The corridor looked like a disaster zone.
Lockers twisted.
Tiles shattered.
Dust drifting slowly through the air.
Dr. Lizard shook his massive head as he pushed himself upright.
Pain pulsed through his jaw.
The metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth.
Not a hallucination.
The boy in the hat hadn't moved.
Yet something had struck him.
Something he could not see.
Movement stirred in the rubble.
Peter Parker emerged, now fully suited as Spider-Man. He staggered slightly.
His ribs screamed in protest.
He ignored it.
He had seen what happened.
This power was different from the subtle force Joren used in the alley.
This time it was direct.
Violent.
Unquestionable.
Peter landed beside Joren, adrenaline dulling the pain.
He looked at the Lizard and called out:
"Hey, Doc! Trip over something invisible?"
Spider-Man's trademark sarcasm worked perfectly.
The Lizard's pupils contracted with murderous fury.
Being struck by prey was humiliation.
Being mocked by weaker prey was unforgivable.
ROAR—!!
The Lizard dropped to all fours.
Muscles coiled.
Then it launched forward — a green blur tearing down the corridor.
Faster.
More ferocious.
"Jojo! Watch out!"
Peter moved instinctively to shield him.
Joren merely lowered his hat brim.
Yare yare… this is never going to end.
Star Platinum manifested.
This time it did not aim for the head.
The blue-purple giant dipped low—
—and drove a brutal uppercut into the Lizard's abdomen.
BOOM!
Peter saw the abdominal scales cave inward.
The charging momentum reversed instantly.
The Lizard's body bent into a grotesque arc as it was launched skyward.
A strangled whimper escaped its throat.
Its organs felt violently displaced.
But it wasn't over.
As the creature reached the apex of its trajectory—
Star Platinum's eyes locked on target.
Its fists moved.
ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!
Peter's eyes widened in disbelief.
The massive reptilian body hung suspended in midair—
—like a punching bag struck by an invisible heavyweight.
THUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD
The corridor thundered with rapid impacts.
The Lizard's body twisted and jerked in midair.
Chest.
Abdomen.
Shoulders.
Thighs.
Fist-shaped depressions formed across the armored scales.
Bones cracked beneath the relentless barrage.
Peter could see none of it.
Only the impossible result.
This defied physics.
Defied anatomy.
Defied reason.
The Lizard could no longer roar.
No longer struggle.
It could not comprehend what was destroying it.
ORA!
A final devastating punch slammed into its jaw.
The barrage ceased.
Star Platinum withdrew and vanished.
The Lizard's battered body flew backward and crashed to the floor.
It lay motionless.
Before Peter's eyes, the reptilian form began to shrink and contort.
Scales receded.
Limbs reshaped.
The monstrous frame collapsed inward—
revealing an unconscious man in torn clothing.
Dr. Curt Connors.
His right arm still missing.
Alive.
But utterly broken.
Silence filled the corridor.
Only Peter's heavy breathing remained.
He turned stiffly toward Joren.
Joren looked as if nothing had happened.
In the distance, sirens grew louder.
Police.
Emergency response.
Reality returning.
Joren picked up his fallen backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
He turned to leave.
"Wait!" Peter called.
"The police are coming! We need to get out of here!"
Joren paused.
He looked back.
"Why would I run?"
"That's Spider-Man causing chaos in the school."
"What does that have to do with me, Joren Joestar?"
He turned and walked toward the stairwell.
Without another word.
Peter stood alone in the ruined corridor.
He looked at the unconscious Connors.
Then down at his own suit.
His shoulders sagged.
"…Right."
Looks like he's the one responsible for this mess.
Again.