**Chapter 5: "Friction and Flames"**

The air was electric with tension as Johnny Storm and Peter Parker faced off against a common enemy. The villain, a pyrokinetic with a penchant for destruction, had set his sights on the city's financial district. Johnny and Peter had put aside their differences, at least for the time being, to take him down. As they approached the scene, the sound of crackling flames and shattering glass filled the air. Johnny, ever the showman, flashed a confident grin at Peter. "Hey, Spidey! Looks like we've got a real scorcher on our hands." Peter rolled his eyes, his spider-sense on high alert. "Not funny, Johnny." The pyrokinetic, a towering figure with flames dancing across his body, sneered at the two superheroes. "You think you can stop me? I am the master of fire!" Johnny snorted. "Oh, please. You're just a punk with a pyromaniac complex." The pyrokinetic snarled, unleashing a wave of flames that Johnny and Peter barely dodged. They exchanged a look, and for a moment, their rivalry was forgotten. They worked together seamlessly, Johnny using his flame powers to counter the villain's, while Peter used his webs to immobilize him. As they fought, their banter was laced with tension. Johnny was always pushing Peter's buttons, trying to get a rise out of him. But Peter refused to take the bait, his focus solely on taking down the villain. Finally, with a burst of flames and a well-placed web, they managed to subdue the pyrokinetic. As they stood victorious, Johnny turned to Peter with a smirk. "Not bad for a couple of has-beens, huh?" Peter shot him a look. "We're not has-beens, Johnny. We're just... differently experienced." Johnny chuckled. "Oh, Spidey's got jokes!" Their teasing was interrupted by the arrival of the police, who took the pyrokinetic into custody. As they watched him being led away, Peter turned to Johnny. "Thanks for the help back there." Johnny shrugged. "No problem, Spidey. We make a decent team." Their eyes met, and for a moment, Peter felt a spark of something he couldn't quite explain. It was as if he was seeing Johnny in a different light, as more than just a rival. But the moment passed, and Peter looked away, his mind racing with the implications of what he had just felt. He knew he couldn't afford to get distracted, not when there were still so many threats out there. As they parted ways, Peter couldn't help but wonder what other challenges lay ahead, and whether he and Johnny would be able to put aside their differences long enough to face them together. The city was always a complex, ever-changing puzzle, and Peter was just one piece of a much larger whole. But as he swung away into the night, he couldn't shake the feeling that his life was about to get a lot more complicated, and that Johnny Storm was at the center of it all.