Chapter 13

"This is so above our paygrades," one man commented to his superior officer. His forehead sweating at the detained giant humanoid lizard staring them back with slit eyes.

"Gee, ya think?"

"Thank Stark for the custom-made cuffs, otherwise I wouldn't be able to sleep at night, not knowing when it might break out."

His sergeant scoffed, "You mean thank Virginia Potts. She is the current CEO, you know."

"But isn't Stark the one who designed the cuffs?"

"I'm pretty sure there are other talented engineers working at Stark Industries while the man himself is gallivanting doing who-knows-what in Malibu."

"The truth is classified, actually."

The two police officers whipped around, finding Captain George Stacy walking beside a man in a black suit. He looked to be in his 40s, with thinning hair, and a pleasant smile on his face that matched his kind eyes. Though they knew to be wary from the scowl of their captain. It became further apparent when a group of similar black-suited men and women came for the Lizard.

"Wow, wow, Captain, what's all this? Who are these people?" Asked Sergeant Wolffe.

"Oh, we're just ordinary people working for an international bureaucratic organization that works to handle highly classified and unusual cases."

The younger officer gawked at the lines of men in question, and then the first thing he asked, "Are you the Men in Black?" Which prompted an upside slap of the head by his Sergeant.

Agent Phill Coulson had to quell the quirk of his lips, "No, but close enough. We're from SHIELD."

"SHIELD?" Wolffe asked dubiously.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistic Division."

"That's a mouthful."

The Agent shrugged, "It is what it is."

Captain Stacy decided to interject, "Apparently they're an international group designed to handle weird cases like… well… that ." He nodded at the group of ten agents trying to push the Lizard out of the detention center without being overpowered. "The governor authorized their assistance himself."

There was an edge in his voice at the word "assistance" and Agent Coulson chose to ignore it. He didn't blame the doubt surrounding classified organizations like his. There will always be tension between liaisons in his line of work, and Coulson chooses to accept that. He was only thankful that Captain Stacy is aware that the case is bigger than a few local precincts could handle.

"So, I heard the one who aided in catching the Lizard was a certain costumed vigilante that I'm hearing so much about." Coulson had to mask his incredulity at his own sentence. It was bad enough that a vigilante with abilities is running around in spandex to fight crime and made it to mainstream media, but now he has to handle possible genetic weaponry using lizards of all things.

Years of service on the field, and he swore every time it will never get weirder.

"Yes. We've tangled with…" Stacy hesitated before almost spitting out the word, "...Spider-Man before. He mostly interfered with police work, and has a freakish power to do so." He sighed before conceding, "But dammit, we wouldn't have been able to do much against that kind of monster without him."

"Is that why you requested to call us?"

Captain Stacy looked like he just sucked a lemon, but nodded. "The NYPD isn't trained nor do we have the appropriate resources to handle this type of bizarre case. We got lucky with Stark's assistance, but we can't keep relying on donations, and we need to be prepared in case another Lizard comes up."

Coulson nodded, relieved by the wise call he made "And I appreciate you willing to cooperate with us. God knows how many died from biting more than they can chew—" he froze and took a double-take, "I'm sorry, did you just say another Lizard?"

The three police officers made an incredulous look at the not-so-secret agent, "Wait, you mean you don't know?" Asked Officer Jefferson, "I guess SHIELD hasn't been as up to date as they make themselves to be."

Before Coulson could make further prompts, a sudden commotion was heard outside the precinct. The group was already on their way out before a fellow officer had come to inform the Captain, "Sir, we have another one."

The SHIELD Agent hadn't known what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't the features of a humanoid reptile dangling in a giant spider-web. A note stuck on its chest, written in a black sharpie, saying Courtesy of your Friendly Neighborhood Exterminator, Spider-Man! P.S. Play some Rocky music, it calms the big guy down . He heard a sharp thwiiip and looked up to find the faint silhouette of a man swinging from building to building before disappearing.

Jefferson whistled, impressed, "I'm all for the law, but you've got to admit, the man got style."

"Is this your second Lizard?" Agent Coulson asked.

"Try third ," Sergeant Wolffe corrected, "We have no idea where they come from, how they get out on the streets, and what they even are."

While the agents were already working in trying to cut away the webs and put the Lizard in holding, Coulson made a brave step forward, close enough for the giant reptile to bite his face off hadn't his jaw sealed tight by the webs. While curiously examining the Lizard, he froze on a spot from his findings.

"I think I can answer your last question, Sergeant Wolffe." He gestured for them to come closer, and have them examine the faint but unmistakable black mark of drawn skulls and wings beneath the green scales of its arms. A mark you can only have after being tattooed.

"Sir," the officer began, "What does this mean?"

"It means whatever these things are? Used to be human."

. . .

"Peter. Peter. Peter !"

"Huh?! What?!" My body snapped straight, feet already up and arm raised, ready to fight before anyone could blink. But then I actually took in the class; curious and judging eyes directed at me, including Gwen's concerned pair and Mrs. Shadwell's furious ones.

"Nice to see my lesson made a nice bedtime story, Mr. Parker," my English Teacher said, "Perhaps you won't mind replacing the time you wasted here with detention."

I would usually try to defend myself for these cases, but after my fourth detention, I learned quickly that detention would be a permanent part of being a part-time superhero. So I nodded absentmindedly. Once she turned her back, I went hitting the sack and getting my beauty sleep, the only moment of time where my suffering doesn't chase me.

I was woken up by the shrill of the school bell and Gwen's soft nudge.

"Hey, Peter, you alright?"

I looked at her with bloodshot eyes.

"Sorry, standard question. I know your 'night job' takes a toll on you, but I've never seen you this tired."

"Yeah, well..." I shelved all my books for today in my locker and pulled out my camera. I shifted my head around for any lurkers before whispering, "I just caught the Lizard last night."

"Another one?!"

"Yeah, only this one is less trying to cause property damage and just likes popping out places with music; music stores, clubs, and concerts before disappearing. I had to stake out the whole night on an illegal rave that I bust my ass to find before finally webbing it in for the police."

"Gosh, do you think that would be the last of them?"

I shook my head, "I doubt it. Unless we know the cause and where they came from, there might be more of them hiding, or worse, more being made."

"What does the police say? Maybe they know something? Find a different angle to this case?"

"What? Just knock on their front door and say 'Excuse me, Officers, I know we have our difference and you trying to arrest me and all, but I believe it's in our mutual interest to find a neat of giant humanoid lizards that we work together without pointing any guns,' Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's going to end well."

"Okay, Mister Smarty-Mouth, but aren't you forgetting something?"

I tilted my head, not sure what Gwen wanted to say, and she laughed, "Me, you idiot. I'm the Captain's daughter, remember? I can get inside info and make sure you're in the loop."

I gawked at her audacity, "You would do that? Won't you get in trouble sneaking around?"

"I could ask my dad, but I doubt he's going to say anything useful on the dinner table. So the best way to get it is to access their database. I often visit his precinct anyway, so no one will suspect me lurking."

I bit my lip, "I don't know, Gwen."

"Look, even if I do get caught, I'll just say I've been too curious or being dared by the other kids so they'll let me off with a warning."

"If you're sure—"

"I'm sure," Gwen pecked me on the cheek, giving me the final push. I have to say, she's damn good at persuading me… or am I just that easy?

"So, there's still time before the night starts calling, do you want to hang out?"

I groaned, "I can't. I already made a promise to Michelle. We're going to interview an ex-manager for a private zoo, and I'm supposed to back her up. Apparently, the zookeepers there gave appalling treatment to the animals."

"Terrible and fascinating, tell me all about it when you're done."

"I will," I kissed her on the lips, and it always put a skip to my step knowing that it would make Gwen smile.

. . .

Gale Greggor lived in Spring View Mobile Home Park. And it's not one of those trailer-like houses you would first imagine. But instead, it's manufactured into full-blown one-story houses. I never even heard such a thing until today. Michelle and I took the subway to Rockland County and followed the address until we stopped at a cozy-looking beige house with a small porch upfront where the owner could have a nice view of her flowerbed that's in full bloom; tulips, rose, and lilies.

There had been a constant buzzing at the back of my head from the moment we entered this park, and it's only getting noisier. I tried pinpointing what my Spidey-senses were trying to warn me, but it's getting more and more annoying than helpful. Honestly, I can't imagine anything dangerous coming from a nice little neighborhood. Maybe it's trying to warn me off the bees or something.

There was a figure in the middle of watering the flowers, and Michelle came forward, "Excuse me? Hi, are you Mister Gregor?"

He looked up from his plants, "Hmm? Oh yes, my apologies, I lost track of time. Are you two kids from Midtown who want to interview me?"

I stepped closer and froze a second long as I took in everything that he was. He was a Latino, wearing a gray tank and jeans, clean-shaven head that you can look out of your reflection.

"Yes, that'll be us. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, please… haaah… pleaaaaasseeee…. AH-CHOO !"

We jumped back a little from the honk-like sneeze he made. He sniffed for a second or two before motioning us to come in.

The first step I took into the house, my spidey-sense became a bit crazy. My head shooting side to side, trying to identify the incoming danger on the quaint house. Examining the wooden floorboard, the unlit fireplace, the room next door that had the kitchen and dining table, hanging potted plants by the living room wall.

Michele didn't hide her interest, examining the more personal trinkets like the framed photos of various zoo animals, paintings of two loving flamingos, and the small bookshelves that held prominent titles about self-care, work-out, and motivational books.

Mr. Gregor wiped the sweat from his face with his towel, but he was still flush, particularly his nose. He shivered, and I knew he wasn't feeling well at the moment.

"Hope you don't mind taking this interview in my backyard, it has a much nicer view out."

"We don't mind," Michele said, "You certainly have a beautiful garden." She wasn't lying, from the glass view alone, we could see the fruitful harvest. Unlike the front yard, the backyard is colored with fruit and vegetables, all ready for the picking. If that wasn't a clue enough that he's a garden nerd, the pile of subscription magazines on the coffee table would have been a giveaway. I didn't even know they had a magazine for that.

Mr. Gregor went to the kitchen and started preparing glasses, "Oh, thank you, you shouldn't have…"

"Nonsense, you're guests here, so please wait patiently out in the back while I make you some warm drinks. I don't want to make you uncomfortable considering how cold it is."

Michele and I exchanged glances as we took a seat at the folded chair near the garden. My head ached from the insistent buzzing at the back of my head, like something was about to crawl out from his house.

"You okay, Peter?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about me. I'm more concerned about Mister Gregor."

"Hmm, he didn't look so good, maybe we came at a bad time. I'll go check on him." Michelle was already halfway up her seat.

"Let me do it." I quickly blocked her path, not wanting her going into the source of unknown danger, "If he's not up for it, I'm sure we can reschedule for another day."

Michelle squinted her eyes, and I should've known her keen mind would catch my nervous gait. She relented reluctantly and didn't say anything else.

"Mister Gregor? Mister Gregor?" I spotted him by the sink of his kitchen, he looked ready to shove his head down the drain as he continued gagging. "Oh crap, are you okay? What am I saying? Of course, you're not."

He waved his hand off me, "Don't worry, kid, I'm fine. My body just feels like puking when there's nothing to puke out."

"Have you checked up with a doctor yet? We can call a cab to take you to the hospital."

"Nah, this is just a side effect from a medication I've been taking. I'll be fine." It wasn't long after he said it that he fell to his knees, curling his body into a ball. A pained groan broke out of him and I was already next to him, giving a helping hand.

But the hand that took it wasn't a human hand, it was green, scaly, and full of claws.

"What the hell?!" I jumped back. Words lost at the surreal sight before me. Mr. Gregor hadn't realized it himself until he took a good look at his hands and freaked out himself.

"What… what's happening to me?!"

' How should I know? You should ask for a refund for whatever freaky medication you have' is what I wanted to say but I barely bit back my quip since it won't help anyone in this case.

"Mister Gregor, it's alright. We just need to call 911 and they can give you the help you need," Hopefully.

But the transformation wasn't done, Mr. Gregor fell to his knees and started writhing and screaming like he's being pulled apart inside out, which isn't too much of a stretch of the truth. The shock locked my muscle in place as I witnessed his skin ripping to have scales growing out of it, his hair falling apart like a bad glued wig, and bone tail growing literally out of his ass.

"Peter, what's that noise? Are you and Mister Gregor okay?"

Michele's voice broke out of my reverie shock, but then I witnessed a half-man-half-lizard looking up from the voice and locked eyes with him. I was instantly reminded of the phrase 'the eyes are the window to the soul'.

And what I saw wasn't Mister Gregor's.

What I saw was the eyes of a predator.

"MICHELLE, RUN!" I ran back and didn't need to turn around to know I was being chased. Michelle was halfway in the house when I saw the moment her face contorted from the sight of me running from a halfway-lizard-man. I pulled her back out and shoved the door closed and locked it, silently grateful the key was still intact. Just in time to feel the rumbling crash from behind the sliding door.

"What was that?" Michelle asked, horrified.

"My guess? One of those lizard men that's been running around New York."

"They're real?! Oh my God!"

The door rumbled again, and we jumped. It doesn't take a genius to guess what lizard-crazed Gregor is planning.

"We need to get out."

"How?! We're cornered with all the fences around."

I searched left and right for anything that could help us over the fence. But seeing none, I'll have to go for drastic measures. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do. Michelle, I'll boost you over the fence and go call for help."

"What?! What about you? You'd die with that thing!"

"Trust me, I'll be fine, but I won't be for long unless we call for help!"

"But Peter—"

The door cracked and a single clawed scaled arm came through that looked ready to slice you apart and I knew then there's no time to argue.

"GO!"

With a bitter face, she ran full speed before jumping on my hand, and I pushed her smoothly over the fence as if we've practiced this our whole lives. The fully formed Lizard broke through the door then, and came face-to-face with little ol' me. Alone.

The creepy, salivated smile it gave showed off the enormous teeth like he just witnessed his lunch served on a silver platter. He came at me with a roar, jaw snapping open to swallow my head whole.

Then I gripped its jaw and forcefully had it open, his slit eyes widened and I revelled in his shock. "Sorry pal, but you're not getting my head on first base." With a grunt, I threw him on the side where he crashed onto the pots of plants.

This would have been a perfect time to webbed him up, but I'm wearing a T-shirt today so I had my web-shooter in my bag, which is inside the living room.

"Alright, Peter, looks like it'd be some good old fashion hand-to-claw then." I'm not looking forward to this.

The Lizard roared and lunged with a speed much faster than I predicted. But his movement was easy to read and I jumped over the big boy. I didn't get to land though because his tail slapped me hard on my stomach. Crashing me to the small garden tool shed.

I groaned, "For a thing with a green thumb, it knows nothing of gardening." The shovel fell on my lap, and I thought what have I got to lose?

Leaping back with a makeshift weapon on hand, the two of us began circling around each other. Calculating who will make the first move. The Lizard growled and if this was a Pokemon Battle, my attack would have been lowered.

The Lizard broke the standoff and lunged first. With such a straightforward attack, I had no problem striking dead on his head. The creature was surprisingly smart and let the momentum carry him while swiveling his tail yet again.

But I was prepared. Dropping the shovel and grabbing the tail, I used my strength to lift the Lizard. I threw him at the fence, hitting harder than I predicted while crashing the whole thing down.

Now's my chance. I thought as I ran back to the living room and began rummaging my backpack. Spidey-sense warning me of an incoming Lizard that forced me to jump at the ceiling. The reptile-man did not like having to bite at nothing and followed me up on the ceiling.

"Hey, you can't do that! Wall-crawling is totally my schtick!"

The Lizard seemed to have no respect for copyright and just continued attacking. The ceiling has little space for me to move, so I was struggling to maneuver out of the attacks. Creating what was probably one of the dangerous upside-down fights in human history.

"I swear if you start shooting webs I will sue you — this gimmick isn't cheap, you know!"

My spidey-sense has been my saving grace. Dodging left, right, lights burst out, sparks fly, took the lamp and batted it on his head, he ate it, then flipping out from the swipes of his claws while I kept searching for my web-shooter. "C'mon, c'mon, where is it? Gotcha— uh-oh ."

And by I mean 'uh-oh' I mean the Lizard had a grip on my skinny arm then promptly threw me up, crashing me to the floor. Leaving the wooden coffee table into splinters. I groaned before looking back to find the Lizard had the bright-colored sofa lifted over his head.

"I agree, the sofa has got to go, Mister Gregor." I webbed the wall in front of and pulled myself in time from the rough handling of that furniture, "In fact, I think the whole house needs a bit of redecorating, don't you think?"

Alright, alright, Spidey . Strength-wise, you're outmatched, you've gotta find a way to out-think him.

And so within the enclosed space of the mobile home, both of us wreck havoc like no tomorrow. We crashed through rooms, threw books at each other, I jumped from wall to ceiling to wall like a bouncing ball and the Lizard followed me with a much destructive force.

"Any chance we can talk this out? You won't have a home left when this is over!" I called out.

The resounding roar was an answer in itself so I shot a web at its mouth. I ran straight at him like a bull ready to ram him. The Lizard countered with a swing of his tail, but I slid below and shot another web at its tail and stuck it to the floor. In rage, he clawed at my hand. Like I had planned, I dodged and had it stuck to its side. Then, shot his other hand and pulled it to his back creating a weird yoga-lizard pose. Then I crawled all over his body like a spider and began webbing him up in full white.

"Hey, do you know that famous saying? What was it again? Flutter like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Nice quote. Catchy too."

Just like how I did in the Bridge. I cocooned the Lizard thoroughly and then had it attached to the walls. Making sure to trap it well.

"But personally I prefer snare like a spider. Fits me perfectly, don't you think?"

When the Lizard showed no sign of getting out, I finally let out a sigh of relief. I didn't get hurt this time but this one acted more like a rabid animal compared to the last one. Maybe because he just recently turned.

Which speaking of… how in the world does he do that? And he said he was on medication? You would think they would have a warning label saying; "Side effects may include turning into a giant lizard." Would have saved us both a lot of misery.

[ Incoming call from Gwen Stacy; would you like to accept or reject it?] Lyla's voice had me jump before fishing out my phone and telling her to accept.

"Hey, Gwen. Talk to me."

"Pete, you would not believe who's been in the precinct."

"They caught the Zodiac Killer?"

"Haha, funny wise guy. I'm telling you there were government agents. Secret government agents."

My hand almost slipped while my eyes bugged out from under the mask. "No way! Like CIA, MI6, MACUSA — those sort of people?"

"Maybe, not sure which one they're from. But get this; from what I heard, these mutant lizards are actually people !"

"Wow… no kidding…" I deadpanned.

"What?"

"Nothing. What else have you got?"

"Well, I managed to sneak into the police's mainframe and skimmed through the Lizard case file. There's not much that the media hasn't already covered. They just organized it better by collecting statements from witnesses and tried tracing back to their source but showed they all came out of nowhere."

"So they're just as stumped as we are."

"Ah, but that's the thing. They don't have me." Gwen must have looked as smug as she sounded, "We don't know the circumstances of when these people began to turn. Maybe it was with loved ones. Maybe they were alone. Either way, I'm betting the latter few have someone filed a missing person report. Since… no one expects anyone to turn into a mutated lizard."

Mentioning the missing report, reminded of Clark. And there was a feeling of dread that not even spidey-sense couldn't knock me out of the reverie. An answer I'm close to finding but not yet asked. It's like already having all the puzzle pieces but something is keeping me from arranging the big picture.

"Anyway, I'm checking if there's any common denominator from most of the reports filed since the first Lizard attack for any connection. Maybe from where they disappeared, how they got the mutation, or simply estimate how many they are."

"Gwen… you are a genius."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"That your boyfriend wants to kiss you because you're the most brilliant girl I know."

"Don't tell lies, bug boy. I know for a fact that spot is taken by Aunt May— huh? "

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know if it's nothing or not… but one of the missing people is Rajit Ratha. Why does he sound familiar?"

I sank in a shocked breath, "Because that's Norman's PA."

"Peter… what does this mean?"

I wanted to say 'I don't know' but the hunch I had became a deadly conviction I hope will be proven wrong. That I might just be thinking too much. I turned to wrecked shelves and frames and examined them. All of them are photos of Mister Greggor's days at the zoo but they were old photos. You could tell by the young looking face and thick hair he had. Changing tactics, I pulled out my phone and googled the name Gale Greggor.

There was a flurry of typing keys in the background while I was searching for any photos of Mr. Greggor. Most of them were profile pics, and there weren't any public photos of his daily life. Sheesh , this person is really not actively social.

But then one link to an article caught my eye. It doesn't show his face but there was a man bedridden with bandaged arm with the headline Zookeeper Lost an Arm after Malnourished Lion Attack and that was all the answer I needed.

"Peter, I've got the weirdest find. Except for a couple or two reports, most of their distinguished features is that they at least had lost a limb or two. Do you have any idea what this means?" Gwen further confirmed my suspicion and there was no going back from the answer in front of me.

Doctor Connors… What have you done?

The discovery made a nauseating sense. It was all I could do not to let the ring of denial overwhelm me and think— oh wait, that's just my spidey-sense.

Oh crap, spidey-sense!

I realized too late. The creaking of the walls and ceilings becomes pronounced and I turn to find the Lizard still wrapped in my webbings but still have enough foothold to rip the house apart with it. Moving fast, I ran like a bat out of hell from the house, just in time to miss getting buried among the rubbles. The dust blew out underneath it and made me hacked from it.

"I sure hope insurance will cover that."

The sweet sound of sirens was closing in on the place and I sagged onto the concrete street. "Please let this be the final lizard of the day."

Spidey-sense seemed to want to prove me wrong, so I felt more exasperate than wary when I got on my feet to the source, "Oh for the love of— what is it now?"

Maybe that's why it can be argued that I totally deserve the punch on the face by the angry lizard that managed to sneak from behind me. Mad-Eye Moody would be disappointed in me. I watched, half-conscious, as he roared at my face and wanted more than just trying to knock me out but then noticed the distant siren. He then came to the wreckage, dug out his fellow Lizard that was webbed up and began running to who knows where.

The last I could think of before I lost consciousness was the welling urge to round up all the Lizards and webbed them up into a world-record web-ball before rolling them up to the station.