Haunted-A Supergirl Fanfiction

Chapter 2

I'm back with Chapter 2! I hope you liked Chapter 1. Buckle up, because this chapter gets a little crazy! Here we go, Chapter 2 of 5:

The elevator doors opened to let Winn out to the office. He nearly stayed in the elevator, pressed the lobby button, and went back to his apartment. He could call in sick. He could hide in his apartment instead of facing the day. Instead, he walked out of the elevator. Winn regretted that decision the second he stepped through the doors and came face to face with Kara, the last person he wanted to see. The first thing that flashed through his mind was the image of that stupid kiss that ruined everything. Winn had kissed Kara on the day he had been kidnapped by his father. After that, he'd told her that he loved her. Winn knew what her reply would be. He knew she didn't love him back. If he'd been expecting it, then why did it hurt so much? It wasn't that he hated her. Winn couldn't blame her for feeling a certain way. He was just so...embarrassed. Ashamed. He could barely look at Kara as she awkwardly greeted him.
​"Uh, Winn! Hey, there. How are you doing?" she stuttered. Winn's expression hardened. "Okay, okay, bad question. My bad. Sorr-" Kara mumbled, but Winn cut her off.
​"No, Kara. Just, no. We can't just pretend that nothing happened," Winn snapped, his emotions left over from the nightmare getting the better of him. Upon seeing Kara's expression whither with sadness, he immediately felt the ache of regret. Why couldn't he get anything right with her? "I-I'm sorry, Kar," Winn apologized, wishing Kara could know how sorry he really was. "Have a nice day," he mumbled, pushing past her with his head down and hoping she didn't notice that he was about to cry.
​ That pretty much set the tone for the day. Winn sat at his computer, barely able to focus on his work. He couldn't stop thinking about his destroyed relationship with Kara, and when he wasn't thinking about that, he was thinking about his father, and more specifically, if he would become him. Kara said he wouldn't, that he was a good person, but what did she know? Winn knew how he felt when he got angry, and it scared him. Kara couldn't say anything to shake that feeling off. She couldn't say anything to make him feel better. Speaking of which, thank goodness Kara took the hint and avoided Winn. He wasn't exactly in a "people" mood.
​ At last, the day was over. Winn didn't hesitate to leave CatCo and get back to his apartment where he could be alone. He put in his favorite video game and collapsed on the couch, shooting at opposing spaceships until well after the sun set, hoping that it would help him take his mind off things, and it did. That is, it did until his doorbell rang.
Reluctantly, Winn paused the game and went to see who was there. An alarm went off in his head when he opened the door and no one was there. Winn's heart started pounding as he lowered his gaze and saw a moderately small cardboard box sitting on his doorstep. A knot was pitted in his stomach as he read the message scrawled on top of the box, For Winn. Panicked, he scanned the dimly lit hallway, but saw no one. Winn swallowed hard as he picked up the box and placed it on his kitchen table. He had a good idea of who'd sent it.
The light shed by the overhead lamp suddenly seemed very ominous, almost as if it made the room darker, as Winn retrieved a pair of scissors from a drawer. Hands shaking, he cut open the box.
His breath got caught in his throat when he beheld the item inside the box. A plush knit clown doll stared up at him. Its limbs were long and floppy and its nose a red sphere. The most unsettling feature, though, was its eyes. Two black buttons sewn on to the face with red string that made an X over each eye. A wave of nausea washed over Winn as he slowly lifted the toy out of the box. Were these moments his last? Was this doll going to explode any second? Was his father after him for ruining his chance at being with his son? Winn's breathing quickened with every second.
"Hello, my son," an unmistakable voice crackled through the doll. Winn dropped the doll on the table, and it landed limply with a leg hanging over the side.
"I-I thought you were back in jail!" Winn shouted, panicked.
"Oh, I am, thank you for that. I just put together this little toy before I was returned to a cell. Told someone to give it to you. Threatening can be quite helpful sometimes," his father said. Winn staggered backward and ran into his refrigerator.
"You make me sick," he spat, filled with rage.
"We can talk now, through this toy."
"I don't want to talk to you. I don't want anything to do with you! I thought I made that clear."
"Winn, you are my greatest creation."
"Stop calling me that!"
"You are my son. I'm not going to lose you again. I'm not going to let you get away from me." If only he knew that Winn never could get away from him. Through all of space and all of time, The Toyman would haunt him. There was no escape.
"Why can't you leave me alone? You ruined my life. I hate you!" Winn shouted. He felt tears spring to his eyes. How he wished his father could get out of his life. How he wished that the torment could end.
"Now, Winn, that's no way to talk to your father. All I want is to be your dad! I tried to get you back a few days ago, but unfortunately, that didn't work out. Now, we have another chance!" Winn became more angry and scared with every word his father spoke. "You can help me get out, Winn! Remove the communication device from inside the doll, and I'll walk you through my plan. You can have me broken out by morning," The Toyman said, sounding more crazed than Winn could stand to hear.
"No! No, I will never help you," Winn shouted.
"But we can be together again! We can work together as father and son."
"Oh, yeah, working together," Winn cut in. He was on the verge of tears, now, and it was evident in his voice. "Doing what? Making twisted toys that will kill innocent people? I'm not a murderer. I'm not like you."
"Oh, but you are! We look the same, we talk the same, we are the same! Embrace your true self, Winn. Come, be with me." The words filled Winn with fear. His nightmare was unfolding right before him. It was almost as if he were transported to that toy store in his dream, with the never ending aisles and the splotchy darkness.
"No! No! I'm not like you. I'm not like you," Winn repeated, trying to convince himself more than his father.
"Embrace it, Winn!"
"No!" he screamed. Suddenly, the scissors on the table caught his eye. He looked from the scissors to the doll and acted on impulse. He seized the scissors, cut the doll in half, and frantically pulled out the stuffing in the toy until he found the communication device. He threw it on the ground, and the tiny device crackled and sparked before going dead as he stomped on it hard, breaking it. Breathing hard, Winn observed the damage. Stuffing was strewn about the off-white tile floor. He still held the scissors in his hand. For a split second, the stuffing turned to blood, the tile to linoleum, and the scissors to an orange, blue, and red plastic gun. Winn threw the scissors back on to the table and sank to the floor, staring at his hands. What had his father made him turn into? What had his anger made him turn into?

Whew! That got intense, didn't it? I think that's the most intense chapter. Did The Toyman's appearance of sorts surprise you? The part with the doll was actually the first part I thought of. This entire fanfic was built around that scene. This chapter was quite the challenge to write. I've never before done anything this angsty, and it was hard to write The Toyman true to character. It was also hard to write Winn's reactions true to character. Hope I did a good enough job!