BEHIND THE SCENE: ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜᴍʙʀᴇʟʟᴀ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍʏ || 𝗧𝗨𝗔

Chapter 32

They're all at the Umbrella Academy, gathered together without Five. Katherine watches her siblings discuss the same thing over and over, holding her head due to the injury she sustained, in the aftermath of that fateful day, as Katherine's body began to slowly regain consciousness, a bitter realization settled over her.

She could feel the subtle yet undeniable changes in her physical form, an unwelcome transformation that dredged up memories of her painful past. The once-familiar sensation of a tail, a cruel reminder of the experiments she had endured as a child, had reemerged, unfurling like a haunting specter from her darkest memories.

The sensation of the tail's presence was both eerie and unsettling, a visceral reminder of the cruel manipulation she had suffered at the hands of Reginald Hargreeves. It snaked sinuously from the base of her spine, a constant reminder of the trauma she had endured. Despite the passage of time, the scars of those experiments remained etched into her very being, shaping her identity in ways she had long tried to suppress.

And so, as Katherine accepted the reappearance of her tail, it was not an act of defeat, but rather a testament to her enduring strength. She refused to let her past define her, even as its echoes reverberated through her present. With Five by her side, she faced the cruel news with a determination born from years of hardship, ready to confront the challenges that lay ahead.

"Hey, what's going on?" Vanya asked, surprising Katherine.

"Uh... It's a family matter," Allison replied.

"A family matter? So you couldn't bother to include me?" Katherine looked at her in confusion. Vanya's eyes blazed with a mixture of hurt and anger as she stood, her fists clenched at her sides. Her chest heaved with every labored breath, her voice trembling with a mixture of betrayal and resentment. "So, what? I'm not even important enough to be invited to your little family pow-wow? Is that it?"

"It's not like that, Vanya," Katherine said, walking up to her, or rather limping to her as she suddenly felt lightheaded as it wasn't that long that she was unconscious. She held it in, trying not to show her discomfort. Allison's jaw tightened her expression a mirror of the frustration and tension that permeated the room. "Don't act like you're the victim here, Vanya. You've always been the one shutting us out, remember? It's not like you've been the poster child of inclusivity."

Vanya's eyes welled up with unshed tears as she took a step forward, her voice trembling. "You all never even gave me a chance. You never believed in me, and now you're just leaving me out of this too?"

Diego tried to intervene, his voice a strained attempt at diplomacy. "Look, Vanya, this is about the safety of the world. We need to work together, and it's not personal."

Vanya's voice rose, her frustration evident. "Oh, but it is personal, Diego. It's always personal with you people. You never saw me as anything other than the problem child, and now you're proving it all over again."

Allison's eyes flashed with anger as she retorted, "You really think you're the only one with problems, Vanya? We all have our demons to fight, but we're here, trying to fix things. Maybe you should try doing the same instead of playing the victim card."

Vanya's lip quivered as tears began to stream down her face. "You know what, Allison? Maybe you're right. Maybe I should just leave, just disappear as I've always felt I should. Then you won't have to deal with me and my problems anymore."

Luther attempted to intervene, his voice heavy with exasperation. "Vanya, stop this. We're all in this together, whether you like it or not."

Vanya turned her gaze to Luther, her eyes blazing with defiance. "No, Luther, we're not. Don't let me interrupt then because you've all made it perfectly clear where I stand. So go ahead, have your little meeting without me. Just remember, when everything falls apart, you'll know who to blame."

With that, Vanya turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, leaving a stunned silence in her wake. The family exchanged glances, the weight of their words hanging heavily in the air. The argument had revealed not only their frustration with each other but also the deep wounds and insecurities that still lingered beneath the surface.

As the silence stretched on, Klaus let out a heavy sigh. "Well, that went well."

Allison's shoulders sagged as she glanced toward the door. "We should have included her. Maybe she's right, maybe we're not as different from Dad as we thought."

Diego shook his head, his voice determined. "No, we're not making the same mistakes he did. We're a family, and we're going to figure this out together, even if it takes some time."

"You guys can fill me up later, I'm gonna go find Vanya and explain," Allison made a move to follow her. However, before she could take another step, Luther's hand gently caught her arm, halting her in her tracks. "Give her some space, Allison," he said softly, his voice laced with a mix of concern and understanding.

"Luther's right, so all of you stay here. I'll go find Vanya," she declared, determination etched on her face. Katherine left the room, her heart heavy as she headed after Vanya.