MONACHOPSIS- V. Hargreeves ³

011. CRIME'S GREATEST ENEMY.

"Hm." Nadine chewed on her lip, trying to come up with a contribution. "That sounds like a best-case scenario, though. What if we don't make it in time?"

Allison shrugged. "Well, we'll still have the briefcase. I sincerely doubt that they'll demand Marcus first. We've kidnapped someone—well, they think we have. And all we're demanding in return is something mundane. I doubt they'll risk their brother's life for an object they don't even know the true nature of."

"So, worst-case scenario, we still have the briefcase?" Viktor asked. Allison nodded.

"Exactly. And, honestly, we can take these chumps. I said it before. We're damn superheroes. The real superheroes. Last time, they just caught us off-guard. But that's not going to happen again."

Nadine cracked her knuckles. "Absolutely not."

"Your plan does make sense," said Viktor. "You're right—we do have the advantage. So, I guess, as long we keep our cool, we should be in the clear." He glanced at Nadine. "I really don't want to fight them, though. Let's hope that it's a last last resort."

"It will be, if everyone—especially Nadine and Diego—keeps their mouths shut," said Allison, crossing her arms. "Look. We can do this. We've still got two hours before the meeting, if you're really paranoid. But I don't think you have to be. In a few hours' time, we're going to set things right. No more end of the world, no more Sparrows. Just the timeline as it's supposed to be." Her face hardened. "And I'll get Claire back."

"You will," Nadine said, because what else could she say? She could tell that every day without her daughter was chipping away at Allison's soul. She needed Claire. She'd been away from her for far too long. And she wouldn't—couldn't—accept a world where she never saw her again. "I believe it, Allison. Even though all of this end-of-the-world shit terrifies me, I really believe it. You'll see her again."

Allison shot her a grateful look. "Thanks, Nadine."

Viktor held out his hands, one for each of them. Nadine and Allison both took one, their fingers slotting into place. Viktor smiled. "We can do this," he said. "We're powerful, we're amazing, and we're a team. The Sparrows can't take that away from us."

Nadine tightened her grip on his hand. No, they couldn't. Even if everything went to shit today, they would still have each other. They would fight for each other until the very end, because that was, at its core—even with the heaps of arguments and dysfunction thrown in—what the Umbrella Academy was. A family. A fucked up, extraordinarily weird family, but a family regardless.

Of course, if she'd known what was really about to happen, both today and during the next few days, she might not have put so much hope into that sentiment. But, alas, no one—except for maybe the goons at the Commission—could predict the future. Everyone stumbled through life oblivious. Their confidence climbed high right until it crumbled.

Now that they knew what they were going to do—or at least, what they were planning on doing—the three of them headed down to the lobby to meet Luther and Diego. To Nadine's surprise, she found them playing Scrabble. She had no idea where they'd gotten the game from—it certainly hadn't been the Games Room—but they seemed to have already made good progress with it. Even if their longest word thus far was GIANT.

There were only two empty seats, which Viktor and Allison promptly claimed. Nadine dragged a third over from another, vacant table—which, surprisingly, was the only one here today; every other one was clogged with tourists—and sat down, too.