Heart of the Storm (Part 9)
Title: Heart of the Storm
Authors: lizynob and lorafantastory
Pairings: Oscar/Block as the Anna/Hans dynamic
Characters: Oscar Schlumper, Wayne Schlumper, Dr. Block, Dr. Tease, minor mentions of Party Mania characters
Word Count: 47,002
Warnings: Descriptions of anxiety, some bullying, angst, references to death
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Epilogue, Bonus Content
Strike For Fear
The ride up the hill was filled with sporadic moments of conversation and silence as Oscar tried to process the recent events in his life. He wasn’t sure exactly how deep in shock he was, but substantial paradigm shifts were taking place, spurred on even more since Dr. Block would often throw out a question or two when he got to be quiet for too long.
“So your brother’s worn electrical gloves for twenty years or so and you’ve never asked about that ever?” Block inquired after several minutes of Oscar staring straight ahead without so much as muttering.
“He’s worn them almost as far back as I can remember,” Oscar admitted. “It was such a normal part of life that it never occurred to me to question it. He’s always had a thing about touch so maybe he just didn’t like bacteria or something, how would I know?” He shook his head a little. “I know it sounds odd when you say it out loud, but that was just who he was.”
Block looked more than a little incredulous. “You two don’t really talk much, do you?”
Oscar frowned a little, a hint of sadness tinging his voice. “No, not really. I try, sometimes, but outside of science the conversation rarely goes very far. Ever since we were young Wayne’s been rather closed off. I think I’m starting to understand why.”
“Yeah, the whole having lightning coming out of his hands might have had something to do with that,” Block noted before pointing up ahead to the side of the pavement. “Take a right up here.”
Oscar obeyed and turned onto a gravel road that took them off the main path and higher up onto the ridge.
“...in my defense, that’s not a very guessable reason for why your brother always gives you the cold shoulder,” he said.
“Fair enough,” Block agreed. “I can’t say that would be my first assumption either. But, like, there weren’t any other clues? You’re brilliant, Oscar, you must have noticed something.”
“It’s hard to notice much when Wayne would just hole up in his room constantly. Sometimes I could go weeks and barely see him at all.” He sighed softly. “I suppose I’m even less brilliant compared to him than I thought because this is all news to me.” He was silent for a little while again but tried to wipe the dejected look off his face. “Could you open the glove box and get the pair of goggles that are there?” he asked politely.
Block did so and sure enough found a slightly odd-looking pair of spiraled lenses. “Uh, what are these and why do you have them?” she questioned as she looked over them. “And please tell you you’re not going to wear them and drive at the same time.”
“No, they’re not for driving, Oscar said, taking them and sliding them up on his forehead. “They’re a precaution in case things get too...bright.”
Block was about to press for more answers but paused and squinted through the darkness. “Wait, what’s that?”
“Where?”
“Over off to the side of the road, in the tree line a little bit. It looks like burn marks.”
Oscar pulled the car over and stepped out eagerly, leaving the headlights on to shed some light into the woods. Block followed and the two of them made their way cautiously into the trees. Sure enough, the grass and trees were scattered with chips and burns where something had charred the bark and cut patches from the weeds. One small tree had cracked entirely in half.
“This looks like lightning strikes, but on a much smaller scale than usual,” Block murmured, examining one of the trees.
Something in the grass caught Oscar’s eye and he bent to retrieve it. “Wayne’s other glove,” he confirmed, tucking it into his coat with its twin. “But I’ve no idea how long ago he was here. Or if he’s all right. This…” He glanced around at the charred trees. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. I just hope he isn’t hurt.”
“We know we’re on the right track at least,” Block said. “Come on, let’s go on a little farther.”
“Okay,” Oscar agreed immediately and the two kept walking. Oscar periodically called out for his brother, hoping Wayne might be close enough to answer, hoping he even would answer if he heard and not just run away even further.
They walked and walked, stumbling on the uneven ground in the darkness until there was finally some sort of light in distance. It wasn’t the cracking white hot light of lightning, but it was light.
As they approached, the trees thinned until finally the emerged into a vast open clearing. The sight ahead of him took Oscar’s breath away.
A huge structure rose out of the ground a few dozen yards from the tree line. Walls of metal folded around each other, stretching up towards the night sky. A dozen different colors littered the patchwork surface, seemingly welded together in no particular order other than what was structurally necessary. They were pieces of cars, Oscar realized, catching sight of the dozens of tires that ran around the building’s base. The lights were coming from inside the thing, shining almost welcomingly out from various windows and doorways that had been left open to the air. A set of well-positioned headlights illuminated what appeared to be a front entrance constructed out of the back doors of a massive tractor trailer.
Oscar took a few awed steps closer to the fortress-like edifice.
Block hurried up beside him. “I’m coming in with you.”
Oscar shook his head. “I’m grateful for your help, my dear. I am. But Wayne’s already in enough distress tonight, and I think the more people he’s confronted with, the more it will only make things worse. It’d help me much more if you stayed here.”
Block pouted for a moment but relented. “Fine. But I’m here if you need me.”
Oscar gave Dr. Block a smile and rested his hand on her arm for a moment. Then he brought his goggles down over his eyes, opened up the oddly-shaped front door, and stepped inside.
The interior was every bit as hodgepodged as the exterior, functionality serving more purpose than any semblance of aesthetic. Various types of car lights plated the ceiling in rows and a wad of wires ran down one of corners of the wall to a series of car batteries lined up on the floor. The place was only sparsely furnished, if one could even really call the assorted seat upholstery and gutted car cushions a sort of furniture.
Nevertheless, Oscar remained in completely wonderment. Especially at the centerpiece of the room where there was a fairly large staircase made of truck grills leading up to an entire second floor.
For a few moments, Oscar could only gape around before he finally found his voice. “Wayne?” he called out. “Wayne, it’s me!” He walked around across the room, glancing around for the person he so desperately needed to find.
“Oscar?”
Oscar whirled around toward the voice, looking over in a doorway on the left side of the room.
“Wayne!” He took in the sight of his brother. He didn’t look to be hurt, and there something different in the way he carried himself. Oscar couldn’t help but break into a smile as he saw Wayne wearing his goggles and reached up to straighten his own, somehow feeling as though things would be okay again now that they matched once more.
“Wayne….this place…it’s amazing,” Oscar said, honestly in awe. “You really made this?”
“Yeah.” Wayne couldn’t help but feel pride at the structure he had created. “I never…knew what I was capable of.” He held a hand over the floor and lifted a chunk of metal out without touching it. “Like that? It’s kind of cool, isn’t it? I had no idea I could do that.” He fused the metal back into the floor.
Oscar watched the bright bolts from his brother’s hand. “So you...you can really…?”
“Yes,” Wayne answered quietly. “I’ve tried to hide it for such a long time but, well…” He shrugged and let bright energy swirl up around him. “There’s no hiding it anymore. This is me.”
Oscar began walking over to his brother. “I...I have so many questions about all this, but at the same time I think I understand some things now in hindsight. I can’t believe that you hid something like this from me to be honest, but we can sort things out when we get home.”
“Home?” Wayne shook his head, taking several steps back as Oscar approached. “I can’t go home. Not after what happened at the conference. I think it’ll be better for everyone if I just stay here. Out here I can let this happen-” He sent a few small bolts spiraling down around his arms. “-without worrying about hurting anyone. Least of all you.”
Oscar stared at him, and was at a complete loss for words for several seconds. “I think that is possibly the stupidest thing I have ever heard you say,” he finally uttered. “You can’t seriously just stay out here.”
“Well it’s better than the alternative.” Wayne bristled slightly at the way Oscar was taking this. He wasn’t sure what reaction he’d expected but derision was not it. “I admit, I haven’t had a chance to think very far ahead, but I’d much prefer to keep everyone else out of harm’s way. The lightning can do amazing things, yes, but it can also be dangerous. You saw what it did to the chandeliers and on the bridge. Out here there’s far less chance of someone getting caught up in it. Speaking of which...” He put a hand on the stair railing and took a few steps up. “I think you should leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Oscar said firmly. “Not without you.” He moved to follow his brother. “Wayne, you’re the most brilliant person I know, so would you just think about this for a minute? Okay, you don’t want to hurt anyone. I’m pretty sure you’re also going to want, you know, running water. As amazing as this place is, it’s made of old cars. Are you going to hack together something from dirty old exhaust pipes?”
“As I said, I haven’t gone through all the details yet. I’ll work something out, I’m sure.” He had a good point, Wayne realized, but the older scientist was suddenly much more preoccupied with how close Oscar was getting to him. He retreated more quickly up the stairs, pulling himself to his full height and injecting all the authority he had into his voice. “Oscar, go back home. You still have a life, and for once you’ll be able to actually live it without me dragging you down. You said earlier that you don’t require my permission for what to do with your life. Well I don’t need yours for what I do with mine. So go get engaged to Dr. What’s-her-name or whatever. I mean, I do wish you’d at least date her for a while first but if she makes you that happy, go for it. Just please, leave me be.”
“And what exactly are you doing with you doing with your life, Wayne? You do realize that all of your things are at the house, right? So you would have to at the very least come home for some freaking clothes. Again, not that you could even wash anything up here without any water. And what about all your science equipment and stuff? And even if you can generate electricity and stick a refrigerator in a corner somewhere, you have to still go out and buy groceries. You can’t just lock yourself up here.”
Logic and emotions conflicted as Wayne continued to back slowly away across the second floor landing. Oscar’s arguments were entirely valid, but equally convincing was the blonde streak in his brother’s hair that, as always, provided a clear visual reminder of why he had to stay away. And neither was giving him any time to sort through the opposing arguments. “I said I’ll work it out. Alone. You think staying here is locking myself up? Locking myself up is what I had to do at home.” He gestured around to the open walls and high ceiling, sparks flowing off his hands. “Oscar, here I’m free! I’ve spent twenty years trying to hold this back for fear of others’ safety and for the first time, I don’t have to! I don’t care what I have to do to make this work, but I’m going to make it work! Alone!”
“Why?” Oscar practically begged, beginning to sound more sad than frustrated or angry. “Why do you have to be alone? There’s never been a problem we couldn’t solve together, Wayne! Why are you so scared of hurting me? You’ve never hurt me!” He took a defiant step towards the sparks beginning to crackle in the air. “And I am not letting you slam another locked door in my face!”
Wayne sidestepped instantly, pulse quickening as Oscar grew increasingly close. “For heaven’s sake, will you stay back?! I don’t always have control over it! I-It’s gotten out of hand before and-”
“But you haven’t-”
“Yes I have!” he screamed. “Oscar, do you really think you got that mark on your head because of a power outlet!?”
Oscar suddenly became quiet, and in the silence Wayne finally let out the truth he had kept in for so long.
“It was raining that night,” he began, voice beginning to quiver slightly. “You woke me up from bed becauseyou couldn’t sleep and wanted to play. I…I had no idea about the lightning. It just happened, and I couldn’t stop it. Mom and Dad weren’t in the room. When they came in, they blamed it on the storm- on a power surge that must have arced off a socket and hit you, and that’s been the story all this time. But the truth, what’s always been the truth, is that I nearly killed you.” His trembling hands clenched into fists as larger bolts flew from them.
“I was only eight years old, Oscar,” Wayne said. “But I knew that you weren’t ever going to be safe near me again. I had to protect you, even if it hurt. No matter how much it hurt. Because…because I’d rather you hate me than be dead because of me!”
Slowly, Oscar put a hand to his hair just over his right ear. “If that’s true...Wayne, that was nearly twenty years ago. From the sound of things, it was an accident. I’m not dead. And I don’t hate you either. Just come back with me and we’ll work it out together.”
Oscar moved towards him and Wayne quickly stepped backward, palms out. “Oscar, please, just stay back-” Lightning leapt from his fingers to strike the floor between the two and Wayne gasped, recoiling. Dread washed over him and he hurried to aim his hands anywhere other than at Oscar, but it was too late. Bolts began to sizzle all around him. “No, no, no…”
Oscar paused when a bolt struck just a few feet from his shoe and stopped trying to move closer. “Okay, I’ll stay back,” he said. “But I’m not leaving. Just calm down for a minute and tell me how I can I help.”
“By going away!” Wayne supplied instantly.
“Other than that!” Oscar shot back. “I’m not leaving you here.”
“Oscar, please, you’ll only make it worse!” Wayne tried to shrink away from his brother, but found to his horror that he had backed himself up against the wall. He was slipping, unable to keep control, and as his emotions rose higher, so did the amount of lightning surrounding him. It leapt out in jagged, violent paths. “Go!”
But Oscar still refused to back off. How could he, when his brother was in so much turmoil? He braced himself as the swirling static pulled at his coat and held out empty hands in an effort to decrease the tension. “It’ll be okay, Wayne,” he promised over the loud crackling. “You don’t have to be afraid-”
“Don’t have to be afraid?! Are you blind?!” Wayne shrieked, pressing as far back into the wall as he could as the hot streaks bit at the metal around him, so terribly close to his little brother.
“We’ll get through it, the two of us!” Oscar repeated. “Just calm down! I’m not leaving without you!”
Wayne could hardly hear Oscar, the sizzling and crackling of lightning the only real sound in his ears. The dangerous popping and hissing grew louder the more he struggled to rein it in. Wayne cowered back further, curling in on himself as his brother stubbornly stayed where he was. The thought of Oscar being hit only fueled his fears and made the lightning more intense, which kept the cycle escalating out of any possible means for control.
“Oscar, please! I can’t do this!” Wayne gripped his hair and squeezed his eyes shut, overwhelmed and terrified almost beyond reason. Why did Oscar follow him? Why couldn’t he just stay away? Why did he always try to help instead of just saving himself? A wave of lightning exploded from Wayne and he shuddered helplessly.
A sharp gasp and the sudden smell of burning material made Wayne’s eyes snap open and what he saw made his blood freeze within his veins and even the lightning that was on his fingertips dissipated.
Oscar was collapsed on his knees, clutching at his chest in what Wayne could only assume was belated terror. “I-I’m okay,” he tried to tell Wayne, already attempting to stand back up again despite his shaking. “I’m f-fine.”
Wayne didn’t know what he had hit, but it had been enough to scare his brother. Maybe it had shown him the truth of the danger.
“Oscar? What’s going on? I heard a bunch of screaming.” Dr. Block raced into the doorway from the stairs, stopping short at the sight of Oscar staggering to his feet and the taller scientist pressed back against the wall.
“Why the hell is she here?” Wayne demanded. Too many things were happening too fast. “You didn’t just come by yourself, you brought somebody else to get hurt?!”
“She helped me to find you.” Oscar accepted Block’s hand as she helped him upright.
“Get out!” Wayne ordered. “Before the lightning does any real damage! I left for a reason and hopefully now you see what it is!”
“Dr. Schlumper, I-”
“It’s Insano now!” he screamed. “Wayne Schlumper doesn’t exist anymore! Dr. Insano is all that’s left! Both of you, get out!”
“I’m not leaving you,” Oscar said, his quivering voice letting Wayne know he was struggling to keep from crying.
But Wayne had made up his mind, and though his heart broke as he uttered his next words, they were absolute. He was going to end this for good, whatever the price.
“Yes. You. Are.”
He planted his feet firmly as lightning shot from his fingertips into the floor, ripping apart the walls below him that weren't structurally critical and bringing them up to stand between him and Oscar. The entire building shuddered and his brother tripped backward as Wayne pulled and pushed at the metal, emptying countless volts into the frames and making the air smell of smoke as he welded the pieces together. Oscar stared from the ground, transfixed as metal legs and arms quickly grew into something humanoid.
Wayne gritted his teeth, trying to force his concentration into the building and nothing else. There were more cars. He could repair the hole he was tearing in the floor.
But there was no repairing the hole he was tearing in his heart.
A tinted windshield slid in front of where eyes should be and the now-towering giant flexed massive fingers.
“Get out!”
A jolt of electricity to the back carried with it command signals: Right leg step. Left leg step. Right arm reach. Right hand close.
Dr. Block cried out as giant fingers wrapped around her, twisting in vain against them.
Oscar also struggled as he was lifted from the smooth tile. “Wayne!” he cried out, his voice strained and desperate.
Wayne focused hard on controlling the machine, doing his damnedest to block that voice out.
Right leg step. Left leg step. Down the stairs. Out the main door. As far away as possible.
The robot marched the two down the side of the hill until it was at the edge of the ring of light that spilled out of the fortress. Sending a last, well-aimed ball of electrical signals into the machine's back, Wayne ordered the hands to open and drop them.
Right leg step back. Left leg step back.
He raised both arms above his head, feeling static surround him and pull at his coat. Metal plates from the unused cars buried themselves in a wide perimeter around his castle, welding together into an eight foot wall and sealing out the rest of the world.
Sealing out his brother.
Right leg step back. Left leg step back. He recalled the giant robot until it stood just outside his door, then let it go dormant.
Wayne sank down to the nearest detached car seat, head in his hands. He could repair the floor later. Oscar was safe. It was for his own good.
But it was the most hollow of victories.
Authors: lizynob and lorafantastory
Pairings: Oscar/Block as the Anna/Hans dynamic
Characters: Oscar Schlumper, Wayne Schlumper, Dr. Block, Dr. Tease, minor mentions of Party Mania characters
Word Count: 47,002
Warnings: Descriptions of anxiety, some bullying, angst, references to death
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Epilogue, Bonus Content
Strike For Fear
The ride up the hill was filled with sporadic moments of conversation and silence as Oscar tried to process the recent events in his life. He wasn’t sure exactly how deep in shock he was, but substantial paradigm shifts were taking place, spurred on even more since Dr. Block would often throw out a question or two when he got to be quiet for too long.
“So your brother’s worn electrical gloves for twenty years or so and you’ve never asked about that ever?” Block inquired after several minutes of Oscar staring straight ahead without so much as muttering.
“He’s worn them almost as far back as I can remember,” Oscar admitted. “It was such a normal part of life that it never occurred to me to question it. He’s always had a thing about touch so maybe he just didn’t like bacteria or something, how would I know?” He shook his head a little. “I know it sounds odd when you say it out loud, but that was just who he was.”
Block looked more than a little incredulous. “You two don’t really talk much, do you?”
Oscar frowned a little, a hint of sadness tinging his voice. “No, not really. I try, sometimes, but outside of science the conversation rarely goes very far. Ever since we were young Wayne’s been rather closed off. I think I’m starting to understand why.”
“Yeah, the whole having lightning coming out of his hands might have had something to do with that,” Block noted before pointing up ahead to the side of the pavement. “Take a right up here.”
Oscar obeyed and turned onto a gravel road that took them off the main path and higher up onto the ridge.
“...in my defense, that’s not a very guessable reason for why your brother always gives you the cold shoulder,” he said.
“Fair enough,” Block agreed. “I can’t say that would be my first assumption either. But, like, there weren’t any other clues? You’re brilliant, Oscar, you must have noticed something.”
“It’s hard to notice much when Wayne would just hole up in his room constantly. Sometimes I could go weeks and barely see him at all.” He sighed softly. “I suppose I’m even less brilliant compared to him than I thought because this is all news to me.” He was silent for a little while again but tried to wipe the dejected look off his face. “Could you open the glove box and get the pair of goggles that are there?” he asked politely.
Block did so and sure enough found a slightly odd-looking pair of spiraled lenses. “Uh, what are these and why do you have them?” she questioned as she looked over them. “And please tell you you’re not going to wear them and drive at the same time.”
“No, they’re not for driving, Oscar said, taking them and sliding them up on his forehead. “They’re a precaution in case things get too...bright.”
Block was about to press for more answers but paused and squinted through the darkness. “Wait, what’s that?”
“Where?”
“Over off to the side of the road, in the tree line a little bit. It looks like burn marks.”
Oscar pulled the car over and stepped out eagerly, leaving the headlights on to shed some light into the woods. Block followed and the two of them made their way cautiously into the trees. Sure enough, the grass and trees were scattered with chips and burns where something had charred the bark and cut patches from the weeds. One small tree had cracked entirely in half.
“This looks like lightning strikes, but on a much smaller scale than usual,” Block murmured, examining one of the trees.
Something in the grass caught Oscar’s eye and he bent to retrieve it. “Wayne’s other glove,” he confirmed, tucking it into his coat with its twin. “But I’ve no idea how long ago he was here. Or if he’s all right. This…” He glanced around at the charred trees. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. I just hope he isn’t hurt.”
“We know we’re on the right track at least,” Block said. “Come on, let’s go on a little farther.”
“Okay,” Oscar agreed immediately and the two kept walking. Oscar periodically called out for his brother, hoping Wayne might be close enough to answer, hoping he even would answer if he heard and not just run away even further.
They walked and walked, stumbling on the uneven ground in the darkness until there was finally some sort of light in distance. It wasn’t the cracking white hot light of lightning, but it was light.
As they approached, the trees thinned until finally the emerged into a vast open clearing. The sight ahead of him took Oscar’s breath away.
A huge structure rose out of the ground a few dozen yards from the tree line. Walls of metal folded around each other, stretching up towards the night sky. A dozen different colors littered the patchwork surface, seemingly welded together in no particular order other than what was structurally necessary. They were pieces of cars, Oscar realized, catching sight of the dozens of tires that ran around the building’s base. The lights were coming from inside the thing, shining almost welcomingly out from various windows and doorways that had been left open to the air. A set of well-positioned headlights illuminated what appeared to be a front entrance constructed out of the back doors of a massive tractor trailer.
Oscar took a few awed steps closer to the fortress-like edifice.
Block hurried up beside him. “I’m coming in with you.”
Oscar shook his head. “I’m grateful for your help, my dear. I am. But Wayne’s already in enough distress tonight, and I think the more people he’s confronted with, the more it will only make things worse. It’d help me much more if you stayed here.”
Block pouted for a moment but relented. “Fine. But I’m here if you need me.”
Oscar gave Dr. Block a smile and rested his hand on her arm for a moment. Then he brought his goggles down over his eyes, opened up the oddly-shaped front door, and stepped inside.
The interior was every bit as hodgepodged as the exterior, functionality serving more purpose than any semblance of aesthetic. Various types of car lights plated the ceiling in rows and a wad of wires ran down one of corners of the wall to a series of car batteries lined up on the floor. The place was only sparsely furnished, if one could even really call the assorted seat upholstery and gutted car cushions a sort of furniture.
Nevertheless, Oscar remained in completely wonderment. Especially at the centerpiece of the room where there was a fairly large staircase made of truck grills leading up to an entire second floor.
For a few moments, Oscar could only gape around before he finally found his voice. “Wayne?” he called out. “Wayne, it’s me!” He walked around across the room, glancing around for the person he so desperately needed to find.
“Oscar?”
Oscar whirled around toward the voice, looking over in a doorway on the left side of the room.
“Wayne!” He took in the sight of his brother. He didn’t look to be hurt, and there something different in the way he carried himself. Oscar couldn’t help but break into a smile as he saw Wayne wearing his goggles and reached up to straighten his own, somehow feeling as though things would be okay again now that they matched once more.
“Wayne….this place…it’s amazing,” Oscar said, honestly in awe. “You really made this?”
“Yeah.” Wayne couldn’t help but feel pride at the structure he had created. “I never…knew what I was capable of.” He held a hand over the floor and lifted a chunk of metal out without touching it. “Like that? It’s kind of cool, isn’t it? I had no idea I could do that.” He fused the metal back into the floor.
Oscar watched the bright bolts from his brother’s hand. “So you...you can really…?”
“Yes,” Wayne answered quietly. “I’ve tried to hide it for such a long time but, well…” He shrugged and let bright energy swirl up around him. “There’s no hiding it anymore. This is me.”
Oscar began walking over to his brother. “I...I have so many questions about all this, but at the same time I think I understand some things now in hindsight. I can’t believe that you hid something like this from me to be honest, but we can sort things out when we get home.”
“Home?” Wayne shook his head, taking several steps back as Oscar approached. “I can’t go home. Not after what happened at the conference. I think it’ll be better for everyone if I just stay here. Out here I can let this happen-” He sent a few small bolts spiraling down around his arms. “-without worrying about hurting anyone. Least of all you.”
Oscar stared at him, and was at a complete loss for words for several seconds. “I think that is possibly the stupidest thing I have ever heard you say,” he finally uttered. “You can’t seriously just stay out here.”
“Well it’s better than the alternative.” Wayne bristled slightly at the way Oscar was taking this. He wasn’t sure what reaction he’d expected but derision was not it. “I admit, I haven’t had a chance to think very far ahead, but I’d much prefer to keep everyone else out of harm’s way. The lightning can do amazing things, yes, but it can also be dangerous. You saw what it did to the chandeliers and on the bridge. Out here there’s far less chance of someone getting caught up in it. Speaking of which...” He put a hand on the stair railing and took a few steps up. “I think you should leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Oscar said firmly. “Not without you.” He moved to follow his brother. “Wayne, you’re the most brilliant person I know, so would you just think about this for a minute? Okay, you don’t want to hurt anyone. I’m pretty sure you’re also going to want, you know, running water. As amazing as this place is, it’s made of old cars. Are you going to hack together something from dirty old exhaust pipes?”
“As I said, I haven’t gone through all the details yet. I’ll work something out, I’m sure.” He had a good point, Wayne realized, but the older scientist was suddenly much more preoccupied with how close Oscar was getting to him. He retreated more quickly up the stairs, pulling himself to his full height and injecting all the authority he had into his voice. “Oscar, go back home. You still have a life, and for once you’ll be able to actually live it without me dragging you down. You said earlier that you don’t require my permission for what to do with your life. Well I don’t need yours for what I do with mine. So go get engaged to Dr. What’s-her-name or whatever. I mean, I do wish you’d at least date her for a while first but if she makes you that happy, go for it. Just please, leave me be.”
“And what exactly are you doing with you doing with your life, Wayne? You do realize that all of your things are at the house, right? So you would have to at the very least come home for some freaking clothes. Again, not that you could even wash anything up here without any water. And what about all your science equipment and stuff? And even if you can generate electricity and stick a refrigerator in a corner somewhere, you have to still go out and buy groceries. You can’t just lock yourself up here.”
Logic and emotions conflicted as Wayne continued to back slowly away across the second floor landing. Oscar’s arguments were entirely valid, but equally convincing was the blonde streak in his brother’s hair that, as always, provided a clear visual reminder of why he had to stay away. And neither was giving him any time to sort through the opposing arguments. “I said I’ll work it out. Alone. You think staying here is locking myself up? Locking myself up is what I had to do at home.” He gestured around to the open walls and high ceiling, sparks flowing off his hands. “Oscar, here I’m free! I’ve spent twenty years trying to hold this back for fear of others’ safety and for the first time, I don’t have to! I don’t care what I have to do to make this work, but I’m going to make it work! Alone!”
“Why?” Oscar practically begged, beginning to sound more sad than frustrated or angry. “Why do you have to be alone? There’s never been a problem we couldn’t solve together, Wayne! Why are you so scared of hurting me? You’ve never hurt me!” He took a defiant step towards the sparks beginning to crackle in the air. “And I am not letting you slam another locked door in my face!”
Wayne sidestepped instantly, pulse quickening as Oscar grew increasingly close. “For heaven’s sake, will you stay back?! I don’t always have control over it! I-It’s gotten out of hand before and-”
“But you haven’t-”
“Yes I have!” he screamed. “Oscar, do you really think you got that mark on your head because of a power outlet!?”
Oscar suddenly became quiet, and in the silence Wayne finally let out the truth he had kept in for so long.
“It was raining that night,” he began, voice beginning to quiver slightly. “You woke me up from bed becauseyou couldn’t sleep and wanted to play. I…I had no idea about the lightning. It just happened, and I couldn’t stop it. Mom and Dad weren’t in the room. When they came in, they blamed it on the storm- on a power surge that must have arced off a socket and hit you, and that’s been the story all this time. But the truth, what’s always been the truth, is that I nearly killed you.” His trembling hands clenched into fists as larger bolts flew from them.
“I was only eight years old, Oscar,” Wayne said. “But I knew that you weren’t ever going to be safe near me again. I had to protect you, even if it hurt. No matter how much it hurt. Because…because I’d rather you hate me than be dead because of me!”
Slowly, Oscar put a hand to his hair just over his right ear. “If that’s true...Wayne, that was nearly twenty years ago. From the sound of things, it was an accident. I’m not dead. And I don’t hate you either. Just come back with me and we’ll work it out together.”
Oscar moved towards him and Wayne quickly stepped backward, palms out. “Oscar, please, just stay back-” Lightning leapt from his fingers to strike the floor between the two and Wayne gasped, recoiling. Dread washed over him and he hurried to aim his hands anywhere other than at Oscar, but it was too late. Bolts began to sizzle all around him. “No, no, no…”
Oscar paused when a bolt struck just a few feet from his shoe and stopped trying to move closer. “Okay, I’ll stay back,” he said. “But I’m not leaving. Just calm down for a minute and tell me how I can I help.”
“By going away!” Wayne supplied instantly.
“Other than that!” Oscar shot back. “I’m not leaving you here.”
“Oscar, please, you’ll only make it worse!” Wayne tried to shrink away from his brother, but found to his horror that he had backed himself up against the wall. He was slipping, unable to keep control, and as his emotions rose higher, so did the amount of lightning surrounding him. It leapt out in jagged, violent paths. “Go!”
But Oscar still refused to back off. How could he, when his brother was in so much turmoil? He braced himself as the swirling static pulled at his coat and held out empty hands in an effort to decrease the tension. “It’ll be okay, Wayne,” he promised over the loud crackling. “You don’t have to be afraid-”
“Don’t have to be afraid?! Are you blind?!” Wayne shrieked, pressing as far back into the wall as he could as the hot streaks bit at the metal around him, so terribly close to his little brother.
“We’ll get through it, the two of us!” Oscar repeated. “Just calm down! I’m not leaving without you!”
Wayne could hardly hear Oscar, the sizzling and crackling of lightning the only real sound in his ears. The dangerous popping and hissing grew louder the more he struggled to rein it in. Wayne cowered back further, curling in on himself as his brother stubbornly stayed where he was. The thought of Oscar being hit only fueled his fears and made the lightning more intense, which kept the cycle escalating out of any possible means for control.
“Oscar, please! I can’t do this!” Wayne gripped his hair and squeezed his eyes shut, overwhelmed and terrified almost beyond reason. Why did Oscar follow him? Why couldn’t he just stay away? Why did he always try to help instead of just saving himself? A wave of lightning exploded from Wayne and he shuddered helplessly.
A sharp gasp and the sudden smell of burning material made Wayne’s eyes snap open and what he saw made his blood freeze within his veins and even the lightning that was on his fingertips dissipated.
Oscar was collapsed on his knees, clutching at his chest in what Wayne could only assume was belated terror. “I-I’m okay,” he tried to tell Wayne, already attempting to stand back up again despite his shaking. “I’m f-fine.”
Wayne didn’t know what he had hit, but it had been enough to scare his brother. Maybe it had shown him the truth of the danger.
“Oscar? What’s going on? I heard a bunch of screaming.” Dr. Block raced into the doorway from the stairs, stopping short at the sight of Oscar staggering to his feet and the taller scientist pressed back against the wall.
“Why the hell is she here?” Wayne demanded. Too many things were happening too fast. “You didn’t just come by yourself, you brought somebody else to get hurt?!”
“She helped me to find you.” Oscar accepted Block’s hand as she helped him upright.
“Get out!” Wayne ordered. “Before the lightning does any real damage! I left for a reason and hopefully now you see what it is!”
“Dr. Schlumper, I-”
“It’s Insano now!” he screamed. “Wayne Schlumper doesn’t exist anymore! Dr. Insano is all that’s left! Both of you, get out!”
“I’m not leaving you,” Oscar said, his quivering voice letting Wayne know he was struggling to keep from crying.
But Wayne had made up his mind, and though his heart broke as he uttered his next words, they were absolute. He was going to end this for good, whatever the price.
“Yes. You. Are.”
He planted his feet firmly as lightning shot from his fingertips into the floor, ripping apart the walls below him that weren't structurally critical and bringing them up to stand between him and Oscar. The entire building shuddered and his brother tripped backward as Wayne pulled and pushed at the metal, emptying countless volts into the frames and making the air smell of smoke as he welded the pieces together. Oscar stared from the ground, transfixed as metal legs and arms quickly grew into something humanoid.
Wayne gritted his teeth, trying to force his concentration into the building and nothing else. There were more cars. He could repair the hole he was tearing in the floor.
But there was no repairing the hole he was tearing in his heart.
A tinted windshield slid in front of where eyes should be and the now-towering giant flexed massive fingers.
“Get out!”
A jolt of electricity to the back carried with it command signals: Right leg step. Left leg step. Right arm reach. Right hand close.
Dr. Block cried out as giant fingers wrapped around her, twisting in vain against them.
Oscar also struggled as he was lifted from the smooth tile. “Wayne!” he cried out, his voice strained and desperate.
Wayne focused hard on controlling the machine, doing his damnedest to block that voice out.
Right leg step. Left leg step. Down the stairs. Out the main door. As far away as possible.
The robot marched the two down the side of the hill until it was at the edge of the ring of light that spilled out of the fortress. Sending a last, well-aimed ball of electrical signals into the machine's back, Wayne ordered the hands to open and drop them.
Right leg step back. Left leg step back.
He raised both arms above his head, feeling static surround him and pull at his coat. Metal plates from the unused cars buried themselves in a wide perimeter around his castle, welding together into an eight foot wall and sealing out the rest of the world.
Sealing out his brother.
Right leg step back. Left leg step back. He recalled the giant robot until it stood just outside his door, then let it go dormant.
Wayne sank down to the nearest detached car seat, head in his hands. He could repair the floor later. Oscar was safe. It was for his own good.
But it was the most hollow of victories.