Calling Me
The world is dark now, the world is empty now. Everything is so quiet, everything seems so…confusing. He doesn't know what's going to happen next, and hates that. He hates it being so quiet, the silence, something could be hiding in the silence.
Something could be coming for him, and he wouldn't even know it. No one…No one could be able to tell him, warn him, protect him. He is weak now…Nothing now… There are no mechanical arms there to protect him, to save him, to pick him up before he hits the ground.
No one to protect him from Spiders.
There are no voices anymore. They're gone. People took him, and they cut him again and again, until those…monstrous things off his back. Those voices…They left him. Left him, defenseless and weak.
But something else is wrong with him.
There's something empty inside. Something taken away when the arms were taken away. Something missing. There's a piece of himself that left with those arms. But isn't that wrong? Isn't that unnatural to feel that way? They were only mechanical arms…weren't they?
They're gone now, and they left him with the truth of what he has done.
He's a murderer.
He doesn't understand it. It all seemed…okay to kill before. It all seemed perfectly all right before. Sacrifices had to be made, and they were. That's all it was. One moment they were screaming people with no lives, and then another they were just another dead body. That's all they were. That's all. It was okay to kill them.
But now…Now he sees. He killed those people. He killed them all. All them…They had a life, they had families. They had people they loved…And he just destroyed all that, without a second thought.
And he knows why. They lied to him. Those mechanical arms lied to him, and manipulated him…They controlled him, and made him think it was all okay. They lied to him…
But he knows…He could have stopped them. He could have realized their lies, and fought them…But he didn't…In the end he wanted whatever they made him do.
And no matter what, he still is empty inside without them. They lied to him, they're more than just machines. They were the only things that ever loved him, ever gave him comfort for years… They're only machines, but he knows they could love, if they could lie. Not all of it could have been a lie. At least that's what he tells himself.
He could teach them, he could tell them right from wrong. He could make them learn the difference. He could teach them not to lie anymore.
It still doesn't change anything. He's a murderer. They're a murderer.
And he sits there in an empty dark room, sitting at the table. They took him here, he doesn't know why. Took him from his empty room with the glass wall so people can stare at him, and study him. They took him there, and he has no idea what has happened to his arms.
"Hello, Mr. Octavius. My name Dr. McNeil, I'm here to help you." A man enters the room.
Otto stares at him.
"A psychiatrist." Otto says.
"Well, I suppose yes." The man sits across the table.
"I guess, I do need the help." Otto looks away.
It is silent, and Otto doesn't like the silence. Things can come from the silence, screams can break it. Screams of people he's killing. So before anyone can break it, he does.
"I can't believe I did those things…" He whispers. "I can't believe I even was able to kill. Me. A murderer. To think I was even capable of such a thing."
And Dr. McNeil is shocked. Doctor Octopus, the madman, the murderer, the monster. How could he say such thing after all things he's done? Now Dr. McNeil understands why the government asked him to see Otto Octavius. He really does need a psychiatrist, not a death sentence.
"You know, I killed her. I killed my own wife. My Rosie…" Otto says.
Dr. McNeil takes a moment.
"From what I've read, Mr. Octavius, the death of your wife was not your fault." He says.
And finally Otto looks up at him.
"That's they told me. That's what they said… But they were wrong. It was my fault. All of it is my fault." Otto said.
"Who is they exactly?"
"Maybe I am insane. After all, they're just machines… Maybe I made their entire personalities up, all those memories with them nothing. I mean it would be perfectly natural for me to develop such a thing to help me adapt to the life…my life as I was. But…Those people. My arms told me that." Otto says.
"The mechanical arms?"
"Yes. And I don't know… I feel so… Isn't it wrong? Isn't it wrong that I miss them? They're just machines, isn't that unnatural to feel that way?"
Otto looks at Dr. McNeil, but the doctor doesn't answer.
"And the strange thing is…I can hear them, still. Silently in my head. Like… They're still a part of me. I can hear them, talking to me. Not calling me, or something insane like that. But…they're still there, in my head. Wanting me back…"
And Dr. McNeil can't think of anything to say.
llllllllllllllllllll
He smiles, he really truly smiles. Nearly a year of nothing but depression, and now a smile. He's happy now.
"Mr. Octavius, this is Dr. Andrews, she has exciting news." They enter the room, and Otto rises from his chair.
"Dr. Andrews, it's an honor." Otto says, shaking her hand.
"The same for you, Dr. Octavius." She says.
And he pauses for a moment. She just called him Dr. Octavius. Dr. Octavius. Dr. Octavius. Not Doctor Octopus. Dr. Octavius.
"Thank you!" He says, maybe too excited.
"Dr. Octavius, I study." She began.
"Genetic Equations." Otto interrupts. "I know, I've read. Dr. McNeil here, is kind enough to give me a Newspaper every so often."
Otto nods to Dr. McNeil.
"My pleasure, Otto." Dr. McNeil says.
"You see, Dr. Octavius, I'm here to offer you a proposal." Dr. Andrews begins.
"Proposal?"
"Yes, Dr. Octavius, we've done all the legal stuff, passed it through the government. And we want you to aid us in are research."
And it took a moment for Otto to realize what she's talking about.
"You're joking, right?" He says.
"No, sir. Of course you'll be aiding us with high security, but that's only a precaution. The development you've been making is good enough for the government to put trust in you again. Please, will you do it?" She asks.
"Of course! Of course! I'll do it in handcuffs!" Otto yelled.
"Wonderful!"
He was going back to work. He was going to get his life back. Then Dr. Andrews and McNeil leave him in his empty cell with the glass wall. And Otto is only with his smile, and the voices in his head, still calling him back.
They're still there, inside him, calling him, waiting for him.
llllllllllllllllllll
"You know, the next war is predicted to be fought genetically. Those arms of yours could,"
"You'll have to excuse Dr. Nathan, he's just a boy who loves his video games, and doesn't know when to be quiet." Dr. Andrews stared at the boy.
"Please believe me, Dr. Nathan when I say my work was never intended to go…down that road…" Otto says, turning to the boy.
"Oh, sorry Dr. Octavius." Dr. Nathan says, lowering his head.
They walked down the metal hallways, obviously a government funded facility, with all the security precautions everywhere. Even now, as Otto walked down with his fellow scientists, three guards followed him with their guns loaded.
"It just feels good to be working in a lab again, it really does." Otto says.
Because work was the one thing he was good at. Work the one thing he could always do no matter what, murderer or not. Work was his passion, his obsession. And Rosie, bless her heart, understood that. But now. Now he could just work. Work, work, work. Work his life back. Work his troubles, and doubts away. Perfect. He didn't care if that was unhealthy or not, it was better than what he had been doing.
"Well, first things first, we have a surprise for you, Otto." Dr. Andrews said. "And, and if it's too soon…or if it's too uncomfortable for you right now we completely understand."
"What are you talking about?" Otto asked.
Then metal doors opened, and it was all clear.
"Oh." Otto said, looking down.
"I'm sorry, Otto is it…" Dr. Andrews placed her hand on his shoulder.
"No…no, it's fine." Otto said.
There in the center of the room, was his arms. People all standing around them, studying them.
"We wanted to work with these, along with many other projects of course, but we felt you could help us with this first." Dr. Andrews. "We've all read about these, but to see them in person. These wonderful things will revolutionized everything! And of course we have many questions of their…connection towards you, and how their full systems works."
"You know, you remind me of my friend, Rosie, always ready to work." Otto smiled.
Then he avoided looking at those arms.
"I have many questions to my connection with them as well." Otto said.
He can hear them still.
"I began to think about it, and I'm not sure that it is more physical than it is mental."
They're so happy to see their father.
"Or maybe a precious mixture of the two."
They're calling him.
"A perfect balance, perfect stabilization."
They want him back.
"Fascinating, Dr. Octavius. I'm so glad you're okay with all this. You'll truly help us here." Dr. Andrews says.
He's staring at his arms. They lay motionless with all the people gawking at them, staring and touching them, poking and rearranging them. And even as they lie there, as if they're dead, but they're not.
He can still hear them…
They want him back, they're so happy he came for them. They want all these people to go away. They don't want to be touched anymore. They never liked to be touched.
Then they see he's just standing there, ignoring them.
That's when the begin to scream.
"Ah!"
Otto grabs his head, and leans against the wall.
"What's wrong!? Otto?" Dr. Andrews asks.
They're screaming in his head, asking why, why, how could he do this to them. Screaming in his head, not stopping.
"Just…Just a headache." Otto says. "I'm fine. Really."
And he tells them he's sorry, and to be quiet from now on in his head.
"You're not going to believe me, Dr. Andrews, but… I still can feel this…connection with them. I can hear them still. Not calling me or something crazy like that. Not calling me. But I can still hear them in my head…I can't really explain it, it's very difficult for me to…" Otto looks over at her.
"Oh, my, God…" She whispers.
They're calling him. They're calling him back, they want him back.
And Otto looks in horror. The four arms are now running straight through for people, and the people soon go limp, and slide right off the slick metal arms. Dead, and their blood staining the floor and claws of those monstrous things.
They're calling him. Father, come back, we love you father, love us. Calling him in his head.
Then before people have time to run, they stab right through four other people. Dr. Nathan is dead, and he lies on the floor, blood dripping out of his mouth.
They're calling him, as they break their restraints, and walk slowly towards their father.
"No! Get away from me! No! No! No!" Otto yells.
"Ah!" Dr. Andrews screams.
The security guards are dead now. They have holes in their chests because the arms stabbed right through them.
Dr. Andrews begins to run.
Calling him.
But she gets stabbed into the wall, and a hole is made in her chest. And Otto stares at her body as it slips down to the floor. And it's like killing Rosie all over again.
"Get out of my head!" He screams.
But they don't. They just call him, and tell him everything will be okay.
He just collapses onto his knees then, unable to move, unable to fight. This was all his fault. Everything was his fault. All of this…
"Get out of my head…" He whispers.
But they don't, and instead wrap themselves around him, as if protecting him, as if comforting him. Their cold metal trying to comfort him. They're calling him. They're calling him. And he can't run away.
His life is gone. Everything he worked for is gone. It's dead. Stained with the blood of all those people he killed.
He will never be forgiven now. He will never be called Dr. Octavius anymore. Never again. Never again. Never again.
He's Doctor Octopus now.
Then the arms tear his shirt, and become part of him again. And it hurts so much.
They're still calling him. Calling him, and finally he answers.