apocalypsehow | Jack Ruby's Nightclub

Well, Diego had been a bust, but Luther hadn't been too hard to find at least. Not with fight posters with his image on them posted up in Elliot's apartment.

And maybe a barely teenage child wandering into a night club would draw some attention, but the key was to look like you were supposed to be there. Or just ignore when well meaning waitresses fussed and tried to warn you to get out of a place like this.

But either way, he was taking a seat and idly watching the burlesque show as he waited for Luther to come find him.

Luther	When a waitress came to you complaining of a child trying to get a drink, you kind of had to go investigate, even if you weren't the bouncer. Much like Diego, Luther did not seem all that surprised to see Five. Though it was icky to see him front row during a burlesque act. "She's too young for you."
Five	Oh, like he was actually interested in anything other than wanting a drink and to get the band back together. But he was sure she was a lovely young woman with her clothing on. "Nice to see you too, Luther."
Luther	"What do you want?" Luther asked, fully prepared to reject anything Five said.
Five	Okay, so maybe Luther was in the post-apocalypse funk. "For you to stop hovering like an ambitious stripper, and sit down with me," Five said, gesturing at the other chair. Hadn't you missed his colorful turn of phrase?
Luther	Luther rolled his eyes, but of course did as he was told. Were you a man over the age of 50? Then Luther would listen to you. It was a sickness, really.
Five	One that Five would shamelessly exploit to save him from himself. "How long have you been here?"
Luther	"A year, thanks to you." Luther seemed pretty annoyed but at least he wasn't spouting nonsense about Kennedy. That was a positive, right?
Five	That was definitely a plus! "I'm sorry, Luther. I know that couldn't have been easy." You know. Speaking from experience.
Luther	You know what? If this had been Luther a year ago, he would have been genuinely touched by Five trying to empathize with him. "I thought everyone was dead." Unfortunately this was Luther now, and he had a job to get to. "I gotta go."
Five	Ugh, new Luther was terrible. Just jump at the call so he could save the world again. Five reached out to grab his oversized arm. "Look, I get it okay? I know what it's like to be stuck in time, thinking that's how you're going to live out the rest of your life. On the run, and not knowing if you're ever going to see the people you love again." That was possibly the most he'd admitted about his time in the future to anyone. "But Luther, you're not alone. We have to find the others, because the world ends again in ten days. I have no idea how to stop it."
Luther	"I don't give a shit." Look at him walking away, Five. Look at him not caring like a cool guy.
Five	Um, excuse you. Five was up and stalking after him immediately. "The hell is wrong with you, Luther? I just told you the world's gonna end in ten days." Kind of a big deal.
Luther	"Yeah, well, you're always saying that." He had a point, Five. Admit it.
Five	"And so far I've been right." It wasn't like he was the one causing these things, you know? It was probably Vanya again.
Luther	"Look, you want to go save the world? Knock yourself out. I've already got a job." A job that wasn't superhero or astronaut for once!
Five	"Wait, you work in this shithole?" Luther, being the world's saddest astronaut was better than this.
Luther	"Yeah, my boss owns the place." It wasn't exactly a classy joint, but Luther wouldn't call it a shithole, thank you. "I'm his body man." As soon as 'body man' came out of his mouth, he knew it was a mistake.
Five	Five was an old man, but he wasn't that kind of old man. "What's that? Like a masseuse or something?"
Luther	Luther rolled his eyes. "Okay, you can make fun all you want, but I take good care of Mr. Ruby." Did you think you could get out of this conversation without a reference to the Kennedy assassination, Five? Rookie move.
Five	GOD DAMN IT. "Wait, Ruby? The Jack Ruby. The gangster that shot Oswald?" Could any of you keep from altering the timeline for ten freakin' seconds?!
Luther	"The one and only." Look, he hadn't shot Oswald yet, so he wasn't that bad of a guy! You just had to ignore all the mob stuff like Luther did.
Five	"Well it finally happened," Five said, looking him over. "That gorilla DNA has taken over your mind."
Luther	"Hey, watch it, all right? Jack's a good friend." He at least called Luther by his first name, which is more than his father had ever done for him. He really needed to get some therapy for those old man issues.
Five	"You're Number One. Numero Uno," he repeated in Spanish in case that would help Luther remember his actual job. "Remember?"
Luther	"There is no Number One. Not anymore. Not 1963," Luther said, dropping unaffected act for a moment. "Look, I've been stranded here alone for a year. What did you expect?"
Five	Some backbone maybe! "I get it, okay? You watched Pogo die, the world exploded, and I marooned your big, dumb ass in time," Five said, finally really losing what little patience he had here. Because a piddly little year? You absolute wimp. "I'm sorry, okay? But I'm asking for your help, Luther. The Umbrella Academy needs you."
Luther	"It doesn't need me. It never did." Spoken like someone who had been thinking about this obsessively for a year. A waitress approached the two of them, ignoring Five in favor of Luther. "Honey, Jack needs you." Luther sighed. "Ah, shit." Time to punch somebody.
Five	"Luther, wait." They needed to knock that depression right on out of your skull.
Luther	"Listen--you're the genius who said we should jump, right? You're the one who got us stuck here," Luther said. "And you're the one that brought Vanya. So if there's a doomsday coming she's probably the cause." "And if I was gonna do something about it, it sure as hell is not going to be with you." Which was probably uncalled for, but 1963 Luther gave no fucks. He didn't bother waiting for Five's response, instead making his way over to Jack so he could throw out whatever loser was causing trouble.
Five	Five sighed as he watched Luther's lumbering form toss a man out of the club. "Dad should have left him on the moon," he grumbled, putting his hands into his pockets. One of which had a roll of film in it that definitely wasn't his, so he pulled it out to look at. Hazel, you clever bastard.