The Capsule grunted as it gathered the incredible power, their energy shifting, thrilling around them. Lila shuddered at the bright light as it surged to move through her, but instead of draining her, it left her full and satisfied as she let it all go. She swore she felt everyone's distinct energy combine, pushing up into the large opening above them. With each passing moment, it grew brighter, tighter, and the ground shook violently beneath her. At first, she thought it was just the Capsule, but she realized it was the entire room when pieces of the ceiling fell outside, creating small puffs of dust and covering the thick window.
It was brighter than the Sun, filling the whole space, leaving no room for shadows or doubts. The light intensified until it swallowed them whole. She wanted to keep looking out the Capsule window, but Five—her Five—started to levitate inside the small room, just an inch off the floor, curling into a ball. He looked like a child, holding himself, trying to shield himself as he wringed in agony. His eyes were clenched shut, his body trembling as he gripped his legs and buried his face in his knees. Beams of energy flowed out of him, swirling into the large opening, which gladly consumed every morsel. Somehow, she knew this was part of the process.
It was like watching God take back what was rightfully hers.
But as far as Lila was concerned, Five belonged to her.
God didn't exist, and if she did, Lila wanted to kill her. She would torture God until she got what she wanted, then go home with Five. That godly bitch was hurting him, and she saw strings of energy following the current like yarn rolling downstairs, continuing to feed the pull.
Five ran out of energy. His grip loosened, and he slumped with his arms and legs falling underneath him. He dangled with his chest held high as every opening on his face expelled a light. Like the Sun burned him inside out.
She hated that he looked like a corpse as the streams of energy drained from him—out of his ears, eyes, back, and heart, soon covering his entire body.
With a final burst, Five jerked and cut off the energy and fell on the floor, the beam severed from its source, letting out a resounding ring of power as it shook the walls and shattered the sound barrier—the sound of time's final doors closing.
Ben and Jennifer had nothing to contribute with power. Jennifer had only felt the wrath of the Durango and the painful mutation process. This, this light, was kind and a kindred spirit, draining and drastic, and she felt more alive than she'd ever have. There was no way to truly know, but she knew she was here for a reason. A justified and logical reason to why she was born, holding Ben, and so alive.
Jennifer couldn't help but widen her eyes as they watched Five break everything within him. Luther and Allison were fighting the urge to pull him out and make sure he was still alive. Klaus held Diego back from destroying the Capsule, giving him a look that said, Trust me, this is right.
Viktor held Lila, bearing most of her weight. She watched Five with a mix of ferocity and a strange look of understanding. She hated his pain, but they all knew this was the price. The sacrifice came with purpose and if this was what it took to finish the job, none had the guts to interfere with it.
As soon as the light diminished to darkness, Viktor let go of Lila so she could reach Five.
"Five, can you hear me?" Lila shouted through the ringing in her ears and the muffled sounds of her family moving around. She tried to blink her eyes, but she was seeing double, and the flashing emergency lights disoriented her balance. She smoothed his back and tried to turn his shoulder toward her. He blinked and blinked again like he was trying to see. His eyes were their normal blue-green but so dilated that the color was almost invisible. His bangs covered his face, and it shook with him. He gripped his chest in agony and tried to move only to fail. His eyes traumatized from what he'd seen, what he felt, that she wanted to erase his mind, her with it, to ease his pain.
"Five?" Lila shouted again, but he didn't react. She helped him stand as he reached out blindly, blinking madly to clear his vision. He tried to speak but only mouthed the words. Lila caught the faint "Are you okay?" form on his lips. Why was his first worry always about her?
She slung his arm over her shoulder and took his free hand in hers. She opened his palm and traced "safe now" before leading him out of the Capsule. He still clutched his ribs as they pulsed with pain. Lila guided his hand to the metal chair and helped him sit down. She handed him a bottle of water, watching as he drank it down.
When Lila's hearing cleared from the white noise, the lab buzzed with activity. Technicians scrambled to reboot computers as power blinked back to life, finally seeing the aftermath. Only two computers survived as lab tables flipped over, pieces of the ceiling continue to crack around them, and as hurt technicians helped each other up.
Abigail dragged over her stinging brain to the huddled group unable to find a proper opening and her words slurred out. "We're confirming, but the readings look stable. There was a minor power surge in the neighborhood, but the external spikes are dropping by the second."
"Abigail…" Lila's voice faltered. She swallowed, trying again.
"The energy caused a small earthquake, a 5.4 here." Abigail continued, barely pausing to breathe. "It was expected, though. DC just reported a 6.3 on the Richter scale." She motioned to a scientist, urging them to display more data. "It triggered something for sure. We need to investigate these locations to figure out who's using the Durango as a weapon."
"Abigail," Lila interrupted, still feeling off-balance as she steadied herself against a table.
"We'll need to go soon," Abigail persisted, pointing at the map Lila and Five had drawn on. "We have to track down the source—"
"Abigail!" Lila shouted, and a sudden pulse of heat burst from her body, burning blue and startling the nearby techs. "Tell me… did it work? Are we safe?" She forced the words out, fighting dizziness.
Abigail grabbed her by the shoulders, her tone steady. "Yes. It worked. You're anchored here, like the rest of us."
Lila blinked slowly, relief creeping in as a small smile touched her lips. The family, hearing the confirmation, exhaled as they blinked away the last remnants of the blinding light. Still too disoriented to fully react, Lila knelt beside Five, gently taking his hands. His distant gaze didn't focus, but the touch seemed to register.
She traced letters in his palm—an 'H,' then an 'O.' By the time she reached the 'M,' Five was already smiling faintly.
In a hoarse whisper, barely audible, he asked, "Home?"
Lila's smile widened. She pressed her lips to his cheek and whispered, "Home," letting him feel the words. Five turned to kiss her lips but missed, his lips landing softly on her eyelid.
Reginald led them back upstairs, with Luther clearing heavy furniture and debris out of the way. He grunted in pain when he lifted a piece of the grand piano to the side. Outside, where the survivors of the Umbrella Academy's wrath turned around confused and dazed, faced the Hargreeves security team looming over them. They climbed the stairs into an office, which had mostly survived—only a few books were scattered, and whiskey glasses lay broken. A long corner couch awaited them, and they sat down, trying to process the transition from the sterility of the lab.
Reginald helped Lila guide the blind and deaf Five into a plush seat. He winced as his body echoed with pain. Reginald opened a drawer, pulled out a flashlight, and shined it into Five's eyes.
"Pupils are responsive," he noted, then pulled out a stethoscope, listening to Five's back. He had to ask Lila to stop holding Five's hand to get an accurate reading of his pulse. When she let go, Five, confused, reached out for her. Once Reginald nodded, Lila returned to his side. After running various tests, Reginald concluded that Five's condition was likely due to shock. Given what they had witnessed, it was a wonder he had survived at all.
Diego watched as Five shivered, clutching Lila like a lifeline. His bangs fell into his eyes, but he didn't care, his gaze drifting aimlessly in the darkness. Diego could still feel the shock of seeing Five levitate, pulling all that energy out. He worried for his brother's desperate attempts to save everyone—Lila, the family, their future. He hated that Five was always the one who paid the price.
Now, Five sat motionless, unresponsive to noise or news, and it scared Diego. Five had always been restless, constantly swearing, always chasing coffee or a drink, his mind racing ahead of theirs. He was the glue that held them together, and when he disappeared as a child, everything changed. That damned portrait of young Five haunted them, while their father pretended nothing was wrong. After Lila, Diego saw the difference: Five finally had a weakness. Once overconfident and untouchable, he had softened, becoming emotional and soft hearted and here was proof that he'd lay his life for it. Five wore his heart proudly on his sleeve—and fiercely protected it.
Diego saw a naked tablet sitting on the coffee table. He reached for it, turned on random news footage, threw it on the sofa as he trudged to the bar cart. He grabbed the golden whiskey by the bottle and tossed the top carelessly as it broke another cup. He was half listening to the news, and half glaring at his Dad. He was the real problem and to do this in this house pissed him off. He took a swig straight from the bottle and felt it crawl down his chest. He breathed in the spice and the bitterness. He glanced outside to see it dark and cold, as the wind created whispers against the window. There was rain just starting to fall and tap, tap, tap against the window.
"You want a drink, old man?" Diego extended his arm, like a child offering a wildflower. Reginald held his ice gaze but dropped the cracked spectacle from his hand and roughly took it to equally take a swig. Diego quirked his eyebrow in approval. He took it back and turned to see his family staring at a relaxed version of their father as they navigated through, yet another, fucking apocalypse. Their Dad was the type of man that would rather kill himself than be the leader in this fight. Yet here he was, drinking whiskey with a ridiculous rubber suit. He walked back to the sofa, kicking away the broken glasses, and handed the bottle to Allison. She took two massive gulps and handed it to Luther. Dazed and not paying attention, the bottle passed to Klaus. He took a sip, but Ben pushed his arm and took it from him. He almost finished it before Jennifer snatched it away to say, "Share, or I start killing."
With a serious tune, the tablet blared off an alert.
"I'm bringing Breaking News, here at Channel 9. A strong and unforeseeable earthquake shook the east coast today, and local geologists are suspecting its source to be upstate New York. A location not prone to strong earthquakes has got many scientists around the world scratching their heads. However, recent footage has revealed the source as a physical anomaly. As you see in this footage, a large beam of light shot through the quiet towns of Cazenovia in New York state, creating small disasters around the location. Citizens are reporting destroyed property and complete losses of their homes. The FBI is involved in the investigation. Let's look at the latest coverage from the press conference, reported by FBI special agent Eudora Patch, as she explains the situation."
Diego snapped his head up to look at the tablet he threw on the table and slightly choked on his whiskey as the news caught his attention. Viktor and Allison's heads snapped up, and Lila thought the name sounded familiar. Diego saw the transition of the news, and a grainy footage of Patch appeared. She wore a suit, her hair combed back.
"Good evening. I'm lead special agent Patch, here to give you a briefing on our findings so far. We understand that this event was man-made and of great power. We urge citizens not to approach this situation lightly and call the number on the screen with relevant information. We have also made connections to the events with the small group continuously protesting in Manhattan, promoting 'The Cleanse,' but have not been able to present any logical evidence linking them to these catastrophic events. We've gathered plenty of witness reports of their involvement in this case and are building a strong connection to the events in upstate New York."
Diego stared at her as she confidently presented her case, stating the words carefully as she glared down at the cameras filming her.
"We will not rest until we find those responsible. Thank you for your time."
Flashes of cameras exploded as she walked away from the podium, raising her hand to block out the lights.
Five started hearing the distant voice of the news report and carefully focused on it. Happy to finally hear more than the irritating ringing, he slowly regained his senses, inching closer to the reality around him. He heard Patch introduce herself, the strong squeeze of Lila's hand as the briefing finished, and finally saw the blinding white light reducing into a small circle in front of him.
"We should stage this so it looks like they orchestrated it," Five said hoarsely, choking. Diego looked away from the screen to realize that Five had heard the report and responded.
"You heard that, love?" Lila sighed in relief, rubbing his thigh.
"Yeah. My vision is slowly coming back. I don't think I would have survived if it weren't for my powers," Five whispered, his voice cracking again. "Healing. Very useful," Five muttered, looking in Diego's direction and softening.
Reginald immediately flipped open his phone, dialed 1 on the keypad, and waited as it rang. They heard a click and a faint voice, "Yes, Reggie?"
"Darling, I believe it's time for Code Black. SWAT teams are on their way," Reginald said, looking out the window. "Let's find a new renter to tie up the loose ends, shall we?"
They heard Abigail hesitate but then respond, "Understood," before the line clicked dead.
Before anyone could ask what Code Black even was, a glaring alarm sounded, and lights flashed throughout the mansion. Reginald turned to grab a bag to only turned to gesture them to follow him.
As the family trailed behind him, they saw the kitchen staff run past them toward the other long hallway, the security personnel gathering the captives and taking them down to the basement floors, and the general staff hurriedly shuffling their feet to get rid of evidence. Lila managed to notice Five's satchel as they carried everything that could incriminate them and took it as she thanked the staff.
Reginald stood still in the foyer, the family looking anxious as the emergency lights flickered and people bustled around. Soon, a herd of lab coats sprinted down the hallway past them. Abigail was the last one out, holding stacks of paper and a large duffle bag on her shoulder. Luther grabbed it for her, and she thanked him.
"Let's go. SWAT is only five minutes out," she urged, rushing them down the marble hallway. They ran past the clean windows, down half a floor, and into the garage. It was lined with many expensive cars, and Diego stopped when he saw a Camaro shining red.
"Please tell me we're taking this," he whined, but Reginald shushed him and made him hurry to catch up.
They walked toward the wall and passed through another hidden door, which darkened as Reginald closed it and locked it from the inside. They reached a large cave lined with various vans with blacked-out windows and saw two vans hurriedly skidding off. Filing into another van, Abigail drove, quickly pushing past the entrance and doing a 180-degree turn that sent the back tires skidding. She pushed the wipers on full speed as it poured, and a flash of lightning brightened their surroundings. She shifted gears and sped down a hill. She navigated the curves sharply, and Diego panicked at her turns as the road glistened in the rain. She only had low lights on, and he wondered how she could see in the night and in heavy rain. Abigail remained determined and silent as they sped through a 'shortcut' she knew.
When she spotted a SWAT van in the distance, she quickly turned into a suburban corner, skidding to a perfect parallel park between two cars. She paused, watching as the van passed by, and sharply took off the brakes, then continued in the opposite direction.
Klaus, quietly watching Abigail spin the wheel and pull the emergency brake at just the right moments, was dumbfounded. He thought she was just a scientist and muttered, "Who are you?"
She smirked into the rearview mirror, meeting Klaus's bewildered gaze and Viktor's, who clutched the handle above him.
"Oh, that's not even the half of it." She pushed the meter on the highway, and Five tried to catch up with what was happening. His vision was just beginning to clear when Abigail sped through oncoming traffic, safely pushing ahead. They raced down back alleys and obscure factory streets. Abigail slammed on the brakes hard as she spotted a sign, swerved, and parked in a hidden alcove overlooking a spectacular sight of upstate New York. The bright lights of the city shined in the corner, but in front of them, a ten-mile radius circle stretched, contrasted by the lights around them. She shut off the car and turned to a terrified Diego.
"Diego, please turn the news back on." He nodded, scrambled for the tablet in his bag, and pressed play on the live footage.
"I'm here at the scene of a bloody crime, reporting to you, live. There seems to be SWAT retreating now as they discuss heavily behind me. I have seen at least two people handcuffed and led out from the basements, and reports of a lab that created the massive energy have been confirmed. Lead Agent Patch has confirmed there has been a third party involved. Records indicate that the owners of the mansion are currently in France and have rented out the property to a Gene Thibodeau, a recent victim from a separate attack and currently in a coma from the events."
Diego turned up the volume, staring at the footage of Patch taking notes and talking to several SWAT members.
"And it looks like CSI has just arrived to start gathering evidence. In total, ten has been apprehended and at least thirty injuries. We will be here all day, updating you, live on Channel 9 news."
The footage cut back to the front desk as they continued to announce more details, including a scientist explaining what kind of energy caused the earthquake.
Abigail continued driving down a busy road, now blending in with the surrounding cars. They all quieted when they heard a small ring in Reginald's pocket and listened closely as he answered.
"Reginald," he snapped, opening the phone.
"Code Black cleared. All green," he said to Abigail while covering the microphone. She nodded at him and relaxed her tense muscles.
"The source?" he continued into the phone. They heard a long-winded explanation but couldn't make out the details.
"See where it takes you. Stay safe." He hung up. Silently, he broke open the back cover, removed the SIM card, crushed it, and tossed it out the window. He took out the battery and threw all the pieces into the car's drawer.
"No luck on the source of the Durango, it seems. The good thing is none of your fingerprints are registered in our world's system." Reginald adjusted his spectacles and slightly turned to face the van full of kids he did not raise.
"The map is there. In the bag. Outside pocket," Abigail said as she merged into another lane.
"There's no way we can hit all of these locations." Five grabbed the map and cleared his throat. "Give me the list," he said, looking at Viktor rummaging through the bag.
"Gene must have known. If I were a llama-wearing, narcissistic academic prick, where would I hide my most valuable weapon?" Five skimmed down the list. Odd locations—small stores and house addresses—were spread across twenty or so places. "I wouldn't write it down. Too obvious. Too smart." He mumbled, "Somewhere accessible. Somewhere everyone can see but ignore. Somewhere he can easily check without drawing suspicion."
"Somewhere near the barn," Lila trailed off, thinking too.
"Somewhere inconspicuous," Viktor said, staring at the map.
"Somewhere they would know and meet, without writing it down," Allison thought aloud.
Five stared at the map and turned it a few times. Something about the alignment of the locations bothered him, reminding him of something he couldn't catch, but his brain already had. The disconnect was frustrating, as the clouds that had only cleared in his mind a few minutes ago began to return.
"Wait. Five." Lila caught his wrist before he could turn the map again. There was a realization on her face, and Five knew she saw the thing he had been missing. She scrambled to the duffle bag, opened the RH journal to the last page, and pulled out a subway station map. Grabbing a pen, she poked a hole through each of the marked locations and added a final one for Gene and Jean's barn. She lined up the paper map on top of the thicker subway map and turned on the light above her. She raised the map and tilted it until the holes lined up.
Sitting in the middle front seat, Lila showed everyone next to her and those in the back what she saw. The light pushed the colored station dots perfectly through each location. The hole for Gene and Jean's barn was the only one glowing bright red. She smiled at Five. "I thought the layout looked familiar."
He grabbed the map back and laid it flat on his lap. He remembered how they had traveled through the subway system to find their way back to this world. Ripping off the paper map, he traced the subway map to find their current location. He placed the paper map back on top and saw that it lined up with a small town just outside Albany. He looked closer and saw a small state park covering the location in green.
"Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest," Five read aloud. "Makes sense. Nobody for miles. No one suspects large groups in a campground. Enough manpower to find and build a small, shitty lab for an off-brand Durango."
"This explains the floating odd number on the list. '20-5C.' Must be campground C in cabin 20-5," Lila said, snatching the list and pointing at the number written on the side.
"How would they have gotten the subway map?" Allison asked.
"If Gene and Jean have been gathering artifacts for years, it makes sense that they'd figured out the multiple timelines from this map. This explained the bleeding universes. I think it's safe to assume a map like this might have fallen through the cracks as well," Five said without turning back.
"Is it far?" Abigail asked, barely craning her neck towards them.
"Two hours at most. Let's get there now. I want this over with," Five said, his voice sounding stronger. Lila held his hand and loosened his grip on the map. He handed it to Reginald after circling the forest.
None of them could sleep. The constant stopping and starting due to the heavy New York State traffic made it impossible to move a mile without coming to a complete stop. Growing more impatient, Abigail unraveled from her usual composed self.
"I can't do this anymore." She swerved the car onto the shoulder as Reginald sighed, pulling out a small, cup-like device and plugging it into the car. Abigail opened the window and stuck it to the hood of the car. It started emitting police sirens as she turned it on. She added, "Can you believe I got this gem for 20 dollars?"
The shoulder allowed them to zoom past the traffic, eventually passing the source of the jam — a nasty three-car accident. After turning the siren off, they brought the device back into the car and rode in silence.
Diego could still feel the vibration of the room under his skin, and his powers felt oddly more intense than before. He tried to keep his mind and eyes off Five, but he couldn't stop worrying about him. It felt like Five could tip over and die at any moment. But instead, Diego saw him leaning his head on Lila, who curled up next to him. Diego turned down the volume of the tablet and played the same live news feed for updates. They were only thirty minutes away from the park grounds, and he didn't feel like sleeping. When he played the feed, those who were awake perked up at the familiar voice.
"—Lead Agent Patch, with updates on the mystery earthquake that shook New York."
The logo swirled, and better footage of Patch appeared. With bags under her eyes and her once clean, smooth hair now frayed around her face, she looked worn.
"We have uncovered new evidence that Dr. Thibodeau and his associates were heavily involved and led a cult, or what we now categorize as a violent gang."
There was another flash of cameras as reporters shouted questions at her.
"They continue to terrorize the city, and we urge citizens not to act against these members. 'The Cleanse' has now been tied to several smaller acts of violence across the state, and we have arrested members representing this group at the location of the energy surge that caused the earthquake. We have also found evidence that another party was involved and are diligently working to track them down. We suspect they were a victim to this ordeal and are opening the potential they are held captive. Please call the number on your screen to share any suspicious activities or threat regarding this event. Thank you for your time."
Diego quickly shut off the tablet and asked Abigail to pull over for a bathroom. When she found a shitty rest stop, a few of them piled out for snacks and the bathroom, but Diego quietly slipped out when they were all inside the store. He went around back, past the flickering and dying light and into a tucked corner where a singular pay phone stood. He slipped in coins he found in the car and dialed the number that flashed on the screen.
"Report center. How can I help you?" The voice on the line said. He hesitated and had to clear his throat when the woman said, "Hello? Anyone there?"
"I'd… I have direct evidence regarding this case. I'm one of the members being held captive. I need to talk to Patch. Now."
"… Hold please."