Fireproof

Klaus had been to many of his sister’s concerts since she came back into their lives - it wasn’t all out of courtesy either. He genuinely enjoyed her music and it reminded him of being curled up with his back against her wall as she practiced when they were children. On particularly bad days he would lose himself, be able to drift away in the soft melodies. They were never all that close and she probably didn’t even know that he was listening but it was his own private, happy little memory from childhood.

She was always pretty good - she practiced constantly to no praise from their father but tonight as Klaus sat next to Kenzie, Dave, and Ben, (Sally hadn’t wanted to leave her swing that day) he found her performance to be almost mind numbingly good in a way he couldn’t describe. There was a moment in the middle of a solo where he thought he might have blacked out but he couldn't be sure.

As the performance ended and the musicians bowed, their family stood up and clapped with the rest of the impressed crowd. Kenzie cheered loudly like she was in a rock concert earning them a few dirty looks from the older, stuffier patrons. Dave put a hand on her shoulder and told her to lower her volume inside but as Vanya began to walk off the stage she caught Kenzie’s eye in the crowd and waved enthusiastically at her biggest fan.

They met Vanya in the back, pushing through the crowd like VIPs and she seemed to be glowing. Kenzie tackled her immediately and she swung her around with a grunt and hugged her niece fondly, “I’m not going to be able to do that much longer.”

“That was AMAZING!” Kenzie said, making a mind blown gesture with her hands. She was jumping up and down. She was in the thralls of the type of hyper activity that only comes when a child has been really good, sitting in her chair while listening to instrumental music and has finally been let loose.

“You were the best! Everyone else was just okay but you were really good!”

“Thank you! That really means a lot.” She looked at as the adults trailing behind her niece finally made it to them, “Thank you guys so much for coming.”

Ben pulled an arm around her and squeezed her close, “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“You were fantastic, Vanny. You might want to talk to the owners of this place about concessions though - they didn’t even have popcorn! There was nothing for me to pelt at the other performers when they messed up. I feel like it would really up the game with more audience participation.”

Vanya laughed and shook her head.

“Is Sophie here?” Dave asked, looking around.

“No, she had to work, unfortunately.” Vanya smiled, “But it’s okay, she’s been listening to me practice this nearly every day for the past month so it’s probably going to be stuck in her head forever.”

“I’m going to drop these guys off then I’ll be heading to work so I’ll probably see her - I’ll make sure to tell her what she missed.”

“Thanks, Dave.” She opened her arms, “Can I have another hug before you go?”

Kenzie obliged excitedly, squeezing her as hard as she could around the middle, showing off her newly 7 year old strength. She wrestled her good naturedly and waved as the group made their way back into the main building.

Before Klaus could fully close the door behind him, she grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

“Klaus?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

She took a deep breath, “There’s some things I need to talk to you about. When you’ve got the time.” She spoke low and serious and that caught him off guard.

His stomach dropped, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah - I mean, we’re all okay. I would just tell you if something happened but I just need to tell you some things. And Ben too, if he’s there.”

“Okay, yeah. Dave’s taking Kenzie for a hike on Saturday, do you want to just get some breakfast and talk.”

She seemed immediately relieved, “That sounds great. Thank you. I’ll see you in a few days.”

She gave him one last quick hug and he rejoined his family.

**********************************************************************************************************

“You guys have a good night, I’ll see you in the morning.” Dave parked the car next to the front door of their apartment and glanced around.

Klaus leaned over and kissed his fiancé briefly, “Be careful.”

Kenzie hugged him around the neck from the back, “Love you, Dad!”

“Love you, kiddo.”

She was hyper and anxious to get inside so Klaus had to grab her hand before she could just bolt into the building, he waved quickly at Dave “Love you, Dave.”

“Love you, Klaus.”

Ben waved at him and then he was driving away into the early evening. He had to drive around a dark limo a block away and although he thought that was strange and out of place, he didn’t think of it again.

When they got inside Kenzie immediately ran off to her room and Klaus headed for the kitchen, pouring himself a coke from the fridge. Ben checked the locks on the door and joined his brother in the kitchen.

“Shit, Dave forgot his lunch again…” Klaus peered into the fridge with a frown, “He always does that when he works nights…” He mumbled, more to himself than anybody else.

“He’ll probably come back for it.”

The sounds of Kenzie’s music drifted from her room and they could hear her moving around and chatting idly to what were most likely her toys and Rot-rot. Bens smiled, “Good luck getting her to go to sleep tonight. There’s a reason we don’t usually plan things on Tuesday nights.”

Klaus was flipping through his phone, leaning against the counter, he hummed in response, not really concerned with what Ben was talking about. They heard the front door open and he looked up from his scrolling. He pulled the lunchbox out of the fridge and walked into the living room, “I’m glad you didn’t get too far - you know what happens when food’s left unattended in this - “

Klaus yelped as he looked up, he dropped the lunchbox and the contents of chilli and crackers spilled out onto the floor. He stumbled backwards and covered his mouth as a scene from his nightmares stood in the middle of the room, holding a gold embossed cane and looking around in an expression of mild distaste at his surroundings.

Reginald Hargreeves’ eyes finally landed on his son and he peered at him, nose upturned, inspecting him through the ever present monocle. “Number 4.” He stated curtly, sending a bolt of panic painfully through Klaus’ spine.

Klaus took a step away, he glanced over at his brother who was in just as much shock as he was then back to the intruder. “Jesus, pops, did we forget how to knock?” He tried to sound cavalier but he couldn’t tell if it worked or if his voice just broke.

“If I would have knocked first, you wouldn’t have let me in. But no matter, your inadequate locks involved the same amount of effort to break.”

Klaus swallowed, his mind flashing back to the past several years where he obsessively checked the locks and barricaded the front door at the slightest sound in the paranoia of suddenly being responsible for a small life. Maybe he had gotten complacent, feeling secure in his home for the first time in his life and he was paying for it dearly.

“Amazing deductive skills, Sherlock! Now, lets dive further into that - why the fuck would you think I wouldn’t let you in? Is it because I don’t want you in my house or because I never want to see you again?”

A door behind them opened, Ben twisted around but Klaus didn’t move, “Stay in your room!” He snapped in a tone of voice that caught both Kenzie and Ben slightly off guard. The 7 year old’s eyes went wide and she went back into her room, although once Ben’s back was turned to her she cracked it open to watch.

“I know your lifestyle has crumbled but please, at least attempt to act civil. I am just here on business.” He didn’t sound bothered by Klaus’ outburst or by the way he was standing alert.

“What could you possibly be bothering me with now?! Didn’t you get all your experiments and data in before I turned 18?”

“This has very little to do with you, Number 4, don’t be vain. It has come to my attention that you have a child with special abilities and I have it on good authority that those abilities are more volatile than you can handle.”

Klaus’ eyes closed, he tried to stand still but he knew his father could see right through the way he trembled at that sentence.

“I must say I’m impressed that you’ve managed to house her without my knowledge but as usual your juvenile, myopic convictions have blinded you to both the safety of the world and the potential of such a unique human. I’m disappointed, Number 4--”

“Well, that’s a surprise.”

“For once your desire to withhold any and all responsibility should have been to the benefit an advantage of your fellow humans and the child which you created and yet here you are, playing fantasy with a dangerous entity,”

“Oh, who gives a shit if she’s got powers!? She’s seven! She- she wants to eat dinosaur nuggets and watch Doc McStuffins all day! She’s never hurt anybody and she’s not a fucking experiment! She’s a baby!”

Reginald’s hand snapped forward and grabbed onto Klaus' wrist, pulling his arm forward with a snap.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” His unbothered act was falling apart quickly and he tried to snap his arm away.

Reginald paid him no mind, he observed his son’s hand and arms, “Ah, yes, I see. It seems like you’ve got everything under control.” He said with a snide tone, a finger pointing out the small burn scars that trailed down his skin until they distorted his tattoos with pink, warped scar tissue.

Klaus ripped away from him, rubbing up and down his arms, “Look, she was an infant, okay? She couldn’t help it.”

“Humph.”

Regional turned away and pulled something out of his pocket, ignoring his son.

“Listen, you have a problem with the way I’m raising her- fine! Call CPS on me, I’m sure with a big enough check they’d be willing to do whatever you wanted. But give me a fair shot.” Klaus was rambling.

Ben knew where he was going with this - in this worst of the worst situation they needed to have an agency's involvement because at least then they would have time to get Allison. And nobody trying to hurt her niece would have been a match for Allison Hargreeves.

Reginald turned back, a checkbook in hand, and when he spoke his voice was almost soft, “She’s a danger to you, she’s a danger to the world - I can offer her protection and training. I can’t imagine you planned for her. You’ve done an adequate job at keeping her alive and now I am offering you freedom from your choices. How much?”

He ripped out a blank check and handed it to his son along with a pen, “I will compensate you fully and you can go back to living your life in whatever way you choose.”

Klaus held the check out into the light, he glanced back at his father and took a deep breath and a moment to consider. He pressed the paper against the wall and began to write.

“Klaus, what are you doing?” Ben wasn’t visible but he was standing by just in case things went wrong.

His brother didn’t answer him, instead he walked back to their father and held out the check, written in large letters along the pay line were the words “EAT MY ENTIRE ASS” with a small line and two zeros at the end. He showed it to his unimpressed father then ripped it up into four pieces. He tossed them in the older man’s face, a move which Ben had never thought even Klaus had the spine to do.

“Get out of my house.” He snarled.

Reginald sighed and placed his monocle back into his pocket.

“Klaus, stay away.”

His brother glanced at him, body tense and ready to take a beating, he mouthed the word “Run” and turned back to his father just in time to dodge a devastating blow to the face. Ben faltered, not sure what to do - rather than obey Klaus he ran forward and tried to intercept Reginald’s fist, he got pushed out of the way just as Klaus grabbed a decorative cat statue and hurled it at his father.

Reginald sidestepped the attack and lunged towards Klaus. Ben stepped back, originally unwilling to unleash the horror in such a confined area, he was panicking now so he opened his chest and closed his eyes, feeling the creature inside bubbling out through his skin, ready to rip and kill.

Klaus tried but he had never been that good of a hand to hand fighter so it was inevitable that he would get caught off balance, before the horror could explode out and rip him to pieces Reginald swiftly grabbed a lamp and slammed it down against Klaus’ head. The Seance collapsed to the ground and Ben faded away instantly, his father catching a glimpse of him for just a moment before he disappeared.

“No! Shit!”

Klaus was still up, on his hands and knees looking disoriented. Ben screamed as their father walked calmly up to his son, pulled his body up by his hair and plunged a spade shaped dagger into his abdomen, twisting it viciously into the flesh.

“Stop it!” Ben screamed.

Before he could comprehend what was happening Klaus’ entire body was seizing up, acidic agony rushed through his veins and he felt like someone was breaking every bone in his body, snapping them one by one even though he wasn’t moving - he could barely breathe. The stab wound barely registered as the poison spread throughout his body at an unrelenting speed.

He tried to scream but the paralysis mangled his vocal chords and left him trapped in a body that felt like it was being ripped apart from the inside. His father held him and lowered his body to the floor, he could see his face but his vision was bleeding red and although his brain was spiraling he couldn't fight against the poison tearing him to pieces.

Kenzie screamed and retreated back into her bedroom, Ben followed her - hating himself for not trying to help her escape when they maybe had a chance. Fire erupted around her body which didn’t seem to perturb the old man who simply pulled out a dart gun and shot a round into her arm. She collapsed, crashing into her bedside table, her belongings shattering to the floor.

He walked up, patting out any remaining flames and picked her up while Ben could only watch in horror as he threw her limp body over his shoulder and walked briskly out of the apartment. Ben fell to his knees next to his brother, “Klaus, you gotta wake up..”

It was only after he spoke that he realized with absolutely hopelessness that his brother was still alive, his eyes wide open and filled with blood. His mouth was hanging open and he was gasping and choking against foam and bile being rejected by his body. His skin was a sickly purple color and he twitched and whined. He watched as Reginald took Kenzie away, leaving him dying on the floor.

Ben tried to touch his face, tried to bring him any semblance of comfort in these agonizing last moments but his effort was lost on his brother, writhing in pain. “I need you to come back, okay? You better come back, Klaus.” He begged, his voice breaking.

He ripped himself away from his brother’s body and stumbled after Reginald and Kenzie.

Rot-rot, who had not been fast enough to grab onto his girl as she was taken away stumbled dejectedly out of the bedroom and scrambled up Klaus, he climbed up his seizing form and tugged gently on the seance’s hair attempting in his own little way to bring Klaus back.

*****************************************************************************************************

“Kenzie?” Ben had his face next to hers, looking into her eyes as she stirred awake. He was trying to see if she was okay without being able to interact with her - he was upset that she was waking up so soon.

“Hey, Kenz’...” Ben tried to sound as calm as possible, also staying as close to her as he could given the circumstances.

She was on a medical seat with her arms attached to the sides, palms facing up and he had been hoping and begging that she would stay asleep for just a little while longer. Reginald was working next to them, he moved and acted like this was any other day and at the moment he was pulling a syringe of blood from her arm.

The little one’s eyes shot open.

“Kenzie, look at me. Look at me, don’t look at him.” Ben ordered, attempting to block her line of sight as Reginald pulled out the needle and placed a sterile cotton ball on the point.

“No, eyes on me - there you go. Hey, sweetie, how are you feeling?”

Reginald glanced briefly at the child he just kidnapped but turned and walked away, inspecting the syringe of blood that he had just extracted.

She whined and her head snapped away to look around the room, “Uncle Ben…”

He walked quickly to her other side, “I’m right here, Kenzie. I need you to listen to me, you’re going to be okay. Someone will come for us. I just need you to do as I say and know that I’m going to be right here, okay?”

She seemed to think about this for several moments through her groggy mind, “Is - is momma gone?” She whispered.

“Right now, he might be but your mom? He always gets back up, yeah? Especially for you.” When Ben left his brother was still alive, in the clutches of some poison. He didn’t know if Klaus was going to make it back this time.

Kenzie’s face twisted and she started to cry, tugging weakly at her restraints. Ben’s heart shattered and moved with her line of sight. He didn’t think she could light on fire at the moment after just coming off the sedative and as much as he would love to burn this place to the ground, he didn’t want to risk Reginald’s wrath. At least now, he didn’t seem to want to hurt her.

“Hey, hey, look at me. I’m going to tell you a story - Just focus on the sound of my voice and know, everything is going to be okay.”

Several rooms away Sir Hargreeves was inspecting a drop of blood through a microscope, his face was stern and focused as he worked, however, his brow quickly furrowed into something like confusion. Another portion of blood was currently whirring through a machine next him.

A polite knock on the door made him glance up, he set the sample down and stood up. Pogo waited patiently for Reginald to acknowledge him before speaking up, “Master Hargreeves, with this new development, will you still go through with your original plan?”

“No. It may be necessary in the future to find another way to bring them together, however it’s highly likely that the arrival of this child has or will change the course of actions. And anyway, I was forced to dispatch Number 4. Regrettable but unavoidable given the circumstances.”

The old monkey’s face twisted with grief at these words and the hand on his cane shook, “Understood, sir.” He said sadly.

“Should I readjust Grace’s programming back to their default? Since we will no longer be going through with the plan, that is.”

“Yes, do so immediately and inform her that she will have a new child to look after.” He considered something for a few moments, “In the event the child will adapt to her new circumstances she will be moved to a room. Until then, tell Grace to prepare the secure cell.”

Pogo nodded, “Of course, sir.” He turned and limped away slowly, after a moment, however, he turned back, “She does look remarkably like master Klaus, doesn’t she?” He added wistfully, a heavy hint of sorrow in his tone.

Reginald’s attention had already turned back to his experiments, his machine was beginning to beep. “I suppose she does.” Was all he acknowledged.

Pogo left and Reginald stood back, watching with rapt curiosity as his machine began to smoke and alarms began to sound off. The vial of blood along with the microscope sample started to vibrate and boil quickly shattering their glass containers. The old man stepped back and shut the door, observing as items in his lab started being destroyed by invisible forces. The machine analyzing her DNA exploded as things were thrown about and a sudden invisible chaos erupted inside.

The sprinkler system went off and Reginald observed the streams of water being displaced indicating the presence of a living creature, although, it or they were not visible to the naked eye. He looked through his monocle and watched the scene play out for a few more minutes, jotting down several lines in his journal. He secured the door and walked away, the sounds of chaos erupting behind him.

When he returned to the inspection room, he found Kenzie awake, staring pointedly at a point in space. He walked up to her and cleared his throat.

“Kenzie, I know you’re afraid but keep looking at me. It’s going to be okay.”

“Now that you’re awake - we can begin introductions and your training. I am your grandfather. You will address me as such or you will address me as “Sir”. Do you understand?”

“You don’t have to speak, just nod your head if you understand him,” Ben didn’t want her to speak, didn’t want to make this situation any more traumatizing or painful than it already was - so he used the techniques he learned as a child growing up under Sir. Hargreeves.

Kenzie nodded stiffly.

“Good. I will refer to you from this point forward only as “Number 8”.” He inspected her briefly through his monocle, “Look at me when I am speaking to you.”

Kenzie’s eyes flickered to her grandfather’s face for the first time.

“I understand that you have been raised in an undisciplined environment where you were taught to admire degeneracy and chaos. Your age will make it difficult to revert these attitudes however, in this house you will adhere to the rules, you will maintain a standard of behavior or you will be punished. Do you understand this?”

“I think you should eat shit.”

“Kenzie - no, don’t--”

Reginald’s lips tightened in disapproval, “I see.” He lifted up his book and scribbled a few sentences down before regarding his granddaughter again.

“In this house you will be trained to achieve your potential, to push past the limits of your abilities and control--”

“Kenzie, do not listen to anything he says--”

“--Understand that without discipline you are a danger to your society and if you do not learn to adapt to your developing abilities you will be disposable for the good of the many.--”

“--Your grandfather is a very bad man and he doesn’t know you - he doesn’t know your heart or your mind. Listen to my voice, baby, you are kind, you are smart, you are loved.--”

“--I suggest you think about this before you spit out any more obscenities. Your training will begin tomorrow at 5 A.M sharp--”

Reginald turned on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving them alone.

“I want to go home.”

“I know, we’re going to be okay. Someone will come for us.”

************************************************************************************************************

It felt like eternity before Klaus’ heart finally gave out under the pressure and he was finally free of the agony. He opened his eyes as the pain faded and he was falling. He was falling, and falling, and falling. Despite the sensation, his mind was free again to think clearly, and he allowed the feeling of eternal gravity to push him down.

When his feet ultimately landed against a sizzling red, mountainous landscape he didn’t flinch at the sensation of hot air against his face. He didn’t acknowledge the beauty of the ruby surfaces or the stature of the impressive being waiting for him.

This was the second time he had been to hell. The first time had blown his mind, had given him hope for a reprieve from the pain of existence. He had marveled at the environment and plotted to get what he wanted. It wasn’t like that this time.

This time he was angry.