Wonder • Five Hargreeves

48

Changes

How did she know that?

The question had stumped Five for the last couple of hours, stuck to her bedside. She had been sleeping like a rock and hadnt moved much, so Five kicked his feet up and mulled over her words.

He did think she was pretty in the mornings...

Before she was awake fully, she would blink all doe-like to fight back falling asleep again. Her hair would be a mess and then she would turn and smile at you like she was saying "oh there you are." Always happy to see you, always happy to flirt.

She was perfection, but especially so in the morning.

His thoughts were interrupted and then forgotten when Pogo came in with the phone, handing it off to Five. Five raised an expectant eyebrow at Pogo after taking the phone, so the monkey butler slunk off- thwarted in his plan to listen in.

"Hello." Five asked calmly, tucking the phone against his ear.

"Brother!" Klaus greeted from the other line. "How's Winnie?"

Five inspected his sleeping girl again. Her eyes were wrapped tightly in white bandages; fully treated but a 0% chance of recovered vision. She slept peacefully despite this, and Five delicately brushed a strand of salt white hair from her face.

"Stable right now, just resting. Did you make it to Harolds house?" The younger boy asked, returning to business.

"We did, we did. You sure you didnt want to come out here yourself? Might make what Im about to say a lot easier to take." Klaus's voice was musical but pitying.

Five set his feet back down and spoke in waspish tone. "I couldn't possibly leave her you idiot. What did you find?"

Klaus started with "Wellll.." before there was a scuffle with the phone. There was shouts, and a thump like the phone was used as a weapon, before the line cleared again.

"Harolds dead." Diegos voice came from the phone now.

"Dead- dead how?" Five demanded.

"Dead like... 20-something knives were stabbed into his chest?" Diego replied.

Five blinked and mulled this information over. Harold... the starter of the apocalypse... the guy who mutilated the girl he loved... dead?

DEAD?

Frustration and rolled up in the teen like a boil of energy. He couldnt quite put a finger on the anger he felt. There were too many things that he could be pissed about.

The first was that he didnt kill Harold himself! 20-something knives was nothing compared to what Five had thought to do when he got his hands on him.

Then there was the empty anger. The anti-climatism of the entire event. The 45 years of drudging through hell all by himself, pledging himself to the commission, breaking laws of the 4th dimension to come home- only for it to all end... just like that.

"How... how..." Fives mind reeled.

"Hey listen Five, we gotta get out of here. Its not a good look to be around a dead body. But the dead guys totally the one- he's missing an eye and everything. Someone just beat us to the punch."

"But- there's something that doesnt make sense!" Five ran a hand through his hair, his light eyes searching. It doesnt make sense!

Dead?

He heard a faint "gimme the phone." from the other end until Klaus's voice came back.

"Hey- listen little brother. I know how this feels."