Chapter 38: The Powerful Lizard

Jimmy smiled slightly as he watched Peter kick the Lizard away and then land on the bridge. "Peter, go save that kid! I'll check the other cars for anyone trapped!" Jimmy called out quickly.

Jimmy rushed toward the car that had taken the worst hit from the Lizard. Opening the door, he saw the Black employee unconscious against the windshield — a perfect opportunity. Jimmy searched the car for a moment and found a box containing six 200ml vials of genetic serum.

Jimmy quickly stashed the box into his ring, then pulled the unconscious man out. Just as he jumped onto the bridge with the man, the car fell into the river. Jimmy knew exactly why it fell, and he smiled faintly. After setting the man down, he continued checking the cars.

Luckily, no one else was trapped!

Meanwhile, Peter saved the little boy. He nodded to Jimmy, signaling that it was time to leave together.

The next day, both Jimmy — the fake dark Spider-Man — and Peter — the real Amazing Spider-Man — were declared wanted by the police chief. Hearing this, Peter was furious. He was clearly on the side of justice! Jimmy, on the other hand, was unfazed. "Peter, you have to understand, masked heroes are often misunderstood," Jimmy said, patting Peter's shoulder meaningfully.

"...But this is just too much…" Peter started to protest, but at that moment Gwen arrived. She smiled and asked, "So, what are the two Spider-Men discussing?"

Jimmy shot Peter a look, then smiled and said, "Nothing! I'll leave you two alone." He turned to head into the classroom but suddenly saw Karen in the crowd, her head down. At that moment, Karen looked up and met Jimmy's eyes.

They silently stared at each other for a few seconds before Karen turned and went into the classroom. Jimmy sighed deeply. Peter and Gwen both froze — after all, Jimmy and Karen had been inseparable these past few days. What happened?

"Hey, Master, did you fight with Karen?" Peter quickly ran over and asked.

"Get lost!" Jimmy snapped, then walked into the classroom, leaving Peter helpless.

Jimmy felt empty and lost. He laid his head on the desk, openly staring at Karen sitting at the next table. Karen pretended not to notice, focusing on her book — though it was clear she was holding it upside down.

At lunch, Peter and Gwen were flirting on the football field, while Jimmy sat nearby, sighing. "Hey, Jimmy, if you're a man, you should be brave enough to admit it!" Gwen called out, exasperated at Jimmy's gloominess. Jimmy just sighed again.

Peter chimed in too, "Master, are you... lovesick?" Jimmy immediately shot him the middle finger.

"Hehe, then what's going on?" Peter laughed awkwardly.

Jimmy glared at Peter and finally said softly, "Peter, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Peter asked curiously, seeing Jimmy's serious face.

"I'll be leaving on the last day of this month," Jimmy said, looking up at the sky.

"What?!" Peter froze, then hurriedly said, "But this city needs you!"

Jimmy looked at him seriously. "You're the real Spider-Man. I need to return to my homeland and keep fighting there."

Peter protested, "But I'm not ready yet!"

"You're ready. From what happened last night, I can tell you're already a qualified superhero. Your combat skills have matured — there's nothing more I can teach you," Jimmy said, shaking his head.

"But…" Peter started, but Jimmy interrupted him, "No buts. Promise me, next time we meet, you'll be even stronger than me!" Jimmy shouted.

Looking into Jimmy's serious eyes, Peter fell silent for a while before finally saying, "I… I'll miss you." Jimmy smiled faintly, patted Peter on the head, and said, "Don't worry! I'll come back. But for now, we have to deal with that monster!"

Peter nodded. "Okay, I promise. Let's go find Dr. Connors — he should know how to track that creature!"

After saying goodbye to Gwen, Jimmy and Peter used their lunch break to visit Oscorp. Strangely, the entire floor responsible for genetic serum was empty.

Just then, Dr. Connors appeared. After a brief conversation, he left. Jimmy and Peter then discovered the mutated white mouse.

"Oh my God!" Peter exclaimed when he saw the mouse with scales covering its body.

"So, that doctor really is the Lizard," Jimmy said, rubbing his chin.

"Yeah! I have to stop him!" Peter declared, then ran off after Connors.

Jimmy shrugged and approached the mutant mouse. "Come on, little guy," he said softly. The mouse screeched twice, dropped the dead white mouse it had been holding, and pounced at Jimmy — but he caught it by the neck with one hand.

Looking at the struggling creature, Jimmy chuckled, then thrust his right hand forward and pierced straight through it. "Fuse!" he whispered. Instantly, the mouse turned into a stream of blood and was absorbed into his hand.

"Ohhh…" Jimmy let out a satisfied sigh. After three seconds, he opened his eyes and returned to Lab 3, only to find all the remaining serum gone.

"So it's all been taken," Jimmy muttered, rubbing his chin. Luckily, he had been cautious and stolen some earlier. Now, he had a total of 2,200 milliliters of Lizard serum.

After a moment of silence, Jimmy left Oscorp.

Night had fallen unnoticed. Wearing his black Spider-Man suit, Jimmy perched atop a building, watching. He had no intention of fighting the Lizard in the sewers — he wanted to first find out from Peter just how strong the Lizard was before making any further plans.

In the original story, Dr. Connors injected a large amount of serum and became even stronger than Peter. Jimmy estimated: when Peter was first bitten, his combat power was just over 200. After getting the web shooters, it increased by more than 100. With the combat skills Jimmy taught him, Peter's current power was at least over 400.

Soon, Jimmy saw Peter, battered and bruised, slip into Gwen's room.

"Looks like he got beaten up," Jimmy muttered, then quickly swung over.

"Tsk tsk, you went after the Lizard and got your ass kicked, huh?" Jimmy laughed from Gwen's window as he looked at Peter, who had three claw marks on his chest while Gwen tended to his wounds.