Finally, the next chapter of JASC is up! Off to the reviewers!

To moonjava: Thanks.

To Agent Silver: I'm glad you're kidding...Reggie wouldn't stand a chance against you.

To Shadowhawk: Okay, okay. I hate to see my reviewers beg.

To LadyKayoss: Yes, I just noticed that many chomic book characters have alliterative names: Otto Octavius, Peter Parker, Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Reed Richards, Bruce Banner, etc. etc. And besides, there are ottophiles everywhere these days.

To Pheonix Master: Okay, I'll try.

To Repto: I love humor too.

In coming chapters, there will be sort of a mentor-student relationship between Dr. Octavius and Dilton Doiley, sort of like Brigham Fontaine in "Out of Reach" or even Peter Parker in "Spider-man 2." Read and review!

Chapter 7: A Practical Demonstration

At the end of another school day, Octavius walked—or crawled home, it was rush hour and with the traffic from Riverdale to New York City the tentacles could get him home faster than a car.

Suddenly, a red and blue blur appeared swishing past the teacher. Finally Spider-man stopped, let go of his web, and paused in front of the scientist.

"So—where are you going at this time of day?" Spidey queried.

"I really don't have time to swat bugs right now. I have important work to do."

"What's in the briefcase?" Spidey pointed to the suitcase Octavius held with a human hand. "Latest plans to take over the world?"

Octavius groaned at the sarcasm. "It's not really any of your business, but they are lesson plans and tests I need to grade."

Then the realization hit the superhero. "You're—you're a teacher?"

"Yes, now please get out of here so I can make my way home in peace."

"A—a teacher!" Spidey repeated. He burst into laughter. "What're you teaching, Super-villainy 101? What're you doing, building another miniature sun in the science lab?" He began to snicker, and relished the fact that his archenemy was obviously displeased.

"If you must know, bug, I'm teaching chemistry and physics. Now get out of here. I really don't want to fight you."

Octopus turning down the chance to fight him? Spidey knew something had to be up. He bent down and retrieved the paper that had drifted out of the suitcase.

It was obviously a science test, with a mix of multiple choice and short answer questions, and an essay question at the end. The test said "Beginning Chemistry, Dr. O. Octavius, Riverdale High School." The name of the student who took that particular test was Reggie Mantle.

"Holy Jesus H. Christ!" the hero swore. "He was telling the truth!"

Meanwhile, Reggie was running the "Mad Doctor's" name through the background check website. He pulled out his credit card. God, these things were expensive but it wasn't like he couldn't afford it. While nowhere near as filthy rich as Veronica, he was still very affluent.

And so Thursday rolled around. Thursdays were more exciting than the other four days of the school week, at least in Chemistry. It was Demonstration Day, and even though some of the practical demonstrations had nothing to do with chemistry, the students still seemed to be learning loads, which pleased Weatherbee.

"Who can tell me what Pavlov was famous for?" Octavius began. "Betty Cooper," he called.

"I think he's the one who trained dogs to salivate at the ringing a bell by ringing it at the same time he fed them."

"Mostly right, Miss Cooper. Now, as it's Thursday, it's time for a practical demonstration. I've recorded the sound of hamburgers frying. Let's see what the effect is on certain students in this class."

He directed his gaze at Jughead Jones, who was leaning back in his chair and snoring. Jughead's favorite hobbies in the world was eating, trying to get free food, trying to shirk work, and sleeping.

Octavius stepped up to the sleeping Jughead and pressed the play button. The sound of sizzling hamburger was promptly heard.

At that moment Jughead's eyes opened, he sat up straight, and yelled, "I'll have extra cheese and pickles on mine!"

"It appears that this dog has already been well-trained," he said.

Before school, Reggie picked an envelope from his mailbox. He shuffled through the papers inside. Trying to blow up New York City? Multiple bank robberies? Kidnapping a Middle Eastern ambassador and holding him hostage! And unless the Mad Doctor had an evil twin out somewhere, Reggie had more than enough leverage for his schemes.

Today Octavius walked into the classroom carrying a white rat in a cage. Veronica Lodge gave a small squeal. He smiled and set the cage on his desk. He removed the rat and placed it on the desk. "I want you to observe the behavior of this rat." The animal moved to the edge of the desk, paused, peered over the edge, and seemed to jiggle its whiskers downwards in the direction of the floor. Octavius picked up the rat and placed it back in the cage. "Describe the rat's behavior, please. I will be calling on hands. Moose?"

"Duh-uh-uh…looking for a way to escape?"

"Dilton?"

"It is reconnoitering its environment, examining it." Reconnoitering? Reggie thought. Frickin' know-it-all.

Octavius wrote each answer on the blackboard. "Betty?"

"The rat is making a visual search of the environment," the blonde offered. "Maybe it's looking for food."

"Veronica?"

"It's looking around, of course."

"Archie?"

"Trying to escape, Dr. Octavius?"

"Chuck?"

"Observing its environment so it can find a way down?"

"Mantle?"

Trying to be scientific, Reggie said, "We can't say what its motivations might be. All we know is that it's scanning its environment."

"And how so, Mantle?"

"Visually," Reggie replied, confidently.

Octavius wrote the response and then turned to the class, shaking his head and groaning. "Each of you observed the rat," he said, "but none of you described its behavior. Each of you made certain inferences, that the rat was 'looking for a way down' or 'looking for food' or 'scanning its environment,' and so on. These are not unreasonable inferences, but they are still inferences, not descriptions. And besides, every single one of you are wrong. The rat is blind, you see. It's been blind since birth. It just couldn't possibly be looking around, at least not in a visual sense."

Reggie groaned, knowing he was wrong and hating it. "Oh, God, leave it to Doc Ock to pull another stunt like that on us."

Octavius stomped towards Reggie until the student and the teacher were face-to-face. "What did you call me?"

"Doc Ock…short for Doctor Octavius, right?" Reggie smirked.

Octavius' teeth were gritted and his sunglass-covered brown eyes were trying to bore holes in Reggie's face. "Never—refer to me—by that name again, do you understand?"

Coming soon: Nature Versus Nurture Chapter 3, All in the Family Chapter 11.