Michael had been in the room ever since Gwen entered. He had merely activated his suit's optical camouflage to hide in the darkness, while adding two silencing and perception-altering spells to ensure no one noticed him.
He had heard everything and seen everything. The reason he had waited until now to act was that he wanted to observe these clones' performance and collect as much combat data as possible.
Otto's crafty little eyes cautiously studied the intruder behind his dark green lenses. This fellow in Black Armor had appeared without a sound, like a steel phantom. Every cell in his body warned him through his keen instincts that this man was dangerous, and cold sweat trickled down his back.
But the mechanical arms spread throughout the room and under his control clearly gave him considerable confidence. On top of that, he had just defeated four Spider-Men single-handedly without suffering a scratch. Such a record could easily go to one's head.
"So it was you, huh?" Otto suppressed all his unease and tried to appear as imposing as possible. "The one who dared steal what belonged to Doctor Octavius?"
Michael had no interest in trading words with him. He raised a hand and fired a pulse beam through the air. Doctor Octopus was startled, but his reaction was not slow. At the very instant the beam struck, a metal arm dangerously swung over and violently knocked the pulse blast aside.
Such an astonishing reaction speed meant either luck or that Otto's reflexes surpassed those of ordinary people. Presumably, the mechanical arms linked to his nervous system had in turn enhanced his reflexes. That made sense; otherwise, even with four immensely powerful mechanical arms, Doctor Octopus would have found it difficult to fight Spider-Man to a standstill with normal human reflexes.
"Watch out!" Gwen suddenly shouted.
Steel tentacles raced along the floor and suddenly crawled up Michael's ankles. Before the armor could charge another Pulse Cannon shot, two mechanical arms had wrapped around his leg armor, followed by several more steel tentacles coiling around the suit's hands and upper body.
Michael glanced sideways at Gwen. The clone girl's eyes were filled with concern.
"Gauntlets and leg armor restrained," Sherry warned. "Power output is insufficient to destroy enemy components."
"I know," Michael replied flatly.
He spread the fingers of both hands and silently recited a spell. The stored magical data was rapidly accessed, and the suit's energy flowed into the mana surging from within him, condensing into flame-colored Magic Circles in his palms.
Sparks flew as magic surged forth. Golden arcs flashed at speeds too fast for the naked eye to follow. The shrill sound of metal being cut echoed through the room, and every tentacle wrapped around Michael snapped apart.
"No!" Otto's eyes widened in shock. "How is that possible?"
Auxiliary thruster ports on both sides of the suit's back opened, blasting out flames for short-range propulsion. The Black Armor moved like a thunderbolt. Otto pushed his brain to its limits, spreading neural signals as widely as possible. Every mechanical arm that received the command shot forward like mad, trying to intercept the enemy charging toward its master.
Michael shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, unable to turn back and impossible to stop. Mechanical arms stabbed at him with shrieking fury like countless venomous snakes, but he easily severed them with his magic shortsword. In 0.7 seconds, he broke through the defensive line and reached Otto, leaving behind a floor littered with severed, sparking tentacles.
Otto nervously retreated, firing the three remaining arms attached to his back at once in a desperate final struggle. Michael shifted his direction of thrust, and the Thrusters fired sideways, pushing the armored figure laterally away from two arms. The final mechanical arm came chopping down with a spinning saw blade at its tip, only for Michael to slash diagonally and neatly sever it.
Otto had nowhere left to retreat, nor did he have anything left to shield himself. Michael reached out with his left hand and pressed his palm hard against the back of Otto's neck. Visible blue arcs of electricity burst joyfully from his palm, and the current surged down Otto's spine, making him scream in agony.
All the mechanical arms stopped functioning, like battery-powered toys with their batteries removed. The Spider-Men trapped by the arms regained their freedom as well. Peter forcefully shook off the metal arm pressing against his stomach and leaped down.
Otto lay painfully sprawled on the ground. The four mechanical arms connected to his back, including the two already broken, drooped limply onto the floor as well. Smoke rose from his body, and he groaned through his throat before mumbling, "Y-you... what did you do?"
"I performed a detailed scan of your spinal cord, analyzed the mechanical structures fused with your nervous system, and studied the principle behind your brain remotely controlling these arms," Michael said calmly, standing beside him. "Then I used fifty thousand volts of precisely controlled current to selectively burn out your key circuits, destroying your neural interaction mechanism."
Michael stepped back two paces and stood aside. "Now, he's yours."
Otto endured the pain and looked up to see four Spider-Men slowly closing in around him, each gaze seeming ready to tear him apart alive.
"Let me make one thing clear first." Kaine stepped forward and threw a swift right punch. "I get the first hit!"
The black fist smashed hard into Otto's right cheek, knocking his mouth crooked and sending saliva flying.
"My turn!"
Ben Reilly launched a kick at Otto's jaw, knocking his body backward and sending him crashing to the ground. Peter lunged forward, drove his knee into Otto's chest and abdomen to make breathing difficult, then alternated his fists as he relentlessly pounded Otto's face.
"You're a lunatic, a psychopath, a sick freak!" Peter's fists were covered in blood. "I said I'd kill you, Otto!"
Otto could not speak. His dark green lenses had shattered with the first punch, followed by the bridge of his nose, then the sound of bones cracking beneath his left eye. Several of his teeth had been knocked out and lodged in his throat along with the blood.
If Peter had not subconsciously held back, the first punch alone would have been enough to smash Otto's head into pulp.
Otto was beaten until he was barely alive, until Michael caught Peter's raised fist and stopped him from bringing it down again.
Peter stared unwillingly at Otto. "But what he did... he cloned so many versions of me. He even wanted to use Gwen to destroy me. If we put him in prison, he'll get out sooner or later. He'll come looking for me again, and hurt the people around me..."
"I know. He may deserve to die. But it shouldn't be by your hand," Michael said calmly.
Peter bit his lip and stared at Otto for a long while. Then, at last, he released him and unclenched his tightly balled fist.
"You're... right." Peter stood up, still glaring furiously at Otto. "But I just can't accept it."
Otto's face was covered in blood. His eye sockets, nose bridge, and throat all burned with pain. Yet he laughed, letting out a hoarse, muffled chuckle.
"I knew it, Peter. I always knew you were a good boy. Of course you wouldn't kill me." He laughed loudly. "But what can you do to me? Everything I did was authorized. The CIA recruited me; they'll smooth everything over. This time, I won't even have to go to prison. After a while, I can return to my old work and continue this project. Oh, next time I might come up with a plan even better than cloning Gwen. You'd better prepare yourself."
"I think you've misunderstood something, Doctor Octavius," Michael interrupted coldly. "I said Peter shouldn't do it because he's a good person, and because he's a child. But from another perspective..."
He raised his hand and pointed it at Otto. The latter's arrogant smile gradually froze.
"...I'm not."
A flash of light. The pulse beam fired, blasting open Otto's chest. Doctor Octopus stared wide-eyed, his face frozen in disbelief as he drew his final breath.
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