Dysfunctional ~ F.Hargreeves

63} The Keepers

"All right," The leader from the Keepers support group, Larry, told Five as they walked to the meeting, "Just be cool, Jerome. Anybody asks, you're with me."
The two casually walked into the crowded meeting room, Five confused as to how many people there were mingling about.
"These are the real Keepers," Larry smiled proudly, "Best of the best."
Five curiously peered around the room, accidentally spotting Lila dressed up in a disguise of her own.
"Excuse me, Larry," Five excused himself and walked over to Lila, "So this is book club, isn't it?"
"Will you excuse me for just a second?" Lila awkwardly laughed, excusing herself from her conversation to turn her attention onto Five, "You blow my cover, I'll rip your balls off."
"You're gonna blow my cover," He scoffed.
"Nice mustache, by the way. What are you supposed to be? A Greek serial killer?"
"I'll have you know this is top-of-the-line horse hair. The real question is, what are you doing here," He inspected her name tag for a moment, "'Nancy'?"

"Let's just say the transition from full-time assassin to full-time caregiver to three small children and one chunky husband is no picnic. I needed to get outside the house. I saw a sign and took a chance. It's cheaper than therapy," She handed him a name tag of his own, which he wrote out 'Jerome' on before placing it on his shirt, "But you know, these losers might be onto something."
"If everyone could take their seats," A man announced, "The presentation's about to begin."
"Come on," Lila gestured for Five to follow her to the seats near the back.
Jean and Gene walked in as everyone settled down, impressed by their crowd.
"Who are they?" Five asked.
"You've never heard of Gene and Jean?" Lila rolled her eyes, "Sure you're part of the CIA?"
"Just spit it out," Five scoffed.
"Okay! Gene and Jean started the first chapter in Clovis, New Mexico. Since then, the moment has been everywhere."

"Wow," Jean took the podium, starting her presentation, "Wowie! I mean, holy shit! Pardon my French, but look at all these beautiful shining faces. It is too much. Thank you for being here. We have a big night planned, because tonight, we will be discussing..." The projector started to roll, "'The Umbrella Effect', and how I believe we can return to a restored... and correct timeline," She started flicking through many slides of old Umbrella Academy merchandise, "Now, what do we mean when we talk about the Umbrella Effect? Well, some people refer to it as 'timeline sickness'. These artifacts from other timelines, supplied by our lovely boss... are like the shared memories so many of us have experienced, huh? Yup. Memories the powers that be would have you believe are just figments of our imaginations."

"A dapper dandy holding an umbrella, standing on a grassy knoll," Gene described one of the photos from the JFK assassination of Reginald, "An obscure sex cult called 'Destiny's Children'," An old pamphlet from Klaus' cult appeared, "A litter of child superheroes in short pants, from which we derive the name of this phenomenon, the Umbrella Effect," A few photos of the Umbrella Academy flickered by for everyone to see.
"Question is..." Jean continued on, "Who benefits from covering this up?"
"The elites, of course," Gene exclaimed when a photo of Abigail and Reg came on the screen, "The ruling class has always been threatened by the truth. But they cannot stop the truth, now, can they?" The crowd shook their heads, "No, I didn't think so."
"These artifacts are proof that we're living in the wrong timelines," Jean emphasized, "And they're the key to bringing about the Cleanse."
"What the hell is the Cleanse?" Five whispered to Lila.
"No idea, but shut your mouth," She whispered back.
"Your whisper is high-pitched."
"Don't blow our covers."
"You're gonna."

"Is there a problem back there?" Gene asked the two.
"Shit," Lila sighed.
"I'm sorry," Jean addressed them, "Could you little Chatty Cathys stand up, please? I don't... I can't really see your pretty little faces," They stood up, earning an approval from the couple, "Oh, Papa, it's Nancy."
"Hi, everyone," Lila put on her fake accent.
"And who's your little friend?" Jean pointed to Five, "I don't believe we've met."
"This is my handsome fella-"
"Jerome," Five finished for Lila, "From the Orlando branch."
"Mmm," Jean hummed, sounding semi-pleased in his reply, "Jerome from the Orlando branch."
"Looks like your suntan could use a little work there, Jerome," Gene joked around.
"Maybe there's something we could help clarify," Jean offered, "Jerome from the Orlando branch."
Lila went ahead and answered for him, "No, so, um, sorry-"
"We were hoping maybe you could elaborate on the concept of the Cleanse," Five interrupted.