part two
"Did he just say Octavius?"
Goblin ran out of the house, across the fake lawn, and peered out beyond his cage. The giant man was gone. He stared at what looked like ordinary concrete flooring where the man once stood. He decided to stand back and angrily hurl the lamp at the cage's glass wall. It didn't break the wall, but it did break the lamp.
"Osborn? You awake?"
He didn't feel Norman around anymore. He probably checked out due to the stress of it all. Whatever, it was for the best, honestly. He would just be freaking out instead of getting together a game plan. This wasn't like a day spent in a business meeting. This situation was more fitted towards someone like himself. If this Dr. T was getting who he thought he was getting, it was even better that he was the one staying out. The only Octavius he knew was that of Dr. Otto Octavius. He and Norman met each other in college and eventually founded Oscorp together. They had a falling out that left on a bitter note. Goblin felt that Otto was similar to Norman in a way: worried about the wrong things. It made them weak. Otto was worried about furthering projects that helped humanity as a whole. The most important thing for a scientist was funding, not making humanity better. Goblin was surprised when even weak little Norman agreed with him on that. Norman went ahead and pushed for the projects that the military was willing to fund. Power and money were more important to the Green Goblin. Power would be exceptionally helpful right now, too.
He decided to check the rest of his surroundings. The cage was sitting atop a long table. The overall room was cool and dimly lit, other than the lamp that was aimed above the cage, shining through the holes in the metal ceiling. He saw no windows. There was a raggedy desk chair scooted out from underneath a desk. On top of that desk, there was some sort of project being worked on. There was also a fridge in one corner of the room. He did not see a doorway out. He figured the room was built below ground.
He noticed inside the cage, beside the house, there were stepping stones leading to a shed that was enclosed. It looked like there was a basketball hoop beside the shed as well. Did we seriously give off the vibes of being into basketball, he wondered.
Goblin chose to go check out the shed. He found a light switch beside the door. There was a tiny bulb on the ceiling that dimly lit the shed. It felt like the only private place in the whole cage. There weren't any holes or windows in the shed. It almost gave him a sense of repose. There was a couch in the corner, with a basketball and a blanket laying on it. There was also a treadmill. He thought about picking up the treadmill and throwing it at the glass wall. He unplugged it from the wall and picked it up with ease. He carried it above him and went to stand a few steps back from the glass wall. He gave it his all and threw it directly at the glass. Just like the lamp, however, it crashed into pieces. Goblin examined the wall. No dent or crack, but perhaps a scuff. Goddamn it. He punched the glass out of frustration and it did nothing but make his fist throb. He leaned on the glass and slid down it, resting against it.
What the hell was a person supposed to do to escape in such a situation? Now that he thought about it, what would he even do if the wall was broken? He would still be small. The hopelessness was starting to get to him. He wanted to cry. It reminded him of how weak they used to be. He and Norman had built up their empire to get away from that weakness. They had taken charge. Now it felt like Goblin had been thrown back to square one. He would have rather had his only enemy been Spider-man. At least he was evenly matched with him. He wishes he had alcohol and lots of it.
He leaned against the glass for a while, trying to think about what all he could do. Eventually, he was spacing out so hard that he didn't realize that Dr. T was back.
Dr. T had jumped into the portal and appeared exactly how he wanted. He was finally used to universe hopping with his trusted machine. He already had the shrink ray ready, in his other hand. He planned exactly how he would capture his next pet, Dr. Otto Octavius, a.k.a Doctor Octopus.
He acted fast, aimed at the miniature sun forming, and shot it, kept shooting until it was nearly non-existent.
"It's you!"
T turned around to see the familiar face of Peter Parker. Otto was still halfway in the water, the actuators watching everything play out with a hiss.
"That it is! I told you I would be coming back. Two years later in fact. Now that I've saved the day again, I need what I've come for. Stand aside, Spider-man."
"Wait! I mean, I'm grateful and all, but I've been wracking my brain for answers. You've got to tell me more about you. Where did you take the Green Goblin?"
T could see the gears turning in Otto's head. The actuators were whirring. Probably talking to him in their curious little languages; talking about how much he shouldn't trust the two men. He hurriedly switched the portal gun with another gun. Suddenly he saw a flash of metal come straight at him. He was grabbed tightly by an actuator and he accidentally dropped the gun.
"P- Spider-man! What the hell did I tell you last time? Stop taking your attention off your enemies!" He searched for the red and blue-suited man. He was attacked by an actuator as well but dodged.
"Sorry!"
Spider-man shot some webs at two of the actuators to hold them together. T could feel the actuators squeeze him harder. He saw a glimpse of MJ in the corner of his eye. He squeaked out a "help" and he tried to kick his gun toward the woman. She seemed to still be in shock for a second before bending down to grab it and inspect its workings.
"What is he talking about, Parker?" Otto managed to snap the webbing that stuck the two actuators together.
"He's just trying to help you, Dr. Octavius!"
"Aim for his body, not the arms!"
T saw Mary Jane shoot the gun and out came a large dart. It thankfully pierced through his coat with its very thick needle. The actuator holding T loosened its grip and T pried himself away. He shot his shrinking ray directly at him and ran over to collect his dazed specimen in a jar. He inspected his catch. He was doing to do just fine.
"Peter!" MJ ran over to him. "I..."
T tried to take a deep breath. This mission could've gone better, but it could've also gone worse. He'll take it. He went over to the two.
"Miss, thank you. You really did help me out. Good work, Spider-man. I do need my machine back though."
MJ awkwardly realized what he was saying and gave him the gun back. He nodded a thank you and put it back in one of the holsters on his belt.
"Look, I know you want answers, Spider-man. Again, I can't tell you much. I came back to your universe for the last time. Doctor Octavius was going to die taking out his creation. He's not hurt. The Goblin is alive and we're working towards finding a cure for him. He actually has it pretty cushy compared to what he would go through still living here. Both these men, they're dangerous. I'm going to work to create a new inhibitor chip for him. It should make it to where he has more control over the actuators. I also know that you need to talk to, um...You both need to resolve some stuff. I need to go now, not much time before he wakes up again. He's also sopping wet from this dingy place. I'm going to get him in a more comfortable environment."
"I, um. Okay." Peter nodded awkwardly.
T patted himself down, making sure everything was good before opening up another portal.
"Stay safe."
"You too, Dr. T."
He smiled and waved before stepping into the shimmering light of the portal.