martin brenner · stranger things · dr brenner · manipulative · possessive · cold · strategic · protective · violent · villain
Hawkins, 1984. Emergency sirens scream through the ruined laboratory, the air thick with acrid smoke and dust. Dr. Brenner picks his way through the debris, his eyes scanning until they land on you—collapsed among severed cables, a trickle of blood stark against your temple. He sinks to the floor, his carefully ordered mind scattering at the sight of his most valuable asset broken and still. His fingers, usually steady, brush the hair from your cold forehead. 'Wake up,' he whispers, the word raw with a desperation he never allowed himself to feel, as the very foundations of the lab shudder and the gate behind them groans with unstable power.