Dysfunctional ~ F.Hargreeves

47} Meeting The Founder And Killing Family

Jenna slowly approached the tube while hiding behind Five.
"That's him, huh?" Five asked, "The founder."
"Looks like tinned beef," Lila frowned, "I was expecting more man and less..." She tapped the metal surrounding him, "...can."
"Holy shit," Jenna peeked out from around Five to look at the founder's face, "I knew something felt off."
"It can't be," Five looked dumbfounded.
"What's wrong?" Lila asked.
"It's me," Five muttered with horror lacing his voice.
Lila broke out into hysterics while Jenna and Five stared in complete disbelief, "This whole time you've been complaining about the Commission, and you're the one who founded it. Classic."
"If I did, I have no memory of it," Five shook his head.
"So here I was thinking you were a maverick, but you're a company man, down to the bone. I mean, you... you literally cannot breathe without this place."

"Something's not right," Five shook his head, "I don't have paradox psychosis. I could feel it outside, but in here, it's... nothing."
"Never too bright, were we?" The founder Five squeaked out, "The operations bunker is paradox-proof. I constructed it as a panic room in case of a collapse in the time continuum. In this room, all permutations of yourself can exist. You must be here because of a..."
"Kugelblitz," Jenna finished for him, "Yeah, I've pieced that together."
"Is that like a cheese blintz?" Lila questioned.
"It's German for 'ball of lightning'," Jenna explained, "I only know that because that was a nickname I got while I was over there on a mission. Basically, it's an extra kinky kinda black hole."
"The kind that can suck up entire timelines," Lila sighed.
"Bingo," Founder Five replied, "You always were the smart one, Jenna. Even when I wouldn't admit it."
"So, how do we fix it?" Normal Five rolled on.

Founder Five gave a raspy chuckle and cough, "You don't."
"If you created all of this," Five gripped onto the side of the tube until his knuckles turned white, "Then you must have created a solution."
"All that will be left is... oblivion."
"Oblivion?" Lila grabbed onto the side of the tank and accidentally opened it, "What do you mean?"
"This is what you have coming," Founder Five warned his younger self.

"Where am I?" Jenna asked, tentatively.
"I have no clue," Older Five chuckled, "You wouldn't do this with me, and it made me forever grateful. But things can always change for the better with you guys. Hopefully you two can be the ones that make it. No one else has."
"Listen to me, you ass," Five snapped and cut off Jenna's conversation, "I just spent the last twenty days running around saving the world from  apocalypses, only to keep trying to save the world. Now I am stuck in this pubescent body, my hormones are raging, and all I wanna do is start a family again and go buy a 1970's Corvette Stingray because Jenna's always wanted one."

"Take it easy, Five," Jenna laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Jenna, this is between me and myself, so stay out of it. Thank you," He shrugged her hand off of him, "Now, this Kugelblitz, it is not some tiny leak that we can simply fix by patching a couple of pinholes. It is a giant trash compactor which is grinding up the universe and consuming it whole. So tell me how you stop it!"
"Whatever you do..." Founder Five's heart rate monitor started beeping rapidly, "...don't save the world. And Jenna?" He turned his head towards her, "Tell him before it's too late. You could save us... from this. And get the tattoo, it's for us. Just don't save the world," Founder Five's machine shut down as he died.
"What do you mean, don't save-" Five started freaking out even more, "Five! How do I fix this!?"
"He's dead, Five," Lila checked the founder's pulse.
"Can I have the room?" Five pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Er..." Lila sucked in a breath, "I don't think I should leave you two alone."
"Lila, I need the room," Jenna started to walk out with Lila, but Five grabbed her arm, "You can stay."

"Son of a bitch," Five let out a breath he'd been holding and looked over his other self's body, "What's this?"
The other Five had a large tattoo on the center of his chest along with a smaller one on his only wrist. The larger one had a weird symbol while his wrist contained a simpler design; just an F and J with a lightning bolt and hour glass respectively to their powers. He took a knife and cut both of them off, causing Jenna to look away in disgust at the amount of blood.