TWELVE.   I remember it all too well

McKenna sat on the couch with her ankles crossed and she watched Diego place around the living room. "Are you okay?" She voiced.

Diego was exactly like her. He kept his emotions bottled in because he didn't want to appear weak. He wanted to be the hero and the one to fix things. But you can only hide your emotions so long before you break. "I'm fine. Sorry you had to be here for this."

She shrugged. "I chose to be here. It's kinda nice y'know? Seeing how siblings interact."

Diego scoffed. "This isn't normal. Trust me." He looked over and saw her face fall again. He sighed and sat with her on the couch. "Don't worry about it, kid. I don't expect you to comfort me. I'm a grown man."

"And I'm a grown woman."

He cringed. "Oh, yeah. Forgot about that, too."

McKenna chuckled slightly under her breath. He took out one of his knives and she watched him twirl it aimlessly. "How're you feeling?"

"He made my life miserable. I'm better off without him." Diego responded emotionally.

She didn't grow up with parents so she couldn't relate to how he was feeling. And the woman who took care of her was ready to kill her. Diego's mom loved her children even if she wasn't a human person.

The pair looked around when all of a sudden, I Think We're Alone Now by Tiffany started to play. Diego shook his head. "Luther." He stated.

She furrowed her brows. "What?"

"It's his favorite song."

McKenna started laughing and Diego threw the knife into the buffalo head above them. He got up from the couch and she followed him with her eyes. "What are you doing?"

He closed the doors to the living room. "Don't tell anyone about this." He warned her.

McKenna's eyes widened when he bursted out dancing. She had to blink multiple times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. In all the time she knew Diego Hargreeves, he was a serious man. He hardly ever smiled. He was a vigilante. And now it was like he was a completely different person. She covered her mouth and hid her laughter.

Diego came and stood in front of her with his hand out.

"Oh, no. Not happening—"

"C'mon kid, if you wanna be apart of the family!" He exclaimed and shook his hips.

She laughed again. "But I'm not apart of the family."

"Not yet!" He wiggled his eyebrows.

She gave him a look, saying no. Diego wouldn't let up. Finally, McKenna gave in and took his hand. He yanked her up and pulled her to the middle of the living room.

"I think we're alone now. There doesn't seem to be anyone around."

She giggled when Diego twirled her. She'd never seen him laugh this much. She also hadn't laughed this much in what seemed like forever. She hadn't danced like this in so long. Not since with Five. Her eyes found the portrait of him above the fireplace again and she suddenly felt like she wasn't there.

She was no longer than woman who met him in the Handler's office. She was her sixteen year old self, frozen in time. But she was safe where she was. She wasn't at the Commission and The Handler was gone. She didn't have anything to worry about.

McKenna flinched when there was a loud rumble of thunder. "Jesus."

Suddenly, all the metal objects stated flying around the room. Diego grabbed her arm. "Come on!" He yelled.

The two of them ran out of the living room and all the other siblings came rushing out. When they walked outside to the backyard, McKenna was immediately met by a heavy wind and an electric blue light. She covered her eyes.

"What is it?" Voiced Vanya.

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

When she reopened her eyes, McKenna recognized the blue cloud. She slowly lowered her hand.

"Yeah, no shit!" Diego snapped out loud. He held an arm out in front of McKenna. "Watch out, kid."

"Looks like some sort of temporal anomaly. Either that or a miniature black hole. One of the two." Examined Luther.

"Pretty big difference there, Paul Bunyan!"

"Out of the way!" Klaus shouted when he came running outside. They watched as he threw a hide hydrant into the open hole of the light.

"What is that gonna do?" Allison questioned.

"I don't know! Do you have a better idea?"

"I think it made it madder!" Shouted McKenna and moved her wind blown hair out of her face.

The electricity started to crackle and everyone started to back up. "Everybody get behind me!" Luther ordered.

"Yeah, get behind us!" Said Diego, trying to one up him. "Stay back, Kenna!"

McKenna rolled her eyes at them.

"I vote for running. C'mon Kenny!" Shouted Klaus and he grabbed ahold of her arm.

Suddenly, the shadow figure of an old man wear a suit appeared through the blue electricity. He then distorted into a younger man, a boy, and the blue cloud of electricity disappeared from the sky — sending him to the ground. The Hargreeves siblings watched him lift himself up and he looked scared. The suit was nice 2x too big on him and hanged off of his body. "Does anyone else see little number Five, or is it just me?" Klaus voiced.

McKenna carefully pushed through them and she felt weak. At first she thought she was dreaming, or that maybe she stuck in a nightmare that she created for herself. But then he looked at her and McKenna couldn't deny those eyes. "Five." She uttered his name.

Sixteen year old Five stared at the girl in front of him. Her dark hair was wet from the rain and her same shade of brown eyes were wide. The way she said his name, the tremble in his voice, Five suddenly got a flash of a face in his mind. He knew it all too well. "McKenna?" He said back, his voice trembling and confused.

The Hargreeves siblings were confused on many levels.
Diego was defensive on how McKenna knew Five. But she watched attentively as he made his way all around to kitchen to make a sandwich. Her heart was lodged in her to heart and it was hard to breathe. She couldn't look away from him. Which made it worse because Five could hardly look at her. "What's the date? The exact date?" He demanded and grabbed a loaf of bread.

"The 24th." Vanya answered.

"Of what?"

"March."

"Good." He stated nonchalantly.

McKenna couldn't speak. Her words were stuck like she was afraid to speak.

"So, are we gonna talk about what just happened?" Luther addressed the elephant in the room.

Five ignored his brother and started to make it sandwich. His eyes flickered up for a split second, meeting McKenna's desperate eyes, and he quickly looked away.

"It's been fourteen years," Luther started again and stood up from his chair.

Five scoffed. "It's been a lot longer than that."

McKenna tugged at the color of her black dress, all of a sudden feeling hot. She rubbed the palms of her hands on her knees. She felt more out of place than ever.

He teleported through Luther and opened one of the cabinets. "I haven't missed that." He grumbled.

"Where'd you go?" Diego asked this time.

"The future," Five answered and blinked through Luther again. "It's shit, by the way,"

"Called it!" Chimed Klaus while holding up a finger.

"Needed something to do, y'know?" He stated. He looked at McKenna again.

It was bitter and she felt every bit of the emotion byrey itself in her veins.

He looked through the refrigerator. "I should've listened to the old man. You know, jumping through space is one thing, jumping through time is a toss of the dice." He looked at Klaus. "Nice dress."

"Oh, well, danke! Kenny's the only one who thinks so."

Five looked at McKenna again and this time, she look away. She tugged on her collar again.

"Wait, how did you get back?" Vanya quickly asked.

"In the end, I had to project my conscience forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time." Five explained.

They stared at him like he was crazy. "That makes no sense," said Diego.

"Well, it would if you were smarter."

McKenna almost smiled.

Diego quickly stood up but Luther blocked him with his arm. "How long were you there?"

"Twenty years. Give it take." Five answered.

The siblings looked perplexed. "So what are you saying? That you're 50?" Luther asked when he sat back down.

"No, my consciousness is 50. Apparently, my body is now sixteen again."

Diego looked at McKenna from across the table. She avoided everyone's eyes.

"Wait, how does that even work?" Vanya asked another question.

"Delores kept saying the equations were off. Eh. Bet she's laughing now," Five said to himself and bit into his sandwich.

McKenna blinked. "Delores?" She voiced, it being the first thing she said the entire time.

Diego looked between them. "Okay, how do you two know each other?" He voiced out loud.

Five and McKenna looked at each other again. It was bizarre seeing one another in their teenage bodies. Everything felt so different. McKenna could feel his coldness towards her. His resentment. It was the worst type of pain you can feel. "McKenna and I knew each other at one point." Five answered, dulling it down.

"One point." She muttered, her voice sad.

Allison was in shock. "What? How?"

"Long story." That answered in unison.

"Okay, we are not starting that." Diego retaliated. "How is that possible? McKenna?" He directed toward her.

McKenna shot him a look. "You already know."

"You never told me you knew him!"

Luther looked between them with crazed eyes. "Know what? What are you not telling us?"

Diego glared at him. "None of your business."

"What is happening right now?" Klaus stepped in, feeling stressed.

He looked away from Luther and at McKenna again, his raised eyebrows. Then they all looked at her. She tugged at the collar of her dress again. "I'm not a teenager. I'm thirty years old in my sixteen year old body." She confessed.

"WHAT?"

McKenna winced.

"You're our age?" Asked Allison, feeling bewildered.

"Born on October 1st. . ."

"Wait, you're like us?" Luther questioned roughly. He pointed between her and Five. "So, you two met while you were gone?"

McKenna was growing overwhelmed by the questions.

Five didn't respond and picked up a newspaper with his dad on the cover. "Guess I missed the funeral." He changed the subject.

"How'd you know about that?"

"What part of the future do you do not understand?" He snapped. "Heart failure, huh?"

"Yeah. . . No." Diego and Luther said at the same time.

Klaus held a hand up. "I'm still hung on Kenna being 30."

"It's a very long and complicated story." She told him and looked at Five again.

He didn't meet her eye. "Nice to see nothing's changed." He muttered.

He started to walk out of the kitchen. "Uh, that's it? That's all you have to say?" Allison questioned.

"What else is there to say? The circle of life." He replied and left the kitchen.

It went silent again and McKenna slowly looked back at the siblings. Diego saw the look on her face. "McKenna—"

She teleported away, making Klaus almost fall off the table. "Whoa!"

"She can do that too?" Said Vanya, equally as shocked.

Allison turned to face her brother. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Diego scoffed. "Why do you think?"

Luther pointed at him. "So you knew she was like us?" He accused.

"I found her all alone in an alley with no family. What was I supposed to do?" He snapped. "She told me she was like us. I couldn't throw her out."

"How do guys think they know each other?" Klaus voiced, talking about McKenna and Five.

"That I don't know. But I don't like it."