Symbiotic Agent

"Vig? Why are you back so soon? Did you manage to catch the person I told you to?"

A lizardman with a lean build and glasses dangling from his neck peered at Vig, who had returned to the base sooner than expected, with a look of suspicion.

Another lizardman, larger and more muscular than Vig, noticed the large sack on Vig's back. "You're usually the last one to return," he remarked, surprised. "But today you're here first, and it looks like you brought quite a haul."

At this reminder, Vig seemed to remember the sack he was carrying. He quickly set it down and opened it, revealing two men and two women inside.

"Essen… Neil… my task is complete," Vig said with some difficulty, his voice thick and sluggish as he gestured at his captives lying terrified on the ground.

Watching Vig's awkward attempts to communicate, Eisen—the one with glasses—and Neil exchanged a glance, their expressions laced with ridicule. They saw Vig as a pathetic failure, lacking both intellect and clarity of speech. To them, only lizards like themselves, either exceptionally smart or notably strong, were worthy as models for evolution's future.

"Alright, looks like you got lucky today. You're dismissed; your mission is complete," Eisen said, waving Vig away dismissively.

Vig nodded in acknowledgment and turned to crawl into a nearby tunnel. Once he was gone, Eisen and Neil each grabbed two of the trembling captives and hauled them towards a nearby door.

"Such fragile bodies and weak minds—humans are a species without a future," Neil sneered, his mouth stretching into a wide, toothy grin. "Only lizardfolk like us are fit to inherit the Earth."

Eisen nodded in agreement, a crooked smile lighting up his face as he added, "Dr. Lizard is truly a genius. Without him, we would never have experienced this power flowing through our bodies."

"He made us what we are, like a god," Neil agreed reverently. Dr. Lizard's achievements in transforming them had earned his unwavering admiration.

"With these new resources, we can accelerate the experiment," Eisen said with growing excitement. "Soon, our latest formula will yield new breakthroughs. Imagine—within minutes, we could transform every human in the city, turning them into one of us."

"Then we'll eliminate any failed specimens," Neil added, "ensuring that only those with superior genes remain. It's the path to a stronger future—our new population, evolved and perfect, will rise to replace humanity."

A gleam of fervor sparked in Eisen's cold, reptilian eyes. As part of Dr. Lizard's scientific team, he knew precisely how much their plan would impact the world if all went as scheduled. Every time he thought about it, he felt a surge of excitement he could barely contain.

While Eisen and Neil gloated over their vision of the future, Gwen, who was held tightly in Eisen's grip, cautiously cracked open one eye to observe the base. Everything she'd just heard sent a chill down her spine. Gwen had suspected that Dr. Lizard had a secret plan, but she hadn't imagined it would be this twisted and destructive.

Their intention was nothing short of global transformation, aiming to turn every person in New York—and possibly the world—into lizard creatures in the name of "humankind's evolution." It was horrifying.

Thankfully, her strategy had worked. After weeks of following any leads she could find, Gwen had finally encountered one of these lizard monsters and let herself be captured to infiltrate their lair. She'd been planning this risky mission ever since she'd tapped into the police database, gathering every detail available on the lizard people. Her aim was clear: she'd let herself be taken so she could locate the base, free any human captives, and dismantle Dr. Lizard's entire operation.

Confident in her abilities as Spider-Woman, Gwen believed she was fully prepared for the task. Her only uncertainty had been whether the lizard people would actually capture her; she'd spent several nights patrolling, hoping to draw their attention. Her plan seemed to go nowhere, until tonight when she'd finally crossed paths with Vig.

Now, her plan was nearly complete. All that remained was to wait for Eisen and Neil to lead her to the heart of their operation, where she could make her move.

"Alright, let's stash them here for now," Eisen said, tossing Gwen and another woman into a circular cell enclosed with iron bars. "We'll check in on the experiments and coordinate the processing of tonight's haul once everything is ready."

Neil nodded, and heaved the two unconscious men he was holding into a cell adjacent to Gwen's.

These cells, round and tight, were repurposed from sealed-off water pipes, allowing little space for movement. Anyone inside had no choice but to lie down or crouch.

With a loud clang, Eisen shut the iron gate and turned to leave. Their footsteps gradually faded, leaving Gwen in the eerie silence of the lizard base's prison.

Only once she was sure they were out of earshot did Gwen open her eyes fully, pushing herself up from the ground. Moving to the iron bars, she peered out, scanning her surroundings to get a clearer sense of the area.

On either side of her cell were more identical ones, stacked row upon row, even on the walls across from her. Most of these cells were empty, but a few contained other people—silent, traumatized prisoners whose expressions were void of hope.

The unlucky captives showed all the signs of neglect, lying motionless on the floor, covered in grime and barely breathing. Those few who were sitting or squatting looked equally broken—dust-covered, with cracked lips and eyes hollow from fear and exhaustion.

Seeing their despair fueled Gwen's determination. She was here not only to expose and destroy Dr. Lizard's operation but also to save these people from this nightmare. Quietly, she reassessed her plan, steeling herself to make every move count.

With no one in sight, she took a deep breath, focusing on the mission ahead. This was her chance to bring an end to Dr. Lizard's twisted vision, to prevent the monstrous future these creatures had planned for humanity.

Clinging to the hope that her actions would be enough, Gwen crouched in the dim cell, waiting for the right moment to begin her counterattack.

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Hello, I would like your insight on this chapter, I personally think the structure of this could be made better with some edits but I'm not able to think of anything, so if you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments, I will try to implement them.

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