Gardens Of Babylon

II. takes one to know one

TWO.   takes one to know one

Five Hargreeves was no longer a boy who saved the world with his family. He was a man stuck in an apocalypse where his dead siblings laid. They were reminders of his mistake. He knew that jumping through time was a mistake. He wasn't ready. His father had warned him. But Five was a stubborn sixteen year old. One mistake ruined his whole life.

Yes, Five regretted a lot of things. He regretted being mean to his brothers and sisters. He regretted when he made a mistake that made his father punish him. He regretted not listening to his father. He spent years and years alone with nothing but a mannequin to keep him company. Until The Handler showed up and offered him a way out. A fresh start.

Now, he sat in her office wearing a fresh suit and new shoes, with The Handler sitting across from him with her hands interlocked under her chin. It made him uncomfortable the way she observed him, her eyes occasionally looking up and down. Five cleared his throat. "We're very excited to have you here, Five." She spoke in a sickly sweet voice that he knew was fake.

"Happy to be here. I guess."

"She chuckled. "I've made a call to one of our top assassins at The Commission. I'd like you to meet her."

"Her?" Five voiced. He never heard of an assassin being female. The only other person with powers as powerful as him and his brothers was Allison.

"Yes, her. She's one of our very best." The Handler confirmed. There was a knock at the door. "Oh, there she is now."

A woman in an all black pant suit and red high heels walked into the room. Her skin was tan and her dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes were wide and dark brown. "You called?" She said to The Handler.

"Yes," answered The Handler. She walked around her desk and stood by Five, who stood up as well. "Five,  this is McKenna Barlowe. One of our best and top assassins. McKenna, this is Five Hargreeves."

Their eyes met. "Hello." He spoke shortly, not knowing what to expect.

"Hello, Five Hargreeves." She responded back, the eye contact never breaking. She spoke like she was intimidated.

"Why don't you two take a walk? McKenna, you'll show him around?" The Handler suggested, raising her eyebrow at the woman.

She nodded stiffly. "Of course." She jerked her head to the door and Five took that as a sign to follow her. They entered the busy hallway. "The Handler tells me you're a time traveler." She spoke to him.

"Something like that." Five answered and scratched the back of his neck.

"You can teleport?"

"Yes."

He listened to her hum. "Impressive." They turned a corner. "So you accidentally teleported yourself into an apocalypse?"

Five's face fell subtly at the question. "Yeah. It was uh, an idiotic mistake." He answered. He glanced her way. "What about you? How long have you been here?"

"Since always. My parents were killed and The Handler found me in my home under the bed. I've spent my entire life here." She explained quickly, her dark eyes looking everywhere but at him.

He blinked. "Wow. That's horrible. I'm sorry."

She only shrugged. "It would have been worse if I was old enough to remember them."

"I suppose."

Finally, she looked at him and smirked. "So, looks like we're gonna be partners."

"I suppose." Five said again, this time with a small grin. "Think I'll slow you down?"

"I was born with more than ability, Five. Don't worry,  it'll take more than you to slow me down."

"You were born on October 1, too?" He asked, clearly shocked that he was meeting someone like him.

"Correct."

"What are your powers?"

"Teleportation, invisibility, and telekinesis. Which is my favorite, personally." McKenna named off while smirking.

Five blinked again. He scratched the back of his neck. "Oh, wow."

"Don't worry. Just don't get in my way and I won't hurt you. Maybe."

She was a curious woman. Whenever new information was thrown her way, McKenna always wanted to know more so she took it upon herself to snoop around. Five Hargreeves was now a victim of her snooping.  McKenna stood in the filing room with a black folder in her hands. The name Five Hargreeves was written on the front. She knew it was wrong to be reading his private information but if The Handler wanted to make him her partner, she wanted to know more about him.

Five Hargreeves, born on October 1, 1989. He was adopted by Reginald Hargreeves, a billionaire scientist who adopted six other children, all born on October 1. He was apart of The Umbrella Academy.  When he was sixteen years old, he teleported through time and ended up in the future where the world had been destroyed. He was in the apocalypse for 30 years.

"You know you're not supposed to be doing that."

She stopped reading and jumped out of her skin. "Jesus, Herb." She exhaled. She turned around and smirked his way. "What, are you gonna narc on me? I'm the only one who knows about the blunts you smoke while on break."

Herb pointed a finger at her. "Hey, you promised not to bring it up as long as I shared."

McKenna held her free hand up. "I keep your secret as long as you keep mine." She negotiated.

Herb closed the door behind him. "Whose file are you snooping through this time?" He stood beside her and eyed the file. "Ah yes, Five Hargreeves. He's pretty famous around here."

She rolled her eyes. "Please."

"Are you jealous?"

"Me, jealous? I'm McKenna Barlowe. I can crush someone's skull with my mind."

He shuddered. "Fair point. You can also teleport. Just like him."

"So I've been told about five hundred times." McKenna muttered with annoyance.

"Think you two will work well together?"

"We'll see. Let's hope I don't try and kill him myself."