Red Wizard: Book 3 (A Zatanna Zatara/OC Love Story)

Another Freak

Detroit: October 15: 07:16 EDT

At STAR Labs, Silas Stone was busy examining the Fatherbox.

"Dad!" A voice called out, making Silas look up from his work. He saw Victor and Casey approaching the lab. Victor opened the door and entered, and Casey followed him in. The blue cable from the Reach machine was nudged by both Victor and Casey when they entered the lab.

"Come on, Vic, you know you're not allowed back here." Casey told Victor, grabbing his arm to stop him.

Victor turned to Casey and pulled his arm away. "Hey, if my dad refuses to come home, I've got no choice but to go to him." He responded.

"It's all right, Casey." Silas assured Casey, as Victor and Casey both looked at him.

Victor and Casey looked at each other again. Casey then left the lab as Victor approached his dad, the blue cable nudged again when Casey opened the door to leave. The Reach machine crackled with electricity as a result.

"You don't have to make a scene, Victor." Silas said calmly, not looking up from his work as Victor approached him.

"Scene? I haven't seen you in days, Dad! You missed me crushing it at my game. And the celebration after. And the four college scouts who stopped by to, I don't know, "woo" me." Victor told him, his voice slightly calmer at the end.

"I... am sorry about that. Truly." Silas apologized to his son, stopping his work and looking up at his son. "But you won't need football scouts to get into college if you get your grades up." He told his son, as he got back to work.

"I've got a 4.0 GPA!" Victor shouted angrily, slamming his fists down on the table. "Which maybe you'd know if I was half as important to you as the dumb machines in this lab!" He said angrily, gesturing to the equipment around the lab, before looking at his dad.

"You know my work is important." Silas responded calmly.

"I know it's important to you!" Victor snapped at him.

"Stop it. There are things happening in this world that are bigger than you and I. And in any case, I will not talk to you while you are behaving in this way." Silas said as he pushed his chair and stood up.

"Behaving what way? I'm not some three-year-old trying to get you to taste his mud pie." Victor told him angrily as he followed his dad, who had walked over to another table that had a microscope. He placed his notes down on the table.

"This is my life you're ignoring! My actual life!" Victor shouted angrily.

"Which we can discuss when you've calmed yourself down, boy." Silas snapped at him, having lost his temper.

"Boy? Now, you're "boying" me?" Victor demanded as Silas pinched his nose before he sat down in the chair in front of him.

"At least look me in the eye if you're gonna--" Victor started to say as Silas looked through the microscope.

Victor sighed. "You know what? Never mind. Forget it." He said, turning and walking away from his dad.

Silas looked up from the  microscope, and saw his son leaving. He stood up. "Victor, wait." He said, approaching his son, who had the door.

Victor opened the door, causing the blue cable to nudge again, before it came out of the Reach machine. Victor turned to machine when he heard a weird noise, and saw what had happened. Silas also saw what was happening.

"Dad?" Victor said in a frightned tone. A explosion then happened as the machine blew up.