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"What just happened, Professor Connors?"
Gwen had never seen her mentor this panicked before—not even close.
"That guy stole my regenerative serum," Connors said, frantic.
"It's an unfinished experimental formula. If someone uses it recklessly, it could mess up their genes completely—it could actually kill them."
Connors was now on the ground, scrambling to collect the rest of the spilled vials, explaining without even looking up.
"Oh right—call the cops, quick! That guy's identity is a bit suspicious. I'm worried this might turn into a much bigger mess."
Once all the test tubes were back in the bag, Professor Connors hugged it tight.
Then, something clicked in his memory, and he turned to Gwen with concern.
"That guy's definitely got something shady going on."
Peter had actually recognized the man the second he stepped out of the elevator. It was the Hulk—Dr. Bruce Banner himself—the same guy who'd escaped from a military lockdown just this morning.
"But why's Dr. Banner mixed up with Connors? And why did he steal the Lizard transformation serum?"
"Also... maybe Dr. Connors isn't such a bad guy after all?"
Peter stood quietly to the side, feeling like something about all this just didn't add up.
"That's right, Dad. It happened right near the building where I'm interning. Can you send someone over ASAP?"
Gwen didn't hesitate—seeing the look of serious concern on her mentor's face, she called her dad, the police chief, right away.
"Phew, let's hope this doesn't spiral out of control…"
Seeing Gwen on the phone, Professor Connors finally let out a sigh of relief. Then he noticed Peter standing next to her.
A bit puzzled, he asked Gwen, "By the way, Gwen, who's this?"
"Oh! He's my classmate, Peter Parker. I just wanted to introduce you to him, but... well, this all kinda happened instead."
Gwen's cheeks turned slightly red. She looked a little embarrassed.
"Nice to meet you, Peter Parker. Wait—Parker? Is your father...?"
The name "Parker" instantly rang a bell for Connors. It reminded him of a colleague he'd worked with years ago on gene mutation research.
"Sorry, we can talk more about that later. Right now, I've gotta get back and secure the lab. Gwen, why don't you give your friend a little tour of the company in the meantime?"
Realizing this wasn't the time for personal chats, Connors tightened his grip on the bag and rushed off toward the elevator.
"Sorry, Peter. I had no idea today would turn out like this," Gwen said, genuinely apologetic.
"It's okay—"
"Oh my god! What the hell is that?!"
"Somebody help! It's a monster!"
"Run! Run! There's a monster attacking the city!"
Just as Peter was reassuring her, a wave of chaos erupted outside the building.
They turned to see crowds of people frantically running for their lives.
"Uh—sorry Peter! I just remembered I've got a band rehearsal this afternoon! I really have to go now. See you at school tomorrow!"
Gwen clearly panicked, blurted out an excuse, and took off running toward the exit—without giving Peter a chance to say a word.
"Hah. So this is what it feels like to be ditched by a superhero, huh?"
Peter watched her dash out of the company building, heading straight toward the chaos while everyone else ran in the opposite direction. He couldn't help but feel amused and a little helpless.
"Well... guess that works out too."
Now, let's rewind to a few minutes earlier.
After getting tripped by Gwen, Dr. Banner had grabbed one of the vials and run out of Oscorp Tower in a panic.
Naturally, the security team didn't let him get away so easily.
And with Gwen alerting the police, nearby officers were already on their way to the scene.
Problem is, Banner was a scientist—not exactly a marathon runner.
Soon enough, he found himself cornered in a nearby street by both security and the cops.
"Freeze! Hands where we can see them! Surrender now or we are authorized to use deadly force!"
Seeing that the suspect was a white guy, the cops held back from going full American Justice Mode.
Instead, they had their hands hovering over their holsters, giving Banner a stern warning.
"No—don't come any closer! I... I can't hold it back much longer!"
The chase had worn him out. Banner was completely out of breath.
Now, cornered and surrounded by guns, he could feel the beast inside starting to take over.
His skin was already beginning to turn green.
"What the hell are you doing? Stop right there or we'll shoot!"
As regular cops, they'd never seen anything like this before—one second you're talking, and the next, the guy's head starts turning green.
Without a second thought, they yanked out their pistols and aimed them at Banner, who was already losing control.
"ROAR!"
Suddenly, as the green completely took over Banner's face, a wild, animal-like roar exploded from his mouth.
At the same time, his body began to swell at a crazy speed. His skin turned green and ripped through what was left of his already-tattered clothes.
Only a pair of oversized shorts—God knows what they were made of—barely managed to cover his more "private" area.
"You've saved me so many times… but I can't keep hurting people. I'm sorry."
While he still had a shred of clarity left, Banner didn't hesitate. He slammed the stolen syringe into his own body and injected the contents straight into his veins!
"No…"
The next moment, with a furious roar full of resistance, the last trace of Banner's consciousness vanished from his eyes.
His human form exploded in size, growing several meters tall in an instant—he looked like a man-eating monster.
"Requesting backup—"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The cops, totally freaked out by what they were seeing, shouted into their radios while opening fire on the beast without hesitation.
ROARRR!
Bullets hit the monster's body, and it let out a bone-chilling scream.
It was like it was in unbearable pain.
"Wait—did the guns actually work?"
A few of the officers exchanged confused glances, staring at their pistols in shock.
Their weapons shouldn't have done anything in a situation like this.
"No… it's not the guns. It's him."
Suddenly, one of the officers stared at the still-howling monster, his face full of disbelief.
Beneath its green skin, it looked like a swarm of tiny worms was crawling and squirming like crazy. The monster's already-massive body swelled again, rising even higher.
The constant wriggling under the skin made the surface bulge and ripple like stormy ocean waves.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Suddenly, as the bulges grew larger, the green skin couldn't take the pressure anymore—and it burst open.
Sticky green goo gushed out from the ruptured spots. Just watching it made people want to puke.
RAWRRRGH…
As more of the monster's skin split open, it screamed in agony, its cries sounding even more pitiful and tortured than before.
"What the hell… is happening?!"
All the cops stared in horror at the terrifying sight, their legs trembling as they instinctively stumbled backward.
Then, all at once, the sounds of bursting skin and tortured howls came to an eerie stop.
"Is… is it dead?"
The cops stared at the creature's shredded skin. It stood there, still as a statue, its head drooped low like it was completely lifeless.
Plop!
"Holy crap—it's still alive!"
Just as one cop cautiously stepped closer to check, a few green fingers suddenly reached out from the top of the creature's sagging head.
"F**k—run!!"
At the horrifying sight, all the cops turned and bolted without hesitation.
RIIIP…
The monster's head was suddenly torn open from the inside by two massive hands.
Its broken skin peeled back like an old rag, ripped straight down the middle.
A new creature crawled out from the shredded shell—like a snake shedding its skin.
And even more terrifying… this new monster had four thick, muscular arms.
"....."