The Month Peter Parker Learned Humility
Chapter 4: Tuesday September 4th
"Prisoner 33250689, get up. Your transfer time starts now", barks a jaded corrections officer. "Is it really time to go to The Raft already?", asks a sleepy Harry Osborn. "Could've sworn it was tomorrow." "Yeah, and I could've sworn you killed kids so you could kill Spider-Man. Get up, punk!" "Alright, I'm up I'm up."
As Harry is the upon last to enter the prisoner transfer ferry, many bitter criminals stare menacingly at this young super villain. The ride to The Raft is a slow, yet steamy ride as the young man is faced with taunts and threats of truly criminal intent. Some range from a simple shank promise, a "don't drop ya soap, cutie", all the way up to "I'm gonna turn the Hob Goblin into Kermit the Frog". He became the biggest name to check into The Raft ever since Armin Zola.
As he is dragged into the dirty cell hallways, hollers and spit are flung towards the young orphan. "Only I get to kill Spider-Man, asshole! Don't take that shit away from me", yelled a belligerent inmate. "What a buffoon; you can't even be a good Goblin like ya dad!", shouted another. "You get an hour max with lunch and yard time, half hour of media time, and two mandatory hours in the library as a substitute for school lessons. We don't consider you a kid, but you knew that back in the courtroom", his state-assigned lawyer humorously stammered. "However, because the cells are expensive to maintain, everyone shares a cell unless their super powers granted through birth and/or experimentation—" "I know, I know; just let me die in here already. These fuckfaces are gonna make sure I won't survive my first week here." "Alright. Just remember, I warned you", the lawyer replied, leaving Harry's table in the break room.
"Now stay there, ya rotten kid! If I see you move an inch I don't like, you're getting an extra year—" "An extra year on a life sentence? C'mon, make me scared, asshole." "Transfer time, Octavius!", yelled a distant CO. "Where's he headed, Kowalski?", asked Harry's CO. "Cell block 4D." "Bring him here, let's show Mr Big Shot here exactly how we treat celebrity killers!" "Yo, is that..?" "It is, and he thinks he's hot shit!" "You can't threaten me—" "We can't threaten you, huh, little boy? Doc Flop over there is gonna tell you EVERYTHING we did to him; ain't ya, mop-head?" A small grunt of anger confirmed the officer's taunts had affected him for the worse, as his large, ominous silhouette wiggles with a smooth, metallic clinking and clanking on either side of his physique.
"Enough talk from you, blabber-mouth. You two sit tight or I find a legal way to kill you dead", the second officer retorted before slamming the vibranium bars in their faces. "Lights out, fuckers! If we hear anything, you won't hear anything again", blares a faulty speaker poking out of the ceiling.
"…No, no no no no no. You, y-y-you're—" "Yes, Mr Harry Osborn. I am the Doctor Otto Octavius, better known to your world as Doctor Octopus", Otto replied, showing off his four tentacles; with each pair tripled chained down and weighted towards but not tied to the ground. "How did you know my na—" "Your father spoke very low of you. Also, word of mouth in prison is vast and ever flowing." "You knew Dad before or after—" "Both. First as a consultant, then as a team recruiter. He was a genius, but far too egotistical. Shame what happened to him, how he thought the Spider Sense would fail that day."
"Wait a minute. If you know how deep his powers go, why are you here? Why didn't you win?" "I miscalculated his spirit, not his strength. No matter who you threaten, no matter how heavy the trap is, the spirit will win. I made him learn pain, however. His uncle may not have deserved to die at the hands of an up-and-coming hitman, but Peter had to learn his powers had to be handled responsibly." "You WHAT?! He was my uncle just as much as Peter, he helped me realize how I could learn to tolerate my father! Who do you—" The left pair of tentacles slap Harry's face with a heaviness he hadn't felt Norman ever give him.
"He wanted to be a wrestler, a man of fame and fortune, a fool", Otto added to his monologue. "No one with such power should EVER waste their potential on something as useless in the real world as an entertainer! I had to teach him the hard way what happens when you waste potential. Then he learned how to not waste his powers, and decided to get involved in my greatness. I only robbed banks to fund my experiments at first, and then I made connections in the underground community, allowing me to work there for higher wages even Tony Stark would pay. Why wouldn't I stay with these morally gray fellows?"
"Because they kill and terrorize for fun! I wanted to kill him for a purpose, I had to—" "You were petty. You're not a man, and never were; never will be. You're a boy who wanted revenge for Daddy's acceptance down in Hell." "You don't GET to talk about my fat—" Otto slaps Harry with both pairs of his restrained tentacles. "I will speak of who I want when I want. I broke the Spider-Man harder than anyone can say they have or will. I want to break him again, as he fails to realize that he is a boy who will not live up to his potential."
"Dad made him retire for a month. You made him want to kick your ass harder, and now he's got a girlfriend, you dip!" Otto, realizing he's not nearly the villain he remembers himself to be during his active years, simply snaps. "He has a what? Why?" "She's Mary Jane Watson, hot redhead who REALLY likes Peter and that damn Spider-Man too. She's the best of both worlds." "…Can you point her out in a crowd, accurately?"
"Yeah, I kidnapped her. Ya tend to remember the face of a girl you kidnap." "Excellent, boy. We'll need that for later." "Why later?" "I may be Doctor Octopus, but I came to the Raft as The Master Planner. You and I will make sure the Spider-Man remembers the two who hurt him once more." Otto begins to subtly chuckle menacingly, with Harry nervously laughing alongside him, in fear of getting slapped again. Otto then laughs in an evil tone, as Harry laughs loudly. The two now maniacally cackle like the absolute madmen they are, ready to strike down the Spider-Man at a moment's notice.
END OF CHAPTER 4
