Oscorp Tower
Octavius enters Oscorp Tower through the security checkpoints. He begins sweating with fear in anticipation of his briefcase being scanned and shown for what it really is. As his case passes through the scanner the security guard stops the conveyor belt and takes a longer look at it through the x-ray. Eventually the guard nods his head and lets the case continue through to the relief of Octavius.
Octavius enters the tearoom, making himself a cup of tea before his day begins, Mary also enters the room and joins him. The two become engrossed in conversation, talking deeply about important subjects but also joking and laughing about others. Octavius smiles from ear to ear, gazing into Mary's eyes without another care in the world.
"Excuse me, Dr Octavius" a lab assistant interrupts, "What is it?" Octavius replies annoyed, "Your mechanical exoskeleton arms have been completed sir, they are ready for you to test."
"Mechanical arms?" Mary asks, "That sounds interesting."
"Thank you" Octavius replies to the assistant, "Would you like to see my new mechanical arms? He asks Mary, "That would be wonderful" she replies with excitement.
Octavius and Mary head towards the main robotic prototype room within Oscorp. They enter and gaze around the room at an array of exoskeleton and weapons including a glider, plasma cannon, jet pack and body armor.
Octavius puts down the suitcase on a table near the prototype suits. Osborn explains that they are on the brink of winning the U.S. military weapons tender off Hammer Industries with these suits, all they need to do is present the prototypes to a demonstration next week and the largest military contract in U.S. history will be awarded to Oscorp. Octavius looks around in amazement; he pushes both combination locks on the briefcase activating the devices then begins wandering around for a close up look at the various suits and weapons.
Octavius picks up a hand held cannon, a large cylinder with a handle and trigger underneath and a handle on top. "What's this Osborn, some sort of cannon?" Osborn runs over and takes the cannon from Octavius carefully placing it back down, "That, Dr Octavius, is the Nullifier."
Osborn catches both their attention, "What does it nullify?" Octavius asks, "It's creates an intense electro-magnetic pulse, fires it in a specific direction…" Osborn begins his explanation; "Thereby shutting down any electrical equipment in its path, but not anything around it" Otto finishes the explanation with realization of what the weapon is.
"That's correct, current EMP's knock everything out within radius, this will only take out what you aim it at."
"Extraordinary, I imagine this will be a big seller" Octavius states, "Actually the Nullifier uses an element, Isotope 16, we barely have enough to power this prototype and the only other known quantity is held by the U.S. government."
"Enough to power two prototypes" Octavius corrects him pointing at the second cannon next to it. "That is not a Nullifier, that is the Shocker, it uses vibrational air blasts to crumble walls, floors ceiling, as long as you have the correct vibrational frequency."
"Oh wow cool" Mary replies examining the canon, then she wanders over to take a closer look at the glider.
Osborn helps Octavius into the exoskeleton, with its four mechanical arms being held up on racks next to him. Osborn explains that the arms are controlled by a direct interface with the central nervous system, designed by Spencer Smythe.
"This is great and all Osborn, but will I really need this exoskeleton?" Octavius asks with skepticism.
"You will need this and a radiation shield when you work with the cosmic cube" Osborn tells him sternly.
"Cosmic cube? Is there really such a thing as a cosmic cube?" Octavius asks still sceptical, "Octavius, the cosmic cube is real and holds great power. The only one we know of is called the tesseract, and its power is beyond you're understanding. You can't just pick it up with your hands, that's why they've created this exoskeleton to handle it."
Octavius is stunned by this frank and open admission, he looks across to Mary with surprise and steps into the harness that fastens around his body, the neural interface connects to his spinal chord.
Octavius grimaces in pain as the neural interface connects, he falls to one knee and his face shows clear distress. Mary rushes over to help him but Osborn holds her back "He will be fine Mary, give him a second."
Octavius body then goes limp as he faints for a second but is caught by Osborn who pulls him back to his feet as Octavius quickly regains his consciousness and composure.
"Are you all right Octavius?" Norman asks.
"Yes, I'm fine, just needed to get used to these new sensations."
Otto looks around, as he does the arms slowly begin to move and mimic his own arm movements.
"It will take time for your brain to disassociate your organic arms from your bionic arms and then use each bionic arm independently," Osborn continues "Normally it takes a few hours for subjects to…" as Osborn speaks Octavius' two right mechanical arms move independently of his organic arm
"Well I guess you're more advanced than our test subjects" Osborn comments, as he speaks Octavius' left arms begin moving independently of his organic arm, and then begin moving independently of each other.
Octavius walks out of the exoskeleton holding bay, lifting his mechanical arms off the rack and begins testing each arm independently, picking up objects, moving them and testing their dexterity.
"The test subjects could never do that," Osborn mutters to himself with surprise.
Mary wanders around the room and heads back towards the briefcase, she begins to pick it up, Octavius sees her and he calls out "Mary dear, that is my case, could you please leave it there for me, if it's not too much trouble." She smiles and replies "Sure Dr Octavius" and puts it down. As she places it down the case emits a strange buzzing sound. Mary looks at the case strangely and looks back at Octavius, he also hears the sound and panic fills him. Osborn turns his attention to the case, then looks across at Otto and asks, "Otto, what's in that case?" Otto now sweats and trembles, I've been found out.
"It's just a Laptop" Otto explains with a shaky voice, Mary immediately asks, "Why is it making that sound?" Otto quickly responds "I'm not sure dear, there must be something wrong with it, it shouldn't even be on."
Osborn becomes suspicious and stares at the case, and then at Octavius, "Can we take a look at it?" Octavius shifts uneasily on the spot, "Sure Mr Osborn, that shouldn't be a problem." Osborn and Octavius proceed towards the case and as they do the case makes a little ping sound and explodes.
Octavius looks directly at Mary as the explosion engulfs her with flames. The flash of the explosion damages Otto's eyes, he turns away in pain, his metallic arms instantly shielding him from the flames pulling a table in front of his body to block the main force of the blast. The power of the blast rockets him back into the wall, flames engulf his body around his back where the table didn't protect him. Otto falls unconscious as the exoskeleton suit fuses to his body.
Norman, at the other end of the room, was also sent back by the shockwave of the explosion and crashes into the super soldier hyperbaric chamber. The canisters of OZ super soldier formula connected to the chamber is damaged and begin leaking whilst Osborn lies unconscious next to them. The gas surrounds his body and seeps into his lungs.
The fire retardants in the ceiling activate and the fire is immediately extinguished. Octavius slowly gets to his feet, his mechanical arms helping him. His eyes are inflamed and burn, he squints trying to focus his blurry eyes as he stares at Osborn on the ground, writhing in pain. Lab personnel enter the room and assist Osborn. They take him out on a stretcher, as he passes Octavius, Osborn's skin begins to discolor to a greenish tinge, he ears are enlarged and his chin and teeth grow. Octavius is startled by the transformation as he stares at the stretcher being wheeled out.
Otto now stumbles towards the crater created by the explosion, "Mary, Mary" he calls out, more lab staff enter the room to help Otto who now stumbles and collapses, "Mary" he cries as he finally falls unconscious. The lab staff picks Otto up, place him on a trolley and wheel him out, awkwardly carrying his mechanical arms along the way.
Oscorp Tower - Medical Centre
Four lab assistants hold Osborn down as he roars with pain, they struggle to hold him down, two more come in to assist. Stromm walks up to the observation window and sees Osborn transformed, no longer a man but a creature of great strength and rage. A doctor enters the room and gives Osborn a syringe to knock him out, the drugs begin to take affect but he resists their affects. The doctor gives him another shot and then he fall asleep. Stromm makes a phone call, "There's been an incident, bring in the team, immediately."
Down the hall on the way to the medic bay one of the scientists carrying Octavius' mechanical arms notices the claws twitching, "The arms are still working" he says aloud though nobody pays attention. The Lab technicians keep Otto in an examination room, Octavius regains consciousness and tries to get up, the technicians plead with him to rest, "You've been in an accident, you need to rest."
"Accident?" Octavius groans, his mechanical arms now begin to move wildly, knocking one of the technicians to the floor, "Dr Octavius, try to concentrate, the mechanical arms are still connected to you, they've been fused to your body, and your mind."
"Accident… Mary, is Mary all right?" Octavius asks regaining his bearings, "I'm sorry sir, she died in the blast."
Octavius yells with anguish, his metallic arms fling wildly about the room knocking over the remaining lab assistant and destroying equipment within the room. Octavius falls out of bed and climbs back to his feet with the assistance of his metallic arms, he stumbles out of the room, down the fire escape, through the foyer to the horror of Oscorp staff and security. One security guard pulls a gun, "Hold it" he yells, Octavius sends one of his arms clumsily in the direction of the guard, knocking over tables, people and sending the guard flying through the air.
Octavius leaves the building in confusion, trying to escape from the, staring eyes and sirens of ambulances and fire trucks. He runs down the road, pedestrians fleeing in fear, eventually finding a quiet alleyway to hide.
Harry and Peter arrive at Oscorp tower for their science class and see the destruction out the front and in the foyer of Oscorp Tower. The boys ask a security guard what happened, he replies that a man with four mechanical arms just escaped from Oscorp, "Dr Octavius was his name."
New York City
Octavius sits for hours in an alleyway, rain pours down. Octavius sobs to himself, "It's all my fault, I killed her, I killed her" he continues silently lamenting his actions. After much time of contemplation and self-loathing Octavius finally comes to his senses and realizes "I didn't kill her, Hammer killed her, and he tried to kill me."
Octavius' despair turns to rage, he rises to his feet and marches down the alleyway on a mission, "I'm going to destroy Hammer" he proclaims out loud. As he nears the end of the alleyway he notices a homeless man with a large overcoat, "Can I have your coat?" Octavius asks spreading out his mechanical arms, "Holy cow" the man exclaims quickly taking off his coat and handing it over.
Otto takes the rain coat and a hat and walks down the street in anonymity, his tentacles wrap around his body disguising themselves and making Octavius look like an obese man. Otto walks down the subway into the station but doesn't have any money or a ticket; he waits for the exact right moment where the subway guards are distracted and slips past unnoticed.
When Otto tries to leave the station two transport guards grab hold of his arms attempting to detain him. Otto's mechanical arms lash out at the two guards, throwing them into the walls and causing panic throughout the subway. The commuters run for the exits, falling over each other, Octavius calmly follows them. As Octavius exits the subway a pair of police officers stand waiting for him pointing their guns demanding his surrender.
"All this for not buying a train ticket? That's a bit over the top don't you think officer?" Octavius taunts them holding up his hands, "The other arms as well" one of the officers demands, "Ok officer, whatever you say" Octavius raises his mechanical arms, one of them carries a bench which he throws at the officers knocking them down. As he throws the bench Octavius also falls over, losing his balance, I'll need to make sure I have a counter weight or some support next time I throw something large like that, he thinks to himself.
Octavius heads down the road to Hammer Industries main facility, damaging property as he goes.
Harry and Peter search the areas surrounding Oscorp Tower for some clues as to where Octavius may have gone but they can't find a trace. Harry checks his police scanner phone app and reads of reports from queens of a man with mechanical arms attacking police officers, the two rush off for the train station.
Queens New York - Hammer Industries
Octavius enters the Hammer facility attacking the two guards patrolling the front of the building, throwing them into the distance. As Octavius approaches the front door two automatic cannons rise out of the ground and point their turrets towards him. Octavius instantly reaches two of his mechanical arms at the turrets and crushes them.
Octavius enters the building into the main hangar; he scours the hanger for Hammer, or a clue as to where he may be. He walks through the hangar, past rows of exosuits. So this is Hammer's great weapon? Octavius thinks to himself, raising a mechanical arm to destroy them. As he's about to strike he notices a figure running from the offices at the other end of the factory to an exit, Hammer, Octavius runs towards the exit.
Hammer runs out of the building and into the car park locking the door behind him. Octavius chases after him, he tries to open the door but struggles to force it open with his hands. He leans back and pulls with his mechanical arms; they don't pull the door off its hinges but instead knocking him off his feet. Octavius tries again but this time he uses two mechanical arms to grip the door and two to grip the ground, this time he has the power to rip the doors off their hinges, he bursts through the opening. Hammer is half way to his limousine; Octavius can't catch him on foot and attempts to use his mechanical arms to walk. At first he is unsteady walking on his mechanical arms, wobbling and swaying, but then he begins to get a consistent rhythm in his steps.
Peter and Harry arrive as Octavius exits the building and rises up onto his mechanical arms chasing after Hammer. Peter quickly puts on his suit and sprints after Octavius who is quickly catching up to Hammer. Spider-Man shoots two webs onto Octavius back and pulls him back, knocking him off balance and onto the ground. Hammer finally reaches his limousine, diving in and speeding away.
Octavius gets back to his feet and peers through the darkness at the tail lights fading and curses, "Who did that, why, why, whyyyyy" he yells.
Spider-man approaches Octavius cautiously, "Dr Octavius I presume?"
Octavius turns around violently, swinging his mechanical arms at Spider-Man who ducks, weaves, and dives out of his reach. Octavius stops his attack and stares at the boy standing in front of him in lycra pyjamas.
"Wooa, they're some crazy tentacles you have their doc, do I really need to point out the irony of a Dr Octavius having four extra tentacles?"
Octavius takes a moment to look at his new mechanical arms, "The irony is not lost on me boy, it seems Dr Otto Octavius is now Dr…"
"Squid maybe? Or Dr jellyfish, they have tentacles as well you know" Spider-Man mocks him.
"Dr Octopus has a good ring to it" Octavius replies.
"OK doc, this town is only big enough for one octopod, time to put your tentacles up."
Octavius asks "Who are you supposed to be?"
"Who am I? Don't you read the papers? I'm Spider-Man."
"If my goal in life was to decrease my intelligence, I'd read papers, like the Daily Bugle."
"Good point," Spider-Man replies.
"You should leave me alone boy, I'm not the criminal, Hammer is the criminal."
"Ok buddy, they all say that, tell it to the judge" Spider-Man replies unsympathetically.
"This is not over, it's just the beginning" Octavius tells Spider-Man, "The beginning of what?" Spider-Man asks, suddenly Spider-Man's spider-sense alerts him to danger as Octavius throws a car at him. He jumps back to avoid it; the car flips, colliding with another parked car and towards Spider-Man who dives out of its path at the last possible moment. Spider-Man returns to his feet and peers over the car, Octavius has disappeared from the area.
Hammer's limousine drives down the freeway, "Whoa that was a close one" he announces to his driver, "Yes sir, very close, would you like lay low for a while?"
Hammer contemplates his options for a moment then replies, "I hear Monaco is nice this time of year, and the grand prix is on isn't it?
"Yes sir it is, shall I book a flight?"
"Book the flight, and invite that reporter from Vanity Fair as well."
"Right away Sir."
Harry's Apartment
Harry sits at home watching late night TV, his home phone begins to ring and Harry looks at it oddly, who rings on a home phone these days, he thinks to himself. Harry answers the phone and Stromm speaks to him, "Harry, I'm sorry to tell you that your father has been in a lab accident, don't worry he's all right and will be home in a few days."
"What kind of accident?" Harry asks, "It's just a minor lab accident, he will be back to normal in a few days, but he might have some memory loss."
"Can I see him?"
"It's best to wait until he's released home, this was just a courtesy call."
"Thank you Mendel."
"Your welcome Master Osborn."
The phone hangs up and Harry sits in bewilderment, wondering what has happened. After a few moments of contemplation Harry returns to watching his TV show, an expose on Green Sasquatch sightings throughout South America.