Grand Theft (The Umbrella Academy)

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE: Fear of Flying

Indianapolis Airport
Present day

"I seriously don't see why you hate flying." Connor smirked at him.

" 'Cause I just don't. I don't know." Haddock shifted his bag on his shoulder in an antsy manner.

"Welll we're not swimming to Rome. I can guarantee you that." Connor snickered.

Screams suddenly emitted from behind them and they darted their eyes to see chunks of the airport falling apart and crumbling into the wind amongst many others. "What the hell?" They abruptly looked away to see a whistling plane nose-diving for the port. "Go go go go!" Haddock ushered Connor along while keeping himself between her and the inevitable disaster.

The ground shook as the plane made contact. More screams. Then the sickening crash of metal against concrete and the ones that had escaped the wave's warpath only to find another waiting for them.

Connor looked back to see Haddock being slowly taken like the others. Another casualty. Except, he wasn't just another mark on a list. He was the one that was supposed to survive even the worst of circumstances.

"HADD! FISH! No no no no! You're staying with me. Hold on!" He gasped for air and tried to push her away as she switched from power to power to hold him together, but he was fading. "HOW IS THIS HAPPENING!" she screeched. She pulled him into a tight embrace and the wave started to eat away at her too. She harshly gritted her jaw as her power surrounded the both of them and suddenly... it was gone. Like a breath of fresh air, they were alive. They were more effort than they were worth right now to the Kugel. "Fish! Oh my God. I-I-I..."

"Consy!" He snuggly held her to him and stroked her hair. "You-you-you saved me. I-I was... How? I felt... pain?" Haddock skimmed over the burns still crawling across his skin with fascination before the horror sunk in. He swiftly pulled her away in his strong grip. "Consy! Are you—are you hurt? Oh, God, never fucking do that again." He held her as tight as possible without breaking her.

"I'm-I'm fine. I'm good." She put her head back on his shoulder and her arms just as tightly around his chest. "Oh my God, I almost lost you."

"You didn't. I'm here. I'm here..." he softly reassured into her hair.

They looked back at the crashed plane in the half-flattened building. "You're officially getting the slip on the flying thing. We're definitely not going anywhere for a bit." She rubbed his back in comfort.

"What the hell was that?"

"No idea... but we know some people who might. Hang on." Connor made a beeline across the cracked walkway to a public telephone that had been barely missed in the blast and fallen rubble. She picked up the phone and typed in the the number to the Academy.

"Beeep...This number is no longer in service—" She hung up the phone before the monotone voice of the female operator could finish her recorded sentence.

"Shitzu," Connor muttered. "Fish, they're not answering. Their phone is down... I'll try the hotel."

"Beeep...This number is no longer—"

Connor shook her head at the phone then put it back in its place. "Something's wrong. We gotta go see them." Haddock's lip rose in a look of disgust and dread.

Connor put a hand on her hip. "Okay, yeah. You're right." He wrapped an arm around her. "Let's go see the fam... again." He sighed to himself with a faint groan.