Title: Puppet
Author: D.L. SchizoAuthoress
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mentions of violence and death, perhaps a little profanity. Rating may go up in further chapters.
Summary: Evan Treborn can revisit his memories and change the past. But what if he's not the only one who knows about it?
****
A/N: In the movie, Lenny is not mentioned in the first alternate timeline. Obviously, I view this as a grave injustice. However, for the sake of continuity and just because I like writing Elden's characters, whoever they may be, I present you with my theory on Lenny, in the first alternate timeline.
****
"Puppet"
'Once More, With Feeling'
When Lenny Treborn was growing up, there were these three kids in his neighborhood: his cousin Evan Treborn, with the crazy father, and Tommy and Kayleigh Miller, whose parents had divorced. Evan and Kayleigh had been linked as girlfriend and boyfriend even back when it was an insult, when they were young enough to deny it and chase around the other kids who sang at the top volume, "Evan and Kayleigh, sittin' in a tree; K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
But Lenny knows that he was the only one who noticed Tommy Miller, and the way that he would look at dopey, longhaired Evan with such burning hate in his eyes. Lenny knows that he was the only one who noticed how hurt and scared Tommy always was--at first, of George Miller, and then, of losing his sister. Especially of losing his sister to pitiful, vacant-brained, smart-ass Evan Treborn. Lenny noticed, and though he never really understood the depths of Tommy's pain and loss and fear, he sympathized. He sympathized in a way so that Tommy never pushed him away.
When they were thirteen, he and Tommy and Evan and Kayleigh, Tommy dug an illegal firecracker out of the junk in his basement. Evan and Kayleigh weren't around; they were too cool to be seen with fat loser Lenny, even if Evan and Lenny were blood relatives, and sworn enemies were friendlier to each other than Tommy and Evan. Tommy wanted to go blow something up--to go destroy.
But somehow, Lenny talked him out of putting the 'Blockbuster' in a mailbox. Well, less 'talked' and more pleaded. Lenny painted a horrific picture of what could happen if somebody went too close to the mailbox when it blew up--where the images came from, he had no idea, but he spoke of them like he'd seen them...or he would.
So they stuck the dynamite into a big anthill instead. It rained dead ants and dirt in the woods for two straight minutes--he and Tommy ran around screaming like idiots before they collected their wits enough to bolt down to Lenny's house and hose each other down in the backyard.
****
Lenny knows how fragile Tommy's world was. Sometimes, in his dreams, he gets flashes of stuff that never happened, but the stuff is so real that it had to have happened. He dreams of Tommy needling him to put the Blockbuster into a house-shaped mailbox, of watching a mother and baby get blown to bits. He dreams of Tommy setting fire to Evan's dog, Crockett.
But it didn't quite happen that way. Instead, Kayleigh and Evan and Tommy went to the movies after the anthill experiment. And Tommy saw something that made him flip out. Some insensitive jerk tripped him then, and Tommy beat the shit out of the guy, so badly that the insensitive jerk ended up dying of something like internal hemorrhaging.
After that, Tommy Miller spent most of his teenage years in and out of juvenile hall. He became cold, and his teenage meanness hardened into real cruelty. Lenny's family moved away when he turned sixteen, and the only one left who cared about Tommy was Kayleigh. Tommy clung to her obsessively, desperately.
Lenny, when he finally heard all of this, understood. He dreamed about his future sometimes, a future that wasn't true but felt too real not to be--a future where he had consciously frozen himself in his thirteen-year-old world. Sky-and-cloud painted walls, model airplanes, and prayers that he would never see Evan or Kayleigh or Tommy again.
****
The casket is closed, and the funeral services are brief. Near the back of the chapel, Lenny hovers with a yellow rose in one hand and regrets in his heart. No one had ever said a word about the abuses that Tommy had suffered as a child at his father's hands. But Lenny knew. Lenny knew, and he hopes that Tommy knew he didn't think it was Tommy's fault. He hopes that Tommy knew that Lenny never blamed Tommy for what Mr. Miller did.
Lenny watches Kayleigh, crying so uncontrollably, and he's never hated anyone more than he's hated her. Except for Evan--Lenny hates Evan more than should be humanly possible to hate another person, especially a person that he's related to. Mr. Miller never touched Kayleigh, never hurt her, never did anything but be a perfect father to her. Didn't anybody care; didn't anybody realize how much that must have tortured Tommy? To see how lovingly his sister was handled in comparison to the shitty way that he, Tommy Miller, was treated?
Lenny clenches his fist around the rose, ignoring the pricking of the thorns, even welcoming the pain. He deserves this. He deserves this because he was silent, because even after Tommy told him the horrible things that his father did, Lenny never said anything or did anything to help.
Lenny hates Evan Treborn, hates him for Tommy and for himself. Not caring how evil the thought is, Lenny hopes that Evan stays in prison, in that miserable place, and rots like the selfish trash that he really is. Evan had everything, and Tommy had only his sister's love and compassion. And Evan, the self-centered, selfish bastard, took Kayleigh away...and killed Tommy, killed Lenny's friend. Killed Tommy when the guy was blinded, in pain, screaming and crying on the ground--bashed Tommy's head in like a wild, attacking animal.
A single rose falls into the six-feet-deep hole in the ground, its petals--yellow for friendship--crumpled and smeared with drops of blood.
Author: D.L. SchizoAuthoress
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mentions of violence and death, perhaps a little profanity. Rating may go up in further chapters.
Summary: Evan Treborn can revisit his memories and change the past. But what if he's not the only one who knows about it?
****
A/N: In the movie, Lenny is not mentioned in the first alternate timeline. Obviously, I view this as a grave injustice. However, for the sake of continuity and just because I like writing Elden's characters, whoever they may be, I present you with my theory on Lenny, in the first alternate timeline.
****
"Puppet"
'Once More, With Feeling'
When Lenny Treborn was growing up, there were these three kids in his neighborhood: his cousin Evan Treborn, with the crazy father, and Tommy and Kayleigh Miller, whose parents had divorced. Evan and Kayleigh had been linked as girlfriend and boyfriend even back when it was an insult, when they were young enough to deny it and chase around the other kids who sang at the top volume, "Evan and Kayleigh, sittin' in a tree; K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
But Lenny knows that he was the only one who noticed Tommy Miller, and the way that he would look at dopey, longhaired Evan with such burning hate in his eyes. Lenny knows that he was the only one who noticed how hurt and scared Tommy always was--at first, of George Miller, and then, of losing his sister. Especially of losing his sister to pitiful, vacant-brained, smart-ass Evan Treborn. Lenny noticed, and though he never really understood the depths of Tommy's pain and loss and fear, he sympathized. He sympathized in a way so that Tommy never pushed him away.
When they were thirteen, he and Tommy and Evan and Kayleigh, Tommy dug an illegal firecracker out of the junk in his basement. Evan and Kayleigh weren't around; they were too cool to be seen with fat loser Lenny, even if Evan and Lenny were blood relatives, and sworn enemies were friendlier to each other than Tommy and Evan. Tommy wanted to go blow something up--to go destroy.
But somehow, Lenny talked him out of putting the 'Blockbuster' in a mailbox. Well, less 'talked' and more pleaded. Lenny painted a horrific picture of what could happen if somebody went too close to the mailbox when it blew up--where the images came from, he had no idea, but he spoke of them like he'd seen them...or he would.
So they stuck the dynamite into a big anthill instead. It rained dead ants and dirt in the woods for two straight minutes--he and Tommy ran around screaming like idiots before they collected their wits enough to bolt down to Lenny's house and hose each other down in the backyard.
****
Lenny knows how fragile Tommy's world was. Sometimes, in his dreams, he gets flashes of stuff that never happened, but the stuff is so real that it had to have happened. He dreams of Tommy needling him to put the Blockbuster into a house-shaped mailbox, of watching a mother and baby get blown to bits. He dreams of Tommy setting fire to Evan's dog, Crockett.
But it didn't quite happen that way. Instead, Kayleigh and Evan and Tommy went to the movies after the anthill experiment. And Tommy saw something that made him flip out. Some insensitive jerk tripped him then, and Tommy beat the shit out of the guy, so badly that the insensitive jerk ended up dying of something like internal hemorrhaging.
After that, Tommy Miller spent most of his teenage years in and out of juvenile hall. He became cold, and his teenage meanness hardened into real cruelty. Lenny's family moved away when he turned sixteen, and the only one left who cared about Tommy was Kayleigh. Tommy clung to her obsessively, desperately.
Lenny, when he finally heard all of this, understood. He dreamed about his future sometimes, a future that wasn't true but felt too real not to be--a future where he had consciously frozen himself in his thirteen-year-old world. Sky-and-cloud painted walls, model airplanes, and prayers that he would never see Evan or Kayleigh or Tommy again.
****
The casket is closed, and the funeral services are brief. Near the back of the chapel, Lenny hovers with a yellow rose in one hand and regrets in his heart. No one had ever said a word about the abuses that Tommy had suffered as a child at his father's hands. But Lenny knew. Lenny knew, and he hopes that Tommy knew he didn't think it was Tommy's fault. He hopes that Tommy knew that Lenny never blamed Tommy for what Mr. Miller did.
Lenny watches Kayleigh, crying so uncontrollably, and he's never hated anyone more than he's hated her. Except for Evan--Lenny hates Evan more than should be humanly possible to hate another person, especially a person that he's related to. Mr. Miller never touched Kayleigh, never hurt her, never did anything but be a perfect father to her. Didn't anybody care; didn't anybody realize how much that must have tortured Tommy? To see how lovingly his sister was handled in comparison to the shitty way that he, Tommy Miller, was treated?
Lenny clenches his fist around the rose, ignoring the pricking of the thorns, even welcoming the pain. He deserves this. He deserves this because he was silent, because even after Tommy told him the horrible things that his father did, Lenny never said anything or did anything to help.
Lenny hates Evan Treborn, hates him for Tommy and for himself. Not caring how evil the thought is, Lenny hopes that Evan stays in prison, in that miserable place, and rots like the selfish trash that he really is. Evan had everything, and Tommy had only his sister's love and compassion. And Evan, the self-centered, selfish bastard, took Kayleigh away...and killed Tommy, killed Lenny's friend. Killed Tommy when the guy was blinded, in pain, screaming and crying on the ground--bashed Tommy's head in like a wild, attacking animal.
A single rose falls into the six-feet-deep hole in the ground, its petals--yellow for friendship--crumpled and smeared with drops of blood.