This is Part II of the New Year's Special. Last time, our six heroes ended up at MJ's apartment, and everything went wrong. Spyro, Cynder, Ember, and Flame got into a fight about why the four stopped being friends, with MJ putting a somewhat snide remark to Spider-Man since the same thing is why they broke up. After all of that, Ember and Flame lied about there being something at Grand Central, and the entire group just takes a break. MJ joins Ember and Flame secretly, claiming a filing deadline, while Spider-Man goes off on patrol to clear his head. It's unclear what Spyro and Cynder are doing at this point, but they realize they'll need to see Doctor Octavius in a few hours, hoping Spidey remembers that. So, what goes on after this? Read on to discover...

(Our tale resumes at Octavius Industries, where Spyro and Cynder are already working with Doctor Octavius on something when Spider-Man walks in)

Spider-Man: Hey, sorry I'm late.

Octavius: Morning, Parker. Or is it evening? It doesn't matter.

Spider-Man: So, what's the project today?

Octavius: Think you can check the neurosensors on the headset? We need a faster response time, under three milliseconds if possible.

Spider-Man: Can do.

(While this is happening, Spyro and Cynder are tidying up the lab a bit, and are unnerved by the sheer amount of AIM branded boxes lying around)

Spyro: I'm still nervous about Doc getting AIM involved in all this.

Cynder: So am I, but the Doc's never been this excited about a project. I hate to crush his hopes so soon. We'll keep an eye on him.

(While they wrap up their conversation, Spider-Man finishes with the headset)

Spider-Man: Here we go. Got it down to 2.8 milliseconds.

Octavius: Good work, Peter. (Connects the headset to a cable) Now then, time to test the puppy out.

(With that, Doctor Octavius places the headset on his head, and as Spider-Man and the rest rush towards the shutoff switch, Doctor Octavius powers the device up, automatically connecting it to the pair of prosthetic arms in front of them. Using all his mental fortitude, Doctor Octavius wills the arm to move, and pluck a tennis ball out of a bucket before tossing it out of the range of a normal arm. But rather than activating the other arm, he extends the first one to catch the ball, the metal extending and flexing almost like a tentacle. Confident in this exercise now, Doctor Octavius brings in the other arm, and plays a game of catch with himself)

Doctor Octavius: (Now even more confident) Yes.

(Feeling ready to take this exercise to the next level, Doctor Octavius uses the prosthetics to remove a few tennis balls from the bucket, and start juggling them, adding ball after ball until the bucket is empty. The arms are now juggling about 20 tennis balls at almost superhuman speed. Astonished by this, everybody moves in to marvel at this downright miraculous piece of work, just as Doctor Octavius puts the balls back in the bucket.)

Doctor Octavius: I'd call that a mild success.

Spider-Man: I'd call that unbelievable!

Spyro: Forget unbelievable, it's downright revolutionary!

Cynder: Doc, get this out under your name, and you've got a Nobel Prize in the bag!

(Satisfied with the test, Doctor Octavius reaches to take off the headset, only his arm isn't responding like it should. And now, everybody has taken notice.)

Spider-Man: Do you need some help?

Octavius: (Hesitant, then relenting) Yes.

(With that, Spider-Man removes the cable from the back of the headset, depowering the arms, and then removes the headset)

Spyro: Doc, are you feeling okay? What's going on?

Cynder: You know you don't have to hide anything from us.

Octavius: (With a sigh) It's become that obvious, has it? (Takes the headset from Spider-Man's hand and sets it on the work table) My doctors are calling it a degenerative neurological disorder, likely caused by exposure to toxic chemicals in my... reckless youth. No precise diagnosis yet, but the prognosis is clear.

Spider-Man: I'm... I'm sorry. Is there anything we can do?

Octavius: You all already are. (Sighs) The worst part about this, it only affects the muscles. The mind still works, but it can't do.

Spyro: So it's a Stephen Hawking situation?

Octavius: In theory yes, though the one thing ruled out is ALS weirdly enough. But whatever it is, right now, you three are the only ones who know. I'd personally prefer to keep it that way.

Cynder: Of course.

Octavius: (With sheer depression in his voice) If you'd like to seek a position with more of a future...

Spider-Man: Doc, we came to work for you because of what's in that brilliant mind of yours.

Spyro: And you said yourself, that's not going anywhere.

Cynder: So neither are we.

(With that, the quartet shares an embrace, to a friendship that should hopefully withstand anything, before they start back to work.)

Octavius: Oh, before I forget, I just read the most fascinating article. It outlines some possible next steps for the neural interface.

Spider-Man: We'll go take a look.

(As soon as all three are gathered in the back office, they finally notice the brain scans on the wall)

Spyro: No wonder Doctor Octavius has been putting so much time and energy into this. At this rate, he'll lose control of his motor functions in a year.

Cynder: And it gets worse. (Holds up the article Doctor Octavius pointed them towards) He's looking to move towards an intracranial implant. That could exacerbate his condition even further.

Spider-Man: We need to be really cautious moving forward.

Spyro: Cautious? We have to tell Doc to stop! This could alter his personality if we're not careful.

Cynder: Spyro's right, we need to convince him to work with what he's got. Sure it's bulky, but so were pacemakers and dialysis machines when they first started. Let him be one of the giants whose shoulders elevate further developments.

(At this point, Cynder's phone goes off, all three of theirs do actually, revealing a message from Aunt May, asking if they're on their way.)

Spyro: Crap, I forgot it's Miles' first day, and we all said we'd be there!

Cynder: We've got to let Doc know.

(At this point, Doctor Octavius walks into the back office, having overheard everything)

Octavius: Perfect timing honestly, I was just thinking of taking a break once I reviewed the telemetry data. You three go on ahead, and please, give young Mr. Morales my condolences.

Spider-Man: Thanks Doc. We'll be back in a few hours.

(And with that, the trio walks out of Octavius industries as our scene ends for today)

This concludes Part II of the New Years Special. For Part III, head on over to The Injustice Wars. So, a lot happening here. Doctor Octavius has some miraculous technology on his hands, and a degenerative neurological condition to motivate him to get this solved. But is he going too far too fast? But for now, we've got more important things to worry about, like Miles Morales' first day at F.E.A.S.T. So, what awaits at the center? Tune in next time to find out! Same time... same channel!