𝙒𝙄𝙇𝘿║𝙁. 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙨

CHAPTER FOUR: DONUT SHOOTOUT

17 YEARS AGO

Nietzsche once said, "Man is as a rope stretched between the animal and the superhuman. A rope over an abyss. It is a dangerous crossing, a dangerous looking-back, a dangerous trembling, and halting."

All of the children were gathered at the bottom of a winding staircase, getting revved up for their oncoming race. Vanya and their father waited at the top. Vanya held a clipboard to record the exercise while Reginald wrote in his journal.

Feliks and Five shared a mischievous look, communicating their plan silently to each other. Everyone looked up the stairwell towards their father, waiting for the signal. Feliks took the moment to wave up at Vanya and Five smiled at her as well. The girl smiled back shyly, adjusting her clipboard in her grip.

Reginald finally lowered his journal looking over his entry, then nodded to Vanya. She blew the whistle and they all took off with Luther in lead as usual.

As much as you must strive for greatness, and strive you must, for it won't come to you of its own accord...

You must also remember that there is no individual stronger than the collective.

Five and Feliks let themselves lag behind the others just a bit. Then Five grabbed the other boy's hand and spatial jumped them a staircase ahead of the others. Feliks then shifted into a lion- the only form he had a handle on at the moment. Five got onto his back and gripped onto Feliks' mane as the feline started sprinting up the stairs, laughing merrily.

"That's not fair, Five and Feliks are cheating!" Diego complained, turning a corner on the stairs.

"They adapted," Reginald called down from the top, correcting him sternly.

The ties that bind you together make you stronger than you are alone. They will make you impervious to the pain and hardship the world will thrust upon you. And believe me when I tell you, life will be hard. It will be painful.

The buzzing of the tattoo needle filled the room along with Allison's crying. She and Klaus had already gotten their Umbrella Academy tattoo. They stood in the corner, Klaus holding the sobbing girl as he wiped a tear from his eye with his wrist. Diego was currently in the chair, trying not to cry while Feliks, Five, Ben, and Luther waited their turn on the bench to the side of the room.

Five and Feliks sat next to each other, as they always did. Neither of them was afraid of needles, but they also weren't a fan of pain. Their hands were clasped together and Feliks could feel Five's palm become clammy as the minutes ticked by. Diego let out a brief shout of pain and Five jumped, moving impossibly closer to Feliks. The light-haired boy swallowed a lump in his throat and closed his hand around Five's bicep to ground himself.

Feliks was sat down in the chair, his legs were snapped shut and his entire body was tense. Five came with him, keeping ahold of the arm that wasn't being worked on. A tear escaped the boy's eye as the tattooer wiped the cold sanitizing wipe over the inside of his wrist.

The man stopped and looked at the tearful child with sympathy. "Word of advice, kid," He said, voice rough and smoky. "Just close your eyes and hug your friend nice and tight." He nodded towards Five.

"D-Da, spasibo. Thank you, m-mister." Feliks hiccupped, shoving his face into Five's chest and clenching his jaw. The more sounds he let escape, the more resistance training he would be assigned.

Five went right after Feliks. He didn't get as worked up as Feliks did, but he also had to hide his share of cries and tears. As Ben went for his turn in the chair, he started bawling and breaking down. Klaus left Allison with Diego and went to comfort him, holding him tightly and rocking him back and forth. The tattooist sat back patiently, cleaning some of his tools.