Peter landed gently on the ground a few feet from the door of the building. Stepping lightly, he walked up to it, waiting for his spider-sense to go crazy at any moment. However, he felt no such sensation, so he grabbed the handle and twisted, partially surprised when the door actually opened. If this really was some hideout for a bunch of supervillains, he would've expected at least the most fundamental security measures to be taken, if not more than that.
Stepping inside, Peter surveyed the initial scene, finding nothing too impressive really. The place was old and run down, clearly having not been maintained for some time. He closed the door behind him and gingerly stepped around, trying to find anything that looked unusual or out of place. There was no way that this place was it just by itself; for one, while one of the larger buildings on the pier, it still would've been way too small for the kind of operation that Ock seemed to be running.
The other thing that tipped him off was that none of the technology that had been stolen was present on the scene. It had been so long that, by now, if this were the good doctor's primary base of operations, at least some of it would've been assembled. Instead, there didn't appear to be hardly any technology in the place, outside of some old scales that had been used back in the day to see which lucky fisherman had brought in the biggest catch. Other than that, the place was just old wood, tile and other traditional building materials.
It didn't exactly smell the best either.
Fiddling around, Peter tried any little trick he could think of, moving around sold old books that were there, pressing random areas of the wall, stepping on different floorboards, or anything else that might reveal the presence of a secret door or passageway of some kind. He went about this for at least ten minutes, covering just about every area he could of the inside of the building, but it proved fruitless. However, just as he was on the verge of either tearing the place apart piece by piece or interrogating Harry further, Peter noticed a picture along the wall that seemed slightly crooked compared to the others. It could've just been that it had gotten bumped or something, but he still went over to check it out just to be sure.
Plus, it was a picture of an octopus. Surely the doctor wouldn't be THAT on the nose, would he?
Reaching up, Peter grabbed the picture, gently removing it from the wall to reveal a surprise hidden underneath: a small digital screen embedded directly into the wall. He tapped it, and the screen came to life, appearing to ask for a number combination of some kind, bringing up an onscreen keypad to enter it with. Realizing he was going to have to make a guess, Peter ran through every hacker's trick he had ever learned, trying to think of what the combination could be.
After all, if he entered the wrong number sequence, he might blow himself up or something, and that definitely wasn't what he wanted.
Peter thought hard, wracking his brain on what he remembered about Octavius, both before and after his transformation into Doctor Octopus. His research was into different kinds of technology, mainly the mechanical appendages that would end up being fused to his spine, so it likely wasn't any kind of mathematical equation. The doc likely knew some, but it wasn't his focus.
Could it be just the number eight, since he now possessed eight limbs? No, that was just dumb, and way too easy.
After all, Ock had never made it easy on him before, and Peter certainly didn't expect him to start now.
"Think Parker, think," Peter muttered to himself. Could the answer be a date that meant something to the doctor? He had a hard time believing that the man cared about anyone other than himself, at least in his current state, nor anyone's goals or ideas except his own. There was ONE possibility that came to Peter's mind though: the day that the doctor had gone insane.
It was impossible for Peter to forget that day, because it was the day that he had taken on Harry as the Goblin with his assembled team for the final time. His former best friend and his mind-controlled minions all fought with him as Peter had struggled to keep the fight contained and protect the surrounding civilians. It was only through using their zealous natures and egos against each other that he had come out on top, but in the process, Otto Octavius had been electrocuted, frying both his mind and the harness his arms were attached to, molding them to his spine permanently.
Ironically, it was a day that the doctor seemed to celebrate, describing it as the day that his "true self" was finally allowed to be free from the cowardly, spineless individual he seemed to consider himself beforehand. In a strange way, the man seemed to have a new lease on life because of the accident, and right now, that was the only lead Peter had on what to enter.
His body bracing himself to dive out the nearest window of this went south, Peter entered the numbers of the date: 11112016.
The screen beeped twice before shutting down. The section of the wall that it was a part of then began to slide to the left, eventually revealing two large metal doors that opened, revealing a space that looked like a conventional elevator, only a decent size larger, as if it was built to either fit more people or bigger people.
"Okay," Peter thought to himself, "here goes nothing."
Stepping inside the elevator, the doors shut behind Peter, and it took off much faster than he had been prepared for, causing him to have to steady himself somewhat. The walls around him were clear, and he could see that he was now underwater, going through some tunnel-like structure. Under different circumstances, it would've been pretty cool, but since it was transporting him to what might be his toughest battle ever...okay, it was still at least a little cool.
Peter wondered at first how something like this could stay hidden, but even taking a look at the mucky, dirty water of the bay reminded him why. The city had never really seemed to care that much about maintaining the bay's water. Peter could remember a couple of times where he'd tagged along with one of the Bugle's reporters who was doing a story on how terrible it had gotten.
After a little while, Peter believed he could finally see his destination: an underground base that looked almost like something out of a sci-fi movie. He appeared to be heading for an entrance point near the back end of it. Trying to steel himself, Peter took in a breath, feeling the warmth of it as he let it back out in his mask. He had to be ready to face everyone he'd fought with in the last couple of months and likely even more, especially if Ock was there.
Whatever he faced though, he would be ready.
Ock turned to see Phineas Mason walk into the lab, diverting his attention from his work.
"I apologize for the delay," the man began, "but I tested the serum repeatedly, like you insisted."
"And?" Ock questioned.
"It is still viable," Mason answered.
"Good," Ock said, turning his attention back to his work, "We cannot afford any more delays. Once I have completed the final modifications, we will begin immediately."
"Understood," Mason replied.
Suddenly, an alarm went off on the control panel in the lab. Ock immediately turned his attention towards it, checking the security cameras. It turned out that none other than Spider-Man had somehow managed to gain access into the secret passageway that led to their underwater base and was now stepping into the initial entrance to the lair.
"What is it?" Mason asked, stepping over towards the doctor. "Oh."
"I still have work to do," Ock said. "Send our friends out to greet him; tell them to be sure to offer our guest a warm welcome."
Mason nodded before departing, and Ock resumed his work, his tentacles working in tandem with his own two hands. He was so close now, and he wasn't about to let the world's most annoying arachnid stop him.
Soon, the world would be his to do with as he pleased.
As the door opened and Peter stepped into the base, he felt as if he was walking into a next-gen tech show. Everywhere he looked, there was nothing short of the finest technology everywhere, especially things that had to do with computers. He even saw a couple supersized servers on the far side of the massive main room near the wall. Honestly, it was kind of hard not to get distracted and overwhelmed by it all.
Trying to stay ready for a fight at any moment, Peter tried to piece together what Ock's plan might be based on what he was seeing. Aside from the servers, there were other computer-based pieces of technology as well. Really, Peter felt like he was standing on the inside of a giant computer. What exactly could all this be for?
Suddenly, his spider-sense went crazy, and Peter leapt back just in time to avoid an oncoming blow, landing on all fours against the wall. He looked up to see the usual suspects: Sandman, Vulture, and Rhino.
"I would tell you guys just to get out of my way, but I'm pretty sure I know you all better than to that," Peter said. There would be no time for quips and pleasantries; now was the time for action.
As Sandman unleashed another blast, stretching his arm into one big sand whip, Peter leapt up, front flipping over the strike. Vulture then took off after him, flying so that the sharp blades on his wings would come straight for Peter. He was only barely able to bend out of the way in time, webbing himself onto the old man's back. Wasting no time, he fired two webs down to the floor, pulling as hard as he could, throwing his opponent off course. The old man managed to avoid crashing into the floor but couldn't get out of the way of an oncoming wall, crashing into it hard.
Peter's spider sense then went off again, and he turned to see Rhino and Sandman coming after him . Running to meet them, he slid in between Rhino' legs before getting back up, leaping onto Rhino's back.
"Hey!" Rhino shouted, "no rides!" He reached back, clamoring to reach the one invading his personal space. Taking advantage of this, Peter stuck his feet to Rhino's back, utilizing his momentum against him and sending him flying with all the strength of his legs, sending him crashing into a nearby wall, leaving him stuck for the moment.
Sandman then came after him again, one fist formed into a hammer, the other a mace. He swung at Peter, but his reflexes were not up to speed compared to his opponent's, who dodged his blows in all manner of ways, whether leaping over or ducking underneath. Nevertheless, he persisted in swinging, reforming his hands into many different weapons such as axes or even tentacles. Peter almost had to admire his opponent's stubborn nature.
Keeping an eye out for something in their surroundings that could be used against Sandman, Peter also noticed the Vulture had recovered and was coming after him again as well. Throwing his arms ahead of him, it turned out that his suit was now equipped with miniature flamethrowers. Ducking out of the way, Peter still felt the heat of the flames even as he narrowly avoided them.
However, it also gave him an idea.
As Vulture circled around again in between Sandman's blows, Peter grabbed onto the Vulture, holding him down while aiming the flamethrowers at his other opponent. It only took a matter of seconds for the heat to transform the Sandman into a human sized piece of glass, leaving him frozen in place. Just as the process was complete though, Vulture broke free of Peter's grip on him, grabbing him and flying him straight into the nearest wall, the impact reminding Peter just how sore and hurting his body still was overall, having largely avoided any direct blows to this point.
Reasserting himself, Peter kneed the man squarely in the ribs, breaking himself free in the process. Hopping over to Adrian's backside, he jammed his fist into the suit of his enemy, ripping out a chunk of its power source.
"No!" the old man yelled, still trying to swing at Peter with his bladed wings, but all he succeeded in doing was receiving a blow to the head from the hero, knocking him out cold.
Of course, it was at this point that Rhino finally broke free of the wall he had been stuck in.
"Almost there," Peter had to remind himself. He did have an idea at least.
As Rhino charged him, Peter got in front of one of the giant servers. Timing his leap just right, he got out of the way just in time for Rhino to slam horn first into the giant piece of machinery, a massive amount of electricity surging through him. He managed to get free, but by that point, all the energy had done its job, and he dropped to the floor, unconscious.
Alright, now all that was left was...
Peter lost his train of thought when he saw an older man wearing a lab coat coming out of a room, holding none other than the treatment he was looking for. He tried to retreat back into the room he had come from, but a web line from Peter caught him in the backside.
"Excuse me," Peter said as he reeled the man in until he was right in front of him and taking the serum, "but I think there's someone else who just might need this more than you."
The guy lunged to try to get the serum back, but Peter sidestepped and pushed him into a wall, pinning him to it with his webs by the hands.
He couldn't believe it; even as Peter stared down at the blue serum in his hands, he couldn't...
Spider-sense. Again.
Flipping out of the way of three separate strikes, Peter glanced up from his stance to find that none other than Doctor Octopus had showed up after all.
"You know what they say," Ock said with a sigh. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."
Well, turns out I couldn't fit everything I wanted into this chapter without it coming off really long, so I'll be pushing it to 30 chapters after all.
Hope you're still enjoying it as we near the finish!
Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!
"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." 1 Corinthian 1:27