Jessica sat upright in bed as the El train flew past her window, jarring her from her sleep. She looked around and, with the exception of the lights coming from the train cars; her apartment was perfectly dark as it bounced to the passing of the speeding train. She slid her feet out of the sheets and dragged her self to the bathroom. She flipped the switch and shielded her eyes as she squinted. The light flickered as she looked at her black, stringy hair that was knotted and messy. Stray pieces tickled her nose and poked her gray eyes. Reaching blindly she found her comb and pulled on her hair, and then set it behind her ears. She looked at her pale face, rubbing the cheeks, and bringing a little pink into them. She wasn't overweight by any measure as she looked at her exposed midriff and patted it lightly, sucking it in a little.
She readjusted the spaghetti straps on her tank top, pulling the top of the shirt up to conceal more of her skin. Jessica grabbed a tissue and felt the pressure release from her nasal cavities, and then threw it away. She stood up and turned quickly to walk out the door, and she ran straight into a soft, large mass. She fell backwards, nearly hitting her head on the toilet seat, and looked up. The mass turned out to be a man, one who smelled of cigars, and musk among other things. She detected hints of machine oil and burned circuitry as he filled her doorway. He was wearing a dark trench coat and a mob styled hat. Jessica pressed her self against the back wall as he stepped into the light, his lips moving.
"Please, don't hurt me." She signed in panic, curling up as he came closer. Her hands fluttered as she repeated the request and then realized he'd stopped advancing. His eyes gave him a tired, confused look when she came back to her senses. "I can't hear you." She pointed to her ear and mouthed the words, and the man took a step back, looking a bit dumbfounded until a mechanical claw poked out from beneath his coat and stared at Jessica with its red light. The man grew angry and the claw looked back to him, and seemed to cower a little, similar to a dog when it was scolded, and it disappeared into the folds of the coat. His lips moved again as he held his hand out, offering it to her. Jessica stared at his coat.
"Doctor Octopus?" She signed slowly, hoping that he might understand her message. His brows knitted in thought as he grabbed her wrist and helped her to her feet. He brought her to the kitchen table and put her into a seat. He rummaged through her drawers until he pulled out a notepad and a fine tipped marker. He set them on the table and sat down. Picking up the Sharpie, he uncapped it and looked at the notepad, noticing the Oscorp logo in the upper section. His eyes darted between it and Jessica, until he finally began to write.
"My name is Doctor Otto Octavius. I am sorry to intrude this late; I thought the apartment was unoccupied. I need a place to stay for the night. While I am here, I ask that you do not scream or try to get help. You will not be allowed to leave until after I do. After that time, you will be free to go on with your normal activities." Jessica watched as his handwriting sprawled across the paper neatly. He pulled the page off and handed it, the pad and the marker to Jessica. She picked it up nervously and watched her barely legible print form beneath his.
"My name is Jessica. As you can tell, I am deaf." She pushed the pad towards him, but snatched it away before he could finish reading it. " Just please don't hurt me or anything. I can't really call for help anyways." She pointed to the last statement and shrugged. She looked around while he was reading, and realized her window was open. She walked over and closed it; when she turned around she saw him looking at her closely. It made her feel uncomfortable and she wished she'd chosen a less revealing top to go with her sweatpants. Jessica crossed her arms over her chest and sat back down at the table. There was more writing on the tablet and the Oscorp logo was circled.
"Do you work here?" Was the message he'd scribed. She looked up and met his prying gaze, nodding her head in the affirmative. She grabbed the pen out of his hand and put it to the paper.
"What are you going to do?" She frowned as she pushed the paper at Octavius. The page was quickly pushed back with an answer.
"Sleep." Was the only reply. Annoyed, she put her hand up to her mouth in the sign for the letter "b" and then let her hand drop to her lap. Octavius narrowed his eyes and then pointed to her bed and then to her. She nodded, her body tensing with fright again, and walked stiffly over to it and climbed back in. Jess grabbed her alarm as he shifted on the couch and made sure that it was set. She turned onto her side and watched him raid her pantry, keeping a close eye on him. He ate for nearly an hour as she watched the minutes tick past until finally, with a slight grin on his face, he wobbled over to the couch. Octavius stood next to the couch and lowered himself until he flopped down onto his stomach, sprawled ingloriously. Jess fought exhaustion as she watched his back rise and fall rhythmically and his actuators lay around him motionless. The only time it was interrupted was when the train outside her apartment flew by. He stirred to the shaking of the apartment, but didn't wake.
The pulsing alarm buzzed against her head, jarring her from sleep. She hit the "off" button and rolled out of bed, signing curses at it. Dragging her feet past the couch where the doctor slept, she pulled a laptop out of a hidden bag and set it on the coffee table opposite him. She logged on and opened her e-mail, and part way through reading a letter from work, the screen was slammed down hard on her fingers. She imagined the noise she made had to be close to a yell since Octavius clamped his hand over her mouth roughly. He made a motion for her to be quite and a metal appendage snaked over and grabbed the pen and paper.
"What are you doing?" He looked at her sternly as he held the paper up. Jess grabbed it from him and wrote.
"Checking what I need to do when I go to work." She handed him the paper, and then opened the laptop and showed him the letter. She looked at her knuckles and realized that a few of them were bleeding slightly. She turned the laptop back towards her and finished the letter, with a claw hovering over her shoulder. She logged out and then shut the machine off, putting it back in its discrete corner. Holding her hands, she walked tiredly to the bathroom and took a shower. After she finished, she put her pajamas back on and dried her hands. The knuckles still bled so she pulled a box of bandages out and moved out to the kitchen and started to put the Band-Aids on her fingers. Octavius came over and picked up her untouched hand and looked at it closely. He looked sorry as he grabbed a few Band-Aids and finished dressing Jessica's hands.
Octavius stood up and opened her refrigerator, yawning as he looked inside. He brought back the only contents left, a nearly empty half gallon of milk, and a box of Pop-Tarts he'd confiscated from her cabinets. He pulled out the last package and set one of the two pastries on the table in front of Jessica as he ate his. Jessica nibbled hers as he shoved his into his mouth, washing it down with the remaining milk. He grabbed a napkin and wiped the crumbs from the stubble on his face, and donned his coat, letting the tentacles slide through the holed in the back first. One snaked over to the couch and picked up his hat, setting it on his head. He pinched the brim and ran his fingers along it until it was to his liking. Octavius walked to the window, opened it up and turned back to Jessica.
"Thanks." Though he said it, it was one of the few words she could lip-read. Jessica just stood still as she watched Octavius slide himself out of the window, disappearing into the city.