Maverick and Peter both wanted to pursue the lizard-man, but Mrs. Connors stopped them, pleading desperately, "Please, let him go. Don't hurt him. He didn't mean any harm."
Seeing Mrs. Connors on the verge of a breakdown, Maverick and Peter exchanged a glance and then halted.
They couldn't just leave Mrs. Connors and the little kid alone here. Although Lizard had fled, his hideout was in the underground tunnels. It would be tough to find, but not impossible.
Peter and Maverick brought Mrs. Connors and her son back into the house, gave them water, and tried to calm them down.
Dr. Connors being the Lizard was indeed an unexpected revelation for both of them.
"What exactly happened? Why did Dr. Connors turn into this?" Peter asked once Mrs. Connors had calmed down a bit.
Maverick, equally curious, looked at Mrs. Connors, waiting for her explanation.
Mrs. Connors lowered her head, holding the cup with both hands, her expression sorrowful. "It's all because of that damned device. Kurt called it the New Gene Recombination System."
"Recently, he was obsessed with this research. The success of his animal experiments boosted his confidence, and he was eager to apply this technology to humans."
"One day, he decided to experiment on himself. He injected himself with lizard DNA and then used the recombinator."
"At first, we thought he had succeeded because his arm grew back. I hadn't seen him so happy in a long time."
"But the happiness was short-lived. Soon, he began to transform into something like a lizard."
At this point, Mrs. Connors started to sob, covering her face.
"I didn't dare tell anyone or call the police. I was afraid they'd hurt him. Though he looks like a monster, he never meant to harm us."
After hearing Mrs. Connors' story, Maverick asked, "Why has he been abducting people recently?"
"I think he wants to continue his experiments," Mrs. Connors replied. "After his transformation, he said his research was not perfect and he needed to refine the technology."
"So, I believe he's been taking those people to further his studies."
'So, what he took from the lab today must be part of this recombinator.' Maverick thought to himself.
After hearing Mrs. Connors' explanation, Peter turned to Maverick and said, "I think we need to stop him quickly and rescue those people he took. I don't want to see more lizard-men running around tomorrow."
Maverick nodded in agreement, understanding the urgency of the situation.
After giving Mrs. Connors some final instructions, they left the house and entered the nearest manhole to the sewer.
"If that guy wanted to escape quickly, he would definitely use the nearest manhole," Peter said while observing the ground for marks.
Sure enough, they found large footprints and drag marks from a tail heading in one direction.
Following these marks for a while, they soon reached an area with no solid ground, just flowing water.
This area had several drainage tunnels. To continue their search, they would have to choose one of the tunnels.
"Besides those few smaller tunnels that the lizard-man couldn't fit through, there are three larger tunnels we can't rule out," Maverick said, looking at the drainage tunnels.
Peter responded, "Looks like we'll have to rely on luck. Let's each take a tunnel and see if we can find any clues."
"If neither of us finds anything, we'll come back and check the third tunnel together."
Maverick nodded; this was the best plan they had.
Just as he was about to enter his chosen tunnel, Peter called out to him, hesitating slightly. "If possible, try not to kill the Lizard. From what I know, the experiment should be reversible."
"As long as we get the right equipment, we can perform the reverse gene recombination and return him to normal."
"He has a family, a child."
Hearing Peter's plea and explanation, Maverick nodded, as he had been grappling with the same dilemma.
If, as Peter said, this recombinator could reverse the process and turn him back into a human, that would be ideal.
After discussing this, they each selected a tunnel to explore.
Choosing a tunnel by instinct, they set off separately. The water flow in the tunnel was strong, forcing Maverick to walk upside down along the ceiling, carefully searching for any clues.
'The Lizard is so big, he should have left some traces as he moved through the tunnel.' Maverick thought, observing the area below.
The further he went, the less water there was, and traces that had been covered by the flow began to appear.
"Looks like my luck is good; I picked the right place," Maverick said happily upon seeing the traces.
Venom, eager for action, added, "We can't let him escape this time."
After a few more minutes of walking, the water was very shallow, and a large grate blocked the passage.
"Going through here should lead to him. Let's check it out first," Maverick thought, peering through the grate to observe the area beyond.
Outside the grate was another ring of water, like a moat surrounding a central platform.
Dr. Connors, in his Lizard form, was busy on the platform, surrounded by various pieces of equipment, including a device resembling a machine gun but with a radar-like head instead of a barrel.
On the walls around the platform were several grates, with food placed nearby, indicating these were where the people Lizard-Man had captured were being held.
"Peter won't get here immediately. It'll take him some time to realize the other tunnels are empty and to backtrack here," Maverick calculated, watching Lizard-Man.
At that moment, Lizard-Man picked up the gun-like device and pressed a button on a nearby platform, opening one of the grates holding a captive.
'Damn it! He's going to turn those captives into lizard-people. There's no time to wait!' Maverick thought as he slashed through the grate with his sharp fingers and charged out of the tunnel.
°°°
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