"So, you want me to go look for Dr. Curt Connors with you?"
Benter asked.
Just a few minutes earlier, he'd said goodbye to Harry and promised they'd sort out the lab situation together over the weekend.
As for Mary Jane's invitation, he'd had no choice but to turn her down.
He hadn't even made it home before Peter called and tracked him down—once again because of Curt Connors.
"Dr. Connors needs help right now!" Peter said, guilt twisting his voice. "His experiment turned him into a monster… and it's all my fault."
"Hm…" Benter let out a thoughtful sound, pretending to mull it over.
Truthfully, he was willing to help Dr. Connors. The man was kind, earnest, and genuinely wanted his work to help humanity. Now that Osborn had kicked him out, bringing him into Primus Tech would be a huge gain.
And if they could crack the side effects of the Lizard Serum, it could revolutionize the entire medical field.
Countless people living with disabilities might get the chance to walk, reach, or move again.
But Benter really, really didn't want to crawl into a sewer with Peter.
"I'm out of options, Ben," Peter said weakly. "I ruin everything. I can't do anything right."
"This is all my fault—if I hadn't given him my dad's formula…" He covered his face with both hands. "I know I should take responsibility, but I can't. I don't know where he is, or whether I can bring him back. I need your help, Ben!"
Benter watched Peter's devastated expression—felt a flicker of sympathy—then asked with mild confusion:
"If you wanted to find him so badly, why did you let him go this afternoon at Oscorp?"
Honestly, that had been the best chance to contain Connors.
His serum's effect had worn off, and he'd gone to Oscorp clearly to retrieve more serum or ingredients. At that point, Connors hadn't had much strength left to fight.
"I…" Peter froze, expression darkening further. "I—I panicked…"
He'd completely forgotten.
Now that he thought about it, he wanted to slap himself.Superpowers and he still couldn't do anything right.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt certain he couldn't do this without Benter. His eyes filled with desperate hope.
But Benter had identified a flaw in Peter's thinking.
"You keep saying this is all your fault, but it's not, Peter," he said calmly. "Without you, things would've been even worse."
"What do you mean?"
"Osborn fired Connors because his experiments hadn't succeeded and he refused human trials. Even without your father's formula, Connors would've taken a risk eventually. From the start, neither you nor Connors were the ones truly at fault," Benter said.
"So you don't need to blame yourself. And you definitely don't have to take all of this on alone."
Peter went quiet for a moment, then murmured, "Even so… I can't just abandon him."
Benter wasn't surprised—this was Peter, after all.
"I don't mind helping you," Benter said. "But going down there with you? No thanks."
He remembered Peter's sewer battle with the Lizard—those two had practically swallowed half the city's wastewater.
"I think I know where Connors might hide," he added.
"Really?" Peter's eyes widened. "How? You've never met Dr. Connors, or the Lizard."
Benter explained easily, "Connors studies cross-species genetic transfer, right?"
Peter nodded.
"Genetics affect instinctive habits. Just like us—after gaining spider powers, we naturally prefer staying up high."
Even Azmuth couldn't fully remove the instinctive influence of alien DNA when Benter transformed using the Omnitrix. As Fasttrack, he'd get impatient. As Four Arms, he'd get itching for a brawl.
In fact, in one cartoon timeline, when Ben transformed into Big Chill… he even laid eggs.
Azmuth could probably fix it, but the Omnitrix was designed to preserve the diversity of intelligent life—so he never bothered altering biological quirks.
"Based on that logic," Benter continued, "Connors injected himself with reptilian DNA. Lizards prefer damp, dark places. In all of New York, where fits that best?"
Damp?Dark?
Peter instantly thought of the sewers.
"New York's underground has an incredibly extensive pipeline system. If Connors is hiding anywhere, I'd bet it's there."
"I'm going now!" Peter said, about to sprint off.
But Benter grabbed his shoulder.
"Hold on."
"I can't wait anymore, Ben! I have to find him and fix my mistake!" Peter said anxiously.
"Oh? And how are you planning to fix it?"
"I—"
"After you find Connors, what's your plan? If he transforms again, how do you stop him? How do you change him back?" Benter asked, each question hitting the mark.
Peter fell silent.
He hadn't thought of any of that.
Peter was smart—brilliant, even—but he didn't always use his intelligence.
Just like how Superman's "super brain" always gave him one answer: punch the problem harder.
Peter wasn't much different. He'd only had his powers for a short time, yet he already relied on them too heavily. He rarely prepared for anything—he just leapt into danger and trusted super strength and spider-sense to save him.
He forgot that a sharp mind was humanity's greatest strength.
"You're right…" Peter sagged.
"I need to create a cure for the serum. But can I do it? What if I mess it up again?"
This time, his worry wasn't baseless.In the comics, the Lizard Serum had failed so many times purely because the writers wanted to keep dragging the villain back out for more tragedies.
"How about this," Benter said. "You find Dr. Connors. And I'll make the cure."
After thinking a moment, he added:
"Bring me your father's notebook."
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other Three Stories!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
/-\
~# Please don't forget to leave a review and enjoy the story!
~# Keep the chapters coming - Support with Power Stones!
~# Every 50 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter