[Outskirts of New York] Hunger

The secret to a great invention was linked with the philosophy that it would fulfil the “necessity” of making things work easily and/or more efficiently. An invention without purpose was meaningless and useless. Since his escape from The Raft, and the even quicker escape from Stryker's Island, Doctor Octopus has made many inventions, some small, and some big, most of them made in the spur of the moment. Many were based entirely on some faint notion of what he wanted to accomplish. The old warehouses had long since been abandoned, which suited him just fine. They were also often filled with junk, old things people left behind, forgot or stole. It was far from the state-of-the-art equipment he was used to, but it would have to suffice all the same.

Doc Ock was annoyed. The sting of defeat was still fresh, even after all this time, and he was keen to take his revenge. It was, however, difficult with the constant reminder of his failure seen on every tv, and the mouth of so many people in New York City. Spider-Man, Spider-Man, that was all they talked about. He let his frustration run his work, as he aggressively reformed metal with his claws, and tore apart old junk he found lying around. "I'll show them," he muttered to himself. "I'm not done yet, Norman."

He was working inside one of his rudimentary laboratories deep inside one of the warehouses far off the "beaten path", which worked well for his purposes.

Sometimes, it paid off to be paranoid, and Doc Ock was nothing if not paranoid. A silent alarm had already been triggered when someone tried to manipulate the door; the groaning it caused from rust was just a bonus. The doctor stopped his actions, eyes darting to the small blinking light. It could, of course, be just any layabout who was looking for shelter, but if that were the case, they would have just barged in... no... the door had opened carefully, deliberately even. His eyes narrowed as he adjusted the goggles. Most people might have gone to the door to investigate and likely fallen for some trap... but most people did not have access to mechanical tentacles.

Sylar could hear movement inside, and it sounded like someone walking, combined with... metal. It was not the rhythmic sound of regular steps. It came closer to the door but stopped before reaching it.

Then came the tentacle. A metallic claw shot out from the darkness inside, breaking part of the door as it snaked around with the aim of grabbing the intruder and pulling him inside. If one tentacle failed to get the job done, it would be joined by two more with the same objective. Doc Ock aimed to capture whoever was creeping about, not outright harming them, even if he was rough. The tentacles immediately told him that it was not Spider-Man, which was a blessing.

Doc Ock glared at the man he had just captured, he clearly was not a regular person, that much was clear from the way he caused the second tentacle to deflect with what appeared to be thin air. A metahuman of some kind, parahuman, or mutant. So many different names are used these days, and without looking at the details they looked very much the same. Still, he was not going to be stupid enough to release him while having him restrained.

"That is the name the idiot Jameson coined for his ridiculous news." He replied with a scoff. "Suppose he counted my remaining human limbs as four of those, as ignorant as it is."

The mention of Spider-Man caused his expression to be darker, and the grip around Sylar tightened noticeably, but not enough to harm him.

"You would think so, but as you can see, I am very much alive. More importantly, what shall we do with you, my young trespasser?" One of the tentacles moved dangerously close to Sylar's throat, before being pulled away. "I don't much like when people stumble into my workshop, much less when they actively seek to assault me. You don't strike me as a regular man, even when ignoring that you possess some kind of metahuman power, or you would have started begging for your life by this point. So, I'll ask you this, give us a reason why I should not tear you apart right this second?" At the mention of US one the tentacles opened and closed a few times.

As Sylar broke free, the two tentacles that had not been holding him quickly took a protective stance in front of their master. He did not even have to think about it. Octavius' brow furrowed; he had been fighting Spider-Man, and this man was nothing compared to that. He found the look in his eyes very unpleasant, but not for the reason he might think. He did listen, but his eyes did not show much interest, nor fear for that matter.

"Suppose one could say there is truth in that," he replied once Sylar was done talking. "But do not confuse knowing with understanding. Just because you know how my invention works doesn't mean you understand. That kind of arrogance will only get you killed, even more with your intended targets." He paused. "Silly youth..." he muttered before turning to walk further back into the warehouse. Sylar did find that the tentacles continued to "watch" him or gave the impression of being watched.

"If you want to play around, go somewhere-" Suddenly, Octavius stopped, and his eyes turned to look at one of the tentacles. "..." It was impossible, even for Sylar's amazing ability, to know what kind of conversation was going on between the doctor and his invention. Finally, Octavius let out a sharp sigh. "A deal, you said?" Once again, his attention turned to Sylar. "I can certainly sympathise with a desire to understand. What scientist would I be if I did not? Perhaps there is something we can gain from a deal."

Sylar did poke at the right place as Octavius looked at the rudimentary workshop he had constructed from whatever junk he could lay his hands on. A scientist like him needed material. That was an undeniable truth. Still, this man-made lofty promises, but the question was if he could deliver... at the same time...

"It would seem a fair exchange," he replied. "If you seek understanding, I'm sure that can be arranged."

Octavius curiously examined Sylar; this idea of him being able to take knowledge and create such understanding that he might steal a mutant's powers... did intrigue him a lot. Open them up? That implied he needed a part of a person, which would give him understanding. He also mentioned being able to know how things worked. The brain was the most obvious path. "I confess myself, intrigued by your ability. That aside, you still have an advantage. You know who I am, I think a proper introduction is in order."

"Sylar?"

Octavius raised one of his eyebrows. If he was mistaken, that was a brand of watches. Maybe that was an apt enough name. Perhaps it had some deeper meaning to the man? Of course, he would have to dig into that in the future. He watched as Sylar moved around the area and examined the discarded pieces of tech.

"Yes, that does make sense. Had you been more established, you would have been on the news already", he commented. "It is a fascinating power for sure, but also dangerous. I'm sure I won't need to tell you there are powers out there far greater than just moving things with the mind, and you don't want to get on their radar," he did not feel like he needed to mention the obvious threat that was the justice league, if they found out about what Sylar could do, or worse yet, if they found out about his compulsions, it was likely they would view him as a potential threat to be neutralised.

Octavius scoffed. "I know full well that progress requires sacrifice." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps- yes, it might be possible for both to get what we want simultaneously. Of course, we need to do this... in a way as to not attract attention. If I get what I need, I'm not opposed to paying the price for it. Tell me, how familiar are you with Oscorp?"

Octavius raised an eyebrow, finding it curious that Sylar was not more familiar with the company than just familiar, but he said nothing and instead picked up a small remote from a nearby table, a few moments later one of the old screens lit up with the logo of Oscorp. He was starting to hatch the seed of a plan, but he would need to find something that might tempt Sylar.

"Oscorp Industries, a multi-million dollar company that deals with experimental science, military research and cross-species genetics. I founded it together with Norman Osborn. We parted ways on less than... friendly terms." Doc Ock did not even try to hide the contempt behind his voice at the mention of Norman's name, anger hidden behind only the thinest of veneer.

"Observe..." Octavius turned to his computer and did something, the screen changed to the picture of a man. "Dr Curt Connors, from what I was able to dig out tried to use the DNA of lizards to regrow his lost arm, I can sympathise and encourage such a goal. You might be more familiar with the apt, but unimaginative nickname the public has given him, The Lizard. He was apprehended by Spider-Man, but he was still able to give himself reptilian physiology, regeneration, strength, speed, durability, and so on. Had not been his intention, but such is the way of scientific discoveries."

Octavius gave Sylar time to look at the screen before he continued. "Going after Oscorp could perfectly serve both our purposes, I want to see Norman suffer, and you want to gain understanding and powers. If we were to gain access to Oscorp's laboratories..." He did not feel he needed to spell the rest out since it was a clear potential, not only did this mean they could get their hands on tech, but there were likely scientists possessing knowledge which would prove useful for Sylar, potentially even things that might grant him further power. He did doubt Sylar wanted to turn himself into a lizard, but the research of people like Dr Connors could still be valuable.