IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please be aware that some scenes in this chapter are quite violent. They do involve some descriptions of torture. Hazel and Cha-Cha did not go easy on that poor tow truck driver or Klaus, so please be wary as you read. Thank you!


Chapter 5: Hargreeves Never Say Die


Five was puzzled.

Hadn't Penny said that she'd return later that evening? She wasn't one to go back on her word. In fact, of all their siblings, she was the most dependable. So how come she wasn't seated with him in the van, scouting out the now-closed Meritech Prosthetics?

"She's coming back, Delores," he told the mannequin. He frowned at her response. "No, she wouldn't ditch us. Believe it or not, you're just like her. She would say the same…Don't give me that look. How long have we been together?" He shifted uncomfortably in his seat behind the wheel. "Trust me."

He sighed, staring out at the now-empty road, the dim glow of the streetlights casting haunting shadows across the asphalt. The temperature in the car had dropped significantly. Any normally adjusted person would be shivering, but Five wasn't your normally adjusted person. After many years surviving the vast extremes of the terrain in the apocalypse, his (now very young) body could handle almost any weather. The temperature taking a deep dive into the low to mid forties had no effect on him whatsoever. In fact, the cool air helped him focus just a bit more easily.

Still, worry for Penny clouded the back of his mind, even cutting through his most intricate understandings of various scientific knowledge.

Then he saw him. The doctor. He had finally stepped from within the confinements of the building.

Five watched, eyes narrowed, as he handed off a bag, and then received an envelope.

He wrestled with a very important decision – follow him back to his home and wait for him to emerge in the morning for questioning or go back to the manor to find out where Penny had run off.

"Screw this," he spat.

And with that, he grabbed Delores and spacial jumped.


Penny had been bound painfully to a desk chair. Her wrists were already raw from the rough rope. Her hands clutched the arms of the chair, but alas, there wasn't much she could do, even if she wanted to change the density. What would she do with a heavy, or maybe very light, chair?

Her coat had been removed, and, for some reason, so had her beloved converse. She'd had them on in the trunk of the car she and Klaus had been stuffed into, but somehow between there and…wherever that motel room was, they'd been lost in the process. They'd also taken her iPhone, turning it off and stomping on it. No one could track it now.

At least she still had on the rest of her clothes. Poor Klaus was in a simple towel.

She had first come to in pitch black. Klaus had actually been the one to shake her awake. The two of them had been bound, gagged, and shoved into a small space. They were too close for her liking, and she'd tried to move away, but found that there was nowhere to move to.

They'd both tried screaming, but the heavy-duty duct tape – or what she had assumed was duct tape – over their mouths muffled their voices.

Then light had suddenly appeared, along with two masked people. One in a blue, cartoon bear mask, and another in a magenta, cartoon dog mask.

The two people, one male and one female from what Penny could tell, had covered their eyes, threatened their lives, and dragged them out of the car trunk.

When they'd finally taken the bandana off her eyes, she found herself stuck, limbs bound to the chair. She was seated side by side with Klaus, who was in the same situation. Duct tape still decorated their faces like some twisted form of a gag. She knew that if she started sweating, it would come off immediately.

The two people had kept their distance from Eight and Four, purposely not coming into their line of vision unless wearing their ridiculous disguises. In fact, the two had been so adamant about not revealing their faces that they ordered Penny and Klaus to not turn around and look at them at all, to stay facing forwards at all times. Klaus had fired off several badly-timed jokes, which earned him some spit-flying smacks across the face.

Penny had yet to say anything to either of them. Her mind raced.

She knew who these people were – Hazel and Cha-Cha, although she wasn't sure which was which. But she knew what they were after. What they wanted. Why they were there in the first place. She wasn't going to give away anything that had to do with Five.

But had they targeted her? Did the Commission know who she was? Five had, after all, announced to the men in Griddy's Doughnuts who she was, which she hoped he would soon realize was a grand mistake.

She closed her eyes, trying to slow her breathing. Her heart was racing. She knew that if she was to find a way out of this, she had to stay calm.

Fearfully, she prepared herself for torture. Five had said he'd done horrible things to people to gain information. She knew that this was the Commission's way, and they had no problem with killing, obviously.

Reginald had done torture simulations on them just a few times. Penny had broken quite easily the first couple times, but she had learned her lesson. She had never broken again. Although it had been a long while since those simulations, she hoped that training had stuck with her.

"So," said the female in the pink mask, rounding her and Klaus to prop herself in front of them, arms crossed. "So who do we have here?" She pointed at Klaus. "I know you're his brother, but your name doesn't matter at this point." Then she gestured to Penny, who hardened her eyes at the woman. "You, missy? We know exactly who you are. Dr. Penelope Delores Hargreeves – zoologist at the San Diego Zoo. You've been working with Five, haven't you?"

Penny stared back, unwavering.

"Oh, you're the zoologist?" The man in the bear mask came around to look at her. He seemed impressed. "You work with the chimpanzees. That's actually so cool."

"Hey," snapped the woman, "focus! We're not here to compliment her. We need info on that little rat."

He shrugged. "Listen, I call 'em as I see 'em."

"Whatever," the woman said dismissively. "I think we should start with her since they've been inseparable."

Klaus began to writhe in his chair, making strangled noises through the duct tape gag. He shook his head, eyes wide.

Penny gulped, inhaling deeply. She knew what was coming. She popped her knuckles freely, clenching her fists tightly.

"He doesn't seem to like that," Bear Mask pointed out.

"Well, they're both getting it, so I don't know why he's complaining," Dog Mask deadpanned. "Maybe if she gets slapped around he'll tell us something."

Bear Mask ripped the tape off Penny's mouth which was set in a firm line. She said nothing and glared at them both angrily.

"Dang, that bruise on your cheek is pretty dark," he said. "But we can do better."

His hand went back and Penny felt her cheekbone sting, her head snapping to one side. She knew the bruise would spread.

"Nothing?" Bear Mask asked, surprised.

"Not even a peep," Dog Mask commented.

Klaus's eyes were wide as dinner plates as he witnessed Penny get slapped several more times.

The last punch Dog Mask delivered to Penny's mouth drew first blood. Number Eight leaned over slightly and spit crimson onto the carpet. Still, she refused to speak.

"Penelope, where's Five?" Dog Mask demanded. "We can do this forever. Where is he?"

But the woman in question remained resolute. She furrowed her brow, staring bullets into Dog Mask's stupid pink cartoon face. Her mouth already ached, but she figured that was the least amount of pain she would endure while being held captive.

Suddenly, Bear Mask tore the duct tape off Klaus' lips. "Tell us where Five is or we're tearing off her fingernails."

Klaus's jaw dropped as Penny inhaled sharply, gulping. She shook her head at him adamantly.

"Uh…I'm being told no, and she's the smart one, so…no?" he stammered stupidly.

Dog Mask sighed, as if somehow impatient, and walked behind them.

Bear Mask stood with his arms crossed. "You're really going to sit here and watch as your sister gets her fingernails torn off?"

Penny sent Klaus a death stare, silently warning him to keep his mouth shut.

Klaus shrugged, not knowing what to do. "Um…yes?"

Dog Mask reappeared in front of Penny with a pair of pliers in her hands. She yanked Penny's left hand from its grip on the arm of the chair and clamped down on thumbnail.

"Where is Five?" she asked Klaus.

Klaus's eyes flickered from the masked woman to his sister.

Penny's breathing increased, readying herself for the pain. She shook her head at Klaus. It was a good thing he genuinely had no clue besides the van.

"I don't know," Klaus replied slowly.

Penny cried out through gritted teeth as Dog Mask agonizingly ripped off her thumbnail. She felt the blood slide down her hand, dripping onto the shag carpet. She glared back at Dog Mask menacingly. She wasn't going to give in that easily.

The same scenario played out four more times – taking all the nails off Penny's left hand.

Her heart pounded against her chest. Cold sweat poured from her temples. Pain coursed through her hand. Her whole body shook from the sheer agony and adrenaline.

Klaus was horrified, mouth opening and closing like a dying goldfish out of water.

Hazel and Cha-Cha were at a loss. Penny still hadn't figured out which was which.

"This obviously isn't working," Bear Mask griped.

Dog Mask groaned. "Good thing we've got other methods."

So the cycle of beat one while questioning the other continued for next ten hours. Penny had had her fingernails torn off, been beaten across the head, face, and neck, and had endured countless whips to her back. Klaus had not had his fingernails torn off, but had gone through all the same other ways of torture.

Penny had not conceded once. She refused to even communicate with her two perpetrators. She screamed when in pain, but used her voice for nothing more.

Klaus had been a talker, that's for sure – but he hadn't been talking about what Hazel and Cha-Cha wanted.

Penny sat; blood caked in her hair, coated her hands, and ran in dried clots down her neck. The high collar of her turtleneck shirt had been cut away sloppily, the maroon shirt now hanging off her shoulders. It was dark in places, evidence of sweat and blood soaking into the material.

Dog Mask had shoved her sleeves up one point, only to find countless scars. For some reason, the two hitmen had looked at each other, shaken their heads, and pulled the sleeves back down.

At the moment, Dog Mask was choking Klaus.

Penny sighed when she started, knowing full well that move was a big mistake. She purposely didn't glance at her brother as it happened.

"Number Five, where is he?" she ordered.

Penny heard Klaus's strangled gasps. "Don't…stop…I'm almost there."

She shook her head in disgust as Dog Mask asked, "Is that a…"

"Yep," answered Bear Mask.

"Ahhh…there's nothing like a little – stranglin' to get the blood flowin', am I right?" Klaus shuddered and laughed maniacally.

"What's so funny, asshole?"

Penny stared at the floor in front of her as she heard him slap Klaus.

Somehow, Klaus still laughed. "Well for one…you spent the last ten hours beating us senseless, and…you've learned absolutely nothing. Nobody tells me shit. Truth is, I'm the one person in that house nobody will even notice is gone! You assholes kidnapped the wrong guy!"

Klaus chuckled again, and Bear Mask smacked him.

"Ow! I'm sorry, okay?"

"Please make him stop talking!"

"What about your sister over here, hm?" prodded Dog Mask. "She not a talker?"

Klaus looked over at Penny, who eyed him back with a steely expression. If there was one thing Klaus was good at, it was bullshitting his way out of situations. She knew he'd make something up.

"Oh, ol' Penny over here?" he chuckled once more. "Nah, no one will miss her, either."

"She's always with Number Five. Won't he come looking for her?" wondered Dog Mask.

Penny sneered, shaking her head, playing along.

"No, Five just uses her 'cause she thinks he's cute," Klaus fibbed easily, somehow sounding fairly drunk, even if he was sobering up. "They were interested in each other when they were kids, but now that Five's a grumpy ol' bastard, he doesn't have any feelings. He's basically a robot. He doesn't care about her, he just uses her as like…a minion. She does his bidding and crap."

Dog Mask sighed, irritated. "Let's water board him."

Penny closed her eyes, willing herself not to listen.

She tried envisioning herself anywhere but in that room.

She shuddered as she heard Klaus belch, then thank them for the water.

It was obvious that Hazel and Cha-Cha were considerably angry with the pair of adopted siblings. Klaus was an annoying shit, and Penny was a rock.

Dog Mask came up without warning, smacking her across her ears – hard.

Penny grunted as she felt her eardrums pound against her skull. Something warm dribbled out both ears. More blood.

Instead of crying out, she simply stared back at the woman in front of her, brow furrowed.

"What the hell?" exclaimed Dog Mask. "Are you even human?"

"Tell us what you know!" yelled Bear Mask.

Penny, exhausted, finally spoke, her voice low. "Fine. I'll tell you what I know."

Klaus gasped.

"See? Finally. Took you long enough," Dog Mask said, relieved. "Spill your guts."

Penny sighed. "You're Hazel and Cha-Cha, and you work for an organization called the Commission. You're assassins – time assassins. Anyone that is out to mess with the approved timeline is taken out."

She couldn't help but look smug.

The masked partners stared back at each other, understandably shocked.

"Did Five tell you that?" urged Bear Mask.

"Who else, dipshit?" retorted Penny. She'd finally had enough of their torture.

"I don't like your attitude, Doctor," sneered Dog Mask. "Hand me the pliers."

Penny readied herself for more fingernails being torn off. She could handle it, especially after her entire left hand was now free of them.

"Hey, hey, hey, let's just talk about this," Klaus said quickly, attempting to halt their actions.

"Hold her down," ordered Dog Mask. "Mouth open."

Penny lost control, finally letting herself show emotion. Her eyes widened as Bear Mask wrenched her jaw open, fully revealing her teeth. Oh, how she wished he would move his fingers down so she could bite them off…

Dog Mask clamped the pliers onto one of her back molars. "Anything else you want to spout? Any more stuff Number Five told you?"

Penny stared her right in the eye. She gripped the chair.

"Do it," she warned them past the pliers in her mouth. "I dare you."

Dog Mask shrugged. "All righty then."

And so she yanked.

Penny screeched.

Before she knew it, pain coursed violently through her jaw and Dog Mask held up her dislodged tooth between the two ends of the pliers.

Blood pooled in her mouth, spots dancing in her vision.

"Holy shit…" muttered Klaus, disturbed.

Penny somehow got herself to look up at Dog Mask through the blinding pain. She swished blood around in her mouth, and then spewed it at the woman in front of her, spotting the white button up with flecks of red.

Crimson trickled down her chin, running like a small stream into the fabric of what was left of her shirt. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Tape her mouth and throw her in the closet," ordered Dog Mask.

Penny's head hung limp, down at her chest, while Bear Mask re-taped her mouth and dragged her chair into the dark linen closet.

She could hear Klaus protesting.

To her relief, Bear Mask had put the back of her chair up against the wall of the closet. She leaned back, resting after many hours of torture. Her chest rasped as she slowly caught her breath.

She wondered where Five was, if he even batted an eye when she never showed up at the van the night before.

And what about Diego? What had happened to Diego? Had he gone looking for her? Did he think she abandoned him?

She listened as they continued to beat Klaus. It was hard to listen to. It was a miracle the two had survived witnessing each other get tortured and manage to not give away anything they knew thus far. Penny knew the most, but had a better grasp on handling physical pain than Klaus did. She knew he would have told them something if it meant his drugs were in danger, however. And she hoped that if the beating had gotten bad enough that he would have said something if she hadn't told him not to.

She wished her wrists weren't so raw and battered so that she could somehow loosen the ropes and find something to change density.

For the time being, she rested, letting her emotions finally take hold.

Would Reginald have been proud to know she never gave information away to her tormentors? Would Klaus finally break?

Tears streamed silently down her bloody cheeks.

Maybe if she made the ropes light, she'd be able to tear through them…?

Her whole body experienced several hot and cold flashes. Was she about to pass out from exhaustion?

Her back became tingly, like when a foot falls asleep, and suddenly, the wall slid out from behind her and she was falling in the open air.

"Holy shit!" she proclaimed, heat rushing into her hands.

She then fell faster, the ground coming into view closer and closer until…CRASH!

Penny had closed her eyes, waiting for the flood of pain to course through her body. Instead, she felt a dull thud of her tailbone hitting pavement.

She looked around to see bits of broken wood glowing red scattered about, the arms of the chair were gone, just ropes hanging off her arms.

She gasped as she glanced at her surroundings.

A parking lot? How the hell did she end up in the parking lot?

She glanced up – there wasn't a hole in the wall. There was a faint orange glow to one spot on the second story directly above her, but…nothing else. She had landed beside rows of cars. Was this a motel?

All thoughts of Klaus flooded her mind. Was she in the right physical state to go back in there…wherever he was?

She decided she was not.

She had to find Five. Diego. Any of her siblings. Pogo. Mom.

She scurried as quickly as she could to the side of the building, hoping Hazel and Cha-Cha hadn't heard her…fall? Was that what she had done? How did she get out of that closet? Had she teleported?

Her whole body on fire, she hurried as fast as her injured limbs would take her.

She rounded to the front of the building, ingraining the name of the motel into her long-term memory so that she could call the cops to save Klaus.

The injured Hargreeves woman received many a strange glances and stunned gapes as she made her way into a convenience store a block over. She scurried to the empty counter, where a teenage boy with weirdly spiky hair manned the register. He didn't notice her at first since he was scrolling mindlessly through his phone.

"E-excuse me," panted Penny.

The boy held up a finger, bored. "One sec."

She scowled. "I don't have a second!"

He glanced up, face twisted, and then his eyes went wide. "U-uh…um…"

"Can I please use a phone? Literally any phone? Please?" she pleaded.

He nodded, eyes taking in all of the dried blood smeared across her body. He offered her his own cell phone, and when he saw her left hand without fingernails, she swore he trembled.

She felt like hugging him. "Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this helps me."

She scurried to the corner of the store, sitting down on the grubby tile. She didn't care how gross or dirty it was. She needed to rest.

She pulled up the numbers, very slowly recalling the phone number she so desperately needed.

"Diego? Diego, it's Penny. I need you."


"Penny, what the hell happened?"

To her surprise, it wasn't just Diego that had come to her rescue – Luther had tagged along.

They'd picked her up in another car of Reginald's that had been lying around in their spacious garage.

She'd hugged them both, just glad to be out of the musty motel room. Luther had been left speechless by the action, but quickly ushered her into the car, being careful of any injuries.

"Hazel and Cha-Cha," she sputtered, leaning her head back against the leather seat, fully aware it would probably be smeared with blood when she sat up again.

"I'm sorry, what?" Luther asked, puzzled.

"In English," Diego reprimanded.

"Their names," clarified Penny. "Their names are Hazel and Cha-Cha. They're assassins. The best in the business, besides Five. They work for an organization called the Commission whose duty it to correct timelines and eliminate those who stand in the way of the timeline being set back correctly."

Luther scowled. "Penny, this isn't an episode of that show Doctor What, or whatever. This is serious. How can you joke when you look like that?"

She huffed. "First of all, it's Doctor Who, and secondly, that's the truth. Five worked for the Commission for a long time. He deferred when he found a way back to this time so he could stop the apocalypse."

Luther threw his hands up in exasperation.

Diego sighed. "She's telling the truth. The world ends in six days."

"Now it's five," she corrected.

"Fine, five days. The point she's trying to make is that these bastards obviously tortured her for information about Five. Probably his whereabouts," Diego defended.

Penny's eyes shot open. "They've got Klaus!"

"What?"

"Are you kidding me?"

She shook her head. "No, no, I'm not kidding. Please, we have to save him. I know the name of the motel. We need to go back and make sure he's okay."

Diego shook his head. "We can't go back there with you in this state. I'll get my cop friends to help us."

Penny grasped his arm desperately. "Diego, we don't have time. They'll keep torturing him. They'll find a way to get him to talk. He doesn't deserve that physical trauma."

Luther shook his head. "Penny, we're going to help you, and then we can help Klaus. Do you know the room number you two were being held in?"

"No, but I know it was on the second floor, in the very middle of the building."

"I'll get in contact with my buddies as soon as you're somewhere safe. Once they find you're gone, they'll come looking for you. Five trusts you the most, so you're their most valuable asset," explained Diego calmly.

Penny's head pounded. "Mom can help fix me up. Are we headed back to the manor?"

Luther cleared his throat. "We're going to Diego's place."

"I need to shower and get all this blood off me. Mom can treat my injuries," reasoned Penny. "Diego, we need to go to the house."

Luther shared a look with Diego from the backseat. "Penny…that will be the first place they look."

"I don't know how long it will be until they notice I've escaped. I was in a closet when I got out. They didn't have direct eyes on me. Please, I just need to get out of these clothes and wash this blood off," she begged.

Diego surrendered. "Fine, but once you're showered and changed, we have to split. Immediately."

Penny agreed. "Okay."

They were quiet in the car.

"How did you…how did you get out if you were in a closet?" asked Luther.

Penny shook her head, answering slowly. "I genuinely have no clue."

"Was there an air vent or something? A massive hole in the wall?"

"N-no, I just…I just…fell through…"

"How do you just fall through a wall?"

"I don't know, Luther. Do you want to get kidnapped, tortured, and thrown in a closet so you can try doing it yourself?"

"Hey, Penny, relax," Diego calmed. "You've been through a lot. We'll get you back to the house."

When they arrived, the two brothers helped their sister inside. They walked her to her bedroom and even guarded the bathroom door while she showered.

She felt the emotional swell from holding back everything from the past ten hours.

She crouched in the warm fall from the showerhead, bawling. The wounds on her body stung dully. The goose egg on the back of her head from being hit by either Hazel or Cha-Cha ached acutely.

She bawled.

Miss Penny Perfect had finally broken. Fully and truly broken.

She thought rock bottom was sixteen. The scissor halves. Her arms.

But she was wrong.

She broke up with Jayden.

Vanya hated her.

Luther hated her.

She'd killed several men in a freaking doughnut shop two nights before.

Her father had died.

She'd been beaten senseless with her brother for ten hours straight.

Five hadn't come to save her.

And when all the blood was gone, scrubbed off with nice-smelling suds, she sat in a towel, staring off into space. Her eyes were puffy. Her mouth ached – with one less tooth.

"Penny?" Luther called, knocking at the door. "Penny, we have to get out of here."

She sighed. "I'm coming."

Penny changed into a comfy dark green sweater, black leggings, and yet another pair of black converse. She was thankful to have brought a different olive-colored utility jacket just in case.

She exited the bathroom, earning pitiful glances from both of her brothers.

"Where are we headed?" she asked quietly.

The two shared a look.

Diego sighed. "My place."

As they got back into the car, Penny's stomach growled loudly.

"We'll pick up some food. Anybody have money?" said Diego.

Luther rolled his eyes. "I've got cash."

After stopping by a local fast food joint, Penny gasped.

"Diego, we need to find Klaus."

"I'm working on it. I called my detective friend. She's on the case. I gave her the name of the motel and everything. There was a fire at some lab downtown, so she's dealing with that first."

"Lab?" Luther wondered, munching on some French fries.

"Some place that sells fake eyes and stuff."

"Meritech Prosthetics?" Penny inquired.

"Yeah, that's the name."

"Five could be there!" she cried. "We have to go there first!"

"Penny, Five is probably fine," Luther tried to reason. "He's probably off scheming."

"He's trying to stop the apocalypse, which was what I was helping him with before I was kidnapped by those jack-ass assassins!" she fired back. "Diego, I insist we stop there first!"

Number Two huffed, but agreed. "Fine. Patch will be there so you can describe everything that happened to you."

She thanked him profusely as he turned the car around and headed in the direction of Meritech Prosthetics.


Diego parked down the street, attempting to keep the vehicle hidden from view.

"My record with the police department in this city is…extensive," Diego explained. "We have to be discreet."

Penny nodded.

"I'll get Patch, and you can tell her everything."

He slammed the door and hurried over to Meritech, which was still billowing smoke.

The sun had begun to get lower in the sky. The smoke filtered the pink sky, making it grayer than it should have been.

Penny inhaled deeply, trying to get the pain of her missing tooth under control.

Luther sat in the back, legs crammed between the front of his seat and the back of hers.

"I'm sorry you were kidnapped," Luther said out of the blue.

She twisted in her seat to face him. "These things happen. It's in the past now."

"That still doesn't make it okay. It happened on my watch. I'm supposed to be the leader of the family, and I can't even help out my own brother and sister?"

Penny scrunched her nose. "Luther…do you really blame yourself?"

He sighed. "A part of me does."

Instead of getting frustrated, Penny was more curious than anything. "Is that why you've been so…angry with me lately? Because you feel like you weren't able to help me when we were teens?"

Luther shifted guiltily. Penny realized she'd nailed it right on the head.

"That's it, isn't it?" she continued. "Luther, you were the leader of the team, not our actual father. You were never responsible for our well-being. You made sure we followed plans, stuck to them. I felt like I was being put under pressure from Dad to be the new Number Five. Five's a hell of a lot smarter than I am, and I didn't handle it well. How could you have known what I resorted to? My mental health was never your responsibility. And if Dad ever said different, he was full of shit."

Her tone was gentle, understanding.

He didn't meet her eyes at first. Then he did, and Penny realized they were full of tears.

"Dad always says to help protect everyone – as leader, I was supposed to make sure we not only executed the plans, but also looked out for each other. I felt like I failed when you hit rock bottom. I was supposed to keep the team together. I was supposed to make sure we kept going, through thick and thin. And we didn't. We detonated like an atom bomb. Five disappeared, and then Ben died. Dad, and now Mom…"

"Mom died?" Penny asked rapidly. "What do you mean?"

Luther's eyes widened. "Has no one told you?"

"Luther, I was just held captive in a motel room for almost twelve hours. I missed a lot of what happened yesterday," she countered. "How did she die?"

"Someone…someone ripped into the wires in her arm."

"So she's just offline?"

"She's not moving, Penny. She's not speaking."

"But Pogo could repair her."

"No, Penny, I don't think you -,"

"Please, Luther," she requested. "Please let me have just one ounce of hope today."

The big man sighed, and nodded, trying to smile. Then something caught his eye. "Look."

Diego was walking up with a woman who proudly sported a detective's badge.

Penny climbed out of the car, being careful of her various injuries.

"Penny, this is Detective Patch. Patch, this is my sister, Penny," Diego introduced.

The two women shook hands politely.

"Diego tells me you were just kidnapped," she said promptly. "If you could tell me about that, we can go about getting your brother out of there."

"Of course," replied Penny.

And so she filled the nice detective in on everything she had witnessed. How the two masked intruders broke into their house, hit her across the head, and the next thing she knew, she was in a trunk with Klaus. With difficultly, she relayed the various forms of torture performed on her, as well as Klaus, and even her escape. This time, she said she somehow found a loose panel in the wall and ended up being able to climb into the next empty room and out the window.

Patch took a quick look at her sore wrists, the bruises on her face, and the cuts to her shoulders and back.

"And you said it was the Luna Motor Lodge Motel?"

"Yes, ma'am. And please, these people are highly skilled. They talked of their experience openly in front of my brother and I. Please be careful. They're probably expecting me to walk back through the door to save Klaus. They might have a trap set up."

Penny knew that Patch took her words to heart, listening intently.

Patch nodded. "Of course." She turned to Diego. "You up for this?"

Diego pointed at himself. "You really want my help with this?"

She shrugged, a small smile on her face. "Why not? You said let's do it your way, so let's do it your way."

Luther awkwardly fell out of the car, rolling sideways on the sidewalk. The three other adults stood and stared as he struggled to get to his feet.

"We still need to find Five," he pointed out.

"You and Penny look for him. I'll go with Patch to rescue Klaus." Diego's face softened slightly as he looked at Penny. "We'll make sure those bastards get what they deserve, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

Luther patted her on the shoulder, making her wince and duck out of the way. He ignored that. "Be safe."

"We will," nodded Patch.

The pairs separated, Luther and Penny going one way with Patch and Diego going another.

Penny was not wholly satisfied with having to search for Five with Number One. Although their conversation in the car had explained much of why he was such an asshole to her, she didn't think it was a good enough excuse to get away with treating her so horribly.

"Diego and I thought he might be at the library," Luther said.

Penny nodded. "That's a good place to look. He's probably…reading up on some lesser known quantum theory phenomenon or physics." She cleared her throat.

"He came by the house last night," Luther told her.

Her head snapped toward him, making the goose egg throb painfully. "He did?"

"He said you were supposed to meet him back in that god-awful van, but you never showed up. He seemed worried – more worried than he ever was about any of us. According to Vanya, he kept popping in and out of the manor every hour or so, just checking your room."

Penny's stomach dropped. So he had been looking for her.

"He didn't stick around long enough to hear that those two people, whatever their names were, something weird, had attacked the house because he kept rambling about finding you."

"Hazel and Cha-Cha," she corrected numbly.

"Yeah, those people. But when he stopped spacial jumping back and you never turned up, Diego knew something was wrong. He went out looking for you and Five. He wasn't sure if you'd ended up back together, or if you had been separated. Either way, I also was looking for Five so I tagged along. You called after we'd looked at the van you were in yesterday," concluded Luther.

She exhaled. "Thank you…for helping Diego find me. I don't know what I would have done if you both hadn't come to my rescue."

"You're welcome," he replied.

The two walked in silence for several blocks.

"I, um…I noticed your, uh, unusual size," Penny began hesitantly. "When did Dad…inject you with that serum he was working on?"

Luther's face darkened. "You knew about that?"

Penny sighed. "I helped him develop it."

"You what?"

"Luther, calm down. I didn't know I was at the time."

"No, no, you helped our father create that stuff that made me…what I am today?"

"Like I said before, Luther, I didn't know it at the time. I thought he was doing some genealogical testing on Pogo. I realize that I was…creating that serum."

Luther's jaw clenched.

They had stopped outside the Argyle Public Library entrance.

Penny could practically see the steam leaking out of his ears.

"You're part of the reason I'm the way I am," he said spitefully, charging through the double doors.

Penny groaned, not wanting more family drama happen that day.

"Let's split up," he deadpanned as she caught up.

"Sure, why not?" she sighed.

So the two went in opposite directions, evenly checking each floor for Five.

Penny even made sure to spend extra time combing through the old textbooks part of the nonfiction section.

On the very top floor, she and Luther met up again. He was glowering at her.

"Anything?" he mumbled.

"No," she shook her head.

"Great…"

The two stood there again with nothing to say to each other. Penny felt their usual dynamic had been restored.

"Why did you leave?" he asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Why did you leave the Academy?"

"That's a loaded question, Luther."

"I'm just curious."

She studied him for a moment, trying to find out if he had any other motivations to hearing about her exit from her childhood.

"I left because it was time," she relayed. "I was almost eighteen. I wanted to go to college, do something with my life that didn't involve crime and being on the cover of teen magazines anymore. I was tired of hurting other people…and myself. I wanted to make my own decisions."

"And you couldn't at home?"

"I wanted to be a real adult. I wanted to be an average person. You've never had to get a job and pay rent. Dad's always had your back. I felt like he was just aching to get rid of me sometimes."

Luther shook his head. "I don't think he wanted you gone."

Penny leaned on the railing in front of her. "Luther, I guarantee you nothing pleased him more than the day he shipped me off to college. No one in this family but Mom and Pogo cared when I left."

"I did."

She frowned, staring him straight in the eye. "That's bullshit. You always blame us for leaving – you never blame Dad. Maybe you're asking the wrong questions, Luther. Ask yourself…why did you stay?"

"I stayed because the world needed me," he emphasized.

"You stayed because change scares you," she countered.

Luther's face fell. She knew she was right.

"You didn't want us to leave because it changed things. It changed everything. But Ben's dead. So is Dad, and now Mom is too, I guess. Five is back, but he's…different."

A snippet of a conversation caught her attention. She raised a finger.

"Where are his parents?" echoed through the hall, along with some uncertain giggling.

She and Luther exchanged a look, and ran in the direction of the women giggling.

A blonde woman pushed past them saying, "I'm going to call security."

What they stumbled upon was a sight for sore eyes – Five, slumped over with Delores in his arms, two empty glass bottles rattling on the floor, many books, and heaps of permanent marker equations etched onto the cement walls of the alcove.

Their jaw dropped.

Luther squinted. "Is he…"

Penny's eyebrows shot up. "Yep. He's drunk."

She'd never seen him like this before. He was almost…adorable all snuggled up with Delores with a pile of books around him. She had to admit, while the situation was a strange one, she couldn't help but worry.

She hurried over, kneeling by his side. She shook his shoulder.

"Five? Five, it's Penny. You need to wake up. We're getting you out of here."

He moaned trying to swat her away. He mumbled incoherently. "Mmm…nooooo…"

She sighed. "We'll have to carry him out."

"You mean I'll have to carry him out," Luther corrected.


The sun had just begun to dip below the horizon as Luther carried Five and his strangely bald mannequin down an alleyway near the library.

Penny trailed after him, absolutely exhausted after the day's events.

"Where should we go?" she asked him.

"Well, we can't go back to the house. It's not secure. Those psychopaths could come back at any moment."

"Diego gave me the address for his place. No one would look for us there."

Five had been stirring into consciousness for a few blocks at that point, and belched loudly, causing Penny to hold back a small laugh as Luther lectured him.

"If you vomit on me…"

"You know what's funny?" slurred Five. "Aah! I'm going through puberty. Huh, twice. And I…I drank that whole bottle, didn't I?"

"You drank through two whole bottles, actually," Penny told him, falling into step with Luther.

Five threw his head back to look at her. He smirked. "You're fun. But I drank. Because that's what you do when the world you love goes bye-bye. Poof! It's gone." His eyes narrowed comically and he patted Delores. "What's all that…funky stuff all over your face, Penny?"

She had thought Five drunk was somewhat endearing, but his mention of her wounds from her previous encounter with Hazel and Cha-Cha sobered her up quickly.

"Hazel and Cha-Cha did that," Luther filled him in. "You can thank them when we gank their asses."

"Ah, the best of the best. I hate them," Five said dreamily. "They must be pretty dead set on making sure I'm dead set." He giggled at his own joke. Penny had never heard him giggle before, and she found it somewhat off-putting. "You know, Delores always hates it when I drink. She says it makes me surly."

"Where were you?" Luther bombarded. "Penny and Klaus were kidnapped. I could have protected you."

"Protect me," smirked Five. "I don't need your protection, Number One. Do you have any idea how many people I've killed? No. I'm the Four frickin' Horsemen. The apocalypse is coming."

And with that, he leaned over Luther's arm and proceeded to vomit all over the ground, narrowly missing his brother's sleeve.

Suddenly, Luther's coat began to ring.

"I got it," Penny told him, reaching into the top inside pocket and pulling out a state of art flip phone. "Hello?"

"Luther? Luther!"

"Diego, it's Penny. What happened?"

"It-it's Patch!"

"Is she okay?"

"No, she's been shot! Those two psychos got away! I'm so sorry, Penny. But Klaus is free. He took off through some vent in the wall. I don't know what he's doing."

"Did you call 911?"

"They're on their way. I-I don't know if she'll make it, Penny. I don't know what to do."

"Hang up the phone and apply pressure to her wound! Do it now!"

And then the line went dead.

Luther's eyes were wide. Five even seemed to focus for a moment.

"Patch was shot," she told them both sadly. "Hazel and Cha-Cha got away."

"Now we really can't go back to the house," grumped Luther.

"Penelope?" Five chimed in drunkenly.

She sighed. "Yes, Five?"

"I see that you've taken quite the beating today, but may I say, your complexion is radiant under these golden streetlamps?" Then he frowned at Delores. "You, too."

Luther seemed concerned for Five's mental health.

Penny's face softened slightly. "Thank you, Five."

Number one sighed. "Come on. We need to get you two to somewhere safe."


Well, I did it y'all – two updates in two days! I think that's a new record for me.

I was feeling so inspired this weekend that I couldn't help but write another chapter. I hope this fulfills all your Umbrella Academy Five/OC needs lol.

Thank you all SOOOOOOO much for reading chapter five of Bright Young Sun! I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. I'm really trying to make sure Penny switches some things up and fits in well. Let me know what you think about her so far in the reviews. Any predictions about future chapters?

If you love this story, please follow and favorite! If you feel obligated, leave me a review! I love hearing your thoughts on anything in the story. :) And thank you all for the incredible influx of follows and favorites! You guys blow my mind.

Talk to you all soon!