Ch: 41-50
Chapter 41: Old Fisk, Do You Want to Be Mayor? The Lizardman Appears!
However, things are often just that coincidental. Not long after Dr. Connors fainted, the white mouse in the isolation box that had successfully undergone the experiment suddenly underwent a mutation!
First, its veins bulged, its fur fell out, and green blood vessels crawled across its body. Then, amidst sharp screeches, its size began to balloon!
Its already blood-red eyes became even more aggressive and tyrannical!
Finally, when its growth stopped, the white mouse, which was originally not even as big as a fist, had grown several times larger, turning into a hairless, green-skinned monster the size of a small cat!
Furthermore, the isolation box, which originally couldn't even be knocked open by a cat, was easily shattered by its head!
After emerging, the monster that had transformed from a white mouse into a large green rat had drool dripping from the corners of its mouth. Its blood-red eyes scanned the surroundings, seemingly searching for prey!
It first looked at the largest 'prey' on the ground, Dr. Connors, but immediately, a look of fear appeared in its eyes.
It was as if it was terrified of seeing its own king!
Then it looked at its other white mouse compatriots, and its gaze became tyrannical once again. It crashed into the other isolation boxes at a speed that would make Usain Bolt call out to God!
Afterward, the isolation boxes were filled with the screams of white mice, the sound of flesh being chewed, and the splashing of blood!
Downstairs at the Oscorp Tower, inside Karl's ford raptor.
A Ghost Shadow Ninja suddenly and slowly emerged in the previously empty passenger seat.
The Ghost Shadow Ninja's blood-red eyes looked at Karl, and Karl looked back into its eyes.
During the eye contact, Karl saw everything that had just happened in the laboratory through the Ghost Shadow Ninja's blood-red eyes.
"Tsk, is it finally appearing? My lovely Lizardman Doctor~"
As one of the main targets of his book of ages experimental records, he was very concerned about Dr. Connors turning into the Lizardman.
After all, Dr. Connors was the official beginning of the entire event.
After dinner, he had rushed to the Oscorp Tower after dropping off Gwen.
Originally, he just wanted to see how Dr. Connors' experimental progress was going to know how much longer it would be before the plot started, but he didn't expect a surprise this time.
The plot has already begun!
"It seems New York is going to be quite lively these next few days~"
Karl took one last look up at the Oscorp Tower and drove away immediately.
And now, it wasn't yet time for him to make his appearance.
Because acting now wouldn't maximize the benefits.
Whether it was regarding the book of ages or the benefits in reality, it wasn't the time~
He never did anything that was a waste of effort~
So even if the book of ages experiment failed this time, he had to gain something... As for what those gains were, there were many~
The lizard serum, Dr. Connors himself, the gratitude of the Stacy family, control of the New York Police Department, and even the position of... Mayor of New York City!
He wanted it all!
Well, it's quite a lot, isn't it~
As for how to get these things, a confident smile appeared at the corner of Karl's mouth.
It only required a few simple operations~
Early the next morning, Karl yawned as he arrived at the manor's dining room.
At this moment in the dining room, Kingpin and Vanessa were already sitting at the table elegantly eating breakfast, with the morning news playing on the television.
As Karl sat down, Alfred, the butler waiting on the side, brought a portion of breakfast for Karl as well.
Karl wasn't as elegant as Kingpin and Vanessa; he devoured the breakfast on his plate in no time.
"Tsk, Alfred, remember to prepare soy milk and fried dough sticks for me tomorrow. Stop serving me this pig feed; it tastes absolutely terrible!"
"Yes, Young Master." Alfred nodded slightly and made a note of it.
Kingpin and Vanessa, who were just about to pick up a piece of food from their plates, paused. Looking down at the food in front of them, they suddenly felt like they couldn't eat anymore either.
If Karl said this was pig feed and they ate it, wouldn't that make them pigs?
Kingpin lost his appetite as well. He put down his knife and fork, picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth, and looked at Karl with a helpless shake of his head:
"Karl, it's rare to see you on a morning of your day off. Tell me, is there something you want to say to me?"
No one knows a son better than his father; this saying applies in any country.
Even for a dark underworld family like the Fisks, it was the same. If Karl let out a fart, Kingpin would know what he had eaten.
Hearing this, Karl looked at the Mayor of New York City on the TV, who was bragging about how much the safety rate in New York had improved since he took office. Karl's lips curled into an arc, and he said directly:
"Old Fisk, do you want to be the mayor?"
Kingpin, who was picking up his coffee cup to take a sip, couldn't help but have his hand tremble upon hearing this, causing a bit of coffee to spill from the cup.
This was enough to show the lack of peace in Kingpin's heart at this moment.
Vanessa silently wiped the table clean in front of Kingpin and placed her hand on Kingpin's large hand, soothing his'startled' little heart.
Kingpin took a deep breath and stared intently at Karl: "Son, are you sure?"
Karl said airily, "Have I ever done anything I wasn't sure about?"
Kingpin grinned and didn't beat around the bush, agreeing directly: "Good! Then I want to!"
Karl nodded and said calmly, "OK, then get ready to participate in the mayoral election and prepare to take office!"
Kingpin asked with burning eyes, "How much longer until the time comes?"
"Three to five days at the most, or as soon as..."
Before Karl could finish, the face of the mayor bragging on TV suddenly changed, and the station cut to an emergency news bulletin.
[This is the Daily Bugle, I am J. Jonah Jameson. To make a long story short, just ten minutes ago, the masked vigilante Spider-Man, who emerged half a month ago, has once again come out to cause destruction in New York!]
[Now let's take a look at the footage captured by our station's reporter!]
The footage was released, and the location of the incident was once again on the bridge with the highest appearance rate in disaster movies!
However, this time it wasn't on the classic Golden Gate Bridge, but on the Manhattan Bridge.
And the first thing to appear in the footage wasn't the Spider-Man Jameson mentioned, but a humanoid green-skinned 'Lizardman' nearly three meters tall!
This Lizardman's strength was astonishing; he could flip ton-heavy vehicles with a wave of his hand!
And as car after car was thrown off the bridge by the Lizardman, the masked vigilante Spider-Man that Jameson mentioned finally appeared!
Furthermore, he wasn't causing destruction as Jameson said; instead, he was saving people!
Spider-Man, wearing his red and blue suit, was only normal-sized compared to the tall Lizardman, but his strength was not lacking at all, and his speed even surpassed the common sense of human perception!
As strands of spider silk were shot out, the vehicles thrown by the Lizardman were precisely suspended from the bridge by Spider-Man. Not a single one fell into the sea below the bridge to cause casualties!
Even a child trapped in one of the burning vehicles was successfully rescued by Spider-Man!
However, because Spider-Man was saving people, the Lizardman eventually managed to escape.
This also led to no one knowing why the Lizardman appeared on the Manhattan Bridge this time, what his goal was, or who the Lizardman's true identity was... but this time, it did cause Spider-Man's reputation to soar!
Before, Spider-Man was just a friendly neighborhood hero in New York, catching petty thieves on the streets in small-scale skirmishes.
Now, he has suddenly become a Superhero for all of New York City!
Watching the report in the news, Karl took out his phone, dialed a number, and said calmly: "Start spreading the public opinion I had you prepare yesterday. Have our officials ready to make the mayor step down and support my father in becoming the new Mayor of New York City."
Chapter 42: The Navy Mobilizes, the Authoritative Karl!
"Understood."
After the reply came from the other end of the phone, Karl hung up and gave Kingpin an OK gesture.
"It's done. Get ready to 'go clean'~"
Hearing this, Kingpin suddenly stood up from his chair, propping himself up on the table, his eyes burning with excitement: "Don't worry, I've been preparing for this day for a long time!"
Everyone envied his status as the Underground Emperor, but no one knew how much he wanted to stand in the sunlight and become the ruler of the surface!
He had long planned to go clean and enter politics, but he never expected this day to come so quickly and so easily!
And all of this was thanks to his incredibly outstanding son!
Kingpin looked at Karl, and Karl looked back at Kingpin.
Karl raised his coffee cup, winked at Kingpin, and smiled: "Congratulations, Mayor Fisk~"
"You brat..." Kingpin shook his head helplessly, but the smile on his face couldn't be suppressed.
Kingpin was willing to give Karl everything he had worked his whole life for, and Karl naturally would do his best to realize Kingpin's dream, helping him not only remain the Underground Emperor but also step-by-step become the'Surface Emperor'... just in this moment of father-son bonding.
The Daily Bugle news flash that had just been broadcast on TV was bumped again.
The more authoritative CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) channel pushed aside the Daily Bugle's Jameson, who was in the middle of a foul-mouthed report on Spider-Man, and began broadcasting explosive news stories that were every bit as significant as the Lizardman incident.
And all of these news stories were about scandals involving the Mayor!
Things like visiting Little Girl Island last year, assassinating political rivals to get into office the year before, domestic violence against his wife this year—all sorts of negative news about the Mayor was exposed by CBS!
At the same time, people in the market were loudly proclaiming the Mayor's incompetence during his tenure, spreading rhetoric unfavorable to the Mayor about how New York's safety relied on Superheroes.
This caused the Mayor of New York City, who was still bragging this morning, to have his reputation completely collapse in just one hour!
The citizens of New York were so vitriolic they practically blasted his ancestors out of their graves!
By noon, a large number of citizens were already marching in the streets of New York, shouting for the Mayor to step down!
Of course, all of this was specifically arranged by Karl through HYDRA's resources.
Whether it was the dirt on the Mayor in the news, the talk of the Mayor's incompetence, or even the leaders of the street protests, it was all done by HYDRA's people~
For HYDRA, which had already permeated America like a sieve, this wasn't difficult to achieve.
Now that the fatal shot had been fired by Karl, all that was left was to wait for the bullet to fly for a while. Once the Mayor was successfully unseated, Kingpin could take office.
As for how Kingpin could directly take office as the Mayor of New York City.
Heh, the support of undercover HYDRA officials, the support of Stark Industries which had already swept the new energy market, and Kingpin's own long-cultivated identity as a philanthropist—are these three points enough when combined?
What, still not enough?
Then what if Kingpin also had a Superhero son?
Karl promoting Little Spider to be more authoritative than the New York authorities wasn't for Peter's own good, but just to pave the way for himself.
On the dark side, he was already in the ranks of candidates standing at the top of the pyramid.
On the light side, he also had to stand at the top of the pyramid!
Standing solely at the peak of the dark side or solely at the peak of the light side could both lead to a crash one day.
But if you stood at the peak of both the dark and light sides, it would be almost impossible to crash.
After all, the people on the light side are yours, and the people on the dark side are also yours. With no one to push the cart over, how could you crash?
Would you drift around a corner and flip yourself over?
Anyway, Karl didn't think he was the type of person who would get so carried away that he'd crash~
When he reached the dual peaks of light and dark, that would be the moment Karl truly became 'invincible under heaven,' with no enemies left in the entire world!
Unless... enemies came from the heavens... The next day.
Karl sat in his ford raptor, on his way to school for the first time in a long while.
To be honest, perhaps because he had lived two lives, he had possessed a photographic memory since childhood; he had already self-taught himself high school and college knowledge while still in elementary school.
This was why he used to be called the boy genius most likely to surpass Tony Stark.
So, although he often took leave and skipped classes, his grades never dropped, always remaining at a stable level.
How stable, you ask?
Well, let's just say Karl was ranked first in his grade every year. Is that stable enough?
As for why he was going to school today, it naturally wasn't because he was bored.
It was because, if he remembered correctly, after Dr. Connors turned into the Lizardman, the location of his second appearance should be in Midtown School.
So that was the real purpose of his trip to school this time.
This would also be his debut battle as a hero, and the decisive bargaining chip to make his old man, Kingpin, the Mayor!
In a time when trust in Superheroes exceeded that of the authorities, once Karl became a Superhero, Kingpin's election as Mayor would be a done deal.
Screech—
The ford raptor came to a stop, and Karl stepped out of the vehicle.
Amidst the surprised gazes of students and teachers along the way, Karl went straight to the teaching building and walked into the classroom where a lesson was in progress.
Seeing Karl enter, even Gwen and the teacher in the middle of the lesson were somewhat surprised, wondering what wind had blown this young master—who hadn't shown up for nearly two months—into class.
Ignoring the stares of others, Karl sat directly in the empty seat next to Gwen, in front of Peter.
"Nock, continue the lecture."
"O-okay..."
After the teacher who was called upon replied subconsciously, he realized that he had actually followed a student's command!
But he didn't dare to scold Karl, instead obediently continuing the lecture.
After all, since he started working at Midtown School, the principal had issued an absolute directive to all teachers and Professors!
That was: do not offend Karl Fisk under any circumstances, or face the consequences!
In the past, there was a self-important Professor who didn't believe it. Once, because Karl skipped his class, he directly summoned Karl's parent.
As a result, when Kingpin arrived, the Professor stammered so much he could barely speak, let alone hold anyone accountable!
And the next day, this Professor was transferred. Rumor has it he 'volunteered' to teach in Africa... but anyone with a brain wouldn't believe a Professor would give up a high-paying job in America to go to some godforsaken place in Africa to teach a bunch of locals... anyway, since then, no one dared to point fingers at Karl again.
Even when Karl skipped class, the teachers and Professors would take the initiative to write leave notes for him, and then approve the notes they had written themselves... That's right, Karl was not only authoritative among the students, but even among the teachers...
Chapter 43: Spider-Man vs. Lizardman, A Passing kamen rider?
"Karl, why do you have the urge to come to school today?" Gwen asked in a low voice, holding a book in front of her face.
Karl turned to look at Gwen and smiled slightly: "Because I missed you~"
Gwen's face flushed at his words, but the smile on the corners of her mouth was uncontrollable.
The two were being sweet, but Peter, sitting behind them, was miserable; he was suddenly force-fed a mouthful of 'dog food'.
Ever since Karl saved Uncle Ben, however, Peter had already come to terms with his feelings for Gwen. Thus, there wasn't a hint of bitterness or jealousy, only the feeling of being overstuffed with dog food.
Amidst Gwen and Karl's sweet whispers, Peter finally managed to endure until the end of class. Just as he was about to leave the classroom to walk off his 'meal', the hairs on his arms suddenly stood on end—a sense of danger struck!
Peter snapped his gaze toward the direction where his Spider-Sense was warning him!
That's... the bathroom?
RUMBLE————————
The next moment, with a loud bang, the bathroom exploded!
The scene could only be described as'stuff' flying everywhere!
Fortunately, class had just ended and no students were in the bathroom yet; otherwise, those poor souls would have been in deep trouble.
But immediately after, even those not in the bathroom at Midtown School were in for some bad luck.
The students who were just about to head to the bathroom were literally met with a'shitty' situation!
But before they could react to the mess, a monster even more terrifying than the explosion burst out from the ruined bathroom!
That was... the Lizardman who had shocked all of New York in the news yesterday!
Now, it wasn't just the bathroom that exploded; the whole school erupted instantly, filled with the terrified screams of students and their panicked flight!
Except for three people, who neither panicked nor fled.
First was Peter. Not only did he not run, but he moved against the crowd, pushing toward where the Lizardman had appeared.
Then there were Karl and Gwen.
Karl stayed because he believed in his own power, while Gwen stayed because she believed Karl would definitely protect her.
Karl stood in the hallway with his arms crossed, not panicking at all. The students fleeing from the Lizardman bumped into him as if they were hitting an iron pillar.
Meanwhile, Gwen hid behind Karl. She looked at Peter, who was pushing against the tide, with a strange expression. She looked up at Karl thoughtfully and asked in confusion:
"Karl, Peter, he..."
Before Gwen could finish, Karl nodded calmly: "Remember that time Peter snuck into the Osborn Industries internship group?"
"He was bitten then by a super spider from the Osborn Bio-lab. His body underwent a spider-like benign mutation. He is the Spider-Man who appeared in the last half month."
Faced with Karl's bluntness, Gwen, who already had her suspicions, widened her eyes.
The sun shines on the incense burner, and Spider-Man is actually by my side?
Gwen's large eyes darted around as she guessed: "So Peter stopped this Lizardman from causing destruction yesterday, and today it's specifically here to seek revenge on Peter?"
Karl shook his head: "I'm afraid it's not that simple. Peter probably provoked this Lizardman more than once. He likely tracked the Lizardman's trail alone at night and even found..."
"However, Peter, who only recently gained his mutation abilities, shouldn't be a match for the Lizardman yet. He must have been careless and had his true identity discovered, which is why the Lizardman came to the school today to pull him up by the roots."
"I see..." Gwen nodded in realization.
Karl looked at Gwen, who had no more questions, and smiled, asking back: "Aren't you curious how I know all this?"
Gwen tilted her head and smiled as well, answering: "Why ask? Haven't I always known that my boyfriend is very amazing?"
"I just need to believe in you unconditionally~"
The smile on Karl's face grew wider. He reached out to pat Gwen's head and took her hand: "Let's go, we should join the excitement too~"
"Mhm!"
Just as Gwen said, she trusted Karl unconditionally, even if Karl was now taking her to the most dangerous place in the school!
Karl held Gwen's hand and also moved against the flow of people.
But unlike Peter, who had to squeeze through, it was as if an invisible giant hand was in front of Karl. The students fleeing toward them were all pushed to the sides of the hallway, 'clearing' a wide path for Karl and Gwen.
This was naturally the telekinesis of the rooster talisman.
It was also the first ability Karl intended to use in his Superhero identity.
As for the Shadow ability, Karl intended to use it only in front of his own people, or publicly only for his 'villainous' identity.
After all, the Shadow ability was just too perfect for an assassin's identity.
The telekinesis of the rooster talisman, on the other hand, was very suitable for the flashy and cool abilities of a Superhero.
By the time Karl and Gwen reached the battlefield, Peter had already changed into his spider suit at some point and was locked in combat with the Lizardman.
At this moment, the man and the monster had just fought their way into the school library. The entire library had been ravaged by their battle, looking like a total mess!
Despite this, the elderly librarian was still wearing headphones, completely oblivious to the intense battlefield behind him!
He was leisurely organizing the books in front of him.
Gwen was startled: "It's the Old Librarian Gentleman! Why is he still here? It's dangerous!"
Saying this, Gwen instinctively wanted to rush in and pull the Old Librarian Gentleman out.
But she was pulled back by Karl just as she took a step.
Karl smiled: "Don't worry, he'll be fine..."
Hearing this, Gwen thought Karl was going to take action, which is why he said that.
Little did she know that Karl didn't mean that at all... Karl looked at the librarian's incredibly familiar figure, a strange light flashing in his narrowed eyes.
This old man—forget the Lizardman, even if Thanos came or the Universe was destroyed, he wouldn't be in any trouble. Because... he had the most authoritative face in the entire Marvel world!
Nevertheless, Karl hooked his finger. Invisible telekinesis activated, bringing the old man who was still organizing books over through the air.
The floating old man seemed to only then notice the abnormality around him and took off his headphones.
Looking at the mess in the library, the old man wasn't surprised at how he flew through thin air, nor was he surprised by Spider-Man and the Lizardman fighting in the library. Instead, he held his head and complained:
"Oh, my God, my job is definitely gone now..."
Karl smiled at this and offered: "Old man, my family's library is actually quite large, and we happen to have no one to help organize it. Why don't you come work at my place?"
The old man turned his head, circled around Karl, and scratched his head, asking: "Eh, who are you?"
Karl shrugged: "Me? Just a passing kamen rider. Please don't mind me~"
"Oh, so you're a kamen rider! As a Rider fan, I've always wanted to meet a real kamen rider, but due to copyright reasons, I never could. To actually see a real one today—it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. kamen rider!"
The Old Librarian Gentleman didn't doubt him at all. Instead, he was very excited, grabbing Karl's hand and shaking it repeatedly.
Chapter 44: Karl's Debut Battle as a Hero!
It was as if he had truly met his idol.
The corner of Karl's mouth twitched.
Copyright? Did I hear that right?
Old man, is that something you should be saying out loud?
Karl looked down at the old, withered hand holding his own, yet he had the illusion that he couldn't break free no matter what.
Or rather... it wasn't an illusion... he really couldn't break free... This was somewhat similar to the sense of cross-dimensional observation he felt last time in the Shadow World when he intended to use the book of ages to modify history... but it also seemed different... That gaze last time was powerful and devoid of any emotion, like a cold machine.
While the feeling the old man gave him was equally irresistibly powerful, it lacked that hair-raising coldness.
So there was only one truth, which was... why the hell was he thinking so much.
The reason he wasn't afraid of the old man at all was precisely because the old man himself never interfered with the development of the Marvel Universe; he was just an 'Observer' who liked to make cameos across various Marvel Universes, wasn't he?
As for who—or what—the person watching him in the Shadow World was, it didn't matter at all.
Soldiers will be blocked by generals, and water by earth; at worst, I'll just die.
After being struck dead by lightning in his previous life, he had already enjoyed more than ten years of life as a young master; even if he died now, it was worth it.
"Nice mindset, young man~"
Hearing the kind voice in front of him, Karl snapped back to his senses.
He looked up to see the old man staring at him with a beaming smile.
Ah, this annoying mind-reading ability... "I can't read minds~"
Karl: =.=*
While the old and the young were having a cross-server chat—one thinking, one speaking—
Gwen, whose attention was entirely on the library because she couldn't understand their riddles, spoke up:
"Karl, Mr. Librarian, I don't think now is the time for your small talk. Pe... Spider-Man looks like he's about to lose..."
Karl looked over upon hearing this and saw that Little Spider, due to the size difference with the Lizardman and his subconscious habit of restraining his strength, had already fallen into a disadvantage in the fight, with several claw marks added to his body!
Seeing this, the old man let go of Karl's hand, looked toward the library again, and patted Karl on the shoulder:
"Oh, kamen rider, the Failure-man is really about to fail this time. It's time for your debut!"
"Hurry and transform so I can see your Rider strength!"
The old man's pat seemed light, but it made Karl take a step directly from outside the library door into the library.
Someone intruding into the battlefield naturally caught the attention of both Spider-Man and the Lizardman.
Little Spider, wrapped in the Lizardman's tail, was startled to see Karl and instinctively shouted, "Karl, what are you doing here? Run!"
Karl:... "If I said I was just passing by and was pushed in by an old man who doesn't follow the rules of martial virtue, would you believe me?"
Whether Little Spider believed it or not, the Lizardman didn't seem to believe it at all.
After violently whipping away the wrapped Little Spider with its tail, it lunged at Karl, its ferocious expression making it look like it had a grudge against him!
In fact, the Lizardman and Karl really did have a tiny bit of a grudge~
Because it was Dr. Connors' blind trust in Karl's mysterious luck bonus that led him to become the Lizardman he was today.
Although Dr. Connors was not purely his own conscious self right now, deep down, he did have grievances against Karl.
And this grievance was infinitely magnified under his second lizard persona, turning into an unforgettable hatred for Karl!
If it weren't for the blind self-confidence Karl gave him, perhaps after rigorous testing, he wouldn't have turned into this monster that was neither human nor ghost!
So, yes, the Lizardman held a natural hatred toward Karl!
And this was exactly what Karl wanted.
If he initiated the fight with the Lizardman himself, there would always be a slight sense of losing face by stealing someone else's prey.
But if the Lizardman took the initiative to come at him, then this show of power would happen naturally.
Karl's lips curled into a smirk as he reached out toward the pouncing Lizardman, and in an instant, the Lizardman was frozen in mid-air by Telekinesis.
With no leverage, no matter how the Lizardman thrashed in mid-air, it couldn't break free from the invisible Telekinesis or escape its control.
"But since this is a performance, it would be too boring without an audience. Little lizard, let's go out and play~"
With a wave of Karl's hand, the Lizardman was suddenly sent flying sideways, crashing through the wall!
Rumble——————
The Lizardman's entire body was forcibly smashed by Telekinesis all the way from the library to the playground outside, creating a massive commotion!
The Midtown School students, who had just run out of the teaching building area to the relatively safe playground, felt like the sky was falling when they saw the Lizardman crashing down from above!
Are you kidding me?
We finally managed to escape, and the monster followed us out?
But before they could scatter and run again, another figure slowly floated out from the large hole in the wall of the teaching building that the Lizardman had just smashed through.
That's right, floating out in mid-air!
And the one floating out was a figure known to everyone at Midtown School!
The person who was constantly on leave but always topped the grade rankings, the 'close' boyfriend of the school beauty, the strictest boss of the school bullies, and the school hunk himself—Karl Fisk!
Holy shit! You're telling me this already perfect man is actually a superhuman now?
This simply shattered the worldviews of all the teachers and students on the playground. For a moment, they even forgot to run, all staring blankly up at Karl in mid-air!
Karl also looked down at the teachers and students filling the playground and nodded with satisfaction.
Mhm, the number of viewers in the 'live room' is sufficient now.
He believed that after today, he would become New York's second famous Superhero besides Spider-Man.
And the first Superhero to reveal his true identity!
But first, he needed to win a beautiful opening victory!
Karl looked down at the Lizardman, who was shaking its head and climbing up on the playground. With a light lift of his hand, the basketball hoops and streetlights on the playground were uprooted one after another, floating around him!
It had to be said that whether in terms of practicality or style, telekinetic control was an extremely excellent ability.
Vroom vroom vroom vroom————————
While everyone, including the Lizardman, was shocked by Karl's move, the sound of helicopter rotors suddenly came from the sky.
A helicopter with the CBS logo flew in from the distance, with field cameramen and reporters already in position.
OK, the audience, actors, and live broadcast are all in place. Next is the beautiful finale phase.
Karl looked at the Lizardman, his fingers slowly clenching, twisting all the metal around him into several-meter-long spiral spears. He looked at the Lizardman and said indifferently:
"Hands behind your head, kneel on the ground, and surrender. I'll only say it once."
Hiss————
Watching Karl twist the already oppressive iron poles in mid-air into sharp spirals, the Lizardman's now-forked tongue couldn't help but let out a cold hiss of air, its small eyes constantly scanning left and right for an escape route.
Chapter 45: Metal Cage, The Mayor Comes with Ill Intent!
He had mutated, not turned stupid.
From that single exchange just now, the Lizardman knew he was absolutely no match for Karl.
Now that his opponent had displayed even more powerful abilities, he certainly wasn't going to be foolish enough to throw himself against a steel pillar like an egg!
He couldn't win a head-on fight, and since the other could fly, he definitely couldn't outrun him either.
That left only one final option!
The Lizardman's dangerous vertical pupils locked onto the students who, instead of running away when Karl appeared, had stayed behind to watch the spectacle.
You all like watching the show, don't you?
Then today, I'll make you part of the show!
As a supervillain capable of suppressing Spider-Man, the Lizardman didn't just rely on brute strength; he was a being with all physical attributes maxed out!
Strength, intelligence, recovery, and even... speed!
Whoosh—!
With a surge of power from his dinosaur-like thick legs, the Lizardman turned into a blur and charged toward the crowd of students who were busy snapping photos with their phones, intending to grab a couple as hostages!
The sudden burst of speed was so fast that even Karl felt he couldn't compare.
And the two people he charged toward happened to be Gwen's best friends, the sisters Kate and Emma!
Amidst the sisters' terrified expressions, the Lizardman's sharp claws were less than a meter away in an instant!
Morata!!
The Lizardman's vertical pupils were filled with excitement, as if he had already succeeded!
But... Karl's burst of speed might not be as fast as the Lizardman's, but can any speed outpace a single thought?
With a single glance from Karl, a spiral spear beside him instantly flew out!
Swoosh—
Thud!
Just as the Lizardman's sharp claws were about to seize the sisters, a spear descended from the sky and slammed into the ground in front of them, blocking the Lizardman and causing him to crash headfirst into the spiral spear, bouncing back and landing hard on his backside!
Before the dazed Lizardman could stand up again, Karl reached out and snapped his fingers.
Snap!
Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh—
Thud thud thud thud thud—
Several more whistles of air followed as multiple spiral spears rained down, piercing the ground around the Lizardman to form a metal cage!
Sensing something was wrong, the Lizardman looked up at the only part not yet sealed—the sky—and pushed off with his legs, intending to leap out!
But Karl was faster. With a thought, the tips of the spears forming the cage bent inward and closed together, instantly sealing the only exit at the top!
Thud!!
This caused the leaping Lizardman to slam his head again right after the first hit; he crouched on the ground clutching his head, unable to get back up!
A pure melee villain of the Lizardman's level really posed no challenge to the current Karl.
He had done enough showing off for his debut battle.
So, Karl didn't plan to drag it out any longer. He reached out toward the metal cage below, his fingers curling slightly... Clang-clatter-clatter—
With a series of metallic groans, the metal cage began to warp, twisting from a square cage into a much denser spherical one, capturing the Lizardman inside like a Poké Ball.
Seeing the Lizardman easily dealt with by Karl, the playground full of students erupted into wild cheers after a few seconds of silence!
"Karl! Karl! Karl!"
"Hero! Hero! Hero!"
All the students cheered while crowding toward Karl's direction!
The Kate sisters, who had just been saved by Karl, were at the very front, raising their hands high toward Karl in the air, shouting until their voices went hoarse.
In mid-air, with his back to the Sun, Karl looked down at his first batch of little fanboys and fangirls, a smile slowly tugging at the corners of his mouth.
This feeling... actually seems pretty good~
At the hole in the library upstairs, Gwen leaned against the wall, watching Karl being admired by thousands, a happy smile also appearing on her face.
Her boyfriend is a Superhero; this feeling... also seems pretty good~
Peter, who had been delayed after being swatted away by the Lizardman, arrived to find himself clinging to the outer wall of the teaching building in a state of utter confusion.
I was only out for less than a minute, and you already dealt with the Lizardman who almost killed me last night and was beating me up today?
Is... is this even reasonable?
Peter knew Karl wasn't simple, but he didn't expect Karl to be this extraordinary!
Wooo-wooo-wooo~~~~~~
In American TV shows, whenever a hero finishes a battle, the police always arrive just in time, and this time was no exception.
However, when the convoy of police cars drove onto the campus, the leader who stepped out wasn't the Director of the New York Police Department or that Chief, but the Mayor.
That's right, it was the Mayor of New York City, who had been made notorious by Karl's secret machinations.
Karl narrowed his eyes, already guessing the Mayor's purpose for coming here.
What else could it be? He's here to steal the credit~
The Mayor, currently burdened with more scandals than a bottom-tier influencer, desperately needed a major achievement to turn around his rock-bottom reputation and save his position.
And what could be a greater achievement right now than capturing the Lizardman monster that was destroying New York?
The portly Mayor stepped out of the car and immediately pointed rudely at the trapped Lizardman, shouting an order: "SWAT, take this monster away! I want to interrogate it personally!"
The SWAT team members, hearing the Mayor's command, looked at each other and then up at Karl, whose expression was obscured as he stood in the sky with his back to the Sun, and swallowed hard.
Mayor, are you freaking serious?
It's not like we just arrived; we were already watching from the perimeter while he was taking down this Lizardman, we just hadn't turned on the sirens and lights yet.
Don't you have any idea what kind of power he has?
The guy raised his hand and all the metal on the playground flew up, then he waved his hand and captured the Lizardman like a Pokémon!
And now you want us to snatch prey from under the nose of this 'God'?
To be honest, the SWAT team really didn't want to go.
In their eyes, this Mayor's reputation was already so foul that he had dragged down the entire New York Police Department; he might even be kicked out of office tomorrow. There was absolutely no need for them to offend a powerful Superhero for this fat pig!
Seeing that the SWAT team wasn't listening to him, the Mayor grew exasperated. He looked around and finally locked onto a'soft target.'
That was our Chief Stacy, with justice written all over his face!
He was also the only Chief willing to follow the Mayor on this call.
The other Chiefs, including the deputy director and the Director, were unwilling to go on a mission with this notorious Mayor at this time, for fear of getting smeared with the same filth!
Only Chief Stacy, who put duty above all else, had once again picked up this rotten job no one else wanted... The Mayor pointed at Chief Stacy and roared arrogantly: "You! What are you waiting for? Get your officers moving! Do you want to lose your job?!"
Chief Stacy's expression was actually quite grim, especially at the thought of having to seize prey from his daughter's boyfriend; his face turned ashen!
But again, duty called; he couldn't disobey.
Superheroes might sound nice, but to put it bluntly, they were vigilantes without law enforcement powers; their actions were fundamentally illegal!
Therefore, the police department had the right to take over supervillains defeated by superheroes, and they even had the power to arrest the superheroes themselves!
Chapter 46: The Mad Dog Mayor, Despised by Tens of Thousands!
It was just that before, no Police Officer would be stupid enough to risk public outrage by arresting a hero recognized by the citizens.
But before was before, and now is now; don't confuse the past with the present.
No one dared to before, but today, the cornered Mayor can no longer care about so much!
The Mayor's sinister, beady little eyes darted around. Suddenly, he pointed at Karl and Peter on the wall, shouting with spit flying everywhere:
"And these two guys! Not only did they destroy school facilities, they also took illegal action and ruined my carefully prepared operation to capture the Lizardman! Arrest these two outlaws as well!!!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the students blocked outside by the Police immediately became agitated. They pointed at the Mayor and began a 'cordial greeting' that started with his mother and used his ancestors as the radius!
But the Mayor didn't care about these insults at all. After all, this country has only been established for over two hundred years. His mother was a refugee who fled here, threw him into a toilet after giving birth, and vanished. He didn't even know who his ancestors or his mother were!
Ignorance is indeed bliss!
Amidst the curses filling the playground, even Peter on the wall, who considered himself quite noble, was stunned and pointed at himself in disbelief.
What the f... how is this my business too?
The Mayor means that because Karl and I stepped in to stop the Lizardman and saved the students from its clutches, we're in the wrong?
Is that something a human being would say?
Even Karl's mouth twitched. He knew the Mayor was stupid, but he didn't expect him to be as stupid as a pig!
To arrest two Superheroes who just saved tens of thousands of students in broad daylight?
Although Karl understood the Mayor was acting out of desperation, he was still flabbergasted by this absurd move.
It seems letting Kingpin take over and replace this pig of a Mayor might actually be a great thing for New York... Chief Stacy also didn't expect the Mayor to say something so brainless. His already suppressed heart could no longer take it, and he said in a deep voice:
"Mayor Lansher, we can take the Lizardman away according to legal procedures, but Karl and that Masked Vigilante were at most acting as Good Samaritans in this matter. We have no reason to take them away!"
"If you insist on arresting them, then fire me. I can't do this!"
Chief Stacy didn't like Masked Vigilantes like Spider-Man, but he could tolerate a Mayor who arrested people indiscriminately for his own interests even less!
He wasn't a fool; he could see at a glance that the Mayor was targeting Karl and Spider-Man as retaliation for yesterday's public opinion.
The Mayor felt that since the citizens thought Superheroes were more reliable, he would arrest the heroes they liked. Without Superheroes, wouldn't they have to obediently rely on official power!
This approach was very 'official,' but it was completely contrary to Chief Stacy's principles!
Even if he were to arrest these Superheroes one day, it certainly wouldn't be for a reason like this!
Besides, one could argue that Spider-Man sometimes ignores Police deployments while acting as a vigilante, causing some operations to fail.
But Karl, except for his origin, was a completely law-abiding five-star citizen and the boyfriend his precious daughter was quite satisfied with.
Therefore, no matter what, Chief Stacy would not arrest Karl!
Hearing a mere Chief like Stacy dare to speak so boldly to him, the other Officers and SWAT members followed suit. One by one, they lowered their weapons and stood their ground, unmoved.
The Mayor was nearly driven to a heart attack, his finger trembling as he pointed at Chief Stacy and all the Officers:
"You... and you all! Fine! Very well! You won't follow my orders, will you? Then you can all wait to be fired!"
However, facing the Mayor's threat, not a single Officer paid him any mind. A few hot-tempered ones even flipped him the bird.
Times have changed. You, currently smelling of manure, still think you're that high-and-mighty Mayor?
Didn't you see your former fair-weather official friends distancing themselves as far as possible from you?
You are now isolated, without help, and despised by all. Let's see who gets kicked out first: us, or you, you idiot!
Seeing everyone, including the Officers who used to be obedient, standing against him, the Mayor leaned against a car clutching his chest, too angry to speak.
Only after this moronic Mayor finally stopped giving reckless orders did Chief Stacy breathe a sigh of relief. He looked up at Karl and called out:
"Karl, we need to take the Lizardman away so it can face legal judgment. Is that alright?"
Karl slowly descended to the ground, meeting Chief Stacy's gaze. "If it were anyone else, definitely not. I wouldn't trust them. But since my father-in-law has spoken, I naturally can't refuse."
"Consider this monster an early promotion gift for you, Father-in-law~"
Hearing Karl agree, Chief Stacy first let out a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that his old dignity was finally preserved.
Then he asked with some confusion, "What promotion gift?"
Karl smiled slightly. "I won't spoil it, otherwise there'd be no surprise, right?"
"Gwen is still up there. She just had a bit of a scare, so I think I should go and keep her company~"
"By the way, it's okay if Gwen doesn't come home tonight, right?"
"I'll take your silence as consent. Bye-bye~"
Without waiting for Chief Stacy's answer, Karl quickly finished speaking and turned to leave at a brisk pace.
By the time Chief Stacy processed Karl's words, not even a ghost of him was left!
This made Chief Stacy's face turn as dark as a coal cellar. He turned around, waved his hand, and gave a cold command: "Get the Lizardman into the armored vehicle. We're leaving!"
Looking at Chief Stacy, to whom even a Superhero had to show respect, the Officers' eyes were full of admiration. They saluted and answered loudly:
"Understood, Officer!"
The Officers and SWAT members, who had just ignored the Mayor, now stood perfectly straight and executed Chief Stacy's orders with incredible efficiency!
Pfft——
Seeing this scene, the Mayor could finally no longer withstand the blow. He spat out a mouthful of blood several meters away and fainted!
"Whoa, this fat pig's blood pressure is quite high!"
Seeing this, not only did no Officer immediately go to help the Mayor, but one of them even instinctively made a joke!
Chief Stacy frowned and snorted coldly. "Call a rescue team to come over and take him to the hospital. Don't let him die in a place of learning!"
"The rest of you, leave one squad to continue cordoning off the scene. Everyone else, take the Lizardman and return to the station!"
After speaking, Chief Stacy turned and got into a Police car, leading the team to haul away the Lizardman along with the iron ball trapping it.
Chapter 47: Coulson, The Threatened Lizardman?
Karl, who had flown back into the teaching building, landed beside Gwen and glanced back at the departing police convoy with a faint, imperceptible smile.
Heh, my prey isn't that easy to take away~
And the Lizardman is even harder to capture~
He had only trapped the Lizardman just now without causing it any serious injuries.
It could be said that the Lizardman was still in its peak state; given some time, it wasn't impossible for it to escape from a metal cage no longer controlled by his telekinesis.
And once it escaped, the consequences... tsk tsk, were easy to imagine~
Tonight, I can only wish everyone in the New York Police Department good luck~
Everything is relative; when someone is unlucky, someone else is naturally lucky.
Tonight might be a bad day for the police station, but it was a harvest day for Karl.
His experiments with the book of ages tonight, along with all his plans for real-world benefits, could finally come to a close.
But for now, he had to comfort the'startled' Gwen first~
Since he had already revealed his abilities, Karl didn't intend to act 'low-key' like before.
Amidst Gwen's exclamation, he picked her up in a princess carry and soared into the sky, brazenly flying her out of the school.
Leaving behind a crowd of envious students below, as well as Peter on the wall.
Peter: Envious, it's so good to be able to fly; this is much more convenient than swinging around... Kate, Emma: Envious, if only it were us Karl was holding... Mary Jane: Jealous, it should have been me Karlwas holding!
Flash Thompson: That's right! I'm jealous of my cousin! I want to be held and flown by Big Brother Fisktoo!
Peter, Kate, Emma, Mary Jane: There's something wrong with you, kid (눈_눈)... Hmm, hmph, ha, heh, hey!
Five hours later.
Night, the New York Police Department's annex prison.
"Open the door."
At the prison gate, several men in black wearing sunglasses ordered the prison guards on duty.
Seeing these guys acting so pretentious by wearing sunglasses in the middle of the night, the guard felt extremely annoyed and let out a cold laugh:
"Heh, sorry, bastards. Chief Stacy said that until the special personnel arriving tomorrow to audit the monster inside get here, no one can enter this prison—not even the mayor!"
Now, because Karl had given the Lizardman to Chief Stacy to help him take credit, even the Directorhad to give Chief Stacy face and hand over full authority of this case to him.
So for the prison guards, Chief Stacy's words were no different from the Director's.
The cold-faced man in the black suit who spoke was stunned; he didn't expect a mere prison guard to dare be so arrogant toward them!
Just as he was about to scold him, he was pushed aside by a hand.
Turning around, he saw that the one who pushed him was an ordinary middle-aged man with a gentle smile and a slightly balding head.
But the cold-faced Agent quickly lowered his head: "Officer Coulson."
That's right, the newcomers were the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent team led by Coulson.
Coulson took off his sunglasses, wearing his signature 'nice guy' smile, and handed an FBI ID to the prison guard:
"Officer, we are the special personnel you mentioned. The situation is urgent, so we arrived early."
The prison guard was also someone who responded better to kindness than force.
Seeing that the Officer had lowered his posture so much, he didn't feel like making things difficult anymore.
After verifying the credentials in the police system, he opened the heavy iron gate of the prison where the Lizardman was held.
"Thank you."
Coulson nodded to the guard and led the group of men in black inside.
This prison had been cleared out in advance because it was holding the Lizardman.
All prisoners had been transferred to other facilities to avoid unnecessary commotion or accidents.
Thus, Coulson didn't see any other prisoners along the way and smoothly reached the deepest part where the Lizardman was being held.
Unlike other cell doors made of iron bars, the cell holding the Lizardman was a thick, airtight iron door.
In front of the iron door, two fully armed police Officers with guns stood guard.
Clearly, Chief Stacy had not underestimated the Lizardman; instead, he had set its threat level very high!
"FBI special Agents, please open the door."
This time, Coulson didn't let his Agents speak; he pulled out his 'FBI' ID and identified himself.
The two Officers checked the ID, glanced at each other, and nodded.
One of the older Officers cautioned Coulson in a low voice: "Agent, I know you've experienced many bizarre incidents that we ordinary Officers haven't..."
"But I still have to warn you, the guy locked inside is very dangerous. So, whatever you do, do not open the 'iron ball' holding it; that's the final measure restraining it!"
Coulson didn't nod, only smiling faintly: "Thank you for the advice. You can go off duty now; we'll take it from here."
Seeing that Coulson didn't agree, the old Officer's eyes narrowed. He didn't try to persuade him further, slapped the keys into Coulson's hand, and quickly left with the other Officer.
Good words can't persuade a ghost determined to die!
Once there was no one else left except for the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, Coulson made a gesture.
An Agent beside him understood immediately, took a holographic device out of his briefcase, and pressed it to the floor.
With a flash of blue light from the device, the monitors in the police station's surveillance room flickered.
The Agent who installed the device nodded to Coulson: "Sir, we've taken control of the police station's surveillance footage."
Coulson nodded calmly.
"Mhm, prepare Tetrodotoxin B to be injected into the target, as well as the syringe for drawing a blood sample."
"Understood."
Coulson took the keys the old Officer had given him and opened the iron door. Behind him, two Agents were ready—one holding a metal syringe filled with blue liquid, and the other holding an empty one.
Entering the cell, the first thing Coulson saw was a three-meter-high iron ball composed of various twisted metals.
Then, through the gaps in the iron ball, he saw the massive green figure inside.
At the same time, a pair of exceptionally cold green vertical pupils from within the iron ball locked onto Coulson.
Or rather... the open iron door behind Coulson!
Facing these cold beastly eyes, Coulson showed no fear. He took a file from a nearby Agent, turned it toward the Lizardman, and smiled:
"You are Dr. Curt Connors, am I right?"
The Lizardman's mouth curled into a cold, cruel arc, its raspy voice sounding like a soul from hell:
"Curt Connors? Hmph, that weakling died long ago after I appeared. And your end will eventually be the same as his!"
"Threats? Mm-hmm, that's also my favorite part." Coulson shrugged and crooked his finger; a nearby Agent handed him a large iron needle, the kind used for injecting sows.
Coulson smiled menacingly:
"Tetrodotoxin B was originally extracted by Dr. Bruce Banner to suppress that green big guy inside him, who is even more terrifying than you~"
"But unfortunately, it didn't have much effect on the big guy inside Dr. Banner..."
"However, while it might not work on that green big guy, for ordinary people—and for you—the effect might be excessive~"
"Especially the amount in this syringe; it's a massive dose sufficient to cause hundreds of deaths. Do you think you can withstand it as you are now?"
Chapter 48: The Lizardman Breaks Out, Unlucky Coulson
Hearing this, the Lizardman couldn't help but fall silent.
Although it was the second personality born after Dr. Connors injected the lizard serum, it wasn't truly Dr. Connors.
But it also inherited Dr. Connors' knowledge and memories, so it naturally understood who the 'big guy' the other party mentioned was, and understood that even with its vastly improved physical fitness, it absolutely couldn't withstand such a large amount of Tetrodotoxin B!
After a long silence, the Lizardman looked up coldly at Coulson and asked, "What do you want?"
Coulson's smile deepened upon hearing this:
"Sensible!"
"We've been to your lab in Oscorp Tower and your home. The lab equipment, experimental records, and even the lizard serum samples in both locations have all disappeared. I need you to tell me where you hid them?"
Hearing this, a strange smile suddenly curled on the Lizardman's lips: "So you want my lizard serum?"
Coulson glanced at the Lizardman's intact and strong right arm and nodded in admission:
"That's right. Being able to heal a mutilated body and grant ordinary people incredible superhuman power, the lizard serum has great research value for us."
Clang——————
The Lizardman's massive body, which had been sitting inside the iron sphere, suddenly stood up. Its head hit the iron plating on top with a dull thud, its eyes full of excitement:
"Yeah... very good! You have good taste."
"The lizard serum—it indeed has great research value. It's also the best gift I bring to humanity, a gift that can allow all of humanity to evolve into New Humans once more!"
"And I am the God of the New Humans! Everyone in this World should follow me to complete this evolution together!"
"And you... Agent, you are lucky. I happen to need an assistant, so you will be the first human to have their evolution personally completed by me!"
Hearing this, Coulson's sixth sense as a veteran Agent suddenly screamed a warning. He subconsciously took a step back and shouted, "Fire the tranquilizers at him, quickly!"
But firing now was clearly too late.
The Lizardman took a heavy step forward. The iron sphere that imprisoned it became its weapon instead, and the entire sphere slammed forward!
Coulson's pupils constricted. His body reacted faster than his brain, and he subconsciously dove to the side, narrowly escaping.
But the Agents behind him weren't so lucky. Two of them were crushed directly into meat paste by the large iron sphere!
Even the Agents guarding the door were sent flying by the sudden impact of the iron sphere, falling to the ground without a sound.
In an instant, the situation was reversed.
The scene that was originally Coulson interrogating the Lizardman instantly turned into a scene of the Lizardman's Carnage of the Agents!
The other Agents who hadn't been hit reacted quickly enough, immediately pulling out their guns and firing at the Lizardman.
But the same logic applied: the iron sphere that trapped the Lizardman not only became its weapon but also became its protective gear!
The bullets hit the iron sphere, and not only did they fail to hit the Lizardman inside, but a ricocheting bullet even killed an Agent instead!
"Damn it! Cease Fire! Fire! Stop shooting, use the Anesthetic Gas Grenades!!!"
At the critical moment, it was Coulson, the team leader, who calmed down. He quickly stopped the other Agents from continuing to fire and provided the best combat strategy for the moment.
Click————
Pshhh——————
As the pin hit the ground, Coulson threw an Anesthetic Gas Grenade in front of the large iron sphere. A large amount of gray smoke instantly billowed out from it!
The other surviving Agents followed suit, throwing Anesthetic Gas Grenades toward the location of the large iron sphere.
The large iron sphere could block bullets, but it couldn't stop the pervasive smoke. The anesthetic gas continuously seeped through the gaps in the sphere, quickly filling the entire sphere and enveloping the Lizardman inside!
The Lizardman soon went silent, and it seemed the anesthetic gas had taken effect.
Coulson and the other Agents put on gas masks. After waiting a while for the anesthetic gas to take full effect, he made a hand gesture and slowly approached the iron sphere with guns raised.
"Get the Tetrodotoxin B ready. The target has resisted; inject a lethal dose directly and take him out!"
"Copy that!"
Hearing this, an Agent took the only syringe of Tetrodotoxin B from Coulson's hand and stepped forward, while the other Agents and Coulson, as the commander, covered him with their guns.
After carefully arriving in front of the iron sphere and seeing the slumped Lizardman inside, the Agentholding the syringe let out a long sigh of relief and turned to shout to Coulson behind him:
"Officer, the target is unconscious. I'm now preparing to inject the tetro..."
Pshhh——————
Before the Agent could finish his sentence, his throat was suddenly choked by blood as a sharp, green, bloody tail burst through his chest!
The Lizardman, who was supposed to have fainted, actually stood up from the iron sphere as if nothing had happened and smiled cruelly: "Hehe, lizards aren't that easily anesthetized!"
"And now the only thing you have to deal with me is in my hands. How are you going to stop me now? With those outdated little toys in your hands?"
The Lizardman raised both claws, its ten sharp fingers piercing directly through the thick iron plating of the sphere. Then, with a surge of strength from its arms, it actually tore the iron sphere in half!
This power could only be described as terrifyingly formidable!
"Fire! Fire!!"
While ordering them to Fire, Coulson pressed his earpiece to call for help: "Director, the Lizardman has escaped. I need backup, I need backup!!"
"Hold on, Coulson. The Strike Team will arrive in ten minutes. Before then, escape as fast as you can!"
Hearing Nick Fury's voice from the other end of the earpiece, Coulson, who had already emptied his pistol's magazine, turned pale, his tone full of resolution:
"Director, I'm afraid I won't be able to escape this time..."
The ordinary pistols in the hands of these Agents weren't exactly useless against the Lizardman, but it was like HP-1, HP-1, HP-1... Oh, by the way, the Lizardman's maximum HP is 10,000, and it also has a passive health regeneration skill.
With the Lizardman's speed and power, the Agents led by Coulson couldn't even manage to flee. They could only watch in despair as the Lizardman swiped through them like children, one by one.
Finally, in the prison filled with the blood of Agents, only Coulson remained alive besides the Lizardman.
And at this moment, Coulson's situation was no better than being dead; he was being held aloft by the Lizardman's tail wrapped around his neck.
The Lizardman looked at the struggling, powerless Coulson on its tail and bared its mouth full of sharp teeth: "Didn't you want my lizard serum? Today, I'll let you have your wish!"
Chapter 49: From Balding to Bald, Gwen's Surprise
Before the prison guards could arrive, the Lizardman swept Coulson into the ventilation duct above the corridor, eventually finding a sewer entrance and silently leaving the prison grounds.
As everyone knows, New York is huge, and the underground World of its sewer system is equally vast and interconnected.
The Lizardman had moved the equipment for making its lizard serum to this filthy underground Worldwhere few would ever care to tread.
Coulson was carried through the sewers by the Lizardman; just as he felt like his body was about to fall apart, they finally reached their destination.
Its'sewer laboratory'!
Seeing the equipment and data in the sewer, Coulson finally understood why S.H.I.E.L.D. had never been able to find these things!
This guy actually put scientific equipment that requires a sterile environment in the sewer with the most bacteria!
Who the hell could have thought of that?!
The Lizardman took a green syringe from a Cabinet, pulled Coulson in front of it, and sneered:
"Didn't you like threatening me with needles? Let's see which is more powerful: the Tetrodotoxin Bextracted by Dr. Banner, or the lizard serum I extracted, shall we?!"
"And you will be the test subject. Any objections?"
Coulson looked at the needle; he hadn't even feared death just a moment ago, but now he was truly afraid!
He swallowed hard, glanced once more at the filthy surroundings, and asked in terror, "Did you... did you sterilize that needle?!"
An evil smile spread across the Lizardman's hideous face:
"Sterilize? Heh, does it look like there are conditions for sterilization here?"
"And to tell you the truth, not only has this needle not been sterilized, but I and the lab mice have already used it repeatedly!"
"Don't worry, though; the lizard serum's self-healing properties are powerful. These few germs won't kill you!"
With that, the Lizardman plunged the germ-ridden needle into Coulson's neck.
As Coulson watched in despair, the green serum was fully injected into his body.
The lizard serum, modified a second time by the Lizardman, took effect extremely quickly. Dr. Connors' original version took several hours to start the mutation, but this second-generation lizard serumworked instantly!
In less than a minute, Coulson went from being merely balding to a completely green, bald head!
Similarly, Coulson also developed a second lizard personality.
However, this personality was clearly not as intelligent as Dr. Connors'. His eyes were filled with brutality, and his physique was a size smaller than Dr. Connors', standing just over two meters tall.
This was naturally a special design by Dr. Connors' lizard personality. Otherwise, if every transformed Lizardman retained their full intelligence and memories, they would inevitably have their own ideas, leading to conflict.
Just like humans today... and that was not what it wanted to see.
It wanted a completely obedient new race with only its voice!
But if it was to be a race, two people weren't enough, and not having their own territory was even worse!
So, it needed to transform more of its kind until all of New York, and the whole World, were converted into the new Lizardman race!
And for this, it would need a rain-making device from its former employer that could disperse the lizard serum across the entire city!
That night.
The balcony of a penthouse suite in a five-star hotel not far from Oscorp Tower.
"Young Master, as you expected, the Lizardman has successfully escaped and taken Phil Coulson, one of Nick Fury's confidants. Now Nick Fury wants me to lead a team to recapture the Lizardman. OfficerPierce told me to listen to you. Do we need to launch a capture operation?"
"No need. Go out for a late-night snack with the brothers from the Strike Team. My treat. Ignore that arrogant Cabinet."
"Understood."
Beep—
Hanging up the phone with Crossbones, Karl, shirtless and with only a bath towel wrapped around his waist, sat on a beach chair and lit a cigarette, taking a relaxing puff.
Phew~~~~~
A cigarette after the fact is better than being an immortal god~
But after just one puff, the cigarette in his hand was snatched away from behind by a pale hand.
"Relaxing is fine, but not this!"
Turning to see Gwen's pouting face behind him, Karl smiled dotingly. He grabbed her wrist and pulled Gwen, who was also wrapped in a towel, into his arms. Resting his chin on her bare white shoulder, he said leisurely:
"If smoking isn't allowed for relaxation, then how do you think I should relax?"
"Eh?" Feeling herself suddenly lifted a bit higher, propped up by something, Gwen's face turned so red she almost steamed once she realized what was happening. She muttered softly:
"We just did it, and you want it again..."
Karl lazily inhaled the scent of Gwen's hair and sighed, "Sigh, I can never get enough of being with you, but unfortunately..."
Gwen asked curiously, "Unfortunately what?"
Karl stood up holding Gwen. In the room, their clothes flew over one by one, automatically dressing them.
Once he and Gwen were fully dressed, Karl looked toward Oscorp Tower and said calmly:
"Unfortunately, tonight is destined not to be peaceful. Someone wanted to obtain power they couldn't control, but ended up losing more than they gained. Not only did they lose their most trusted subordinate, but they've also plunged this city that never sleeps into crisis once again..."
As one of the few women in Marvel with both high IQ and EQ, Gwen guessed the general situation from Karl's few simple words.
Her brows furrowed as she said solemnly:
"Could it be that the Lizardman you had my father take back this afternoon has been released again?"
Karl nodded. "Exactly. And it's even more dangerous this time. Not only has it escaped, but it also plans to turn this entire city into a Lizard City!"
"So, Gwen, for your safety, before I completely resolve this matter, you need to stay in my World for a while. I don't want anything to happen to you~"
"Eh? Into your World? What do you mean?" Gwen was stunned; even her clever brain couldn't figure out what that meant.
But in the next second, the ground vanished beneath her feet, and after a brief darkness, she found herself in a palace composed of black and white.
Looking up at the sky, it was pure white, without even a single cloud.
Looking down at her feet, the ground was pure black, without a hint of any other color.
When Gwen looked up, she saw a row of ninjas with black clothes and red eyes bringing her various entertainment devices, drinks, and snacks, kneeling respectfully before her.
"This... is Karl's... World?"
My boyfriend is not only a Superhero but also owns an entire World?
Gwen's eyes widened, her mouth agape in surprise.
Swoosh—
Of the only two people he cared about in this city, one was already protected in the absolutely safe Shadow World, and for the other, it would be good enough if he didn't put others in danger.
Now he had no more worries and could finally let loose and have some fun.
With his arms crossed, Karl slowly rose into the air, looking down at the entire city.
In this neon-lit city that never sleeps, the streets were flashing with red lights representing danger and cold blue lights.
Police cars with flashing red and blue lights and Spider-Man in his red and blue uniform were all heading toward Oscorp Tower with a shared goal.
On the roof of Oscorp Tower, two green Lizardmen were installing a serum dispersal device, preparing to give New York a rain of lizard serum, letting this city full of different skin colors have a unified skin tone for the first time~
Chapter 50 Tony Arrives, Iron Man VS Dr. Lizard?
However, before the police and the swinging Spider-Man could arrive, a burst of energetic music suddenly echoed through the night sky!
Karl looked toward the sound and saw an Iron Man, also primarily red with gold as a secondary color, flying in high-profile from the distance!
No need to guess; with such a high-profile and flashy armor, it could absolutely only be that poser Tony!
However, Karl didn't expect Tony to move so fast. While entering the new energy market, he managed to build the MK2 in less than a month!
He looked at Spider-Man swinging in the distance, then at the flying Iron Man.
Karl suddenly realized that Superheroes in New York, or rather in U.S. comics, really loved making their suits red... for instance, he could think of Spider-Man, Iron Man, Ant-Man, Daredevil, Deadpool, and Red Guardian!
And among these people, almost all of them were the kings of trash talk, each one more of a chatterbox than the last!
Could it be that red has some kind of mysterious buff?
He didn't have his own suit yet; should he also get a flashy red one?
Karl thought about himself wearing a tight red suit, couldn't help but shudder, and immediately dismissed the idea.
That image would be an eyesore... his suit should be a more low-profile color, like black or something, or he could just wear casual clothes.
After all, who says a Superhero has to wear a uniform?
Especially a 'pseudo' Superhero like him who prioritizes profit and even moonlights as a supervillain~
While Karl was lost in thought, Tony had already flown to the Oscorp Tower.
Flying in his Iron Man armor, his speed naturally couldn't be matched by police cars or Peter swinging on webs.
Tony didn't waste words upon arrival. Raising his hands, two repulsor blasts directly sent the Lizardman Connors and Lizardman Coulson—who were setting up the device's launch program—flying!
Tony hovered above the two, locking his palm repulsors on them, and shouted flippantly:
"Hey, you two Goblin cosplayers down there, do me a favor. Just stay on the ground, put your claws up, and surrender quietly, okay?"
Lizardmen have thick skin and flesh; even after taking a repulsor blast to the back, it wasn't a big deal.
Dr. Lizard ignored Tony's warning, climbed up on his own, looked up at Tony hovering in mid-air, and said coldly:
"Another nuisance. First Peter Parker, then Karl Fisk. And who are you, you arrogant tin man?"
Tony glanced at the Cloudburst Device, which was already on a one-minute countdown, his palm repulsors ready to fire: "Stop wasting time. I'm your daddy, my green-skinned son! Do your old man a favor and stop this thing, okay?"
"As a reward, I can promise not to blast a big hole in you later~"
The Lizardman sneered: "Heh, in your dreams!"
"Kill him!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Lizardman that Coulson had turned into rushed out, jumping ten meters with his powerful post-mutation leaping ability, pouncing at Tony in mid-air.
Tony naturally wouldn't choose to go head-to-head with a mutated monster. He increased the power of his boot thrusters and flew higher to dodge.
After letting the Lizardman Coulson swipe at the air a few times, he fell off the edge of the building!
Tony smiled triumphantly at this:
"Haha, stupid, right? I can fly!"
"You won't turn it off, right? Then don't blame me for being rude. Remember to have Osborn send the damage bill to my company later!"
Seeing the two Lizardmen attack, Tony didn't bother worrying about whether he would destroy the Osborn Enterprise's Cloudburst Device and aimed a palm repulsor right at it!
*Zap-boom—*
But Dr. Connors the Lizardman was prepared. He used his massive body to block Tony's palm repulsorand threw a steel pipe—which he had pulled off while Coulson was ambushing—violently at Tony in the air!
[Sir, watch out! Attack incoming from 8 o'clock!]
Tony, who was flying the Iron Man armor officially for the first time and wasn't very skilled yet, was caught off guard despite Jarvis's warning. He was hit right in the forehead by the steel pipe, lost balance due to dizziness, and crashed onto the roof!
Seeing Tony fall to the ground—his home turf—Dr. Lizard's eyes gleamed with joy. He rushed towards Tony, intending to finish off this annoying tin man first!
Since he could tear apart the iron sphere that trapped him with his bare hands, he could tear this tin man apart with his claws just the same!
"Hey, Doctor, stop!"
*Thwip-thwip—*
However, just as the Lizardman's claws were about to strike Tony's armor, two strands of white webbing stuck to his hands from behind. Even with his strength, he was forcibly stopped!
The Lizardman looked back and saw that annoying Spider-Man appearing again on the spire!
"One after another, it's endless! Do you all want to stop me from evolving all of humanity?!"
Only one step away from success but constantly obstructed, Dr. Lizard's eyes were bloodshot, and he was completely enraged!
He grabbed the webbing stuck to his hands, violently yanked Spider-Man down from the spire, swung him around a few times, and threw him out!
Spider-Man let out a Tom Cat-style scream and was thrown off the building!
Clearly, like Tony, Peter had only recently acquired his powers and wasn't very skilled at using them yet~
Dr. Lizard turned around to finish Tony off, but Tony had already recovered.
His palm repulsor was aimed right at its head, and the moment it turned, a blast hit it in the face!
But even a blast to the head only made Dr. Lizard shake his head; it didn't cause much damage.
This made Tony's face inside the helmet darken!
[Sir, the MK2 is a test model and is not equipped with high-power weaponry. The built-in particle palm repulsors cannot cause effective damage. It is recommended to retreat and call for backup!]
"Damn it, Jarvis, but the problem is we don't have time to wait for backup!"
Tony glanced at the Cloudburst Device, which had only 10 seconds left on the countdown. While continuing to suppress Dr. Lizard with his palm repulsors, he turned his thrusters to full power and flew towards the machine, intending to smash it with a head-on crash!
But Tony obviously forgot that there was more than one Lizardman!
Before he could hit the Cloudburst Device, the Lizardman Coulson had climbed back up to the top of the building at some point and slammed into Tony from the side, flying off with him!
And the countdown on the screen had already reached the final second!
Tony, held tightly by the Lizardman Coulson, widened his eyes in desperation: "No!!!"
Dr. Lizard's expression, on the other hand, had become excited: "Hahaha, it's too late, I've succeeded!"
But the experience of countless predecessors tells us: never pop the champagne early, even if you are only one second away from success...