Yaz was taking a run through the jungle after they finally managed to get the jungle and dinosaurs under control. With Norman on the loose, they are still trying to keep an eye out for anything suspicious as Peter and Laura have been checking out the sewers and just about anywhere Norman could be hiding. Jeff was still swimming around in the lake while Ben was watching.
"Oh, really spoiled you with all those berries, huh?" Ben asked Angel and Rebel. "Don't worry. She'll be back soon."
That's when Yaz came running out of the jungle, even leaping over Ben in the process. He let out a squeal as she came to a stop near the water where Laura was.
"You okay, Fadoula?" Laura asked, watching as Yaz burst into laughter.
"Seriously. Now I am getting concerned." Ben admitted. "You okay?"
"We should tell Peter his girlfriend might be broken," Laura said.
"I forgot how good it feels to run," Yaz explained to them with a sigh of relief. I mean, really run. For fun, and not because something is chasing us."
"Can't say I can relate, but I'm glad you had a good time," Ben admitted.
Yaz sighed as she laid down. "Better than good. Being out there gave me the space to be at peace. After all of this madness..."
Laura nodded as she looked around. "Yeah, this place is pretty nice. Is it like this where you're from?"
"Some areas," Ben said. "But it's mostly big cities."
"Yeah, and you're going to have a blast getting a load of that when you get to New York with Peter," Yaz said, noticing the look of concern on Laura's face. "Wait." She then started to sit up. "Are you having second thoughts?"
"I mean... a little," Laura shrugged. "I've always been in the jungle. I know how to live in the jungle. What if I don't want to be a part of that world?"
"It's okay to be scared, Laura, but if you stay here... we would never see you again," Yaz said.
"Is this about Sammy?" Ben asks.
Laura considered her answer and shrugged. "A little. Its hard to admit that I had feelings for her to you guys. I don't know what happens if I told her."
"Laura," Yaz sighed as she sat up. "It wasn't easy for me to tell Peter how I felt. Yet look at where we are now."
Laura seemed to understand and considered the bad things against the good. "Alright... I'm gonna do it." She stated. "I'm gonna tell Sammy how I feel."
Ben gasps as he shoots up, and Yaz sits up with a large grin.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh, I'm so happy for you." Ben cheered, rushing over and tried to hug Laura. But she saw that as a threat and immediately drew her claws in self defense. "Whoa! Sorry, sorry." He backed off with his arms raised. "How? When?"
"No idea. I'll just...I'll do it when the time is right, you know?" Laura said, rubbing her arm in nervousness.
They heard distant grunting and looked to see Sammy was dragging meat off in the distance.
"Well, how about now?" Ben asks.
Laura looked over and sighed. Sammy kept dragging the meat to the pile when she heard a snikt, getting her to look up and see Laura.
"Oh, Laura, hey," Sammy said in surprise.
Laura saw there was a pile of meat and tossed it into the pile. There was a roar, getting them to rush over to the side and see the Rexs make their way over so not to make meal out of the other dinos.
"That's right, ladies, supper's on," Sammy said.
They watched the two eat, and Laura tried to talk. "Hey, Sammy?"
"Yeah?" Sammy asks.
But they were interrupted when they heard the Rex's roar, getting them to watch as Little Eatie spun her food around. It ended up flying and landing in Laura's hair as the dinos left into the jungle.
Sammy chuckled as she cleaned Laura's hair. "Looks like Little Eatie needs to work on her table manners."
"Uh, what do you mean?" Laura asked. "I put worse things in my hair on purpose all the time."
Sammy laughed at her attempt at a joke. "Look at that. You were funny."
Laura smiled at that. "Hey, Sammy..."
Before she could start to talk, Ben called out as Yaz and he were trying to slow the others down. "Oh, hey, Brooklynn and Darius." He called out. "Uh, fancy seeing you here."
"At the meet-up spot?" Darius asks.
"Yeah, who saw that coming?" Brooklynn asked sarcastically.
Peter came swinging down and landed beside everyone as he removed his mask. "Hey, guys. Any luck?"
"Yup. I managed to set up a drone to patrol the perimeter of the island." Brooklynn said. "Now we'll get an alert as soon as the Kons return. And all other activity on the island."
"Meaning Osborn won't be able to sneak up on us on foot," Peter said with relief. "Just leaves the problem of where is he hiding."
"Nice," Sammy said. "And we made sure all the dinos had something to eat, so they won't go after each other. We did that. I don't mean to brag.""Except I do, because it's beautiful, and we should be proud."
"You're right," Darius said. "Not that there's anyone around to appreciate it."
"Time to change that," Brooklynn said, showing the tablet that she faced everyone. "Whoever's watching this, get ready to be amazed by these guys. Some of the most incredible people I have ever met."
"Are you recording us?" Sammy asks.
"Yeah. Because someone needs to know that we survived Nublar." Brooklynn said. "And that we're here now. And that we protected dinosaurs from big game hunters and..."
"A horrible hybrid," Yaz said.
"Two horrible hybrids," Darius said.
"Technically, three horrible hybrids." Sammy jumped in.
"About five cross-species," Laura added on. "Including myself."
"And fought a lizard with a doctorate who is still loose in the sewers," Peter added. "And an alien parasite that clung to me."
"A lunatic that wanted to force dinosaurs to fight," Ben added.
"And we even got carnivores to play nice with herbivores," Brooklynn stated. "So wave to the camera, people. You're kind of a big deal."
"Don't you wanna be in the shot?" Sammy wonders.
"Nah. That doesn't feel like 'me' anymore." Brooklynn shrugged.
"I guess we've all changed a lot since we first got to camp," Ben said.
"Oh, yeah." Darius agreed. "If I told the old you that you'd survive in the jungle and become best friends with an ankylosaurus and a girl with claws inside her wrist..."
"I'd probably have a heart attack," Ben admitted.
"Yeah. And I didn't want to talk to anyone. Like, at all." Yaz admitted.
"Except for me." Peter chuckled, remembering how they bonded in the Gyrosphere.
"And you eventually talked to me," Sammy added. "Well, really, I kept talking to you, and eventually, you had to respond."
"Yeah, she does that a lot," Laura admitted.
"Aw. You came around." Sammy said as she hugged Laura.
"Meanwhile, Kenji never stopped talking." Brooklynn chuckled, but a sour face came on, thinking of what he did.
"So, uh, I've been thinking," Darius said. "We've done everything we can to prepare for when they come back, but why are we waiting for them to act first?" He then leads them into the corridors, leaving Jeff to socialize with the dinos. "We're the ones with the upper hand. Even if he knows we got out, Daniel has no idea Brooklynn shut the drones and the BRADs down, except the one the Lizard ran into. Or that we moved most of the dinos to the forest biome."
"Yeah, no outside communication has been made since Osborn sent that vial out to M.O.D.O.K. with a vial of that quote/unquote cure." Peter said.
"Yeah, he's totally underestimating us," Sammy said. "A big mistake."
"I'm guessing you have a genius plan to take him by surprise?" Brooklynn asks.
"Yeah. We trap them in here as soon as they land, take their drone plane, go to the mainland, and get help." Darius said.
"It's a good plan," Yaz said.
"We just gotta figure out how to get the doors to stay shut," Ben said. "It could work."
"And if it does, we've trapped Kenji." Brooklynn was sorry to say.
"We don't have a choice," Darius stated. "Besides, he locked us up first. I guess it's only fair."
"You're right. It's what we have to do." Brooklynn gave up on him.
They then got to work on trying to keep the doors closed.
"Well, I can get them to close, but not automatically," Brooklynn said.
"Well, option A, you show us how," Ben said. "Option B, can't we just short out the console?"
"We tried this?" Laura asked, drawing her claws to attack the console.
"That won't work!" Peter quickly stopped her. "That will only-"
Then the doors closed, causing them to turn and face the console and over to the others.
"Guys, are you doing something?" Peter asks.
"We don't know!" Brooklynn said from the other side.
"That wasn't us!" Darius cried with her.
Then, there was an alarm going off, causing them to get worried. "Is this Osborn?" Laura asked, drawing her other claws and began looking around.
"Geothermal energy core. Critical malfunction." The systems called out.
"That's not Osborn," Peter said. "Guys, you gotta find out what's going on."
They didn't hear a response, meaning that the alarm's sounds would be harder to hear.
"Let's hope that they can get on top of this, while you and I-" Peter then felt his senses go into overdrive. He felt something big was coming. Looking in the direction it was coming from, he saw a small orb falling from the sky and clanging against the ground. It looked like a small orange device that had a green glowing button and what looked to be a countdown timer.
Peter quickly leaped at Laura on instinct, forgetting she has abilities. "Get-"
The small orb went off, and it was so powerful it sent the two of them flying backward.
Peter was sent flying through a wall, the shockwave of the explosion being that strong. His suit managed to hold up, albeit a bit torn in a few places, but it was still alright. Laura came flying in and seemed to be knocked unconscious by the blast, and she was already healing due to her enhanced abilities. She was lying down as Peter crawled up to his elbow and looked over towards the hole. He saw someone on a glider come flying in.
He saw the sharp ears and pointy head and realized that this had to be the only other person on the island. Norman Osborn. The supposed cure that he created using Lizard, Laura, and Peter's DNA must have twisted his genetic structure in such a way that he was unpredictable with how powerful he was. Peter got up and shook off the pain as Osborn leaped off the glider and aimed his gauntlet at Peter, who was preparing to defend his friends and Laura.
Darius and the others made their way into the sewers, making sure to keep an eye out for the Lizard as she was still on the loose and Peter hadn't finished the cure last they heard. They used Brooklynn's tablet to look into the room and saw there was nothing in the core room.
"We're okay." Brooklynn said.
They walked into the area, searching around through the fog, and were surprised by all that has happened in the area. Not surprising, considering that a lot has gone down with the BRAD fight, Laura tearing through here to almost kill them, and Peter and Lizard fighting their way through.
Brooklynn managed to get the console and turned off the alarms. "The drill was out of alignment. The whole core is overheating."
That was followed by the nothosaurus coming out of the gas, casing them around. With no Peter or Laura, they didn't have anyone to help without abilities; they needed to be carful and tried to avoid the creature. It rammed its head into some gas canister, causing them to jump and see it knock the dino out.
"It's the gas. Don't go near it." Brooklynn explained, rushing off to get everyone out. "It's a by-product of the energy core. It could be poisonous. Even worse, the core is overheating. If the pressure builds up enough, the whole thing could blow."
"So then it's lights out all over the island?" Ben asks.
"More like there wouldn't be an island or us," Brooklynn explained. "If I could find a way to breathe in there, I can try to fix it from the console."
"Okay. To stop the gas, we have to tape up that pipe." Darius came up with a plan.
"I'm pretty sure there's some in the med bay," Ben said.
"But we can't just leave the nothosaurus here to die. Right?" Sammy asks.
They all looked ot one another and seemed to agree that they couldn't. They were going to save the dino without arguing about it this time.
"OSBORN!" Peter exclaimed, looking over to the monster.
Osborn aimed his gauntlet that charged up an energy blast. Peter already went to work, shooting out a webbing that clogged the blast, causing it to misfire. Then Peter went in, kicking Norman in the face, and watched him stumble backwards. When he found his footing, Peter punched him again in the face, sending him flying.
"This is for my friends!" Peter exclaimed, thinking of what Norman had done to them all. "You think some fancy gadgets are going to save you!?" He then did a double kick that sent Norman stumbling into the wall.
When Peter went in to punch him again, Norman actually grabbed him and grew a grin. "HAha... HAHAHAHAHA!" Then Peter watched as Norman raised Peter's hand into the air and Peter was shocked to see his strength. Then he punched Peter, sending him flying and slamming him into a wall. "You thought it was going to be easy, Parker?"
Peter groaned as he looked up and saw through the smoke that Norman was enlarging and marched through the smoke and revealed his massive change. "I am kinda missing that Symbiote strength right now."
When Norman tried to punch Peter with his gauntlet charging up with electricity, Peter leaped out of the way and allowed Norman to punch the wall, leading into the corridors. Peter swung in and kicked Norman into them, the two of them continuing to fight their way through them. Norman charged a blast that once made contact with Peter, he was sent flying and slammed into the doors, sending it off its hinges.
"Great, thanks, Norman," Peter groaned as he climbed back up. "That door was on the frits as it was."
"You think that you can truly defeat me, Parker?" Norman asks. "I am not nearly you, I have the speed and capabilities of your friends." He then revealed his claws that came from his fingertips that were almost as sharp as Laura's claws without the Adamantium. "No quips or jokes?" He then charged in, going in to strike Peter, getting him to leap out of the way and try to strike Peter. "I expected more!"
Peter ducked to dodge his strike before spinning to strike at his legs. "Don't worry, Norman. I'm laughing on the inside!"
Norman seemed to figure out his pattern as when he went to swipe at his legs, Norman grabbed Peter by the leg and then flipped him over his head and smashed him into the ground. Peter groaned and was then grabbed and tossed aside into the wall.
"This is exhilarating, isn't it?" Norman asked, tossing Peter through the walls that led to the genetics labs.
Peter then got an idea when he saw the BRADs that were shut down. He remembered what had happened when they had been struck with an electric charge and shot several webs to grab the BRADs and then toss them toward Norman. Norman walked forward, taking the strikes as the BRADs did little damage to him, only pushing him back.
"Did you think that would do anything to slow me down?" Norman asks.
"No, but I thought that would," Peter said, shooting off a special web that was not ordinary webbing like the ones he swung around with. "I gave my suit some upgrades while I was making this one."
Then he shot an electrical current that caused the BRAD to shoot off dozens of tranq darts that some did manage to hit Norman. He let out a roar, rushing over and giving Peter a large punch that sent him flying.
Peter crashed into the ceiling and watched Norman leap up after him. But he quickly got back into the action, leaping towards Norman and punching him in the face before he could make contact. Norman fell and slammed into the ground, but he wasn't down yet. Peter shot out a web that latched onto Norman's face.
Norman then grabbed the web and spun Peter around with it. He was sent flying into the walls, crashing into everything and damaging his suit further, and he was flung into the swamp biome. Once he slammed into the ground, Norman ripped the webbing off and saw Peter was down. He stepped on top of Peter, watching him groan underneath the strength of his body.
"You forget, Parker," Norman said, his voice low and menacing as he leaned in closer, his eyes glinting with a mix of madness and pride. "We share the same blood now. We are intertwined, bonded by something far deeper than mere genetics." A cruel smile crept across his face. "But I have transcended. I possess your strengths and those of your friends, yet I've shed all their weaknesses. I am the ultimate life form, a being that defies definition. I am neither man nor beast. I am something far greater... I am..."
"A monster?" Peter shot back, trying to mask his fear with sarcasm.
"Yes, that's it!" Norman exclaimed, his delight evident as he embraced the label. "I am no simple creature! I am mythical, an unstoppable force! I am... THE GREEN GOBLIN!" His voice surged with triumph, echoing in the dimly lit space.
"Hey, Goblin!" Laura shouted, her tone piercing through Norman's moment of grandeur, forcing him to pivot in her direction. "Get a load of this!"
Laura then used her claws and scratched Norman's face, causing him to let out a roar and stumble backwards, giving Laura a chance to help Peter to his feet to save him. The two of them looked over to Norman and prepared to fight him when suddenly the nothosaurus crawled over and bit his gauntlet. Norman growled and leaped upward, his glider reaching him.
"This isn't over, Spider-Man!" Norman promises, flying off to recover and repair his gear.
Peter and Laura panted in terror at the thought of having to fight Norman again. The two of them looked and saw this one encounter was already a lot for them to process.
"I cannot believe that was Norman Osborn," Laura said.
"Yeah," Peter sighed, rubbing his hip in pain. "We gotta find-"
"Too late," Yaz said as she, Ben, and Sammy came out of the swamp. "We saw everything."
"I... can't believe that was Norman," Sammy said.
"I can't believe that he is going for that name," Ben said. "The Green Goblin."
"I can't believe I'm facing yet another monstrous foe," Peter sighed, his frustration palpable as he surveyed the chaotic scene around him. "Where could Darius and Brooklynn be?"
"Busy sorting out that poisonous gas," Ben replied, his brow furrowed with concern.
Peter's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, that makes sense—Wait, what did you say?" His voice edged toward panic as the gravity of their situation hit him.
"Yeah, the core got knocked out of alignment, so they went to fix it," Yaz explained, her tone brisk yet matter-of-fact.
"Right, we should definitely check on them. They might need our help," Peter suggested, urgency creeping into his voice.
An idea sparked in Yaz's mind, illuminating her expression. "How about this: we go, but Sammy and Laura should stay back and check on Jeff and the others? We need to make sure Norman doesn't decide to go after them."
Peter, blissfully unaware of Yaz's deeper intentions, nodded enthusiastically. "Good thinking! Just give us a shout if things go awry."
"With what? We've got no phones," Sammy retorted, watching as the group began to disperse.
Laura turned to Yaz, giving her a thumbs-up while suppressing an eye roll. "Sammy?"
"Yeah?" Sammy replied, her curiosity piqued.
"Listen, there's something I really need to get off my chest," Laura began, nervous energy bubbling within her. "When I got blown up a minute ago, it gave me a brief glimpse of who I am." She hesitated, her heart racing as she continued, "You probably don't feel the same way, and honestly, I'd understand if you didn't. But I have to say this once: I... like you. A lot. Ever since you explained feelings to the rest of the team, I couldn't stop thinking about you. When I'm with everyone else—Ben, Peter, Brooklynn, or Yaz—I don't feel this way. Not even with Kenji, especially after everything that's happened. But with you, it's like... I've completely fallen for you."
For a moment, Sammy remained expressionless, her face a canvas of surprise as the confession hung in the air. Then, a smile began to bloom. "Really?"
Laura nodded, the warmth of hope flooding her cheeks. "Yeah."
Emboldened by the moment, Sammy leaned in, her heart pounding as she captured Laura's lips with her own. The surprise melted away, and Laura responded eagerly, diving into the kiss.
"Whoa!" Peter exclaimed, stepping back in astonishment as he and the others returned to the scene. His eyes widened at the sight of the two girls locked in an embrace. "You know, you could have just told us!" He shot a playful glare at Yaz. "Didn't have to concoct an elaborate excuse to get us to leave!"
"Eh, I didn't want to break the moment," Yaz shrugged, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Figured it was her turn to spill the beans."
Brooklynn gasped, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she reached for her tablet. "Oh my gosh! You two are official!" she squealed, her enthusiasm echoing off the walls.
"I tried to intervene, but they just wouldn't listen!" Ben added, shaking his head in mock disapproval.
"I had no idea!" Darius chimed in, surprise etched on his face.
Peter laughed, "You were so oblivious to me and the girls' dynamics."
Just then, Brooklynn's tablet emitted a persistent, piercing beep, slicing through the thick tension in the air and drawing everyone's gaze. "Guys? The perimeter drone has arrived. They're here," she announced, her voice brimming with urgency.
In an instant, the atmosphere shifted as the weight of their precarious situation settled over them like an unwelcome fog. As they scrambled to move, Sammy suddenly stopped Laura in her tracks, a glint of excitement in her eyes. "Oh, and Laura? I almost forgot," she said, rummaging through her bag. With a flourish, she pulled out a striking piece of fabric and held it out to Laura. "I made this for you."
Laura looked at the fabric, her brow furrowing in confusion. "What is it?"
"It's... a mask," Sammy explained, a hint of pride coloring her voice. "Try it on."
With a nonchalant shrug, Laura obliged, pulling the mask down over her face. It was deep black, enveloping her features, with two exaggerated ears that tapered sharply to points, soaring upward like the wings of a bat. The eye covers gleamed a bright white, completely obscuring her vision, while the headpiece, a soft gray, cascaded back, allowing her hair to flow freely like a waterfall of silk.
"How does it feel?" Sammy asked, her eyes bright with anticipation.
Laura tilted her head and couldn't help but smile as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a nearby surface. "It suits me," she confessed, a newfound confidence shimmering in her voice.
The others were watching from a mountaintop and watched as the dinos Kon captured were being taken off of a boat. Jeff joined the crew and growled when he saw everyone had returned.
"Yeah, you said it, Jeff," Peter agreed with their aquatic friend.
"What is that?" Darius asks.
"It's not the drone plane, that's for sure," Darius said.
"Does anyone know how to drive a boat?" Brooklynn asks.
"That was kinda Kenji's thing," Peter said.
"Look," Ben said. They saw Kenji walking around with a controller. "They're not alone."
Then they watched as all of the Cross-Species made their way off the boat. They were shocked to see even Kraven amongst them.
"They're really not alone," Sammy said.
"They brought all of our enemies from the island.
"Is that Toro?" Yaz asked.
"Yeah, and Kenji is controlling him," Darius said.
They walked off to think of a plan as they didn't expect them to be back so soon. Especially not with Norman in his Goblin phase as he is. Then Peter watched in the jungle as Lizard came rushing out, roaring at them. But then it was stopped when Kon pulled out a second controller to stop her.
"It's alright!" Kon promises. "She still has her control chip."
"He has a master remote!" Peter saw that it could help cure her if he could get his hands on it. He could just turn Dr. Connors back to normal, and she could help synthesize a cure. "Maybe we don't need a cure if we can get that."
"We will," Darius said. "We're going to stop them. That hasn't changed."
Laura looked around and recognized someone missing. "Where's Ben?"
They then heard a dinosaur moan, walking over and saw that Bumpy was one of the dinos that they now had under their control. Ben must have gone after them...