~ SHATTER ME ~

On the twelfth hour of the first day of October 1989, forty-three women around the world gave birth. This was unusual, only in the fact that none of these women had been pregnant when the day first began.

Sir Reginald Hargreeves, eccentric billionaire and adventurer, resolved to locate and adopt as many of the children as possible.

He initially got eight of them.

A ninth child was contractually surrendered to him five years later, the parents unable to handle her… unique abilities on their own, and the Umbrella Academy grew by one.

NUMBER FOUR

"Halyn"

LIFE HAD BEEN ANYTHING BUT NORMAL FOR HALYN ALBERTY, and her name was a testament to the special circumstances that surrounded her. It meant 'unique'- and she was certainly just that. There wasn't an air of doubt about her uniqueness, from the way she came into this world as an absolute surprise to her virgin mother, to the unique abilities that prompted her parents to ship her off to Sir Reginald Hargreeves in hope he- and his beloved Umbrella Academy- could help her gain some sort of control over them when she was but the young age of five.

The Umbrella Academy was then where she grew up, only seeing her parents on occasional weekends and holidays. While the other children- sans one- had come to see each other as siblings, Halyn lacked that familial bond, though she still cared deeply for them. They all shared a similar horrid upbringing, only being cared for by Sir Hargreeves because of their unique abilities- one's he exploited for his own fame and glory. That didn't mean Halyn didn't have fond memories at the academy, but this fondness had been tainted by fear and despair.

As it was at the academy that Halyn's life as she knew it was altered forever.

The world stared into the Umbrella Academy through binoculars pointedly controlled by Sir Hargreeves, and his unique children were idolized and adored by a mass public plagued by normalcy. The faux smiles the children wore in interviews and photo-shoots gave the world the idea their life was perfect- but it was anything but. Daily training sessions and emotional manipulation laid the foundations of their life, but the world was daft to this fact.

Sir Hargreeves was a narcissistic, controlling, and horrid old man and the Umbrella Academy didn't deserve the pedestal it was sat upon.

The cool air of the March evening was refreshing to Halyn as she strolled through a forest that bordered the small home she shared with her family. Her hands were shoved deep in her pockets, and for the first time in a while, she felt a true sense of peace. It had only been a few months since Halyn had returned, yet her life had yet to return to normal, but with each of her nightly walks, her mind became that much clearer.

She had fled the academy as soon as she had awoken, returning to her family, who welcomed her back with open arms and tears of joy. The Hargreeves she had known and cared for when she was younger had all disbanded many years before her awakening, and the academy had been an empty shell of what it once was. With zero ties keeping Halyn there, the first chance she got she was gone.

And she had yet to look back.

A deep-sated bitterness sat cold in her chest at the thought of Sir Hargreeves and his beloved academy. Years of her life had been stolen from her, and there was no way she could ever get them back. Her heart ached for her loss, but Halyn did her best to move on with her life, as she couldn't allow the deranged billionaire she despised so much control her life. Stewing on feelings of disparity and bitterness weren't going to do any good, and as she sucked in another deep breath of the forest air, she allowed her chest to feel light and relaxed.

She was back with her true family.

Though they may have been the ones who gave her to Sir Hargreeves in the first place, her mother had nothing but Halyn's best interests in mind. With uncontrollable abilities, she was a danger to herself and those around her, and despite her ill-feelings for him, Sir Hargreeves did help her gain control of her abilities- but he also pushed her too far.

"Halyn, Halyn, Halyn!"

The girl paused in her walking as a young voice called out to her. She turned around, a soft smile on her face as her little nephew, Kai, ran down the trail. His eyes were bright, a sharp contrast to the frown on his face, and when she spotted her mother following after the young boy, Halyn frowned.

There was an upset expression on her mother's face, one that didn't belong on her kindly features, and Halyn didn't like how distraught she looked.

Backtracking down the trail to meet up with her mother and nephew, Kai dove right into Halyn's arms. The girl caught the six-year-old with ease, swooping him into her arms before walking towards Win Alberty.

"Mamma, what's wrong?" Halyn's voice was soft, and her mother grabbed onto her arm gently.

She searched her daughter's eyes, unsure of how to share the news with her. Win knew of the devastating impact Sir Hargreeves had had on Halyn's life, and how emotionally taxing the mere thought of him was for the girl, so she wasn't sure how she'd react to the news she had. Kai fidgeted in Halyn's arms as she stared at her mother expectantly, and with a deep sigh, Win spoke.

"Sir Hargreeves has died."

Halyn felt her heart stop.

Where she once thought hearing those four little words would bring her great joy, and make her life infinitely times better, Halyn could only feel resentful and dissatisfied as a sharp knot twisted in her stomach. Words left her as the small sense of normalcy she had built up these past months crumpled, and the girl just wanted to scream, but overall she felt wholly numb.

Unbeknownst to her, those four little words would send her life spiraling once more.

A/N: SnowWolf22 here with yet another fanfiction because I have no control! This time, a fanfic for my latest obsession, The Umbrella Academy! In case it's not obvious, this will be a Halyn/Five story because I'm a garbage can! But it's going to be slow-burn-

Five has also been aged up to 16, which is Halyn's age, and I'm playing with his mental age as well, but that will be revealed in a later chapter!

So I actually have all of the first episode written out, and that will encompass the first few chapters of this fic, as it turned into 73 pages and over 30k words! lmao

Important note: As you can see above, Halyn is Number Four! Five is still Five because, well, Five, and Klaus is Number Six, Ben is Number Seven, and Vanya is Number Eight. This story will also have a friend's OC in it, but her OC is Number Zero. Though you'll see her in coming chapters and throughout the story, my friend is writing her own fanfic with her OC- and Halyn will be in it- so the focus will not be on her OC- who's name is Juliet. Also, all credit for the cover image goes to my friend, and she is on dA under 'c0smical'!.

Please leave a review and tell me what ya'll think so far! This will be cross-posted on other platforms, so if you see it on Wattpad and Quotev, it's me!

Also, let me know how long of chapters you guys prefer! I write A LOT if you don't know my writing style, and my chapters tend to average between 10k and 15k words each, but I know some people have stated that's a bit long for them. Like I said, the first episode is 30k+ words and thought I have an idea of how I want to break it down, the first chapter will either be 7-8k words or 11k depending on how you guys feel!

See ya'll in the next chapter~

-SnowWolf22

P.s. just a friendly reminder if you've not watched the show, but there will be violence and cursing! There will be NO sexual themes because, ya know, Five and Halyn are minors (and also Aidan is a minor so gotta respect that!) and even if they're mentally adults- Halyn's sitch will be revealed in due time!- it's still icky to write anything more than soft romance between them.

We don't stan pedophilia in this house.