[ Alec and "his little Corvus friend" exchange a brief look, one of Alec's eyebrows arching. The crow caws abruptly, loudly. A corvid guffaw. Apparently that's a yes. ]
You're not gonna go all mad scientist on me, are you? I don't really have the time. I just wanna know how much you know and be home in time for dinner.
[It’s his turn to arch a brow, though he does cast his look around their surroundings first—where are they?—before he settles his eyes on Alec again.]
How much I know? About what? You?
[A huff of laughter.]
Alexander Brennan. Blackmailer and hacker extraordinaire, right? Your “mercenary” work deals with the less scrupulous sorts, but isn’t that just how mercenary life is? I admit, I’m not terribly familiar myself.
[He gestures at him.]
Why? Are you worried? Is that what this is about? I promise you, whatever sordid history or further… tricks up your sleeve you so obviously possess, all of that pales in comparison to getting Henry back. Frankly, I don’t care about the skeletons in your closet if you can give me what I want.
[A lying liar. What did he just do? Why the animal? Of course he cares now.]
Ooh. "Extraordinaire." I hope that's in all your files.
[ That it's in there at all annoys him, but hey. At this moment, it's not the point. ]
Also, don't you lie to me, doc. Don't think I don't notice you looking at me and my little friend here like the next thing you wanna slap a number on and keep locked away in your fancy underground fortress. The point is that I'm not giving you anything. Least of all Henry.
[Because Eight escaped, One killed everyone except for Eleven, and then Eleven ran away, too. The program doesn’t even have last legs to stand on.]
This isn’t even about that project anymore. This is about keeping people safe. I don’t know what Henry’s told you, or what he’s promised you, but you don’t know the things he’s capable of. The way he’s put our entire world in danger on more than one occasion.
[ "We don't do that anymore", like locking up kids and replacing their names with numbers is a bad habit you can just drop. Alec looks skeptical at best.
But Brenner's moving on, and so is he. One eyebrow quirks again. ]
No, I know. I know perfectly fucking well, actually. What was that you told me earlier? That you "know more about him than anyone"?
You're wrong, my guy. You don't even know how wrong you are.
[I mean he would LOVE to do it again. But he needs a test subject for that to even happen. But even Brenner knows that isn’t the right angle to argue. Not with this man — he just has to figure out what is.
He smiles, almost amused.]
And you think you know better? I’ve known him for years. I’ve watched him grow up over that time and I know what kind of man he is.
Did you know he tried to kill his entire family, and left his real father in jail to rot? [No Brenner, the last part was arranged by the government.] Did you know that he killed all but one of the children back in the lab, just so he could harvest their abilities? Did you know that he was poking holes in our reality so he could destroy everything?
He’s a monster. But I still love him, and I need to help him.
[ If Brenner was hoping for some grand reveal, Alec goes from skeptical to unimpressed in record time. ]
You have yet to tell me anything I don't know. Except maybe that last part. You love him?
[ Alec takes a step closer. And another. And another. Advancing like a predator. There's only so many places for Brenner to go before he backs into a wall. If there's a way out, it's not apparent from this room. ]
Just what does that love look like, huh? Like this?
[ He once again snaps a hand out, fingers curling tight around the doctor's throat to deliver, surprise surprise, an electric shock. And when it's over, Alec simply lets go. If the guy falls over, not his fault. ]
[Brenner has enough sense to back up with each step, but soon he just bumps up against a wall, and then Alec's fingers are tight around his throat.
So this is how it's going to be? What on earth did Henry tell him, how could he have told him everything and this man not so much as bli-
Electricity surges through him, seizes up muscles and nerves alike, and Brenner jolts, convulsing, and collapses straight onto the ground with a grimace. His jaw's locked at first, and the world's once more tilted at an angle to disorient, but he knows what's happening. He's seen it in all his most misbehaved children.
That doesn't mean it's any more pleasant. When his tongue can form words, he's still on the ground, scraping at the floor with his nails to force his brain to reorient with physical touch, but he can still remark back-]
Children... need discipline. Powerful children need even more-- Do you really think I doled out punishment because I... Because I wanted to? He would have killed everyone if he wasn't kept in check!
[ To say Alec didn't find that satisfying would be a barefaced lie. The man crumples to the floor and Alec feels vindicated. ]
Children need grace, you piece of shit. They need love, and sacrifice, and the room to make mistakes.
[ Alec gets down on his haunches. In the already dim space, with only scant beams of natural light poking through boarded up windows, his shadow crowds over the doctor. Temp remains perched on his shoulder, and in the eyes of both crow and man, low light flickers warningly. ]
He killed everyone anyway because you treated him like a prisoner.
[The way he looks up at Alec is almost indignantly unbelieving.]
He killed everyone… because he’s always been inclined to. He’s violent and unpredictable. You want to argue nature versus nurture? I can assure you that the former applies.
[What does this man know? What sob story did Henry Creel spin to paint him as the villain?
Brenner tries to push himself back up on his palms.]
He must really have his hooks in you, Mr. Brennan. What did he promise you in exchange for this misplaced loyalty of yours?
[ He just crouches there, watches this poor, sad man try to push himself up. Alec's eyes search Brenner's face, like he's looking for some spark of realization, no matter how small. There's indignance to spare. Disbelief.
And nothing more. ]
You really don't know Henry at all. This isn't about what he's promised me. It's about what I promised him.
[It’s clear there’s a connection between Henry and Alec that Brenner direly underestimated, though he still chalks it up to Henry’s utterly manipulative nature. Those polite smiles, pretending at friendship. Did this man fall for it, too?
Alec’s shoe jostles him back, but Brenner takes that momentum to ease up on his knees. He scoffs, smiling.]
Though that smile tells Alec that this man still thinks he's going to get out of this one way or another. Poor guy really has no idea how outclassed he is. ]
I was just hoping you'd go out realizing you were the bad guy all along. So much for that, huh? Poor, poor Papa can do no wrong.
[Poor, poor Papa just doesn't quite get how out of his league he is, no. He might have dealt with psychic children, and the consequences of letting your psychic children get out of hand (parallel dimensions, monsters, and the like), but magic is something utterly unknown to him. He assumes that Alec possesses abilities he's never seen before--given the manner of how he even arrived here--but he doesn't understand to what extent.
But maybe he will.
He wheedles a little, with his words. Provokes. Grab at him again, why don't you?]
And what would you know? About family. [About caring for them, wanting the best for them, and doing anything necessary to ensure they reach their full potential. Those were still his kids. He still watched them grow up -- and Henry, he was there with him for the longest. Maybe Brenner does love them, in his own twisted, abusive way.] I wouldn't exactly call the state of what's left of yours ideal.
[ Alec cuts Brenner a look. Someone's done their research, and maybe once upon a time that remark would have lit a fire under him. Now, though? After all he's seen and done and been through in regards to his own issues? Doesn't even phase him. He's got a family, one that means more to him than his own flesh and blood ever did. ]
Is that supposed to get a rise out of me? Cute.
[ Still, he does reach for Brenner. Not to strike, but in an attempt to haul him back to his feet. ]
[How's he supposed to know about your Shadow-facing, team-bonding experiences? Gross.
Maybe it's not as satisfying, being unable to get a rise out of this man. Brenner is good with cloying words, good with manipulation, but he just doesn't have a proper foothold on who Alec is, what he's been through, or what his real dynamic is with Henry. But that doesn't matter. He just wanted him close enough, that's all.
When dealing with children that might want to, you know, explode his brain, a man has to have a backup plan. It's indicative of the fact that he expected to see Henry sooner rather than later that he possesses one in his pocket right now: a simple syringe with a thin, but very sharp needle. When Alec grasps at his lapel, he reaches for it, popping off the top with his thumb in his pocket, and when he brings his hand back out, it's whipping out around the other man to try to stick the thing right in his neck.
It's more than enough sedative to down him. If he can manage it. we all know he won't]
[ Extra-dimensional prisons are a hell of a thing.
That, and Alec isn't a scared kid. He's not someone Brenner has ever had his hooks in. He can try and needle his way under his skin, but Alec knows they're just words. This man has no power.
Not even when he's literally trying to get a needle under his skin.
He sees Brenner tense, sees the flash of movement as his arm swings up, and Alec's free hand snaps up to catch him by the wrist. Let him keep guessing as whatever Alec can do, because that was fast, and if Brenner tries to push against him, he'll find him steady and unmoving. Inhumanly strong.
That strength coils tight around Brenner's wrist, squeezing tighter by small, painful degrees. ]
Nice try. Man, you really thought I was gonna bring Henry right to you, huh?
[ Will Alec break bones or will the good doctor drop his tranq first? ]
[He doesn't know how it's possible -- how this man is so damn fast, that he didn't even see him move, really. The sensation hits him first, the feeling of fingers clenching tight around his wrist, halting his momentum. The needle stops too far from its mark.
He hisses out and tries to push, but it really is like fighting against a marble statue. Like wind battering fruitlessly against stone.
Just who the hell is this man?]
Why would you- Agh! [Oh, yes, those are the bones in his wrist crying out in pain. But he hold steadfast to the syringe, ever stubborn.] Why would you want to keep him?!
[HONESTLY, to make this man want to kill for his sake? To protect him? Henry had to have manipulated him to hell and back-]
[Because it's a wildly unbelievable concept, and he will die (probably literally) on that hill unless it's spelled out for him. Because Henry Creel has never once in his life shown a capacity for empathy, for true kindness. Not a single semblance of wanting to connect with someone beyond trying to pry into their minds to bring them pain. He finds more enjoyment from the company of spiders than people; too many times, he's been more like an animal in a cage than a person, a sorry truth that led to him ultimately working as an orderly instead of utilized as a test subject. He had to be defanged for his own good and for the good of the facility.
The problem is that Brenner cannot see, or refuses to, how these are all simple consequences of a lonely boy stripped of his freedom. How that twists itself up into anger. Because that anger, too, was helpful in garnering results when psionic abilities were often jump-started by emotional responses.
Well, right now, that doesn't matter. The bones in his wrist are breaking.
And Brenner just gives out a cry of pain, dropping the syringe completely, hearing it clatter at their feet. His other hand lashes out to push at Alec's chest. Let him go, you asshole.]
Which is to say that Alec throws him again. By the broken wrist and without care, towards a pile of debris. Boxes and boards and old, dirty sheets. ]
Looks like I don't have quite that hang-up with you.
[ Alec walks over to wherever Brenner is no doubt trying to get back to his feet, the pace almost leisurely. He casts as he walks, the low, stormy purple light of his magic floating along with his movement across the room. ]
But since you don't get it, and I'd so hate for you to die ignorant, I love Henry. It's as simple as that.
[It’s also not the first time he’s been tossed about like refuse caught in a strong wind—psychic kids, remember?—but the first time it’s happened so inelegantly, which is saying a lot all things considered. Instinctively, Brenner flings his arms out to catch his balance, but he just means he lands hard on a broken wrist.
Pain flares like a knife, white behind his eyes. He cries out accordingly, though his face screws up into a grimace soon after. An almost-growl of refusal, because he is not planning on dying here—
I love Henry. It's as simple as that.
It’s almost… comical, the way that stills him, sprawled amongst a bunch of boxes and propped up on one bruised elbow. He gutters out his disbelief, like Alec’s just told him he’s a pink unicorn or something equally ridiculous.]
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enumerated) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
finalflight2023-02-25 01:18 am
no subject
You're not gonna go all mad scientist on me, are you? I don't really have the time. I just wanna know how much you know and be home in time for dinner.
no subject
How much I know? About what? You?
[A huff of laughter.]
Alexander Brennan. Blackmailer and hacker extraordinaire, right? Your “mercenary” work deals with the less scrupulous sorts, but isn’t that just how mercenary life is? I admit, I’m not terribly familiar myself.
[He gestures at him.]
Why? Are you worried? Is that what this is about? I promise you, whatever sordid history or further… tricks up your sleeve you so obviously possess, all of that pales in comparison to getting Henry back. Frankly, I don’t care about the skeletons in your closet if you can give me what I want.
[A lying liar. What did he just do? Why the animal? Of course he cares now.]
no subject
[ That it's in there at all annoys him, but hey. At this moment, it's not the point. ]
Also, don't you lie to me, doc. Don't think I don't notice you looking at me and my little friend here like the next thing you wanna slap a number on and keep locked away in your fancy underground fortress. The point is that I'm not giving you anything. Least of all Henry.
no subject
No. No… we don’t do that anymore.
[Because Eight escaped, One killed everyone except for Eleven, and then Eleven ran away, too. The program doesn’t even have last legs to stand on.]
This isn’t even about that project anymore. This is about keeping people safe. I don’t know what Henry’s told you, or what he’s promised you, but you don’t know the things he’s capable of. The way he’s put our entire world in danger on more than one occasion.
You can’t trust him.
no subject
But Brenner's moving on, and so is he. One eyebrow quirks again. ]
No, I know. I know perfectly fucking well, actually. What was that you told me earlier? That you "know more about him than anyone"?
You're wrong, my guy. You don't even know how wrong you are.
no subject
He smiles, almost amused.]
And you think you know better? I’ve known him for years. I’ve watched him grow up over that time and I know what kind of man he is.
Did you know he tried to kill his entire family, and left his real father in jail to rot? [No Brenner, the last part was arranged by the government.] Did you know that he killed all but one of the children back in the lab, just so he could harvest their abilities? Did you know that he was poking holes in our reality so he could destroy everything?
He’s a monster. But I still love him, and I need to help him.
no subject
You have yet to tell me anything I don't know. Except maybe that last part. You love him?
[ Alec takes a step closer. And another. And another. Advancing like a predator. There's only so many places for Brenner to go before he backs into a wall. If there's a way out, it's not apparent from this room. ]
Just what does that love look like, huh? Like this?
[ He once again snaps a hand out, fingers curling tight around the doctor's throat to deliver, surprise surprise, an electric shock. And when it's over, Alec simply lets go. If the guy falls over, not his fault. ]
no subject
So this is how it's going to be? What on earth did Henry tell him, how could he have told him everything and this man not so much as bli-
Electricity surges through him, seizes up muscles and nerves alike, and Brenner jolts, convulsing, and collapses straight onto the ground with a grimace. His jaw's locked at first, and the world's once more tilted at an angle to disorient, but he knows what's happening. He's seen it in all his most misbehaved children.
That doesn't mean it's any more pleasant. When his tongue can form words, he's still on the ground, scraping at the floor with his nails to force his brain to reorient with physical touch, but he can still remark back-]
Children... need discipline. Powerful children need even more-- Do you really think I doled out punishment because I... Because I wanted to? He would have killed everyone if he wasn't kept in check!
no subject
Children need grace, you piece of shit. They need love, and sacrifice, and the room to make mistakes.
[ Alec gets down on his haunches. In the already dim space, with only scant beams of natural light poking through boarded up windows, his shadow crowds over the doctor. Temp remains perched on his shoulder, and in the eyes of both crow and man, low light flickers warningly. ]
He killed everyone anyway because you treated him like a prisoner.
no subject
He killed everyone… because he’s always been inclined to. He’s violent and unpredictable. You want to argue nature versus nurture? I can assure you that the former applies.
[What does this man know? What sob story did Henry Creel spin to paint him as the villain?
Brenner tries to push himself back up on his palms.]
He must really have his hooks in you, Mr. Brennan. What did he promise you in exchange for this misplaced loyalty of yours?
no subject
And nothing more. ]
You really don't know Henry at all. This isn't about what he's promised me. It's about what I promised him.
no subject
Oh, and what did you promise him?
no subject
[ He stands, nudging Brenner in the shoulder with a foot, unkindly. Just to see how steady he is. ]
And no more you.
no subject
Alec’s shoe jostles him back, but Brenner takes that momentum to ease up on his knees. He scoffs, smiling.]
What do you plan to do? Kill me?
no subject
[ Duh.
Though that smile tells Alec that this man still thinks he's going to get out of this one way or another. Poor guy really has no idea how outclassed he is. ]
I was just hoping you'd go out realizing you were the bad guy all along. So much for that, huh? Poor, poor Papa can do no wrong.
no subject
But maybe he will.
He wheedles a little, with his words. Provokes. Grab at him again, why don't you?]
And what would you know? About family. [About caring for them, wanting the best for them, and doing anything necessary to ensure they reach their full potential. Those were still his kids. He still watched them grow up -- and Henry, he was there with him for the longest. Maybe Brenner does love them, in his own twisted, abusive way.] I wouldn't exactly call the state of what's left of yours ideal.
no subject
Is that supposed to get a rise out of me? Cute.
[ Still, he does reach for Brenner. Not to strike, but in an attempt to haul him back to his feet. ]
no subject
Maybe it's not as satisfying, being unable to get a rise out of this man. Brenner is good with cloying words, good with manipulation, but he just doesn't have a proper foothold on who Alec is, what he's been through, or what his real dynamic is with Henry. But that doesn't matter. He just wanted him close enough, that's all.
When dealing with children that might want to, you know, explode his brain, a man has to have a backup plan. It's indicative of the fact that he expected to see Henry sooner rather than later that he possesses one in his pocket right now: a simple syringe with a thin, but very sharp needle. When Alec grasps at his lapel, he reaches for it, popping off the top with his thumb in his pocket, and when he brings his hand back out, it's whipping out around the other man to try to stick the thing right in his neck.
It's more than enough sedative to down him. If he can manage it.
we all know he won't]no subject
That, and Alec isn't a scared kid. He's not someone Brenner has ever had his hooks in. He can try and needle his way under his skin, but Alec knows they're just words. This man has no power.
Not even when he's literally trying to get a needle under his skin.
He sees Brenner tense, sees the flash of movement as his arm swings up, and Alec's free hand snaps up to catch him by the wrist. Let him keep guessing as whatever Alec can do, because that was fast, and if Brenner tries to push against him, he'll find him steady and unmoving. Inhumanly strong.
That strength coils tight around Brenner's wrist, squeezing tighter by small, painful degrees. ]
Nice try. Man, you really thought I was gonna bring Henry right to you, huh?
[ Will Alec break bones or will the good doctor drop his tranq first? ]
no subject
He hisses out and tries to push, but it really is like fighting against a marble statue. Like wind battering fruitlessly against stone.
Just who the hell is this man?]
Why would you- Agh! [Oh, yes, those are the bones in his wrist crying out in pain. But he hold steadfast to the syringe, ever stubborn.] Why would you want to keep him?!
[HONESTLY, to make this man want to kill for his sake? To protect him? Henry had to have manipulated him to hell and back-]
no subject
[ Well, then, if Brenner won't let go, Alec will just keep going until he hears that satisfying crack of bone, feels it give way beneath his fingers.
Poor, poor Brenner apparently wouldn't know love if it walked up and snapped his fucking wrist. ]
no subject
The problem is that Brenner cannot see, or refuses to, how these are all simple consequences of a lonely boy stripped of his freedom. How that twists itself up into anger. Because that anger, too, was helpful in garnering results when psionic abilities were often jump-started by emotional responses.
Well, right now, that doesn't matter. The bones in his wrist are breaking.
And Brenner just gives out a cry of pain, dropping the syringe completely, hearing it clatter at their feet. His other hand lashes out to push at Alec's chest. Let him go, you asshole.]
no subject
Which is to say that Alec throws him again. By the broken wrist and without care, towards a pile of debris. Boxes and boards and old, dirty sheets. ]
Looks like I don't have quite that hang-up with you.
[ Alec walks over to wherever Brenner is no doubt trying to get back to his feet, the pace almost leisurely. He casts as he walks, the low, stormy purple light of his magic floating along with his movement across the room. ]
But since you don't get it, and I'd so hate for you to die ignorant, I love Henry. It's as simple as that.
no subject
Pain flares like a knife, white behind his eyes. He cries out accordingly, though his face screws up into a grimace soon after. An almost-growl of refusal, because he is not planning on dying here—
I love Henry. It's as simple as that.
It’s almost… comical, the way that stills him, sprawled amongst a bunch of boxes and propped up on one bruised elbow. He gutters out his disbelief, like Alec’s just told him he’s a pink unicorn or something equally ridiculous.]
You what.
[He’s sorry, but WHAT]
no subject
I'm over here doing literal magic and that's the part you get hung up on?
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