Chapter 94
[125]
“Duuuude, this movie sucks!” One boy turned to his friend while the two watched the old movie clips on the projector playing in the gym. “The rubber suit looks terrible!”
“Yeah man, the special effects aged so badly!” The friend responded.
The movie the two were criticizing was the classic 1954 Godzilla. As the iconic theme played and the movie’s namesake came onto screen, the projection was interrupted when two figures came crashing through the wall. One of the figures, a giant green lizard had its tail wrapped around the other figure, Spider-Man’s throat as the two battled it out.
“Holy shit!” One of the boys cried as everyone present began to rush from the scene toward the nearest exits.
When he and the monster landed on the gym floor, Ren made it a priority to keep the Lizard’s attention on him, allowing the building to evacuate safely. Luckily, it didn’t seem that that would be an issue as he’d clearly royally pissed this thing off and it had no intentions of letting him walk out of here.
‘Okay, let’s think this through.’ Ren thought as he and the creature paced around one another. ‘The things to look out for are its claws, teeth, and that tail. After fighting it for just a minute I can already tell I’m outmatched in strength and defense, not to mention that despite its size, this thing is pretty fast and agile. Large reptiles tend to be apex predators of their domains, so I can’t really think of any obvious weaknesses to exploit.’
“If only Dr. Maruki were here.” He sighed to himself. Maybe he would have an idea on what to do.
“Re-err...Spider-Man!” Ren heard Makoto’s voice call from his side. “What can we do to help?”
“Run! Just run! I can handle this!” He called back, making the mistake of turning away for a moment.
The Lizard seized the opportunity and lunged at Ren, attempting to dig its teeth into his neck only to be blocked at the last moment by his left arm. As the sharp teeth dug into his skin, he felt the bones in his forearm crunch under the powerful bite and splinter into several pieces. Desperate to be released from the creature’s vice grip, Ren charged up his right fist with bioelectricity and punched the Lizard directly in the eye.
Screeching in pain, it’s jaws loosened enough for the hero to pull himself free, thankfully without tearing his arm off in the process. Ungracefully landing on his back, Ren quickly surveyed the damage done to his left arm. It was broken, mangled, and bleeding badly with several teeth still stuck in it and definitely unusable for the remainder of the fight, but still attached and that was good enough for him.
The Lizard didn’t take long to recover, standing back up and licking the blood from its mouth before turning to Ren. The gym was empty now, save for the two of them, which gave Ren an opportunity to try a surprise attack. Turning himself invisible, he picked himself up before crawling up the nearest wall. Now above the creature, he leapt down for a surprise kick to the head, the strongest kick he could muster in hopes of knocking the Lizard out. That was the plan anyway, however when he got into range, he was shocked when a claw reached out and caught his leg out of the air.
Reptiles have a wide array of incredible capabilities, including a wide array of senses that outclassed humans. Their vision outclasses humans by a long shot, being able to see in ultraviolet and infrared. And their tongues were capable of ‘tasting’ the air to see their surroundings in even greater detail. By all means, they are created to hunt and kill their prey. Truly an amazing and terrifying specimen.
Maruki’s lessons flashed through Ren’s mind as the creature held him in front of its gaping jaw. Did he ever have a chance against this thing? He wondered as he felt his leg be crushed in its strong grip. As the beast slowly brought him closer to its mouth, Ren noticed the nametag on the side of its lab coat that read ‘Dr. T. Maruki’ on it.
“D-Doc?” Ren asked, but the creature showed no signs of recognition.
Of course this was Maruki! How had he not seen it before? The lab coat, the sudden appearance of the creature, and if anyone in the school were to turn themselves into a giant lizard, it would probably be the man who studied them for a living.
“Oh Doc...What did you do to yourself?” He asked the Lizard as it brought him closer.
Just as it was going to bite down, both of them were caught off guard when the gym’s sprinkler system activated, dowsing them in a shower of cold water. Surprised and angered by the sudden change, Maruki let out a roar in anger. This was just the opportunity Ren needed however, using his free leg to kick the creature’s jaw closed and free himself from its grip.
Slapping against the wet gymnasium floor, Ren picked himself up and limped away from the beast as fast as he could, not fleeing in terror, but a tactical retreat to reassess the situation. He was going to bring this mad scientist down, even if it killed him, that was what he signed up for after all. And as he retreated, planning out his next move, one question kept coming up in his mind.
“Who pulled the fire alarm?”
Meanwhile, with Ren’s allies, the group had gathered in the school office and were watching the fight unfold through the school’s security cameras.
“This is bad guys.” Futaba said. “Ren’s getting his ass handed to him out there. He would’ve died if we hadn’t intervened just now. Good thinking on the sprinklers Haru.”
“What made you think of that anyways?” Ryuji asked.
“Well, reptiles are cold-blooded, so I figured if we hit him with cold water, he’d slow down.” Haru replied shyly. “I could only hope Ren would have enough strength to escape.”
“That was only a temporary fix though.” Makoto pointed out. “If we don’t think of something soon, Ren will…” A grimace appeared on her face.
“That won’t happen!” Ann shouted. “We won’t let it!”
“But what could we possibly do?” Yusuke asked. “If any of us tried to intervene we’d be cut to ribbons! Ren is the only one who could stand up to such a monster.”
“...”
“...”
“...Not necessarily.” Tae Takemi spoke up.
“What do you mean?” Makoto asked. “Is there something we can do to help?”
Tae bit her lip, hesitant to elaborate.
“Takemi, if there’s something we can do you have to tell us!”
“It’s risky but...there might be something.” Tae stated. “...I’ll need to get to my office and grab it. Come with me.”
The group exited the room and hurried toward the nurse’s office where a supposed solution lied.
Back in the gymnasium, Ren was doing his best to avoid the Lizard’s attacks, dodging his slashes and bites while keeping away from his tail. But this strategy wouldn’t last forever, Ren was quickly losing stamina and couldn’t keep this up for long. He did notice however, that Maruki’s attacks were growing slower, either a product of him growing tired or…
‘The water! Of course!’ Ren thought. ‘That’s why they turned it on. If I can keep him busy long enough for the cold to take effect, then he should fall asleep! I just need to-’ His thought was interrupted as the sprinklers suddenly shut off, having reached their time limit.
“Shit.” Ren said before being swept aside by the Lizard’s tail, sending him flying into a nearby wall. “He may be *cough* a bit slower now...But he still hits like a damn truck.” His head rolled to the side, spotting a red cylindrical object next to him on the wall.
“That could work.”
Back with the others, after climbing to the third floor to reach Takemi’s office, the doctor reached into her desk and pulled out a small vial full of pink liquid. Walking back out to the others, she presented the vial to them and explained.
“This could be our way of beating him.” She said, admiring the tube.
“Uh Doc?” Ryuji asked. “I don’t think that thing is suffering from an upset stomach.”
Ignoring the comment, Takemi elaborated. “This serum was created from Ren’s cells during his mutation process. Theoretically, and I can’t stress that enough, theoretically if someone were injected with this, their DNA would mutate in a similar manner to his, giving them his abilities. And another problem, I only have enough for one dose.”
“Works for me.” Ann put her arm out. “Give me the shot.”
“Now hold on,” Takemi interjected. “There’s a lot of risk involved in this. This is untested and could very well have negative consequences. It could even kill you!”
“If it gives us a chance at saving Ren, then it’s worth the risk.” Ryuji rolled up his sleeve. “Give it to me. I’ll kick that lizard’s ass.”
“Hold on you two!” Makoto said. “We need to discuss this! Even if we’re willing to take the risk and even if it works the way it should, the one who receives this should be best suited to fight that thing, otherwise they could just get in Ren’s way!” She punctuated her sentence by putting out her own arm. “It should be me.”
“Oh and we’re just supposed to do whatever you say huh?” Ann interjected. “I don’t recall ever voting you to be leader.” The blonde became increasingly mad. “You aren’t the only one who can fight Makoto, I’ve been training too!”
“Ann! Now is not the time for this!” Makoto protested. “If we’re going to do this, we should put in our best fighter! That gives us the highest probability of success!”
“This is about more than numbers Makoto!” Ryuji intruded. “I’m the strongest one here! Not to mention, I’ve got the strongest immune system! There’s a risk that this shot could kill us, if anyone’s gonna survive it, it’ll be me!”
The trio continued to bicker as the others watched on, none of them having the courage or desire to intervene. Yusuke and Futaba believed themselves too weak, unable to make good use of the powers even if they got them. Morgana wasn’t a fighter and was honestly too scared of the risks posed by the serum. And Haru didn’t see herself as being qualified, believing that the other three were far better suited than her.
“STOP!” Takemi yelled, getting everyone’s attention. “So, it’s between the three of you then?” She turned to the others who shook their heads, expressing that they didn’t want it. Sighing, she held up the vial in front of her and expressed her dismay. “This serum was supposed to revolutionize medicine and save millions of lives.”
That was the original plan, but as the battle in the gym progressed...No, as Ren’s career as Spider-Man progressed, it had become blatantly clear that Ren needed backup. Someone who could match his abilities and work by his side. A partner.
“...But right now, I’ll settle for saving one.”