Chaotic Good | the umbrella academy

FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
' BUSINESS. '

The world swirled around Eddie as she sunk in and out of awareness, the sound of Diego's erratic heartbeat filtering through his chest and into her head from where it rested against his shoulder. He threw open the door and descended the stairs two at a time, causing her body to jolt with the movement. Pain flared throughout her body, but it had been there for so long now that it was just background noise.

She thought there were shouts. They broke through somewhere in her dazed mind, and then Diego lowered her onto a bed to which she immediately curled into a ball and tucked her broken fingers against her chest.

Chaos followed the moment Eddie was out of Diego's hands. He immediately launched himself at Five, but Luther saw it coming and quickly swooped in to hold him back.

"Get off of me! Get your ape hands off of me!" Diego roared, thrashing in his brother's arms.

"I can do this until you calm down," he replied evenly, causing him to huff but relax. Luther set him down, eyeing him warily before crouching in front of Eddie's curled form on the bed.

"What happened?" Luther asked gently.

She thought she saw concern somewhere in his eyes, but nothing in her had the energy to reply. All she wanted to do was rot somewhere quiet until the crawling of her skin and the dull pain ebbed away. Eddie didn't meet his gaze, her own focusing on his chest like it always did and remained quiet.

He sighed. "Eddie?"

"Our brother's been pretty busy since he got back," Diego spoke up for her, harsh glare directed at Five, whose eyes had never left Eddie's battered form. "He was at the shootout at Griddy's and then at Gimble Brothers after the guys in the masks attacked the academy. Looking for him." He pointed at Five, his tone full of ferociousness.

"None of which is your concern."

"They made it my concern when they killed my friend and tortured my sister," he growled.

"Who are they, Five?" Luther asked, his voice grave as he pulled his eyes from his sister and stood to his full height.

He sighed but answered, "They work for my old employer. A woman called the Handler. They were probably trying to get my location out of Eddie. When your friend got in their way... Well, I guess she was fair game."

"Well, now they're my fair game," he seethed in reply, giving one final glance at Eddie before turning on his heel and storming out of the room.

The room was silent briefly after his departure, and finally, the effects of exhaustion took hold of her. Eddie's eyes drooped before she fell into the caring clutches of unconsciousness.

\_|_/\_|_/\_|_/

Eddie woke to quiet shuffling around the room, and she slowly blinked her eyes open. A blanket had been laid over her body, enveloping her in a cocoon of warmth. The pain returned to her, and she couldn't stop the hiss from slipping through her lips.

The shuffling stopped. "Eddie?" Luther was at the bedside instantly, crouching in front of her. "Hey-" He lifted a hand to stop her from moving but prevented himself quickly, letting it fall into his lap. "Don't move, okay?"

She shut her eyes again, a quiet wince leaving her, but she followed his instructions. Her body felt so heavy she wasn't sure she could move if she tried. "Didn't... didn't tell them," she whispered.

Luther furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"Didn't tell... didn't tell them about... Five."

Her brother sighed and shook his head even though she couldn't see it. "Eddie, I wouldn't have cared if you did," he replied gently. As he looked away briefly, conflict brewed in his gaze before he returned it to his sister. "Look, we need to dress these cuts."

Sickness brewed in her stomach before she shook her head as much as the throbbing would allow. "Mom."

He didn't reply immediately and ran a hand over his head. "Eddie... Mom's not here anymore. When they attacked the Academy and took you, they shut her off."

Eddie's eyes opened at the information, intelligible emotion filtering through.

"And there's more. Before... she was malfunctioning. Eddie, she killed Dad."

The drowsiness and exhaustion seeped away. Everything slotted into place, and Eddie pushed herself to sit up, ignoring the fresh ignition of pain.

"Eddie-"

"-Oh, my God," she whispered, eyes widening.

"I know. It's hard to digest-"

"-No, no, no, I don't care about that bit," she mumbled, forcing herself to her feet. Her knees gave way, but she managed to save herself by slamming her hands on the sideboard. A short cry escaped her lips, broken fingers screaming from the force and causing her to crumble to her knees regardless.

"Eddie! Jesus." His eyes widened when he saw her mangled fingers poking in the wrong direction, and anger formed in his stare. "Those assholes," he seethed.

Shaking her head, she forced herself back to her feet, not noticing the cracked monocle which tumbled from her trouser pocket. She moved out of Luther's way and towards the door.

"Eddie! Where the Hell are you going?" Luther called after her.

"Business," she replied offhandedly.

"They're still out there, and look at the state of you!" He went to follow after but stopped when she whipped around to face him, her eyes glowing green.

She stared at him momentarily before showing him the metal band around her wrist. "Take this off."

"What is it?"

"It stops me from using my power - makes sure I don't lose control. It was why they took me so easily. Take it off."

Luther didn't move immediately before sighing and pulling it apart.

Eddie grimaced as fingers brushed her arm but swallowed it down and focused on the pain. It shattered, and the glowing of Eddie's eyes grew more vibrant. Then she was gone, the handle of the door opening on its own and Eddie slipped through it.

Luther stared at where he last saw her before sighing. He glanced around the room before his eyes flickered to where Eddie had fallen. Something caught his eye, and he approached it, crouching and picking it up.

His gaze narrowed as he registered the broken monocle. Slowly, he turned to look at the door again, fist clenching around it.