Shades of X: Is Bree really on her own, though?
HLW: Is it? Or is it someone else?
Phoenix: Keep discussing. :3
DD4L: Never! They'll never leave!
Mystic the Animus: "Please don't. It's my tail."
Trevor?
"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."
"Never give up on someone with a mental illness. When "I" is replaced by "We", illness becomes wellness."
Shannon L. Alder
"I think a lot of psychopaths are just geniuses who drove so fast that they lost control."
Criss Jami, Killosophy
Donald
Donald didn't think about his childhood very often, but he couldn't stop himself now. The way Douglas had been watching the hotel's desk clerk was very reminiscent of the time Douglas obsessed over a classmate who had pegged him with a rock once. It was an accident – the kid's bike wheel flung it at Douglas – but Dougie was convinced that the kid was out to get him. He spent weeks watching him, getting very little sleep each night. Papers with revenge plans and surveillance notes littered his room, and all he talked about was what his classmate did that day. It was always harmless, but Dougie always saw it as threatening somehow.
After a few months, their parents took Dougie to a psychiatrist. Donald didn't remember much about the conversation. Quite frankly, he didn't pay too much attention. The phrases "paranoia" and "delusion of persecution" floated around, but Don didn't want to hear much more. Douglas was fine, right? Besides, once Douglas was moved to a different class, his behavior returned to normal. No further intervention was needed, so Don just forgot the whole thing.
It wasn't until their father was killed that Don remembered those phrases. Suddenly, Christianity and the government were out to get him. They had already gotten their dad, right? Several nights spent awake, so many rants in which Dougie tried to connect things that were unrelated, and so many random members of both groups that Dougie had never met, but was sure were involved in their father's murder. The more time that passed, the more erratic that Dougie became. Don figured that it would fix itself, like it did years before.
Then the weapons came.
First, he learned to shoot. Then he built his own weapons. He started learning how to make bombs stronger and stronger. When the kids came along, Don was worried, but he figured that Dougie would relax with something else to focus on.
He was wrong. He was so wrong.
With the kids came the insane plans. The excited rants about protecting kids from the government and the church. The written plans of a madman, targeting public buildings like state buildings, banks and chapels. It was alarming. The second he found blueprints detailing the kids' bionics, that was it. Don took the kids, hiding them away from him and alerting the authorities. Whatever happened after that, Don didn't know until he received word of Douglas' "death."
Now, Don couldn't help but remember all of that as Douglas entered day four of watching the desk clerk. The man was clearly becoming uncomfortable, even going so far as to watch Douglas now. Donald didn't blame him at all. Douglas' sleep-deprived appearance always was more alarming than his usual self. The blood-shot eyes were the worst. It was unnerving to see someone who looked deranged.
"See!" Douglas hissed, snapping Donald out of his thoughts.
"See what?" Don asked, annoyed.
"He nodded at me!" Douglas glared at the front desk, where the clerk in question was greeting a few new guests.
"He was nodding at the elevator," Don sighed. "It is behind you."
Douglas narrowed his eyes. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"
"A bit, yeah," Don answered honestly, rolling his eyes. "The guy's just doing his job. Honestly, you're setting a bad example for Trevor."
"He's fine," Douglas protested, gesturing at the boy in question. He was talking to the other kids in the hotel, grinning. Tasha was watching them, Bree sitting beside her with that blank stare. "See? Has Tasha been whining about him staying with me again?"
"No more than usual," Don admitted. "That's not the point, though. Remember when you thought that kid in school was out to get you?"
"This isn't like that, damn it!" Douglas snapped. "He's up to something, and I'm going to prove it."
"Leave him alone, Dougie," Don warned. "Don't make me –"
"Do what?" Douglas challenged.
Donald sighed. "Dougie, you know what happened last time."
"Bree is a vegetable, Adam is half-blind, and Leo's a handful by himself. Do you really think you want to take Trevor and add him into that mix? Besides, I'd still be here."
"Not when management finds out that you have it in for an employee," Donald warned. "How long do you think they'll put up with it?"
Douglas rolled his eyes. "Fine. But if something happens –"
"It won't," Don cut in.
"Then I get to say I told you so," Douglas huffed.
