Previously, on The Amazing Spider-Man: Team Up -

They stood motionless, waiting in the dim light of the arc reactor. Iron Man lit up some lights on his suit."Sorry, some lighting up was needed."

The low hisses turned into growls as the first lizardmen that he'd encountered in the lab appeared slowly out of the shadows.

Cap held his shield in a defensive position and Iron Man just snorted. He looked at him incredulously. Tony seemed to smirk behind the face-plate.

He called out, "It's Show-time, guys!"

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. All rights go to Marvel.


"One thing is sure. We have to do something. We have to the best we know at the moment...; if it doesn't turn out right, we can modify it as we go along."

— Franklin D. Roosevelt


The Amazing Spider-Man: Team Up

Chapter-7

Lizards, lizards Everywhere!


Location: Underground Sewer Line

Spider-Man felt a kind of exhilaration fighting with Iron Man and Captain America. The lizardmen snarled and attacked. He and Cap charged them, trying to force them on the defensive. Teamwork came to them naturally. Spider-Man covered the lizardmen with his webbing and Cap arched himself and threw the circle of vibranium towards two of them. The shield struck, and made even the cold blooded reptiles dizzy. Then before they could break free, Spider-Man landed a powerful web-strike on one while Cap bashed the other one with his shield. The attackers crumpled into heap.

He caught Cap's eye and he smiled at him. His heart filled with warmth on his approval. He suddenly remembered that there was supposed to be a third lizardman. He whipped around to check for any threat.

Iron Man stood a few feet ago, making a huge show of attempting to stifle his yawn. Besides his feet, a motionless lizardman body lay, smoke curling off its charred head.

"What? I got bored seeing your rather long 'melee' fighting."

He spoke up automatically," But we got them in just about...thirty seconds, that when we only knocked them out, not blast them into oblivion."

"I did three seconds, and wasted twenty seven admiring your outfits."

He was about to say something, but Cap interrupted him," That's Tony for you. He can never be impressed enough.-"

But he lost Cap's next words as a new theory began to form in his mind. He spoke slowly, trying to get them to understand. "What if Connors set his lab purposely near the plant? What if the whole population has been exposed to it through the water? He wanted to convert everyone into lizards, and he went for the direct approach of using the Ganali device. What if he had a backup plan in all this?"

Cap replied seriously," I don't think he succeeded then. What did you see that has got you to think about a backup plan?"

"You won't believe. The apparatus, the machines there, everything was in perfect order. The computers were up and running. He had managed to get even a generator down there. All sort of weird pipes going down into the pipe lines add to my worries."

"I still think if there was a backup plan, we'd have known by now."

Iron Man made a disgruntled sort of noise. "Of course we'd have known. We would have noticed if we all turned into lizards. And even if this was a plan or accident, lizards instead of men have been subjected to it. Besides, let's get our heads together back at the Mansion, shall we...I want to get out of this unpleasant environment as soon as possible...Now. Let's just contact Natasha and Clint to- wait it's her. Found the common sense to contact a prince for the rescue."

"What's that dear princess-ah sorry, Agent Romanoff...your voice is breaking-"

He looked apprehensively at Iron Man. The thought of 'skilled' humans still down there wasn't a bit comforting. They stood no chance against these things. He waited, curious to why Fury had sent normal humans into danger.

"-What...lizards...giant lizards around manholes!-

He felt a pang of fear arouse inside him. These reptiles couldn't be allowed to escape into the city. Even Connors was human. However, these were not.

"-listen, you need to fall back. There are so many of these things here that alone, we don't stand a chance. You get the hell out of there right now. Don't engage with those things. Don't scorn them. Don't attract attention to yourself. We're coming at...your location in approx three minutes."

The grim demeanor oozed out of his armor. "She's in trouble. No idea where Barton is.", he announced flatly.

Cap nodded and replied, "Quick, we don't want to waste more time. Stark, lead the way."

They fell into silence besides each other, and moved even deeper into the dark sewers, the only light coming from Iron Man's suit. No one spoke a word, the urgency of the matter demanding it.

They continued deeper into the Lizard's maze, the heavy silence broken only by their footfalls or by an occasional drop of water. He realized with a jolt that they'd completely forgotten about Connors. He was larger, and more dangerous than any of these six footers. The thought of Connors moving unchecked in the sewers, now barely human was enough to make his skin crawl unpleasantly.

After what seemed like a million hours, Iron Man held his hand up in a warning, and muttered," I'll go ahead, blast them to smithereens. I am getting Clint and Natasha's signal 45 feet ahead in some sort of gap. There are again three of the lizardmen up ahead. What is with the three..."

Cap whispered," Right, then we'll both go and take the advantage from your sudden attack to rescue them both."

Spider-Man zipped himself up on the ceiling, and crawled ahead. He heard Iron Man snort. "Of course, spiders have their own way of travel."

They moved fast, Iron Man in the lead. The dim cavern lit up in the bright lights of the suit and it revealed, nothing. For a moment they all continued to stare around the cavern, minds full of excitement and worry. There was nothing. Not a single lizardman, and no Black Widow.

"The signal is still here, but they seem to have disappeared. Maybe the accuracy of signal is reduced in this place. JARVIS, do an infrared scan of the whole area and find those slimy-"

SPIDER-SENSE

He never got to complete his sentence as the lead lizardman attacked, appearing out of a dark corner. Soon they were surrounded. He was still hidden to the lizardmen, he hoped. The alpha of the group attacked Iron Man and pinned him to the ground, and he shouted all sorts of words at it, while Cap was surrounded by the remaining two. He held his shield and bashed it hard at the mouth of the first one who attacked. The other one snarled and tried to get around him. Meanwhile, Spider-Man crawled away, hoping to find the remaining two Avengers. The other two Avengers were able to hold their own, that much he was sure of. He crawled away till the sounds of the struggle seemed distant, and landed on his feet hard on the damp sewer floor. A few meters ahead, a dead lizardman greeted him, eyes having a hollow, but a deadly look nonetheless. He looked cautiously, assuming someone would be there. There was.

There was a sort of a ledge there, and Black Widow was there, still seeming noxious like their previous encounter. "Hey." he said lamely.

She put a finger to her lips, and beckoned him forward. The words were barely a whisper in her mouth."There are more of them ahead, wandering aimlessly and killing everything in their path, even their own kind."

He blurted out the uneasy question that had been forming in his mind for a while. "Where's is Hawkeye?"

"Don't know. We split up, He could be anywhere in the underground. Is Stark also here?" she ended feebly.

"Yes, but you-you split up, here in the sewers!"He asked incredulously."Were you hoping to contain Connors single-handed?"

"No, we're just a lookout. Once we find him, then we direct our full strike force on him." Her voice wavered.

"What happened to you? Are you okay?"

"Can't you see I'm injured you idiot?"

It was then that he noticed a huge gash at her side from which blood was flowing freely. She'd tied some cloth to prevent bleeding, but it hadn't worked very well.

"Sorry, low lighting y'know. Wasn't paying attention."

He helped her jump down. She leaned on him, but balanced herself eventually. The sudden jolt made matters worse and the blood started to flow freshly from the wound.

He muttered, "Look, I'm going to cover this with my webbing. It'll sting a bit, but will be good for now, until we get you medical attention."

She nodded, and only let out a small gasp as he pressed on his web shooters and covered the nasty looking gash.

They paced back slowly, Spider-Man at her side, helping her to move. Desperate to break the eerie silence cavern, he attempted a conversation.

"So, what's a nice girl like you working in an international espionage organization?"

"I've snapped men's neck for saying less to me."

"I didn't mean anything by..." he hastily mumbled."Well, since we both have to fight together without my consent, we should probably get to know each other." He grinned inside the mask. Maybe getting her snap was not a good idea, but still he wanted to get back for all the SHIELD nonsense.

"And what would you know of me?"

"Well...where're you from, by the way?"

"Stalingrad."

"Oh yeah? I...I know nothing about Stalingrad. Except the WWII."

'Pretty cool attempt at a conversation Parker.'

When they reached the dead lizardman he'd seen earlier, he asked," Is this your handiwork?"

"Yeah, bastard got lucky; otherwise I'd have faced ten of him without breaking a sweat."

"Sure you'd have."

"Was that an insult?"

"No, no, I wouldn't dare..."


Iron Man scrambled free of the lizardman who was slashing, clawing and biting at his every inch. "This stench will take weeks to go. Just quit the hunting will ya!"

He kicked it hard which did nothing except making it angrier. He accidentally engaged his thrusters and blasted upwards, where his helmet cracked the ceiling rather noisily.

'OW'

The lead lizardman continued to snarl and attack him. He'd had enough. He raised his hands and the blinding repulsor ray blasted a hole through it's open jaws and splattered dark blood on the sewer walls.

He shouted a lot of obscenities at the reptile in his mind and turned to see how Cap was faring.

Cap hit his shield at the two remaining lizardmen again which rebounded back into his hands. He then moved forward swiftly knocking the beast down with such a powerful strike that he almost felt sorry for the poor animal. Suddenly he was chilled to the bone as the second lizardman leapt at Cap, jaws open and claws ready to rip his insides out. He let out a hoarse shout."CAP, TURN AROUND!"

"JARVIS, SUIT UNIBEAM!"

Everything slowed down. Captain America had made one of the creatures dizzy, but suddenly he felt a huge weight on his back and got pinned on the floor. He could smell the slow breath of the animal. Using the strength coursing in his veins from the super soldier serum, he heaved and the reptile tumbled back. He whipped around gracefully and struck it with the edge of his shield. Next second, the brightest blast of white light had made the creature history.

Then he felt a little creepy. He groaned inwardly. he'd forgotten the last one. He did a one eighty and found himself staring into the small slit like eyes of the third lizardman. Apparently, after witnessing the fate of its companions, it was a little hesitant to approach him. An arrow came out of nowhere and stuck in its head. He stepped back swiftly, and it still seemed to be struggling. But it swayed a little, and fell with a loud thud.

"Well, that was close", Tony called out.

Cap smiled and gave him a thumbs up. They both turned around to see Clint Barton running towards them. He came to a stop near them, hands on his knees.

"So many of those things out there...I killed 21 of them today...can you believe it? 21!...escaped them somehow or they'd have shredded me apart. What are these animals anyway?"

"Er- left over from Connor's cross-species serum plus lizards of the underground."

"Excellent! As if one Lizard was not enough...did you find Natasha?"

"Uh, we're going to do just that when we're ambushed, or rather hunted by these things. And then Cap and...wait, where is Spider-Man?"


"Right here...and look I found her."

He approached the Avengers, relief plastered on Arrow Man's, no, Hawkeye's face. Then Iron Man piped up," How adorable, our little spider finds the black widow."

The aforementioned person glared daggers at him. "You're lucky I'm weak now, Stark. Otherwise you'd be dead!"

"Making the most of the opportunity, Nat." She didn't say anything at the use of the nickname.

He blurted the question again."Don't you spies have first-aid equipment? And why did you split up? I thought shield guys were supposed to be all clever and James Bond type."

Cap gave a loud snort which he converted into a cough at the looks of his spy friends.

Suddenly Iron Man clapped his hands and echoed, "Guys, many objects are coming from that end, biological. So we better get out now. Tell Fury that the mission failed blah blah blah."

He agreed. That was the most welcoming thing he'd heard today.


Location: Avengers Mansion

The small gathering at the top floor of Stark tower was turning into a heated argument with Director Fury at one side and the Avengers at other. Spider-Man hung upside down, watching the proceedings with a amused sort of curiosity. These were the guys who'd saved the city from an alien attack. But they had no air of superhero-ish attitude around them. Then he must be a normal person too, he mused.

"Okay for the last time, Agent Romanoff...we'd no idea of what was waiting down there for you both. Had we known, do you think we'd sacrifice our best recruits?"

"Yeah sure, that's true. You'd never have sent us because we know you'd have never sacrificed your 'best recruits'."

He let go of the webbing and somersaulted down. "Hey guys, get a break. We're drifting off topic here. What about Connors?"

"What about him?" Fury asked.

"Well...uh, don't you want to find him now? He might have some control on these things maybe, because when our friends were tiny lizards, they practically worshiped him."

"That amazing plan of yours has a flaw, spiderboy. He's out of control, haven't you guessed that much by now?"

"It's better than sitting here and arguing about him.", he shot.

Steve held his palm up and said sternly," Stop it, both of you. Director, he has a point. Our priorities lie on Connors. He can't be simply left alone."

Fury sighed in resignation but he still replied," Unless he does something, we can't do anything Rogers. The major problem is the army of mutated lizards that are out there."

Tony added sarcastically." Sure, and their creator is child's play of course, two spies can tie him up nice and good. Am I right, Director?"

"I understand your concern Stark but right now, we need to focus on the greater problem. We can't have those animals loose in the city. From your observations, they're pretty close and would pour out of the manholes any minute. But I need to know, how and why are these things surfacing now? Three months have passed since the Lizard incident-"

He and Tony both cried out," Hibernation."

Fury looked like he'd just swallowed something ugly. "How can you be sure?"

He and Tony shared a knowing smirk. "With the temperature dropping to below 280K in New York, their deep underground habitat has become highly unsuitable. If we compare the situation using Bergmann's rule, we find that we're lucky. If not for their size they'd already be roaming on the streets of New York."

"You lost me there, Stark."

Spider-Man spoke up this time. "Director, suppose that the lizards changed into these bigger versions of themselves around the Lizard incident. If this was a slow process, they'd already be above-ground for their winter sleep. Imagine what our turmoil would be if the creatures transformed 'after' the temperatures dropped...Bergmann's rule states that within a broadly distributed taxonomic clade, populations and species of larger size are found in colder environments, and species of smaller size are found in warmer regions. This has given us some time to recoup."

He looked around the room, and saw a morose look on everyone's face contemplating the problem.

Steve stood up from the couch and said," Alright everyone, the first requirement. What should be our strategy?"

Fury paced around the length of the room and muttered," We can't cause an alarm right now. We need to wipe them out. Spider-Man, you said you had the antidote?"

"Yep" he held up the shiny tube containing the serum.

"Stark, can you make some kind of dispersing bomb which we can release into the sewers?"

"Yeah, but will this work on non-humans? And do you want to pollute the city's water with this?"

"It had no effect when he dispersed it all over the city. Why would it have now?" Banner asked.

Spider-Man interjected," But still, it's not a fool-proof method. This is not one Lizard we're dealing with. I personally feel that we should issue a warning for all civilians. Before they escape, we'd better-"

"It's too late" Tony uttered, in a dangerous voice. "JARVIS, show them."

Many holographic TV screens appeared in front of them, a single headline all over the news. 'HUMANOID LIZARDS WREAK HAVOC.'

Fury cursed under his breath and barked orders to someone at SHIELD.

Clint asked," Which area?"

"Meatpacking district." Natasha replied softly.

Fury, for the first time in Spider-Man's experience, was at a loss of words. He spluttered heavily.

"Already four people have been killed and their bodies taken into the sewers! We need to do something. NYPD is helpless. Reports say that even after being shot in the head, one of the lizardmen continued to attack for 30 seconds before dropping dead on its ugly-"

"Slow nervous system", he muttered.

He wanted to go out and do something. But they had no plan whatsoever against nature. Connors had been completely forgotten in the present turn of events. Things were definitely on the bad side.


Director Fury had gone off to take important measures to warn people against the threat. The Avengers, along with Spider-Man were waiting for any possible solution to this disaster.

Bruce thoughtfully uttered," What worries me, is how they're always in groups. Intelligent predators. Pack behavior."

Tony snorted. "Pack behavior...what are you raving about Doc? This is no Jurassic Park movie. These are common species of lizards mutated into sinister threats."

Bruce retorted back."Well, how will you explain it then...always three, alpha in front, other two cutting off retreat."

"And since when did lizards form packs? The ones we encountered must probably be buddies or something. Sorry, but I don't believe in lizards making groups and hunting. It's just plain wrong."

Clint said flatly,"Well Tony, the evidence speaks for itself. Maybe the serum changed their normal behavior."

Steve added worriedly,"You should have seen the way they ambushed us. It adds to the trouble though."

Spider-Man listened with bright interest as Steve asserted his own ideas. "The first thing we need to do is to warn all the people. They should avoid nightly ventures. Those predators are hopefully nocturnal and will abstain from hunting in the daytime. In the meantime, scientists at SHIELD could try to make an antidote; while we try to find Connors. Your idea has merit, Spider-Man. He could have control over them. Maybe, when his lizard side calms down, his consciousness returns and we can hopefully bring him in."

"That all rests on hope and luck, Cap", Clint stated seriously.

Spider-Man shook his head. "How do we intend to protect other people? I mean, keeping them shut in their homes will hardly help."

Bruce added in a matter-of-fact voice," Yeah, and this is a problem that we can't afford to ignore. It's confined now, but it'll spread whatever we try. There will be lizardmen loose in the city, and we can do nothing about it."

Natasha replied," Well, what'd you do if you were a normal guy and came up against a lizardman?"

"Run like hell", Tony sneered. "Or, the better option would be to insult its mother and run, because that'll give you an edge..."

"Wait", Clint asked, grinning from ear to ear, "How would insulting its mother, that is Connors, would do any good?"

"It's all about body language Clint, haven't you seen that video where guys run off with meat right under the noses of lions? Shouting and insulting will help a lot on the psychological level."he finished seriously. Then the everlasting smirk on his face returned. "And Connors is not its mother. He's more like an adoptive father. I'm talking about its biological mother-"

"Stark shut the hell up. There has been a bad development."

Director Fury had returned. Spider-Man braced himself for another onslaught of bad news.

"Any other sightings?" Natasha asked in her quiet, deadly voice.

"No, but, the Lizard attacked a school, and took his son Billy into the sewers."

He blurted out," He has a family? He never told me..."

Fury's eyes immediately got all sharp and he swooped on him like a bird of prey. "And why would he tell you?"

He mentally cursed himself for the slip, and then amended smoothly," We've met once, and he never mentioned his family."

He hoped Fury would buy this explanation, of him being a random over-excited teenager meeting the famous scientist. Thankfully, Tony interrupted.

"What is with the schools he attacks?"

This diverted Fury's attention and he said," I think his Lizard self didn't want to go back to his wife Martha. They separated a while ago. But I think he wanted his son back. His friends have brought it to our attention that he came to meet him, but that was before the Lizard incident; so naturally, that might be the only explanation."

Bruce raised his eyebrows. "Family problems huh? Anyways, this event further solidifies our hypothesis that his conscious is still not fully over-ridden by the Lizard. We can hope to get to him."

Spider-Man couldn't help feeling sorry for the guy. He again felt a pang of guilt, for he had given the decay rate algorithm to him. He wanted to set matters right himself, and save the boy Billy.

"Uh guys, it's getting late, so I have to er, go."

Steve responded with a smile."Of course. We'll be here if you want any help."

"Bye then."

He went out on the balcony of the tower and perched on the boundary. He knew that SHIELD's approach would be to curb the lizardmen, and not the Lizard. He'd to find him, alone. Whatever anyone said it was his responsibility, and Curtis Connors needed his help the most right now.

"You know, you can't hope to sort everything right yourself, Spider-Man."

He whipped around. Natasha was standing there, a look of concern on her face.

"Don't worry about me. I don't need your help. I've seen enough of your tactics", he didn't bother to remove the hardness in his voice.

She shrugged and continued," You may have a wrong opinion of me, but I was only acting as per the protocol. You are a potential threat."

He laughed mirthlessly. "And what are you?"

"I am a threat, too. We need to know who's on our side. But past things aside, you should not try to confront the Lizard alone. The scientists at SHIELD will work an antidote. Problem solved. Do not fret over this."

"As I said, don't worry over what I do. If I don't go, he'll kill his son. Or,...turn him into a lizard. You didn't hear him. I did. He said,'This is no longer about curing ills, this is about finding perfection.' Anyways, don't consider me a threat and reconsider your strategies. Good night."

He kicked hard and dropped a hundred feet before firing a web line and swinging away.

Behind him, Natasha mumbled, "I hope you won't do anything reckless that you have to regret..."


Peter got back home just in time to prevent Aunt May's wrath. She smiled from the kitchen." I was beginning to get worried. Nice seeing you being responsible for a change. What'll you have for dinner?"

"Uh, mac cheese will do."

He rushed through his dinner, every second's wait making him feel even more guilty. However, when he'd wished her good night and went back to his room for the night, he sprang into action in a flash. He locked his door, a trivial but mandatory precaution.

A rustle of clothes, and he was back into the familiar red-blue tights. He threw the mask on the bed, for it had a tear all over the neck line where a lizardman had got lucky. He took out a briefcase from under his bed, and pulled out the spare mask from inside. Satisfied, he ducked out of the window, and Spider-Man swung away into the night, a single thought in his mind.

'I have to stop him again...don't worry doctor, don't worry. Help is near.'


End of Chapter-7

(A/N): Hey, hope you enjoyed it. What is a good Spider-Man story without the sewers huh? :D The lizardmen have just started to invade New York, and Peter has to face the Lizard yet again. Thanks to everyone who read the story and have stuck so far and motivated me with all the appreciation.

In the meantime, while I'm spinning a big plot(pun intended :D), I would like to ask you to give your suggestions for the next Spidey mainstream villain to appear in the story.

Like always, I look forward to your reviews/PM s with all those brilliant ideas/suggestions/criticism for the story. Also, tell me what you thought about this chapter. So, thanks for reading and be sure to take a few extra moments and hit the review button. Until next time, then. :)


Next Up on The Amazing Spider-Man: Team Up -

"Whoa dude...what are you supposed to be, fire boy?"

"A few years away from the city and people stop recognizing me!? Well then, Spider-Man, people call me, 'The Human Torch'. Proud Member of the Fantastic Four. At least I have the decency to recognize you from the news!"

"That's the best name you got? And wow, I remember. You work with Mr. Reed Richards?!"

"It's always about Reed isn't it...why is everyone so geeky..."


Chapter 8 next week, and Spidey might need help from the FF to sort out the Lizard.

P.S- I guess many of you should have caught the Web of Shadows reference lol.