Number Zero- The Umbrella Academy (Book 1)

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Zero lightly scrubbed the damp paper towel on the trail of blood he had missed as he stared into the bathroom mirror in concentration. He and Five had arrived before the rest of their siblings, giving the two a moment to get their bearings.

"So Vanya did that?" Five asked as he watched the blonde from the wall he was leaning against.

"Yep," Zero nonchalantly continued wiping dried blood from his face, wincing slightly when he got close to his eyes.

"You missed some."

"Where?"

"Your ears, there's blood there too."

"Shit, she got me good."

"You worked with the commission just like I did; you should've been better prepared." Five told the blonde, who decided to ignore the brunette.

Zero glanced at his brother through the mirror, stopping momentarily, "Yeah, well, I didn't think our sister would actually hurt me."

"More like you hoped."

"Yeah...."

Silence settled between them the only sound was of the paper towel Zero was using. After a while longer, a commotion could be heard outside the bathroom.

"They're here." Five announced.

"So much for being discreet." Zero said, throwing away another paper towel before heading out.

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Zero sat with his siblings in one of the many bowling lanes ignoring the sound of children laughing at a party a few lanes away. They all had bowling shoes provided to them the moment they walked in since they wouldn't be allowed in the lanes without them. The colorful lights around him felt unusually bright to the boy as he tried to keep his eyes from staring at them for too long.

"Look, I hate to be the one to say this, but everyone needs to prepare." Luther finally spoke up, catching Zero's attention to the man.

"For what?" Diego asked as he moved to sit down beside Klaus.

"To do whatever it takes to stop Vanya." Luther explained. Allison quickly turned toward the man, angrily slapping him with her notepad, while Zero wished she would've hit him with her fist instead.

"We may not have a choice. Allison." Luther argued, causing Zero to make a face.

"I'm sorry. What did you say? Weren't you the one who made a big deal about us always having a choice?" Zero told him with venom in his voice. He could usually control his anger, but Luther was being an absolute hypocrite that not even Zero could keep his cool. Luther looked at Zero, giving him a challenging look, while Zero gladly returned it.

"Zero's right. There's always a choice. What you're saying is just bullshit." Diego stated, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Yeah, like what?" Five asked, turning to Diego.

Zero shot the boy a glare while Diego responded, "I don't know."

"Look, whatever we decide, we need to find Vanya. And fast, okay? She could be anywhere." Luther cut in.

Klaus, who had just opened up a newspaper on the table, looked up and turned the paper so the rest of the group could see. "Or... here. Look at this." He said.

Zero stared at the newspaper, recognizing his sister's face on the page. He tried to concentrate on the words printed under her picture, finding that he could make out the slightly blurry words if he looked at them one at a time.