Note: While this story is based on Spiderman/Marvel Universe, it largely features a number of original characters with references to existing ones. This is a mature story, intended for mature audiences, expect violence, swearing and some sexual content. Some descriptions may be graphical and while I try my best to avoid 'smut,' don't be surprised if some manages to creep in.
Bricks and plaster crackled under the claws of Veronica scurrying along rooftops and walls of New York City's suburban apartments. The monstrous figure filled with raw instincts launched itself from rooftop to rooftop, chipping away with every step and bound it took.
A pause and Veronica lifts her snout high, sniffing into the wind, catching a faint scent of nourishment, a strong smell of fear, weakness. Like a hunter, Veronica followed this trail, scaling more buildings. The scant citizens that still populated the suburban streets could only catch vague glimpses of the large silhouetted creature as it reached each subsequent rooftop and beyond. Hissing and panting, Veronica continued to direct her bulk with locomotive efficient movements to accelerate and sprint as quickly as possible.
Lizard's muscles rippled with each impact to the ground her nostrils opening and closing steadily with every intake of air. The sail standing to attention, maintaining Veronica's balance with every movement and sharp turn she made and her frill folding back as the wind brushed over her scales. For every metre she covered the scent got increasingly stronger and stronger as the source drew closer and closer...
Veronica stopped, perching herself atop the cornerstone of a general store's rooftop, the glow of a nearby lamp gently illuminated her snout. Her sight narrowed as she stared deathly at her prey, a ragged looking man, knocking back what appeared to be a scotch bottle in a paper bag. The strong smell of alcohol and dismal hygiene had attracted Veronica to him. He bore a slight beard, his hair hanging over his ears in dirty ragged streaks under a repulsive woollen hat. Grime and stains clung to him like a plague; clothes torn, faded and caked in dirt.
This man stood alone by a slightly smouldering barrel, producing a barely comforting light which crackled and popped periodically as the flames danced and cinders escaped the burning amber glow.
Veronica flung her bulk across the rooftop to the opposite side of the street, crawling along the roof to the ledge directly above the man and peered over, bottle in one hand, one palm outwards towards the fire, oblivious to the eight foot something creature looming over him. Veronica positioned one claw over the edge to grip the wall, preparing to descend towards her prey. The man sneezed, causing Veronica to pause momentarily, her frill splayed outwards in surprise and her mouth open slightly, a reflex action.
He took his free hand and wiped his nostrils onto the back and up his sleeve, snorting loudly as he went. He murmured something under his breath and turned to walk further down the alley, not once did he look up. Veronica allowed her prey to gain as much distance as possible between them, knowing it wouldn't make a difference. Despite his mind swimming and failing to orientate his body, he continued to take systematic sips from the bag wrapped bottle, as if it were a mandatory course of action.
Meagre amounts of dust lifted from the cement floor as Veronica landed gently, scurrying her body to one side of the ally casually observing her prey's movements. She slinked from one side of the alley to the other in irregular diagonal movements, carefully observing the man as he gradually disappeared into the darkness. Attuned senses meant that Veronica did not fail in tracking the grimy figure. Her eyes seemed to record the negative space and convert it into a mental mind map, she could picture where everything was, just by feeling along the ground, sensing out what was in her immediate vicinity; walls built high, forming a three sided arena.
The scent of the man acted as a homing beacon and Veronica stuck to him like an arrow, knowing full well that escape would be impossible for him. Something was amiss as the man drifted out of sight, Veronica, or what remained of her obtained another scent, similar like the man but fainter, almost sweeter. Interpreting the smells, Veronica realised that there was another person down this alley. Relishing the thought of what could only be humanly described as a buffet; Veronica slinked into the shadows and rounded the corner as the end of the alley came into view.
The alley walls created an imposing threat to any poor soul who'd happen to find themselves trapped, no small gaps and minimal manoeuvring space. A claustrophobic and quick end it would become if Lizard could exploit the element of surprise. The odds greatly stacked in her favour, weak, disorientated prey, they would put up little fight. Clinging to the shadows and taking slow deliberate movements along the wall, Lizard positioned herself right above the two souls, both hopelessly unaware of her presence.
Coughing and wheezing, the two desperately trying to warm themselves, one stood upright, bottle still in hand just kept taking sips until his vessel was dry. The other was hunched down in a ball, leaning against the wall, just trying to keep him warm, his breathing, laboured and slow as he drifted into a nod.
A sudden gust impacted his head. The air was calm and the funnel like alley previously had no wind fly down it. Again a sudden gust flew into his head, much harder this time, blowing his woollen hat clean from his crown. This caused the man much concern, his breathing turned to shallow breathes and terror as he heard a low growling noise. Another gust impacted his bare head, the strongest yet...
He looked up slowly. Sudden terror and a deafening shriek piercing the night as a large gaping maw brimmed with serrated scissor teeth gouged at the man's skull. He screamed and wailed in pain as Veronica clamped his head between her jaws. The man continued with muffled screams, his head deep within Veronica's vice-like mouth, blood red nectar gushing from within splashing onto the other intoxicated soul.
Veronica flailed her head back and forth in quick, forceful motions. Bones cracked as the force caused the man's neck to break; his arms fell limp at his sides and followed his body as he swung back and forth like a ragdoll. In drunken disbelief the other man just stared, mouth gaping wide open paralysed by sheer terror, unable to move. Veronica stopped shaking her head and stared directly face-to-face with the hysteric man, he began to back away slowly.
His friend's body remained hanging from Veronica's jaw, head, still inside the mouth, blood streaming from the creature's maw, down the body and ragged clothes of the limp body, trickling and dripping onto the concrete ground.
In one big, forceful crunch, the creature snapped through the man's neck, dismembering the torso and below from its head. The body dropped, piling onto the floor in a contorted fashion. A loud gargle and bile spewed forth from the disbelieving bystander's mouth. His reversing motored into a light jog then a stumbling sprint, turning around he ran towards the alley's opening.
Refusing to allow its prey to escape Veronica made chase. Relinquishing the man's bloodied, decapitated head atop his own body, Veronica launched herself from the wall with great strength as she witnessed the drunken man disappear around the corner again.
"HELP! IT'S A MONSTER!" cried the man as he stumbled left and right towards the alley opening. As the asphalt of the road drew closer and closer, the man felt like he'd managed to save himself, he began to grin. A shadow leapt over him, dropping down in front of him. Veronica blocked the alley.
"NO! No, no!" he cried out arms raised, slowly backing away into the alley, into the shadows. The Lizard stalked him, observing him closely, "Nice, uh, doggy?" His heart pounding heavily, eyes wide as possible, slight shiver in his movements. One moment of misfortune and he stumbles, collapsing onto his rear, the thud causes Veronica to react. Frill splaying outwards and mouth gaping wide open bearing terrible teeth, Veronica pounces.
The man screams aloud as he feebly raises his arms to protect himself. Veronica comes crashing down on top of him and lurches her snout forward ready to take a bite out of his face. A sudden force against Veronica's rear launches her off of the fellow; she wails in sharp pain and crashes onto her chest a few feet down the alley. Looking up, she roars as a figure had launched itself high into the sky and lands on a nearby rooftop. This figure stands there perfectly poised, staring at her, taunting Veronica, enticing her to attack. With a deafening roar, Veronica charges down the alley and lunges herself into the sky; vaulting over the walls steamrolling towards the figure...
A ground shaking crash followed, as Veronica is forced to the ground mere feet in front of the figure. Strong pulsating matter had gripped her around the torso and snout, which effortlessly flung her to the ground. As the matter retracted slowly towards the figure, the Lizard snarled at the sight of this thing: a feminine figure, fully clad in what would appear to be a purple, skin tight suit. However the suit seemed alive, tendrils and lengths seemed to randomly creep out from the skin, flailing to and fro with peculiar shaped, deathly white eyes glistening in the moonlight.
Veronica pounced, tackling the figure, lifting her off the roof. During midflight the creature latched material to nearby buildings and managed to over compensate the Lizard's tackle. Causing her to launch further upwards into the sky, offsetting Lizard which followed with a tremendous kick to her torso, blasting her to the ground with a thundering thud. Lizard lay squirming momentarily as the figure acrobatically landed before her. The fury of being played like a toy enraged the Lizard. She rapidly charged into the figure, off-balancing it, becoming the hard end of a battering-ram. Lizard charged into the nearest building headfirst, smashing the purple figure into it.
The figure groaned slightly as bricks and mortar crumbled down onto it. Nearby pedestrians ran for cover, screaming in panic as the two creatures continued fighting. A handful of bystanders gazed in wonder as the purple creature pries open the massive jaws of the Lizard and forces her back. The Lizard wailed and panted as it tried to slam it's mouth shut, knowing that if she caught a hand, it would surely break it. However, the purple figure's strength was impossible to break; her body seemed to compensate for the additional pressure from the reptile's sheer jaw strength. Her arms had bulked up slightly in order to account for this.
But the creature was raw and unbalanced; she couldn't hold the Lizard in a single direction and went from one side to the other in a desperate wrestle for dominance. Lizard took advantage of this. Whilst applying as much strength into its bite she whipped her huge tail around smacking the creature off her feet and to the side, narrowly avoiding her hand being caught in the rapidly closing maw. Spines puncturing the creature's skin left gaping slash holes where fleshy tones became visible, the 'wounds' repaired in an instant. One brave bystander was recording the whole encounter on his mobile phone, gawking in amazement at the spectacle.
"Whoa! Just like in the comic books," he exclaimed, "Bugle would pay top dollar for this!" The twisted acrobatic display between the two continued as Lizard continuously tried to cover ground, trying to slash, bite and whip, moving as quickly as she could. Whilst the purple figure continually utilised its versatility and advantage at range.
Tendrils whipped and smacked the Lizard around like a doll, slinging it around into buildings and into the sky. Launching hardened pulps of purple mass at the Lizard only seemed to rebound straight off its firm carapace. Clawing at it had little effect also. The creature knew all too well that it would have to use the Lizard's own momentum against it and keeping it as far away from her as possible. However, a lapse in concentration allowed the Lizard to lift the creature off her feet, smashing through a construction barrier and down a gaping hole in the street; the pair fell into the New York sewers...
Lizard and the purple creature tussled in the air as they fell, both trying to get the better of the other. The Lizard continuously trying to bite off the creature's face, every time the creature retaliated by shoving Lizard back and blinding her with strands of purple mass. They came crashing into a raging torrent which swept them along the city's underbelly.
Whilst wrestling in the current, Lizard utilised her abilities, her body gliding through the streaming waste water. Biting at ankles and dragging her under, Lizard continuously tried to get the better of her adversary. Sometimes, the purple creature would get the better of Lizard, but only momentarily as Lizard made full use of the elements. A distant rumble caught the purple creature's attention, an abyss of cascading waste water led into an abyss.
Pulling itself free from the Lizard and the torrent, the creature attached itself to the ceiling of the grimy, sludgy tunnel. As the drop off drew close, the Lizard reacted quickly. She lunged out of the torrent and stood atop the threshold of the vertical drop. Numerous drains led to this single drop off, many other cascades fell and joined into one great falls of liquid waste. The cylindrical structure made it look like a deep well. Turning around the Lizard was launched from her perch as the purple creature came swinging into her, both legs lunging forward. As she fell backwards down the hole, a distant light glinted in Veronica's eye, all the senseless knocking around had brought her consciousness back.
The light above vanished as the figure flew down from the pipe, feet first once again. Tendrils whipping from the wrists of the creature, latched onto the shredded lab coat of Veronica. Using tendrils to pull herself towards Lizard, the creature applied massive force, winding Veronica and increasing the rate of decent. Veronica screamed as she fell into the darkness followed shortly by a loud, impacting splash.
The base of the 'well' had a steady stream leading down dark, dank arching corridors, weaving around the foundations of New York City. Determined not to be beaten, the Lizard bellowed loudly, reverberating up the well, enticing the purple creature to follow. Veronica's rational thinking had granted a degree of intelligence within the Lizard allowing her to formulate a plan. Dangling several feet above the base, the purple creature hearing the Lizards bellows lowered herself downwards, landing gently on the saturated concrete below.
Faint sounds of tipping tapping claws encouraged the creature to explore the corridors. Darkness engulfed the passageways, scant, flickering lights providing little assistance to the creature. The sound of the Lizard seemed to be everywhere, behind, in front, all around. Tail scraping along the ground, knocking debris onto surfaces, confusing the purple creature. A sudden squeal and the Lizard pinned its opponent's face to the ground.
A moment of triumph soon turned to defeat as dozens of powerful tendrils sprouted from the creature's back, ensnaring the Lizard and lifted her into the air. Tendrils flung Lizard from one side of the corridor to the other, each hit made her weaker and weaker. One crash to the ceiling and one final fling down the corridor, the Lizard laid exhausted, wheezing and growling.
This creature was too much for Lizard to subdue, no matter how hard it tried. It approached slowly, one foot in front of the other, mockingly swinging hips as it went. The creature's skin became frenzied, tendrils flailed wildly, it's 'hair' stood upright, wriggling and writhing, fingers elongating into talons.
Lizard became threatened and retreated as the creature continued approaching, she roared loudly before slinking off into the darkness. The victor stood proudly, yet unsatisfied. Sharp teeth formed into a mouth and a thundering, retaliatory roar followed, travelling around the snaking tunnels and passageways. They would meet again, the creature, relishing a future encounter...