A metallic scraping and twisting sound echoed through the quiet laboratory, sending shivers down the spine. It was followed by heavy, menacing footsteps approaching steadily.
Gwen's grip on the radiator tightened, her knuckles white with tension.
Just as the beastly growl and labored breathing seemed to recede, signaling that the creature had moved away, the sound of metal being torn apart echoed back.
"Roar!!" Professor Lizard's terrifying face appeared at the glass door, smashing through it with a claw and tossing the remnants aside as if they were mere cardboard.
"Ah!!!!" Gwen screamed at the sudden intrusion.
"Whoa!" Barry, equally startled, reacted instinctively, delivering a powerful kick that sent Professor Lizard flying back out the door.
"Why do you enjoy scaring people so much?" Barry muttered, watching the lizard professor tumble backward.
"Dabai, he took the radiator!" Gwen shouted in alarm.
Barry looked and saw that as Professor Lizard stood up, the radiator was indeed wrapped around his tail, taken during the scuffle.
Professor Lizard dodged Barry's webbing, casting a final glance at the panda and the frightened student before leaving with the device.
"No, the serum is still in there!" Gwen exclaimed, ready to chase after him.
"Hey! Stop! Look what I have," Barry interjected, holding up a blue serum vial, catching Gwen's attention.
"I hadn't noticed you had that! You're better than someone who just screams," Barry quipped.
"Great... But now that he has the radiator, he'll be heading to the roof to spread the virus using the Ganali device. We have to stop him!" Gwen, relieved to see the serum, reached for it.
But just as she was about to take it, Barry pulled it back.
"No, leave it to me. It's dangerous here; you need to get out," Barry insisted seriously.
"But..."
"You've done enough. Leave the rest to me," Barry assured, pressing his paw against her shoulder, then awkwardly withdrawing it, remembering his lack of a bamboo hat.
Gwen took a deep breath, nodding in agreement.
"Be careful, you're a panda—don't get hurt!" she cautioned.
After saying goodbye, Barry moved through the shattered metal door, pursuing Professor Lizard.
Gwen, meanwhile, took the elevator to evacuate the building.
---
By now, police had surrounded the base of the Oscorp Building. Tower cranes extended their booms across Sixth Avenue, creating a pathway for Spider-Man to reach the roof.
Knowing Spider-Man was heading to save 54th Street in Manhattan, police began clearing vehicles from the street to facilitate his approach.
The crane path was orchestrated by the father of the child Spider-Man had saved on the Williamsburg Bridge.
---
Barry followed through the broken iron door, reaching a large shattered window—Professor Lizard's entry point.
Without hesitation, Barry leaped through the opening. In mid-air, he saw Professor Lizard climbing to the roof, and with a flick of his paw, Barry shot webbing to the building's façade, propelling himself upward like a spring-loaded marble.
Upon reaching the roof, Barry found Professor Lizard installing the radiator into the tower's launcher. He was preparing to insert a green virus vial where the blue serum had been.
"Puff!" Barry aimed his web shooter, attaching a line to Professor Lizard's claw holding the vial.
Feeling the tug, Professor Lizard glared at the panda, ripping the webbing away and continuing his task.
But just as he was about to insert the virus, another web line caught his hand. Peter, in his Spider suit, swung in like a pendulum, colliding with Professor Lizard.
"Bang!" Under Barry's watchful eyes, the two tumbled from the tower, crashing into a massive search device, sparks flying.
The device, like a giant merry-go-round, flung them out, sending them sprawling.
"Roar!!!" Professor Lizard, thwarted by Barry and Peter, roared in fury at his adversaries.
"Why? Why do you stop me? I'll destroy you!"
"You arrived just in time; he almost succeeded," Barry said, relieved, eyeing the green vial still in Professor Lizard's grasp. He noticed Peter's leg was bleeding, webbing stuck to the jet on his boot.
"Are you hurt?"
"Yes, but it's fine. What about Gwen? Is she okay?" Peter asked, more concerned for Gwen than himself.
"You two..." Barry rolled his eyes. They always worried about each other first, leaving him the mediator.
"She's safe. I sent her down. I have the serum. We just need to insert it into that device and launch it!" Barry showed the blue serum, pointing to the tower's top.
"Good, I'll keep him busy. You install the serum," Peter nodded, charging at Professor Lizard before Barry could respond.
"I hope there aren't too many buttons..." Barry muttered, clutching the serum as he leaped toward the tower.
But as he ascended, a large metal cylinder came hurtling toward him.
"Bang!" Barry dodged, but the canister exploded, spraying cold mist that knocked him from the air.
The impacted area quickly frosted over.
"Where'd he get refrigerant?" Barry landed lightly, eyeing the refrigerant in Professor Lizard's hand with discomfort. Wasn't this guy supposed to be a melee fighter? When did he get ranged attacks?