tangled (mileven au)

you were right

๑ 14 ๑

"Alright, my brain and I have arrived. What exactly are we looking for here again, Mike?"

Mike tore his eyes away from the computer screen he'd practically been glued to, looking at Dustin, who had just taken a seat on the other side of the table.

The two were at the public library, doing some serious research. Mike had been at it on his own for a few days now, blowing off school to try and find something that could help him free El, but every time he had come up with nothing.

It was so frustrating, not knowing how to find what he was looking for. Really, he wasn't even sure of what exactly it was that he was looking to find. So, he figured Dustin could help out. How, he wasn't sure of either, but he was the only other person Mike could turn to.

"We're looking for anything you can find relating to a lab." Mike began to explain to him, wishing he had more specific details to give. "Or maybe the person in charge there? I don't know his name, but I'm sure he's well known for whatever he does at that place."

"A lab and the big man in charge, got it."

It went quiet again then, both searching through various newspapers for information. He'd already gone through so many of the ones that the library had filed away, each one corresponding with a microfiche that would give them a copy of the exact article they'd need to pull up on the computer screen. It was a process, going through just about any article he suspected would give them information, but it was worth it.   

Mike knew that he should've started this a long time ago, but he got so caught up in El and the time he was spending with her that it slipped his mind. But now, everything had changed. He was being kept away from her by that man and he didn't like it. It was time for him to do something and luckily, he was more determined than ever.

"Okay, check this out." Dustin spoke up after a few minutes. "Here's one article mentioning alleged experiments and abuse, says someone named Terry Ives hit a setback with her legal case against a scientist at the Hawkins National Laboratory named Dr. Martin Brenner. Apparently she was suing that they took her newborn daughter away."

"Took her away for what?"

"Scientific research?"

"Jeez, that's not suspicious at all." Mike snorted. "I didn't know we even had a National Laboratory here... What else does the article say?"

"Not much, just why the court couldn't press charges due to lack of evidence. There was also some MKUltra stuff exposed there, but that's about it. I don't know what they do at that place, but it must be some pretty crazy stuff if all this is involved."

"Okay, what about this Brenner guy? Anything else on him?" Mike asked, before moving to the other side of the table to see what Dustin could find. Their eyes scanned over each picture that appeared, until Mike's stopped. "Wait, is that him?"

"Yeah, it says that's Dr. Brenner and his subjects."

"That's El's dad." Mike told him, knowing that was the man he spoke with outside the cabin. There was no way he'd forget that awfully punchable face of his. "I can't believe this. Martin Brenner, the mad scientist in charge of that sketchy place is the man responsible for her."  

It was an unsettling fact, to know that he controlled El's life all these years, a man who may or may not have been involved in all this questionable stuff they found in the papers. Mike assumed that the man had never truly hurt El, but he couldn't help but wonder what kind of things he made El do... what kind of things he did to her.