Reticent Monsters (Ultimate Spider-Man - Cartoon)

*Chapter 4: Finality

The last time Peter was in an unbearable amount of pain, it was the second time Otto had kidnapped him; during Norman Osborn's big unveiling speech as he'd ruthlessly electrocuted him. And even before getting fried a dozen or so times, he'd already punched his way through a whole squad of octo-bots and suffered through an entire evil monologue that resulted in getting slammed into the floor.

Of course, when you spend your free-time dressing up in spandex and fighting criminals, you had to learn how to handle a lot of pain, or else you wouldn't last a week in the business.

The point is, as Spider-Man, Peter had gotten hurt a LOT and in MANY different ways. Pain was less like a suspicious stranger he bumped into on the street, and more of an annoying roommate who scribbled over the job chart, turned their music up too loud and ate the last of his wheat cakes when they implicitly had his name on them.

But, as he lay on that cold hard table, strapped down and miserable, Peter was certain that he'd never felt pain quite like this. It was the kind of pain that settled on one area and festered into it like an infected wound. Sometimes, it spread to a large area, bubbling and rotting. It was swift and deliberate, scratching at his skin the way Wolverine might give Sabretooth a massage.

Otto spared no expense when he promised Peter that he'd feel pain like nothing else, because as far as Peter knew, this pain was something entirely new.

The first few horrifying hours flew by with endless torture – or experimentation, in Otto's point of view. Try as he might to stay strong and resilient against the agony, Peter only managed to hold his own for a little while.

But in the end, with every new puncture of a needle or slash of a scalpel, he couldn't withhold his screams any longer.

The first thing Otto experimented on was his healing factor. How fast Peter healed. How fast he healed with certain wounds - from stab wounds, burns, lacerations, and infections. Things that sped up the healing process and things that didn't. Things that hurt him a lot and things he could hardly feel.

But as painful and in-depth as it was, it didn't feel like a full-on study, Peter faintly realized. More like a quick skim over the basics to get a feel of what he was working with, which honestly scared Peter a little.

After that, Otto moved to the nervous system. He jabbed Peter in specific nerves to see how his reflexes reacted and shocked him with varying amounts of energy to see how much he could take before fainting. Like before, this experiment was brief.

Somewhere between the two tests, Otto produced a collar. Despite being delusional with pain, voice hoarse and raspy from screaming, Peter managed to get out, "Collars Ock? I didn't think you were the kinky type. Remind me of the safe word again?"

His talking was put to an abrupt end.

The collar was a thick and sturdy contraption, yet simple in its design. It was a combination of leather, metal, and wires. As soon as Ock put it on, it tightened around Peter's neck, almost to the point of choking him, and locked together with a harrowing click. The cold metal prongs outlining the interior of the collar poked oddly at his neck, making it uncomfortable and awkward to wear.

As soon as it was secure, something sharp and needle-like shot from the prongs and into his skin, making him gasp. He grimaced as a cold prickling sensation rushed over his neck like an icy rash.

Otto hummed in satisfaction as soon as it was secured and clanked away to check the screens across the room. Peter watched him out of the corner of his eyes.

Only a few seconds passed before he took a shuddering breath, swallowing thickly against the collar. A couple more seconds ticked on and he inhaled again, eyebrows furrowing when his throat seemed to close up this time. A tightening in his chest had him breathing more quickly, and his heart sped up as each breath became harder and harder to hold.