Nietzsche once said, "Man is as a rope stretched between the animal and the superhuman. A rope over an abyss. It is a dangerous crossing, a dangerous looking-back, a dangerous trembling and halting."
He blew his whistle and all the kids started running up the flights of stairs. They all tried passing each other. Y/n didn't start running as fast as the others did, she wanted to save her energy for the right time when she could pass all of them.
"As much as you have to strive for individual greatness, and strive you must, for it won't come to you of its own accord, you must also remember that there is no individual stronger than the collective."
Five blinked in front of everyone, getting ahead of them by a long shot.
"That's not fair! Five's cheating!" Diego complained.
"He adapted," Reginald stated.
Adaption, Y/n thought. She smirked, not stopping from her jogging. She stopped holding the railing and held out her two fingers, putting them together as she could feel the electricity go through her veins. Just at the right time, she put her fingers on the railing and slid them, causing electricity to course through the railing. The others weren't expecting to get shocked, so they all paused for a second, taking their hands off the railing. Y/n smirked as took the few seconds she had and ran past the rest of them.
"The ties that bind you together- make you stronger than you are alone."
———
Luther and Allison were by a pillar, clutching each other. Allison was crying at the pain going through her forearm. Five, Klaus, and Ben all sat in chairs, anxiously waiting to get marked on their arms. Diego sat in the chair, the tattoo gun going onto his skin and inking it. He let out shaky breaths from gritted teeth. Grace tried comforting him by grabbing for his hand. He moved his hand out of the way. Grace looked down, seeming a little offended.
"They will make you impervious to the pain and hardship the world will thrust upon you."
Y/n sat down on the floor against the wall to the side of the chairs that the boys were in. Her forearms were resting upwards on her knees. Her head was leaning back against the wall as she closed her eyes, clenching her fists and trying to relieve the burning pain of the tattoo.
Stick and pokes never hurt this bad. Not even close. She thought. She knew they weren't even close to being the same, but still.
She let out a shaking breath while trying to take deep breaths.
"And believe me when I tell you, life will be hard. It will be painful. We can accomplish anything when we accept our responsibility together. This is what creates trust."
Vanya looked into the room from the staircase. She sighed, grabbing a marker and drawing the same design on her arm.
Y/n hit the back of her head lightly on the wall.
"Together, you will stand against the reign of evil."
———
Y/n sat down on one of the chairs with her feet propped up and crossed on the table. She had her book from earlier opened, reading the first chapter. Klaus was sitting with his feet crossed up against himself with a guitar in his hands. Five stood, searching through baskets.
Allison walked into the kitchen, putting her coat down, "Where's Vanya?"
"Oh," Klaus said, "She's gone."
"She left about half an hour ago," Y/n said, not looking up from her book and flipping the page.
"That's unfortunate," Five said, huffing and walking to the table.
"Yeah," Allison said quietly. Y/n rolled her eyes and muttered something to herself.
"An entire square block, fourty-two bedrooms, nineteen bathrooms, but no, not a single drop of coffee," he stated, looking up at Allison.
She looked at him weirdly, "Dad hated caffeine."
Y/n scoffed, shaking her head. "Yeah, well, he hated children too, but he had plenty of us," Klaus said, fake laughing at the end.
Y/n chuckled, "Damn straight." The other three looked at her strangely. She glanced up from her book and shrugged, "What?" She sighed, "I get it I'm not, you don't have to tell me that."
Five chuckled, "I'm taking the car."
Klaus sat up, "Where are you going?"
He looked at him like he was stupid, "To get a decent cup of coffee." He started to walk towards the door.
"Do you even know how to drive?" Allison asked, crossing her arms.
"I know how to do everything," Five sneered, going to blink.
"Wait!"
He turned around and looked at Y/n questioningly, raising his eyebrows at her. "Can I come with? I haven't had coffee in over four hours."
He shrugged, "Sure, why not." He nodded towards the window, telling her to go over to him. She said a small thank you and jumped over the table. He stuck out his elbow and she took a hold of it. As soon as doing so, Five blinked them outside and into the car.
Five started the car and began to drive to Griddy's Doughnuts. The whole drive was filled with an awkward silence. Neither of them knew what to say or if they should say anything. So they both decided not to say anything.
When they arrived, they got out of the car and walked inside, passing a man that was leaving. They walked inside and sat next to each other silently, the only sound was their shoes hitting the ground. Five rung the bell on the counter, and slouched slightly on the stool.
A man walked in and Y/n sighed. Five looked over at the man who sat down on the other side of him. The man eyed the two and sighed, looking at the menu.
An older looking woman came out of the back in a bright pink uniform, sighing. "Sorry, sink was clogged," she laughed nervously, fixing her name tag. "So, what'll it be?" she asked, turning to the man with a smile.
"Uhhh, give me a chocolate éclair," the man said after pausing to think of what to order.
The waitress, Agnes, smiled again, "Okay sure." She wrote it down on her notepad before turning to Five and Y/n. "Can I get the kids a glass of milk or something?" She looked up after a moment of silence.
"The kids want coffee, black," Five replied coolly.
Agnes looked slightly surprised, "Really?"
"Really," Y/n stated.
Agnes chuckled nervously, looking at the man, "Cute kids." She looked back at the pair to see them both smiling sweetly at her. She looked slightly creeped out before turning and going into the back.
Five sighed, looking at the man, "Don't remember this place being such a shithole."
"It never was a shithole," Y/n said, sighing.
"I used to come here as a kid. Used to sneak out with my brothers and sisters and eat donuts until we puked."
Y/n chuckled and the man looked at them confused since they both looked like kids. "Simpler times huh?" Five asked.
The man struggles for words, "I-I suppose."
Agnes came over and cleared her throat, setting down the coffees and continuing to look at the boy and the girl weirdly. She turned to the man and set down his chocolate éclair, smiling at him.
The man handed her some cash, "I got theirs."
"Thanks," they both said at the same time.
Five looked at the man's jacket and saw a towing company label on it. "So, you must know your way around the city," Five said, looking at the man.
Y/n sipped her coffee. What are you up to Five Hargreeves?
The man nodded, "Hope so. I've been driving it for twenty years." He looked at Five oddly.
Five looked down at the counter before looking back up at the man, "Good. I need an address."
-
Five folded the napkin and put it in his blazer pocket as the man walked out of the donut shop. He sighed, turning his coffee mug around and taking a sip of it.
"I missed you y'know," Y/n mumbled.
Five raised his eyebrows, "What? Sorry, I couldn't hear you."
She shook her head, "Never mind. It's not important." She took a big drink out of her coffee and put the mug down, messing with it.
Five nodded, bring the mug up to his face, covering his mouth. He took a sip of the coffee while smirking. Y/n looked down at the counter and played with her hands that were placed on the counter, just like Five's were.
Suddenly the bell rang, alerting them that someone had entered the shop. Looking to the side to see Five looking into the bell. She decided to do the same, not daring to move anything but her eyes. She took a deep breath as she saw armed officers, half of them pointing their guns at Five and the others pointing their guns at her.
Five sighed, "Hmm. That was fast. I thought I'd have a little more time before they found me."
Five started messing with his mug, taking a sip. "So let's be professional about this yeah? On your feet and with us. We'll even spare the girl. They just want to talk," the officer right behind Y/n said, shifting his gun towards Five.
Five sighed again, "I've got nothing to say."
"It doesn't have to go this way. You think I want to shoot two kids? Go home with that on my conscious?" the officer asked.
Fives messed with his mug again, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." He looked at the officer, "You won't be going home." The man looked at him, confused. The other officers exchanged worried and confused glances to each other. Y/n sighed, drinking the rest of her coffee and moving positions on how she was holding it. Five picked up a butter knife and started looking at it as if it was an ancient artifact.
He blinked right behind the officer and stabbed him in the neck with the knife. The officer grunted and started shooting everywhere, falling to the ground. The lights started flickering fast.
The other officers went to shoot at Five when he blinked to a set of tables on the other end of the shop. All the officers aimed their guns around, trying to find Five. They all stopped and pointed their guns at the girl while she sat on her stool facing them with one leg resting over the other. She looked clearly amused at the sight as she was throwing the mug in the air and catching it by the handle. She heard a little zap and threw the mug up in the air as high as she could, behind the officers.
Five appeared, laying across a set of tables. "Hey assholes!" he yelled, smirking. The officers attention went from the girl to the boy. He blinked away as they started shooting where he used to be.
The girl smirked as she got to the mug just in time. She caught it and swung it as hard as she could, smashing it over one of the guys heads. Their gun flew in the air as they arched backwards from her kicking him in the back of the knee. He clutched his head trying to get up. She caught the gun in mid air and aimed at him. When she pulled the trigger, the gun clicked meaning it was out of amination. She groaned and rolled her eyes, "Dammit." She clicked the safety on, just on the off chance, and turned the gun around, hitting the guy in the back of the head with the gunstock. She hit him where some of the bleeding from the mug shards where, causing a little bit of blood to splatter on her face. The man groaned and hit the floor.
The men stopped shooting and looked at her before they heard a knock on the door. Standing outside the door was Five. He smirked and put two fingers up to his forehead, making a solute. He blinked as the guy started shooting the door. When he stopped, he realized Five wasn't there anymore. He walked up to the door and examined outside of it, trying to see if the boy had ran off.
Five blinked in front of one of the men, snapping a mop and stabbing the guy in the side with it. The man groaned as he fell to the ground. The other three men aimed at Five. Five blinked behind one of the three men and wrapped his tie around the man's neck. He pulled him backwards, choking him. Y/n chuckled, making another one of the men snapped his head towards the sound.
She jumped over the countertop as it started getting shot at. She felt something graze her shoulder and she groaned. She grabbed at her shoulder, pulling her hand away and seeing blood. Rolling her eyes, grabbing a pot of coffee and snuck around the counter, going to the side of the man that was trying to shoot at her. He turned to her, and aimed. She smirked and brought the pot out from behind her, splashing him in the face. He staggered backwards, dropping his gun and clutching his face. As he fell to the ground, she skipped up to him and stepped on his throat. The kicking and the hitting of the man didn't bother her as she picked her nails. She smirked down at him as her eyes started glowing red and her fingertips started having a white glow on them. Aiming for his crotch, she let out the energy and a white light came from her finger, hitting the man square in the crotch. He groaned, almost crying. She stuck out her lip and looked down at the man. "How tragic," she said as a red light came from her eyes and hit the man in the forehead. She smirked and removed her foot from his throat. Turning around, she saw a slightly stunned Five.
A man lunged towards Y/n, but Five grabbed a pencil off the table and stabbed the man in the eye. The man staggered backwards, screaming as he leaned his back over a table.
Five walked over to the man he strangled and grabbed his tie, putting it around his neck. He tried to tie it, but he was struggling. Y/n smirked and walked over to him, taking the tie and tying it. She tightened it, putting it down his vest and smoothing over his shirt and blazer. Walking over to the donut case, she grabbed a donut an split it in half. She took a bit of it before dropping it on the ground and spitting it out. She made a 'blah' sound.
Five smirked, walking over to the only man left alive. The man tried crawling towards an exit. Five stepped on the man's back and put both his feet on the sides of the man's head. Grabbing the man's head, he snapped the his neck.
Y/n smirked and slid over the counter top, walking to the door and picking up a device. She shook it in her hand and held it up, showing Five, "They were tracking you." She raised her eyebrows, "Mind if I-"
Five interrupted her, "Go right ahead. I have to take care of something really quick." He walked over and sat down at his stool and looked behind himself at Y/n. She smirked to herself and set the device down on the floor before zapping it with the energy from her fingertips.
She brushed herself off, "I'll be outside." She walked outside and leaned her back up against the wall.
Five sighed, grabbing a knife and opening up his arm. He put his hand into the cut and grabbed the tracking device, wincing while looking for it.
He walked outside and dropped the tracking device near the drain. "C'mon. We're going to Vanya's place."
Y/n nodded, following him and getting into the car.
-
They arrived outside an apartment. Y/n followed Five up the flights of stairs to the second floor. They stopped at a door that Y/n guessed was Vanya's apartment. Five turned the doorknob and pushing the door. "Dammit," he muttered.
Y/n chuckled, "One sec." She pushed past him and bent down so she was eye level with the doorknob. She sighed as she put her hand under her hair in the back. She searched, finally finding one. Pulling it out, she bent the bobby pin and put it in the doorknob. She took it out every few seconds, rearranging the bending of it and sticking it back in the handle. Finally, there was a click. She smirked, standing up and opening the door, moving to the side and letting Five walk in first. He raised his eyebrows and smirked when he heard the door click behind him. There was another click indicating that Y/n locked the door.
Five walked over to a chair and sat down. Y/n turned the light on and started to walk away from the door. "Turn the light off. We don't want her to know that we're here," Five said bluntly.
Y/n nodded, looking away from him and putting her hand on the light switch. She snapped her head back towards him. "Is that blood?"
Five looked at his arm where the blood was seeping through. He cleared his throat, "That's not important."
Y/n stared at him, turning off the lights. She walked over to where Five was sitting and turned on the lamp. Without skipping a beat, she walked to the bathroom to search for the first-aid kit.
"Where are you going?" Five asked her as she was about to turn into the bathroom.
"Hell, most likely," she yelled back to him as she walking into the bathroom.
Five chuckled, shaking his head.
Y/n opened up the medicine cabinet. "Damn Vanya," she muttered to herself as she saw all the pill bottles. She shook her head and looked on the top shelf. She grabbed at a red box, and brought it down, flipping it over. "Bingo."
She walked out of the bathroom and kneeled down in front of Five. He looked down at her, his eyes widening slightly as she sat on her knees and grabbed his wrist softly. She lifted up his blazer sleeve carefully, being sure to not be too rough. She winced at the amount of blood that he was still loosing.
"You can't just leave a cut like this. Especially not when it's this deep," she started as she opened the first-aid kit open and pulling out a small bottle of peroxide and a few cotton balls. Opening the small bottle and pouring it on a cotton ball. She moved her hair behind her shoulders so she could see. Five eyed her actions. She moved a little and put the cotton ball around the cut, "This might burn." Five wanted to wince but fought it off. "Jesus Five. That's a really deep cut, what the hell happened?"
She looked at him. He was staring at her, not answering her at all. She sighed, doing the same with three more cotton balls before grabbing a few gauze pads out. He stopped her, putting his hand on her jaw. She looked at him as her breathing hitched. He took his hand away from her jaw a licked his thumb, rubbing a spot on her right cheek. "Blood," he said.
She nodded, looking down to steady her breathing again. Opening the gauze pads, she putting them over a couple cotton balls that she put over the cut. "Don't move those," she said sternly yet softly. His eyes followed her every move, entranced. "It might be a little uncomfortable. I might have to move them around a little so that it's more comfortable for you."
She pulled out a brown gauze roll and started to unroll it. She lifted his arm slightly and wrapped the gauze around his arm, making sure it wasn't too tight and wasn't too loose. She grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the gauze, finishing helping him. "Is it too tight?" she asked. He shook his head. She nodded, rolling his blazer sleeve down carefully. Putting everything back either in the trash or the first-aid kit, she put the kit back in the bathroom and stood behind the chair Five was sitting in. She clicked off the lamp and they waited.
-
There were keys jingling as the door opened. Y/n put her hand on the top of the chair, right next to Five's head. Vanya reached for the light switch when Five turned on the lamp next to him. Vanya saw the two of them, causing her to gasp, jump backwards a few inches, and put her hand over her heart. "Jesus!" she shouted.
"You should have locks on your windows," Five stated.
"I live on the second floor," Vanya said, putting her scarf on her coat rack. She gave Five an odd and confused look.
Five shrugged, "Rapists can climb."
Y/n rolled her eyes at him and Vanya looked at him weirdly again. "You're so weird," Vanya started, before noticing his arm, "is that blood?"
Five looked at his arm, "It's nothing."
"It's fixed up don't worry," Y/n said.
Vanya nodded, smiling at her sister. She looked at Five, "Why are you here?"
Five sighed, "I've decided that you two are the only one's that I can trust."
Y/n looked at him questioningly and Vanya furrowed her brows, sitting down on the couch across from Five. "Why me?" she asked.
"Because you're ordinary," Five stated.
Y/n scowled at him and slapped him in the back of the head.
He grabbed the back of his head and glared at Y/n who smiled sweetly at him. He turned back to Vanya, "Because you'll listen."
Vanya nodded and Five continued.
"When I jumped forward and got stuck in the future, you know what I found?" he asked.
Vanya shook her head slightly, "No."
Five sighed, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. As far as I could tell, I was the last person left alive. I never figured out what killed the human race, but I did find something else." He paused, "The date it happens. The world ends in eight days and I have no idea how to stop it."
"I'll put on a pot of coffee," Vanya said.