Chaotic Good | the umbrella academy

EIGHT

CHAPTER EIGHT
' FUTURE   FIVE   AND  
EDDIE'S   PROBLEM . '

Eddie slid off the counter. 'But we don't know who or what sets doomsday in motion. It could be Kennedy, or it could be something completely independent.' She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. 'If we know something changes the timeline, it's crucial we make it right.'

'Okay, I understand all of that.' Allison nodded. 'But how are we supposed to fix anything when we don't know what's broken?'

'Oh, come on, do the math!' Diego huffed. 'We know dad's involved in some shady-ass meetings with some shady-ass people-'

'-Oi!' Eddie complained, but Diego continued, ignoring her.

'We also know he's on the grassy knoll in three days to kill the President. So I think we all know what we have to do.'

'Find dad,' Five completed.

'Kill dad,' Diego spoke over him, and everyone blinked blankly for a moment.

Eddie shook her hands. 'Wait a minute.' She rounded on Diego. 'Have you never seen a time travel movie? Ever heard of the grandfather paradox?'

'What?' Diego furrowed his eyebrows.

'We can't kill dad,' she stated. 'If we did, it would change the course of time, and he would never have adopted us. So we would have never met, never trained. Never caused the apocalypse, never time travelled.' Diego blinked a few times, and Eddie let out a sigh. 'If we'd have never time travelled, we would have never killed dad.'

'It creates a paradox,' Five added.

'It's the worst thing we could have ever done. Time travel. We have probably slaughtered the timeline and when - if - we get back, nothing's going to be the same.' Eddie let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair. 'But we have other problems to sort out at the moment. That's future Hargreeves' - let's be honest, future Five and Eddie's - problem.'

After a moment, Vanya spoke up. 'I mean... none of us are supposed to be here, right? So what if it's us?'

'She has a point.' Allison nodded.

'Has anyone here done anything to screw up the timeline?' Vanya questioned.

'Ooof.' Eddie bit her lip, wiping the nonexistent sweat from her forehead as she rested a hand on a chair and leaned against it.

Luther pointed a finger at Diego. 'Diego's been stalking Lee Harvey Oswald.'

'And you're working for Jack Ruby!' he countered.

Klaus joined. 'Allison's been very involved in the local politics.'

'Okay,' Allison looked to Klaus, glaring slightly. 'You started a cult.'

They all turned to face Eddie. She raised her hands in surrender. 'I dunno what you're all looking at.' She shrugged. 'Cause, as far as I'm concerned, I've done nothing wrong.'

'I'm sorry, what?' Diego asked.

'Dad used to tell me stories about when he was younger. There was this woman he used to know, she'd dress up as a man and attend these secret meetings.' She tried to conceal her smile. 'Red hair. Green eyes. Insanely smart. Bit of a dick. Sounds familiar, eh?' No one commented as they furrowed their eyebrows. Then they moved to Vanya.

'I'm just working as a nanny on a farm. I don't have anything to do with all of-' She gestured broadly to her siblings, '-that.'

'Yet,' Eddie sang with a smirk as she let out a small giggle, moving away.

'Everything in our new lives is connected to Kennedy. That can't be a coincidence,' Diego tried to explain. 'Luther works for Ruby, Eddie's part of the Majestic Twelve, Allison is protesting the government, dad is on the grassy knoll and Klaus is... likely doing something perverted and weird, but still related.'

'Like tax evasion?' Eddie asked, leaning against a wall.

'Clearly, we were all sent back here for one special reason. To save John Fitzgerald Kennedy.'

'Oh, my God!' Eddie exclaimed.

'See, she's with me!' Diego pointed out with a smile.

'You're totally a stalker!' she continued as his smile faded. 'You know his middle name!' She let out a giggle as she moved to the kitchen, swaying her hips as she made herself a cup of coffee. They began to argue over each other, and her eyes rolled, grasping the counter as she braced herself. Her head began to thump, and her eyes ached. She squeezed them shut, letting out a breath.

'Guys, you all die.' Five's voice carried through her pain, and her eyes flickered up as silence broke throughout the room. 'I was there. I saw it. And I want to forget it, but I can't. I saw Russian nukes vaporize the world with all of you in it.'

'But the cold war never led to anything like that,' Eddie managed out, her voice wavering slightly, still slumped against the counter.

Five nodded. 'It's a war that would never have happened if we hadn't brought it here.'

'I thought they'd have been smart enough to believe in mutually assured destruction. I-' Eddie furrowed her eyebrows, looking to the ground. 'Something had to have been-' she cut herself off, as her knees went weak. 'Fuck.' she squeezed her eyes shut, as the lights began to flicker.

'Eddie?'

She waved a hand, though it shook violently. 'Give me a minute.' she let out a breath, pushing her hair from her face as she clicked her neck. She wiggled her fingers, clenching them for a moment before smiling forcedly. 'Right, back to the point,' she paused. 'If there was one.'