C 78

A familiar voice echoed in the lizard-man's ears, cutting through the wailing sirens. It was a voice he would never forget.

"Batman!"

The lizard-man spun around abruptly, his yellow eyes locking onto a shadowed figure. Standing in the gloom, clad in black armor with a flowing cape, his jawline partially visible beneath the cowl, was the man Connors dreaded and hated.

Though the suit had undergone subtle changes, its defining characteristics—and that voice—were unmistakable.

"It's you!" The lizard-man sneered, his lips curling into a grotesque grin. "Perfect! I've been looking for you for a long time, and now you walk right into my claws!"

"You seem far too confident, Connors," Anton said, his tone dripping with contempt. His posture remained calm, unbothered by the lizard-man's bravado. He had faced Connors before and knew his weaknesses.

Still, Anton respected the principle: strategically despise your enemy, but tactically respect them. He didn't underestimate the lizard-man, even if he anticipated breaking him all over again.

"If you keep coming back for more, I may have to leave you without hands and feet this time," Anton mused, his tone cold. "By our next meeting, you might be just a science experiment strapped to voice-controlled equipment."

"Batman, I am not the same as before!" Connors roared, the mutated confidence in his voice palpable. With a guttural growl, the lizard-man launched himself forward.

Anton didn't flinch. He waited for Connors to close the distance, his expression unchanging. Then, with a swift, practiced motion, he seized the lizard's arm, twisting it with enough force to dislocate the joint.

Connors' eyes widened in terror, vivid memories flooding back—memories of his last humiliating defeat at Batman's hands.

CRACK.

The sound of the dislocated joint echoed through the lab. Connors' arm now dangled limply, as if detached from his own body.

Despite his reptilian transformation, the lizard-man's anatomy was still fundamentally human. And Anton exploited that mercilessly.

THUD.

Anton swung Connors over his shoulder, slamming him into the floor with such force that the reinforced lab tiles cracked in a spiderweb pattern beneath the impact.

"Batman!" Connors howled in agony, his voice thick with rage and pain. Bloodshot eyes glared at Anton with murderous intent, his jagged teeth gnashing in frustration.

"I gave you a chance to talk," Anton sneered. "But it seems you're not much for words."

With that, a clawed grappling hook extended from Anton's armored forearm. He drove it into Connors' left shoulder with unrelenting precision, the sharp talons piercing through muscle and bone.

Connors screamed as the hook tore into him, pinning him down like a specimen on a dissection table.

Anton followed up with a devastating punch to the lizard's shoulder, the force shattering the joint completely. Blood splattered across the lab floor as Connors writhed, his body contorted with pain.

The lizard turned sharply, flicking his tail in desperation while his injured left arm hung uselessly at his side. Struggling to maintain his footing, he tried to retaliate.

Anton, unfazed, avoided the whip-like tail with practiced ease. Seizing the moment, he gripped the lizard's damaged arm tightly and tore it off with a brutal twist. Without hesitation, he grabbed a massive chair nearby and hurled it toward the lizard-man, sending him sprawling.

With precision, Anton threw a bat grenade at the downed creature and swiftly moved back to avoid the explosion.

Boom!

The grenade detonated with a deafening roar, the sound reverberating like a meteor crash.

Fire and shockwaves surged through the lab, slamming into the lizard-man with unrelenting force. The violent blast tore through the air, scattering debris and leaving a charred wasteland in its wake.

Anton's cloak billowed wildly, whipping through the heated air with a sharp, hunting noise.

When the chaos subsided, the scene revealed a battered and disfigured lizard-man sprawled on the ground. His face was grotesquely burned, his white lab coat reduced to singed rags, and one of his hands was missing. 

His body was riddled with scorch marks, his combat effectiveness reduced to nearly nothing.

Yet Anton knew better. The lizard's regenerative abilities meant he could restore his limbs and recover fully in mere minutes.

"Not this time," Anton muttered coldly.

Ignoring the lizard-man's anguished groans, Anton activated the dagger on his bat armor. Without hesitation, he methodically severed the creature's remaining hand, both legs, and even his tail.

By the end, Connors was reduced to a "lizard stick," his grotesque body lying in a pool of his own blood.

At that moment, Osborne Manor's security team finally arrived, armed with advanced energy weapons. They stopped short at the sight of the devastation in the underground lab—and the horrifying state of the lizard-man.

"Batman!" someone exclaimed, their voice filled with both shock and fear.

Before they could react further, a flash grenade detonated.

Boom!

Blinded and disoriented, the guards stumbled as their vision swam with burning white spots. When they finally recovered, both Batman and the crippled lizard-man were gone.

The guards exchanged uneasy glances, each swallowing nervously. The memory of their volatile boss, Norman Osborne, loomed heavily over them. None of them knew how to explain this catastrophe.

Osborne Manor – Outer Woods

The dense canopy of leaves blocked out the pale moonlight, casting shadows over the forest floor. Beneath the cover of darkness, Anton carried the mutilated lizard-man into the woods.

With little ceremony, he tossed Connors to the ground like discarded trash.

"Where is the Green Goblin?" Anton demanded coldly. "What's he planning?"

The lizard-man coughed weakly, his battered body barely able to move. Despite his pitiful state, he sneered.

"You think I'll talk?" he rasped, his voice dripping with disdain.

Anton showed no mercy. He extended the short blade from his wrist once more, using it to carve into the regrowing granulation of the lizard's severed limbs. 

The grotesque sight was matched only by the agonizing screams of Connors, his body drenched in sweat from the excruciating pain.

Through gritted teeth and blazing eyes, the lizard-man hissed, "Batman... this isn't over... We're not finished yet!"

Anton ignored him entirely, his cold gaze fixed on the task at hand.

"When I recover you," Anton said coldly, his voice dripping with mockery, "I'll send you straight to purgatory—to keep Kingpin company. In your new stick form, I'm sure he'll take great care of you."

Anton shot the lizard-man a dismissive glance before summoning the Batmobile.

He tied the lizard securely to the back of the vehicle, his mangled body dangling pathetically. Climbing into the cockpit, Anton issued a lift-off command, revved the throttle, and the Batmobile roared to life, accelerating into the night sky like a streaking meteor.

Back at Osborne Manor, the security team watched in stunned silence as the Batmobile vanished into the clouds.

"This...!" one of them stammered.

Their faces paled.

"The Lizard... was taken by Batman!"

They exchanged nervous glances, already dreading Norman Osborne's inevitable reaction.

Elsewhere

Meanwhile, Eddie Brock and April O'Neil had been scouring the New York sewers. Using their investigative skills—and some unusual sightings as clues—they had finally pieced together the location of the four ninja turtles Anton had mentioned.

"It's here," Venom's guttural voice rumbled in Eddie's mind.

Eddie stopped and glanced around. Although the pair had narrowed down the turtles' general area, it was Venom's heightened senses that identified the specific sewer tunnel.

"Are you sure about this?" April asked, skepticism coloring her tone.

She wasn't aware of Venom's existence, making it hard for her to understand Eddie's unusual methods.

"Trust my professional instincts," Eddie replied with a confidence that bordered on smugness. Without hesitation, he pried open a manhole cover and descended into the dark, damp sewer.

April sighed, spreading her hands in resignation. "Fine. But if this is another wild goose chase..."

She muttered under her breath but ultimately followed Eddie down the ladder, the smell of the sewer assaulting her senses as she climbed.

….

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