How To Deal With Troublemakers - A fic
So I ficced... for the first time in a long time. Here's hoping, right?
Linkara could admit that by nature, he was the worrying kind. He found that a healthy worry kept him on his toes, and helped him to create the strong-guards he needed to keep his friends and boyfriend safe. Too much worry could, of course, be poisonous, but Linkara was the one dating a scruffy mad scientist, after all. Therefore, when Insano hadn't answered his phone for a few days, Linkara decided to pop over to Insano's and Spoony's place to check on him. Maybe it was nothing, or maybe something awful had happened. Either way, Linkara's mind wouldn't be soothed until he found out what was going on and could form a plan.
Using his spare key, he let himself into the house and called out: "Hey! Is anyone home?"...There was no answer from any direction. However, he could faintly hear noises coming out of Insano's lab. The sounds seemed to be a combination of both mechanical noise and some other thing that Linkara’s keener senses ought to be able to differentiate, but couldn't. Still, he breathed a sigh of relief. Unless someone had broken into the place, noise in the lab meant two associated things. Firstly, it meant that Insano was home, and secondly, said mad scientist was relatively well enough to be performing experiments. The fact that Insano had not answered Linkara at the door probably meant that he was buried in his work. Linkara would probably have to stay and make sure Insano got a meal, but really, there was probably nothing concerning going on...that is, except for the fact that there was a bound and gagged dark-skinned man wearing all black and sunglasses sitting on the lab floor as Linkara entered the room. The sound that Linkara had been unable to place turned out to be the man shuffling around and trying to talk through the tape.
At first, Linkara didn't even recognize the prisoner, and his concern that a civilian was being held in the lab in the first place was washing over him in a torrent. Swinging his gaze to Insano, who had his goggles pushed up while looking through one of the many microscopes available to him, Linkara asked, trying to keep his voice calm: "Insano...babe, what's going on here?"
Without looking away from his sample, Insano said: "I'd think you'd recognize our guest, hero." Gesturing vaguely behind himself toward the prisoner, he said, "You can't honestly tell me that he doesn't look familiar." The person in question, who had been mostly still before this point, looked up at Linkara, and his sunglasses slipped off and fell to the ground, revealing completely black eyes, narrowed in rage and frustration.
Linkara nearly tripped over his own feet in shock as the recognition hit him and he scrambled to get away. "Insano, are you out of your damned mind! That's Malechite! He's one of the most dangerous magic users there is, and you've got him trussed up like a turkey!?!"
For once, Insano's composure was as cold as ice. Still examining his sample, "I know exactly who this animal is, Linkara. Spoony still has nightmares where he wakes up screaming that this cruel man is throwing him into the sun."
The name of Insano's roommate (and Linkara’s best friend) caught the hero’s attention, even as he winced, remembering his own strange dreams that had come after the great battle for the fate of the world. "Wait a minute - you mean to tell me that Spoony knew about this?"
At this, Insano finally sat up and turned around, looking Linkara dead in the eye. "I swear to you, he has no idea what's going on here. None of the reviewers do. I absconded with this hack in the dead of night and under absolute secrecy He was working at a coffee shop, can you believe it?” His mouth quirked up slightly. “In fact, that facility had some of the best anti-magic wards I’ve ever seen.” The serious expression returned. “However, I was afraid..." Insano shuddered, which almost scared Linkara more than Malechite's presence, "I was afraid that if any of your coworkers knew he was alive, mob justice might be carried out. And like it or not, I can't exactly do analysis on a corpse." His tone, despite the grim subject matter, was calm and even, as if the science of the proceedings was all that mattered.
"Okay, two things," Linkara said, his voice starting to take an edge. "One, I-" He stopped for a second, and then continued: "- well, I'm your boyfriend, and I don't like you keeping secrets from me. It’s not nice and it’s unfair." He had been about to say, “I would never condone vigilante or templar justice", but previous events were definitely not in his favor in that regard. Also, the look Malechite had just thrown him when he'd said the word "boyfriend" was particularly unsettling. Continuing on, he said "Two, what the hell do you mean by analysis anyway?"
Insano gestured back to the microscope. "Come and see for yourself." Linkara walked over, being careful not to touch Malechite - not out of any sense of respect, but simply to stay as far away from him as possible. At Insano's urging, he leaned down to the scope, pushing up his glasses to see more closely.
On the slide was a skin sample that at first glance, looked completely normal. Linkara looked back at Malechite for a moment, and noticed a small nick on the man's neck. That must have been where the sample had come from. Trying not to concern himself too much with the wizard's fate, he turned back to the sample. His eyes went wide, for in place of the normal skin was a sample that was constantly mutating in size, shape and color.
“Insano, that’s a really pretty display and all, but you’re going to have to tell me what I’m looking at here,” he said, eyes still glued to the spectacle on the slide. He could practically hear how hard Insano rolled his eyes, but an explanation was still proffered. “Well, I’ve seen this happen before - with you.”
Linkara stood straight up and turned around to stare at his lover. “Wait, you don’t seriously mean to tell me that you’ve taken samples from me without my permission?? That’s actually kind of unethical, hun; you can’t tell me that you didn’t know that - it’s untrue and unfair to the spirit of Science, come to think of it.”
The verbal barb seemed useless, and Insano made a tssking noise in his throat. “Well, it’s not like we don’t swap enough genetic material anyway, freely given, I might add.” Linkara blushed like a furnace, and Malechite started grinning wickedly, or at least as much as he could through the tape. Linkara whirled on him and said, “Yeah, yuck it up now - just because you think we’re funny doesn’t mean you’re getting out of here.” However, the fact that Malechite’s silent laughter was showing in his black eyes was so absolutely creepy that Linkara couldn’t bear to look at him anymore and returned his gaze to Insano.
“Besides,” Insano continued, “just because you’re a more public worrier doesn’t mean that your gallivanting doesn’t concern me. I’ve got one of the few true superheroes as part of my life, and as such, if something happens to you, I - well, I want to know that I’ve got a way to bring you back.”
Malechite scoffed through his gag. Linkara wondered if the magician’s disbelief came from the fact that a scientist or a magic user were involved in the first place, or that such a scientist would actually care enough to attempt a resurrection. Either way, he clearly seemed to find the whole situation ridiculous. “How the hell,” Linkara wondered to himself, “can a guy with the clearest disadvantage in this room still act so smug and superior?”
Insano’s voice called him back to the situation at hand. “I’m sorry, Insano, can you repeat that?” This earned him a pronounced eye-roll, but Insano rewound his explanation that he’d been starting.
“I’m not taking enough genetic material from him to make a clone, if that’s what concerns you. I’ve had enough trouble securing this person; I’m not allowing a second version of him to run about. However, especially since I’ve observed this same phenomenon with your DNA, I believe that we’re witnessing the visible phenotype of a magic user. And if I can get down to the DNA component…” Insano stopped, and looked at Linkara with an expression that was so utterly, completely wounded that Linkara felt as if he himself were the one who had done something wrong. Once again maneuvering around Malechite, he gestured for Insano to continue. “If you can see the DNA component, then what, Insano?”
Insano gulped. “Well - I’ve developed a baseline serum that could shut down his magical abilities permanently.”
Linkara wouldn’t have been surprised if his jaw had come unhinged, it dropped that quickly. He looked over his shoulder at Malechite, who apparently hadn't realized that this was the end-game Insano had in mind, because he was trying to say something through the gag and was struggling violently with his bonds. Insano walked over to him, and squatting down to look him in his face, said "You left me no choice, you murderous creep."
After processing what he'd just heard, Linkara stepped between them. "Now wait a minute, Insano! You can't just rip people's magic out of them! A force field to block their powers with is one thing, but what you're talking about is genuinely horrid, even for this guy!" Malechite nodded furiously in agreement.
Insano looked at Linkara incredulously. "You can't seriously tell me that you're defending this person? You of all people know what he did - what kind of person duels a teenager like that?!You were personal witness to it! You know him for a killer and a hypocrite! I'm not proposing that we kill him;" his expression darkened, "much as he might deserve it. I'm talking about pure genetic suppression. The wards that kept him in place at his job would no longer be needed. He could walk the world the rest of his natural life, and he'd never hurt anyone again. Really, Linkara, it's the most humane thing I can suggest."
Tears were beginning to stream down Malechite's face, and Linkara felt himself moved with a genuine pity for a fellow magician. Suddenly, an awful thought occurred to him, the implications sinking in with all the force of a wrecking ball. Swallowing thickly, he asked, "And just how long *is* his natural life, Insano? Did you think of that?"
Insano opened his mouth to say something - and then stopped. "Actually, no - no I haven't. Why?"
Linkara buried his face in his hands in frustration. "Well you should have!" Linkara didn't like yelling at his boyfriend, but this was serious. Turning to Malechite, he said, "I'm going to ask some yes or no questions, so you can either nod or shake your head to answer. Got that?" Malechite nodded firmly.
"If one were to list the foremost sorcerers of the last two millennia, would you be on that list?" Malechite nodded.
"Did you start using magic when you were very young?" Malechite nodded again.
"Does using your magic wound you?" There was a smaller nod this time.
"Does it also keep you alive?" This time, the nod was more emphatic.
"Could you recover from the effects of your magician's work if you became truly mortal?" Linkara could guess at the answer, and wasn't surprised when Malechite shook his head hard enough to knock his hat askew. Linkara sighed heavily, and turned to Insano. "This plan of yours isn't humane; it's a death sentence. Malechite has no such thing as a natural life anymore."
Insano closed his eyes tight and winced as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Linkara, you're going to have to forgive my being skeptical about this. How do we know that he's not lying to you?"
"You don't have to know yourself-" Linkara took a steadying breath, and continued "-but I know from experience."
"I BEG YOUR PARDON?" Insano's tone was so disbelieving as to be almost comical in its pitch and tone.
"It's not a joke, Insano. I'm a magic user myself, right?"
"Well, of course! What’s your point?”
"Here's the thing - magic is not a necessarily human trait. The fact that it leaves a genetic marker, almost a residue, surprises me less the more that I think about it."
Insano sat up straight and seemed to be paying better attention. "Go on..."
"I didn't start using magic until I turned 20, and I try to use it sparingly. Even with those safety measures, I've noticed how it exhausts me, and last time I went to my doctor, who knows a bit about these things, he saw the strain on my heart." Insano's expression went tragic for a second and Linkara reassured him, "I didn't tell you about it because it's something that the healing of magic can rectify, and if I myself became mortal right now-" he shuddered a bit at the thought "-any valve trouble I'd have could be treated with medication."
"However," here he turned and indicated Malechite, "our acquaintance here doesn't have that option. He's used magic constantly for the better part of an existence that well outstrips the lifespan of anyone else on Earth." Malechite's breathing was getting heavy again, and Linkara said, in the most neutral tone he could manage, "If Malechite becomes fully mortal - his heart muscle would collapse instantaneously. He'd be dead within 20 seconds, if that."
While Insano had clearly comprehended what he'd been told, there was no softening of his expression. If anything, there was an even harder set to his jaw. "So that's it? There's nothing we can do to make him less of a threat without putting blood on our hands?"
"Besides returning him to his job and the care of his boss? No, there really isn't." Linkara thought of how Margaret would think of this whole situation, and added, "And really, I'm ok with that. If Malechite's employer is who I think she is, she's pretty formidable in her own right. We won't have any additional trouble from him." Malechite groaned at this assessment, but his body language still suggested an immense relief that Linkara could only begin to guess at.
Insano sighed. "Well - I suppose that's the plan then. Do you want to return him or should I?"
Linkara told him, "It'll be better if it's you. You can keep the force field on him until he's returned; I can't without getting blocked myself."
Insano nodded grimly, and walking over to Malechite, hauled him to his feet. Linkara couldn’t help wincing slightly; Insano was probably matched for weight with Malechite, but in Malechite’s current state, he was almost as loose as a rag doll in Insano’s grip. Looking the enchanter in the eye - or, as much as he could with the sunglasses now back in place, Insano asked, “Are you going to cooperate with this?” Malechite nodded.
Putting his goggles back in place, Insano said, “Good, and let’s hope it stays that way.” Keeping his grip on his prisoner, he pulled his anti-magic field generator out of his pocket, and hauled himself and Malechite out of the lab faster than Linkara might have expected. However, Linkara didn’t let himself move until he heard the car actually start. Letting out a sigh of relief, he started to walk out of the house to his own car, trusting that Insano would take care of things.
--
The trip back to the coffee shop went more quickly than might be expected, and Malechite was returned to his boss’s custody without incident. Before he left though, Insano took some small relish in ripping the gag off of his prisoner’s face and hearing him squeal in frustration. However, after he'd finished rubbing his face, Malechite started smirking in an uncomfortable way, as he had back at the lab. Insano crossed his arms and said, "All right, you, what is so damnably funny?"
Malechite's boss gave her employee a warning look, and started to say "Malechite, we do not insult customers!", but Malechite, emboldened by his quite literal lack of restraint, starting laughing in a cruel way at Insano. "You and that boy of yours are sick in the head, and maybe that's amusing, that's what! I've walked this world for 2000 years, and I never thought I'd see a magician and a scientist together! I understand it in your case, your name is Insano after all-" Insano had to shrug at the point; he'd said similarly things himself, after all. "But your boyfriend? That *child* is a weakling! You can rest assured that I would never grant him such mercy -GACK!"
Insano had leapt at him and wrapped his hands around his throat. Through gritted teeth, Insano hissed, "Linkara is a thousand times the man you are, you vile beast. He gave you more than you deserve in letting you return here. I, however, am not such a man. If there's anyone you should be afraid of, it's me!" He dropped his hands from Malechite's neck, but pointed a finger in his face. "If I hear that you get out of line, or that you insult or hurt any member of my family again - I won't hesitate to come back here and dose you with my anti-magic serum in your sleep. It was almost ready when Linkara arrived at my house, it should only take a few more days." Suddenly aware of what he was doing, he stepped back, seeing Malechite's boss with a cell phone in her hand. Insano coughed a bit and said, "Really, there's no need to call the police - I'll just be on my way." Turning on his heel, he walked out of the shop before she could stop him.
As he drove back home, a small and slightly manic smile spread across his face. "You're a blessed man, Insano," he said to himself. "You've got Science, you've got the best man in the world by your side, and you've got a way to handle your enemies. Yes indeed," he started almost whistling, "life is good."
Linkara could admit that by nature, he was the worrying kind. He found that a healthy worry kept him on his toes, and helped him to create the strong-guards he needed to keep his friends and boyfriend safe. Too much worry could, of course, be poisonous, but Linkara was the one dating a scruffy mad scientist, after all. Therefore, when Insano hadn't answered his phone for a few days, Linkara decided to pop over to Insano's and Spoony's place to check on him. Maybe it was nothing, or maybe something awful had happened. Either way, Linkara's mind wouldn't be soothed until he found out what was going on and could form a plan.
Using his spare key, he let himself into the house and called out: "Hey! Is anyone home?"...There was no answer from any direction. However, he could faintly hear noises coming out of Insano's lab. The sounds seemed to be a combination of both mechanical noise and some other thing that Linkara’s keener senses ought to be able to differentiate, but couldn't. Still, he breathed a sigh of relief. Unless someone had broken into the place, noise in the lab meant two associated things. Firstly, it meant that Insano was home, and secondly, said mad scientist was relatively well enough to be performing experiments. The fact that Insano had not answered Linkara at the door probably meant that he was buried in his work. Linkara would probably have to stay and make sure Insano got a meal, but really, there was probably nothing concerning going on...that is, except for the fact that there was a bound and gagged dark-skinned man wearing all black and sunglasses sitting on the lab floor as Linkara entered the room. The sound that Linkara had been unable to place turned out to be the man shuffling around and trying to talk through the tape.
At first, Linkara didn't even recognize the prisoner, and his concern that a civilian was being held in the lab in the first place was washing over him in a torrent. Swinging his gaze to Insano, who had his goggles pushed up while looking through one of the many microscopes available to him, Linkara asked, trying to keep his voice calm: "Insano...babe, what's going on here?"
Without looking away from his sample, Insano said: "I'd think you'd recognize our guest, hero." Gesturing vaguely behind himself toward the prisoner, he said, "You can't honestly tell me that he doesn't look familiar." The person in question, who had been mostly still before this point, looked up at Linkara, and his sunglasses slipped off and fell to the ground, revealing completely black eyes, narrowed in rage and frustration.
Linkara nearly tripped over his own feet in shock as the recognition hit him and he scrambled to get away. "Insano, are you out of your damned mind! That's Malechite! He's one of the most dangerous magic users there is, and you've got him trussed up like a turkey!?!"
For once, Insano's composure was as cold as ice. Still examining his sample, "I know exactly who this animal is, Linkara. Spoony still has nightmares where he wakes up screaming that this cruel man is throwing him into the sun."
The name of Insano's roommate (and Linkara’s best friend) caught the hero’s attention, even as he winced, remembering his own strange dreams that had come after the great battle for the fate of the world. "Wait a minute - you mean to tell me that Spoony knew about this?"
At this, Insano finally sat up and turned around, looking Linkara dead in the eye. "I swear to you, he has no idea what's going on here. None of the reviewers do. I absconded with this hack in the dead of night and under absolute secrecy He was working at a coffee shop, can you believe it?” His mouth quirked up slightly. “In fact, that facility had some of the best anti-magic wards I’ve ever seen.” The serious expression returned. “However, I was afraid..." Insano shuddered, which almost scared Linkara more than Malechite's presence, "I was afraid that if any of your coworkers knew he was alive, mob justice might be carried out. And like it or not, I can't exactly do analysis on a corpse." His tone, despite the grim subject matter, was calm and even, as if the science of the proceedings was all that mattered.
"Okay, two things," Linkara said, his voice starting to take an edge. "One, I-" He stopped for a second, and then continued: "- well, I'm your boyfriend, and I don't like you keeping secrets from me. It’s not nice and it’s unfair." He had been about to say, “I would never condone vigilante or templar justice", but previous events were definitely not in his favor in that regard. Also, the look Malechite had just thrown him when he'd said the word "boyfriend" was particularly unsettling. Continuing on, he said "Two, what the hell do you mean by analysis anyway?"
Insano gestured back to the microscope. "Come and see for yourself." Linkara walked over, being careful not to touch Malechite - not out of any sense of respect, but simply to stay as far away from him as possible. At Insano's urging, he leaned down to the scope, pushing up his glasses to see more closely.
On the slide was a skin sample that at first glance, looked completely normal. Linkara looked back at Malechite for a moment, and noticed a small nick on the man's neck. That must have been where the sample had come from. Trying not to concern himself too much with the wizard's fate, he turned back to the sample. His eyes went wide, for in place of the normal skin was a sample that was constantly mutating in size, shape and color.
“Insano, that’s a really pretty display and all, but you’re going to have to tell me what I’m looking at here,” he said, eyes still glued to the spectacle on the slide. He could practically hear how hard Insano rolled his eyes, but an explanation was still proffered. “Well, I’ve seen this happen before - with you.”
Linkara stood straight up and turned around to stare at his lover. “Wait, you don’t seriously mean to tell me that you’ve taken samples from me without my permission?? That’s actually kind of unethical, hun; you can’t tell me that you didn’t know that - it’s untrue and unfair to the spirit of Science, come to think of it.”
The verbal barb seemed useless, and Insano made a tssking noise in his throat. “Well, it’s not like we don’t swap enough genetic material anyway, freely given, I might add.” Linkara blushed like a furnace, and Malechite started grinning wickedly, or at least as much as he could through the tape. Linkara whirled on him and said, “Yeah, yuck it up now - just because you think we’re funny doesn’t mean you’re getting out of here.” However, the fact that Malechite’s silent laughter was showing in his black eyes was so absolutely creepy that Linkara couldn’t bear to look at him anymore and returned his gaze to Insano.
“Besides,” Insano continued, “just because you’re a more public worrier doesn’t mean that your gallivanting doesn’t concern me. I’ve got one of the few true superheroes as part of my life, and as such, if something happens to you, I - well, I want to know that I’ve got a way to bring you back.”
Malechite scoffed through his gag. Linkara wondered if the magician’s disbelief came from the fact that a scientist or a magic user were involved in the first place, or that such a scientist would actually care enough to attempt a resurrection. Either way, he clearly seemed to find the whole situation ridiculous. “How the hell,” Linkara wondered to himself, “can a guy with the clearest disadvantage in this room still act so smug and superior?”
Insano’s voice called him back to the situation at hand. “I’m sorry, Insano, can you repeat that?” This earned him a pronounced eye-roll, but Insano rewound his explanation that he’d been starting.
“I’m not taking enough genetic material from him to make a clone, if that’s what concerns you. I’ve had enough trouble securing this person; I’m not allowing a second version of him to run about. However, especially since I’ve observed this same phenomenon with your DNA, I believe that we’re witnessing the visible phenotype of a magic user. And if I can get down to the DNA component…” Insano stopped, and looked at Linkara with an expression that was so utterly, completely wounded that Linkara felt as if he himself were the one who had done something wrong. Once again maneuvering around Malechite, he gestured for Insano to continue. “If you can see the DNA component, then what, Insano?”
Insano gulped. “Well - I’ve developed a baseline serum that could shut down his magical abilities permanently.”
Linkara wouldn’t have been surprised if his jaw had come unhinged, it dropped that quickly. He looked over his shoulder at Malechite, who apparently hadn't realized that this was the end-game Insano had in mind, because he was trying to say something through the gag and was struggling violently with his bonds. Insano walked over to him, and squatting down to look him in his face, said "You left me no choice, you murderous creep."
After processing what he'd just heard, Linkara stepped between them. "Now wait a minute, Insano! You can't just rip people's magic out of them! A force field to block their powers with is one thing, but what you're talking about is genuinely horrid, even for this guy!" Malechite nodded furiously in agreement.
Insano looked at Linkara incredulously. "You can't seriously tell me that you're defending this person? You of all people know what he did - what kind of person duels a teenager like that?!You were personal witness to it! You know him for a killer and a hypocrite! I'm not proposing that we kill him;" his expression darkened, "much as he might deserve it. I'm talking about pure genetic suppression. The wards that kept him in place at his job would no longer be needed. He could walk the world the rest of his natural life, and he'd never hurt anyone again. Really, Linkara, it's the most humane thing I can suggest."
Tears were beginning to stream down Malechite's face, and Linkara felt himself moved with a genuine pity for a fellow magician. Suddenly, an awful thought occurred to him, the implications sinking in with all the force of a wrecking ball. Swallowing thickly, he asked, "And just how long *is* his natural life, Insano? Did you think of that?"
Insano opened his mouth to say something - and then stopped. "Actually, no - no I haven't. Why?"
Linkara buried his face in his hands in frustration. "Well you should have!" Linkara didn't like yelling at his boyfriend, but this was serious. Turning to Malechite, he said, "I'm going to ask some yes or no questions, so you can either nod or shake your head to answer. Got that?" Malechite nodded firmly.
"If one were to list the foremost sorcerers of the last two millennia, would you be on that list?" Malechite nodded.
"Did you start using magic when you were very young?" Malechite nodded again.
"Does using your magic wound you?" There was a smaller nod this time.
"Does it also keep you alive?" This time, the nod was more emphatic.
"Could you recover from the effects of your magician's work if you became truly mortal?" Linkara could guess at the answer, and wasn't surprised when Malechite shook his head hard enough to knock his hat askew. Linkara sighed heavily, and turned to Insano. "This plan of yours isn't humane; it's a death sentence. Malechite has no such thing as a natural life anymore."
Insano closed his eyes tight and winced as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Linkara, you're going to have to forgive my being skeptical about this. How do we know that he's not lying to you?"
"You don't have to know yourself-" Linkara took a steadying breath, and continued "-but I know from experience."
"I BEG YOUR PARDON?" Insano's tone was so disbelieving as to be almost comical in its pitch and tone.
"It's not a joke, Insano. I'm a magic user myself, right?"
"Well, of course! What’s your point?”
"Here's the thing - magic is not a necessarily human trait. The fact that it leaves a genetic marker, almost a residue, surprises me less the more that I think about it."
Insano sat up straight and seemed to be paying better attention. "Go on..."
"I didn't start using magic until I turned 20, and I try to use it sparingly. Even with those safety measures, I've noticed how it exhausts me, and last time I went to my doctor, who knows a bit about these things, he saw the strain on my heart." Insano's expression went tragic for a second and Linkara reassured him, "I didn't tell you about it because it's something that the healing of magic can rectify, and if I myself became mortal right now-" he shuddered a bit at the thought "-any valve trouble I'd have could be treated with medication."
"However," here he turned and indicated Malechite, "our acquaintance here doesn't have that option. He's used magic constantly for the better part of an existence that well outstrips the lifespan of anyone else on Earth." Malechite's breathing was getting heavy again, and Linkara said, in the most neutral tone he could manage, "If Malechite becomes fully mortal - his heart muscle would collapse instantaneously. He'd be dead within 20 seconds, if that."
While Insano had clearly comprehended what he'd been told, there was no softening of his expression. If anything, there was an even harder set to his jaw. "So that's it? There's nothing we can do to make him less of a threat without putting blood on our hands?"
"Besides returning him to his job and the care of his boss? No, there really isn't." Linkara thought of how Margaret would think of this whole situation, and added, "And really, I'm ok with that. If Malechite's employer is who I think she is, she's pretty formidable in her own right. We won't have any additional trouble from him." Malechite groaned at this assessment, but his body language still suggested an immense relief that Linkara could only begin to guess at.
Insano sighed. "Well - I suppose that's the plan then. Do you want to return him or should I?"
Linkara told him, "It'll be better if it's you. You can keep the force field on him until he's returned; I can't without getting blocked myself."
Insano nodded grimly, and walking over to Malechite, hauled him to his feet. Linkara couldn’t help wincing slightly; Insano was probably matched for weight with Malechite, but in Malechite’s current state, he was almost as loose as a rag doll in Insano’s grip. Looking the enchanter in the eye - or, as much as he could with the sunglasses now back in place, Insano asked, “Are you going to cooperate with this?” Malechite nodded.
Putting his goggles back in place, Insano said, “Good, and let’s hope it stays that way.” Keeping his grip on his prisoner, he pulled his anti-magic field generator out of his pocket, and hauled himself and Malechite out of the lab faster than Linkara might have expected. However, Linkara didn’t let himself move until he heard the car actually start. Letting out a sigh of relief, he started to walk out of the house to his own car, trusting that Insano would take care of things.
--
The trip back to the coffee shop went more quickly than might be expected, and Malechite was returned to his boss’s custody without incident. Before he left though, Insano took some small relish in ripping the gag off of his prisoner’s face and hearing him squeal in frustration. However, after he'd finished rubbing his face, Malechite started smirking in an uncomfortable way, as he had back at the lab. Insano crossed his arms and said, "All right, you, what is so damnably funny?"
Malechite's boss gave her employee a warning look, and started to say "Malechite, we do not insult customers!", but Malechite, emboldened by his quite literal lack of restraint, starting laughing in a cruel way at Insano. "You and that boy of yours are sick in the head, and maybe that's amusing, that's what! I've walked this world for 2000 years, and I never thought I'd see a magician and a scientist together! I understand it in your case, your name is Insano after all-" Insano had to shrug at the point; he'd said similarly things himself, after all. "But your boyfriend? That *child* is a weakling! You can rest assured that I would never grant him such mercy -GACK!"
Insano had leapt at him and wrapped his hands around his throat. Through gritted teeth, Insano hissed, "Linkara is a thousand times the man you are, you vile beast. He gave you more than you deserve in letting you return here. I, however, am not such a man. If there's anyone you should be afraid of, it's me!" He dropped his hands from Malechite's neck, but pointed a finger in his face. "If I hear that you get out of line, or that you insult or hurt any member of my family again - I won't hesitate to come back here and dose you with my anti-magic serum in your sleep. It was almost ready when Linkara arrived at my house, it should only take a few more days." Suddenly aware of what he was doing, he stepped back, seeing Malechite's boss with a cell phone in her hand. Insano coughed a bit and said, "Really, there's no need to call the police - I'll just be on my way." Turning on his heel, he walked out of the shop before she could stop him.
As he drove back home, a small and slightly manic smile spread across his face. "You're a blessed man, Insano," he said to himself. "You've got Science, you've got the best man in the world by your side, and you've got a way to handle your enemies. Yes indeed," he started almost whistling, "life is good."