Resolve

   Otto Octavious wasn't really allowed to leave Oscorp. He was under the threat of being killed if he did, as Norman absolutely had to keep his oh-so-perfect record spotless. Did Norman truly think Otto would reveal everything that happened here, everything that could get even the timid doctor himself arrested? Apparently he did.

   The good doctor did what he could to keep himself out of trouble. He simply lacked have the power to defend himself if something went wrong...Or, perhaps, he did have the power. Just not the confidence. Norman went out of his way to squeeze every last bit of that out of Otto on his first day.

    To be honest, Norman was a bit on the scary side when he was angry. The more he thought about it, the more Otto began to believe he could frighten his boss if he got angry enough. He certainly had the means. Just one little twitch of the mechanical arm here, one little swing there, and Norman would be the one working for him!

   But he chased those ideas away. It was so hard to concentrate with them floating in his head. So very hard...

   He was good friends with Adrian Toomes. The two were both geniuses, able to come up with brilliant things when they were together...To benefit everyone, of course.

   Alas, he hadn't been able to really see his old friend for a while. Work prevented that. But there was that one day when Adrian called, sounding more excited than when Otto had made his arms. A transport system! He had said. A magnetic one! The idea is perfect! He just needed a way to fund it, to get it out to the public.

   Equally eager, Otto forgot all about what sort of person Norman had turned out to be, and instantly told Adrian to give the idea to Oscorp. It would be a fantastic chance. The two would be able to work together again. Only, this time, it would be Adrian's idea they'd work on, rather than his own.

   That meeting ended on such a sad note. Norman rejected the idea, called it foolish. He chased the older man out, telling him it would never work. To make matters worse, he turned right around not five seconds later, and announced they were going to create the same thing, but under the name of Techflight! Otto wanted to stop him, wanted to keep him from stealing his friend's idea, but could not work up the courage.

   Four months later, Techflight was announced to the public. Not long after that, a furious Adrian came storming over to Otto.

   His old friend angrily blamed him for what happened. All Otto could do was attempt to stammer out an apology, try to explain...But Norman arrived at the right moment to cut the poor man off. Don't apologize doctor-I never do. he said. Oscorp has nothing to apologize for. This only served to further enrage Adrian. Otto moved out of the way, his stomach doing terrible flip flops as his boss got closer to Adrian.

   If you never accomplished anything as a young man, who would believe you created Techflight as an old one?

   Adrian was forced out, informing Otto that he was not being blamed anymore.

   Otto looked at his employer nervously, but said nothing.

   Later on, he found out that Norman had been attacked by Adrian, the latter now having dubbed himself 'The Vulture'. Serves him right, Otto thought bitterly...

   Days passed, things happened. Things like Electro, the Lizard, and Shocker. They never concerned Otto much, but he was still interested in what happened...More or less.

   A day came when they brought in a thug, Flint Marco or something like that, for an experiment. The doctor was to make it so he had silicon armor. But the lab...!

   He begged Norman to give him more time to prepare. Something would surely mess up, the way things were. But Norman insisted. This is the test.

   Press the button, doctor.

   Ignoring the error, he pushed the lever forward. The test began, but the magnetic field was overloading. He had to shut it off! This man could die! We have to abort! Norman refused. When Marco burst into sand, Otto could not keep the guilt from instantly rushing to his head.

   _{What have I done?} What have we done...? _{He's gone...} What do we do?

   Norman reacted calmly, uncaring for the fate of subject. Otto hung his head for a second, until Hammerhead pointed out something was happening.

   The three all watched the sand gather, reforming Marco, who was less than happy at what happened. Otto stayed away from their talk, and nervously tried to fix whatever had gone wrong.

   Reports of Sandman's defeat came in the next few days, and they brought in O'hirn the next day. This time, no mistakes were allowed.

   However, this only proved to make him more nervous. The new lab definitely was not ready for this sort of thing yet. And O'hirn may not get as lucky as his partner had. O'hirn could possibly...

   His worries proved wrong when The Rhino came out, perfectly fine, in the exact suit he had in mind. Yet, The Rhino managed to join jail in the next day.

   More days passed, and Otto's paranoia grew. The work was stressful, risky. Norman seemed to be in a lighter mood, but that was almost as frightening as seeing him mad. Otto himself grew more jumpy each day. Even getting surprised by his own reflection. It felt like someone, be it Spider-man or the Vulture or one of the others, could appear any day and attack him. Kill him.

   ...No. No. Of course not. Otto was just paranoid, wasn't he?

   Reports of the Green Goblin reached him, making him more nervous. He had seen the Goblin before, when the masked villain had decided to steal the Techflight Glider. He got in once. He could easily do it again.

   Of course there was also Spider-man. The hero was obviously smart. He could trace the souped-up thugs back to Oscorp-back to the doctor himself! Spider-man was going to come after him. He could feel it. His boss just brushed off the idea. Didn't he understand? Not like it mattered. The doctor had a job to do. He refused to let his fears keep him from that. Norman was a bit scarier than they were.

   But that didn't mean he wanted to sit here and accept what was happening. He had all this pressure and Norman didn't care. If only he could just...

   I'll do as I'm told.

   That was the problem, wasn't it? He lost his nerve so easily. He couldn't help it...

   But that name is so demeaning...

   It happened kind of fast, though he was still aware of the danger.

   I've...been...good...

   The pain was unbearable. Then, it vanished. Was he asleep? It felt like a dream. He could hear Norman's concerned voice, but it triggered his old one, drowning the former out.

   I can't have weak men in my organization, Otto.

   Resolve began to fester within him. Dream or no dream, accident or no accident, there was one thing he knew...

   I will not be weak.

   He knew that someone had just killed Otto Octavious. They had managed to do it. Otto Octavious was weak...But he wasn't. So what did that make him? He already knew even before the question entered his mind.

   I am...

   Doctor Octopus!