work on the lizard project. Let alone his speciality was in weapon's and technology, he had always wanted to do biology and that's were dr. Connors came in. Osborn wanted Connors to study the regenerative powers of the lizard so he could use powers for military technology in which the US. Army could use to heal wounded soldiers, but if I remember rightly, Connors was too interested in the project himself that he cancelled his deal with Norman and continued with the project himself. Now, realising what he has done, he must blame Osborn for ever giving the project in the first place and he's after revenge. I've got to stop him. I've got to save Osborn and transform Connors back to himself. Otherwise Harry will lose his dad and Osborn will lose his life to being a reptilian, and I though sex changes were bad enough."
Oscorp was dead ahead and Spider-Man could see two shady figures moving inside Osborn's office. Spider-Man landed on the wall and crawled up towards the smashed window, where the lizard had entered.
"I've heard of a woman trapped inside a mans body, but a man trapped inside a lizard's body? That takes the piss don't you think?"
Oscorp Industries
He entered the office, through the broken window and he was amazed by what he saw. Norman Osborn was cowering in the corner behind an overturned table. Standing in front of him was the lizard, with his teeth bearing. Spider-Man knew that he had to distract him.
"He Connors!" he shouted. "Over here! I've got a drink that you must have. It's is delish."
The lizard spun round and darted towards Spider-Man. swinging his tale viciously, he tried to catch the wall crawler of balance, but each blow came to the wall and not Spider-Man. Spider-Man kept leaping into the air, dodging the lizard's tale as fast as he could. His intention was to mock the lizard, keeping him angry so he would leave Osborn alone. The lizard roared, revealing his enormous mouth to Spider-Man.
"Boy you need a breath mint." Spider-man mocked, waving the stench away. "Or don't lizards like extra strong mints?"
The lizard then tried to bite the wall crawler's head off, but Spider-Man supported himself from the lizards menacing jaws by using his spider strength.
"And look at those teeth." He continued. "You must love to chug back the Cravendelle. They look a little yellow though. I suggest that you brush them once in a while."
Then using his strength, Spider-Man used a powerful kick, with both of his legs, o force the lizard off of him. The lizard smashed into the wall, but quickly regained his balance. Norman Osborn silently reached for the emergency fire axe, which was in the cabinet on the far side of the wall. He wanted to chop the lizard into bits disregarding the fact that it was really Dr. Connors.
"Why don't you ever shut up!" the lizard snarled. "My quarrel isn't even with you. It's with Osborn."
"Well in case you haven't noticed, I tend to save people, no matter how corrupted they are." Spider-Man replied modestly. "You on the other hand, you're not even a real lizard. You're just a mistake that has happened to an innocent man."
He then saw Osborn with the axe and shot a web ball, knocking the axe out of his hand.
"NO!" he screamed. "Are you crazy? We need him!"
Suddenly, the lizard launched himself at Spider-Man and the pair fell out of the window. Spider-Man threw punches at the lizards as he tried to gain balance.
"Look." He said. "I'm not going to kill you, but if you want two black eyes in the morning, then all means continue to piss me off."
He then shot three webline's, which hit the building and the they began to slow down. They stopped descending and were just hanging there, over the busy street. Spider-Man knew that it was now his chance to overpower the lizard. He reached for the test tube and leaped onto the lizard's back.
"What are you doing?" the lizard growled.
"You know that drink I told you about?" Spider-Man replied. "Well here it is."
The Lizard wriggled as Spider-Man tried to prise his jaws open.
"Jesus. Not even a crowbar can prise these teeth apart." he thought to himself. "But I've got to try. This is my only shot."
Using his spider strength, he managed to prise the Lizards mouth open. He then tipped the serum directly into his throat.
"Bottoms up." He joked.
Suddenly the webline's snapped and the pair landed on the street in a heap. Spider-Man got up and rubbed his head, only to see that the lizard had began to scream in agony. He staggered back and forth and he placed his hands upon his head. He was in pain. The serum was working. Within a matter of seconds, he had begun to transform again. His green, scaly skin had transformed back to its normal fleshy colour, his tail and right arm began to disappear, his voice changed rapidly back to a human tone and his face had reshaped into the face of Dr. Connors.
"It worked!" Spider-Man thought in amazement. "He's transformed back into Dr. Connors again, he's unconscious and he looks like he's in a lot of pain. I better cover him up and take him home."
And with that, he made a cover out of web, placed it on Connors and took him to his home before the cops arrived. Soon before they knew it, they had reached Connor's apartment. Spider-Man put Connors to bed and left a note on his bedside table which said: "You should make more of this serum so you can prevent further transformations. You'll be alright now. Your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man."
Spider-Man swung back home, where his bed was calling him. He was shattered and a little disturbed at the fact that his friend had been a lizard as well as the fear in Gwen's eyes. All he needed though was sleep. He constantly thought to himself:
"Well it's over for now, but will Dr. Connors ever give up his long found interests in lizards? I hope so. He must've learnt a lesson from all this, and what about the lizards in the sewers? Well I guess they can wait, but I can't help but think that his work has something to do with those lizards down there."
The Parker house (Forest Hills)
He finally reached his house and quietly crawled through his window. He slipped out of his costume and jumped into bed. As he lay there, he heard a knock on his door. He got out of bed and opened the door to find Gwen standing there.
"Couldn't sleep huh?" he whispered.
"You bet." Gwen replied quietly.
"Me too. Come on in."
"I just want tell you that I'm so grateful for all that you've done for me, and I realise just how much you really care for me, ever since my dad died."
"Gwen." Peter interrupted. "You know fully well that I'm always here for you. I love you as if you were a sister to me. We've both looked out for each other since we were kids. I know how you used to think that Mary Jane used to be the one for me and not you, but you're wrong. Whatever you need, who ever you need, I'm there."
Gwen hugged Peter and kissed him on the cheek before she continued.
"Listen." She continued. "I was wondering. I've had trouble with my apartment in terms of rent and I could use company. You know a room mate and I was wondering. Would you like to move in with me? Well what I meant to say was that I want you to move in with me."
Peter was astonished at Gwen's offer. He didn't know what to say.
"Oh my god!" he thought to himself. "Is this real? Is the girl that I've loved in a long time actually asking me to move in with her?"
"Well?" Gwen asked. "What do you think?"
"Yes. Of course I will." Peter replied with excitement, trying not to wake up. "But what about Aunt May?"
"She already knows." Gwen replied. "I told her a week ago and she thought it was a good idea."
"Gwen Stacy. I'd love to be your roommate."
"Great. I guess you can move in tomorrow."
"Tomorrow will be great."
"Well I can see that you look beat. I'll let you get some sleep."
"Goodnight Gwen."
"Goodnight Peter."
As Gwen returned downstairs, Peter laid back and grinned. As he fell asleep, he thought to himself for one last time.
"Well, I've chased a lizard through the streets, stopped a mutated man-lizard from practically eating my best friend's dad and have been asked to move in with the most beautiful girl I have ever known. All in all, today hasn't been quite bad. Tomorrow will be a brand new stage in the life of Peter Parker aka. The Fantastic Spider-Man."
The End