☂ 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 || 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚂 𝚡 𝙾𝙲 || 𝐁𝐤. 𝟑 ☂

28. FALTERING FACADE

The collective group of both Sparrow and Umbrella Academy followed the crow woman down the stairs and into the basement. In its own isolated corner, under a bricked archway, floated a giant mass of energy. It was a fluctuating sphere with colors of oranges and reds with the occasional flash of white. There was a low humming that emitted from it that grew with each step they took toward it.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Fei remarked, more a statement than a question.

Diego looked on in awe. "Oh, wow,"

Lila narrowed her eyes at the swirling mass. "That's what took Stanley," she stated, her voice tinged with anger.

"Along with a few other billion people," reminded Fei.

"Yeah," chimed in Tony, gingerly tugging Elaina along by the hand. "Who we didn't know and don't care about,"

"Right, so it's all about you," mused the bird woman.

"I mean, it kinda is," muttered Elaina, her eyes glued to the energy ball bitterly. "We're the ones left dealing with this shit,"

Five stood away from Elaina and Tony, however, he couldn't restrain his green orbs from stealing a glance at the pair from his current position. It was an action he came to instantly regret after he witnessed their intertwined hands. The lump in his throat returned at the sight, causing him to snap his gaze back and compel himself to stay focused.

Especially now, considering that he just noticed the lack of the star bracelet he gifted Elaina, seeing it no longer adorning her wrist.

The sting was enough to ensure he'd cease looking in their general direction movig forward.

"All of us are irrelevant," sternly stated Five, his tone holding an underlined edge while making extra sure to maintain his gaze forward. "This thing is about to take the whole damn universe," he said, getting closer to the energy ball, scrutinizing it. "What is it made of?"

"Micro black holes collapsing at increasingly short intervals," kindly educated Sloane.

Five peered over to the woman. "Why aren't we getting  sucked inside?"

"Honestly, we don't know," she replied truthfully. "You shouldn't exist here, and neither should this," 

"An impossibility for an impossibility," he muttered, accusingly looking back to the mass of energy. "The universe is a sucker for balance,"

"Grace has been tracking the waves. Next one is due in three hours," proclaimed Fei.

Diego nodded. "Alright, so what do we do?"

"We trap it," noted Sloane.

Tony shot Sloane a skeptical look. "And how exactly are we doing that?"

Five ignored him, already having figured it out. "Dyson sphere?"

"Yeah," nodded the hazel-haired woman in response.

The boy clicked his tongue. "Okay," he murmured, turning completely to face Sloane. "Confinement factor?" he questioned, crossing his arms.

Sloane perked up. "0.98 at peak energy flux," she answered back gleefully.

"Tensile strength?" he quirked his brow. 

"UTS ceiling of 10,000 gigapascals,"

Diego and Luther shared a baffled look while the two Number Fives of both academies spoke about things neither could ever dream to understand. 

Lila looked at the brothers with a conflicted expression. "Should I be finding this hot?"

"No!" they exclaimed in unison.