Trick 181: Interviewing Curt Connors and Otto Octavius

He reappeared in a dungeon, hearing "That little spell that you botched where you wanted everyone to forget that Peter Parker's Spiderman, it started pulling in everyone who knows Peter Parker's Spiderman from every universe into this one."

He touched the ground and asked "So you botched a memory spell, eh Strange?" Peter and Stephen froze and looked over.

Ace walked over looking at the duo, saying "You guys are pretty good! Creating a Multiversal rift! Now we got…" he looked up at the Lizard and man with metal tentacles, adding "A Lizard and an Octopus. I sensed a few more out there."

Peter pointed at him, saying "Wizard, sir! Hey…" Ace held his face, turning to Strange as he asked "How did you manage to botch the spell?" Strange sighed, "The kid wanted everyone to forget he was Spiderman, but not some people, but other people and then after 7 times-" 

Peter retorted "5, actua-" Ace squashed him and turned back to Strange, who explained "Basically, the spell got out of control. And here we are." Ace sighed and asked him "Explain to me again why you would help this little guy with magic?"

Strange cleared his throat and replied "Well… He saved the Universe with us so I figured, hey, might as well help the kid make his life a little better." Ace rolled his eyes and retorted "So you used the Runes of Kaf-Kahl… Excellent choice, Strange!"

He let go of Peter's face and turned to him, saying "Listen kid, you're gonna fix this." Peter nodded and saluted "Uh, okay!" Ace rolled his eyes and flicked her forehead, sending Peter rolling backwards as he said "Listen carefully. I need you to go and find the rest of the Multiversal travelers. Me and Strange will try and fix the rifts along with the spell…"

He looked at Strange, who nodded. Ace nodded back and walked up to the two prisoners, smiling "Hello there." the man with the tentacles shouted "Who are you?! Where am I?" 

Ace waved his finger, saying "My name is Ace, I am a Wizard or Sorcerer, or whatever. Do you have an Avengers compound in your universe?" The man asked in confusion "Wizard? Like a Magician?! Is this a joke!?"

Ace flipped his hand and a bouquet of flowers appeared, "Exactly, however, this is real magic." as the bouquet turned to birds and flew away, exploding into fireworks as he continued "Understand now? I'm assuming you don't have magic in your universe."

He turned to the Lizard, asking "Do you? I'm assuming you are also a scientist?" The Lizard was surprised, asking "You know me?" Ace waved his hand, smiling "I'm familiar with experiments and the like going horribly wrong and giving people powers. Seems to be a thing around here… at any rate. It seems like you're both from different universes, seeing as you don't know each other, which makes this a bit more complicated."

He clapped his hand and asked "Names and Occupations, please." The man looked at him for a moment, saying "Doctor Otto Octavius, Nuclear Physicist." Ace nodded and typed on a tablet, inserting Octavius' information into the tablet.

The Lizard looked at Octavius before saying "Doctor Curt Connors, Geneticist. Specializing in Reptiles." Ace muttered "I noticed…" as he put in Connors' information before asking "Place of work, focus of study, and former employers."

Octavius shouted "Why do you ask these questions!?" Ace looked up at him, smiling "Scary. You always get mad at questionnaires, Doctor Octavius?" Octavius snorted angrily, ignoring him.

Connors asked with curiosity "Might I ask, why?" Ace smiled at them both, replying "From my experience in Multiversal travel, threats can be prevented or analyzed ahead of time. I had once gone to a Multiverse that was in a future timeline and therefore had a little bit of knowledge about what we were dealing with, however I didn't understand at the time and so not very much information was gathered. It resulted in half the Universe getting erased, I would like to prevent such a thing from occurring again."

Connors and Octavius were stunned, asking in unison, "Half the Universe?! Erased?!" Ace explained what happened with Thanos, but smiled "However, with the knowledge of a future threat that was occurring during my visit, I have stopped a rogue witch ahead of time. Anyway, please answer the questions and we will be able to send you back to your universes at the fastest possible time."

Octavius frowned for a moment before asking "And if you find us in your Universe, what happens then?" Ace looked at them and smiled "I can assume that you two were villains in your Universe?" Octavius shouted "Nonsense! I was creating a Fusion Reactor that would've powered a city forever! The Power of the Sun! In the Palm of my hand!"

Ace pressed his lips together and turned to Connors, who defended himself "I was simply advancing human evolution by inducing the next stage! Humanity is weak, lizards are not." Ace turned to Octavius and smiled meaningfully.

Octavius frowned and muttered "I see your point." Ace nodded and smiled, explaining his perspective, "Don't worry. I am against death of any kind, Innocent, Hero, or Villain. What you would be doing by providing Information is actually helping yourselves of this universe. Should you be found, we can take the actions necessary to help you in your research or projects, perhaps even bring you on board for greater projects. That way, you won't be subjected to villainy in this universe and we can advance towards peace on Earth."

He paused and chuckled, "Which would help a lot. You both don't have the Avengers… Do you know Captain America?" They both shook their heads and Ace nodded, typing it down, Octavius said finally, "I worked for Oscorp for a time before leaving, however I was funded by Harry Osborn and Oscorp for my Nuclear Fusion research. I had a private study after I left. As I said, the focus of my study was endless energy through Nuclear Fusion."

Ace nodded and Connors looked surprised "I also worked for Oscorp." Octavius looked over at him and asked "Really? You said your name was Curt Connors?" Connors nodded and Octavius replied "My Curt Conners is a College professor who is missing an arm. He teaches Peter Parker."

Connors replied "I am missing an arm as well. However I was studying cross-species gene splicing. The desired result was to incorporate certain aspects of animals to cure human diseases. Oscorp was a medical technology company." Octavius shook his head and replied "My Oscorp was a Weapons company."

Ace sat down in the air and asked "Please, continue, Doctor Connors." Connors went on, "Peter helped me discover the algorithm to correctly adhere the foreign biological responses of Lizards that allow them to regenerate limbs to our DNA. We had tested it on a 3 legged mouse and it worked in the simulation, after testing it, it had also worked on the Mouse, regenerating the missing limb."

Octavius was amazed, asking "You successfully induced the regeneration factor of lizards into a common lab mouse?! Amazing!" Connors grinned with all his sharp teeth, explaining "Correct! However, there were… complications. Norman Osborn was dying of Retroviral Hyperplasia and required my research to be sped along."

Octavius frowned "I've never heard of such a disease…" Connors looked over and explained "They call it 'Goblin Disease' because the features resemble the creature. However, my research was the key to curing it. They were going to test my serum on Veteran Amputees and I refused such a thing, experimenting on myself. It was the best decision I've ever made! I was reborn as a superior being!"

Ace typed everything out and nodded, "I see! This Norman Osborn… Does he exist in your Universe, Doctor Octavius?" Octavius nodded, but replied "Yes, but he died. As a result, his son Harry took over the Company. Which was when I was funded directly."

Ace pursed his lips and nodded, "Could you give a description of your respective Peter Parkers, please?" Connors said "Young boy, high school senior, around 6 feet… annoying." Octavius replied "A brilliant young man, College Student, around 5'8, short hair, very responsible."

Ace nodded and waved his hand, allowing the two to sit down in comfortable chairs with coffee and snacks on a small table next to them as he said "And this Harry Osborn, do you have one as well, Doctor Connors?"

Connors nodded, "Yes, he was studying in another country if I recall correctly. Around the same age as Peter." Octavius nodded, "Nearly the same, however my Harry Osborn never left New York." Ace hummed to himself, creating a series of profiles, "I see. Very interesting isn't it? The Multiverse. For example, I've never heard of any of you other than Peter Parker. To my knowledge, Oscorp doesn't exist at all."

Octavius and Connors were stunned, "Really? What else is different here??" Ace smiled and snorted from his nose, "Well, we should start at the beginning, perhaps when you leave you can find these hidden details of your Universe. Steve Rogers was a Soldier in the 30's, the first Super Soldier…"

A while passed