chasing waterfalls [Peter Parker]

~60~

When I got back to the Sanctum, the energy guy and Marko were behind magical barriers like the other guys. 

"Everything good?" I asked Ned. He nodded. 

"Yeah, they showed up here like twenty minutes ago." I folded my arms, looking at the cells. 

Over the next few hours, Ned, MJ, and I were following the news to see if the green guy was spotted anywhere. 

All of a sudden, I heard some footsteps and I turned around to see Peter with some guy. 

"Um, guys. This is Mr. Osborn." Peter started, and the man corrected him. 

"Hey, it's doctor."

"Sorry. Dr. Osborn, these are my friends." He pointed to the three of us. "This is Ned, MJ, and Nixie." The man tilted his head. 

"Mary Jane?" MJ shook her head. 

"It's Michelle Jones, actually." He nodded, looking around. 

"Fascinating." He walked towards the cells. Ned turned to MJ.

"Do you think there are other Ned Leeds's?" I shrugged. 

"Probably. Just like there's probably other Nixie Romanoff's." Osborn walked over to the cell where Dr. Octavius was. 

"Octavius?" He asked, and Dr. Octavius turned around. 

"Osborn?" 

"What happened to you?" Osborn asked, and Octavius scoffed. 

"What happened to- You're the walking corpse." Peter and I looked at each other. 

"What do you mean?" 

"You died, Norman. Years ago." Osborn shook his head. 

"You're insane." The electric man grinned. 

"God, I love it here." Peter walked down the steps. 

"What are you talking about? He's standing right there. He's not-" 

"Dead." Marko interrupted him. I followed Peter down the stairs. "They both died, fighting Spider-Man." Osborn turned to look at Peter. "It was all over the news. Green Goblin, impaled by the glider you flew around on. And a couple years later, you, Doc Ock, drowned in the river with your machine." Octavius shook his head. 

"That's nonsense. Spider-Man was trying to stop my fusion reactor, so I stopped him. I had him by the throat, and then I..." He stopped talking, trying to find the words. "And then I was here." The electric man scoffed. 

"Please. Let me tell you something. I was whupping Spider-Man's ass. He'll tell you. And then he caused an overload. I was stuck in the grid, absorbing data. I was about to turn into pure energy, and then... And then..." He seemed lost in thought, just like Octavius. Ned and MJ joined me and Peter at the bottom of the stairs. "And then... oh, shit. I was about to die." 

"Max, do you know? Do I die?" The lizard asked, and I almost jumped. I did not know the lizard could talk. All of a sudden, I heard a whooshing sound, and suddenly, Strange was here. 

"Oh, great. You caught another one." Peter held up his arms. 

"No, wait, Strange." Before he could do anything, Strange waved his arms, and Osborn was now in a cell. Peter turned to Osborn. "It's okay." He noticed the object Strange came with. "What is that?"

"It's an ancient relic. The Machine di Kadavus. I've trapped your corrupted spell inside, and once I finish the proper ritual, it'll reverse the spell and send these guys back to their universes." Octavius stepped forward.