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On the seventh hour of the first day of October, 1989, a woman went into labor. This was unusual in no way whatsoever. The culmination of a normal, average pregnancy. The child was average in every way. Unfortunately for the world, the circumstances of his raising... were anything but.
-
17 years ago...
Dozens of people lined up against the barracades and fences of the street, adults and children alike. Many held up their signs and yelled out just to have a chance to catch the attention of one of the upcoming Umbrella Academy children. They cheered and applauded as the familiar black car of Reginald Hargreeves pulled up in front of the Academy.
"I see them! I see the car!"
The applause and cheers grew louder as one by one from all doors, the young teens of the Academy in their respective uniforms and domino masks stepped out onto the street.
"Spaceboy! My favorite!"
"Look! It's The Witch!"
"Can I get a picture with you Allison?!"
"Diego! Diego, I'm your biggest fan!"
Each of the children secretly reveled in their fame, but at the same time despised it. As their father had told them, they all kept their faces straight and walked past the crowds to their home. But (Y/n), her brooding face was turned downward towards the ground.
A month had passed by since the disappearance of the Umbrella Academy's Number Five, making them down one member. They had no time to grieve, as what their father had told them constantly. (Y/n) never listened to him. Silently, at night, she would cry herself to sleep after Vanya and her would set up a snack and leave the lights on, for the slightest bit of hope that he came back home.
But with the security cameras that her adoptive father placed in their rooms to look after them, their attempts had ceased and her crying had stopped after Reginald scolded her, telling her that those emotions would levae her vulnerable during missions and training.
The amount of hatred she had for that one man was indescribable.
Suddenly, an unfamiliar boy ran past the barricade and grabbed onto a surprised Allison's wrist.
"Excuse me. I'm your biggest fan!" He cried.
The young girl just stood there, not knowing what to say until Luther yanked at the boy's clothes.
"Hey, hey. You're not supposed to be in here." He said.
"Get back behind the barricade!" Reginald Hargreeves' voice boomed over the crowd's cheers.
While the rest of her adoptive family entered the house, (Y/n) stayed behind and watched, as she was the last in line anyway.
"It's just... I was born on the same day as the Academy kids. I think I'm like them. I must be." He inisted. "I haven't quite figured out what my power is... yet. But maybe with your help, we can find out."
Reginald bent down to the boy's height level.
"You have no power. You will never have power. Now, go home." The elder man stated, unamused of the scene the boy was causing.
Upon hearing this, the boy's face became heartbroken. The sight made (Y/n) feel guilty and pity for him. It looked almost just like the exact face Vanya would have whenever she was constantly rejected to join in on training.
"No, please. Just... I... you have to let me stay. I came all this way. Please don't make me go back." The boy pleaded.
(Y/n)'s eyebrows then furrowed with her domino mask on as she thought about his words. Looking a bit closer, she could see small but noticeable bruises on the edges of his wrist and neck. And with his terrified expression, she could finally see why he didn't want to go. The reason this boy didn't want to go back, was because he was being abused.
"A little word of advice, my boy," Reginald began, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Not everyone in this world can be powerful. Chasing something unattainable is a recipe for a lifetime of disappointment and resentment.
He, all of a sudden, grabbed the sleeve of the same shoulder he had placed his hand on and dragged him away. Reginald pushed him down and (Y/n) saw that the boy had tripped and scraped his knee in the process.
"So get off my property."
Number Eight watched in anger as the crowd that had just cheered for them, laugh at this sad and scared boy. Deciding that enough was enough, (Y/n) pushed her way past her adoptive father and back onto the path up her home.
"Number Eight, join the others at once."
"(Y/n)! Oh my god, I love you!"
"(Y/n) over here!"
All of their words and praise were ignored by her as she bent down to the boy and gave him a generous smile.
"Wanna see something cool?" She asked him.
Silently and hesitantly, he nodded.
Taking out a little silver flask from the inside of her uniform, she popped it open and poured the last of her water into her other hand. Instantly, the water stuck to her hand and she pressed her hand against his bloody knee.
He was just about to flinch away when he saw that she was not hurting him, but healing him.
After a few seconds more, (Y/n) moved her hand away and excess water droplets dripped down his leg. The scrape that he had recieved when he fell was not completely gone.
The boy stared up at Number Eight in amazement and curiosity. It reminded her of Vanya so much.
"Th-Thank you. That's so cool." He complimented.
(Y/n) giggled. "I know right."
"Number Eight!" Her father yelled.
The boy and (Y/n) glanced back to the impatiently waiting man in the doorway and she sighed, looking back at the boy.
"I know we may seem cool and all, but trust me on this, you don't want any part of the Umbrella Academy. But for what it's worth..."
She held out the same flask she had used before and gestured for him to take it.
"Here's a little novelty item. Keep it safe."
"Number Eight, come here this instance!" Reginald commanded.
Giving the boy one last smile, (Y/n) ran back up the steps and into the house.
Harold Jenkins looked down at the silver flask in his hands, his mouth gaping open. Then with one last smile, tucked it into his pocket.
Vanya, who was watching the entire outside scene from a window, ran over to (Y/n).
"Why did you do that? You know Dad's gonna punish you bad for this and... I don't wanna see you get hurt." Vanya questioned.
(Y/n), however, did not care that she would get punished. All she thought in the moment was about how she saw a broken boy that wanted help.
"Dad can try, but he's never gonna break me down."
Little did she know who that same broken boy would grow up to be.
-
A few days ago...
"I mean, can you imagine sharing your birthday with six world-famous assholes who all know they're better than you?" Vanya chuckled.
Leonard scoffed, "I can't."
But then something hit him. Vanya had said six, but he remembered that there was one more than that and he furrowed his eyebrows.
"Wait, six? I thought there was a total of seven, wasn't there?" Leonard asked, confused.
Vanya looked back down at her coffee cup, her eyes gazed upon the warm liquid swirling inside the cup. She flashed back to when they were younger, remembering how amazed yet slightly envious she was when she saw how much (Y/n) had control of her powers. Vanya saw the little things that no one else saw.
She would swirl the water in her cup when she was bored at the dinner table, when she'd throw rocks at Diego for being an asshole, the time she blew a gust of air so hard at Allison that the girl screamed her face off at her ruined hair, or even when Luther's uniform caught on fire because they got a bit too rough in training. She always looked so graceful when she wanted to be, so pretty and beautiful when she moved her body with the elements.
Not to mention (Y/n)'s ballet skills, they were nothing like Vanya had never seen before. She had no idea how anything in ballet worked, just like how (Y/n) had no idea how the violin worked and yet they both enjoyed watching each other do their own things. Sometimes when Vanya played her violin, the young girl would join and dance with her. Even after when she was done playing, (Y/n) would try to get her to dance with her. They felt so comfortable, happy and content with each other.
Out of everyone in the Umbrella Academy, (Y/n) was the only one that Vanya did not hold a grudge against or technically dislike in some sort of way. She always made her feel safe and welcomed whenever she felt left out again. Vanya was always thankful to her, thankful that she had a sister so caring like her.
But the word "sister" left a bad taste in her mouth. Vanya did not want to be sisters and they really, truly weren't, so she wanted more. But thanks to life, they would never be more. And (Y/n)'s obvious feelings towards Five proved that.
"Yeah... yeah, there were seven. Number Eight was (Y/n), if you remember her." Vanya told him.
"Oh! Right, I remember her. She was the one who controlled four elements, right?" Leonard guessed and the woman nodded.
"They called her The Witch, but I always thought it was very unfitting for her."
Leonard titled his head. "Why is that?"
A smile grew onto Vanya's face without her knowing.
"Because she's not a witch in any way. She was more like an angel."
-
Present time...
"What'd I miss?"
Five sighed at her entrance, wondering what took her so long to get back.
"Well, you're just in time." He replied, keeping the girl steady on her feet.
Allison and the others kept their attention on the two.
"Well? Who is he?" Diego pushed.
"I don't know... yet. But I do know he's responsible for the apocalypse. So we have to find him. And we have to do it now." Five told them.
"How is he connected to what's gonna happen?" Luther asked.
"I don't know."
"Wait, so you just know his name? That's it?" Diego questioned.
"That's enough." Five replied.
"There's probably dozens of Jenkinses in the city."
"Well, we just better start looking, then." (Y/n) shrugged, going straight along with Five's plan.
"I'm sorry," Allison interrupted. "Am I the only one that's skeptical here? I mean, how exactly do you know about what's his name?"
Five, still standing beside and his arm around the back of the (h/c) haired girl, suddenly flinched and rubbed the lower part of his stomach. (Y/n) saw this and stared at him with concerned eyes.
"You okay?" She whispered.
"I'm fine." He gritted out. (Y/n) didn't bother pushing any more questions since she knew that he wouldn't budge. Five turned back to his family.
"Harold Jenkins. You know those lunatics in masks who attacked the house?"
"Oh, yeah, I think I remember those guys." Klaus spoke up, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah, the ones that attacked us while you were getting drunk." Diego commented.
"Yeah. Them. They were sent by the Temps Commission to stop me from coming back and preventing the end of life on Earth."
"The Temps what?" Allison wrinkled her nose.
"His former employer. They moniter all of time and space to make sure that whatever is supposed to happen... happens." (Y/n) explained.
"And you know this, how? Like you said, this "Temps Commission" was his former employer so how do you know about it?" Luther wondered.
She pursed her lips. "Because I may... or may not have joined."
"You what?"
"That explains the hideous pants."
"You joined Five's assassin company?"
"For only about like five hours, though! So like... I didn't even officially have a full first day yet." (Y/n) raised her arms in defense.
"Going past this, they believe the apocalypse is coming in three days. So we went to Commission headquarters and intercepted a message that was meant for said-lunatics. "Protect Harold Jenkins." So he must be responsible for the apocalypse." Concluded Five.
Klaus sat disinterested on the couch while Diego, Allison and Luther stared at the young teen with unreadable expressions. Different ideas went through their minds and there was silence for a few moments. Then all their questions came out at once.
"What do you mean, protect time and space?"
"Where is this Hazel, Five?"
"I don't even understand what you're talking about, Five."
"My skin is on fire."
"Do you have any idea how insane this sounds?" Proclaimed Allison.
This was Five's breaking point, and (Y/n) could see it.
"You know what else is insane?" Five snapped. "I look like a 13-year-old boy. Klaus talks to the dead, (Y/n) can make people bend at her will just by using the water inside their body, and Luther thinks he's fooling everyone with that overcoat. Everything about us is insane. It always has been."
"He's got a point there." Klaus piped up.
"We didn't choose this life, we're just living it. For the next three days, anyway."
"But the last time we tried to stop it, we all died. Why is this time any different? Why shouldn't I go home to my daughter?" Allison crossed her arms.
"Because this time, I'm here. We have the name of the man responsible. Guys, we actually have the chance of saving the lives of billions of people. Including Claire."
The older woman stared quizzically at him. "You know her name?"
"I do," Five replied. "And I'd like to live long enough to meet her."
(Y/n) couldn't fight the small smile that creeped onto her face. Five, as much as he was a grumpy old man who apparently hated everyone, he really did care about all of them. She pictured him playing and jumping around with Claire, their niece, once this was all over.
"All right. Let's get this bastard" Allison agreed.
"You had me at Gerald Jenkins." Diego smirked.
"Harold Jenkins." Corrected (Y/n).
"Whatever. I've already lost two people this week, I'm not losing anyone else."
"And Luther?" Five called.
The large blond man was standing beside the wet bar.
"Yeah, you go. I'm gonna stay and look through Dad's files. I still think this has something to do with why he sent me to the moon." He said.
"Seriously? Now you wanna make the end of the world about you and Dad?" Diego asked, annoyed.
"No. "Watch for threats." That's what he told me. You think that's a coincidence? This all has to be connected somehow." Luther insisted and Allison walked up next to him, setting a hand on his arm.
"No, we should all stick together." She told him.
"We don't have time for this." Five interrupted.
"Just let Luther stay and figure what he needs to figure out. If you find anything, just ring us up, okay, Luther?" (Y/n) announced and Luther gave her a nod.
"Let's roll. I know where we can find this asshole. Klaus, you're with me." Diego gestured his head towards the door and said-man lifted his head off the side of the couch, an uneasy look on his face.
"Yeah. I--I'm good. I think I'll, uh... I think I'll pass, I'm feeling a little under the weather, so, uh..." Klaus walked out of the room groaning as he had his hand pressed to his stomach.
While (Y/n) wanted to see what was wrong and check up on her adoptive brother, she knew that there were more desperate matters at hand. Besides, it looked like all Klaus wanted was to be alone for now so she thought it was best to leave him be.
Five pulled on her wrist and let her follow behind him as he and Diego left the room as well, Allison coming right behind them, leaving Luther to do his own thing.
-
Diego sat next to Five, who was in the passenger seat, as he drove, Allison and (Y/n) in the back. Their first stop on their mission was where Diego had said where they could find information on the man who apparently was going to cause the apocalypse; the police station. He parked his car right in front of the station and started to unbuckle his seat belt.
"I know this Jenkins dude has to have a record. We gotta get our hands on this file." Diego explained.
"And your plan is to what? Waltz in there and just ask for it?" Allison criticized.
"I know the station like the back of my hand, sis. I've spent a lot of time inside."
"Wasn't most of that time in handcuffs, though?" (Y/n) questioned, leaning over in her seat.
Allison let out a snort and Diego rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. Here's the plan-"
"Plan? I'm just gonna blink in and get the file." Five said.
"No, that's not..." Diego faltered. "You don't know the ins and outs of this place, okay?"
"I literally just did this yesterday." Five deadpanned.
Allison glanced over to her sister next to her for some type of answer but all (Y/n) did in return was shrug.
"Well... my yesterday, not your yesterday. It'll take me two seconds. Why don't I just go?"
"Listen to me. You are not going in there. I made a call. That's what a leader does. He leads." Without another word, Diego stepped out of the car and made his way into a alleyway next to the small police station.
After some time had passed, Allison's nerves were getting the best of her. Ever since Vanya had stormed out of the mansion just an hour earlier, she was feeling more guilty than ever before. She needed to speak to her sister.
Feeling her heartbeat speeding up, (Y/n) looked over to the woman next to her.
"You feeling okay, Allison? I can feel your heart beating super fast." She asked her, tilting her head.
"Yeah, yeah, I just..." Allison sighed. "I need to make a quick call. Be right back."
Before they knew it, she left the car and made her way to a nearby telephone stand. (Y/n) and Five quickly followed and leaned against the wall of the building. They waited for Diego to come back and Allison to finish her phone call when suddenly, (Y/n) heard a pained hiss come from the boy next to her.
"Five? Everything okay?"
Turning away from her, Five stated bluntly, "I'm fine. Focus on the mission."
The girl furrowed her eyebrows but stayed silent. She had no idea why Five was being so bland right now and not telling her anything. She thought things had been fixed up after their little moment back at the Commission and hell, she had even kissed his cheek. Sure, he gave her some forehead kisses before but that cheek kiss, the reason behind it was different. It had certain feelings and emotions behind it, nothing like they'd ever done before.
Well, that had been thrown all out the window then.
Diego came from around the corner with a small smile on his face just as Allison hung up on the phone.
"So?"
The dark haired man held out a blue folder and was handing it to his brother but then yanked it away.
"Your welcome." Diego bragged, holding the file over his shoulder and Allison rolled her eyes, taking it from his hands.
She opened the baby blue file and began to read over the written and typed words on the sheets of paper. Allison flipped over one page when she froze, staring down in shock at a picture on the file.
"Holy shit." She cursed.
"What?" Asked Diego.
"What did you find?" (Y/n) added to his question.
Allison brought her eyes up to meet the others and flipped the file over to show them the picture of an adult man's mugshot.
"Harold Jenkins is Leonard Peabody."
The three adoptive siblings stared at her for a moment before Diego spoke up. "And who exactly is this Leonard Peabody?"
Allison's eyes met with (Y/n)'s and the next words she said was something none of them were expecting.
"Leonard is Vanya's boyfriend."
The girl's eyes widened.
"Vanya's what?!"
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A/N: Hey loves. It's been a while. I think more than a month now actually. I'm sorry about that, things have been rough. A few days after I posted that A/N, my aunt passed away from COVID-19 and i needed an extra long break from everything. I was so stressed about so many things like school, family, and hobbies (such as writing this book) so I took a break from a lot of things. I broke up with my boyfriend, I'm failing most of my classes and my mental state is just BARELY there. I'm feeling better now and now my writers block is gone too so I'll be getting back to writing.
But apparently while I was gone, you guys managed to bring this book to over 29K! It'll probably go down when I delete the A/N before this but I'm so thankful and grateful for all the love and support you've me. It's amazing. Thank you guys so much :))
If any of you guys have some tips on writing or how I can improve, please comment or even separately DM me. Anyway, please vote and comment! Stay safe, wear your masks and wash your hands!