Extra-ordinary: My life as number eight

~Chapter 2~

A taxi stopped outside the Academy. Jinx was watching through her window as Vanya took her baggage out of the car and continued inside. Vanya enters the lobby of the Academy looking around and all the painful memories come streaming back to her. "Would you look at that," a voice said from behind her. Vanya turned around and saw Allison standing in the doorway. "Everyone was starting to make bets of whether you were coming," Allison continued. "Did you win?" Vanya asked chuckling slightly. Allison shook her head and came closer to her sister. They both felt awkward around each other as neither of them were ready to make physical contact with each other after all these years. Finally Allison makes first contact and gives Vanya a quick, obligatory hug. She then reconsiders and pulls Vanya in closer. Vanya rests her chin on Allison's shoulder.

"I'm glad you're here," she told her sister and smiled. "At least someone is," a male voice broke their moment. Diego was walking towards them from the living room glaring at Vanya. Unlike everyone else, he is wearing his usual attire: a Kevlar-reinforced black bodysuit. "Eat shit Diego," Allison replied. "You're really going to defend her after everything she did?" Diego was clenching his fists. "You're seriously going to do this? Today? At dad's funeral?" Allison asked him disgusted that he would do this today of all days. On the second floor Jinx was listening to the conversation that was on going downstairs. It reminded her of the time when they were fighting over her arrival. "Dad knew what she was," Diego said, towering above Vanya before walking up the stairs. As he came to the top of the staircase he saw Jinx peering over the balcony, wearing her headphones. You could faintly hear the music playing. 'Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid. I'm still standing after all this time, picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind. I'm still standing yeah-yeah-yeah.' He smiled to himself before he caught her eyes. He played that song when they were younger, when he would get angry after missions. He nodded at her and she nodded back at him, before he disappeared into dad's room. 

As Diego entered his father's room he could see his brother, Luther, inspecting the room. Luther ran his hand over the mattress where his father slept for 30 years. He was wearing an overcoat and turned to the window where he was examining the locking mechanism. "If you're looking for the will, you're wasting your time." Luther glared at his brother. "Diego." He continues glaring at his brother and you can see that there is no love lost between them. "But you're not looking for the will are you? No, you're looking for something else," Diego says breaking the silence before flopping onto their father's favourite armchair, one leg thrown over the side. "Nice monkey suit by the way," he said making the comment which seemed to anger Luther. "What do you want?" Luther asked his brother through clenched teeth. Diego smirked slightly, "To save you some time," he said before handing his brother a piece of crumpled up paper. The paper read MEDICAL REPORT. "What's this?" Luther asked as he inspected the paper. 

"It's dad's autopsy report. And before you asked how I got this, I broke into the coroner's office and stole it, but the point is he died because of a normal boring heart failure." "I know that," Luther replied sternly before looking back out the window. "So you're checking the windows for fun?" Diego asked smirking. "Everything was locked, no sign of forced entry," Jinx said walking into the room, her headphones hanging around her neck. She has been leaning against the frame of the door for quite a while listening to the ongoing conversation. "How do you know? Were you the first on the scene?" Diego asked her while Luther was still staring out the window. "Yes," she replied getting tears in her eyes again. Diego wanted to say something but rather stayed quiet as he was too scared to make her more emotional. She wiped her eyes before turning to Luther. "What about dad's monocle?" Luther asked her gazing at her through the reflection in the window. She became nervous and he could see it in her eyes. "What about it?" Diego asked getting irritated by all his questions. "Do you know where it is, Jinx?" Luther asked again, trying to break her so that she can speak.

"No," she replied calmly, the nervous look in her eyes disappearing. "Why are you looking for a fight Luther? There's no mystery here, nothing to avenge or solve. Dad got old and he died alone, like we always knew he would," he said before turning to Jinx. "End of story." "You should leave," Jinx told him. "Both of you." Luther turned around, astonished as to why he was being chased away as well, but he walked out of the room without saying anything. Diego on the other hand was trying to test her limits. He didn't know what powers she had by now and he was curious to see if she would use them. She became agitated and flicked her wrist so he could see her bracelet. It was glowing a blue colour and the charms, which were engraved, were floating on top of the blue. Diego got up and left the room calmly, trying not to look as scared as he was. She stared after him as he left the room, making sure he was out of hearing distance. She then slammed the door with one of her charms and sat on the chair, placing  her headphones on her ears. How did Luther know of the monocle? She thought she would have been the only one to notice it, as her siblings never cared for their father, neither did she but he always wore his monocle which was now gone? She typed something on her phone and the next song started playing.

...

As Vanya entered their home library, she saw her book 'Extra-Ordinary: My life as Number Seven' was there on the shelves. She opened up the first page and she could see the message she left in there for her father. 'Dad: I figured...why not? V' She smiled slightly to herself. "Welcome home, Miss Vanya," a voice said behind her. She turned around and saw Pogo, her father's right hand man, well actually her father's right hand monkey. "Pogo!" She said kneeling to the ground to give a warm embrace. "It's good to see you," he replied returning the embrace. She pulled away beaming and he noticed the book in her hands. "Ah yes, your book." Vanya looked at him as though she wanted to ask him something but decided against it. "I'm not aware that he ever read it. Then again your father was a very private man," he said to her as though he answered her question that she thought she wanted to ask him. She nodded as her expression hardened again and returned the book on the shelf. She then turned her attention to the fireplace where a painting of her dear old brother hung.

Pogo followed her to the fireplace looking at her expression changing slightly into a worried expression. "How long has it been?" She asked him. "16 years, 4 months, 16 days," Pogo replied to her. She looked quite shocked that he kept count all these years. "I used to keep the lights on in case he came back. And made his favourite, peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches," she told him laughing slightly at how ridiculous she sounded. "I remember your sandwiches. I stepped in quite a few of them." They turned to each other, before Pogo spoke, "Your father always insisted that he could feel Five's presence as though he could come back. He always held onto that hope." "And look where that got him," she replied to him. Pogo's expression became stern before they heard a voice coming from the staircase. "What are you two gossiping about?"