MIDAS ⇾ THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY

~ XVII ~

The bowling alley was still noisy, the teenagers in the corner laughing. Alexis stood protectively behind Allison, as the group reconvened.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" asked Diego.

Luther looked unsure.

"Well, I think that, uh..." he started, before clearing his throat. "We go to the Icarus Theater."

Alexis looked up.

"That's a location, not a plan," she said quietly.

Diego stepped up to Luther.

"What? Is that all you got? Look, you wanna be Number One, fine, but you're gonna have to get us on the same page, because right now, we're all over the place."

He gestured at the others. Alexis shrugged in agreement.

"You're right," Luther said grudgingly. "We need a plan."

He began to speak again, but Alexis lost him as her eyes flicked to the door. Armed, masked figures were running in, eyes glowing. She froze for a second, trying to warn the others. Diego pulled her down as they opened fire.

"Get down!" she heard Luther yell.

She could hear the screams of the teenagers from before, watching as the bullets shattered bowling balls and furniture. Diego flicked a few knives to try and stop some of the attackers, but they kept coming. Alexis pressed her hands over her ears, deafened by the noise.

"Who the hell are these guys?" grunted Diego.

"Maybe they're here for Kenny's birthday!" Klaus yelled.

Alexis cried out as something exploded on the table above her.

"I'm pretty sure they're here for us!"

Her head turned as the sound system started up, blasting music through the hall. The gunfire faltered momentarily.

Diego poked his head up above the table, ducking back down almost immediately.

"They're blocking the exit!" he yelled. "So what's the plan now, Luther?"

Alexis saw Allison gesturing wildly.

"The lanes!" she yelled.

"Let's go!" shouted Luther.

They all sprang up, and sprinted towards the end of the lanes. Alexis came last - she had always been lucky with bullets. Nothing hit her. As she reached the end of the alley, she threw herself headfirst to where the pins were, crashing into the space at the back. Diego grabbed her hand and the two hurtled out together, out the door. Alexis followed his lead, running after him through the streets.

"Diego!" she yelled.

He stopped, and turned, looking concerned.

"What about the others?" she asked. "Where's Allison?"

"I'm sure they're fine," he said bluntly. "Why do you care so much about her?"

Alexis felt her cheeks flush slightly. Diego's face suddenly dawned in realisation.

"Oh... shit," he said. "Really?"

Alexis nodded shyly.

"Is that... okay?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, it's, uh... she's my sister, but I'm all for it."

Alexis smiled gratefully, and they ran across the road, towards the theater. The others were already inside.

Music drifted through the halls, as Allison held up her notepad.

I NEED TO GO ALONE

Luther shook his head

"Allison, I can't let you do that, alright?" he said defiantly. "I can't let you go in on your own."

"I'll go with her," Alexis replied. "I was supposed to be here anyways."

"She's beyond reasoning," exclaimed Luther. "Even for the both of you."

Diego stepped forward.

"You hear the music?" he said impatiently. "It's started."

"Let's go, then," said Alexis, leading Allison up the stairs.

"Do you honestly think she's gonna listen?" said Luther. "After everything that's happened?"

Alexis turned back around.

"To us, I'd hope so. You, not so much."

She moved into the main concert hall with Allison.

The music was beautiful, and if Alexis hadn't been trying to stop the apocalypse, she would have sat and listened for hours. Linking her arm in Allison's, she walked down the aisle, ignoring the looks from the other people in the audience.

"She's amazing," she whispered.

Allison nodded, watching Vanya in awe. The piece crescendoed to the climax, and then drew back again. Alexis caught Vanya's eye, and smiled. To her relief, Vanya returned the smile, then concentrated back on her sheet music.

For a second, everything was blissful, until Luther turned up. His yell cut through the music, as he and the others sprinted on stage, running for Vanya. She rose out of her seat, slashing her bow through the air. In one movement, blue energy began to pulsate from Vanya, accented with every stroke of the bow. Diego and the others were thrown from the stage. The audience screamed, as did Alexis, and people rushed past her and Allison, running for the exit. Alexis tried to help them get out as fast as possible, but had to pull a shocked Allison behind the seats as Vanya slashed the air again, sending out another wave of energy.

Luther and Diego, who seemed to be safe, crawled into the row of seats opposite them.

"She's stronger than expected," Diego yelled.

Alexis nearly launched herself at Luther.

"What the hell?" she screamed.

Allison gave Luther an angry look.

"We're fine, thanks for asking," he yelled. "Look, I almost lost you once, all right? I wasn't about to lose you again."

Allison sat back, arms folded. The thrumming of energy was deafening.

"Well, so much for the element of surprise," Diego shouted. "What else you got?"

Allison mimed something frantically - playing the violin.

"No shit, Allison - tell us something we don't already know."

"No, Diego," yelled Alexis. "It's the violin - you need to get it off her. It's the only way you'd even have a chance."

"Fine," Luther shouted. "So how do we-"
He was cut off by gunfire. Alexis ducked down, curling up. It was the masked people from the bowling alley. They were trapped, again.

"What the hell happened to Klaus? He's supposed to be on lookout."

"Yeah, you surprised?"

Alexis flinched as Five blinked in.

"Five, get down!" she screamed.

He dived for the seats as the bullets sprayed.

"Five, what the..." said Luther. "I thought you bailed on us!"

"I had an errand to run."

He looked around.

"This is not good."

"You know these guys?"

"Yeah, I do."

"And?"

"Well... we're screwed."