Chapter 175: Kamala Khan
Twip.
Running along the walls, he heard a hiss followed by a muffled scream, so he climbed much faster.
He shot two webs to either side and took a few steps back to give himself the final push he needed to reach the top, where he encountered a very different version of the Lizard than the one he had seen before.
"Dr. Connors!"
"Hello, Spider-Man. It is nice to see you under better circumstances than the others," he said while holding a girl captive in his tail.
Behind him was a cable car filled with people taking pictures of them. Spider-Man was not too worried about them because, from the quick glance he gave, Connors had nothing with which to harm them.
"You are not thinking straight, Doctor. This is not you. It is the serum."
"You are wrong. Spider-Man. I have never thought more clearly than I do now. With this serum, I can finally do it."
"Do what, Doctor?"
Let it not be what I think. Let it not be what I think.
"Cure them."
He leaned slightly to the side without taking his eyes off Spider-Man and gestured toward the city.
"A world without imperfections, without diseases, without weaknesses. I will finally be able to do it."
"But you are turning everyone into monsters, Doctor."
"No. Not monsters. I will turn them into the next stage of evolution."
"What would your wife think? What would your son think if he saw you now?"
"They would be happy. They always supported me. But that was before. Now they are not my family, but they will be once they realize the potential of this serum. When I finish, my plan will make everything much better than before."
"No. I will stop you," Spider-Man said, settling into a fighting stance.
"That is why I came. I only wanted to give you a warning. Stay out of my way, Spider-Man, or there will be carnage, and that would not end well for you."
He slowly moved his tail toward one of the corners.
"I have a question for you, Spider-Man. What do you prefer? Saving the girl from a gruesome fate, capturing me, or letting the little ones suffer?"
Little ones?
"Make your choice, Spider-Man. And behold the acclaim of a hero as your reward."
"Connors, do not do it. You will regret it!"
He scanned the cable car, finding nothing unusual.
"We are what we choose to be. Now decide, Spider-Man. Tick-tock, Spider-Man. Tick-tock."
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Just as the cable car’s support system exploded and it began to fall, the Lizard chose that perfect moment to release the girl.
"AHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The Lizard watched Spider-Man leap toward the girl and smiled, but that smile vanished when he heard a faint beep.
Looking down, he saw several small spherical devices at his feet.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
As Spider-Man fell, he heard the explosions from the devices he had thrown at the Lizard at the last second, accompanied by a roar of pain.
Reaching out, he managed to catch the girl at the last possible moment.
He turned her around, positioning her across his shoulders, and fired a web to swing toward the cable car. Grabbing the cable car with his left hand, he shot another web with his right.
"AHHH!!"
"What is your name?!"
"What?!" she screamed in terror as his arm reached across her.
"What is your name?!"
She screamed as tears streamed down her face.
"I need you to slide!"
"No! No, no! No! I will not be able to!" she cried between sobs, frantically shaking her head.
"Yes, you can! Kamala, you can do it. You have to do it!"
He spoke while enduring the pain in his back and arm.
"Trust me."
Something in his voice settled her nerves, and she slowly began to slide.
"Hold on tight."
With the utmost care, she descended along the cable. At one point, it slipped from Spider-Man’s hand, making Kamala scream, but he quickly tightened his grip. Once everything steadied, she continued making her way down.
"Activate Protocol B-64."
The bottom of one of his pouches opened, and a Nanocube dropped into the water below.
Just before reaching the surface, it decompressed, releasing several Microbots that spread out and formed a solid floating platform.
Once Kamala had safely reached the bottom, Spider-Man slowly lowered the cable car until it rested above the Microbots.
Sighing in relief, he instructed them to carry the cable car to shore. Once their task was complete, they would recompress into the Nanocube.
Firing a web, he climbed back to the top of the bridge, where, as expected, the Lizard was nowhere to be found.
"With this, I will find out what happened to you, Doc."
He collected a DNA sample the Lizard had left behind because of the explosion, then sprayed a chemical solution over the area, destroying every remaining trace of it.
Twip.
He fired another web and swung down to where the cable car had landed so he could retrieve the Nanocube and the Microbots.
"Spider-Man!" Kamala shouted before jumping forward and hugging him tightly.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"Yes. You are welcome," he replied, patting her gently on the back before lowering her to the ground.
Now that things had calmed down, he noticed the accent in the girl’s voice and how quickly her enthusiasm had returned.
"I am your biggest fan! We could..."
She pulled out her phone.
The faster we finish, the faster I can go home.
"Sure."
"Yes!" she exclaimed excitedly, as though her life had not nearly been in danger moments earlier.
She stood beside him and flashed a peace sign with her fingers, which he copied out of courtesy.
As soon as she took the picture, she squealed with delight.
"Well. I have to go."
He waved goodbye and turned to leave, but he felt someone tap his shoulder, prompting him to turn back.
"Yes, Miss Kam-Mwah?"
He never finished speaking because he felt someone kiss him on the mask.
"Hehehe! I kissed Spider-Man! Anya is gonna freak out!" Kamala whispered before running off.
"Khan."
Letting out a sigh, he suddenly felt his spider-sense activate. He immediately searched for danger but found nothing.
Maybe it is acting up because of fatigue, or perhaps my paranoia is finally getting the better of me.
He had planned to finally go home and get some well-deserved rest.