"What the hell? Why so agitated?" Tony Stark was momentarily at a loss upon noticing Otto and his mechanical tentacles' changes. Unaware of Otto's previous thoughts, Tony couldn't grasp Otto's mindset. Moreover, Otto had already lost his reason due to the influence of the intelligent program within the tentacles. Understanding his thoughts was beyond the capacity of an ordinary person.
Fortunately, violence and loss of control didn't always break certain restraints, especially given Otto and his tentacles' power levels. Despite the dark transformation, they couldn't overpower Morbius' control, let alone contend with the strength of the Martian Manhunter.
In reality, Otto's combat power wasn't much greater than the early models of Tony Stark's suits—at most an optimized version of the Mark I armor or the Iron Monger level. Hence, despite his fury, Otto couldn't break free and could only rage impotently, with his tentacles flickering erratically.
"So, should I just keep him restrained like this?" Morbius, watching the enraged Otto, was uncertain about the next steps. Tony Stark didn't seem intent on harming Otto, making it inappropriate to knock him out with increased energy output.
"Can you help him regain his senses? He seems pretty out of it," Tony Stark asked, turning to the Martian Manhunter instead of answering Morbius.
"I'm not sure, but I can try. Honestly, this is my first encounter with non-biological consciousness..." The Martian Manhunter shrugged, unable to guarantee success due to the complexity of Otto's situation. A human consciousness controlled by a machine was unprecedented on Earth, and even in the vast universe, such occurrences were rare. While civilizations ruled by advanced AI existed, Otto's tentacle program was far from that level.
Thus, the Martian Manhunter couldn't be certain, not even sure if he could detect the program's consciousness.
"Buzz!" The Martian Manhunter released his invisible power, immediately calming Otto and his tentacles. Compared to the Martian Manhunter's consciousness, Otto's was like dust before the moon, utterly incapable of resisting or even noticing the intrusion.
However, the Martian Manhunter found nothing within Otto's consciousness, suggesting no program was influencing him. It seemed Otto's state resulted from his own mental transformation.
This uncertainty puzzled the Martian Manhunter. He and Tony Stark had inferred the tentacles' program consciousness from Otto's previous behavior. But what if it wasn't true? Or perhaps the program wasn't a true organism, hence undetectable?
To find the truth, the Martian Manhunter decided to start with Otto's consciousness. Regardless of the program's existence, Otto was the main actor, and handling his consciousness properly should reveal the truth.
"Buzz!" The Martian Manhunter focused on Otto's consciousness, causing Otto to shudder and then slowly open his eyes, confusedly surveying his surroundings.
At the Martian Manhunter's signal, Morbius withdrew his energy, allowing Otto to fall freely from mid-air.
"Ahhh!" The sudden weightlessness elicited a scream from the disoriented Otto. Instantly, his tentacles activated, three gripping the ground while one shot towards Tony Stark.
"Tony Stark! I'll kill you!" Otto's eyes turned red with hatred, the tentacle glowing crimson, as he targeted Stark.
Despite the attack, Tony Stark wasn't concerned. Not only was a single tentacle insufficient to threaten him, but with the Martian Manhunter present, Stark felt secure.
"Smack!" As expected, the Martian Manhunter caught the tentacle effortlessly, his invisible power calming Otto, who closed his eyes again.
Though Otto appeared subdued, his tentacles continued to resist. The program within the tentacles, realizing its inability to fight the Martian Manhunter, still didn't give up. The remaining three tentacles launched an attack, attempting to free the captured one.
However, the strength disparity was too vast. The Martian Manhunter's other hand extended, resembling a tentacle, and gripped the three remaining ones, neutralizing their resistance.
"Buzz!" The Martian Manhunter once again influenced Otto's consciousness, bringing him back to clarity.
"Where am I?" Otto asked, bewildered by the green figure holding his tentacles. His confusion deepened as he saw Tony Stark.
Under the Martian Manhunter's influence, Otto's expression shifted to anger, his eyes and tentacles glowing red again as he glared at Stark.
Even after multiple confrontations with the Martian Manhunter, Otto still viewed Tony Stark as his primary enemy, ignoring Morbius entirely.
"Ugh..." The Martian Manhunter sighed, releasing his power to knock Otto out again, avoiding further attempts to wake him. Turning to Tony Stark, he said, "The program consciousness in the tentacles might not be biological, making it undetectable. I can temporarily restore Otto's clarity, but the tentacles will soon influence him again."
"To solve Otto's problem, there are three options: First, Otto must overpower the tentacles' program with his will; second, we remove the tentacles from his body, cutting off the influence; third, we erase or modify the program within the tentacles."
"Let me think..." Tony Stark pondered, gazing at Otto. Making such decisions for others wasn't his forte. Finally, Stark turned to the Martian Manhunter, saying, "You can briefly clear his mind, so can you communicate with his consciousness? Maybe you can't force him to overcome the program, but you can at least find out his choice."
"After all, it's his decision whether to return to being an ordinary person or keep the tentacles to aid his experiments."
"I'll try," the Martian Manhunter agreed, attempting to communicate with Otto's consciousness.
"What? I'm controlled by my tentacles' program? Impossible! How can a program control me? Who are you? Why can I only hear you and see nothing?" Otto's consciousness reflexively denied the Martian Manhunter's claims.
"What? You're an Avenger? This is your consciousness talking? Tony Stark said this? That bastard experimented on me, and now he pretends to care? He just wants to see how my tentacles' fusion helps his suit, right?"
"What? My condition wasn't caused by Tony Stark but an accident? No way! Wait... My own memories? My artificial sun exploded, and the tentacles fused with me, saving my life? So that's it..."
Through repeated communication, Otto finally grasped the truth. Reluctant to part with the tentacles that saved his life, Otto, who already loved his tentacles, now cherished them even more. The fusion had remedied many flaws, making Otto unwilling to cut them off.
"He wants us to suppress the tentacle program and wake him up so he can communicate with it," the Martian Manhunter relayed to Tony Stark.
"Hmph! How ungrateful! If he weren't sent by the Saiyan, if he weren't Johnny's mentor, I wouldn't want to deal with this troublesome guy!" Stark grumbled but quickly gave instructions.
"JARVIS, show this new program what a perfect AI is, and let Otto understand the vast gap between his tentacles and my suits, his artificial sun and my Arc Reactor, his intellect and mine!"
"Yes, sir." JARVIS responded, maneuvering a metal arm towards the tentacles. Sensing danger, the tentacles trembled, but restrained by the Martian Manhunter, they couldn't resist.
As the metal arm connected, a torrent of invisible data flooded the tentacles, causing them to shudder and then go still, apparently shutting down.
"Buzz!" The Martian Manhunter awakened Otto once more. Seeing the green Martian Manhunter and Tony Stark, Otto's expression became awkward.
Awkward not because of the Martian Manhunter's appearance but because Otto had misunderstood Stark and now needed his help—a truly uncomfortable situation.
"You have one chance. If you can't control the tentacles and assert dominance, I'll have JARVIS erase the program and install a new one," Stark warned before Otto could speak.
"No!" Otto protested, unwilling to let Stark control his tentacles. Determined, he tried communicating with the program, and soon, the tentacles moved again, this time without the red glow.
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