The Spectacular Spider Man

Dr Octopus

Liz got a lot of attention in school that day, thanks to Johnny's heroics the other day. Most didn't realize she was dating Johnny Storm, but now they did.
I stuck to the sidelines. Liz and MJ tried to talk to me about helping Johnny take out the vulture, but I just ignored them; I wasn't in the mood. And I couldn't tell them what they wanted to do here. Their hero was back.
After school ended, I drove down to the cafe, Felicia, and used to go. I spent so much time with her. I sat down in the booth we shared near the back, ordered a cup, and simply stayed there waiting. Maybe one day she would walk in through those doors and I would see her again, maybe, but it didn't look like that was today.
As I sipped my drink, someone else sat down. I looked up and saw Nat looking at me. She was dressed in a heavy winter coat; it was getting colder lately. She took off her glasses and put them down next to me. "Hello, Peter."
I nodded. "Nat. Want something?"
"No," she replied, "you know why I'm here?"
"Johnny told me?" I asked.
"No, Adrian Toomes," she told me. I raised an eyebrow, and she clarified, "He calls himself the Vulture."
"Ah," I smirked, "I was betting on Birdman."
Nat said nothing. She and I looked at each other before she spoke up. "Are you returning?"
"Into the hero's life?" I asked, to which she nodded. I scoffed, "Hell no." I sipped my drink, and slowly I got curious: "Tell me about Toomes."
"I thought you were out?"
"Call it curiosity," I replied.
Nat nodded. "He runs a secret arms trade, specializing in weapons made out of Chitauri tech. They are not very good, but they are powerful. And in the wrong hands, dangerous."
"Why did he come after Harry Osborn?"
"Norman Osborn had been trying to get his hands on alien tech ever since the invasion," Nat said in a silent tone. "He apparently hijacked and took a large shipment from Toomes."
"And he wanted Harry to make Norman give it back." I drew the natural conclusion.
Nat nodded, "exactly."
"These weapons, are they powerful?"
"Yes."
"What's Shield got on Norman?"
"He's been trying to combine the Chitauri technology with Otto's solar energy concept. Tritium is very rare; he plans on using the glowing purple rocks as a substitute."
"It would get him enough energy," I hummed, "and the fact that radiation causes it to burst out would lead to a chain reaction, creating more and more power. Otto's machine could run forever."
Nat nodded, "which is what we assumed as well."
I looked at her; she hadn't moved. I sighed. "I can't do it."
"I didn't ask you anything."
"Yes, you did," I sipped my drink. "If you hadn't, you would have walked out of her a long time ago after making sure I wasn't going back into the red and black. You want me to make sure Osborn doesn't do anything crazy."
"No," she said, put on her glasses, and got up.
"Good, because I won't do it!" I called after her as she walked out.
"I know," she replied, walking out of the cafe.
I sighed, 'crazy red head.' Just then my phone buzzed; it was a message from Osborn:
Peter, it has been a long time since we last spoke. I apologize for not keeping in touch.
I'm texting now to invite you to the Oscorp Galla in my research lab out of the city. Otto's project has finally taken off, and we are finally going to green-light the project and announce it for public consumption.
The event is in three days; it is a black-tie event. I'm sure you will be interested in seeing just how far the future of Oscorp will shape.
-Norman Osborn
This time, he sent me a more personal invitation. I sighed. I put it away and sipped my drink. I won't do this. Nope, no, no way. No, no, no, but then again, if something does happen to Otto's experiments, that might cause the man to go insane and become Doctor Octopus. Which would only make my life that much harder.
No, what am I saying? Doc Ock only had problems with Spider-Man; I'm not Spider-Man, not any more. But that means I'm effectively just signing the death warrant on Rosey's life, and I know I won't ever forgive myself for that.
….Fuck me!
Three days later:
I drove up to the research lab, which was located on Long Beach. It was late; night had already fallen. I told May and Ben I was going out for a while. I told them Harry invited me to a party with his dad, and I told my dad the same thing.
From afar, it looked more like a resort than a research facility. I drove up to the entrance and was stopped. I lowered the window.
The security guard walked up and said, "Name and ID, please."
"Pete Parker," I took out my driver's license and handed it to the man. As he put the card through the machine and my name through the client list, I looked around. I was wrong; only the outside looked like a resort; the inside was nothing more than a giant hanger.
I looked at myself in the window. I can't believe I'm wearing a tuxedo. I sighed as I adjusted the bow tie. When I told them it was a black tie event, dad had insisted I get a new suit. I didn't want to, but he insisted. I wanted to at least pay, but he refused and said, 'It's a father's job to get his son a suit. If I can't at least do that, what good am I?'
It was nothing fancy, just plain and simple. I had a small vest underneath, inside of which I hid my web shooters. I don't know why I brought them along, but I just did.
"Alright, you're clear to go through, sir," the gaurd came back, handing me my license. "Just go straight on through and give your car to Valle."
"Thanks," I told him as I drove inside. As I came to the entrance, I got out, and the valle came to take my keys. "No need," I told the man. "Doc, find a place to park."
"Yes, Peter," my car's AI replied as it drove itself away towards the nearest parking lot. People looked on in awe; they whispered, and a few even tried to take a video, but it was too late. I ignored them and walked inside.
In the middle of the hanger was a giant version of Otto's little project. I gulped. I did not like the look of this. The last time I saw this thing, well, it was in Spider-Man 2, and Otto was threatening to blow out the whole of New York.
There were tables everywhere and people everywhere. A lot of fancy dresses—wow, a woman dressed in a very nice red dress just walked past. Her ass looked firm enough to break a tooth. Damn...moving on.
I looked around; there were reporters there, people of interest, and I swear I saw a few people that looked like security. Was Norman expecting trouble?
Just then I heard a voice call out, "Peter!" I turned to see Otto and Rosey walk up to me with smiles on their faces. "I was notified the moment you arrived! It is so good to see you!"
I gave a smile in return. "Otto, Rosey, it's nice to see you both again."
"Indeed, it is my young friend," Otto and I shook hands. "It is thanks to you that my project even got to this stage in the first place after all."
"Please, you give me too much credit," I chuckled.
"And you don't give yourself enough," Otto nodded. "Your technology is in fact what allowed me to complete this in the first place."
"Really? What do you mean?"
"Parker blood," Rosey clarified, "we used it to control the energy transfer. Without it, well, one can only imagine what could happen."
"Ah, we aren't going to have another repeat of last time, are we?" I asked as gently as I could.
"Oh no, rest assured, I made sure nothing would go wrong this time," Otto smiled before leaning in, "and just to be sure I had a party, look it over as well. Everything will be fine."
"Glad to hear it," I smile, "because I'm really not looking forward to being black hole food today."
Otto gave a hearty laugh, "Ah, your jokes never fail to amuse me, Peter. Now, I'm sorry, but we really must go. Norman insists we continue socializing with these people," he grumbled.
Rosey laughed, "Forgive him; he is not used to talking with people below his IQ."
I shrugged. "Believe me, I know what he's going through."
Rosey smiled, "until then Peter." She waved to me as they walked away. I looked around and saw so many people, all going out of their way to socialize. I didn't see anyone I recognized. Good. The last thing I need is a run-in with Harry or Flash like last time.
I waved through the crowds; people had drinks in their hands and food. Chatting, I heard a few keywords like 'Avengers', 'SHIELD', and of course 'Latveria'.
I didn't think much of it. I found the bar pretty quickly, I ordered a coke, and I was going to be driving home today. As I sipped my drink, a woman came up to me and sat down next to me.
"Vodka, with vanilla," she smiled. I looked at her—pretty face, blonde hair, older, maybe thrity? She looked fit—a gymnast, maybe?
"You really shouldn't stare," she said.
"You had all these open seats lined up for you, yet you chose to come sit next to me," I replied back.
"It doesn't mean I wanted you to stare."
"So just a quick peek?" I asked.
She turned to me and looked me over. She took her drink and said, "Sorry, you're too young for me."
I shrugged and said, "It's fine; you're too skinny for me anyway." I picked up my drink and walked away. I don't know who the hell that chick is, and I don't want to know.
I waited for around half an hour. I honestly wanted this stupid thing to just get over with. But then, just as I was growing impatient, a stage was brought forth, and Norman got on it.
People cheered and clapped, and he thanked them all. He smiled, "thank you all for being with us today. As some of you already know, Oscorp has been striving to be the leading edge in clean green energy for some time now, but sadly, Tony always seems to take the limelight from us on that one," people chuckled. They were amused.
"But now it's our turn to show you what we can do. And while Tony's light for the future twinkles like the distant stars, ours burns like the sun," he smiled, "it took us some time to get people on board. But I am glad to say that thanks to my team's efforts and the open minds of many good people, Oscorp will now be supplying fresh, clean energy for the whole city of New York!"
People gasped as slowly as they all began to clap in excitement.
"And we will begin that promise tonight! When my lead scientist, Otto Octavius, flips this machine's switch, the energy transferred into the city will come from this facility alone! And it will run indefinitely for at least a hundred years! So, without further adieu! Otto! Bring us to the future!"
I'll give him this much; he's one hell of a performer. Otto got on stage with Rosey right behind him. He said nothing; he took off his coat and gave it to his wife, revealing his four giant tentacle arms attached to his back. He was still using that mechanical device to connect his nerves to his machine, which was not good.
Rosey walked off stage, and the moment she did, the entire stage got up, slowly lifting Otto up. I spread his arms out, and they moved independently. They reached down, and Rosey held up a wooden box. One arm opened the box while he reached inside and took out a glowing purple stone.
My eyes went wide. 'No,' I ran towards Rosey. I watched as Otto put the stone in the middle of his machine and slowly started the machine.
"You have to stop him," I told her.
Rosey blinked, "Peter? What are you?"
"That stone, where did you get it?" I asked her, looking at the large fusion reactor.
"N-Norman gave it to us; we tested it, Peter; it's safe for us," she told me reassuringly.
"No," I told her, "it's a ticking time bomb! Did you ever test it on this machine?"
"We...no, not-"
"What the hell is going on?!" someone from the crowd yelled out.
I turned to the machine; the rock had mutated into a glowed red sun; something was off. Suddenly, it pulsated outward, sending a shock wave that pushed people back and had our hair standing up straight.
"Rosey! I can't hold it! Shut it down!" Otto cried out as he tried to use his arms to hold back the small sun. Wow, this guy's stupid.
"Right!" Rosey ran away.
"No!" I chased after her. She reached the switch, but just then, a strong flare of solar energy came rushing at her. My spider sense went off, but I didn't care. I jumped at her and pushed her out of the wave.
The energy wave passed over us and hit the ground, blowing up pieces of concrete. I looked around; people were running away. I could see Osborn being escorted out by his protection detail.
"Peter?" Rosey asked in confusion, before she snapped out of it and realized what was going on, "We need to stop it!"
"Right! Stay down!" I ran at the switch and looked around quickly, finding the off switch. I pulled the lever down, and immediately the magnetic stabilizers kicked in and shut the sun down. But it had grown too large and too strong. It wasn't going to go away quietly.
It sent out a blast of energy right at me. I couldn't get away in time. It hit me and sent me flying across the hanger. I regained control in mid-air and backflipped, landing on my feet.
"Rosey no!" Otto cried out as a wave of energy came flying at his wife. He jumped off his platform and used his arms to reach her. He came before her, using his body to protect her from the blast.
"ARGH!" he cried out in pain. I saw the metal arms heat up, slowly fusing into his spine.
"Otto!" Rosey cried out. He was sent flying away, crashing into the warehouse wall. Rosey got on her feet and ran towards him.
Groan!
The entire roof around Otto was collapsing, and she was heading right towards it. 'Shit!' I reached into my pocket and pulled out my web shooters. I sent out quick bursts of web fluid, holding up portions of the ceiling and wall.
Rosey reached Otto's side and said, "Otto? Otto! Speak to me!" she cried out.
"Rosey, we need to get out of here! Now!" I called out, reaching her side.
"No! Not without Otto!" she cried out.
I grumbled, "Fine." I grabbed him and pulled him over my shoulders, carrying him like a fireman while his arms were being dragged along. "Now move!" I cried out.
She didn't ask how I managed to carry a man twice my weight on my back while dragging along nearly two thousand pounds of metal. I don't really think it registered in her mind what I was doing.
We left the hanger just as a final burst of energy came flying out. It threw Rosey and me off our feet. I landed with Otto, but Rosey went flying into a tree. Her head smashed into a tree, and I saw blood come out in droves.
"No," I gasped as I ran at her. I held her up; she wasn't dead, just unconscious. "No, wake up, Rosey, please." I looked around. "Someone!"Get a doctor!" No one responded; they were too busy running away.
I took out my phone and dialed a number I had long memories of. It picked up almost immediately: "Hello?"
"Tony, get SHIELD down to Oscorp's little research lab in Long Island; a star just went supernova. People are hurt, and I don't know if the thing's still active."
"I'll tell them at once," he said, hanging up. I knew he would be here. I held her close, making sure nothing bad happened to her. I'm so close; she's the reason Otto goes mad—well, one of them. If I can save her, I can save him.
A week later:
I looked down at Rosey; she looked almost peaceful.
The door opened up, and a woman walked in. The same blonde woman from before with the nice face. I came to know her name as Agent Morse, A.K.A. Bobbi. She had that place under surveillance; she was the lead in this case.
"Did the doctor's say when she'll wake up?" she asked.
"No," I told her, "she's in a comma; it seems that there was a blood clot in her brain before this; she had moments to live. It's a miracle she pulled through. Her mind has to heal first, and then her body."
Bobbi nodded. "And why exactly are you here, Peter?"
I smiled and said, "I'm a friend. Otto's hurt right now; he would want to be here. The least I can do is look after her."
"Right," she said, looking at me with narrowed eyes. "Did you know? About the accident?"
I sighed. "You aren't seriously thinking I sabotaged this, did you?"
"No," she smiled, "why so defensive?"
I couldn't help rolling my eyes. Compared to Nat, who's a master manipulator of any dialog, this woman was an angel. I sighed and said, "Listen, Agent Morse, as much as I would like to help you, I can't."
"And why not?"
"It's above your pay grade," I told her.
"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Call Fury and ask him about me. He'll probably groan and whine for a bit, but he'll come around." I patted her on the shoulder. "He's keeping vital information from you; get that first, and then you can see the whole picture."
I left Rosey's hospital room and went to the lift. Barbara Morse, Mockingbird—honestly, I'm kind of disappointed. This version of her is a joke, barely better than cannon fodder. But she is clever; I'll give her that.
She doesn't know I work for SHIELD, or I used to anyway. I don't know why Fury's keeping this from her, but it's honestly a waste of time. I was her lead suspect; talk about not seeing the whole picture.
Bobbi's investigation was...slow, but honestly, I don't care anymore. My only responsibility was making sure Rosey pulled through; Otto could still be saved, I hope. Last I heard, he was being treated in a private facility.
And Norman? Well, I felt bad for him. After people had been rescued, it was found that thirteen people had died during the experiment. And since all those people were very rich and very powerful, Norman was being sued.
It was called the trial of the century; I just called it a joke. The man was being charged with intent to murder; it won't hold up. It was an accident. Sure, they can sue him for lots of money, but that won't put him away for long.
I drove back to the Baxter building and took the elevator upstairs. The structural security of the building has been restored, so for the past week, the FF has been bringing in all the cool science toys into our new lab. So far, only mine and Johnny's have been fixed, since ours looked the least damaged and thereby needed the fewest items replaced.
I walked into a now fully furnished lounge and said, "Hey guys."
"Hey Pete," Ben called out from his special chair as he read his SA. "How's Rosey?"
"Still the same," I shrugged as I took off my coat and sighed. I looked outside; it was already snowing. November was at an end, and with it came all the coldness and harshness of winter. Damn the cold.
"Is she going to be alright?" Sue asked from a loveseat near the back of the room. She was curled up with a good book and dressed in a nice blue sweater that matched her eyes and yoga pants that cupped her ass.
I sighed. "No clue," I replied with a few words. She nodded and returned to her book. Ever since that kiss, she and I didn't know how to act with each other. So far, no one has commented on it, but I suppose it's only a matter of time.
I looked around, "where's Johnny...with Liz?"
Ben scoffed, "Yup."
"And what about you, Ben? Doctor lady out of town?" I asked with a sly smile as I grabbed a cup and poured myself a cup of black coffee.
"Betty's out of state, visiting her mother," Ben grunted. "She'll be back by Christmas."
"Nice, got her a present?"
"No...should I?"
"Oh yes," Sue spoke up with a smile. "Get her a book? I don't know."
"Oh, I know!" I smirked, "Rock climbing gear!"
"Peter!" Sue snapped.
"Ah! Good one, kid!" Ben chuckled. "I'm writing that one down!"
I smirked, "Se Sue, no harm; unlike Johnny, I'm funny." I walked to the lounge and stopped. I looked around. The other sofa was covered with books, and apparently Johnny decided to be a little firebug because the rest of the sofa's all had freaking burn marks on it the shape of his ass!
I looked over, Sue noticed my plight, and I moved over. "Thanks," I told her stiffly as I sat down next to her. The love seat left very little room for us to move. I sipped my coffee as I looked at the book she was reading. "Mocking bird, huh?" Ha, that's kind of funny. Considering I was talking with an agent who would one day be called just that,.
Sue nodded. "Yeah, finally got around to reading it."
I nodded. "Hm, a book where a man is persecuted because he's different and one man stands up to defend him."
"Yeah," Sue sighed, "too bad he's also a racist."
I blinked. "What?"
Sue smiled and said, "Yeah, Arcticus was a racist, but he was an even bigger believer in the law. So kind of a two-way split."
"No sh*t," I grumbled, sipping my coffee.
"So, kid, any plans for the holidays?" Ben asked.
"Honestly? No," I sighed. "May and Ben are staying put. My dad, as you know, is with SHIELD, trying to help them track down anyone he saw with Wyndham, and well, I'm just here."
"No, you're not; you have us," Sue said quickly before she realized it. We looked at each other; she blushed and said, "All of us. You can spend Christmas with us if you want."
I smiled and said, "Thanks, Sue. I appreciate it. And I just might take you up on that." She smiled and returned to her book.
I sat there for some time, and I just thought. With Rosey in the hospital, would Otto come after her? Would he come after his wife, or would he go after Norman, who ruined his life? What would he do?
I sighed, 'Why am I even thinking about this? This isn't my business any more. Bobbi has this; she can sort it out.'
And then a small voice in my head asked me, 'do you really believe that? Moron.'
I sighed, 'Even in my own head, I'm an asshole.' But I didn't know what I was supposed to do. What? Just put on my mask and jacket the moment trouble rises. I'm not Peter; I don't feel as if every single thing is my fault; it's not my job, not any more.
I sighed and got up, walking away. Sue looked up from her book and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Lab, I need to do some work, ideal hands and all that," I called out behind me.
I entered my lab and locked the door behind me. Nearly everything that had been broken had been replaced. My terminal and computer were fine, but the machine I used had to go. Luckily, I still had all my files saved and on record, so I didn't lose any work.
I turned everything on, and immediately the blueprints for my latest project were on display before me as a hologram. A gun, no bigger than a glock. This one didn't fire bullets; this was the next version of my emp gun.
I made a few modifications. It had two settings: one was EMP mode, where it shot out a concentrated beam of magnetic energy that fired any circuits it touched, and the other converted that magnetic energy into electrical energy, causing it to act like a stun gun.
And I had made it with Otto in mind. In case he ever went crazy, Why? I don't have an answer.
I eyed the model before sighing, 'fuck it, might as well get this over with,' I went around the lab and grabbed my tools; I had a weapon to build.
It was two hours later when I was done. I called it my Spider-Gun, real original, right? I placed the newly made weapon on my table and eyed it.
Why? Why did I make this? It's just like that time I began this whole hero business. MJ told me heroes were needed, and I spent a week perfecting my first ever pair of web shooters. A whole week. And for what? A chance?
I took my empty mug; I need more coffee. I walked into the lounge and found Ben watching the news. The man was looking with his jaw open at the image displayed before him. In bright red letters, it read, 'Otto Octavius escapes! 10 killed in the process!'
What followed was a video of Otto rampaging through the city; he was throwing aside cars and trucks like they were nothing.
"What is this guy?" Ben asked.
"About an hour ago, the former head of Oscorp's pure energy division woke up from his coma. He was found injured after the Oscorp energy incident nearly a week ago. Doctors said he wouldn't have ever woken up since his brain showed reason to do so. But he did. We are getting reports that nearly 10 people died before he finished his rampage of death. The police began a shootout with him in public and lost him a little over ten minutes ago. If anyone sees this man, do not approach him; he is armed and very dangerous."
The footage went back to Otto yelling out. I squinted; I could barely make out what he was yelling: 'Where is my wife?!'
My eyes went wide as I gasped. "Hey Pete, doesn't this guy's arms kind of look like yours?" Ben asked, and he turned around, but I was already running away. "Hey! Where're you going?!"
I ran into my lap and grabbed the gun, tucking it into my jeans. I took the elevator down and drove off as fast as I could. There was a chance Otto found out where Rosie was. The man was a genius; he could have just hidden for a while and done a simple Google search. Rosey's accident was all over the news; the papers reported exactly where she was.
I reached the hospital in record time. The lifts were too crowded; there was not enough time. I went to the stairs and ran them two at a time.
I reached the floor just as Bobbi walked in with a cup of steaming coffee. She blinked, "Parker? What are you doing here?"
"He's coming here," I told her, running to Rosey's room, not waiting for her to catch up.
"What? Hey! Get back her." Bobbi threw her cup away and began to run after me. I ignored her. I reached Rosey's room. I grabbed the door and threw it open.
A metal arm lunged at my face; its claws were about to crush me when a calm voice called out, "No." The arm stopped. It slowly pulled back and turned around. "He's a friend." It nodded, almost like it understood him, and moved back.
Otto stood over Rosey's bed wearing nothing but a trench coat and a pair of sunglasses. The hospital gown he had underneath was covered in dirt and a little bit of blood. His arms hanged around him like tentacles, looking everywhere he wasn't.
"Otto," I whispered, slowly moving forward, "you're awake."
"Yes," he nodded before gulping. "She...is she okay?"
"A blood clot in her brain," I told him, "it's kind of ironic; if she didn't get hurt when she did, the doctor's never would have found it. She's stable, but..."
"Stop right there!" Bobbi cried out as she leveled a gun at Otto, "Get down on the floor! Now!"
"No!" Otto roared as he turned to her, sending all his arms at her.
"Stop Otto!" I yelled, jumping in front of Bobbi. The arm stopped inches away from me, my breathing quickened, and fear slowly seeped away.
"Get out of the way, Peter!" Otto cried out.
"No, Otto, I can't do that," I told him, definitely meeting his angry gaze. "If I do that, you'll kill her, and Rosey wouldn't want you to be that."
"What are you doing?!" Bobbi hissed.
"Shut up and don't do a thing, or I'll have Fury take your damn badge!" I hissed at her before turning to Otto and sighing. "Please, Otto, you need to stop this. Those arms are messing with your head.
"They aren't doing a damn thing!" He cried out, smashing one into the one next to my face. He pulled his arm out and brought it next to my neck. "You better watch your tongue."
"I saved you and your wife," I told him. "I helped you; I am your friend Otto, and now you're threatening to kill me. Would you really do something like that? Would the man Rosey married do something like that?"
Otto looked at me; his eyebrows rose behind his sunglasses in surprise. His arms started to move around his head, almost like they were talking to him. He held onto his head and shook it.No, "no, that's...  no!He's a good boy! He saved Rosey!"
"Fight them, Otto," I urged him, "please."
Otto looked like he was doing just that and winning. I looked up and said, "I'm sorry, Peter. It's not your fault. You saved her. Thank you."
I sighed, "It's okay." I looked over my shoulder, and Bobbi was surprised, to say the least. She looked at me, and I motioned for her to move back. I turned to Otto and said, "We need to get those arms off you as soon as possible, Otto. The chip in your spine that helped you control them is gone; your mind is open for attack."
"Yes, yes, I need help." His arm began to move again, "but not before I kill the man who did this to me! Norman Osborn will die!"
"Otto no!" I cried out, "Please, you'll get justice, I promise you, but not this way! People will get hurt; please just"
"-No! What kind of man would I be if I didn't avenge my wife's killer with my own hands?! Osborn will die!"
"Rosey isn't dead! She is right there!" I pointed at her, "And if you do this, you will spend the rest of your life as a criminal. And when Rosey wakes up and opens her eyes, I don't want the first thing she sees to be an empty room! She needs you, Otto! Now!"
Otto growled, his arms raised into the air. "You talk too much, boy. You presume too much! I will take my revenge and protect my wife! I will do it! And there is no one to stop me!"
"Stop!" Bobbi cried out as she fired at him.
Otto blocked the bullet with his arms before lunging out at her. "No!" I drew my gun and pointed at him. His eyes widened as I pulled the trigger, and an EMP pellet hit him right in the chest, shutting down his arms immediately.
Otto felt to his knees, his body not able to hold onto the weight of his fully extended metallic arms. I looked up at him, his eyes slowly clearing up. "Peter? How?"
"EMP gun," I smiled, "are the arm's AI voices gone?"
He nodded, "yes...yes…." He looked down at his arms and said, "Oh my God. What have I done?!"
"It's not your fault, Otto," I kneeled down before him, "you were sick."
He looked up, and I saw fury in his eyes. "Osborn, he did this to me!" 'No, please no!' "I'll have his head!"
Zip!
"No!"
A stun gun went off. I jumped aside as Bobbi fired it at Otto, electrocuting him unconscious. He hit the floor. I turned to her and shook my head. "Are you a moron? Or did Shirley decide to pull a fast one on me?"
"He was going to go crazy again," she told me.
"The arms were turned off," I sighed as I got back up. "What you saw was the face of a man whose wife was in a coma, and his spine was permanently fused with four metal arms. He's allowed to be a little angry. Seriously, I'm this close to calling fury on you."
"Okay, seriously, who the hell are you?!" Bobby asked.
"You didn't ask Fury?"
"I did."
"And?"
"He called you a pain in the ass."
I smirked, "Well, he's not wrong."
Next week:
Otto was taken to jail. I told Fury that he needed help, not lock up, but the man didn't listen to me. They managed to remove his arms and store them apparently securely enough, but I'm sure he would be back. Otto's too smart, not too.
Bobbi didn't get into trouble; apparently, she followed the procedure exactly. I didn't really have a problem with that; if they want to treat metahumans like they were just humans, who am I to blame?
Either way, I was done. One little mission—that's all I allowed myself. And now I'm done. I told myself that, but every time I turned on the news, I felt my ironclad would crumble.
The names of the ten people Ock killed were released. There are ten people whose lives I could have saved, ten people who would be with their families for the holidays if I had just worn the suit.
Ten people...damn it all to hell.
I blamed myself, though I knew I wasn't really to blame. It was Osborn's fault; it was all his fault. And the media thought so too.
When they found out about Otto and his story, they went on a witch hunt. They made Otto seem like a victim, which he was, and put all the blame on Norman's head. All of it. The man now faces murder charges. They wouldn't stick in court, though, I know it.
I sat in my bed, my mind spinning a hundred miles per hour. I didn't understand what I needed to do or what I wanted to do. I didn't want to die, but I knew, thanks to Logan's blood, I couldn't.
And so I asked myself, 'What should I do now?' And I didn't have an answer.
I need help. I need to talk to someone and figure out what's going on in my head. What I'm supposed to be. I need a psychiatrist. And I also need to get away from here, from all of this.
I picked up the phone and dialed a number I learned long ago. The man on the other side picked it up, and in a calming voice, he spoke, "Hello?"
"Professor," I sighed, "it's me. Peter. I need to talk. I need help."
The man sighed, "My doors are always open to you, Peter. Please come whenever you wish."
"Thanks, Professor X; I appreciate this." I hung up and looked around. I need to lie to May and Ben and tell them I'm doing something else. Whatever, I'm sure I'll think of something. I already have a plan lined up. This weekend, I'll visit them all.