Lizard Man: Special Issue #15

A Clash of Stone and Scales

PART 1

MJ awoke with a sudden jolt from her very comfortable sleep, her white tank top being the only item covering her nearly nude body. She turned to the side of the bed with hesitant movement, grabbing at spare blankets with shaky hands. She had visited every night for almost a week and she still was still not used to Harry Osborne's water bed. No matter how she moved in it, she didn't trust it. She felt it might pop or something and she would be sleeping in a puddle, but Harry insisted that it was safe and desperately wanted to cuddle with her. MJ couldn't say no to that. Luckly, this was just the sleeping spot. Harry had a futon for… the other stuff, and man, was there …other stuff. Harry may not be the smartest when it came to books, but he was worldly. VERY worldly, especially in the aspects on how to treat women. To Brainy Jane, it was much better than the object she bought on her 17th birthday at Spencer's, that was currently hidden under her bed. On top of that, Harry was a gentleman. Consent, protection, asking her if she was on the pill, it was all very polite and not pushy. MJ appreciated that more than she could express, but, though the last week had been dreamy, hot, and romantic, guilt was eating her away. She could argue till the cows came home that she was awoken by the cold, but the fact was, she was awoken by her phone vibrating sound, laying next to the bed from the lingering 20 missed calls and 13 messages from Peter.

MJ was doing her, she was making her choices for her, but that's why she felt so guilty. She may have had a thing for Peter for years, so much so she flunked a grade just so she could stay in his class, but ghosting him for the past week while sleeping with the guy he considered a rival felt vindictive. In some sick way, MJ kinda knew it was, and rightly so, but adding this on top of Peter's crumbling, Lizard life was more than vindictive, it was hurtful. It was an emotional betrayal to her closest friend. He hadn't heard from her for over a week. She hadn't checked up on him since she began hooking up with Harry. With this guilt eating her, she picked up the phone for just a second and thought Why? Why did I go through with this?! I KNEW that meeting with Harry would turn into more than just tutoring. I surfed the internet enough to know brainy redheads were a fetish…thing is, I…didn't care. I Wanted to be desired…and I am. MJ could feel tears welling in her eyes. She closed them tight and put the phone down. The guilt ate at her chest like a ravaging parana. She curled to the sharp pain and rolled to the other side of the bed, where she cuddled next to the warm body of Harry Osborne. Here she was, in a luctory condo sleeping next to the richest kid at midtown high. Maybe one day she would tell Peter, put this guilt to bed, but not here, not now. Now she will sleep, with the man that wants her.

It was 6am and Peter still couldn't get a wink of sleep. He had tried 6 pillows, 4 pillows, one blanket, two blankets, even going into Lizard form and sleeping in a bathtub full of water, but nothing seemed to work. His new Lizard friend, the bearded dragon Dexter, however, was sound asleep on Peter's chest. I'm glad someone is comfortable, thought Peter as he watched Dexter snore. With his index finger, Peter stroked Dexter's back, the lizard showing flickers of joy in his face as he rested. With boredom ensuing and not having the heart to wake Dexter, Peter took to his phone. This is all he had done for the past week when he couldn't sleep, look on his phone, watch a video or two, and sometimes, message MJ. The weird thing is, MJ wasn't messaging him back. She was usually so quick to do so.. Even when he sent the shortest message like 'hey', but no response, 'hey' no hi, no nothing back. Peter had to admit he was getting worried but also felt he may deserve this cold shoulder.

This Lizard ordeal had been hard on him. He had gained an arm but lost an Uncle, his Aunty was in the hospital, and he had Lizard Powers that other power hungry people seemed to want. He didn't have all the answers to why his powers were so covitated, only bits of info here and there, but in the search for these answers as well as being lost in misery and revenge, Peter had put a lot of unnecessary pressure on MJ. She had picked up the slack of his normal life while he gallivanted as a lizard man. She was doing his homework, even homework Peter said he'd do for Harry Osborn. She was making him breakfast, checking on him, taking care of all his affairs while also doing her own stuff! And what did Peter do? Did he thank his dear friend for this? No. He thought of her beauty and told her to go to sleep while he fell into a trap set by Kraven the hunter. He took her for granted and now it was biting him in the ass. Still, her absence kicked him into some normalcy for the past 5 days. He took a break from street galavanting and got his online work caught up for school. A few times he called Flash to tell him he wasn't dead and his Aunt May as well. She said she was doing better, but it sounded like she had a slight cold over the phone. On top of that, Peter and Doctor Conners had been working out some equipment for Peter, both for civility and Lizard life. In the case of civilian life, Doctor Connors had rush-ordered a new advanced cybernetic prosthetic prototype from a new science upstart called 'Pym labs'. It was to replace Doctor Conners own missing arm so he could work more efficiently in his lab. He didn;t really care for prosthetics, hence why he had worked so long with one arm, but this new prosthetic had pain censrors and everything. It was the best one could do to have a new arm until Peter and him created a new limb-growing formula. He did not want to risk creating a new arm with the serum Peter had used on himself. Connors then created a rubber mold of his new prosthetic to slide over Peter's Lizard arm, so he could function like he had two arms in real life and no one would be the wiser. The long and thick rubber-like glove was a little on the uncomfortable side, but it did its job well. He could, in a way, finally admit he had two hands. Along with this new glove, Conners had also created a new suit for Peter. Something that could help him with his upcoming match with Tombstone and his new 'hero persona'. It was a silicon based ballistic suit, capable of resisting knives and gunfire at close range. It was Purple with black trim, as well as a green logo on the chest that looked like the green silhouette of a three toed dinosaur. The suits material also changed air flow to bits of moisture so on land, Peter's Lizard self didn't dry up or crave liquids as often. Peter felt it was a bit much, still thinking he's not really a hero who needs a colorful costume, but couldn't disagree with Conners when he said 'better safe than dead'. These words really stuck with Peter and he even added an invention of his own to his arsenal, a pair of goggles that enhanced his vision to see through solid walls and zero in on heat signatures.Neither of them knew what Tombstone was gonna throw at him, so it was better to be over prepared for the one on one fight then not

Peter had to survive this face off. He learned from Kraven that Tombstone was working for someone called "The Goblin", and the internet said nothing about this Goblin until Peter finally decided to hit up the dark web. When he got there , Peter learned that the Goblin was more of a ghost story then Tombstone ever was. There was Conspiracy site on the dark web called "The Super Gang Wars of NYC Revealed" ,run by some ex-journalist named Yerik, that Peter had discovered earlier in the week. On the site there were threads upon threads talking about 4 major names Peter had come to know pretty well: The Rose, The Kingpin, Tombstone, and the Goblin. The threads were discussions of unconfirmed reports of a 5 year long gang war that took place mainly in Hell's Kitchen and Harlem between these 4 factions. The site claims no major news has talked about it even to this day because, according to Yerik, they all paid off as was law enforcement. The threads for this site where backlogged for the whole 5 years, so Peter didn't read all the reports, but the pinned post from about two years ago, which was also the most recent post, stated "'The super gang war is currently at a stand still between the four factions due to allegiance for legitimacy and pressures of true justice. The Punisher's involvement and well as the one called DareDevil have pushed the factions to call for truce, but the silence in the streets is a hostile takeover behind the scenes. My sources tell me The Goblin has taken full control of all gang operations within the city. The Kingpin, The Rose, Tombstone, they all now work for him and follow his beckon call. The battle for control has been won with lies of peace. There are rumors that Kingpin may try to take power in Hell's Kitchen again, but that is an echo in a pool of control that the Goblin sits as king. Who he is is still a mystery, but he holds all the cards when it comes to crime within the city"

After reading that, Peter was certain there was no bigger fish for him to fry. He was determined that this fight with Tombstone tonight would be his victory, a victory that will lead him to the one who was truly responsible for his upside down world.It may have been the ignorance of his youth, but he was not afraid. He was anxious and determined.

While having these thoughts of reflection, Peter felt his phone ring its alarm. It was 5 o-'clock. With unnecessary quickness, Peter shot up from the couch, Dexter jumping up with him. Peter looked down and gave his lizard pal a little nod. Dexter seemed to return it and together the two ran upstairs.Peter was given no guidance on when to meet Tombstone at the motorcycle shop outside Queens, but he knew it would be late, so he set his alarm for dusk which was 5 o'clock and now it was time to get ready.

With the same quickness as when he jumped from the couch, Peter put on the new purple suit which slipped on like a glove. With a quick buckling of the hip belt and zippering of the front, he then threw on his Uncle's leather jacket and his new goggles to complete the look. He was ready to faceTombstone for the truth.

It was around 6 when Tombstone pulled into the old Motorcycle shop with his gang. His cronies asked him if he needed help as he parked his Harley Davidson, but he waved them off and they left without another word. Tombstone had always been a man of few words and lately, more refined tastes. Since he had begun working with Osborn aka the Goblin, he had found himself in a position to buy more suits and ties and single malt whiskies. Even though, in the books, he was still head of the underground drug and thug business, the difference was, instead of heading the business in war, putting all his funds in weapons and defense instead of luxurious, like he did for five years, he was now heading business in peacetime. He had been for two years, all thanks to Osborn's conglomeration but…. In a way, war times had begun again thanks to a scaley freak, and in war, Tombstone wasn't gonna dirty a Brookes Brothers suit. Instead, he cracked open his old biker gear, sporting ripped jeans, a leather vest, white tanktop and steel toe boots. As he walked under the dim street lights to the garage, his exposed marble like skin glistened in the off orange fluorescence like a carved statue.This statue of a man, however, could not deny his fear. This was supposed to be such a simple, delegated job. He hired a thug, a killer, to capture a kid. The thug was torn apart, beaten by a savage Lizard beast he was unprepared for. So, Tombstone hired a literal hunter to catch the savage Lizard kid, and that same kid outsmarted the hunter! Now, he had no choice but to face the monster himself. A monster who could out fight a killer and out smart a hunter. He was truly nervous to do this, but he trusted in Osborns plan and in himself. If this kid wanted a fight, he would give him the best fight he could offer.

As he creaked open the door, Tombstone breathed as steady as he could preparing for anything. All he saw were empty workbenches and a large, open concrete floor. Not many places to hide though Tombstone, and with confidence he walked to the center of the room. Suddenly he heard a cracking noise from above. The ceiling cracked. Confused, Tombstone looked up and then his eyes got really wide, realizing what was about to happen, but it was to late…

Peter had arrived 30 minutes before Tombstone appeared, laying himself as flat as he could on the flat concrete garage roof and slipping his goggles on to his lizard eyes. He watched for heat signatures, patiently, and then he saw Tombstone arrive with his thugs. The thuggs drove away and Tombstone walked on alone. Peter could not believe the true mass and height of this man; he had to have been at least 6'5 or something close to that. His skin truly glistened like that of a polished, marble stone. Peter felt a knot in his throat. He had no idea he was facing someone with powers as well. He thought Tombstone was just a codename, not something referring to the freakish reality of superpowers. Either way, Peter couldn't back down now. He was so close to what he strived for but… how could he beat THAT?? He thought quickly and looked around at the diameter of the building. Peter's mind raised as he thought It seems to be a standard 16 by 24 foot building with an area of 384 sq ft. slinking flat and quietly as he could while Tombstone approached the door, Peter slithered to what he considered the center of the ceiling and he put his head down to listen. He heard the door open. Then after a pause, Tombstone walked to the center of the floor and stopped. Hearing this, Peter creeped a smile and in one solid motion leaped to his feet and then high into the air, as high as he could get. Then, flattening his feet and crossing his arms, he descended right from where he had jumped like a missile. When he hit the ceiling he heard a crack along with tremendous pain the balls of his feet. Knowing that was the result he wanted but wasn't enough, Peter bit his lizard lip and leaped in the same fashion, only this time, as he came down, he put his hand up like a needle to give himself more aerodynamics. As he descended he gripped his eyes tight and then suddenly WHAM! The ceiling gave way and Peter leaped with athletic ease to the left of the rubble that had just landed on Tombstone and into the now dust covered garage room. Peter could feel the pain in his toes, a few probably broken, but it was worth the risk. He needed to give himself an advantage. Blind rage,a possibly a broken shoulder and dust in the eyes… not to bad for a first move, thought Peter

Like a strong man breaking from chains, Tombstone broke out of the concrete slab, his sculpted body scuffed just like a statue. His shoulder 'chipped', but unbroken. Peter sighed as he thought crap… he's literal stone, And from all fours, Peter leaped at the enraged Tombstone.

The rage of Tombstone did what it was supposed to, make him blindly strike. Peter took advantage of that right away and dodged Tombstones heymakers like they were nothing. It turn, he tried to scratch him with his claws but again, they only scuffed his skin. No blood or anything was showing, no matter how many strikes he did in a row. Eventually, Tombstone caught on and grabbed Peter by the throat, choking his thick neck with a vice grip. Peter thought quick and tried to bring his long tale to do the same to Tombstone but, as he gripped, no matter how hard it did nothing. It was like Peter was just grasping at a statue. Tombstone laughed sadistically and said "Like those pointless scratches of yours, your tail can do nothing to harm me!"

Peter could feel life fading from his vision. If he didn't act soon, he was gonna pass out or worse die of suffocation. So, with all the air he had left, he whistled out of his snote, and suddenly BAM! Dexter leaped from the side of the room and onto Tombstone's face, blinding him and causing him to let go of Peter. Peter took a deep breath and thought My initial move chipped his shoulder. If I can find a way to exploit that… Peter then instinctively dropped down his heat vision goggles, to see if there was any kind of equipment or hot fluid he could use for an explosive in this bike shop. Behind the stumbling Tombstone there was a just barely lit wireless satering tool and next to it a thing tube of helium. While Tombstone tried to grab at Dexter who was now crawling all over his body, Peter ran behind them and grabbed both objects. Tombstone finally got a hold of Dexter with his right hand, raising Dexter up with triumph to crush him but, unfortunately, this also exposed the cracking shoulder. Peter saw his chance and with all he had, hit Tombstone's shoulder with the can of helium, lit the satering tool and punctured it into the side of the helium tube!

With this came an explosion like that of a small hand grenade going off in the face of Tombstone and Peter, launching all three parties backwards. Peter's reflexes were fast enough to grab Dexter in mid air as they flew back into a wall. Tombstone, however, flew into the work bench behind him, toppling over it and into a huge pile of motorcycle parts.

It took a minute for Peter to recover, his face slightly burned and cement dust and soot in his eyes, but he was the first one up. Stumbling to his feet, he could feel bruises but not a single contusion in his body. The new suit had done its job well, protecting him from the explosion's shrapnel. Dexter was ok, moving from Peter's hand to his shoulders. Both seemed ready for round two as they waited for Tombstone.

Like a creature from the depths awakening from a rude wakeup call, Tombstone stumbled to his feet as quickly as he could. From an on look, the explosion seemed to have done its job. Tombstone's shoulder was cracking significantly now, the crack spider- webbing down his whole arm and slightly to his neck and face, but with this came one problem: Rage. Tombstone had a fire in his eyes that wasn't there even after the first surprise attack. If Peter wanted the answers he craved, he would have to fight twice as hard in this second half….

To be concluded in Part 2

Thanks for waiting for this one guys. it's been done since last week but I just didn't have time to upload it with holiday and family plans. part 2 will be up next week. till then friends.