Fic : Fathers and Sons, Chapter 12
So today is an exciting day. Because sharelle just finishing betaing the last chapter of this story! Updates should be coming more frequently now, with only two more chapters and a epilogue to come after this before we are done! I almost can’t believe it!
Title : Fathers and Sons, Chapter 12
Author : Dani Kin
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13
Summary : Being a parent is never easy and family relationships never run smooth. We have arrived at Metro Man Day and the warden is pretty sure this watch is more than it seems.
Beta : My my my my sharelle
Past Chapters can be found here.
~~~~~~~~~~M~~~~~~~~~~
The warden knew it was trouble as soon as he saw the damn thing. It was customary to open all prisoner mail, but the guards in the mail room knew to bring anything like this straight to him. Meanwhile, the boy had been back in prison for almost two weeks, which meant it was just about time for his regularly scheduled break out.
And mailing himself a watch in a tacky gold and white box was just the kind of thing that had ‘escape plan’ written all over it.
The warden gave an irritable huff. Perhaps he could tease some information out of the boy about it. He sure as hell wasn’t going to give it to him. He hastened to the solitary confinement area which housed the familiar round dome.
As the warden approached, he noticed the guard on duty reading a newspaper. That was irritating. Just because everyone knew they were powerless to stop Megamind from escaping didn’t mean that they should give up all pretense of working. He snapped at the man then ordered him to open the portal window.
The guard, nervous at having been caught being inattentive, quickly did as he was told. The portal opened, and the warden peered in to the sight of an empty chair. Goddamn it. He fought a moment of panic as he pressed his palms against the glass. How had Megamind managed it this time? Was the watch just a red herring? How could the guard not even notice his prisoner was -
“Boo!”
Suddenly a blue face was smushed against the glass and the warden instinctively jumped back. He caught his breath in time to see the boy laughing and spinning in his chair.
Everything was just a goddamn game to him, wasn’t it? The warden narrowed his eyes in irritation.
“Good morning, Warden. Great news!” the boy said in a smarmy, mocking tone. “I’m a changed man and I’m ready to re-enter society as a solid citizen,” he said sardonically, his face full of affected innocence.
The annoyance within the warden quickly blossomed into a white-hot rage as Megamind echoed the very words that had once tugged on his heartstrings. He exploded his reply.
“You’re a villain. You’ll always be a villain. You’ll never change. And you’ll never leave.” He tried to sound authoritative but he knew that was a total crock.
“You’re fun.” Clearly so did the boy.
It seemed like the more he acted professional and detached towards Megamind, the more the boy delighted in baiting and antagonizing him. The warden took a deep breath and tried to remember what they talked about in group, as well as with Lynne. He tried to ignore the boy’s antics and focus on his purpose for coming down here today.
He wasn’t here to play at being a parent. He was here on official prison business.
“You got a present in the mail,” the warden said dryly.
“Is it a puppy?” the boy asked feigning enthusiasm.
That casual disinterest told the warden that this delivery was indeed planned - otherwise the boy would have been trying desperately to rein in his natural curiosity. The warden picked up the card and read its message aloud.
“From Metro Man. To count every second of your 85 life sentences.” He watched the boys eyes for clues but Megamind gave him nothing. “That’s funny. I never thought Metro Man was the gloating type.” Megamind continued to stare at him with a self-satisfied grin.
“Ooh but he does have nice taste. I think I’ll keep it!” The warden sneered, trying again to get a response out of the boy. However he got nothing from the skinny blue man but smug.
“Any chance you could give me the time?” Megamind purred at him. “I don’t want to be late for the opening of the Metro Man Museum.”
Oh God, the egotism came off the boy in waves. Whatever was up with this watch, the kid arrogantly believed it was all going according to his plan. Which meant that talking to him was just a giant waste of time.
“Oh no. Looks like you’re gonna miss it,” the warden replied sarcastically. “By several thousand years.”
The warden turned and stalked off, utterly frustrated at his failed errand. He could hear the boy laughing manically as he walked away, but he didn’t turn and give him the satisfaction of the last word.
He rounded the corner quickly, his shoes making a frustrated clip against the floor. What was the boy playing at this time? Why mail himself the watch if he didn’t seem to want it? Did he simply want it inside the prison? The warden felt somewhat relieved that it was currently strapped to his wrist. Then when it transformed into a mechanical lemur or started projecting holographic spiders on the walls at least he would be the first to know.
He moved briskly down a corridor where a pair of guards were playing cards through the bars with some well-behaved prisoners. Usually the warden was willing to let it slide, but today he was not in the mood.
Then the lights flickered and that was the last straw before he exploded, “The city doesn’t pay you to loaf.”
He realized that his voice did not sound like his own as soon as the words left his mouth. However the next events happened so fast he could barely react. It was only when he tried to object to being tazed and tackled by the guards that he realized exactly whose voice it was. Then there was just pain and confusion as he was hauled into the solitary cell.
It was inside the cell that the warden regained full command of his faculties, just in time to watch the boy use the watch to wear a hologram of his own face and waltz out the door.
Unfortunately the warden remained stuck inside the cell with the very guards who had tazed him as events unfolded. At least there was a TV in there.
It started like usual, with ridiculous boasts and banter that left the warden wondering why he seemed to be the only one besides Roxanne Ritchie who found both Megamind and Metro Man’s behavior equally childish. Then just when it seemed like Metro Man would be sweeping the boy off his feet and back to the prison before lunch, something went horribly wrong.
The warden watched in confusion as the hero struggled and the laser beam fired. But even in that moment he didn’t understand the significance. He was mostly just annoyed that Megamind had caused such a large-scale explosion at the observatory. Yes, the place was abandoned, but that was no excuse to blow it to smithereens.
Then something came flying into Megamind and for a moment the warden's heart was in his throat, worried that the boy had been injured by debris from the explosion. A view of Metro Man's familiar cape assuaged those fears a bit. The warden grinned sardonically and shook his head. The kid would be back in his cell within the hour. That might be some kind of record.
When the cape was pulled back, the warden was as stunned as anyone by what was revealed underneath.
A skeleton. A goddamn skeleton.
And not just any skeleton.
The warden felt his gut twist and he tasted bile in the back of his throat.
Metro Man's skeleton was sprawled on the floor at Megamind's feet.
Metro Man . . . Wayne Scott . . . was dead.
The warden stood slack-jawed and stared at the screen. He heard someone say, "He did it," but didn't realize at first that it had actually been him. Some distant part of him registered Megamind's laugh as he crowed his victory for the entire city to hear, but it was like listening to the echo of a voice at the end of a long tunnel.
Time became elastic. He wasn’t sure how much had passed, but at one point he realized he was actually banging on the door to the solitary cell so hard his hand hurt. And he was yelling, yelling at the top of his lungs for someone to get him out of there. He couldn’t remember the name of the guard that eventually opened the door, though he nearly knocked the man over in his rush to escape.
He started to emerge from the haze to the realization that he was actually running, fueled by something that seemed to resemble rage. People in admin were staring but he didn’t stop. He slammed and locked the door behind him as soon as he entered his office.
Then he stood still in the familiar room as it seemed to lurch and spin around him. What had just happened? That didn’t just happen. WHAT THE FUCK HAD JUST HAPPENED?
Out of nowhere he slammed his fist down hard on the desk. Everything jumped, pens went rolling, and papers fluttered to the floor. He raised his fist to slam it again but midway he lost the rage and his arm sagged limply back down.
And that was when the tears came. With the anger gone, there was nothing but this awful, gnashing sensation in his stomach and thick, hot tears burst out before he could stop them.
Oh God. His boy had killed someone.
The warden had said he had let go of believing the boy would ever change, he had said it in front of a room full of people at group. But he realized now that was a lie. There had always been a last little shard of hope inside him, fragile and buried down deep to keep it protected. It was the last piece of what he had believed about the child he had raised, and the boy he loved.
It had whispered to him that the boy’s behavior was destructive and difficult, but he wasn’t a monster and would never actually harm anyone.
Now he felt that sliver of hope as it was brutally ripped out of him. Its sudden loss left a palpable, hollow pain behind that seemed to intensify with each choking sob. The warden tried ineffectually to wipe the tears off his face with the back of his hand but they were instantly replaced. He’d held it together for so long, but he couldn’t hold any more.
His baby.
The little baby he used to kiss on his bald head and rock to sleep every night in this very office.
His little boy had killed someone.
The warden fumbled in his pocket for his keys, and for a little silver one in particular. His hand shook as he used it to open the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet, revealing an old file folder box. The warden opened the box and searched amid the clutter of toys and stacks of photographs. Under a thick manila envelope and a smattering of crayon drawings, he found a small square of fabric.
It was old and faded, from love and too many washings. But if one squinted they could still see a pattern of tiny green frogs.
He sat back on the floor, leaning against the side of his desk and drew his knees up to his chest. The blanket was soft in his hands as they trembled, unable to will himself to move. Instead he just sat, letting the tears roll down his face and soak into the precious little scrap of memory with each choked sob.
Good night hugs and blowtorches. Birthday cake and daddy and oh God, oh God, oh God.
Years of trying to get through to him and the warden had failed.
He was never going to get him back.
The little boy he’d held in his arms was gone.
All that was left was the villain.