Fazekas gets Flash to confirm that he grew up in Queens, New York, the son of a policeman, and asks Flash if he followed his father's example. Flash responds that he didn’t – his father used to beat him; he does not reveal this in the interview however – and indicates that there is another reason, but it's a stupid. Having figured out that Flash meant Spider-Man, Fazekas points out that Spider-Man is not stupid, prompting Flash to ask how he knows that. Fazekas answers that when Flash created the Spider-Man Fan Club, the FBI immediately opened a file. The fact that Flash was abducted by Dr. Doom, believing him to be Spider-Man, also caught the attention of the FBI. Fazekas proceeds to ask Flash why he is so fascinated with Spider-Man. When Flash asks why that is relevant to the medal, Fazekas reveals that he is curious to know where Flash's sense of honour comes from. Flash explains that Spider-Man is a misunderstood hero, who nobody appreciates for what he is: "No matter what happens to him, no matter who’s doing it to him, he just keeps going". Fazekas comments that his fascination for Spider-Man does have something to do with the medal after all. Confused, Flash asks what he means by that. Fazekas indicated that he's trying to figure out why Flash did that thing he did. He asks Flash to walk him through what happened.

The story flashbacks (pun intended) to when Flash was on tour in Iraq. Flash and his fellow soldiers are travelling in a Stryker I.C.V. through Mosul, on a cordon-and-search mission, which involves them going in, knocking on doors, and clearing the town of insurgents. Things are going according to plan when the Stryker suddenly hits an improvised explosive device that renders the vehicle inoperable. Realizing that they have only seconds to get the heck out of there before they come under attack, Flash and his comrades briefly struggle with the hatch and finally make their way out of the vehicle. As soon as they can breath fresh air, however, they come under fire by Iraqi insurgents. With no time to spare, Flash and the others split up along both sides of the street, hugging the walls of the building on those sides, instead of going straight up the middle. In the present, Fazekas comments to Flash that it sounds like he prefers the up-the-middle approach. Flash responds in the affirmative, telling Fazekas that he prefers tackling something head on, even if it's not always the most preferable plan (like Spider-Man facing up to the Kingpin for example). Flash and his buddy Santos are instructed to clear a nearby building and set up post on its rooftop. Without any hesitation, the duo enters the building. They’ve been inside but for a few seconds, when a deranged insurgent, hopped on epinephrine, jumps from a small alcove above them and surprises Santos. In the ensuing tussle, Flash is unable to take a shot at the attacker, without possibly injuring Santos. He thus proceeds to strike the insurgent in the back of the head with the butt of his weapon. The insurgent retaliates with a backhand that sends Flash's helmet flying off. Totally furious, Flash launches himself at the insurgent, tackling him to the ground. After pummelling him senselessly, Flash takes his life by breaking his neck. Flash gets back on his feet and he and Santos make their way to the second floor. Santos is ahead when Flash notices that Santos is just about to activate a tripwire attached to an improvised explosive device. Flash yells for Santos to get down but it's too late. In a courageous move, Flash launches himself toward Santos to try and push him out of harm's way, just as the explosive device detonates.

When the dust settles, Flash finds Santos, buried under a pile of rubble. Santos is in a bad way so Flash calls for help on his radio. Unfortunately, the radio is not working so Flash resolves into doubling back to try and get help. He's walked through the building for no more than a few minutes when he rounds a corner and comes face to face with a half-dozen insurgents, all of them armed to the teeth. The insurgents immediately start shooting at Flash, who drops to the ground, unloading his weapon in retaliation. Flash's armour takes most of the bullets but he still gets hit in the legs several times. He does manage, however, to kill two of the six insurgents. Realizing that the odds are against him, he decides to retreat, tossing himself down a flight of stairs. In real-time, Fazekas asks Flash if he was afraid the insurgents would go after Santos instead of him. Flash responds that he was banking on the fact that they too would have a hard time getting Santos out of there. Fazekas comments that Flash could have gotten out at that point, to safety. Flash argues that he could have gotten some help before the insurgents got to Santos or before Santos bled to death. Fazekas points out that Flash could have bled out. Flash responds that, in any case, he really couldn’t feel his legs through the pain, much less stand on them. Flash explains that he found a syringe containing epinephrine on one of the insurgents and injected the solution into his bloodstream, giving him the necessary edge to finish his mission. His legs bleeding profusely, Flash stands up and goes back to work on the insurgents. He kills two on his way back up and kills the last two, in the nick of time, as they were getting ready to finish Santos off (using an improvised explosive device). He then helps Santos out of the debris and carries him to safety atop his shoulder. Fazekas asks Flash what was going through his head at the time. Flash responds that he was thinking that the good guys think of others before they think of themselves. Fazekas goes on asking Flash if the doctors explained what had to be done to save his life (Flash's). Flash indicates that they informed him that he had lost too much blood, that there was too much tissue damage, and that had he gotten medical attention sooner, the doctors probably could have saved his legs. In a shocking twist of events, it is revealed that Flash had both legs amputated below the knee. Fazekas points out that he's sorry and realizes that a medal probably doesn't feel like much of a consolation. Flash responds that he doesn't need a medal, not to remind him to do the right thing. Flash finishes by saying that he's been lucky to know people whose example reminds him every day (i.e. Spider-Man).

The end...for now.