Dr. Connors had a singular, desperate goal: stop Norman Osborn's secretary from delivering the serum before the madman turned himself into a monster even worse than the one Connors had become.
Back at the Parker household, Toby was sitting with Ben and May when a "Breaking News" alert cut through the evening broadcast. Helicopters over the Manhattan Bridge were filming a chaotic scene. A massive, reptilian humanoid—looking like a prehistoric nightmare—was tossing cars aside like toys.
"A dinosaur?" Ben muttered, leaning closer to the screen.
Toby stared at the grainy footage of the "Lizard." He didn't need a scientist to tell him what had happened. Even without Peter's direct help, Connors' obsession had led him down the same tragic path. The butterfly effect had only accelerated the inevitable.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps thundered on the second floor. Peter's head popped over the banister, his eyes locking onto Toby's.
"Hey, Toby!"
Between brothers, words were often unnecessary. One look was enough for Toby to read the mix of fear, determination, and urgency in Peter's eyes.
Toby turned back to Ben and May, nodding calmly. "I'm going up to play some games with Peter. He's been cooped up all week; he needs a distraction. You guys stay here and keep an eye on the news."
Ben and May, who had been worried sick about Peter's week-long depression, didn't suspect a thing. May even whispered to Toby to check if Peter had been dumped by a girl at school and to offer some "big brother" comfort.
Toby gave a non-committal wave and headed upstairs.
In the bedroom, Peter was already pointing at his phone screen, which showed a live feed of the bridge. "Toby, look! That... that has to be Dr. Connors, right?"
Peter wasn't stupid. He had cracked the decay rate algorithm for the lizard serum just days ago. Now, a lizard-man was rampaging through New York. It didn't take a genius—though Peter was one—to connect the dots.
Toby nodded. "Yeah. It looks like Connors finished the serum. But his version wasn't as stable as the spiders your father bred. He's undergone a massive genetic mutation."
Hearing his father mentioned again caused Peter to pause for a heartbeat. Then, he looked up at Toby, his gaze harder than it had ever been.
"Toby, I have to stop him."
"You told me once... With great power comes great responsibility."
Toby felt a slight twinge of guilt—or perhaps irony—at hearing his "stolen" quote being used as Peter's moral North Star.
"That quote... it clicked for me," Peter continued. "Before, I didn't have the power, so the responsibility wasn't mine to claim. But now? Because of what my father left behind, I'm stronger. And that means I have to carry a heavier weight. I want to save people, Toby."
Toby looked at the pure, unblemished kindness in Peter's heart and felt a sense of pride. He had plenty of blood on his own hands; the world didn't need another "Super Bully." It needed a hero. If Peter wanted to be the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Toby would make sure no one stood in his way.
Toby clapped a hand on Peter's shoulder. "I told you, Pete. I've always got your back. If this is what you want, go do it."
"Yeah!"
Peter didn't hesitate. He vaulted out of the second-story window, landing silently on the lawn before sprinting toward the sub-basement entrance. Moments later, he emerged in the high-tech red-and-blue suit—not as a kid playing dress-up, but as a protector.
Peter swung away into the night, his first true mission underway.
Toby didn't go back to his video games. Exactly one minute after Peter left, Toby donned his own gear.
But he didn't grab the Crimson-and-Black tactical suit. He reached for the Second Generation Stealth Suit—a pure, pitch-black skin that absorbed light. In the shadows of New York, he would be as invisible as a ghost.
Peter was going to the bridge to save lives. Toby was going to the bridge to hunt.
The Lizard was likely trying to intercept Norman Osborn's secretary, who was carrying the finished serum. Toby wanted that serum. The regenerative properties were incredible—true limb regrowth was a level of healing that even the spider-genes didn't provide. Toby wanted to take that formula, bring it back to his lab, and refine it. He wanted the healing without the scales.
Toby launched himself into the night. Though he started a minute behind, his raw physical stats were so much higher than Peter's that he caught up in seconds, trailing his brother through the skyline like a silent shadow.
He watched from a high suspension cable as Peter crashed into the Manhattan Bridge, intercepting the Lizard just as the monster was about to crush a black sedan.
Peter engaged the Lizard in a brutal, high-stakes brawl. Toby stayed perched in the darkness, invisible to the news helicopters and the combatants below.
He watched as Norman's secretary scrambled out of the wreckage, clutching a reinforced briefcase containing the serum. The man began to run, frantically trying to hail a taxi to get back to the safety of the Osborn estate.
Toby's eyes narrowed behind his black mask.
Your mission is over, Pete, Toby thought, watching his brother trade blows with the reptilian giant. You handle the monster. I'll handle the prize.
Toby dropped from the cable, a black shadow falling toward the fleeing secretary.