"The mission was a success. We've temporarily detained Doctor Octopus in the temporary holding cells beneath the Avengers Tower. We'll transfer him to the Raft prison once the Avengers return."
Coulson watched as the submarine surfaced. After Spider-Man and Ward came up with two test tubes containing symbiotes and Doctor Octopus, Coulson began to make arrangements. Seeing the two containers Ward brought out, Coulson frowned. "I remember the report mentioned that the U.S. military had four symbiote containers."
"Yes, sir, but we only have three," Ward said, setting down the two canisters. He sounded a bit helpless. "Otto said he lost one."
"He lost one? How?"
Coulson asked, puzzled. Ward shrugged helplessly. "He said after he discovered that Spider-Man could perfectly bond with a symbiote, he began to suspect that symbiotes were highly intelligent beings capable of communication and cooperation. So he tried to communicate with one and let it attach to him."
"And then?"
"And then it ran away." Ward shrugged again, and Coulson was speechless. Spider-Man waved to them, and after all four of Doctor Octopus's tentacles were removed, he used his webs to secure him. He then let Venom tie up the four mechanical tentacles and carried Otto away.
As for the symbiotes, the two sides had reached a temporary agreement: S.H.I.E.L.D. could conduct preliminary research and analysis while dealing with the troublesome U.S. military. Once a solution to the symbiote crisis was found, the symbiotes would be handed over to the Avengers.
But all of this depended on S.H.I.E.L.D. having all four symbiotes. Now that they only had three, the Avengers wouldn't believe that S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't found the fourth one; they would just think S.H.I.E.L.D. was hiding it.
There was nothing they could do; that was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reputation. Coulson sighed.
"We can only hope... the Avengers believe Otto Octavius's story and believe that S.H.I.E.L.D. really couldn't catch that last symbiote."
Meanwhile, the real Avenger was carrying his lifelong nemesis.
"So, why did you work for Kingpin, create the Scorpion, help Mysterio, and why did you help the U.S. military with illegal human experiments, Doctor?"
"You wouldn't understand, Spider-Man. There's no point in telling you."
"Ah, let me guess. It's because of Norman Osborn, right?"
Otto, who was being carried on Spider-Man's shoulder, looked at Peter in surprise. "You know?"
"No, not really. But whether it's bad luck or fate, a lot of the enemies I've faced have had a connection to Osborn. I recently met a man whose patents Norman stole. So I'm guessing if a scientist is out looking for investors and has a tragic fate, Norman Osborn is probably behind it."
Otto gave a dry laugh. See, Norman? Your bad reputation is known even to Spider-Man. You think you're a success, a rich man in New York, a successful businessman? But everyone knows you're nothing but a thief.
"Okay, Doctor, I'd love to hear your story, but unfortunately, I can't listen right now. Let's find a safe place to talk."
The safe place Peter was referring to was the temporary prison in the basement of the Avengers Tower, where Shocker and Mysterio had been held before. Here, Hank's Ultron robots would be in charge. These still-clumsy robots could handle simple commands, such as taking care of a paralyzed Doctor Octopus's daily needs.
Other than that, Doctor Octopus would be stuck in bed, unable to move.
"So, let's talk about Norman," Peter said with a shrug. The Vulture incident had made him realize that even though Norman had given him full access to Oscorp's files, it didn't mean he could see everything Oscorp was doing. Norman undoubtedly wanted Peter Parker to see a highly successful and righteous Oscorp, but Peter knew that wasn't the case. Even Harry knew what a despicable person his own father was.
"You seem to know Norman Osborn's character very well already. What else do you want to know?"
"Uh, your story? You know, with all that stuff on your back, you must have a lot of stories."
"Oh, that's a long story..."
It wasn't that long, actually.
The story began much like in the Marvel's Spider-Man series. Otto Octavius and Norman Osborn were college classmates and like-minded friends. They vowed to change the world with technology, so they started a business in college and eventually founded one of the most successful emerging technology companies of the last century—Oscorp. Oscorp was meant to represent not only Osborn but Octavius as well.
But then everything changed. Norman became greedy and arrogant. His scientific inspiration began to wane, and his shady ways of making money grew more and more numerous. Their partnership gradually turned into an Edison-versus-Tesla situation, with Osborn greedily taking all the credit and ignoring Otto's contributions.
The situation escalated when Otto was diagnosed with ALS, gradually becoming paralyzed, and Norman's wife, Emily, died in a car accident.
"Finally, for my own sake, I wanted to design a neural implant to help me regain my ability to walk and move. The Scorpion's artificial spine was the prototype I designed back then." Otto finished the story of how the two friends became enemies. "After that, everything became very simple. To continue my experiments, I designed these mechanical claws to help me work. I even modified my throat so I could still speak."
"But just as the experiment was on track, Norman came to ruin everything again. He was convinced my experiment wouldn't succeed, and he cut the power at the most critical moment. A massive accident occurred in the lab, fusing me and my tentacles together via a neural link."
At this point, Otto even demonstrated his special ability to still control the tentacles even after they were detached. Peter clapped and sighed. He didn't fully believe Otto's story and knew it needed to be verified.
But all in all, Otto Octavius had been arrested and was no longer a threat.