***
The afternoon sun was shining on the campus of Columbia University. Ben looked around the campus with its high domed buildings and pretty walkways with signs everywhere advertising a Spirit Festival. "Place hasn't changed much. "
"I was hanging in the sciences department. I didn't switch to photography until practically the end of term."
It was Ben's idea that brought them here today. Peter had been enjoying an evening at home with MJ recovering from his mid air maneuvers. Ben had called up and pointed out that records showed that Octavius and Connors had been part of some big research project a few years ago. Peter had pointed out that Connors would not likely know where Octavius was. Ben had responded Connors might have no clue where Octavius was but he might knew enough about the man that they could figure out what Octavius was doing.
Thus they where heading toward one of the lecture halls. Peter remembered going down these hallways when he had been a student. Ben was getting ready to open the door and head inside Peter stopped him. "What is it?"
"Dr Connors really hates it when you interrupt the flow of his lectures. Class is almost over we can go in then."
"Do you know this guy."
"I had him during my last year of taking science."
"Great that means you speak geek. You do the talking."
"Not a good idea, Connors is kind of pissed with me."
"Why did you cheat on an exam or something."
"No, I dropped out of the sciences program and started taking Photography full time and working at the Bugle."
"Oh He's a Spider-Hater is he?"
"I think he is fine with Spider-man. He is just disappointed that I didn't finish the program."
"Well, nothing like starting off an interview by you having alienated the guy we need to talk to."
They stepped into the classroom as Connors finished his lecture. He was a tall man with brown hair cut close to the scalp this and his lean build told the tale of his time in the military. One of the sleeves of his lab coat was pinned up. He had lost this arm during his time in the forces. He eyed the two men wearily, his gaze freezing on Peter for a moment. "That will be all for today. I realize most of you plan on being at the Spirit Festival this evening but, since we do have a major test coming up; I trust some studying will play a part in your lives in the near future."
The students trudged past the two men with Ben making eye contact with as many of the young co-eds as possible. Peter walked up to Connors and held out his hand in greeting. Connors took it after a moment shaking his and looking at him gravely. "Peter it's been a long time, how is your aunt?"
"Fine sir she often asks about "that nice Dr Connors" as she refers to you."
"You tell her we still miss you down here in the science lab." Connors said gathering his papers one handed.
"This is my partner Ben Urich we are following up the story on Dr Octavius."
"I thought the police were handling the search for Otto."
"They are, but all they can do is follow the clues to were he had been we are trying to figure out where he is going and what made him such a menace."
"Dr Octavius is a brilliant researcher that has suffered an unpleasant turn of events. He is confused and has a freakish appearance but that is no call for disrespect." Connors snapped
No disrespect meant Sir, but even you have to admit Octavius' behavior is odd."
"That man could have been a Nobel laureate, maybe the work and dedication that takes would be foreign to you Peter but men like that think rationally about the world and make the right choices based on logic."
"He threatened a hospital full of patients and police, how rational is that?"
"We can't know all the facts and until we do its useless to speculate. Surely you remember something of what I taught you or did you skip that class as well as the others."
Ben looked at the pained look on Peter's face and decided to interject "Dr Connors we pulled some records down at The Bugle that said you used to work with Dr Otto Octavius."
Connors blinked and smiled. "Yes Otto and I met when he was consulting on project I was involved with a few years ago."
"Would that have been something for Oscorp, their Performance drug perhaps."
"You have to understand Mr. Urich, the companies that donate their money and equipment for use by the faculty and students do so under strict nondisclosure guidelines. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't tell you much about what we were doing for Oscorp."
"What about the rest of the team involved in the project where are they?"
"Dr Farley Stillwell went in to privately funded research. Professor Miles Warren continued his studies at another school after there was a … Misunderstanding here at Columbia."
Connors finished shuffling his papers around and walked out of the lecture hall. Peter and Ben followed until they arrived at an office were Connors paused and reshuffled the stack of papers so he could dig one handed for the door key.
"One last question Doc, I hear Otto lost out on a major award why did they pass him over."
"Fall out from his loss of funding from The Hardy Foundation."
"I hear you had something to do with that."
"I submitted a report on some of his theories he... Neglected to mention what part my discoveries played in his work. It happens all the time. Now gentlemen I hate to cut off your muck racking, but I have papers to grade."
The man disappeared inside his office and Peter and Ben headed down the hall. "Well that was a waste of time. He didn't want to say anything."
"Do you think we should try again?" Peter asked.
There was a slam from the office door and Ben grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him away. "Door slams are the international signal for leave me the hell alone. Lets you and me find a the campus pub and kick back."
"Aren't you curious about what the old man is hiding"
"Not in the slightest it's beginning to dawn on me that asking people questions they don't want to answer isn't the most productive use of my time."
That was a shock to Peter, as near as he could tell Urich loved reporting. Then he looked around the campus and noticed there seemed to be many people running around for no reason. "The campus seems noisier then normal."
"It's the spirit festival, they're getting crazy. Who cares?" Ben muttered heading off toward the pub. Two men ran by chasing a girl who was topless.
"Ben there's a topless girl behind you." Peter supplied watching the proceedings.
"So what, even if I write about it nobody cares enough to do anything. Nothing matters"
"OK the campus is exploding, you're having a life sucks moment and you're ignoring a young topless co-ed, something weird is going on." Peter headed to a dark alcove already opening his shirt.
"Why do you care Parker it's not as if you're a super hero. What makes you think you can make a difference."
Ben realized he was talking to empty space. For a moment, he thought about trying to find where Parker had gone. Then it dawned on him that it didn't really matter.
***
Connors stepped through the door he headed for his desk when the light was flicked on and the door slammed. He looked up and dropped the pile of papers under his arm. Sitting In his chair was Otto Octavius. He was reading files on Connors computer and making notes on a paper. There was debris on the desk as though something had been constructed. "Hello Curtis nice to see you still teaching."
"Otto it has been a long time how did you get past campus security."
"Not important now, I have been looking over the work you have done since we all parted company and I am impressed."
"Thank you, I think my own research has benefited greatly from that work."
"As did the rest, you all profited from my contributions yet none of you would give me my due."
"Is this about the science award, I did what I was obligated to do."
"Rob me of my chance for recognition for the work I had done. I was unaware you felt it was an obligation."
"You had better leave Otto, campus security will be here soon."
"I doubt it campus security will be very busy for the next few hours."
"What have you done?"
"Quite a bit really, your observations about the tendency for test subject to have their inhibitions lowered gave me an idea. I modified some aerosol spray cans to produce a misted form of the chemical. I released the substance into the ventilation system so right about now every guard on campus will be less then interested in what we are doing."
"Are you insane Otto."
"Actually that's why I came. I need to study what has happened to me and I need your files and research, all of it, including the test data."
Connors panicked and ran to the door. Two tentacles wrapped around him and threw him into a wall. They gathered him up from where he had fallen and pinned him to the wall. "You know Curtis I found quite a bit of your test data seems to be in hidden files and encrypted. I can see encrypting your data but hiding the file folders, what are you concealing."
"None of your concern Otto, leave me alone."
"You won't tell me, but you told those policemen outside didn't you… didn't you." He slammed Connors against the wall.
"Those were reporters not police. I didn't tell them anything … anything, please stop."
"Lies - all lies - you turned on me and betrayed me conspired against me with that bitch Hardy but my genius will prevail." Octavius hurled the Doctor against the wall. His body slumped in a corner. Octavius grabbed files that he could access from the computer and slipped out the door. Connors lay in the corner groaning and cursing. He pulled himself to his feet and stumbled over to a mirror. He willed himself to gaze at his reflection. The eyes that stared back at him were crimson and reptilian looking. He screamed but the sound was already more like a hissing roar. "I am Dr Curt Connors, I have a rational mind, I'm a scientissst. I am Curtissss Connorssss I am a Sssscientissst." The sound carried out into the hall but as Dr Octopus had predicted the only people who would have cared were falling into their own brand of madness - all save one.
***
The campus was in the grip of mass hysteria. People were torching parts of the buildings and threatening fellow students with anything that came to hand. A group of sorority sisters had cornered two members of the hockey team, threatening the boys with castration. All of a sudden a web-line snagged both boys and pulled them to safety. The girls screamed at being robbed of their justice. Meanwhile high above the quad, Spider-man lowered the boys to the rooftop. Then he webbed them together "If you guys only knew my personal history, you would love the irony of me saving jocks." Leaving them there on the roof he landed on the ground and allowed the girls to chase after him. A little spider speed kept him safe. They ran him inside a sorority house. He dived through a window then webbed it closed behind him and all the others, Finishing by blocking the door. "I'm sure you girls will do each others hair or share stories about what jerks guys can be." He called over their cries of fury.
He took to the air, pulling some people to safety, webbing others up to keep them from hurting themselves or others. He tried to not use his powers aggressively but sometimes he had no choice. He caught up with the two guys chasing the topless girl just as they caught up with her. Spider-man landed on the ground and grabbed the two of them hurling them in opposite directions. He then grabbed the girl and swung her to safety she rained blows on his head screaming that she wouldn't let him attack her. He left her suspended off the ground outside the building were the nurse office was.
Spider-man caught sight of two more guys in lettermen jackets moving predator like around a corner. He rounded the building about to the do the hero thing when he saw that the boys were surrounding a teacher in a lab coat. At least he thought is was a teacher the next few seconds proved him wrong. The boys rushed the man who grabbed the first attacker and hurled him several feet away. The second boy swung an improvised club at Lab Coat's head. There was a blur of motion and the club was splintered on the ground and the boy was backing away, the figure stepped into the light. It was green from head to foot. Peter remembered hiding behind a couch during one episode of Star Trek when he had been young. It featured a huge reptile-like thing called a Gorn. That was what stood before him now.
Red eyes, long snout, powerful jaws lined with sharp teeth. Tightly muscled arms and legs barely contained by the ravaged lab coat and street clothes the thing was wearing. From its hips erupted a huge tail that lashed the air. It hissed menacingly and reached a clawed hand toward the cowering youth. Spider-man dispensed with all the flair and flourish that he normally used in fights. He just dropped in front of the beast and rocked it backward with a solid punch. The thing staggered backward. It primitive brain seemed to realize that a challenge was in the offering. The Lizard slashed forward with blinding speed. All of Spider-Man's reaction time was taken up with avoiding the nightmarish reflexes. His spider-sense gave little warning of the punches and slashes the Lizard directed his way. Screaming for the boy to get off the ground and start running, (his companion had already fled) Spider-Man fought back against The Lizard's blows.
With no warning the beast turned and it's tail swept around hitting Spider-man full force. The web-slinger bounced across the lawn. He sprang to his feet and saw the Lizard barreling toward him. He jumped over the creature firing a web-line to snag its back as he passed. Landing on the ground and bracing his feet he yanked and pulled backwards swinging the Lizard around and slamming his body up against the wall. The beast rose from the ground literally shaking its head.
"Ok Scaly we can keep doing this dance or you can back down." Spider-man moved cautiously, meanwhile the Lizard stalked slowly toward him. "I guess that answers that question."
Spider-man was expecting a fast dash, not a leap that covered the almost fifteen foot distance between them. The lizard landed on top of him. The wall crawler bent backward hoping to dislodge his opponent. As he was throwing the beast off himself, he caught sight of a nametag on the breast pocket of the lab coat. "C. Connors".
What did you do to Dr Connors." Spider-man yelled furiously
The creature seemed enraged by the sound of the name "Connorssss, hate Connorsss." It sprang at him again. Spider-man put all of his substantial strength into an uppercut that tossed the creature backward. It slammed into the wall and sank to the ground.
Looking around him at last, the webslinger saw police pouring onto the campus in droves and they seemed unaffected by whatever madness had seized the population of the school. Wrapping the Lizard in webbing he scaled the building closest to him and rested the lizard on the gravel top. Sticking to the shadows he retrieved his clothes and slipped back into his civilian identity. For this next meeting Peter Parker was going to be more help then Spider-man.
Back on the rooftop he arrived to find The Lizard's body slowly shrinking. The right arm shrank; growing vestigial until it became a stump. Hair sprouted from green skin already turning back to its normal pink colour. Peter checked the doctor's eyes and found them transformed back to their normal blue. He sat and watched the man moan and struggle weakly against the webbing that restrained him.
"Are you alright doc?"
"What happened? Why am I like this?
"Spider-man was helping with the riot. He ran into The Lizard and they threw down."
"And the reason I'm waking up talking to you as opposed to the police is…"
"Spider-man felt I might know better how to handle this then the police."
"So, what are you going to do, splash my name across three columns."
"Ben is the writer Dr.C, I just take pictures of Spider-man. I am after the truth not a story."
Connors hesitated; Peter frustrated rose and headed for a door that would take him down to the ground level. "Doctor I have a responsibility to keep people safe. If I have to turn you in to accomplish that then that's what I have to do."
Connors struggled against his bonds then called out. "Peter wait, I'm sorry. I'll tell you what I can?"
Peter returned and sat next to him and they spoke. "I suppose you know that I lost my arm in combat back when I was an army surgeon." Connors started, Peter nodded and the doctor continued. "I grew up in Miami and as a boy I was always fascinated by lizards and reptiles. When I got back to the States and took up a teaching post I began to study them more closely. They have the ability to regenerate lost extremities, something I wanted to isolate and use to my advantage. I eventually found the enzyme that initiates the re-growth. I couldn't make it work on a human sized test subject. Then Mendell Stromm came along with an offer from Oscorp, Take their performance enhancer and improve it. There were three of us then. Farley Stillwell, Miles Warren and me, Otto didn't join us until later. I used the enhancer to amplify the effects of the enzyme. At the time it seemed a natural thing to do we had already been using the enhancer chemical to assist and amplify genetic crossbreeding between animal species."
"What kind of animals." Peter asked fearing the answer even as he heard it.
"Cats, insects, spiders, anything our twisted hearts desired. When Oscorp took back control of the project. Stromm and Otto went to work for Osborne. Stillwell, Warren, and I went our separate ways. I stuck with the school. I went back to my project and finally tested the serum I had created. I had no idea then that the enzyme I had isolated was like adrenaline. Lizards produce it in response to fear, anger, and pain. When it entered my blood stream, it mutated the adrenal functions of my body. Instead of allowing me to grow an new arm it changed my whole body."
"The lizard creature."
Connors nodded. "The transformations are like some Jekyel and Hyde thing."
"They come in response to fear, stress or rage." Peter guessed. His scientific background was causing his stomach to churn at the thought of what Connors had unwittingly unleashed.
"Exactly, I have been trying to find a cure ever since. I use artificial means to control my emotional state. If I remain calm and relaxed I avoid changing into the thing."
"It seems to hate you, why?"
"Its intellect as far as I can tell is based on my most primitive and base thoughts, thoughts that I keep suppressed. Its only release is when I change or by acting through my subconscious."
"Subconscious?"
"I've noticed that if I am tired or distracted it acts without my knowledge. It designed the Madness Mine."
"Madness Mine, What's that?"
"A bio-chemical weapon, it stimulates the parts of the brain that dictate aggressive and violent behavior."
"You made that crap and then released it on the campus are you nuts."
"Not me Peter I swear it was not me. The Lizard designed it."
"Using your scientific know-how."
"That's true but it was not me that started the riot."
'Then who did, and how did you end up transforming this time?"
"Otto Octavius was waiting for me in my office after you and Mr. Urich left me alone."
"Dr Octopus?"
"Yes, he was irrational, blaming me for his disgrace of not winning the Nobel and losing his funding."
"He attacked you?"
Connors nodded. "He built a small prototype of the device I designed and released it in the venting systems around the school. The effects were immediate but short-lived."
"I noticed, alright doc last question, where would he go."
"I don't know, he was ranting and I was too worried about not transforming."
"You've got to have some idea."
"Peter he came to me to steal files and get back at me for ruining his reputation professionally."
"That report you gave, why did the Hardy foundation suspect Otto had falsified his reports."
"I 'm not sure, Anastasia Hardy came to me one night and talked to me about the work. She asked what Otto was doing. I mentioned he had used my research in passing and she started egging me on to submit a complaint to the scientific board about the matter."
"Did Otto ever find out that Ms. Hardy visited you."
"Not at first but he found out later when she backed me to get the funding grant Otto wanted."
"Norman possibly screws him over and he attacks Ravencroft. You humiliate him publicly and he attacks you and steals files. I wonder… what was Otto doing for the Hardy Foundation."
"Energy research, finding new fuel supplies that kind of thing. That was why he invented the harness. He needed a way to handle volatile substances with greater accuracy."
"I wonder what he's after." Peter wondered
"What are you going to do now." Connors wanted to know.
The man's obvious anxiety dragged Peter back to reality. "I'm going to do the right thing."
"Peter you have to help me. I'm so close to a cure I know it, I just need some more time."
"Relax Doc I won't tell anyone what I know. If you can control that thing I swear, I will keep this just between the both of us."
Connors nodded and Peter rose and walked away. With Great Power comes great responsibility. His uncle had said that, and the truth of it had never been clearer then at this moment. Connors and Octavius had misused their powers and now others would pay the price. Peter could have ended the threat posed by the Lizard; instead, out of misguided loyalty he was letting him go. Even worse, Connors had inadvertently revealed that he was indirectly responsible for the powers now coursing through Peter Parker's blood.
***
"Well aren't you the biggest poop on the planet" announced Mary Jane Watson.
"Excuse me?" Peter asked.
Peter had stayed at the campus long enough to find a drunk Ben Urich. Ben had been in the pub true to his word and had been liquor-ing up. He had been allowed to go home by the paramedics after they determined that the gas had not had any lasting effect on him. Peter had dropped him off at his apartment. He then proceeded to wander home. Mary Jane had for once not been sitting next to the TV watching him endanger himself. She had been at the modeling agency she worked at for most of the day. She had arrived home to find her man perched on the skylight he normally used for his exits and entrances as Spider-man. Today it was Peter Parker gazing out on the night and not responding to MJ's frequent entreaties to come in and talk about it. Being a woman used to getting what she wanted, MJ dealt with the problem in her usual fashion. She slipped into a silk kimono that had been her agent's house-warming gift. She had found that Spider-man problems were the only kind that prevented Peter from responding in typical man fashion to her demonically attractive figure. Thus, she was in the Fortress of Peter-tude. A nickname she had given to the spot to which her sweetie often retreated. He claimed it was to think, she maintained the only thing he did up there was hard core brooding and it was this brooding session she had interrupted with her comment.
"Just to remind you Parker the approved response to a woman as hot as me parading around the house in an outfit like this is heavy breathing and invocation of snuggling privileges." She struck a pose that showed her off to good effect.
Peter realized how long he had been up in the fortress. "Sorry MJ, Wackiness ensued at the campus and Ben and I were right in the middle of it."
"Really so you've been staring at University co-eds all night. No wonder me and my silks do nothing for your brooding ways."
"Hon, don't be that way, I obsess over you all the time."
She throw on her pout face, guaranteed to get Peter hugging her inside of thirty seconds, it took him twenty. "So why have you been up here all night when my back could stand with some attention."
One practical use she had found for Peter's spider strength was that her need for strong back rubs had all but disappeared. Her challenge previously was to find a man with strong enough hands to rub the tension in her back away, with Peter the challenge was keeping him from accidentally crushing her shoulders.
"Doc Connors, reluctantly told me about the experiments that he and Octavius were involved with."
Mary Jane nodded "So, we already know Octavius was quite the Dr Frankenstein, what's got you so depressed."
"Octavius was fooling around with the same chemical that changed Norman. I think that is what made him go nuts and gave him the ability to control those metal arms of his. We already know about Norman and what happened to him."
MJ shuddered at the memory; The Goblin had been on the verge of killing her when Spider-man had intervened.
"Now I find a new menace."
"Yeah the news was talking about it tonight, Some kind of mutant man-lizard. Did you stop it from hurting anyone."
Peter nodded. "Stopping it is easy, what's bothering me is that every time I turn around some new menace owes its existence to that witches brew Oscorp created. The Green Goblin, The Lizard, Doctor Octopus and now the greatest threat of them all, assuming you believe Jameson."
Mary Jane paled as she realized what Peter was saying. "You mean this stuff made you into Spider-Man. You told me you were bit by a spider."
"A genetically enhanced super spider created at Columbia University by Drs Connors, Stillwell and Warren using a process that involved treating the spiders with the performance enhancer."
"Jesus, Peter that has to be tough, but that doesn't change anything."
"MJ, it changes everything. This chemical brings out the darkness within you, makes you a monster. How much longer will it be before the police are hunting me down and trying to stop me from hurting someone maybe even you."
"Maybe this chemical brings out the real you. The part of you that you don't like admitting is there. That's why The Green Goblin went after the board of Oscorp. Deep down Osborne resents all of them. Dr Octavius, from what you have said he thinks the world is out to get him and now he has the power to strike back at everyone he thinks screwed him over. Peter I have known you a long time. You have changed since the spider bit you. You have become someone who doesn't just talk about having principles you put them in practice."
"How can you be so sure of me, when I am not sure of me."
"I know Peter Parker before and after the spider, with all the power that you have as Spider-man, your greatest concern is the well being and safety of others. My heart rides into my chest every time I see you fight. Trust me when I say that I will cheer the day you decide to give up being Spider-man. But if you turn your back on those you have helped and the good that you have done out of fear. You will be a greater monster then all the Green Goblin's and Lizard men of the world could ever be."
Peter smiled at her and he held her close. "I wish Uncle Ben could have met you he always said you had a great head on your shoulders. He said that I looked at you the way he looked at Aunt May. That's how he knew you were the perfect girl."
"And how would he react if he knew that you were ignoring me so you could sit in the Fortress and brood all night.
"He'd hit me very hard."
"A course of action I may yet resort to. Now if you will excuse me, I was planning to have some lingerie photos done. If you're too busy to help, I'll have to call someone else to handle it." She got up and headed back down to the main floor leaving her scent behind. Peter paused only long enough to thank the heavens and especially Ben Parker for sending him a woman whose heart was as big as her body was sexy. Then his spider speed got him to the bedroom in seconds. In typical MJ fashion, she insisted on him actually shooting a role of thirty-six before he was allowed to join her in bed. She felt, and Peter later agreed, this was a light punishment for ignoring her.
