8/11/2006 Subway - Dead End ------------------------------------------------------------------ There was once a connection from here to elsewhere, that much is made clear by the rails in this tunnel. The fact that you can already see the end of the tunnel but a short end away, however, reveals that it's been a while since anything drove through here. In the darkness, you can just see numerous black and white tiles stuck to the wall, but larger amounts lie broken on the floor, littering a curled up piece of rail. At the very dark back end of the tunnel, a crack has formed in a brick wall, big enough for a normal sized man to squeeze through, although it doesn't look very commendable. ------------------------------------------------------------------ "Hmm." Zachery'd suspected an answer like that, yes. "I do understand. But with all due respect, life's paths tend to differ. While I would.. prefer to let myself be known, there are things I need to take care of before I can even think about being 'famous'." The sentence is ended with a smirk, one that hints at the fact that truly, he doesn't see him anywhere near having the potential for doing anything big. Not now. Not yet. "Again," Adrian responds, "help may be available there. From myself, from Otto, from other friends of ours. Few men in history have ever risen to fame entirely alone. If it were not for the spectacular struggles I have had with Spider-Man and others," he muses half to himself, "perhaps I would not be quite so notorious as I am." A low, unpleasant-sounding chuckle echoes down the tunnel. "And where would /they/ be, without /us/?" says Otto Octavius, walking toward the pair as though the whole subway system belonged to him. "I wonder that sometimes." The tentacled one is dressed in a loose dark green shirt, grey workpants, and sturdy black shoes. His extra arms are very much in evidence and in constant motion, manipulators twitching. The good doctor's eyes are covered in heavy black goggles with green lenses. Zachery nods as Adrian speaks, noting to himself that he is, in fact, beyond a rookie in the 'big world'. He's kept low merely for the purposes of surviving, as Adrian so casually mentioned before. It was his only choice, Zach figures. He also understands that while he's not planning on anything grand, talking to criminals who /are/, so to speak, at large, won't do his reputation any good among the 'heroes'. His trail of thought is interrupted as another person enters the scene. One more person to make Zachery feel like he's barely accomplished anything. Outwardly, though, he just grins. Calmly. Eyes darting to follow the tentacles' movements for a minute. "Welcome to my humble abode once again, Doctor." The mutant remarks with a forced grin, as though /this/ end of the subways belonged to /him/. Adrian turns and gives Otto a somewhat resigned smile. "Well, it seems that once more, Otto, our great minds have thought alike. I hope you're well today?" Adrian turns and gives Otto a somewhat resigned smile. "Well, it seems that once more, Otto, our great minds have thought alike. I hope you're well today?" "I am," says the Octopus, "both mildly perturbed and extremely pleased. Hello again, Zachery. How are your pets?" There's a tightness to his otherwise amiable manner. The two lower arms curl downwards, close to his legs, their claws barely touching the ground. The other two continue to twist and flex, claws opening and closing restlessly. [OOC] Zachery says, "Oh. Yes. I forgot to mention. There's money floating about in Zachery's ribcage. >_> 20 dollars and some change, if I remember correctly." Zachery tilts his head with mild surprise. What a... strange thing to bring up, for such as a man as Otto Octavius. "They're fine." He answers monotonely, before his voice rises slightly. "They'll have something to eat again, thanks to Mr. Toomes here." He loosely gestures at Adrian, and promptly changes the subject. "But, now that you're both here, I wonder; I doubt fine gentlemen such as yourself," Sarcasm? Perhaps, it's hard to tell with his twisted voice, "... would wander all the way here just to hand me some spare change. However much it's appreciated, surely you have more important business to attend to." Suspicion? Most certainly. That much is made clear by a skeptical angling of his head as he waits for an answer. Adrian coughs a little, as though he's a little hesitant to come to the point. "Zachery," he finally says. "You can be useful to us. As well as finding a point to your life." Otto folds his arms across his chest as one tentacle curls up to dip into his front shirt pocket, removing a cigar. "If you /want/ a point to your life, of course," he remarks, as the stogie is prepared for smoking and then lit without the slightest use of his natural limbs. Useful? Little ole' me? Zachery's baffled again. But then, Adrian continues; A point to his life? The mutant sneers, now listening to what Otto has to say, eyes rolling in his skull to follow the cigar. "Who ever said I didn't already have a point to my life? That I'm not slowly but surely working my way towards it? Do I look very suicidal to you?" He hisses, but remains in the same spot, knowing full well he might have misunderstood. "Not in the least," Adrian confirms, though quite how a suicidan jellified mutant would look different from a contented one is perhaps a question best left unasked. "But everything you have said to me suggests that you are not fully satisfied with your existence down below here." Otto takes in a satisfyingly deep lungful of tobacco, choosing not to add his own two considerably valuable cents to Toomes' observation. One claw scratches idly at a section of tiled wall, lines becoming shapes, turning gradually into a copy of da Vinci's Vetruvian Man, confined to a one-inch square. Zachery's chest one again heaves, as if sighing. Alas, the only thing moving in his chest is a coin seemingly trying to find its way out of his abdomen. "I suppose that's true." He offers, though sounding less than confident. His eyes now wander to the clawmarks the tentacle is leaving behind, although he can't quite see what it's becoming from where he stands. Maybe if he could squint his eyes. Le sigh. "But enough about me. Question remains, How could I possibly be of use to you two?" [The conversation rather petered out after this; basically, Zach didn't offend or outright refuse either villain, nor did he make any promises.]