Spider-Man's eyesight was blurry, but was slowly beginning to refocus at the moment. He felt as if he had been hit by a runaway train, much like the one he barely stopped during his battle with Dr. Octopus. The difference was that the near unconscious web slinger was now hanging upside down by his legs, courtesy of the very manic Scorpion.
Spider-Man tried to mentally shake off the proverbial cobwebs and realized the poor position he'd found himself. Scorpion extended a blade from his right forearm, using his tail to pull Spider-Man closer so they were face to upside down face.
"You should've stayed outta my business, Spider-Man," he growled. "But then again, I was made this way just to kill you and I'm gonna. Then I'm going after Jameson."
Scorpion reared back with his bladed arm, prepared to administer the killing blow. But he was unfortunately slow on the trigger, as Spider-Man fired a glob of webbing into his face. Scorpion struggled to remove the webbing and in the process, released Spider-Man from his grip. Spider-Man landed on the ground in front of his larger foe, but now he was confused as to the involvement of his Bugle boss. Meanwhile, a number of NYPD squad cars arrived, including one carrying Captain George Stacy. Spider-Man remained in a crouched position as Scorpion finally tore off the webbing.
"What's old flattop got to do with you," Spider-Man asked. "What, did he print an embarrassing story about your days as a junior-high mascot?"
"Jameson's the damn reason I ended up like this," Scorpion practically spilled his guts. "Once I'm done with you, he's next on my hit list."
Spider-Man put two and two together and realized that it was Mac Gargan underneath the green and steel armor. How Jameson was at the center of this mans' pain was still a mystery; one the web head intended to find out. Provided he survived the here and now.
Scorpion reared back his cyber tail and fired an array of shots at Spider-Man, who dodged and weaved in between the shots. He let out a web line and swung toward Scorpion with a kick in mind but Scorpion ducked. The web slinger landed near the dropped set of electrical units as Scorpion prepared a charged shot. Scorpion opened fire with the shot but Spider-Man was a step ahead, picking up the units and using them as a shield. The impact heavily damaged the devices and sent Spider-Man flying into the side of the building.
"Ah crap!" Scorpion shouted upon realizing his shot was an errant one.
Scorpion decided to hell with the situation and made a break for it, incidentally breaking through the series of squad cars. On Captain Stacy's orders, the cops opened fire on the frantic villain, but that hardly slowed him down.
Spider-Man shook off the dizziness he felt after being slammed into a wall in time to spot Scorpion trying to escape. The web slinger stood right up and sprinted right for his foe, and Scorpion was already through the makeshift barricade when he saw Spider-Man coming for him.
Scorpion charged his cyber tail, aimed and fired at the cars, catapulting them into the air. Spider-Man leapt into the air, using a combination of web swinging and acrobatics to weave and dodge through the debris. The web slinger managed to successfully clear the debris and landed safely on the ground. But unfortunately, Scorpion had once again escaped and Spider-Man was ticked.
"That's the second time that creep got away," Spider-Man mused to himself. "This is getting old." He turned toward the wayward police, some tending to the injured. "You guys okay?"
"We'll live," Captain Stacy said, helping tend to one of the wounded officers. "What's the story with that guy?"
"I don't know," the hero answered. He then added with more vigor, "But I intend to find out."
Scorpion was deathly fortunate to have escaped by Spider-Man or the police for the matter. Not that either of them would've been able to stop him anyway. Still, his assignment to acquire the necessary equipment ended in dismal failure.
The Lizard was none-to-pleased about it, evident by his throwing Scorpion into the wall of their hideout. One would think that Scorpion was sick of being pushed around like a damned rag doll. But to his credit, he didn't retaliate but that didn't stop him from dishing out a verbal assault. As long as the Lizard was doing the same.
"You failed me, Scorpion! I needed that equipment for my experiments."
"You wanna blame somebody, blame Spider-Man!" Scorpion spouted back in anger. "If he hadn't gotten in my way, you would have had your damned computer crap."
"Nothing but excuses," said Lizard. "Spider-Man should not have posed such a problem for you."
"Then how about you try your luck next time, scales." Scorpion challenged. "Then again, you're liable to stick out like a sore thumb with gangrene wearing a lab coat."
As a matter of fact, the Lizard had actually considered acquiring the equipment he had needed on his own. But Scorpion was right; the Lizard would be awfully noticeable on the streets. Add to the fact that Spider-Man would get in the way of his plans and they both would be in dire straits. The Lizard finally decided to let cooler heads prevail in this argument with his assistant; a loose fitting term at best in Scorpion's case.
"Perhaps you're right, Scorpion."
"I am!?" asked a dumbfounded Scorpion.
"We will lay low for the time being," Lizard said. "I believe there is another place to commence with the evolution of this planet, as well as your little cure. In the mean time, I must go topside."
"What for?" Scorpion wondered aloud. "You never said you'd go up there."
"But I never said I wouldn't," Lizard muttered back. "My fleshy alter ego had a separate laboratory from the university. I merely wish to acquire a few items. I shouldn't be long."
"What the hell am I supposed to do?" Scorpion asked.
The Lizard didn't bother to provide his protégé with an answer before diving into the dank sewer water. As for Scorpion, he wondered if his quote-unquote boss would actually live up to his word of curing him. He didn't really give a damn about the Lizard's long term plans, as long as Scorpion got what he wanted. He could care less about anything else.
Peter's muscles ached, which was understandable considering the harsh beating he'd taken from Scorpion. Learning of the true identity of the villain didn't come close to easing the pain, but at least the web head had something to go on now. Still, Peter wondered as he landed on the balcony of his apartment, what roll did J. Jonah Jameson play in Scorpions' rampage. As if he didn't already have enough on his plate dealing with the Lizard and his relationship with Gwen Stacy, now his own boss was out to get him too.
He entered his apartment, thankful that he usually left the door locked so no one, like a particularly obnoxious landlord, would enter without permission. He removed his mask and plopped himself on his rickety bed, exhausted from the battle with Scorpion. His thoughts returned to his mentor and friend Dr. Connors; in all of the recent excitement, Peter almost forgot about his attempts to find a cure for him. He started to dose off, his eyes becoming heavy until Peter slipped into sleep for the next hour or so.
((Peter found himself in darkness, and then in a black and white surrounding. Despite the lack of color, Peter recognized the surrounding as the science lab where fate had played it's cruel hand. He watched while in a state of paralysis as the tiny spider that led to his transformation into Spider-Man, spun down toward his waiting hand.
Finding himself wearing his red and blue suit, Peter soared around the skyscrapers of New York, until he saw his reflection in the glass of one building. His physical appearance was now that of a grotesque, eight-limbed monstrosity. His skin gave way to a coat of blackish-gray fur, his fingers turned into claws and his face became a hideous, eight-eyed, fanged image. It was at that moment that Peter Parker became a hideous creature; a living, breathing man-spider.
The vision changed as quickly as it had started, and Peter found himself back on the bridge where he'd battle the Green Goblin. Peter could here the familiar insane cackling as the Goblin came into view, grasping a woman by the throat. It was Gwen Stacy in the vision, instead of Mary Jane. The Goblin let out another twisted cackle.
"This is why only fools are heroes, because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice."
The Green Goblin released Gwen from his grip, letting her plummet to the river below. Peter, not Spider-Man, leaped into the air and dove for her. He was mere inches from her when something pulled his hand back. Peter landed hard on a rotting wood floor watching as Gwen Stacy vanished into thin air. Then he was yanked straight up and thrown down, by the familiar iron tentacles of Dr. Octopus. One tentacle held Aunt May in its grip, squeezing the frail woman to death and forcing Peter to watch.
"You've stuck your webs in my business for the last time. Now you'll have this woman's death on your conscience."
Peter screamed at Ock, "Let her go!"
Peter made a move for Doc Ock but was pounded down by a huge mallet of sand. Sandman came into the scene in front of Peter, with a defenseless Uncle Ben lying nearby on that fateful night. Peter attempted to fire a web line but no webbing came out. He could see Uncle Ben reaching for him before Sandman relentlessly beat him to pulp. Again, Peter was forced to watch in horror. Sandman turned to Peter, his face a mask of malice rather than sympathy.
"I didn't want this, but I had no choice."
Again, the scene flashed to another scene, this time at the construction site. Peter was on his feet now, his suit shredded and his mask gone. Before he could even think to react, Peter was pulled straight up and his torso collided into a steel girder. He crashed to the floor and then had his arms bounded so he couldn't move.
Landing right in front of him, the all too familiar image of Venom leered at the defenseless hero. Peter looked past the monstrous villain and spotted the limp form of Harry Osborn in his New Goblin suit, unmoving. Venom bashed Peter into submission until he was left broken, after which the alien symbiote receded to reveal the face of Eddie Brock.
"I told you, Parker. I like being bad; it makes me happy."
The images of Peter's past foes, along with Scorpion and the Lizard reappeared to watch the torture, while the symbiote reformed around Eddie's face so Peter was again face to face with Venom. Then, part of the symbiote broke away from the whole and began shaping itself into a new form.
This brand new vision of terror resembled the black suit, only it was blood red and black and slinking in the air. As if it were alive. The new vision of terror extended a series of razor sharp claws, its face turned toward Peter's own. It had enormous yellowish white eyes and a jet black maw that seemed to grow larger.
The new horror then threw itself onto Peter, reshaping the suit until all that remained was a grotesque Spider-Man/alien hybrid. Gone was the face of Peter Parker, replaced with an ugly mix of Spider-Man's mask coupled with the maw of the new alien. It, no they, let out an ear splitting scream, now the embodiment of pure carnage.))
Peter sat straight up in bed, breathing heavily and drenched in his own sweat. He still had on his suit, having been too worn out to remove it before. He hastily removed the suit and tossed it into the closet before sitting back down on his bed. He held his sweaty head in his hand, wondering if he'd be able to sleep soundly the next time or if the nightmare would resurface.
None of what he had dreamed about really happened, that much Peter knew. But what if it did? It made him again think about the fate that befell Dr. Connors, and made him wonder if his mentor and friend could be truly be saved from himself.
Also alarming was the similar scene with the Green Goblin but instead of Mary Jane in mortal danger it had been Gwen Stacy. Was that a sign that she would be in danger if he remained with her? Was his subconscious telling him to let her go before something bad happened to her?
It was well past 1:30 in the AM, and no guards happened to be patrolling the area of which the Lizard spoke of earlier. That was mainly because no one knew of the separate laboratory, save for Dr. Connor's, of course. The Lizard quietly moved the grate out of his way into the alleyway, where the backdoor to the lab was situated. Normally, a key would be needed to open the door, but the Lizard chose the more direct route when opening a conveniently unlocked window.
With the stealth of any other reptile, the Lizard slipped inside. It was in that lab that the formally human creature would gather what he needed for his master plan. The Lizard gathered what he needed in due time and started on his way out when he stopped short by a nearby desk. Among the usual things, including a computer system, a notebook and even a paperweight was a picture frame. The Lizard picked up the frame, staring for what seemed like centuries on end at a picture of Curt Connors with his wife and son at Central Park. A flashback began in the very mind of the Lizard.
((It was a beautiful day to have a traditional family picnic at Central Park. Many New Yorkers commenced with the usual routine of having some fun. Some walked the family pets, some played football. Young couples just sat back and soaked up the sun. Curt Connors and his family sat amongst the rest of the visitors enjoying the day. In spite of being without his arm, Curt still enjoyed a nice little father/son tussle with Billy, while Martha laid out the blanket and unpacked the food. The day went by without incident, as the Connors family enjoyed simply just that; a family picnic.))
As the flashback ended, the Lizard gently rubbed the picture flame with his scaly hand. Somewhere in the very recesses of his mind, Dr. Connors was still inside, trapped in the body of the beast. Maybe it was the human side, but a single tear trickled down the scaly face of the Lizard. He didn't have much time to reminisce further, as he could hear sirens blaring outside the lab.
The police would most like pass through the area and nothing more, but the Lizard wasn't going to take the chance of being discovered. He gathered the equipment, as well as the photograph that may have held the last shred of humanity left in Connors. The Lizard exited the lab the same way he had entered and went down the grate into the sewer, where no one would dare even try to find him.