Raincoats | The Umbrella Academy

Orphaned

All of Charlotte's belongs fit loosely into a single trash bag. They were mostly just things she had acquired within the last two weeks of being in 2019. She owned a few shirts, two pairs of jeans, a coat, and a rain coat. Everything else clothing wise was on her back now.

She stared down at these things sadly. She had nowhere to go, nowhere to put them.

"I'm going back to the academy," Five announced, Dolores was tucked snuggly under his arm.

Her eye sockets felt hollow in her head. The time she had spent with Five had been oddly fun, considering the circumstances. "Bye."

The man paused outside of the van. "You're not staying here, are you?"

Glancing up in surprise, Charlotte shook her head. "I would hope not."

"Come with me," he waved her on. "There's no point in you being homeless when we're on the verge of the apocalypse."

A memory of Grace popped in her head. Maybe the other Hargreeves children weren't all that friendly, but Grace was nice. She couldn't afford to be modest or turn down the offer over her pride. She could get by on her own, but she agreed when he said there was no point.

Coming from Five, it was surprising. He didn't seem like the kind of person to invite people to invade his space, or his family.

"Are you sure?"

"You're one of us, technically, aren't you?" She supposed so, but it didn't feel real. Maybe she was one of the forty three children born under those mysterious circumstances, but she had never been a part of the Umbrella Academy.

At her dubious expression, Five put his duffle bag back on the ground and began searching through it. Metal clattered around in the bag before he found what he was looking for and retrieved the cream folder from just a few days before. He handed it to her.

Charlotte took the folder gratefully. She had never gotten through all the paperwork. "Thank you," she spoke just above a whisper.

He nodded curtly and extended a hand. Charlotte tucked the folder under her arm. Her past could wait until after she took a shower.

They two teens disapeared in a flash of blue.

So apparently the Umbrella Academy was in shambles. At least according to the previous occupants of the house. To Charlotte, the place still seemed in fine condition, besides the broken chandelier on the floor and the occasional bullet hole in the furniture. She had seen much worse. Hell, she had lived in much worse.

She followed Five back up the stairs, feeling lost. This place was huge and she had only seen a few of the rooms so far.

"There are nine bathrooms upstairs," he was saying as they climbed the grand staircase. "Assuming you want to take a shower. I'm sure Pogo could find you a place to put your things."

The ape in question was sitting in a small lounge area off the stairs, fiddling with something next to Grace. When they drew closer, Charlotte realized that Pogo was taking a small screw driver to the inside of Grace's wrist. She stared down at the wires poking out from her slit forearm.

Before she could say anything, Five hurried her along, almost as shaken as she was. Was Grace- Dead? Was she ever alive? It seemed as though she was back to being confused at every turn. The Hargreeves did not make being around them simple.

They sped down a the hallway the way they took to get to Five's room the last time. Diego was kneeling next to the bed of one of the open bedrooms on the way. He looked up as they passed with a scowl pressed into the hard lines of his handsome face.