Otto Octavius was secretly reviewing video footage sent to him by certain "allies." Otto feigned ignorance regarding their true identity as Hydra; he knew their objective was to use him and his Sinister Six to eliminate Spider-Man once and for all. Consequently, they provided him with a wealth of intelligence to facilitate a victory over the wall-crawler.
As Otto watched the recording of Spider-Man soloing Nimrod, he fell into a deep, somber silence before letting out a helpless sigh.
Frankly, from a modern scientific perspective, he couldn't fathom what that final combo of Spider-Man's actually was. He even harbored doubts about the recording's authenticity. However, considering Hydra had no reason to deceive him with fake footage, Otto resigned himself to the task of brainstorming a strategy to counter the hero.
First, it was certain that Spider-Man did not use that move frequently; otherwise, he would have employed it against others long ago. This meant that if Otto could drive Spider-Man into a corner quickly and efficiently, he could effectively prevent himself from being hit by that spatial slash.
To achieve this, the prerequisite was a comprehensive round of augmentations for his "rabble" of a team.
First was Mysterio. His upgrade was already complete. The data stolen from the Xavier Institute's Danger Room had been an eye-opener for Otto. That system essentially integrated a telepath's abilities into its circuitry to create an almost inconceivable, illusion-like experience.
With this, Mysterio could ensure Spider-Man's sensory feedback and perceptions were severely limited. However, like the Light-Particle Manipulation Device, this technology had its drawbacks: as a Danger Room device based on cerebral influence, it functioned almost exclusively on the human brain and had no effect on anything else. A simple high-tech scan would expose the illusions instantly.
"That's not a difficult fix; Max Dillon can handle that."
Regarding Electro's augmentation, Otto hadn't quite finalized the plan. From a mutant perspective, Electro was currently nearing perfection; Otto simply needed to ensure he had a sufficiently powerful electrical current to bolster himself during combat. In a way, Electro had the highest ceiling of the entire team; the power to infinitely absorb electrical energy was simply too broken.
The upgrades for Scorpion and Rhino were much simpler. Rhino's strength could be enhanced through surgery, followed by an increase in the durability of his specialized hide. As for Scorpion? Otto had already proven at Connors' lab that Erskine's serum could further enhance the ordinary animal serums used in the Feral Strength project. So long as Scorpion could withstand the effects of the Erskine serum, he would receive a substantial boost.
As for whether he could survive it—given that his brain had been turned to mush by Spider-Man, Otto figured Scorpion would manage. Additionally, his exoskeleton tail and armor could undergo large-scale reinforcements, so that was no issue.
The real problems were himself and Sandman...
Otto Octavius had no intention of excessively augmenting himself. Just as he refused to clone a different body and instead repeatedly cloned his own flawed physique, there were certain principles he upheld despite knowing they were disadvantageous. He was an intensely egotistical man, inhabiting a body that could last no more than three months, constantly attempting to push it to the limit.
The only remaining variable was Sandman.
Otto contacted Hydra (while pretending he thought they were the Pentagon), and they put him in touch with a former A.I.M. employee named Mr. Gryphon. This employee had jumped ship just in time and chose to collaborate with Hydra to develop his own special projects.
He claimed to know a sorcerer who could permanently resolve Sandman's spiritual stability issues. Otto wasn't entirely certain, but Sandman's vulnerability—the way his soul could be snatched the moment magic touched him—was far too troublesome. He decided to send him over anyway.
Supposedly, that "friend" went by the name Belasco.
Beyond that...
Otto Octavius looked at the equipment connected to his computer—a series of aerosol spray devices. If Spider-Man or Connors were here, they would be shocked to realize they had seen this before.
This was the restoration formula used to treat and revert Connors—a concoction that could completely reverse a transformation provided it had the DNA of the original host. While Otto did not possess Spider-Man's personal DNA, he had approached the problem from a different angle to synthesize a formula with a similar effect.
If they could restrain Spider-Man for even a brief window, they could pump these serums into his body. At that point, the Sinister Six would only have to face a Spider-Man devoid of superpowers—oh, wait, there was still the Symbiote.
But there was little to say about the Symbiote. Otto was confident he had new methods to deal with it. In fact, he believed no one in the world understood Symbiotes better than he did; he was the foremost expert on the subject.
Reviewing his entire plan, Otto took a deep breath and reached for a pen. However, his hand refused to cooperate. Even in this cloned body possessed by an artificial symbiote, he couldn't move his fingers with any strength. Otto exerted every ounce of will to pick up the pen, then let out a frustrated sigh.
Time for another body swap.
"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"
He began to slam his disobedient right hand onto the desk with savage force, cursing as blood began to flow. He sat in his chair, sobbing and whimpering for a long moment. Finally, with the assistance of the symbiote, he stood up and operated the terminal on the wall, opening an entire wall of incubation pods.
Otto dragged his failing body into the chair and connected the device to his spine. The artificial symbiote receded from his form. Accompanied by a surge of electricity, the brain activity in the old body quickly ceased.
Simultaneously, the incubation fluid in the first pod drained away. A robust, powerful Otto Octavius in his early twenties emerged. He detached the mechanical limbs from the old body, reattached them to his new back, and used his brainwaves to command the mindless artificial symbiote to return to his form.
He would have a complete body, one no longer subject to any limitations.
And he would make Norman Osborn pay the price.