Title: Heart of the Storm
Authors:
lizynob and
lorafantastoryPairings: 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 9,
Chapter 11,
Chapter 12,
Chapter 13,
Chapter 14,
Chapter 15,
Epilogue,
Bonus Content Turn Away and Slam the Door
Dr. Block stumbled to her feet, brushing grass off her coat and gazing up at the slabs of car parts in front of them. “I don’t think that went quite as well as we’d hoped.”
Oscar hadn’t bothered to get up yet, just pushed his goggles up over his forehead and stared up at the solid metal wall Wayne had thrown in front of him. This one didn’t even have a door.
“I…I don’t get it. That isn’t my brother.” Oscar paused as he realized the mistake in his words. “No. That is my brother, who he’s been all along. He’s just had to hide it all these years.”
“A rude, short-tempered hermit?” Block mumbled, rubbing her hip where she had fallen on it.
“No,” Oscar shook his head vigorously. “He’s afraid. He’s always been afraid. I’ve just never seen it. He’s making rash decisions now because he’s scared and he doesn’t know what else to do.” He lowered his eyes forlornly. “Twenty years and I never knew.”
“Oscar...I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but we should probably go,” Block said.
“But-”
“Oscar, we’re not getting back inside. It’s late, it’s dark, we still have to find the car again, and we’ll be lucky if it’s not dead from leaving it running this whole time. You tried and that’s all you could have done. But your brother doesn’t want to be reached and he’s got a pretty good way of keeping everyone out now.”
Oscar let out a sigh, knowing that what his girlfriend was saying was true but wishing it wasn’t.
“Okay,” he said quietly. “We’ll go to the car.”
He pushed himself to his feet but staggered, suddenly lightheaded. Block hurried to steady him and he held onto her for support for a moment until everything evened out.
“Oscar, are you all right?”
“Fine, I just stood up too quickly, I think.” He let go of her and gave one last look at the wall. “I’m going to come back here tomorrow. I’m not giving up on him.”
“You still think he can be reasoned with?” Block didn’t sound certain as they made their way back to where they had left the car.
“I do. I have to. I’m not going to leave him up there to starve. I just have to find the right way to approach him. I’m sure I can-” Oscar doubled over, suddenly clutching his shirt and taking gasping breaths.
“Oscar?” Block rushed to his side. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
It took several seconds for Oscar to be able to speak and when he did, his voice wavered unsteadily.
“I-I’m okay. It’s passed now.”
“What passed?”
“I don’t know exactly. My chest just...tightened up. It’s probably from when the lightning hit me.”
“Your brother hit you with lightning?!” Block exclaimed.
“Not on purpose,” Oscar said. “It was a small bolt. I don’t think he realized it even happened.”
“It’s a wonder you’re not dead!”
“Well you know s-statistically speaking, when it comes to lightning strikes-”
“We’re not arguing this.” Block helped to steady Oscar and began more or less dragging him back towards the direction of the car.
“I can walk,” Oscar insisted mildly, even though he continued to stumble.
The walk to the car was slow and even when they finally spotted the headlights still shining in the distance, it was a struggle to make it the last few feet.
“Needless to say, you’re not driving,” Block said, opening up the passenger door where Oscar collapsed into the seat.
“H-Hopefully I just need to sit for a few minutes,” Oscar tried to reassure the both of them, but there was little conviction in his voice.
A light, jingling tune began to emanate from Block’s pocket and she pulled out a cell phone. “It’s Tease. You know what? Why don’t you stay here and rest for a bit and I’ll see what she has to say.”
Block shut the car door firmly and stepped back a few yards into the trees to answer the phone. “Block here.”
“How’s it going?” Tease sounded excited from the other end of the line. There was a crash from somewhere on her end of the connection, followed by some unintelligible shouting. “Have you acquired the target yet?”
“Not yet. This is looking to be a lot more difficult than we thought.” There was another sound like breaking glass from Tease’s end, accompanied by a howl. “Um, what’s going on over there?”
“Not a group of people who are under the impression that they’re werewolves,” Tease answered casually. “So what’s the holdup?”
“There’s more to this lightning thing than we saw. He can manipulate metal with it. Tease there is a bitchin’ techno castle up here - you have got to come see this!”
“Ooo, sounds sciencey! I’m on my way!” A door slammed somewhere near her. “What about the other one? Is he still the ticket to getting our target?”
Block frowned some. “I’m beginning to have my doubts,” she answered. “In fact, I’m thinking he’s only going to make things worse. Trying to let them talk things out was a complete disaster and waste of time. Apparently they have major issues between them. Who’d have figured? We could have a had an easy break-in and the element of surprise, and now we’re going to have to deal with a solid metal defense wall and possibly a giant robot.”
“Giant robot? I want it,” Tease said immediately, then after a pause she added, “So if he’s useless, why haven’t you gotten rid of him yet?”
“I don’t think I’m going to have to. He got hit by lightning at some point I guess. It didn’t kill him then and there, but he’s going downhill fast. We won’t even have to have to dirty our hands. But speaking of the whole thing, you might want to bring something to give your eyes a good cover. Being in point blank range can be hell on the retinas.”
Tease giggled. “I might have just the thing,” she said. “Now, I know that last time I gave you an unmarked bottle and swore they were special eye drops, that wasn’t the most accurate description. But I swear that this time, it’ll be just fine. Oooh, this is turning out to be a fantastic night,” she practically squealed. “Okay, I’ll meet you soon, and I’ll have a few little things that should help us out for the next phase of our plan.”
“Great. I’ll text you coordinates from my GPS. We won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.” Block hung up and grinned to herself.
*****
Wayne laid on his new couch, which was really just the backseat section of two vans stuck together to make something long and wide enough for him to fully sprawl out on. Misery hung over him like a fog and even though he wished he could simply sleep, an unending barrage of thoughts would not allow it.
What was he going to do?
Oscar’s arguments were solid. This fortress was liberating but it wasn’t sustainable. Perhaps he could figure out a way to get some form of food, but water was a different story. He wasn’t an expert on the geography of this area, but he couldn’t remember any rivers nearby, nor could he be certain they’d be drinkable if he found any. Creating clothes for himself was out of the question, and his coat already had a fair number of holes singed through it from the events of the past several hours.
He tossed on the van cushions as his mind refused to settle.
He had nowhere else to go. If he wanted to survive up here, he’d be forced to return to town and interact with people again in order to get by on even the basics. People who had no defense against the lightning should it get out of his control again. People like Oscar.
He buried his head under his arms as the earlier image of Oscar surrounded by so much lightning threatened to overwhelm him. He had come so close to hitting his brother once more. What if Oscar tried to come back again? What if anyone else tried to come for him?
Fear started rising in him again, reaching up as though to strangle him from within.
“No, no,” he breathed to himself, sitting up and clenching his fists as they sparked against his will. “You're Insano now. Insano is not afraid.” He closed his eyes tight and chanted softly to himself, desperate to keep the fear at bay. “Insano is not afraid. Insano is...is...”
Turn the fear into something else.
“Insano is...angry.”
The lightning obeyed him better when he was angry. If he couldn't stop it, at least he could channel it. Angry, get angry.
How dare the people in the convention hall look at him like he was a monster? He hadn't asked for this power. It wasn't his fault it rose up when he was afraid. He hadn't meant to destroy the chandeliers, and yet they screamed and ran from him.
As they should have.
Stay angry!
Oscar. How dare Oscar spring a ridiculous surprise on him and call attention to them both in the middle of a crowded hall? Even before the lightning had gotten out of hand, it had been a deeply embarrassing situation.
Wayne felt his mouth twist into a snarl. There was something he could get angry about. Deciding to just get engaged to a stranger out of nowhere? Oscar could berate him about making stupid decisions as much as he wanted, but it wasn’t like his brother had shown a whole lot of forethought with that one. What was the point of going back home just to have Oscar move in with some woman in another day or two?
Furious lightning crackled around him He drew it in close, concentrating it in his hands until both forearms were bright with blazing light. Yes, he could work with this. It felt much better to be angry than afraid.
He knelt and slammed both palms into the floor sending the energy coursing throughout the building. He ripped out unnecessary walls and shifted the ceiling around until he had patched up the holes he had torn earlier. He then sent a wave of hot energy across the floor, superheating the surface of the metal and flattening it out into a more or less smooth plane so that the rest of the damage was no longer visible.
Oscar’s opinion meant nothing. He didn’t need any help from his brother. Wayne looked on at everything he had created in a single night. If he could do all this, he could figure out the rest of his new existence too.
He just had to stay Insano.