CHAPTER FIVE
we are family
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THE FIRST MISSION the Sparrow Academy ever went on was an operation to stop a bank robbery. The eight of them were thirteen years old, newly named—their father had tried to get Grace to do it for him, but they'd ended up doing it themselves—and in the worst stages of puberty. Jayme had started bleeding last month, making her an irritable mess, and Kadence's face was pockmarked with acne, no matter how much cream she slathered on. Alphonso and Ben were even more intolerable, Sloane had gotten into a habit of switching the gravity at dinner, and Fei was slowly turning her room into a creepy raven-dungeon. Even Christopher was a little wild, getting into far too many arguments with Marcus. Their father was about at his wit's end with all of them.
Yet, at its core, the team was still a team. Even when they were fighting over what they wanted for dinner that night or what movie to watch on the rare nights their father gave them a break, their barbs never went further than playful. They never shoved each other hard enough to hurt. They never pranked each other into tears.
That was how it had been, back then. So, they'd managed to get themselves together, following Marcus's lead. Kadence—who liked being Kadence instead of Number Eight, a name she'd chosen because of its meaning ("rhythm" or "flow"; quite literally musical in nature)—stood at attention, back straight, as she waited for the signal, the opportunity for her to spring into action. At thirteen years old, it had been years since she'd rebelled. Her father knew best, and so did Marcus—after all, he'd been appointed Number One for a reason.
Which meant that Kadence was Number Eight for a reason, too.
The robbery itself would've almost been cliché, if not for the eight super-teens interrupting it. The men had taken hostages; men, women, and children they'd tied up with duct tape and herded into the corner. They went through the vault with villainous glee, plundering as much money as they could. They were on top of the world.
At least, they were. Then Marcus went crashing through the skylight.
It only took three hours before the Sparrow Academy was being introduced to the world. And when Kadence had stood there, beaming, mask fitted over her face—they'd all worn them, back then—she'd known that there was something great ahead for her. For the team.
And, of course, there had been.
But not completely.
See, when Kadence had been standing there, sun in her eyes, facing a crowd of adoring fans, she'd pictured her future just as it had been in that moment—a unified group. Oh, sure, she'd always known that Marcus would be the leader (even if there was eventually a temporary transfer of power to Ben), but she'd believed that the hierarchy of their numbers didn't go any further than that. Just because Fei was Number Three and Kadence was Number Eight didn't mean that Fei was any better than her, right?
Well, little by little, that turned out to be completely and utterly wrong. Even with their new names, numbers still mattered, and the members of the Sparrow Academy had been arranged that way for a reason. Fei was Number Three for a reason. Kadence was Number Eight for a reason. The chain of command must be followed.
Which was why occasions like Kadence's siblings going on missions without her—without even telling her what they were doing—became more and more commonplace. She was just the Number Eight, after all. She didn't need to come along on every mission, following the others like a puppy. Oh, sure, she was powerful, but she was still Number Eight. Just Number Eight.
After years of this, Kadence had gotten used to it. But that didn't mean that it still didn't hurt.
Of course, she'd never tell anyone that.
So, this morning, upon returning from her walk—still reeling with the sighting of that woman Nadine—Kadence had sat down for breakfast only to finally be briefed on what the mystery mission was. Apparently, Marcus hadn't just gone for a stroll and hadn't yet come back—he was really, truly missing. Snatched away within the cloak of darkness.
"By whom?" Kadence asked, even though she knew the answer. Her expression was carefully neutral, as if she didn't really care that the news of her brother's kidnapping had been kept from her. She folded her scarred hands carefully into her lap.
Fei's lip curled. "The Umbrella Academy," she said.
"Fei saw Marcus trying to make a deal with those savages last night," said Ben, throwing his feet up onto the table. Sloane carefully moved all of the food in the area to the side. "He was trying to grant them mercy, but of course, those buffoons betrayed them. They took Marcus, and we have to get him back."
Even though she wasn't hungry, Kadence picked up a piece of toast. "How?" she asked, biting into it. "What's the plan?"
"Simple. They took one of ours, so we took one of theirs." Ben jutted a thumb at the medical wing. "The oafish brute was out for a run this morning. It was pathetically easy to ambush him."
"He was probably too busy making goo-goo eyes at Sloane to even try to leave," Jayme muttered. She and Alphonso hadn't been invited on the mission, either, but they'd been briefed earlier. Kadence wasn't sure if it had been before or after the others had left. She didn't want to ask.
Sloane ducked her head, her face aflame. "I'm going to make a smoothie," she said. "Who wants a smoothie? Alphonso? Kadence?"
"Everyone wants a smoothie," Fei said. Kadence nodded.
"Can we talk about something else?" Alphonso asked. "I mean, there's no point in wallowing about all of this until the prisoner wakes up. Until then, I've got to tell you about when Christopher and I went to the bar last week—"
While Sloane made their smoothies, Alphonso launched into a long and incredibly complicated story that Kadence paid no attention to. Instead, she stole handfuls of blueberries from the bowl laid out and threw them up in the air, attempting to catch them in her mouth. She thought again about the fight against the Umbrella Academy yesterday, and her sighting of that blonde bitch today. She ought to bring it up, but she supposed it didn't matter. The invaders would undoubtedly come for their leader. Kadence would have the rematch then.
Alphonso was five minutes into his story—and Kadence had eaten far too many blueberries—when the curtain leading into the medical wing suddenly parted. And there, blundering forward, wielding a mop as his only weapon, was their prisoner.
The Umbrella Academy's Number One.
Alphonso cut himself off. "Ah, there he is," he remarked. Everyone who hadn't been paying attention looked up.
"Please, join us," Fei said, gesturing to an empty seat at the table. Alphonso lifted the chair for emphasis.
"It's okay. Nobody's gonna hurt you," said Ben, in what might have been the most unconvincing tone of all time. He wasn't fully lying, though. Nobody was going to hurt their prisoner—until he tried to escape. Then Fei might as well get her ravens to peck his eyes out.
"Smoothie?" Sloane offered, holding out a filled glass to Number One. His eyes widened, and his grip on the mop slackened.
"Oh. Yeah, thanks."
Sloane took the mop and propped it against the counter, then returned to the table. Fei sat up straighter. "You must be starving."
"Oh, uh... no, I... I probably shouldn't." Then: "Is that cashew butter?"
"Cashew butter, almond butter, sunflower butter, tahini, Brazil nut," said Sloane.
"Wow. You know what? Now that you mention it, I am feeling a little bit, uh, peckish, actually."
"Help yourself," Alphonso said. The man grinned.
"Thanks."
He made his way to the table, taking a sip of his smoothie along the way—something he immediately praised—and sat down in the seat beside Fei. As soon as he'd settled in, he started reaching forward for cutlery and plates. Kadence crossed her arms.
"So, we know you're Number One, but we haven't been formally introduced yet," Ben said, folding his hands. "I'm Ben, Number Two."
Kadence winced. Of course, they were going with their numbers.
The prisoner just grinned wider, digging his knife into the cashew butter. "It is so good to see you again, buddy."
Ben blinked. "Why does everyone keep looking at me like that?"
"Because you've been dead for fifteen years."
Ben stared. Both the casual tone and subject matter seemed to rattle him, which was rare. Maybe Kadence should be taking notes. "Dead? What do you mean, dead?"
"Kind of a long story."
"Anyway, I'm Fei, Number Three," Fei piped up.
"Alphonso, cuatro," said Alphonso.
"Sloane. Five. Hey."
"Hey," the prisoner greeted.
"I'm Jayme, Six," said Jayme.
"That's Christopher, of course," Ben said, gesturing to their sibling. "Number Seven."
Christopher, rotating slowly in the air, muttered something. Ben scoffed. "Oh, don't mind him. He's in a bit of a saucy mood today."
Everyone chuckled. The prisoner just stared.
Kadence gave him the widest, fakest grin she could. "And I'm Kadence. Number Eight. Probably better than your Number Eight in every way."
"Oh. Well, actually, we didn't have a Number Eight," said the prisoner. "Well, I mean, officially. I guess we kind of do now, with Nadine, but... you know. She didn't grow up with us."
Oh, you've got to be shitting me.
"How nice," Kadence said, speaking from between clenched teeth. The prisoner simply nodded. Then his brow furrowed.
"Wait, uh, what about, um, Number One?"
"What about him?" Fei asked.
"Where is he?"
Ben slammed the business end of his butter knife into the table. "That's what we'd like to know."
The prisoner blinked, then leaned forward. "Are we playing a game?"
With a clatter, the knife fell back onto Ben's plate. "Whatever game the Umbrellas are playing, you're gonna lose! You took our Number One, so we took you."
The poor man was still confused. Kadence almost felt bad for him. "Wait, we took Marcus? Why would we do that?"
"Act of war?" Jayme suggested. "Death wish?"
"The last time we saw him, he was with your sister," Sloane explained. Her voice was a little too gentle. Kadence rolled her eyes.
"Which one?" the prisoner asked. Kadence really ought to learn his name. She was pretty sure it'd been said in the battle, but she'd forgotten it by now.
"The little one with the big powers," Fei said.
"Vanya? Huh. Well, I gotta say, it does not sound like Vanya to go and kidnap anybody." He chuckled. "You know, having said that, I am usually the last to know about these kinda things."
"You're their Number One," Ben growled. "Shouldn't you know everything?"
"I know. You'd think so, Ben. Discipline has never really been our strong suit. It's pretty much a free-for-all over there." He laughed again. "So, listen. This sounds like an easy fix. I'll head back. I mean, my family's probably worried sick about me, to be honest. And if they have your guy, I'll make sure to send him back without a scratch. All right? No harm, no foul. How's that sound? Good? Great."
He made to rise, but before he could vacate his seat completely, one of Ben's tentacles curled around his shoulder and pushed him back down. Ben smiled at him.
"What's the rush?" he asked. "Stick around 'till Marcus is back."
Christopher floated closer to him, his voice low and menacing. His body flashed red.
"Yeah," Kadence said. "Don't you want to get to know us?"
The prisoner clenched his jaw. "My family will come for me."
Ben wiped his face almost delicately. "Wonderful. In the meantime, make yourself at home. Oh, and, uh... before I forget, if you try to escape, Fei's birds will peck your eyes out and make a nest inside your skull."
Fei giggled. A worried look crossed the prisoner's face. "Cool," he muttered.
"See you around," Kadence said, picking up her empty plate. "It was so nice meeting you, uh... Lionel."
"It's Luther," the man muttered. Kadence was hardly even listening.
EVERYONE SEEMED TO take the end of breakfast as their cue to leave. Klaus and Five—an unlikely pairing, Nadine had to admit—left with nothing but some vague ramblings about a road trip as a goodbye. Diego, one hand clutching Stan's neck, claimed he had some father stuff to deal with. Luther was still missing—Nadine was beginning to wonder if she should start to worry about him—and Allison was still in her room. It was doubtful that she'd be emerging any time soon.
As Nadine and Viktor cleaned up after themselves, Viktor kept shaking his head. "Idiots," he muttered. "They shouldn't just be going out on their own like that. What if the Sparrow Academy attacks them? What if they're unable to fight back?"
"I thought you said you'd taken care of things," said Nadine, gathering all of the cutlery and stacking it neatly atop her plate. "Is being attacked a real possibility?"
"It shouldn't be. Marcus seemed pretty serious about our deal. But... I don't know. I got the feeling that the rest of his family might be in slight disagreement."
"No kidding. They're all violent dickheads."
Viktor chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's why I'm worried. I mean, we're strong, but I don't think any of us can face the Sparrows alone—not even me. So, to see everyone out there, split up like this..."
Nadine put a hand over his. Viktor glanced up, his eyes meeting hers. Nadine's breath caught. There was still something so alluring about those dark irises, something that drew her in. They weren't like Molly's eyes. Those had been pools of honey, rich and vibrant, bright as the Sun she'd claimed Nadine to be. Viktor's were a few shades lighter, yet they seemed deeper, like whirlpools. Just one look in them, and Nadine could see everything that made him, well, him. A lot of pain, yes. Grief. Anger.
But also love.
This was the first time Nadine had ever stared into a man's eyes like this. Usually, they were as boring as the rest of the specimen, as appealing as a rotting carcass. Lots of them had claimed to find the ocean in her own, but she'd never seen such a thing within their faces. Just... nothing.
Not with Viktor, though. And Nadine had no idea what that said about her.
He's my friend, she thought fiercely. He's my friend. He's always just been my friend.
To banish those traitorous impulses, she cleared her throat. "It's going to be okay. They're going to be okay. They can take care of themselves. And I doubt the Sparrows will even be able to find them. They're probably back in their stupid mansion—ehm, no offence to the old Umbrella Academy—and concocting some villainous plan to take revenge on us."
Viktor laughed again. "I sure hope so. But I'm still going to worry."
"I know," Nadine said. "I'd be worried about you if you didn't."
They finished cleaning up, and Viktor had the idea to bring breakfast up to Allison. "I think she needs someone right now," he said, "more than she needs to be by herself. I'm sure her likely constant mental replay of what happened isn't doing her any favours."
"Yeah," Nadine said softly. She could definitely relate to that. She still couldn't stop thinking about seeing that horrible, horrible death date glaring back at her from her phone.
Viktor seemed to notice her abrupt shift in behaviour. "Hey," he said. "I can tell something's bothering you. Something other than the obvious, I mean. What's up?"
Nadine sighed, scooping up a few croissants and depositing them on a tray for Allison. "It's... it's kind of stupid."
"No way," Viktor said immediately. "Just tell me."
Nadine took in a breath, then exhaled it. Arranging her face into one that hopefully betrayed only neutrality, she said, "I... ehm. I decided to look up Molly this morning."
"Oh." Viktor's eyes softened.
"She's dead, if you were wondering. She, ehm, died two years ago. She was—she was eighty-three."
Viktor settled a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Oh, Nadine. I'm so sorry."
"I mean, I should've expected it, right? She was old. But I can't stop thinking about how she promised to find me again. She promised that if she lived to 2019, she would. And she was only—she was only two years away."
The hand on her shoulder squeezed. "I'm sorry. I know how much she meant to you."
"She was my Sissy," Nadine said quietly. "She was—she was everything to me."
"I know. I know." Viktor's eyes were still soft, his entire face almost mushy. He was looking at her with such... such care, and yet, Nadine still didn't expect what happened next. He pulled her into a hug.
It was a warm, comforting embrace, and Nadine melted into it, tears burning in her eyes. A few of them cut loose, streaming down her cheeks. And Viktor just held her, his arms clasped right at her naval, and let her cry.
When they broke apart, he was smiling ruefully. "Sissy's dead, too. I—um. I also found out this morning." He looked down at his hands. "She died... she died back in 1989."
The year the two of them were born. "Fuck," Nadine said. "Fuck. That really, really sucks. I'm sorry, Viktor."
"I mean, it's not like things would've—it's not like things would've been the same if she'd lived," Viktor said. "We obviously couldn't get back together, or anything. But I just—it's just hard."
"I completely understand," Nadine said.
He wiped at his eyes. "I know you do."
"I love you, Viktor," Nadine surprised herself by saying. "Don't forget that, okay? I know this isn't going to fix anything, not really, but I hope you know that I'm always here for you."
"And I'm here for you," Viktor said. "I promise. If you ever—if you ever need to talk, or just cry, I'll always be there. You can always come to me. Always." He met her gaze again. "You're my best friend, after all."
Nadine smiled, ignoring the slight twist in her gut at the term. Then, with the tray in hand, they headed upstairs to their room to find Allison.
When they entered, she was curled up in bed with the lights off, her eyes open and blank. A scarf was wound in her hair, which was curly again, and tear tracks were frozen on her cheeks. She didn't look at either of them when they closed the door behind them, even though she undoubtedly knew they were there.
"Hey," Viktor greeted, setting down the tray, "did you get any sleep?"
When Allison didn't respond, Nadine curled her hands into fists. Allison really deserved better. Well, they all did, but her especially. She'd been through a harder time in the 1960s than anyone else—except maybe Viktor and Diego—and yet, she'd found good parts of it, too. But she'd chosen to leave it to find her daughter. And now her daughter was gone.
"We brought you breakfast," Nadine said.
Allison shifted a little in bed. She still didn't look at them. "I'm not hungry."
"Come on." Viktor took a seat at the edge of her bed. "You should really eat something."
"This is all my fault," Allison murmured. Tears glistened in her eyes.
"Stop. No."
"I knew something could go wrong if we came back. I knew it, and I risked it anyway. I left Ray to be with Claire, and now... now it's like she never existed." Her voice broke. "And I don't even have a picture of her."
Viktor's face fell, his heart obviously singing with grief at the sight of his sister in such distress. Nadine was feeling it, too, but it had to be different for him. He'd known Allison for his entire life, even if they hadn't always gotten along.
"There might be a way out of this," he said.
This was the prompt Allison needed to finally meet their eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Five's briefcase," Viktor explained. "Nadine and I are gonna try and get it back."
Allison sat up. "How?"
"We're meeting Marcus again today. We're gonna do a trade."
"'Again'?"
"Yeah, I went to see him last night, and—"
"Alone? What were you thinking? You didn't even bring Nadine?"
Viktor shook his head. "She wasn't there, and I needed to do something. For you. For... for all of us."
Allison scoffed, then slung her legs out of bed. Viktor blinked. "What? What do you—"
"Well, if you think I'm not coming with you two, you're insane!" Allison said.
"If you think I don't want you there with us, then you're even crazier."
"It'll be the three of us," Nadine added. "Just like old times."
Viktor nodded, then placed a hand on his sister's shoulder, the same as he'd done to Nadine. "Just don't give up yet, okay?"
Allison crossed her arms. "Since when are you the optimist?"
He shrugged. "Making a few changes, I guess."
"The hair?"
"It's a bit more than that, actually, but... I'll explain on the way."
Nadine shot him an encouraging smile. She knew how nerve-wracking coming out could be—that had been her entire life before she'd learned to be out and proud. Even your family members might not take it in the way you expected—though, fortunately, Beau had.
She'd simply never told Louise.
"Okay," Allison said, a little confused.
"It's nothing bad," Nadine assured.
"Okay," she said again. She forced a smile, then linked arms with both of them. "I guess we should go. The three of us. Just like old times."
Of course, it wasn't like old times at all.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU tell me sooner?" Allison asked, her eyes soft as she looked down at her brother. The two of them—plus Nadine—were heading back to the Sparrow Academy with trepidation, hoping beyond hope that they wouldn't find themselves in another battle. As Viktor had promised, he ended up coming out to Allison as they walked, his hand firmly intertwined with Nadine's the entire time. Allison was immediately supportive, but concerned, too. She was wondering what had taken him so long.
Of course, she couldn't understand. As far as Nadine knew, she was straight as an edge, and had thus never gone through the struggles of determining her gender identity or sexuality. It wasn't a simple, one-and-done process. It could take years to realize you were really a man, or you liked both men and women, or you didn't have a gender at all. After all, there was such a pushback against anyone that wasn't cisgender and heterosexual. There were boxes that most 2SLGBTQ+ people had been forced into their entire life.
Nadine didn't give Allison grief, though. She was trying, and that was all she could ask for. Besides, this was about Viktor, not about her.
Viktor shrugged. "I didn't—well, I..."
"Uh, I just... I can't believe I never realized," Allison said.
"Well, how would you?"
"No, I know, I just—I feel like such an asshole."
Viktor met her gaze. "Hey, just... shut up for two seconds? You couldn't have known 'cause, I mean, I didn't fully. Being with Sissy... I don't know. She... opened something in me. Showed me I'd never be free hiding from who I really am. And after losing her, I realized... I just can't live in that box anymore. I won't."
"And you don't have to," Nadine said. "I mean, I know it's different for me—like, really different—but... people always had these, ehm, expectations of me. You know, I'm a blonde, white woman who likes makeup and dressing up. I'm not, like, overly butch, which has to mean that I'm straight, right? I can't tell you the number of times I've been shoved into a box, too. But eventually, I decided to just... not give a damn. My old relationships might have been messy, but they were all ways for me to explore my identity. I could only kiss my first girlfriend in private. But by the time I got to Camille... well, I just said, 'fuck it'. I kissed her in public, and I didn't give a damn who saw me. And you shouldn't, either.
"It's probably going to be hard. I've, ehm, dealt with a lot of homophobia since I started telling men to fuck off. But it's made me so much happier, not pretending to be something I'm not. I bet it does for you, too."
Viktor squeezed her hand. "Yeah," he said. "It really does."
He stopped in front of a storefront, staring at the window. His reflection was blurry, but he was still reflected back—him, Viktor Hargreeves. He chuckled.
"You know, I always hated mirrors. I thought everybody felt so strange in their skin. I guess that's not true, right?"
"What do you see now?" Allison asked.
Viktor smiled. "Me." He shrugged and turned back toward them. "Just me."
Allison looked down, her eyes getting wet. "Thank you for trusting me with this," she breathed. "You're family, Viktor. Okay? And there's nothing... nothing that would make me love you less."
She pulled him into a hug, which, with their height differences, was almost comical. Nadine realized that this was a lessened version of what she and Viktor looked like when they did the same.
Then Allison opened her arm. "Come in here, Nadine," she said.
Nadine did, and it was just like their reunion in the '60s, the three of them with their arms around each other, a strange sort of family.
She buried her face in Viktor's shoulder. At least, even if Molly was gone, she still had these two. She still had a family, no matter how wacky and dysfunctional it was. She still had people who loved her, Nadine Vidal, as a whole.
And, really, wasn't that all she could ask for?
⋆*✧･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:
HAVEN: nadine in chapter five: president and CEO of the allison defense club
nadine after *THAT* scene: ......
hahaha... i'm laughing because it hurts
anyway, what are your thoughts on kadence? what about sparrow!nadine? you're gonna get another clue next chapter, but things might not be what they seem 🤭i guess you'll see, though!
thanks for reading!! <333