When
by Apollymi

Disclaimers: Tin Man belongs to the SciFi (SyFy) Channel and all its other associated copyright holders, of which Apollymi is not one. No copyright infringement is intended by this fanwork.

The first five annuals were the worst.

Watching the recording play over and over and over again... Trying every way he could think of to escape his iron prison... It took everything he had not to go completely mad.

Maybe he did go mad, locked in that iron suit. It would have been understandable, standing there day after day, month after month, watching the deaths of his family time and time again.

By the time the sixth annual had rolled in and back out, measured by O.Z. winters, he had begun to form a plan for what he would do once he escaped. It was never a question of 'if'; it was always 'when'.

As the seasons passed, the plan only became more detailed, mostly concerning what he would do to Zero once he was out--and he would get out. It was only a matter of when.

After that, he stopped counting the passing of time.

He couldn't stop watching the recording, though. Even if he closed his eyes, the scenes kept playing out.

And then one day, it stopped.

And then the door to the suit opened, and he fell out.

And then he was Wyatt Cain again.


Written: 19 July 2011
Uploaded: 02 January 2012

Because I'm forgetful and don't do stuff like upload stories to my own website. Whoops.

~Apollymi