Imposter

Introduction

November 25th, 1963

        If Diego hadn't saved the president's life, — a feat he continues to boast about — then I'm pretty sure I can assume that the apocalypse wouldn't have happened. Again. Only, this time instead of having to stop Vanya from blowing up the moon, we're trying to stop the world from nuking everything to shreds.

        After making it through his parade in Dallas safely, John F. Kennedy shortly declared war on the Soviet Union. His decision led to an invasion that has already cost so many people their lives. The Umbrella Academy can only do so much, and with us all working together in one place, we haven't been able to save those outside of this singular city in Texas. I don't even want to think about all the folks back home who've had their insides turned out by some communist soldier.

        So, if you don't mind me asking, do you really want to keep publicizing your life-threatening error, Diego? At this point, it doesn't matter how heroic your actions were. The one life you managed to save has subsequently killed millions. Either way, there's nothing we can do about it now.

        Everyone has hidden inside their homes, tucking themselves away in the hopes that the war won't reach them if it can't find them. Those hopes had been crushed the moment the Red Army rolled into Dallas. No building was spared from the flames, the men weaving destruction through the town, uncaring about the way clearly marked their path. The Soviets were winning, so, what did it matter?

        Scattered through time, we were lucky enough to have found one another before the end arrived. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how much longer we have, and Five has never shown up. He's our only ticket out of this mess. Despite knowing how well his teleportation skills worked the last time we cheated death, staring down the street at the tanks and soldiers coming closer and closer, I wish he was here with us. Plus, I've missed his sarcasm. And his smarts, no one else has a clue how to strategize. Plus, Luther and Diego are as amiable as ever. But, what they don't have in brain power, they have in strength, and it's time to fight.

•~•

        We quickly broke off, prepared to deal with whatever problems arose, as long as they were our own. I heard an American soldier yell for a kid to get down before the first missile was launched. Thankfully, Vanya was there to stop it. She did her whole glowing while floating ordeal and ripped the thing apart, managing to keep the detonation behind a wall of energy as the rest of us pushed our way up the street.

        Before Klaus could inch a bit further than her, a group of the Russians met him. Their aim didn't seem that great, having missed all of their shots in what had to be only a three foot range. In retaliation, Klaus summoned his own army of veterans, possibly men he'd fought with during Vietnam, to fight on his side once more. They glowed an eerie blue, and thanks to the honing of all of our abilities, were corporeal enough to take down the enemy.

        Luther jumped off of a nearby building, hollering before leaving an indent in the pavement. It was nice knowing that he'd had some sort of self-esteem boost during his time in the 60s, but I had a feeling the only one enjoying his lack of a shirt was Allison. And even that was a stretch considering what she'd been up to. In true, caveman fashion, he continued his shout as another explosive was fired upon his back. He didn't seem to notice.

        Suddenly, a tentacle snatched a soldier off of the ground, flinging it carelessly behind the ghost who we could all see was Ben. He stood upon the roof of a building opposite of those Luther had just leapt from. It was nice to see him as part of the team once again. Or, helping the team that he was on before I had joined, and therefore I had no connection to. Either way, witnessing his power was not as exciting no matter how much his contributions were worth. I was wishing he might have had the idea of turning around, but recognized this wouldn't allow him to see the people he was supposed to be mauling. Could we keep the screaming down a bit, though? No, well, I tried.

        Allison came up from behind those who were staring in shock at a fallen comrade.

        "Hey!" I heard her yell. "I heard a rumor I blew your minds."

        And, if you are creative enough, you can probably picture what happened to the poor guys. Let me just say I was glad to be occupied with other things at the moment. No amount of killing would ever have prepared me for what she'd just pulled off. I was sort of terrified of the things Allison was capable of now that she'd become more imaginative with her powers.

        I gazed up at Diego who calmly stood on a flipped over car beside me. Pretty sure it was one of the police's, which seemed funny considering his history with the police. More soldiers poured into the street, coming toward us.

        "You wanna take these guys?" I asked, a wry smile pulling at my lips.

        Before waiting for a response, I turned invisible leaving the men who'd been coming for me utterly confused. They joined their friends in the quest to murder my boyfriend — a term I officially felt comfortable using — but weren't prepared for the bullets from their own guns to bend right back at them as Diego flipped in the air.

        Returning to my conspicuous form, I jogged ahead to get a piece of some of the action. I instinctively reached for my katana, but instead of feeling the usual wooden hilt, I grasped something warm that almost seemed to mold into my hand. It was a blade of energy, radiating a faint purple hue, that had been shaped into the same weapon I'd used for years. It might not have been identical in composition, but it was certainly better in balance. This was a true extension of my body.

        And so, it was shocker than the poor blokes before me were quickly sliced into ribbons. The deed done, the katana disappeared from existence before Diego noticed something I hadn't. In the midst of all of chaos, I hadn't seen Five materialize before the same tank that'd tried to blow us into bits.

        Diego shouted over the fighting. "Five! You sick son of a bitch, where the hell have you been?"

        Unfortunately, we didn't get any answer as a white-haired Hazel whisked him away. But, not before pointing ominously toward the sky. I tried to find what he had been looking at, not noticing the rest of my family circle up behind where Vanya and I now stood. When I finally managed to pick out the incoming nukes, I futilely attempted to cover the air below with a force field a hundred times any I'd created before. The sad thing was, it had worked momentarily, and if I had been just a bit stronger I could have held them off. My mind faltered, however, reeling under the stress and weight of the metal bombs and forced me to watch the world burn, my siblings beside me.