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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ʙ. ʙ. ᴇꜰꜰᴇᴄᴛ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴏᴘᴇɴ & sʜᴜᴛ
( ʙʀɪᴇғ )ᴄᴀsᴇ ꒱　


❝ SOLITUDE CAN DO FUNNY
THINGS TO THE MIND ❞

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A few days after their 'what if' name game, Alexa sat alone in her room with her back lying flat on her bed. Five was out doing something— what, she didn't think she wanted to know— but he'd wanted to take advantage of their father being away. Contrary to her siblings' belief, she didn't need to know where he was twenty-four seven. She sighed with boredom before an idea popped into her head, causing her to smile.

She got up from her bed and made her way to her bookshelf which contained a selection of little-used records. The blonde was in an unusually good mood (although it wasn't as rare for her to feel this way now as it would be in the future) and when she was, she had the rare dance party when her father didn't yell at her for being "too loud." Alexa selected an album by the Backstreet Boys and placed it on her rather dusty record player. Luther liked to play music the most out of all of them but it wasn't unusual for others to do so as well.

As the song started, Alexa began to move with the music and sway to the rhythm, making up her own moves as she went. The blonde lost track of time as she enjoyed the freedom that the record player provided and startled slightly when a familiar voice interrupted her dance.

"Is this supposed to intimidate the enemy?" Five asked with amusement. The boy himself was leaning against her door frame with his arms crossed and his green eyes were looking at her critically.

Alexa wrinkled her nose and grinned. "No, you idiot. I'm dancing."

"Hmm," was his unimpressed response. "Maybe you should do that on our next mission. It does look very threatening."

The blonde rolled her eyes and moonwalked backward towards him as her blue eyes glinted with laughter. When she was in front of him, she put out her hands. "You could join me, you know."

Five gave her a 'really?' look. "You know I don't dance."

Alexa sighed. "I really didn't want to have to do this."

"Do what?" came the wary question.

Five immediately squeezed his eyes shut as Alexa's face morphed into a (fake) hurt, pleading expression. No matter how he'd tried to hide it, it was well-known in the Academy that her pouty look was one of the few things that would sway him.

When she saw what he was doing, Alexa's pout grew more realistic. "No fair! You're not allowed to close your eyes!"

In response, she gently took both of his hands in hers and tangled their fingers together in the way she knew he liked. Alexa moved closer to him so when she stood on her tiptoes as her warm breath fanned his face. "Please, Five?" she asked quietly.

The boy tried to remain resolute and not look, but almost against his own will, his eyes opened to see wide blue ones looking up at him pleadingly. There was no more use trying to even fight it now and he caved almost immediately. "Fine. But just for one song."

The bright, beaming look she gave him was almost worth it.

☂☂☂

Alexa hesitated at the door to Five's room as she watched the boy mutter to himself as he wrote equations on his wall. The blonde raised her fist and knocked gently on the wood. "Five?"

The boy turned at gave her a guarded look. "Oh, it's you."

She sighed. "Look, I'm not sorry for what I said— I do believe that you went too far— but I don't want to fight with you, not now. Let's just move on, yeah?"

Five didn't respond right away but eventually said "fine" stiffly before he turned back to the wall. Alexa knew that was the best she was going to get so she moved into the room and sat in his chair next to the bedroom window. "What's next?"

He glanced at her once before he studied his writing. "I think I've got something. It's tenuous but promising."

Alexa leaned forward slightly. "Alright, let's—"

She was interrupted by Luther who now occupied her old spot in the doorway. "What is all this?"

This time, Five didn't even bother to look up. "It's a probability map."

"Probability of what?"

"Of whose death could save the world. I've narrowed it down to four."

Alexa stared at the boy in amazement. Had it always been this easy to stop the apocalypse? If so, why even bother with the glass eye?

"Are you saying one of these four people causes the apocalypse?" Luther asked.

Irritation crept into Five's tone. "No, I'm saying that their death might prevent it."

"Oh. I'm not following."

"Time is fickle," Five explained. "The slightest alteration in events can lead to massively different outcomes in the time continuum. The butterfly effect. So all I have to do is find the people with the greatest probability of impacting the timeline, wherever they may be, and kill them."

Wait, what? Alexa's stare turned into one of shock. That was what he was trying to figure out? She was aware that death was necessary— they would all be dead in a few days, anyway— but randomly killing people? At least at The Commission they'd known for sure there would be impact as Five had explained it.

"Milton Greene," the boy said as he wrote the name down in a notebook.

"So who's he? A terrorist or something?" Luther suggested.

"I believe he is a gardener."

This was even too far for her and Alexa to jumped in. "You can't be serious!" she exclaimed with wide eyes.

For once, Luther was on the same page. "Wait, this is madness, Five. You— wh—where'd you get that?"

From seemingly out of nowhere, Five produced an old fashioned-looking rifle. Alexa tensed at the sight of the gun as she wasn't sure how she felt about it being in Five's possession, no matter how skilled he apparently was with it.

"In Dad's room. I think he used it to shoot a rhinoceros. It's similar to the model I used at work—nice shoulder fit and highly reliable," the boy answered as easily as if he were talking about the weather.

"But you can't! This guy, Milton, is just an innocent man," Luther protested.

"It's basic math. His death could potentially save the lives of billions. If I did nothing he'd be dead in four days anyway. The apocalypse won't spare anyone."

"We don't do this kind of thing," their brother replied firmly.

"We are not doing anything. I am."

"I can't let you go and kill innocent people no matter how many lives you'll save."

Five, after testing the rifle out, started to put it away, unaffected by Luther's protests. "Well, good luck stopping me."

Alexa had stood up by this point, unsure of what she was going to do to stop the boy but knowing she needed to. She kept her eyes fixed on him, unaware of the oncoming situation.

Luther sighed, and suddenly he was behind her with one arm wrapping around her neck. "You're not going anywhere."

Alexa's eyes widened as his arm tightened, cutting off her breath. She let out a coughing breath as the air escaped her lungs. While she was invulnerable to sharp objects and basic injuries, interior harm was still possible— including needing air to breathe. Her surprise wore off quickly and hatred burned through her. She twisted in his grip but to no avail— he was too strong. She stilled and tried to get to him by hitting him on the arm (not that he would care.)

Five turned to see them and for a second, fear flashed across his face before it was replaced by anger. He hefted the gun up to his shoulder and demanded, "put her down."

Unintimidated, Luther tightened his grip, causing Alexa to gasp. "Put the gun down. You're not killing anyone. I know she's important to you so don't make me do this."

The boy scoffed despite his worry. There was no way Luther would cause her permanent harm, right?

"It's either her or the gun. You decide," the blond man declared as his arm wrapped around his sister's neck just a little tighter.

There was a flash of blue and suddenly Alexa was dropped to the floor. The blonde landed on her hands and knees and let out a few hacking coughs mixed with shallow gasps. She felt a gentle hand rest on her back and as she sat up, there was a surprising amount of concern on Five's face. Then his gaze flicked up and narrowed.

She followed his look to their brother who was hold Five's gun. "I can keep doin' this all day. I know you're still a good person, Five. Otherwise you wouldn't have risked everything coming back here to save us all. But you're not on your own anymore."

Five sighed. "There is one way but it's just about impossible."

Luther raised an eyebrow. "More impossible than what brought you back here?"

☂☂☂

Alexa sat quietly in the back seat, still reeling from the fact that Luther had tried to— scratch that, had— choked her. While they'd never been on the best of terms, they'd respected each other and had understood their roles in the Academy. Since Five disappeared, though, they'd been like tectonic plates, constantly grating at each other.

Five's voice finally broke the silence they'd previously been sitting in while they waited: "you know, I never enjoyed it."

"What?" Luther asked.

"The killing. I mean, I was-I was good at my work, and I-I took pride in it, but it never gave me pleasure. I think it was all those years alone. Solitude can do funny things to the mind."

Luther seemed to understand. "Yeah, well, you were gone for such a long time. I only spent four years on the moon but that was more than enough. It's the being alone that breaks you." He paused as he glanced down at their makeshift briefcase. "You think they'll buy it?"

Alexa wanted to return her brother's favor and give him a good choking. Didn't he understand that not everything had to be about him? And besides, four years was nothing compared to forty! She still didn't feel like acknowledging his existence, though, so she remained quiet.

"Well, what I do know is that they're desperate," Five answered. "It's like a cop losing his gun. If the Commission finds out they'll be in deep shit. Oh, not to mention the fact that they'll be stuck here until they get it back."

"Well, I should hold onto it," Luther said. Five gave him a confused look, so he he explained, "in case they make a move on you."

"Okay, Luther, but be careful. I mean, I've-I've lived a long life, but you're still a young man. You got your whole life ahead of you. Don't waste it."

At the sound of a car approaching, Alexa looked up and out the window and watched as it approached from the opposite direction. The three of them climbed out of the car. "Here we go. If this all goes sideways, do me a favor, Lexa, and tell Dolores I'm sorry."

The blonde startled but then her expression softened and she gave him a nod. While she still found his relationship with the mannequin absurd, the least she could do right now was give him the reassurance that she would follow through. He had, after all, chosen her life over plan A. 

The opposite car's occupants shut the doors. One was clearly a man and the other a woman but their features were covered by large, creepy masks. Alexa shivered slightly; they were perfect for a horror movie.

"Are the masks really necessary?" Five asked.

The masks were removed to reveal a bear-like man and a dark-skinned woman who spoke first: "so where is it, kid?"

Five was unimpressed as he walked towards them. "Wow, that's how you're gonna start. You know, we can get right back in our car and call it a day."

Cha-Cha raised her gun and Alexa instantly tensed in response as her hands raised slightly to prepare for a shield projection.

"You won't even make it halfway there."

"Maybe. But as I'm sure you found out in your previous foray, my brother is not your average giant and she isn't someone you can ignore, either." A smirking tone entered his voice. "I should know, after all."

"He's right," the man— presumably Hazel— said. "You dropped a chandelier on him and he got right back up. We don't even know about the other one."

Alexa let out an indignant snort at that, which was ignored. The woman knew well enough about her from the department store shoot-out.

Five nodded at his words. "By the time you took him out, he'd smash your precious briefcase to a pulp."

"Probably us too, right?" the man asked. "So, how do we help each other?"

"I need you to get in contact with your superior so I can have a chat with her. Face-to-face."

"About what?" Cha-Cha demanded, not one to give up easily.

"Well, I don't believe that's any of your concern."

The woman gave him a critical look. "Just don't tell her about the briefcase."

"Fair enough."

Cha-Cha walked to the phone booth and picked up the phone as she began dialing a number. Alexa, Luther and Hazel waited in a tense silence as Five stuck his hands in his pockets, seeming to relax. After the call connected, he returned to his two siblings.

"What happens now?" Luther asked.

"Now we wait."

The silence settled heavily on the road. Alexa's mind wandered and (almost inappropriately) began to think about the classic wild west song for a standoff because this was exactly what it was like. She could almost imagine Cha-Cha raising her gun and saying this town ain't big enough for two of us.

Then, a real song broke through their impasse and Alexa turned to watch in amazement as an ice cream truck came hurtling towards them playing 'Ride of the Valkyries' in a shrill, jingling tone. Then, even more incredibly, Klaus was hanging out of the window.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Luther exclaimed.

"It's a setup!" Cha-Cha cried as the truck soared past the three Hargreeves.

Time seemed to slow down suddenly and Alexa could only watch as her brothers barreled towards the assassins, Klaus waving to his siblings as he passed them. 

Then, time stopped altogether.

☂☂☂

In what was no time at all— at least for Five and The Handler— time resumed and the ice cream truck met Hazel and Cha-Cha's car at full speed as the pair threw themselves out of the way. Klaus and Diego climbed out of the now-stopped truck.

Luther called for his missing brother: "Five?"

The blonde's eyes scanned the area only to see that the boy was indeed absent. Her gut twisted with foreboding and her hands curled into fists at the thought of letting down the most important person in her life. But when her hands tightened, her fingertips closed around scratchy material. Her eyes widened and she opened her fist which had enclosed around a piece of paper. She uncrumpled it and read the small, scratchy writing: I'll be back.

Relief filled her and she allowed herself to relax. Five wouldn't have given her the paper if he didn't mean it.

"Five!" Luther called again before he waved the briefcase around. "Come get it!"

The case rattled loudly as he shook it before Luther threw it bodily away from the road. Klaus and Diego were tripping over each other to get to their car. "Come on. Come on!" Klaus said urgently.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Luther demanded.

"That doesn't matter right now," Alexa cut in frantically as she glanced up at the two assassins who were getting their bearings back.

Hazel and scrambled to the briefcase while Cha-Cha made for the gun, and both let out sounds of disappointment at their results. "No! Shit!"

"Get in the car," Luther said, ushering his siblings into the backseat.

"Luther, go!" Klaus exclaimed giddily as they slammed the doors shut. "Go! Let's go! Whoo!"