Here there be monsters

The sounds of pencils scratching made Jason's eye twitch. He had spent the past two days without sleep and Xang constantly rewriting his answer for his schoolwork. "I swear to god almighty Xang, I'm gonna snap your fingers if you don't choose. A. Damn. Answer." he said through gritted teeth.

Xang scooted his chair away from the hostile teen, "Geeze man, what's up your ass?" he questioned.

Jason slid a hand down his face, "Sorry, sorry. I'm just real agitated is all." he said apologetically, "I haven't sleep the past few days is all." he explained. He was really starting to hate staying up extra late each night.

Jason's head snapped up as the bell rang, he stood up from the desk, slamming his hands down on the desk so hard that it broke in two! "O-rou!" the teacher called out angrily, causing the teen to gawk at the broken desk.

He looked up to the fuming male teacher and gulped loud enough for the frozen classroom to hear, "I swear to god I'll pay for that." he said honestly as Xang tried his damnedest to hold back his laugh.

"You broke a desk in two!" Lee exclaimed after Jason finished retelling what happened earlier today. The group of friends had decided to go to Lee's family restaurant the Firestarters to get a after school bite to eat.

The restaurant itself was fairly large, having enough room to fit a kitchen right in the middle of the building while tables and booths surrounded it. It was decorated in red and gold colors, showing off the fire nation inspiration for the establishment.

The group sat at one of the medium sized tables, Jason with his forehead on the table in a attempt to hide his shame, "It was a complete accident. I was tired and the bell just jolted me awake." he explained as he looked up from the floor, resting his chin on the wooden table.

Xang let out a snicker, "God do you break your alarm clock too?" he asked jokingly, getting a snicker from across the table.

Not this week...yet. the teen thought as he remembered all the money he wasted on alarm clocks. Akiko put her hand ontop of his head and scratched his hair soothingly, "Don't worry about it. I mean it must have been bound to break if you snapped it in two." she supplied, covering for her boyfriend.

Kong nodded in agreement, "Yeah man, no offense but your not exactly a body builder." he said.

Akiko smiled shyly as she thought back to the time they went swimming at Asami's pool and saw Jason's...condition, thinking some not so pure thoughts as she did. She shook herself out of those thoughts and nodded, "See? Not your fault."

Jason would have to accept that, eventually that thing would have broken. Of course it didn't help that he had Spider Powers but still, it would have broken...in a few years. The teen looked at his fire noodles and reached for his chopsticks, "Still, I wish I had that two hundred Yuans."

Lee shook his head, "God that would take me weeks to get together." he said aloud.

Jason looked down at his food, "That's nothing compared to my bills for heat, water, and all that." he listed off in his head, "I'm gonna need so much overtime..." he muttered, thinking of all the hours he'd have to work now.

The group let out a collective wince at the idea of working on days off like the weekends. "Hey speaking of which, when are you gonna get a job Akiko?" Xang asked, earning one of the chopsticks to be thrown towards his head.

The earthbender ducked under the projectile and gave the girl a pointed look. She shot him one right back, "Who says I need a job? I'm perfectly fine how I am now." she said stubbornly.

Jason gave her a look, "Aren't I the one who pays for all our dates?" he asked, earning a bonk on the head. "Gah! Shutting up now." he said as he rubbed the spot where she connected with his head.

Kong made what resembled a whipping sound as he threw his arm out.

"Seriously though. Besides Jason, who here has a job?" she asked her friends, trying to prove her point.

"Uh, I work here." Lee said. Three to five, not bad odds.

"I stated working at a shipyard last week." Kong pointed out. Ok now she's two for five, looking a little bad.

"United Forces. Remember? Till then, I'm working a paper stand." he said. Ok Aki's all alone now.

Akiko realized her plan had backfire ms on her and sighed, "It's just...its a little scary. I mean I don't wanna get fired either, plus I can't drive to work..." she trailed off. Working was something that she wanted to do, earning money sooner rather than later is always a good plan.

But it was also something she had no experience in whatsoever and it felt like walking around in the dark. And it's unsettling to walk into a pitch black room.

Jason laid a hand on her shoulder, "Look Aki, your not the only one. I was terrified at getting a job at the Marvel, it's my first job and I'm still a little nervous. Right guys?" he asked the rest of the group.

Lee nodded, "Of course, I mean I still get nerves when I have to go wait tables." he said supportively.

Akiko leaned back in her chair, "Well I still don't know what o can really do! I don't know what my skill set for a workplace is." she explained.

Jason pulled her in close to him and smiled, "Tell you what, what about you and I look for something that sounds good for you? I work at the newspaper, I can help you search for one." he offered.

Akiko looked unsure, it is a big step in her life. But here her friends are, all having jobs of their own...whether it was just peer pressure or her own decision she nodded, "Ok, we can look." she said, leaning over and pecking her boyfriend on his cheek.

"Blech. Seriously, get a fricking room." Xang mumbled, Jason gave him a warning look as he was about to hand Akiko his chopsticks. "Nevermind. I'll shut up." he said decisively, not wanting to get more projectiles thrown at him.

Jason slept almost soundly in his small web hammock. He decided to take a little nap before heading into work today. After he and Akiko discussed looking for jobs later tonight, he decided that he needed to recharge his energy.

So he found a secluded spot between windowless sides of a pair of buildings and made a web hammock for a hour nap. That was until his police scanner picked up a signal.

'All units, Umm...look we need backup down here now! There's...God I don't know what the hell this is but someone better get here quick!' the radio buzzed out, making Jason turn the device off.

"Of course. Soon as o finish that stupid thing it has to intrude on my life. Typical." the teen muttered as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and changed into his Spider Suit.

Sticking his normal clothes to the wall, the teen shot a webline out of the alley and swung out of his spot and turned so that he swung down the street. The teen listened to his scanner for he street as he swung, Jason had found out that his Spider Sense reacted when he was web swinging, warning him of when there's no building to swung from without looking.

That doesn't mean that he's ready to start web swinging with a blindfold but it was a nice advantage.

The teen swung around the side of a building and landed on a ledge. He stared down at the street below, mouth hanging open under his mask. "Ok. I have officially seen everything." the teen said.

In the streets below, dozens upon hundreds of rats and rat-pigons where coming out of a manhole out in the middle of the street. "I think this is a job for pest control. Or maybe the United Forces with how many of them there are." he said of as he dropped to a streetlamp below.

People of all ages where up above ground, watching as the underground creatures scurried over the road. After a few more seconds, the manhole stopped flowing rodents. Jason was about swing away when he heard a dad shattering screech come from the manhole.

"Chapal?" The teen asked hopefully. His hopes where put to rest when something big, mean, and brown jumped out of the manhole and onto the street. It wasn't Chapal, but it was just as big as him with fur in place of scales. It's razor sharp teeth where shown when it let out another screech.

"And that is exactly what I get for thinking I've seen everything. I get proven wrong, again." the teen said aloud as he jumped down to the road to the creature's side. "So your what happens when people blush their dead hamsters down the toilet." he mocked, making the creature turn to him.

The giant rat leapt towards the teen over the short distance between them, Spider-Man ducked under the claws and swung his fist into the rat's jaw, sending up to the traffic light, taking the small black box down with him.

The monster growled at the teen, "So should I put you in jail or take you to the vet? Which would you prefer?" he asked as the rat grasped the light box and swing it around and threw it directly at the teen, "That's what I get for opening my mouth." the teen mumbled before getting hit with the traffic light and sliding down the street.

Jason groaned as he hopped onto his feet, the rat began to run towards him on all fours. The teen looked around and saw the streetlamps on either side of him. He shot clusters of webs at each one and made a large wall of webbing that the beast ran into.

Spider-Man jumped onto the post and rebound off it so he was on the other side of the web wall. The giant rat was caught in the web, struggling to get free from the substance's hold on him.

The hero looked around and did the same to the other intersections, trapping him alone in the makeshift ring with the creature. "Hey don't worry big guy, I'm not keeping you in there." he told the rat as he attached two weblines to its back and pulled it off net if webbing.

"Hey what do I call you anyway? Oh I got it, how about Vermin? You like that?" he asked, making the giant rat shriek at him once more. "I'm gonna go ahead and take that as a yes." he said as Vermin carved at him on the ground.

The teen blocked Vermin's claw at the wrist with his forearm, giving him room to swung a hard left hook at his face. The teen took advantage of this and fallowed up with a strike at its chest, making it double over. Spider-Man bent back and launched himself forward, driving his knee into Vermin's face, sending him sprawling onto it's back.

Jason was about to cover him with webbing but Vermin scrambled out of the way as the webs stuck to the ground. The teen didn't have time to react as he was knocked back into a lamp post by Vermin's tail. "Rnnggghh, forgot how much I hated those stupid things." he muttered as he got back up.

Just as he was about to charge towards the giant rat, a strange noise filled the air. The teen couldn't really describe it, but if he had to make a guess, it sounded so thing like...nibbling? Spider-Man turned to the source and saw that all the rats that had abandoned the sewers where back.

And trying to chew through his webs. "Wait you can control other rats? Eww. It's cool don't get me wrong, but still, eww." Spider-Man said as he turned back to the large rodent.

As the large creature came running towards him, the hero leapt atop his head and jumped into the air, refining the web nets as he did, and fell onto a traffic light post. "Look you can have your friends chewing at that stuff all day, it's stronger than steel though so don't hold your breath." he stated.

Vermin looked around to see that his attempt to escape into the surface had failed. Letting out another shriek, he dived down into the manhole, "Hey come back!" Spider-Man shouted, landing just in front of the manhole, "I still didn't get to beat you up very badly!"

"Vile Vermin Runs Amok? Who comes up with these headlines?" Jason questioned aloud. Stan was ecstatic to learn Jason had been at the scene when the large rat appeared, and after typing up his story for the day, he already had gotten it back right before Whitney's fair well party.

The teen felt a surge of guilt over the fact that he didn't think to get her a present. Though the soon to be ex-reporter didn't seem to mind at all. "That's all Stan. You gotta admit, it's catchy." Whitney said, eating a forkful of cake across from the teen.

Jason shrugged, "Yeah good point." he submitted. He had to admit that if he saw that headline, he'd probably stop to read it. "So...you really are leaving." he said a little sadly.

Whitney gave him a smile, "Jason don't get so doom and gloom on me now. You can always call in on the radio and talk." she supplied jokingly.

Jason shot her one back, "So how was that story about that meteorite? I heard that Doctor Ren Reeds was the lead scientist. Is it true?" the teen asked, clearly interested in any news of the rock from outer space.

The woman groaned, "It was just as interesting as writing about a earth rock. They didn't let us go anywhere near the thing, couldn't even get a look at it." she said irritatedly.

Jason snickered, "Remind me to just quit when I get a better job." he said jokingly. In truth he loved working at the Marvel, along with the obvious benefits of being a super hero, he also gets payed for writing about what he does.

"So, you gonna miss me around here?" she asked jokingly. "I mean the Marvel just isn't the same place without me around right?"

Jason smirked, "Well stupid relationship questions aside." he said, earning himself a small glare from Whitney, "This place isn't gonna feel right without you here." he admitted. And that was true, she was there when Jason first came to work at the Marvel, she was the first person to talk to him here, and most importantly, she was his first friend after his mom died.

"I'm gonna miss you Whitney." he said, leaning over the desk and giving her a hug.

Whitney smiled, "Same here kid." she replied, returning the hug.

Beneath the streets of Republic City, a large green reptile crawled on the ceiling of the tunnel system of the city. The sewers where taken from him, by that inferior species, he's reclaim his territory in time, but he had to retreat for now.

Vermin and he had done battle before, many times in fact, each with a different victor every time. But the creatures had somewhat of a respect for one another, they where both the first of each other's species and they both somehow knew that.

But the Vermin's followers invaded the surface, then attacked his home. And first of their kind be damned, survival of the fittest trumps all.

And the Lizard was all to happy to remind that Vermin of the rule.

"I'm starting to regret this." Akiko said as Jason read another help wanted ad from tomorrow's paper. The two had been trying to find the girl a job for a half hour now, with Jason reading the description and requirements for her.

But unfortunately nothing took to the girl, "Don't beat yourself up. Cashiers aren't on my top fifty jobs I'd want to have anyway. It's right under house mover." he said, trying to lift the girl's spirits from the couch.

She looked up to Jason as he sat against the wall opposite of her, "I'm sorry, it's just these don't sound appealing. God I must be sounding picky." she admitted, realizing she must be sounding like a little brat.

The hero shook his head, "Nah, I got the job at the Marvel because I wanted a Jo to help as Spidy. It's natural to be picky." he explained. "Hey why do you want a job now anyways? This is like the first I've heard of it." he questioned.

The girl adverted her eyes to her feet on the other end of the couch, avoiding her boyfriend's gaze. It wasn't anything bad, it was just private, very private. She looked up to see Jason repelling from the ceiling by his webshooter upside down so that his face was in front of hers, "Come on, tell your friendly neighborhood boyfriend what's on your mind." he chided.

The firebender let a small laugh escape her mouth, "Ok, ok. But you can't tell anyone. At all." she said as sternly as dye could manage. The teen nodded, showing he wouldn't say a word. The girl let out a breath, "Well...I look at how your living...and I can't help but feel...envious."

"Of people trying to kill me? You may want to see someone about that." he half joked, making her grab his shoulder and throw his body to the side so he was spinning on his web.

"I mean the whole living alone thing! You don't have to deal with a big brother bugging you all the time. And...you have all this...this...freedom." she started as she ran a hand up her face and into her hair.

She looked at the hero as she hung in place, listening to every word she said intently, "You set your own rules, what time you get up, when you go to bed, what you do with your life. And...I want that." she admitted.

Jason was silent for a moment before giving her a smile, "So you basically want to be treated like a adult and not a little teenager?" he asked.

"I am not little." she murmured lowly.

"But yeah. I get that." Jason admitted to her. "But," he started, "take it from a guy who knows...living like I do, it's not great." he admitted.

He looked down, or in his case up, at the ceiling, "Enjoy the time you have with your parents Aki. That's all I can say. Being alone...it's not easy." he said sadly.

The girl looked at him sympathetically, "Jason...your never alone. Not while I'm here. Got it?" she asked, making the teen smile goofily.

"Yea I got it...I'm gonna be honest I so don't want to read you job listings right now." he said, making the firebender laugh a little.

"Same here." she said in agreement. They could look at the papers later, and they'll still be there tomorrow. Akiko sat up so that she was looking at his chin, "You know, we've yet to kiss while your upside down..." she hinted.

Jason smirked, "Would that be something you'd be interested in?" he asked as the girl tucked her legs in and sat down on the back of her shins so that their mouths where parallel to one another.

"Maybe." she said teasingly, her hand reaching around his face and to the back of his head. "Would you be interested if I was?" she asked, her breath hot against his lips,

"Very interested." Jason replied. He wished he descended from the ceiling a fee inches closer to her face so that this stupid teasing wouldn't go on.

"Well then, so am I." Akiko said, finally closing the space between their lips and kissing him.

Jason wanted to reach out and wrap her in a embrace but he needed both hands to make sure he wouldn't fall to the ground head first. And she was still teasing him, he was opening his mouth enough for her to enter but she merely traces her pink flesh around his opening, showing she was in control.

And because he was literally hanging by a thread. He couldn't move without her, he could swing himself but that ran the risk of headbut ting her in the jaw, not the most romantic thing in the world.

Headbutts are not romantic at all.

After a few more moments of teasing, Aki decided enough was enough and entered his mouth, making a groan escape the hero's throat.

'Attention, any unit in the vicinity we have reports of the large rat from earlier today. We need backup ASAP.'

The two's eyes shot open at the police report coming from Jason's pocket. Akiko couldn't stop the fit of giggles that overcame her at the look that the teen got on his face. "Is there some higher power at work here?" he asked as he dropped to the couch and immediately stood up.

The teen entered his bedroom muttering something about his 'Spidy Luck' as Akiko laid down on the couch and turned over so her chin rested on the arm of the couch. Jason re-entered the room and saw the sly smirk on the girl's face.

He raised a single finger, "We will finish this later." he said tauntingly as he bent down to eye level and patted her cheek playfully.

"I'll be waiting then." she replied as he stood straight and slid his mask on before climbing out the window and swinging away. Akiko walked to the window and watched as Jason swung over the side of a building.

The girl turned towards the door of the apartment, without Jason here, it always felt empty to the girl so she either waited until he came back or left for her home. As she walked, she sound of crumpling paper was heard, she looked down to see the wanted adds that he was reading to her with bright red X's over half of them.

Picking up the paper, her eyes traveled to where they left off on the list. What was next on the list caught her eye, "Backdrop painter wanted. Theatre district huh?" she muttered as she walked out the door.

Jason pulled down in his webline between his legs, pulling himself higher into the air, just missing the edge of a building. He let go of the web and went into a freefall down to the roofs below. At the last moment, he shot a webline to the taller building, his feet barely touching the ground.

The teen released his webline and flew to the side of Future Industries' main building. The sounds of screams coming from inside being the first thing he heard, "Man even after my internship was null and void this place is still dangerous...I may need to rethink my career choice." the teen muttered as he backflipped off the wall.

Shooting a web to the spot where he jumped off, he swung on the line into a window below him, sending him into the factory floor. The floor was trashed, there where machine parts, bits of plywood from crates, and metal in crumbled heaps spread throughout.

"Ok yeah. Definitely need to think of somewhere else to intern at." the teen muttered as he shot a webline to the ceiling and swung over the destruction, fallowing the somewhat path towards-

"Chapal's lab? No way!" Spider-Man exclaimed as he crashed through the door to the lab. "Doc?" he called out. The lab was once again in near ruins, the tables where turned over and splintered wood.

"Uhhh...doc? If your trying to scare me...it's working." he said quietly as he walked through the lab. "Working very well." he added as he approached the doc's old office. The hinges where torn off the door and was laying against the doorframe, as the teen picked up the door, he was knocked down onto the ground with the force from the other side of the door.

Spider-Man tried to push the heavy metal door off him but what was on the other side was massive. The small glass window on the door broke, showing the rat face that he fought earlier, "You again!?"

Vermin drew his head back and shot it forward, trying to get the teen's head between its jaws. The hero tiled his head to his left, making the giant rat bury his head in the floor. The teen braced his knees against the metal and pushes the metal and Vermin off along with it.

Spider-Man hopped onto his feet and looked towards Vermin as he threw the door off him, "Well I forgot my giant mousetrap at home. Guess I'll have to improvise." he said aloud as he attached two webs to the broken pieces of desk and swung them at Vermin.

The first made the giant rat jump into the air where he was hit on his right side by the other piece of debris. Making sure not to repeat his mistake, Jason webbed all of Vermin's extremities to the floor, trapping him in place. "Ok cheese breath, should I call the police, the vet, or the pound?" he questioned the rat, getting a shriek in response.

The sound of a roar made the teen turn to be stuck upside the head with a big tail, "STAY OUT OF THIS!" a voice yelled as the teen crashed into one of the metal supports on the wall. He quickly cling his hands to the wall and turned to see the Lizzard hissing at the trapped Vermin.

"Doc! You can talk?" the teen asked as he leapt up towards the rafters where he kept the serum safely hidden. "Because if you could talk all this time then I'd do wouldn't have fought you." he said as he opened the container with the serum.

He glanced down to see Lizard raising his claw over Vermin, "Woah there doc!" the teen exclaimed as he shot a webline at his claw and pulled back on the line, pulling the large reptile onto his back. The Lizard looked up to where the teen was and growled, "Uh oh."

Chapal grabbed the line with his free claw and pulled the teen down towards his level. Spider-Man tried to block the oncoming blow with his arm, but the swipe from his tail was so powerful it dislocated his shoulder! "GAAH!" Spider-Man cried out as he landed on his other shoulder.

The arm was a space back where it shouldn't be, and to be honest, it made Jason a little sick to look at. Lizard stalked over the teen, hissing his forked tongue at the teen. "Doc...don't make me hurt you." he warned as he used his one shoulder to push himself up.

Lizard drew his claws behind him, only to be tackled by Vermin into one of the lab areas. Vermin callers at Lizards face, long red streaks going over his face. Chapal drew his feet in and kicked the rat into one of the chemistry racks with empty glasses.

Lizard hopped ontop of the giant rat and clamped his razor sharp teeth into its arm, stopping him from biting its neck.

As the battle between them went on, Jason stood off to the side, holding his shoulder with his hand as he watched the two. "Maybe I'll just let them talk it out." he said to himself as he grabbed the edge of his shoulder, "This. Is gonna suck."

Jason pulled on the limb, gritting his teeth as his bones and muscles shifted once more towards their rightful positions. The teen gasped aloud as the bones snapped back into place, falling to his knees as the defying crunch was heard.

"Yep. I was right." he gritted put through his teeth. The teen shot a webline to the ceiling and pulled himself back into the rafters. The sounds of animalistic cries exiting from down below, Jason made sure not to draw attention to himself a he retrieved he Gene Cleanser.

"Ok think, I can't give it to him in a shot, skin is too thick. So that leaves...oh god why me?" he asked, slaking his body and looking up to the ceiling. He turned his head back down to the floor below to see Chapal hit Vermin over the head with a metal cart.

The teen made a web sack for the serum and fell off the bean and attaching a web to it and swinging to the pair. Tucking his legs into his body, Spider-Man kicked his feet into the Lizard, sending him into the wall.

The teen's Spider Sense went off in time for him to roll out of the way of Vermin's claws. Spider-Man turned on a heel and sung his fist into the giant rat's jaw, fallowing up with a double kick to its chest, knocking him onto the floor.

"Now stay down, the grown ups are talking." he said, waving his finger side to side in front of its face. Spider-Man turned in time to be if in the jaw by Lizard's backhand.

The teen landed a hit on the right of Chapal's face in response, he merely turned and growled at the teen. "Ok. That was a bad-" he stopped when he felt the familiar tingling sensation in the back of his skull. He turned and was sure he felt his jaw drop.

The room had been flooded with rats.

Huge. Big ass. Probably rabies infested. Rats. And their eyes where red...almost glowing red...Jason was scared.

"I am so done with monster supervillans. They're disgusting." Jason said as his back hit the Lizard's, "No offense doc." he said when the beast behind him started growling. Spider-Man shot weblines to the ceiling and pulled himself up as all the small mammals pounced, covering Chapal.

The teen leapt to one of the beams as the hordes of rats chased after him from the floor onto the wall. "Ok I'm seriously missing making out with my girlfriend right now." Jason said aloud as he covered the walls with web a, trapping the large rodents in place.

Spider Sese rang again, this time from behind him, he turned just as Vermin collided with him. They flew through the air and crashed through one of the large windows that lined the walls. They crashed into the street, Vermin trying once again to bite him.

Spider-Man thought quick and covered its mouth with webbing, "Didn't I tell you to let the grown ups talk?" the teen asked as his Spider Sense went off as a car horn blared.

The two turned their heads to the car heading right for them, Vermin released the teen and leapt back as Spider-Man rolled back onto his hands and pushed himself off the ground into a bus stop sign as the car drove over the spot they where at seconds prior.

"Look I got no time to play pest control, I gotta give your friend his medicine." He yelled over to Vermin.

The Lizard leapt out the window to the lab, rats chewing at what remained of his lab coat as he landed. "VERRMINNNN..." he drawled out as he grabbed one of the rats and dished it in his hand, it's bones snapping like twigs.

Vermin shrieked loudly enough for it to travel blocks before running forward and clashing with Lizard once more.

The sounds of police sirens pulling up caught the teen's attention. Five cruisers pulled up on the road, Chief Beifong and Captain Wei stepped out of one of the cars fallowed by six other officers. "Set up a perimeter and get civilians out of the area! And check the factory to make sure no one else in in there!" she barked to her men.

Wei grabbed the radio from the car, "We need backup here, call in all nearby units." he said unto the receiver, watching as the two large creatures fought.

"I don't suppose an incredibly attractive teen superhero would suffice?" Wei looked on the top of the car to see Spider-Man, "Because I'm really tired of being the only one to fit that qualification." he added.

Wei smiled as Beifong walked up, "Of course your here when there's monster trashing my city." she said with agitation in her voice. She knew that just seven of her men and her couldn't catch him, so right now she couldn't do anything to him, and pissed her off immensely.

"Look blame me later, cure one and capture the other now." he said, looking over to the two fight.

Wei raised a eye, "Cure? You mean to tell us that one of those things are sick?" he asked unbelievingly, looking over to the monsters.

Lin glared at Spider-Man, "How do I know you won't just run off with them?" she asked, showing just how little she trusted the teen.

He looked at the chief with his black lenses, "Just trust me." he said as he shot a webline to one of the street lamps and swung towards the pair. Lin sneered as he joined the fight, she absolutely hated to admit it, but she had to trust him. For now at least.

Spider-Man delivered a spilt kick to both the creatures snouts, "I heard that three's a crowd and all but I think I need to stop this dance quick." he said as Lizard clawed at him.

He back stepped out of Lizard's rach towards Vermin as he lunged at the hero. Spider-Man drew his leg back and shot it back into the giant's rat's head, making his body flip forward into the air.

Thinking on his toes, the teen grabbed Vermin by his tail and swung him like a club into Chapal, sending them both sprawling back onto the street.

Spider-Man jumped ontop of the two of them, only to be thrown off by Lizard who scrambled towards a manhole. Jason recovered from his fall and looked to see vermin lying unconscious against a fire hydrant. "Hey don't you know it's illegal to sleep in front of those things?" he asked as he stuck him to the hydrant and ground with webbing. "Or is it parking?"

Meanwhile, Chapal had lifted the manhole from the ground, turning his head, he saw Spider-Man sprinting after him, he drew his clawed arm under his left armpit and threw the metal like a frisbee at the teen.

Jason jumped over the projectile with a vertical spin and continued forward as Lizard entered the sewers. "Oh no you don't!" the teen yelled as he dropped down the hole in the ground after him.

Landing in the sludge, Jason shuttered, "Gross gross gross gross!" he repeated as he waddled through the muck after his friend.

The underground system was dark, he couldn't see ten feet in front of him. And the smell wasn't helping either, "Cone on Chapal. I got your medicine, bite the needle and let me give it to you," He called out through the tunnels.

The sound of water shifting made job turn, nothing.

Jason turned to see the rows of teeth bite down on him!

His hands flew up to his face to grasp at the jaws, holding them in place around his head. Jason tore him down from the ceiling and threw him into the water, if you could call it that. "Jeez and I thought my breath smelled bad."

The teen's Spider Sense went off, making him jump back as the tail broke through the surface of the water in a attempt to crush him. He shot weblines to the low ceiling and swung down the tunnel, the Lizard right after him. "DON'T YOU SEE? YOUR IN MY DOMAIN NOW!" Lizard screeched after the teen as he clawed along the wall after the teen.

He's right, I'm swinging blind here, meanwhile he's probably has this whole part of the city memorized! Jason thought as he landed on a pipe and picked off it. I need to administer the serum, before he gives me the big chomp!

Spider-Man landed on the side of the wall, his feet and right arm holding him in place, "Wow I knew you where messy doc, but living in a sewer? That's actually cleaner than your office!" he taunted, looking back to see Chapal run into him. The two flew through the air, hitting a grate and falling down into a water disposal shaft.

All around them was a waterfall against the walls of the sewers. The two landed on one of the garbage catchers, metal lines that caught stray garbage that found its way through the grates.

The teen braced his arm against Lizard's neck as he tried to bite as his head off, "STUPID MAMMAL!" he screamed at the teen's face. Jason grasped one of the metal lines and broke it off, swinging it into the side of Chapal's face, knocking a tooth out of his skull.

Spider-Man braced his feet against Lizard's midsection and kicked him off into the wall. "Ok I can handle the wall crawling, I can handle the super strength, I can even handle the trying to eat me! But when you try to take my insults. All bets are off." Spider-Man said as he closed the distance between them and slammed his knead into the Lizard.

Cartwheeling back, Jason stopped on the opposite wall and grabbed his web sack and ripped it open, digging out the serum. "Time for medicine. Now I'm gonna have to stick this in one of your ends. Please for gods sake open your mouth." he said, his voice faltering with each word.

Chapal opened his mouth only to roar at him, "Oh thank god. Thank you God." he said gratefully as Chapal pounced over to him. The teen leapt forward at a higher angle, front flipping over Chapal and kicking him in the back, indenting him into the wall.

Jason landed and shot webs at his arms and legs, sticking him in place. Jason unclipped his empty web cartages and reloaded his webshooters.

Spider-Man completely covered him with webbing, he leapt over into his back and grabbed him by his head, "Ok doc! Open wide!" he demanded as he pulled Lizard's jaw apart.

Stepping up the wall so that he was directly over Chapal, Spider-Man lifted his one foot off the wall and used it to hold Chapal's lower jaw open while the other was kept open with his hands. The rows of sharp teeth glistened with drool and water that rushed over them.

Popping the lid of the serum, Spider-Man poured the colored fluid down Lizards throat. Jason leapt off the wall as he tore through the webs, Chapal tried to hock up whatever it was that went down his throat but to no avail.

He collapsed to the floor and convulsed, his skin stated falling off, like he was shedding skin, shrinking in size in the process. His tail fell off and burst in a puff of grey skin, falling through the metal bars.

The right arm that was considered a miracle at one point began to decay.

Jason could only watch as Chapal started to seizure, he walked over to the cured scientist and frowned under his mask, "Don't worry doc. I'll get you somewhere safe." he said as he watched over his friend.

Jason waited outside the room that contained Chapal, after his body was done circulating the serum, Jason had swung to the closest hospital and admitted him in. He did get a good chuckle at the faces the staff made when they saw him.

The teen ran a hand down his face, there was no telling what would happen to Chapal, he didn't hurt anyone, he just scared people...and caused some property damage...and he may have tried to hurt Akiko after she pegged him with a rock...ok when you put it like that the list is pretty big.

But that was the Lizard. Not Chapal, and even if they did arrest him, I do know a super good lawyer. the teen thought, Daredevil coming to mind. "Jason." the teen turned to see Tenzin with-

Oh god. Why me? The teen thought as the chief of police stepped beside the councilman. "I came as soon as I heard. This is-"

"Yeah...we met before." Jason said with a tinge of sadness. He met Lin the day Ava died, that was hard to forget. Not to mention she hates Spider-Man's guts. he added mentally.

Lin raised a eye, "No offense kid, but I see more than fifty people a day." she said, bot apologetically but more as a matter of fact time. "I was hoping to ask you some questions about Doctor Chapal." she said, getting to the point.

Jason raised his hands in defense, "Look I know that Doc...had a spill. But we where trying to help people-"

"By turning people into giant reptiles?" the woman asked critically, getting a stern look from Tenzin which she returned with a glare.

Jason shook his head. "No, Chapal injected himself with a serum that would grow back lost limbs. He's been working on combining dragon DNA and human DNA for years now." he explained further.

Lin gave him a questioning look, "So this was all a accident is what your saying?" she asked.

Jason nodded, "Yes, basically. He was acting on basic instinct when he turned into...that." he said.

Lin thought the situation over for a moment, this wasn't a casual case, then again had the city been casual lately? The chief looked at the teen in the eye, "Jason. Do you believe that Doctor Chapal was not in any control of his actions?" she asked.

Jason nodded, "Absolutely not. Doc would never do anything like this." he said firmly.

Lin sighed, "Alright. I'll see what I can do to try and keep him out of jail." she turned to the airbending master, "But it's going to be your job to keep the council from doing anything different."

Jason and Tenzin let out sighs of relief. Chapal was safe. For now at least.

As the chief left the two family members alone, Tenzin smiled at his nephew, "See? I told you that he'd show up eventually." he said, taking a seat beside the teen.

Jason nodded, "Yep...thank god this is finally over." the teen said in relief as he slid down in his seat.

The Airbender put a hand on his shoulder, "And it's thanks to you that he's back to normal. You kept working even though the odds where grim. I'm proud of you Jason." he said, making a smile tug on the teen's lips.

"Thanks Uncle Ten." he said, patting the hand on his shoulder.

"You sure about this? I can go in with you." Jason said to the nervous girl. The two stood outside a fairly small theatre in the entertainment district of the city. Akiko wore the nicest clothes she owned, a white dress shirt with black vest and matching dress pants and tie.

She told Jason that she had found a place that she'd like to interview for. She shook her head, accidentally messing her hair up. "Shit. No, I don't. But thanks." she said as she tried to get her hair back into what she had before.

"But...Umm...any advice?" she asked nervously. Jason could practically see her quaking in her heeled shoes.

"Come here." he said, gesturing her close, the girl stepped forward. Jason turned her so he could work on her hair. "Just relax, and be yourself, you have some works of yours right?" he asked, glancing down at the small bag with a few of her paintings.

She nodded as Jason bushed her hair behind her back with his hands, "Be polite, answer the questions truthfully, and don't be nervous. Be confident, be...Akiko Rupa." he said, finishing straightening her hair in the back.

Aki smiled at that, "Thanks...wow you would have made a pretty good hairdresser." she said, looking at her reflection in a bus stop glass case.

The teen shrugged, "I played with my mom's hair a lot when I was little, she taught me to cut my own hair too." he said, running a hand throw his brown hair. The teen pecked her check and leaned into her ear, "Knock 'em dead babe." he whispered encouragingly.

The girl gave him a smile before crossing the street to the entrance to the theatre. She took a deep breath before pushing the door open and walking inside. She looked over her shoulder to see Jason giving her a wave. She returned it before entering inside.

Jason waited outside on the bus stop, waiting for the girl to return. He was proud of Aki for doing this, he had to find a job because his livelihood depended on it. Aki was looking for one so she could be more responsible, by choice.

I'm about two months, we'll be graduating. We'll go to collage, get a degree...maybe even...

Jason's thoughts where interrupted by the door to the theatre opening. Out stepped Aliko with a solemn look on her face as she walked out the theatre, she sulked across the street to Jason, giving her a sympathetic look. "Aki...look there's-"

"I got the job!" she yelled at the top of her lungs as she pounced Jason, wrapping her arms around his neck. Jason grinned wildly as he spun her in her arms, Aki giggling like crazy. "I can't believe it. I got a job now. I got a job!" she exclaimed with happiness.

Jason held her by her waist as she smiled with her hands changing from pure excitement. "Knew you could do it Akiko." he said proudly, making her hug him once more. When she pulled away, Jason led her down the street, "Come on, let's go out to celebrate. How's pizza sound?"

"Divine." she said as their hands entangled one another.

"What! What do you mean where behind schedule? I told you that I always want good news before my bad news Zu Li." Verrick said a geeky to the stone faced assistant.

She re-adjusted her glasses before looking down at her clipboard, "According to the findings from the scorpion project, the new formula we've been trying to make is showing incredible progress." she said, making Verrick relax back into his very large chair.

"There, see? Was that so bad?" he asked. "What was the bad news again?" She asked, making the assistant nearly facepalm.

"We've only just started animal testing. And...along with the increased strength, stamina, agility, speed, durability, reflexes and mental capacity, there's a downside as well." she said, listing off the benefits of the formula. "The specimens act more aggressively, and they have a lack of morality as well. One killed it's former mate."

Verrick let the words sink in, "How do we know that these aren't temporary? These could just be for animals too, remember how lemurs acted to vaccines?" he asked, rendering how one man was scared by one of the flying fur balls.

Zu Li nodded, "As much as that's a possibly, it's greatly reduced our volunteers. We have none left at the moment until we make adjustments to the formula."

Verrick thought it over, if this worked they could revolutionize the entire military machine. And in a few months there's going to be a brass gathering in the city...

"We have one Zu Li." he said as he stood up.

"Me. I'll be the first human test subject for Project Goblin." he said, making the woman's eyes widen in surprise at his words.

AN: Ok yeah like no one saw that last part coming. I'm super happy I managed to get this out so soon after the last chapter:)

I gotta say guys, the marvel universe is getting a little crazy. First they announce the movies for Marvel Phase three, then they show the comics for Summer 2015. And one if those include the story of MJ and Peter's daughter still alive after the clone saga!

Not only that, one if my fav Web series season today (RWBY) and I gotta wait so long until the next volume.

Cupple that with the fact that one of my favorite Manga series of all time is ending next week!

So Yep. Busy few days.

Also, don't be expecting Spider-Verse too soon, the first issue comes out next week and I need to wait until it's over until I do anything with it. But it's something that will happen, I promise you all that.

Thanks for reading and I will see you guys in the next chapter

P.S. Sorry if there's any spelling errors, had some trouble submitting this.