Endangered Species — Epilogue
May. 22nd, 2016 02:57 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsDoctor Octopus has to placate his displeased benefactors.
Perhaps one would expect a facility as large as the underground laboratory at Biotech to be outfitted like the Starship Enterprise. The manufacturing facility sort of was, but the computing lab where Otto Octavius sat now was downright mundane. It housed just a single computer connected to three large monitors, each one playing what appeared to be different security footage. And oddly enough, all shot from a first-person perspective.
Octavius sighed heavily and his prostheses rattled in displeasure. "How unfortunate," he said to himself.
"Unfortunate?," Stryker snapped, his jaw clenched furiously. "Unfortunate would be a lack of funding. Unfortunate would be a staff shortage. This....TRAVESTY," he exclaimed, his hand waving at the monitor, "is the last straw, Octavius. You're a loose cannon, and you put us all at risk with this, this, little project of yours. You promised us results, not vigilante involvement." He frowned. "Again."
Trask had been silent, his hands steepled.
"Our patience has worn thin," he said calmly and deliberately, with all the composure of a tensely coiled rattlesnake.
"If they trace the prototypes to us we're ruined and all of our progress will be for naught. Your recklessness will no longer be tolerated. You're finished."
"Don't be so dramatic," Octavius disinterestedly, like he was dismissing a upset child. "This is only the beginning. The wretched little Spider" — his tentacles flailed again, exposing his enmity for the homegrown hero — "would have been exterminated had he not allied himself with these other mutants. Who are they?"
"Need I remind you," Trask said patiently. "That the only reason why your little toys even made it off the ground was because of us. Watch your tone."
He rose from his chair.
"I'm not certain of the Spider-Man's associates, though I do recognize the red-haired girl from her encounter with Crossfire. It is safe to say that she, the Spider-Man, and the winged vigilante are all working together with other mutants. This could prove to be...problematic."
"More than problematic," Stryker snarled, his lips curling in disgust. "I know that team. The one with the optic blasts, he's known as Cyclops.". He choose not to go into his failure in keeping him mind- controlled. He'd remedy that one of these days. "Now that you've put yourself on his radar -- ALL of us -- there's no letting go. Why shouldn't we just kill you now?"
Octavius laughed, his large belly shaking with mirth. "Don't be ridiculous, gentlemen. You couldn't harm me if you tried. Where is your spirit of camaraderie, anyhow?" He stood and faced his benefactors, his tentacles dropping behind him to trail him like a cape. Authoritative but not immediately threatening. "They have no clue of your involvement. There is nothing to track these back to you."
If Stryker was any other kind of man, he would have snorted and tried to show Octavius exactly how he could defeat him. Instead, he simply gave what he hoped was a bored expression and let Trask deal with it.
"Complacency is weakness, Octavius," Trask said, adjusting his glasses. "The more you gallivant around with your toys, showing these...X-Men...our cards, the higher the risk of being discovered. This stops now until we're able to create a more stable prototype, end of discussion."
"This test was necessary to do so," Octavius retorted coolly. "You are both men of science, so you know theory has limits, you must go out and experiment. We know what we're up against. It will take some time to analyze these . . . X-Men" — he said the name with a sigh, implicitly agreeing with Trask that the name was completely ridiculous and childish — "But we'll understand their capabilities, their strategies, their strengths, and their weaknesses. And then we will build a better model of Sentinel."
"One more chance. That's all I'm willing to give." Stryker grimaced, as if even that was too much. "But be warned, Octavius -- without results, I can't guarantee my patience."
Stryker had made up his mind. And Trask himself could not deny Octavius's point, despite the idiotic risks he took to get there.
"Another mistake and you will be removed from this project and our employ. All decisions come through us. Understood?"
The pincer at the end of one of Octavius's appendages snapped, but he nodded in genteel acquiescence, baring his teeth in a wide, vicious smile. "Certainly. Now let me get to work."
Perhaps one would expect a facility as large as the underground laboratory at Biotech to be outfitted like the Starship Enterprise. The manufacturing facility sort of was, but the computing lab where Otto Octavius sat now was downright mundane. It housed just a single computer connected to three large monitors, each one playing what appeared to be different security footage. And oddly enough, all shot from a first-person perspective.
Octavius sighed heavily and his prostheses rattled in displeasure. "How unfortunate," he said to himself.
"Unfortunate?," Stryker snapped, his jaw clenched furiously. "Unfortunate would be a lack of funding. Unfortunate would be a staff shortage. This....TRAVESTY," he exclaimed, his hand waving at the monitor, "is the last straw, Octavius. You're a loose cannon, and you put us all at risk with this, this, little project of yours. You promised us results, not vigilante involvement." He frowned. "Again."
Trask had been silent, his hands steepled.
"Our patience has worn thin," he said calmly and deliberately, with all the composure of a tensely coiled rattlesnake.
"If they trace the prototypes to us we're ruined and all of our progress will be for naught. Your recklessness will no longer be tolerated. You're finished."
"Don't be so dramatic," Octavius disinterestedly, like he was dismissing a upset child. "This is only the beginning. The wretched little Spider" — his tentacles flailed again, exposing his enmity for the homegrown hero — "would have been exterminated had he not allied himself with these other mutants. Who are they?"
"Need I remind you," Trask said patiently. "That the only reason why your little toys even made it off the ground was because of us. Watch your tone."
He rose from his chair.
"I'm not certain of the Spider-Man's associates, though I do recognize the red-haired girl from her encounter with Crossfire. It is safe to say that she, the Spider-Man, and the winged vigilante are all working together with other mutants. This could prove to be...problematic."
"More than problematic," Stryker snarled, his lips curling in disgust. "I know that team. The one with the optic blasts, he's known as Cyclops.". He choose not to go into his failure in keeping him mind- controlled. He'd remedy that one of these days. "Now that you've put yourself on his radar -- ALL of us -- there's no letting go. Why shouldn't we just kill you now?"
Octavius laughed, his large belly shaking with mirth. "Don't be ridiculous, gentlemen. You couldn't harm me if you tried. Where is your spirit of camaraderie, anyhow?" He stood and faced his benefactors, his tentacles dropping behind him to trail him like a cape. Authoritative but not immediately threatening. "They have no clue of your involvement. There is nothing to track these back to you."
If Stryker was any other kind of man, he would have snorted and tried to show Octavius exactly how he could defeat him. Instead, he simply gave what he hoped was a bored expression and let Trask deal with it.
"Complacency is weakness, Octavius," Trask said, adjusting his glasses. "The more you gallivant around with your toys, showing these...X-Men...our cards, the higher the risk of being discovered. This stops now until we're able to create a more stable prototype, end of discussion."
"This test was necessary to do so," Octavius retorted coolly. "You are both men of science, so you know theory has limits, you must go out and experiment. We know what we're up against. It will take some time to analyze these . . . X-Men" — he said the name with a sigh, implicitly agreeing with Trask that the name was completely ridiculous and childish — "But we'll understand their capabilities, their strategies, their strengths, and their weaknesses. And then we will build a better model of Sentinel."
"One more chance. That's all I'm willing to give." Stryker grimaced, as if even that was too much. "But be warned, Octavius -- without results, I can't guarantee my patience."
Stryker had made up his mind. And Trask himself could not deny Octavius's point, despite the idiotic risks he took to get there.
"Another mistake and you will be removed from this project and our employ. All decisions come through us. Understood?"
The pincer at the end of one of Octavius's appendages snapped, but he nodded in genteel acquiescence, baring his teeth in a wide, vicious smile. "Certainly. Now let me get to work."
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