Chapter Text
Diego leaned off the wall when he heard his footsteps, psyching himself up to counter his ridiculous plan. “I hope you know what the hell you’re doing,” he said, fixing him with a glare that he hoped also conveyed how stupid he thought he was.
He walked forward slowly, the heels of his shoes thumping on the concrete. “Relax. It’s all going to work out,” Five said with alarming confidence, stepping out of the shadows completely and shoving his hands in his pockets like he was born for this, adorned in the purple tell-tale colors of the Sparrow Academy uniform.
2 days ago
The Hargreeves, now effectively and painfully ‘unadopted’, narrowly escaped the Sparrow Academy as they landed in 2019 and were confronted by Reginald…is what you’re probably expecting will happen. No, on the contrary: they escaped rather easily. They watched the sparrows(which Diego begrudgingly admits is better than being coined as umbrellas, seriously, their father had probably wanted them to fail) line up on the balcony like a fucking high school marching band and positioned like actual goddamn superheroes, which had annoyed Diego to no end.
They listened to their father spew bullshit. Well, not Diego. He had trained his eyes on the other stupid academy, watching like a hawk for any changes in their demeanor to anticipate an attack. Besides, he tended to tune out the old man anyway, even as kids. After a certain age, he realized their father was just full of shit that would rot their brains. Not listening to him at times was his own form of self-care.
“…and have DRASTICALLY changed the timeline due to your own foolish shenanigans! Number Five! What have you got to say for yourself?” Reginald exclaimed indignantly, loud enough to draw Diego’s attention, unfortunately. “I- uh…,” Five faltered, his eyes darting from Reginald to each of his siblings nervously, shifting on his feet like he was unsure of himself. Why the hell was Reginald singling him out? If anything, it was all of their faults. But as much as Diego would’ve liked to jump to his brother’s defense, he couldn’t bring himself to move his lips. He felt frozen.
Reginald looked at each of them in turn scornfully, his eyes finally resting on Five. “Well then! Let’s get down to business, shall we?” He clapped his hands twice, like he was turning off a light. “Sparrow Academy! You know what to do.” It all happened in a rush; Ben suddenly lifted his shirt and a tentacle shot out, grabbing Vanya by the waist and shooting her through one of the windows violently.
Taking out the biggest threat I see, Diego thought, before ‘holy shit’ then cried out “Vanya!” eyes widened, concern etched in his voice. This brutal attack on her was a declaration of war, and it spurred them all into action.
Diego whipped out four of his knives quickly, two in each hand, and hurled them at the tentacle brandishing Vanya outside. Ben grunted in discomfort, but hardly relented; Five, watching the scene, growled in aggravation and blinked, first ripping out a knife from the tentacle then slashing it across Ben’s back and the back of his legs, with as much vigor Diego could observe from his position. Diego could guess that Five had made rather long and deep dents, which he could appreciate.
Ben yelled at that one and stumbled, then swung a fist behind him madly. Five blinked out of the way; but with Ben suddenly wavering in concentration, his tentacle became looser, and Vanya was suddenly in view, a nasty gash on her forehead. She was unconscious. Shit.
“No!” Luther cried, then bounded up and punched the tentacle with almost more force Diego had ever seen. Ben immediately dropped Vanya, and Luther lunged to catch her: successfully. Ben eyed Klaus menacingly, who was staring at the ground dejectedly, a faraway look in his eyes. “Ben…” he mumbled.
“Klaus! Get out of the way!” Diego yelled frantically. He didn’t even look up. How was it all going to shit already?
Another one of Ben’s goddamn tentacles lashed out, but Five was faster; he blinked to Klaus and tackled him, shaking him by his coat on the ground. “Klaus! Focus! I don’t know what the hell is going on with you right now, but put it aside! We need to get out of here alive!” He cried urgently.
Klaus directed his gaze at him with a little difficulty, and it still looked cloudy. He licked his lips and said softly, “I-“ Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a flock of birds hurled onto them. The room was suddenly choked with them, but Diego could make out the bulking shape of Luther using his body to shield Vanya from the unusually sharp pecks of the birds.
Then, at the corner of his eye, he could make out the bluish glow of Five’s powers, and Luther disappeared. Diego felt panic well up in his chest at that, and tried to spot any of his other siblings in the dark mass of birds(as if he could actually see anything). Suddenly, an arm grabbed his, and he felt the familiar, nauseating sensation of being warped through space. They were spat out at the back of an alley Diego was not familiar with, and he braced his arm against the wall, a hand over his mouth. He was covered in nicks and scratches, glanced at the rest of his siblings and noticed they were bleeding a bit all over from the same wounds. Five was kneeling on the ground, panting as if he was out of breath, arms shaky and wobbly against the ground.
“What…the fuck just happened?” Allison said, the first time she had spoken since the fight. “Shit, will Vanya be okay?” She asked, rushing over to Luther and peering at her face.
“Yeah, I think so. Best guess is the impact of the glass hitting her head knocked her out, so she may have sustained a head injury we need to stitch up. We need a first aid kit,” Luther replied, surprisingly sounding calm and collected. The classic number one voice. Diego didn’t know whether to feel relieved or irritated.
He glanced over at Klaus and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey man, how you holding up?” He asked, eyes searching his face to find the answer.
Klaus stared at him with shiny eyes and said, “Ben…I…” his voice cracked. He shrugged Diego’s hand off and turned away, sniffing and rubbing his nose. Diego gazed at his back with clenched fists and mumbled, mostly to himself, “I know…shit, I know.”
There was a moment of quiet at that. Diego knew everyone had been freaked to see Ben suddenly alive, but obviously very much a different person. He thought back to the time he hugged him in Klaus’ body at the cult house, and now, he feel like he’d do anything to get his brother back; whether it was in his dead state, a form he was in that Diego couldn’t see, hell, in someone else’s whole-ass body , just…anything.
Their Ben would never willingly get such a stupid hair cut.
Diego heard a retching sound that interrupted his thoughts. He looked over at Five still on the ground, holding his stomach and barfing up…nothing. Yikes. “Five!” Allison cried, crouching to his level and touching his shoulder.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. We have more important things to worry about,” he said, shrugging off her hand and standing on his own. Well, at least he tried to. He wobbled a bit, went back down on one knee, then tried again. Diego would never say it to his face, but he admired his stubbornness.
“What ‘important’ thing may you be referring to? The other academy we literally already escaped?” Allison asked, folding her arms, fully intending to challenge him.
Five glared at her, but it was hard to take him seriously when he was pale and sweaty, his eyes shiny and rimmed with red, “ Exactly , you idiot! The fucking Sparrow Academy! We escaped them way too easily, something else is going on here…” he trailed off, eyes losing focus.
Diego rolled his eyes, then snapped his fingers in his face, “Hey, hey! Earth to Five? What the hell are you talking about?”
Five smacked his hand away and sneered at him, agitated, “Don’t snap your fingers at me, Number Two . In case your brain somehow couldn’t take it in, we’re-”
“Okay, okay, okay, listen. Why don’t we all go someplace…less in the open? Vanya and Five can rest, Five can tell us what he’s talking about, then we can figure out our next steps from there, huh? How about that?” Luther said, nervously grinning, obviously trying to ease the tension.
Five turned on him and glared, as if he was somehow offended that Luther would suggest rest . “You know what? Fine. Let’s get out of here.” Which he would’ve done by himself…if he hadn’t turned around, taken a step, then promptly fell on his face.
“Wow,” Klaus gave an airy, wet laugh. “The little man somehow angered himself into unconsciousness. How unexpected!”
Luther sighed. “Diego, grab him. Allison, you up for a couple of rumors?”
* * *
With Five slung over his shoulder and Luther carrying Vanya bridal style, they sure did attract a lot of stares. They found a banged up motel seemingly at the corner of the city, where Allison used her increasingly convenient rumor to bag themselves a room, along with a first aid kit.
“Damn,” Diego said, eying the room with disgusted fascination. There were two queen beds with two impossibly flat pillows each. The sheets looked clean, thankfully, but the same couldn’t be said for the couch. It was the same color as moldy bread, and Diego had to suppress a gag.
“I’d say we’ve truly hit rock bottom, but that’s not even true. Well, at least for me anyway,” Klaus said, eying the questionable stains on the carpeted floor with distaste.
“Okay, I know I said I didn’t like using my power, but if we’re gonna use it we might as well have gotten a better place to stay, Luther ,” Allison emphasized, her nose wrinkled in revulsion.
“Okay, okay! I know it’s not ideal, but it’s the best option for us. We need to stay off the radar!” Despite his tone, he looked sheepish. “And Five would agree with me!”
Speaking of the little shit, Diego could feel the heat emanating from his skin, which worried him. He knew he must have blinked every single one of them out there in the mass of birds, one by one, not to mention the blinks during the fight, but he had never really been this sick. Vanya would be fine though; all they needed to do was clean up the head wound and have her rest.
“Alright boys, lay Vanya and Five on the bed. I want to check over them,” Allison said, all professional-like. Luther and Diego laid them gently, and Allison checked over Five first. She felt his forehead with the back of her hand, then frowned in apprehension. “Shit, he’s burning up. Diego, check if you can find some towels in the bathroom and soak them with water.”
After Diego had brought the towels, which were thankfully clean, Allison laid one on his forehead, then used another to clean his clammy face. “He’s way too pale. Is it because of his powers?”
“Yeah, best guess is he’s over-exerted himself. When that happens it’s best to just let him rest. He’ll be fine,” Luther said, staring at Five’s sleeping form.
Allison gazed at him and nodded, “Alright.” Though her eyebrows were still furrowed with worry. She checked Vanya next, who was also pale and sweaty. The gash on her forehead was thankfully not that deep though, and Allison reached for the first aid kit to begin cleaning the wound.
“Well! I don’t know about you all, but I am starving ,” Klaus exclaimed dramatically, collapsing on the moldy bread-couch. Diego’s face twisted with nausea; there was no way in hell he would lay any part of his body on that thing. “Anyone up for some booze?” Klaus asked airily, arms behind his head.
Diego eyed him critically. He knew he wasn’t fine, just putting on a mask so he could try and forget. This was a classic Klaus move, and he made a mental note to check up on him later.
“Booze is not the first thing I would go to when I’m hungry, man,” Diego said. “No, we’re gonna get some actual food. It’s time we all had some sort of break.”
Luther snorted. “Good luck telling Five then.”
Diego rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Please. In his condition, he couldn’t lay a scratch on me if he wanted to.” Luther raised his eyebrows doubtfully at that, but didn’t say anything. He joined Klaus on the couch.
“Okay,” Allison said, “I’ve cleaned Vanya’s wound, I think she’ll be fine. She may have a concussion though.” She slapped off her gloves and put them back in the box, her motions giving away that she was tired.
“We need some food, then rest. Klaus, come with me. I think you need some sort of distraction right now,” Allison said sympathetically, holding out her hand to him. He brought down his arms from behind his head slowly, his relaxed expression crumbling slightly.
“Yeah. Yeah, okay,” he said. He took her hand and helped him up, and the two of them headed out. “And we’re not getting booze!” Allison’s voice called from outside.
Diego dropped on the edge of the bed, running a shaky hand through his hair. “S-Shit,” he said, the events of the day now just hitting him, it seemed. Luther glanced at him from lidded eyes, then fixed his gaze on a yellow stain on the carpet. “Yeah,” he said quietly.
Reginald Hargreeves. Diego’s hatred of him grew more intense every day, and with that, his desperate need to prove himself and to develop his self-worth in light of his father. He always hated to admit that, because he despised that part of him; it was such a fucking complicated emotion that hurt his brain to think about. And Diego could bet every single knife he’s ever thrown that he could not loathe that man any less as he realized, with anger and surprised hurt, that he created another academy.
Whatever. They were probably better off without him, anyway.
They sat in silence until Allison and Klaus came back. Klaus barged in with his arms raised, holding packages and proclaiming confidently, “We come bearing goods and…oh,” he quieted when he noticed the mood, staring at Luther then Diego.
Allison trailed in after him, looking at them and understanding. She sighed. “So uh…I got some Chinese, and a few clothes. And I-” she stopped herself and bit her lip nervously. “Never mind. Let’s dig in, maybe we’ll feel better.”
Vanya suddenly stirred at that moment, groaning and holding her head. “Ugh, shit,” she said, scrunching her eyes in pain. She opened her eyes, tried to sit up and failed, blinking blearily, “What’d I miss?”
“Vanya! You’re slurring a little but that’s okay! At least you’re alive!” Klaus cried, obviously relieved. He plopped down next to her on the bed, giving her a one-armed hug.
“Klaus! Don’t crowd her, she literally just woke up!” Diego snapped. But he was relieved as well. Watching Vanya basically getting hurled out of the window was heart-wrenching. He was so glad she was okay.
She laughed weakly, “Yeah.” She looked to her right, and saw Five was still unconscious. “Woah, woah, what happened to him?” She reached over to hold his head, turning it this way and that, then lifted his shirt. “I don’t see any wounds?” She looked up, her expression worried.
“He‘ll be fine, Vanya. He over-exerted himself, he just needs some rest,” Allison said soothingly, reaching over and rubbing her hand across her back. “In the meantime, why don’t you have some food? You look pale, and I got your favorite!” Allison’s cheeriness sounded slightly forced, Diego noticed. But he couldn’t blame her. He got the feeling they were all feeling like ass right now.
They ate in silence. Well, except for the small argument between Luther and Klaus where Luther claimed Klaus stole his chicken, Klaus solidly denying it, “I did not! I just happened to find an extra piece of chicken!” But aside from that, silence. The mood was too dreary for him.
Diego got up to throw away his pack, and that was when Five decided to wake up. “Ugh,” he groaned, bringing a hand to his face.
“Wow,” Diego said, throwing away the pack and striding over to him, “The bastard awakens.” Five glared at him halfheartedly. His cheeks looked slightly sunken, and he had dark bags under his bloodshot eyes. Frankly, he looked like shit. “You look like shit,” Diego remarked, looking him over with concern.
“Thanks, Diego. I had no idea. Probably has something to do with the fact that I feel like shit too,” Five replied sarcastically, sitting up and holding his head in both his hands.
Allison got up and walked over to him, handing him a pack. “Here, you need something to regain your energy.”
Five perked up at that, “Coffee?” His look of disappointment would be almost hilarious if he didn’t look like some sickly child. “Oh,” he said, slouching. “Is…the coffee behind you?”
Allison stared at him disapprovingly. “ No , Five. Do you ever ingest anything other than coffee? Even water? I specifically didn’t get coffee because I knew you would ask for it. Now, here .” She shoved the pack in his hands, and he fixed her with a dark look.
“I’m a grown man, Allison. I don’t need you telling me what I should and shouldn’t eat.”
“Alright then, fine! If you’re so grown , go out there and get your own coffee! Maybe that’ll heal you while you’re at it,” she said, clearly fed up. The two of them stared each other down, but Diego wanted to laugh. Five looked so ridiculous doing it, he really wasn’t in any position to be intimidating right now: hunched over on the bed looking like some sickly child who’d been denied candy for dinner.
“Fine,” he murmured. “I’ll eat the damn food.”
Allison gave him one last look, then went to sit back down on the other bed.
Five picked at his food, looking dejected and dissatisfied. He put it aside and sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“Five…” Allison said warningly, frowning.
“Relax, relax, I’ll eat it. I just…I just need to think,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was obvious he was still feeling a bit weak and unwell, but it looked like he wanted to set it aside and discuss something. Yeah, as if that was more important than his health. What a moron, Diego thought, scowling.
Klaus plopped down on the bed next to Five with a loud sigh. “So, you little psycho! Looks like something’s been on your mind for a while. Spit it out, what is it?” Five glanced at him anxiously, then the rest of them.
“Guys, this…this is bad,” Five said, his hands wringing.
Diego scoffed. “Yeah, no shit. That asshole’s alive, there’s another goddamn academy , and we haven’t even explored the rest of the city yet! What’s next, an alien invasion?”
Five didn’t even respond to that, which subdued Diego. He kept on looking forward, still wringing his hands.
“Five, what did you mean when you said they let us escape too easily? Are you still keeping stuff from us?” Luther asked, sounding concerned at his brother’s silence.
Five leaned back and sighed, closing his eyes. He looked back at Luther. “No, no that’s not it. I just think there’s something bigger going on. Reginald is planning something.”
“Elaborate,” Vanya said.
“Think about it. Ben usually used multiple tentacles at once, right? Then why did he use only one to attack Vanya and leave the rest of us?” Five asked.
Luther scratched his head. “Because Vanya is arguably the biggest threat?”
“That’s what I thought too. But if Reginald really wanted to capture or kill us, he would’ve had the other academy go all out on all of us. By not directly attacking, Ben was purposely leaving himself vulnerable and open to attack. Didn’t you guys notice the other members just stood on the balcony and did nothing? Reginald wasn’t trying to catch us; he wanted us to escape, with a little more show to make it look convincing,” Five said, staring at the floor in thought.
The rest of them were quiet as they processed this new information. Vanya and Allison exchanged worried glances, and Diego’s leg jiggled irritably. “Sounds like something the bastard would do,” he mumbled.
“Whoever they were released a flock of birds to cause a nuisance. In the middle of battle, we wouldn’t think too much about it; our priority would be to clear the birds or escape. Now wouldn’t that be easier if you had someone who could conveniently teleport? Under the concealment of a dark mass of birds?” Five got up and began to pace, frowning and fidgeting. Saying all of this out loud only seemed to irritate him more.
“I’m just saying…I have a bad feeling about this. Reginald has always been a two-way asshole, has his own way of dealing with things so you’ll never anticipate them. Something bigger is coming.” He stopped his pacing to stare at them grimly, developing a fighting stance, “And we have to be ready.”