Okay wow this story is low key blowing up. I'm genuinely surprised because my only story more "successful" than this one was a serious project from me and this is purely just for fun. Wow. Thank you. I hope you enjoy this update!
Sydney, Australia, April 25th 1958
Five's new partner was much too enthusiastic for their first mission.
He wasn't there to make friends. He wasn't there to have fun. He was there to get his job done until he found a way to stop the apocalypse. It would take a long time and he knew it. He was in it for the long haul and he had learned how to accept it.
But watching a parade standing on the sidewalk next to Martha in the blistering heat was especially miserable.
She seemed to find a certain charm in the situation they were in. She'd dressed like she was on the cover of a magazine on sale in the shop they stood in front of, going against the commission's suggested uniform. She accepted any food or trinket offered by a passersby. She laughed and cheered along with the rest of the crowd as if she were one of the locals. Did she forget that they were there to kill someone?
Five was pulled from his train of thought when he heard his partner say his name. He looked down at her, much taller than her in his older body, and saw her holding out a bag of popcorn in a silent offer. Every day during training he'd thought she couldn't get stranger. And every day she proved him wrong.
"No thanks." He said flatly, looking back out at the parade in front of him.
In his peripheral vision he saw her shrug her shoulders before reaching into the bag. "You know, Five," she said after she finished chewing, "just because we're here on business doesn't mean we can't have a little fun."
"That's exactly what it means, actually." He replied.
She shook her head to herself. "Sounds like you belong at a desk." She mumbled to herself.
Five chose not to reply and instead planned on sending in for a new partner once they were done with their mission. He'd known that they were clashing personalities the second they'd been put in the same training class. She was too carefree and reckless for their line of work. The type of person that would be a full-time artist living in a dirty studio apartment, yet still somehow happy because she was following her dreams. The type of person that would pick up a dropped pacifier for an infant when their mother could easily do it. Martha's heart was too big and her smile too wide and Five worried she was going to get them killed.
Not to say she wasn't good at what she did. The closest he'd gotten to seeing her in action was practicing combat in training. The girl he saw knock a 6ft tall men to the ground wasn't the same girl wearing heart shaped sunglasses beside him. Five was convinced that there were two people living inside her head. One of them was the ideal person to work with. The other was the worst.
He looked down at his watch set to Eastern Australian time. "We don't have to be here much longer, you know."
"If you're so keen on leaving then I'll just meet you back at the hotel." She said without missing a beat.
"I'm not letting you walk back by yourself."
She snorted. "Why? You worried about a poor defenseless girl like me getting jumped?"
Five chose not to reply and instead looked back out at the event in front of him just as a line of men dressed in uniform gripped their riffles and held them up to the sky, shooting out bullets while simultaneously causing roars to erupt from the audience.
His eyes shut momentarily and when they opened again Five was back in the wasteland that he had been his world for more than 5 years. The apocalypse.
But no, that couldn't be. The handler had taken him, saved him, from the fiery future of the human race. Had they changed their mind? Thrown him back into the water like a fish? Could they do that after the contract they'd signed?
Five's breathing became labored and panicked, the hardened shell he had developed since leaving that place crumbling at his feet. He looked around, squeezed his eyes shut, did everything that might wake him up from such a nightmare. But it really seemed like it was stuck.
He shook his head in defiance as he wandered through the rubble. He didn't remember choosing to cry but suddenly his cheeks were wet. Five usually never allowed himself to display such weakness but to hell with that. To hell with it all! There was no one there, not a soul, to see him weep.
Then he was running. Running from the hope that had just been crushed inside him. Running from the burnt bodies that never seemed to end. Running from everything and anyone with the crushing realization that he was just a helpless boy who couldn't do anything to save the world.
His legs quickly grew tired and he practically collapsed on the ground with his back against the remains of a destroyed building. Five pulled his knees close to his chest and hid his head between them. It wasn't often that he indulged self-pity but for once he was truly bitter about his life. He'd grown up reveling in his lifestyle. He was a real-life superhero, something young boys would only ever dream of being. But, for possibly the first time, he detested the fact that he was extraordinary and wished he could be anything but.
"Five!"
A voice made everything in his body stop. It wasn't possible. He was the only one there, all logic said so. The human race was wiped out. He was only there because he'd been thrust forward from the past. No one could survive what he sat in.
"Five?!"
He'd gone mad. That must have been it. It wasn't the long years he'd spent by himself, the sight of his loved one's dead bodies, or even the personification of a mannequin that drove him over the edge. It was the bit of hope inserted in him by the commission being crushed that did him in. Five squeezed his eyes shut and prayed that the voice calling out to him would disappear like the rest of the world had.
"Five? Oh my god."
When he picked his head up he was startled by the sight of Martha, dressed in the type of clothes his mom wore every day, hurrying over to him. He straightened up, startled like an animal ripped from its surroundings, and backed up against the wall as she approached. She wasn't real, none of it was. His mind was playing tricks on him in hopes of breaking him down further.
Martha dropped onto her knees in front of him, instantly soiling the skirt of her baby blue dress in the dirt. But she didn't seem to mind much. She inched closer to him until their legs were touching, going slow so she wouldn't startle him, and reached out for him. Her gentle touch on his cheeks made it easy to forget that she was a trained killer. So was the kindness in her voice when she spoke to him.
"You're okay." She said. Her words were quiet, meant only for him. Once his eyes had met hers she had him locked in and he seemed physically incapable of looking away from her. "You're okay, Five."
She repeated soothing phrases until his breathing returned to a steady pace and he was present minded once again. Once she seemed to conclude that her soothing had worked she let out a sigh and crawled to sit against the wall next to him. She crossed her legs over each other and leaned her head back against the hard brick.
Five's cheeks were flushed bright red and his gaze was fixated on her white flats. He'd never been so mortified in his entire life. Of course he'd had moments of weakness before. He was human, after all. But never, never in his life, had he let himself break down so badly in front of someone else. Especially someone he hardly knew.
And yet, because of how little they knew each other, he was all the more grateful.
"Thanks Martha." He mumbled, too embarrassed to say much more.
She looked over at him, a small smile spreading on her painted lips as she rested her hand on his shoulder. "Don't mention it, partner."
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
Klaus landed with a loud thud on the floor of the living room in the Greenwich apartment. His siblings winced as he collided with the floor and watched with pity as he rolled over onto his stomach and groaned. Martha stood over him and brushed the hairs that had fallen loose from her ponytail out of her face, completely unharmed. That morning she said she wanted to face off against all of them, with the exception of Vanya, just to see where there combat skills were at and how they could improve.
It didn't come as much of a surprise to anyone that Klaus was overpowered quickly.
Martha held her hand out to help him up and pulled him off the ground with ease. "That was good." She said once he was standing again.
"I don't need your pity lies."
She laughed. "They're not lies. You've got no defense, but you have a lot of potential for offense and stealth. That's definitely something you're gonna take advantage of."
Although Klaus didn't seem very convinced he did seem glad to be finished with his turned as he collapsed onto the couch. And though Martha was clearly trying to play off that she was perfectly fine Five could see that she was getting tired.
"Maybe we should take a break." He suggested to her despite the fact it would probably fall on deaf ears.
As expected she shook her head. "After you and Diego take your turn." She replied. "Then I'll take a break."
Diego stood up and stood across the room from her. In the past it was hard to mirror his wardrobe back home yet somehow he'd managed to do an okay job. He seemed much more eager to face off against the young-looking girl than the rest of them. "Let's get this over with, then."
Despite his clear distrust he still had for her Martha didn't exactly seem intimidated by him. Or maybe she'd just gotten better at masking those types of emotions. "Hand to hand combat first, right?" she asked him. "Work up to using your abilities."
Diego rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you said it like a thousand times."
He threw the first punch, which she easily dodged. It was clear he wasn't exactly used to facing an opponent so much smaller than him since his first few blows went straight past her. Diego had a very brutish and aggressive way of fighting, all defense, while Martha escaped each one of his punches with graceful speed. That is until she swung at him.
Her fist connected with his jaw and he was stunned for a fraction of a second before he jumped back into action. Just as before the first few didn't land. But the first to make contact she had attempted to dodge a bit too late. His fist connected with her shoulder and she stumbled back a few steps.
Diego was quick to take advantage of her dropped guard and roundhoused her waist. Though she had urged all of them not to go easy on her the sight of a grown man fighting with a teenager was disturbing.
She stumbled again from the kick and the momentum carried her across the room. Once she recovered she spoke. "Your emotion gives you more power, but it also makes you sloppy. You have to take control."
It sounded like the type of thing their father would have said to him. Her advice was hard hitting but correct. When Diego reached her again Martha blocked his fist with ease before landing a punch directly on his nose. His instincts made him reach up to the wound and left his defenses down. 3 punches, 2 in the stomach and 1 in the face, made him retreat halfway across the room. Martha rubbed her knuckles and didn't seem to notice Diego reaching for one of his knives. No one got the chance to register what he was doing until he released the blade and it glided across the room.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment. Everyone was stunned. Even Diego looked down at his empty hand as if he was confused why the knife was no longer there. Martha reached up and placed her hand against her arm, wincing slightly before pulling away only to find blood coating her palm.
Five exploded.
"She said no knives, you idiot!" he shouted, jumping to his feet and stalking over to his brother. "What the fuck were you thinking? You could have killed her! You're wasting your energy, and your resources, on her when we have an actual enemy to worry about."
The rest of the siblings watched the argument in silence, unsure of what to do or say. Diego was a bit of a loose cannon, this was true, and he often threw a knife or two at the wall just to get someone's attention. But it was rare that he actually hurt someone that was on their side (Luther being the exception). They all knew that he'd been friendly with the police officer that Hazel and ChaCha had killed. But they were beginning to wonder if there was more to the story. It would explain why he was even more moody and closed off than usual.
Five continued to yell at his brother until Martha grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to face her. She opened her mouth the reason with him but Five spoke before she got the chance. "Please don't say that it's just a scratch and that you're fine because I don't feel like hearing you make excuses for him right now."
She seemed unphased by his ice-cold tone. "That's not what I was going to say." She told him. "What I was going to say is that you should go in the bathroom and cool down for a second before I sew it up. You're going to have to get used to seeing me get hurt and you're going to have to learn how to handle your emotions."
"Martha-"
"I'll be in in a few minutes." She interrupted, knowing that he was only going to continue ranting. "Can you get everything I need out and ready for me please?"
Five blinked at her, visibly struggling to not continue arguing with her. He let out an angry huff before storming out of the room and presumably heading to the bathroom. Once he was gone Martha deflated a bit and brought her hand up to her wound.
Diego attempted to approach her but stopped himself when she looked sharply at him. "Martha I-"
"You'll never be able to control your abilities if you can't control your emotions." She snapped. "All of you. I'm going to hurt your feelings during the process and I expect you to hurt mine." She nodded in the direction of the knife in the wall. "Outbursts like that won't just get you killed. You're used to working by yourself, and that's fine, but we're a team now. Being reckless will affect all of us."
Before he got the chance to reply, or even react, she followed Five to the bathroom down the hall. Luther, who was sitting closest to where the knife has landed, pulled it out of the wall and crossed the room to hand it to Diego? "Are you crazy?" he asked his brother as he took the blade from him. "Pulling shit like that in front of Five? He would have kicked your ass."
"Sorry, alright?" he mumbled, putting the knife away. "I just lost control for a second."
"Obviously." Luther replied. "You don't have to trust her, but you also don't have to be an asshole about it."
One by one they all got up and went into their respective rooms, figuring it was safe to say training had been put on hold, until Vanya and Diego were the only ones left in the room. She had yet to budge from her spot on the couch and it wasn't until they were alone that he noticed she was still there. When he did he let out a sigh. "I don't need you to lecture me too, alright?"
Vanya shook her head. "I wasn't going to."
"But you were gonna say something, right?"
She rested her elbows on her knees, hesitating as she tried to figure out how best to word what she was thinking. "She has a point. We've all been by ourselves for a while. We have to learn how to work together if we're gonna make this work."
Diego rolled his eyes. "I don't need anyone's help. Especially not some kid's help."
"Did you forget that she's 200 years old?"
He had forgotten.
"Look, even if we didn't need her help it's obvious that Five wants her here." Vanya continued.
"What? So we just do anything Five says?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I want her here too." She said, then added before he got the chance to say she didn't get a vote "And Klaus seems to get along with her pretty well. Allison too. You might be the one outnumbered here."
He wandered over to the window, taking the seat he had been in when he saw that stupid girl for the first time. "Isn't the whole point of trying to be a family not letting just anybody be included?" he asked his sister.
"Maybe." Vanya said. "But right now we're not trying to be a family. We're trying to stop the apocalypse. There'll be all the time in the world for being a family afterwards. Not to sound like her but we have more important things to worry about."
Diego sighed, not wanting to admit that she had a point. Despite everything he'd learned about Vanya the past few weeks it was still hard to shake the feeling he'd felt his whole life; that she was an outsider. The feeling was even harder to shake for her.
In the bathroom down the hall Five had managed to calm down enough to sew up the wound on Martha's arm after cleaning it. They sat on the edge of the bathtub side by side with all the needed materials spread out in front of them on the sink. Her sweatshirt, one sleeve soaked in blood, had been tossed in the garbage can. Despite the fact that he knew what had happened to her she was still obviously self-conscious to only be wearing a tank top. It certainly wasn't the first time they had played doctor with each other and they both had the feeling it wouldn't be the last. As gentle as he tried to be he could still see her clenching her fists in pain.
"I'm almost done, okay?" he said, his eyes returning to his work.
He saw her nod her head. "It's fine. Take your time."
Five couldn't help but roll his eyes at her. "Why do you always do that?"
"Hm?"
"You're obviously not fine, Martha. So why do you keep saying you are?"
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you my partner or my therapist?"
"You're hilarious."
Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, Five's gaze fixed on her wound and her gaze fixed on him. As glad as he was that she was there a small part of him wished she wasn't. At least not until he aged a bit more. If he said so himself aging had suited him. And though he wasn't exactly the type of person concerned with physical appearance he had definitely looked a lot better when they worked together. Though they visually were less of a strange pair than they'd been when he was nearing his 50s and she was still 17 he was still bitter about his age regression.
Not that he would mention of it out loud. Not to Martha because he knew she didn't care about that type of thing, and not to his siblings since it would only lead to further questions about what exactly his relationship with her was. Which, even if he wanted to explain, he wouldn't exactly know what to say. It was complicated.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked him, something she used to do whenever it was obvious he had something on his mind.
"You." He answered honestly.
In his peripheral vision he saw her smile. "What about me?"
He shrugged in response.
"You always had a way with words."
"Like you're any better."
Five cut the thread once she was completely sewn up and put a bandage over it. They took turns using the sink to wash the blood off their hands then cleaned up a bit of the mess that had been made. Whoever's apartment they were staying in was in for a hell of a shock when they finally returned.
"I'll go get you something for the pain." Five said. "Then I think you should rest. And I don't want you to argue with me about it."
For once she actually listened to him. Martha nodded and sat down on the toilet seat once he had left the room. Her arm hurt like hell and now that she was alone she allowed it to show in her face. The amount of stress resting on her shoulders was incredible and it was a miracle that, even considering she hadn't aged a day in years, it hadn't started to show in her face.
She briefly debated allowing herself to age a bit more. Maybe it would make people take her more seriously. But then she remembered the scoliosis and gave up on that idea.
"Martha?"
She picked her head up and spotted Five standing in the doorway of the bathroom. His hands were void of any water or pain killers and the expression on his face was strange in an unidentifiable sort of way. "Hey." She said, "You alright?"
"I don't know." He admitted. "I don't feel so great?"
Martha stood up, taking a few steps towards him and asking "What's wrong?"
He opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. Instead a throaty, wet cough came out. She didn't get the chance to ask if he was okay before blood started to trickle from the corner of his lips.
"Five?"
Thick red liquid spurted out as he coughed again and he quickly collapsed to the ground. She didn't remember screaming but by the time she dropped down onto her knees next to him her throat began to burn. She called his name but his eyes were closed and he showed no sign that he heard her. She pulled his unconscious body into her lap, too panicked to call out for help at the 6 other people in the apartment. 60 years she'd longed for and waited to be reunited with him. Was the universe really ripping him away from her again after only a couple of days?
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
Allison was already in the kitchen when Five entered, looking tired and annoyed. He dug through the cabinets both for a glass and a painkiller and she figured she didn't need three guesses to know why'd he'd come in.
"How is she?" Allison asked him.
He shrugged his shoulders, his back to her as he filled the glass up with tap water. "The cut isn't very deep, which is good. Could have been a lot worse."
"That's good."
Five set the glass down on the counter and turned to face his sister. "Do you all really not want her here that badly?" he asked. "She's exactly what we need right now, why don't you guys understand that?"
"I understand it." Allison assured him. "But you know how Diego is. He gets all bent out of shape when he isn't working by himself. He's a control freak. That didn't change while you were gone."
"Clearly."
"I'm glad she's here." She continued. "She clearly knows what she's doing. And it's a nice change to see you be nice to someone."
Five turned his back to her once again when his face began to feel warm.
"You two are a good match. You know, as partners." Allison said. "It takes a hell of a girl to put up with you all by herself for 30 years."
He allowed himself a small smile since she wasn't able to see him. "I suppose so."
A short silence passed between them. It was clear they were all catching onto the fact that he and Martha hadn't been 100% professional 100% of the time. Was there a point in pretending anymore? Maybe if they were honest it would help them to understand her better, allow them to trust her quicker.
Before he could decide whether or not to open up that part of his life to Allison the clear sound of screaming came from down the hall towards the bathroom. They both froze for a moment, wondering briefly what the source was before it happened again.
"Five?!"
He darted out of the kitchen, Allison quickly following behind him. In such a small apartment everyone was able to hear Martha's screams and they all jumped up too see what was happening. By the time he made it to the bathroom Klaus was already there trying to calm her down while she was kneeling on the floor.
"Martha calm down." He said, reaching out to her. "What happened?"
As soon as he got close enough she pushed him into the wall with the strength they all expected from Luther. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked down at the floor in front of her and though nothing was there she began to sob.
Five was stunned. He'd never see her so distraught before. He had absolutely no idea what to do to help her, his heart aching at the sight of her sitting on the ground crying.
By the time she looked up again they'd all come to see what happened. Her eyes went wide and she sprang to her feet, turning and throwing open the window behind her. Luther figured out what she was doing first and wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground to keep her from crawling out the window.
"Get off of me!" she screamed, pounding her fists against his arms. "You're not real, you're not real! Get off!" she swung behind her but missed Luther's head, which she was clearly aiming for.
"Diego, help."
With both of their strength combined they managed to lower her to the ground and pin both her arms down so she wasn't able to hit them. She struggled against them, attempting to kick them and squirm free, neither working. Five told his other siblings to try to hold her down by her feet so he would be able to get close to her to try to calm her down. Though he had no clue what to do since he'd never in his life seen her like this.
Klaus, Allison, and Vanya managed to pin down both her ankles and Five had to climb over them in the cramped bathroom. He knelt down on the ground next to her but Martha squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away from him.
"He's not real." She whispered repeatedly, mostly to herself. "He's not really here."
"I am real, Martha." He said to her.
"No you're not."
He put his hands on her cheeks and turned her head to face him. Something she'd always done for him whenever he got flashbacks to the apocalypse. She'd called it anchoring. "Martha can you look at me? I need you to look at me for a second."
She shook her head.
"You're safe here with us so I need you to open your eyes." He repeated, calmly yet stern at the same time. How had she managed to do this for him so many times without going crazy?
It took a few seconds but slowly her eyes began to open. Though she'd stopped screaming she was still struggling to get free and she started to cry again when she looked at him.
"Everyone's okay, right? Look, everyone's in here and we're all okay."
She shook her head against his hands. "You- you came in and you were bleeding and then you fell and I thought you were-"
"Martha I'm okay." He insisted.
Her eyes searched him, likely any sign of blood, before moving to the empty spot on the floor. She managed to slip both her arms free before throwing them around his neck and continuing to cry.