COPYCAT ✾ The Umbrella Academy

{ FOUR }

Diego follows three feet behind me, all the way to where ever I'm going. Usually, walking clears my head, but with the thing, I'm trying not to think about following me, it makes it very difficult. I don't know where I'm going or for how long I've been walking, I just know I'm going somewhere.

A while back, I tied weaving in between a crowd of people to see if I could shake the man, but he just caught up with me. My next brilliant idea is to go into a drugstore to see if I can sneak away down one of the aisles.

The sliding door chimes as I walk in, and the woman behind the counter smiles at me. I glance up at the half-sphere mirror on the ceiling to see if Diego's still behind me, and of course, he is.

Swiftly, I dip down aisle nine and almost make a break for it down aisle seven before someone grabs my arm. I don't even need to look to know who it is. "You really think you can get rid of me that easily?" Diego asks. "I wouldn't have to try if you didn't follow me," I respond, trying to pull my arm out of his grasp, but he doesn't budge.

"Let go of me," I demand, trying to pull my arm away again. "That's it, we're going back to the hotel," Diego says sternly. "Oh, yeah? Make me..." I trail off as the entrance bell chimes and goosebumps run up the back of my neck.

I turn my head away from Diego to look at the door, watching as two people, a male, and a female, walk in. "Jayme, get me munchies." The man says, walking in like he owns the place. As I crane my neck to get a better look at his deformed face, I recognize him instantly as one of the men from the posters I've seen around town.

While walking, everywhere, I spotted posters, signs, and billboards for "The Sparrow Academy". From what I gathered, they're superheroes just like The Umbrella Academy is. Or was.

Diego cranes his neck too, to see what I am looking at. I watch his features suddenly turn angry as he drops my arm. "Go wait outside." He says, bending his knees slightly like he's trying to hide. "Oh, so now you wanna get rid of me?" I say. Diego shushes me. "Just... go wait outside."

"Why?" I ask, now genuinely curious as to why he suddenly wants me gone after following me all the way here. "I'm about to kick this fool's ass." He tells me, looking at the man that walked in. I look at the man too, debating whether or not I should tell my father.

"I wouldn't-" I start to say, but Diego cuts me off by lightly pushing my shoulder. "Go." He says before sneaking off down the aisle next to the man. The random woman already down that aisle looks at him strangely as I lean against one of the shelves, watching.

In hindsight, I should really take this opportunity to split, but A) I'm intrigued by how this will play out. And B) I know Diego's about to get his ass kicked, so I might as well stick around and watch.

Diego sneaks around into the other aisle, as the man with the weird face sprays different colognes into the air and sniffs them. The girl who came in stands two aisles away. Having not yet noticed what's about to happen. She instead occupies herself with trying out candy.

Diego whistles, getting the man's attention. He whips around to face him, and the two stare at each other for a moment. "Well, isn't this a coinkidink?" The man with the messed-up face asks. Clearly, they know each other. "Only dink I see is yours, tough guy," Diego responds.

The two men stare at each other for a long moment, almost like a standoff.

"You followed me here?" Alphonso suddenly asks. "Don't flatter yourself," Diego responds as both men take steps toward each other. "Leave now, or I'm gonna spank you like the little bitch you are," Alphonso says. I bit my lip, stifling my laughter. Diego smirks. "Take your best shot, tubby."

Alphonso swings. Diego ducks, instead punching Alphonso in the nose. A punch that should have broken the man's nose instead breaks Diego's. "Oh, shit!" He hisses, holding his now bleeding nose. Alphonso smirks, knowing that was going to happen. "I know. Doesn't feel good, does it?" He says.

Diego nods, smirking before trying to kick Alphonso. However, the man counters, grabbing his leg and tossing Diego into the shelf of fragrances. By now, most of the people in the store take notice of the fight and start to flee.

Alphonso tries to step on Diego, but he rolls out of the way. Instead, Alphonso kicks him, sending him flying into a milk display. Diego groans, landing on his ass in the spilled milk. Now, Jayme takes notice of the fight.

Diego stands up just before Alphonso can reach him, ducking under his arm and sending a flurry of jabs into his side before elbowing him in the face. This move, only makes Diego's nose bleed more.

Diego blocks a few more of Alphonso's punches, getting a few good hits on him as well before he roundhouse kicks Alphonso in the face, and his chin goes flying off. I grimace, my face contorting. That's nasty.

Diego stops fighting Alphonso for a second, the same reaction floating over his face that did mine. "Dude, your chin." He points out. Out of breath, Alphonso pants, "It does that sometimes," as if it's no big deal.

Diego looks at him for a second more before diving back into the fight. Alphonso throws him over his shoulder, and into the soup can display that is- or was in front of me. I scamper out of the way, cracking my knuckles before deciding to join my father in the fight.

As Diego rolls around on the ground, groaning in pain, I snatch one of the knives from his knife carrier thing and throw it just as he yells, "Darla, no!" The blade slices Alphonso's thigh, and mine, but I hardly feel it, thanks to my power to copy other people's powers.

Diego looks up at me for a second, watching my unfazed expression before he jumps to his feet. "That's my kid, asshole!" My father shouts, pushing me behind him before continuing the attack on Alphonso.

Once Diego knocks Alphonso down and kicks away his inhaler for him to crawl to, he comes rushing back to me. "You all right? Where'd he get you?" Diego asks, grabbing my shoulders and unintentionally shaking me. For the first time, he actually sounds concerned about me.

"I'm fine," I state because I really am. However, I know this cut is gonna hurt later. "Watch out!" I suddenly say, as notice something in the corner of my eye. I push Diego away, and step away myself, just as the venom Jayme spits lands on the ground where we were seconds before.

I take my opening to copy her power, and spit her own venom back at her, giving her a taste of her own medicine. With Jayme stuck in her own little world now, I turn to Alphonso and do the same before grabbing Diego's hand. "C'mon!" I shout, pulling him out of the store.

Once we're outside, the pain in my leg starts but I don't stop moving until I've dragged us halfway down the block. The whole way, Diego looks at me flabbergasted, not knowing what to say about what just happened.

This is gonna be a fun conversation.