Grand Theft (The Umbrella Academy)

CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO: Twenty-four Hours Ago

The family reappeared outside in a park where the hotel once stood. Haddock stumbled out of the mystical elevator, gathering his grounds. He felt like a child learning to walk all over again or that he had been at sea for a lifetime and was only just now stepping off of the boat. His world seemed... heavier, and his body frail... human.

A statue of Sir Reginald Hargreeves's head sat at the center with the engraving:

Obsidian Memorial Park
Generously donated by
Sir Reginald Hargreeves
the 1st day of October 1989.

They gathered in a circle around it, studying the oddity with perplexed demeanors. Out of everything they have seen over the last few years, they were still taken aback at this.

Luther appeared once more in a confused state, this time as a normal man, before he was injected with the serum. Viktor ran to him, looking him up and down. "Luther? Luther!"

"You can see me? I'm alive!" He wrapped him in a hug.

Haddock looked around with a smile on his face, that just as quickly dropped when he didn't see his love. His eyes filmed over and he swallowed the lump in his throat. If his legs didn't feel like giving out before then they certainly did now. "Lier," he almost inaudibly croaked. His bottom lip quivered and he pressed his lips together. He expected this, yet he still wasn't prepared. He lived a lifetime with her, but it still wasn't enough.

The others tried to comfort him, Fleur reaching to squeeze his hand, but he raised it, stopping her, then without another word, he staggered away down one of the stone paths.

"Should someone go after him?" Klaus asked openly as he pointed to him. Fleur sadly shook her head. She knew enough about him that that is the last thing he wanted right now.

"That's not all, big guy." Viktor squeezed Luther's arm as a change in pace. Some good news for once today.

"Huh?" He looked down and noticed his much smaller muscles and slim figure. "Oh shit! My body!" He admired his arm. "I look amazing."

"Luther's all svelte now," Klaus said.

"Wait, I gotta show Sloane. This is so cool."

Fleur nudged Five. "Five, your arm."

"I got my arm back." Five looked at the scenario suspiciously in contrast to the immense happiness that his brother was feeling at his jurassic change.

"W-Wait. Where's Sloane?"

"Oh, she was, uh... She was right behind me..." Klaus trailed off when he couldn't find her. "And Connor was right beside Fish-Man."

"We really need to keep a better body count on ourselves," Fleur muttered as she studied her surroundings.

Lila looked to Diego. "When Allison hit the bloody button—"

"She's gone too," Two commented as he looked around.

Klaus stretched. "You know, I don't know about you guys, but I have not felt this good in years."

"Does anyone know where the hell we are?" Ben asked in his usual irritated tone.

"The hotel," Lila responded. "Or at least this is where it used to be."

Five gently picked up Fleur's hair for her to see. She was in her true form. "Huh. Okay." She tried changing back, but couldn't. "Odd."

"I think the old man did it," Five said. "I think he reset the universe."

Fleur glanced over herself. "We still look thirteen. Why don't we look our ages?"