Chapter 3
Otto Octavius always felt a natural repulsion towards firearms; too primitive, too personal. Death traps on the other hand, offered an intermediary, a test of skill between the mastermind and his victim. To an ordinary person each of the traps designed by Doctor Octopus should be deadly, but Spiderman was no ordinary person, as he always got away with it, unscathed and triumphant over Otto Octavius.
It was this way because Otto had always underestimated Spiderman's intellectual capacity. In his eyes the boy was just a clown dressed in the American flag with spiders and webs as accessories. Always playing at being a hero. Otto couldn't allow himself to see the man beneath the mask; so smart, so brave and so powerful. But, since he became the man beneath the mask his perspective had broadened and he stopped making death traps, he became an active hunter. But now, due to circumstances Otto had reverted to his old tactics, there he was, in the middle of the city in a green and yellow leotard with an old-fashioned set of mechanical tentacles demanding Spider-Man.
This trap was not targeted at Peter Parker or Miles Morales, but rather it was targeted at Otto Octavius; the real Otto Octavius. Superior Spiderman had gotten the idea from a lesser criminal mind, an exact duplicate of the victim but much younger faking an accidental time travel, it worked like last time, his counterpart had stopped what he was doing and ran off to destroy the impostor.
Otto Octavius tore his double apart without much difficulty, but what the claws of his tentacles tore and broke was not flesh and bone, but silicone and metal. What he had torn apart was an almost perfect robot of himself. He felt triumphant, powerful and above all superior, but there was something that didn't feel right. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but he knew something was wrong. This robot wasn't aiming to kill him, he saw the programming of its movement patterns in his mind. For a genius like Octavius in the field of robotics, a robot's movements could tell him its entire structure and the mindset of its creator. Whoever had sent the inferior Otto didn't aim to kill him, but to incapacitate him. Before his mind could take him to logical conclusions one after another, a red and black figure fell in front of him raising a cloud of dust.
- no ambushes, no backstabbing, no No treacherous blows this time Otto
- SPIDER-MAN
- “superior Spider-Man” to be more specific
For a moment, superior Spider-Man understood Peter Parker a little more. The face that Otto Octavius made was priceless. He felt like taking a picture of him to immortalize the moment
- A time traveler? No. No. No.~ We wouldn't do that. You must be a clone; a security measure to preserve our intellect in case of our death.
- Damn. I'm good. You know why I'm here, don't you?
- The truth is, no, i don't. I have nothing against you. Despite being a clone, you're still an Octavius. Maybe you want to avoid future problems by making a deal with me. That's why you sent this inferior version.
Otto broke the head of the robo-Otto by pressing it with his tentacles
- I knew you would go after our robot since I myself fell into a similar trap, but yes, I'm here to make a deal with you. In exchange for your mind, memories and brain waves I will give you what you have always wanted
Otto found the superior spiderman's offer funny. Without realizing it, they both began to walk, making a perfect circle without getting close.
- And what is it that I want and cannot get on my own? Love? Respect? Power?
- Yes. And much more
Superior Spider-Man's mechanical backpack opened a small compartment, from which a docile spiderbot came out like a small mechanical pet, this small robot walked with its eight small mechanical legs to Superior Spider-Man's palm. He offered it to Otto Octavius with his hand extended
- Come with me Otto and we will be one again. We will be superior again
In response, Superior Spider-Man received a thunderous laugh full of genuine laughter.
- You? Superior? Don't make me laugh. You are just a copy of a copy of an Otto Octavius contaminated by Spider-Man's mind. I am Octavius. And I don't intend to be anyone else.
Inside the mask, Superior Spider-Man frowned and in response, the mask reflected it in the lenses of the mask. Otto felt deeply offended and seriously embarrassed. Didn't this other Otto see that he was giving him a golden ticket to the life he always wanted? Influence, power and the love of the people. His pride prevented him from stepping forward and realizing that his path was not the right one. He could see how the tentacles moved, restless, preparing for action.
Superior Spiderman sighed, and told himself that he had tried. He had given him the option to choose, now his desires did not matter.
People often underestimate Spider-Man's speed. Peter Parker used to hold back so as not to scare people, since to the average eye Spider-Man only looked like a red and blue blur, this disoriented people, it caused them a primal fear knowing that something so big should not moved so fast, but superior Spider-Man did not impose that limitation on himself. Doctor Octopus only saw a black and red blur until his tentacles vibrated from the impact of having blocked the blow of the superior Spider-Man. His conscious did not register what he saw but his mind reacted, in response his tentacles defended and attacked at the same time that they tried to anticipate the next attack. It continued like this until the tentacles could not keep up and a punch that almost broke otto’s jaw knocked him down. Otto still felt his brain bouncing inside his skull when one of his four tentacles grabbed a manhole cover and threw it against the base of a billboard on top of a building. Superior Spider-Man's attention was diverted to the passersby who ignored his battle and continued walking next to the curious people who recorded the fight. All those people were in danger. The clone didn't even hesitate. He launched himself towards the buildings to make a web to support the gigantic falling advertisement. That was his mistake. He turned his back.
He hadn't finished weaving the web to catch the billboard when Octopus punished his good deeds. Superior Spider-Man was the victim of a brutal beating by Dr. Octopus's metal arms. Each blow splintered some bone in his skeleton, a couple of times his mask broke, his suit was torn to shreds and several bleeding wounds spurted blood, but Superior Spider-Man did not stop holding the web.
What Octopus didn't consider was that he wasn't fighting Spider-Man but an Octavius. Before realizing that the civilians had gotten to safety, Otto had been taken by the neck and each tentacle had been neutralized by each of Superior Spider-Man's mechanical legs. In the blink of an eye he had been pinned to the ground by this parody of Spiderman.
- it's over Otto.
- just shut up and kill me already
- I'm not like you. And you won't be like that anymore either. Never again.
The spider bot he had shown him at the beginning had attached itself to the back of Otto Octavius' neck, ready for the permutation of minds.
- don't worry. you won't die. You'll live inside me.
- you don't want me inside you. I killed a child
The meaning of the words hit him like a shot to the heart. All this time he had convinced himself that he still carried a moral code. A line that they should never cross but now…
- no… I... never…
- he lived in another universe. He was one of us. A self-proclaimed superior spiderman
- It's a lie
- Is it? I can feel how our octobot has accessed my frontal lobe you can see for yourself if what I say is a lie
This had to be a trap, surely, it was a ruse to make him lose concentration for a second, but in case he was telling the truth then… “NO” he shouted in his mind. It didn't matter if it was a trap, in fact he welcomed the prospect.
With a mental command he made the Spiderbot access Otto's recent memories. He didn't have to search for long, octopus himself showed him that memory.
He was definitely in New York, but it was so different, the memory of the city's aroma told him of a better quality of air, the passersby were friendly, the streets clean, then he saw it. A Spiderman, without a doubt a superior Spiderman, but this one was different, perhaps an Otto who had naturally developed as a Spiderman. Then his Otto attacked. The boy fought well but was clearly inexperienced, a child. He certainly gave his Otto reasons to use lethal force, an accident or a desperate move. But instead he heard how the young Otto tried to negotiate, almost begging.
Otto didn't have to kill him but he did anyway. Disgusted, he returned to the present time. He watched as Otto smiled. Superior Spiderman decided that not only was he not going to merge their minds, but Otto would not live to see the next day.
Without speeches or ceremonies Spiderman began to smash Octavius' face. Simple, slow and methodical. With each blow blood splattered at his fist and the pavement. Otto knew how hard he could hit and where he should hit to prolong the beating. Otto Octavius was going to die by his hands but it wouldn't be quick or painless. He hated to admit it but it felt good, with each blow Superior Spiderman felt further away from the Otto he had been.
- Just kill me already
- SHUT UP
Spiderman lifted Otto with his left hand while preparing his right for the coup de grace. The tips of his fingers became blades ready to slice his neck but an angel stopped his hand. Not with a sword but with a plea in a voice so sweet that it hurt his soul.
- Spider-Man. Don't do it
it was Anna Maria Marconi. She was making her way through the group of spectators that Spiderman had not noticed her presence. Anna Maria's face reflected terror and concern
- Spiderman. If you kill him there will be no turning back.
- this dog only deserves…
- it's not about him. you are better than this. you must teach us that we can be better
she was right. for god's sake, she was right. he had forgotten a long time ago the essentials of being Spider-Man. he closed her fist and knocked out the doctor. With octopus still breathing he headed to the nearest police patrol who was debating if he should Get involved
- officer. I would like to hand over Dr. Octopus to your custody as well as myself.
He had a long way to make amends For what he did but he was going to make it right this time