All of Hawk's struggles—why had he been pushing himself this hard?
Simple.
To seize his own destiny in his own hands.
And now someone thought they could just ask for his blood?
Heh. Keep dreaming.
If it had been anyone other than Gwen, Hawk swore—at the very instant that needle pricked him, the other guy's head would already have been blown apart.
But Gwen wasn't paying attention to his sarcasm.
Her eyes remained fixed on the blood analysis report she held.
Most people couldn't read it. She could.
And that was why her face had gone pale.
Every metric of Hawk's blood was off the charts.
Even the white blood cell count had maxed out the analyzer's range, meaning the real value might be even higher.
Which meant his immune system was not just strong, but monstrous—able to instantly identify and destroy any invader, whether virus, bacteria, or parasite.
It also explained his incredible regeneration.
Her mind went back to that accident in the lab—the moment she had seen Hawk bleeding, only to glance back and find the wound gone.
Every number confirmed it.
This wasn't human.
"…I've seen Captain America's bloodwork before," Gwen whispered. "Compared to yours, Hawk, his looks ordinary. You're telling me you didn't inject the Super-Soldier Serum too?"
Hawk smirked. "Nope."
"Alright."
She didn't press further. Instead, she tore the report to shreds, cleaned the machine inside and out, rinsed the vials three separate times under running water, and dumped the pulp into the bin—leaving no chance anyone else might stumble across it.
Hawk chuckled. "That necessary, Gwen?"
"Very necessary," she said flatly. "If this ever got out, you wouldn't end up in a lab—you'd end up on an autopsy table."
Hawk arched a brow. "That depends. They'd have to catch me first."
And if they tried? He didn't mind making sure "try" became "die."
He'd already crossed that line.
Killing was no longer a question of if, only of how many.
But Gwen's eyes didn't soften. She leaned toward him, voice stern. "Hawk. Never let anyone know your blood data."
"…Fine," Hawk nodded after a pause.
Satisfied, she relaxed a little as they left the Stark Lab together, chatting about afternoon classes as if nothing had happened.
Days passed.
The Lizard incident's headlines began to fade.
Three whole days without another sighting. The public assumed the monster had been captured by the military or fled New York altogether.
Even Peter believed that.
But the truth—
Dr. Curt Connors had never left.
At that very moment, he was holed up only five blocks from Midtown High, in the dank tunnels beneath the city.
The sewers had platforms built in for maintenance. He had turned one into his lair.
Now he looked human again.
But having tasted the power of being the Lizard—four limbs whole, muscles brimming with strength—how could he accept being crippled and frail once more?
At first, he had told himself he injected the serum only to prevent others from being experimented on.
But that was a lie he could no longer maintain.
Being human had its comforts.
Being the Lizard was freedom. Strength. Limitless possibility.
So Connors made his decision.
He would never be human again.
To stay the Lizard forever, he needed to know why the one mouse had survived the trials.
And so he pored over the security footage again and again, his eyes bloodshot, his mind unraveling.
Until—
Click. Frame frozen.
The tailless mouse.
Lapping up drops of blood from the lab floor.
Connors's breath caught. He rewound.
The camera had caught it clearly—Hawk pulling his injured hand back just before.
"…Hawk."
"It was him!"
Connors trembled, exhilarated.
Hawk. His blood. That was the secret.
Connors told himself they had once been on good terms. If he just called Hawk, asked politely, surely Hawk would agree to give him a sample.
He reached for his phone.
But then—
A voice. A whisper, echoing not in his ears but inside his skull.
"No. He'll never give it to you. With blood like his, why would he?"
Connors froze, pupils dilating.
"…You're right. He won't… So what do I do?"
"Gwen. Capture Gwen. She's his weakness. Force him. Force him to give you the blood."
Connors's hand shook. His lips parted.
"…Yes. Gwen… Capture Gwen. Force him…"
His eyes glazed over as he repeated it, again and again.
Finally, his hand closed tight around the last three remaining vials of serum.
And with that, Dr. Curt Connors stepped further down the path—
No longer a man.
But a monster.
...
(End of Chapter)
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