A New Beginning
by Enigma Cypher
Chapter One: The First Day of the Rest of Your Life
New York City, circa 1932...
To many, New York City was considered the gateway to a new life. When people saw the Statue of Liberty in the harbor, they saw her as a symbol of freedom, to live life as they wished. When they first set foot on Ellis Island, they could feel their old life slip into the past, and their new life begin.
That's how Otto Octavius saw it, as he stepped from the boat that had carried him and others to America, August 7th, 1932.
Octavius himself had left his native homeland of Germany due to problems that slowed down his research. At 24 years of age, he wasn't the tallest man alive, standing at 5'9. He had short brown hair(which most people back home considered odd), and brown eyes. He had to wear glasses, as he was severely nearsighted.
He took a look around and noticed the number of people who were there, waiting to get into the country as he himself was. He got in one of the shorter lines and waited to be checked out. You had to go through an inspection to get in, a procedure he found useless, in some cases.
Finally he was at the front of the line, and found himself standing there as the inspection officer looked him over, and finally asked, "What is your name, age, and country of origin?"
Octavius looked at the officer and said, in a heavy German accent, "Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius, 24 years of age. Born in Germany."
The officer nodded and wrote the information down. The process of getting the required information took much longer than Octavius would have liked, but there was nothing he could do about it...
Finally the officer let him enter, and Octavius took his first step into the country he now called home...
--
2 hours later...
By this time, Octavius had checked himself into a motel for the night, and was lying on the bed, the lights dimmed, staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought.
He was brought out of it, however, by a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" he asked, not moving from the bed.
The voice on the other side of the door said, in a faint Queens accent, "I'm a messenger. Can you please come open the door? I'm not allowed to enter the room otherwise..."
Octavius sighed and got up from the bed, walking to the door and opening it.
There stood a boy no older than 18, light brown hair and hazel eyes. He was holding out what appeared to be a bottle of fine wine. "I was asked to give this to you. You are Dr. Octavius, correct?"
Octavius looked at the boy oddly. "Yes, I am. And who might you be?"
The boy responded with, "I-I'm Peter Parker..."
Octavius took the bottle and asked, "And who is this from?"
Parker stood up straighter and stated, "It's from Norman Osborn...I'm not sure you'd know him...but he requests that you meet him at his office tomorrow at 10...I have the address-" here, Parker pulled a slip of paper from the pocket of his coat, "-he'd like to see if you'd accept a position in his company. He owns one of the better laboratories in the city, and he's heard of you."
Octavius raised an eyebrow at this. "He's heard of me? How?"
Parker said, "I'm not exactly sure...well, I have to leave now..."
Octavius nodded and pulled out a few bills of money and handed them to Parker. "Thank you for the message. Now if you'll excuse me..." With that, he shut the door and walked over to the window. The curtains were drawn, but he pushed one open with a finger, squinting in the still bright light of the setting sun.
Perhaps I shall go meet this Norman Osborn... he thought to himself. I'd love to be able to get back to my research as soon as possible...
With that, he let the curtain fall closed and walked back over to the bed, sitting on the edge, looking at the slip of paper that Parker handed him.
Hmm...1017 Lexington Ave... shouldn't be too hard to find...
He set the slip of paper on the nightstand and stood up, walking towards the door.
Can't be any harm in taking a walk around the city, he thought. Maybe I can find somewhere around here that has some decent food...haven't had anything edible in a week...
With that, he left the building, making sure to remember the address so he would be able to find his way back.
He took a step into the street, when suddenly he found himself jumping out of the way to avoid getting rammed by a fast-moving cart.
He hit the ground hard, but he got up and shouted, "Why don't you watch where you're driving!? Are you blind, drunk, or just ignorant!?"
The cart stopped, and a man stepped out. The man had short blond hair, and blue eyes. The oddest thing about him, Octavius noted, was that his right arm...there wasn't one. His arm ended at the shoulder, leaving his right side bare.
The man ran over to him and said, "I'm so sorry about that... I honestly didn't see you there! I was distracted, and all of a sudden you were just there and... are you alright?"
Octavius shrugged and said, "I'm fine... at least I got out of the way... it wouldn't exactly be a good thing if I wound up in the hospital my first day here, would it?"
The blond man said, "First day? What, did you just move here?"
Octavius leaned against a lamppost and said, "Actually, I emigrated here... couldn't continue my research back home..."
The blond man looked at him for a moment, then his eyes widened.
"You're Doctor Otto Octavius, aren't you?"
Octavius looked at him oddly.
"Yes...why do you ask?"
The blond man said, "You don't know? You're somewhat famous, among scientists here..."
Is this man joking!? Octavius thought to himself. I'm not that well-known...am I?
The blond man continued, "I might as well introduce myself. I'm Dr. Curtis Connors." He stuck his hand out to shake.
Octavius shook his hand and said, "Well, I must be going...do you know of anywhere around here where I might be able to get something to eat?"
Connors shook his head and said, "Sure...if you don't mind me saying, do you mind if I join you? I figure you're new here, maybe I could, I don't know..."
Octavius shrugged again and said, "Sure...why not?"
Connors nodded and said, "I'll give you a ride...this city's not easy to navigate, y'know..."
Octavius looked around and said, "So I noticed..." With that, he stepped into the cart and took a seat beside Connors, who got the cart going down the road again.
For several moments there was an awkward silence, before Octavius finally spoke.
"So...what is it, exactly, that you do?" He asked Curt.
Curt, not taking his eyes off the road, replied, " I teach Physics at the University here... I was actually on my way home earlier..."
Octavius nodded, but said nothing more.
It was silent for the rest of the ride until Connors stopped the cart and said, "We're here."
Octavius looked over at Connors and said, "And where, exactly, is 'here?'"
Connors stepped from the cart and said, "A local restaurant. I think you'll like the food here… I come here for lunch every day; it's not too far from E.S.U."
Octavius stepped from the cart as well, and Connors led him into the restaurant.
The man at the counter noticed Curt and said, "Hey, doc, back already?"
Curt nodded and said, "Yeah, I wanted to show him…" here, he gestures towards Octavius, "this place. This is Dr. Octavius. He's new in town."
The man at the counter grinned. "Looks like ya finally found someone just like you." He looked at Octavius. "New in town, eh? Where are ya from?"
Octavius looked at the man, his face expressionless. "I emigrated here from Germany, actually. There were issues back home that interfered with my research. If there's one thing I cannot stand, it is interference with my research. Hence, I came here."
The man whistled and said, "Well, guess I'll show you two to a table, then." He walked from behind the counter to an empty table. Octavius and Curt took a seat, and the man said, "I'll bring ya a menu in a minute," and walked away.
It was silent for a minute before Connors asked, "So… how long have you been in America?"
Octavius looked up from the table and said, "Only a few hours, actually. I had to spend a week on a ship. The rough water made it miserable, and the sound of crying children drove me to the brink of insanity. I barely slept the entire trip."
Connors nodded and said, "Sounds bad. Sounds like you're glad to be off the ship."
Octavius leaned back in his chair and said, "Precisely. I can only take so much of that misery. I could not get off of that ship fast enough."
It was then that the man came back with 2 menus. He put them on the table without a word, and walked away.
Connors watched him leave, then turned back to Octavius.
"So, where are you staying now?"
Octavius picked up the menu and said, "As of right now, I've got a room in a motel. I'm trying to find somewhere to take up residence."
Connors looked down at his own menu and said, "I know someone who could probably find you a good place. There's a building downtown that's been unoccupied forever. You might be able to get that place."
Octavius nodded, but did not say anything more about it...
--
The two stayed for 5 hours talking, and Octavius did not get back to the motel until past midnight. He planned to meet Connors the next day for lunch as well.
When he finally got back to the motel, he saw a note on the door. It had his name on it. He removed it from the door and walked into his room, the lights still dimmed like he had them earlier.
He sat in the desk chair and read the note:
Dr. Octavius-
Hope you had a safe voyage into the country. Sorry I couldn't talk to you earlier, but I had business to take care of. I look forward to meeting you tomorrow.
-Norman Osborn
Octavius set the note on his desk and walked over to the window. The moon was full, although clouds were threatening to overtake the sky. He finally removed his coat, threw it in the chair and collapsed onto the bed, turning out the lights. It had been a very long day...
--
Meanwhile, at Osborn Industries...
Norman Osborn sat behind his desk, his feet propped up on it, talking to one of his top scientists, Mendel Stromm.
"Mr. Osborn, are you sure about this?" Stromm began. "I mean, you know nothing about this man, and you're going to offer him a position?"
Osborn rolled his eyes and said, "You're right. I don't know anything about him. Which is why I called him here for a meeting tomorrow. I want to meet him in person."
Stromm continued, "And if this turns out to be a mistake?"
Osborn sat up straighter, folded his hands in his lap, and stated, "Then I won't hire him. Look Stromm, I know what I'm doing: Otto Octavius is one of the world's leading minds. He knows more about radiation and its effects than any man alive, and he's only 24. Since he's now in America, he'll need somewhere to continue his work. If I can convince him to come here, it can only bode well for this company. I intend on offering him a position, with or without your opinion. If you don't like it, feel free to resign."
Stromm began to say something, but thought better of it and walked from the office instead.
Osborn sat back in his desk, a confident smirk on his face.
It's about time we found someone who can put this company on the map... he thought. I know I am right. I know this is a good decision. And I know that no one's going to stop me from getting what I want...
-To be continued...