Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe, Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize

Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed this fic so far.

Also, in case you're wondering, Curt is played by Rhys Ifans, his TASM actor, in this.

Guest: Thanks for the review and its Rhys Ifans for this one.

Chapter 2- More than just one

A teen boy was spray-painting graffiti on a earth retention wall at the construction site where dirt had been removed below the grade. He was painting a symbol of a spider, as a reference to Spider-Man, when something unseen stalked him from the shadows.

"All alone", a voice snarled while clicking its fingernails together. "Are you frightened to be all alone?"

The teenage boy stopped painting, now feeling his heart thump against his chest as he felt that he was not alone here. "Is somebody there?"

"The wind talks when you're alone", the voice said while clicking its fingernails together and then let out a laugh.

The teenage boy immediately demanded. "You better clear out, whoever you are."

There was a shrieking noise and then the boy screamed.

Later

Buffy, Peter and Xander stood over the corpse of the boy as Xander commented. "Real tough to look at."

"And yet my eyes just refuse to look away from this, stupid eyes", Buffy muttered.

"I found it first thing this morning, and so I gave my crew a day off", Xander told the two of them. "And then I called you two right away."

"I got to get a job where I don't get called right away for this stuff", Buffy sighed, shaking her head.

"Well, you do have a job at least, I am the one who needs to get a job in general", Peter told her, and he was not wrong about that either.

"Well, you're still young, still in school, I am sure you will get a lot of opportunities once you're done here, probably leave this place", Buffy commented, looking up, then looked at him. "You won't leave this place, right?"

"Well, umm, not sure yet", Peter shrugged. "I mean, we still have a while to decide."

"Fine", Buffy groaned, then wondered. "So, what do we do now?"

"I think its best to step back and think about this", Xander said.

"Maybe we should go back to the Magic Box, do some research, I'm sure something is gonna come up", Peter shrugged to them, and they did not disagree on that, since Peter was right, something would come up in Giles' books, or maybe even the computer.

"Yep, not wrong, kid", Buffy agreed as they walked off.

It was a weekend so there was no problem about classes or anything else of the sort, and now the entire Scooby Gang was in the Magic Box, researching about the Demon.

"I really can't do this sodding stuff", Spike said randomly to the rest at one point.

"In that case, you must do it, since it shall help in improving your reading and comprehension skills", Peter told him as the rest of them laughed and Spike shot Peter a look, not that he cared.

"Bloody children, I have no respect left now", Spike muttered.

"Definitely not", Dawn spoke up with a wink, reminding Spike of when she hadn't been afraid of him on the night she had found out that she was the Key.

"All of this aside, are we sure this incident is not connected to what Willow felt 2 weeks ago?" Tara then spoke up, as the atmosphere turned grim, and Willow sighed, looking down.

Soon after, the entire gang had been informed of what Willow had experienced, and they had not taken it too well of course, considering anything bad beneath the Earth could mean potential apocalypse, and Giles' research hadn't come up with much so far either.

"Yes, the events could be connected", Giles agreed. "Perhaps it is making its presence known now."

"Maybe it wants me", Willow then suggested. "Since its first attack was on me personally, not really an attack, but I felt it stronger than the rest."

"No, don't blame yourself, whatever it was, it came here on its own, okay?" Tara asked and Willow nodded. "It's targeting you because you're strong, so it wants to take you down first."

"Yeah, its afraid of you, really afraid, so its trying to come at you first", Xander agreed. "But it doesn't know that our Will is made of sterner stuff."

Willow gave a smile to both Tara and Xander at that as Anya added. "Guessing she will just flay it alive when it does come at her."

Now Anya was shot looks, and she realized she had overstepped, and muttered. "I was just trying to help!"

And then she walked off as all sighed, and Buffy suggested. "Maybe we should go take a look at the basement, it could still be lurking there."

"Yes, not a bad idea", Giles said in agreement. "But I think its best if not all of us go."

"Spike, Peter, you two are with me", Buffy said and they nodded as Peter and Dawn shared a kiss, and then the three went outside, Spike picking up his blanket as well.

A while later, the three of them were walking together in the school basement. It was quite a strange basement for sure, they had to admit, especially Peter since he had never been in this school before its destruction, and so he did not feel the evil in it first hand.

He had to admit though, this school truly could give the heebie jeebies in the dark, even to a guy like him.

Guess being directly on top of the Hellmouth made it a lot more menacing than any other dark places, but Peter at day's end always mastered his fear, and he knew he had the power to do something about this.

"The Hellmouth was over the Principal's office this time, wasn't it?" Peter then asked.

"Yeah, would be a good place to look if there wasn't a basement here", Buffy shrugged.

"Right over the Hellmouth? Has something swallowed him too?" Spike asked as the three chuckled lightly.

"Not yet, let's hope he doesn't get swallowed, he's a HUGE step-up from Snyder", Buffy said.

"I am glad to have never met that guy", Peter muttered.

"He'd probably make you a teacher and then ask you to give a really bad student a really good grade even if they didn't deserve due to their extra-curricular contribution to the school", Buffy started ranting about Snyder. "Yeah, near personal experience, since he did that to Willow once."

"Bad principal", Peter muttered.

"But he was connected to the Mayor", Buffy added. "So it makes sense he was shady."

"Well, good thing the Mayor swallowed the sod when he went down", Spike shrugged, not feeling much sympathy for Snyder.

Then suddenly he stopped, sniffing something, and raised his hand, letting the other two stop as well.

"What is it?" Peter asked in a whisper.

"Something's hear", Spike replied in a whisper of his own. "And definitely not human."

That was when Peter's spider-sense tingled and he said. "Out of the way!"

All three jumped away as a giant green creature with a tail suddenly leapt down, screeching at them, and it had long fingernails too, claws actually.

It was a really big lizard like creature.

"What the hell?" Buffy said. "Is this what we're looking for?"

"How did it go out in the day without being seen?" Peter wondered as it tried to attack him but he flipped to avoid while its tail whipped in Buffy's direction but she managed to grab it in time, trying to pull him away.

He screeched and lunged at her, making her leave him as she rolled away to avoid him.

And then Spike leapt at Lizard from behind, punching the back of its head before ending up in front of it, and taunted. "Come on, mate! Give us a fight!"

Lizard roared and tried to punch as Spike dodged, then took Vamp face, punching its chest, and then spin kicked it before raising his arm to block a blow, and then punched it twice before kicking it back, but then it grabbed his hand. "Blimey!"

It then hurled him into a corner as he groaned, and then Buffy leapt at Lizard, grabbing him in a chokehold from behind, the two of them struggling, as Peter then leapt at Lizard and kicked it on the face, sending it staggering back while still struggling with Buffy.

Buffy elbowed it on the shoulder thrice while Peter used a web-shooter to cover its mouth, making it stagger around violently while still struggling against Buffy.

Lizard then grasped Buffy's arms, slowly pulling them apart as Peter did a cartwheel and leapt at Lizard but at the last moment Lizard freed itself and threw Buffy at Peter, sending both of them falling down as well.

When the three got up, Lizard was gone, and some other actual small lizards were crawling around at the walls, looking rather rattled.

"I think this might be what we are looking for", Buffy said when her phone rang, and she took it out. "Its Giles."

"Guessing they found out about it while we found it", Peter realized.

"Odd coincidence, but this is a Hellmouth after all", Spike quipped as Buffy nodded on listening.

"Uh-huh, okay, does it look like a giant Lizard?" Whatever reply Buffy got made her eyes widen in horror. "Okay."

She cut the call as Peter asked. "What's the matter?"

"Giles said Dawn found out about it on the computer", Buffy said as Peter smiled.

"That's my girl", he muttered as Buffy then continued.

"Gnarl. It is a kind of parasite Demon with long fingernails, or claws, to be more specific, and secretes a substance through them to paralyze victims", Buffy told them all. "And then it cuts strips off their skins while they are all still alive, it takes hours."

Peter cringed at imagining that as Spike shrugged. "Seen worse than that."

"I didn't need to know that", Peter muttered to Spike but he looked unapologetic. "And the body we saw had no strips of skin on it, so clearly this Gnarl took his time there."

"Good thing none of us were hit by its claws then", Spike said with a shrug, but Buffy looked grim. "What?"

"I asked if it looks like a giant Lizard, it does not, so whatever we just fought, it wasn't Gnarl", Buffy revealed, and now both Peter and Spike exchanged horrified looks.

"Oh boy! So we have more than just one to deal with", Peter realized.

"Well, the blood trail was strong here too", Spike pointed out to them, and they had to concede. "So while the Lizard ain't what we were looking for, this Gnarl thing did come here."

"So, you can track it?" Buffy asked hopefully.

"Yes, will take some time since the blood trail from the body would be weaker the farther it went, but I can get it", Spike assured. "However, this bloody Lizard thing ain't gonna go away either."

"One problem at a time", Buffy said and he nodded.

"Let's go", Peter said, and all three of them went off, Spike at the lead and the other two behind him.

Later, night time

Peter was now dressed in his Spider-Man suit and was walking alongside Buffy as Spike continued doing his tracking by sniffing the trail of blood, leading the way for the two of them.

Spike then stopped walking and stood in front of some bushes, staring at a rock cliff, and said. "This is it."

"It is?" Peter asked as Spike pushed the bush aside.

"Look, cave", he said, and they nodded.

"Come on", Buffy said as the three of them walked inside the cave.

It seemed empty at first, though there was a light from a fire nearby.

"Dark and dank, I was hoping this place would be dark and dank", Peter quipped.

Buffy gestured for him to stop talking as the three of them heard some noises.

"Something's moving in here", Spike muttered.

"So we're in the right place", Buffy said in realization.

"The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout.
Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,
and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again"

"Oh this is getting offensive", Peter muttered, looking forward to dealing with Gnarl.

"It's echoing, so he must be close", Buffy said, and then Peter's spider-sense tingled again as Gnarl jumped out but Peter grabbed his hands before Gnarl could scratch him and hurled him away into a corner.

It screeched and hid away, and the three looked around while Spike quipped. "Nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide, flay-boy."

Gnarl lunged again, this time at Buffy, but barely missed her, getting her shirt but not her skin.

"Close one", Buffy muttered, as Gnarl lunged again, but this time Peter fired a web, grabbing Gnarl who struggled but Peter was stronger than he was.

Spike kicked Gnarl's feet from underneath him, sending him to the ground, and Buffy then leapt at Gnarl, grabbing his head with both hands as she plunged her thumbs into his eyes, making Gnarl screech as he was finally killed.

"Eww, did you really have to do that?" Peter asked in disgust, as Buffy shrugged unapologetically.

"Nice going", Spike said with a smirk as he and Buffy shared a kiss on the lips, and Peter walked off, sputtering.

"Get a room, you two", he said as the two shared a look and chuckled.

Later

Peter returned home, where May had just prepared dinner. "Hi."

"Hi", Peter greeted back as he sat down.

"So, what happened today?" May asked.

"Giant Lizard and a creepy Demon that flays people, we got the second one", Peter told her as they began eating.

"And the first?" May asked.

"No idea, its lurking in the school basement for all we know", Peter said, and May looked worried.

"Oh this is getting worse, now I think coming here was worse than remaining at New York", May muttered.

"Relax", Peter assured, holding out his hand and putting it over hers. "I mean, yeah, its trouble here, but we have people who care about us, a whole group of them."

May calmed down and nodded. "Yeah, you're not wrong there."

And with that, they continued eating.

Willow was meditating, or trying to, as Tara arrived. "Hey."

"Hey", Willow said as Tara sat down next to her.

"Trying to concentrate?" Tara asked.

"Yeah, but still rattled from whatever that thing was from 2 weeks ago", Willow told her.

"Don't worry", Tara assured as she held out her hand, she and Willow exchanging a loving smile as Willow held Tara's hand. "You are not alone in this."

"I know", Willow said as they shared a kiss, and then holding hands, closed their eyes, meditating together and now managing to focus due to their combined power.

They were strongest together.

And done with another. No way 7x2 will happen here, but 7x3 I figured I could do without Willow's Dimension shifting here.

And it ended up being the perfect spot to introduce Curt's alter-ego aka the Lizard, and he shall play a bigger role soon when we get to him more.

So after this its Angel 4x3 and Buffy 7x4.

Hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter.