Part Four

            "Today a new age isss born." The Lizard grinned at his twelve super-soldiers in the sanctity of the breeding facility, a huge chasm of a room with a small walkway surrounded by growth tubes with developing creatures in them hung over a vast dark pit, every so often a female computerized voice informed him of status updates, "You are but the firssst of a ssstrong race, a better race. Our first conquessst sshall come under the disssgusting banner of Sss.H.I.E.L.D. but after victory is ours and I have augmented our family we will march under for not thessse infantile mammalsss but for our own race'sss assscension. The age of the Dinosssaur ssspanned millionsss of yearsss.  Let'sss sssee if we can do better, eh."

            The abominations he called his own stared at the Lizard like a child stares at their mother, with unconditional love. Every so often they mimicked his actions but there was no doubt he was in control here.

            The sound of approaching footsteps cooled the Lizard's eagerness. Jan moved through the sliding doors, her manner to him had been that of a rival for the last few weeks, no matter to Connors, S.H.I.E.L.D. was all but his. "Why have you disssturbed my work?" He asked.

            "Our spy in the Avengers has informed us that they will be moving against us soon. The main force of the team will attempt to divert our forces while Captain America heads here to destroy your work." Jan declared.

            "Captain America isss no match for my power." Connors replied snickering, "I'll do away with him."

            Jan contemplated not informing him but decided it was for the best that she did, "Spider-Man will be with him."

            The Lizard's eyes widened, "Parker? My that'sss interesting. I look forward to finally removing that interloper for the final time. Inform our agent that when the Avengersss attack to break away from the team and confront them both before they reach the Chambersss, we can't risssk our great visssion being ruined."

            Peter sat in the lounge, in costume of course, watching the television shortly before the entire roster of the Avengers arrived, except for Captain America, namely the ones called: Giant Man, Wasp, Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye.

            "Hey, look who it is, the kid." The Giant Man, Hank Pym, his power being obviously the ability to go from normal sized to incredibly tall and powerful. "Hey, Spider-Man, how is it being in the minor-leagues?"

            "It's about as good as spending long walks on the beach with your wife there, Giant-boy." Peter replied referring to the Wasp.

            Hank took an aggressive step forward, "Why I ought to beat your face in you punk."

            Hawkeye held him back, "Calm down, Hank, he's not worth it. Kid fights street punks for a living what do you expect?"

            Peter grimaced and pulled his mask back on, they'd already all seen his face during his imprisonment, "Hey don't sweat it Hanky, maybe one day the rest of you will grow in proportion with that ego of yours."

            "He's baiting you, honey, relax." The Wasp said to which Hank complied, "That kid's going to get a big fat lip and you're the one is going to do it."

            "Looking forward to it, big man, hey is your growing voluntary? Because I imagine it must be murder in the sack with the Wasp there." Peter said wishing he had a bucket of popcorn. He grinned widely, these were the big-time superheroes? They were easier to goad than Flash Thompson on a bad day.

            Steve Rogers suddenly entered, "Hey, guys we're on."

            "When the Avengersss arrive they will be ssslaughtered." The Lizard said proudly, "They believe that they will be fighting a mundane sssecurity force?" He laughed wickedly with Jan by his side staring out a window into the courtyard.

            "No, they will not be." The Lizard continued forever in planning, "I'm posting half of the symbiote soldiers to the courtyard, they'll ready for them, the other half will wait in the breeding chambersss with me, if our agent failsss to kill Ssspider-Man and Captain America then we'll be waiting for them."

            Jan smirked, "I have to hand it to you, Connors; you've got this one down pact."

            The Lizard bowed his head politely, "Thank you, it'sss almossst midnight, the ssshow will be beginning any minute now."

            Peter stared outside the side of the helicopter in which he sat alongside the Avengers force. He could see the tower in the distance. He had swung by there before, more times than he'd like to admit. He should have stopped Connors before, when he had the chance. Now how many people were suffering because he hadn't acted properly?

            "More than you know." The Scarlet Witch remarked and chuckled to Peter's surprise, "I'm a mind-reader along with some basic telekinesis. Don't sweat it everyone's like that the first time I do it."

            "I can imagine." Peter rolled his head back and took a deep breath, "I wish I had finished that pizza the other day."

            Scarlet Witch patted his shoulder gently, "You'll do fine." Her costume almost looked like an ethereal red garb; he had to remind himself that she was really there at times.

            Steve Rogers, in his Captain America costume moved away from the cockpit, "Okay, we'll drop the rest of the team off here, make your way into the courtyard and punch through the doors, expect heavy resistance." He turned to Peter, "You're ready kid."

            "Ready as I'll ever be." He replied with a thumbs-up.

            The helicopter lowered to the corner of an empty street dropping off most of the Avengers. Immediately Giant Man grew to fifteen feet, his costume stretching as well and followed a cautious Hawkeye his bow ready with low-yield explosive arrows comparable to the force of small grenades. The rest of the team followed in tow.

            Meanwhile inside the chopper, Peter could feel his sweaty palms even through the gloves. "Don't worry, just stay calm." Steve replied. "You're doing okay?"

            "I guess." Peter laughed, "It's just…this isn't how I imagined my life, you know? Attacking a literal fortress and just hoping to make it to the next morning, that wasn't part of the plan. I didn't ask for these powers, they were forced on me and dealing with them hasn't made anything any better. Sometimes, I think, I know that the best thing would be to stop; I mean what kind of a nut goes out, leaving his friends and family praying that he comes back home?"

            Steve rubbed his chin roughly, "I don't know, policemen, firemen, soldiers-."

            Peter smiled humbly, "I get your point."

            "Listen, Spider-Man, Parker, whatever you prefer, I'm going to give you some advice and it's up to you whether you follow it or not." Steve said as the helicopter began to ascend again. "When you go home tonight or tomorrow, or whenever you get the chance for that matter you need to take a long hard look in a mirror. And it's not to see if this is making you happy because you'll have rotten days, and it's not to see if doing this is spiritually fulfilling because you can't save everyone. It's to see if you can stop."

            Peter frowned and then in confusion asked, "What's that mean."

            Steve grimaced, "I guess I could explain this better. If you can ignore a woman crying for help then you can stop, if you can see a building in flames with people trapped and walk away you can stop. If you can see one of those costumed psychos running around the streets killing everyone like there's no tomorrow and be content to find out what happened at work the next day then you can stop. If you can't and you're running into danger, trying to help, trying to be the hero then there's nothing you can do; you've already made your decision. If that's the case, then in your heart you are and will always be Spider-Man and whether that means going into action with a costume or not doesn't amount to anything because you'll be going in regardless."

            He sat there silent for a moment letting the words and their meanings seep into his mind, he looked at Cap for a moment with a fresh understanding, "You know for an Avenger, you're not so bad."

            "That's what my wife tells me." Steve replied with a toothy grin.

            The helicopter flew higher and stopped a few dozen yards away from the building itself. Steve tightened his gloves and checked his shield, "This is the end of the road, you swing us over to that window, the one below the lit one, see it?"

            "I got you." Peter fired a web-line and grabbed Steve, "Hold on, cap, this might be a little ruff." He swung off the helicopter which immediately pulled off with Rogers in tow. Peter struggled to compensate for Steve's weight but eventually got it and the both of them crashed through the glass window rolling across the falsely normal looking office floor.

            Captain America brushed his shoulders of stray glass and tugged at his mask carefully, "Come on, we need to get into the central corridor that should get us to an elevator up to the breeding chambers."

            They quickly left the room full of offices and cubicles, the corridor was closer than expected and immediately it reminded Peter of a fall-out shelter, with concrete walls, and flashing lights marking various wings of the building, there was no doubting this was the heart of S.H.I.E.L.D. itself. "Well, let's hope Hanky and the others don't go and get themselves killed."

            "I don't like this. Something's wrong, I can feel it." Hawkeye remarked as they moved through the courtyard full of hedges and trees.

            Hank grimaced, "It's just that Spider-Man, kid, he's getting to you, don't worry about it."

            The Avengers slowly approached the front door of the building; every step they took was with precision and caution.

            Suddenly, flashlights filled the courtyard blinding the team. "Hello." The voice of the Lizard greeted them via a loud speaker set up outside the building, "I wisssh I could be there in perssson, but I am far too busssy to come out in perssson with more important mattersss. Enjoy dying."

            "It's a damn trap." Hank exclaimed, "We've been led into a trap." He exclaimed, "We've been in tougher spots." He could see dozens of guards with automatic rifles beginning to show through the hedges. "Show them what we got."

            Hawkeye unleashed a spray of arrows into one row of guards resulting in a massive explosion throwing them away like rag-dolls. The courtyard was filled with gun-fire. Hawkeye opened fire on another squad only to be forced back behind a tree for cover.

            The Giant Man swept in slamming his huge fist into a group of five smashing them at once. Bullets ripped into his suit forcing him to shield his left arm. "I'm being hit!" He exclaimed.

            Hawkeye poked out through the tree and fired an arrow into the group, he saw the Wasp zip by slamming into a guard that had tried to flank him. "Stay tight people, they might have been tipped off but our objective still stand!"

            Hank stomped on the heads of a guard while swatting another with ease. "This is all you got?" He exclaimed and crushed another between his hands before throwing him into a group taking cover behind a stone statue in the center of the courtyard. He saw the Wasp hit another guard from his cover but take a shot to her leg that forced to crash onto the concrete. Members of the security force were already closing in on her ready to put her out of commission. "Janet!" He screamed and charged forward from his cover, gunfire covered the ground around his feet shredding at his arms and legs. He dived in and grabbed the Wasp in his hands, "Hey, need a ride?" He knocked the approaching guards aside, even as explosions from Hawkeye's arrows turned the courtyard into a war zone.

            The Guards began to retreat to which Hawkeye continued suppression fire forcing them back into the building. Giant Man smiled and lay behind a brush, "Okay, we're going to have to hit them if we're going to keep them distracted."

            Hawkeye nodded, "You're ready?" Hank nodded, "Let's go." He placed the Wasp on the floor, telling her to relax while he and Hawkeye prepared to move forward. "Wait, stop!"

            Hank frowned, "What's wrong."

            "I just realized why they were retreating." Hawkeye readied his arrows, "Look." Janet struggled back up to her feet.

            Out of the building, smashing through the front doors emerged six monsters. Their bodies were black and hideous, their faces snarling while their tails whipped up and down furiously. "What are we going to do?" The Wasp asked. "What do we do?"

            Hawkeye grimaced, "Fight."

            Peter dropped down on the guards hard. "I don't think they're being distracted." He exclaimed dodging gunfire and landing a roundhouse kick on a guard. "What the hell happened to the rest of the Avengers, I thought we were going to have a free ticket."

            Captain America deflected several shots with his shield, "Doesn't matter now, kid, keep moving, we're almost there."

            "Look out!" Peter exclaimed. Rogers crouched narrowly avoiding a stream of bullets. Peter fired a spray of webbing enveloping the entire force of guards. Meanwhile, Steve brought down an entire approaching platoon with a quick throw from his shield.

            His spider-sense alerted to an approaching grenade. Peter twirled around and fell back even as the grenade approached. With a quick burst of webbing he knocked it back to the source incinerating a force of soldiers. "This is way too many guys, they were waiting for us."

            "Damn it." Steve exclaimed, "Somebody talked. That doesn't change anything our mission is to stop Connors before he unleashes his soldiers on Washington."

            "What?" Peter exclaimed knocking two guards out with a graceful somersault, "You didn't mention that."

            Steve nodded, "They're planning on attacking three days from today, that's why we approached you the way we did." He slammed his shoulder into the jaw of another guard putting the goon out of action.

            Peter grimaced, "Well then, we better keep moving." He ducked a swing from one guard landing a kick to his gut while hitting another with webbing in the eyes. Nanoseconds later he was dodging machine gun fire as it ravaged the corridor. He landed covering his attacker in webs.

            "I have to hand it to you, kid." Steve exclaimed seeing the elevator just down this passage, "You're good."

            "Appreciate it, mind telling that to the Bugle for once?" He asked following carefully. "I think we're in the clear, my spider-sense isn't saying a thing."

            Steve tapped the button for the elevator, their breathing calmed down gradually during the wait. "We made it."

            "That wasn't so bad." Peter replied only for his words to bite him in the ass. He was thrown suddenly against the wall, "What the?" He asked getting back up, "Why do I get the feeling this isn't a welcoming call."

            Scarlet Witch stood menacingly down the corridor staring at them both, "Forgive me, Steve, but Connors pays well and I'd rather be on the winning side."

            "You always were fickle." Rogers replied as the elevator doors opened behind him.

            "I'll handle her, Cap; you've got the C4, just go." Peter exclaimed to which Rogers complied closing the door before Scarlet Witch could intervene. "So, uh, I guess this isn't about going out on a date is it?"

            Scarlet Witch laughed, "And let you hurt your precious Mary Jane, I wouldn't dream of it." She replied.

            Peter grimaced, "Okay, lady, you want some of this, it's go time." He charged forward but with just a wink she was throwing him back into the wall.

            "You should have ran, Spider-Man." She informed him, her eyes beginning to glow.

            He rose; the debris from his crash falling to the floor, "I'm beginning to agree with you."