Time to attend to my loyal minions...er, my reviewers...
To moonjava: Thanks.
To LadyKayoss and Agent Silver: Don't we all dream of doing that? I think every school has a Brittany Gibson or two. They make surprisingly good tentacle targets!
To K9 the First: Funny, 'cause the CIA invented 'acid', didn't they? Of course, Doc Ock will put up a fight...stay tuned.
To Phoenix Master: Are you just trying to get spoilers or something? Keep reading!
Sorry for the short chapter, I've been grounded. Read and review!
Chapter 4: The Return of Carlyle
As Octavia walked out of the hallway, a familiar, black-suited figure jumped out from behind the bushes.
"Carlyle!" she breathed.
"No, but since you know me by that name, that is what you may call me," Agent Carlyle said. "Don't expect me to cover for you again!"
"What?"
"I saw what you did to that blonde girl! I managed to get Brittany Gibson down to headquarters. By the time the memory wipe is finished, she will believe that she had just suffered from a disfiguring, but nonetheless minor, accident which certainly did not involve human octopuses."
Somehow Carlyle knew Octavia better than she knew herself. "I didn't think—"
"You are certainly right. You didn't think. You have to learn to control them, for God's sake! You can't expect me to rush to the rescue all the time! My reach is now very limited."
"Your reach—"
"I was nearly expelled from the SDSI."
"The what?"
"The CIA Subdivision of Scientific Intelligence. The agency behind your creation."
Octavia just stared at him.
"My God, girl, you are supposed to be a genius. Do you think the only reason someone would clone one of the most powerful and deadly super villains around would be for some kind of psychology experiment! Do you have any idea at all why I was ordered to bring you in for study two years ago?"
"No, Carlyle. Enlighten me."
"I will. Don't you recognize the significance of that octopus birthmark on your shoulder blade? You are marked as Cain was marked, an outcast from normal society. You were created to become a human weapon, an ancestor of a damn near unbeatable master race of super-soldiers. They had the chemicals lined up at headquarters. They wanted to enhance your natural abilities further. To further enhance your strength and intelligence, to sharpen your vision and hearing. The experimental formulas came from some New York company called "Oscorp" that the government's running shady sales with."
"So what should I do?"
"Know that you cannot run away from it. No matter where, they will find you. You must learn to defend yourself. Use your strengths—and your faults."
"My faults?"
"Yes, your faults. They will come in very handy, I think. Goodbye for now, Octavia."
She turned around, but Carlyle was gone.
Meanwhile, Brittany Gibson gazed at her ruined face in her bathroom mirror.
"I know she did it…the little freak…I don't know when or how, but somehow I know she did this to me…"