part three
"You little bastard! I do believe I said to behave yourself while I was gone. You gonna explain yourself?"
"I...I want to go back home."
"Look, Norman. C'mere. You're not going to go anywhere, sweetie. You don't have a home back in your universe anymore. If you want the truth? I saved you from being killed. The Goblin had a big miscalculation. You were going to be impaled right in the dick by your own glider. Spider-man was going to jump out of the way of the glider. Would you have rather died like that than be saved by your God? Tell me."
"What..?"
T could see that the man was crying now. All he could think about was how cute he looked. Yes, it pissed him off that he broke the lamp that he took the time to DIY and the treadmill that he stole and shrunk down for his pets. Of course, he would still have to punish him. That was the only way his pets would learn. He flicked through the ideas of punishments in his head for a moment before he decided on one.
"Look, little guy. You've gotta learn how to behave for me. The quicker you comply, the quicker you'll have a good time settled in. You do anything unsavory, you get punished. If you do good for me, you'll get rewarded. That's how things are going to be around here."
T removed the lid from the tank and scooped him up into his palm. It startled Norman. He choked out a "please" before T calmly shushed him. He quickly grabbed a jar from a shelf hanging on the wall. He plopped him into the jar and quickly screwed on the lid with holes drilled into it. He carried the jar over to his working desk. He moved his cluttered projects from the workspace into a box and shoved it under a table. He wondered if Norman was claustrophobic at all.
"I would fuck with you even more but I have to prepare your roommate before his tranq wears off. Sit in the jar and think about the consequences of your actions."
He pulled out the jar from his coat pocket and inspected it. The man was still, however, his actuators were whirring and snapping angrily, looking up at T. He honestly forgot that they could be so lively while their host was out of it. It was amazing how intimidated he felt by the tiny, angry machines. He decided he needed the industrial gloves if he was going to touch him. He took a deep breath and unscrewed the lid gently, making sure they didn't try to escape. They did try to lash out. He covered the top of the jar with a gloved hand, scooting the lid off. He upturned the jar and they slid towards his palm. They were pinching at the glove. It did hurt, just from the force, but it was unlikely to pierce his skin. He grimaced. He needed to take off Otto's wet clothes and switch them with something dry and warm. The actuators were not going to cooperate.
He closed his fingers around Otto's body, firm but careful. The actuators still snapped at the glove. He acted quickly. He searched through a very small box on his work desk. He pulled out a doll-sized red sweater, undergarments, and loose sweatpants. It would do. He had already cut out little circles in the back of the sweater for the actuators. He set them aside.
T tried to peel off the coat, which was hard considering the angles the actuators were at. He didn't want to have to cut the coat off of him. Eventually, he fiddled enough with the actuators and the coat and managed to free him. He managed to clothe the man at last. Grabbing another jar, this one dry and clean, he shoved Otto and the actuators inside and screwed the lid on. He sat the jar next to Norman's. Now he had to clean up the mess in the main cage. It was easy enough. Then he went to get Otto to put him in the bigger cage, leaving him on the same bed that he had put Norman. He pulled the lid back onto the cage and watched as the actuators decided they would not keep still. T would leave them be. Honestly, he was getting pretty tired at this point. He'd probably fall asleep at his desk for another night in a row. He went to sit at the desk and put his head down, staring at Norman through the jar.
"So did you drink anything while I was gone?"
"I don't believe so..."
"I can usually tell the difference between the both of you. I know you, Norman, are fronting. I imagine Goblin threw a fit and you guys sat and dissociated for a while. I have something similar, just without any effects from any serums. I'm going to ask again. Would you like some water?"
"Y-Yes."
"Good."
He went to grab a water bottle for himself and one for Norman from the mini-fridge. He shot one of the bottles with his shrink gun and slipped it inside the jar.
"It's currently uh, 4 P.M., May 2022. You're on a universe I've nicknamed Earth-708. You are from Earth-96283. Again, I'm Dr. T and I don't particularly want to harm you."
"What about Harry?"
"The kid turns out fine. I told Spider-man to not tell him you had any involvement with the Green Goblin. People in your universe end up thinking you got killed by the Goblin actually, not realizing, y'know, you share the same body with the guy. He ends up taking on the family business and does pretty well at it for a while."
"What about Spider-man? Peter Parker."
"He lives a pretty good life, especially since the Goblin and Doc Ock aren't after him anymore."
"Doc Ock?"
"The man with the metal arms I was wrangling with. Doctor Octopus, a.k.a. Dr. Otto Octavius. Your new roommate."
He saw the shock on Norman's face.
"That--that wasn't Otto."
"I'm 100% sure that it is the Otto from your universe. He ended up working for Oscorp under Harry. He was working on a fusion-powered project. One miscalculated power spike later and the harness he was using to handle everything was fused to his spine. The inhibitor chip was fried in the accident too. He ended up killing a lot of people actually. Poor bastard even accidentally killed his wife. It's not my or your fault either, so don't end up worrying over it."
Rosie? He remembered Otto loved her so much. They all had met in college.
"I..." Norman trailed off. "Why Otto? Why us?"
"Because I want pets. I like you guys. I've known about you for a while."
"Okay, but how? If- If you're some God like you say you are, then how?"
"It's a bit complicated. I know more than the average human can. Not everything. But with my machines, they let me do great things. I have the means to go to different universes and the time periods within them. You two were reasonably different, exotic even, that you caught my eye. It's like how some humans want to keep animals like cheetahs or foxes or whatever, you know? Something different than the regular house cat or dog. I think the both of you will be quite entertaining. Oh, plus it'll give my DIY and miniature hobbies a good workout. Especially if you two keep wrecking the damn place."
So his captor was bored and wanted a hobby. He felt sick at being thought of in that way.
"Okay, so why not go out and get a cheetah or a fox then?"
"Duh, they can't speak my language."
"If you're a God then why can't you speak to animals?"
"Because I'm not a God that rules over animals. My specialty is humankind and technology. Think of it like polytheism or whatever."
"Are you serious?"
"Serious as a sock."
Norman decided this man was nuts. He suddenly felt tired and hungry.
"I'm kind of feeling hungry...You aren't going to be like one of those owners that don't take care of their pets, are you?" He joked despite it making him feel sick.
"As I said, I'm not going to treat you like that unless you're bad. I'd rather not resort to a punishment that harms you physically. What are you craving? Anything you want I'll try to get it."
"Could go for breakfast, even if it's dinner time... Like, bacon, eggs, hash browns."
"Alright. I'll have to go out then. What do you think Otto would want?"
"If it's the Otto I know, then anything at all."
"Cool. I'm going to put you back on the table. Considering how volatile his extra arms are, I'm unsure if I should put you in the same enclosure, at least not while I'm not around to supervise. That's not to say you aren't impressive at holding your own though."
He put the jar next to the bigger enclosure and then shot off another portal and disappeared.