EMPATH | Five Hargreeves

XI •~-~• "It's Been A While"

She sighed, "Five."

The old Five looked up at Angel, his eyes slightly widening and his jaw clenching.

"Angel?" He muttered.

"Hey, Five," Angel shifted on her feet, "It's been a while."

The old Five slowly reached down to the briefcase at his feet. Angel glanced down with a sigh.

"What are you doing here?" The old Five gulped.

"There's someone I want to introduce you to, but you can't freak out," Angel slowly shook her head.

"What the hell is going on?"

Angel held her hands out, "No. No, no. You can't freak. This won't happen if you freak."

Five and Luther slowly walked up behind her. Luther stepped to the side, revealing Five. Both Five's stared at each other in awe.

"Hey there, stranger," younger-looking Five quipped.

The four moved to a table in the middle of the room. Luther and Angel sat across from each other, as Five and Five stared daggers into each other's faces.

Luther sighed and set down his drink, "Well... this is nice, isn't it? The four of us, together like this."

"No," the older-looking Five grumbled, "Somebody explain why I'm having a pint of Guinness with my younger self."

"Older, actually," Five shook his leg underneath the table, "I'm you, just 14 days older."

"I have pubic hair smarter than you," the older-looking Five insulted. "How is that possible?"

"I can explain," the younger-looking Five fidgeted, "You see, one hour from now, on the grassy knoll, before the president is killed, you break your contract with the Commission," he leaned forward in his seat, "I already know you're thinking about it. All those years in the apocalypse, we never stopped worrying about our family."

The older-looking Five glanced at Angel as she stared at the other Five.

"Well, today, you are going to do something about it. Today, you are going to attempt to time travel forward to 2019. However, you are going to screw up the jump and end up in this twip of a body. Trapped forever, small, pubescent."

"Okay," the older-looking five shuddered, letting out a small fart, "Even if I was to believe you, what am I supposed to do about it, not jump?"

"No, no. I need you to jump," Teen Five said, "If you don't jump, I cease to exist. What I need from you is to jump correctly."

"I'm listening," elderly Five whispered.

"The first time through, I got the calculation wrong. That's how I ended up in this body. But now, I know the correct calculation."

"What is it?"

"I'll be glad to tell you in exchange for that briefcase you're holding under the table."

"Yeah, yeah. You go back to 2019, as planned, but this time with the right math, so you remain a full-grown man," Luther summed up. "In exchange, we get that briefcase that you no longer need."

"Timeline restored, paradox resolved," Teen Five said, "Everyone goes on existing happily ever after."

"That's quite a bit to take in," elderly Five said.

"What do you think?" Younger-looking Five asked as he clenched his fist.

Angel placed her hand on top of Teen Five's gently, rubbing her thumb over his rough skin. The elder Five glanced at their hands, and his face fell.

"I think I need to piss," the older-looking Five said, standing up.

The elder took both briefcases in his hands and walked away. Five's mouth fell.

"Oh," Luther picked up a napkin and begin to dab Five's forehead, "Well, besides the flop sweat, I think that went pretty well, am I right?"

Five vigorously shook his head, "No, no, there's something... something doesn't feel right about this."

Angel furrowed her brows and moved her hand, only for Five to snatch right back into a tight hold.

"What do you mean?" Angel shrugged.

Five pointed in the direction that his older-looking self wandered off to, "I don't trust him."

"But, he's you," Luther said.

Five nodded, "Exactly." Five unconsciously rubbed the skin on Angel's knuckles raw.

Luther left to go talk to the elder Five, leaving Five and Angel at the table.

Angel shook his hand, "Five."

He didn't respond.

"Five,"

He stared at the bathroom doors.

"Five?" She moved her hand and placed it on top of his, causing him to look at her. "Are you okay?"

Five swallowed, "I'm fine."

Angel sighed as she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms knowing she wasn't getting anywhere with him. This whole plan of Five's was gonna mess up somehow, she just knew it. It was only a matter of time before Five realized that he had messed up by getting this desperate. It had been a while before she had seen Luther or the elder Five, and when they finally came out, teen Five tensed.

"We good?" Teen Five cocked an eyebrow.

"We're good," Luther nodded.

"You got a deal," Elder Five said, holding his briefcases sharply at his sides, "We gotta hurry, Kennedy's en route. Less than an hour till showtime."

Teen Five stood and locked his jaw, "Why are you so anxious to get going all of a sudden?"

Angel slowly stood and moved next to Teen Five, lacing their fingers together.

"Relax, you're getting paranoid," Elder Five began scratching at his neck.

"Oh, am I?" Teen Five asked as he shifted on his feet.

Both Five's let out flatulence, causing Angel to thin her lips into a line and gently shove the younger-looking Five toward the door, "Okay, let's go."