(Metal) Claws of Destiny

Chapter 2 - Decisions

After what might have possibly been hours of sitting on the rooftop and contemplating your life, you managed to hear some very loud, metallic clanging somewhere nearby.

You noticed that none other than your boss and friend, Dr Octavius, was currently departing the hospital he has been held at, in quite a raging manner.
You watched the shiny claws grab at and rip the sides of the buildings angrily with each 'step' they took, going somewhere, in the direction of the river.

You however, sat on the rooftop calmly, deciding not to follow him. You were tired, upset and just didn't feel like getting involved in anymore conflict.
He is angry. The project we both worked so hard on is ruined. Our lab is ruined. I should give him some space for now.
And so you sat there, observing the seemingly never-ending cloud of dust and smoke which came out of the now skeleton of your precious workspace, rise towards the sky, reaching out for the sun beams and slithering onto them as if they were a ladder, climbing higher
and higher...
I wanna go home...
And so you slid off the ledge, relaxed, unmoving in the air for a couple of seconds enjoying the feeling of the free-fall, before releasing a strong string of web and swinging yourself effortlessly in the direction of your apartment.

You did not know what to do with yourself once you went inside. There was a void within you, uncertainty and disbelief wrapping around and choking your mind.
You got undressed out of your costume and threw on whatever clothing you could find laying around in your room without thinking about it too much.
Only after opening the fridge once you entered the kitchen, your stomach let you know very audibly how truly hungry you were after not eating for an entire day, alongside all the strength you put into stopping pieces of the ceiling from falling onto the guests of the demonstration and anything or anyone else that could possibly be saved.
You made something quick and easy just to fill your stomach and decided to immediately go to bed.
There were clouds darker than those in the morning, forming high up in the sky.
That night, the tv was silent. Surely there would be something about the massive accident and you really did not feel like reliving it all over again.
Please just let me forget about it. Just for one night.
And yet the memories kept repeating inside of your mind as you laid there on the bed, guilt gnawing at you relentlessly.
If only I checked the calculations one more time... maybe I could have prevented it... maybe
But it was of no use now. What was done is done, with no way of reversing it.
Mostly however, you were worried about Otto- watching him retreat from the hospital and back towards the lab made your stomach churn, pain and guilt filling you up on the inside. This man was so devoted to helping the people around him, yet now they saw him as a monster, who would seek to destroy them all. You seemed to get away with it all, as a bystander- the newspapers never gave you any credit, always saying "Doctor Octavius and assistant" which he was never pleased about - always frowning whenever they did not mention your name anywhere, only focusing on the main scientist.
And yet, everybody would most likely see you as a victim, rather than the person responsible for the accident.
It's not fair.
Holding up your spider-costume mask above you, you pondered- why did all this have to happen today?
You pulled the blanket over the top of your head, curling up and attempting not to think about anything at all.

Next day you woke up unusually early, 4am was clearly visible on your little bedside table clock.
It was definitely too early to get up, but sleep was impossible, not with all the things running through your mind.
Today is not the day to play the hero, you decided, placing your suit in one of the drawers beneath your bed and dressing up casually instead, determining that you'd go outside for a walk.
Something pulled at you, telling you to go back to the now empty and very ruined lab, and you couldn't help but to listen to the voice within you.
It looked like it would rain, even though the sky was mostly dark and not much was visible at this time of the morning.
Walking slowly, you got near to the lab at around 5:45, given that it was quite far away and taking the subway seemed to defeat the purpose of 'going out for a walk'.
The bricks were ruined, metal and rubble was everywhere surrounding you, along with various pieces of scientific equipment.
The fact that the terribly loud, and very annoying coffee machine was standing upright and seemed absolutely fine, was simply astonishing.
How ironic that this only piece of trash which is practically broken by the years of its usage survived all this
You thought to yourself, looking around and trying to find anything else that possibly has been contained in its original state.