CHAPTER TWENTY
carpe diem

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WHEN NADINE WOKE up the next morning, it was as if she'd been hit by an airplane. Her muscles ached like she'd participated in a particularly grueling workout, her heart was beating like the wings of a hummingbird, and a migraine coalesced at the center of her forehead, throbbing with every breath she took. As she extracted herself from Molly's arms (to no one's surprise, she was still asleep), her stomach curdled. It only took her a second to realize what it was, and so, despite the newfound twinges in her body and the throb of her still-healing wounds, she burst out of the room and headed down the hallway towards the bathroom.

She had just managed to flip up the lid of the toilet before the champagne she'd had last night came back up. It left a disgusting, sour taste in her mouth as she retched, and she sank to her knees, trembling and sweaty. Fuck, she was an idiot. She really shouldn't have partaken in the drink session last night. But she'd been having so much fun with the others, and had wanted to forget, at least for a little while, about the end of the world.

Her slightly dizzy mind shot her through with a hazy memory—of stumbling back here late last night, only to receive an invitation from Reginald Hargreeves to meet him for dinner. One hand went to her pocket, where she swore the letter had been. There was nothing in there but her cellphone.

She threw up again, but it was mostly bile this time. As she flushed the toilet, letting the remnants of last night's indulgence swirl down the drain, a knock suddenly sounded at the door. Molly's slightly muffled voice came wafting through.

"Nads? You all right in there?"

Using the toilet to stabilize herself, Nadine rose shakily to her feet. "I'm okay," she said, moving towards the sink to wash out her mouth. "Just... euh... had too much to drink last night."

"I figured," Molly replied. "When I came in here last night, you were out like a light. Here, take a shower. I brought you clean clothes. And I'll make you some toast. It soaks up the alcohol, you know."

After rinsing her mouth and spitting it back into the sink, Nadine smiled weakly. "Thanks, Molls," she said, stumbling towards the door. "You know, I'm surprised you're up this early. I thought you'd be sleeping at least another few hours."

Molly laughed as Nadine pulled the door open. She was still in her pajamas, but she held a bundle of Nadine's clothes in her arms. "Normally I would, but everyone's up. I think the others are in the living room. No sign of Five, though."

Another memory locked into place; Nadine's vow that if Five didn't show up today, she'd take Molly out on a date. Although she still felt like shit, she resolved to see if it was possible. Of course, she'd have to tell the others about the invitation she'd received (which, hopefully, was still around), and it was likely that they would spend the day trying to figure out what to do, but there still was a slight chance of freedom. After all, Molly really had done so much for Nadine. Even now, she was taking care of her. She deserved a day where she was the one taken care of.

Nadine took her clean clothes from Molly. "Hey, Molls, you didn't happen to see a letter anywhere, did you? I got it last night, and I may have dropped it."

Molly dug into her pocket and pulled out an envelope. "You mean this?" she asked. "I found it on the floor when I woke up. You must've dropped it when you were running to the bathroom to blow your chunks. Don't worry, though, I didn't look. I'm not going to intrude on your privacy like that."

Nadine took the envelope and pulled out the invitation. "Oh, I don't mind showing you," she said. Her skin itched for a shower, but she knew this was more important. "Look. Some random man in a car gave it to me when I was walking home last night. It's from Reginald Hargreeves himself."

Molly's eyes skimmed the invitation, then widened. "Holy moly," she said. "That's their father, isn't it? The one you've been looking for?"

"It is," said Nadine. "I guess he decided to finally confront me. Though it's likely the others got one, too. I'm going to talk to them after I shower."

Molly nodded. "Despite how much of a skuzz bucket Reginald sounds like, this is a good opportunity. Five is convinced that he'll be able to help, right?"

"He is. I'm not completely sure if it's possible, but then again, I've never actually met him. You know, because he's dead in 2019."

Where this comment may have brought Molly into a stage of bewilderment before, now she'd grown too used to everything to even flinch. "Well, I hope it goes well. Anyway, you should shower now. You're still wearing yesterday's clothes."

Nadine coughed. "Right," she said, swiping a hand across her still sweaty brow. She bid Molly adieu, set her clothes and invitation down on the sink, and climbed into the shower, ensuring it was at a sensible temperature. Her stomach was still rocky, but fortunately, she didn't feel like throwing up anymore. She'd gotten all of the alcohol she could out of her system—though enough had made it to her bloodstream to provide her with the symptoms of a wicked hangover.

When she came out of the bathroom, clean and dressed in another set of practical clothes (thank God for Molly Hamasaki), she heard voices coming from the living room. When she stepped inside, she found a placid Vanya, a shirtless Diego, and Luther, eating a new batch of scrambled eggs. Molly was there, too, sitting beside Vanya and chewing on buttered toast. All of them turned towards Nadine when she entered, filling her with a twinge of self-consciousness.

"Nadine, there you are," said Luther, stabbing his fork into his eggs. In his non-dominant hand, he held a piece of paper, one that looked exactly like Nadine's. "Molly told us you got an invitation too?"

Nadine held her own up. "It came to me last night, when I was walking home," she said. She headed for the couch and took a seat beside Molly, who passed her a plate of the promised toast. Because she still felt dreadful, she immediately took a bite, speaking in between swallows. "So, all three of you received one as well?"

Vanya nodded. Molly had gone to the courtesy of providing her with toast, too, though she'd long since finished off her plate. "I saw mine this morning, when I was checking the mail," she said. "Diego and Luther said they got theirs yesterday."

"I guess it makes sense," said Molly. "Your father's in the Majestic Twelve, right? He obviously has people who could track you all down."

"Exactly," said Luther, his mouth full. "So it's got to be some kind of set-up."

"Maybe," said Diego, pulling on a shirt. Nadine was quite thankful for that. "But we should go anyway."

"Says the guy who's already been stabbed once this week," said Luther, tossing his copy of the invitation onto the coffee table. Nadine nearly choked on her toast at his comment, but managed to properly swallow before it lodged in her windpipe.

"Oh, don't worry," said Diego, buttoning up his shirt, "me and him are gonna have words."

Luther looked to Vanya in exasperation. "Would you tell him that he's nuts?"

Vanya shrugged. "I think we should go."

Luther's fork paused in his mouth, and Diego just looked smug. "See?"

"Vanya, of all people, you should hate Dad the most," said Luther. Vanya looked unconvinced.

"Come on, can he really be that bad?"

"Depends on what you consider 'bad'," said Nadine, wiping her hands with a napkin. "Just kidding, no matter what scale you put it on, I've heard enough from your siblings to know that Reginald Hargreeves was the shitty father to end all shitty fathers."

"Seriously," said Luther, nodding in agreement. "I mean, let's go through a list. He isolated you from the rest of the family."

"Kept you hopped up on pills," Diego added, tucking his shirt in.

"And he brainwashed you into thinking you had no powers."

Vanya blinked, attempting to absorb this insane information. "Jesus, this guy..." she began, looking to the ground. Luther nodded with her, assuming she'd now understand why it was a terrible idea to go, but then she finished, "I mean, come on, I have to meet him."

Nadine laughed and extended her hand for a high-five. As Vanya slapped her open palm (and Molly looked politely bewildered for a moment—perhaps high-fives hadn't been invented yet), Nadine said, "Honestly, I can't blame you, Vanya. He may be the shittiest member of the Hargreeves family, but he's also the only one I've never met. Well, I mean, when he was alive. I did attend his funeral, but he was just a pile of ashes by then."

Luther was already shaking his head. "You already know how this is gonna go," he said, referring to Diego. "Dad is gonna play all his little mind games on us, get into our heads, and he's gonna turn us all against each other. You watch."

"Well, then, it's good you'll have Nadine," said Molly, leaning her head into her girlfriend's shoulder. "I mean, for one, you all grew up with him, and she didn't. So, if he tries to make you regress into your past selves, she'll be unaffected and there to snap you out of it. For two, Nadine is one of the most obstinate people I've met. Anything your father says will not get to her, I can guarantee you that."

Nadine grinned, finishing off her toast. "She's right on both counts, you know," she said, then settled a hand on Molly's shoulder. "You know, it's nice to have my own personal cheerleader."

"Molly's right," said Diego. "Nadine will be there. And even if she wasn't, it doesn't matter. Luther, we're not twelve anymore. All right? We're grown-ass men. And women," he added. When Luther still looked skeptical, he attempted to get his attention. "Hey. Hey. We can handle him. Wanna know what's different this time?"

"What's that?" Luther asked, still dubious.

"You got me." He looked around the room, eyes settling on each of them. "We go in there as a united front. No more 'Number One', 'Number Two' bullshit. From now on, it's..." he sank down into a chair before finishing. "...Team Zero."

"'Team Zero'?" Luther echoed.

"Team Zero," Diego echoed, then extended his fists to his siblings. "All the way."

When neither of them returned the gesture, Nadine did. "I never had a number in the first place, but I am totally in," she said. "Team Zero for the win."

ALTHOUGH NADINE WAS completely prepared to spend her day getting ready for the dinner, it turned out that it wasn't needed. When she asked Diego about it, he simply shrugged and told her that there was nothing to do. This wasn't a game of chess, or a spelling bee. There were no preparations for what his father had in store for them, because whatever they said, Diego knew he'd find some way to twist it. So, after making sure that none of the Umbrella Academy members had seen Five anywhere, Nadine solidified her decision in her mind—she would spend the day with Molly. There were five days left until the end of the world, and every second that passed brought the world a second closer to oblivion. Yet, there was nothing to be done until seven-thirty pm tonight. And because Nadine knew she'd go restless if she stayed here, she figured a day out with Molly was the perfect plan.

Right as she was going to fetch her, however, she met Vanya in the hallway. Although her memories of yesterday's drinking and dance session in Odessa's were slightly hazy, a few things were coming back to her. Klaus's spiel about the Umbrella Academy being unlucky in love, and Vanya's decision to tell Sissy Cooper how she felt. Vanya didn't appear any different than she had been yesterday, other than the fact that she seemed to be suffering through a milder version of Nadine's hangover (though it had alleviated slightly, by now), but Nadine sensed something was up regardless. Which was why, instead of walking right past her, she instead stopped.

"Hi," she said. She still needed to brush her teeth.

"Hi, Nadine," Vanya replied. "What's up?"

"You said last night that you were going to tell Sissy that you loved her," said Nadine. As usual, something fluttered in her stomach as she spoke, but she managed to ignore it. "I was just... wondering how that went."

Vanya's lips collapsed into a frown, and she let out a sigh. "Not as well as I was hoping, unfortunately," she said. "She... well, I was drunk, and I could tell that she was off but I was ignoring it. I just... I wanted her to know how much I care for her. I should've seen the signs," she added bitterly, crossing her arms.

Nadine was almost afraid to ask. "What signs?"

"That she slept with Carl again. Even though she doesn't love him anymore. She told me I had no idea what kind of pressure she was under. All in all, it was a real shitty night."

"Shit," said Nadine. She really did feel bad. "I'm sorry, Vanya."

Vanya shrugged. "I mean, I don't know what I was expecting. According to Klaus, I've never been very lucky in love. Didn't he say something about a serial killer boyfriend?"

Nadine's blood grew hot as she remembered Harold Jenkins and all of the things he'd done to Vanya. How he'd so expertly manipulated her, day by day, and the fact that she'd been so blinded by the fact that someone was actually listening to her to realize she was being played. And in the end, he'd been the one to touch a lit match to the fuse of the bomb that was Vanya's abilities. Although he hadn't directly caused the first apocalypse, the Commission had been right to protect him, for, without him, Nadine didn't think it would've ever occurred.

Because Nadine thought she might scream thinking about it all, she forced herself to remember the sight of his dead body. She hadn't gone too close to it, then. The sight of all of the blood had been too much for her. But she had seen the way Vanya had used him as a pincushion, sticking him through with a vast array of sharp objects. No one could come back from that. Least of all fucking Leonard.

Nadine realized Vanya was staring at her, and cleared her throat. "That wasn't your fault," she said. "He was... well, he was a master manipulator. He took advantage of you when you were at some of your lowest points, and exploited you as a pawn to use against your siblings. I never knew why he hated the Umbrella Academy so much, but I do know that that hate was one of the catalysts that led to the world's end. It wasn't all your fault, Vanya. We all had a part to play, and so did he."

Vanya chewed down on her lip. "What happened to him?" she asked. "Did you ever confront him?"

Nadine chuckled bitterly. "Oh, I confronted him, all right. Unfortunately, that confrontation got me nothing but a concussion. You, on the other hand... I assume you discovered the truth. Because when I came into your apartment a day later, I found him dead. You'd killed him."

"Holy shit." Vanya took a step back. "I killed him?"

"Only because you had to," said Nadine. "Honestly, I think that if you hadn't, we'd all probably be dead."

"Shit," said Vanya again. "I honestly didn't think I had it in me."

She was still chewing on her lip, her eyes glued down to the floor, and impulsively, Nadine reached out and took her hand. At the warmth of Nadine's fingers interlocked with hers, Vanya looked up, meeting her eyes. Brown eyes met blue as Nadine said, "It's all right, Vanya. You're okay. And everything's going to be okay. I promise."

Vanya offered her a weak smile. "I sure hope so."

Nadine would've liked to stay and talk to her further, but the clock was ticking. It was a few minutes past noon now, meaning that she had just over seven hours before she was required at 1624 Magnolia Street for a dinner with 'Ol Reggie himself. So, she gave Vanya a reassuring squeeze on her shoulders, said goodbye, and went to find Molly.

Molly was in the bedroom, reading one of Elliott's books. It was called Aliens Among Us by a man called Willie Waymire, and based solely on the hokey cover—which depicted a man with comically exaggerated features shrieking as he was beamed up into a UFO—Nadine knew it was a ridiculous read. Molly seemed to think so, too, as her face contorted further and further with each page she flipped.

Nadine decided to rescue her from the torture of absurd conspiracy theories. "Hey, Molls," she said. Molly looked up from the book. The moon charm Nadine had given her for their first anniversary still hung around her neck, glittering every time it moved.

"Oh," she said. "Hi, Nads."

Nadine entered the room and sat beside her on the bed. Suddenly, her palms were sweaty. She'd gone to the bathroom before this, using the toilet for the third time since waking up (both because of her hangover and her nerves), brushing her teeth, and applying a fresh coat of makeup. She'd done her hair, too, tying it back with a ribbon, but at that moment, none of it felt like enough.

She spoke regardless. "We should go out. Just the two of us. The dinner with Reginald isn't until seven-thirty, and you told me your grandparents wanted you to come over at seven-fifteen, so we have plenty of time. And, without Five here, there isn't anything else I can work on regarding the apocalypse." The corners of her lips turned up slightly as an idea came to her mind. "We can go on a picnic."

Molly smiled at that, too. "Like the night we got together?"

"Better than that," said Nadine. "I'll pay for everything. I still have a little money left in the bank. I won't drink—I still feel like shit—but you can, if you want. We can go to the same field we went to before, or we can go somewhere new. Wherever you want. I just... I want to repay you. You've done so much for me, and you've done it all without expecting anything back. So I'm giving you this, and whatever else I can think of today. Trust me, Molls, if I could give you the world, I would in a heartbeat."

Molly's cheeks flamed pink. She set down Aliens Among Us on the nightstand and moved forward, silently asking permission to kiss her. When Nadine nodded assent, they did, melting into each other as easily as if they were one being.

When they broke apart, Molly's eyes were bright. "All right, Nads," she said. "Let's go out on a date."

IT TOOK A LITTLE preparation to bring Nadine's intricate plans to life, but she and Molly went through the motions excitedly regardless, thrilled to have a day they could spend with each other. First, they went to the bank, where Nadine withdrew a hefty portion of her last paycheck (she was a little hesitant to do this, at first, before she remembered that whatever way these next few days went, money wouldn't be an issue). Then, they headed over to the grocery store, where Nadine let Molly pick out strawberries and macarons, brie cheese, crackers, and white grapes. Then it was the French café, where they bought butter cakes, macarons, and four delicious flaky croissants with a jar of jam. To drink, they didn't get liquor; instead, Molly insisted on sparkling water. Nadine wasn't sparkling water's biggest fan, but this was Molly's day, and she could suck it up and drink it for her.

After all of that was settled, Nadine asked Molly where she wanted to go. She expected her to say the same field they'd gone to the day they confessed their feelings, but Molly surprised her by choosing the park, instead. It wasn't as private as the field, which meant they had to keep an eye out for passersby, but Molly was confident that they'd be able to find a good spot.

Because Nadine didn't know the route (and because her mind was just foggy enough to get her in a car accident), Molly drove. While the car headed past the familiar views of Dallas, Nadine decided to practice with her abilities again. It had been two days since she'd shown Molly her space Sanctuary, and her general usage of her illusions had been spotty throughout this past week. It was unusual, and it made something inside of Nadine itch. She'd found out when she was younger that the longer she went without using her abilities, the more that itch grew, until it was downright unbearable to deal with. She usually resolved this by creating small illusions every day, ones only she could see, or else just working on her Sanctuaries during her free time. Today, though, Nadine wasn't in the mood to perfect a scene of somewhere else, because as it happened, she quite liked where she was right now. So, instead, she held her arm in front of her and worked on what she had at the aquarium; that is, turning herself invisible.

Her eyes narrowing in focus, Nadine concentrated on overlapping her light skin with the image of the interior of the car. Keeping as still as possible, she constructed the image, a pale blue light emanating from her arm before the colours filled in. This only made her headache worse, but in a mere half minute, she'd gotten it—her arm, from her hand all the way up to her shoulder, vanished into nothingness.

This had been the first step. It wasn't true invisibility; instead, it was more like the abilities of a chameleon, blending into her surroundings. The second step, however, was to tighten this image, creating a sort of coding that ensured that, if Nadine were to move her arm, the illusion wouldn't fall apart immediately. When she did this, she imagined herself as a sort of handyman, turning the screws. It was a difficult process to explain to anyone not born with her ability. It was just something that she instinctually knew how to do.

Nadine turned the screws of her illusion, creating an illusion that resembled more of a movie than a stationary image. When she moved, it would move with her, meaning that she wouldn't have to create another image every millimeter. Like an animation that had been created by someone else, Nadine didn't need to worry about each individual frame. She could just focus on the final product.

Still, it was exhausting work. A lot of people might think her abilities were some kind of parlor trick, easy to whip out when the time came, but they were a lot more than that. When she wanted to create Sanctuaries, or turn invisible, she really had to exert herself for it. She had to fine-tune the details. It was why it could be difficult to use in combat, sometimes. Unlike the Umbrella Academy, her powers weren't exactly ideal for battles, and more often than not, she had to use her fists, instead. She supposed it was a good thing that Reginald Hargreeves hadn't gotten her in the end. She'd be less protected than the others were, even if she formed complete darkness around an enemy or made the floor appear to crumble under their feet.

Now, she waved her arm around, trying to see if there was any noticeable flaw. There wasn't. The illusion held. It was only because she was the one controlling her arm that she knew where it was.

She held out her other arm and attempted the same process. She was getting close to full invisibility, she knew it. Perhaps she could even use it as a defense mechanism in the future; perhaps she'd be able to turn invisible without even thinking about it. For now, though, she had to keep her focus.

When both of her arms were missing, and she appeared as if she'd had them amputated at the shoulder, Nadine closed her eyes. Because she couldn't see her face, she had to make do with feeling it. She was just making an attempt to add a new layer overtop the rest of her body, her forehead buzzing like a whole hive of bumblebees, when abruptly, the car drew to a halt.

"We're here," Molly said. Nadine's eyes flew open. Sure enough, the manufactured, industrialized streets of the downtown had been replaced with nothing but green space. She looked at Molly, at the sheer excitement prevalent on her face, and dissolved her illusion. She could work on it later. Now, she was going to spend time with Molly.

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HAVEN: so what do you think nadine's power upgrade is going to be?? 👀👀👀

thanks for reading!! <333