14 14. Lizard
Doctor Connor sat before his home desk. A vial of green serum lay before him, he hesitated for a second, tracing his missing right arm resolution filled his eyes.
He took the serum and injected it into his arm. The end result of the research they were conducting should yield a serum capable of achieving regeneration of missing limbs and make the body healthier.
Osborn line suffered a type of illness which is hereditary. Norman calls it the curse of his family, it starts when a descendant of Osborn family reach twenty years old. Their body would start to deteriorate and gradually lose mobility of their joints.
If not for the state of the art biotechnology Osborn Industries possessed Norman Osborn would be on his death bed at his age. It is also for this reason he had invested in a research for almost twenty years with no gain.
Doctor Connor felt his missing arm heat up, it gradually passed through his entire body. He felt his eyelids get heavy and laid on the desk and fell asleep.
Several hours later...
Connor woke up with a light headache. He felt extremely tired, he tried to pick his glass. Just as he put his glasses on he realised something.
He could feel his right arm!
A layer of molten skin spread from his elbow. His body trembled from excitement, he tore off that layer of skin revealing brand new skin underneath.
Tears welled up in his eyes. Twenty years! Twenty years he has been trying to find a cure and finally he has done it.
He quickly cleaned himself and did some light movements to see if there were any problems.
Nothing!
The serum is a success. I can now do human trials and get approval!
Grrr...
His thoughts were interrupted by the loud protest from his stomach. Waves of hunger and thirst hit Connor like never before, he quickly got to the kitchen and drank several bottles of water and ate whatever he could found in there.
Satiating his hunger he was prepared to record his findings when he felt his body heat up. His right hand throbbed, eliciting a wave of pain. A loud yell escaped his mouth.
Connor watched in horror as his right hand slowly turned green. His fingers got big and his nails started to protrude. He chest felt stuffy and tight, he gasped for air and tore off his shirt.
Aaaahhhh...
Connor's body started to morph. His clothes were completely torn off, his skin turned light green with a huge tail dragging behind him.
As he stood up he easily reached seven feet, his huge bulky streamlined muscles radiated explosive power.
Connor finally caught his breath and calmed down. His chest heaved up and down like a sleeping mammoth, finding a mirror he looked at his reflection.
Green, big, narrow slit eyes... a lizard.
The serum... my body took the characteristics of the prime material!
Out of anger he destroyed the mirror and everything behind it.
No! I can't let them find out! They will take away my work and condemn me!
Slowly Connor's psyche was getting twisted. His mind was getting swallowed by animal instincts, right now his only wish was to prevent anyone from destroying his work.
...
Eric was Norman's spokesperson in charge of Connor's project. Norman was a sly business man. He wouldn't trust anyone with his company. Eric was just a person he hired to keep an eye on Connor's project.
The amount of importance Norman put on Connor's project was obvious to everyone just that not many knew why but Eric was one such person who knew.
It was by pure accident he came to know this, Norman didn't want this information to leak and made him his subordinate and gave him a position in his company. That's how he came to be in charge of Connor's project. An apt job for him.
All he had to do was to keep Norman updated. But Eric got greedy, he thoroughly found out about the research and the reach it has. He was astounded.
Limb regeneration!
The scope of it was far greater than anyone could imagine.
A country has hundreds of thousands of soldiers, how many of them retire due to physical inability. Millions of people around the world, how many of them have the same physical inability. All of this could be cured with a single serum.
Eric's ambition grew. He wanted more, for that he needed an end result. He also knew Norman doesn't have enough time so he used that as a pretext to force Connor to speed up the research.
But he didn't realize the danger he put himself. To an enraged, instinct controlled beast his words were provoking.
He was on road towards Osborn Industries when a commotion broke out. His driver got off to see what it was and paled. A huge green monster was ramming through the sea of cars, it seems to be searching for someone.
Without even caring for his car the driver ran. Eric looked out and saw the same scene, his face paled and horror started to seep inside his heart.
He slowly got out of the car and got under it. The monster was almost upon him, he could see its tail crash the car's door frame. It lingered there for a second and moved away.
Phew!
He breathed a sigh of relief but as he did so the monster stopped in its track. Without any warning it immediately used it's claws and raised the car.
Like a hot knife through butter it's nails pierced the steel plates and raised the car like a toy. Eric felt his blood freeze as he saw two pairs of cruel eyes staring at him.
"Die!"
A deep hoarse sound escaped the monster's mouth.
Eric was horrified, his body went stiff. Time seems to have slowed as he watched death inch towards him.
A huge bone chilling claw was aimed for his neck. An inch away from his face Eric felt a strong pull on his body and he was dragged out of the way.
"Phew! That was a close call."
