Chapter Text
Monotonous was the only word that could really describe one Kathryn Clark’s life. One would think that being a lab assistant for Oscorp would be more exciting, but alas. Much of the excitement of the birth of a super villain first in Norman Osborn, then Otto Octavius, and even Norman’s son, Harry had long since waned. Rumours swirled of course, this, that or the other but things were fairly quiet since the breakthrough on clean energy that former super villain, Otto Octavius pioneered. He effectively reversed his reputation, although The Daily Bugle loved to sink their teeth into any possible leads on misdoings by the renowned scientist.
Most of Kathryn’s assistance was lent to Norman Osborn himself. Though he could ostensibly delegate work to others, he was always keen to get his own hands dirty and leave little for his assistants in the process. Kathryn was usually relegated to fetching coffee, lunch or other administrative duties often fell to her. The money wasn’t too bad so she couldn’t complain.
Kathryn brought a carrier of coffee cups with her into the lab, shifting to set her bag down. Norman was at one of the tables, poring over some equations and seemingly hadn’t noticed her presence.
“Doctor Osborn, I brought some coffee,” she said, tapping the carrier as she set it down.
“Carry the four…” he muttered, tapping on the notes.
“Doctor Os-“
“Hang on.”
Kathryn sat down in the chair and crossed her arms, watching the scientist fuss over his notes. She knew better than interrupt again. He had been much more stable since his return, a fact for which many had been grateful. But she remembered those unstable days. He did and said things he didn’t mean.
He smiled and scribbled something down on the notebook, looking up.
“Good morning, Katie,” he said with a big smile.
“Oh bother,” she scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Take your caffeine, boss.”
She picked up a cup and handed it to him. Another woman came by. She was another technician who worked in the lab with them that Kathryn had made friends with back in school. They just happened to luck out with school and work.
“Hey Linds, I got you a coffee,” She said, holding the cup up.
“Sweet! Thanks girl,” she took the cup gratefully.
Lindsey took the foam cup with her and went across the lab to pick up some samples from the previous formula to begin cataloging them. She sipped on the hot beverage between jotting down her notes.
“That’s right, I almost forgot,” Norman snapped his fingers. “Would one of you lovely ladies like to assist a special guest?”
“Special guest?” Kathryn asked, tilting her head.
“Um. Not it,” Lindsey said nonchalantly. It was no secret that she didn’t particularly like volunteering herself for projects and even less so it when it came to doing things out of the ordinary. She was content to just be Norman’s assistant so the odds and ends often fell to Kathryn.
“Ah you don’t even know who it is,” He grumbled. “So quick to turn down the opportunity. Alright Katie, I guess you’re it, my dear.”
“I… hrm, well I suppose that’s that,” she sighed.
Norman had known Kathryn’s family prior to his descent into madness and fondly dubbed her ‘Kate’ or ‘Katie’ no matter how much she protested. In truth he saw her as something of a daughter, so he was always extra tough with her but made sure she was all the better for it.
“So who is this special guest?” She asked.
Her friend was still pretending to be consumed by the logging process. She learned her lesson many times by being too eager to put herself out there.
“My good friend, Doctor Otto Octavius,” Norman said with a hint of pride.
“No way,” Lindsey dropped her pen on the notebook. “I volunteer!”
“Shit, you’re serious,” Kathryn said, setting the cup down.
“Ah, sorry my dear, Katie will be his assistant,” he said with a small shrug.
“Damn dude, I didn’t know you were offering a chance to work Doc Ock!” Lindsey huffed.
“Well, you didn’t ask,” he smirked.
“I… I have to admit I’m not too good with physics,” Kathryn said hesitantly.
“Oh I doubt he will have you engineering a miniature sun or anything of that nature,” Norman laughed. “It will be a good experience for you. He’s doing good things.”
A phone alarm went off and all three nearly jumped out of their skin. The eccentric man shut off the intrusive alarm from his phone and stood up with his drink.
“That said, I have a meeting to attend. Doctor Octavius was supposed to be visiting the facilities to familiarise himself later on, so do be dears if you see him roaming about. Toodles for now,” he laughed and dropped his lab coat off by the door as he exited.
Lindsey turned to Kathryn with a bewildered expression on her face. “Dude, you should let me take this one on!”
“I thought you were afraid of Doc Ock!” Kathryn wrinkled her nose.
“I mean, that’s not the point,” her friend giggled.
“That is totally the point,” she took the last drink of her coffee, tossing the cup into the trash.
“Man, I’m jealous,” Lindsey sighed.
“Well, I suppose next time you won’t be so quick to turn down an offer, eh?” Kathryn laughed, getting up from her seat to pick up her notebook.
“So unfair,” she laughed into her notes.
-
The day was winding down and Norman had been stuck in meetings for most of the day. However the phone rang on the other side of the lab. Lindsey was tinkering with some liquids, so Kathryn went over to pick up the phone.
“Hello, Doctor Osborn is indisposed at the moment, can I take a message?” She offered to the phone.
“Good afternoon, we have Doctor Octavius in the lobby requesting his assistant,” the receptionist replied.
“Oh, that’s me. Alright, I’ll be down to collect him. Thanks!” She said and hung up the phone.
“I take it that’s your cue,” Lindsey said with a knowing smile. “Don’t get too excited and scare him off!”
“Oh please, I’m not the one with a crush on him,” Kathryn scoffed and her friend made a face.
“It’s not like that,” she said plainly. But it wasn’t far from a lie. She expressed interest in the man during his villainous rampage. Oddly, a lot of people did.
“No? Could’ve fooled me. I’ll be back, don’t blow anything up, okay?” She teased back at her friend and collected her phone up off the table, heading toward the exit.
She made her way down in the elevator, greeting a few employees who were presumably to and fro attempting to tie up loose ends before it was time to go. She peeked at her phone. 4:35pm. Of course, he would show up close to the end of the day.
The elevator opened with a ding and she nodded to another employee who boarded as she stepped off. She made her way to the lobby and the receptionist was on the phone. Her eyes shifted over to the large man who was stood in the waiting area, his back facing her. He wore a long, dark coat. His brown hair was a mess of curls atop his head and the famed actuators drooped harmlessly behind him. She remembered all the horror stories from the news and how much damage they had wrought.
It took more than him cracking clean, cheap energy for people to get the public to trust him. And many were still afraid of him. There was one other person in the waiting area, who appeared to be intimidated by the sight across the room. Kathryn finally moved from her position to close the distance between them. The scared looking guy was giving a sympathetic glance as if to say, ‘my condolences that you have to interact with him.’
“Good afternoon Doctor Octavius,” Kathryn finally spoke up.
“Hm?” He turned, pulled from his thoughts to see the short woman next to him. Her red hair was the first thing that caught his eyes. He looked her over in a simple button down and leggings, complete with the lab coat. Her green eyes met his as if he remembered that he knew how to speak he chuckled.
“My apologies,” he offered, holding his hand out. “Good afternoon.”
She took his hand, expecting a shake, but instead he pulled her hand gently to his lips and laid a soft kiss against her knuckles. She swallowed hard, take aback by the gesture and fought the blush creeping up her neck.
“I’m Kathryn,” she said as her hand was reluctantly released. “I’m the assistant that Doctor Osborn assigned for you…”
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, sweetheart,” he said smoothly. “I trust Doctor Osborn is stuck in the board room at the moment.”
“Why yes, as a matter of fact he’s been in there most of the day. He asked me to come retrieve you when you arrived. Have you signed in?” She asked, looking towards the busy receptionist.
He turned and showed the visitor pass he was given with a sheepish smile. She smiled and waved her arm toward the elevators and he followed her on, though a bit hesitant. As if she sensed his apprehension, she looked over at him. He was standing still, his hands clasped in front of him, looking ahead.
“Nervous?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Elevators aren’t really my thing since…” he trailed off and nodded towards his back.
“So… they can’t be removed, huh?” She asked as the elevator creeped up each floor.
“Sadly no, but I’ve learned to live with it,” he said with a sympathetic shrug. “It’s not all bad, you know. Those times when I wish I had an extra pair of hands, really comes in handy.”
“Ah, fair enough,” she smiled.
“Do they scare you?” The question was straight forward and altogether not unexpected.
“I’m sorry?” She looked over at him.
“Do the actuators scare you?” He asked again.
“Not really, no,” she shrugged. “Why?”
The air became tense. Did it really matter? It wasn’t like he was going on rampages anymore. He didn’t kidnap or hurt people. He wasn’t robbing banks. So what did it matter if they scared people? It was a part of who he was. At least that’s how Kathryn saw it.
“Just a question,” he supplied a shrug of his own.
The elevator mercifully dinged loudly as the doors slid open. She motioned toward the hall and Doctor Octavius stepped off first, stopping and turning on his heel. Kathryn stepped out second, curious to why he bothered waiting unless he was that intent on having someone escorting him closely.
“Mind if I ask where you’re from?” He questioned, walking alongside of the short statured redhead.
“That’s random,” she laughed, turning her head toward him.
“Conversation,” he said, tilting his head. “Fitting to be comfortable with one another if we are working together, no?”
He had a point.
“I reckon that’s fair,” she smiled. “My grandparents were from England.”
“Ah. That explains that adorable lilt. Were you born in New York?” He asked.
Adorable? Was he hitting on her? Nah.
“Yes, couldn’t imagine living elsewhere to be honest,” she shrugged. “You’re awful reserved…”
“Yes, well,” he gave a hearty laugh. “Odds are good you’ve learned all that’s interesting to know about me in your science courses at Columbia or from the news…”
There was a hint of sorrow in his voice. It stood to reason that he likely regretted his actions. When he was first apprehended, he was held prisoner at a specialised facility. Photos of him spread during his stay that showcased the cruelty that was displayed toward him, as if he wasn’t even a human being. It was a heartbreaking sight that was quickly protested once shared and removed from media shortly after. She couldn’t imagine what he had gone through during his time there and didn’t really want to. He paid enough for his wrongdoings, that much was certain.
“How’d you guess Columbia?” She chose to dodge the news topic.
“It’s hardly a lucky shot,” he laughed.
They continued walking together down the hall, some employees wandering past, eyes casting glances at the large man. He seemed to pay it no mind. Perhaps he had been used to being stared at by now.
“Ah this is us,” Kathryn said in a chipper tone, waving her badge over the access panel and opened the door, motioning for him to pass through.
Her walked through the doorway, looking around the facility. Lindsey was in the partitioned off section, running a trial on some liquids and there were various tools, stations and computers. He smiled and made his way to one of the computers, tapping the space bar to wake it.
Kathryn came in and the door closed, startling her more than anyone and she strode over to where the man was standing. She quickly typed up her log in and clicked on a few folders, glancing at some of the notes for today.
“We were just wrapping up this serum today, but feel free to take a look around,” she motioned.
“Oh my god,” Lindsey’s excited voice came from across the table. “It’s really Doc Ock.”
He sighed and gave a forced smile. “Hi. I’d prefer if you just called me Doctor Octavius, thanks.”
“Oh, sorry,” the taller girl made a face and put down her notes, tossing the gloves she had been using. “I’m Lindsey. I’m Doctor Osborn’s other assistant. I’d shake your hand but I was just—“
“That’s quite alright, dear,” Doctor Octavius said, focused on the screen in front of him. He made some new folders and started to label them.
“Would you like a seat?” Kathryn asked, scooting a stool over with wheels.
“Yes, thanks sweetheart,” he nodded and sat down, swapping his sunglasses for a pair of reading glasses from his pocket. The actuators freely swayed behind him, the one on the top right scouting the room.
Kathryn went over to Lindsey, picking up the notes she had been working on. Her friend was nervous and on edge. She was looking at the mechanical limbs as if they were the most fascinating thing in the room. Truthfully they were a marvel.
“Sorry, he seems kinda touchy…” Lindsey trailed off.
“He’s actually pretty nice,” the redhead shrugged. “But… He’s been through a lot though. Maybe not the best idea to objectify the actuators or call him by the name the Bugle gave him. I’m sure he didn’t ask for that…”
“Right, sorry,” she sighed.
“I think if you owe anyone an apology, it’s probably him. But I’d leave him be for now. He looks pretty focused,” Kathryn said with a shrug, handing the folder back to her.
“Kathryn, dear,” Doctor Octavius said, waving his fingers toward himself.
“Yes?” She made her way back over to him, looking over his shoulder at the computer screen.
“What do you think about this?” He pulled up a few notes relating to an energy source.
“That looks kinda like the reactor you unveiled a while back,” she said with a nod.
“Yes, I was thinking if we could reverse engineer it, we could create another smaller one. Perhaps it could be used to power something,” he hummed.
“Something? You mean a bigger scale?” She asked.
“I was actually thinking smaller scale,” he said, putting his hand to his chin.
“Oh?”
“Tell me, what do you think? Speak your mind. Nothing is too outrageous.”
Lindsey watched with a hint of jealousy but truthfully she thought perhaps she had lucked out. It was likely she would have offended him from the start and gotten off on the wrong foot with him. No matter how attractive she found him. She shook her head and started to put away her work and pack up her belongings.
“Smaller, so like, cars? I know there was talk of it,” Kathryn said.
He had only been able to replicate the small arc reactor on a bigger scale. Truthfully there was a part of him that was afraid of repeating the disaster from years ago with his fusion reactor and he hesitated to even replicate what he had. It probably had not helped that he tweaked certain things to his liking but it seemed to work out for the better.
“That’s good, I was thinking the same,” he said with a smile.
“Forgive me if this sounds a bit rude, Doctor Octavius, but isn’t this something you could…” she trailed off, looking his face over in hesitation. “Well, something you could do without me? Not that I don’t want to help… I’m just curious.”
“I’m out for the day lady,” Lindsey said with a smile as she walked by with her bag. “Have fun kids!”
With that, Lindsey waved and let herself out. The timing was likely not coincidental as it became just as tense as it had in the elevator when Kathryn was stood there with him. She was often not afraid to speak her mind. For better or for worse. It was a trait that she and her friend had in common. She just possessed more of a filter than her friend.
Doctor Octavius let out a hearty laugh after a moment more of silence. Instantly, relief washed over her.
“That’s a good question actually,” he said with a smile. He removed the glasses and clasped his hands together on the mousepad. “As much as these actuators help, it’s nice to have a human touch. So I asked Doctor Osborn if he would mind loaning me an assistant and use of the facilities here.”
“I am happy to help,” she smiled.
“Because your boss told you to?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You are something else, Doctor Octavius!” She laughed and pushed at his arm before really thinking about it. She put her hands together and gave an apologetic look to the scientist.
“You’re such a funny little thing,” he chuckled. His hand reached over, easily covering her two hands in her lap. “Thank you.”
Thank you?
“For what?” She asked before she could really stop herself.
She tilted her head and he removed his hand just as quickly. He looked at the time on the computer and back to her. It was after 5pm and she was honestly surprised that Norman hadn’t come back down to the lab. His bag was gone so she guessed he probably headed home or planned to from the board room.
“8am tomorrow?” He asked, completely ignoring the question.
“8am?” She mirrored.
“Do you get here at 8am?” Doctor Octavius asked.
“Oh, yes… I do. Sorry, it’s been a long day,” she laughed it off.
“Perfect,” he said, scooting to get up from the stool and closed out the folders he was working with. “I’ll be waiting at the reception area then. The woman said that their facility personnel was out of office today so I couldn’t get a proper badge until tomorrow after 9.”
“Oh, alright. Yeah, I usually come early,” she said with a nod. “Do you like coffee?”
“I do…” he said, suddenly wondering if she was about to invite him out.
“How do like your coffee? I’ll pick one up for you,” she offered with a smile.
“That’s really not necessary,” he said, pulling the sunglasses out of his pocket to put them on.
“Doctor Octavius, how do you like your coffee? I’m not going to bring a cup for everyone else and not you,” she put her hands on her hips.
It was an endearing gesture that reminded him so much of Rosie. A wave of sadness came over him as he looked her over. It wasn’t just the hair, he thought and sighed. He had to push aside the longing. It wasn’t often people were truly kind to him these days. He couldn’t allow himself to become attached just because she was nice to him.
“I drink my coffee black… please,” his tone was less than confident than usual, somewhat deflated.
“Got it,” she smiled and picked up her bag, seeing that Doctor Octavius had already exited. She shut off the lights and rushed out the door, seeing him a ways down the hall, stood still and looking back.
“Sorry, I thought you were heading out,” he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, scratching lightly at the skin underneath the turtleneck.
She walked toward him and closed the gap, motioning to the elevator as she tapped the button. The doors opened and he stepped on. He held his hand out toward the bag that she held in both of her hands.
“Yes?” She looked over at the tall man.
“Allow me,” he bent and grasped the bag into his hand and stood quietly with it.
“That’s really not necessary you know,” she said, looking at the bag. It wasn’t terribly heavy by a long shot.
“Nonsense,” he waved his free hand. “Being an assistant is a mutually beneficial relationship.”
She giggled at how matter of fact he was. Everything she read about him said that while he was often polite, he had a bit of an ego which is what got him into trouble in the first place. And she noticed quickly that his behaviour seemed to vary between herself and her friend. It would stand to reason that it varied no matter who he interacted with.
The elevator dinged as it lowered the occupants to the ground level. They remained silent and the doors opened. He motioned and she stepped out with him following. The receptionist had already left so the safe assumption was that the badges would no longer work once they left.
“Here, let me get that visitor pass,” she held her hand out.
“Right,” He pulled the clip from his belt loop and handed it over.
“Thanks,” she put it in the usual desk drawer and moved to let the two of them out of the tower.
“Well, it was nice meeting you,” he said with a warm smile. He held the bag toward her reluctantly. “I trust you’ve a safe way home.”
“I do,” she giggled. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Likewise,” he nodded and walked away down the street.
She watched him as he trudged along in his heavy boots, a few people looking hesitantly as he strode past. She reached into her pocket for her car keys and her phone buzzed in her pocket. She moved to the spot where she parked and shoved her bag into the backseat, pulling her phone out of her pocket to see a text from Norman.
“Katie, don’t forget supper here at 6.”
“Shit, that’s right,” she sighed and got into the car, putting her head on the steering wheel.
-
“Sorry I’m late,” Kathryn called out from the door to the penthouse she spent a lot of time in growing up.
“That’s alright Katie,” Norman’s voice came from the kitchen.
“Lost track of time,” she laughed and put her bag down by the door, coming into the kitchen. “Anything I can help with?”
“Not at all, dear,” he said and made a shooing noise at her. “Half of it is already out there.”
“Looks good,” she commented, looking at the lasagna in the centre of the table.
“Did Doctor Octavius show up?” He asked, putting a basket of bread on the table.
“He did,” she said, taking her seat at the table.
“How was he? A joy as ever?” Norman laughed, sitting down at the head of the table.
“He’s nice,” she said, cutting into the lasagna and pulling a slice of it onto her plate. “Was that sarcasm, uncle?”
“Would I ever be sarcastic, Katie?” He smirked.
“I know about the little rivalry you know,” she laughed, picking up a piece of bread.
He was dishing food onto his plate as well, shaking his head and still laughed. “Octavius and I are friends. We have a professional rivalry, honey.”
“I was only teasing,” she smiled. “I hadn’t realised you skipped out!”
“Ah yes, sorry about that. The last board meeting ran over so I decided I’d just go. There wasn’t enough time to really do anything else with that new serum,” he shrugged. “What kind of mischief were you up to?”
“Mischief? Me? Surely not,” she mocked a gasp. “He’s working on an arc reactor. A small one like that prototype he had.”
“Well, hopefully he doesn’t take out half the city,” Norman laughed. “Too soon?”
“That’s awful,” she feigned a laugh but truthfully that sort of stung and she wasn’t sure why.
“I meant no harm, Katie,” he patted her hand gently. “He’s a good man. A bit quirky. Who among us isn’t?”
“I’m… excited,” she said, taking a bite of her food.
“Don’t go getting any ideas now,” he said as a warning, but mostly jokingly. “He’s available, but that doesn’t mean it’s an invite for you, Katie…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She made a face.
“Do you want me to answer that truthfully?” He playfully elbowed her.
“Okay, okay. Duly noted,” she said, rolling her eyes.