TRUCE | D. Hargreeves

iv. | traveler

iv.  | traveler

                    "IT LOOKS LIKE some sort of temporal anomaly," Luther said loudly.

Knox wasn't listening to him. In fact, all she could hear was a loud rushing in her ears. Above the group, not too high up in the air, was something other worldly. It looked like a controlled explosion, shrouded in blue and twitching like it could kill at any second.

Thunder and lightning filled the courtyard and Knox could taste the electricity in her mouth. From within the storm, she was almost sure that she could see the face of an old man, caught in the middle of what looked like a horrified scream. His eyes found her's through the electricity field, and she swore she saw his eyebrows furrow, almost like he was confused.

Around Knox, the Hargreeves children scrambled, still yelling questions and pulling back from the storm. From within the house, Klaus ran forward, throwing something into the storm. Was that a fire extinguisher? Knox couldn't tell.

The air suddenly felt more electric, and Knox's brown hair stood on end, frizzing in the change. Her dress skirt flipped around wildly in the storm wind, but she wasn't too worried about the Hargreeves children seeing anything. They were too busy focusing on the horror in front of them, not looking up Knox's dress.

As the storm surged, the old man from within moved closer. Closer, closer, closer. Until he fell right out, landing on the ground at the feet of those standing in the courtyard. The electricity in the air disappeared instantly. As the storm disappeared and the sky brightened back up to mid afternoon light, Knox noticed that it wasn't the old man laying on the ground.

It was a boy.

A boy Knox had seen many times in the pictures hanging around the Umbrella Academy.

A boy that couldn't be here, shouldn't be here.

Because that boy had disappeared over fifteen years ago.

The kid stood quickly, showing the people in front of him a clear view of his face. Dark hair, blue eyes, square jaw. He was younger than Knox by at least fifteen years, but he held a sense of authority that muffled Knox's. 

"Does anyone see..." Klaus stepped forward, head tilted to the side like a confused puppy, "Little Number Five? Or is that just me?"

The boy, who Knox now knew wasn't a figment of her imagination, looked down at the rumpled, oversized suit he was wearing. Knox's mouth was hanging open. Was this possible? Did Number Five, the boy who ran away over fifteen years ago, really just appear in the courtyard?

She couldn't help it. Under her breath, Knox whispered, "What the fuck?"

"Shit," Number Five agreed.

-

Knox Vienna Morris was always on time. Never late, never early, but on time.

It was one of her best talents, and it's what got her the job at the Academy.

She entered the Umbrella Academy with her arms full and her mind ready to learn. Sir Reginald Hargreeves stood in the foyer, waiting for her arrival.

"Miss Morris," he greeted as she stepped into the home. She'd been working at the Academy for nearly six months, but he refused to call her anything but 'Miss Morris'. Knox had grown used to it.

"Hello," she chirped back.

Hargreeves hummed under his breath and moved to the living room, where Grace stood with a cup of bitter coffee in one hand, and a glass of tea in the other. Both Knox and Hargreeves accepted their cups, before sipping on the drinks in silence. Knox allowed herself the time to glance around the interior of the home, since she hadn't spent too much time in the house without her eyes glued to the work in front of her.