Chapter Text
Late September 2002. Five is nearly 13.
The others think Five is working on his homework, or that Dad has given him an extra project to work on because of his powers. Five knows this, because Four had questioned why he was doing extra math when he didn’t like it.
Five is quite content to sit on this lie, if it means they won’t ask too many questions.
Because Four is right, Five doesn’t like math. It’s not the worst thing they have to learn – that’s probably Latin, because Pogo has yet to adequately justify why they need to learn a dead language, and how it could be useful. At least math is a practical skill, with logical answers.
It is just so tedious and boring, having to go through all the steps to get to an answer. Five would much rather be doing something.
But this? This is a project set by his older self. A much, much older self – so old he has wrinkles and grey hair. So, Five is going to reluctantly trust that he knows what he is on about, when he says Five is going to want to learn this math.
Apparently, he is going to need it if he wants to take the next step with his powers.
Time travel.
Now if you would have asked Five if he was that bothered about deliberate time travel before, he would probably have said no. There is no point in visiting the past – it has already happened, and he has already been there. It can be a nice break sometimes, when training is hard, but generally it is not too exciting. And visiting the future is just… well it’s annoying. It is like a plate of doughnuts being put in front of him, and everybody else eating some, yet Five is being told he can’t have any. Whenever he has ended up displaced into the future, Four never tells him anything truly important about what is going to happen anyway.
(Okay, so he did let slip what their birthday presents were going to be one year, but that’s it).
But then his older self had dropped in and suggested that if he could learn to deliberately time travel, then the next step could be to stop himself from time travelling at all.
And that sounds good. Really good. To live in the present, all the time, and not have to appear naked somewhere at the drop of a hat, unsure if there will be anybody around to help?
Sound amazing actually.
…It even sounds like a good enough reason to learn extra math.
And that is why Five finds himself sat in the library with Four on a Thursday evening, with two physics and a math textbook, trying to mathematically figure out how to access the temporal dimension. Two and Seven had been with them as well, but Seven had finished up early to go and practice her violin before supper, and Two had eventually had enough of Four’s ‘studying’ - which had started well, but quickly devolved into a lot of humming, doodling in margins and throwing of paper airplanes to try and distract Two and Five from their work.
Five is in the middle of aggressively punching numbers into his calculator when he vanishes, stumbling into a tiled corridor and nearly falling on his face. He looks up in time see his younger self disappear from in front of Four.
Four’s eyes are wide behind his domino mask, as he fumbles to keep hold of the now empty academy blazer that he has been left grasping at the shoulder. The rest of Five’s uniform slumps to the floor in a crumpled pile. It only takes Five a second or two and a glance at the polished black and white tiles to figure out when he is.
This is their first mission – the great Umbrella Academy debut – and they are here to interrupt an armed robbery and free the hostages.
Five had felt so sick with nerves, so anxious to perform well and not be the weak link on the team, that he had ended up triggering a displacement from the stress.
Luckily, whilst six months has done a lot to teach him to control his nerves, it hasn’t done much for his height – it shouldn’t be difficult to literally step into his own shoes and run this mission for himself. It’s not as if his younger self is coming back any time soon – he will be too busy trying to help an apathetic eight year old Five to recite his Homer correctly, and won’t return until midnight (and hadn’t that been fun, landing in a dark, locked and security patrolled bank in the middle of the night – thank god for his powers).
Four startles as Five appears next to his elbow. “Quick, help hand me those.” Five says, already leaning down to grab the shirt off the floor. He undoes just enough buttons to pull it straight over his head, wiggling his arms through the sleeves. “Not got much time!”
“Christ, Five! That’s good timing, you just disappeared and-”
“It was a short one luckily. See? I’m back already.” Five lies, hopping slightly as he tries to pull up the academy shorts as quickly as possible. “C’mon, I need to be ready.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Four says, relaxing now Five has reappeared. He helps hold out the blazer for Five to slip his arms into. “We’ve got another couple of minutes at least. One isn’t quite in position on the roof yet.”
Five doesn’t think Four realises just how eager most of the team are to finally be doing real missions. He doubts they are going to double check everybody is in position before they move, too pumped up on adrenaline.
“Quit your gabbing Four, and help undo the laces on my shoes.” He mutters, tightening the loop of his tie and laying his shirt collar down flat. He reaches down and starts pulling on his socks. “Three will be going in any time now!”
“Nah, we’ve got plenty-” Four is interrupted by the pop of gunfire down the corridor. Five curses and shoves his feet into his shoes, pulling the laces tight and stuffing them down the sides – there is no time to tie them neatly.
He looks up with a grin. “That’s our cue!” He says, turning Four and pushing him towards the corner to go join the others, his heart starting to race with anticipation.
“Now hurry up!” he says, and vanishes in a swirl of blue to make his entrance.
***
When Five uses his power to switch out the gun for a stapler, a handy little trick he’s learnt recently, he nearly misses the familiar face amongst the hostages that One is trying to stand in front of. It isn’t difficult for him to recognise the wrinkles and neatly trimmed white beard, especially when the face under the hat is unnervingly cheerful for a shoot-out hostage. He hasn’t known this old self very long, but he couldn’t mistake him for anybody else. But he barely has time to wonder what on earth his older self is doing in the bank, too busy being drawn back into the action.
***
After the excitement is over, with the would-be robbers all ‘dealt with’ by Six, and the screaming hostages (sans old Five who seems to have vanished again) released down the front steps by Four and Five, they line up behind the door, quickly checking each other over.
Not to check for injuries, but to neaten their ties and make sure their masks are on straight (there isn’t much that can be done for the blood on Six, but Four helps him tuck in his shirt and gives him a pat on the shoulder all the same). They don’t fancy the consequences should they present themselves to the world at anything less than their father’s ideal standard.
Then they spill out on to the steps, One with his chin held high, Two and Three near skipping behind him as the camera’s flash and the crowd roars with questions. Even Four has been caught up in the excitement, bounding down the steps with barely a glance over his shoulder for Five and Six, who step into line last.
Four leans his elbow on Five’s shoulder (his new favourite thing to do since he has hit his growth spurt and realises just how much it annoys Five who hasn’t) and Five turns to whisper a death threat just as the camera’s flash.
And that is the photo that makes the front pages of the newspapers that get delivered to the mansion the next morning. They each get a copy, numbers One through Six - an unheard of treat to get to read the news of what happens outside the walls of their home.
The Five that gets the newspaper is the original Five, sitting at breakfast and trying not to yawn after his late night return home. Whilst his siblings huddle in a circle, pouring over their newspapers and reciting their favourite passages, or recounting their favourite moments from the mission, Five quietly reads the article as quickly as he can.
It wouldn’t do to let on he has absolutely no idea what happened on the mission. Especially when even Two has been telling him how badass he was all morning.
Instead, he cuts out the photo, same as Four, except where Four pins his above his desk as a reminder to tease Five for his lack of a growth spurt, Five quietly asks Pogo for a frame and keeps his in his drawer.
And when he’s nervous, he pulls out the picture and stares at his own relaxed and smiling face, and he reminds himself that he can be that snarky, confident Five on missions too. If he wants to be.
But he resolves he is never, ever telling Four about how he flaked on their first mission.
Four would never let him live it down.