killer queen ᵘᵐᵇʳᵉˡˡᵃ ᵃᶜᵃᵈᵉᵐʸ

𝟎𝟎𝟑 | 'thirty two hours and counting'

The robotic mother, Grace, rang a bell to signal to the children their dinner was ready and waiting. A daily routine she had grown accustomed to.

The children rushed down to the dinner table, not even waiting to process the familiar sound. They stood behind their respective chairs, waiting obediently for their father to allow them to take a seat.

They were hungry as they stared down at the food, their father taking his time to get to them.

The father, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, made his way to the table. He wore his usual scowl and the same disappointed look that had long acquainted his face.

He looked between them. "Sit." He demanded, taking a seat himself.

The children didn't need to be told twice as the fifteen-year-olds pulled out their chairs and sat in a matter of seconds. They began their meal, happily munching away amongst doing other stuff.

Luther and Allison shared looks. Gross puppy love eyes. The girl was trying to hide her smile —clearly failing. It's was a normal thing, when they had not been allowed to separate, allowing for siblings to share feelings that were wrong — it was Reginald's fault for messing up.

Children's minds relied on making friends or being around other people in order to create their own group and inevitably stop illegal feelings developing.

Diego was carving into his chair, something that was far too common. No one knew what he was carving or how he hadn't got scolded at, maybe it was due to the fact that they didn't swap chairs.

Klaus rolled a cigarette, keeping it hidden as he did so. He knew many of his siblings disliked his habits, especially a certain brother who was prone to stealing them and getting rid of them — but it didn't matter what Ben did, he always had more.

Five was staring at everyone, eying them and barely paying attention to his dinner, clearly having better thoughts running through his mind.

Ben was reading a book, anything to separate himself from the real world. None of the children wanted to be locked within these walls.

Vanya was silently eating, keeping the attention off herself. It was very rare attention was on her, for the most part, she was isolated. She only time she really got the attention of her siblings was when Five would sneak in and listen to her practice, typically when he couldn't sleep.

Dinner time was always silent. The teens hated it, but it was best to do what their father wanted than to risk their necks. Sometimes they would mouth things at each other or sometimes they'd share looks —anything to make the time feel less awkward and uncomfortable.

Five's hand lingered on his knife, considering what he was about to do.

Seconds, maybe just milliseconds, passed before he stabbed the knife into the table. The loud noise echoed and the table shook slightly.

Everyone stopped, some of the teens shocked by the action as they turned their attention to him. All eyes were on Five Hargreeves, then their father, then back at their brother.

"Number Five!"

The boy smiled at his father, head tilted slightly. He stared directly at Reginald. "I have a question."

The man look at him. "Knowledge is an admirable goal, but you know the rules," Reginald warned. "No talking during meal times. You are interrupting Herr Carlson."

"I want to time travel." The boy said.

He shook his head at him. "No."

Five stood from his chair, staring stubbornly at his father. "But I'm ready. I've been practising my spatial jumps, just like you said." He pointed, jumping from where he stood to next to his father. "See?"

Reginald wasn't impressed. Not that that was surprising.

"A spatial jump is trivial when compared with the unknowns of time travel." He began, his voice monotone. "One, is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of freezing water and reappearing as an acorn."

The children blinked sharing looks to ask if the others got it. Upon none of them knowing what their father meant they looked at Five, he normally got whatever their father was going on about.

"Well, I don't get it."

The other children let out a breath of relief. They were glad when everyone didn't know sometimes, rather than when some didn't, it made them feel equal and better about themselves then causing a clear cut in their diverse minds.

"Hence the reason your not ready."

Vanya desperately shook her head at Five but he ignored her.

"I'm not afraid." Five defended.

"Fear isn't the issue," Reginald told the boy. He told all of them. "The effects it might have on your body, even your mind, are far too unpredictable." He pointed out after a short second to think. "Now, I forbid you to talk about this anymore."

Five scoffed turning and walked away. Walking turned to running. He was out of the Umbrella Academy, running down the street.

Time changed. Seasons, years, days, weeks. He managed, all until he didn't.

He was trapped at the end of the world, the dead around.

He raced to where the Umbrella Academy was, finding it all down in ruins. Well, all but one room. His. Curiouser and curiouser.

Five wasn't alone, a girl was next to him. She hadn't noticed him, she herself looked very confused. Five blinked away from her, creating enough distance until he saw five bodies, with familiar tattoos.

***

Five Hargreeves held Olivia's hand as they jumped through space. He grabbed the girls upper arms as she wobbled on her feet. It did not matter how often he jumped them, she never quite got used to being thrown through space.

The girl found her balance, scowling at him. "Where are we?"

"My sisters."

"Why?"

Five huffed. Ignoring the girl as he took a seat on the sofa. His hands reached into his pocket, checking the eye had stayed put. He let out a breath.

Olivia sat on the floor slightly In front of his chair, her head leaned back. Her breathing softened. Her mind was quiet, too quiet. She had always loved the silence, but it after an obnoxious amount of time awake, it made her feel exhausted. She would do anything to be in her bed, deep asleep - anything but go back to her home, to her mother and to the commission.

Five looked down at her. "You look tired."

"Thirty two hours and counting."

Five hummed. The day had been long, busy and full of blood. The two had barely had time to rest, other than at the bars between missions. A shot of alcohol was enough to get them by. Until now, Olivia's shoulders hand began to sink, her eyes softly shutting before she'd snap them open and look around.

"Go to sleep, Olivia."

Olivia hummed, moving to rest her shoulder against the chair, her arms draped over Fives legs and her head rested on them.

Thirty twos hours and she was finally asleep whilst Five waited for his sister to return home. He stared around the room, at the moment they could only afford for one of them to be asleep. And with the emotional pain and torment Olivia was to soon go through, he was happy to be the one awake.

Five knew all about running away from his family. He understood how hard it must be for Olivia. Because even if she didn't like her mother, she still loved her. Olivia loved her family, even if it was messed up, she loved her mother and sister, and running away was soon going to become the hardest challenge of her life.

Fives gaze rested on the open window his head shaking. Didn't Vanya know rapists can climb?