January 21, 2015

The Umbrella Academy

¨DING!¨

The ringing bell of the Televator let Doctor Phinneus Pogo know Sir Hargreeves was back. He waited patiently , his back slightly curved as he held to his cane with both hands, needing the extra support for his aching knees.

The mechanical doors opened; they resembled those of a common elevator, yet, this particular invention of Sir Reginald´s own creation allowed him to travel through dimensions and space. Yet he had never been able to make the Televator travel successfully across time.

All his testing done with live subjects had ended with an untimely and horrible death for each participant.

There was no doubt in Sir Reginald's mind that if Number Five hadn't run away from home so young, he would have eventually unlocked the missing pieces in his investigation to unlock time traveling.

By the gods, who was he kidding? … the child was brilliant himself, and might have even helped with the task at hand once his brain matured into adulthood.

Nonetheless with Number Five lost in time , he was forced on giving up on what he had he had deemed 'Plan A' since he discovered the boy's abilities when he was fourteen months of age, and moved back to 'Plan B'. Even with one child short, he could still make the children march into Oblivion and he could fill in for what would have been the seventh's child spot in the machine.

His plans were tarred once more when Number Six died.

So late in the game it proved impossible to procure another child born out of the Marigold, no matter the amount of money he was willing to offer.

Humans were silly little things. Once children stopped using diapers they felt the need to find ethical problems on accepting monetary compensation in exchange for one of them.

But they were exceptions to every rule, of course. His Abigail was proof of that. She was human to every cell and bone in her being, yet, he was willing to make the universe bend and crumble on itself if that's what it took to get her back.

He was even willing to face her wrath once she found out he had been willing to sacrifice their own twin sons to bring her back.

But of course… it didn't had to come to that if all worked out with Number Five.

Reginald had been the first one to be surprised to find out his and Abigail's Marigold had survived the journey, produced twin boys, and by chance they been born to one of the few human carrier mothers willing to sell the children to him.

He had never wanted children. He found them annoying and a waste of energy and resources from his part, but Abigail had always dreamed of being a mother.

When they met, she was considered a spinster by her human peers and was technically older than him. What he could say? He liked older strong, intelligent women.

He would do anything for that woman, sell his soul to the devil if she so asked. So he had relented, and compromised, and they made one Marigold, when other couples made dozens when it was clear everything was taking a turn for the worst.

Seems one Marigold is all it took.

Just as she said it would.

Abigail loved to tell him 'I told you so'. It used to irritate him to no end, and now… he would give his life to hear her say it just one more time.

Reginald often needed to stay away of the children and lock himself up in his studio because Number One looked so much like Abigail, and Number Five had her eyes, making it physically painful for him to lay eyes on them.

Number One clearly had inherited her soft nature and that worried him. If Abigail hadn't been so willing to go out of her way to be good to others, she would still be by his side. So Reginald did all in his power to toughen Number One up and keep him from making his mother's mistakes. He also sought to carve him out to be a leader, as it was his birthright, for medical reports had showed he was born five minutes before his brother.

Then there was Number Five. His physical appearance was more mixed. But to Reginald's dismay the younger boy had inherited her spunk, and would defy him at every opportunity no matter the rings of control and rules he'd put in place. The vanity and overconfidence in himself Number Five professed was a cruel mirror into a younger version of himself. The very version of himself that ended up in Earth regardless of it being forbidden, and who took Abigail back home with him, thus committing double sin.

What Reginald did took pride in, was in knowing the boy inherited his intelligence. Number Five was categorically a genius in his own right and had the spark and curiosity to fuel his mental capacity. Reginald took it upon himself to cultivate and polish his mind and push him harder than the rest knowing he had so much more to give.

"How long has it been since Number Five left, Doctor Pogo?" Sir Hargreeves barked, rushing into his office.

Now that he had found Number Five, he could retake 'plan A', and leave 'plan C' which involved his dramatic and untimely death on hold.

Phinneus´s curiosity was piqued. It was the first time Sir Hargreeves asked for the time elapsed since master Five´s disappearance and it had been long years since he had noted this surge of energy from the man that gave him his unparalleled intelligence setting him apart from the others of his kind.

"It's been twelve years , two months and eleven days, Sir" he replied.

"Good. I need you to stop counting. I've found him." Reginald took a seat behind his desk and opened his leather journal again to write down some more notes on the condition he had found Number Five in. He had obtained the data with the aid of his Monocle, through which he could see everything, even what was hidden.

"Master Five? Is he well? When is he coming home?" Phinneus wasn't one to give into alert or sentiment so easily. As Sir Reginald, he had learned to keep an impassive front and be the voice of reason and act accordingly. But when it came to the children it was different.

Phinneus had been there since they were but a few hours or days old and had learned to love them as his own, even if it was not his place to do so, or even proper as he belonged to a different specie.

"Calm those nerves Doctor, that's very unlike you. " noted Reginald looking up from his monocle and notes. "The child is fine and well enough. He couldn't be in better care at the moment, but he won't be coming home. Not right now at least. He became deranged when he got sight of me. He's at the Temps Commission with Josephine, might be staying there for a while."

Phinneus did remembered the mention of a miss Josephine that had made an impression on Sir Reginald. It had been such that it had prompted the billionaire to part from his good English copy of the Odyssey and gift it to the lady. Sometimes Phinneus believed Sir Reginald was so surprised to find true sagacity and intellect between humans, that he couldn't but show some kind of favor to said individuals in his own peculiar way.

To an old chimp like himself it was amusing to see such an old being become so fascinated with the simple existence of a human, just because it was so unfathomable to him that they too could be intelligent . First it had been Madame Abigail whom he had not met personally, but felt he did by how much Sir Reginald talked of her. Then it was Grace, with whom Reginald kept a brief liaison and to whom Phinneus also owned whom he became. And more recently it was his own son, Five, and the young miss Josephine of the Temps Commission.

"If that's the case, I understand, Sir. I hope miss Josephine does take good care of the young master" Phinneus couldn't help but feel let down at the news that Five wouldn't be coming home just yet and apparently, there was no time frame in which that would be happening.

"Oh she will, she's very proficient at her job" Reginald said with no worry about it.

"If that's all Sir, I shall retire to inform master Luther and the rest of the children, that their brother has been found. " he said resigning to at least do that.

All the children had suffered from the loss of Five, but Luther had never been quite the same after the loss of his twin. The boy had grown quieter and more doubtful of his own abilities as both a leader and a brother. Phinneus could already imagine the happiness and relief the gentle boy would express in hearing the news of Master Five. This was what Number One might need to get him out of his depression after the accident he suffered that forced Sir Reginald to transform his body.

"You will not do such thing Doctor."

"Pardon?" Phinneus asked surprised turning on his step as he had been already half on his way to get to the young master.

"You heard me Doctor. You won't tell Number One, Number Five has been found, and you won't tell either of the other children." The billionaire took his monocle and cleaned it with his silk handkerchief. "Number Five is not yet coming home and there are too many variables left unknown until he does. I can't risk again loosing the opportunity of saving Abigail by being imprudent! " he said raising his voice and standing up to make sure his colleague would remember what was at risk. "Until I know for sure I can use Number Five's abilities to restore his mother's life, I can't allow a ruse in this household or Number One loosing focus on his missions. They do hold an importance of their own regard."

Phinneus felt rage curse through his veins "You can't keep treating your children like pawns and expect they will keep just forgiving you, most of them are already tired of it. "

"Is that how you should talk to your maker Pogo?" Reginald demanded irritated.

Phinneus had always been very submissive and went along with whatever Sir Reginald thought best, because he truly believed he had a good head over his shoulders and all in all good intentions at heart. But to deny such information to a child that was suffering and had been for a very long time…

"Perhaps not Sir and I'm sorry. But I'm talking this moment as your friend and not as your subject or even as your colleague. I know you love Madame Hargreeves deeply and it's been your life mission to recover her. But I plead with you, my dear friend, to consider what the Madame herself might desire. I know you're willing to pay any price, but I doubt your wife would want any harm done to her sons or the other children she'd love deeply if she was here. Tell me old friend, What good will it be to have your dear wife back if she can't look at you, because your very sight will cause her revulsion knowing what you did to her precious children?"

" YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TALKING OF MY WIFE OR MY CHILDREN" Reginald seethed. He was so angry he could feel his heart pounding on his head.

"I do have a right to, you granted it to me since the moment you've turned me into your accomplice." Phinneus took a deep breath and managed to reel in his anger "I will keep silence, for now. The children should it hear it from you, they've been hurt enough as it is. Now if you'll excuse me, I do have other things to attend to" Phinneus said, disappointment clear in his honey eyes as he left the billionaire on his own.

Reginald felt extremely offended and would have destroyed his studio or gone after his colleague if he didn't happened to be a gentleman and just feel extremely tired of always having to push himself through. He had done for centuries now.

Reginald fell into his leather chair behind his desk defeated and opened a drawer that needed a special key. He retrieved a picture of Abigail and set it over the surface of his desk.

"I miss you so much, my love" he whispered in ancient Greek.

"I did found our boy. He's fine, but I'm sure you understand it's counterproductive to let Number One or his other siblings know just yet." He was still speaking the ancient tongue and sighted as if the photograph had said something back.