Note from the author: Thanks for reviewing, people!! They are really helpful, I've got big plans for this story, so trust me when I say it's gonna get good. Special thanks to Agent Silver!!! I'm a big fan of your stories and it's great that you are another person who plays the Spiderman 2 video game. I'm going to include quite a few quotes from it so enjoy!!

Chapter 4: Cat and Mouse

Otto still lay in a deep sleep, immersed in a dream. The black of unconsciousness melted to reveal him still lying on the couch. He felt a familiar caress on his brow. He sat up and turned around, "It can't be," he thought. What he saw made his heart ache, in a... sort of, good way. Rosie sat leaning up against the arm of the couch, with a loving smile. Otto got to his feet as they stared at each other. She was dressed in the same clothes as the day that they met Peter. She got up and walked to Otto, studying his face and the actuators. "You've changed so much," she said slowly as she gently placed her hand on his cheek.

Otto said nothing as tears filled his eyes. He shut them to try to get rid of the accumulating tears. He wanted to just let it all out, Rosie wouldn't mind. He just shook his head. "I-I...I," his voice faltered for a moment. He just couldn't tell her, but then again, there was so much that he did want to tell her.

"It's okay," she said reassuringly.

He hung his head, "Rosie... I-I'm a murderer."

Rosie took a few steps back, in her eyes was the expression of frightened surprise.

"I'm so sorry; it probably would have been somewhat of a good thing that you passed... so you would not have seen what a monster that I became,"

She walked forward and picked up one of the actuators. "These things, they... they didn't, did they?"

Otto nodded his head as she sighed.

"But then there was nothing I could do. Once the inhibitor chip was destroyed, they had no problem at all taking over my mind." Otto looked at her.

There was a long pause between the two.

"You can still redeem yourself... help Peter," She said hopefully, walking up to him and leaning her head up against his muscle-toned chest. She put her hand over his heart, "Just trust this."

He reached his hand up and gently put it over hers as she looked into his doleful eyes, "I will, I promise," he whispered.

Otto woke with a start, "Yes," he said to himself, "I can." He looked to the windows. It was still dark outside. He felt his ears prick up as the minute sound of punches and kicks being blown, sounded through the roof. He ran to one of the windows and undid the latch. Cracking it open, he slid out into the night, gently shutting it as the actuators slid out like snakes.

Fools, who could it be at this hour?

Using his ears to determine just where on the roof they were, he climbed up the side and eased himself up onto the top. He watched as a lady clad in skin-tight black leather and snow-white hair that hung down to just below her jaw, exercised magnificent flips and kicks to a number of thugs who were undoubtedly trying to break into his house. He slipped around behind her stealthily as she rendered the last of the masked thugs unconscious and kicked him along with the rest of them off of the side. Otto winced as he heard them slam into the pavement below.

Standing to his feet, he called out to this mysterious woman, "Milady were those yours?"

She hid her startled surprise as she calmly turned around. In a cocky voice she answered, "Humph, Puh-lease." She jumped to adjacent building's roof as Otto called out.

"Hey!! Wait." He, with a burst of energy, leapt onto the same roof as she, surprised at the fact that she was still there and appeared to be waiting on him. "I just want to know, who are you?"

"That's for me to know and you to not find out." She said, "But I suppose I could tell you, if you are willing to catch me... Doctor Octopus."

She was treading on dangerous ground and they both knew it. Every muscle tensed in his body at that remark. "What did you just call me!?" he seethed as he clenched his fists. The actuators reared up and hissed venomously. She just looked at him with a look that clearly said 'Bring it on!'

And they were off. She bounded from roof top to rooftop occasionally letting out ropes with small hooks out enabling her to swing like Spiderman, however, Otto, the whole time, was hot on her heels.

"God, I've got to lose this guy!!" She panted as she flew off of the top of a tall skyscraper. Catching sight of a fire escape, she plummeted down to it. "I have to time this right."

Otto had let one of the tentacles swing him low, much to the shock of pedestrians. As he came close enough, he executed another slingshot maneuver. The woman suddenly, with cat-like reflexes, leapt into the air. Time seemed to slow down for Otto as he gained velocity towards the fire escape ladder. "Oh, Shit!!" He twisted his body at the last second and flew through the gap between two lofts, the metal whizzing beneath his head. He twisted his body quickly and landed vertically with a loud, booming thud on the wall of another brick building.

"Damn!" She exclaimed and cursed his luck. Following her down town, it seemed like this game of cat and mouse would never end. She eventually landed on the second floor of a building that appeared green because of the window's tint. She crouched down and caught her breath as Otto landed a few feet behind her.

"All... right," He panted, careful not to take his eyes off of her.

"You've got nice moves," she said recalling the near miss of the fire escape. "I actually had to push myself. You were a lot harder to outrun than Spiderman."

"You've met Spiderman?" Otto asked coming a few steps closer. She nodded.

"Hey, a deal's a deal... your name." He said as the actuators bared themselves.

She walked to the edge of the building, and paused with out saying anything. When she finally spoke, her tone wasn't that of an Ice queen, "You always chase girls who brush you off?"

"No, only ones who don't keep promises to tell me their names," he said. He was charming she admitted, however, this counter was certainly not the answer she'd expected. However, she was really good at hiding surprise and fear behind a façade.

"Me... I'm Black Cat... and I just crossed your path. Now if you'll excuse me," she said winking as she disappeared over the side of the building.

Otto stared at the spot where she was with awe.

"Whoa," he said.

We think that we might run into her again real soon

Otto looked to his left... at the building next to the one he was currently on. On the edge, facing the street, there was a massive white billboard. In large block letters it said 'Emma Rose Parfume, Paris, New York," under a picture of MJ.

Eddie was still picking his way through the sewers. He had only just made it to midtown. He and the symbiote had gotten to like each other quite well. It had told him of the alien planet which it hailed from, how it got to earth via latching itself to the underside of an American Space shuttle and how it survived off of human life before being captured and experimented with.

Eddie told it about himself. How he had been the 'Sin-Eater,' how he had gotten it out of the facility, and what exactly for. The symbiote seemed intrigued at how he was a killer.

"I am called Venom," it said in its acid-like hissing voice. "I am...vampiric? How you ssssay. You are Brock?"

"Eddie," he said.

"Ahhh, yessss, I can tell that we shall be very good friendssss."

"Damn it!!" Eddie cursed as they came upon two diagonal forks in the pipe. Looking to his right, he saw through a storm drain that the sun was already rising in the sky.

"You are trying to get to Osssscorp, yessss? I know the way, sssspent a long time down here I did, just let me out."

"How do I know you won't ditch me when I do?" he said gruffly.

"You have my word...My friend."

Eddie slowly undid the top on the container. The mass of black slid out onto the ground. It was clearly distinguishable by the fact that it was even darker than the shadows surrounding them. It suddenly latched itself onto his wrist and began to pull him through the tunnel down the left fork. Eddie lifted up off of his feet and literally flew down tunnel after tunnel. The sudden turns gave him jolts. This certainly wasn't his idea of a smooth ride, but wherever they were going, they were hauling butt. For what seemed like hours, they flew down the narrow passage ways. "Uh, Venom... where exactly are we?" Eddie asked in a hurried voice.

"Almosssst there," Venom said suddenly flying upwards and dragging Eddie with it. They halted on a platform way above the bottom of the sewer with such force that Eddie kept going until he smashed into the wall.

Groaning, Eddie rubbed his head. "Sssso ssssorry," Venom said concerned.

"Oh, it's all right, but I think you'll need to get back into the container, just for a few hours," Eddie said removing the empty canister. Venom reluctantly obeyed. Eddie slipped the canister back into the folds of his coat. He lifted the manhole, nobody was on the street. But sure enough, Venom had brought them both right to the foot of Oscorp building. He climbed out and replaced the manhole cover. Luckily Harry would be the only one there at this hour. He rode the lift to the top floor. As it opened Harry turned his head from the new paper he was reading to the man who stood in front of his elevator.

"Eddie!!!... God, you stink, where have you been? It's been three weeks."

"I had to gladly slit a few throats, but I got it," he said holding up the canister, in which the Symbiote could be seen moving around.

"Ahhh, give it here, you go take a shower," Harry said stiffly.

"But what about my-," Eddie started.

"Don't worry, you'll get it," Harry answered.

Otto quickly found his way back to the apartment. Entering the demonstration hall, he stared at the couch in the center of the room. "Why did I put that there?" he asked himself. He remembered moving it because he wanted to study which phase of the moon was then. However, he had fallen asleep the moment he laid down. He shrugged, picked it up and moved it back to its place up on the loft. He then lay back down on it. He would wait to ask Peter about Black Cat in the morning.

"Otto what did you do?" Peter called across the room as he exited the elevator and pulling off his mask. He had apparently been out fighting late from his tired, sweaty face.

"What?" Otto asked confused.

"This..." Peter said walking up the stairs to the loft and placing a copy of today's Daily Bugle on top of him. Otto pulled it up to eye level and stared at the headline.

"Doctor Octopus Terrorizes city," Otto looked at the article saying that he had teamed up with the renowned Jewel thief, The Black Cat.

"That's a load of Bull; tell me again why you work for this guy?" Otto said skeptically.

"Because the pay's good," Peter said. "Sometimes Robbie will be there so he edits and it will be the truth, but I don't really read the paper that much anymore, but I take it that you've met her."

He tossed aside the paper and sat up. "Peter I want to ask you something, she told me that she met you before. Is this true?"

"Yeah, I beat up a bunch of guys in the art gallery and she was there. I ended up chasing her, but lost her after a few minutes. She's pretty incredible y'know. We've met quite often, but I don't see her that much anymore." Peter said searching his memories.

Otto got up and walked to the elevator. "If you're looking for me, I'll be in my storeroom."

"All right," Peter said heading towards the bathroom.

Otto opened the door in the store room leading to the room where he kept sheet metal and glass. He walked over to the desk at the end of the large room. Sitting down, he began massaging his temples. He shifted his feet, striking something with his foot. One of the actuators curiously reached under the desk and pulled out a large, apparently full, carpet bag. Otto opened it, eyes shooting open in surprise. "Holy Crap!!" he exclaimed upon seeing that the bag was full to the edge of wads of 100 dollar bills. "Ooops!" he said as he hastily closed it and shoved it back under the desk, eyes still wide open. He had forgotten that he had taken a bag more than what he needed to pay for the materials for the second fusion reactor.

"I don't think they need to know, besides I can use pay bills right?" he asked the actuators.

Well, we guess, and you'd probably need a new coat if you're going out in public

Peter had changed clothes and was rubbing a towel over his sodden hair. Otto had returned from the storeroom. He stopped and watched as Peter desperately dried his hair.

Sensing Otto next to him, Peter whipped off the towel from his head. His hair was standing straight up in a poofy kind of way. "Hi!!" He said in a cheerful mood.

"A come-hither beauty, you ain't," Otto said as he stared at Peter's hair.

"Yeah, it's funny how a hot shower can make a guy feel like a million bucks," Peter said resuming drying his hair.

MJ emerged from her room, brushing her long red hair. "Morning boys," she said with a yawn. "I'll get breakfast started, okay?"

"Sounds good," Peter said.

"I'm going out for a moment," Otto said disappearing.

Otto jumped effortlessly from roof to roof heading towards downtown occasionally sling shooting himself forward. There was one place he knew of where he could get a few things that would be necessary for him to fit back into society. Reaching a high rooftop, he climbed through the air vent until he was right above a store. This particular store had multiple swords and other weapons on the black painted walls and shelves. A lone woman was talking to a customer who had put a large, black leather trench coat and what resembled a metal staff encased in a cylindrical sheath. The customer turned around to look at the other collection of strange weapons as the girl at the reception turned her back to answer the telephone.

"Perfect," Otto whispered to himself as he carefully removed the grate of the air vent. The two lower actuators held him in place while the upper two snaked down to the counter. One grabbed the coat and staff while the other dropped five 100-dollar bills with a note attached to them on the black marble counter. Replacing the cover, Otto scurried out of the building.

The lady and customer turned around. The girl walked curiously to the counter and read the note that had appeared where the two items were.

Keep the change – Ock, is what it said. The customer stared dumbfounded at the 500$ sitting on the counter. It was certainly more than what the items had been on the counter a few seconds ago cost. The two dumbfounded people thought it best not to say anything.

Otto put the coat on. It fit perfectly, even when he flexed his muscles.

Perfect

Black always looked good on you

What about the back?

Yes, shouldn't you worry about the back?

Otto had noted that there was an extra piece of leather connected to the rest of the coat by a zipper. "It's kind of Ironic, you know? It's almost as if it's been made to fit me. This part on the back," he explained to the actuators, "will allow me to cover up the holes from where you guys break through, that way we won't have to worry about it." He said pulling the strap connected to the sheathed weapon over his head. He had always been good with a Bo staff. He them headed back towards home, hoping to finally get a chance to sit and talk with May and MJ.