I've been incentivited to write more about this au by the creator, and this idea I had in mind, so instead of being a normal person and explaining everything I'm just gonna finally publish a big writing!
Fernando rolled his fingers with slight impatience over the cool surface of the console. The metallic tentacles hovered near his head, motionless, almost as if listening alongside him. On the central screen, the delayed transmission from the small spy robot began to play: the shaky, low, and bouncy point of view of the tiny metallic creature crossing sidewalks, sneaking around corners, and observing Oscar from afar.
The image showed Oscar in the dormitory areas, walking calmly. He had a backpack on his back, headphones connected to his flip phone, and he seemed to be listening to music—or maybe a news report, hard to say. Nothing suspicious. Nothing even curious.
Fernando watched with a tense jaw.
— Hmm... more predictable boy than I expected. — he murmured, as the recording continued.
Suddenly, the video jumped slightly, shaking violently—and then, only darkness.
The automatic system paused and identified the cause: "lost signal, possible physical damage."
Fernando zoomed in on the last second of the footage and saw, in the middle of the final frame, a sneaker sole rapidly approaching the lens.
He recognized the pattern scrawled with marker on the side of the sneaker.
— Lando. — he said quietly, his eyes fixed on the screen.
One of the tentacles snapped, as if sharing the scientist's frustration. Fernando crossed his arms.
— …Of course it would be him. The walking ball of energy who barely passes science and thinks rebellion is a superpower. — He grumbled, clenching his fists.
This was happening too often, and it was frustrating the villain more and more.
The calculations, perfect in theory, were failing in practice. And that was unacceptable to Fernando. The tentacles tapped lightly on the benches, the monitors flickered with irregular graphs. The lab environment, which had previously seemed quietly alive, now creaked like an anxious creature.
Fernando leaned in, his eyes tense on the recording. He typed hurriedly, testing variables, searching for tiny flaws that might be hidden.
Sweat dripped down his temple, and one of the tentacles contracted violently, knocking a small tool to the ground. The noise echoed too loudly.
He stepped back, taking a deep but quick breath, staring at the tool.
But he could already feel the old knot in his chest.
The tremor in his hands, the racing, disorganized thoughts.
He knew that beginning. The free fall from lucidity. The mania.
— No… — he murmured, clutching his temples, almost as if he could hold his brain in his own hands. — No…
A second later, the system was fast again. Another error.
"Results interrupted. Missing information."
The tentacles moved harder, almost involuntarily.
In the corner of the lab, under the dim light, Gabi was sleeping.
His head buried between the makeshift blanket and the sleeve of his worn blouse. His legs curled up. His arm, still full of Fernando's technology, hung over the side of the couch.
His chest rose and fell slowly. Peacefully.
That moment… the gentle silence… the boy's vulnerability… all of it hit him like a bucket of water in the midst of a mental hurricane. The scientist's heavy breathing began to slow. His tentacles retracted, obeying his tension, which was beginning to recede.
He approached slowly. As if any sudden movement might wake the boy.
He stopped beside Gabi, watching him for a moment.
The boy's eyes moved beneath his lids. He was dreaming of something. His face wrinkled slightly, as if processing something. But it didn't seem bad. It was just... human.
Fernando stood there for a moment longer, motionless.
Then, as if he hadn't even thought about it, he brought one of his hands to the boy's hair.
And in a slow, hesitant gesture, he ran his fingers through the messy brown strands. A small, clumsy caress. Barely touching. But real.
Gabi shifted slightly, murmuring something incomprehensible, and snuggled deeper into his blanket.
The lab fell silent again. The kind of silence that carried an echo of those things that were unspoken but lingered in the air. Fernando stood still for a while, watching Gabi's heavy sleep. It wasn't just a clinical concern anymore. It was something deeper. More uncomfortable.
Something he shouldn't be feeling.
— I know who you are. I’m sorry. — he said softly, sitting down next to the old sofa where Gabi slept. — And you still have no idea what I am.
For a moment, the villain named “Doctor Octopus” disappeared.
The man who drank tea in the morning and complained about students chewing gum.
— …Forgive me, kid. — he whispered. — This city is full of idiots with too much power and too little responsibility. I just… I didn’t expect you to get involved.
He looked at Gabi’s bandaged arm, then at his own hands.
— You’ll still hate me when you find out. But until then… I swear I’ll do everything I can to make sure you stay in one piece. I promise.
Fernando stepped back, a sigh that seemed to come from some forgotten corner of his chest.
He returned to the terminal, his eyes still fixed on the data, but his fingers now typing more slowly. The tentacles were serene. The pulse in his neck had returned to its normal rhythm.
There was time to fix this.
There was time for everything.
But for now… that boy breathing nearby was what kept science from taking him back to the abyss.
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