"So, you want me to go with you to find Curt Connors?" Ben asked.
Just a few minutes ago, he had said goodbye to Harry and they had agreed to sort out the lab together this weekend.
As for Mary Jane's invitation, he could only apologize.
Before he could even get home, Peter called and found him.
It was still about Curt Connors.
"Dr. Connors needs help now!" Peter said guiltily. "His experiment turned him into a monster, and it's all my fault..."
"Hmm..." Ben mused, appearing to be thinking.
Honestly, Ben was quite willing to help Dr. Connors. The doctor was kind-hearted and wanted to use his inventions to benefit humanity. Coincidentally, he had just been kicked out by Osborn. If he could join Primus Technology, it would be like gaining a great asset.
If the side effects of the Lizard Serum could be cracked, the serum could potentially revolutionize the entire medical industry.
So many disabled people could regain their healthy bodies!
It was just that Ben really didn't want to crawl through the sewers with Peter.
"I can't do anything, Benny," Peter said dejectedly. "I always mess things up, I can't do anything right."
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't given the formula to Dr. Connors..." He covered his face with his hand. "I know I should take responsibility, but I can't. I don't know where he is, and I don't know if I can save him. I need your help, Benny!"
Seeing Peter like this, Ben felt a pang of sympathy for a moment, then asked with some confusion, "If you wanted to find him, why did you let him leave this afternoon at Osborn Tower?"
Truthfully, Peter's meeting with Connors today should have been the best opportunity to catch him.
The serum's effects had worn off, and Connors going to Osborn Tower clearly meant he was going to retrieve other serums or ingredients. That is to say, Connors didn't have much ability to resist at that time.
"This..." Peter froze, and his expression became even gloomier. "I, I was too nervous then..."
He had actually forgotten about that!
Peter now wished he could slap himself.
As expected, he was useless. Even with superpowers, he couldn't do anything.
Thinking this, he became even more convinced that he couldn't do without Ben's help, and his gaze towards Ben became more fervent.
However, Ben noticed that Peter had a mistaken perception about something.
"You say it's all your fault, but that's not actually the case, Peter," he said. "Without you, things would only be worse."
"What do you mean?"
"Osborn fired Connors because his experiments were always unsuccessful, and he refused to conduct human trials. Even if you hadn't given your father's formula to Connors, he would have taken the risk. From the very beginning, it wasn't you who was wrong, nor was it Connors," Ben said.
"So, you don't need to blame yourself, and you don't need to take responsibility for this."
Hearing this, Peter was silent for a moment, then said, "Even if you say that, I can't just abandon Dr. Connors."
Ben wasn't surprised; after all, he was the kind Peter.
"I don't mind helping you," Ben said. "But I'll pass on going with you to find him."
He recalled the battle between Peter and the Lizard Man in the sewers. They had almost drunk all the foul sewage.
"I know where Connors might be hiding," he said.
"Really?" Peter looked at him in surprise. "But how would you know? You haven't even met Dr. Connors, nor have you seen the Lizard Man."
To Peter's question, Ben could answer: "Connors studies cross-species gene inheritance, right?"
Peter nodded.
"A species' genes influence its survival habits. Just like us, after gaining spider superpowers, we naturally like to hang around high places."
Even Azmuth couldn't change this. When Ben transformed into alien heroes using the Ultimatrix, he would also be influenced by the alien hero's genes. For example, XLR8 would make him more impatient than usual, and Four Arms would make him more inclined to fight.
Even in cartoons, when Benny turned into Big Chill, he would lay eggs...
Of course, Azmuth might be able to solve this, but for him, the Omnitrix was meant to ensure the diversity of intelligent life in the universe, so he wouldn't deliberately erase a creature's special habits.
"According to your logic, Connors extracted lizard genes, and lizards prefer damp, dark environments. Where in New York fits this description best?" he asked.
Damp? Dark?
Peter immediately thought of the sewers.
"Beneath New York, the pipe system is very developed. If Connors is anywhere right now, I guess it's there."
"I'll go now!" Peter was eager to act.
But Ben grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait."
"I can't wait any longer, Benny, I have to find the doctor quickly and fix my mistake!" Peter said anxiously.
"Is that so? How will you fix it?"
"I..."
"After you find Connors, what are you going to do? If he turns back into Lizard Man, how will you deal with him? How will you change him back?" Ben's barrage of questions left Peter silent.
Every single one of these questions hit the mark, but he had never considered them.
Peter was smart, but sometimes he wasn't good at applying his intelligence.
It was like how Superman, every time he used his super-intelligence, the answer he got was—just smash through it with your super-strength.
Peter was the same. Although he had only recently gotten his spider-powers, he was already relying on them too much. Every time he acted, Peter hardly prepared at all. Most of the time, he would just use super-strength to solve problems, and even when he encountered danger, his Spider-Sense would save his skin.
But he had forgotten: superior intelligence was humanity's greatest asset.
"You're right..." Peter slumped down.
"I have to research an antidote for the serum, but can I do it? What if my antidote is wrong again?"
Peter said, lacking confidence.
However, his worry was justified this time.
In fact, in order to have Lizard Man as a villain that could be brought out for a beating multiple times, in the comics, the Lizard Serum was rarely effective for long.
"How about this, you go find Doctor Connors, and I'll help you make the serum,"
Ben said after thinking for a moment. "Give me your dad's notes."
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