Chaotic Good | the umbrella academy

TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
' YOUR POWERS ARE  
CONTROLLABLE   ,   
DELIBERATE . '

As the dust settled, the Hargreeves siblings rushed into the ruins of the mansion, their eyes wide as the men's cries of desperation echoed around the street.

They eventually stumbled across her.

Eddie's back faced them as she stared into the garden, rubble surrounding her in a circle. Pogo lay by her feet, blood pooling from his wounds. A gentle breeze drifted through the air, brushing through her hair and ruffling her clothes, and she shoved her hands into her pockets, causing the siblings to share a glance.

"Eddie?" Diego took a step forward but halted as she turned her head to the side, watching them out of the corner of her eye. After a moment of stillness, she twisted, and the siblings stumbled back. Her eyes were glowing green and were ablaze with anger.

Luther moved forward. "Eddie, I-"

He fell to his knees, grasping his neck as he gasped.

"-Save it," Eddie snapped.

Allison tried to reach him, but a death stare from Eddie caused her to jump back.

She stalked forward, lowering into a crouch as she tilted her head. "Look at me," she commanded quietly. Luther didn't move, and her face pulled into a snarl. "Look at me!" His eyes snapped up, but she wasn't looking at him. "Can you see what you've done?"

Luther's face began to tinge purple, and she flicked her fingers. He dropped to the floor, coughing as tears of relief poured from his eyes.

She rose to her feet and stared down at him. "I wanted you to let her go. Not out of pity. Not out of anger. Out of understanding. You were all the lucky ones." Her eyes flickered over the others briefly. "You never had the fear of killing someone when you got the least bit angry, scared... happy. Your powers were controllable and deliberate. I created those bracelets out of hysteria, Luther." Her voice dropped to a violent hiss, tears brimming in her eyes. "I worked on them because I didn't want to hurt anyone. I did it to protect others. Not so you could control me.

"Do you know how much pain they cause? How agonising confining the energy in your body is? I thought you had changed." She shook her head with a scoff. "Turns out you're still the predominant, inconsiderate fucker you always had been."

"Guys!" Five's heavy footsteps echoed around the ruins. "This is it. The apocalypse is still on. The world ends today."

"I thought you said it was over?" Luther rasped, stumbling to his feet.

"It was," Eddie snapped. "Until you interfered and made everything worse."

"I was wrong, okay? This newspaper. I found it in the future the day I got stuck. The headline hasn't changed," Five continued.

Diego shook his head. "No, that doesn't mean anything - time could have been altered since that newspaper came out this morning."

"You're not listening to me!" Five snapped in frustration. "When I found it, I assumed this place came down with everything else. But here we are, the moon's still shining, the Earth is in one piece, but not the Academy."

"I'm confused." Klaus looked helplessly between Five and Eddie.

"Then listen to me, you idiot!" Five yelled.

"What he means is that Vanya destroys the Academy before the apocalypse," Eddie translated calmly. "We thought Harold Jenkins was the cause, but he was the fuse. Vanya is the bomb. Vanya causes the apocalypse."

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

Eddie massaged her head with her hand as her eyes drooped briefly. She sighed before bringing her knees to her chest and curling up on the chair. Her siblings surrounded her, but tense silence barricaded them from interacting.

"Look, I hate to be the one to say this, but everyone needs to prepare," Luther began.

Eddie looked away, hiding her red-tinged eyes, watching as others bowled with their family or friends, but her eyes were dull and bored while the conversation continued.

"For what?" Diego asked, the harshness in his voice conveying his comprehension.

Eddie let out a bitter piece of laughter as she replied, "To do whatever it takes to stop Vanya."

Allison smacked Luther as she glared at him.

"Eddie," Luther sighed out.

She made no indication that she heard him, continuing to watch others scream and laugh with each other.

"Look, you're the only one who stands a chance."

"I don't understand." After a moment, she lifted her head, looking at the others. "What do you mean?"

"Luther has a point, Eddie."

Her eyes jumped to Five. "What do you mean?"

"Your powers," he sighed. "You're the only one strong enough to stop her."

"Who, Vanya?" She didn't speak for a moment. "Can't we just talk to her?"

Silence fell between them, and Eddie's face contorted with anger.

Five sighed. "It's her or the world."

"She's our sister," Eddie denied quickly. "She needs to be given a chance. People make mistakes."

"Eddie, she killed people," Luther pointed out.

"Every damn one of us has killed people. Five has more blood on his hands than every one of us. The world's never given a shit about us before. Vanya has." She got to her feet and rolled her shoulders. "I need some air."

Eddie exited the bowling alley and leaned against the wall with a huff as she brought her hands to her head and rubbed her brow. A wince overtook her from her broken fingers, causing her to cradle them to her chest.

Someone throwing the door open destroyed the peace and quiet, and she turned to face Allison. Eddie blinked blankly for a moment as her sister stifled sobs.

"Alli?"

Her head whipped up, and she dropped her balled fist from her mouth. Allison lifted her notepad, scribbling across the paper. "Can you do something for me?"

"Okay." Eddie furrowed her eyebrows slightly before following Allison to the phone box.