She stared at them, a small, kind smile playing at her lips.
Honestly, Allison should have seen this coming. If Numbers Zero, One, and Two have stopped by at least once, then the logical conclusion would be Number Three dropping by next. Still, having someone who looks like you staring back with the exact same face you've seen in the mirror is quite jarring.
Other-Allison slipped into the room without a word. She's the first in a while to not ask them to move back. They're not sure if it's confidence in the fact she can outpower them with a few words, or misplaced arrogance due to their powers being blocked and the lack of attacks over the past weeks. (Because yes, it has been a few weeks and, no, they haven't figured a way out yet.)
"I heard you have a daughter." Allison's eyes closed at her words, and she thought back to yesterday when she accidentally slipped that information into a conversation she was having. This was proof they were being monitored in the room like Five had suspected. Other-Allison tilted her head at the silence of the room. "Okay, I'm just trying to make conversation. Z didn't tell me you were all this quiet."
(Zero is there almost every day and she has somehow made her schedule free enough to spend at least a few hours there just talking with them. Five and Diego were adamant not to talk to her and give any more details since they can't exactly trust her. But the woman has a way to make people relaxed and comfortable even in a confined space where only she had the key. She smiles, laughs, and shares stories with them so casually that they don't realize they've let their guard down again until after she's already gone. Then the cycle of suspicion and trust plays again the next day when Zero brings them food they actually enjoy.)
Allison saw Five shake his head at her, a sign to not break their rule of keeping silent today. The others support this plan of action. (Again, no one had a better idea.)
"Well, I never thought I'd make a good wife or mother, you know?" Other-Allison seemed to be willing to fill the silence by herself, leaning casually on the door and picking at her nails. "Realistically speaking, I think every time something goes wrong or even just frustrates me in the slightest, I'd just try to Rumor it away, which takes away their ability to decide for themselves. I don't want to be that person, and I think I could control myself, but the temptation would just be too much. Did you go through the same dilemma?"
It took a lot to not answer back or give any signs of weakness, but Allison was able to keep her eyes at some random point in the room.
"What's your kid's name? A daughter, right? What's her name?" Other-Allison tilted her head in thought, looking up to the ceiling. "I think if I had a daughter, I would have named her Clara. It has Latin roots, if I remember correctly, and it just sounds so nice." Her smile grew wider when she noticed something. "Oh, you flinched! Is the name close?"
Allison kept avoiding her eyes to keep calm, but it was never in her nature to keep her mouth shut. The blood was boiling in her veins. "Stop."
Other-Allison's eyes widened in fascination at the response. "Ooh, it is close! Can I try to take a guess? Maybe we have the same taste for names, we've got the same face, after all! Hmm, is it Clarissa? Clarisse? Claire? Is that it?" She moved closer to Allison at each word, like a camera zooming in and capturing her emotions.
"Leave her alone." Luther stepped up and placed himself in front of Other-Allison, blocking her from touching Allison. She stares back at him with none of the fondness he's grown used to seeing in her eyes.
"Oh no," Other-Allison groaned, sounding disappointed as she backed away with heavy steps. "No, seriously? Z said she was getting strange vibes from you two and, for the love of all that is holy, I hoped it wasn't this."
"What do you mean?" Diego asked, unknowingly making it worse.
She looked at the others and motioned between Luther and Allison with a frown. "Is this really a thing? And you're all okay with it?"
Luther seemed to shrink in on himself. "Well, we're not really siblings, so—"
Other-Allison groaned louder. "I can't believe this! My own counterpart! Incest?! What a disappointment!" She huffed and looked back at them. "I don't care that you're not blood-related. You were adopted as siblings, you were raised as siblings from infancy, no matter how shitty your Reginald Hargreeves may have been! Saying you're not really siblings invalidates adopted family relationships and that's just rude."
"Our Reginald Hargreeves?" Five interrupted, furrowing his eyebrows. "Does that mean—"
"This is not about that." She stated firmly, pointing a finger at Five before turning it back to Luther and Allison. "I really don't have the right to tell you what to do or how to feel. And I know my opinion doesn't really matter to you all in the grand scale of things, but I am unbelievably tempted to Rumor that idea out of your brains."
"Woah, hey!" Klaus exclaimed, but didn't move from his corner. "No powers in this room, please. Last time was a nightmare." The feeling of being lifted from their feet and almost impaled on the spikes on the ceiling wasn't one any of them would like to experience again.
Other-Allison rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to. But honestly! It's like if one of my siblings and I— God, I can't even say it with a straight face." Other-Allison cut herself off with a shiver, and waved her hand in a familiar motion that has them moving to the other side of the room and facing the wall. They turn again, after the sound of locks, to see her standing on the other side of the door, watching Allison with a judgmental look on her face, then walking away while shaking her head.
"Don't mind her." Vanya placed a hand on Allison's arm and helped her sit on the floor when her knees felt weak.
"Yeah, so what if you and Luther being together is weird?" Klaus added, not bothering to stand as he watched worriedly from the side.
Allison let out a choked laugh, but it's obvious she's tearing up. "No, it's not that… I know that's weird, I accept it's weird and that a lot of people see it as something wrong. It's why we've never seriously…" She trails off, helplessly gesturing between herself and Luther. "It's… She's right about Claire. And me not being suited to be a mother or a wife."
"Allison…" Luther had tried to convince her otherwise, but she shook her head as tears started to fall.
"No, no, she knows herself. She knows the stupid flaws that come with our powers, so, in that sense, she knows me well." Allison looked defeated as she takes a deep breath and wipes the tears that keep coming. "I mean, I know them too — arrogance, power corrupts, impatience, all those things and more — but the difference is that she was willing to admit it and I just… I just pretty much ignored it or thought I could handle it and then when the time came, I decided, well, maybe one Rumor wouldn't hurt. Then it became tow, then three. And, now, look how I ended up. I lost not one, but two husbands and I can't even see my child."
"You're also stuck in what seems to be the wrong timeline," Five quipped, not so helpfully if the glare sent by Luther was anything to go by. "But sure, let's forget that."
"Maybe if I just admitted it to myself earlier," Allison continued, as if no one even talked, lost in her thoughts. "Maybe if I had the decency to do that, things would have turned out differently for me."
There was a moment of silence. There's no use lying and saying that it was okay because it wasn't, so they just sat together and let some time pass. It's not like they could go anywhere anyway.
"If it makes you feel any better," Diego said a few minutes later, "I don't think you're anywhere close as bad as Reginald."
"Ha. The bar is set so low, isn't it?" Klaus commented with his eyes closed.
Vanya moved closer to Allison, a comforting hand on her shoulder. "And, also, if it's any consolation, I think you make a great sister."
("Maybe too good." Five mumbles almost incoherently, looking at Luther. Klaus hits the back of his head when he sees Allison look back down. Have some tact, Five.)
"At least now, you're seeing where you went wrong." Luther added with a smile. "So, in the future, you could do better? Either way, we're all with you."
"Yeah," Vanya agreed. "You said we'll work through my powers together. So, I'll do the same with you."
"Great!" Klaus exclaimed when he noted the less tense atmosphere. Allison looked less down, and there's a small smile on her face. "Glad we all worked this out. Just another successful meeting for the Hargreeves Children Support Group."
