I’m Not Becoming Spider-Man - Chapter 61: Your Name Is Martha, Too? (Patreon)

When Curt Connors came to his senses, the first person he thought of was his wife, Martha. He pushed himself upright, figured out where he was, and started for home, wondering all the way what on earth had happened.

After injecting himself with the serum, he'd lost consciousness. It felt as though he'd been trapped in an incredibly long dream, except he couldn't remember a thing about it. One moment he'd closed his eyes, and the next he'd opened them here.

Well, there was nothing for it but to go home.

Connors looked like a homeless man, filthy and dressed in rags. Worse, now that he was himself again, he discovered that the hand he'd managed to grow had disappeared. Was the serum really still so incomplete that it couldn't work on a human body?

He gave a bitter smile. He should have listened to Peter. Whatever hope he'd been holding on to was gone now. This injection had proved that his experiment was a failure, and he would need a great deal more time to perfect it.

But it didn't look as though he'd be given that time. It was over.

The only people he was still worried about were probably Mobius, the researcher he'd been mentoring, and Gwen, whose laboratory internship was apparently ending on her very first day. At least he'd written them letters of recommendation.

As for regenerating his missing limb, Connors had given up on that dream. He might as well wait for Otto to finish the neural-linked prosthetic he'd been developing.

He made it home just as daylight was fading. Connors lived on the ground floor of an apartment building in an affluent neighborhood. He had to make sure the home with the American flag hanging outside was actually his before he dared knock.

Martha answered. Her eyes were red from crying, but the instant she saw him, she threw her arms around him without caring how filthy or foul-smelling he was.

"Thank goodness, Curt! You're all right, just like they said."

"Whew..." Connors gently patted her back. "They? Who... who told you that?"

Martha ushered him inside, where Peter and Harley were playing video games on the couch.

"Oh, you're back, Dr. Connors," Peter said.

"Peter?"

"Take a shower and get changed first. Then we'll talk. Do you remember anything that happened after you injected yourself?"

"I don't remember a thing..."

"That's why I'm here. Get cleaned up, Doctor, and I'll tell you what happened after you took that shot."

Still dazed, Connors let Martha help him into the bathroom. As the water ran over him, he stared at his reflection with a growing sense of unease. Something about his body felt different. What had happened to him?

Maybe injecting himself with an experimental serum had been far too reckless.

He turned away from the mirror and pulled on a clean sweater. Behind him, the reflection showed a few patches of green scales on his skin, now completely hidden beneath the fresh clothing.

...

"How did you know Connors would come home, Peter?" Harley asked.

"Dr. Connors and Martha are practically the model married couple. Besides, it wouldn't take much digging to find out where they live," Peter replied. "Where else would he go?"

A little later, Connors returned, washed and dressed. Peter had come prepared.

"Doctor, this is what happened to you after the serum injection. Take a look. That giant lizard is you." He took out his camera and showed Connors the footage.

The creature was plainly visible, including the tattered remains of the very clothes Connors had been wearing.

"So... there really was something wrong with the experimental serum." Connors sounded crushed. "I modified lizard genes to make lost limbs regenerate. I just never imagined it would..."

"You caused a lot of destruction, Doctor. If you can, I'd recommend disappearing for a little while," Peter told him.

"No, Peter. I won't run away. If I really did all of this, I'll go back and make amends." Connors stared at the footage of the ruined, devastated streets.

"All right. It was only a suggestion. To be fair, though, your experiment actually did succeed in a way." Peter opened his backpack and set several vials of inhibitor on the table. "I made these earlier. I don't know whether they'll have side effects, since I'm hardly an expert in this particular field. When you get the chance, Doctor, you really ought to stud... stuuu... dy..."

Peter's words trailed off.

Connors blinked. "What's wrong?"

Only after speaking did he notice that his voice had grown much deeper. Peter was pointing at his hand. Connors looked down and saw green spreading along his arm toward his palm. His skin hardened as thick scales emerged across it.

"I really should've given you a shot the moment you came back," Peter muttered. He grabbed an inhibitor syringe and tried to plunge the needle into Connors.

There was just one small problem.

He couldn't get it in.

How strong was Gwen, anyway? She'd somehow managed to drive a needle through flesh as hard as iron. Peter felt as though he'd just tried to stab a rock.

"Okay. I think we're screwed."

"Aaaah!" Martha had come in carrying a tray of sweet drinks. The sight of her husband's changing body made her scream and drop the entire tray, glasses and all.

"Mar... Martha... Raaagh!" Connors cried out in agony as his newly changed clothes tore apart again.

"Run!" Peter yelled. He caught Harley by the arm and bolted for the door, kicking it open and pulling her outside before she even had a chance to react. She stumbled and landed on the communal lawn.

"Get away from here! Call the police!"

Peter rushed back inside. The enormous reptile Connors had become was sweeping aside tables and chairs on its way to Martha, who was so terrified that she had collapsed to the floor and couldn't move.

"Dr. Connors! No, hey, big lizard! Over here!"

Peter snatched up a metal stool, charged at the creature, and smashed it against its back.

BANG!

The metal leg of the stool bent under the impact. The Lizard turned toward the fool who had dared strike it, then lashed out with its tail. Peter went flying, skidding across the floor almost all the way through the doorway.

"Hissss!"

He hit the ground hard. The stool he'd managed to raise to shield himself was now little more than twisted scrap metal. A burning pain shot through his back.

Damn, that hurt.

"Peter!" Harley caught hold of his shirt and tried to drag him out.

"Didn't I tell you to run?!"

"What did you say?!"

"Shit, stop pulling!"

The Lizard was charging straight toward them. Peter rolled over, shoved himself upright, and pushed Harley out of the way. He seized the top of the doorframe and hauled his body into a handstand.

The huge reptile crashed through both sides of the entrance and burst out onto the main road.

Only then did Peter flip back onto his feet. He shook out his hands.

"See? I told you working out pays off."