Bennett could barely recognize him as Dr. Connors.
Or rather—he could barely recognize him as a lizard man at all.
Connors looked drastically different from the creature that had appeared on the Williamsburg Bridge just days earlier. Back then, he had been hideous and monstrous, sure, but his features leaned more lizard-like, and his face was at least somewhat smooth.
Now, his cheekbones jutted sharply, his mouth had stretched into a long, narrow snout, and the skin along his body had shifted into a gray-green hue. His scales had hardened into a texture more like crocodile hide, and his entire frame had swollen in size—easily thicker and broader than before.
Calling him a "Lizard Man" no longer felt accurate.
At this point, Connors looked more like some horrifying humanoid dinosaur.
Just looking at him made Bennett think of the Indominus Rex from the Jurassic series—the one spliced with T. rex and raptor DNA.
"You—"
Connors tossed aside the toilet he'd been stuck in and hauled himself fully out from underground.
He stood well over three meters tall, nearly eye-to-eye with a non-transformed God-Force Tyranno. The cramped restroom barely allowed him to hunch, let alone stand properly.
The moment he saw Bennett, Connors surged forward. His massive form blocked the light, plunging Bennett into shadow. His voice rumbled like thunder trapped inside a cavern:"You are not Peter Parker."
His breath hit Bennett like a rotten gale the moment he opened his mouth—nearly blowing his hair out of place.
"Dude, your breath could melt metal," Bennett muttered, pinching his nose and leaning back.
But behind the casual words, his brows drew tight.
The moment he saw this mutation, he knew exactly who had been responsible.
He just didn't expect Dr. Dong Wu to get his hands on Connors so quickly—much less push him into another genetic shift. If that was the case, the serum cure they'd prepared earlier probably wouldn't be as effective anymore.
Connors' eyes were enormous—bigger than light bulbs—and when he glared at Bennett, half of Bennett's face was reflected in their glossy surface.
He seemed puzzled that this student wasn't afraid of him… but he didn't care enough to think deeply about it.
His goal had never changed.
"Where is Peter Parker?"
"I have no idea. I don't know him, I'm not close to him, and we've never even talked." Bennett fired off a rapid-fire triple denial.
"I suggest you go look somewhere else."
Connors didn't doubt him for a second.
Aside from Peter, he had no intention of killing anyone. In his mind, everyone in New York would soon become just like him—his kin. There was no need to kill potential "future family."He only needed to kill the one person who kept getting in his way: Spider-Man.
Shoving past Bennett with brute force, Connors lumbered toward the hallway.
Walking past him felt like a freight truck sweeping by—wind and pressure blasting in his wake.
His cold, scaled tail swung behind him, accidentally smashing a metal pipe purely by passing contact.
Bennett watched his retreating figure. Jagged bone plates now lined Connors' spine, and what remained of his clothing hung off him in shredded scraps. Every step he took made the floor tremble.
A moment later, the hallway echoed with the screams of hundreds of students.
Keeping to Connors' blind spot, Bennett prepared to transform—just as he felt Peter approaching.
So he lowered his watch and followed Connors out of the restroom.
By now, the hallway was nearly empty. Peter, who hadn't had time to change into his suit, dodged frantically in the narrow space, trying to splatter webbing over Connors' eyes.
But web-fluid that could normally tow cars like nothing turned fragile in front of this mutated Connors. The strands snapped like thin strings the moment they hit his scales.
"What happened to him?" Peter flung aside his backpack, slid under Connors' claws, and rolled behind him—right into Bennett.
"He crawled out of a toilet. Personally, I think he's got a promising future as a plumber. What do you think?" Bennett said.
"…Did the toilet at least get unclogged?" Peter asked, fully aware it was the worst possible moment for banter—yet unable to resist anyway.
"It's definitely unclogged." Bennett nodded seriously, remembering the nearly two-meter-wide hole Connors had left behind.
Peter stared at a row of lockers sliced clean through like tofu and mumbled weakly, "Yeah… that tracks…"
"Peter Parker!"
Connors roared and tried to turn around, but the hallway was far too narrow for his swollen frame.
Luckily, that was a fixable problem.
BOOM!
He swung his tail with monstrous force and smashed straight through a classroom wall.
Peter inhaled sharply, voice cracking. "Please tell me you're going to get the serum. Right now. Please."
"Give me a few minutes."
Bennett nodded.
Because he knew Connors might attack the school, Bennett had brought the antidote—he'd just left it in his classroom.
The issue was… he wasn't sure it would still work.
He had reverse-engineered the antidote from the decayed formula Peter's father left behind. But Connors had mutated again; his internal genetics were likely rearranged. Even if the serum worked a little, the effect would probably be weak.
I still need to find Dr. Dong Wu… Bennett thought.
"I think he could tear me apart in like… ten seconds…" Peter whispered.
But Bennett was already gone.
He sprinted down a different hallway, reaching the inner side of the academic building. Students were still packed tightly, panicking and struggling to escape.
Only a minute had passed since Connors appeared—not everyone had immediately seen him or fled.
"Don't panic! Evacuate through the other hallway!"
Teachers were holding up their arms, shouting orders as they tried to keep the crowd under control.
"Slow down! Don't push! Watch your step!"
Bennett pushed against the tide of students. Bodies pressed toward him like a crashing wave, yet he didn't budge—standing solid as bedrock.
Even without transforming, his strength was immense. His single-arm lifting power was now close to ten tons, and it was still increasing.
He parted the crowd with both hands.
But he wasn't the only one forcing his way upstream.
Within the sea of students—
Mary Jane was struggling through the crush. She felt like a sardine trapped in a can, barely able to breathe.
Soon, she spotted Felicia.
Felicia, like her, wasn't fleeing with the crowd. But she was more delicate; several times she nearly got knocked over by the frantic swarm.
Mary Jane immediately pushed her way toward her.
"Hardy!" She grabbed Felicia's arm. Only then did Felicia finally release a breath, clinging to her like a lifeline.
"You're Mary Jane Watson?"
"Have you seen little Ben?" Mary Jane asked, ignoring the unfamiliar tone. They'd never exactly been close.
But at her question, Felicia froze.
"You're looking for Ben too?"
Too?
Mary Jane instantly understood.
She stared at Felicia—elegant, composed, practically glowing with "rich girl" charisma—and suddenly felt like a duckling beside a swan. She tried not to let such things get to her on normal days, but right now, insecurity seeped up through her chest.
She's Felicia Hardy… and I'm just Mary Jane, she thought.
/-\
~ PLEASE! don't forget to leave a REVIEW!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally.)
/-\
~# Keep the chapters coming - Support with Power Stones!
~# Every 50 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter