Doomsday Creators (The Umbrella Academy) Book Three

10. Captive

Once Five had left the room, Lucy felt rather on edge, as having him around made her feel safer, and without him she always felt like she was missing something.
"Five has a pretty good track record with this stuff, so I think we should trust him" said Viktor.
"At least one of our siblings doesn't try blaming Five for all our problems" mumbled Lucy as she glared angrily at Allison.
"Yeah, I agree with you. But do none of you heartless bastards care about our murdered mums?" Questioned Klaus.
"Klaus, the only mum we knew, plugged into the wall" replied Diego.
"He's right. Grace was the woman who raised us. She's our mother" added Lucy.

"Well this is my real mum, and her name was Rachel. Look, I have her eyes" announced Klaus, as he pointed to the picture of his mother.
"What does it matter who our mothers were? They're dead, and they never wanted to be our parents in the first place, which is why they sold us. They never wanted to be our mothers, because they didn't choose to get pregnant. Our conception all happened in the space of a few moments, as if by magic. Besides, I can't feel a connection to a person who willingly gave me to a random old man for a large sum of money" informed Lucy.
"But don't these women still deserve justice. We need to figure out who killed them" insisted Klaus.

"Well, it was obviously dad. He knew where we were born, and he was so disgusted by us in 63, that he probably had these women killed" reminded Diego.
"Do you really think dad could kill innocent people?" Asked Klaus.
Allison scoffed and took another swig of her drink.
"Yes, absolutely" answered Viktor.
"I agree. Dad would kill whoever got in his path, if they were a threat to his goal. He would say it was for the greater good" agreed Lucy.
"He was an asshole" added Diego.

The sound of footsteps approaching caused everyone to turn around in time to see Luther making his way over to them.
He was wearing a Sparrow Academy jacket, and carrying one of their bags under his arm.
"You're late to the family meeting" commented Diego.
"I was being held captive by the Sparrows" explained Luther.
"Wait, what?" Questioned Viktor.
"Yeah, I've been there all day. Did none of you notice I was gone?" Frowned Luther.
The siblings all looked awkwardly at each other, before hanging their heads in shame.

"Did they hurt you?" Asked Allison.
"The Sparrows? God no, they were excellent hosts, very accommodating. And you should see their gym, it's incredible" smiled Luther.
"I see they've gifted you with some new clothes" said Lucy, as she inspected Luther's jacket.
"I know right, they are so nice, we had them all wrong" replied Luther.
"Says the guy they kidnapped" sighed Allison as she rolled her eyes.

"What did they want with you?" Questioned Diego.
"They want Marcus back, he's missing. And they want him back unharmed" answered Luther.
"We don't have him" informed Viktor.
"Oh, bummer. I kind of hoped we'd solve that problem quickly, and move onto problem number 2" admitted Luther.
"Which is?" Quizzed Lucy.
"Missing people" revealed Luther.

A loud smash made everyone jump and look over at where Stan had just destroyed some glass vases.
"It was the wind" he lied.
"Right, I'm going to take this kid back to his mother. You guys catch Luther up to speed while I'm gone" instructed Diego, before taking hold of Stan and leading him out of the lobby.
"I've got to go and run some errands, I'll be back later" mumbled Klaus.
He then picked up the folder of the newspaper clippings, and headed upstairs.

Lucy then quickly explained to Luther about the grandfather paradox, and he told them about what he had seen outside.
"So, all the people just disappeared?" Questioned Allison.
"Not all of them, just half" admitted Luther.
"Well, Five did say that animals were disappearing" sighed Viktor.
"I guess humans are now as well" added Luther.
"Marcus was supposed to meet up with us earlier and hand over the briefcase, but he never showed" informed Viktor.
"Wait, do you think this grandfather thing got Marcus?"
"It can't just be a coincidence that he just disappeared".

"Great, and now those Sparrow psychopaths think we took their number One" groaned Allison.
"Why don't we just tell them the truth? That Marcus is gone, and it's only partially our fault" suggested Viktor.
"Oh yeah, that will go down well, they'll throw us a party" Allison said sarcastically.
"I bet they throw really great parties" smiled Luther dreamily.
"I'm with Allison on this one Viktor, it's too dangerous to tell the Sparrows the truth. And even if we did, they wouldn't believe us. They are going to think we are lying about Marcus, just to save our own skin" admitted Lucy.

"Look, Marcus was willing to give us back the briefcase, no questions asked. If his family are even half as understanding as him, then maybe we can come to some sort of agreement with them and get the briefcase back" suggested Viktor.
"Yeah, and if you guys are going over there, then I should probably come along too, for protection" announced Luther.
"Yeah, nice try stockholm, but your ass is staying here" informed Allison, before downing her drink and heading for the door.

"What, that's not fair" complained Luther.
"She's right, you should stay here" instructed Viktor.
"Hey, who put you in charge?" Questioned Luther.
"Look, Allison needs something to help her get over Claire" Viktor said quietly.
"O.K, I copy. I'll stay here"
"Thanks"
"No, thank you, for looking out for her"
"That's O.K".

Viktor then turned to Lucy, "Come on, let's go".
"No" Lucy said defiantly.
"What, why?" Questioned Viktor.
"I told you before that I am not helping you get that briefcase back" reminded Lucy.
"But Allison needs this" insisted Viktor.
"I don't care. I will not go back in time, or disrupt the timeline in anyway. Our meddling has caused a grandfather paradox, which has led to many people disappearing. The more we mess with time, the worse things gets. Which is why I don't think it is a good idea to get the briefcase back".

"So, you're O.K leaving it in the hands of the Sparrows, who you believe are killers, and might use it for their own evil purposes?" Asked Viktor.
"They don't know what it is, so they won't be able to use it. Besides, they aren't super villians, they are us, if we were better disciplined. They hate us because we are their rivals, but they fight crime for a living, so they aren't going to use the briefcase for a nefarious plan... Anyway, as you already know, I have no intention of getting involved with these Sparrows any more than we already have. I do not want to see them again" informed Lucy.

"Why do they scare you so much? You know I am stronger than them, so why are you so afraid of facing them again?" Demanded Viktor.
"It's not the physical fight that scares me, because I'm pretty sure I could take them out. But that girl Jayme, can mess with your head and make you see things. I am not going back into the Academy while  she is still alive. I will not put my mind through that again... So, you and Allison will have to do this on your own" announced Lucy, before marching off back to her room.