𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬𝐚𝐦 | 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐑𝐢𝐦/𝐈𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐏

𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 closes, and when Newt turns around, everyone's eyes are on him. He runs his hands through Isaac's fur. He needs a wash, he notes.

"So, New Charlie," Dennis starts.

"Newt."

"That's a dumb name dude, who names their kid after some dumb lizard?" Mac drags out six beers, and Newt does to grab one, but Mac hadn't intended for them to be for anyone but himself. He lets Newt take it anyway.

"Actually, they're salamanders, but I'm not named after them. It's after Isaac Newton," Blank faces all around, "Does he not exist in this universe? Surely he does, right? Who the hell discovered gravity?"

"Oh, he exists, these idiots don't know shit about shit." Dennis comments. Newt hums, how can anyone not know who Isaac Newton is?

"I just don't believe in him, 'cause he's a science asshole." Mac speaks and Newt doesn't know whether to feel offended or confused at the fact that Mac doesn't believe in science.

"Mac, you can't just disbelieve in a real man who actually existed!" Mac shrugs, "Anyways, now that Newton is staying here, we need to set down some ground rules."

"Alright, I'm good at rules," Newt is evidently not good at rules. It's the whole reason he's here in the first place.

"You're a Biologist, you have to look at the yuck puddle. We need to know what the hell that thing is and how to get rid of it," Newt is intrigued, "We also need to arrange living conditions. Just so you know, we are not paying you. We can't get arrested for slave labour if our slave isn't a real person." Newt thinks that is wrong in every way, but it's kinda smart, if he thinks about it. He nods.

"He can sleep at our place," Charlie offers up.

"With all due respect, bud, I really don't think anyone wants to sleep on a futon between you and Frank, even if it's your evil twin." Newt doesn't even want to picture that. Why?

"So he's staying with us?" Mac slams down a finished bottle.

"You can't screw him, Mac."

"Yeah, please don't screw me." Newt really doesn't want to be screwed.

"Why, you got a boyfriend? Is it that British dude?"

"What? No! No, we're just..." What are they? He hasn't really thought about it. Not much time to, given the last twelve years, six of which he doesn't even remember. "Colleagues."

"Brutal. Go help Charlie with the yuck puddle." So Dennis really doesn't care about much. Newt sort of admires the fact that he doesn't pretend to, much like Hermann. Newt is far too much of a people pleaser.

So he gets dragged off towards a bathroom labeled 'Animal Shithouse' and he has so many questions to ask.

"Jesus Christ, what the hell is that?"

"That," Newt crouches to get a better look, and a bubble pops, narrowly missing his face, "is the yuck puddle. Don't let it touch your skin, it burns like shit."

"Is there anything it doesn't burn through?"

"Plastic?"

"What type?"

"Uh... Clear?" Newt genuinely puts his head in his hands.

Newt orders Charlie to fetch him as many different plastic containers as possible. He wants to run some tests on this bad boy. It reminds him of something, but it seems too lost in the back his mind to place.

---

When Hermann falls from the portal, he lands on a crashmat put out by Tendo. An extremely spongey, ten inch thick, bright blue mat. They live usually placed on the floor around Jaegers' gigantic feet, so that nobody working on them gets hurt if they fall.

He doesn't know how the hell Tendo managed to take one from the Jaeger bay without being spotted, but he supposes being the Chief of J-Tech has it's perks. He's grateful for only the slight ache of his hip, as opposed to the terrible pain of twenty minutes ago.

"So, you didn't die," Tendo states.

"I didn't, no," He leverages himself up with the help of his cane and Tendo's outstretched hand, "He doesn't have high hopes about this."

Neither do any of them. They had learnt more than two decades ago never to get their hopes up, but Hermann really wants this to go to plan. He wants Newt to be ok.

"But, look on the bright side; somewhere to escape if everything goes to shit." Hermann really hopes nobody who exits that portal will ever have to interract with Charlie and his friends.

"We have found a very... strange anomaly that takes affect after entering," Tendo raises his eyebrows, "We seemed to de-age."

"By how much?"

"Newton's eye wasn't bloodshot, and he didn't seem to have his chest tattoo just yet. So I'd say around thirty two? No older than thirty three." Tendo doesn't ask about why he was looking at Newt's chest. Newton simply leaves far too many buttons of his shirts undone, and quite frankly it is extremely unprofessional.

"Oh, Jesus. You know why?"

"The only explaination is that this universe is around fourteen years behind ours. Not only have we found a way to open an artificial Breach, we have accidentally discovered time travel."

"Shit. I'll go get the Marshall."