Yes, I have caved and decided to re-open this finished work and cover season 2! It may not be completed as fast as the first (because of adult responsibilities) but I'll try my best to have it done succinctly. I hope my writing has improved since the last half of this story and that people enjoy the next just as much.
This chapter will be a prologue of sorts into Thea's appearance into the sixties, while the next will properly cover the first episode.
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Thea Hargreeves is what one would call doting when it came to her family.
Call it overprotectiveness or a tendency to sacrifice herself for those she loved most, but it was undeniable that she would always put her siblings before everything else and would never wish any harm to befall them.
...until this day.
As Thea stared, eyes blown wide in disbelief at the crumpled paper she held, she wanted to wrap her hands around her brother's tiny little neck and wring him dry.
How the hell did this happen!?
The last thing Thea had heard as they'd been enveloped in a blue glow, the theatre crumbling all around them, was a piercing ringing within her ears. It had been enough to cause her to squeeze her eyes shut in an attempt to block out the sound. Therefore, she had only realised all too late that something had evidently gone horribly wrong when her body began freefalling from the sky.
Luckily for her, the natural instincts that had been engraved within her very bones had kicked in at the last minute, allowing her to land on her feet with some semblance of grace. Though the dizzying nausea from her trip through time had remained and she gagged as she felt like her stomach was attempting to escape through her throat.
Covering her mouth with a hand, wide eyes took in her surroundings and Thea felt her stomach drop when she realised that she was all alone.
"Klaus?" she asked weakly.
Her only response was silence and so she stumbled to her feet. Her balance was unsteady like a new-born deer but she ignored it to whip her head around, desperately searching for any sign of her siblings.
"Five?" she tried again, hoping that the boy responsible for their time-travel was here, at least. He was smarter than all of them and would surely know just what had happened. He could tell her what exactly was going on and why she was currently all alone in a dingy alleyway.
And with a killer headache, to boot.
Her feet began moving of their own accord and soon enough, Thea found herself stumbling out of the alleyway and onto the main street. She squinted at the sudden light; the shop signs and passing cars almost blinding her with their brightness. There were lots of people walking about, a constant hum and buzz of energy in the air that she tried to ignore, the sound only irritating her pounding head.
Blinking a couple of times to gather her bearings, Thea realised all too soon that she was attracting rather a lot of unwanted attention, the majority varying looks of surprise and suspicion.
Thea was well-known for her intelligence in situations that seemed so far out of their depth. It was her entire childhood, for crying out loud. You're goddamn Number Zero, you can handle a little pressure.
Taking a steadying breath while pushing her immediate concern about her siblings to the back of her mind, for now, Thea focused on gathering intel. She needed to know where she was and how she was going to find a way back home.
Taking a step onto the sidewalk and allowing her form to relax, Thea tried her best to blend into the crowd as they all went on their merry-way, chattering to one another and window shopping. She kept both her eyes and ears open, taking in every drop of information she could handle and resolutely pushing past the throbbing in her skull. Evidently, time travel is no good for mental abilities like mine. Duly noted.
She took in every detail possible of this unfamiliar world in an effort to understand the bigger picture. Don't rush into something without all the cards in your hand. You need to be at an advantage in situations like this, even if all you have is information.
All too soon Thea realised that she wasn't going to get anything worthwhile by gathering intel the old-fashioned way, as the only significant information she had gotten was that she was still in the United States and that it was Valentine's day.
As if I couldn't already tell that by the sickening amount of hearts covering every square inch of the street, she thought with a wince. The shop windows of almost every store were decorated in a mix of red and pink, cut-out hearts bunted across window-tops and giant signs reading 'Valentine's Sale' and 'Treat your lady this Valentines!'
Thea spotted what looked like a newsagent and made a beeline across the street towards the shop, slipping inside and scurrying to the first newspaper she could see. Her eyes devoured the front page, only to widen in a muted sense of shock and horror at the bold font in the right-hand corner.
February 14, 1962
"Holy shit..."
Thea blinked once. Twice. Three times before the date properly sank in.
1962...I've travelled back to nineteen-bloody-sixty-two and I don't know where anybody else is!
She struggled to swallow the lump in her throat and a shaky breath left her lips. What was she supposed to do now? Where was everybody else? She had nothing! No family, no money and certainly nowhere to go to! Were they even safe? Had they even made it like herself or did something go wrong and they'd gotten stuck somewhere else in time?
Don't tell me we're all stuck in different periods of time...unable to reach each other...
Thea had read enough time-travel novels to know that she had to be careful in a situation like this. While her initial thought had been to somehow make her way back home to the Umbrella Academy, it was highly unlikely that Reginald Hargreeves would even believe her story.
What if he doesn't even own the building yet? I never asked about his work before we were born, which means I know jack-shit about anything concerning the current time... she took another peek at the date of the newspaper. I'm trapped in the bloody sixties...fuck me.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" a deep voice asked and Thea's head shot up to meet the weathered face of an old man. While his voice was stern, his eyes were kind as they regarded her.
Thea was about to shake her head but paused, realising that this was a perfect opportunity. One that she couldn't let pass her by. Screw morals, right now I'm in a desperate situation and I'll take any shortcuts I can find.
Turning to the old man with a perfectly crafted face of innocence, adding just the slightest touch of vulnerability in her voice to seem fragile. "I'm afraid I'm lost, sir..."
As she spoke, she allowed the walls within her mind to fall down, exposing herself to the influx of thoughts around her. Luckily, she was the only patron in the newsagents and so Thea wasn't suddenly bombarded with a horde of information. She wasn't sure her head could take that kind of attack right now.
'Lost...girl can't be older than seventeen...what's she doing walking around unsupervised?...pretty one, too...point her to old Malkins...probably help...'
The man's thoughts trickled in as slips of consciousness, none quite taking full form but a flurry of back and forth dialogue he was having within his own mind. She understood the gist of what he was saying, though her eyebrow twitched at the comment on her age.
Once again cursing her eternal babyface, Thea concentrated on the last thought of his, as he mentioned somebody called 'Malkins'. With a little further push, she was able to glean a picture from his mind of a fine building that had a large sign reading 'Malkins Emporium of Exquisite Excellencies'. She quickly memorised the location, happy that it wasn't even too far from here if the man was to be believed; only a couple of blocks away.
Thea stared into the man's eyes and with a deliberate push into his mind, she took control.
"Forget you saw me and go into the back room. Come out in five minutes and resume as normal."
The old man blinked once at her command before his body began moving towards the counter and disappearing through the back door. Thea mentally apologised for her actions but hurriedly left the store towards the Malkins residence.
If there's one benefit to being so far back in time, it's the lack of proper technological security. I can't afford being sent away because I got caught performing mind-control.
As she walked, Thea took a closer look at the people passing her by, noticing that their hairstyles and outfits were significantly different than she was used to. While having noticed it before, now that she knew just how far back they'd travelled, she took a glance down at her own outfit and realised how out of place she looked.
No wonder I was getting weird looks, I doubt these people are used to women casually revealing so much skin...
Thea was dressed in a white pleated tennis skirt that barely reached her mid-thighs and a rainbow crop top that exposed her midriff, the words 'sounds gay, I'm in' printed in bold. It was a joke gift from Klaus and she'd laugh every time she saw it, thinking that the simple phrase summed up her brother perfectly.
Only now I'm wondering just how long it'll take for somebody to think it's their responsibility to 'set me straight'...no pun intended.
With knee-high white socks and chunky trainers, along with her hair that was loose and fell past her lower back, the tips almost touching the backs of her legs, it was only too obvious that she stuck out like a sore thumb. A very bright and scantily dressed thumb!
They probably think I'm some harlot! And what the hells up with this hair!? She grabbed a handful of the golden locks and stared at it as though it held all the secrets to the world. Have I aged at all during the trip to cause it to grow so much? No...the old man thought I was still a teenager, so clearly I'm either the same age if not younger...
She turned her head to see her reflection within the glass of a store and paused as she took everything in. The same face she remembered stared back at her, which gave her some comfort. My clothes, on the other hand...
With one look at the other women around her, Thea could tell that her outfit was entirely inappropriate for the time period, as the majority of them were sporting buttoned-blouses, long skirts and high heels that gave them a much more mature air. Thea had always acted younger than her actual age but it wasn't until this moment that she felt like such a child!
She felt wholly unprepared and let her feet move faster, crossing her arms in an attempt to cover up the words on her chest in the hopes of escaping the public scrutiny she was being put under. She just hoped to find some retrieve in whoever this mysterious 'Malkins' was.
I can only pray that one of the others come soon and save me.
Her wish certainly hadn't been granted.
It had been almost a whole year and nine months since that day when she'd found herself unceremoniously dropped from the sky and into a dingy alleyway, not a belonging to her name and wildly unprepared for the unfamiliar period she had found herself in.
Currently, Thea was seated upon a plush velvet pillow that lay on the marble floor, her legs crossed. Her form was illuminated by the sunlight streaking through the large window behind her and her golden hair had been brushed out so that it splayed onto the floor around her. Her outfit consisted of a golden dress that was light and shimmered at the slightest movement. White petals fell down one side while the sleeves brimmed at the elbows to reveal her pale skin. She was adorned in an assortment of gold bangles and rings and across her forehead sat a thin, strip-band of jewels.
Her expression was serene; her eyes closed and her breath even, lips curled into the smallest of smiles.
The room she was in was filled with a plethora of antiquities and relics displayed upon shelves and behind glass cabinets. The items varied in age and uniqueness but what they all had in common was their evident wealth. The entire room looked like it was seeped in riches, housing an abundance of treasures for the eye to feast upon and right at its centre, sat the crowning piece upon a plush velvet cushion.
"Thea! My dear, how are you doing on this fine day?" a high-pitched voice called, the sound echoing within the vast marbled room.
The girl opened her eyes to meet the woman who had called her name with such warmth and allowed herself to smile.
"My Lady," she greeted.
The woman put a hand to her mouth, her eyes fluttering in a coltish manner. "Darling, how many times have I told you, it's Melissa."
Thea's smile was slightly strained at the woman's words, though she doubted the other would notice. "I apologise, Melissa. How can I be of service today?" she kept her tone light, submissive, no matter how much she wanted to cringe at the barrage of thoughts running through the woman's mind.
Thea was used to dealing with a variety of people since she'd come into the Malkins' care but she never could quite get over just how flighty Mrs Malkins was.
The woman was undeniably beautiful for her age, her appearance still youthful despite the smattering of age lines and her roots always dyed to cover up the oncoming grey. Thea could appreciate the woman's beauty and while she may have appreciated the lingering looks sent her way in another time – it was her thoughts that Thea struggled to acclimatise to.
'Looks just as radiant today...invite Edward over...appreciate my plan...she'll finally give in...'
It was her last thought that made her shudder internally.
Thea cursed the day she'd walked into the Malkins Emporium, wide-eyed and in desperate need of a job. Sure, she could have simply stolen money and forced her way into accommodation, but no matter how desperate she was, Thea didn't want to resort to such criminal actions. She was hoping to find something simple, maybe an easy job serving tables or cleaning the house as a maid, but instead she had walked blindly into the Emporium of Exquisite Excellencies and had the brilliant idea to take up the Malkins' offer of work.
When Thea had unknowingly begun offering advice and information to those around her, foolishly allowing her guard to slip the longer she stayed in this time period and saw no sight of her family, she had thought fuck it and allowed herself to become one of the Malkins' prized possessions.
A seer. That was what she had become, a hack seer who professed to be able to read anybody.
It's child's play to 'read' somebody when their thoughts are all broadcasted so loudly. Oh, you're wondering what you should do in the near future? It's obvious from your thoughts you're thinking of quitting your job to pursue modelling so sure, let me just tell you that I see modelling in your 'future endeavours'...
It was almost comically easy and Thea had quickly made a name for herself as a true seer, blessed with divine vision...though she made sure not to show any of her more...manipulative abilities for fear of being scouted out by the government or even worse, being sent to the asylum. The last thing she needed was to be locked up because children with superhuman powers had yet to be born...
The main reason she had allowed this farse to go on for so long was in the hopes that her newfound fame would attract the attention of one of her siblings, should they have followed her into this time period. She'd even made it easy for them, naming herself the admittedly embarrassing title she'd held during their Academy days.
The Divine.
Thea still cringed whenever a client would thank her using the title, or when Mrs Malkins would comment that she truly lived up to her name with that impish grin on her red-painted lips...
It wasn't that the Malkins were bad people. No, it was that for a couple of the '60s, they were surprisingly...liberal. While keeping up the front of an honest, god-loving couple of their current stifling time period, Mr and Mrs Malkins were unapologetically forward behind closed doors and for the longest time, had been eyeing Thea up like she was the sweetest candy in the store.
Why do I find myself in these situations? First I caught the attention of a serial murderer who was dating my sister and unknowingly spurred on his homicidal urges and now I'm the focus of a sex-crazed couple out to gobble me up!? I can't make this shit up!
When her siblings came – and Thea refused to acknowledge the giant 'if' in that scenario – she was going to absolutely murder them for taking so long in finding her, especially Five. She had used all of her free time trying to find them herself but to no luck.
Without the internet, it was practically impossible to get any research done and Thea wasn't too proud to admit that she absolutely sucked at living in such a technologically-deprived world. I've relied on the internet so much that I'm surprised I can even function without it.
Having to manually search through multiple phone books and ask anybody within a position of power if they've heard of anyone by the surname 'Hargreeves' was exhausting and her hard work yielded little results.
She had almost given up hope, the ache within her heart at the loss of her siblings – especially her twin – had become stronger each day that passed. Thea was struggling to continue clinging onto her past and had almost settled for the depressing fact that she may never see them again.
Never to go home, stuck in this time parading around as a hack seer, decorated and bejewelled like a prized possession without ever seeing my family again.
"No, no. I don't require your talents today, love. You have a visitor," Mrs Malkins said with a charming laugh.
"A visitor?" Thea repeated, confused.
"Yes. The most peculiar boy I've ever met, if I do say so," Mrs Malkins said, a finger to her chin. "Why, he said the most bewildering thing, my dear. He claimed to be your brother!"
Thea's entire world stopped for a few crucial seconds as her heart began beating rapidly within her chest. She spoke slowly, struggling to get the words out yet desperate to speak before the chance slipped by.
"My...brother?"
Mrs Malkins giggled. "Yes! He wore the most quaint little outfit. Shorts and a blazer, likely a uniform, I suppose. Rather charming if not for his vulgar tongue."
Five. She has to be talking about Five.
Thea felt the room spin and scurried to her feet, almost tripping as the silk cushion slipped on the marble flooring. "Where is he now? Did you send him away?" She was speaking quickly, rushed in an attempt to get the answer as fast as possible.
Mrs Malkins looked put out at her hasty questions but answered, nonetheless. "He's inside the foyer, waiting. I told him I'd humour his request to speak with you." Her eyes narrowed in on Thea's smile. "Do you truly know of him, Darling?"
"Yes," Thea whispered. Her voice was hoarse with anticipation. "He's my brother. He really came for me..."
Without a glance towards the woman, Thea rushed from the ornate room and swung open the grand door that had kept her inside for so long. Blindly running down the hallway she took no notice of anything else and when she finally turned the corner, her entire vision focused solely on the small boy dressed in an all too familiar uniform.
"Five!" she cried in absolute joy.
Hearing his name, the boy turned around with a smile, but his eyes widened in shock when he was suddenly engulfed in a crushing hug, his face pressed into thick golden locks.
"I can't believe it's you...I thought I'd lost you all forever," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "I've been waiting for so long I thought you'd never come for me."
"Z..." Five whispered with just as much emotion, his arms wrapping around her waist and holding her just as tight. "I'm here."
His words were simple but they were worth the world to Thea, who allowed herself to get lost in the feeling of warmth and comfort her brother offered. No matter how young Five looked, their time together in trying to stop the apocalypse had made her realise that he truly had grown up and was older than all of them.
That made Thea feel better as she shamelessly sought comfort from him despite their physical age difference.
Five eventually pulled back and his face was pinched into a serious frown. His eyes were determined and Thea felt a shiver of dread run down her spine at what he was going to tell her.
"It followed us, Z. The apocalypse is coming, and I have no idea how to stop it."
She should have known that their reunion was too good to be true. The sweetness had turned bitter and the shiver had now become goosebumps that ran across her skin. Her worst fear had come true.
"Well, fuck."
I'll try my best to make this season enjoyable and I have a few things I'll be changing throughout the story, but most of them won't come until about episode seven onwards. There are nice visuals on the wattpad version of this story, which is under my username 'vanillatsu' if anyone was interested.