Marvel's Spider-Man Season 2

Doc Ock Becomes A Jedi (S. 2, Ep. 3)

Scott looked around nervously, waiting for the terror of the school to burst into the room and demand fifty-page essays on the atomic structure of vibranium (or something similar). Since he'd missed the first couple days of school because of illness, Scott hadn't yet seen their new (old?) teacher since the man had helped him escape Jackal's lair. Doctor Octavius (who'd been re-hired by Horizon after helping to return the Neuro Cortex when it'd been stolen), however, walked in through the door, an airy smile plastered across his face. Scott looked at Anya with a confused expression, only to find her doing the same to him. The boy shrugged, as did the girl, and they both turned back to the front of the class.

"I have learned recently," their teacher began, "that perhaps my teaching methods were not as well-suited to education as I had believed, so today," a wide, uncharacteristic grin split Octavius' face, "we will be trying new methods!"

Scott and Anya shared a worried look. Since he'd arrived in New York, Scott hadn't gone out in his costume (in fact, they were both at his apartment, shoved in the safe under his bed), wanting to add a buffer between Scott's and Shock Spider (as the Daily Bugle was calling the 'missing menace')'s appearance. Right now, he was focused on school and catching up with his friends after their three-month separation.

Thirty minutes later, Scott pushed himself to his feet, glad to have stopped sitting Indian-style. He grabbed his bag off his desk and walked with Anya to the lunch room, talking about how strange their lesson had been.

"Personally," Scott twisted his back, causing a loud crack to echo in his eardrums, "I think the Doc hung out with those people who sit in the park in the tye-dyed shirts. Maybe smoked some of their stuff, too."

Anya rolled her eyes in fake annoyance, but Scott caught the hint of a smile. The girl responded, "You think the guards of a high-security prison allowed hippies to give weed to a convicted criminal."

"Anything can happen with enough money and time."

"You have a real jaded view of the world, don't you?" Anya asked.

"Ms. Corazon!"

That last shout wasn't Scott. In fact, it wasn't a student at all, it was Doctor Octavius. Both students looked around and saw the short teacher walking along the hallway with Gwen, following them. The doctor continued, "Ms. Corazon, can I please speak to you in my office? Mr. Buitenwerf, you can continue on to lunch, I just need to speak with Ms. Corazon and Ms. Stacy for a minute."

Scott shrugged and continued on his way to the dining hall, where he grabbed a tray of food (popcorn shrimp, yum!), before sitting down next to Peter and Miles. The three boys conversed, talking about their classes ("Honestly, I'm surprised he's not wearing a tye-dyed lab coat") and polished off their food, before Anya and Gwen joined them, setting down their trays on the opposite side of the wood-and-metal contraption that is a school lunch table.

"What did Otto want with you two?" Peter asked.

"The same thing he wanted with Miles," Gwen responded, and Peter nodded, confirming he'd understood.
Scott waited in silence for a second, hoping someone would elaborate, but no one did. So he asked, "Alright, I'll bite. What did he want with you two and Miles?"

"He wants us to help him with an after-school project," Anya answered before taking a bite of her lunch. She chewed and swallowed before continuing, "He says he just needs us three for it."

"What's the project?" Scott asked, curious.

"He didn't tell me," Miles shrugged, then looked at the girls, "Did he tell you guys?"

Both girls shook their heads, and Gwen added, "All he said was that we were the smartest kids here," Scott and Peter looked a bit hurt, "and he needed the 'best and brightest minds' for his project."