Untapped Potential: his greatest disappointment.

Spirit.

Ben observed from the sidelines as the table went eerily silent. He didn't know what else to do, either. It all felt a little too; irregular, especially for Ben. This woman, granted, he's only met her once, but it was not a good experience. It was; a little traumatic for both him and Klaus.

A cackle.

Klaus, no doubt. Ben sighed as he turned to Klaus, his brain still frozen as his limbs move on their own. Ben didn't understand. That's not possible. None of this is possible.

Klaus, though he may have resembled insanity, seemed to agree. His eyes erratic as he laughed carelessly, his breathing rough as his hand's flail. Ben stifled a sigh, shuffling over to his brother and flicking his head. He occasionally reminisces about when he couldn't regularly touch Klaus, and it makes him wonder how much work Klaus has to put in to control Ben's corporeality.

No matter now.

"That's absurd. What're you trying to accomplish?" Five uttered, his eyebrows furrowed as he squinted his eyes. His face reeked of suspicion, and Ben couldn't help but agree. Klaus was a pain in his ass, but Ben preferred his brother alive- breathing. The Handler was not a woman to be trusted.

"I'd like to think I'm making the world a better place, Fivey. It's not polite to keep these things to yourself," The Handler stated, running a manicured finger over Five's cheek. Ben felt a protective feeling rise in his chest. He didn't know who it was meant for.

"Are you accusing me?" Five accused- ironically. Ben solved who his passion was directed to.

Klaus.

Damn that bastard.

Ben cared for him, and he fucking hated that. The man had no self-preservation, and it felt like Ben was battling for his life over his own.

"I don't know," The Handler dragged, standing up and ticking quietly, "You're a smart man, Five. I doubt that you didn't know."

It felt like the room dropped ten degrees, and as Ben looked around the room, taking in reactions, he felt... conflicted.

Vanya was disoriented, but she was also studying Five as if he knew something. Five was outraged, his face practically red as he clenched his fists. The Handler, poised as ever, face calm and collected. She was unbothered by any event taking place.

Klaus wasn't moving. It was as if the man had been numbed because of the temperature decrease. The medium didn't blink, didn't move, but Ben wasn't that worried. Klaus would snap out of this eventually, act like everything was okay, and then they'd talk about it in a couple of days. It was their routine.

Ben, well, he didn't know how he felt. He didn't trust the businesswoman, not in the slightest, and his trust for Five was wavering, but he didn't feel mad at them. What if Five was trying to help them?

But they also could be trying to break the family apart.

This was the woman who tried to convince them that the apocalypse was supposed to happen, and Five was gone for a decade. Was either of them worthy of the family's trust? Five worked for this company. This woman-owned the company.

But Five wouldn't do that. Ben knew Five. Sure, that Five was long gone, but his morals were the same. Right? Ben assumed he was still the same boy he had been since before he left. Ben liked to think so. He liked to think that his brightest brother was an okay person, even if his morals were a little... contaminated.

"What's going on, Five? Who is this?" Diego demanded, walking into the room with a knife in his hand. Ben chuckled at his brother flipping a knife in his hand, mostly because he knew that Diego was not doing so because of The Handler. That was just what Diego did.