Welcome to another exciting episode of Spider-Guppy. Where we are going to see the return of an old enemy at the same time that a new villain emerges. What do I mean with all this stuff? Well why don't we read the chapter to find out.
With nothing else to add, let's get started!
Bubble Guppies Fanfic
The Amazing Spider-Guppy
Chapter 12: The Lizard Hunt
The work of a superhero has no rest. Every day he must deal with thieves, muggers, gang members, drug dealers and the occasional supervillain. And let's not mention this hero's private life and his multiple responsibilities as a student, photographer, friend and even his housekeeper. We cannot ignore that one of his most important jobs was to find the whereabouts of a friend who had turned into a monster. The one we all know as "Lizard" After so long, it seems that something happened that could finally give a clue to his hiding place.
It all started on a normal day in the building of the prestigious newscast: Bubble Bugle. We can see several workers doing their common daily tasks. In Grumpfish Jameson's office, the editor-in-chief was doing his usual work until one of his best part-time photographers, Gil Parker, arrived.
"I got there as fast as possible. Do you need anything, Mr. Jameson?" Gil asked nervously.
"Parker, you're late! I'm not paying you to bring me overdue photos. Alright, I need any images that can expose Spider-Guppy for the true criminal that he is" Grumpfish said bothered.
"(sigh) Boss, Spider-Guppy is no threat. He's working hard to stop the real threats to the city like the Rhino, Vulture, you know, all those freaks" Gil tried to convince him.
"That masked man has only caused disasters in the city. Also, those insane people who call themselves "The Sinister Six" escaped from prison and are on the loose thanks to Spider-Guppy. I wouldn't be surprised if the spider menace was the one that broke them out of prison" Grumpfish commented on his idea. Gil was quiet some seconds.
"(As much as I hate to admit it, Jameson has a valid point. I couldn't stop the Sinister Six... In part, I failed to lock them back up... Although now that he says so... How did those six escape? The prison was right for them...Suspicious)" Gil said all of this in his mind. There were many questions that he had no answer to.
"Whatever, kid. I have a new job for you. Listen, I just got a report about a mutant lizard on the loose in Central Park. Go there immediately and get me pictures of that lizard..." Jameson said with a loud tone of voice.
"(Mutant lizard?! It could be Doctor Connors! I must go immediately! This is my opportunity!)" Gil thought about it "Huh..Oh yeah! I've got you covered, sir! I'll take care of that!" He said quickly.
"You better, boy! Leave now!" He ordered loudly. Gil quickly ran out of there as fast as possible. What his boss didn't know was that he was going to arrive on the scene, not as a photographer (although he would take a few photos in the process), but as the superhero he hates so much: Spider-Guppy!
Spider-Guppy quickly arrived at Central Park, where all the nearby blocks were blocked off by the police and people had been evacuated. Which was already one less problem. Our masked hero decided to talk to the officer in charge of the operation, Captain Stacey.
"Spider-Guppy, I'm glad you've arrived" Captain Stacey asked quietly.
"How is the situation, sir?" Spider-Guppy asked seriously.
"We managed to evacuate the people who were in and around the park. But the situation got out of control. Lizard has appeared again and I have received no reports from the Bravo Squad that was dispatched minutes ago. I'm afraid Lizard has done something to them" The police chief said worriedly.
"Don't worry, captain. I'll take care of the rest. This time...I won't let him get away" Spider-Guppy said seriously before he left him. He swung through the park until he reached the center of the park to see several SWAT officers downed and some fighting a mysterious tall and stocky reptilian individual.
"Ahhhhhh!" The officers fired at the monster, but it took no damage and prepared to finish them off with its claws and teeth…
"Mess with someone your size, lizard!" The hero yelled before kicking him in the stomach as he swayed. That blow drove the monster away from the police officers.
"Th-Thanks!" The police officers said.
"Very good, Doc! It's time for you to give up and let me turn you back to normal...But what?!" He was shocked. That lizardman was not Grouper Connors! He was another similar mutant, but smaller and with a more lime green.
"THERE IS ANOTHER ONE!" An agent earlier warned that Spider-Guppy felt a vibration in his head, a sign of danger. He jumped high to see that he managed to dodge another lizardman's attack. This one was more robust but with its moldy green skin.
"None of you are Connors...Where is he?!" Spider-Guppy asked loudly.
"GRRRRR ARRRGGGG!" The lizardmen hissed loudly before attacking him. It seems that they don't speak like the original Lizard. Spider-Guppy had no choice but to fight the pair of beasts alone. It was a complicated battle. He limited himself to dodging claws and bites and performing defensive maneuvers. The mutant lizards only wanted to kill him. Spider-Guppy decided to blind them with web shots to the eyes. They tried to take it away.
"Nice try, lizards. But I've been perfecting my web shooters. I have made them more resistant than before...I learned something from my encounter with the Lizard and the Sinister Six" Spider-Guppy said that with confidence. It was true that the mixture for cobwebs was more resistant than the previous mixture. Still, that didn't stop them for long and they managed to break free. But that was just to buy more time and the masked hero managed to hit them hard on the chin of each one. The mutant lizards were a bit dizzy. But they just hissed angrily and left immediately.
"GRRRRRR AGHHH!"
"Mmmmmm they can take me to where Connors is. It's obvious that he is behind this... Time to check it out" Spider-Guppy decided to use his wits to follow the scaly beasts with stealth. He was sure that those monsters were the product of some plan that the Lizard was carrying out. And he knew that he had to be stopped at any cost.
The scaly monsters rushed towards the subway, causing fear among the civilians. Luckily, the reptiles had no intention of attacking more people. These monsters just went to sneak down the sewers. This time, Spider-Guppy managed to infiltrate the sewer system discreetly and stealthily without being seen by the beasts. Along the way, Spider-Guppy found out why he couldn't find Connors sooner. This was because they were well hidden in the depths of the sewers. He noticed how the walls were smeared with green viscous substances. There was green fluid everywhere and scales. Finally, Spider-Guppy hid on the roof and saw something horrible. There were some lizardmen similar to Lizard, only smaller. In that sewer system, there was a laboratory where the leader of the mutant lizards appeared: The Lizard. He was the tall and strong evil of all. He was Professor Grouper Connors himself.
"All right...Bring the test subject!" Lizard said loudly. A lizardman placed a police officer and tied him to the evidence chair. He was terrified to see how the Lizard approached him intimidatingly.
"Please! Let me go!" The police officer said scaredly.
"Don't worry...I won't hurt you...Not much...What's your name, sir?" Lizard asked in a terrifying way,
"H-H-Henry…" The officer said scaredly
"Tell me, Henry...Do you like my appearance? Do you think it's nice...or horrible?" He asked evilly. The policeman could not answer for fear "Don't worry...As someone once said: "Let us make man in our image,after our likeness"...In this case...my likeness"
"What are you say-AGGGHHHH!" The officer screamed as Lizard injected him with a mysterious serum. He began to writhe in pain and convulse until the change occurred. His skin turned green and scaly, his legs and arms turned into reptile feet. He grew a tail, a toothy snout and his hands and fingers changed and he developed claws. That man named Henry was no longer the same, now he was another reptilian man.
" (It can't be! Connors is turning people into lizards! That explains the disappearances of police officers who were looking for him. What is he planning?)" Gil thought it. He was shocked.
"My brothers, after so many tests on you, I have finally achieved the perfect formula to turn all the inhabitants of the city of New Bubble York into lizards like us. Soon the whole city will be infested with lizards and we will become the new superior and dominant species on the planet! Finally, we will all be equal!" The Lizard said loudly. All of the lizardmen hissed loudly in celebration. It seems that a reptilian invasion was about to begin.
"Turn all the people in town into lizards?! Connors has definitely lost his sanity" Spider-Guppy said in a low voice as she surveyed the environment. It was evident that a direct attack would be a fatal decision. They are stronger than him and besides that they are a pack. But at that moment something unexpected happened.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A shooting started. Those shots managed to take down a few lizardmen. The attackers turn out to be mysterious mercenaries in hunting uniforms. In the middle of them, a mysterious lobster man in an intimidating hunter outfit. His vest was made of a lion's skin with a mane. He had a pendant necklace made of fangs. Some military pants. He had a hunting rifle ready to shoot.
"Giant lizards in New Bubble York? Hehe...It seems the rumors were true. Gentlemen, kill them all... But remember, the leader of them is mine. I want his head in my trophy room!" The hunter chief ordered as a deadly duel between mercenary hunters and the lizardmen began.
During the chaos, Lizard took the opportunity to escape. Unfortunately for him, the leader of the hunters began to chase him. Before following him, Spider-Guppy decided to jump into the fight and take down both mercenaries and lizardmen. None of them should get out of there. Hunters used high caliber weapons to take down large animals and those were effective against lizards. But Spider-Guppy prevented them from killing them, because the lizards were actually people. So he managed to save several. Finally, Spider-Guppy knocked out the lizards and captured the mercenaries. The hero caught one of the hunters in his web for interrogation.
"Who are you? And who do you work for?" The masked hero asked him.
"Grrrr…Grrrr….We are a clan of hunters called "Dragon Fangs", led by the best hunter in the whole world, Kraven! This job will make us rich by getting rid of the giant lizards" The mercenary answered.
"Who hired all of you?" He asked seriously.
"Only Kraven has that information" The hunter confessed.
"Are you aware that these giant lizards are mutated people? Your men are killing innocent people!" Spider-Guppy asked loudly. He was getting angrier.
"Grrr agh...I don't care about that...I just know that we will be paid very well for this. I don't care about those people you know?" The mercenary said with an evil smile.
"You are despicable...Do you know something? You will leave here empty handed" Spider-Guppy hit him hard in the face, leaving him dazed. At that moment, he wanted to destroy his face because of how despot that murderer was. But he simply clenched his fist, holding back his anger. All he did to him was trap him in a giant cocoon of cobwebs, leaving him with no chance of escape "Hmmm….I do not have time for this. I have to find Connors before this Kraven hurts him"
Spider-Guppy ran as fast as possible through the sewer system to find both Lizard and Kraven. He knew that if they both met, things would not work out for either of them. Along the way, he would fight and take down both lizardmen and mercenaries. Either using his physical abilities like his webbing. After much chasing, he managed to find both of them, who were seeing each other face to face.
"I finally got you, monster" The hunter said, preparing his rifle.
"Monster? Is that how you consider me? Monster is a relative term. To me, you are a monster…" Lizard said menacingly.
"Wait a minute... Can you talk? This is new" The leader of the mercenaries said.
"Typical of humans: They believe that other living beings are inferior beings. But you know something? I am the superior species. With this formula, I will contaminate the water of the entire city and so everyone will turn into lizards like me. And we will rule the city, and then the world" Lizard said evilly.
"That doesn't matter to me at all. All I want is your head in my trophy room. I have traveled far just for this moment. But hey... it looks like I'm doing this town a favor" The hunter said before he pointed his weapon to Lizard. He just hissed before a cobweb appeared to took his rifle away "What the-?"
"Grrrrr" Lizard was bothered.
"Sorry, hunter...But the Lizard is a species protected by law...And by your friendly neighbor..."
"Grrrrrr Spider-Guppy!" Lizard said angry.
"Hey Lizard, is this how you treat me after saving your life? A "Thank you" would be appropriate" Spider-Guppy said funnily.
"Move over, masked boy! I won't let you come between me and my prey" Kraven said bothered.
"I won't let you hurt him...Much less knowing that these lizards you want to kill are mutant people. We must catch them so they can be cured" Spider-Guppy tried to convince him.
"Hehehe…..I see...These monsters will become a plague...if I don't kill all of them. I am the cure that this city needs, masked bug" Kraven prepared two long hunter daggers to be prepared.
"For men like him I intend to turn everyone into lizards. But you know something? You two are special...And for that you will become two of my best lizards!" Lizard said fiercely before getting on all fours, ready to attack both of them.
"Oh oh...This...will not end well..." Spider-Guppy said worriedly before he defended himself.
A difficult and strange battle began. Spider Guppy vs. The Lizard vs. Kraven the Hunter! This time, the three of them were fighting each other fiercely. Something like an all against all. Spider-Guppy wanted to take them both down with different fates. He wanted to catch Lizard to get him help while he wants to catch Kraven to bring him to justice. Lizard simply wanted to trap both of them to turn them into reptilian monsters for his army. And instead of Kraven, he just wants to kill them both. Spider-Guppy for nosy and Lizard for his trophy room. The hunter used his hunting daggers to fight. For a person, he was quite agile, strong and resistant. Lizard used his claws, tail, and teeth to attack his two opponents while Spider-Guppy used his special abilities and his trusty web-slinger to fight effectively. The three sought to hurt each other. It was a difficult battle until the reptilian man managed to take them both down. The monster grabbed one of his serums so it could inject his mutation formula into Kraven, who was more vulnerable. Spider-Guppy stopped him, webbing the serum from him.
"Hey Connors! Please... I know that Kraven is not a nice person... But turning him into a lizard isn't right either. Besides, he's already ugly enough...Please...let me help you...I know deep down...you want to be normal again" Spider-Guppy tried to convince him. The Lizard looked at him very carefully. Unfortunately, he lowered his guard and Kraven managed to pick him up and plunged his two daggers into his back.
"GRRRUAAAAAAGHHHHH!" Lizard screamed in pain.
"No! NOOOOO!" Spider-Guppy screamed. The beast fell to the ground and did not move. Kraven simply stood on top of the monster triumphantly.
"I am Sergei Nikolaevich Kravinov, Kraven the Hunter. The greatest hunter in the world! And I will add this mutant lizard to my trophy room" The criminal drew a large hunting sword to cut off Connors' head.
"Get away from him, Kraven!" Spider-Guppy screamed in fury and quickly ran towards him and managed to hit him in the face, causing him to crash into the console of the machine that Connors would use to contaminate the water with his lizard formula. Thanks to that, the machine was permanently damaged...And Kraven weakly got up "He was my friend...and you just killed him!"
"Oh really? I'll give you good news...You can see him again...in the afterlife. Because you, my dear spider-boy friend, will be next in my trophy room!" The hunter yelled menacingly before attempting to kill Spider-Guppy with his sword. Luckily, he managed to dodge it and the second round began.
Spider-Guppy vs. Kraven the Hunter once again! This time, the battle was more intense and deadly. Because Kraven wanted to kill Spider-Guppy with his sword and daggers while our masked hero was seriously fighting to avenge his fallen friend. The hunter managed to make superficial cuts, but nothing serious. Gil used his anger as a source of strength, causing him to severely damage him. Spider-Guppy also took some hits from the mercenary. It was a close battle before the hero dealt the final blow with a blow to the chin.
"You will pay for what you did to Connors!" The hero said angrily.
"I don't think so, spider... This is just getting started. You, Spider-Guppy, have become my next target. You are someone unique and that would enrich my pride as the best hunter in the world. Until then….." Kraven simply released a smoke bomb to duck and flee the scene. Gil coughed a lot and his vision blurred until he saw that the villain had escaped.
"Ugh….Now the villains are running away from me...I'm losing touch...Oh no! Doctor Connors!" Gil said in a concerned manner until he noticed something strange. Lizard's body had disappeared. He noticed that there were footprints. That only explains one thing: Connors was still alive and escaped "(sigh) Hell be okay for now….I know he also has regenerative properties. Luckily, his plan to turn the people of the city into lizards has been thwarted...But...I lost Connors...again...However, now I have this" Spider-Guppy found a sample of the mutation serum that the Lizard intended to use on Kraven and Gil. That serum would be key to opening the investigation into a cure for Connors. However, he knew that this was only part of it. He knew where he could get the rest of the information that could help him.
That same night, in an apartment across the city, was the home of an Asian guppy with purple hair in pigtails. She was in her room staring wistfully at a photo she had with Nonny. That photo was from the day Nonny had been accepted into Oscorp Academy's young scientists program. She couldn't forget that day, she couldn't even forget that boy she loved. But she knew that he was now the robotic-armed supervillain named Doctor Octopus. She simply gazed at the night sky from her balcony. She simply sighed as she pondered in anguish.
"Today is a beautiful night, isn't it?"
"Huh?!" Oona was surprised to see an unexpected visitor on her balcony. She managed to identify him. He was Spider-Guppy! But her reaction was not like that of many people in the city.
"You….get out of my house now" Oona said with resentment.
"I know you...You were in Connors' lab the day of the accident. You were with Nonny and Norman that day, right?" Spider-Guppy asked quietly.
"What are you doing here? What do you want?" The girl asked bothered.
"...I need your help" He admitted.
"Why would I help the person who failed to save the love of my life? It's your fault he turned evil!" Oona shouted angrily, but she was just holding her tears.
"Because only you can help me save Connors. Listen...I know Nonny worked on a serum to cure Lizard, but it didn't work. I'm working on a new serum to cure Grouper...but I can only do it if I have the information that Nonny used on her serum. I'm sure that can help me...Please" Spider-Guppy wanted to convince her.
"...I'm not going to help you...What for? To ruin more lives?!" Oona asked angrily.
"...Please...do it for Connors...and do it for Nonny. You know he would do this. If he was here, I know he would work hard to save his friend... Do it for him" The masked hero begged her. She was quiet for a few seconds.
"...You…(snif) He would do that...How do you know what Nonny was like?" Oona asked with some tears.
"You don't have to know a person very well to know how good they were" He just said it for evade any signal of his identity. Oona made sure that no one was around and took out some folders with hidden papers that were in her cabinet.
"Listen, Spider-Guppy...There's something Nonny has always told me. He had suspicions that something strange was going on inside Oscorp. He believed Oscorp was doing something sinister on the sly... He thought Norman was involved in Connors' accident. For something the serum failed. And not only the Lizard accident, he also believes that Norman was involved in the accident that turned Max into Electro...That's why Nonny never trusted to keep his progress in the cure in his laboratory...The he trusted me to hide his investigations with me. Spider-Guppy, this is Nonny's research on the cure for Lizard. I hope that helps you..." Oona explained all of this. Spider-Guppy was processing everything she was saying. This means that Oscorp (especially Norman Osborn) was hiding something very big. He simply took the papers that the girl was giving him "I trust this information is safe with you"
"Well..I…Thanks" He said quietly.
"I...don't think I've forgiven you. I'm not doing it for you. I do it for Grouper...and for Nonny..." She said that before turning her back on him. Obviously nothing had changed. Spider-Guppy just got ready to leave the room and go. But before leaving, he decided to say a few last words to her.
"Oon-I mean…Girl….I want to tell you one thing: I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't save the boy you loved. I haven't been able to sleep thinking about that day...But, starting today, I'll make you a promise. Someday, I'll find a way to get Nonny back to the person he was before. It is a promise" Spider-Guppy said confidently. She was silent for a long time.
"...You…promise?" She asked while stuttering. Gil was left thinking about the words that came out of his own mouth. He was seriously promising her that he would find a way in which Doctor Octopus could be cured. Not even he himself knew if that was possible.
"I….I…I promise" He decided to stick with his promise. Without warning, he jumped off the balcony and began swinging through the city, seeking to return home. In that room, Oona simply gave a small smile as a tear ran down her cheek. At least she had a little spark of hope.
Finally, we look at Gil Parker's room. Our hero was sitting at his desk with the superhero suit on without the mask (his aunt was still in the hospital so he is totally alone) while reviewing Nonny Octavius's notes regarding her progress with the cure. for Dr. Connors. Those were the only files that Oona had given him. With those papers plus the sample of Lizard's serum he could start working on an antidote for Connors. Despite that, Gil couldn't stop thinking about the information that Oona revealed to him. Is it possible that Norman was the cause of the failure of the cure in the first place? Was Nonny suspicious of certain Oscorp incidents?
"There is something great in all this. Curing Doctor Grouper is only one of many pending tasks. What does Norman and Oscorp have to do with all this? With incidents like Electro and Lizard? They are great enigmas without answers. But I won't rush too far just yet. Making the antidote will be the main thing for now..." Gil asked himself all of this. Before continuing to check, he noticed how his arm began to bleed a little. It was possibly a wound caused by Kraven the hunter. It wasn't too worrying because he had advanced self-regeneration properties. It would only be a matter of time for the wound to close itself. However, Gil took advantage of that to take a drop of blood as a sample.
"Hmmmm…..If I can create a gene cleaner to remove the lizard DNA Connors has in his system...That same antidote could clean my DNA of the spider mutation...That would mean I could... taking away my powers...(sigh) It's a good choice. After all, I have caused a lot of damage to my loved ones. Would everyone be okay if Spider-Guppy disappeared?"Gil was thinking that before seeing a photo he had on his desk. He was a younger Gi Parker with dear Uncle Ben of his. That photo reminded him of the main reason why he became a superhero: "With great power comes great responsibility" Besides that, he saw that he had some newspaper clippings about his exploits as a hero.
"Spider-Guppy stops a highly dangerous criminal gang!"
"Spider-Guppy saves all the people trapped in a burning building!"
"Spider-Guppy defeats the dangerous criminal The Rhino!
"Spider-Guppy saves students from the infamous Doctor Octopus!"
"Spider-Guppy saves the day!"
"Wow...there are so many people that I have been able to save. If Spider-Guppy doesn't exist...or disappears...Many more people would suffer...Well, Spider-Guppy will stay active longer...at least for now" Gil told himself before starting to work on the serum using his intellect and scientific skills. As well as designing his web shooter, he had the intellect and scientific skills to do other things. His work as a hero increases more every day. And he will not rest until he gets Connors back and fulfills his promise to find some solution to get his old friend Nonny back.
What an exciting chapter. Not only did we see an old enemy again, but a new one appeared. Being the infamous hunter Kraven the character who makes his debut. It is possible that this man will have more appearances later. It's sad to know that when Gil thinks he's advanced, things get more complicated than they should be.
Please leave your reviews on what you thought of this chapter. Finally, I will respond to the review of the previous chapter.
PrimroseRaspberry: Hello! I hope you liked the debut of the Green Goblin. Obviously, many mysteries will be unfolding in later chapters. I love that you liked the romantic kiss between Spider-Guppy and Molly. It's such an iconic scene in Spiderman history that I had to add it to my story sooner or later. I must tell you that as of now the tension in Oscorp has increased, especially because of Norman Osborn and the Green Goblin. Soon Goby will have to cope with very complicated situations. The problems are just going to increase little by little.
That's all for now, I'm ReaderandWriter9000 and we'll see you soon in another chapter. Do not miss it!
Post-Chapter
On that same night, we will see a somewhat peculiar and disturbing meeting. In the office of the owner of the Oscorp Companies we can see the millionaire Norman Osborn talking with a peculiar subject along with some mercenaries.
"Well, Mr. Kravinov? Did you get what I asked for?" It was Norman Osborn seriously.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Osborn...I had the reptile on my hands...until this spider boy got in my way. I managed to escape in time but..." Kraven the hunter reported his experience.
"(sigh) I hired you because I thought you were the best hunter in the world…but I see you failed miserably" Norman said bothered.
"I admit that I have never faced anything like this wall-crawling boy...That thing is something special...Mr. Osborn...let me hunt down Spider-Guppy! I want that thing in my trophy room!" Kraven begged him.
"Mr. Kravinov... Do what you wish... I no longer require your services...I will make the agreed deposit" Norman said quietly. The mercenary leader simply bowed and withdrew from the office with his men. Obviously, Norman Osborn wanted me to bring Lizard to him. But the question is: why? But this guy didn't care about the millionaire's goals. He only wanted one thing in the world
"Your head will be mine, Spider-Guppy!"