Chapter 36: The Capture

He thought of a trick.

Since there was no way to stop Dr. Connors with webbing, he could use his webs to increase his own speed instead, right?

As for how to speed up...

[Spider Web Jump]!

Upon entering another straight passage, Peter seized the opportunity and fired two weblines simultaneously with both hands. 

Dr. Connors up ahead had been paying attention to Peter's movements behind him. He noticed Peter launching webbing and immediately took evasive action.

But this time, Peter's target wasn't him.

The two weblines split and attached to the walls on either side. Peter pulled hard with his hands, coupled with the explosive force from his legs.

In an instant, his speed more than doubled!

The Lizard was horrified.

But he had just finished dodging and couldn't readjust that quickly.

Wham!

Peter's entire body slammed directly into the Lizard's back. 

The two tumbled out of the passage, rolling together in a tangle.

By Peter's deliberate action, he struck the Lizard squarely in the spine.

While the Lizard's healing was extraordinarily potent, the spine was the nerve center of all vertebrates!

No matter how powerful the regenerative abilities, as long as biological laws still applied, they had to be followed.

This strike was quite devastating.

Peter had also acted ruthlessly.

He had figured it out - on one side was the villain about to threaten over 8 million people in the entire city, and on the other, 8 million innocent New Yorkers.

How to choose?

Most people would likely make the same brutal decision.

In the past, Peter had been too young, too emotional, and indecisive!

"Mercy is reserved for the kind. Treating evildoers with kindness is violence against the righteous!"

Peter didn't get up, pinning the Lizard firmly with his lower body. He stretched out his left hand to press down on Connors' head while raising his right fist to pound it several times.

The Lizard's head was dented inward as he let out feeble roars.

But the force Peter used was particularly powerful.

Even at full strength, the Lizard only possessed a few tons of might.

Whereas Peter, even if the Amazing Spider-Man hadn't yet reached his prime, his strength exceeded 10 tons!

The gap of several tons made the current Lizard seem like a helpless child before the webslinger, utterly immobilized.

After a ruthless series of blows, the Lizard seemed dazed with a probable concussion.

Peter webbed his head, then turned his attention to the Lizard's tail, grasping and ripping it off again.

[Congratulations to Spider-Man for unlocking the "Tail Breaker" achievement!]

If this were a game, such an accomplishment would likely be rewarded.

He wanted to test if constantly removing the Lizard's tail could rapidly deplete the potency of the reptilian formula by forcing Connors to continuously expend energy repairing it.

Perhaps this would allow Dr. Connors to revert to human form.

However, after waiting a long time, Peter didn't see the tail regenerate.

It seemed the rapid regrowth was actively controlled by the Lizard, rather than an autonomous bodily function.

And now, whether truly dazed or feigning, it was obvious Dr. Connors wouldn't willingly heal his tail for a while.

The Lizard growled, "You really think of me as some street thug?"

Peter spun him around, binding him tightly once more before dragging him toward where he had placed the camera.

City sewers had complex interconnected networks, but their basic structures were largely identical. 

Fortunately, the ground showed traces of their battle, allowing Peter to retrace his path.

Finding the camera, Peter first stowed away his phone and backpack, then turned it on to record video footage of the Lizard and take photographs.

This was one income source for the Amazing Spider-Man - he could sell the images to The Daily Bugle.

After finishing, Peter sat aside again to wait for the Lizard to wake up. 

He believed that after such an ordeal, Dr. Connors no longer had the capacity to resist.

Even if some potency remained in the formula, there likely wasn't much left!

Before handing Connors over to Captain Stacy, Peter needed to extract other crucial information from him.

"Spider-Man," the Lizard's muffled voice sounded from the ground, his face pressed downward.

But Peter's enhanced hearing allowed him to make it out clearly. "Dr. Connors," he greeted evenly.

"You know, I'm working for the betterment of mankind. By stopping me, you're a sinner against humanity itself," Connors prattled helplessly.

"Well, you may be right about that," Peter admitted, realizing reasoning was futile.

He understood now - in this state, the doctor was fully the Lizard persona. Though rational, he was stubborn and extreme with zero possibility for discourse. 

So Peter would wait for the human side to resurface.

"Survival of the fittest, natural selection!" 

"I can save them, save everyone!"

The Lizard continued to rant and rave impotently. 

But his voice grew progressively weaker and frailer.

Anyone could discern he was all bluster masking frailty within.

About half an hour later, Peter noticed the Lizard's body beginning to shrink, scattering dirt and debris - dead cells without the energy to regenerate.

The previously taut webbing became looser.

Finally, the Lizard completely reverted to a human visage.

Dr. Connors' face!

"Dr. Connors?" Peter called out tentatively. 

"Spider-Man," Connors blinked, turning over and rising unsteadily from the webbing restraints.

"Do you remember what you did?" Peter asked gravely.

"Of course I do! Why did you stop me?" Connors demanded.

Peter's mouth fell open in dismay.

It's no use, the gene has taken over his mind. There's no reasoning with him.

With a sigh, Peter fired a single webline.

This time, one strand was enough to bind Dr. Connors completely.

Afterwards, Peter found a roadside store and called the police from the phone inside, also requesting some clothes for the disheveled doctor.

Although guilty, Connors was still a renowned scholar - letting him run rampant in the nude would be highly unbecoming.

When the clerk learned it was Spider-Man who called and that he had apprehended the Lizard, they were understandably shocked.

But soon, Captain George Stacy himself arrived with officers in tow.

Peter brought Dr. Connors out of the sewers and handed him over to Captain Stacy personally.

Though no longer in Lizard form, the reptilian gene's lingering effects left Connors' face and body bearing scaly, pimple-like protrusions - an unmistakable sign.

Coupled with Spider-Man's grave demeanor, Stacy decided to take Connors into custody for questioning.

He also "invited" Peter, but the wallcrawler obviously couldn't accompany them to the precinct, so he swiftly departed.

(End of chapter)