𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter One ~

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫...

"This is Jim Hellerman, reporting live for Channel 2 news outside of the Capital West Bank at Main and Sixth. A group of heavily armed men stormed the bank not three hours ago and took an unknown number of hostages," A reporter said as he stood outside of the bank. Inside, Dusk poked her head out from one of the pillars, carefully watching the robbers as they rounded up the hostages. Her sister Allison, had popped out of her hiding spot and walked towards one of the robbers, bobbing on the tips of her toes.

"Hey! Get back with the others!" He yelled. Allison leaned in close to his ear, "I heard a rumor that you shot your friend in the foot," The man's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and like she commanded, he shot one of the other robbers. The hostages started screaming, and the rest of The Umbrella Academy came out of their hiding spots and began attacking the intruders. Luther, also known as Number One, came crashing from the ceiling and threw one of the men out of the building. Diego, Number Two, threw his knives and pinned one of the robbers to the wall.

"Klaus, Dusk, get the hostages!" Luther shouted over to the two. "On it!" The raven responded. She and Klaus rushed over to them while the rest of their siblings were dealing with a robber standing on top of the counter. "Are you okay?" She asked a woman as she unbound the tape from her wrists. She nodded quickly, and Klaus and Dusk got the hostages out of the bank. "Dusk! We need you over here!" Diego called out right as she rejoined the group.

"There's a few more robbers inside the vault. You know what you have to do," Ben explained. Dusk gulped loudly. Even though she had been born with special abilities, she always felt like something could go wrong if she wasn't careful. Dusk nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating on her emotions, feeling her blood begin to burn in her veins. Flames burst from the corners of her eyes as she walked into the vault, seeing four men helping themselves to the money.

Her inner rage began to reveal itself, and she glared at the men before opening her mouth and spouting out a fountain of fire, filling the vault. The fire quickly caught onto them, and they started screaming in agony before collapsing onto the ground, burnt to a crisp. Her siblings had different powers, unique in their own way. But none of them compared to hers. In Reginald's words, she was "The Phoenix,"

She walked out of the vault covered in soot, her red eyes returned to the ocean blue they once were. "Can we get out of here now?" she asked, rubbing the soot off her hands and onto her latex suit. The others nodded, and they walked out of the bank to see crowds of people blocked by guardrails taking pictures and armored swat trucks were outside, armored men pointing guns as they walked out. In the distance, Reginald was watching the children through his telescope with Vanya, who was the only child in the academy who was ordinary.

"Why can't I go play with the others?" She asked. "We've been over this before, Number Seven. I'm afraid there's just nothing special about you," Reginald said, closing his telescope and walking across the street to meet up with The Academy Kids. Reginald gave his speech about how the world was changing every day, and that there would always be conflict and evil in the world. 

"There are some among us gifted with abilities far beyond the ordinary. I have adopted seven such children. I give you the inaugural class of the Umbrella Academy," He finished, stepping away to let the children come into the public's view. "Mr. Hargreeves, Channel 9 News! What happened to their parents?" One of the reporters asked, holding out her microphone. "They were suitably compensated," Reginald answered. "Are you concerned about the welfare of the children?"

"Of course. As I am for the fate of the world," Reginald answered once more before he and the children walked away and got into the black limo that took them back to The Academy. The usual crowds had formed outside, and the children walked past, hearing them chant their names. "Alright, children. You can go upstairs and do whatever you please for a half hour before we continue with lessons!" Reginald instructed.

Dusk went upstairs to her room, taking off her domino mask as she laid on her lavender bed and stared up at the ceiling. She was the strongest out of her siblings, hence why Reginald named her Number Eight. And though she never admitted it to them, she knew it was the truth. Her powers had caused her relationships to become strained with her siblings, and she tended to avoid them for fear of conflict.

Looking across the room, Dusk saw her keyboard resting on its stand in a corner, and the longer she looked at it, the more she heard it scream, "Come play with me!" She sat up and took a seat in front of it, gently pressing down on the black and ivory keys and hummed a song under her breath. Footsteps came up the stairs, but she continued to play, unaware that someone was standing in her doorway. 

It was Klaus.

Ever since the two of them were babies, they had been super close. They would spend nights curled up in their rooms, sharing their favorite songs, as well as talking about the most random things. He carefully crept into her room and got closer. Hearing the sound of light breathing, she stopped and turned around to see who was watching. "Oh, I didn't know you were listening!" She gasped, placing a hand on her chest. "You sound amazing," Klaus smiled. Dusk's cheeks began to turn light pink, but she tried her best to hide it.

"Thank you," She whispered. She looked over at the empty spot on the bench and patted it, inviting him to sit with her. He soon joined her, watching as she played a soft lullaby. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Klaus looking at the keyboard. He had never learned how to play it before but always expressed his secret desire to learn. "Follow my lead," She whispered. Taking his hands in hers, Dusk put them onto some of the keys, and she instructed him on a simple and easy song.

By the time they had finished, Reginald called from downstairs, telling them to come to their lessons. "That was fun," Klaus grinned as he stood up from the bench and walked towards the door. "It was. I hope we can do that again soon," Dusk smiled.