a/n: Well I finally typed. For those who need to read quick I'll make this short and sweet: please r and r.

Reflection

The tentacles shake me from my thoughts.

"Why did you leave then?" Sarah's read my mind again, they all have.

"If you really do love her..."

"... It doesn't make sense."

"You should go back."

Go back? I could, but I shouldn't. There are so many things that I could do, SHOULD do, but I can't, they just wouldn't work.

To love another like while the police search for me is like putting the one I love on the run as well. Mary Jane is so young, so innocent, what I wouldn't give to be like that again.

"No," I answer them.

They click and whir in confusion, but I ignore that.

"I do like her, I possibly love her, but I can't face her again, not for a while," they accept this without a fight and go back to working. I start to join them. I look through some old papers sitting on a desk, seeing all the designs that used to be my pride.

There are thousands of things that I once called my pride and my own. Many of which were these inventions. I come across one that I thought I had thrown out and laugh, but the laughter dies fast at the sight of the next blue print. It's the tentacles, the things attached to my back. The design, even on paper, still seems flawless, but then how did they develop so much? How did they manage to get stuck to me? I quickly throw the design aside. Bethany looks to me, but quickly turns to Sarah, whom she's been talking to.

I continue on through the searching of the designs, some of which look like I tried to throw away but couldn't, they're wrinkled, torn, and some stained. I don't even remember some of the designs, from when I first started, all the way at the bottom of the pile. Others I remember perfectly, whether they worked perfectly, or gave me a scar to remember them, I look at the design and see that each one has a story, holding a little piece of my past.

I look up at the clock on the wall and see that it's almost midnight. I remember the all nighters that I would spend here, spending countless hours just thinking and calculating.

I get up and walk around, stretching my legs before I turn in for the night. The tentacles start to talk about random things in my head again, and then address me.

"What were you looking at?" did they see me throw their design out?

"Old designs and some newer ones," I vaguely respond, not trying to hint them on.

"Like what?" Kris asks.

"Some stuff from when I was still in college, a few that Curt and I worked on together..."

"Curt?" they cut me off.

"Curt Conners, Dr. Conners as he should be addressed," I state.

"Who's that?" Bethany inquires.

"An old friend, one from college, he teaches students now, people like Peter Parker..." I trail into memories.

"What's he teach?" Liz comes up to me.

"Science," I simply end the conversation.

Sarah zooms off and then quickly returns carrying an old news paper that I've encased. "Is this him with you?" Sarah asks.

I look at the picture. It is us! From way back in college, when we were two of the highest scoring kids in the U.S. on a test and we got interviewed constantly for it. I was on the left, younger and a bit wider than now, and he was on the right, always the scrawny "science geek" as he was always addressed as, except by me. We always stood up for each other and that was all we could do when the rest of the college wanted to beat us down.

"Yes," I answer.

"Were you two best friends?"

"Or study buddies?"

"Both, we always had each others back," I smile remembering how true and untrue that was. We were always there, until one decided to pull a prank, and then we wouldn't speak for weeks.

"You two seem to go together well."

"Where does he work?" now I notice where this is going.

"NO!" I yell.

"What?"

"Did we upset you?"

"We are sorry!"

"We didn't know!"

"I know what you want and I won't let you near him! I'm not having him or Mary Jane or anyone else hunted down by the police just so I can talk to them!" I'm angry and they can feel it.

"We didn't mean it like that!" Sarah defends.

"Yes, you did. You know my thoughts and I know yours as well. I refuse to let you go and try to hunt down a person like a dog just so I can speak to them!" my yelling has caused them to lower, below eye level, like a small child being yelled at.

I realize this and stop.

The room is quiet, the slow and almost silent sound of the water at the other end of the room making the only noise in the whole place.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

They understand and wrap around me, embracing me, and I sit on the floor and embrace them back. I know that they will find out where Curt works, and eventually they will take me to him, but for now I'm happy here and they also know that, and they want me that way. I know what they want, me to be happy and to listen to them. I know I shouldn't have yelled.

"It's okay Otto..." Sarah tries.

"No, it's not. You wanted to help and I just yelled... you were only trying to help..." I trail off and they embrace me tighter.

"We love you Otto."

"We know you didn't mean it."

"You love us."

"And we love you."

With this a single tear rolling down my cheek I hold them to me and I slowly fall asleep in their warm embrace.

a/n: yeah... this was a 37 minute chapter. I really needed to type ever since school started and I finally found some time! Jeez can school be killer on time. Please review!