I’m Not Becoming Spider-Man - Chapter 59: The New-Hand Starter Pack (Patreon)

Peter kept his promise and didn't tell Gwen that Connors's laboratory was about to be shut down.

Not that telling her would accomplish much. He was just a high school student, and nobody in charge was going to listen to him. All he could really do was comfort the others when the bad news came.

“What's wrong, Peter? You look upset,” Harley asked.

Connors might be about to turn into the Lizard, and Peter couldn't do a thing about it. He could only hope that, once the doctor had been beaten back into his senses, things would somehow work out. In most versions of the story, Connors did at least survive and get something resembling a happy ending.

“I was thinking about getting Dr. Connors a present. He's a decent guy.”

“You seem pretty worried about him.”

“There's no harm in staying on good terms with people. We might need his help someday.” Peter considered that for a moment. “Maybe we could invite him fishing with us.”

“Sure. The more, the merrier. We still have to decide where we're going, though.”

“That can wait. What sort of present do you think he'd like?”

“Uh... a new-hand starter pack?” Harley ventured after some thought. “I mean, he's only got one hand, right?”

Peter clenched his teeth, struggling to keep a straight face. “I didn't know you had such a sense of humor... Harley.”

“No, I just meant...”

CRASH!

“HRRRAAAGH!”

An enormous green lizard burst through the office door and roared at them.

“Harley, run!” Peter grabbed her arm. The two of them were close to an exit, while Gwen, on the far side of the lab, hurried to pull Mobius away from the creature.

Alarms blared through Oscorp Tower. Doors at critical access points slammed shut. Peter pushed Harley into an elevator.

“Go find your mother!”

“What about you?”

“I need to check on Gwen. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine,” he said quickly. “Your mother is the only one who can deal with this. Go!”

He jabbed the elevator button several times until the doors closed and carried Harley upward. When he turned around, the massive green creature was battering a glass barrier.

Even the bulletproof glass began to fracture beneath its repeated blows. The elevator was still ascending, leaving Peter with nowhere to retreat.

“Okay. Stay calm. I've got a little time to prepare,” he told himself, watching the monster. “And it doesn't look like it's thinking clearly anymore. If I time this right...”

“ROAARGH!”

The Lizard shattered the barrier and came charging straight toward him.

“Now!”

Peter threw himself sideways. The Lizard thundered past him, smashed through the elevator doors, and plunged into the shaft.

Peter sprinted back toward the laboratory. Unfortunately, the creature was already climbing out of the shaft. In seconds, it was charging after him again.

“Damn it, damn it...” The huge shape behind him was getting closer. Peter did not like how this was going.

Its deafening footsteps were almost on top of him when glass suddenly shattered.

CRASH!

Spider-Woman swung through an outside window on a web, kicked through the remaining glass, and drove her foot into the Lizard's head. The blow knocked it to the far side of the room.

“Run!” Gwen shouted.

“Right, right! Thanks, Gw... uh, Spider-Woman!” Peter breathed out in relief, grabbed his backpack, and dashed toward Connors's office.

“No prob... Aah!” Gwen had barely spoken before the Lizard knocked her flying.

Peter trusted that Gwen could take the hit. He hurried inside the office, where the furniture lay overturned and Connors's phone had been crushed underfoot.

“Okay, Peter. Time for the backup plan.”

He spotted the used syringe on the floor. Removing his glasses, he took gloves and a face mask from his backpack, then carefully picked up the syringe with tweezers. A little of the original serum still remained inside.

He carried it out and looked across the ruined laboratory. Gwen and the Lizard were still fighting, smashing equipment and furniture as they went.

“Spider-Woman! Can you keep him busy a little longer? I'm going to make an inhibitor!”

“What? Didn't I tell you to... Oof!”

The Lizard slammed her to the floor, then turned and charged at Peter.

“Oh my God, why does this thing even exist?” Gwen groaned. She fired a web onto the ceiling, swung onto the Lizard's back, and shot strands from both wrists to cover its eyes. Gripping the webbing like a horse's reins, she hauled its head upward.

“Come on, big guy! Let's take this somewhere else!”

She wrenched the Lizard off course and steered it straight through a nearby window. Both of them crashed through the glass and dropped toward the ground far below. A heavy thud suggested they'd reached the bottom.

“Always reliable, Gwen.”

Peter put on safety goggles, placed the remaining serum under a microscope, and started testing substances that might suppress its activity.

The work wasn't especially complicated. Once he'd established the general approach, he could eliminate candidates one by one. He just needed time.

Ding!

Another elevator arrived. Norma emerged surrounded by a heavily armed security team, with Harley following cautiously behind.

The devastation was frightening. The guards disengaged their safeties and began searching the area. Peter was impossible to miss, since he was the only person still in the lab.

“Target spotted! Stay alert!”

Several guards swung their weapons toward Peter, who was still working at the microscope.

“Hey! What are you doing? Stop! That's my friend!” Harley rushed forward and shoved their gun barrels down. The guards jumped in alarm. One accidental shot could have been disastrous.

Norma saw everything, but she was more concerned about what could have caused this level of destruction.

She ordered the guards to remain alert and entered the laboratory. “What happened?”

“Dr. Connors injected himself with an experimental serum,” Peter answered without looking up. “I think there was a slight... complication. He's gone berserk. I'm preparing an inhibitor now.” He paused over the microscope. “Oh, that's lucky.”

Peter moved to the nearby workbench and made several adjustments. Before long, he had prepared several doses and fitted them with needles.

“All right, Norma. Could you get us downstairs?”

Norma folded her arms and looked at him for a moment. Then she nodded to the guards. “Take him down.”

“I'm coming too!” Harley announced.

“And what exactly would you do down there? Stay here,” Norma snapped.

Harley could only watch Peter leave with the security team. Norma walked to the glass wall and studied the distant figures of the Lizard and Spider-Woman fighting outside.

Something seemed to occur to her. She took out her phone and dialed a number.

“This is Norma. I think we can resume...” She turned around. “Harley?!”

...

Peter had just closed the driver's door when he noticed Harley climbing into the passenger seat.

“How did you get down here?” he demanded.

“Took the stairs.”

“From that many floors up? Oh, forget it. Buckle your seat belt. The serum's in my bag.”

He tossed his backpack into Harley's lap, started the engine, and floored the accelerator.