Under Toby's ridiculous strength, both the Lizard's body and the Ghost House floor were reaching their breaking point.
The Lizard knew it. If it didn't act now, its skull would be reduced to a green paste under Toby's heel. Snarling, the creature gambled—it let Toby's foot sink deeper into its chest, using the moment of impact to whip its massive tail around in a silent, lethal arc toward the back of Toby's head.
From his vantage point on the ceiling, Captain Stacy saw the ambush. "Spider-Man! Behind you!"
SWISH—!
A normal man, even with the warning, would have been skewered. But Toby was anything but normal.
Without looking back, Toby's hand shot out with predatory precision, catching the tip of the tail mid-air. It didn't move another inch. Even without the Captain's shout, Toby's enhanced Spider-Sense had mapped the trajectory before the muscle even twitched.
Toby increased the pressure on his lead foot and yanked the tail around to his front, a cold laugh echoing through his mask's modulator.
"Little lizard, did you think an extra limb gave you an extra chance?"
"What if I do... this?"
Toby gripped the thick, scaly tail with both hands. The microscopic barbs on his palms dug deep through the scales and into the muscle. With a violent, visceral heave, he tore the tail clean off the Lizard's body.
The surge of agony caused the Lizard's muscles to go limp. It lost the strength to resist the "hydraulic press" that was Toby's leg.
CRUNCH—!
Toby's boot snapped the Lizard's crossed arms like dry kindling and sank deep into its sternum. Even with its monstrous vitality, the combination of the fatal wound and the shock of losing its tail sent the creature into a state of collapse. Its hyper-regeneration slowed to a crawl; the stumps of its arms and the crater in its chest barely twitched as they tried to knit back together.
Toby stepped back, tossing the severed tail aside like a piece of trash.
So, there is a limit, Toby noted. Constant trauma and massive blood loss drain the serum's potency. It's not infinite.
He sighed internally. Dr. Connors' formula was "too scientific." It couldn't hold a candle to the logic-defying healing of someone like Wolverine or Deadpool.
But that was why Toby was here. He wanted to test the boundaries. And who better to help him refine the serum than the man who invented it?
As the Lizard began to shrink, reverting back toward its human form, Toby fired a flurry of webs, wrapping the creature into a tight cocoon. He hoisted the bundle onto his shoulder, ready to leave.
"Hey! Spider-Man!" Captain Stacy shouted from the ceiling. "You can't take him! He's a fugitive wanted by the NYPD. He has to be processed and tried!"
"Illegal act?" Toby repeated, pausing and glancing over his shoulder.
"Captain Stacy, let's be real. If I leave him here, do you honestly believe your precinct can hold him?"
"Don't be naive. You know as well as I do that a standard cell won't keep a Lizard in. You'll just let him escape again, and more innocent people—more of your officers—will die. For your sake, for your family's sake, and for the city, let him go to someone who can actually keep him caged."
It was a blatant move of "moral kidnapping." For a man with a sense of duty as high as George Stacy's, it was an effective cage. Stacy looked at the wreckage of the Ghost House, then at the "Spider-Man" who had just saved his life. He thought of the consequences.
He sighed, defeated. "Can you guarantee... can you promise me he won't hurt anyone else while he's in your custody?"
Toby gave a short nod. "You have my word."
"Fine," Stacy muttered. "I believe you."
Toby turned to leave, but the Captain called out one last time. "Hey! Wait! At least get me down from here!"
Toby shrugged. "Sorry, Captain. My webbing is several times stronger than steel wire—more like a high-tensile alloy. I didn't bring any solvent with me today. You're just going to have to hang tight. It'll dissolve on its own in about two hours."
Stacy's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? Two hours? Are you kidding me? I'm on duty!"
Toby gave a casual wave as he headed for the exit. "Don't mention it. Consider it a mandatory lunch break for a hardworking officer. Bye~"
With a single leap, Toby cleared the roof and swung away into the skyline.
On the way back to Queens, Toby managed to fish out his phone with one hand while swinging. He sent a quick text to Gwen: Your dad is safe. I had to step away to lock the Lizard up. See you soon.
(As for how he swung with one hand, carried a Lizard on his back, and texted simultaneously? Webbing the Lizard to his back like a backpack made things much easier.)
Toby bypassed the local security cameras—which he had already hacked—and slipped through his bedroom window. He laid the "mummy" on the floor and applied a drop of specialized solvent. In seconds, the webs melted away, revealing the unconscious, one-armed Dr. Connors.
Contrary to what he told the Captain, Toby always carried solvent. He just wanted his girlfriend's dad to stay put for a while.
He checked Connors' vitals. The injuries Toby had inflicted in the Lizard form had successfully healed during the reversion process. Good. If the man had died, Toby's research would have hit a wall.
Toby secured Connors with a fresh set of high-strength restraints, threw a jacket over his own suit, and walked across the hall to Peter's room.
As expected, Peter was out cold, snoring into his pillow. The "Miracle Water" and the exhaustion from his previous night's failure had kept him in a deep slumber. That explained why there was no "Red Spider-Man" helping the police at the amusement park.
Toby reached out and slapped Peter's cheek.
Slap, slap, slap.
Peter groaned, rubbing his eyes and squinting at Toby. "Toby? What's up? Is it night already? I thought you and Gwen were... you know... staying out late?"