Chapter Twenty-Three: The Capture of Doctor Lizard

"Hey, Doctor, are you alright? I mean, you're not wearing any clothes—is that okay?" Although Dr. Lizard wasn't dressed, his entire body had transformed into a lizard, so nothing unsightly was exposed.

"How did you know?" Dr. Connors demanded, and Gwen stammered in reply. "Oh, maybe because you can make potions, so I thought you must be a doctor." Dr. Lizard lunged at Gwen, but she kicked him over with ease. In terms of strength, he was actually weaker than Gwen.

"How is that possible? Lizards eat spiders," Dr. Lizard muttered in disbelief. He could smell it—the girl before him carried the scent of a spider. "That’s only because spiders are small. If they were large enough, they could take on any creature their size. Remember, spiders are the monarchs of the insect world," Gwen retorted.

Seeing he couldn't overpower Gwen, Dr. Lizard climbed along the wall, aiming for the rooftop. "Stop right there," Gwen grabbed his leg, preparing to inject the anti-gene serum. Unexpectedly, Dr. Lizard lashed his tail, knocking the serum away. Gwen quickly shot a web to catch it, but in that brief moment, Dr. Lizard kicked her hard in the shoulder, sending her tumbling down.

Gwen managed to shoot another web with her right hand, suspending herself in midair. Regaining her balance and retrieving the serum, she saw Dr. Lizard was already nearing the rooftop. "Damn it, I can't let him succeed," she muttered, hastening upward. On the building's exterior, Dr. Lizard was certainly more adept at climbing.

By the time Gwen reached the rooftop, Dr. Lizard was waiting for her. Michael, watching through the rooftop security feed, saw Dr. Lizard and activated the Canary Device from his tablet, pressing launch. Gwen assumed Dr. Lizard had already succeeded.

"Damn," she cursed, rushing toward the Canary Device. Dr. Lizard found it odd—why was this woman more anxious than him? He whipped his tail toward Gwen, but she grabbed it and, with both exerting force, tore it off.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize it was so fragile," Gwen apologized. Dr. Lizard's tail didn't bleed much; instead, white mucus oozed out, and soon a new tail grew in its place. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry," Gwen said.

She fired several webs, plastering Dr. Lizard's face. While he struggled, she scrambled atop the Canary Device. Once activated, the device could only be accessed through a reserved opening above. At this moment, soldiers finally arrived.

"Reporting, sir—we've found the Lizard Man and a woman in a spider suit." "Attack the Lizard Man, cover Spider-Man," the commander ordered. Persuaded by George, the military finally made the right call. Bullets hailed toward Dr. Lizard, who quickly realized that if he refrained from killing, he’d be doomed.

With a furious roar, he charged at the soldiers, knocking dozens down in seconds. Gwen opened the device and found, to her shock, that it contained the antidote. After a moment's surprise, she immediately understood who was behind it.

"Thank you, Michael," she whispered, then turned and leaped down, shooting a web to stick onto Dr. Lizard's shoulder. Using its elasticity, she kicked him away. "Doctor, give it up. You’re never going to succeed."

The Canary Device launched successfully. Blue liquid spread in the air, forming a vast cloud, which soon transformed into a gentle rain, falling to the ground. Dr. Lizard was perplexed—what kind of drug was this? Before he could react, the device had already activated; he truly had no idea what was inside.

Soon, wisps of white smoke began to rise from his body. The green scales gradually faded, revealing Dr. Connors' face. Because of the excessive injections and the lengthy time spent as the Lizard Man, it would take a while for him to completely shed the reptilian appearance.

Once recovered, Dr. Connors was pinned by the soldiers. He gazed helplessly at the sky, looked down at his empty arm, and tears silently soaked his face.

The soldiers secured Connors and approached Gwen. "Our commander wants to invite you for a drink." "No need," Gwen replied, leaping from the building and quickly vanishing into the night.

A while later, after changing clothes, Gwen arrived at Oscorp and found George. "Dad," she called. Seeing Gwen among the crowd, George finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you alright, Gwen?"

"I'm fine, Dad. Can I see Dr. Connors?" After all, Connors was Gwen’s mentor—there were things she truly needed to understand.

George heard her mention Dr. Connors directly and felt all the more certain of his suspicions.

"You may, but you must tell me—who told you that the Lizard Man was Dr. Connors?" George's tone was stern, not the least bit joking.

Gwen knew her father was suspicious, though she wasn’t sure how deep that suspicion ran. "A friend told me, Dad. Connors is my teacher—a truly respected man."

George fixed her with a deep stare. "Tell your friend this: don’t let me catch her. If she ever walks the streets in that suit, I’ll follow her wherever she goes. Understand?"

Seeing her father gritting his teeth, Gwen felt a twinge of fear. "I understand. I’ll pass it on. I’ll go see the doctor now."

"Wait, listen to me," George stopped her. "Do her parents know she’s doing something so dangerous, trying to play the hero? Aren’t her parents worried?"

Gwen didn’t know what to say; she could only lower her head and feign ignorance.

George continued, "What if something happens to her one day? What will her parents do? Is playing the hero something children should mess around with?"

"No," Gwen replied, now certain that George had figured out she was Spider-Man.

"Dad, let’s talk at home. Dr. Connors is about to be taken away," Gwen said, hurrying off to avoid further lectures.

She arrived at the prison van holding Connors. "Dr. Connors," she called.

At that moment, Dr. Connors sat clad in a white restraint suit, his feet shackled in chains. Hearing Gwen’s voice, he couldn’t help but raise his head.

"Gwen?" she asked through the iron window, "Dr. Connors, why did you do it?"

Connors managed a painful smile. "There wasn’t enough time. They said I had to carry out human trials or they’d withdraw funding..."

He fell silent for a moment, then continued, "I just wanted to be normal, not disabled. I hated people talking behind my back. I cared so much about others’ opinions, so I injected myself with the serum. But it wasn’t perfect—I ended up merging all the lizard genes and became a monster. I’m sorry."

"Maybe you can’t understand—someone with a physical defect is very sensitive to how others see them. Even if people aren’t talking about him, he might still misunderstand. This fragile sensitivity is unavoidable, which is why they crave health so much. It’s not just a physical longing."

After speaking, Connors lowered his head. The van drove away, leaving Gwen standing alone in silence.

Suddenly she recalled Michael’s words: "What you possess is actually my dream."