Disclaimer: I only own my OC, everything else belongs to the respective owners.
A loud clash of thunder and bright lightning flashes erupt from the Hargeeves' courtyard, followed by sounds of smashing glass and howling winds. Diageo is the first to burst from the courtyard entrance followed by Vanya and the others who were also startled by the commotion.
"What is it?!" cries Vanya, while waves of blue fluorescent energy burst from the night sky.
"Don't get too close!" Her sister Allison warns, reaching for Luther's arm.
"Yeah, no shit!" Diego sarcastically agrees.
"Looks like some temporal anomaly," shouts Luther. "Either that or a miniature black hole – one of the two."
"Pretty big difference there, Paul Bunyan" Diageo jibes back.
The blue tear in the sky continues to pulse and swirl.
After a few moments, Klaus charges from the door behind them carrying an old fire extinguisher and yells "Get out of the way!"
"What are you-?" Luther asks over the uproar of a surging buzz. When Klaus tries and fails to spray the threat, he launches the whole extinguisher into the things glowing centre instead.
"What is that going to do?" one of the sisters yell.
"I don't know. Do you have a better idea?" Klaus lifts his arms in defeat.
Suddenly, the windy gusts become stronger and electricity crackles as the centre gapes wider and a figure appears within its chaos.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Everybody, get behind me," orders Number 1.
"Yeah, get behind us" Number 2 mirrors, pulling Number 4 behind them both and in between his sisters.
"I vote for running, c'mon!" Klaus cries as he attempts to pull the pale hand of the sister to his left, and frowns when she holds him firmly in place.
Luther and Allison's gazes lock momentarily and their hands clasp together in anticipation for whatever it is they are about to face.
The group of siblings stare in disbelief when an old man-like figure emerges from the torrent of light and noise. A silent scream appears on his face as he transfigures into the image of their missing brother - Number 5?
The boy flails and falls from the streams of flowing energy on to the hard ground.
Once he lands, the energy field immediately fades, the harsh winds drop and the sun reappears. The group of siblings tread softly towards their fallen brother who is face down in the dirt - disbelief and confusion clear across all their faces.
Five staggers into a standing position, his eyes feeling as foggy as his mind from the jump.
"Does anyone else see little Number Five, or is it just me?" Klaus questions, thinking his hallucinations have gone too far again and that he must be on the verge of another overdose.
Five looks from the oncoming group to the grown-man's black suit that hangs loosely off his 13 year-old form.
"Shit," he utters, then looks back amongst the group again just as confused as the rest of them, "Wait, who's that?" He asks, pointing to the unfamiliar third girl behind his now older looking brothers.
"Oh, right." Klaus grins, spinning his head to the face of whose hand he was holding and back to his long-lost brother, "Five, meet Number 8," the relief is clear in his voice because the others can see Five too. "Rhea, this is Five. You know, the brother we lost before we found you!"
/
Number 8, a.k.a. Rhea Hagreeves, was not given a number for a name upon her unexpected birth on the 12th hour of the first day of October 1989. No, she had only had the 'privilege' of being labelled with this unusual moniker since November 10th, 2002 - the day she arrived in the United States.
It was a chilly afternoon when the rickety old train carriage halted at the correct subway stop. Rhea wrapped her large, black jacket tighter around herself as she ascended the stairs to street level. Pulling along her single small suitcase, she stopped to the right of the exit to look at her crumbled map of the city. The sky was blue, the sun was out, but the street wasn't too busy, just a stream of people trickling by and a few cars on the road. Her eyes swept across the row of building names across the street, Hive Club, Redchurch … Chester's, Cameron, Cheung and Chown: attorneys... ah, there it was, The Umbrella Academy. She had finally made it.
The Academy looked quite welcoming with the soft orange wall lamps either side of the door. There were also wooden benches, lion statues and neat potted green trees which mirrored each side of the entrance. The grand doors had a warm glow streaming from behind the glass panes which had the image of an umbrella on each them, and the wrought iron gates before them had a distinguished 'U' and 'A' welded into the metal. Rhea stuffed the map back in her worn jeans pocket and began her way across the road before she lost her nerve.
Just before she reached the middle of the road, a door to the academy burst open and a smartly dressed boy emerged looking quite pissed. He wrenched open the gates to get out onto the pavement and looked so annoyed that Rhea nearly stopped in her tracks - she was taken aback by his sheer determination to leave the building in such a manner. The boy swivelled his head around to see if anyone had followed him as he walked down the street away from the Academy. Acknowledging a lack of pursuit, he started to walk with a new spring his step. Rhea watched his movements until she reached curb and briefly looked down to ensure her case was also off the road. When she looked up again, she realised he had gone. Vanished. No trace of him in sight.
Guessing he probably had powers like her, Rhea shrugged her shoulders and strolled toward the gates. The butterflies in her tummy subsided with the thought of seeing the cute boy again to discuss his powers. As she made her way up the few stone steps she swallowed hard, praying one last time that they will accept her. For Rhea had nowhere else to go and this was her last chance to find people who may be able to understand. She took another deep breath, raised her hand and knocked on the door.
\
"Who is she? Don't tell me one of you guys had a kid as a teenager?" Five scowls as he loosens the black tie from his neck and brushes the fallen leaves off his knees. Once satisfied he's debris free, he starts towards them.
"No, don't be insane. Of course we didn't. She found us, she's our sister." Allison responds, not quite believing that Rhea was Five's biggest concern right now.
Rhea couldn't believe what she was seeing. Here, standing before them was apparently the boy she saw all those years ago, but he was completely unchanged. He draws nearer to the group, eyes studying her with a look so intense she doesn't know whether to feel flattered or afraid. He was definitely the same cute boy she saw in 2002… yet, the depths in his blue-green eyes made her compare him to that of a man much older?
"I don't know her, and therefore, I don't trust her. She needs to leave. What I have to say is far too important for any outsiders to hear."
The group of 29-year-olds huddle closer to Rhea, Diego moving so his back directly in front of her and his palm outstretched in an attempt to stop Five from getting any closer, "Hey Five. Listen, she's one of us. We've known her for, like, 16 years; she's not a threat to you," he affirms.
Clearly the other siblings could read Five-'s motives and movements better than Rhea could.
Various protests arise from the group collectively as Five continues to advance.
"She's not an outsider." – Vanya
"Five, back off." - Allison
"Rhea can be trusted." – Klaus
"What the hell is going on!?" Roars Luther over the voices of the others, fearing he was losing control of the situation.
Though Rhea was touched by these sudden acts of protectiveness, she really could handle herself - especially with a teenager.
Five swiftly jumps through his blue energy around the protective group so he is standing directly behind Rhea. She turns around to become face to face with him - well, his face is level with her chest but he's looking up at her face all the same.
"If you've been sent here to spy on us, I can tell you now that this will not end well for you." Five warns, his blue gaze piercing into her vivid green. He is then startled himself as the redhead raises her hands and disappears in an emerald flash. She reappears three feet behind him.
"What the-?" Five splutters.
Vanya and Allison move to stand beside Rhea. "Stop it, Five. She's one of us. Rhea came here at the age of 13 for help with her powers. Dad adopted her straight away and we've known her ever since. She's not a spy… if she was, she wouldn't be so clumsy." Allison explains, amused by her own friendly jibe.
"It's true." Luther asserts - the authority ever-present in his voice.
"You're telling me, she just happened to show up on the day I went missing, and just happens to be here the day I get back?"
"Well, when you put it like that…" Klaus mischievously starts with amusement clear in his voice. He was so pleased he decided to show up today - he missed these dramatic family occasions far too much.
"Klaus, enough," Rhea lightly scolds before she glares at Five speaks with a more serious voice. "Look, kid, I don't know who you think you are, but I sure as hell don't appreciate you falling from the sky only to question my existence," Five's eyebrows disappear under his dark fringe in response to the British accent flowing from her cupids-bow shaped lips. "I can tell you now; I'm no spy! These guys," she gestures to their mutual adoptive siblings "may be weird and wonderful, but I have not and ever will desire to spy on them… If anything, it's Klaus who spies on people - especially in the shower," she mock grins at Klaus' prideful stance at this comment, "And if you think for one second, I'd spy on you, ha! Grow up a few years and don't flatter yourself."
The others wait with baited breath at Fives' reaction to Rhea's feisty response. Vanya was particularly envious of how her favourite sister was always able to stick up for herself, something her ordinary self could never imagine doing.
Five studies the girl in front of him and crosses his arms, "How can you be one of us? You look no older than I do now?" Five smirks and raises a singular eyebrow in anticipation for her answer to that one, but Luther beats her to it before she can even open her mouth,
"Simple. It's a thing with her powers. So, are we going to talk about what just happened? You came out of a hole in the sky, Five."
Five sighs and rubs his forehead, then pinches the bridge of his nose. "OK, fine. But I'm keeping my eye on you," he concludes, looking directly into the uniquely coloured eyes of the young looking redhead.
His hard expression then evaporates into a deadpan one, "I'm hungry," he declares, and then barges between Luther and Allison towards the backdoor.
The heptad watches his retreating form from where they stand with mixed expressions.
"Well, that went well… I just love our family get-togethers, don't you?" Klaus hums. He drifts towards the door to inside where Five just entered and pulls Vanya and Rheas' hands behind him.
The others had no choice but to follow.
/
As the group reaches the hallway before the entrance to the kitchen where Five disappeared to, Rhea lets go of Klaus' hand to turn towards the staircase. Diego notices and hangs back to reach for her while the others go on ahead.
"Hey - Where're you going?"
"I just don't feel very welcome in the eyes of your clearly messed up brother," she sighs.
"Look, don't take it personally, Five is just… Five. He's like that, but come on; you have as much right to find out what's going on as the rest of us do."
"Thanks, but I think I'll skip the pre-me reunion and go lie down for a bit. I know one of you will fill me in later."
Diego looks like he wants to argue but he's also torn between staying with her and missing out on what Five has to say.
"Go. It's fine. I'm fine. I'll be in my room." She gives him a small, reassuring smile and brushes her long locks off her shoulders so they tumble down her back. After a brief period of hesitation, Diego nods and Rhea turns to go upstairs.
Authors Note: Hi Everyone! I just wanted to say thank you for reading so far – this is a re-write/re-post of chapters with some minor changes from when it was originally published in October '19. It's still a work-in-progress but I realised my original chapters were too small & so I wanted to mush them together a bit to hopefully make it a more substantial read for you.