Multiple screams broke through Cielo's concentration; her hand automatically went to her briefcase's handle. No sooner a Commission worker busted through her office's door in a panic. "Um Miss Cavallone? T-there's a situation in the main lobby."

Figures. After what happened with the Handler, nothing here really phased her anymore. As she got closer to the lobby she could hear more people in panic. The first thing she spotted was Lila. Next was the body on the floor. Honestly they should have predicted that she would come back here at some point. She grew up here. This was the closest thing she had to a home. Especially now that her closest thing to a parent was gone.

Cielo cleared her throat to catch everyone's attention. "Copycat, you know you could have went for a nicer greeting."

Lila watched carefully as Cielo came towards her. "Seems like Commission is under new control. You're the little brat's girlfriend or something?"

"Or something. And you are Kraken's girlfriend or something."

"Or something." Cielo gestured for the other workers to take the unconscious one away. They didn't get a chance to as Lila stepped over them. There was hardly any space between the two women now. Neither of them backed down.

Though they've heard a lot of the other, this was the first time they officially met.

"I know the extent of your powers Copycat. You can't use them without someone with powers nearby. And while you were one of the Commission's strongest agents, we have plenty on-call agents for this type of scenario. I'd rather avoid using such resources though. So as acting co-chairperson, I ask once more for you to leave while I'm asking peacefully."

"Hey, that worker attacked me first. I'm only here to resume my job. I admit that I took a small break but only because my mom just died. You understand that reason, right? Miss Chairperson?"

"Co-chairperson to correct. And yes I understand that. My fake condolences by the way. However, during your time away, we started to reform a few things. Particularly, agents that have a chance of revolting against the new Commission heads. You are at the top of the list. No offense. Return your stolen briefcase and leave. This is the last time I will state it calmly."

Lila pretended to think about it. "Sorry to say but I don't think it's right for me to leave like this. Your something boyfriend killed my mom. And my real parents too. I have quite the bone to pick with him."

"He saved you, mind you."

"From what? His own family?"

Cielo's eyebrows furrowed in confusion then realization. "You don't know. Looks like I'm still cleaning that young old man's mess. Come with me. Something I must show you."

"And I should follow why?"

She sighed, stepping back. "Because you came back for a reason. You have things you want to do. If you'll hear me out, I'll hear you out. Come on. What are you, afraid?"

Lila, confused yet curious, listened. The two didn't speak as they walked the halls. Everyone separated to the opposite sides of the hall as they made their way through. Either out of fear of Lila or the co-chairperson's serious attitude. No one wanted to get in between the two of them.

Entering the Infinite Switch room, the co-chairperson ushered everyone out. To which they complied quickly. With everyone gone, Cielo pulled a chair out as she started tinkering with the wires and switches. "Please take a seat."

Lila didn't turn down the offer to relax a little. Kicking her feet up on the table. Cielo didn't say anything because she knew that what she wanted to show was going to be enough. Though she wasn't the biggest fan of Lila, she deserved to know the truth.

The video had all the Umbrella Academy members surrounding Lila. She knew this scene. Happened only a few days ago to her. They were preaching their sappy family words to her. She wasn't listening to any of it. Or she was trying to show that she wasn't. Then her adoptive mother walked in. Shots hitting each of the people that held a hand out to her. Cielo looked away as Lila leaned in closer to the screen.

She watched as she cried over her lover dying. A time she had no memory of. Then she asked the golden question. Did her adoptive mother love her? The answer was delivered in the form of bullets to the stomach. She watched her own death. Her mother said nothing more than 'Que sera, sera'. Whatever will be, will be. Not even one look of hesitancy or guilt at the pulled trigger.

Lila shakenly turned away from the screen. "W-what is this?"

"An alternative timeline. In this one- well you can see the outcome. The only reason why you're still here is because Five used his powers to rewind a few seconds to save everyone's lives. He stopped right before Handlebars came, guns blazing. None of you, except him, really know the lengths that she went through that day."

"No. No, you're lying. She- she loved me." Cielo held onto her hand.

"You and I both know that the ISB is a very powerful tool that can show us a lot of events. But not events that never or will not happened." She spoke softly. Not that it mattered. Lila's world came down all at once. She lost what she thought to be true love. Her mother died and betrayed her. To top it all off, she witnessed her own death.

She didn't say anything, pulling her hands out of hers to replay the video. All Cielo could do was watch. There was nothing she could say at this point that could soothe her. The only thing that came to mind was giving her some space.

Cielo carefully took Lila's briefcase and left her be. Exiting the ISB room, she found Herb and Dot already waiting for her outside. Them plus a group of armed Commission members. She shook her head at the action. "Really Grass? A bit of an overkill don't you think?"

"Just concerned for you is all." She presented them with the briefcase to show that she was fine on her own. "How did you get this back? Is she dead?"

"She's not dead. Just… really hurt. I'm putting out a notice; this room is going to be unavailable until I say so."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I'm going to return this to the case room. Circle, can I get some tea and snacks? Something light on the stomach? You can just leave it here for me to take in. It'll be safer this way."

"Yes, of course."

"Miss Cavallone, I understand that you want to help her but she's the Handler's daughter. You can't be giving her access to the ISB like this. You're swamped enough as it is to be watching her. We have to elect the new board soon and none of them are going to be happy with this."

"And until the new board is sworn in, we are in charge of what happens here. I'll take care of Copycat until then. I won't fall behind on my work. I haven't once done so. We both promised Kraken we would at least give her a chance. If she proves to be a threat, then we'll act on it. Please let me handle this. Alone."

Herb bit down on his lip but nodded. "Alright. Only until the new board is established."

"Understood. Thank you." She glanced back at the room. From outside they could all hear the sounds of the video playing again.


It was hard enough to watch someone you love die in front of your eyes. Add on the feeling of betrayal when the death was caused by the one person in the world you trusted. And seeing your own death by the same hand? It was a lot to take in. All of which Lila had no memory of until yesterday. The information not being one she expected for her return.

Groaning, she turned onto her side. However, the memory of staying at the ISB all day came to mind. Though a bit dazed in her sleep deprived mindset, she knew that the ISB desk was not as soft as whatever she was sleeping on now.

Lila shot up when the first thing her eyes saw was a goldfish. "Carmichael?"

"Good morning." Instead of hearing the male robotic voice, it was a woman's. She turned to the other voice in the room. Cielo sat at her table not too far from the fish bowl. Instantly making her guard raise.

"How is Carmichael still alive?"

"He's not. Copycat meet Mister fish head 2.0. And though he looks identical to Mister fish head, this little fella is completely normal. Trust me, I tried a lot of methods to give him some intelligence. None of them worked. He's just here to accompany me." She sprinkled in some fish food for him. Lila took the moment to scan her new environment. A mix between an office and a bedroom. No doubt belonging to the new co-chairperson. Her briefcase standing right next to her leg.

Lila took note that there was a lack of security around her. Either they didn't care for their new co-chairperson or she was more than meets the eye in terms of self defense. She doubted it was the latter. The first option still up in the air. It was unnerving watching the co-chairperson acting casual around her.

"Why am I here?"

"You fell asleep in the ISB room. Sleeping there on all the switches for so long would have lead to back pain. You seemed exhausted that you barely noticed when we moved you here. Do you want breakfast? We can bring it here instead of eating in the cafeteria. Your choice."

"Is it poisoned?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Can't make any promises considering that many people have a grudge against your adoptive mother. I did order that any attack on you to be subject to dismissal. How many people listen to that is up to their own levels of anger."

The mention of that order didn't make sense to her. So far there were no red flags coming from Cielo. She expected at least one rude comment given everything that indirectly connected the two. "Your weird sense of humor aside, why are you being nice to me? I don't need your pity."

"I won't lie, this is very much a pity case. I mean you found your parent's killers, your lover chose the world over you, you found out your adoptive mother didn't really love you, lost your job-"

"I get it. I'm a sad sack. Can I leave now?" She untangled herself from the weighted blanket when Cielo stepped forward.

"That all being said, I want to be your friend. Or at least extend a helping hand to someone who needs it."

"Why?"

She sighed. "Because unlike what you were raised to believe, not everyone is out to get you. You're alone and so am I."

"I would hardly believe that the co-chairperson to be lonely."

"You would think that but I'm like you in some ways. Acting co-chairperson makes it hard to talk casually to people. Especially when the other chairperson is someone that worked here for years longer than me. Everyone goes to him. Probably the only worker that I know on a personal level was Five. I don't even know where he is right now. Or when that is. You're the only one here that isn't afraid of me." She pushed herself away from the table to stretch her legs.

"And you're not afraid of me?"

"Meh. If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it by now. Five also tried to kill me the first time we met. Same with the Kraken. I don't think I have a good reputation with you super powered kids."

"You're too lax."

"Five told me that a lot. Listen, I'll get the chase now. I can reason that you were merely an accomplice to Handlebar's actions. This isn't enough to let you back into Commission but we can drop you off in near any time period of your choice. You can start a new life. Not many get this option so be grateful."

"And what's stopping me from taking a briefcase with force? I kinda like being able to travel through time at my will. Might just come back here to terrorize it every once in a while."

"I dare you to try. If you leave without my permission, we will track your chip to whatever timeline you go to until your dying breath. Even if you figure out how to remove it, we will find you. That is protocol."

"Chip?" Cielo's jaw slightly dropped. Just how in the dark was she?

"You do know that all field operatives are chipped with a tracking device, right?"

"I'm not chipped like some lost dog." Though Lila couldn't fully deny the possibility after all the truths she started questioning yesterday. The Commission was a shady business. Placing tracking devices in their workers was logical and controlling enough to match everything the Commission's agenda.

Every time the Handler was able to communicate with Lila despite being radio silent. Every time she tried to take trips with the briefcase as a kid. Every time she failed to hide from her duties for a day off. It was all starting to make sense. It wasn't motherly instinct or knowing her daughter so well. It was a literal machine in her.

This woman, the one that was supposed to be her enemy, kept unveiling more and more to prove that everything she knew was a lie. Cielo could see that her words were starting to reach her.

"Whether you believe in my words or not you will have to oblige to my call. This being while I'm still kind so consider yourself lucky. This is only due to me knowing what happened in that barn and out of respect for Kraken's wishes. He requested for Grass and I to at least you give you a shot to prove you are more than Handlebar's puppet."

She noticed Lila twitching hearing her talk about Diego. "What did he say to you about me?"

"Exactly as I'm saying now, that you were played by Handlebars, and that you deserve a second chance. You really charmed him."

"Don't listen to him. He's an idiot. Punish me as you see fit. I won't break from whatever torture you have for me."

"We don't torture people here. We just ship them into random, unliveable points of time. Or just straight up murder them on the spot. Which we won't do to you. You may think he's an idiot but from how he talks about you, I think he likes you. Despite you trying to kill him. Something tells me that you might be the same."

"I am not!" She rolled her eyes at the outburst.

"Denial and anger. I totally believe your claims. Nonetheless, I will stay true to my word to him. The Commission will house you, under my watch of course. Personally I will determine what sees fit on whether or not his claims are true. It will do you good to listen to me. Perhaps I will even give you an opportunity to see him again. Once you've earned it."

"I'm not going to bow down to you just to see some one-night stand."

"More than one night I remind you." Cielo rolled the chair closer to the bed so that they were facing each other. In doing so she was further away from her only form of defense. Her briefcase.

Lila didn't say anything to rebuttal. The co-chairperson was stubborn. She could see that much. Trying to argue more with her was not working. Deep down, she did want to see Diego. Find out what happened to him after she left. Running away probably being the way to describe it.

"Ooo suddenly quiet? I wonder what is going on in your head. You know, you remind a lot of Five. He didn't like letting people close. I couldn't figure out if it was because of his emotionally detached father or time messing with his head. Looking at you I still can't figure which one it is."

"You're a real hoot to talk to."

"Yeah you putting up a scary front is really holding this conversation together." She sarcastically noted. "I swear you and Five would be the best of friends if it wasn't for all the... you know... issues you had in the past. Take it from me, he gives off the worst first impressions but makes up for it. Sort of. Eventually. I'm not selling him very well."

"I don't get what you see in him. From what I know, he's the reason you got involved in all of this. If I were you I would have kicked that tiny ass away and lived a peaceful life."

"Actually I approached him first. I offered him an umbrella. He thought I was after his life. The usual for him." Lila held back a laugh. "But like I said, he makes up for it. I- I only lasted this long in Commission because I knew that my work will save people like him. Compared to living in the apocalypse for the majority of his life, my life here is a cakewalk."

"You're just infatuated. One day you're going to wake up and realize that this was all a mistake. You're going to hate him and curse Time for bringing you together." She knew Diego for max 2 months. She wanted to believe that it was all an act. For the sake of her mission. Even after raising Lila for 20 years the Handler had no love for her adopted daughter. What was 2 months compared to that?

"Maybe. But I hope that when that realization comes to me I would have helped more people than I've come to spite."

There was humanity in Cielo. She knew the darkness that the Commission had hidden away better than anyone but still had human sympathy. Being raised as an assassin, Lila had been forced to forget that part of herself. All her life she viewed the world as filled with hatred. Action was the only way to accomplish things. If she wasn't on top, she was useless.

Until she met Diego that is. The man that kept worrying about where his family was and about the president. He could have restarted his life. A full grown adult male like him could have fully functioned all by himself in 1963. Instead he spent the entire time in the hospital planning to go help others. To help Lila get better.

That kindness slowly made her fall in love with him. The longer she knew him, the more she felt genuinely cared for, she knew that letting him go would be her biggest breaking point.

"You're actually crazy, Miss acting co-chairperson."

"I feel like you're mocking my title."

"That's because I am. I'm not scared of you."

"And I'm not scared of you."

"Then we've come to a standstill.".

"Shall we have breakfast then? You didn't eat any of the snacks Circle prepared yesterday. If you're not frightened, then it won't be a challenge to eat it." Cielo offered once more.

Lila scanned her over one last time. Compared to everyone else at Commission, Cielo was a normal woman. According to her adoptive mother, that's who she was meant to be before Five got involved. She had no real powers and wasn't excelling in anything that AJ Carmichael didn't teach her. Really she had no uniqueness to her. She was all around normal. For someone that was constantly wrapped up in crazy plots and schemes, normal was interesting.

"I'll only eat it if you take a bite first."

"Okay but fair warning, I'm not favoured here so you might still end up poisoned. I have health insurance though. Not entirely sure if they cancelled yours yet. Those types of things always takes forever."

"I'll kill anyone here before they have a chance to think about hurting me."

"Sounds like a plan." Cielo started walking towards the door. Once more Lila had her suspicions about the co-chairperson. But not having much of a choice and on an empty stomach, Lila followed after.


Two months later, the Commission had gained a unique friendship. Cielo being too relentless to let Lila go and the latter not having anywhere else to go. The two came to some form of a friendship. Turns out they had a lot in common. Two time travelling girls that had no lives outside their jobs. They both loved bashing on the Handler and the Commission while admitting that they were in love with men that were too dense for their own good. It was an odd pair for sure. Many in the Commission thought that both had something up their sleeve. But they treated each other well.

To Cielo's surprise, Lila was not only extremely intelligent in many fields but was also very understanding of everything that was happening at the Commission. It was a workplace that had been standing for an undetermined amount of time but it was a workplace. It was going to have issues. Cielo had her frustrations that only Lila could see as reasonable. Especially with finding a new board.

The newly elected board was done through an election period of members that Cielo and Herb collected. But running through the choices, Lila often knew of people's underlying personalities and goals. She was raised in Commission. Though she hated it, she had every Commission given skill embedded into her. And she knew what it needed the most.

To Lila's surprise, Cielo wasn't the saint with a pure heart. She had anger and authority that made her more fun to be around. Any time someone tried to give Lila shit, she was there to stop it with threats of unemployment or worse. The ability to know when and where to assert herself was admirable.

True to her word, she kept Lila's past actions separate from the Handler's. Never once since deciding to stay at the Commission did Lila feel like she wasn't welcomed by her side. They got into arguments, barely ever saw eye to eye, and insulted the tiniest of details of each other but there was always an understanding of the other. There was no need to meet an expectation if the one set for them was already broken.

Their main headquarters of their talks being in one of the ISB rooms. The room was always empty when they were there so they could do whatever they wanted. With the co-chairperson's approval of course. Workers didn't dare to fight back against either woman anyways. It not only allowed Cielo to continue her work but let Lila watch time as she pleased. Often that meant learning about the Umbrella Academy or her revisiting her time with Diego back in 1963.

As long as it wasn't something she wasn't allowed to know, Cielo didn't mind giving her access to the board. She even made her work when her hands were too full to look up a date. Laughing at stupid people in history was only a sideshow. The two of them were joined to the hip that no one at Commission ever saw them alone. For both of their safeties of course.

Herb knocked to alert the girls to their presence. Cielo stiffened a bit when he entered the room. A brief glance in her direction. "You know you can't be in here Lila."

"They took away my briefcase, Herblet. I have nowhere else to go. Besides, I'm here with the former co-chairperson. I'm not doing anything against the rules."

"It's a new regime. Miss Cavallone has tried everything but now they are at their limit. She can't protect you anymore."

Lila looked at Cielo with her head down. "Is that true?"

"They're calling for your head. I've been pushing them away for a while now. Tomorrow is going to be their swear in that they want to clean up any loose ends. They're probably trying to find a way to kick me out too."

"Oh I get it. Ding-dong, the bitch is dead, so make her daughter and friend pay instead? Not exactly fair." Though she did expect this kind of thing to happen eventually. Cielo was worked hard enough that she barely had time to herself. She couldn't protect Lila forever. Lila knew that too. It was either her leaving or making Cielo a fugitive the same as her.

"That..." Herb looked to Dot for assistance to which she just pushed him to continue. "Um we can drop you off in any time period-"

"Fine. West Berlin, 1989." She picked up her jacket and turned to Cielo. "You'll take me?"

She picked up her briefcase. "It'll be my pleasure."

The two joined hands and zapped to her time destination. Cielo was taken back for a second seeing the mess that was going on. They were in the middle of the Berlin wall tear down. Lila didn't bat an eye as she grabbed a sledgehammer out of a bystander's hands. Cielo hardly dressed the part that she stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Uhh Copycat? I know that you may have some built up anger but are you sure that this is where you want?" She flinched back when someone ran past her with another construction tool.

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course." Lila walked over to a part of the wall. Both of them spotted a red seal with a heel on it. A few good hits the wall caved in just enough for her to remove a bag from it. A briefcase to be exact.

"Mum- the Handler- she planned this as her little escape plan. I don't know how she managed to smuggle one away from them or if it still works. I'm hoping you could, ya know, work your magic on it?"

"Removing briefcase tracking and giving it to unauthorized personnel is against all basic rules that the Commission has set. Luckily for you though, I care about you more than those new snobs in office."

She took the briefcase from her friend's hands. There was a small note that Lila read as Cielo modified everything. From the corner of her eye she could see the negative effect it had on the reader. No doubt it was covered in more of the Handler's pretty lies. It didn't matter how close they were, there was little that Cielo managed to do to fix the wound that the Handler left on her.

Cielo loudly set the briefcase down; shocking Lila back to her senses. "Handlebars didn't damage this too much. I'll give her that. Just needs a little checkup. I'll take the serial number too so that I can find out how the fuck she stole one."

"That's my girl. See I'm telling you, the voting for that new board? Rigged. At least Herb got a spot on the board while they left you to rot. After all that you did for them."

"It was not rigged. Grass was too soft and too loved. Being the head would have overwhelmed him. Despite that he started the first resistance that garnered people's respect. Me, on the other hand, was only Mister fish head's assistant for a year and had befriended you. The member we so unjustly kicked out and who killed a few of our own. Giving me a position of power was going to be a mistake. Heck I was correcting them about how to do things the moment they walked in. The new board hates me."

"Exactly my point. You would have been an excellent chairperson. Better than even AJ Carmichael."

"Please, I would have run that place to the ground if it wasn't for Grass and we know that."

"Even better. To hell with that place." They both giggled as she finished up her work.

"Well it's only because of them that I had a chance to meet everyone." She closed the briefcase and handed it to her. "Untracked and fully functional as requested. Oh wait, your chip. We should remove it before they try to track you."

She started looking around for something that could help. Lila looked down at her forearm where she was once told it was. First finding out about it she wanted nothing more than to rip it out. To get some form of freedom from the unseen cage she was in. Now it was going to be the only thing linking her to her first home and friend.

"No it's okay. If you ever need me, for anything, you can find me. You just keep that info to yourself."

"That's the sweetest thing you have ever said to me." Cielo opened her arms for her. One that Lila happily gave in to.

Neither of them really wanted to let the other go. They only had each other for the past 2 months. Both of them worked hard to distract themselves from their circumstances. The presence of someone that understood their strife. Keeping the other in line was what they needed. Their separation wasn't even their decision. Neither of them were fully ready to embrace the world on their own.

"I'll miss you Copycat. Without you around, who's going make the new boards' lives a nightmare?"

"You will of course. What better way to get back at them for kicking me out?" The two pulled away, each having a briefcase in hand.

"Stay well. And no breaking the timeline."

"I'll leave that up to your brat and his hot brother." Cielo rolled her eyes but waved goodbye to her friend. The next she was gone from the other's sight.

She was back in her room with no one around. There was still a sprawl of pillows and blankets over the floor from the previous sleepover since she refused to keep Lila in a jail cell. Under the guise that she was keeping a close eye on her was one excuse that many didn't buy but didn't argue against. They spent a lot of nights just falling asleep without talking. It was the presence of another person that relaxed them.

Cielo sighed, setting her briefcase down. She sat by her table, aimlessly flipping through the piles of papers that the new board threw on her. No doubt they already heard the news of Lila leaving. Now without the threat of her around, they wouldn't hold back. She was by herself.

Ultimately she laid her head down to stare at the small fish bowl on the corner of the room. The goldfish floated in one spot, staring straight at her. As much as she loved Mister fish head 2.0, it wasn't the same as having a real person companion around. She was back alone again.