Chapter 2) Suddenly, you're not alone

Emitting a small sigh, Otto looked up through the ceiling of the lab, and saw with surprise that the sky was no longer dark and littered with stars, but instead was a pleasant mixture of orange and sapphire; the colour of morning. Raising his eyebrows, Otto frowned as he realised that he must have slept for longer than he thought. He quickly shook his head as the topic of sleep brought up the memory of his nightmare, and turned his attention to the wooden desk where he had been working the night before.

Otto groaned and rubbed his forehead tiredly, he wasn't looking forward to another day of constant work, especially not on an empty stomach. The scientist hadn't eaten in nearly two days, and the lack of food and sleep was really taking its toll on his body. His brown hair was greasy and unkempt while his eyes were deep set with dark bags. Otto had never had much colour on him, being a scientist he never spent much time out in the sun, however now his ashen face had practically no colour left. The scientist was also rapidly losing weight, and his body was growing weaker by the day. At times he found it hard even to stand, as the heavy tentacles put a lot of pressure on his back.

Despite his diminishing appearance however, Otto was still determined to finish his work, and food was often the last thing on his mind. On the other hand, the scientist quickly realised that if he didn't eat something soon, he was either going to pass out or have to submit to the tentacles demands.

Breathing out heavily, Otto looked out at the bright lights of New York, and told himself that he would clean himself up as best he could, then go out and get something to eat before the majority of people woke up. That way he would attract less attention. Plus he wouldn't have to steal the food, as he still had a couple of hundred dollars which he had stolen back when he was a criminal. Otto wasn't proud of how he had got the money, but he wasn't about to let himself attract more attention, not if he could buy something rather than steal it.

Smiling for the first time in weeks, the prospect of food cheered Otto up considerably, and he went to get himself ready. After a few minutes he walked towards the lab door wearing a change of clothing, his hair combed back with his hat and dark glasses on. He realised that he needed to buy something else soon too; new clothes. It wasn't going to be easy, as he was recognised by most of New York as "Doctor Octopus" and his trademark outfit was his trench coat, hat and dark glasses. But there wasn't much he could do about that, as that was the only way he could hide his tentacles and not be recognised as Otto Octavius. Besides, if he ran into trouble then he could get away easily; the cops were hardly a challenge.

Shaking his head in frustration, Otto realised that he was stalling, and quickly opened the door, going to step out. However a hiss from his tentacles stopped him, and he looked quickly down at the floor, wondering what was wrong. His dark eyes fell on a long bulky object beneath his foot, and Otto recoiled as he realised that it was a person. Blinking in amazement, his tentacles rising up curiously, Otto crouched down slightly to get a better look at the person, praying that it wasn't a corpse. Through the half light of the morning, the scientist saw that the person was in fact female, with medium length brownish hair that covered her face. She was wearing a long sleeved blouse of a dark material, and a dark gypsy skirt that covered her legs completely. He couldn't even see her shoes, the skirt was that long. Cautiously, Otto moved his hand forward and placed his index and middle finger on the girl's neck, checking for her pulse. To his immense relief, her pulse was steady, if a little slow, but at least she was alive.

Getting down lower, Otto rested back on his haunches and rubbed his stubbled chin, his eyes never leaving the girl beneath him. What on earth was she doing outside the lab? Was she asleep? Unconscious? Why?

A million questions flitted through the scientist's brain, until he finally came to one conclusion. The girl must have got drunk the previous night, lost her way along the pier, and fallen asleep outside the building. A foolhardy and dangerous thing to do, but this was New York, and things like this happened all the time.

Otto rolled his eyes at the idiocy of the youth, and went to rise again, deciding to leave her there to wake up, hopefully with a hangover to teach her a lesson. However he stopped and looked back at the girl, deciding to at least check her face for injuries before he left. Moving his hand towards her again, Otto softly pushed back her hair to reveal her face, and his heart skipped a beat as he saw that the girl looked no more than about 15 years old.

Her skin was unblemished, and Otto saw with relief that she had no visible facial injuries. Her age amazed him though, as he had expected a drunken youth to look at least 18, not like a high school cheerleader. What on Earth was she doing away from her house this early in the morning? It wasn't even the weekend, it was Thursday. Otto bit his lip and removed his glasses, unsure of what to do next. If she had been a college student, then he would have left her to wake up and leave. But this girl was still a child, at least in his eyes, and he didn't want to leave her on her own.

Otto was still considering what to do when a sharp wind blew across the pier, whipping his coat around his knees. Cocking his head, Otto peered down at the girl's neck as the wind blew her hair free. His sharp eyes picked out a dark line across her neck, and upon closer inspection, Otto realised that it was a thin rope, almost like wool. Raising an eyebrow, the scientist reached down and gently lifted the girl's head, pulling the rope free from her neck. Standing up, Otto looked at the rope and saw a piece of card hanging like a pendant from it. A small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth, Otto looked down at the girl. "Well you sure are full of surprises tonight…" He said quietly, looking at the card and reading the tidy handwriting upon it. This girl is equipped with your technology Octavius, suddenly you're not alone…

Otto stared in confusion at the card, reading it over and over again, trying to make sense of what it was saying. This girl… equipped with his technology… What did it mean? She looked normal to him. Otto gazed at the girl, in more mystification than ever. This was either some very absurd joke, or there was more to the girl than Otto had first seen. His forehead creased with worry, and Otto looked to his tentacles which were still looking pointedly at the girl.

"What am I supposed do?" Otto muttered as he too, looked at the girl. Leave her here… The tentacles replied plainly. She is of no use to us… Otto scowled at the appendages, glaring at them through his glasses. "You're right," he said icily. "She is of no use to you, but she may be of use to me…"

The tentacles began to protest hastily, but Otto proceeded to ignore them, instead bending low to pick up the girl. Gently he placed his hands underneath her back and neck, lifting her tenderly into his arms. The tentacles moved to towards the girl, and Otto flicked them a furious glance. "Don't you dare touch her," he snapped, and the tentacles moved away, rising behind him and watching over his head.

Otto walked carefully back into the lab, the young girl held firmly but carefully in his arms. He was thankful that she didn't weigh much more than about 9 stone, otherwise he may not have been able to carry her in his weakened state. Spotting a secluded corner of the lab, Otto walked over and tenderly placed the girl down, pushing her hair softly off her face. Through the light of his lab, Otto could better appreciate the young girl's beauty. Her hair, not actually brown, was instead a beautiful red-gold, while her soft skin was flawless and lightly tanned.

Otto found himself drawn to the girls innocent beauty as he watched her sleeping form, her chest rising and falling slowly as she breathed in and out. However his tentacles found this irritating and one poked Otto in the back of the neck. Spinning his head round, Otto took off his glasses and glared darkly at them. "Maybe you haven't got the hint yet, but you are seriously pissing me off this morning..." He snapped angrily at the tentacles. Leave the girl, the tentacles replied unfazed. She's not going anywhere anytime soon, she's out cold.

Otto continued to glare, however he had to admit that they were right. It was no good him staring at the girl, if she woke up suddenly then she was going to be frightened out of her mind. So, noticing that she was shivering slightly, the scientist took off his trench coat and placed it gently over her.

Otto then rose and walked over to his desk. Sitting down, he reached under the desk and retrieved his box of electronics and half finished inhibitor chip. "Well I'm not going out now," he told the tentacles firmly. "When she wakes up I want to be there to calm her down." The tentacles sniggered and wound round to face him. Good luck, they said shortly.