Doctor Octopus Otto was startled by Peter's eerie smile. Although this ending was within his expectations, what was with that guy's creepy smile?
"The power of the sun, in the palm of my hand. You said that, right? You died because of it."
Peter recalled the plot he had seen in his previous life, then simply said that one sentence.
"The power of the sun, in the palm of my hand… I think I remember now…"
Doctor Octopus Otto froze for a moment. His thoughts drifted chaotically, then he suddenly trembled.
"I remember being in my temporary laboratory. The power of the sun was once again in my grasp. Then Spider-Man appeared. I think I was supposed to sink into the river together with my sun… and then I died?"
As Doctor Octopus spoke, his face became both terrified and uncertain.
"Then what exactly am I now? Am I alive, or am I a ghost?"
That expression was perfectly normal. Anyone who realized they should have already died would probably react the same way.
Thinking of that, he could not help raising his head to look at Peter. A trace of pleading appeared in his eyes. He hoped this seemingly wicked Spider-Man could give him an answer. Even if the answer was a lie meant to deceive him, it would at least let him feel a little more at ease.
"If you really did experience that, then maybe you're already dead in your universe. But it's also possible that at the moment of your death, you were pulled here by a multiversal rift torn open in reality. So now, you're alive again."
"Congratulations, Otto. You should count as reborn. Want to try living a new life?"
Peter wondered what kind of sparks his antihero squad would create if it had two Doctor Octopuses.
So he really wanted to recruit this doctor, who looked rather kind and gentle, into his team.
"Reborn…"
Doctor Octopus Otto fell into thought. He felt that living another life like Peter might not be such a bad thing.
"Hmph. We're both Otto, so why do you get all the luck?"
Otto Parker spoke with jealousy and envy.
This kind of fresh, clean rebirth was far better than taking over Spider-Man's body. Otto could live for himself.
But Otto Parker could not. Affected by the consciousness inside the body, he had completely become Spider-Man. He was not living for himself. He was living to become Spider-Man. Sometimes, it was honestly painful.
"Hey, little bug! You said before that in another universe, you were my assistant, right? So you know me pretty well too, don't you?"
Peter looked at the Lizard, who had an extremely hostile attitude toward him. The smile at the corner of his mouth deepened, and then he said, "Doctor Connors, your death is inevitable. This is basically a curse. Anyone who becomes the Lizard dies. Even another version of me from a different world is no exception."
"And I really don't like your tone."
"Heh, heh, heh… You don't like it? So what?"
The Lizard laughed in a low voice. His voice sounded like two stones grinding against each other, harsh and unpleasant. "I've never cared what anyone thinks. If you've got the guts, then hit me."
Peter had lived for so many years, and this was the first time he had ever heard a request like that.
Fine. He had to grant it.
Peter sneered, then used the power of the Spider Totem to teleport into the magical container.
The sudden change caught the Lizard completely off guard. But in the next second, he opened his massive jaws and lunged to bite at Peter.
Peter dodged with a quick sidestep, then pressed against the Lizard's lower jaw. Facing his chin, without any extra movement, Peter clenched his fist and swung upward.
Bang!
A loud impact rang out.
The entire basement seemed to shake.
The Lizard's entire body was slammed hard into the top of the cage. Only after Peter withdrew his hand did he crash heavily back down to the floor.
"You really don't know that I actually kill people, do you? One more villain won't make a difference to me. I don't know if you've heard of Scorpion or Vulture, but they both died at my hands. Before they died, they looked at me with the same eyes you're using now. Anger mixed with fear. So cut that act out. You have no value to me at all."
Peter stepped on the Lizard's head and sneered. Then he ground his foot against the Lizard's head a few times before using magical energy to teleport back outside the container, looking at the three containers in front of him.
"So, Doctors Otto, how about joining my team? You heard the conversation just now. My team members come from every corner of the multiverse. Maybe some of them will interest you."
Although Otto Parker had once been a supervillain before becoming Spider-Man, Peter had to admit that after he became Spider-Man, he could be considered an antihero. Peter quite admired what he had done.
As for the other Doctor Octopus, Otto was different from any of his variants in the comic universes. At his core, he was not a bad person.
Doctor Octopus Otto was obsessive because he wanted to create an artificial sun. And the reason he wanted to create an artificial sun was to push technology forward and give humanity access to limitless energy.
In his own words, the heavens had given him intelligence. It was a gift, not a privilege.
Since he possessed that gift, he should use it to serve others and benefit mankind, not to stand above everyone else.
Even after the inhibitor chip in his mechanical arms affected him and made him more extreme, he still did not abandon that belief.
It was only because the artificial sun he created was flawed that he became a "supervillain." Becoming a villain had never been his original intention.
But that kind of behavior could also be considered a type of antiheroism.
People like that were born for this line of work. After all, heroes would not understand them, and villains would only despise them. Only the great family of antiheroes could give them a warm place to belong.
As for Connors…
Peter admitted that there were indeed good versions of the Lizard. But the one in front of him was not a good man. At the very beginning, he had researched cross-species genetics for one word.
Money.
He had worked with Richard Parker. Back then, when Richard discovered that Oscorp was researching cross-species genetics to create monster soldiers and use them to wage war against other countries, he chose to flee.
Did the Lizard not know about that?
Obviously, he did.
But he still chose to stay and continue researching that serum.
After that, he even tried to force that serum onto others and turn millions of people in New York into lizards.
A person like that had too much betrayal in his bones. Even if Peter recruited him into the team, there was no guarantee he would not stab them in the back one day.
Peter was an extremely cautious person. Recruiting useful talent could indeed increase team cohesion and combat power.
But for a backstabbing bastard like this, death might be the best result.
Of course, Peter could not kill him. Who knew whether killing him would alter the universe? Better to send him back to his own universe and let him die there.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]