Bren could barely recognize Connors.
Or rather, he could barely recognize that this was still the Lizard.
At this moment, Connors looked vastly different from the creature that had appeared on the Williamsburg Bridge just days ago. While that version of Connors had been grotesque, it still retained some distinctively lizard-like features, with a smoother, more reptilian face.
Now, however, his facial structure was sharper, his snout elongated like a crocodile's. His skin had darkened to a gray-green hue, and the scales had hardened into a texture resembling crocodile hide. His body had also grown significantly, nearly doubling in size.
Rather than a lizard-man, Connors had transformed into something more terrifying, a dinosaur-like monster.
Just looking at him made Bren think of the Indominus Rex, the hybrid nightmare from the Jurassic World series.
"You, "
Connors shook off the broken toilet tank that had been stuck to his head and fully emerged from the ground.
Standing over three meters tall, Connors now rivaled the bulk of some superhuman powerhouses. The cramped bathroom barely contained him, forcing him to hunch over to move.
Spotting Bren, Connors loomed over him, casting a shadow that swallowed the boy whole. His deep, rumbling voice carried like distant thunder.
"You're not Peter Parker."
As he spoke, a gust of rancid air hit Bren square in the face, making him wince.
"Your breath's... overpowering, dude." Bren muttered, leaning back and pinching his nose.
Despite the sarcastic jab, Bren's mind raced. This was no ordinary encounter with Connors. Someone had done this to him, and Bren could think of only one culprit: Dr. Animo.
It was shocking how quickly Animo had not only found Connors but enhanced his mutation. The anti-serum Bren and Peter had worked on might now be useless.
Connors squinted at Bren, his massive eyes reflecting the boy's nervous face like a distorted mirror.
Something about Bren's lack of fear puzzled Connors, but it didn't matter. His goal remained unchanged.
"Where. Is. Peter Parker?"
"I don't know him. I've never met the guy. We're not friends." Bren shot back, layering denial upon denial. "Why don't you try looking outside?"
Connors hesitated for a moment, as if weighing Bren's words, but then brushed past him.
Peter Parker was the only target he cared about. Killing anyone else would be unnecessary, soon, they would all become like him. Why waste his energy?
Pushing Bren aside like a leaf, Connors stomped into the school's main hallway. Each step felt like an earthquake.
His thick tail whipped behind him, inadvertently smashing through pipes and tearing into walls.
Bren watched Connors' retreating form, taking in the jagged bone plates now jutting out of his back. His shredded clothes barely clung to his enormous frame, reduced to tattered strips of fabric.
Every step Connors took left cracks in the floor, and soon, distant screams echoed from the hallway ahead.
Once Connors was out of sight, Bren prepared to transform, but he paused. He could feel Peter approaching.
Lowering his hand from his watch, Bren trailed after Connors. The school hallway was deserted now, but Peter, dressed in his civilian clothes, darted and weaved around the lumbering creature, firing webs to blind Connors.
Unfortunately, the once-durable webbing snapped like brittle threads against the mutated Connors.
"What's going on with him?" Peter shouted, dodging a swipe of Connors' claws and skidding to Bren's side.
"No idea. He crawled out of the toilet like some sewer plumber. Think he's moonlighting?" Bren quipped.
Peter couldn't resist a smirk. "Well, did he at least fix the plumbing?"
"Pretty sure he left it worse. There's a crater the size of a car back there." Bren replied.
They both glanced at a row of lockers Connors had shredded like tissue paper.
"Yeah... seems about right." Peter muttered.
"Peter Parker!" Connors roared, his frustration shaking the narrow corridor. His massive form struggled to turn in the confined space.
But the lack of room wasn't an issue for long.
Crash!
With a powerful swing of his tail, Connors smashed through an entire wall, sending chunks of brick flying.
Peter staggered back. "Bren, get the anti-serum! Please tell me you have it on you!"
"Just give me a minute!"
Bren nodded and sprinted down a separate corridor. He had the anti-serum, but it was stored in his classroom.
The problem wasn't retrieving it, it was whether it would even work.
Connors' body had undergone a profound genetic shift. The serum they had prepared earlier might not reverse his mutations, or worse, it might do nothing at all.
Still, Bren had no choice but to try.
'We'll have to deal with Animo to fix this for good,' he thought grimly.
Meanwhile, Peter barely avoided Connors' tail. "I feel like he could squash me in ten seconds..."
But Bren was already out of earshot.
As he reached the inner corridor of the building, he encountered a chaotic crowd of students. Panic had erupted, with everyone pushing and shoving toward the exits.
"Stay calm! Use the other hallways to evacuate!" a teacher shouted, trying to restore order.
"Don't panic! Watch your step!"
Bren moved against the flow of the crowd, parting the terrified students like a boulder in a river. His superhuman strength allowed him to easily navigate the chaos, though his concern grew with each passing second.
Suddenly, he spotted Mary Jane Watson in the fray.
Struggling against the tide, she fought her way toward Felicia Hardy, who looked pale and unsteady.
"Felicia!" Mary Jane called, grabbing her arm. Felicia clung to her like a lifeline.
"You're Mary Jane Watson, right?" Felicia asked, her voice shaky.
"Have you seen Bren?" Mary Jane replied, ignoring the formality.
Felicia hesitated, her expression betraying a mix of confusion and recognition.
"You're looking for Bren too?"
Too?
Mary Jane froze, realization dawning on her.
She looked at Felicia, whose elegant demeanor and refined beauty radiated even in the chaos. Next to her, Mary Jane couldn't help but feel plain and ordinary.
Felicia Hardy was everything Mary Jane wasn't, graceful, poised, and magnetic.
She's Felicia Hardy, Mary Jane thought bitterly.
And I'm just... Mary Jane.