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[Frog] Chapter 52: The Atomizer
🕑 Added 2024-08-27 07:58:36 +0000 UTCUnder the stunned gazes of everyone present, the Lizard Connors was being utterly thrashed by Spider-Woman, barely able to fight back.
Every time he attempted to counterattack, Gwen would catch him and slam him hard over her shoulder.
Though Connors had a powerful regenerative ability, that didn’t mean he could endure endless beatings. Soon enough, the Lizard collapsed to the ground, completely incapacitated.
Gwen dusted off her hands, feeling much of her anger dissipate. If there weren’t so many people around, she might’ve even taken off her mask to take a deep, satisfied breath. That felt good!
"Peter, the rest is up to you."
"Huh? Oh, right..." Peter snapped back to reality and approached with his backpack. Holding the anti-gene serum, he hesitated for a moment, glancing at George and the others before finally injecting it into Connors' body.
George and his team holstered their weapons and cautiously walked over. Gwen, pride in her voice, said, "See? I told you, even without you here, I could have handled it by myself."
George wasn’t about to argue—he knew better. If he said the wrong thing and upset her further... well, he didn’t even want to imagine what might happen. He could only nod gently in agreement.
As the anti-gene serum coursed through Connors' body, the scales on his skin began to die and fall off. His form slowly reverted to that of a human.
Even the right arm, which had regenerated during his time as the Lizard, withered away into dead flesh.
Now fully human again, Dr. Connors looked disoriented. His eyes focused on Peter, his voice weak. "Peter?"
"Yes, it's me, Dr. Connors. You're back!" Peter was on the verge of tears, overwhelmed with emotion.
Seeing Peter’s joy, Dr. Connors seemed to remember the horrors he had committed. His face darkened with regret as he urgently asked, "Peter, where’s the last vial of the serum?"
"Right here, right here!" Peter quickly retrieved the world's last vial of the regenerative serum from his backpack and handed it to Dr. Connors.
"Peter, we must destroy it."
"But, Dr. Connors, this is your..." Peter began, his voice filled with concern.
Just as the two were sharing a heartfelt reunion, Gwen’s spider-sense suddenly blared in alarm. "No, Peter! Take it back!"
George and his officers were still unsure of what was happening when Dr. Connors suddenly grinned evilly. He clenched the regenerative serum tightly in his hand and snatched Peter's backpack, shoving him into the water.
George and his team immediately backed up, raising their guns. "Dr. Curt Connors, drop what you’re holding! I’m warning you!"
"Of course!" Dr. Connors sneered as he hurled the backpack against the wall. The sound of glass shattering echoed from within.
Peter, who had just scrambled out of the water, saw this and cried out in despair, "Nooo!"
But it was too late. Purple liquid began seeping from the broken backpack, confirming that the anti-gene serum had been destroyed.
"Dr. Connors, why?" Peter asked, his voice filled with confusion and pain. The Dr. Connors he remembered would never have done something like this.
Gwen helped Peter up out of the water and explained, "Your serum didn’t last long enough. While his body may have reverted, his mind is still under the influence of the Lizard's instincts."
Peter pounded the ground in frustration, knowing how close they had come.
"Curt Connors, I’m giving you one last warning. Drop what you’re holding, or we will open fire!" George shouted, his voice stern.
But what happened next stunned everyone. With his free hand, Connors reached into his own abdomen, his face contorted in agony. He pulled out a cylindrical device from within his body.
"Peter, what is that?" George asked, his voice edged with concern.
Peter, eyes still red with emotion, lifted his head painfully to look at Dr. Connors. When he saw the device in Connors’ hand, his face went pale.
"Stop him! That's an atomizer!" Peter shouted as he scrambled to his feet and sprinted toward Connors.
"An atomizer?" George and the others exchanged confused glances, unsure of the device's purpose.
Gwen, having listened to Peter's explanation, understood perfectly well that the atomizer was a device capable of vaporizing the gene serum. Once the serum was aerosolized, anyone who inhaled it would transform into a monstrous creature like the Lizard Connors.
Without time to explain, Gwen swiftly shot her web toward the atomizer in Dr. Connors’ hand. This madman! she thought.
He had hidden the atomizer inside his body, all for the sake of his twisted plan to create his "new species." He had already decided that if he couldn’t steal Peter's gene serum, he would immediately vaporize it.
Although Gwen acted quickly, Connors was even faster. He had already inserted the serum into the atomizer. Seeing this, Gwen's face paled under her mask. She immediately raised her other hand and shot another web, this time latching onto George, who was closer. With a sharp tug, she yanked George toward her, dragging Peter back along with him as they collided.
Just as George was pulled out of danger, a thick green smoke engulfed the remaining police officers and Connors. George and Peter scrambled to their feet, clearly seeing large dark figures slowly forming within the mist, moving toward them.
The first to emerge from the dense fog was Connors, once again fully transformed into the Lizard. Behind him were the other police officers who had been infected. Though they were smaller than Connors, their appearance was just as menacing.
Looking at the scene in front of her, Gwen couldn’t resist making a comment. "Well, this is bad..."
"Peter, snap out of it! We need your help now!" Gwen urged him. "You're the only one who knows how to deal with them!"
"Deal with them... deal with them..." Peter muttered, his mind racing.
Just then, the remaining police officers arrived, stunned by what they saw. What was once just one Lizard creature had now multiplied into six, and from their torn clothing, it was clear some of them were their fellow officers.
"Chief, what happened?" one officer asked urgently.
George snatched the shotgun from the officer’s hands. "No time to explain, just be ready to open fire!"
Peter glanced around frantically, his eyes suddenly locking onto his backpack. Something seemed off.
"Spider-Woman, get that bag for me!" he shouted.
Gwen shot a web and pulled the bag, now soaked in purple liquid, back to Peter, dropping it at his feet.
Peter hurriedly unzipped the bag and, upon seeing what was inside, his face lit up with joy...
...
