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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘ. ᴘᴀɴ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚ ▎❛ 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 ❜ ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ʀᴜɴɴɪɴɢ ᴏɴ sᴘɪᴛᴇ
& ғᴜʀʏ ꒱
❝ KILL 'EM ❞
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Deianira's skin still felt like it was sizzling three hours later. With her power of energy manipulation, she was especially susceptible to forces greater than her own. Luckily, there weren't many out there that could affect her strongly; the one that was currently residing in their home was the exception. When Grace had said that God is in the basement, she hadn't been sure what to expect but it certainly hadn't been this.
She'd hidden her reaction to the ball of light from her family; they'd only see her pain as a weakness and would hardly be sympathetic. Sloane would understand— she always had— but there were eyes and ears everywhere in the Academy. The Romani woman convinced herself that it was nothing she couldn't handle and left it at that. There were more important things to think about, after all, such as crushing the Umbrellas.
Almost half an hour before their previously agreed-upon time, the remaining members of the Sparrow Academy geared up to prepare themselves for their next mission. In all honesty, Deianira was surprised that it had taken Ben this long to plan his revenge (normally he'd have attacked within the same day.) A part of her was pleased with his scheming; the Umbrella Academy irked her to no end, especially Drama Queen. It would do them well to knock the opposing so-called heroes off their high horses.
With timed perfection, the seven members of the Sparrow Academy stalked through Hotel Oblivion's glass doors. The Umbrella Academy looked shoddy next to their clean, crisp uniforms and in-sync steps. Deianira smirked at their apprehensive expressions as silence reigned between them. Nearby fans took photos with flashing cameras but both teams were trained to ignore such distractions.
Seven to four, she thought smugly. This will be too easy.
The short man was the first to speak. "Well, thanks for coming."
"Oh, yeah. Super glad to be here," Jayme drawled.
"Where are the rest of you?"
"Are you taking attendance?" the knife man asked derisively. "They'll be here."
Drama Queen looked entirely done with them. "Where's the briefcase?"
"Where's our brother?"
The brunette smirked. "Maybe we should try this again before I lose my temper."
Deianira placed one hand on her hip and relaxed her stance. "Ooh. I feel so threatened," she mocked the other woman. "What are you gonna do next, throw a tantrum if you don't get your way?"
Sloane reached out and put a warning hand on her arm. The Romani woman shook her off, albeit gently. The short man tried to warn his sister to keep her from escalating the situation but Deianira was itching for a fight. Drama Queen seemed to be in the same boat. She met the eighth Hargreeves' eyes evenly. "Oh, you don't want to see me upset, Scarlet Bitch." Then, she dismissed the brunette entirely and addressed Ben: "hand over the briefcase or no deal."
"Yeah. Tiny problem," he replied. "Deal's off."
The tenseness of the moment was broken as a twelve-year-old boy came sprinting down the hallway towards them. He carried a flaming bottle in his hand as he cried out: "Molotov this, bitches!"
Knife man turned around to scold him loudly. "Stanly, not now!"
The boy dropped the bottle in shock, causing fire to erupt as it came into contact with the banner that hung nearby. An alarm blared to life and their audience began to scream as they fled in panic. The boy stared up at the mess he'd caused with wide eyes. "Oh, shit."
Ben ignored the surrounding chaos. "Power up."
Christopher began to spin in the air as red light intensified within him. Fei released a flock of her crows. Jayme readied her spit while Alphonso cracked his joints. Red and white light glowed around Deianira's and Sloane's hands, respectively. They stared down their enemies without a hint of fear in their eyes; they were the superior Academy and it was going to be easy to prove with the plan Ben had come up with.
Unbeknownst to them (and the Umbrellas) the opposing Academy had a secret weapon on their side. He was currently making his was calmly up the hallway against the flow of fleeing people. He paid them no mind as their screams were muted by the headphones that were clamped to his ears.
"Now, Chris!"
The seventh Hargreeves let out beams of electricity that came into contact with the quartet's minds. They sank to the floor with groans of pain as they tried to fight his power. Drama Queen tried to save her siblings by using her gift: "I heard. . . I heard a rumor. . ."
"That you're about to die?" Deianira finished for her in a gloating tone. She was practically ecstatic at the sight of their enemies cowering in front of them. This was why she was a hero: to vanquish the opposition as easily as a hot knife sliced through butter. The adrenaline and post-mission intimacy with Sloane were just bonuses.
"Kill 'em," Ben ordered his siblings. Without hesitation, they stepped forward to follow his command.
"I've got Rumor Girl!" the brunette called gleefully over the noise.
Before they could even attempt to make the first hit, an old man appeared out of nowhere. His eyes, mouth and most of his body lit up with a brilliant golden light that shot towards the Sparrow Academy. Deianira's delight was replaced with abject horror.
Her eyes widened as her skin erupted with a burning sensation that prickled all the way up to her scalp. Fighting against the sudden pain, she forced her body towards Sloane's. With a grunt of effort, she launched herself through the air to tackle the blonde to the ground. Her arms wrapped around her lover's slim form as she positioned her body to take the brunt of the old man's attack. Closing her eyes, she did her best to swallow back the whimpers of pain that escaped her lips as she tried to summon her energy. A faint red film formed over the pair to keep the wave of power at a minimum but her attempt came at a cost: her eyes slipped closed as she succumbed to the blackness that encroached her vision.
☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎
Sloane came to slowly with the feeling that something was terribly, awfully wrong. Her head was ringing slightly from how she'd hit the ground and it took her a moment to recognize the weight on top of her. She gasped softly as she took in the familiar curly, brown hair of her girlfriend. She shifted to take in the other woman's face and her heart stuttered in her chest at the sight of her closed eyes.
She quickly placed two of her fingers to Deianira's neck. The blonde held her breath as she counted the minutes between each faint beat of her pulse. She was still alive. Sloane had never felt such a wave of relief wash over her as it did now; she didn't know what she'd do if. . . if something had happened to her. Gently, she moved the brunette's body to her lap so that she could sit up. It was then that she saw what felt so horrible.
Her siblings— Jayme and Alphonso— lay unmoving on the floor of the hotel. Their faces were burnt and melted gruesomely; there was no way that they had survived the blow. Glancing away from them, she looked down at her lover's peaceful expression and knew that she was lucky to be alive.
Luther took a cautious step towards her. "Sloane— Sloane, it's alright."
The woman looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes and moved Deianira off of her fully. She struggled to her feet as she clutched her arm. Grimacing in pain but unwilling to give up, she used her gravity manipulation to lift the brunette's body to pull her along as she fled the scene.
"You got a live one, Luther!" one of the Umbrellas shouted.
"Shit. Sloane!" the large man called as he raced after her.
Her steps were quick and scared as she ran up the stairs. Sloane didn't know where she was going— the whole place seemed to be crawling with The Umbrella Academy— but she knew that she had to keep Deianira safe. It's what the Romani woman would do for her if their positions were reversed.
The green wallpaper of the hallway blurred together into a mass of verdant confines as she sprinted to safety, wherever that may be. She used all of her concentration to keep Deianira floating behind her; if she even slipped for one second, the woman would fall to the ground. Luther was hot on her heels and she could hear him calling after her, but she'd never trust anyone with her girlfriend's wellbeing except for herself.
The first open door was the bathroom, so she slipped inside. She gently lowered Deianira into a tub to keep her presence hidden from their pursuers. Then, she slid into the dark recesses of the doorway and held her breath. Sure enough, the leader of The Umbrella Academy entered the room shortly after her. A light shiing of a curtain being pulled back startled him. "Ah! Jesus. Sloane?"
The blonde stepped out from her hiding place with her hand raised. White light glowed around her fingers as she lifted the larger man off the ground. He seized in the air as she turned him slowly to face her. "Sloane. . . what are you doing?"
"Did you know that this was going to happen?" she demanded shakily.
"No! I don't even know who that man was!"
She gasped suddenly as an arm wrapped around her neck. A silver blade pointed against her throat and she knew immediately who it belonged to. "Drop him," knife man ordered her calmly.
Sloane hesitated for a moment— he was the only bargaining power that she had— but the thought of Deianira lying defenseless near them caused her to obey. Luther landed on the ground heavily, grunting with the effort.
"You good?" the man holding her asked.
"I'm good."
He turned them towards the door. "Alright, let's go."
Fear sparked within her and she glanced back at the tub where she'd placed her girlfriend. Luckily, Luther spoke up for her: "Diego, it's okay. You can let her go now."
"What? Are you kidding me?"
"I said let her go. She'd never do anything with Deianira right here." He pointed to the tub. "Besides, she's hurt."
"She is the enemy. Both of them are."
Sloane struggled against the man's grasp. In an attempt to save herself, she spoke up: "if you hurt me, Deianira will end you!"
Drama Queen had entered the room without her brothers noticing. Upon the blonde's last-ditch effort, she sent a sneering look in the woman's direction. "That's if she wakes up. I'm not surprised that she's your Number Eight— they're always the weakest."
"Just. . . just let me talk to her," Luther bargained with his siblings. "Okay?"
The brunette smirked. "Trust me. She's gonna talk."
☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎
Sloane was still recovering from Allison's use of powers on her. Deianira lay in the bed that she was currently sitting on; the brunette hadn't moved even through all of the recent events. The blonde gave her girlfriend a worried look as she pressed an ice pack to her shoulder. Luther sat across from her on a chair as he watched her with a similar expression on his face.
"She'll be alright," he said as he nodded to the unmoving woman. "We may have our differences but she's nothing if not strong."
She gave him a half-hearted attempt at a grateful smile. "I know. It's just. . . surreal, seeing her like this. She and Ben usually head our offensive attacks."
Luther shook his head with amazement. "I can't believe he looks so much like our Ben but he's completely different otherwise."
At the mention of his siblings, Sloane's eyes narrowed. "I hate your family."
"That's cool. I mean, I don't think that Deianira and I will ever get along. As for the rest of your siblings, I'm not a super big fan of them, either."
She took in a sharp breath at the reminder of Jayme and Alphonso. "Were you a part of it?"
"Of what?"
"Ambushing us with Superman's grandpa."
He let out an exasperated huff. "Sloane, my family can't even decide whether or not to put mushrooms on a pizza! Like I said before, I have no idea who that old guy is; he just showed up."
The blonde dropped the ice pack from her arm. "You expect me to believe that?"
"Hold on here. You attacked us. You almost took us out!"
"Yeah, but we didn't. And your stupid family's fine but half of mine is dead!" she exclaimed. Her voice grew wobbly at the end as her throat closed. For the umpteenth time, she glanced over at Deianira to make sure that she was still there.
Luther sighed deeply. "Sloane, I can't change what's already happened. I'm sorry for you, truly." He paused for a moment. "But. . . I know my family won't see things your way. Don't get me wrong: I would do anything to protect them, but they. . . can be pretty narrow-minded about things. I can help keep you and Deianira safe but we have to be able to trust each other."
She looked at him through a tear-filled gaze. "Why. . . why are you doing this for me?" She glanced at her girlfriend again. "For us?"
"Because we are not our families," he answered softly. "Well, Deianira might be, but I believe that there's good in her, too. You wouldn't love her if there wasn't."
Sloane swallowed against the lump in her throat. She reached out to take the brunette's limp hand in hers and squeezed it. In a voice barely louder than a whisper, she breathed out: "okay."
Luther gave her a nod of acceptance. "Okay."
"We really should be getting home."
"I can't let you go."
Her siblings' still forms flashed before her eyes. "Jayme and Alphonso deserve a proper burial."
"No. I mean, I can't let you leave. You're both hostages."
Her shoulders slumped. "Oh. Right."
"My family already thinks I'm a traitor so I can't—"
"No, I totally get it," she reassured him. "My family is probably plotting vengeance. I don't even want to know how Ben is reacting to Nira's absence— they're the closest out of all my siblings."
Luther shuddered at the thought. "I don't wanna know either. So. . . are we just gonna go back to fighting until everybody's dead?"
"Well, maybe there is a way for us to get out of this alive," Sloane offered. Deianira was the only one on her mind as she said this, the fear of losing her to great to even consider. Like Luther, she'd do anything to protect the one(s) she loved.