[One For All]: The human bug-zapper

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Insects and other lifeforms intensely allergic to electricity would probably do well to stay away from the section of lab Nikola has appropriated for himself.

Colorful, Serbian curses waft over from his workspace, accompanied by the occasional, impressive shower of sparks.




[ooc: Nikola probably won't electrocute your pup, should you care to stop by. :)]

Comments

[doctor-weevil.livejournal.com]

*Owen seems to have a knack for wandering into trouble. However, it's only when a shower of sparks almost sets his hair alight that he realises it would be a very, very bad idea to go creeping up on whoever's in here...*

*He makes sure to step into plain sight.*

You all right in there, mate? You're making enough racket to wake the dead.

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Nikola laughs, almost hysterically. "Oh, if only," he says.

Then glances up sharply when he realizes he doesn't hear a heartbeat, can't smell blood coming from the other man.

[doctor-weevil.livejournal.com]

Owen takes in the tall guy. He's a little unnerved by his gaze, but he won't let it show. Not yet.

"Sorry to hear it. What's up?"

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"Why should anything be up? What makes you think anything's up?" Nikola asks in sharp staccato. In times of stress, he often reverts to the old, eccentric ways. They weren't all entirely a facade after all.

[doctor-weevil.livejournal.com]

Owen shrugs, his hackles rising. He's back on familiar ground.

"Well, the fact that I could hear you swearing a mile off and you look like you're gonna burst into tears any minute might just have something to do with it."

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Nikola arches an indignant eyebrow. The swearing he'll admit to but he's fairly certain he's not exhibiting any signs that he might actually (god forbid) cry. He sincerely hopes he hasn't come to that point. It's been decades, after all, since he has.

"You speak Serbian?" is the question he goes with. Not that he's under any illusions that the tone of his voice couldn't have given away the content of his speech.

[doctor-weevil.livejournal.com]

"You just sound really rough, mate. Anything I can help with? And no, I don't speak Serbian..." His face splits into a sudden grin. "Could you teach me? Always good to have a couple of nice back-up cusses in mind."

It's a trick he learnt when dealing with jumpy patients. Distraction factor while raising self-esteem... kind of. He leans closer, trying to appear casual. Those same jumpy folk sometimes used to turn hysterical.

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"I'd rather not," Nikola says with a sneer. "Never was much of a teacher." And in the midst of his anger there comes a rather disarming smile.

He leans back in his chair, leaving his project (and hopefully, his sparking) for the moment. "You could help me with something, though."

[doctor-weevil.livejournal.com]

Owen does not fail to notice the disarming smile. But he's got a little more picky in what he will and won't go through with since his death.

"Yeah? What's that, then?" he asks, rather disturbed at the way things have turned around.

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Nikola smiles and steeples his fingers. Evil genius is a look he perfected long before Ian Fleming made it popular.

"You can tell me how it is you're walking and talking and, apparently, cognitively functioning when you've been dead for so long."

[doctor-weevil.livejournal.com]

Owen groans inwardly. Is this the only thing people are ever going to notice about him? Looks like it. And with that realisation, comes...

"My cognitive functioning's telling me to ask you just how you knew that." He frowns and steps closer. "When I never mentioned it, on purpose."

[doctor-weevil.livejournal.com]

[ooc: it's been great, but could we carry this on some other time? i gotta run :(]

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[ooc: No worries. Getting to be bedtime for me anyway. :)]

[doctor-weevil.livejournal.com]

(ooc: nearly 11pm here and I'm getting chased off to bed. Goodnight, and thanks for the talk :)

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[ooc: Thanks! Sleep well. :)]

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

It's not going to be pleasant, but it has to be done. He has no clue what he's going to say, but he needs to say something. He dismisses the idea of going to Tesla on some pretext. Owen's condition and wiring issues in the SHU had both sprung to mind as perfectly legitimate pretexts to start a conversation. But Will's getting sick of dishonesty, so he opts for the honest approach. As soon as he gets his tears under control, he heads down for the lab Magnus set aside for Tesla.

Hair standing on end, he stands at the door waiting to be noticed.

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"In or out," Nikola growls, not looking up. "Pick one."

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

Will enters the lab. "Can I say something?" he whispers.

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"Unless something tragic has happened to your vocal chords since the last time I saw you, I'm sure you can," Nikola says, and a shower of sparks shoot from the device he's tinkering with.

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

Will winces but moves further into the lab. "I'm sorry, Nikola. If I'm still allowed to call you that. I've been completely out of line and I don't know why. I've just been scared and angry and worried and none of that's any kind of attempt to justify the games I played with you because there is no justification. And I'm not asking you to forgive me because what I did was unforgivable."

He sighs. "What I did was beyond dishonest and beyond wrong. I took psychology, something designed to help people and I twisted it to manipulate you. If you'd like to tell me now what a horrible person I am, I'm listening. The catharsis would probably make you feel better."

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"Feel better now that you've gotten this off your chest, William?" Nikola says, still not looking at him.

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"No. I feel like a bigger monster than I ever suspected you of being. I mean what I just said and you're never going to believe a word of it because you know what I bastard I'm capable of being. I didn't mean to hurt you. I won't irritate you by laying out my reasoning; I'm sure you have a good idea of that. The flirtation startled me and I panicked. After that, I didn't know how to put an end to things and there was no one I could talk to. It escalated and I let it. So, yeah, I have to say that I'm sorry because I am, on a lot of different levels. But, no, that doesn't make me feel any better because what I did... It's like this nightmare is making me less human."

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"You say that like it's a bad thing," Nikola mutters.

Then he puts his project down and looks at Will. "I don't know why you've come down here, William," he says bluntly. "If you're looking for me to criticize you, yell at you, mock you, hurt you, so that you can get some sort of closure, feel like you're atoning for your wrongdoings or sins or however you view that, I'm afraid you're out of luck. I don't cater to other people's needs, as I'm sure you've realized by now."

[w-zimmerman.livejournal.com]

"It's not about closure; it's about doing what's right. It doesn't matter how you react because nothing you can say or do is going to change the fact that I have to look myself in the mirror every morning with the knowledge that, when it came down to it, doing the unspeakable came natural. But I do need to try to apologize. A guy who knows how horrible it is being alone in the world for 25 years has no business trying to play on the emotions of a guy who's been alone for a century and a half..."

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Nikola laughs darkly. "Oh, Will. You still don't get it. I may be alone, but I haven't been lonely for decades. And any manipulation you may have perpetrated on me hasn't changed that."