Welcome back to A Song of Spiders and Dragons. Last time, with NYC in somewhat better shape than it was when they woke up and their newly established team of seven working every angle of this situation, Spyro, Cynder, and Spider-Man took it upon themselves to hunt down the Sinister Six. So they started by giving the ground zero of the Devil's Breath epidemic a thorough going over. And soon they tracked down the spot Doctor Octopus seemed to have been based out of. So, what awaits inside? Read on to discover...
(Our scene begins in darkness as Spyro, Cynder, and Spider-Man enter a rather large room in the building they just found.)
Spider-Man: Well, first thing's first, let's get the lights on.
(Wasting no time, Spider-Man tracks the electrical wiring and fires an electric web at the fuse box, activating the lights, revealing this is definitely Doctor Octopus' staging ground, with his typical organization all over the place)
Spyro: Did Doctor Octavius use this place as a staging ground?
Cynder: Looks like it. The chaos of the prison break would've been a perfect time to move in.
Spider-Man: (Checking the tables) And it looks like Doc did his homework. He's got details on everybody he broke out and how he could augment them.
Spyro: (Spying a tape recorder) That's not all. Take a listen to this. It looks like Doctor Octavius recorded messages for all of them.
Cynder: Just look at this place, Doctor Octavius had the perfect motive for each of them to join him! He was going to give Scorpion a clean slate, free Rhino from his suit, put an end to Vulture's cancer, and even help Electro with his mad dream of becoming "pure energy"!
Spyro: And there's even intel on Martin. Apparently, those two go way back, even further than we suspected.
Spider-Man: Well, that's four accounted for. We still don't know why Martin Li is involved for sure.
Spyro: You mean beyond their mutual hatred of Norman Osborn?
Spider-Man: It's got to be more than that though, I'd bet everything on that.
Cynder: (Spying a crate) There might be something. Take a look at this.
(The guys join Cynder and soon enough they see it, a map of New York City sitting atop the crate, but there's something odd about it.)
Spyro: Doctor Octavius must've used this map for planning his attacks, but it's blank.
Cynder: I thought so to, but then, I saw this. (Points to a light source next to the map) That's a UV light if ever I saw one.
(Sure enough, Cynder turns the device on, and the markings on the map become clear, drawn in ultraviolet ink.)
Spider-Man: Otto's got the villains hitting Oscorp holdings all over the city. Electro's taking down Oscorp power plants, Rhino's going after the shoreline properties, Scorpion looks like he's set to poison the city's reservoir, and Vulture's in Times Square for some reason. He's taking Norman apart piece by piece.
Cynder: Culminating in a final assault on Oscorp itself. And ultimately, Norman.
Spyro: (Spying something in the corner) And that's not the worst part. Listen to this. (Reads the note on the map) "ICARUS: Li to secure DB antiserum".
Cynder: Sending Martin Li to secure the Devil's Breath cure. This isn't good. Whatever the ICARUS thing is, we need to stop it.
(At this point, Spider-Man spots something in the back of the room, a crate marked ICARUS with a lockbox on top of it.)
Spider-Man: Looks like that implant is messing with Otto more than we expected. He left a ton of information on ICARUS right here!
Cynder: (Notices a tape recorder next to it all) And left notes. Let's see what he had to say.
Doctor Octopus: (Via tape recorder) Norman. It's like I can't turn around without seeing his face. Smiling for the cameras, collecting his accolades, all with his bootheel pressed against my neck. Why can no one but me see how selfish he is? How reckless? How... EVIL?! If only I could make them see the Norman I know, the one behind the facade.
Cynder: (Shuts the recorder off, even though there's still message to go.) Now I'm starting to wish I talked with him more about this. He wasn't the only one who caught glimpses past the veil here.
Spyro: Cynder, don't go blaming yourself for this now too.
Spider-Man: We may not have been able to stop this from happening, but we can prevent it from getting worse. Whatever ICARUS is, it's still here. Let's put an end to this before it begins.
(Spider-Man starts by opening the lockbox, revealing it to actually be a closed webcam stream, with Doctor Octopus himself on the other side)
Doctor Octopus: Hello, Spider-Man. About time we met face to face. (Seeing Spyro and Cynder there) Good to see you two again as well. Starting to think you should have kept better company though. (Back to Spider-Man) I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm...
Spider-Man: Otto Octavius. I know.
Doctor Octopus: (Realizes that) Ah, of course, Spyro and Cynder probably told you I was in on helping you out back before all this.
Cynder: (Puts it together) There is no ICARUS, is there?
Doctor Octopus: And that's why I liked you, Cynder. Of you and Spyro, you were always the smart one. Martin needs no assistance to recover the antiserum. ICARUS was just a ruse to get you three right where I wanted you. (To Spyro and Cynder) For what it's worth, you two, I'm sorry it's come to this. If I could have avoided getting you involved, you know I would have. But, unfortunately, my hand has been forced. And now, all three of you are in position.
Spyro: In position for what?!
(That's when a panel opens in the lockbox, revealing it's lined with explosives about to go off. Realizing there's little time to escape, the trio slings out of the roof just as the makeshift bomb goes off, ending our scene for today)
And that looks like a good spot to end for today. So, a little peak into the planning of the Sinister Six. And now, it seems the whole thing was one big trap. Doctor Octavius is clearly gone by this point. And now he's blown up everything he left behind in the staging zone. But surely that can't be all he was planning on, right? Considering we still don't know what Vulture is supposed to be doing in Times Square. Which is just where we are right now, now that I think about it. More on that next time, so be sure to tune in. Same time... same channel!