|| Still Me ||

Chapter 17: The dark side

With the success of Peter's plan and the return of Doctor Octavius to his kind and true self, our teenager hero can now concentrate to find also a cure for the other villains. Peter, you, Norman and now Octavius don't waste any time and start working on a solution for the others with the help of the fabricator in the closet. The first and probably easiest one out of the four problematic guys is Max. His main problem is, of course, the electricity in his body. If he uses his powers too much and without some kind of control, it would surely rip off his body and kill him in no time. What you needed to do is to drain that excessive energy from his body but not to the point of leaving him completely depleted of it. After all, your body actually needs "electricity" to function.
With that in mind, you and Peter focus on that while Mr.Norman and Octavius work for a serum to cure Osborn. The two of you work on a solution for a hour or less and immediately come up with a siphon: a device to attach to Max's chest that would dissipate the unecessary electricity in his body. Of course it was better to test it first, but with the agreement and confidence of the both of you, you decide to put it in action.

"Mr. Dillon! We have something for you!"

You walk out of the closet excited, followed by Peter with the device in his hand. Max approaches the two of you and sits down on a chair, looking at the siphon in Peter's hand.

"What's that?"

He asks, curious of the object as he looks up at you two. You glance at Peter and he hands you the siphon, leaving you the honor of explaining and to put it on him. You smile at him and watch eager at the device while turning to Max and sitting down on a chair.

"So... This device will drain all the excessive energy in your body, taking away your powers and thus preventing you from dying from using them and-"

"Wait what?"

You look up at him and see his confused and baffled face. He didn't seem convinced or even understanding what you were talking about. Or did he? You didn't know if he was an expert in the scientific field or not or if he simply knew how electricity works, so you awkwardly dart your eyes from the siphon to him and clear your voice. Make it simple.

"It... It will help you."

You shortly say, nodding and making it clear that it would not harm him. You lean towards him and place the device on his chest. As soon as it touches him, the siphon turns on and one green light lights up, releasing a *beep* sound. Peter steps in.

"Keep an eye on the lights. When they're all green, it means that all the electricity in your body's dissipated. Well, not all the electricity. I mean, obviously you know you need electricity for your brain to function..."

You nod at Peter's explanation but when you glance back, you see on Max's face the same expression as before. You gently tug Peter's arm and sign him to stop while raising an eyebrow as he looks at you. It seem it was useless to explain. You give an awkward smile back at Max.

"Hmm. Yeah, can I ask you a question?"

Max asks while sitting with the device on his chest. Peter looks at him.

"Sure"

"Are these your Legos?"

But before he could answer his... Funny question, you hear a beep from the computer in the other room and he excuses himself.

"Uh, I gotta go. I'll be back"

You look at Max and nod to assure him, since he looked down at the device with concern.

"It will be okay Mr. Dillon"

"Mhmh... Yeah well... we'll see"

He sighs as he looks back at you with a raised eyebrow. He looks up and down at you, leaning back into the chair.