AN: A bit quick-paced, it seems, but long. I'm glad people are still reading this and I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter Seventeen
The moment the doors opened, they were given the chance to see what they'd only caught glimpses of from the outside. The pulsing blue light had been visible from the street, but stepping out of the elevator, they were shown that it was anything but simple "light".
Hunkered down behind a wall partition, the four of them struggled to think of something, anything, they could do, but no one knew.
The atmosphere had become oppressive, as though the light itself was shoving down on their shoulders. Andy had trouble breathing, air just beyond her reach. She'd heard people describe drowning as something similar.
It didn't take long for Klaus and Diego to begin arguing. It never did, honestly.
Crawling over Allison and Andy, Diego grabbed Klaus's shirt and began to threaten him. Andy couldn't believe the stupidity of it and judging by the irritation on Allison's face, neither could she. Allison turned her gaze to Andy.
"Give me a push?"
It took her a moment to understand, but when she had, Andy gave an assertive nod. "Yeah."
Allison took a breath then launched herself out from behind the partition. Andy was right behind her, pinning her feet against their one-time shelter.
Andy stood behind Allison, ducked low to avoid the waves and waves of energy that pulsed from the distant room. She struggled to keep her eyes open, the blinding light seeming to grow brighter by the second.
Her sister crept closer and closer to Vanya while Andy did her best to push her in that direction. She used her ability to stabilize Allison, to help give her the power to fight the incredible power, but Vanya was so god damned strong.
Allison had nearly made it, nearly reached the door until a sudden fresh wave of energy surged. Allison went flying through the air. She slammed into Andy, taking the young woman to the floor. They slid across the tile, crashing into the half wall. Andy's head bounced off the wooden frame, her vision blackened and unconsciousness took over.
A light tap on the cheeks brought her to. Andy pried open her eyes and saw Klaus the source. Small traces of blood touched his ears, but he wore a crooked smile.
"Morning, sunshine," he said. "Come on."
He helped her to her feet. Andy's head spun, a knot forming on the back of it. Through her throbbing migraine, she spotted Vanya and her small, heavy smile.
"Hey," Andy said with a weak grin. "You okay?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "Yeah, I'm good."
She was happy for the fact.
"It looks like we saved the world," Diego said.
Andy couldn't help herself. "Well, there's a first time for everything."
There had been a few chuckles before Diego charged toward a window. Allison followed close behind while the others lingered. They joined their siblings, however, and soon noticed what held Diego's attention.
"I can still save him," Diego said. "He doesn't have to die."
And he was gone, racing down the hall toward the elevator before anyone could stop him. Andy could have, but there would have been no point. Although, if he got too close to foiling the assassination, she would do something. The fact was, John F. Kennedy was supposed to die, whether Diego wanted him to or not. It was a ripple effect and they'd destroyed the timeline too many times before.
"Oh, Jackie," Klaus muttered as the motorcade drew close.
Andy took his hand, heart in her throat. While she knew Kennedy had to die, it did nothing to soften the blow.
A man in black raced across the knoll.
The motorcade rounded the corner.
Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Andy cringed, eyes falling shut as she looked away. Sirens blared, people screamed and the history of the world was restored.
"We should probably get out of here," Allison said. "I mean, there are a lot of dead bodies lying around."
"Yeah, sorry." Vanya shrank under the fact.
"Don't worry about it," Klaus said. "At least it wasn't the world this time."
Andy slapped him in the gut with the back of her hand.
The four of them left the federal building before it could be stormed by other agents. It wouldn't take long, not with what had just happened.
On their way out, they were sure to gather up Diego and were shortly after joined by Luther and Five— the whole group. With nowhere else to go, they decided to return to the TV shop to lay low.
The man on the black and white screen held up a photograph of Vanya.
"Her name is Vanya Hargreeves wanted in connection with the deaths of many FBI agents in an incident this afternoon in Deeley Plaza." He set the picture down and lifted one of Diego. "A Cuban exile known only as Diego who escaped from a mental institution earlier this week."
"Cuban?" Diego grumbled.
The news anchor continued. "A bare-knuckle boxer with suspected mafia ties who fights under the name King Kong."
Luther's brows rose as he stared at himself.
"A circus performer and British national known as Salacia." Andy scowled at the poster being used.
"Allison Chestnut, a negro radical responsible for instigating the recent riots at Stadler's Lunch Counter. And finally Klaus, the controversial cult leader and known tax evader."
Andy snorted a laugh, not only at the pamphlet picture they'd used, but that they'd stressed "tax evader".
"With them is also this boy." The anchor held up a picture of Five, a terrible angle of him peering over a fence. "It is believed that they may have kidnapped the child and that he is being held hostage. These individuals are considered extremely dangerous."
"You've no idea, Cronkite," Andy mumbled.
Vanya spoke. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?"
"I have a lovely little yurt in Norway," Klaus said as he descended the stairs. "I mean, the locals are a bit weird, but we can all go there."
"Listen, numb-nuts," Five snapped. "There's nowhere we can go, okay? The Commission won't stop until they've hunted us down."
"He's right," Diego said. "They're relentless."
Five scoffed. "How would you know?"
"I've been there."
"You've been to The Commission?"
"Yeah," Diego snapped. "I was headhunted by them."
Five laughed at his brother, which had been all the prompting needed for another fight to rage between the two. Luther and Allison rolled their eyes, Vanya simply left and Andy turned her attention to Klaus.
On the way back to the store, Vanya had told him what Ben had done for her. Klaus had spent hours in the room upstairs, unwilling to be around anyone and Andy gave him his space. There was no way for her to know how he felt. This was the first time, in the whole of his life, he'd been without his brother. Literally. Death hadn't even separated them.
She couldn't imagine that level of loneliness. The closest she'd come had been the previous years she'd been alone in Dallas.
"I'm leaving."
The strange declaration sliced through the fighting, bringing Andy out of her thoughts and drawing her eye. Vanya stood at the base of the stairs, shifting on her feet.
"What? Why?" Allison asked.
"There's something wrong on the farm, with Harland. I have to go. I need to help them."
"Vanya," Luther said. "We need to stick together, now more than ever."
"That's why I'm telling you this. Whatever's going on with Harlan, I think I caused it."
"How?" Andy asked.
Vanya hesitated. "H-he drowned. Somehow, I was able to bring him back to life and uh… it's like we're connected."
"What does that even mean?" Luther asked.
"I don't know," she said. "I can't explain, but I know that he needs my help. I need your help, too. I'm scared. And for the first time in my life, I don't want to do it alone. I want my family by my side."
Her pleas broke Andy's heart. She couldn't recall the last time, or ever, that Vanya had spoken so openly, so frankly, to the family, let alone asked for help.
Diego stepped forward. "Look, I'm sorry… but we have other priorities right now."
Andy's stomach sank.
"He's right, for once," Five said. "We have to make our stand, here and now."
Vanya looked from one sibling to the next and each of them turned away, looking anywhere but in her eyes.
Unbelievable.
Andy stepped forward, moving around Diego to stand in front of Vanya. She offered the much smaller young woman her hand.
"Come on. Let's go save your friends."
Something stronger than relief spread across her face. "You sure?"
"Absolutely." Andy smiled. Vanya took her hand.
"Andorra, y—" But Five's voice feel away with a brisk middle finger aimed.
She and Vanya left the store, disappearing through the back door and into the alley where Vanya's enormous blue station wagon sat.
The engine had barely been given the chance to turn over before Andy's door opened and Klaus, without the slightest bit of grace, shoved her into the center of the seat.
"So, so, so," he said, slamming the door shut and turning his eye to Vanya. "Ben, hmm? Gone forever."
"H-he traded his life for mine," she said. "Saved the world in the process."
Klaus scoffed. "Show off." He adjusted in his seat. "But uh… did he… say anything… about me?" He struggled to get the question out.
Vanya nodded, which surprised them both. "He wanted me to tell you that he was too scared to go to the light." Klaus's face fell. "It wasn't you that made him stay."
Andy watched a volley of emotions course through his expression.
"Wow, that little shit-heel," Klaus said with a heavy laugh. "All these years and I thought it was my fault he didn't take his ticket to heaven."
Andy took his hand, threading their fingers together. His eyes had begun to glass over and she knew he wanted to cry regardless of whether or not he would. Klaus held her hand tight.
"Look, um, maybe you should—"
Vanya's words were brought to an end when the back door opened and Diego and Allison joined them.
"Got room for two more?" Allison asked.
"But… what about The Commission?"
"Well, we might as do some good before we all die," Diego said. Always the warm and fuzzy sort.
The front passenger's door suddenly opened, Five peering inside.
Vanya was shocked. "Five, you don't have to."
"I know." A little smirk curled his lips. "You owe me one, sis."
The smirk made Andy uncomfortable. Five turned his eye to Klaus.
"Children ride in back."
There had been no hesitation on Klaus's part. He threw himself over the back of the seat, crawling over Andy and to the empty space between Allison and Diego. Andy had to struggle not to take a boney knee to the face.
Five slid into the front beside her, slamming the door. No sooner than he had, the back hatch opened and Luther crawled in. The entire vehicle lurched, sinking inches lower than it should have.
"I hear a fat joke and I'm out of here," he said.
There were snickers amongst the Hargreeves children. Beaming, Vanya put the vehicle into drive and headed toward the farm house.
An enormous cloud swirled above a barn. Snow fell, blanketing the ground around the building and lightning cracked and sparked. Klaus's stomach sank. He hated going up against super-powered stuff. He might be able to control his powers better than he could as a kid, but he wasn't like the others. They could at least attack from a distance.
As they filed out of the car, a blonde lady with a gun ran out of the barn. She aimed it at the seven of them. His hands flew up on reflex. There was nothing Klaus could think of doing other than showing he wasn't a threat.
"Sissy! Wait!" Vanya stood between the lady and them.
The pair of them spoke for a few seconds while the storm continued to rage above. Klaus wished he had more booze, but his flask was empty.
While everyone talked, Klaus couldn't help but watch the snow. He didn't need to be a part of the conversation, so what better way to waste a few seconds?
The flurries fell consistently, blanketing the grass and dirt road. It clung to his jacket, to Allison's rather stylish cape and in their hair. As his gaze danced, it came to land on Andy and his head lulled to the side.
The snow in her immediate vicinity seemed to be drawn to her. A weird little force field-like bubble affected everything within six or so inches, causing flurries that wouldn't have come near her to divert in their path and land on her skin. It was like a sponge placed in a small puddle of water, she just sucked it all up.
The snow would vanish in an instant, like it'd never been there at all.
He blinked at it, wondering if she knew or was even aware. Probably not. It was like that with her, Diego and Five. The three of them just did things, knew things. Like Diego, for example. His power seemed to give him a strange knowledge about trajectories, wind resistance and the drag certain percentages humidity might cause. Five was a genius when it came to anything physics related, anything that pertained to the folds of time and space. Anything he read or learned on the subject came easy to him.
They just knew things.
The family started moving, jostling Klaus out of his thoughts. They went for the barn and the moment he stepped through the door, he saw something that should have shocked him more than it did. A kid floating inside a swirling vortex of energy should have been surprising, right?
A flash of blue drew his eye. Curiosity reigning strong, he headed for it and spotted something that did make the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
"Hey, guys!" he called back. Everyone but Vanya joined him. "Who are those people?"
"Ah, shit," Diego muttered.
"One's The Handler," Five said. "The other one is Diego's girlfriend."
Klaus raised his brows in surprise.
"Lyla. And she's my ex-girlfriend."
Klaus replied, "Yeah well, whoever they are, they look pissed."
"Our brother has that effect on people," Allison said.
"Which one?" Andy asked sarcastically.
"Take your pick," she said.
"Okay," Five sighed. "You guys stay with the kid. I'm going to go talk to them."
"I'll come with you," Diego added.
For the first time ever, Five didn't argue.
The pair of them descended the sloping hill toward the pair while the others remained behind.
"Bloody perfect," Andy sighed. "Remind me, have we ever managed to piss off an entire establishment of time traveling assassins before?"
"No," Luther said with a sigh. "I think this might be a first."
He left the barn, slowly making his way forward. Allison and Andy followed with Klaus close by.
"So, who do you think is more pissed?" Klaus asked, clutching his coat tight. "Five's old boss or Diego's ex-girlfriend?"
"Good question," Andy said.
"I mean, tossing a coin might be easier," Allison said.
Luther spoke up, "To be fair, all of us have that effect on people."
"Hey, my followers loved me." Klaus grinned wide.
Allison threw her arms out at her sides. "They're a cult, Klaus. A cult."
"Oh, ho-ho. Look who's all judgmental now."
Allison scoffed, rolling her eyes. Klaus felt he'd proven his point and beamed as a result.
"Which one's the girlfriend, anyway?" Luther asked.
No one had an answer. They had no idea what Diego's type was, but it hardly seemed to matter.
The blonde lifted her hand, maybe to snap, but to alert someone of something and it worked. Blue flashes danced across the open field and each one had a body in it. Ten, a hundred, a thousand… they just kept coming. Klaus's chest seized.
"Oh, my God," Andy muttered.
The blonde retrieved a red handkerchief from her pocket and lifted it high in the air. In spite of the distance, they could hear Five yell to run. Klaus didn't need to be told twice. Grabbing Andy's hand, he raced for the barn.
A torrent of shouts and hollers echoed behind them seconds before gunfire rained down. Bullets pelted the ground, ricocheting off of farming equipment. So determined to stay alive, Klaus nearly had a stroke when Andy's hand slipped from his. He spun, ready to grab her again only to realize she'd pulled back on purpose.
The fear he'd felt in those few seconds was without words.
"Andy, come on!" He stayed low, hand outstretched to grab her.
Andy either didn't hear him or wasn't listening as she lifted her arms to her sides. The ground shifted, taking his feet out from under him. Klaus landed hard as all of the snow surrounding him rushed forward. Like a tidal wave it rose high above her head, rolling over her, over Diego and Five, and slammed into the ground, cutting them off from the assassins. It hardened into a solid wall ten feet high.
"It won't hold long!"
Turning on her heel, she grabbed Klaus's hand, hoisted him to his feet, and raced off once more. True to her word, the wall didn't hold very long, not thick enough to withstand the constant barrage of bullets, but it gave them enough time to duck behind a tractor and bales of hay with Allison and Luther while Five and Diego hid behind another tractor.
Klaus threw his arms around her, pulling her to his side. She ducked down, her head to his chest.
"Don't do that again," he said in her ear. "Don't ever do something that stupid again."
She didn't reply, but wrapped her arms around him and held tight.