A cold wind blew straight in our direction as the doors opened again, this time much smoother than when Five had casually thrown them apart. My eyes widened as I followed the man marching closer to us, a notebook and some file folders tucked neatly under his arm. His gaze remained steely as we all watched him effortlessly move toward what could be considered the head of the table, as if there was no question he would take that place. I felt small and scrutinized under his eyes as he momentarily looked over me, before passing his judgement on to Five, as though we were nothing significant. As expected, Dad didn't bother with pleasantries as he took a seat in his chair, back perfectly straight.
"Not only have you burglarized my lab..." Dad cast his disappointed glare toward Five, Diego, and I. I felt the instinct to shrink down, but I refused to give him that satisfaction. Beneath the table, I felt Five's hand attach itself to my arm, just like when we were kids. "...set my chimp loose, conned your way into the Mexican consulate, repeatedly stalked and attacked me, but you have, on numerous occasions, called me..."
Dad trailed off as Klaus finally made his way to the table from the bar, a drink firmly gripped in his hand. He seemed completely blasé about the whole affair, plopping down in his chair and completely disregarding the man directly next to him for several seconds.
"Hey, Pop," he finally greeted, completely casual. "How's it hangin'?"
"...'Dad'." I almost wanted to laugh at the irony, but I knew it wouldn't be deemed appropriate. "My reconnaissance tells me you're not CIA, not KGB, certainly not MI5, so... who are you?" I raised my eyebrows at Dad as he spoke. People had been watching us?
Well, actually, that seemed only fair. We were literally doing the same thing to him.
The seven of us all glanced around at each other, unsure of how to answer the question. He really didn't know who we were, meaning somehow, we'd have to give him a rundown of everything. But was that even safe? What would happen if we divulged the future to someone as important as Dad? What would that mean for us?
"We're your children," Five answered bluntly.
There went that.
Dad's head snapped back around to Five suddenly, his icy eyes piercing right through the boy. However, true to form, Five didn't waver, though his voice became noticeably more garbled.
"We're from the future," he continued. "In 1989, you adopted us all and trained us to fight against the end of the world. Called us the Umbrella Academy." Klaus raised his martini glass in the air, as though the basic facts were worth a toast.
"Why on Earth would I adopt seven—"
"Eight," I corrected Dad. I tried my best to remain strong as he looked to me, but I could already feel the scrutiny searing holes through my sweater. "One of us isn't here... One of us is dead."
The memory of the day Ben died came creeping back into my head, forcing me into silence. My eyes fell to my hands, my left leg's rapid movements causing them to bounce.
"Yeah, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba." Klaus turned around to face an empty table behind us, moving his free hand like a puppet's mouth. "Enough of that now."
For a brief second, I smiled, realizing Klaus had lied (as suspected). I directed my attention to the same spot Klaus had been focused on a moment ago and offered the tiniest wave
"Regardless," Dad interjected, bringing back the freezing sensation deep in my bones, "what would possess me to adopt eight ill-mannered malcontents?"
YOU ARE READING
You Better Bring an Umbrella, Vol. 2
FanfictionTrapped and scattered across Dallas in the early 60s, the Hargreeves siblings have to gather up and prepare themselves to stop yet another doomsday scenario. But being stuck in a time they don't belong in proves to present more problems than previou...