Muddled Senses *The Umbrella Academy Fanfiction*

*Chapter Nine*

Last updated: 3/23/21

I recognize the sound of gunfire immediately. I grab Agnes and pull her down to the ground in case the intruders try to come into the back of the store. "Asha, the kid is out there still," Agnes whispers to me.

I pause to think of an excuse to get Five out of her head for when the police come later. We didn't need them looking into the strange boy who looks the same even after seventeen years. "He probably left earlier," I quickly explain.

"Why are they shooting at an empty store?" She asks, looking at me with fear in her eyes. That's right; I need to play the part. Needing to act like I wasn't trained for these situations, I begin to brainstorm. Five could take care of himself. I need to keep Agnes in the back where she is safe.

I place my hand on her shoulder, feeling her fear run through me. I allow it to take over my emotions, and I whisper to her, "I don't know," the terror evident in my voice. "We need to stay here. Maybe they'll leave after they mess with the front of the store." I feel her emotions immensely overpowering mine, and I begin to shake in fear as Agnes does as well. I let go of her shoulder quickly to pull myself together. I continue to fake being scared. It wasn't that hard as I worry about Five.

The gunfire ceases and then starts again in various spurts, and I assume Five is spatial jumping around. I close my eyes and try to look through Five's vision. I watch as he fights the unknown people until he spatial jumps multiple times, making me feel sick. I blink back to my own vision and look at Agnes, watching her glance wearily at the doorway that leads to the dining room. I hear the gunfire cease. I go back to Five's vision and see him unwrapping his tie from a man's neck. 'Come get me,' I spell out in his sight. I see him start to walk towards the back.

"Shoot," I mumble to myself, glancing up at the camera that watches the backroom. I need to think of a plan quickly. "Agnes, call the cops. I want you to stay behind the counters; we don't know if they are still out there." Agnes nods as I finish telling her what to do. I gently push her towards the phone on the ugly yellow kitchen wall. "I'm going to stand by the entryway with the fire extinguisher. I'll be ready to spray anyone who comes in, okay?" I tell Agnes.

She looks at me quickly before nodding her head and returning to crawling towards the phone. I grab the fire extinguisher and stand in the corner where I know the cameras can not see. I look into Agnes' sight, watching as she crawls to the phone. Staying with Agnes' vision, I start to walk out with the fire hydrant in my hand. When Agnes picks up the phone and looks over towards where I was supposed to be standing, I make her see an illusion of me still there holding the fire extinguisher. She looks back down at the floor.

"Asha," Five calls, quietly holding onto my arm as he sees me stumbling around. I feel the tiredness and anxiety in his emotions. I motion with my hand to silence him, not wanting to control Agnes' hearing as well. If I did, I wouldn't be able to talk to Five and hear him.

"Five, what the heck happened?" I ask, gesturing to where I thought the bodies were that I had seen through his eyes earlier.

Five turns me around and whispers, "I'm assuming you're talking about the bodies and not the ruined donuts," he laughs. "It's too much to explain right now. I will soon."

"Five," I hiss, feeling him let go of my arm. I listen closely, trying to create a visual image of my surroundings using my hearing. This is more of a challenge than usual as Anges has looked back towards me, and I need to control the image, ensuring I still looked like I was breathing and scared.

I hear something being picked up and a slight hiss of pain from Five. I quickly blink my vision back to myself after ensuring Agnes was looking at the ground again. I see Five digging around in his arm with what looked like a tracking machine next to him. I focus again on Agnes' vision right as she looks up at me or where the fake version of me was. I sigh in relief before angrily whispering to Five, "What is in your arm, Five? Why are you digging around in there? What are you involved in? Is this some futuristic technology?"