<><><><><><><><>
Why had Hawk worked so hard to become this strong?
Wasn't it for this? The power to control his own destiny.
And now, some random guy thinks they can just take his blood?
Heh. In their dreams...
That had been Gwen. If it had been anyone else, Hawk would have blasted their head clean off their shoulders the instant the needle came near.
But Gwen ignored Hawk's quip. Her eyes were glued to the analysis report that had just printed out.
Others might not have been able to make sense of it, but she could.
And because she could, she drew in a sharp, astonished breath.
Hawk's blood work was completely off the charts.
His white blood cell count was maxed out on the machine's display, which meant the real number was probably even higher.
And that meant one thing: Hawk's immune system was terrifyingly powerful and efficient. It could likely identify and eradicate any foreign invader—viruses, bacteria, parasites—almost instantly.
It also explained his incredible Healing Factor.
Gwen thought back to the day of the lab accident, how she had seen Hawk's hand bleeding, only for the wound to vanish moments later.
And the other metrics...
To put it simply:
If Gwen hadn't drawn the blood from Hawk's finger herself, she would have assumed the data was fabricated.
These were not the numbers of a human being!
"I saw Captain America's blood analysis once, leaked online." she said, her voice barely a whisper.
"Hawk..."
"Your numbers are even more insane than his. Did you... did you take the Super Soldier Serum?"
Gwen looked up at him. Having ruled out mutation, it was the only other logical explanation.
But, unfortunately for her theory...
Hawk just shrugged.
"Nope."
"Okay then." Gwen didn't press. She decisively took the report, tore it into tiny pieces, and then began to methodically wipe down the entire machine, inside and out. She rinsed the test vial under running water three times, then took the soaking, pulpy shreds of paper and buried them at the bottom of the trash can.
She was making absolutely sure that no trace of the report or the blood sample could ever be found.
Hawk watched her work, a small smile playing on his lips.
"A little paranoid, aren't we, Gwen?"
"Not paranoid enough."
Gwen's expression was dead serious. "If anyone ever saw these numbers, Hawk, I have no doubt that they would put you on a dissection table."
Hawk's eyebrow arched. "That's assuming they could catch me."
They were welcome to try.
Because Hawk wouldn't mind turning their "try" into a "die."
He had already crossed that line.
Killing wasn't a question of 'if' for him anymore. It was only a question of 'how many'.
But Hawk's confidence didn't seem to reassure Gwen. Her expression remained grave. "Hawk..."
"Yeah?"
"Never, ever let anyone else get a sample of your blood."
"...Alright." Seeing the genuine fear and concern in her eyes, Hawk relented and nodded.
The stern look on Gwen's face softened slightly. As they started walking out of the lab, she changed the subject. "So, what now?"
"About what?"
"About Dr. Connors."
"Not our problem." Hawk shrugged. "We didn't cause him to turn into a giant lizard. For all we know, he's already halfway to Mexico by now."
Gwen considered it, then nodded. "That's possible."
"Let's drop it. What class do you have this afternoon?"
"French. You?"
"Geography."
The two of them walked out of the Stark Industries research building, chatting about their schedules.
...
And just like that, three days passed.
The media frenzy over the "Lizard Monster" had started to die down.
After that one appearance on the Williamsburg Bridge, the creature hadn't been seen again.
The general consensus was that it had either been secretly captured by the military or had fled the city.
New York's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man thought so, too.
But In reality, the Lizard had never left.
At this very moment, he was holed up in a maintenance tunnel just five blocks from Midtown Tech.
The New York City sewer system had service platforms at regular intervals.
The Lizard had made one of them his temporary lair.
But right now, he was no longer the Lizard. He was just Dr. Connors again.
Yet, after experiencing what it was like to be whole, to be immensely powerful—a hulking, monstrous beast—how could he be content to revert to a frail, crippled man once the dose wore off?
Maybe, at first, his only intention had been to stop the board of directors from experimenting on those poor, wounded soldiers.
But now, Dr. Connors had seen the light.
Being human was fine. But being the Lizard... being stronger, faster, and more powerful than any human... that was true freedom.
And so, Dr. Connors made a decision.
He wasn't going to be a man anymore. He was going to be the Lizard. Permanently.
To do that, he first needed to figure out why that one mouse had been a success.
For three days, he had been re-watching the security footage from his lab.
And finally...
As the hypnotic, low-frequency hum of the sewer's power conduits buzzed in his ears, Dr. Connors, covered in sweat and grime, saw it. His eyes widened as he froze the frame on his laptop screen.
On the screen was the mouse, licking a drop of blood from the floor.
Connors frantically rewound the footage. He found the moment. It was right after Hawk had pulled his hand away from Gwen.
"HAWK!"
"IT WAS HIM!"
A tremor ran through Dr. Connors's body—not of fear, but of manic excitement.
He had been on good terms with the boy. He had given him a letter of recommendation. Surely, if he just called and asked, Hawk would give him a small sample of his blood for research.
That was his first thought. That was what he would do.
But just as he reached for his phone, a voice... a voice that was both inside his head and echoing in the darkness around him—hissed into his thoughts.
"No. He will never give it to you. A man with blood that powerful would never share it."
"..." Dr. Connors's eyes glazed over as the whisper slithered through his mind. "Yes... he'll never give it to me... he would never... what do I do?"
"Gwen—"
"Take the girl. She is his weakness. Take the girl, and force him to give you the blood!"
"You're right, take Gwen, force him!" Dr. Connors's eyes now completely vacant, He muttered the words to himself as his hand closed around the three remaining vials of the regeneration serum.
<><><><><><><><>
~# Bonus Chapter every 100PS!!
~# If you like the story, please leave a review.
~# Add to Library!