6504/Lizards On Campus

Lizards On Campus
Date of Scene:	09 June 2021
Location:	Empire State University
Synopsis:	Lizard tries to abscond with a computer bank from ESU, but Ghost Spider and a reluctant Venom stop him.
Cast of Characters:	Eddie Brock, Gwen Stacy

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Eddie Brock has posed:
It was a quiet evening at Empire State University. Only a few night classes were still going on, with most students having made their way home. Though of course there were still people on campus, killing time out on the quad throwing a football or frisbee, playing guitar or sitting around talking politics.

Overall it's a pretty peaceful evening. Until the sounds of some screams and yells break the quiet. Students start moving away from the area around the science building, some running, others trotting away while looking behind them. On the sidewalk there, a manhole cover has opened up. And alligators have started crawling out of it. Big alligators. There have always been urban myths about alligators in the sewers, the story normally going that someone flushed a tiny pet and it survived and grew. Surely that will be discussed in the papers tomorrow.

But at the moment, the reptiles aggressively charge at people, moving faster than many would think they are capable of. The people flee and then alligators turn and start towards the science building itself.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Now that classes are mostly over ESU nearly turns into a ghost town. Of course that there's still remedial classes, research going on, yet the difference from before to now is like from night to day. It's maybe why the attack has been planned for now. Less people, less chance of intervention.

Of course that it happens right when Gwen is on campus, helping Amanda with her remedial classes to catch up with what she lost last semester after the overdose that got her to the hospital.

"What are those screams?" Amanda asks.

But Gwen is already out of the library, running and getting changed on the way. Good thing she brought her slick suit under her normal clothing today. And really, who needs a phone booth to change in? Do it on the fly! It helps that her spatial awareness tells her there's noone on the corridors too.

She slings out, right around the science building to watch the reptiles charging up. One has quite the menacing maw open, nearing a student but receives a webbing around the mouth that clamps it down. "Breath check!" she says. They are coming out of the sewers. She is sure they must smell awful. But it also gives time for that particular student to run off.

Eddie Brock has posed:
Eddie Brock is whistling a happy tune and has a smile on his face. He makes his way down the sidewalk and turns in at one of the gates into ESU's campus. A small bouquet of flowers is in one hand. Picked by hand, probably from a park where one isn't supposed to pick powers, and the stems wrapped about with paper, Eddie has good reason to be in a good mood. He's on his way to surprise his girlfriend with the posies. And seeing her likely resulting smile will be the highpoint of his day.

Eddie rounds the corner of the Journalism building, glancing back over his shoulder at it, wondering how it compares to Columbia's department. When he hears the sound of running feet and turns back, finding himself face to face with an angry alligator!

There's a student close enough by that Eddie doesn't let Venom get in on the act. The alligator lunges at him and Eddie thrusts the flowers at the alligator's eye trying to blind or distract it. The alligator instead opens its mouth and chomps it closed, Eddie pulling his hand back just in time, but losing the flowers. "Oh for love of..." he groans.

The front door to the science building opens and an enormous lizard, slightly larger than a man, emerges. It's dragging some kind of instrument panel behind it. There's a white van parked nearby, the back doors left slightly ajar. The alligators move to encircle Lizard as he drags the heavy equipment towards the van.

That's when he hears Ghost Spider, looking up and cursing softly. "Attack people, draw her attention from me," he says, the alligators already moving before the words are out, rushing forward towards the nearest people on the quad.

People like Eddie.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Still too many people around... In fact only one people would be enough for Ghost Spider to worry, for a bite out of one of those lizards could be enough to just seriously hurt or kill someone. Besides, her danger sense really starts tingling when those lizards start spreading out with intent, going for people. It's not normal behavior. And she knows someone who could it in the past ..., someone she was rather familiar with and ended up killing them.

"Calm down, Gwen. It's not Peter, it's not the same lizard." She murmurs to herself. She had killed him back in her reality, which had started the whole event that had made it possible for her to be here now...

Yet whatever other thoughts she might have had or hesitations are quashed when she notes a rather familiar figure, "What the ..." she throws herself through the air, a backflip in the air before descending at speed towards the lizards moving at speed towards Eddie.

"Watch out, Ed-- Sir!" smooth. She lands in front of the large man, long leg in a spin and sending one of the lizards flying.

"What are you doing here?" She asks, before adding quickly. "You should run!" not that it will be easy with all the lizards around. A bad move could make him run right into the maw of one!

Eddie Brock has posed:
Eddie glances behind him as the student near him is running. Perfect, now Eddie has some room to be able to deal with the alligators without being scene.

   <<Venom>> "Yes let me at them! We have not had a good fight in-"

The Klyntar symbiote doesn't finish the thought heard only by Eddie, as suddenly one of the Spiders is there landing in front of him and kicking the alligator away.

"I..." Eddie stammers for a moment, because he's hearing Venom ranting in his head. Still upset about getting hit in the face with the metal sign from a pub, apparently. Even if they did have a conversation with Ghost Spider one night after that, without fighting each other. "Yeah, I'll get out of here," he says, backpedaling away.

At which point Eddie sees the Lizard, sliding that large computer bank across the sidewalk, making an unearthly screeching sound. "I think there's your bad guy!" he says and then turns to run, heading back for the corner of the Journalism building that he had rounded not too long before.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Yea.... There's the bad guy. And Gwen will have to face him eventually. She exhales softly, head twisted and she looking over her shoulder to watch Eddie running away. Seems like he should be safe soon enough.. And that will leave her time to handle the lizard.

She turns her attention forward just in time to see a big maw coming her direction to bite on her, long legs springing her out of the way as she spins in the air, one hand connecting on the ground and she cartwheeling out of getting a piece of her bitten off. Friendly! The lizard in question gets a web around it's mouth for it's troubles before she sends another web with her other webslinger, glueing it to the ground. "These guys really need to take a chill pill. And they say these things are cold blooded..." she lets out a sigh and starts moving forward, throwing herself up in the air to dodge a couple of those lizards to start approaching the big one.

"Hey. Green-face. That's campus property!" she exclaims. "Besides, don't think you can even type with those big, fat fingers." sure Gwen, get it angry.

But that's just how Ghost Spider rolls.

Eddie Brock has posed:
After making it around the corner, Eddie pauses. Torn by indecision. For a moment he's about to let Venom's black mass grow to cover him, then he sees how many people are out on campus with their phones out, recording what's happening.

While Eddie is busy deciding whether to get involved or not, The Lizard is already involved. "You may be more annoying than Spider-Man," he says with a hiss at the end. The computer bank he's stealing is big. Big and heavy. Lizard manages to lift it though and push it into the specially reinforced van. It must be reinforced, for while it does sink lower on its shock absorbers than usual, for it to handle that much weight it must have been prepared for it.

Lizard knows he can't just drive off with Ghost Spider there though. He turns back from the van, slamming the doors, and then crouches and leaps, flying twenty feet towards Ghost Spider, his claws out, and mouth open to sink his sharp teeth into her!

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"I will take that as a compliment." Really. She does! More annoying than Spidey? That's an accomplishment. Ghost Spider shoots a couple of webs to try and stop Lizard from finishing to load that computer inside the van. But just like the lizard she knew it's strong enough to break through those webs. She curses quietly to herself as lizard just shrugs off her attempt at stopping him and finally turns to face her.

How far would she go to stop him though? Last time she faced off with him he died. Could she do it again?

There's a moment indecision there. And indecision against the lizard can turn deadly. She reacts just a fraction of a second too late when the lizard lands her with it's claws, legs bending before propelling herself back. But not back enough that some of those claws don't nick her on the side, through the outfit and finding flesh. Some blood flies and she grits her teeth to not cry out in pain. It's not too deep but it still stings like hell.

Still, she continues to taunt. "You didn't pass the breath check." he truly didn't. Eewww.

Eddie Brock has posed:
The Lizard sees he drew blood, and that seems to only embolden his attack. He may lack Ghost Spider's agility, but he's strong and fast. And those reptilian legs of his seem made for jumping. He lands and then leaps towards her again, hoping to sink his teeth into her this time and bring the fight to a swift end.

Meanwhile, Eddie takes a few steps towards the gate he came in through. Then stops. Takes two steps back towards the Science Building. Stops again. "I couldn't take the look in her eyes if she knew I let her get hurt," Eddie says, his uses of pronouns making it unclear, though he knows he's talking about Gwen Stacy, and Ghost Spider. Never suspecting they may be on and the same.

   <<Venom>> "She won't know. She fought us! Stopped us from killing that gunman!"

Eddie grumbles and then heads over behind some bushes. "Yeah. But she may need our help this time," he utters. Once behind the bushes, the symbiote skin spreads over his body and he shoots a dark web-like mass up to the top of the building, slingshotting over it and to the side where Ghost Spider is fighting the Lizard, looking down from several stories up.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
The onslaught means Gwen is mostly off-balance now, on the defensive, whipping her torso back as one of Lizard's bites snaps too close for comfort, she feeling the air on her mask while moving backwards. She keeps her snappy interjections to herself now. 'Better to not waste air, Gwen'. She dodges close to the ground as another claw swipes at her midsection, but that just leaves her vulnerable to a kick to her side that sends her flying through the air.

Luckily she hasn't lost her senses as she sends a web to a tree and slingshots around it to go flying towards the creature, feet first. It doesn't look like her best attack. In fact, it almost seems like she is .., holding back somewhat? Perhaps the trauma of her last fight with lizard still heavy in her mind.

The creature catches one of her feet while she is mid-flight, making her swing about and then throwing her heavily to the ground, she rolling over and being on her knees for a time, panting and recovering her breath as she continues to bleed out. She knows it will close up first considering her enhanced healing powers but .., she needs to have some time for it to actually happen first!

Eddie Brock has posed:
The Lizard clings to a wall after throwing Ghost Spider to the ground, getting his aim at the spot she's lying on the ground an then propelling himself towards her again, claws out!

Just before he gets to her, a large black form comes swinging past, grabbing up Ghost Spider in his arms. Lizard's claws rake the grass, tearing furrows in the sod, but fail to land on her.

"You are setting a bad example for America's youth," Venom tells her in his deep, menacing timbre. He lets her go near a wall of the Science Building, landing there himself and looking back at the Lizard who is gazing up at the both of them. "Venom!?" Lizard yells. "Why are YOU of all people helping a Spider!?"

Venom shrugs and holds up his hands. "I don't know. She's growing on me. And I don't like you clawing her," he says. Lizard looks from the pair hanging on the wall, towards his escape van.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen was thinking she really could use a neon sign right here and now when that large form brings her away from danger. And right in the nick of time too! As they fly towards one of the buildings she holds on to the man until she feels the wall against her, feet and hands 'glueing' her to the wall and she looking up at Eddie. Not that the mask reveals much where it comes to facial expression but one can imagine the suspicion underneath it! And if the two of them are out to get her? This wouldn't go well...

Thankfully it seems Venom has other plans. Good.

"Now you are just being nasty towards spiders. What did they ever do to you?" a beat, "Oh, wait...." she chuckles under her mask towards the lizard, sensing that momentum changing. A look to Venom.

"I go low and you go high?" She doesn't wait for confirmation, swinging out of that wall and spending a couple of webs to the ground ahead of her which she uses to impulse herself forward, ballerina shoes sliding on the ground as she almost flies towards the Lizard. She waits for that last moment to duck down, under it's claws to go for a sweep to the leg.

Yes, she would be cheating if they were going by Karate Kid rules.

Eddie Brock has posed:
The large black creature whose body seems to absorb the late afternoon light swings down after Ghost Spider has launched herself and draw the Lizard's attention. As she slides low beneath him and takes out his legs, Lizard is knocked into the air, his tail slamming into the ground and just missing the costumed super heroine.

A half-second later, Venom slams into Lizard while the reptile is still in mid-air. The impact launches Lizard across the Quad and into a tree. He lands heavily on the grass, snarling and one clawed hand going to grip his side where he hit the thick tree trunk.

"I'll not forget this!" he says, pointing at Venom as if more upset at the interference from one he hadn't expected it from. Lizard jumps forward, landing at the open manhole cover and deftly darting down inside it. The alligators that are left on the surface stop acting aggressively. Most just squat down where they are. Others just begin to wander off at a slow walk, in search of water to get back into.

Venom turns and looks over at Ghost Spider. His sharp teeth gape in his maw as he says, "Don't expect this to be a habit." He shoots off a black web, making to swing away.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
As the lizard gets pushed out into a tree and then flees Ghost Spider looks relieved with it, one hand resting on her hip. "Yea, you better run.." she tells him while he is moving off. And then a sigh as she notes the alligators around. "City services will have a field day trying to wrangle all of these..." but at least it didn't seem as if they were trying to eat people anymore. A victory...

And that computer still had to be put back in it's place to. It perhaps merited investigation, but police should most likely look into that first.

A look to Venom and then she almost goes to do a little fist-on-fist victory greeting. But he's already swinging away. Pfff!

"Thank you nonetheless." She tells the escaping form, watching Venom swing away. Noone had died and some strange alliance appeared to had formed. It certainly could had went worse...