We went a bit too easy when it came to kidnapping Luther. This isn't how holding someone hostage is supposed to go. Dahlia thought to herself as she practiced her ice throws. The tips of her fingers carefully fondled the sharp points on her frozen fractals. She had switched from the regular icicles to something more advanced and something far more her style. Ice throwing stars that looked similar to ones in Japanese Manga.

She glared at the target board, the red bullseye sitting in-between her previous stars. It was all a matter of accuracy. She brought her hand up, taking a slow breath. The throwing star zoomed through the air, one of its spikes brushed against the red spot, but shattered into pieces on the ground.

Dahlia grimaced, feeling agitation boil through her veins. But she swallowed it down like a bitter pill and drank from her glass of freezing water. Giggles erupted from down the hall, and she glanced over at her wall, pressing an ear to it. The sounds of Luther and Sloane conversing were loud enough for the whole Academy to hear, depending on where you were in the house.

The Icy Sparrow couldn't wrap her head around it. If she were in charge of watching Luther, she probably would've frozen and tied him to a chair and interrogated him. But her sister took it to a whole new level. How could she see the good in someone so bad? How could she bear to talk to him when he was lying about Marcus's disappearance? "I always wanted the Umbrella Academy to be like this. You guys actually do stuff together!" Luther admitted.

"You guys don't?" Sloane asked in a questioning tone. Luther explained what had happened to the Ben in their universe, how he had died when they were kids, and how since his death, the Umbrellas felt apart and didn't want anything to do with one another. "Everyone had their own agenda, and it's like pulling teeth to get anyone to care. I guess after a while, I stopped caring about myself. The training, the missions, and about being Number One."

A knock from the bedroom door made Dahlia pull away and see who it was. It was Ben, who had his arms folded across his chest. "What are you doing?" He questioned. "Why is that any of your concern?" Dahlia retorted. Ben smirked as he glanced down at the ground before reconnecting his gaze with hers. "Just... curious," The blonde opened her mouth, trying to come up with an excuse, but the look Ben gave her stopped her dead in her tracks.

Thankfully, the sounds of Sloane and Luther's conversation broke the deafening and awkward silence. The Squid boy turned in the gym's direction, hearing the brief laughter between the pair. "Sloane will eventually get him to slip. He'll either admit they have Marcus or the location of The Umbrellas," Ben narrowed his eyes.

He glanced at Dahlia from the corner of his right eye, wondering why she wasn't responding to anything he was saying. To him, it seemed like she was acting like he didn't even exist, that he was merely the wind passing her. There was a part of Dahlia that wanted to push Ben out of her room and lock the door, but instead of doing so, she just waited for him to go, thinking that her prolonged silence would annoy him.

"Go get Sloane and our guest and tell them to meet us in the sitting room," He ordered before finally leaving. Dahlia slowly exhaled before walking to the gym, leaning in closer to hear more of the Umbrella and Sparrow's conversation. "So, tell me a little bit more about that family of yours before they decide to come and rescue you. Where are you guys staying anyway?"

Caught him right in the trap. Will he be stupid to admit their location? Just some dumpy hotel downtown. The Hotel-" Luther caught himself before he spilled the beans, almost instantly assuming that Sloane was trying to trap him. "No no, I'm not!" She insisted. "Of course, Luther you're so stupid! 'Oh wow, you really think the moon is cool?' I'm such a fool," At that moment, Dahlia walked into their view, clearing her throat.

"Ben would like a word. Go get cleaned up," the blonde spoke, her voice softer towards Sloane than with Luther. The ape-man stood up, brushing past the Sparrow, feeling betrayed. Sloane could only watch with guilt, glancing up at her sister. "I'll be down there in a second," She nodded.

~~~~~~~

As the Sparrows all gathered in the living room, waiting for Luther to come down, Jayme and Alphonso bickered over a brawl they found themselves in at the market that afternoon. "So, remind me again who you were going against?" Dahlia asked, having droned out through most of the conversation. "Ugh, it was one of the Umbrellas. Catching on yet?" Jayme rolled her eyes. In response, the blonde's eyes turned to icy blue again, seemingly trying to scare her sister, who snarled back at her.

"Enough. Which Umbrella was it?" Ben inquired, turning his attention to Alphonso. "It was the shaggy-haired dude with the knives. Finally decided to cut it, and oddly enough, there was a kid with him," the beer-bellied man replied. "You were screaming for help the entire time," Jayme chuckled. "I wasn't screaming, I was kicking his ass," Alphonso defended. Jayme cocked her head to the side, recounting how he was lying on the ground gasping for air because the "bitch-boy" kicked his inhaler out of his reach.

Luther walked into the room, the Sparrow's conversations ceased completely as they turned their gaze towards him, still wearing the red Sparrow jacket from his time in the gym with Sloane. "Doesn't look like your family is coming anytime soon," Fei sneered. "Oh no, I'm sure they're just working out the final details and... such," Luther explained. With a slight smile, Ben stood up from his seat and walked towards the Umbrella. "Relax, you're free to go. A gesture of goodwill, but I want you to pass along a very important message to your family." 

The ape-man nodded, gesturing for him to go on. "Let Marcus go. And if any of you hurt one hair on him, we'll come for you. And I promise we won't be so hospitable next time," Squid boy threatened. Luther took a moment to swallow the threat, claiming that he didn't like having his and his siblings' lives threatened. "You'll do as we say or else..." Dahlia stood up, an icicle forming in the center of her palm, ready to impale its target.

"...I'm dead, I get it," Luther finished the sentence. Ben snapped his fingers, gesturing for Alphonso to grab a nearby tote bag, handing it to the Umbrella leader. "Hope you enjoyed your stay," Ben fakely smiled as he and the rest of the Sparrows watched him walk out the door.