Number Eight // Five Hargreeves

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Tessa's POV

The air is thick with tension as we all watch the man in front of us, moving with such casualness it makes me sick.  It's crazy to think that his face is the one that haunts my dreams.  The features that have been burned into my memory for as long as I can remember, and to him I'm nothing but another stranger.  Another little girl who normally wouldn't even get the time of day from such a prestigious buisness man.  His monocle reflects the lights on the ceiling, as though taunting me with it's familiarity and the horrific memories that come alongside it.

"What's hangin pops?"  Klaus plops himself down in a chair, another fruity alcoholic beverage in hand.  At first glance you might think that Klaus is completely unphased by any of this, but all of us here know that he's totally and utterly terrified.

"You have burglarized my lab, repeatedly stalked and attacked me, and keep referring to me as 'Dad.'  My colleagues have confirmed you're not CIA.  So, who are you?"  His tone still holding the same forceful, insensitive edge that it always has.  He sits there waiting for an answer.  None of us can meet his eyes, let alone respond to him.

"We're your children.  From the future.  You adopted us all in 1989 and trained us to fight against the end of the world.  You called us the Umbrella Academy,"  Five says, his voice steady and calm.  I don't know how he does it.  I feel like I'm about to set this entire place on fire I'm filled with so much rage.

"Why would I adopt seven-"

"Eight.  One of us isn't here,"  Allison cuts him off.  Mr. Hargreeves doesn't look curious, but more annoyed that he was interrupted, as though he were dealing with a bunch of infants.

"One of us is dead.  Is what she meant.  He died on a mission, a mission that you sent us on," Diego corrects, not even bothering to lift his head.  I feel a shift in the air behind me and turn to see that Ben had walked over to the table, curious about what's happening.  I see his features drop at the mention of him.  Another family discussion he's not apart of.

"Ben's here.  He's in this discussion too," I say, causing everyone to look at me.  I feel Ben's hand on my shoulder as he stands protectively behind my chair.  I can basically feel the gratefulness radiating from him as I reach up to my shoulder and rest my hand on his, silently letting him know that I see him.

"Regardless, why would I adopt eight ill-mannered malcontents?"  He continues on after looking at me with the same dissapproving look that I am all too familiar with.  God that makes my blood boil.

"We're superheroes" Klaus says, slightly dellusional after his fourth colorful drink.  I assumed that this comment would display atleast a little curiousity or suprise on his face, but he still wears that arrogant smug look that causes me to tighten my fists.

"I'm a bit old-fashioned and so I do require a little thing called evidence,"  He sits waiting for us to prove our previous claim.

"We're not gonna just, perform like sealions and balance balls on our noses-"  Luther gets interrupted by a flying knife that takes two sharp, unnatural ninety degree angles, ending up sticking to a wooden pillar about 20 feet away.

"Interesting. Not all that impressive, but nevertheless still intersting,"  Mr. Hargreeves says as he writes down something in his book.  That fucking book.  All he ever did was write in that god forsaken book.  I'm tempted to rip it out of his hands and shove it down his throat.

 Getting a rise out of him, Diego stands up forcefully, pushing his chair back in the process.  His eyes squinted as he advances on him.  Five space jumps in front of him.

"Now that is impressive."

"Alright, let's just make this easier for everyone.  Klaus can commune with the dead, Luther has super strength, Allison can rumor anyone to do anything, and Tessa...well that one's a bit harder to explain,"  Five says as he sits back down.  I feel the piercing stare of his cold aged eyes on the side of my face.

"FN-2379."  I say, barely above a whisper.  I feel everyone's gaze on me.

"How do you know about that?  The details have not been released to the public."  His voice suddenly changed from casual and arrogant, to sharp and menacing.  I don't answer him.  

"Well, I believe it is appropriate to say that my experiement was successful.  Because, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I'm looking at the product right in front of me.  The one that holds the elements of nature in the palm of her hand.  The ultimate weapon."  I feel my fists getting hotter, smoke pouring out of them, afraid that if I open my hands, flames will ignite and ungulf this entire building.  

"I am not a product."  I force myself to say this and look up into his eyes.  I am only met with hatred and selfishness.  The heat is rising within my body, my cheeks suddenly becoming flushed.

"Tessa, you need to calm down.  He's not worth it,"  Five says as the rest of the table looks at me, knowing that I'm seconds away from loosing control.  Well, the man in the suit takes that into account.

"No, don't calm down.  Show us what you can really do.  Do you need me to say that you are nothing without those trials?  Or how about that even now, knowing the trauma and pain I have yet to instill on you, I still wouldn't change a damn thing.  That I would continue with every trial, no matter the effects or consequences they have on you, because you mean nothing to me.  Just another test subject, a scared little girl who would still be roaming the streets, probably dead by now."

Everything stops.  I feel the heat drop as I'm plagued with an all new feeling.  He has know idea what he just admitted.

"I never said anything about you getting me off the streets."  I say confidently, knowing that I have the upper hand here.  The rest of the table sits in utter confusion, watching with wide eyes the conversation that just took a completely different turn.

"It was a broad pressumption.  Where else would a pathetic teenager be?  Certainly not with family, assuming that you have any at all."  His cocky expression remains unprecedented.  It would have been convincing if it wasn't for the prespiration drop running down the side of his wrinkeled forehead.

"No, I don't.  But you knew that.  Just like you knew how we first met.  On the streets of New York, 2013.  I was twelve years old when you took me off the streets like an animal you found on the side of the road.  You knew about the apcolypse in 2018.  That's why you trained me.  That was the reason this whole experiement started in the first place!"  I shout, thoughts connecting and bouncing off of each other at a million miles per minute.  Memories flooding in, this whole situation finally making sense.  

"Well Number Eight.  Looks like you figured it out.  You revealed the truth and my nefarious intentions.  But you have yet to figure out one last minor detail.  I see you have not taken into consideration why did you ended up here in 1963?"  His smug expression came back onto his face as quickly as it dissappeared only moments ago.  

What does he mean?  What am I missing?  I hear Diego start yelling at him about the Kennedy assassiantion, the rest of the table quickly involving themselves, the room full of yelling only seconds later.  I'm too caught up in my own thoughts to even notice.  

What am I missing?  There has to be something I'm missing.  There has to be.  I got here from a jump, I know that, but where was I before?  And more importantly when?  

I remember getting in a fight with Mr. Hargreeves aboout training.  He was pushing me harder than he ever has before.  He wanted me to make the jumps time travelling.  He gave me equation after equation, numbers amongst numbers, trying to get me to jump to the right time.  And then I ended up here.  In 1963.  And now there's...another apcolypse. Oh my God.

All this time, I thought he was just having me do his dirty work.  To go back in time and talk to some representatives, that's what he always told me!  But I was wrong.  This whole time, it was about getting me out of that timeline.  Good how could I be so blind!  The jump finally worked and now look where I am.  5 days away from the end of the world.

I stand up from my chair abruptly, causing the commotion in the room to cease.

"Well Number Eight?"  I see him eagerly awaiting my answer knowing that I'm aware of what has been going on this entire time.  I clear my throat, afraid the words might not come out when I attempt to speak.

"I cause the apcolypse."