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abbatoirablaze · 2 years

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The Understudies, Chapter 7

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: mentions of violence, knife violence, blood, manipulation.

1999

From the desk of Reginald Hargreeves,

Number fifteen has stayed true to her word. She participates in training, and even encourages fourteen to do more. But something has happened within the past few weeks that’s caused her to shy away from fifteen again.

I think it has to do with eight.

She assures me that it isn’t, and that it has everything to do with The Umbrella Academy’s newfound fame.

A few months ago, I sent the children on their first mission. I was working on a case in Paris, and low and behold the opportunity fell into our laps. Some madman was trying to destroy the world. He’d turned the Eifel tower into a spaceship and had planned to blow earth up before exiting on it.

After destroying the bomb, number two failed in properly disarming the madman. He killed him. And in the process, engaged the tower to lift-off.

While number four did his best to try and stop the tower from leaving, the only spirit he could locate was an old blimp captain. Meanwhile, fourteen and fifteen disappeared, telling me later that they slowed time together and got five to help them to rescue two, four, and six who weren’t going to get off the tower in time otherwise.

This was a new development that I was most happy about. They cannot rewind time or fast forward it, but they are able to project themselves similarly to how five can through space and slow the time that they are presently in.

What I was not happy about was how unprepared the team was. Number’s one, three, and five had evacuated the ship correctly, but four could not break away from the spirit who possessed him, six was bleeding because of a mis-aimed dagger from two, and two had lost control of his senses when he realized he hurt six and killed the madman.

While Grace insisted on taking the children out for ice cream, the only ones I felt I could truly reward was numbers one, five, fourteen, and fifteen. They came with me to the lab where we had ice cream separately from the others, and we read Homer’s Odyssey, as per the request of number five.

Once five, fourteen, and fifteen fell asleep, one expressed a new interest to me. He said that he wanted to be an astronaut. When asked what prompted this, he said that he’d always been fascinated when I took the children to the Kennedy Space Center, as I’d often been asked to help NASA.

I’m not sure if one is reading that I like space, or this is a genuine interest, but I will indulge it. I’d spoken with NASA and they are interested in teaching him about the program. Especially since the successful stop of the bank heist four days ago. The children have become media sensations overnight.

1999-FIVE’s POV

“Something doesn’t feel right,” she whispered, grabbing my hand just a little bit tighter. Father led us wordlessly to the tower, where people were running away, screaming. The scene was pandemonium. Fifteen leaned into me, and I felt her power surge.

She was scared. I looked at her, and her eyes gave away everything.

Over the past few years of her staying in my room and me taking care of her, I’d learned how to read every part of her. And I’m sure she knew how to read me.

‘Please don’t go in,’ she thought.

I sighed, holding my best friend’s hand, “we have to go if father asks us. We have to save the world.”

“Alright children. There is a madman who has restructured the tower on the inside to make it a functioning spacecraft. My sources tell me that once he gets it up and running, he’s going to hold the world hostage and shoot different locations with a laser that will cause not only catastrophic damage, but kill millions of innocent civilians,” father started, “we need to infiltrate the tower, stop the madman, and disable the tower and lasers so that they will not function. One through six are going to be inside the tower. Twelve, send a shockwave through the park to disable the henchmen’s weapons. Nine, ten, eleven, and thirteen start fending off the henchmen and get any remaining civilians to safety. Eight, fourteen, and fifteen, get one through six inside with your powers.”

“What about me father?”

“Seven, stay with Grace and myself.”

“Let’s go,” One smiled, “come on teams.”

As we broke off, fifteen refused to let go of my hand. Eight and fourteen disappeared with one and two in a glow of blue light. When eight returned I noticed the thrusters to the tower go in slow motion. She glared at fifteen, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WE’RE SUPPOSED TO TRANSPORT THEM IN. BRIANNA ISN’T ABLE TO SLOW TIME IN THERE FOR EVER!”

“She’s right,” I sighed, forcing her to let go of my hand. She grabbed three and disappeared again. I grabbed four, and she grabbed six. Transporting myself to the base of the tower, I could see fourteen near the top and inside. She looked like she was in a milky white box, and it had spread around almost the entirety of the tower.

One turned to us, and it looked like he was moving in slow motion, “Fourteen is slowing time for us. Only herself, eight, and fifteen can move full speed in this time lag. They’ll transport us into the tower where the madman is, but he’s got plenty of traps within it, so everyone, on your toes.”

Once he finished speaking, eight grabbed him and two, and fifteen grabbed three and four, and I grabbed six, and we jumped into the tower.

Everything felt way slower.

My thoughts felt like they were going at the same speed, but my body movements couldn’t catch up with them.

There was a clatter as four tried to sneak around, and the henchmen turned one by one. Three tried to speak, but a henchmen threw a wrench, which caught her in the throat. One and two flanked the henchmen, trying to compete with one another to see who would be the first to get to the madman. While four and six split off with one and two, I rushed over to three with fifteen who was already doing a quick medical check on her to make sure she was okay.

Then suddenly, someone grabbed my uniform and tossed me away from them. I jumped, forcing myself to land in behind the girls, but instead I kept going, and hit the closer wall.

Shit.

When I got up to rush the henchman, fifteen had shot a white blast from her hands, knocking the guy on his ass.

I ran in slow motion back to her, when I felt dizzy. Everything went back into normal speed, and I caught myself tripping over my feet.

“FOURTEEN!” Fifteen said, eyes wide. She turned her attention away from three, and towards me, “They must have found her. I have to go get her.”

“She probably just shorted,” eight laughed, fighting off one of the henchmen, “she is the weaker one, after all.”

Fifteen glared at her, and shook her head, disappearing in a flash of blue light. Turning my attention back to three, it looked as though she couldn’t speak, but she was otherwise fine. I helped her up and we started to fight some more of the henchmen.

That’s when I’d noticed that both 1, 2, 4, and 6 had made it across their sides to the madman, and all four of them were engaged in trying to fight him. A blue light caused two to look away from the fight, and four to get backhanded by the madman.

“GO AFTER THE CONTROLS!” One yelled, “FOUR, LET US HANDLE THIS!”

Four obeyed, and I saw six rush over to fourteen and fifteen. Fourteen had a gash along her eyebrow, and a nosebleed. Fifteen looked worried.

“I’ll be back.” I said to three, before transporting over

“Is she okay?” six asked worriedly.

“She shorted after a henchman beat her up,” fifteen growled, glaring at eight, “apparently eight forced her to slow time alone.”

I looked to eight who was engaged in fighting along with three. They were both guarding four and the controls. Four was in the middle of trying to summon someone to help him disable the tower and lasers.

“Why’s she bleeding so much?”

“The gash is from the henchman, the nosebleed from her shorting out,” Fifteen sighed, trying to clean fourteen up. Help me get her up. She needs to be standing up.”

“I’m fine,” she muttered, half pushing fifteen away. But she stumbled and fell into six. He sighed, picking her up.

“I need to get her out of here,” he sighed, “dad shouldn’t have even let her come in…Brianna…Brianna…please wake up. SHIT!”

Six fell to the ground, dropping fourteen.

“Oh no,” two whimpered. The tower had a red glow as I looked around. Slumped against a button was the madman, a knife sticking out of the back of his head. He looked around and my eyes followed his own. That’s when I saw why he’d really said ‘oh no.’ Six had dropped fourteen because there was another knife sticking out of his shoulder, “Ben I-“

“Tower will launch in sixty seconds.”

SHIT.

“Klaus, wake up.”

“Everyone, get out of the tower,” one commanded, “NOW!”

“Fifteen, we have to go!” I pleaded.

She was waking up fourteen, “I can’t just leave them. Get one and three out. We’ll get two, four, and six.”

I nodded, not wanting to argue with her, and ran towards one and three, “GRAB MY ARM!”

“What?” three asked.

“HOLD ON!” I yelled, grabbing onto them. In a flash of blue, we left the tower.

September 2001

From the desk of Reginald Hargreeves

The children are beside themselves.

We did not know about the hijackings until it was much too late. We were unable to stop them crashing into the World Trade Centers. Fourteen and fifteen slowed time the best that they could so that the children could rescue as many as they could, but for those they couldn’t save the girls used astral projection to have number three rumor that they were calm and peaceful in their final moments.

Number one would not give up even after the towers collapsed. He attempted to dig through the rubble to save anyone remaining…but he gave up once he found a boy his own age.

Grace insists that I let the children take a break and heal.

Number one is going to the international space station at the end of the year. Number two, three, and seven haven’t left their beds in days now. Number four was found in the basement indulging in alcohol. He says that the spirits haven’t left him alone since and had followed us back home. He claims the only thing making them be quiet is the booze. Number six seems to be leaning into number fourteen, just as number five is leaning into fifteen.

Chapter 8

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