Through Dark and Light (Otto)

[Kaine Parker]

Characters Appearing: Kaine and Otto
Location (s): Median City just at the sewer entrance
Previous Thread Name.: None
Plot Summary.: Kaine and Otto find and locate some odd dark orbs that are trying to consume Median slowly, bit by bit. And it appears to be affecting anyone who goes by them. No one is Safe.

[Kaine Parker]

Kaine had been unusually quiet the last few days. Kaine was still nursing wounds from having fights or tussles or disagreements, whatever you wanted to call it with the web warriors. Kaine half wondered if they were ever going to get along. Or was it him? Was he meant to lead them? Kaine had his doubts but had never admitted it in front of Otto. The spider had gotten a mission from the four-armed machine man that there had been sightings of these odd orbs starting to come around Median City this was worth checking out. Kaine knew that they were important, and they probably had something to do with the sudden up rise in shade creatures. They seemed to hate the light and appeared to be strongest at night.

It was around 1 pm when Kaine arrived at the location. At first, Kaine had not seen any sign of these orbs. The streets were… Surprisingly, normal and calm. People walked by without a care, some looking like aliens, while others appeared to be normal humans. On occasions, Kaine would see the bots from the bat folk. One machine would breeze by on occasions. As they were scanning the streets constantly. However, Kaine thought it was a bit desperate, and he knew better than to question the authority on them soon rather than later. “That orb has to be around here somewhere. It isn’t going to keep itself hidden for long," Kaine said. The city street appeared to be quiet. No one but Kaine had noticed it, which was good news for them. They could study it…

He took a step forward as he saw something glimmer in the streets. He felt the connection as he knew what it was. “Otto! I found it! It’s not far from the... Sewers." He was about to finish his communication as he felt awful. Sick to his stomach as he felt influenced by the orb. A pounding ahead is the worst headache you could think of. The feeling that you were drained. Then the faint voice of a familiar face came to his mind. Kaine had realized he hadn't been truthful about Otto when he had been to his past told him bits and bits here and there. Otto knew of his history while being used and controlled about Jackal. However, what about his time of being tarantula? That was a time he would like to forget. Then he saw the beady eyes right behind the jackal. He was the same monster. No wonder he was thinking of himself as a monster. Perhaps... Perhaps, the only way he could truly move on from these awful nightmares was forgiving himself. Maybe, only then, he would be able to forgive the Jackal...And everything that had gone on in his life.

The Jackal, standing over him, laughed at him uncontrollably. The jackal told him that he was worthless, and not at all like Peter. "You good for nothing clone! I should've destroyed you long ago! You are worthless!" The Jackal said standing over Kaine's exhausted body. Kaine wasn’t perfect. He was a failure. Those memories. He thought he got rid of them. But it was clear they haunted him here. “The orbs are by the west side of the city. There are too many to count,” Kaine said. The spider went back to the communication line to Otto. A muffled tone came next, along with a bit of static. “How! How is the Jackal here?” He asked as he couldn’t dodge that insane laughter as he held hands over where his ears were.

“Come on, Kaine focus.” He said. Kaine knew this was bad, and if he could be affected this way. There is no telling what the orbs do with Otto. It also realized he had not exactly been truthful to Madame Webb, and he had not fully forgiven the Jackal, for what he had done. It was true, some healing had gone on, but it was not enough. Kaine knew if he said thousand times over, he may not recover. Perhaps to forgive the Jackal, he would have to learn to forgive himself. Even that sounded insane. "I already feel the darkness, and it would eat away until there is nothing left," Kaine muttered. The spider could barely bring himself to stand up. The Jackal mocked him where he stood. Finally, he took a stinger out to do the deed as he slashed but realized it was just at an empty wall scraping at the brick. It was a mirage. A memory. Something distant but still feeling real at the same time. A nightmare. Then he saw his knuckles were bruised slightly from hitting the brick wall so hard. It had been so strong it cracked but was still stable.

Then it occurred to him they fed off the darkness. There were two perfect specimens, which were going to walk right into them. As Kaine stepped forward he began to head towards it following it down into the sewers. As Kaine rounded a corner, he felt something off hit him. Sheer cold sheer darkness. Something he hadn't felt in a long time. "Otto! It's no...t safe." Before he could say anything else he blacked out feeling the harsh cold ground beneath him.

[Otto Octavius]

Otto sighed as he followed Kaine toward the latest sphere that had fallen from the sky. As of yet, he was unable to track just where these things were coming from and their destinations appear random. But the results were the same, the spheres would release the same dark creatures they found on the station. Clearly, they were trying to attack the citizens, but Otto felt as if they had some sort of ulterior motive. Perhaps scouts or recon..trying to assess their defenses or even get an idea of the population…

Either way, this was getting annoying. He was supposed to be behind the scenes directing his forces from the station. But here he was in the field as Kaine ran ahead of him after a random signal..in the sewers…goody.

He was already worked on a planetary defense system for the station to destroy these spheres before they even come close to the planet. But he needed a specimen to study first. The latest impact was inside Median City so it was going to be relatively easy to recover…at least it was supposed to be easy. Hitting his comm as Kaine vanished ahead of him he frowned.

“Kaine come in.....Before you go skittering off after it, remember we need the sphere intact…Kaine?” Otto grunted as the Spider vanished ahead of him. Honestly…the next time he treats Kaine for his DNA problem he will need to weed out the Parker lack of focus from his genetic profile. As Otto entered the sewer system his arms kept him out of the filthy water as they clamored across the ceiling, gripping the walls. Getting rainwater and sewage in his shoes was not part of the mission…He then paused hearing something over his comm as Kaine’s voice sounded odd and was starting to break up…

“Kaine? Kaine! Repeat that last communique!” Otto said as he narrowed his eyes behind his glasses. “..Did you say, Jackal? Kaine, there is no way Warren is here. The one you knew is dead..” At least he was supposed to be dead right? Unless he had just run into a Jackal from another world? Hitting his comm again Kaine’s voice faded.

“Kaine!” Sneering Otto moved quickly and followed the clones comm signal deeper into the sewer! But when he got to the last know source all he could find was an empty sewer pipe..

“Wonderful…” The upper left actuator coiled downward and began to scan for the lost Spider. “I swear if he ran off after something shiny…”

[Kaine Parker]

Kaine woke up a short time later. The spider heard the screeching of his comlink in his ears. It was painful as his head was throbbing, and his body ached. That thing that spheres that had gone through him. It was as if the feelings of happiness and joy. were sucked out of him. The pavement on the sewer didn’t help either. Kaine tried to stand and get a grip on himself, but he was shaky about it.

“Otto?” He asked. Kaine rubbed his eyes, and as he lifted his mask. Kaine felt disorientated as he wondered about what had just happened with the sphere. Kaine remembered thinking about it. Kaine was back in the sewer where he had been tracking the sphere. But suddenly, it caused him to blackout. He saw something move in the shadows… But he was second-guessing everything. Even his spidey sense did not seem to go off either, as he wondered what it was. Soon his vision started to get better as a monster appeared from the shadows. It was horrible-looking spikes all over him, multiple eyes. The monster resembled a human but more spider than anything else. “No, get away!” He called out.

“Kaine, what happened? We were supposed to be one. Together. Yet, you went down another path. You went the wrong way, and you tried to be a hero. Yet you know that you becoming a hero is never going to happen.” The creature stepped forward as he grabbed Kaine on the wrists and then on the throat. “You will embrace what you have always been a monster. I am the Other.” He spoke. Kaine began to fight it, choking him. Kaine gasped for breath. He fought it. Kaine fought it with everything he had. “No!” He yelled. Kaine took one of his stingers out. Kaine slashed the monster across the shoulder as it yelled out in pain, his stinger now dripping with blood as Kaine fell to the ground. “I am not like you. I never will be you,” Kaine said as he put his mask back on.

His first instinct was to run, and that was what he did. He knew Otto wasn’t that far behind. Kaine knew he would be at better odds there. Using what energy, he had, Kaine bolted back through the sewers as he spotted the four-armed doctor. “Otto… Do not…. go in the tunnel…” He said. Kaine was trying to catch his breath. Kaine probably looked like a drowned rat or spider in this case. Kaine's hand was still out with his stinger as he forgot to put it away. “There is a monster,” He managed to say as the creature’s footsteps approached. Kaine half wondered if he was crazy or if he made the monster from the sphere… He remembered that some of them had been working on their greatest fears. And perhaps his greatest fear was what the monster had said all along. It was him becoming a monster.

“I made a monster… Sphere… It is my… Biggest fear…” He said. The spider hero tried to catch his breath. For once, Kaine could barely sputter it out. He knew it was real now. Kaine was in denial. The orb had made it, and it wouldn't stop. But Kaine knew he had to do it the other way around and rip it to pieces first. Finally, after a cough or two, he managed to get his voice back in shape. Kaine probably knew after all this, that he was going to spend the night in the stasis pod to heal any injuries he had, and he certainly deserved it. Kaine sat in a crouched position like any spider. But he also felt ashamed, almost like he couldn't show his face around Otto. It was his fault. Now he needed to fix things. And perhaps they were better off destroying the orb. But he thought Otto needed a specimen to study. What if... It was too dangerous to study? And this monster was indeed real. "I can finally talk again. I'm positive that monster is real. It tried to choke me half to death. I managed to hack it with my stinger... Otto I feel ashamed it is basically all my fears... What I should've been... Rolled up into one nightmare... " Kaine said, finally able to speak again. "I think that sphere made a shade creature and turned it into that monster. It is coming that way." Kaine said wondering if he was just babbling or any of this made any sense. That monster was real alright how then... Then how did blood end up all over his stingers?