SONG: Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper

I walked through the streets of England, my usually white clothes black with char, soot, and smoke. My bare feet patterred across the sidewalk, something I hadn't been on for almost ten years. Streetlamps flickered whenever I walked underneath one as I made my way to the house I'd grown up in, tears streaming down my cheeks. But I couldn't stop. I had to see my family. I had to let them know I was okay, and that I was sorry.

Though, when I came up to the door, I heard music playing from the inside. I held out my hand to ring the doorbell before pausing as the song truly hit me.

" If you're lost you can look and you will find me. Time after time. If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting. Time after time," I remembered the song from my childhood, dropping my hand. I stepped off the porch, making my way around the house to the living room window. I looked through to see my mum, a big smile on her face. I smiled myself as I saw her happiness, remembering how pained she'd looked the last time I saw her. I noticed a large scar covering a side of her face and down, my smile instantly dropping. Looking more around, I saw my dad, a smile on his face, and in his hand, the hand of a young girl, maybe nine. I felt my heart sink in my throat, noticing the beautiful purple dress she was wearing, the barbie doll in her hand. I bit my lip, pulling away from the house as I clenched my fists and shut my eyes.

For ten years I'd worked on my anger so nothing would ever happen like it did that night. When I opened my eyes, all the lights in the house were out. My eyes widened as I backed away from the house, realizing now what I couldn't realize ten years ago. They didn't need me, and all I'd do for them was bring them pain. I slowly backed up before a familiar face appeared in the window, his eyes widening as they laid on me. I felt a burning feeling in my nose as I turned on my heel and began running. I ran until I couldn't breathe, a fire in my lungs. I hardly even noticed I was in the street until I saw a bus coming straight for me, honking as it tried to stop.

In one quick instance, I held my hands out in front of me. They glowed light blue as the bus came at me, the driver trying desperately to slow. I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing myself for my final breath. And then it was over. I opened my eyes to see the bus was no longer in front of me, turning around to see it stopped a little ways behind me, melting metal dripping in the shape of a human where I had been standing.

"Luce?" Allison brought me out of my thoughts. I looked up at her, blinking, "Are you okay?" she asked, and I finally realized she had asked me a question that I had yet to answer.

"What? Oh, oh, yeah. I'm fine. And to answer your question, I just needed a change of scenery," I forced a smile up at her. She nodded slowly, then opened her mouth to say something, but was cut short when we heard loud, booming footsteps making their way down the steps, followed by many more. Luther came first, Diego and their mum following. I made my way to find Vanya, Number Five, and Klaus in the back.

"Are we all ready?" Luther asked. I looked around to see everyone with an umbrella other than me.

"It's okay, I'll share," Klaus said, lighting a new fag, and I looked at his little clear and pink umbrella that could probably hardly fit him underneath it.

"I'm good, but thanks," I said with a small smile, then inched closer to Vanya, not wanting any suspicions between the group, though by the way Five was looking at me and Klaus, he seemed to already have some.

We one by one made our way out of the hallway and out to the courtyard area, spreading out in a curved line.

"Did something happen?" their mum asked, causing me to look at her with a confused glance from my spot under Vanya's umbrella.

"Dad died. Remember?" Allison asked.

"Oh. Yes, of course," their mum said, her small smile dropping to a frown.

"Is Mom okay?" Allison asked Diego, who I just realized didn't have his own umbrella.

"Yeah, yeah, she's fine," Diego looked at their mum, who looked entirely out of it, "She just needs to rest. You know, recharge," Diego added. I saw someone move up beside me and jumped as I saw a chimpanzee in clothes with an umbrella and walking on a cane. I looked around before back at said chimp.

"Whenever you're ready, dear boy," he said to Luther, and my eyes widened just a bit more.

"Does anybody else see the talking monkey?" I whispered to the rest of the group.

"Oh, uh, yeah, Luce this is Pogo, Pogo this is Luce. Pogo's basically like our... Assistant? And friend," Vanya explained and I nodded and waved a small greeting to the monkey man.

"Um... Hi."

"Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Luce," he greeted with a similar accent to mine, causing me to smile as it reminded me of home a bit, before the smile faded at the old memories. Luther cleared his throat to get the attention back on him as he opened the urn and dumped the ashes in a pile in front of him on the wet grass. This moment couldn't be any less graceful.

"Probably would've been better with some wind," he said, realizing how shite this whole evening was going.

"Does anyone wish to speak?" Pogo asked, looking around at everyone. When nobody spoke up, he opened his mouth to say something else while going to put his head down, but I rose my hand.

"I'll say a couple words," I said, gaining some ambivalent expressions from the people around me; Diego looked angry, Luther looked shocked, Vanya looked proud, Allison looked confused, Klaus looked amused, and Five... Well Five looked like Five I guess. I had hardly seen him have any kind of emotional expression on his face in the short time I'd known the kid-er-man. I took a step forward, clearing my throat to speak.

"No. No. We are not letting her speak. She didn't even know dad, or any of us except Vanya before today," Diego said, causing me to frown.

"Just let her say a couple words, Diego. Or were you going to?" Allison said, making my frown turn upside down instead. Diego looked at his sister and huffed. I once again, cleared my throat to speak.

"Sir Reginald Hargreeves... was a... Decent enough man from what I heard. I... I didn't know you, sir," I began speaking to the pile of ash on the ground instead of the people standing around me, "But it would've been an honor and privilege to have met you. I know you weren't father of the year, but who really is, huh? You raised some... Amazing people, who I'm lucky to have met today, and am extremely grateful to be able to call one of them my best friend. I hope wherever you lie, heaven, hell, purgatory, reincarnated, or the eternal pit of darkness, that you're happy and surrounded by the best years of your life-er-afterlife," I said, finally realizing I was still surrounded by people as I looked back up at the group. Vanya's smile had only grown, as had Allison's, Klaus', Pogo's, and their mums; not even to mention the small grin on Luther's face. The only one who seemed unhappy with my speech was Diego.

"In all regards," Pogo began as I backed up to be beside Vanya once again, "Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today. For that alone, I shall forever be in his debt. He was my master... And my friend, and I shall miss him very much. He leaves behind a complicated legacy-"

"He was a monster," Diego cut off the chimp, gaining frowns from everyone around, other than Klaus who began to laugh as smoke from the fag blew out from in between his lips, "He was a bad person, and a worse father. The world's better off without him."

"Diego," Allison warned.

"My name is Number Two. You know why? Because our father couldn't be bothered to give us actual names. He had Mom do it," he tested Allison, who gave up easily.

"Would anyone like something to eat?" their mum asked.

"No, it's okay, Mom," Vanya responded.

"Oh, okay," their mum said, incredibly out of it. I wondered if she might have some kind of brain damage, or was currently mentally unstable, and why her kids weren't more concerned about her well being.

"Look, you wanna pay your respects?" Diego asked, taking a couple steps out into the rain and closer to the ashes nearby Luther, "Go ahead. But at least be honest about the kind of man he was."

"You should stop talking now," Luther warned. Diego stared him down with a simple moment of silence before continuing.

"You know, you of all people should be on my side here, Number One."

"I am warning you."

"After everything he did to you," Diego inched towards the much taller man, "He had to ship you a million miles away."

"Diego, stop talking," Luther warned once more through gritted teeth.

"That's how much he couldn't stand the sight of you," Diego raised his voice as he poked Luther's chest with the last seven words of the sentence. In an instance, Luther pushed Diego's arm down and began swinging. It wasn't long before they were both landing hits and Vanya pulled me and her mum back while Pogo tried to stop them. I watched Klaus try to lead Five back, who promptly smacked his arm away.

"Stop it!" Vanya shouted.

"Hit him! Hit him!" Klaus added. I looked at him with the biggest bitch face I could muster before shaking my head.

"Stop!" I screamed at them, not enjoying this all that much. I wasn't close to either of them, but I knew it was making Vanya uncomfortable, and I didn't like that. Of course, they didn't listen to me a bit and continued hitting and punching and kicking. I saw Pogo shake his head and begin making his way back to the mansion of a home. I sighed as I just gave up trying, the only way I knew for a fact that I could get their attention was by using my powers, but I was too afraid of that. I didn't want Vanya feeling betrayed and I most definitely didn't want to accidentally go too far and hurt anyone. I never wanted to hurt anyone ever again. I watched as Five went inside as well after mumbling something I couldn't hear, Klaus standing behind him. He was intently watching the fight, most likely coming up with bets inside his head.

"Come here big boy!" Diego shouted, pulling my attention away from their effeminate brother just as Luther threw a punch at Diego. Diego slid out of the way and Luther's fist ended up colliding with the crotch of the statue, throwing it straight off of the mount it was on and to the ground. I watched as the head popped right off, and heard Allison mumble something (most likely about it) under her breath before she also made her way inside. I saw Diego, who had ran away from Luther, pull out a knife and my eyes widened.

"Diego, no!" Vanya shouted and I ran out in front of Luther, but it was too late. I shut my eyes, expecting the knife to either hit me or melt upon contact with me, but neither happened. I opened my eyes to see Diego holding his hand up with a focused look on his face.

"This is none of your business," he grumbled.

"I know, but I'm not going to stand aside while you ruin every relationship you have in your family. At least you have them," I said, trying to keep a cool head so I wouldn't make a mistake and slip up.

"Get out of the way before I let the knife hit you," he growled.

"Luce, maybe you should just move," I heard Klaus from the sidelines and rolled my eyes.

"Why don't you just cut me then?" I asked. Diego raised an eyebrow.

"You really don't want to test me right now," he muttered, to which I took a step closer to the knife. He stared me down before glancing between the knife and me, then finally let out a huff of anger as the knife turned its direction to going downwards and flew straight into the ground. I nodded, finally feeling my heart beating in my chest at the adrenaline before I looked around, nodding at my two friends over at the side. I then looked at Luther, who looked... Shocked to say the least, that his brother even threw a knife at him in the first place. He then just made his was past us, patting me on the back as he went, and disappeared into the house. I felt Vanya hug me from the side, closing my eyes as I melted into her embrace.

"That was so dumb," she mumbled, but didn't let go.

"I-I'm sorry... I just... I wanted to help," I whispered.

"We aren't the heroes," she pulled away. I nodded, looking down to my feet.

"Well, neither are they, apparently."

"You got enough material for your sequel yet?" Diego asked Vanya, who looked at him.

"He was my father too," she said, taking a hold of me and beginning to walk with me inside. I stopped, holding out my index finger to her to tell her to wait a moment. I bent down and picked up Diego's knife, walking up to him and holding it out to him.

"I'd advise you, sir, to think twice next time you use this. Some things you can't take back, trust me."

"Dad, I'm so sorry!" I begged, holding onto my mum's hand as my dad dialed a number on the phone, most likely 999, "I-I didn't mean to-"

"Just get away from her!" He shouted, grabbing my hand that was holding hers and throwing me back from her. Tears streamed down my cheeks, "I should've known from the very second you were born all you'd do is cause trouble," he growled, then listened in on the phone call, "I need an ambulance please. There's been an accident. My wife is horribly injured. No, I don't know what caused it, will you just send somebody please?!" he shouted through the phone. I looked back at my mum, who was gasping for breath on the couch as blood dripped down the side of her face. I hadn't meant to do it... I just got so angry.

"Mum, I'm sorry," I cried. I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't wipe away the tears either. All I could do was sit and cry, "If I could take it back, I would!" I shouted.

"Yeah, but you can't, Luce! You can't undo the damage you've caused!"

☂☂☂

Vanya and I stood at the door of the house, waiting to go. She had called a taxi for us, but I couldn't stop feeling this... Feeling in my chest. It was one thing to keep my powers a secret, that was something I tried to hide from everyone, but what I'd done with Klaus today was a completely different matter. I just couldn't stop thinking about how much I knew I should tell her, but I was afraid. I didn't want her to hate me for it.

"Hey, you okay?" she pulled me out of my thoughts as she placed a gentle hand on my arm.

"Yeah," I lied through my teeth with a small smile at her, before it slowly dropped, "Actually, no. No, not really. Look, there's something I need to tell you-" I was interrupted when Pogo hobbled his way into the room and towards Vanya, catching both of our attentions.

"Hold that thought one second, Luce," she said to me before looking at the old chimpanzee, "Don't waste your time," she told him, "Diego's right, I shouldn't have come."

"This is your home. And always will be," Pogo said as I backed up towards the door, away from their conversation, "Should I get you two a taxi?"

"I already called one. But thanks," Vanya responded and right as she finished a horn honked outside. She looked towards the door and at me, and I gave her a thumbs up before making my way out of the doors. I walked up to the driver, handing him a five for the wait and telling him to give us a minute while I waited for Vanya to walk out the doors, knowing I wanted to tell her before we got into the car, just in case so I wouldn't have to be kicked out. It wasn't long before she was outside with me, ready to get into the car.

"Vanya, wait... Before we go," I started, tugging on her arm back. I could feel my heart beating heavily through my chest like it was about to explode.

"Yeah?" she questioned. I bit my lip, looking down.

"How... Mad would you be... IfIshaggedyourbrother?" I asked in almost a whisper, speeding up my words to where you could hardly understand them.

"What? What would I be mad about?" she asked, obviously not hearing me. I sighed and looked up.

"How mad would you be if... something happened between me and your brother?" I asked a bit louder and clearer, not looking into her eyes. She went silent for a moment and I looked at her finally, just to watch her crack up.

"That's a funny joke, Luce. Thanks for trying to cheer me up-"

"No, Vanya," I sighed in almost a whiney voice as I facepalmed myself, "I did, I really did. I'm so sorry-"

"Wait, what? Which one?" she asked and I, once again, refused to look at her.

"Klaus," I muttered.

"Klaus? What? Is that the only reason you said he was cool and funny? Cause you boned him?" she asked, getting defensive and doing her anxious twitches as she slowly started to back away from me.

"No! Of course not!" I defended myself with a frown.

"Is that the only reason you were okay with coming today? You wanted to get closer to my family? God, I knew you were a fan of the Umbrella Academy, but I didn't realize you were a groupie, Luce," she said and I felt my heart sink in my chest.

"I-" I started, "I just wanted to be here for you," I said quietly.

"Well great freaking job," with that, she got into the taxi, "Call your own cab, Luce. Or better yet, go have sex with my brother again. All three of them if you want," she said, shutting the door on me. I watched as the taxi drove off and felt tears prick my eyes. That could've gone a whole lot better. When I heard the faint buzzing of some streetlights around me, I pulled my sleeves over my hands, using them to wipe my tears before turning back to the house. I made my way back up the steps, hoping my emotions could just stay outside as I walked in. Nobody was in the main hall anymore, so I spent the next five minutes searching for Klaus. He was the only one who would understand the situation anyways. Allison was nice, but she'd probably side with Vanya, and I really just wanted somebody to hug.

I finally found him back in the kitchen, sitting in a chair at the table and playing what looked like an electric guitar with his bare feet up on the table. As soon as he saw me, I saw a smile cross his face, but drop almost as soon as it appeared.

"You're sad," he said, to which I shook my head.

"Nope. I'm not. I'm better than ever," I smiled and he hummed.

"Nope, I'm pretty sure you're sad," he said, putting his feet down as he laid the guitar on the table, stood, and made his way to me, "You see, I can tell because even if you wipe the tears away, they still leave this shine on your cheeks that I know wasn't there half an hour ago," he said, rubbing away the rest of the liquid on my face with his fluffy parka-esque sleeve.

"I've just been standing in the rain," I lied.

"Look, Luce, if you don't want to tell me what you're sad about, that's fine, but you gotta at least admit that you're sad," he said, backing away even though all I wanted was for him to stay close. I sighed as he began walking back in the direction of his spot at the table.

"Vanya's gone. She left without me," I admitted and he stopped, looking back at me.

"Well, why?"

"I told her what we did," I mumbled, looking down at my hands. I saw a bit of a blue light emitting from my palms and hid them behind my back.

"Oh, well, no wonder she's upset, seeing as how she's got the hots for you," he shrugged, picking up the guitar as I looked up at him with wide eyes.

"What?"