Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN murphy's law
⋆*✧･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:
NADINE VIDAL had fighting in her blood. It pumped through her body within that vital fluid, streaming through each and every vein and artery to ensure no piece of her was missed. She wasn't sure why, exactly, she'd been born with such a penchant for violence, but it had led to a childhood of bared teeth and knuckles gleaming like rubies. Those fights hadn't exactly been necessary. She'd fancied herself as a sort of vigilante in her school, seeking vengeance on those who had wronged her. Whether she was using her abilities to make bullies wet their pants or punching their smirks right off their faces, she'd more often than not earned nothing from it but a potential suspension and a black mark on her permanent record.
Then she'd gotten shot. Nadine would never forget the Incident, for it had shaped her in such a profound way. She'd come out the other side with trauma, nightmares, and an increased volume on her fury. However, despite all of the harm it had caused, there was one upside: it had inspired her to take self-defence classes. No longer was she swinging her fists blindly; now, she knew exactly what to do. She knew how to use her body to hurt, to really hurt. She knew that her elbows were the sharpest points of her body, and to strike with them when possible. She knew to stay as close to her attacker as she could, and to hit first and hit hard.
All of this had stemmed from sheer paranoia, a debilitating fear that Hazel and Cha-Cha—who she'd known back then only as the pink dog and the blue bear—would come back for her. But then Nadine had arrived at the Umbrella Academy and found that she finally had a reason to harness these skills.
Now was one of those scenarios.
As Nadine, Diego, and Molly all ran up the spiral staircase to the consulate's second floor, they were greeted by the sound of Five's pained grunts and the thud of fists against flesh. Sliding her knife out of her pocket, Nadine bounded up the final few stairs, turned a corner, and found the source of the violent noises. There, underneath yet another fancy chandelier, a blond waiter engaged in a ferocious tussle with Five. She hadn't seen him before, but context clues led her to the realization that this was one of the Swedes. Diego, Five, and Vanya had all interacted with them already. She supposed it was her turn, now.
"Five..." Diego breathed, before gasping in pain. Nadine whirled to find another blond waiter winding his necktie around Diego's throat, effectively cutting his access to oxygen. Diego's hands immediately went to his neck, trying to pry the fabric off, but the waiter—the Swede—dragged him back. Nadine shouted, but before she could reach him, a third Swede approached her, brass knuckles gleaming on his hands. He made a beeline for Nadine, mouth curled into a snarl, and swung.
Molly screamed, and Nadine ducked, expertly sliding under the blow. She kicked out, her skirt billowing around her legs as she did so (fuck, she really missed her practical clothing from earlier). The Swede managed to catch the blow, however, and jerked Nadine off-balance. But before he could try the same move Hazel had two years out, Nadine struck out with her knife. The metal glinted in the light of the chandelier as it whistled towards the Swede's shoulder.
