Dancing With Myself - Generation X
Allison was the first one out of the elevator. She struggled but she managed to hide behind a desk that was bolted to the floor. I tried next and it was like running against a heavy wind – near impossible. I felt Diego's hands on my back and he pushed me as hard as he could in aid. I was able to reach the edge of the desk and pulled myself until I was able to sit beside Allison in cover. Diego joined shortly after and Klaus tried but was being forced down the hall. He crawled toward us and Allison and I each grabbed a hand, pulling him over and he pushed himself to the wall on the other side of Allison.
"Guys? Who are we trying to save Vanya from?" Klaus asked, seemingly exhausted from the exertion.
"FBI!" We all shouted at the same time.
"Well they're all pinned to the fucking ceiling right now so why hasn't she stopped!"
Shit, he had a point. The world MUST be coming to end if Klaus was able to notice something that we weren't. The light seemed the brightest from behind us and I kneeled to look over top the desk to get a better look. There was a room at the end of the hall where Vanya's familiar white energy was strongest and brightest. Diego seemed to notice the same thing too.
"It's the room at the room at the end of the hall!" He shouted.
"We need to get to her and fast!" I said loudly.
"How do you suppose we do that?" Allison asked.
"I have no idea."
"You guys should just count me out." Klaus said, taking a swig from his flask.
"Klaus, shut up." Allison said.
"What? You guys should just take over. You're great at all the hero shit." He tried but Allison hit him a few times, "Listen! Vanya would understand because she has realistic expectations of what I am! And what I am, is sexy trash!"
"You're a pussy is what you are!" Diego snapped.
"Guys, now is not the time!"
"Klaus! I agree that you're not your average hero." I said, leaning over Allison to get a better view of him, "But you have a big heart. Just remember there is more than one way to save someone."
"But I don't want to die! Who does?! The martyr never gets to enjoy the victory party, you know why? Because they're dead!"
Diego crawled around all of us and grabbed Klaus shirt, "If you don't help, I'm going to beat you!"
"That's my cue." Allison said, not impressed with either man.
"Our cue." I agreed and took her arm to help her around the desk with me.
"Wait! No!" I heard Diego but ignored him.
Allison and I made it to the other side of the desk and she tried to crawl forward, calling out our sister's name. Allison managed to stand and take one more step and then a flare threw her back toward the desk. I caught her before she hit her head and set her down. It was my turn to try. I crawled forward, using the wall as support. I made it half way and held onto a door jamb to briefly rest. When I started to crawl forward again though, my fingers slipped and I was sent sailing back into the desk just like Allison.
Since no one was there to catch me, I wasn't so lucky and my forehead cracked against the edge. It happened so quickly that I didn't even know what happened until I woke up. I groaned as I sat up and Allison pulled herself up beside me. I felt my forehead as Diego, who was facedown, pushed himself up with his arms.
My bangs were slick and sticking to my forehead and I pushed them aside to feel. When I pulled my hand away from my head, blood coated my fingers. Hopefully the gash wasn't as bad as it feels. Head wounds usually looked worse than they actually were but my head was pounding.
"Oh my gosh! Are you guys okay?" I looked up to see Vanya running toward us.
"Do you mean physically or emotionally?" Klaus asked, still laying on the floor.
"You're alive." Diego said.
"Did we save the world?" Klaus asked, finally sitting up.
"I think so... the building is still here." Allison said.
"That's good, considering we're inside." I muttered and I grabbed the desk behind me and struggled to my feet.
"Malia, your head." Vanya said quietly.
The others turned to me and Diego got to his feet in a flash and cupped my cheeks with both hands to get a better look. He tried to touch it but I flinched away. It was tender.
"I'm fine. I swear." I said, resting my hands on his wrists when he didn't let go of my waist, "You have something to do right now anyway don't you?" I finished softly.
Diego looked at his watch, "Kennedy is a few minutes away... but I thought you said it was stupid."
"Doesn't mean it's not important to you... so go."
Diego kissed my cheek and then took off down the hall and around the corner. I heard a door open and then close and then leaned my back against the desk behind me. I closed my eyes at the pounding in my head. I needed him to leave so he wouldn't continue to worry over me but I'm pretty sure I'm concussed.
"Why did you let him go? He can't change the timeline!" Allison asked.
I put my hand on hers to keep her from running after him, "The Commission won't let him change the timeline. Kennedy will die because that is what is supposed to happen. At least, that is the way that Herb explained it."
"Then why did you let him go?" Klaus asked.
"Because his concern was making my headache worse." I said, "Can we go now?"
I was a little woozy so Allison and Vanya helped me to the back stairs. There was no way we could go out the front entrance, the agents on the floors below were still alive and likely none the wiser about what actually went on up here. Once they do find out, they'll look at the security footage and well... let's just say it's best if we get out of here ASAP.
"Hold on... is that an engagement ring?" Allison asked as she stared at the hand of the arm she held.
"Oh right... with everything going on, I didn't get a chance to show you guys." I said and held up my hand for Vanya and Klaus to see as well, "Diego let me pick it out two days ago before our dinner with Mr. Hargreeves."
"I'm so happy for you Malia." Vanya said with a small smile.
I returned it, "Thank you."
"When's the wedding?" Klaus asked.
"Uh... I guess since we stopped Dooms Day from happening in three days, the date is supposed to be four days from now. That was the deal but... I'm not getting married when I look like roadkill." I motioned to my physical appearance.
"Ben is going to be so stoked to actually be at one our weddings for once." Klaus giggled and then looked around, "Weird that I haven't seen him for a bit."
Vanya put her hand on Klaus' shoulder, "Klaus... there is something you should know."
As we made our way back to Morty's, Vanya told us that it was Ben that saved her from kick-starting the impending nuclear storm. She told us that he found her in the deep recesses of her mind and in doing so, it did something strange to his spirit. Ben wasn't coming back, not even to Klaus and it killed him inside.
2006
I picked up my black umbrella and followed the rest of the Academy outside into the courtyard. It was snowing and cold but none of wore more than our regular uniform. Mr. Hargreeves, Grace, and Pogo followed out behind us as we circled around a lone black casket that was placed in the center. At least it was black before it was dusted white with snow.
I wiped a few frozen tears from my cheek as I gazed at the picture of Ben. His headshot was placed in the center of an intricate design that was imbedded on the top of the casket. He died on our last mission due to a series of mistakes but when it came down to it, my medical knowledge just wasn't enough.
"Your father is ready to give the eulogy." Pogo said somberly.
"The world is full of injustice. Good people die, along with the bad and this cosmic equation will never change unless evil itself is wiped from existence. Thankfully there are powerful forces pushing back against the wicked. Individuals that have the strength to pull together against insurmountable odds, face adversity with unblinking courage, not to hesitate to sacrifice themselves for another."
I thought Mr. Hargreeves was giving us words of comfort at first but then he continued speaking and my heart broke a little more, "Unfortunately, none of you are such people. Despite years of training and weeks of preparation, you allowed Number Six to die on this mission."
"It wasn't our fault!" Allison cried.
"Excuses! I will not hear them!" Mr. Hargreeves snapped, "The Umbrella Academy has failed one of their own. The consequences of which are dire."
"I tried to save him but his injuries were too extensive! There was nothing I could do!" I cut in, needing him to know I tried.
"Then you did not try hard enough or you simply lacked the proper knowledge needed, resulting in complete and utter failure." Mr. Hargreeves said sternly, "Hold onto this feeling, children. Let it fester in your hearts so there is never a next time. Training will be cancelled today out of respect for your brother. We resume tomorrow at 6am."
Mr. Hargreeves left abruptly and Grace and Pogo followed. The seven of us remained outside in the cold, looking at the casket of our deceased brother. We were all heartbroken and didn't know what to say to each other. Vanya, ever the kind one, decided to say her piece even though she wasn't there to witness it.
"It wasn't anybody's fault." She said through her tears.
"How would you know Vanya? You weren't even on the mission." Diego said.
He made her cry and run back inside. Normally I would have said something against his attitude and in her defense but I couldn't this time. I couldn't because it was our fault... or my fault at least. Luther and Allison had it covered anyway. Diego left, offended and Luther and Allison went after him.
I stepped forward and wiped the collecting snow from his picture, "I'm sorry Ben. Maybe if I was smarter or knew more... maybe if I was there just a little bit earlier, you'd still be with us today." I said quietly.
I turned to Klaus who looked just a little more heart broken than the rest of us and put my hand on his shoulder in comfort. I didn't say anything, I didn't feel I needed too because we both felt the same grief. After a moment, I took my leave and went inside.
When we got back to Morty's, Klaus shut himself in Elliott's bedroom, not want to talk to anyone. I didn't blame him. I grabbed a change of clothes – black pants and a black ¼ button-down cotton t-shirt – and went to the bathroom. I holed myself inside so I could clean up. I've been wearing my current outfit for two days and the wound on my head needed proper tending too.
I took a shower and washed the blood from my hair and kept it pulled back as I used the proper supplies to clean it. With the blood gone, the gashed didn't look that bad. A normal person would probably need a couple stitches but since that wasn't an option, I used bridge bandages to hold the skin together. After that, I taped a bit of gauze to my forehead. The good thing about having bangs, was that they covered the bandage quite nicely.
When I was done, I heard one of the TV's going in the showroom. I glanced over the banister and saw everyone, minus Klaus, watching the news. I thought about going down there to join them but decided to check on my grieving brother instead. I knocked on Elliott's bedroom door softly before entering. Klaus was sprawled out, looking at the ceiling blankly. I laid down on the edge of the bed next to him.
"I don't know what I'm going to do without him. He was always there." Klaus said quietly.
I took Klaus' hand and held it tightly, "I'm sorry that you're going through this again but I think you should take comfort in the fact that he saved you, saved us... all of us."
"He WAS always much braver than I was." Klaus said, turning over to face me.
"You're much braver than you give yourself credit for. I believe if the situation was reversed, you would have done that same."
"You think so?"
"I know so." I said, smiling. "I also think that you were lucky. You got seventeen extra years with him and no one can take that from you."
"Thank you for being here Malia." Klaus said, pulling me into a hug.
I blew some of his hair out of face, "Always. Now let's go see what the others are discussing yeah?"
I got up and pulled him out of the bed too. He whined a little as he stood to his full height to follow me out of the bedroom. He was wearing his leather black hipster pants with a black vest with no shirt. I was always impressed how well he could pull that look off.
"Ben told me what you did you know." Klaus said, making me pause in the kitchen and look at him, "How when it was clear you couldn't save him, you made him relive one of his happiest memories. The one where we all snuck out to Griddy's, bought two dozen donuts, and pigged out while playing around at the park."
"He told you that?" I asked softly.
"Yeah. He always wondered why it was that one that you chose."
"Because it was one of my happiest memories as well." I said.
I held Klaus' hand as I pulled him toward the staircase leading to the showroom. As we descended, Allison was ranting about how we were all the most wanted people in the world and who was after us. I stopped walking when I reached the platform that Allison was standing on but Klaus let go of my hand and sauntered down the rest of the way.
"Where are we supposed to go?" Vanya asked.
"I have this church outside Reykjavik. We could totally lay low there. The folks there are a little weird but lovely and-"
"Hey numb-nuts!" Five interrupted, "Hiding is not going to make a difference. The Commission will hunt us down wherever and whenever we go."
"He's right. They'll never stop." Diego agreed, still leaning on the railing leading up to the platform Allison and I were standing on.
"I'm sorry but since when are you an expert on The Commission?" Five asked, confused.
"Since Malia and I got back from there." Diego replied.
"What?"
"Diego and I were there. We were recruited to work in security fulltime. Benefits and all." I explained, leaning against the wall behind me with my foot propped up.
"You I get." Five pointed to me and then pointed to Diego, "But they recruited you? The village idiot?"
"Wait, am I not allowed to be head-hunted? Only the almighty Five gets to be in demand?" Diego was offended and rightfully so but that doesn't mean listening to them argue wasn't exhausting.
"Diego, you're not Commission material alright? You have an obstinate nature to you." Five said.
"Who do you think found out it was Vanya that caused Dooms Day and put a stop to it." Klaus and I both shouted 'hey' in objection but Diego kept going, "I figured it all out on the Infinite Switchboard."
"You were on the Infinite Switchboard?" Five was shocked.
"Hell yeah! I made that machine my bitch!" Diego said proudly, "You guys need to understand that I have shit going on that ya'll don't even know about!"
"Diego, stop taking all the credit! I was there too!" I said, stepping down the stairs.
"Oh! You have shit going on, do you?" Allison sniggered.
"I figured everything out and stopped Dooms Day!" Diego exclaimed.
"Not by yourself you didn't!" I snapped as Klaus giggled watching all this go on, "I helped figure it out too and if you were the one to really stop it, why were you waking up in the FBI hallway just like the rest of us?"
"Ha! I knew there was more to that story than you were letting on!" Five accused while pointing an offending finger in Diego's chest.
"Oh, come on baby! You're supposed to support me!" Diego whined.
"Just because you're engaged now, doesn't mean she has to defend you!" Allison shot out.
"Wait, you're engaged?" Luther asked, "Why am I only finding out now?"
"Oh, come on Luther, that rock on her hand pretty much says everything." Klaus threw in.
"Klaus, you didn't even notice it until Allison pointed it out." I rolled my eyes and then glared at Diego, "Support also goes both ways! I was part of the world saving process, you can't just leave me out!"
"Are you sure you want to marry the moron with the hero complex, Malia?"" Five asked.
"Don't downplay his skills, Five. We know you're intelligent but that doesn't mean the rest of us aren't too! Diego has his moments of brilliance. Where were you while we were trying not to get blown up by Vanya anyway?" I snapped.
"Me? I was trying to fight my fifty-eight-year-old self so we could get his briefcase and get back to 2019!"
"What are you even talking about? Do you know how crazy that sounds?" Allison asked.
"It's not actually all that crazy." Luther said, "I actually got to knock him around a bit too. It was pretty satisfying." Luther said with a proud smirk.
"Oh you WOULD love that wouldn't you? I bet you want to knock me around too."
"I think we would all like to knock you around a bit Five." Diego said snidely.
"You know what? We don't have time for this. The Feds could show up at any time."
"So now you're going to be a leader?" Diego snapped, "Now that the hard choices are over with eh, Ding Dong!"
"Hey! It's King Kong!" Luther defended.
"Regardless, you're nicknamed after a giant ape. You're really coming into your own now aren't you, big guy." I giggled.
"Oh yeah? And what did they call you? Assassins Creed?"
"That's...actually pretty accurate. Why didn't I think of that? I stuck with my superhero name The Nightmare."
Assassins Creed is about a guy who travels back in time, becomes part of this secret organization that fights for free-will against power-hungry egomaniacs. That would have been sooooo much cooler than The Nightmare! I mean, the timeline was already fucked so changing my name to something that wouldn't show up until the future, wouldn't have done much more damage.
"Babe, I like The Nightmare. It's more defining." Diego complimented.
"Guys! Enough of this. We need to move!" Luther said, pointing to the door.
"We need to box those windows and stay here. They don't know where we are." Diego said.
"Actually, they do. Will was Commission AND FBI and knew where I was the whole damn time. He could have relayed that information to anyone." I rationalized.
"I'm leaving." Vanya said, coming back down the stairs. I didn't even notice she left and wasn't arguing with us.
"What?" Allison asked, getting up from her perch on the stairs, "To go where?"
"To Sissy's farm. Somethings wrong with Harlan and I need to help them." Vanya said.
"Vanya, we need to stick together. Now more than ever." Luther told her.
"That's why I'm telling you this. Whatever is going on with Harlan, I think I might have caused it." Vanya explained.
"How?"
"He drowned and uh... somehow I was able to bring him back to life and now it's like we're connected."
"What doesn't that even mean?" Luther asked.
"I don't know, I can't explain but I know that he needs my help and I need your help too." Vanya pleaded, "I'm scared. For the first time in my life I don't want to do it alone. I want my family by my side."
Diego stepped toward her, "Look, I'm sorry but we have other priorities right now."
"Diego is right for once." Five agreed, "We need to make our stand here and now."
Vanya looked at the rest of us, hoping we'd speak but when there was nothing but silence, she turned to leave, "I guess I'll see ya when I see ya."
When she was gone, I tried to work through what she said in my head. She brought a boy back to life and now they were connected. It didn't make a lick of sense but nothing rarely did these days. In any case, Vanya was our sister and she wanted our help. She shouldn't have to make her case; we should just do it without question.
"You know what? I think I'm going to help her." Klaus said, surprising everyone.
He stood up and left, "Hold on! I'm coming too!" I said as I grabbed my trench coat.
I put on my coat and linked my arm through Klaus'. We made it to the car just as Vanya turned it on. Klaus got into the front seat and I followed in after him, pushing him into the middle.
"So, Ben. Gone forever, isn't he? That's what you said?" Klaus said. I leaned forward to look at my sister too.
"Yeah... he traded his life for mine and saved the world in the process."
"The real hero of all of us." I said softly.
"He's such a show off." Klaus scoffed and then tucked his hair behind his ear, "But you didn't say if he said anything. Did he? About me?"
Vanya nodded, "He wanted me to tell you that he was too scared to go into the light. It wasn't you that made him stay."
"Wow." Klaus chuckled, "That little shit-heel. All these years and I thought it was MY fault that he didn't take his golden ticket to heaven."
I rested my chin on Klaus' shoulder, "Does that make you feel a little lighter?"
"Yeah, it does." Klaus smiled.
"Look, you two should probably get out." Vanya started.
"Oh. We're coming with. We can't let you face the unknown alone. Right?" Klaus asked, slapping me lightly on the shoulder.
"Definitely not. You're our sister." I agreed.
Both backdoors then opened and Allison and Diego got into the back. Diego put his hand on my shoulder and kissed the crown of my head before leaning back.
"Room for two more?" Allison asked.
"What about the Commission?" Vanya asked.
"Might as well do some good before we all die horribly." Diego said gruffly.
"Woohooo!" Klaus celebrated.
"Ever the optimist." I rolled my eyes.
The passenger door opened then and Five looked past me and Klaus to Vanya, "Five? You don't have too. N-"
"I know. Let's just say you owe me one sis." Five said and then looked at Klaus, "Children ride in the back."
"Right." Klaus said and turned to hop over the seat.
His foot hit me in the forehead, sending a jolt of pain through my head instead of the dull throb it has been, "Watch yourself Klaus!" I snapped as Five pushed me into the middle.
"Oh Christ." Allison wasn't impressed with being jostled so much at Klaus' gracelessness.
"Guys, I don't know what to say." Vanya said, feeling the love no doubt.
Luther opened up the trunk flap and got into the station wagon next. As soon as he crawled inside, the car dropped several inches toward the ground. I wasn't really in the right position to look but Five was and I could see his smirk. I covered my mouth to hold in a giggle.
"If anybody makes a fat joke and I'm out of here." Luther said.
"Whatever you say... King Kong." I said.
I couldn't help myself, I had to say it. I probably didn't have to break out into the fit off giggles after but I don't think I could help that either. I heard giggles and chuckles come from the others as Vanya began driving and smiled. This was the first time our family was working toward a common goal and it felt good. If only Ben were here to see it.