Sensational Spider-Man: Ferociousss #5: "Rejection"
Curtis Connors wallowed in self-pity. He kneeled against a desk, a bottle of vodka in his right hand; after all, his left hand had been amputated a few years ago. That was when everything had gone down hill.
His dark blond hair was a mop on his face, while his blue eyes hid a secret, a secret that Curt himself didn't even know. He was wearing the same clothes he always wore, a simple white lab coat and some denim jeans. It was the only thing in his wardrobe. His wife had sold all his other clothes when she had divorced him. And that was the last time he ever saw Martha or his young son William again.
He took a gulp from the bottle. Once his wife had divorced him, Curt had taken up drinking. It helped to ease the pain was his reason. He had been fired from his job at Oscorp, and was now working as a military scientist. Whatever he created, and if it was successful, the U.S. army got to use first. Connors took another gulp of the bottle, only to find it was now empty. He was celebrating tonight. After all, the army had just cut his funding. Plus, it was his birthday.
"Happy birthday Curt…" He mumbled as he dropped the bottle. It smashed on the ground and Curt dropped to the floor. His life was practically ended now.
When he was at Oscorp, he was the chief of the animal genetic team. They had been working on arachnids, hoping to use its DNA to create a type of superhuman. The first of its kind, Connors had once said. However, Norman Osborn himself had told Connors he wasn't trying hard enough, and that was the end of Curt's job. That exact night, his wife had left him, because she thought he wouldn't be able to support a family. Reed Richards, a friend of his, had got him a job as a military scientist. He had then been working on a regeneration formula, when injected into the body of an amputee; the limb that was missing would grow back. It would be great for soldiers to use in the middle of combat, once their arm gets blown off, they can just regrow it with one simple injection. The army liked this idea, and had given him a couple of years funding, but he still hadn't managed to get any results.
It was illegal to use a human test subject, but Connors desperately needed this job. So, as a mixture of the drunkenness and the desperation, Connors grabbed a vial that contained the regeneration formula in it. He inserted the green liquid into a syringe and then injected it into the remaining part of his left arm. A shiver ran across his spine. He hoped he was doing the right thing.
"Eh, who gives a #$%^?" He said as he sat down on a chair.
He suddenly began to shake. He couldn't help it, and he couldn't stop it. He started feeling sick. His whole body felt like it was being turned inside out. His left arm was now some kind of skin coloured tentacle, wrapping around and blurring his vision. His eyes rolled back into the back of his head and he fell to the ground unconscious.
He woke up a little while later feeling completely normal. He looked to his left arm. The formula had worked! A fully workable arm had grown and he felt relieved. He could show this to General Ross, and finally get that pay packet he had been promised. Curt's stomach grumbled.
"Oh no. This isn't good." Curt mumbled as he gagged. Vomit poured out his mouth and onto the floor. The formula had side effects. He hoped this was the last of them.
But it wasn't. A few minutes later, his left arm had suddenly grown green and scaly. He felt it, and it was as hard as rock. It felt like the exterior of an alligator. What the hell was happening? To his amazement, the green, scaly skin spread. It covered his whole body. He began to hear strange hiss's in his head.
"Stop it!" Curt yelled bumping into things. "Get out of my head!"
His entire body was now covered in the green skin. His face had been disfigured and he now looked like some kind of lizard.
"Connors…" The creature hissed. It looked behind itself, to see it had grown a tail. The light shone through the windows in the early morning, and the lizard screeched. It slithered into the shadows to get away from the sunlight and disappeared.
Peter Parker walked to the television and turned it on. He had enough time to see what was on the news before he left to go to college. A reporter was standing in front of a laboratory, talking about someone disappearing. The reporter repeated the man's name. Curt Connors. Peter suddenly got a shock and nearly fell off the couch. He remembered back to before he got his powers, 6 years ago…
Peter Parker was one of the luckiest boys in his school. Well, he thought so anyway. He had one a trip to Oscorp Industries, owned by the successful Norman Osborn. He was taking a tour right now, following one of his heroes, Dr. Curt Connors.
"Peter, I'd like you to meet my project I'm working on right now." Connors said as he pointed into a glass cage.
Peter looked into it and saw nothing.
"What is it supposed to be?" Peter asked confused.
"The specimen in there is called Arachnid 00. It's the first of its kind. It was a normal spider until it got dosed with radioactivity." Connors explained.
Peter still couldn't see where the spider was.
"Uh, where is it?" Peter asked.
"Hmm, the lab guys must be working on it."
"Curt?" A voice called out. Norman Osborn walked down a staircase, followed by many businessmen.
"Excuse me Peter," Connors said. He looked scared. "I'll be right back."
Connors walked over towards Norman and shook his hand. Peter could here them talking about Curt's job. He hoped it wasn't something bad. While he waited, he didn't notice Arachnid 00 crawl onto his hand. It had escaped from its cell, and now it was hungry. It injected it's fangs into Peter and he screamed. He fell to the floor as his vision went blurry. The last things he heard was the great scientist named Curt Connors getting fired…
Peter knew what had to be done. He had to find Curt, and get him to explain about his powers. Peter could skip college just this once. After all, he had done it plenty of times before. He ran to his room and put on his costume. In less than a minute, Spider-Man swung out of Peter Parker's apartment, ready for action. Spider-Man was back.
As Spider-Man glided through the air he noticed that many people seemed to be running away from the zoo. He landed outside the zoo and stopped a guy running away.
"What's going on here?" Spider-Man asked.
"Hell, the reptiles have gone crazy! The alligators have broken free!" The man yelled as he continued running. Spider-Man dodged the people running away and entered the zoo.
"Holy crap!" He shouted as he noticed two alligators had cornered a little girl.
"Help me!" The girl screamed as the alligators closed in. Spider-Man grabbed the closest alligator around the belly and attempted to lift it.
"Damn, I know I can lift around 10 tonnes, but this is #$%@ ridiculous!" He yelled as he attempted to hold the alligator back. He then looked at the girl who had stopped crying and was now staring at him with a weird look on her face.
"Aah, what?" Spider-Man asked as he managed to move the alligator back a little bit.
"You said a bad word…" The girl mumbled.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I guess. Now run, while I've got this one under control!" Spider-Man yelled as the little girl ran away.
The sound of a gun shot echoed into the sky. Spider-Man looked around to see one of the Zoo Rangers, armed with a rifle. He had shot the other alligator with a tranquilizer.
"Um, could I have some help?" Spider-Man asked the Ranger, as the Ranger aimed his gun at the other animal. He fired twice and got the alligator. Spider-Man dropped the sleeping alligator and stood up properly.
"Thanks." He said as he jumped back into the sky.
The Ranger checked the alligator's health.
"Damn crazy kids. Think they're so cool, with their costumes." The Ranger muttered.
Spider-Man didn't get far before he felt very tired. He didn't know why as he had gotten reasonable sleep that night before. His eyes suddenly closed and his web snapped. Spider-Man fell and hit the ground with a hard thud.
He didn't get up again.
