So, what is Gwen Stacy doing here?
And why did she keep her original gender?
I certainly wasn’t going to complain.
If Gwen and Felicia Hardy had been turned into men, it would have been a tremendous loss to world culture.
Still, the more time I spent here, the less I understood where I had actually ended up, or whether my knowledge of the future was worth anything anymore.
Knowing the identities of supervillains and understanding their motives was already a huge advantage, but I really wanted some information about the bigger threats.
I had started this whole superhero adventure because I was worried about Thanos.
It would be pretty damn funny if he didn’t even exist in this universe.
Then again, if I thought about it logically, the ridiculous imbalance between men and women made it unsurprising that some female characters would retain their original sex.
Of course, Gwen’s presence only made things even more confusing, but it wasn’t exactly bad news.
I only knew her from the Andrew Garfield movies and Into the Spider-Verse, and in both versions, she was one of the good guys.
That gave me some hope that she wouldn’t cause me any trouble.
Gwen didn’t trust me and clearly wasn’t eager to share any information.
I couldn’t blame her.
It was hard to immediately trust some strange guy in a costume.
Still, her obviously improvised lie and darting eyes told me everything I needed to know, even before I noticed the scaly mice and the claw marks covering the walls and floor.
“Listen…”
Stacy was just about to say something.
I thought I’d managed to convince her that I meant well, but a sudden crash and several screams interrupted her.
Why did I have absolutely no doubt about who had caused all this chaos?
Sure, it was possible that one of the local gangs had decided to rob the university, but somehow I found that hard to believe.
“Looks like all our questions have answered themselves,” I sighed.
Seriously, what were the odds that we’d both decide to come here at exactly the same time?
Was this that legendary superhero luck I’d heard about?
Thanks, but I really didn’t need any more of it.
Without wasting time, I scooped Gwen up and teleported us outside the building.
I left her there, then teleported back toward the entrance and waited for the Lizard to leave.
I had to admit, the creature was terrifying.
No wonder Roxy had been so frightened.
Even I, despite having a pretty good idea of what to expect, had been seriously unnerved when I saw her in person.
Her enormous body was covered in scales, far larger than anything a human being should have been capable of growing into.
She had claws and teeth that looked razor sharp, while her red eyes glowed in the darkness like burning coals.
Seeing something like that in the dark could leave a person permanently traumatized.
Absolutely horrifying.
I didn’t really have a plan.
My priority was saving lives.
Going toe-to-toe with that monster wasn’t something I wanted to do, and I certainly didn’t have the ability to win a straight fight.
I seriously doubted my stun gun would be enough to stop her.
On the other hand, letting her get what she had come here for was an even worse idea.
I had a pretty good idea what she wanted, but we still didn’t know where she’d set up her lair.
If I let her take the materials for the serum and disappear, there was a very real chance she’d succeed in turning the entire city into a bunch of giant lizards.
Once she disappeared deeper into the building, I picked up the two unconscious security guards and teleported them back to Gwen.
Both were still alive.
As far as I remembered, the Lizard saw herself as some kind of messiah who would rid humanity of its flaws and suffering.
Maybe that explained why she’d spared them.
“Call an ambulance for them,” I told Stacy as I laid the injured guards on the ground.
Their lives didn’t seem to be in immediate danger, but I seriously doubted they had escaped without injuries.
“Wait!”
I had just been about to teleport back when Gwen grabbed my arm.
Her determination quickly faded, though, and she hesitated, clearly struggling to find the right words.
I understood what she wanted to say.
She obviously cared about Dr. Connors, but Gwen couldn’t exactly ask me to go easy on her.
Connors had kidnapped someone and beaten two innocent security guards.
That wasn’t exactly the sort of behavior that inspired mercy.
Still, I didn’t feel any overwhelming hatred toward Connors.
Knowing that what was happening wasn’t entirely her fault made that difficult.
“Dr. Connors isn’t a bad person,” Gwen finally said.
“The serum is what’s affecting her.” This story is hosted at g.com.
“Can you make an antidote?”
That was the question worrying me most.
I could always hope that Penny’s enormous brain would be enough to solve the problem, but having someone who had actually participated in creating the serum would be a huge advantage.
Of course, that was only an assumption on my part.
For all I knew, Stacy might have had absolutely nothing to do with creating the Lizard serum.
“I can,” she said with a nod, putting my doubts to rest.
“I just need the ingredients and some equipment.”
“Which our dear Dr. Connors is stealing right now. Stay here and call an ambulance. I’ll try to save whatever I can.”
“I can help.”
“No.”
I cut her off before she could finish.
“I understand that you’re a strong, independent woman and all that, but without superpowers, you can’t fight that thing. You’ll get yourself killed.”
From everything I knew about Gwen Stacy, her character almost always had a tragic fate.
I really didn’t want her dying because of some stupid act of heroism.
So I pulled my arm free and used my ability to teleport closer to the university.
Now I just had to make sure I didn’t die while doing exactly the same stupid thing.
I didn’t rush straight into the fight.
Instead, I spent a few seconds typing a message to Penny and asking for help.
Oh, she was definitely going to chew me out for this.
Still, I’d much rather get yelled at by my loving and caring girlfriend than get eaten by a giant lizard.
Honestly, I should have called for backup the moment things started getting dangerous.
Making mistakes like this could get me killed someday.
I found the Lizard fairly quickly.
She was in the same laboratory where I’d met Gwen.
She was stuffing various vials of reagents and pieces of equipment into a bag.
A gigantic reptile carrying a handbag.
Well, that was certainly a sight.
Then again, Crocodile Gena carried a suitcase.
Why couldn’t she carry a bag?
I thought I understood why she’d kidnapped that woman.
Those huge claws weren’t exactly designed for handling delicate equipment.
She had already broken several things.
Apparently, she’d decided to acquire some free labor.
“Ahem. Good evening. Lovely weather, isn’t it?”
Getting her attention and giving up the element of surprise might have been a very stupid idea, but I had no intention of fighting her.
My goal was to distract her from the bag long enough to steal it.
“Who do we have here?” Connors didn’t seem particularly surprised to see me.
“A boy? What a surprise! What are you doing here?”
Interesting.
How had she figured out I was a guy?
My build was obviously masculine, but considering my encounter with the firefighter, even that didn’t necessarily make me look like a man.
Could she smell it?
That would be bad.
It was unlikely we’d run into each other while I was out of costume, but you never knew.
I hadn’t exactly planned on meeting her today either.
“Yeah, I was just passing by. Saw a giant crocodile wandering around, so I thought I’d stop and say hello.”
I think I finally understood where Spider-Man had gotten his habit of making inappropriate jokes.
It actually helped calm my nerves.
“A giant crocodile?” the Lizard laughed.
“No, boy. I am not a crocodile. I am the next stage of evolution, the herald of a renewed world where there will be no pain or suffering.”
“You sound like some kind of cultist.”
I kept the conversation going, trying to buy as much time as possible.
“A cultist? Oh, no, my dear boy. Religion is merely a source of comfort for the unfortunate. It is always comforting to believe that somewhere beyond this life, a world without grief and deprivation awaits us. But that will not change what exists here and now.”
She paused, her voice filled with conviction.
“Science is the cure. Evolution will free our species from suffering. We will build our paradise here and now, without begging abstract entities for help.”
I’d accomplished what I wanted.
While she was giving her little speech, she’d taken her attention completely off the bag.
That was all I needed.
I teleported, grabbed the bag, and appeared on the roof of the nearest high-rise.
Hopefully, there was enough inside for Gwen to create an antidote. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
There hadn’t been much left in the laboratory, and most of it was now scattered across the floor in broken pieces.
I had to give the creature credit, though.
Her reaction speed was incredible.
It had taken me less than a second to grab the bag, and her claws were already flying toward my face.
Thankfully, I’d managed to teleport away before they reached me.
What I hadn’t anticipated was that one particularly reckless idiot would decide to follow me.
Seriously, why couldn’t she just stay put?
But there was nothing I could do about it.
I’d chosen to become a hero, so apparently I had to go save the idiot.
“Hey, stop!”
I intercepted Stacy right as she reached the entrance to the building.
“You’re here?” she asked in surprise.
“I thought…”
“That I’d decided to fight that thing with my bare hands? No. I stole the materials from her. Hopefully…”
A furious roar interrupted me.
Someone was very, very angry.
I seriously doubted I’d be able to talk the Lizard into leaving a second time.
“You!”
Connors appeared in the doorway, radiating pure fury.
“Give me the reagents, boy.”
“Stop, Dr. Connors,” Stacy said.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Gwen?”
She seemed to notice her student for the first time.
“You’re working with him? Why? Why would you interfere with me? Isn’t this what we dreamed about?”
“Dreamed about what? Kidnapping people? Hurting innocent people?”
“That is merely a small price to pay for achieving our goal.”
Her voice hardened.
“Don’t you remember? A world without flaws! A few broken bones are nothing compared to the thousands who will never have to suffer again. Tell your friend to return what he stole. I have no desire to spill blood, but I will not spare anyone who stands in the way of evolution.”
“A world without flaws, but at what cost?” Stacy argued.
“Turning into… that?!”
I wondered if she genuinely believed she could talk Connors out of this.
Well, who was I to judge?
It wasn’t my loved one who had transformed into a gigantic reptile determined to turn all of humanity into creatures like herself.
Still, she could keep talking for as long as she wanted.
All I needed was for Penny to arrive.
I was ready to teleport us away the moment Connors became aggressive.
So for now, let them talk.
“This?”
Connors gestured toward her own body.
“Look at this body, Gwen. Strength. Agility. Regeneration. My senses have never been sharper. I am the representative of an entirely new species, a species that will rise to the top of the food chain and never leave it.”
Stacy was preparing to answer, but she didn’t get the chance.
A new guest had arrived.
And I was incredibly happy to see her.
“Oh, you guys are having a costume party and didn’t invite me?” Penny asked as she landed on the awning.
At the same moment, the sound of sirens filled the air.
Apparently, Gwen had followed my instructions and called an ambulance.
Maybe the police too.
The Lizard had clearly heard the sirens.
After taking a quick look at our numbers, she decided it was time to leave.
That worked perfectly for us.
Fighting her without an antidote would be a massive headache.
I wasn’t even sure Penny and I could overcome her regeneration.
“I’m coming back,” Connors snarled before darting away.
I teleported to Spider-Girl and stopped her from giving chase.
It wasn’t time yet.
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Penny said, clearly unhappy with me.