Ashes ~*~ [ THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY/FIVE HARGREEVES ]

CHAPTER TWO

~*~

     The group of seven walked down the sidewalk, getting stares from people walking by. Their all black outfits were distracting, along with the blood covering all of their faces. Allison glared at one guy that was staring, then looked up at Five. 

     "What are we doing?" she asked. 

     "Ruminating," Five responded. 

     "Why is everyone staring at us?" Klaus asked, looking at the two people on the stairs. 

     "Because we look like the damn Village People just lost a fight," Diego snapped, snatching Klaus's hat from his head. 

     "Gimme that. Hey," he said, hitting Diego's side and grabbing the hat back. 

     "Okay! You know what? I need to go find Claire," Allison said. "I will catch up with you guys later." 

     "Hey, Allison, no. First, let's get somewhere safe, clean up those cuts, and then we'll go find her," Vanya said, Allison turning and looking at them. 

     "Man, I hate those guys," Luther said, looking at the Sparrow Academy billboard. "Look at 'em with their... stupid smug..." 

     "You can do it," Klaus encouraged him. "You can do it." 

     "S... S... Smug... smugness," Luther spit out, Klaus sighing. 

     "Keep working on it, big guy. You'll land one, eventually," he said, patting his brothers shoulder. 

     "But honestly, what are we doing? We can't stand here bleeding out in the middle of this park," Allison said, everyone now in a formation. 

     "I don't know, but we better gear up fast before they come for round two," Diego said. 

     "What makes you think they're gonna come after us?" Vanya asked. 

     "Because I would," Diego answered. 

     "Yeah, we did break into their house," Klaus stated. 

     "Our house," Allison corrected. 

     "But up all their nice antiques and shit," Klaus said, waving his hand in the air. 

     "Yeah. I don't think the crime-fighting... super nerds are gonna let that go," Luther said, pointing at the billboard again. 

     "Let's just think of some place off the radar where we can lie low and not draw attention," Five proposed, taking a step forward. 

     "What kind of a weird-ass place are we not gonna draw attention?" Diego asked. It went silent, the group slowly turning to all look at Klaus. He stopped spinning, furrowing his eyebrows as if he had to think about it. Then he perked up and gasped as if the idea came to him. 

~*~

     The family all squeezed into the revolving door, complaining as they were pressed up against each other and taking small steps inside while the door moved. 

     "Oh. Okay. Honestly?" Allison asked, her and Luther emerging first. "We don't all need to be squeezed..." 

     "There were two entrances, by the way," Five said, and they all stepped out while looking around. Jazz music was playing somewhere, and Klaus walked forward with his arms out. 

     "Oh, Hotel Obsidian. I missed you, you slutty old dame," he said, then began to sniff. "Absorb her. Absorb her into your bosom. You know, 'cause back in her heyday, she played host to world leaders. Roosevelt, Gandhi, Stalin, Gorbachev, Castro, King Olaf of Norway, one of the Kim Jongs, Tito, Dalai Lama, Elvis, and not one but two Kardashians, allegedly." Allison turned and began to walk away. "Wouldn't that -- Where you going?"