The lid of the cryogenic hibernation pod slowly slid open with a cold mechanical hiss. Frosty vapor rolled across the rooftop floor like pale smoke. Standing less than five meters away, Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross stared at the man lying inside.
Dr. Bruce Banner.
After the gamma bomb accident years ago, Ross had dedicated his entire life to one obsession — control the power that lived inside this man. Now Banner was here, unconscious, preserved in freezing liquid nitrogen, only a few steps away from becoming the key to Ross's dream.
Ross clenched his fists. His breathing became heavier.
This was not about safety.
This was not about defense.
This was about proving he was right.
"General Ross! The tenth floor is down — we need reinforcements!"
"General Ross! Awaiting your orders!"
Reports flooded through his earpiece. Chaos below continued as soldiers struggled to respond to Spider-Man's earlier assault.
"Send more men!" Ross barked. "Do not let that masked freak reach the eleventh floor! Protect the gamma equipment at all costs!"
The eleventh floor held advanced gamma radiation instruments. Or at least, that was what Ross wanted everyone to believe.
From the outside wall of the forty-ninth floor, clinging silently to the glass surface, Spider-Man listened through a tiny eavesdropping device attached earlier to Ross's uniform.
"Overwrite progress: seventy percent. Estimated completion time: four minutes," Oracle AI reported quietly in his ear.
Spider-Man had deliberately dropped the Batmobile into the tenth floor to allow Oracle AI to infiltrate and overwrite the gamma device's internal system. If Ross wanted to use it, he would find it useless.
"Four minutes," Spider-Man whispered. "Enough."
But something felt wrong.
The rooftop was darker now. The city lights reflected faintly against the glass tower. Spider-Man replaced his standard white web fluid with a black variant from his utility compartment. The darker silk would blend into the night, reducing visibility.
He shot a line upward and ascended swiftly, slowing only near the rooftop edge.
He emerged without sound.
Most soldiers were concentrated around Ross. Others had been deployed downstairs to deal with the Batmobile threat. That left only small blind spots for observation — but that was enough.
Spider-Man scanned quickly.
Professor Curt Connors lay unconscious on one side of the rooftop, without restraints.
Dr. Banner remained inside the cryogenic pod.
Nearby stood a reinforced metal chair fitted with heavy restraints, chains, and monitoring tubes.
And beside it — unfamiliar researchers in white coats. Not Oscorp employees.
A separate scientific advisory team.
Spider-Man's eyes narrowed.
"I was misled."
Everything suddenly became clear.
Ross had deliberately emphasized the gamma device. He had spoken loudly about it within range of the eavesdropping device. He wanted Spider-Man to focus on the eleventh floor.
But Ross had overseen gamma weapons research years ago in New Mexico. He didn't need Oscorp's device.
His real target was biotechnology.
He wanted Banner's blood.
He wanted to combine unstable gamma mutation with regenerative biological agents.
He wanted to create a controllable super-soldier.
Spider-Man felt no panic.
During his earlier meeting with Connors, he had already ordered all core Oscorp research data to be transferred to a hidden drive. That drive was secured far from this building.
Ross could not complete his experiment fully.
But that didn't mean he wouldn't try.
Spider-Man released both hands from the wall. Small armor plates on his forearm opened, revealing a compact portable computer.
His fingers moved rapidly.
Code streamed across the screen.
He attacked the cryogenic pod's control system directly.
If Ross wanted Banner, he would have to go through him.
After several tense seconds—
Click.
A faint red indicator flashed on the pod.
Control transferred.
Spider-Man now held full authority over its locking and freezing systems.
Data synchronized to his device.
However, liquid nitrogen levels were dangerously low. The pod could maintain cryogenic suspension for less than two minutes.
"I have two minutes," Spider-Man calculated. "Neutralize Ross. Secure Banner. Extract Connors."
On the rooftop, Ross sensed something was wrong.
A subtle sound.
The pod's lid, which had been partially open, began to slide closed again.
Ross stepped forward sharply.
"Open it!" he shouted.
Before anyone could respond, a scientist from the advisory team spoke nervously.
"General… there's a corruption in the core Oscorp database—"
Ross's face turned red with fury.
"Fix it!"
But another sound interrupted him.
A faint rustling.
All eyes shifted toward Professor Connors.
His amputated right arm twitched.
Then, in full view of soldiers and scientists, flesh began to grow.
Muscle fibers stretched outward. Bone extended. Skin formed rapidly — pale and soft like that of a newborn.
Layer after layer regenerated, aging instantly upon exposure to air.
It was grotesque.
It was miraculous.
Energy surged through his body.
Connors' eyes snapped open.
But they were no longer human.
They were reptilian — vertical pupils glowing faintly under the rooftop lights.
He gasped.
Hunger.
Pain.
Confusion.
And something else.
The incomplete serum inside his body reacted violently to the gamma radiation equipment nearby.
His spine arched unnaturally.
Bones cracked.
A low growl escaped his throat.
"Restrain him!" Ross yelled.
Too late.
Connors' skin began to shift tone.
Green scales emerged beneath the outer layer.
His jaw elongated slightly.
Fingernails sharpened into claws.
The soldiers hesitated — they had never seen regeneration at this level.
Connors tried to speak.
"General… Ross…"
But his voice distorted into a deeper, rougher sound.
His mind was splitting.
The human scientist and the primal predator were colliding.
Spider-Man saw everything from his position.
This was not part of Ross's calculation.
The gamma equipment on the rooftop — though not activated — emitted residual energy fields.
Connors' regenerative serum was reacting unpredictably.
Ross stepped backward.
For the first time, genuine uncertainty crossed his face.
"This wasn't the plan," one scientist whispered.
Connors' muscles expanded rapidly. His shirt tore apart. His spine extended further, forming the beginning of a tail structure beneath the skin.
His breathing became heavy, animalistic.
The hunger intensified.
Regeneration required enormous energy.
His body demanded it.
He looked toward the cryogenic pod.
Banner.
Gamma source.
Instinct screamed.
Spider-Man moved instantly.
He fired a web line and swung onto the rooftop fully, landing between Connors and Banner's pod.
"Curt! Listen to me!" he shouted.
Connors' reptilian eyes locked onto him.
Recognition flickered.
Then vanished.
His back cracked loudly as the transformation accelerated.
Scales broke through skin fully now.
Teeth sharpened.
His height increased dramatically.
Soldiers raised weapons, but Ross held up his hand.
"Do not fire! I need him alive!"
Ross's true purpose was unraveling in front of him.
He wanted control.
Instead, he was witnessing chaos.
Connors roared.
It was no longer a human sound.
The newly born creature towered over the soldiers.
Professor Lizard had been born.
Spider-Man braced himself.
This was worse than before.
Connors was not simply transformed.
He was evolving in the presence of gamma radiation.
Ross shouted desperately, "Activate containment protocols!"
But before anyone could respond—
The cryogenic pod alarm beeped.
Liquid nitrogen levels critical.
Inside, Banner's fingers twitched.
Spider-Man's heart skipped.
If Banner awakened under this stress…
If the Hulk emerged while a fully mutated Lizard stood meters away…
The rooftop would not survive.
The city might not survive.
Spider-Man tightened his fists.
"Plan B just became Plan C."
The Lizard lunged.
Spider-Man dodged, rolling across the rooftop. The creature smashed into a cluster of equipment, sending metal flying.
Soldiers scattered.
Ross screamed orders no one could follow.
The advisory team panicked, trying to save research data.
Connors — or what remained of him — roared again, tail finally tearing free from his spine in a violent motion.
The transformation completed in terrifying magnificence.
Seven feet tall.
Muscles layered with scales.
Eyes glowing with predatory intelligence.
This was not mindless rage.
This was something colder.
More calculating.
The birth of Professor Lizard marked the collapse of Ross's illusion of control.
And Spider-Man knew the next minutes would decide everything.
Because if Banner woke—
Two monsters would stand on this rooftop.
And no plan would survive that.
-----------------------------------------
180+ chapters available in patreon🔥🔥🔥🔥
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31
----------------------------------------------------- .