Chapter 14- Until One Uf us Falls

"This was your entire plan?" Lizard asks, looking at the two humans in front of him.

"Is this our entire plan?" Arthur murmurs quietly to Romanoff.

"...yes," Romanoff responds, not understanding how this kid can joke at a time like this.

"This is our entire plan!" Spider-Man replies to Lizard with humor. 'This is what happens when you trust others to do the job... I'll do it my way.'

"Agent Romanoff, I think it would be a good idea to get out of here," Spider-Man said, attentive to every movement of his enemy.

"I agree." She knew she was an excellent fighter, but battling against humans and giant lizards were very different things; she needed to return to OSCORP and get another antidote.

"The human tried to hurt me; she will only leave here dead," Lizard advances toward the two.

They dodge his claws; Agent Romanoff starts firing multiple shots into the monster's body, who was exchanging blows with Spider-Man. 'The bullets aren't doing anything.'

Spider-Man had to maintain all his focus on the incoming blows. Arthur attempted to retaliate, but the monster was faster. Needing a moment to breathe, he shoots a web to the ceiling and retreats.

Lizard doesn't give Spider-Man a chance, jumping and delivering a powerful punch to the hero's chest.

Arthur was thrown to the second floor and went through the wall out of the building. Reorienting himself while still in the air, he begins to send electricity to his arms.

Lizard turns, searching for the human, only to find that she had disappeared. Then, he hears a thunderclap. "Wha-"

BAAAMMMM!!!!!

Arthur delivers a high-speed punch to Lizard's head; both break through the building's floor and fall into the sewer tunnels. Arthur initiates a series of brutal punches with all his strength to the disfigured face of Lizard, who is completely disoriented.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

"ARGH!!!" Lizard roars in pain as his scaly skin is repeatedly struck. Blood splatters through the air, mixing with the dirty water of the sewers.

Even amidst the pain, Lizard wraps his tail around Spider-Man's waist and hurls him away.

Landing on his feet, Spider-Man faces the shattered face of the monster, which is already beginning to regenerate. "We'll fight until one of us falls."

***

Romanoff finally arrives at OSCORP, heading to the office without being seen by the cameras. She sees Martha still at the computer. "Your antidote didn't work."

Martha startles, taking her eyes off the computer. She stands up and goes to the agent. "I think I've figured out what he wants." She hands papers to Romanoff. "This is the Ganali device; it can be loaded with an antigen and create a cloud that can be dispersed over a neighborhood or city."

"Meaning it can create a city of lizards."

"A city of lizards," Martha confirms, returning to the computer. "I saw in the logs that Curtis took some substances from the warehouse. That's why my antidote didn't work; he modified it or must have increased the dosage. I'll prepare two antigens for each case!"

"Better be quick; I don't know how long Spider-Man can hold on," Romanoff says, checking Spider's location using the locator she placed on him without him noticing.

***

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The sounds of blows echoed through the sewers. Spider-Man and Lizard exchanged incessant blows. Arthur had several cuts on his body, the shield on his right forearm, and the visor of his left eye broken. Lizard showed no signs of injury, but blood-stained scales evidenced how much Spider-Man was hurting him.

In a fit of rage, Lizard unleashed a series of claw strikes, cutting Arthur's chest in various places. Blood began to flow, staining the area below in red.

Despite being cut, Spider-Man didn't retreat and delivered a rapid sequence of punches and kicks. Each blow made an impact, but Lizard resisted, responding with brutal bites.

Narrowly dodging the tail, Arthur noticed his movements had slowed. 'I need to train my endurance.' Using his agility, he evaded a precise strike from Lizard but didn't escape unscathed. One of the claws cut his shoulder.

'Argh! I've recharged enough,' he thinks, shooting a web directly into Lizard's remaining eye, obscuring his vision. Seizing the moment, Arthur takes a round device from his remaining shield and disappears into the shadows, becoming invisible.

"No use hiding; I can smell your blood," Lizard said, pursuing his prey through the tunnels. 'For some reason, the human is running... he's finally reached his limit.'

Lizard followed the scent of blood to a meeting point of tunnels, Spider-Man standing right in the middle, waiting for his arrival.

"You... took your time," Spider-Man said, tired. '5... 4...'

Lizard said nothing and advanced, tired of the antics.

Seeing the monster leaping towards him, Spider-Man waited for the claws to get very close before letting his body fall '3... 2'. When Lizard passed by him, Spider-Man used his arms to throw him upwards, landing a kick in the lower part of the monster's belly. The two spun in the air, and when they landed in the water-filled ground, Lizard was on the ground, and Spider-Man was on top.

"ARGH! HUMA-" Lizard interrupts himself. For the first time in the battle, he felt fear seeing Spider charging electricity in his hands.

ZAAP-KAAABOOMM!!!!

In the next moment, an explosion echoed through the sewer tunnels.

***

Romanoff moves quickly through the tunnels, reaching the location where her locator last signaled. Looking around, she sees a lot of wreckage. "SPIDER-MAN! SPIDER-MAN!..." She moves through the debris.

"I'm... here."

Going to the voice, she is greeted by the incredible sight of a 15-year-old boy, with several cuts on his body and only remnants of what used to be his uniform, sitting on a fainted beast.

"You... took your time, Agent," Arthur said, extremely tired.

"...let's finish this quickly," she replied, going to Lizard and applying both antidotes at once.

"Good idea... need a shower," Arthur said, before his vision began to darken.

Catching him in his fall, Romanoff holds him carefully. "Good job, Spider-Man. Leave the rest to me."

***

"Do you know how dangerous what you did was? That part of the sewer could have had flammable materials, which could have turned you to ash or collapsed on you!" Romanoff exclaims, giving Arthur a warning. They were in their temporary apartment.

"That was the plan, to blow us up," responds Arthur, watching the news of Lizard's capture, now in his human form. 'That part of the sewer had no flammable materials... I released enough gas to take down the Lizard without damaging the structure with the explosion', he thinks, remembering the device he had thrown on the ground a few seconds before Connors arrived. 'It was risky, but it was meticulously planned...'

"Your plan was idiotic and irresponsible!"

"Okay, okay, you sound like my mom." Seeing the agent's silence, he looks at her, noticing her pale face. "Are you okay, Romanoff?"

Coming to her senses, Romanoff looks at Arthur's battered body. "Arthur, you trust too much in your powers. First against Fisk, then against Lizard. It's true you're here because of them, but what when they fail, as they did on the bridge?"

"I know... wait! How do you know how the fight against Fisk went?"

"I'm an excellent spy," Romanoff responds, shrugging her shoulders. "My name is Natasha Romanoff. I'll teach you how to fight while you're here," she says in a tone that doesn't accept a no for an answer.

"Haa... okay," Arthur reluctantly agrees after a few seconds.

***

Confirming that Ned had already gone to sleep, Arthur silently enters his room. He knows he's in trouble, having missed the monitor's call.

Jumping onto his bed, he grabs his phone, checking the messages first. There's one from Ned asking where he is, his mom saying good night, Felicia talking about a meme she sent, and a few messages from Gwen asking about his conditions.

'We need a quick way to communicate when this happens,' Arthur thinks about the last two times when there wasn't time to inform Gwen. Making a mental note, he opens Twitter, and as expected, Spider-Man is the most commented topic, but not the only one, as Arthur had hoped.

Clicking on the second most commented name, Arthur sees various news about Tony Stark being Iron Man, a new hero wearing a red and gold armor.

"That's good, more people can be saved, but he's an idiot for declaring his identity," Arthur mutters before turning off his phone and going to sleep.

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or songs featured in this fic. Additionally, I do not claim ownership of any products or properties mentioned in this novel. This work is entirely fictional.