IGNIS : the umbrella academy [COMPLETE]

I

     CARLA COULD STILL REMEMBER HIS FACE. Dark hair, rounded face, dark eyes, and he was always a bit shorter than Carla and Sarah.

     The last time she saw him was when they were ten. It was a distant memory, fuzzy around the edges, but Harold had been round at their place, as he was most nights.

     His dad, her uncle, hadn't come to pick him up yet, and it was getting late, so her mom had gone to drop him home. Naturally, Carla and Sarah had wanted to tag along, so the three cousins were sat in the back.

     When her uncle opened the door, he stumbled slightly, and scowled ferociously at her mom. Carla and Sarah stayed in the car, but watched as the two adults spat words at each other, Harold stuck in the middle, looking awfully lost.

     When her mother had gotten back into the car, she had just brushed off the twins' questions, replying with, "It's nothing to worry about, girls."

     "When are we seeing Harold next?" Sarah asked.

     Her mother paused, "Not for a while, I'm afraid. Your uncle is quite busy."

     "Are you okay?" Carla had asked quietly.

     "Of course," her mother had said with a smile, although Carla didn't miss the red tinging her shiny eyes.

     As they pulled away from their uncle's house, Carla looked out the window, looking at Harold who was standing on his porch.

     He raised his hand in a small, sad wave, before his father dragged him inside and out of sight.

     That was the last time she saw him.

     "Your cousin?" Luther asked in surprise, and even Five was unable to hide his shock.

     Carla looked at everyone's faces, "Yeah, but... the last time I saw him was when I was nine. I have no idea what happened to him."

     "No idea at all?" Five asked, slightly hopeful.

     "No. He used to hang out with us all the time, his dad was Mom's brother, but then one night I think they got into a fight..." she sighed, "We didn't see him again after that."

     "What was his history?" Five looked at her.

     Carla frowned deeply, "It's been a while, but, uh, his mom died during childbirth... and he had the same birthday as me, as us."

     "What?" Allison frowned, "So he's like us?"

     "As far as I'm aware, no," Carla sat down on a stool, suddenly feeling light-headed, "He was always fascinated with me and Sarah's abilities, and was obsessed with the Umbrella Academy."

     "Anything else?" Diego asked, but she just shook her head.

     Five licked his lips, clearly lost in thought, "Okay, so, what we know so far is that this Harold Jenkins is Carla's cousin. He was born the same day as us, so is the same age as us..." he looked at the older siblings, "Well... same age as you. However, he has no special abilities. And we do know that he is responsible for the apocalypse. So we have to find him. And we have to do it now."

     Luther frowned, "But how is he connected to what's going to happen?"

     Five sighed, "I don't know."

     Diego took a step forward, "Wait... so you just know his name?"

     "And his age," Five briefly glanced at Carla who was fiddling with the hems of her rubber gloves, eyebrows knotted.