March 25, 2019
At the first sign of sunlight, Five woke up in a panic. His surroundings were too comfortable. The past 40 plus years he conditioned himself to always be alert of his surroundings. Sunrise meant the start of his exploration for the day while light still shined. After joining the Commission, it meant knowing when he was. No matter what point he jumped to, the new day will show when he was. Tell him that it was time to start his job. Being aware 24/7 was a necessity.
His mere presence had the power to change everything in the timeline. Even when he was in the unknown space that the Commission took up, he never once let himself slip. Besides the Handler that was in charge of him, he never spoke, acknowledged, worked with, etc. with any other member. In contrast, everyone knew who he was. He saw it in both the admiration and jealousy that they expressed towards him in the halls. Admiration meant leeching. Jealousy meant hatred. He didn't trust either side.
While he felt relatively safe where he was currently, his body told him that he couldn't be lying around. Sitting up, he reminded himself that Vanya had let him stay on her couch for the night. This being after he explained everything he could about the upcoming apocalypse. She didn't understand a word he said. Meaning he couldn't rely on her to help him out.
Back to the original plan. Find the owner of the glass eye. The Meritech worker, Lance, was properly set on not giving Five any information on it. He assumed a part of the reason was his age appearance. This stupid body was bringing more hassle than he expected. Worse was that now he needed to rely on the only 'adult' that would help him with no real questions asked. Klaus.
All it took was waving a 20 dollar bill in his face and he got a fake dad for the day. Surprisingly, his sorry excuse for an adult was enough to garner a 1-1 session with Lance to discuss an apology. It quickly took a 180 when Klaus started thinking on his own. As always with his less than sober brother, the situation was... unpredictable. Who knew the way to get around legal contracts of privacy was a lot of blood shed? And a threat of jail time.
"Uh, the eye. It hasn't been purchased by a client yet." That information instantly hit Five harder than his brother punching him in the face. Lance kept flipping through the papers with confusion as Klaus watched over his shoulder.
"What? What does that mean?"
"Well, uh, our logs say that the eye with that serial number- this can't be right. It hasn't even been manufactured yet. Where did you say you got that eye again?" Judging by his confusion, he wasn't lying. The eyeball didn't exist yet.
Five huffed out in annoyance. His one lead to the apocalypse cause was running dry. He didn't even consider that this was an option. After all the trouble he went through and it wasn't made yet. Time was running out. Literally.
"Let's go Klaus."
"What? Wait after all of that?"
"Let's go. Now." Five barely managed to say without wanting to attack his brother.
Klaus followed after his brother who couldn't be bothered to explain more. In the elevator, Five paced back and forth. What should he do now? Stalk after Lance? The eyeball would come soon. Question was if that would give him enough time to act. For a person to cause the end of the world, he imagines his foe to be inhuman. He needed to do more than wait for them to get a fake eye.
"This is not good." He sighed as they both exited the elevator and building.
"I was pretty good though, right? Yeah? What about my consent bitch?" Klaus loosely re-enacted with a proud smile.
Last thing Five needed right now was to listen to his brother saying whatever came to his unfiltered mind. The world was ending and all he wanted was funds for his stupid addiction. Though he wished his brother was drunk enough to stop talking.
Luckily his powers came in useful at times like these. Once Klaus started talking about his past hookups, Five blinked to the nearest taxi. Waving once at his brother while the driver continued going wherever was farthest away from him. Not looking back for long enough to see a woman approaching his brother.
"Oh my! Are you okay? Should I call an ambulance?" Cielo ran up to Klaus bleeding on the doorstep of her workplace.
"Oh for me? You're too kind. Yeah I'm fine. Can hardly feel this." She took out some napkins she randomly kept in her briefcase. Carefully she patted his head off the blood.
"What happened to you?"
"Ah I was talking to the Lance fellow here and he just punched my son and smashed a snow globe on my head." Klaus said, still playing the act.
"The Big boss did this to you? Small, lanky fellow that wears a lab coat despite not needing it?"
"That sounds like him. Do you work here? Do you happen to know anything about fake eyeballs?" She had to take a second to process how he suddenly changed the topic. Head trauma?
"Y-yes, I am a licensed prosthetist here. Eyeballs? Yes, that is included in the services we have. I work closely with glass eyes and patients that require such. Um I should mention that I only have basic first aid training but not in this kind of injury care. I think you need to see a more specific doctor about the bleeding. It could be the adrenaline right now that's keeping you from feeling it." She managed to get most of the blood cleaned. Not that he seemed to notice much as he focused on her occupation.
"No no I'm fine. Actually I would really appreciate it if you talk to my son. He's been particularly interested in glass eyes recently. What do you say?"
"Um, I would love to teach others about what I do. It's the least I can do after what the Big boss did to you two. If the two of you are free, I can meet you tomorrow. I don't have many appointments so you can just tell the receptionist you're for Cielo Cavallone. That's me. How does that sound?"
"That sounds wonderful. I'll tell the little guy later. Thank you so much." He hopped back on his feet.
"Wait, are you sure I don't need to call you an ambulance? Family members? Your son?"
"Son? Oh, no I'll be fine. Thank you Cielo. You're very kind. We'll see you tomorrow." The strange man started to stagger away, making Cielo feel as if she made a mistake inviting him back tomorrow.
She grabbed her small briefcase off the floor as she got up. Folding the bloody napkins, tossing it into a nearby trash can. Looking around she didn't see that little boy from yesterday. It was like a fever dream each time she went to work this week. Today a man that looked like he regularly held seances and yesterday a young boy that acted like an old man, she couldn't think of what tomorrow shall bring.
"Morning!" Cielo greeted the building's receptionist as she always did. "How are you Receptionist?"
"Eh not too bad. How about you?"
"Strange encounters but it really makes life interesting. Other than that, I'm okay. Did the new shipment come in yet?" She was given a thick manila folder.
"Here's the list of all the shipments you got today. Sorry again about what happened with the last order sheet. I should have double checked the intern's work." She took the folder from their hands to give it a quick skim. New workers were always making mistakes that Cielo was careful with letting them handle things on their own. She was lucky that she stopped them before accidentally shipping out a whole hospital order without double checking their serial numbers. Some of them not even being recorded down in the books properly. That would have been a confusing disaster for all the patients waiting for their limbs and other assistance items.
"It's alright. I was just glad that we caught the issue as fast as we did before it became a lawsuit for mixing up patients and their order. Just be sure that you teach them the proper organization system and that they run everything by one of the veteran workers before claiming it's complete. Same with any task that can easily be glossed over if they don't know what mistakes could be hidden."
"Got it. Today they're working on exactly what they messed up on. Recording and reporting. So if you see any mismatched information in what you have and what they wrote, we can catch it before it reaches clients."
"Sounds like a plan. Hopefully if anything happens, one of us will catch it. Nothing seems to stand out so far. It's good that they can learn without any big consequences. Once they get better I should treat them to something besides our awful coffee. They've been working hard, especially fixing all those items in one night. They were exhausted last I saw them."
"Like there's any real decent coffee joints around that aren't overpriced nowadays."
"And yet when I tell you to join me for lunch at Griddy's Doughnuts, you just say you prefer Green Sirens. Jokes on you though. The waitress said that she would time it so that I could get a fresh doughnut when I come in. Today I'm going to grab a box just for the intern's hard work. None for you." The receptionist covered their mouth in shock.
"You didn't hear about it? It had some major kind of gang war there or something. The entire place was shot up last night!" Cielo became at a lost her words at the news. Their city wasn't particularly dangerous. Sure there were occasional things that broke through the news but in a city that was expected. But this level? She was just there yesterday with the old lady waitress. There was nothing there that would have suggested that it would turn to a gang war zone.
"Did they catch the people that were involved?"
"Apparently they're still at large. Only the owner was there to be a witness and police officers are trying to question her for more info. No one survived the fight from what I remember."
"I feel so bad for her. She was planning to retire soon and this happened to her? I hope she's okay. What's even the purpose of fighting in a diner of all places? Dragging innocent people into their battles? Disgusting." She rolled her eyes as if the culprit could see her criticizing them. It annoyed her more that they were rude enough to bother others than feared them still at large.
"Yeah well that point aside, you aren't getting any doughnuts today. The police shut the place down for a while. They're asking the public for any info on any suspicious behaviour that may hint to the criminals. That and for people to be careful. I'm emphasizing that part for you specifically."
"Why? Because I was there yesterday?"
"Because you're always attracting bad luck! Do you seriously not notice every time you get interested in something randomly, it just goes wrong?"
"You're imagining things. Name one time that's ever happened."
"Uh that time you said you never noticed a painting on our wall and then it fell in the next hour? That time you were looking into celebrity athletes and the one you were interested in within the week walks in for a replacement part? Oh oh! That time you randomly asked me about if I had car insurance and then the next day I got into an accident? Now the diner you've been going to all week got shot up? It's like your superpower or something!" She just shook her head.
"Again, you're imagining things. The painting probably caught my attention because it was crooked or something. Athletes get injuries all the time. It isn't strange for them to visit our company. My car insurance question was a coincidence. Consider yourself lucky since you should be up to date with it regardless. And, not to reason with it but, a diner that opens late at night with close to no witnesses? It's kinda perfect for a battle spot. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to start my work day and check my eyeball shipments. And I promise you that nothing bad will come from it."
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" The receptionist yelled, jokingly, as Cielo waved back at them. She didn't like living her life with the supernatural. While she acknowledged that it existed, to blame any inconvenience in their life on it was not for her. She'd rather believe in science even if she didn't fully understand all of it.
Before she could get a chance to grab some disgusting cold coffee from the old machine, her boss walked up to her office. Not even knocking before opening her door. Putting on a professional smile, she set her stuff down.
"Cielo you-" Lance nervously checked his surroundings, "you recently got a new shipment of eyes, right?"
"Yeah I got the list of them right here but I haven't gotten a chance to check them since they only arrived today. Why? Did the intern mess up again? Did Receptionist put you up to this?"
"What? No? Whatever- Can I see that list? I need to check on something." She placed a hand on top of the folder at the same time he grabbed it.
"You know the rules, Big boss. You can do whatever shady ass shit you want with your prosthetics but no touching mine. Wouldn't want people to find out where you sell them, now would we?" Cielo knew all about Lance's underground prosthetic market. While she didn't approve of his actions, she hated the cost that their societal system required to receive their works. So she let him go about his way. In return for her silence, he couldn't involve her in case things went south.
"I'm not selling these. Just checking something important." She pulled the folder out from under his grasp.
"You're checking my files for something important that you're not telling me? Yeah, no. These are meant for my patients so you do not have clearance to view these. Unless you want to break patient confidentiality which they can sue you for if they find out. You can, however, check the phone number for ill practice in the medical field. That seems to be coming more and more handy for you."
"Are you serious?"
"Deadly. I don't like you pretending that we're on friendly terms when you consistently act suspicious like this. Now if you tell me what you're trying to do, maybe I'll consider giving you my list." He leaned forward onto her desk.
"I can't tell you. We're messing with crazy people who I don't know how they managed to get the things they have." He, again, checked their surroundings. Whispering everything. It was too panicky even for him. She couldn't understand him because of it.
"We can play this game all day, you're not getting this list from me unless you tell me why. Your eyeballs come in 2 days. Check whatever you need in those. I have to get started on my inventory checks so if you please." Cielo gestured toward his office. A sign to leave her be.
Lance didn't hide his anger towards her but left. At the back of her mind she wondered if his anger was related to the man she saw sitting outside their doorstep. Everyone seemed to be interested in eyes today.
From the quick scan over she guessed that Klaus was an addict. Now Lance was a lot of things, but being a fighter was not one of them. Man would run from his shadow. There was a high chance in her mind that Klaus was a black market dealer that was desperate for prosthetics to attack her boss in the workplace. He didn't seem that bad though. A little loopy and half dead looking, but he wasn't a bad person. He had a son from what he said. One that she'll meet soon. Hopefully, the kid is as nice as his dad. She didn't get paid enough for this.
Crashing face first onto a bed was something Five never thought he would get a chance to do again. He didn't care that he was covered in sweat; all he wanted was to sleep the night away. Meritech Prosthetics was a dud even with Klaus's dramatic performance. He'll have to go the subtler route. Starting tomorrow. Or later today depending on how he looked at it.
"Forgetting about me?"
He cracked a small smile. At least his hard work slightly paid off after he left his brother behind. "Never my love."
He carefully sat up as he removed the large duffle bag off his back. Dolores popping out his bag. Even with only half her body, she was still breathtaking as the day they met. Though he didn't miss the frown she had on. "What's with that expression?"
"I just expected our reunion to be a bit less... eventfully." He sighed. Placing her against the wall so that they were sitting side by side.
"I'm sorry about that. They really sent the best of the best to get me. I even removed the tracer they injected into me yet they still found me. It won't be long until they find out about the Umbrella Academy. If they haven't already."
"Have you told your family yet? About the apocalypse or about the Commission?"
"I- sorta? Vanya knows. She didn't really believe me. Can't blame her. Klaus knows bits and bits. I don't think he really understands what it means when I say end of the world though. The rest of them are dealing with their own issues. Dad recently died so there's that. Missed the funeral by a few days. You were right that the calculations were off by the way. I should have listened to you before jumping."
"And the eye?"
"Even more of a dead end. I have no-" he paused remembering his encounter yesterday. The woman that advised him to time travel. Cielo. No matter her innocent act, he couldn't shake the unnerving feeling she gave him.
"Five?"
"Sorry- just- do you remember how I told you about the first time travelled? How there was a woman that warned me not to? Well, I met her this year. The day I came back to be exact. She looks the same but she claims to have no memory of ever meeting me. Including telling me to not jump."
"A doppelganger then?"
"I'm not too sure about that. A doppelganger implies that they are a completely different person. I mean, she approached me first. A few hours after that Commission goons came for me. Not only that but she gave me an umbrella. An umbrella of all things. Coincidence? I think not." She chuckled.
"You're paranoid."
"How so?" Dolores was the sole person he accepted to criticize him. She understood him as a person that was hurt by the end of the world. She was intelligent, logic based, beautiful and overall, she loved Five. During the times when he fell into his own mind traps, she brought him back. Gave him something to hold onto. Someone to talk to when the nights got cold. She was his grounding point with everything changing so fast.
"She was offering you an umbrella, I suspect not without reason. Was it going to rain?" He scowled, not answering back. "See? Not everyone is out to get you."
"Maybe not but this woman- that anomaly- she's dangerous."
"You're the dangerous anomaly here."
"Makes it easier to recognize then." The two of them laid down on his bed. Been a while since either of them felt this comfortable. Last night and tonight Five had been attacked by Commission workers. Dolores was exactly what he needed to put some of his mind at ease. Too many unknown variables popping up. The consistent being his wife who stayed with him for over 40 years alone.
"I know it, Dolores. My gut is never wrong. That woman is not normal."
"Whatever you say." He heard her give a light chuckle as he pulled her closer. "Goodnight Five."
"Night my love. Just watch, I'll save the world. Give us the life we truly deserve." As Five started to unwind, the one thought he had on mind was Dolores' words about him being paranoid. She was a voice of reason to him. Maybe it's because she didn't meet her that she didn't realize the danger of her presence.
Doppelganger or not, Cielo wasn't normal. If Five ever had to meet her again he would not let the chance slip away. He would make sure she understood not to mess with him or his family.
