Dr. Lizard grasped his dissolving arm with his other hand, pain etching across his face.
Meanwhile, Peter, having swung to the scene on his webs, was rushing to help.
Seeing the situation turn dire, Dr. Lizard prepared to flee.
Barry quickly ran toward him, but a desperate cry for help from nearby caught his attention.
"Help, please! My child is trapped!" A middle-aged man in a gray sweatshirt called out, anxiously watching a car suspended by spider silk under the bridge.
Inside the car's back seat, a child strapped into a seatbelt was frantically screaming for help.
In that brief moment of distraction, Dr. Lizard vanished from sight.
"Save the child first, reinforce the web!" Peter shouted, jumping onto the trunk of the car, which dangled precariously from the bridge. He smashed the rear windshield with a decisive punch and began clearing the glass.
Barry stood atop the bridge, rapidly firing webs to reinforce the car's tenuous connection to the bridge.
The child's father, focused on Spider-Man's rescue effort below, barely noticed Barry's presence, otherwise, he might have been startled by the sight of a panda.
Barry suddenly sniffed the air, catching the pungent scent of gasoline. He looked down, seeing fuel trickling from the car's tank.
If a spark ignited from damaged wiring, an explosion was imminent.
"Hurry up! The car's about to blow!" Barry shouted to Peter, who was trying to soothe the panicked child.
The child seemed frightened by Peter's masked appearance, prompting him to remove his hood, revealing his face to show he was human.
Peter wondered how the child might react if Barry were the one doing the rescuing, his mind flashing to Barry's lovable panda face.
As gasoline reached the car's headlights, a spark ignited the fuel, flames erupting and rapidly spreading across the vehicle, severing Peter's webbing in the heat.
Though Peter's webs were strong, they weren't fireproof.
As the webbing snapped, Barry quickly shot more webs to stabilize the car.
Snap, connect, snap, connect...
"Hurry! The back bumper's failing!" Barry shouted, his paws working furiously to shoot webs, pulling the car back as the bumper threatened to give way.
"Good quality," Barry muttered, impressed by the bumper's endurance.
Inside the car, Peter heard the metal straining behind him. He grabbed the child, shot a web to the bridge, and pulled them both to safety through the rear window.
Seeing this, Barry ceased his web-shooting. As the last web snapped, the burning car plunged into the river below, a fiery ball of destruction.
---
When Peter returned to the bridge, his mask was back in place.
"Jack, my God, my son, my son...!" the father cried, clutching his rescued child, smoothing his hair with relief.
Once his emotions calmed, he turned to Spider-Man with gratitude. Despite the mask obscuring Peter's face, the father didn't know how to express his thanks, finally asking, "Who are you?"
Peter paused, recalling his conversation with Gwen's father at dinner. Many thoughts raced through his mind, finally settling on the familiar face of Uncle Ben.
"I'm Spider-Man," he declared, just as a web adhered to his body.
In the father's astonished gaze, Spider-Man vanished in an instant.
---
"Do you realize what you interrupted?" Peter asked Barry, displeased, as they swung through the city. Peter had just confidently declared himself Spider-Man, a decision that had taken considerable thought.
"Did I interrupt your romance?" Barry quipped, glancing over.
"Ha?" Peter was momentarily confused. Realization dawned as he thought of the father holding his child, leaving him speechless.
"I really don't know what's in your head. Goodbye, I'm a bit tired today. Oh, and tell Gwen I love her," Peter said, turning toward uptown.
"Wait, wait!" Barry called, suddenly remembering something and hurrying after him.
Peter slowed, waiting for Barry to catch up.
Once he did, Barry pulled a small porcelain bottle from his coat and tossed it to Peter.
"This is an ointment I made with herbal medicine. It'll heal injuries quickly. It's for you."
"And don't forget to buy eggs on your way home, or Aunt May might get upset again."
Peter looked at the warm porcelain bottle in his hand, feeling the residual heat.
Watching Barry walk away, Peter shook his head with a smile, carefully placing the bottle in his backpack before leaping down to head toward the store.
He now hoped Barry wouldn't become a policeman.
---
Barry returned home quickly. As soon as he climbed through the window into his bedroom, Gwen hurried over.
"Where's Peter?"
"It's sad, you used to care about me first. No more love," Barry sighed dramatically, shaking his head in mock disappointment as he headed for his small bed.
"Please, tell me," Gwen insisted, rubbing his head. Initially, she took Barry's playful words seriously, but over time, they had grown familiar with each other.
"He's gone home. Oh, and he asked me to pass on some sappy message, but you can ask him yourself at school tomorrow," Barry replied, enjoying her massage with a contented face.
"I have to say, you've kept this secret well. If I hadn't invited Peter over, I'd never have known you were going out with him."
"Even the way he got into my house was familiar," Gwen remarked. When she saw Peter on the fire escape, she realized something was up, as Barry often used the same route.
"He didn't want me to reveal it, but I guess he ended up doing it himself," Barry said, his tone playfully grumpy.
EXTRA CHAPTER IS AVAILABLE IN PATREON
patreon.com/Gho_
patreon.com/Gho_