KITTEN || five hargreeves

05

•••

Kit woke up in the Commission's medicinal ward.

She jerked her head to the side, feeling the anxiety start to set into her bones. She had learned the traumatic responses to expect after being shot, but nothing but actually receiving the bullet wound would convince her just how serious the reaction would be.

Kit watched the doctors scurry around her, and she swatted at the hand that tried to come near her face.

I can't hear, she signed at the doctor. He nodded back at her.

I took your hearing aids out while you were under surgery. I'm going to put them back in for you if you will let me. The doctor's sign language was measured, calm, and his face further gave Kit the impression that there was nothing to fear from him.

She let him gently fashion the ear pieces to her ears, and sighed when the world around her came into focus.

"Where's Five?" Her voice was scratchy, rough. She didn't know how long it had been since she had fallen asleep on that hotel bed, but she certainly knew that something was off.

The doctor looked from side to side, making sure that the nurses that had helped attend her before were onto their next patients.

The doctor's voice sank into a whisper. "He defected. They just sent a team to dispose of him now... but I don't think they're having any luck. He was about to assassinate Kennedy before he pulled himself into 2019. I think he's trying to stop the apocalypse," he paused as someone passed by, gently tending to the IV's on Kit's arm.

"Defected?" Kit asked, her visage deflating.

Tears welled in her eyes and she tried to hide them, turning her head to the side so that the doctor wouldn't see her weakness. He sighed, turning away to give her some momentary privacy as the droplets fell down her cheeks.

"He's- he's gone?" Kit whispered to herself, scrubbing at her eyes with her fist until she saw stars.

"Oh, I found this on your neck before you went under for surgery." The doctor gently set a golden chain in her palm, a small ruby pendant glimmering as she moved her hand from side to side, bringing it close to her face to catch every sparkle.

She gently put her hand back down, holding the gem and chain in her palm tightly until she could feel it make creases.

"Thank you."

The doctor nodded, patting her uninjured side gently. "I'm sorry for your loss. I've heard of the legendary duo, The Kitten and The Boy. I wasn't aware it was you at first." He paused, his back straightening. "You'll be discharged in a day or two. We just have to monitor the bullet wound. But I'm sure you'll get your next assignment soon, especially with the healing technology that's currently available."

Kit nodded, a little taken aback by his newfound professionalism.

The doctor nodded at her and walked away, leaving Kit to soak in the information she had just learned.

Five, gone.

Her, reassigned.

The Commission, the same.

She had to find a way to escape, and with another 5 years of service on her plate, she had plenty of time.

☂️

Kit's new partner sucked.

Theo- he didn't have a nickname yet- was assigned to her because he needed a mentor. But the brash and ignorant 35 year old was the most unfit person to be serving in the Commission ever, including the infamous agent, nicknamed The Goblin, who defected after one year of service, only to be killed by a crazed Greek off the coast of Italy. Theo was just that bad.

The first year they were assigned together Theo wasn't entirely unmanageable, but as the next year approached, he started to become more and more unbearable. Constant mess-ups, losing their briefcase, arguing with authority. Kit swore the first white hair on her head was because of him.

At the end of her seventh year Kit graduated to a higher position, and after being promoted proceeded to fire Theo.

The remainder of her sentence was spend missing Five and filing paperwork.

Kit missed the way he looked at her. Like she was the only one who truly understood him. And in a way, she was.

At the end of her career with the Commission Kit packed up her office, denied a larger contract, and settled into her new apartment, her age regressed so that she could haunt her former condemmers. Dallas, Texas, 1963 is what she told her escort. Oh, and don't forget to make her look 15 again, she had some rapists to scare.

Kit Woods sat in her study, viewing the world below as she stirred her hot cup of tea. She blew the steam away gently and lifted it to her lips. She took a sip.

And promptly proceeded to spit it all out over her table as she watched a wormhole- not unlike one Five would conjure- appear in the alley across from her apartment building.

And a uniformed teen step out of it.

•••

WARNING: THE NEXT CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY SEASON 2.