FIVE

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CHAPTER FIVE
' RKOED  BY  AN
EIGHTIES  COMPUTER
MONITOR. '

Eddie only reacted to the objects bouncing between the walls of her lab when a computer monitor smashed into her chest and sent her sprawling across the floor. A loud grunt escaped her lips, already feeling the bruise forming, but the adrenaline prevented any further contemplation of the pain. The shift of her attention meant she had to find something else to focus on and unintentionally opened the door to the chaos around her.

The thundering crash of glass and plastic smashing and the scream of metal tore its way through her head, and she found herself unable to move. Eddie's mouth fell open in a silent scream, panic ripping the air from her lungs.

All of a sudden, she couldn't breathe, couldn't hear, couldn't see, couldn't feel.

The world grew hazy, eyes unfocusing as her mind's beckoning to safety grew louder. All she had to do was let go and close her eyes.

"Eddie!"

The voice tugged her away from the edge of disassociation, and it redirected the small amount of energy needed to move her head towards the direction of it.

Luther waded through the chaos, face pulled into a grimace, and eyes squinted. "Eddie, come on!" he called over the uproar around them and backhanded a clump of metal before it could collide with Eddie's form, curled up against the wall. "Take my sleeve!"

She forced her eyes to his arm, chest screaming with the lack of oxygen, and to sleeve which hung loosely from his wrist. However, her body wouldn't obey.

Her brother finally stopped before her, shielding her with his body against the flying monitors and tables around them. "Eddie, come on," he repeated, voice quieter and eyes earnest.

The presence allowed her to focus on something other than the bright lights and blaring noise, and Eddie reached up to clasp the soft fabric of Luther's sleeve. He hauled her up without touching her and dragged her through the path he made, continuing to beat away any rouge objects headed their way.

They made it to the exit, and Eddie nearly collapsed on the stairs, brain still foggy and breath still coming short. As she crawled up the stairs, the air moved around her lungs in a wheeze, and when she finally reached the top, she rested against the wall, knees tucked to her chest.

Luther stumbled up after her, hunching over to regain his breath alongside her.

"What..." Eddie's voice was quiet and breathless, mouth hanging open and head lowered as she tried to recover. "What... just... happened?"

"I don't know," Luther replied, equally as breathless as he straightened. "It came from the garden."

Eddie pushed her frizzy curls out of her face and hauled herself to her feet. The sudden change in levels caused her to stumble, but she managed to steady herself. She forced a breath out and set off towards the door, staggering as she struggled to breathe.

"Eddie!" Luther called after her. "Wait up!"

She ignored him, body hitting a table in her disorientation, but she pushed off it. When she reached the door, she had to grab a hold of the frame to stop herself from falling on her face. A ragged breath escaped her, and a wheezy inhale followed it before she completely broke free of the house.

"Nice for you to finally join us, Miss Scientist!" Diego threw his hands towards the blue hurricane-type gateway when he noticed her.

"Fuck off!" she snapped back, hand covering her throbbing side. "I just got RKOed by a fucking eighties computer monitor!"

"What is it?" Vanya asked as the siblings made way for Eddie to approach the swirling blue phenomenon.

"Don't get too close!" Allison warned.

"Yeah, no shit!" Diego countered.

Luther stopped beside his sister. "It looks like a temporal anomaly! That or a miniature black hole!"

"If it were, we wouldn't be here. A black hole that size would have engulfed the Earth and half the solar system by now!" she called back over the wind as it picked up. "No... no, it's something different. I've seen something like this before... I just have to remember when." Her voice lowered to a mumble before a sharp inhale cut it off, her body still tackling the oxygen debt.

Klaus elbowed her out of the way, and she whipped around to face him. The place he'd touched burned, and her hand immediately covered it, a hiss leaving her mouth. However, she didn't get a moment to swear at him as he launched a fire extinguisher at the portal.

"What was that gonna do?" Allison asked incredulously

"I don't know! Do you have a better idea?" he countered. The blue portal exploded, and Klaus scrambled back.

"Get behind me!" Luther commanded.

"Yeah, get behind us!" Diego added, squaring his shoulders and moving to stand beside his brother.

Ignoring their arguments, Eddie stepped forward but lifted a hand to shield her face as a lightning strike hit the ground. She glanced at a metal band around her wrist before ripping it off. Pushing her hand towards the blue swirls, she captured a section in her palm and brought it closer to inspect. The energy flickered and moved about in her cradle, and her gaze moved from it and to its source as familiarity washed over her. She shook her hand, and it dispersed around her.

Eddie took a breath, jumping on the spot as she shook her hands to prepare herself. The air around her became cold, and the sun seemed to dim slightly; the birds quietened, and the noise of the portal suddenly silenced. Her hands spread to her sides as she drew them up alongside her power before aiming them at the opening. It enlarged suddenly, and the group behind her shouted protests.

She spied a figure as it contorted, and she furrowed her eyebrows. An older man glitched with a younger one - Five. Eddie stumbled back, hand returning to the spot Klaus had touched to scratch.

A figure dropped to the ground, lying face-first on the dirt with an oversized suit hanging off his body. After he blundered to his feet, he looked around and then focused on his siblings as he brushed off his clothes.

"Welcome back to the shit show, dearest!" Eddie drawled, forming half-hearted jazz hands at her sides.

Five glanced down at his body and then back at Eddie. "Shit."

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