The Atlantic Ocean, The Raft.
As the mobile prison belonging exclusively to the United Nations drifted near the Port of London, the recently captured and lightning-fast sentenced supercriminal "Sandman," William Baker, was ushered inside along with several other supervillains arrested in Britain. Although Sandman was, to an extent, a magical prisoner, he had not been taken in by Kamar-Taj. Instead, he ended up here at the Raft.
Currently, he was subjected to a materialization spell, transforming him from a spiritual entity back into a physical form composed of sand. After being fitted with power-dampening shackles, he was incarcerated in a specially designed cage. The entire cell contained nothing but the sand that made up William's body.
"Oh, looks like we have another newcomer."
A very young-looking man in an orange prison jumpsuit walked over, accompanied by two Ultron sentries. After looking William up and down, the man asked curiously, "And which one sent you in here?"
"...Spider-Man."
"You too? Figures. Quite a few people here were sent in by Spider-Man. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Bentley Wittman, though friends who know me well call me the Wizard."
"Flint Marko. Sandman. That's what they call me."
Neither man revealed his true identity. Otto Octavius glanced at his new cellmate before being escorted back to his own cell by the Ultron guards. Over the past few days, the Raft had received a significant influx of powerful characters, the most high-profile among them being Baron Strucker.
Strucker was considered the most dangerous individual in the entire Raft, confined to the most secure area of the facility. Even the other prisoners had no idea where exactly he was being held.
On his way back to his cell, Otto saw Ant-Man, Hank Pym, arriving at the prison. As usual, Pym was there to pursue his naive ideas, attempting to rehabilitate the inmates. Well, he might succeed once or twice, but he would soon realize the magnitude of the mistake he was making.
Otto returned leisurely to his room. Each prisoner's room appeared sealed and independent, but Otto knew better. Tony Stark did not share Pym's humanitarian views in the slightest; the Raft not only had its own self-destruct protocol, but every single cell was under omni-directional surveillance. Some tried to escape, but they always failed.
"Good morning, Mr. Wittman."
"Good morning, Dr. Pym." As Otto was leaving, he suddenly asked Pym with a hint of curiosity, "Are you here for counseling today as well?"
"Indeed. Crimes of passion like yours aside, many people here suffer from genuine psychological issues. We are working to soothe them. Take Mole Man, for instance; his turn to supervillainy was heavily linked to his mental health."
Pym spoke as he walked away. Otto returned to his cell, and once the door slid shut, he picked up a book and began to read.
He certainly hadn't given up on the chance to leave, but he was acutely aware that Spider-Man was growing increasingly powerful. Without absolute certainty and a flawless plan, he could not defeat him. Prison was a good place for now; it gave him ample time to reflect on how to conquer Spider-Man and how to perfect the genetic flaws inherent in his cloned body.
In the afternoon, the prisoners were granted recreation time. As long as they weren't classified as "special inmates," they could move freely under the supervision of Ultron guards. "Special inmates" generally referred to those like Rhino or Sandman—prisoners whose inherent nature made it impossible to restrict their destructive power without total containment.
Of course, if an inmate was willing, they could approach these "special" cells for a chat.
"So, our Spider-Man has sent in yet another fellow. He's likely sent in the most people by now, hasn't he?" Otto walked into the prison "courtyard." From this area, one could see the sky—though it was merely a false sky. Otto was certain that this space, less than 200 meters in length and width, featured only a projected sky. Prisoners here only had the right to walk.
Word was that the fool Pym intended to add some sports equipment for the inmates, but it was ultimately canceled for security reasons.
Stupid man. And they call him one of the smartest people on Earth?
Shocker, Herman Schultz, who was chatting with Mysterio, Quentin Beck, glanced at Otto. To this day, he hadn't recognized that the young man before him was Doctor Octopus. He simply frowned before looking back at Quentin. "Who knows? Why? Are you back to preaching your 'Spider-Man is the Root of All Evil' theory again?"
"I am merely summarizing the lessons of our failures—why we were caught by Spider-Man. Take you, for example, Herman. Your equipment was far from perfect. If it hadn't exploded, you could have kept fighting. And your armor has heat dissipation issues. Spider-Man knows this too; otherwise, why would he specifically try to calm you down every time he visits?"
Otto chuckled softly. "Because he knows you haven't realized your full potential."
"And Mysterio. Your surrender was absurd. You actually gave up just because Spider-Man took off his mask. You didn't even see his face. What if he hadn't actually taken it off? What if he was just bluffing?"
"I... I don't know." Quentin shook his head, asking uncertainly, "Surely not?"
"Spider-Man is a terrifying enemy; otherwise, how could he have caught so many? He must be a master psychologist who studies his enemies' minds. Your illusions are almost invincible, Quentin, but Spider-Man seized upon your psychological weakness and defeated you instantly. He is truly frightening."
There is one benefit to "attaining enlightenment" in prison: you have many comrades who share similar experiences. The more people Spider-Man sent in, the more Doctor Octopus learned about him, and the more he marveled at what a troublesome opponent he was.
A pity, really. Spider-Man was destined to be the stumbling block in his quest for revenge against Osborn. Their conflict had only deepened after Otto discovered that the genetically modified spiders from Oscorp could potentially cure ALS.
So, no matter how terrifying he was, Otto had to find a way to defeat him.
Just as Otto was thinking this, a barrage of angry curses erupted. They all turned their heads in unison to see Scorpion, Mac Gargan, being pushed along in a wheelchair by an Ultron sentry, swearing and ranting the whole way.
Otto added a snide remark.
"Poor Mac. Because he found a lead on Spider-Man's true identity, his spine was ripped out and his brain was turned to mush by a telepath. He's little more than a vegetable now."