Academy's Collide

"A Word with Reggie"

            Five felt the sun beaming down on his face, he opened one eye and immediately regretted it, with good ol' sunshine blinding him almost completely. "HOLY SHIT!" He perked up and opened both of his eyes still looking in the same direction as the rising sun. "What the hell?" He rubbed his eyes and saw ten catching her breath. "Oh it's just you." She sighed in relief, he covered his eye and looked back at the sun. "Mother fucking sun!" He flipped off the huge skylight. "Just because you have the power to blind people." He stood up and stretched, "Doesn't mean you should." He walks next to ten who was dressed for the day. "The feeling is mutual." She nods and flipped the skylight off as well, very confused on what just happened."

            "So...what are doing here?" Five asked, ten reached for one of the shelves and grabbed a full shot glass. "To look for you." She flipped her neck back and drank the shot. "Well, you found me and I'm awake so..." He trailed off, "So what?" She asked, he shook his head, "You know what, never mind." He turned around to the armchair he slept on and picked up the blanket, "I'm just gonna clean up." Ten sighed and leaned on the bookcase. "Well, when you're done. I need to talk to you." He turned his gaze to her, "Griddy's?" He asked, "Yeah, whatever works." He smiled. "I'll see you in 5." She blinked away, leaving her flipped glass on the book shelf. He folded the blanket and tossed it on the one of the arms, he looked over to a small inn table, an empty glass and plate. He picked the dishes up and went to the book shelf. He reached over and saw many shot glasses in the left corner, he rolled his eyes but scooted the new glass with the others. "Must be a routine."

            He blinked to the kitchen and set the dishes in the sink, then he went into his bedroom to change. He walked out and went upstairs to see Diego with Klaus in the living room. "Where you headed?" He asked, Five sighed and spun on his heels, "Out." He turned around to the door. "Where?" Klaus asked, Five turned to them, "I'm not a child." He spun around to the door again, "Five, I'm just trying to protect you." Five waves to them, "I know where we live." And blinks to the front door to see ten with a cigarette. "Hey." She turns to him and quickly puts it out. "Ready to go?" He asks, "I'm already there." She blinks away and he follows.

            They walk into Griddy's and waved to Agnes at the register. "Well good morning you two!" She closes the register and walks to the two kids sitting at the counter. "Nice of you to drop by Ten." She smiled to five. "And to you too." She picked up her pen, "What can I get ya?" She said. "Coffee please, black." Ten looks over to him. "Can't you order something else?" He looked over to her, "Do you have any jelly donuts?" He asked, "Strawberry or Raspberry?" She asked, "Strawberry please." She wrote it down, "What about you sweetheart?" She turns to Ten. "A big glass of milk and a bowl of donut holes." She laughed, "Usual toppings?" She asked, "Yes please and I want the rainbow ones, not the sugar." She perked up, Agnes smiled and put her notepad in her apron pocket. "Coming right up!" She grabbed a plate and served Five his donut.

            "Rainbow sprinkles? What kind of diabetes do you eat in the morning?" He joked. "First of all, that's a little rude." He scoffed at her response, "Do I need to explain who I'm talking to?" He said sarcastically. "And second, donut holes are a gift from heaven AND hell, no one is above donut holes. The only people who don't like donut holes are Karen's and sociopaths." Agnes hands Five his coffee and goes to the back. "Donuts are delicious but donut holes!?" She did a chef's kiss, "Superior in all ways." Agnes came back out with a white bowl and a glass of milk. "Ken darling! Could you please come out and collect the tips please!" Soon then, a young boy came out of the kitchen. Your classic blond hair, blue eyed teenager also in a 1950's style uniform with black slacks, blacks shoes, and a white button up shirt with rolled sleeves tied together with a pink bow tie and black suspenders.

            "Sure thing!" He walked past Ten and started walking around the place, picking up the tips and signed receipts. "So why are we here?" Five asked as he picked up his coffee. Ten looked back at Ken at the register. "Hey Ken." He closed the register, "Yeah hun?" He asked, Five shuddered when he heard him call her "hun". "Could you give us a minute?" She gestured to me, his expression darkened slightly. "Yeah, I'll get the rest of your order." He pushed open the door to the back and took the tray from Agnes as she exited and he entered. She smiled sweetly and he put the tray down in front of them. He left quickly. She blinked to the door and locked it and flipped the 'be back in 20!' sign on the door and walked back to five. "It's about...us." Five blushed slightly but covered it quickly as he picked up his mug and sipped his coffee.

            "You're gonna have to be more specific than 'us'." He said. "It's about our abilities." He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" She looked away in fear slightly and nibbled on a donut hole. "Ten, I'm tired of you keeping shit locked up. Just tell me." She closed her eyes as a single tear rolled down her cheek. He grabbed a napkin from the dispenser and handed it to her. "Reginald." She finally said. "Look if he wants us on the team, forget it." She turned to him, "He wants your power." Five stood up and pushed himself away from the counter. "He wants you on the team Five." She kept looking straight. "Five." She said again. His breathing increased, his heart pounded. "No." He whispered and blinked back the academy, into his room, in his closet, in his little sanctuary.

            "No." He repeated again and he did something that he hadn't done in a long time; he buried his face in his knees and cried. He didn't know why but this was bringing back terrible memories, ones he didn't even know he had. One was that he was strapped to a table in the infirmary with Grace in scrubs and Reginald behind glass with pogo. He was only a boy, "Let's begin with the procedure." He looked at Grace who was emotionless picked a scalpel and began cutting his arm slightly open and shoved what seemed to be an I.V unit though it was bigger than a normal one. He screamed of course, He wasn't put under, nothing to numb the pain, straight up blade to skin.

            Another memory was that he was locked in what seemed to be psych ward but it was only this one part of the house. he noticed how often he was going in and out all the time. He was always in a restraint and the only way he could figure out how to get out was by dislocating either of his shoulders and picking the lock with whatever he had. That ended up with him wearing a lot of bobby-pins and he somehow remembered Reginald screaming because he could never find any of his ballpoint pens. He looked at the door and decided to man the hell up and went to the big man himself. Five blinked to the door to his office. It was opened and he peeked through to see Reginald writing. The most memorizes he had of him were him writing at his desk or walking around with Vanya holding a red journal with his initials embroidered on the leather cover. He knocked on the open door, "What do you want?" He said, still looking down at whatever he was writing.

            "This isn't about me dad." God he hated calling him that name. He wasn't gonna call him by his real name because it seemed too weird and too formal but no one called him "Reggie", Grace was the only one he didn't bark at for addressing him by that name. "Well whatever it is, it can wait." He shooed him away and went back to writing. Five bite his lip in frustration but sighed and closed the door and sat at a chair across from the desk. "No it can't." Reginald sighed but covered up whatever he was writing and closed his pen. "You have 60 seconds, go." He said. "Five and I talked." Five said sternly. Reginald lowered his head. "And you've made your decision?" He asked. "I wouldn't be here if I hadn't." He nodded his head. "And your answer?" He asked, Five rolled his eyes. "Take a guess." He said. Reginald shook his head. "If you would just think-" Five got up and slammed his hands the desk. "I have thought about it and my answer is no." Reginald leaned in closer, "You better watch yourself boy, I know you've been around my daughter." Five pushed himself away from the desk.

            "Oh now you consider us your children and not tools!" He yelled, Reginald stood up, "Get out of my office." He said quietly, Five looked at him. "With pleasure." He said through his teeth. He turned around sharply and blinked downstairs to his siblings. "There you are Five! We were looking for you" Vanya said. "Welp!" He grabbed the bread, peanut butter, and marshmallows and a butter knife. "You found me." He started making a sandwich. "Where were you?" She asked. Five opened the bag of marshmallows and poured a handful on a piece of bread. "With her." He said. Klaus made kissy noises at him. "The complete opposite actually." He put the 2 pieces of bread together and took a bite.

            "Five, is there something you're not telling us?" Luther asked. Five shook his head as he plopped down on a chair. "There was something she wasn't telling me."