I adjusted the New York souvenir snowglobe on the empty shelf, grinning to myself. It would be the first of my collection, a shrine to remind myself of why I was here. I had a couple henchmen assigned to helping me collect souvenir snowglobes from every zoo and aquarium I'd been kicked out of. It served as a reminder of why my revenge was necessary – of why the penguins were deserving of what was coming.

When I returned to New York after receiving the Nobel Prize, I was given another award from the International Society of Smart People. It was a trophy in the shape of a DNA strand. I was becoming what you'd call renowned by now and even ended up on the cover of the next issue of the International Society of Smart Peoples' magazine. They sent me a free copy through the mail which I kept in my submarine office. Everyone was talking about the breakthroughs coming from my labs. I had a lot of big name scientists blowing up my phones, and Brent could barely keep up.

Some humans did release criticisms about my work, claiming that I was creating technology that would end up having more negative consequences on society than positive ones. I donated thousands of dollars to NPR pledge drives to stay in the humans' good graces, particularly ones that helped animal rights' causes – especially those relating to climate change and beach clean-ups. The radio hosts also interviewed me live so I could talk about my work. This helped me build a pretty good reputation that helped squash those criticisms, and it helped some causes that I did genuinely care about. Win-win.

All the positive attention was all nice and all, but I couldn't let it distract me from my mission. Sometimes the fame would start to get to my head, but my precious souvenir snowglobe collection helped me keep my head on straight. I wouldn't find happiness just being some famous geneticist. I needed more than that. I needed revenge.

We were getting so close. Between my human employees at the human lab and the octopus employees at my submarine lab, we were making double the progress. Octopuses are very intelligent creatures, and it didn't take them long to catch on to how to do the experiments. Whenever we recruited more octopuses, they could even train the new recruits without me. It worked out beautifully.

It took several more weeks, but we finally got to trials with pigeons. The humans could fumble about testing on chimps or humans on their own after we perfected the trials with the pigeons, but this was as large a scale as I needed. Once we perfected it here, I would just need enough solution to alter the DNA of a flock of penguins. I hadn't quite decided what I wanted to name my solution yet, but I still had time. It hadn't even been perfected yet, after all.

One night, I was busy in my submarine lab with a group of my octopuses. We had collected some more pigeons from New York and were getting close to some successful avian trials with my solution. Then, the door to my lab opened.

"Sandra, oh, it's just you," I said as she entered. She was one of my security guards. "What's going on?"

Sandra told me there was someone here to see me, a new recruit for my legion of octopus henchmen – and henchwomen, not a guy/girl thing. Ah, you know.

"Perfect!" I replied. "The more the merrier. Have them help with sub navigation. I'll come introduce myself soon."

Sandra shook her head. She told me it might be best to come now. The new recruit was insistent on meeting me immediately.

"Oh," I responded. "All right then. Everyone keep working," I called to my employees as I removed my glasses. "I'll be back shortly."

Sandra led me down the corridor toward the navigation room.

"Did the new recruit give a reason as to why they were so eager to meet me?" I asked.

Sandra shook her head and shrugged her arms. I eyed her curiously but continued to follow.

When she opened the door to the navigation room, there was an octopus with their back to me, facing the table which contained a lot of my plans, including chemical formulas for the solution and information on the penguins' whereabouts.

"Ah," I said, moving into the room. "You must be the new recruit. I'm pleased you've decided to join us. Can I ask what makes you so eager to see me?"

Slowly, the light-orange colored octopus turned around and met my eye. My hearts plummeted.

It was Glenne.

— § —

I'm not sure how long we stared at each other. I couldn't move from my frozen stance until Sandra whispered to me, asking if I was all right. I shook my head out of my trance.

"Um, yeah, I'm all right. Clear the room for me," I responded, turning my attention back to Glenne.

Sandra hesitated but did what I asked, getting the few other octopus shifting about the room to follow her out. Another long silence followed as Glenne and I stared at each other again. Finally, I broke the tension.

"I'm glad you're all right," I said slowly. "I'm sorry for the way things ended between us."

Glenne exhaled and looked down for a moment, but didn't respond.

"Where did you go?" I asked.

I didn't think she was going to respond when finally she inhaled and said, "I was actually caught by animal control shortly after I left. An animal rights group bailed me out and helped me back to the ocean. Not much to tell, really." Her voice was steadier than I thought it'd be – steadier than mine.

I nodded slowly. "I'm glad they didn't hurt you. I looked for you for . . . I'm not sure how long."

Glenne looked at the floor again. "I figured you would."

I was a bit annoyed at that comment, considering how worried she had made me. But of course, I had to remind myself it was my fault she'd left. Well, really it was the penguins' fault she'd left. I had essentially lost her for nothing. The penguins never even cared about me, and I was trying to run back to them the whole time. I had lost Glenne chasing a lost cause. I couldn't help but wonder how things could've been different had I known sooner. But of course, this only reminded me of why my work was so important.

"Why are you here?" I asked. "Not that I'm not happy to see you again, but I figured I'd be the last person you'd want to see."

Glenne met my eye again with a hard stare. "What are you doing here, Dave?" she asked in an accusatory tone.

I felt defensive but kept my composure. "I'm . . . working on something," I said, deliberately being vague.

Glenne's gaze narrowed at me. She moved forward until she was right in front of me. "Tell me the truth. For once in your life, tell me the truth," she demanded harshly.

I met her gaze. I could still see the hurt in her eyes from the way I'd treated her. I could still see the betrayal. I wanted to lie, but found myself unable to. Besides, it seemed she already knew something was happening here. Maybe I could get her to understand.

"I . . ." I broke her gaze several times, looking for where to start. Finally, I met her eyes and held my ground. I had nothing to hide or to be ashamed of. "I'm here working on something that will help me get revenge on the penguins."

You'd think the admission would feel like a weight off my shoulders, but instead it seemed like it made the weight heavier. Glenne didn't act shocked or surprised. I imagine my employees already filled her in and she just wanted to hear me say it.

She shook her head and looked away, unspeaking.

"Look," I started, "you don't understand. I –"

"No," Glenne interrupted sharply, bringing her hard stare back to meet my eyes again. "I don't understand. What have those penguins ever done to you?"

My hearts quickened in pace and I felt my anger rise in my throat uncontrollably.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked defensively. "Do you not remember anything I told you back in London?"

Glenne folded two of her arms in front of her. "Oh, I remember. And after all this time, you still blame the penguins for your problems."

I felt taken aback by her statement and scoffed incredulously. "Yeah, I still blame them for my problems. They're the reason I lost everything. You out of anyone should know that."

Glenne scoffed back and shook her head. "You'll blame everyone but yourself. Look at you. What is this mad science? You're seriously losing it and out of touch with reality."

My whole body was tense by this point. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Is that why you came here?" I asked angrily, throwing an arm up. "Just to ridicule me and remind me how you haven't forgiven me?"

Glenne softened a little. "I never said I didn't forgive you," she said softly.

I realized I was breathing heavily and exhaled slowly as I took in her words. "You have?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Glenne looked down. "I forgave you a long time ago. A part of me regretted treating you the way I had. It was unfair of me to ask you to choose between us. Yes, you made a mistake by nearly getting us killed. But you were blinded by your love for your boys. I couldn't be mad at that forever. But by the time I'd realized this, it was too late to go back."

My muscles relaxed and I watched her carefully. I had assumed she'd never forgiven me and never would.

"I . . . I didn't know," I responded slowly.

"Clearly," Glenne said sharply. Then, softer, she said, "What are you doing, Dave?" she asked, reaching forward with an arm.

I backed away and set my gaze hard again.

"What I have to," I responded, continuing to hold my ground. "Those penguins took everything from me. Now I'm going to return the favor. I'm just . . . leveling the playing field."

Glenne looked at me sadly, but I didn't back down.

"Dave," she said quietly, "it doesn't have to be like this. Stop all this madness. This is wrong. The penguins never asked to be cuter than anyone. They never deliberately set out to take anything from you. They never asked the humans to give them all the love and give you nothing."

I shook my head. "You're wrong! The humans hate me. They loved me before those blasted penguins showed up. The humans don't see me as anything but a monster, so that's exactly what I'm going to be."

Glenne winced at my tone and backed away a couple of feet. "Dave," she started, "I think the only one that hates you here . . . is you."

I blinked, feeling my hearts skip a beat. A long silence fell between us. She was wrong. She had to be. I didn't hate myself . . .

I exhaled sharply, my brow again lowered angrily. "I worked hard to love myself enough to hate the penguins and know what I deserve."

Glenne shook her head. "That's a very warped way to view self-love, Dave. Self-love doesn't drive you to want to hurt others."

"What would you know about self-love? You didn't even love yourself enough to escape the London Zoo on your own," I snapped.

Glenne looked hurt by that statement. I regretted saying it instantly. I didn't mean it. But it was too late to turn back, so I stayed firm.

Glenne moved forward until she was next to me again. "I know you're in a really low place right now, so I'm going to ignore that statement. Just come with me, Dave. Leave all this behind. You can be happy. I can teach you how to be happy. You may have lost a lot in your life, and I'm sorry for that. But there's still so much to be gained, Dave. It's not too late. Let me show you." She held out an arm and I stared at it.

I felt a part of me deep down wanting to take her arm and go with her. To escape and never look back. I wanted to forget the penguins ever existed. My focus on penguins has taken so many years away from me. I could just move on. It would be easy. Maybe I could . . .

The phone near my navigation desk rang, grabbing both of our attention.

"I'm sorry," I said, "let me just take this really quickly."

I moved over to the phone and put my glasses on so I could find the button to answer the phone. "Dave speaking."

One of my octopus employees was on the other end, and told me that the penguins had just been run out of Monte Carlo by animal control and had hitched a ride with the Circus Zaragoza. So, they'd run away with the circus. What a clichè.

"Perfect," I said, "thank you for letting me know."

After ending the call, I turned back to Glenne. She was watching me with a sad expression.

"So you found them then?" she asked quietly. "Why aren't you with them then? Wasn't that the point of dragging me across America?"

I looked down. "A lot happened after you left," I started. I explained the whole story of my escape from the Staten Island Zoo, tracking down the penguins to Madagascar, barely missing them, then tracking them again to a Wildlife Preserve in Kenya, where I overheard them talking about how I was completely unneeded and unappreciated, how they never even missed me. Then I explained my journey of how I knew that I needed to get my revenge, and how I became the renowned geneticist Dr. Octavius Brine.

Glenne listened intently like she had the first time I'd opened up to her in London. I found myself surprised at how it was still so easy to talk to her. The question of whether I should run away with her still hung in the back of my mind. It would be so easy to just drop everything and go . . .

"Look, Dave," she started after I was done. "I understand you've been hurt. But this isn't right. Look around you, Dave. Is this really what you want to be known for? Do you really think this will make you happy?"

I didn't respond right away. I watched her as she studied me with a hopeful expression. Eventually, she raised her arm to me again.

"Please, Dave," she said, barely audible. "Come with me."

In my mind, two possibilities for my life began flashing before my eyes. In one, I perfected my solution and took revenge on the penguins, made them hideous mutants that the humans would hate and fear. I would watch as they felt exactly the way I had felt for far too long. In the other, I left this life, ran away with Glenne, and learned to be happy with myself as I am. I genuinely didn't know which life I wanted. I wanted both. But I remember what that response got me last time.

My eyes drifted to the table to my left, where chemical formulas were scrawled haphazardly and marked out. The results of dozens of DNA sequences were sprawled out on several pages strewn across the table. A picture of the penguins lay near the corner of the table, taken by the henchmen I'd hired to spy on them. Suddenly, my years of work flashed before my eyes. The millions of dollars I'd spent. The exhausting hours I'd spent behind a microscope trying solution after solution, trying to get it right.

I looked back to Glenne.

"I don't know," I said, not sure I wanted to give an answer yet.

Glenne sighed and lowered her arm. "I know you think this is going to make you happy, Dave. But it isn't. It will never be enough. If you go down this path, you will always want more. This is your chance to stop now, while you still can."

I found myself frustrated but tried not to show it. I was torn between two futures, two choices, two possibilities. I wasn't sure if I could give up one or the other. But I couldn't deny that I felt deep down that I couldn't just abandon my work. I had come too far.

Suddenly, the door to the navigation room burst open.

"Tyler! Perry! You guys can't just burst in without knocking!" I snapped. Seemed humans and octopuses alike knew how to knock.

They came forward pushing a cage on a cart and eagerly told me to look. Inside, the pigeon had a green hue, had sprouted a horn from its forehead like a rhino, and its eyes were three times bigger than normal. Its feathers were haggard and some had jagged ends. Its talons were large like a falcon's.

I smiled broadly. "This is amazing," I said breathlessly. "We finally have a small-scale version of the solution. Now all we need is to make more of it, create a machine to energize it and distribute it to dozens at once. Great work."

Tyler and Perry exchanged a high one of their own and carted the mutated pigeon out of the room. I turned back to Glenne and was shocked to find her staring at me in horror.

"Now, hold on," I said, holding up two of my arms, "I can explain."

Glenne laughed incredulously and shook her head. "No, I think I've seen quite enough. It's clear you've made your choice."

She turned and started making her way to the door to the navigation room. I started forward and grabbed at her arm, but she pulled away.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed as she turned and batted my arm away. "Stay away from me! Look, Dave, I thought maybe I could get through to you after your octopus friends told me about your plan. I thought surely you weren't actually serious about this. But I'll tell you one thing, Dave, and I want you to listen closely. You aren't creating any monsters here. You are the monster!"

I clenched two of my arms into fists. "That's what I've been trying to tell you!" I screamed back, slamming my fists into the floor.

Glenne shook her head in disbelief. "I know. And I tried so hard not to believe you."

My face fell and another silence fell between us as she continued to study me fearfully. Eventually, she turned and started toward the door again.

"Goodbye, Dave," she said. She stopped at the door and turned slightly, looking at me out of the corner of her eye. "Good luck finding happiness."

I said nothing as she pulled the door shut behind her.

— § —

I didn't return to the lab until around an hour later, after I had taken the time to process everything that happened between Glenne and me. I won't go into detail about how I did that.

My henchmen cheered as I entered, celebrating the victory, but quickly quieted when I didn't share the excitement, exchanging concerned glances. One asked me if I was all right.

"Yes, I'm fine, Helen. Hunt down my glasses, will you?"

Helen rushed off to get my glasses that I'd left in the navigation room. Some of my other henchmen seemed unconvinced about me being okay, but I ignored them. I put on the glasses Helen gave me and leaned into the microscope to study the DNA of the mutated pigeon. A few moments later, I pulled back and smiled.

"Great job, everyone. The DNA looks stable. Tim, Allen, you two take the first shift to keep an eye on the pigeon overnight for observations and report any irregularities to me immediately."

Tim and Allen saluted and carted the mutated pigeon away. I turned to the rest and lowered my glasses with a grin.

"Now, the real fun begins."

— § —

Note: Celebrity puns in this chapter were: Sandra Oh, Tyler Perry, Helen Hunt, and Tim Allen.

Quotes in this chapter were: "Not a guy/girl thing. Ah, you know," spoken by Maui (portrayed by Dwayne Johnson) in Moana (2016); "So, they'd run away with the circus. What a cliche," was a reference to a line said by Chantel Dubois (portrayed by Frances McDormand) in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012).