𝙲𝙴𝙻𝙴𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙰𝚂 𝚂𝙿𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚄𝙼 ☂ Five Hargreeves

13 ☂ The speed force

☂ The speed force ☂

Number Five and Number Eight followed their adoptive father to the bar area of the hotel.

Five took a seat on the high chair by Reginald, Eight deciding to drop her 'manners' and jump up on the bar, her back facing the wall full of bottled alcoholic beverages.

"You two seem to be the sensible ones of the bunch." Reginald's husky voice echoed through the room.

"That's because we're the oldest." Five replied shortly.

"You know, technically, we're older than you right now." Eight giggled, trying to lift the atmosphere.

"Cognac?" The bearded man asked the two, a bartender behind the bar putting out the glass bottle and three glasses.

"Just a smidge." Five smirked, exchanging a brief look with Eight before turning back to Sir Hargreeves.

The man handed the two their glasses filled with a strong beverage, raising his own.

Five and Eight eyed the man, before they also gestured.

"The other night you quoted Homer at me. Why?" Reginald questioned the boy, slowly sipping on his drink.

"You did?" Eight stared down at Five.

"You forced us all to learn it as kids." Five exhaled.

"In the original Greek, no less." the girl rolled her eyes, remembering the times.

Eight sipped on her drink, allowing the liquid to leave a trace of burning sensation down her throat.

"This world end in five days if we don't get out of the timeline." Five spoke, after a second of silence while he swallowed his own beverage.

"Worlds end. Paleozoic, Jurassic, and so on." the man spoke casually, like he wasn't bothered the slightest.

"We can do something about this one." Five barked defensively, his jaw immediately clenched.

"Man's greatest flaw, the illusion of control."

"We need your help." Eight stated, her eyes hooded and cold, her body tens. "You're our last sane option. Otherwise, we gotta make a deal that we really don't wanna make."

Five stared at the girl above him, watching her body language, watching her frustrated frame as she rocked back and forth.

He slowly let his hand snake around the girl's thigh, his thumb caressing the thick fabric covering her legs as he turned his attention back to the man.

"What do you know about time travel?" Five asked him, now in a calmer state.

"In theory?"
"In practice."

Reginald sighed, thinking through his words before speaking them out loud.

"I know it's akin to descending blindly into the depths of freezing waters and reappearing-"

"as an anchor. Yeah." Five dropped his head.

"What transpired when you tried traveling before?" The man asked, curiosity written over his face.

"I wasn't fully connected to the speed force. I wasn't aware of the possible outcomes. The consequences." Eight breathed out quietly, almost whispering.

"We botched it. We got stuck in the future for 45 years in an apocalypse. Then we jumped too far backwards... except this time we brought our entire family with us." Five sighed, explaining their actions.