Lizard Man: Special Issue #16

A Clash of Stone and Scales

PART 2

As Peter and his lizard partner Dexter leaped into action to continue their fight with Tombstone, they found themselves unprepared for the fury of the human statue. Having learned from his mistake of underestimating his opponent, Tombstone began to use all his tricks in the book as if he was fighting an expert. Even Peter's natural instincts couldn't dodge all that came at him. Tombstone was clearly trained in more ways than just the standard boxing he first presented. Now he was throwing in vicious kicks and full body slams to the ground. Dexter tried to help but found himself thrown or ignored by Tombstone as he focused his full attention on Peter. As they both seemed to get winded, Peter found he was sore all over and bleeding from his snout and forearms. Peter had blocked as much as he could from the barrage with his arms but he had taken some hits across his snout and Tombstones cracked shoulder seemed to be worse, finally bleeding out over the thick stone hide of his skin. The two of them looked like they had been at war for hours, though had only been about 30 minutes. If they kept this up, they would both die. Both could see this in their eyes. Both were unfazed by the thought, but Peter had an advantage that Tombstone lacked: Brains. As they both caught their breath in there break of beating on each other, Peter saw his only hope to capture Tombstone and get the info he craved. Hooked to the part of the ceiling that had not collapsed, he saw a swinging crane that looked like it was used to lift an engine or the body of a motorcycle off the ground. It was tucked in the corner but could swing out to hang over the center of the shop. Tombstones back was to it, so it was likely he did not notice it. Not looking directly at it and keeping his eyes on Tombstone, Peter waited for Stone to make the first move. As Stone charged, clearly ready to kill or be killed, Peter surprised him with a jump over his head. Then, with some help from Dexter who seemed to note Peter's intent and jumped onto the wall by the swingable lift, Peter snapped his fingers and Dexter kicked the swinging lift towards him. It swung surprisingly fast as Peter grabbed the long chains on them and began to wrap them around Stone. The move shocked Stone, but he did not just take getting wrapped. He hit Peter in the face wit his free arm, unraveling his left which he then used to whip the chain at Peter's chest. This ripped his new purple suit and his scaly chest began to bleed. Unfortunately, the chain whips did not stop after that. Instead, it was followed by one that was worse, across Peter's lizard face, breaking his goggles. His vision blooded and pain so fresh it made him grimace instead of scream, Peter felt his vision change from yellow to red, matching the blood that tainted his vision and the vicious animal within him erupted. Grabbing the whipping chain and wrapping it around his right wrist with tremendous speed, he pulled the chain with all its might. With a scream of immense pain, Tombstones right arm unhinged from his shoulder with a crack and a tare. Dark red blood with specks of grey fell from the wound as Tombstone fell to one knee. Seeing this brought Peter from the red vision of his vicious instincts and he immediately scrambled for something to cauterize the wound. He needed Tombstone alive to interrogate him and though he felt someone like Tombstone deserved death, Peter knew in his heart he had no right to take his life. On the other side of the room, he saw the sawdering tool he used to cause a small explosion earlier. Peter quickly grabbed it and rushed over to Tombstone. With the burning tool, he stopped the bleeding, the smell of burnt flesh, stone, and the sounds of screams filled shop as he did so. To in shock to move from the pain and perhaps grateful he would not bleed out, Stone allowed Peter to wrap him in the chains the rest of the way. Now secured, Peter lifted the head of Tombstone to look at him. "Now Tombstone, who is the Goblin and why did he order you to get me.". asked Peter, taking deep growling breaths while Dexter crawled back on his shoulder. Tombstone took a gulp, but then laughed. "What you are is what he wants." Said Stone in a wicked voice. "He says you are his experiment to own, but if you don't believe me, go to the Chrysler building. Climb to the top and go to the 3rd pillar from the right. He is waiting there.". Tombs head dropped, his full body weight too heavy for the crude chains as he fell to the ground, exhausted but still alive. Peter growled to himself. This wasn't over and it worried him this was expected. However, he wasn't quieting. He didn't care if it was a trap or whatever, he would face the monster that was ruining his life.

It took only 30 minutes to get to the top of the Chrysler building. Once there, Peter readied himself to face a monster, only to find a computer with a live feed. Getting closer, he saw the feed was that of his aunt May! Confused, Peter picked up the computer and saw a man walk into frame. He had seen this man before… "Mr. Osborn?" "Hello Peter Parker or should I say… Lizard Man." Said Osborn, a wicked tone in his voice. Peter growled. "What are you doing with May? Where is the Goblin?" asked Peter viciously. Osborn just put his hands up. "Your looking at him" said Norman with a smirk. "As to what I'm doing with your aunt well…" Peter watched helplessly as Norman Osborn stuck a syringe into her IV bag filled with a grey substance. "NO! What are you doing stop!" Screamed Peter. As the liquid flowed, it went down the tube and suddenly the heart monitor stopped. "You Monster! I WILL KILL YOU!" Screamed Peter as Norman left the room, the camera following. "No Mr. Parker, I own you like I own this city and this is your last warning." Said Norman with a tone of command. "You have forced my hand and now your aunt lies dead because your stubbornness to be captured. Everyone you care for will suffer the same fate if you do not come to my lab to have your Lizard Powers extracted." Peter felt his grip begin to crush the computer as the feed rippled. "Why?! Why do you care so much! I did not ask for these powers!". Normans was now going up the hospital stairs. "No, but they are my success for your powers would not have been as perfect if not for the Oz formula that flows in your veins." Said Norman with a smugness of a God. "You think I do not know the Lizard formula of your beloved doctor Conners front to back? Nothing he made on his own would be this perfect, the perfection that is the marriage of human and animal. Only my Oz formula could do that. Formula that you received from MY Spider." Peter was taken back by this... the day he got the formula was the day of the Oscorpe visit, the day the spider bit nearly killed him for its 'smart venom' saw him as a victim. It was all because of that, all because he saved his own life and didn't just let himself be killed by the bite, that all this had happened. Now he was orphaned, friendless, and a freak. He had nothing left. With misery in his voice, Peter said under all the tears. "Fine. I will meet you at your lab. You win." Osborn smirked. "I'm glad to hear it Parker. Third floor of the Oscopre building. Be in your human form and no funny business. Peter nodded as the Norman reached for the apparent floating camera and the feed cut out. Peter then crushed the computer and howled at the now fool moon, letting out all his misery in one go. He then reached for his phone that was surprisingly still intact in his inside jacket pocket and dialed Doctor Conners. In two ringers, Conners answered. "Peter is everything ok?" ask Conners. "No" said Peter. "I beat Tombstone, but there was another pulling all the strings. He calls himself the Goblin. He is responsible for Kasady, Kraven, and Tombstone. Doc… the Goblin is Norman Osborn." There was a deep silence over the phone. "Good god. His true nature finally shows" said Conners. "I'm going to go give myself over to him now." Said Peter. "I just wanted to call and say goodbye and thank you.". "What no!" interrupted Conners. "You can't let Norman win!.". "He already has" replied Peter. "He's been ahead of things this whole time. He's known about me since the beginning and, I…. I just watched him kill my aunt may and he said he would do the same to those care about If I didn't turn myself over. I have no choice. Goodbye Doc." With that, Peter threw his phone from the Chrysler building and then jumped in the direction of Oscorpe.

Once a block or two from the place that started it all, Peter turned back into his human form. He looked at the large building with a sense of wonder and awe but then stopped when he saw a familiar person leave the building with someone. He knew that red hair anywhere but she was holding someone's hand and then sharing a kiss and this was not just any someone.: it was Harry Osborne. Peter could feel the jealousy flow through him, the emotions wishing to come out and claw Harry to shreds, but it was followed with a sense of calm. If MJ is with Harry, no harm will come to her he thought as they walked by, to far to see him. As he watched them go, he felt a sense of ease but now a duty. This was now for Doc. If he could give his powers up for his safety at least, that was enough.

Peter entered the Oscorpe building, the place feeling like a ghost town compared to how it was the last time he was here. Going over to the elevator, he pressed three. The ride was quick, almost spontaneous, when he found himself entering a room with two armed guards and Osborne in a lab coat over his usual green suit. His smile looked more wicked then Peter had ever seen it. "Welcome Peter." Said Osborne, motioning to a metal chair in a small glass chamber. Peter knodded walking over to the chair as the two guards took his jacket off and rolled his purple suit down to expos his bare chest. He was then strapped onto the chair, which he now saw from the inside had about 6 syringes on each side. Norman walked over, holding a see-through high-tech ipad-like device. "Once you're in, I will begin the extraction process. I promise, you won't feel a thing." Said Norman in a very fatherly voice. Peter just nodded, refusing to give this psycho anymore of his words since he had truly taken his life away. Peter watched as the glass doors to his chair prison was closed and the syringes slowly came in close. They began to penetrate up his arms, into his ribs, when suddenly….

BAM! Peter found himself flying in the air inside the glass operating seat, the syringe needles breaking off in his ribs and arms as fire and a mysterious roar filled the room. Ignoring the pain, Peter broke out of the straps that held him down and then broke out of the glass around the table to escape the roaring fire in the room. When Peter got up, holding his side from the broken needles, he found Osborne in the corner cowering from the large red T-Rex whose head had broken through the side of the building and was eating his armed men. Upon the back of the red T-Rex was a man sitting on a metallic looking saddle wearing something around his head. Peter beamed, fighting the pain. "Doctor Conners!" screamed Peter. "Get on!" screamed Conners back to Peter, patting on the open seat of the saddle. Peter didn't hesitate and once he sat behind Conners, doctor Conners pressed a button on the saddle and they took off to the sky, rockets to each side of the red T-Rex launching them over the city!

Peter was shocked by the sudden turn of events, pulling the broken needles out of his arms and side on the back of a FLYING RED T-REX, trying to figure out if he was dreaming or not. "No this real" said Conners like he could hear Peter's thoughts. "This is Devil Dino. Another home project of mine. Long story short, I have a friend from the Savage lands which is the last place untouched by time, and they got me him when he was an egg. I was keeping him in a massive habitat in a warehouse close to my house. I'm communicating him with my mind and the jets, well... I didn't want him stomping on innocents." Peter pulled out the last needle and let out a harty laugh. "You keep surprising me Doc" said Peter with a beaming smile. "And you surprised me, with you going to give yourself up to Osborne and for what? Me? That redhead friend of yours." Said Doc Conners. "Well really just you now. Long story" replied Peter. Conners nodded, not pushing the matte "Well, if you're in danger then I'm with you from this point on. You're like a son to me Parker and your Lizard powers are a gift to this world. Osborne can only have them over my dead Dino." Peter gave his mentor a quick hug. "Thanks Doc." He said. "And now that I know who I'm fighting, I'm going to take his criminal empire down. I'm assuming you're in?." Conners laughed. "You bet your ass" he said and they took off into the night upon there flying T-Rex.

Osborne stood looking at the damage done by the insane Dinosaur that took his prized Lizard boy, seeing this as the beginning of the true war between him and this kid. Parker had no idea what he was capable of, what he could muster to have him captured. Now he had no choice but to pull out the big guns and he was going to pull them all out. All six of them.