As expected, the Lizard of Williamsburg Bridge was the only thing anyone was talking about the next morning. While the school bus rumbled towards Midtown High, the air buzzed with frantic, excited, and terrified chatter.
"Holy crap, did you guys see the news this morning?"
"Yeah, man. That thing was huge! Good thing I live out in Queens. Couldn't afford Brooklyn or Manhattan anyway."
"Seriously thinking we should get out of New York after graduation."
"Why?"
"Dude, think about it! A few years ago, Hulk and that Abomination thing. Last year, the Stark Expo attack. This year, literal aliens invade. And now, before the year's even over, we got a giant lizard monster tearing up bridges? This city is cursed!"
"Hiss… you're right. What the hell is happening to New York?"
"Been downhill since '01, man."
"Okay, but real talk… am I the only one wondering how Spider-Man shoots those webs?"
Sitting in his usual spot in the back row, Hawk listened to the fragmented conversations swirling around him. He caught the last comment about the webs and couldn't help but shoot a subtle, amused glance at Peter Parker, who was sitting beside him, pretending to look out the window. See, Hawk's look seemed to say, I'm not the only one.
Peter caught the glance and his mouth twitched in annoyance. "I don't want to talk about it," he muttered under his breath.
Hawk just shrugged, letting the topic drop. He smoothly changed the subject, noting the empty seat beside Peter. "Where's Harry? Didn't take the bus with you today?"
"He'll be late," Peter replied, his expression turning serious. "He went to Oscorp first thing this morning. Said the building was attacked last night." He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "I asked around. It was Dr. Connors's lab. They're saying the Lizard monster stole everything, cleaned the place out."
Hawk nodded slowly. "'They say'? Wasn't New York's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man on the scene?"
Peter's mouth twitched again, a mixture of pride and exasperation in his eyes. "New York's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man was sleeping." He felt a surge of gratitude for the mask. If Hawk, who barely spoke to anyone, was already teasing him like this, what would happen if the whole school knew? Still, the memory of Uncle Ben, the weight of his final words, settled over him. With great power comes great responsibility. But even heroes needed sleep. He couldn't be everywhere at once.
He leaned closer to Hawk, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "What do you think Connors is planning? Why steal his own lab?"
"I don't know. I don't care. I'm not interested," Hawk replied, a swift, decisive triple rejection. His involvement began and ended with identifying the threat. The cleanup was someone else's problem. He turned back to gaze out the window, effectively ending the conversation.
Peter looked at Hawk's impassive profile, sighed inwardly, and let it go. He hadn't seriously considered asking Hawk to join his crusade anyway. What drove him wasn't necessarily what drove others.
At school, the Lizard frenzy only intensified. Hallways buzzed with rumors, speculation, and the kind of morbidly excited gossip that only hormone-fueled adolescents can generate. By lunchtime, the creature had become a full-blown urban legend.
Hawk sat alone at a table in the noisy cafeteria, methodically eating his burger, when Gwen arrived, placing her tray down opposite him.
"Just got the official word," she said, her voice low and serious. "I don't need to go back to Oscorp for the rest of the semester. Connors's lab is a crime scene. They're saying the Lizard stole everything. And Dr. Connors… he's officially listed as missing."
Hawk looked up, chewed thoughtfully for a moment, then leaned forward slightly. "It wasn't robbed by the Lizard, Gwen. It was robbed by Connors."
He had meant to tell her this morning, but Mary Jane's relentless gossip-mongering had made it impossible. Now, in the relative privacy of the cafeteria table, he laid out the truth.
Gwen's expression went from concern to confusion, then to wide-eyed shock. Her chest visibly rose and fell as she processed the implication. She glanced around quickly, ensuring no one was listening, then stared at Hawk, her voice a hushed, incredulous whisper. "What? Dr. Connors is the Lizard? Are you sure?"
"Ninety-nine percent," Hawk confirmed. He quickly explained Peter's strange sensory experience, the faint trace of Hawk's own aura clinging to the creature. "Spider-Man confirmed it. Said the Lizard carried my scent, but very faintly. Like a second-hand transfer."
"Spider-Man?" Gwen's eyes widened even further, her shock momentarily overriding the horror of Connors's transformation. "You know Spider-Man?"
"Yes." Hawk nodded simply.
"Who is he?" The question was immediate, intense.
"Can't say," Hawk replied, shaking his head. Revealing Connors's identity was a necessary warning; Connors was dangerous. But Peter's secret was Peter's to keep. Especially this Peter, the earnest, good-hearted kid struggling under the weight of his new powers. Hawk wouldn't betray that trust. He met Gwen's unblinking, demanding gaze and offered a small, apologetic smile. "Even if you stare at me like that, I'm still not telling."
Gwen held his gaze for another long moment, then slowly withdrew, a thoughtful, calculating look replacing her shock. Fine, her expression seemed to say. If you won't tell me, I'll figure it out myself. She knew Hawk's social circle—or lack thereof. If Hawk knew Spider-Man, chances were, she knew him too. The list of candidates was remarkably short.
She pushed the Spider-Man puzzle aside for now, her focus returning to the immediate, horrifying reality. "But… how? How did Dr. Connors turn into… that?"
"I don't know," Hawk admitted, shaking his head. "All I know is what he told me on the phone. That his serum finally worked. On one mouse. The one with the broken tail."
He only offered this piece of the puzzle because it was Gwen asking. If it had been Peter, he wouldn't have bothered. The Lizard was Spider-Man's problem, not his.
Gwen's eyes widened again as the final, terrible piece clicked into place. The mouse. His blood. The accident in the lab. Oh god, she thought. It wasn't the serum. It was him. It was Hawk's blood.