For any of you wondering, I think Libby looks like Florence Pugh. If you want a picture of her with black hair, google Florence Pugh in the movie fighting with my family!
.
.
Chapter 4
.
.
Vanya's apartment was exactly as Libby imagined it. Modest. Simple. Reasonably ordinary, just like her beloved sister.
Five decided to seek out Vanya because she was the only other sibling who he thought would listen to his apocalypse story. Even so, it felt a little weird for Libby to just sit there until her sister got home. She was no stranger to breaking and entering, but waiting was a strange addition.
When Vanya finally entered her apartment (which Five insisted on keeping dark for dramatic effect), Five clicked on a lamp next to him.
"Jesus!" Vanya jumped. Libby, leaning against the wall next to her, let out a soft hum of amusement. Her sister whipped around to face her with wide-set eyes.
"You really should lock your windows," the noirette shrugged. Vanya calmed her beating heart and threw her jacket down on the couch.
"I live on the second floor…" she sighed as the door shut behind her with a soft slam.
"Rapists can climb," Five answered with a straight face. Libby bit her tongue to stop the upwards lift of her lips. That wasn't exactly what she had in mind but sure.
"You are so weird."
She was also glad Vanya was thinking the same thing. The sketchy area surrounding the building didn't help her anxiety one bit, so Libby found herself circling the room. While Vanya briefly questioned Five, she checked all windows, exits, entrances, and possible weapon use.
"Is that blood?" the brunette furrowed her brows at the scarlet specks on her brother's jacket. He casually brushed off the comment.
"It's nothing," he kept eye contact. That stone-faced little shit. Libby's mind briefly wandered to the arm still floating around in her lil' ole void of darkness.
Libby felt her lips curve into a frown as she spotted a copy of the brunette's book hidden under a pile of junk mail.
She never blamed Vanya for revealing the family secrets. Hell, she would have done the same if she were in her position. The only problem she had was that she was written as some entitled crybaby. Sure, she used to be a much less confident person, but she had grown since the time she left the academy.
"Why are you here?" Vanya glanced towards her sister with nervous eyes. Realising her pacing must have been making her anxious, Libby took a seat next to her on the couch.
"You're the only other one we can trust," she explained, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back.
"Why me?" Vanya asked.
"Because you're ordinary."
"Because she'll listen."
Five met Libby's reprimanding gaze with indifferent eyes. He sighed internally before nodding his agreement. He had a smart mouth, yeah, but he wasn't a complete asshole…sometimes…
Vanya shook her head then stood up and walked towards the bathroom. Libby let herself sink back as she closed her eyes. Exhaustion was sinking in again and she was too drained to fight it.
"Hey," she gently kicked Five's leg, "you be nice to her. She's your last chance, dingus."
"Because apparently, you won't be of any help," he furrowed his brows. Libby smiled tiredly and raised her hand to flip him off. After all these years, she could still fall asleep anywhere…
.
.
A vibration coming from her back pocket made Libby wake up with a jolted start. Instinctually, she whipped her head around to check her surroundings. When she found Vanya's apartment was clear, she dropped her upper body back down onto the couch with a pained groan.
"You shouldn't do that when you first wake up. It'll give you a headache."
"It's a habit," Libby sighed into the couch cushion. The blanket that had been haphazardly thrown over her body fell to the floor in a sad heap. "How long was I out?"
"Two hours, maybe. Vanya's gone off to bed," Five explained as he stared out the window at the darkened street below. What was going through his mind, only the little shit would know.
She never slept a full eight hours anymore. That two-hour power nap was all she'd need for most of the day as long as she didn't have to fight any more military-looking bastards.
"And you were about to leave?" Libby pushed herself up onto her elbows and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"I've got things to do," he frowned as if she was annoying him. She hummed lazily before pulling out her phone and checking her messages. The list of names popping up on her phone made her lips unknowingly curve downwards.
"Everything okay?" Five inquired with a raised brow.
"Just work," she answered with a sigh. Her brother nodded in understanding but kept his gaze on her for a minute. His eyes glimmered with the faintest bit of intrigue when Libby scratched her neck. She often clawed at her skin when nervous, a childhood tell that she was never able to ditch.
"Something's bothering you, I can tell," he eyed the scratch marks she left on her neck.
"I promised some important people something I don't have," she explained while running a hand through her dark tresses. Her bones felt heavy when she stood.
"Looks like we both have some problems," Five commented slyly. At his words, Libby smiled playfully and tousled his hair.
"In this family, it would be weird not to," she giggled. It had been a long time since she giggled. Without another word, Libby exited Vanya's residence and made her way downstairs. Five would most likely do the same within the hour.
In the dark of night, the noirette flagged down a cab and hitched a ride to a place hidden deep within her memory: a small park on the corner of a shady street. Libby watched kids slide, swing, and giggle while surrounded by rundown buildings and stressed parents. Amidst it all, she sat on a bench and waited.
"The Mystical Libitina actually showed up. Didn't expect that."
"Hello to you too, Trichet."
Valerie Trichet; a trusty accomplice to Libitina Hargreeves's petty teenage crimes. Nowadays, Trichet makes minimum wage at a coffee shop. When they were younger, Libby and Valerie were practically conjoined at the hip. They made a new family but shared stories of the old ones they left behind.
"How's your brother?" Libby asked without turning to face the brunette on her right.
"Off at college now," Valerie smiled slightly, "Since Mom passed, he's become more independent. Haven't seen him in a while." Libby shook her head and smiled to herself.
"Family will be family," she quipped. With a held breath, her dark eyes finally turned to look at her old friend.
Valerie Trichet was a gorgeous woman: shorter, cool brown skin, feisty, and sensual in ways Libby had always found appealing when she was younger. She was a goddess amongst women, even after all this time. Her dark hair and eyes made her feminine features that much more attractive.
And that accent. Good Gods that French accent!
"You must have gotten yourself into pretty big trouble if you've decided to come back here," Valerie raised a carefully shaped brow. The woman beside her pouted like a child.
"Why can't I just decide to come back on my own?" she frowned in disappointment.
Valerie's lips curved into an appreciative smile; "Don't think I'm not excited to see you. I am, it's just been so long. Things have changed since we all split up."
"Changed is putting it lightly, Val," Libby's sigh left her like air from a deflating balloon. She glanced up through her thick lashes to look pitifully at her old friend. If the world was gonna end in eight days, there were some things she needed to fix. "What happened to everyone?" she asked with a slight furrow of her brows.
"Let's see…" Valerie paused to think, eyes turning up into the clouds. "Last I heard, Wells was locked up in some high-security prison. Finally got caught for arson. Hana and Hiro fell off the grid, although I doubt they ever left town."
Libby let the information run through her mind in silence. Her eyes flicked down to the circled umbrella tattooed onto the inner part of her wrist. It stung to think about how she abandoned one family, only to do the same years later with another.
"Speaking of happenings, why come back after so long?" Valerie leaned back into the cold metal of the bench with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Family problems. Although, I guess it's a bit more than family that's become a pain in the ass," Libby grumbled the last sentence but her old companion still caught it. A cocky smile spread across the French woman's face.
"I knew it. An apology seemed a bit…ah, comment on dit…unbelievable. You never liked to admit you were wrong anyway," Valerie gave her a playful nudge with her shoulder. Libby refused to make eye contact for a minute. Instead, she just bit her lip and stared at the ground.
"I'm here because I need your help, Val. You, Wells, and the twins, like old times," she muttered quietly. Valerie hummed thoughtfully, watching some cardinals fly by and perch on a tree.
"Like old times, you say? Am I right to assume you need to…borrow…something of importance?" A hint of devious excitement seeped through her kind tone. The two turned to face each other with gleams in their eyes.
"Something big," Libby put her hand over Valerie's glove and gave it a light squeeze, "It'll help me out a lot." The dark-skinned woman stared at the point of contact with an unreadable expression. She slipped her glove off to reveal a sun branded into her skin, similar to Libby's moon.
Having known her so long, Libby could tell that big brain of hers was running at a mile a minute: calculating, seeing possible targets, and thinking through the outcomes of every move. It was two minutes later that she finally spoke again.
"We'll need to get the others back. Wells will be easy enough but the twins might need some convincing. They really didn't like the idea of becoming merc's in the first place," she slipped her glove back over her hand and then into her pocket. Libby nodded understandingly.
"There's nothing we can't do. Right, Sniper?" she leaned into Val with a smug expression. The noirette laughed through her closed smile.
"Right, you bipolar bastard," she let her head rest on Libby's shoulder. They sat there for a few minutes, simply existing while memories of their younger adventures flooded through their brains without mercy. They'd play bank robbers once more it seems.
.
.
"So this is where you grew up? I'm not gonna pretend I'm surprised," Valerie chuckled as she and Libby walked up to the Hargreeves mansion.
"Why's that?" the latter sighed as she tried the door handle. Of course no one ever bothers to lock the goddamn door.
"You just fit the bill of the rich runaway. Blonde, pretty," Valerie raised a brow, spinning to look around until her eyes fell onto her old friend again, "scared of growing up in the real world."
"Well, they'd probably say the same," Libby grumbled. She could hear some of her freaky siblings talking quietly in the living room and prayed that everyone wasn't home.
"Who?" Valerie raised a nicely shapened brow.
"My family. The first one, at least," Libby paused before the door to pull her hair over her shoulder and cover her brand. That small action didn't go unnoticed.
"They don't know who you are?" Valerie asked in a hushed voice. Her companion shrugged carelessly.
"Only one ever cared to ask," her expression turned blank for a moment. Introducing the family she ran away from to the one she ran away to seemed like an awkward conversation…
And it sure as hell was.
"Hello, dearest brothers and sisters," the noirette called as she entered the expensively decorated room. Valerie seemed more interested in the golden statues than the people at first. When she finally turned, the conversation ceased.
"Who the hell is that?" Diego lowered the knife he had been pointing at Luther and motioned it towards the unfamiliar woman.
"This is Valerie Trichet, an old friend of mine," Libby narrowed her eyes a fraction, "Did I interrupt?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
The room fell silent again, with Diego and Luther glaring at one another. Libby took a deep breath and prayed to whoever would listen that an all out brawl wouldn't start.
"What did I miss?" she questioned.
Klaus was the one to answer in his drunken state; "Luther wants to deactivate Mom because she stole Dead Daddy's monocle."
"Did he say deactivate?" Valerie whispered confusedly.
"This isn't any of your concern, sweetheart, so please — "
"Diego, I will shove my hand so far up your ass I could help you floss," Libby took a dangerous step towards her leather-clad brother, a single threatening eye turning black.
With a quick glance through peripherals, she saw Valerie carefully watching everyone's movements. When her weight shifted uncomfortably, Libby closed her eyes and forced herself to relax.
Grace was wonderful. She would often help young Libitina through her panic attacks or bake her cookies after she was let out of that God-awful box her father would put her in. No matter how stressful the kids were, Grace was there. Going from being in a rambunctious house ever day to being alone for thirteen years? It had to be hell, even for a robot.
"That being said, I agree with Luther," she muttered as the colouring in her eye faded.
"You're just saying that to piss me off!" Diego shouted in her face yet she kept her composure.
"I have better things to do than taunt you, you cheap Batman cosplayer," she crossed her arms over her chest and stood her ground, "The things she says, how she acts…It's clear Mom's not okay and the least we can do is let her rest after so many years of service."
"Either way, the vote's not final yet. Five's not here and the whole family has to vote, we owe each other that," Allison spoke up, drink in hand.
"She's right, we should wait," Vanya nodded in agreement. Without another word, Allison and Luther left the room. Klaus stayed behind long enough to give Valerie a princely kiss on her gloved hand.
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Trichet. I do love the accent, by the way. The French have great taste," the brunette winked in Libby's direction then waltzed away. She stared at her brother's back with a heavy stink eye until Valerie tugged on her sleeve.
"Are you alright?" she asked with pity-filled eyes.
"Like I said, family will be family," Libby ran her hands through her hair and let out a frustrated squeal. "Come on, we can hole up here for the night and go get Wells in the morning."
"Après la pluie, la beau temps," Valerie hummed as she was led upstairs. Much to her surprise, Libby rolled her eyes and smiled a bit. She had understood her.
"I know, I know, it's just hard to see the silver lining sometimes," the superpowered noirette admitted tiredly while dragging her friend to her old room.
"You learned français?" she asked with a shocked twinkle in her eyes.
"I might have practised a bit after I left. I can understand it but I don't speak it. I can't roll my r's," Libby frowned, gaze glued to the floor as she moved.
"I can always teach. I'm pretty good with my tongue," Valerie muttered into her ear, somehow closer than she was a second ago. Ignoring the scarlet hue of her face, she turned into her bedroom and kept quiet.
God damn that woman. This is so not fair.
.
.
That night…
.
.
"Libby?"
…
"Libby!"
…?
"LIBITINA, WAKE UP!"
"WHAT?!" Libby glared at the blob in front of her until her sleep-hazed vision cleared. Valerie blankly stared at her.
"Someone's in the house," she spoke in an unamused tone. Libby rubbed the crust from her eyes and rose from the floor pallet she had made herself, having offered Valerie her bed.
"It wouldn't be a house without them," she grumbled as she slipped on a pair of shorts.
"I heard gunshots, blaireau," Valerie whispered, noticing the way her usually laid back friend visibly tensed. She got closer to the shut door in hopes of scanning the hallway, however, the moment she touched the handle, her wrist was pulled away.
"You stay in here. Hide in the closet until I come back," Libby ordered with a sudden urgency, holding Valerie's hand tightly in both her own.
"I'm not going to let you go out there and get killed. You might have superpowers, but I can still kick ass."
"...God damn it, Val. Just get behind me."
With cautious and quiet steps, the duo exited the bedroom and investigated their surroundings. It was a strange sight, considering they were both wearing pyjamas. They made it to the stairs where Vanya stood with worry-ridden features.
"Is everyone okay?" she asked, not bothering to whisper. Libby put a finger to her lips and shushed her. Before she could pull her back, Vanya continued down the staircase.
"I know you said you used to be like superheroes, but you'd think you'd be better equipped to handle a home invasion," Valerie noted quietly. Libby shot her a look that said she was well aware of that. She hissed through clenched teeth and scurried down the stairs to catch up to her sister.
Just as she reached the foyer, she saw Vanya fall to the ground with a large person in a creepy kid's mask standing over her.
"Hey, Dick-face!" she shouted instinctually, earning an incredulous look from Valerie.
"Hey, Dick-face? Really? Is that all you could come up with?"
There was no time to argue, of course, as the masked man turned and swung his ball and chain towards the Hargreeves girl. She back-bended so that it whiffed past her face while she activated her powers. One of her eyes shifted into its solid-black state as her body slipped into the shadows.
"Uh, oh," Valerie's brows raised in alarm when her attacker turned his attention to her. Right when he took a step forward, Libby propelled herself out of his shadow and clung to his back. With her hands around his throat, the two stumbled their way around the room. Her left eye (now completely white) glowed brighter in time with the chandelier. The intruder brought his arms up to shield himself from the blinding light, giving the smaller woman time to tighten her choke hold.
"Val, go check on Vanya!" she demanded over the sounds of the fight. Her friend nodded and rushed to check on the bleeding woman. Unfortunately for Libby, the man was still able to grab her arms and yank her off of his back. The impact of her back against the cold flooring left her breathless and seeing spots in her vision.
"Libby!" Luther's voice rang through her skull. She tilted her head back a bit to see not one but three copies of the blonde giant hovering over her.
"Oh, Dear Gods, there's three of him, now…" Libby groaned, bringing her arm up to massage the back of her head. Surely, she would be bruised tomorrow.
That same arm was grabbed by one of the three Luther's in unison with the intruder bringing his flail down where she had just been. Her vision corrected itself in enough time for her to dip back into her shadow and avoid another hit aimed in her direction.
"Can you take him?" she asked, face peeking out of her brother's shadow. Luther didn't answer before he began to trade punches with his masked target who was nearly as big as him.
Taking his silence as a yes, she jumped from shadow to shadow until she reached Vanya and Valerie. They were tucked behind one of the sofa's, Valerie using her limited medical knowledge and a torn-up piece of curtain fabric to make a wrap for Vanya's head injury.
"Are you two okay?" Libby immediately began to fret over the women.
"Just some scrapes and bruises, we'll be alright," Valerie dismissed her fear with a wave of her hand. The three of them winced when they heard something heavy hit the ground. Going off of the pained groans, Libby surmised that it was Luther who had fallen. Knowing there wasn't enough room for three people in her little space pocket, she gave Valerie and Vanya deadly glares with her mismatched eyes.
"Shut up and stay down," she seemed to say. Heavy footsteps got closer for a few beats, prompting the women to hold their breath and shut their eyes. Valerie's hand unknowingly clenched around Libby's. She wasn't shaking, they had been through far scarier situations, after all. It was just a habit.
The footsteps soon faded away and a collective set of sighs were released. Libby was the first to peek out from behind the couch. She cautiously entered back into the foyer since she knew Vanya would be in capable hands.
"Luther! Libby!" Diego and Allison came running from one of the adjacent hallways just as Luther began to stir.
"You've got to cut out on the fast food, buddy," Diego snidely commented when the three of them tried to lift the giant. Eventually, they got him on his feet, and were able to take a breath until another masked freak appeared on the second floor.
"How many of these fuckers are there?!" Libby groaned. The woman with the pink dog mask turned and dug a knife into the panel behind her, causing a malfunction in the wiring of the chandelier. Before thinking, she dropped into the shadows and instinctually shut her eyes as tight as she could, waiting for pain that would never come.
Eventually, the sound of shattering glass and creaking metal came to a stop. Allison had cried out for someone but the ringing in her ears was the only thing Libby could hear. Slowly but surely, she opened her discoloured eyes and crawled out of Luther's shadow. The adrenaline running through her veins left her breathing heavily and her blood pressure skyrocketing.
"Libby…?" Valerie's voice was faint compared to the thumping of her own heart in her ears but she focused on it anyway. She looked up to see the french beauty standing in the doorway connecting the two rooms. Without blinking, she shot to her feet and rushed over to her friend, wrapping her arms around her as tightly as she could.
"I'm glad you're okay," she exhaled shakily, "I mean, I knew you were okay, you're always okay. You can take care of yourself, I just didn't want to lose you again after — "
"Chérie, look at me. I'm alright," Valerie held Libby's head between her hands, squishing her face a bit. The moment her expression shifted from loving to startled, the two let go of one another and turned to face the rest of the family.
Libby's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when they settled on her blonde brother. There Luther stood, in all of his six-and-a-half-foot glory, with the body of what looked like a gorilla. His eyes drifted from sibling to sibling, almost begging them to say something.
"I always wondered why you wore so many layers," Libby mumbled unconsciously when she met his gaze. She could hear Vanya approach from behind and felt her place a hand onto her tense shoulder. A tinge of guilt shot through her heart whenever Luther stormed upstairs without a word.
Diego was next to leave when he heard Grace humming and Libby had no idea why she did but she followed him. Her legs seemed to move on their own as she walked behind him, leaving Valerie downstairs. They found Grace in the same position she had been since dinner; sitting at her charging station with a cross-stitch in her hands.
"Mom? Are you okay?" Diego asked, gently placing a hand upon his android mother's shoulder. Her scarlet lips curved into her signature housewife smile, although something felt off. The distant and cold look in her eyes made it unnerving.
"Of course I am," Grace continued her sewing. Libby pursed her lips into a fine line when she noticed that the needle and thread had gone through her hand a few times. Ew.
"You didn't hear the noises? The guys in masks who just shot up the place?" her assassin-esque brother furrowed his brows. Grace finally turned her head to look at the two.
"What are you talking about, silly?" Her pearly white teeth shone through her twisted grin. Diego's crestfallen expression made Libby wonder if her vote for Grace to be turned off actually hurt the Batman wannabe.
The two of them fought all the time when they were kids. Maybe it had to do with not wanting to be the weakest link or maybe they felt they had something to prove by trying to be better than the other. Maybe there was no deep-seeded fear. Maybe they just hated each other.
Libitina and Diego never got along, but that night, they agreed on one thing.
"Diego…I think it's time," Libby whispered, a hand coming up to rest on her hurt brother's shoulder before hesitating and falling to her side unnoticed. He nodded with a shaky breath. He sat down on the couch next to Grace and stared at her robotic forearm until he found the courage to bring his knife into her fake skin.
"Diego, what are you doing?" the blonde woman asked in that same motherly tone she had all her synthetic life. Libby knew it wasn't easy by the way he paled when she "bled". He didn't even have to be the one to do it. He could have asked her, she was right there, and yet he continued.
"I do wish you'd stop dying your hair, Libitina. Blonde is a far prettier colour than cold black," Grace's smile turned to her. Libby tried to smile back but couldn't. Instead, she let her tears run rampant down her cheeks.
"I will, Mom. I will," her voice broke at the last words. When Diego pulled back the metal plating in her arm, Grace met his tear-filled eyes again.
"It's gonna be o…" His lip trembled, something Libby would have once bullied him for, but not today. Never again, she decided then and there.
"Remember what we worked on. Just picture the word in your mind," Grace nodded and urged her adoptive son to try again.
"It's gonna be okay…M – Mom." Diego was unable to go above a whisper. Libby felt a dry sob shake her body when the lights of her mother's wiring began to dull.
"Di – e – go…re – mem – ber," Grace slurred as her head lulled to the side and the rest of her systems shut down. The house felt all too quiet after that. Unsure of what else to do, Libby wrapped her arms around Diego and rested her forehead in the crook of his shoulder. He didn't move at first and she half expected him to push her off and run, but he just sat there.
"She loved us, machine or no. You were right," she breathed unevenly in between her whines. Losing their mother hurt much more than losing their father, that was damn sure.
When Diego's arms raised and slowly embraced his sister, she shut her eyes and let herself ugly cry right into his shoulder. They sat there for five minutes before parting without a word and heading back downstairs, where Libby checked on Valerie again.
"I'm fine, your sister's fine, we're all fine. Stop worrying," the shorter woman frowned in an annoyed manner. When she saw Diego's brooding walk, she leaned in closer to whisper, "What's wrong with him?"
"We just killed our Mom. The robot," Libby explained quietly while grabbing her coat off the rack. Despite the few bullet holes, she handed it to her old friend to put on then smiled softly in Vanya's direction.
"Come on, Vanya. We'll drive you home." She was telling her more than asking. Diego would probably explode soon, and she'd spare her sister that hurt for as long as she could. The poor girl nodded and went to gather her things. This was an exhausting ending to one hell of a day.
