"I thought you said he was old now," whispered Luther. He was standing outside of the infirmary with Allison, arms folded pensively across his chest.

"He was," Allison hissed. "Like I said, he obviously botched the jump."

"Then why didn't you turn back into a kid, when you—?"

"Just wait for him to wake up, and we'll get the rest of the facts, okay?" Allison said impatiently. (What, was working at a time-travel agency for 19 years supposed to make her an expert on the subject, or something?)

Luther's eyes widened, and Allison could tell she'd bruised his feelings, but she was too annoyed to try and smooth things over.

Instead, Allison excused herself and went down to the kitchen; She'd just donated blood to Five and could use a snack. She rifled through the kitchen cabinets and picked out a brand of crackers she liked before joining her siblings and Beth at the table, where they were silently sipping tea.

Tearing open the cracker bag, she took a moment to pour a generous fistful into her mouth before mentioning the elephant in the room. "Five's gonna pull through, Mom and Pogo say."

Beth hummed. "That's good!"

Diego, Klaus, and Vanya, however, seemed strangely underwhelmed. It was like they'd already processed Five's return and just… didn't care.

But Allison had to make them care. "Listen, Five and I just made a lot of enemies. The Commission works to maintain the timeline to a T, and the two of us coming here has messed things up. Knowing the Handler, she's probably putting together an entire army to kill us all." She turned to Beth. "I was talking to Luther a few minutes ago, and we both think that you should get out of here. There's no sense in putting you in danger."

"But your father's funeral," Beth protested.

"Fuck the funeral," Diego said, slamming his mug on the table. His mouth twitched, and Allison could tell that he was fucking anticipating the battle.

"You have no fucking idea what we're up against," Allison warned him angrily. "This isn't just some fight, it's going to be a war."

Silence.

Then— "Yeah, count me out." Klaus gave Allison his sorry, not sorry smile before lazily standing up and stretching. "I've got… shit to do."

"Klaus!" Vanya admonished. "You haven't seen Three or Five in years! The least you can do is—"

"Vanya, Vanya. Do you honestly think that I could be of any use to these guys?" Klaus said, assuming a noble, considerate air. "They're all better off if I get as far away from here as possible... You too, come to think of it. We'll just be in the way. You and I can go get froyo or something. What do you say?"

Allison couldn't believe what she was hearing. "How can you be so selfish, Klaus? Do you even—" Her breath caught in her throat; She thought she'd heard something out in the hall. A creeping sense of dread enveloped her, and sweat trickled down her back. Yes, there it was again: The sound of stilettos clicking on the floor.

"What is it?" Diego demanded. If he had heard anything, Allison reasoned, he probably thought it was just Grace.

Wait a moment— Only one set of footsteps?The Handler had come alone.

It made sense, really. A big ambush in the middle of a bustling city would be terribly conspicuous. A waste of resources, too.

So, what was the Handler's game-plan? Although the woman could definitely hold her own, she didn't fight when she could help it. That meant she'd come to talk, which Rose— no, Allison, don't slip into your old habits— actually feared more.

But why hadn't the Handler..? Oh. She wasn't coming into the kitchen because she wanted Allison to come to her. Alone.

Allison took a deep, steadying breath. "I'll be right back, guys... And Klaus? I heard a rumor that you couldn't leave the house." As an afterthought, she added, "Unless it's a matter of getting to safety."

Vanya smiled appreciatively, and Diego made a little "ha!" noise.

Allison nervously shot her siblings a smile, hoping that it wasn't the last one she'd ever get to give them. Then, she went to meet the murderess in the next room over.