Number Zero- The Umbrella Academy (Book 1)

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"R-Run!"

After running for what felt like miles, Zero finally came to a stop in an empty alleyway once he was sure that no one was chasing after him. Catching his breath, the boy went over everything that had happened before angrily kicking over a trash can letting its contents spill on the ground.

"R-Run!"

Zero knew he had just left someone to die alone, not just some stranger but someone his brother cared about. He could still hear her last words in his head repeating over and over like a haunting reminder of what he had done.

"R-Run!"

He could faintly hear the sound of sirens going towards the motel. Zero let out a shaky sigh before composing himself and walking to where Diego lived and worked. He wanted to be the one to tell him what had happened; Zero didn't care if Diego tried to kill him for running.

"R-Run!"

He knew that he deserved it.

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Zero stood in front of the boxing building, knowing it was closed but needing to go in and talk to Diego. Picking the lock to the door, Zero walked into the large dark gym. He made his way down to the basement of the building, knowing that it would be in the basement if Diego lived there. Zero could hear muffled voices coming from a room in the back as he walked over to the door and lightly pushed it open, seeing Five and Luther look over at him.

"Zero? Where have you been?" Luther asked the boy. Five stared at his brother and instantly knew that something was wrong.

"Where's Diego?" Zero asked them, ignoring Luther's question.

Luther and Five looked at each other before looking back at Zero. "He went out. Hey, are you ok?" Luther asked the boy, taking in his disheveled appearance.

"Yeah, I just need to talk with him." He told the man. Zero went to an empty chair and took a seat before the door suddenly banged open.

"Piece of shit!" Diego yelled as Luther and Five stood up in surprise while Zero watched Diego lunge at Five for some unknown reason. The boy had thought Diego was after him for a second, but he was wrong.

Luther quickly grabbed Diego. "Do you have any idea what you just did?!" Diego cried out as he struggled against Luther's grip. "Nope, let me- Get your ape hands off of me!" Luther had picked him up off the ground as he struggled to escape his grip.

"I can do this as long as it takes you to calm down." Luther informed him.

Diego took a second before huffing in defeat. "Fine," He told Luther while he was put on the ground. The man took a deep breath to regain his balance and composure.

"Now, wanna tell us what you're talkin' about?" Luther asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Our brother's been pretty busy since he got back. He was in the middle of that shootout at Giddy's and then at Gimbel Brothers. He's also the reason the guys in the masks attacked the Academy, looking for him, and so was he!" Diego yelled, pointing between Five and Zero.

"None of which is any of your concern, and Zero wasn't even at Gimbel Brothers that night." Five responded.

"It is now. They just killed my friend," Diego retorted, causing Zero to look anywhere but him.

"Who are they, Five?" Luther asked, turning to him.

Five took a moment, swallowing hard as he tried to find the right words. "They work for my former employer. A woman called The Handler. She sent them to stop me. Then, as soon as Diego's friend got in their way, well, fair game." Five explained with a slight shrug.

"And now they're my fair game. And I'm gonna see to it they pay," Diego said confidently.

"That would be a mistake, Diego. They've killed people far more dangerous than you." Five said, turning his gaze back to his brother.

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Diego said, walking out of the room and slamming the door shut.

Zero got up to catch up to his brother. "Where are you going?" Luther called out to him, but he ignored him and walked out of the room, leaving Five and Luther behind.

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Zero managed to catch up to Diego outside of the boxing building, "Hey, can I talk to you?" He asked the man.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty busy." Diego told the boy as he began to walk away from him, causing Zero to fidget nervously as he watched his brother pull out one of his knives as he continued to walk.

Zero grabbed Diego's arm, stopping him, "I really need to talk to you." The boy told him seriously.

Diego opened his mouth to snap at the boy, but Zero cut him off, "It's about your friend," Zero told him as he looked down at the ground letting go of Diego's arm, knowing he had gotten the man's attention with those words.

"What about her?" He asked angrily as he planted his feet firmly on the ground.

"I was there," Zero stated bluntly, not wanting to beat around the bush.

Tension seemed to consume the air around the two brothers as Diego took time to process the words Zero had said. "What do you mean you were there?" Diego asked, stepping closer to the boy.

"I was at the motel when Detective Patch was there. We both helped get Klaus out of there, but they shot her before I could do anything." Zero admitted guiltily.

Diego looked at the boy in disbelief before suddenly grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and dragging him up, "You were there and did nothing!" He spat in Zero's face.

Zero stayed silent, letting his brother do whatever he wanted, knowing he deserved anything Diego decided to do to him.

Diego roughly threw Zero to the ground, "What are your powers even for?! If you can't even bother to use them for others! You only use them when it's your ass on the line!" He spat out at the boy who just sat there on the ground, letting his brother take all his anger out on him.

Zero knew the pain that his brother was feeling because he had lost people that he loved. It wasn't the first time he had lost someone because of his powers. Sometimes, they activated on their own when he was in a dangerous situation.

Zero could never phase people with him, causing him to hate himself, knowing that if he could only phase people with him, he could've saved many lives. But no matter how much he cursed himself for it, he never found a way to use his powers for others, only for himself.

"Don't ever speak to me again; if you do, I'll make sure that it's the last thing you say." Diego threatened as he turned his back to the boy and walked away, leaving Zero on the ground in his guilt.