CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
a twisted timeline

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THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY gathered in the living room, settling into various sofas and couches as they prepared to hear what Five had to say. Elliott and Molly were in the other room—while Nadine had wanted Molly to be included, Molly had waved her off with the claim that she didn't want to intrude. She would still help in any way she could, though, even if it meant sitting out on meetings and preparing coffee instead. Well, at least she had Elliott for company. Elliott and his abominable Jell-O concoction.

Unlike Molly, however, it appeared that Nadine had meddled enough into the Umbrella Academy's affairs to be welcome at every meeting, now. When she'd attempted to find a place to sit on the couch, both Vanya and Allison had scooted to the side, making room for her. Nadine would never admit she'd been conscientious when she'd butt in at Reginald Hargreeves's funeral back in 2019, but she supposed there had been some good that had come out of it. Some good like being an automatic member of any so-called "family meetings" the Hargreeves children were having.

Once they were all comfortable, Five looked to all of them, eyes flickering over every face. Then he began, somewhat sheepishly. "All right. First off, I wanna say I'm sorry. I know I really screwed the pooch on this whole going-back-in-time-and-getting-stuck thing. But the real kick in the pants here is that we brought the end of the world back here with us."

Klaus, who'd been focusing more on preparing drinks than engaging in the conversation, whirled around, suddenly paying attention. "Oh, my God, again?"

Nadine blinked at him. Hadn't he known?

Around the room, the other members of the Umbrella Academy were giving him the same expression—the expression that implied that it was obvious. Klaus's expression turned wounded. "All of you knew? Why am I always the last one to find out about the end of the—" He cut himself off as a new thought came to him. "Oh, my God. My cult is gonna be so pissed. Five! I told them we had until 2019."

"We have until Monday," Five corrected. "We have six days."

Nadine had caught onto another part of Klaus's statement. "Your cult?" she repeated. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Klaus faced her, an abashed grin coming to his face. He adopted the chiding tone of a stern schoolteacher as he said, "Now, now, Nadine. We all have different ways of coping. Don't judge the way I survived these past three years."

"For God's sake," Nadine groaned, putting her head in her hands. "Of course, you'd start a cult. Of course, you would."

"Let's get back on track," said Five. "We can all catch up later."

Klaus took a sip of his drink. "All right, then, I gotta ask. Is it Vanya?"

"Klaus," Allison reprimanded.

"What? It's usually Vanya."

Vanya stiffened uncomfortably at the mention of her past transgressions. Immediately, she sought to change the subject. "Do you have any leads, Five?"

Diego immediately passed Five the folder they'd set Reginald's photo in. Five took it. "Yeah, we have one." Passing it along like a hot potato, he handed the folder over to Allison, who opened it to reveal the photo of her father that had been captured via the Frankel Footage. Her eyes immediately widened.

"Holy shit, is that Dad?"

"Yeah," said Diego. Vanya moved closer to Nadine, peering over her shoulder in order to get a view of the image. There was no recognition in her face, Nadine could tell, but it was obvious she was curious.

"That's him?" she asked.

Diego finished, "And he's standing on the grassy knoll."

"Diego, Nadine and I have been trying to talk to Dad about what exactly this means," said Five. "So far, we've got nothing."

"Not nothing," Diego corrected. "We know he's planning to kill Kennedy."

"Maybe," said Five. He took the file from Allison and set it onto an ottoman. "But we don't know who or what sets doomsday in motion. Could be Kennedy, could be something entirely independent. But if we know something changes the timeline, we have to make it right again."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Nadine asked. "I mean, aren't our presences here already messing up the space-time-continuum, at least a little bit? What if we tried to fix something and only ended up making everything worse?"

"Nadine's right," said Allison. "And, besides, how are we supposed to fix it if we don't know what's broken?"

"Oh, come on, do the math," said Diego. "We know Dad's having shady-ass meetings with some shady-ass people. We 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," said Five.

"Kill Dad," said Diego, at the same time.

Everyone gaped at the pair for a few moments—specifically Diego, who was not only suggesting something that would most definitely fuck with the timeline, but would also fuck with all of them, too. It was so blatantly stupid that Nadine wondered whether Diego had ever seen any time-travel movies. Surely, he had to know why this was a terrible idea.

Allison took a swig of Klaus's drink. Nadine took it when she was finished. The liquid burned as it went down her throat, but it was a good burn. She sniffed, irritating her nose slightly. One of her hands flew to it as Vanya asked, "None of us are supposed to be here, right? I mean, what if what Nadine said was right? What if it's us?" she looked to the others. "Has anyone here done anything to screw up the timeline?"

Nadine coughed into her fist, which was still bruised. The alleyway flashed into her mind again. Her fists against the officer's flesh. His body pinned underneath hers. The way they'd grappled at first, before she'd seized onto his gun.

This morning, there had been a short segment on television about it. Officer Coldwell, the policeman who was supposed to be accompanying Kennedy when he visited Dallas, had been beaten and left in an alleyway. He'd survived, but had to remain in the hospital for his injuries, which included, but weren't limited to, a severely broken nose, three broken ribs, and a broken jaw. The identity of the individual who'd attacked him had not yet been discovered, although the officer himself had claimed it was a woman who may have been in her thirties.

Of course, the news had failed to mention that he'd been attempting to rape another woman before he was attacked. But with only the rapist himself as a witness, this was pretty standard.

Nadine still didn't regret what she'd done to him, but after seeing that he was supposed to be riding alongside the President, a great surge of worry had overtaken her. What if she'd royally messed things up? Surely the timeline was altered now that the officer had gotten hurt. What would happen if he didn't recover in time to do what he was supposed to do? Would everything change?

She balled her hands into fists. Don't think about it, don't think about it. He deserved what you did to him, Kennedy or not. You know he would keep hurting other women if you'd done nothing.

Nadine drew her eyes up from her hands and looked around the room. The other Hargreeves were avoiding eye contact with their siblings, staring at invisible watches or drowning themselves in their drinks. It seemed that Nadine hadn't been the only one who'd changed a few things. That made her feel a little better.

Luther took in a breath before he started the chain of accusations. "Diego's been stalking Lee Harvey Oswald," he said, pointing a finger at his brother.

"And you're working for Jack Ruby," Diego shot back.

"Allison has been very involved in local politics," added Klaus.

"Okay, you started a cult," Allison snapped.

"I'm... I'm just a... a nanny on a farm," said Vanya defensively. "I don't have anything to do with all of that."

"Well, maybe you do, we just don't know it yet," said Allison reasonably.

"Nadine, you're being awfully quiet—which is a first," said Five. Nadine clenched her jaw and steeled herself for what he would ask next. "Just spit it out and tell us what you've done. It's obviously something."

Nadine's clenched fists tightened. Her nails cut into the skin of her palms. "Well, euh, this is going to sound bad," she began, "but have you... has anyone here watched the news recently? Did you see that segment about..." she closed her eyes, her voice growing quieter, "...about the police officer who was attacked?"

Allison's mouth dropped open. "That was you?" she asked incredulously. "Holy shit, Nadine."

Nadine crossed her legs, then uncrossed them. It seemed to her like the room had just gotten at least twenty degrees hotter. With all eyes pointing on her, boring into her skin, she said, "I had no choice. The policeman—Officer Coldwell—he was... he was trying to sexually assault another woman. I saw it purely by chance, but I had to put a stop to it."

Klaus whistled lowly. Vanya blinked at her. Luther shifted in his seat. It was only Diego that seemed unfazed. "Listen to yourselves," he said. "Everything in our new lives is connected to Kennedy. That can't be a coincidence. Luther works for Ruby, Allison is protesting the government, Nadine is attacking a police officer who's supposed to be riding with Kennedy when he gets shot—" Nadine frowned, disliking the casual way he spoke about what she'd done, "—Dad is on the grassy knoll, Klaus is... doing something weird and pervy but probably related. See, clearly, we were all sent back here for one special reason: saving John Fitzgerald Kennedy."

As soon as he'd finished speaking, the entire Umbrella Academy burst into objection. Nadine got to her feet and stalked towards Diego. Even though she could barely hear her own voice above the others, she still snapped, "Are you kidding me, Diego?"

Diego blinked. "What?"

"What I did... what I did wasn't for some goddamned conspiracy theory, for God's sake. Just because the rapist I hurt happened to be a part of Kennedy's assassination doesn't mean anything."

"Look," said Diego, infuriatingly calm. Nadine really had to strain her ears to hear him, for Vanya, Klaus, Allison and Luther were all engaged in a debate on what they were supposed to do. "I know what you did must've been... tough, Nadine. I'm not going to claim I know anything about what it's like to be a woman, and especially not a woman in the 1960s. I'm sure that what you did, you did for a good cause. But this isn't even your first connection with the President. Your girlfriend is also supposed to be at his assassination—we saw as much in the Frankel Footage. You really think both of those were just chance?"

"Yes," said Nadine. "Saving the President... it would change everything, Diego. Textbooks would be rewritten. Whole documentaries wouldn't be made. I'm no history buff, especially not on American history, but don't you think that if the President was saved, a few things might differ in the future? There's such a thing as the butterfly effect, Diego. Each action, no matter how minor, causes a ripple effect. And this isn't minor. This is well-known history.

"And you're right. You don't know what it's like to be a woman. Otherwise, you wouldn't use what I did as a part of your argument. It was only a few days ago, you know. I keep... I keep thinking about it, even though I don't want to. I keep thinking about what he called me when I hit him. About the fact that I could've shot him but chose to put the gun down. I keep thinking about the woman I saved, and what would've happened to her if I wasn't there."

Diego swallowed. He seemed to realize he'd made a mistake. "I'm sorry," he said. "You're right, I shouldn't have mentioned you at all. It was... it was insensitive of me. I think I just got caught in the moment."

Nadine wanted to still be mad at him—and she was, a little bit—but he sounded genuine enough. "It's all right," she said. Then, after a moment, she added, "But why do you want to save Kennedy, anyway?"

Diego opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Five interrupted. "Guys, you all die," he said. "I was there. I saw it. And I wanna forget it, but I can't. I saw Russian nukes vaporize the world with all of you in it... in a war that never happened until we brought it here. And Hazel gave his life to save us, so you need to shut up and just listen to me."

Nadine swallowed. Her mouth was suddenly dry as a desert.

"I don't know if the things we've experienced here are all connected," Five continued. "I don't know if there's a reason for everything. But Dad will. We need to talk to him before everyone and everything we know is dead."

He paused for a minute, letting the words sink in. Nadine sat back, overwhelmed, once more, with the weight of the world. She glanced furtively down the hallway, where Molly was. She was counting on Nadine. Elliott was, too. Nicholas. Edna and Dan Frankel. Even Leroy and Thomas, jackasses as they were, didn't deserve such a gruesome death.

The others ought to have realized this. They ought to have realized that they needed to work together. To listen to Five—who may have been a little shit, but was a little shit who knew what he was doing.

But, to her surprise, some of the others didn't share her urgency. Exhibit A was Luther, who shot out of his seat. "Okay, I'm out."

Nadine buried her face in her hands.

"Did you even hear me, Luther?" Five asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did. I heard a fifty-eight-year-old man who still wants his daddy to come and fix everything. Well, you can count me out. It's time we all grew the hell up."

Allison and Vanya both called after him, but Luther was already making his way down the stairs. Still, Diego followed, and, after a moment, so did Five, teleporting to meet him. Nadine figured she ought to go after him, too, but after the secret of what she'd done had been exposed to the other Hargreeves, she wasn't exactly in the mood.

Vanya settled a hand on her shoulder, seeming to notice Nadine's sudden shift. "You okay?" she asked gently. Meanwhile, Klaus had started to dig into the Jell-O everyone had abandoned, and Allison had taken up the booze again. Neither of them seemed too inclined to be a part of Luther, Five, and Diego's battle of the testosterone.

"I'm fine," said Nadine, somewhat unconvincingly. Klaus shovelled a heaping portion of Jell-O into his mouth and gestured with his spoon.

"I know what'll cheer my favourite Chosen One up. We should all go for tacos! What do you think?"

"Tacos?" Nadine repeated. "I don't think I've ever had a taco before."

Klaus's eyes widened, and he leaped to his feet. "Well, then, you have to come! You've been sorely missing out, Nadine."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. Allison, what do you think? You want to come?"

Allison gestured back to the stairs, where her brothers had disappeared. "Shouldn't we wait?"

"Yeah," said Nadine. "I mean, we're supposed to be coming up with a plan."

"You know those guys," said Klaus. "I mean, it could take forever for them to bro it out. Until then, we should have fun. So, what do you say, Vanya? Tacos?"

"Is there any way that tacos are gonna cause the end of the world?" Vanya asked, eyes darting to the other three.

Klaus let out a laugh. "I mean, there's only one way to find out, right?" he snapped his fingers in excitement.

Nadine got to her feet, a reluctant smile spreading onto her face. "All right," she said. "Tacos it is. But can I invite Molly? She's, euh... she's my girlfriend."

Usually, she wouldn't be so flippant when she revealed who she was dating, but it had already been established that everyone in this room could be trusted. Plus, at least one other person here (though Nadine suspected two) was very obviously a part of the same community. It wasn't like she could be judged here.

Klaus—the community member in question—jumped into the air, miming extreme shock. "You have a girlfriend? Nadine, mon amie, why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"I didn't really have time," said Nadine with a laugh. "Five was very adamant about us getting down to business."

"Well, then, she's more than welcome to come," said Allison.

Nadine grinned. "All right, then," she said. "I'll go ask her."

She made her way out of the living room, heading down the hall in search of Molly. It didn't take long to find her—Elliott's house wasn't that big. She was just coming out of the bedroom, bag slung across her shoulder, her hair twisted into a gorgeous updo. Her hairstyles were always so impressive, Nadine thought. Her heart stuttered a little.

"Hey, Molls," she said. "We're going to get tacos, and we were wondering if you wanted to come."

Molly's face twisted in disappointment. "Oh, Lord, that really does sound fun, but I'm actually going to meet my grandparents at the airport. They've just arrived in Dallas, and I wanted to head out and pick them up. Is that... is that all right?"

Nadine thought back to Dan and Edna Frankel on the footage she'd watched, and how they truly seemed to love their granddaughter. "Of course, it is," she said. "We're not making any plans or anything right now. In typical Umbrella Academy fashion, there's been an argument, and the men are off to compare their dicks. And it's not like you have to ask me permission to live your own life, Molls. Just because we're saving the world doesn't mean we shouldn't be allowed a break."

Molly laughed, then, with a surreptitious glance down the hallway, ensuring they were alone, she leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Nadine's cheek. "All right, then," she said. "Have fun."

"You too," said Nadine.

After parting with Molly, Nadine headed back into the living room and informed Klaus, Vanya, and Allison that her girlfriend wouldn't be able to accompany them on their little outing. All of them nodded their understanding, and slightly giddily, prepared to head out.

Nadine still felt that tremendous pressure of the world weighing down on her shoulders, but as she skipped down the steps with the others, she thought that it had been lightened, at least a bit. She still couldn't forget about the nuclear apocalypse that was supposed to arrive in six days, but she could at least take a moment to clear her head.

She linked her arm with Klaus as she exited Morty's. At least, if nothing else, she had friends.

NADINE DIDN'T KNOW what to expect of tacos, but they turned out to be heaven in her mouth. With ground beef, shredded cheese, spicy sauce, and a heap of vegetables all piled into a hardened shell, tacos were both crumbly and delicious. So, while both Allison and Vanya only had two, Nadine found herself nearly matching Klaus in the number of tacos she consumed (far too many). By the time she was done, she'd learned about Allison's new husband—a man named Raymond who acted as a leader to his section of the civil rights movement—more about Sissy—the woman Vanya was nannying for—and everything to know about Klaus's cult, Destiny's Children (which was totally named after the band). Nadine enjoyed all of the stories her friends told her, though she couldn't help but purse her lips when Klaus explained how he'd fled from San Francisco. He'd managed to con all of these people into believing him, and then he'd just left them behind? Something about that didn't sit right with her.

She didn't bring it up, though, because she wasn't interested in killing the mood. And besides, she couldn't help but be grateful that nobody had brought up the elephant in the room—Nadine's attack on the police officer. After her little spat with Diego on the subject, she really was interested in taking it any further.

Klaus licked taco sauce off his fingers and leaned back in his chair. Their table at the taco joint was so boisterous that the other patrons here (including a pair of sweet old ladies and a group of children Nadine was fairly certain were skipping school) were all giving them a wide berth, and they'd been asked to quiet down by the staff multiple times now. They were also all mildly tipsy, and for once, Nadine allowed herself to keep indulging.

"So, French Girl," Klaus began, "we've all told you about our lives, but what about you? What have you been up to since Five dropped you into 1961?"

They'd all already told each other the dates they entered the '60s—Allison had fallen in a few months before Nadine; Vanya had, obviously, only been here a month; while Klaus had arrived February 13th, 1960. It was strange, given that they all had the same birthday, to realize they were all different ages now. Klaus was the oldest—the extra years he'd spent in Dallas plus the ten months in the Vietnam war made him almost four years older than Vanya—excluding Five. Nadine was a few months younger than Allison. Vanya was still technically twenty-nine.

"Well, at first, I worked at The Sunrise Cove, the motel at the edge of town," she began. "Molls got me the job—that's where we met, actually. It was easy money, given that I worked at my Papa's hotel back in 2019. But after a few months, I decided I wanted a fresh start. So I quit and decided to work at Dallas Aquarium as an Ichthyologist." She scrunched her nose. "Unfortunately, my boss, Leroy, didn't seem to understand that women actually have fucking brains, so I ended up as a glorified janitor instead. Then Five came, I got myself fired—don't ask—and decided my time was better spent saving the world."

"And what about your girlfriend?" Allison asked. Nadine smiled.

"She's kind of the best person ever," she said, wiping her hands with a napkin. "We've been together a year now. I thought she was going to completely lose her shit when I told her the truth—that I'm from the future, that I have superpowers, everything—and although she did freak out a little, she took it surprisingly well. She even insisted on coming to help me save the world."

Klaus put a hand to his heart. "They grow up so fast."

"Well, we're all finished our tacos," Vanya pointed out, gesturing to their empty plates. "Should we head back?"

"Nah." Allison waved her off. "You guys should come to the salon. It's just down the street, actually. We can get drunk, listen to music, and do each other's hair. It'll be like a sleepover. At least, I think. We were never allowed to have sleepovers when we were younger."

Nadine laughed. "I've only been to a few myself, but that sounds fairly accurate," she said.

"Well, then, we have to go," said Klaus. "Vanny, what do you think?"

Vanya smiled at the nickname. She seemed to have adapted to the presences of her brothers and sisters fairly quickly—perhaps there was an instinctual part of her that knew they were family. "Sure," she said. "Let's do it."

When the waiter returned to their table, the four of them paid their bill, unwrapped the mints he'd left for them, and then prepared themselves to leave. Nadine was teetering between the stages of tipsy and drunk, her mouth tasted like booze and mint, and the world was ending in six days. It was a strange day, but then again, everything about her had always been strange.

And things would soon become stranger still. 

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