IGNIS : the umbrella academy [COMPLETE]

II

     CARLA WAS SITTING ON A HARD PLASTIC SEAT in a bowling alley, next to Klaus and Diego, opposite Luther.

     They were waiting on Allison and, to Carla's disappointment, Five as well. She looked up, and saw Luther staring at her bare hands fixedly.

     Awkwardly, she looked down at them, before glancing at the man and saying, "Do my hands offend you, monkey-man?"

     Luther's head snapped up, and he coughed in embarrassment, "N-No. I just-"

     Carla laughed at his expression, clearly mortified, before telling him, "I'm kidding. Lighten up a bit, dude."

     Thankfully, Allison showed up in time to save Luther any more humiliation, and when she saw Carla she grinned widely, opening her mouth to say something, but nothing came out, and her face fell.

     Carla spotted the gauze on her throat, and a wave of pity crashed over her; the wound Vanya caused must have ruined Allison's vocal chords.

     "I'm glad to see you're up and moving," Carla said genuinely, and Allison smiled again, her features communicating more than words could.

     She sat down next to Luther, shrugging off her leather jacket and taking out a notebook and pen, before heading over to get her bowling shoes.

     Suddenly, there was a whoosh, and Carla turned to see Five standing just in front of her.

     Diego rolled his eyes, "You couldn't be a bit more discreet?"

     "We don't have time for discreet," Five snapped, before he noticed Carla, and his scowl completely disappeared, looking suddenly more open and vulnerable, almost pleading.

     Carla turned her head, face completely blank, as though she didn't even recognise him, and Five pursed his lips to try and stop them trembling.

     "Where's Allison?" Five asked after a moment.

     "Gone to get bowling shoes," Luther said, "You need to do the same."

     Five stalked away, hands shoved in his pockets, and Carla briefly shut her eyes.

     Seeing him made her feel all sorts of things: anger, betrayal, grief. However, she knew she had to push her emotions aside to focus on the current issue: Vanya causing the apocalypse.

     Five and Allison returned, and after a pause, Luther spoke up, "Look, I hate to be the one to say this but, everyone needs to prepare."

     Diego frowned, "For what?"

     "To do whatever it takes to stop Vanya," Luther said, wincing when Allison hit him on the chest with her notebook. He sighed, "We may not have a choice, Allison!"

     "Bullshit," Diego scoffed, "There are always options."

     Carla nodded in agreement, "You said so yourself when you were mad at Pogo. You said, and I quote, 'there's always a choice'."

     Diego pointed at Carla, before pointing at Luther, "Exactly! You can't be so hypocritical. There have to be other options."

     Luther shot him a glare, about to reply but Five beat him to it, "Like what?"

     Diego paused, letting out a breath, "I don't know."

     "Whatever we decide, we need to find Vanya, and fast," Luther got to his feet, "She could be anywhere."

     Klaus opened a paper, rifling through the pages until he abruptly stopped, "Or... here."

     Everyone crowded around him to get a better view of the paper. It was advertising a concert at a nearby theatre, and Vanya's face was placed at the front. She clearly had a solo in the performance.