001 | ( VIDEO. ) | JULY 30th

[pubertytwice]

_{[ The feed clicks on and shows a kid appearing no older than 13 seated back in a chair, curled knuckles against his face. His eyes look tired and expression rather thin. He's wearing a uniform of some sort, though pieces of it look tattered or stained. One of his legs bounces in his seat (aren't his shorts cute?) but after a moment of mulling over what to say, he leans forward, hands folding together neatly. ]}

I already lack faith in gathering information from anyone here, and yet, here I am with inquiries. Serious responses only.

_{[ What could this boy possibly be asking for?? Where is the best place to get ice cream? Hardly so. ]}

Has anyone has ever even attempted hacking into any confidential files that could be in the government's system that operates here? Alternatively, if anyone has ever attempted to assassinate the Queen?

_{[ Oh.. what.. ]}

If not, is there any place on this goddamn planet that serves coffee? Decent coffee. Every place here is a shit hole.

_{[ That's it. No thanks for your time or anything. ]}

Comments

[pubertytwice]

Huh. Yeah. I mean.. that's probably why Reginald paid a pretty penny to own each of us. Knowledge is power, after all.

<sub>[ Five doesn't consider himself a good guy or Moira a bad person. They're both just people, doing what they want to do, so that also helps with any apprehension he has. It's not like he doesn't already have blood on his hands if Moira decides to use the samples for something considered bad.

With a rather chipper grin, he extends his hand to her. ]</sub>

Works for me. But I'll warn you, if I give you any samples from Klaus, you might find them to be pretty polluted with.. a lot of shit. I'd also appreciate being kept if the know of what you come up with if you're feeling that generous.

[pubertytwice]

Sure. We all know about our sister's powers now too. Though, that one would have been nice to know sooner rather than later.

_{[ Yeah, uh. It would have helped with the whole stop the apocalypse business, for sure. ]}

[pubertytwice]

You mean other people who have the same abilities I have? You're looking at the one and only. The only other people that have numbers like me are my family— all adopted from different mothers.

_{[ A pause. ]}

Well, adopted sounds a bit too.. affectionate for what actually happened. I guess all of our mothers were impressively compensated and handed over when we were babies.

_{[ That's more like it. ]}

[pubertytwice]

That's a little better.
_{[ A little. ]}

Why are any connections I make suddenly your business?

[nobodylikeshim]

because someone needs to worry about these things~
and it doesn't seem to be you
i am my own problem
i don't expect to be able to make any connections
but it makes me sad to see someone capable not do it
because they could get stronger and become a bigger threat~

[pubertytwice]

Have you considered you might be more approachable if you didn't dress up like a clown?
_{[ They've had this song an dance. Hisoka is a "magician" and it's "magician" make up, but maybe Five likes trying to irritate him. ]}

[nobodylikeshim]

Magician~

And I am very approachable.
Much more than a certain boy~

[fourthdimension]

[ that really is more like it! ]

You don't say. [ HAH. ] Sounds about par for the course, about as expected as a golf ball rolling into the hole. [ someone just has to... hit it there, first. ] My name's Elizabeth, but they called me The Subject... Or the Lamb of Columbia. My father... kept me where he could watch my abilities grow without worrying about influences. Made sure I was his and his alone. [ not a particularly affectionate man himself, that zachary comstock. ]

Don't tell me your surname is Comstock.

[pubertytwice]

_{[ OH BOY, does this ever sound familiar.. Vanya and Elizabeth would have a lot to talk about on this subject. More like, Reginald isolated Vanya to keep her powers suppressed instead of growing, but still. ]}

Hargreeves, actually.
Sounds like both of our guardians suck in the whole fatherly affection department.

_{[ Five scoffs slightly. ]}

Sometimes influences is what makes a person's abilities grow stronger.

_{[ Really depends on what kind of influences we're talking about here. Klaus is a prime example of being influenced and just getting weaker. ]}

[onerous]

How so?

[She tilts her head curiously]

How many siblings do you have with powers?

[pubertytwice]

Six.

_{[ Wait.. ]}

Five. We lost one, but I guess he's around in spirit. Sometimes helps out. Maybe I should count it as.. five and a half.

_{[ Nice. Ben is just a half. ]}

[onerous]

In-- Literally in spirit?

[Which makes the 'and a half' seem like a terrible sort of joke. The corner of her mouth twitches, amused despite herself, and she shakes her head with a soft 'ha.']

I suppose that's good, though, in a way. Comforting? Though things like lingering spirits is a little uncomfortable to me... But when it's family, maybe... [Maybe she'd feel different if she had a better reminder of her family being around than the memories of corpses.]

...Do you wish your family was here?

[pubertytwice]

Sure. Klaus talks to him all the time and gets to count his vote in for things. It's good to know he still gives a shit to hang out and around.

_{[ Hmm. ]}

In way, yes.

_{[ this softie ]}

That means I would know for sure they were safe. One is here, at least. So..

_{[ He pops his lips together. ]}

That's something.

[onerous]

[Yuri nods in understanding and decides that, out of courtesy to Five, not to push that line of questioning too much more. Not now. The friendship is a little too new for that.

Instead she focuses on the next interesting thing, eyebrow raising in surprise]

Klaus? Ah-- That Klaus is your brother? [But unlike how someone else might have said it, Yuri's expression softens fondly and there's that hint of a smile] I've met him, we talked. He's nice.

[mylawn]

I’ll say.

[He looks thirteen, maybe. 76 is a little more willing to believe fantastical things, now that he’s been on an alien planet for the last few months, but he prefers to maintain a healthy amount of skepticism for any given situation.

So how does something like this happen to a guy?

[pubertytwice]

Oh.

_{[ well then ]}

I'm sure you two had a lot to talk about.

_{[ not commenting on the 'nice' bit cause Five knows it's true and that's a little bit too much praise for his liking. ]}

[pubertytwice]

_{[ don't challenge him, that's the perfect way to manipulate him. ]}

You sound too sure about that.

[pubertytwice]

Don't push yourself.
There's nothing wrong with having a bad attitude if you need a break.

_{[ Five always has an attitude because he always needs a break, tbh. ]}

[pubertytwice]

_{[ Here we go. ]}

I have the natural ability to spatial jump, which I improved on my own to where I could jump though both time and space.

_{[ Humble yourself a little, Five. Your guardian helped you pushed your limit. No? Okay. ]}

I do this without the use of any equipment, but instead, pushing my consciousness forward into a quantum state that extends throughout each variable plane of time— it's mathematics. I jumped forward in time— the future is shitty, by the way— and I made a simple mistake in my equation when traveling back in time since I had never gone back in time before.

I ended up back in the time period I had intended to go to, but it effected my physical form.

[onerous]

We have a few things in common. But... he’s been dealing with this a lot longer than I have. In many ways, he really has it worse.

[Though given how Yuri’s abilities work to exorcise the spirits, Klaus night say otherwise. She looks down at her hands a moment, contemplative]

And our ways of dealing with— all of it are... very different. I’m not sure which is worse. [Sure drinking and drugs were a pretty bad way of dealing with it all, but if such things had been easier to get for her... she’s not sure if she’d have gone down that path or not. Then again, Yuri’s idea for a solution had been much more... permanent. And not in a good way. She exhales slowly]

...I’m glad. That you’re here with him, I mean. The support of even one person whose opinion truly matters to you can make all the difference.

[pubertytwice]

<sub>[ Five doesn't know what Yuri does to cope with it, but he knows he certainly doesn't approve of Klaus' way of dealing with it all. Speaking with Yuri makes him think about reconsidering how he treats his brother in regards to his habits. Klaus may have expressed in the past how shitty it could be to talk to the dead— not to mention the fact Reginald forced it upon him as a child.

It's just.. so easily to ignore Klaus sometimes. Now that they're older (in Five's case, much older) it's easier to feel regret.

His jaw tightens and in a gentle tone, he replies. ]</sub>

I'm glad I'm here with him too.

_{[ At least he could protect one of them, though the fact the rest of them aren't in plain sight aggravates him. Five hasn't even tried to jump back to home because that meant leaving Klaus here, and the guy seemed so happy to have Five here. Not to mention, the last thing that needs to happen is another mistake and he ends up.. alone again, without any of them. ]}

I just hope the rest of them are doing well.

[onerous]

[He says as much to Yuri, but she's watching him again with that quiet, sad expression that she always has]

Does he know that?

[Because, you know, that's important too!!]

[pubertytwice]

_{[ squints..... ]}

Kind of.

_{[ which is Five language for “no.” ]}

[onerous]

You can't assume people will just know they have support. Even if it's not out loud, maybe leave him a note somewhere he'll find it. Sometimes it's easier to write things down then say them.

[Just saying.

And then, lighter, a bit teasingly:] Or perhaps I could pass the message along for you?

[mylawn]

[Ah yes, math. Just math. 76 tries to follow along as Five describes what happened to him, and he finds himself wishing Winston were here to explain a few things. Still, he thinks he gets the gist.]

I knew someone once. Got unstuck from time in an accident. We ended up having to invent a device that kept her anchored.

[It’s clear, however, that in contextualizing this for himself, he’s taking Five a little more seriously. Is he a 58 year old in the body of a teenager? Maybe not, but at least it doesn’t sound too far-fetched, now that he has the story.]

That’s about as far as we got in that department.