FOUR | SAVING A HOSTAGE AND
A MISSING PERSON'S CASE

"Okay, Luther we're here, What is it?" Five asked, his arms wrapped around a sleepy Tate. "It says your brother Viktor has been kidnapped, follow my exact instructions and no harm will come to him," Luther read the note before passing it to Allison.

"All right, any ideas on who might be behind this?" Five asked, his hands on hip. "my money's on you know who," Luther said dryly. "Dad? Come on, Dad didn't kidnap Viktor. He doesn't give a shit about us," Klaus responded, moving the accusation away from their father.

"It really hurts when family stabs you in the back," Diego whispered to Lila, causing Tate to roll her eyes. "How long do you think it will take them?" Tate whispered, watching the subtle interaction between Diego and Lila.

"Five, can't you just call your CIA buddies?" Allison asked, crossing her arms. "Well, the CIA doesn't investigate kidnappings, that's the FBI," Tate said, causing everyone to turn their heads at Tate.

"What?" Tate asked before Allison asked in shock. "What is your job position at the CIA?" Allison said. "CIA officer of Global Access?" Tate answered before Five rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Wait, hey, hey, no. We don't need anyone, we can handle this," Diego said, denying any help. "Yeah," Luther agreed, nodding along. "We're not exactly a team, anymore, Diego," Five reminded, turning to face his brother. "Or ever were," Ben added, raising his cup in defense.

"And then, there's the whole 'no powers' thing," Lila said, shrugging at their powerless state. "No, I don't care, if Viktor's in trouble, I'm in, right?" Luther pointed to Diego for support. "What are you looking at me for? I'm not your mother," Lila said after Diego turned to her, pleading silently.

"I'm in," Diego joined in, causing Luther to cheer. "Good luck, you can't even run up the stairs without getting a coronary," Lila mocked. "I'm in the best shape of my life," Diego ignored the quip from his wife. "I mean the dad bod is..." Tate trailed off, realizing it was going to sound like an insult.

"Jesus, Okay, anyway, now what?" Allison asked. "It says we're supposed to meet at Sy's dry cleaning on 5th Avenue," Luther read out the note. "Perfect, let's roll!" Diego raised his fist in the air. "Yeah!" Luther agreed, walking out with him. In disbelief, Klaus and Tate looked at each other at their brother's actions.

"Stay behind Five and Tate, they've got the gun," Lila warned as everyone stepped out of Diego's van. Tate and Five sneaked towards the laundromat. "You take the left, I'll take the right, meet in the middle," Five instructed before Tate nodded, holding her gun in one hand and the flashlight in the other.

Tate and Five started searching around the place, their footsteps being slow but silent so as not to attract attention. "Guys! Can't you guys smell that? This place is a chemical wasteland," Klaus whispered with his gas mask.

"Would you shut up? They might hear you," Tate scolded as Tate and Five got closer to the middle of the place, their flashlight shining over every area they passed by.

Luther walked closer as they reached the middle before he noticed someone with a black bag over his head. "Hey, there he is," Luther smiled at Viktor. "Looking good, buddy," Ben grinned, glad he was safe.  "Thank god! What's up, Vik?" Klaus said, trying to pull off his gas mask.

"Couldn't make it to your  niece's birthday?" Diego asked as he glared at Viktor. "Well, I was on the way, and then I got kidnapped so..." Viktor tried explaining, his eyes adjusting to light. "Nice excuse," Diego ridiculed, not believing Viktor's explanation. "Diego," Lila turned at her husband, glaring at him.

"Do you guys wanna untie him or..." Tate asked before Luther and Ben walked up to Viktor, untying the rope around his wrists. "Who grabbed you? Was it Hargreeves and his goons?" Ben asked. "No way, this is amateur hour," Five responded immediately, erasing the possibility.

"I apologize if my methods are a little crude," Someone behind the group said, causing Five to raise his gun at the empty space. "But this is my first kidnapping," Someone called out from behind the door. "And hopefully, my last," He added, pushing through the plastic-covered clothes.

"But I need your help," He informed, pointing his gun at Five. "Well, kidnapping our brother and pointing your gun at us isn't gonna buy you much goodwill," Tate reminded the stranger, stepping next to Five as Five flashed his gun at the stranger instinctively.

"It was the only way I could make sure that you came here, all of you," The man said, his hands trembling as Tate's glare burned into his skin.  "I couldn't leave anything to chance, especially when it comes to..." The man paused.

"The Umbrella Academy,"

Tate froze at the mention of her past life, her eyes widened as the memories from the past started flowing back into her head. "No one's called us that in six years," Diego stated while Lila raised her hands defensively.

"Sorry pal, the Umbrella Academy doesn't exist," Five informed the man, not letting down his guard. "Okay, but..." The man trailed off as he stuttered, struggling to convince the group of past superheroes before he set down his gun on the table, showing them he meant peace.

"Can... can you explain this, then?" The man asked, his hands reaching over to a box before pulling out a cutout article of the Umbrella Academy saving the Eiffel Tower and getting the key to the city of Paris.

"What..." Tate's eyes tried reading the article before DIego snatched it for a closer look. "Umbrella Academy saves what?" Klaus asked, his eyes wandering to the words typed on the paper. "When the hell did we save the Eiffel Tower?" Klaus asked.

"Maybe in the '60s because that picture is from us in the '60s..." Tate remarked, trying to lower Five's gun. "Where did you get that?" Viktor asked the man. "It was in this box of things in the trunk of my daughter's car," The man answered as Lila walked closer to the box.

"Her name is Jennifer," The man informed. "Where did she get that?" Lila asked, peeking inside the box. "I don't know," He responded when Diego picked the creepy pink mask up. "But, okay, listen," The man tried pleading with the group.

"So about a year ago, she met these new friends, and uh, they started going to these strange meetings," The man explained as Klaus picked up the dog tag.

"They're very strange people. They called themselves the Keepers, and uh..." The man started to run out of reasons to convince them, causing Five, Tate, and Lila to stare at each other.

"And over time she stopped talking to me," The man continued. "Just stopped, And that was about three months ago and I haven't seen her since, and I believe something terrible has happened," The man ended.

"No offense, maybe she just wants nothing to do with you," Diegob blurted out, his eyes remained on the article, causing Lila to nudge him in annoyance. "No, no. My daughter and I are very close, she would never do this to me," The man informed them.

"Wait, hold on, how did you find us?" Luther asked as the group stared at the man. "I saw you on TV, Toss N' Wash," The man pointed to Allison. "Ha! See? No small parts," Klaus cheered, causing Allison to roll her eyes.

"I've actually been watching you for quite a while now," The man said, staring at the group while Tate walked over to the counter and snatched the man's gun.

"Uh... I'm... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, I apologize," The man said. "But she's all that I have left, and uh..." The man tried his best to convince the group. "What do you need us for? Call a cop?" Tate and Five suggested. "I did, they didn't do anything,"

"We'd like to help but we're not the same people in that picture anymore," Viktor pointed to the article. "Yeah, yeah we don't even have powers anymore," Luther said as Five and Tate peeked inside the box. Tate shook her head, disapproving of whatever Five had planned.

"Yeah, we're not special," Diego stated before handing the article back to Tate. "Speak for yourself, Tubby," Ben remarked, causing Diego to glare at him. "Give us twenty-four hours," Five agreed as Tate shook her head. "No-no..." Tate sighed before Allison asked. "Five, what are you doing?"

"24 hours and we'll find your daughter," Five stated, closing the lid of the box. "Yes, thank you," The man thanked Five before Five started walking out of the laundromat. "Guys, let's go,"  Five urged. "What are you talking about?" Luther said.

"Thank you very much, Umbrella Academy, I think you're special,"  The man smiled as Allison glared at him before leaving. "You are absolute crazy, you don't listen to me," Tate grumbled, following Five to the car as she continued to scold her husband.

"Come on," Five hurried her siblings. "What the hell was that, man?" Diego asked as Five started running to the car. "You are not doing whatever I think you're doing," Tate said as everyone gathered behind Diego's car.

"Five, what's going on?" Luther asked. "Because..." Five lifted the lid of the box as Tate unwillingly picked up a jar of Marigold, Five raising her hand to show everyone, "Of this," Everyone stared at the glowing jar while Ben had a smirk on his face.

💌
PUR I FEEL VERY PRODUCTIVE RN BUT THEN IMMA BE DIPPING FOR LIKE A WEEK SINCE I HAVE TO GO ON A TRIP BUT WE'RE ALMOST DONE WITH EP 1, ONE MORE SCENE WHICH I WILL HAVE TO SHOVE TO THE NEXT CHAPTER