𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄'𝐒 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 as they fixated on the small television that had been set on the bar counter.

The family watched as the black-and-white tape played; Grace simply stood by the bed as Reginald gave great gasps and clutched at his heart. And while the small seizure made its final attack on Reginald, Grace decided to turn and head towards the open door.

As the tape continued to show Reginald as he suffered, Vanya shook her head and turned to the others. "I mean, do you really think Mom would hurt Dad?"

"You haven't been home in a long time, Vanya," Luther said as he stared at the TV screen. "Maybe you don't know Grace anymore."

"If he was poisoned," Diego interjected, causing everyone's eyes to turn towards him as he raised his eyebrows, "it would have shown in the coroner's report."

"Well," Luther scoffed with squinted eyes, "I don't need a report to tell me what I can see with my own eyes."

"Maybe all that low gravity in space messed with your vision," Diego quipped before stepping towards the television and replaying the tape. "Look closer. Dad has his monocle. Mom stands up. Monocle's gone."

"Oh, yeah!" Klaus giggled in agreement as he pulled out a plantain chip and popped it into his mouth.

"She wasn't poisoning him," Diego elaborated as he unsheathed one of his knives and walked back towards the couch. "She was . . . taking it. To clean it," he added as he turned to face them once again, leaning back against the thin table.

Everyone turned in his direction as Luther rebutted, "Then where is it? No, I've searched the house, including her things. She doesn't have it."

Diego's eyes lowered to the ground, his mouth opening and closing for a few seconds before he admitted, "That's because I took it from her. After the funeral."

Everyone's attention suddenly turned to Diego with alarm.

"You've had the monocle this whole time?" Allison asked incredulously, her eyebrows furrowing. "What the hell, Diego?"

Luther stuck his hand out toward Diego, and his glare couldn't be more lethal. "Give it to me."

Diego shook his head, his gaze slowly lifting to meet Luther's. "I threw it away."

Luther's jaw dropped. "You what?"

Allison scoffed, a smile of absolute disbelief on her face as she lifted her glass of whiskey to her lips.

"Look" —Diego straightened up as he jabbed the knife in Luther's direction—"I knew that if you found it on Mom, you'd lose your shit, just like you're doing right now."

"Diego," Luther growled, "you son of a bitch."

Diego immediately braced himself for a fight while Luther stepped toward him, their eyes glued to each other's every movement.

"Hey. No. Calm down." Vanya placed a hand on Luther's arm, stopping him from going any further. "Look, I know Dad wasn't exactly an open book. But I do remember one thing he had said to me. Mom was, well, designed to be a caretaker, but . . . also as a protector."

Valerie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she asked, "What does that mean?"

Vanya sighed. "She was programmed to intervene if someone's life was in jeopardy."

"Well, if her hardware is degrading, then . . ." Luther licked his lips as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other before firmly stating, "We need to turn her off."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait," Diego instantly interjected as he raised his knife in Luther's direction once more. "She's not just a vacuum cleaner you can throw in a closet. She feels things, I've seen it!"

"She just stood there, Diego, and watched our father die," Luther pointed out angrily as he motioned back at the television.

Allison glanced down at the whiskey-filled glass in her hand for a moment before quietly declaring, "I'm with Luther."

"Surprise, surprise," Diego jeered as he turned towards her.

"Oh, shut up," Allison scoffed as she shook her head.

Luther and Diego turned to Vanya, who began to stutter nervously as her gaze shifted between them.

"I . . . I agree with Luther."

Diego let out a small scoff before he turned to Klaus, who was happily spectating as he munched on his chips and leaned against one of the columns.

"What about you, stoner boy? What do you got?"

"Oh, so, what? You need my help now?" Klaus jeered as he raised his eyebrows. "Oh, 'Get out of the van, Klaus!' 'Well, welcome back to the van'."

"What van?" Allison asked in bafflement, her eyebrows furrowing.

Luther scoffed. "What's it gonna be, Klaus?"

"I'm with Diego, because screw you!" Klaus spat, causing Diego to point toward him victoriously. "And if Ben were here, he'd agree with me."

Luther turned to Diego, his eyebrows raising. "Three to two."

"Vote's not final yet," Allison said quickly, shaking her head.

"What?" Luther's eyebrows furrowed as he turned to her.

"Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm not a person, dingbat," Valerie scoffed as she whacked Luther on the arm, to which he groaned. "And, sorry, dude, I agree with Diego."

Diego stared at Luther. "Three to three."

"Five's not here," Valerie added, folding her arms as she shrugged. "The whole family should be able to vote. He could be the deciding factor."

"Right." Vanya nodded.

The others began to leave the room, and Valerie was about to follow when she noticed the sorrowed look that had come upon Diego's face, his skin slowly growing pink as his eyes moistened.

She stepped towards him and placed a gentle hand on his arm, causing him to turn towards her, and he swallowed.

Before either of them could say anything, however, Valerie caught sight of Grace, who was hidden between one of the archways in the back of the room. Her hands were folded over her black-dotted pink skirt, and her eyebrows were furrowed as she gazed in their direction.

Realization dawning over her, she then nudged Diego and poked Vanya, who had also remained, before motioning towards the lingering woman.

Diego didn't say anything, rather just turning and walking towards her, and the other two followed only a step behind.

"Hey," he quietly greeted his mother. He placed a hand on her arm as he slightly tilted his head and worriedly asked, "How long you been here?"

Grace, who hadn't acknowledged their presence up until now, gradually drifted her gaze up to meet Diego's. Her frown quickly morphed into a gentle smile as she remarked, "You all seem upset. I'll make cookies."

"Do you ever wonder . . . ," Vanya began as Grace turned to head towards her kitchen, catching the other two's attention. "All those moments with Mom, the things she said. Like, was it her, or was it really Dad?"

Valerie tilted her head as she turned towards the woman and inquired, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, he built her," Vanya pointed out with a slight lift of the shoulders. "And he programmed her to be a mom, to be our mom. Sometimes when I look at her, I just see him."

"Maybe that was true at first," Diego agreed as he turned back to watch Grace's figure disappear around the corner before looking back towards Vanya. "But she evolved."

"How do you know?" Vanya questioned with furrowed eyebrows.

A bitter smile twisted his lips as he leaned towards her and answered, "Because Dad only loved himself."

—♫—

It was late in the evening by the time Valerie had begun to head back to Meritech, so she had to rely on the street lamps to guide her toward her destination.

The plumbing van was parked in the same spot as before, so Valerie assumed there hadn't been much that had happened. She phased into the passenger's seat, crossing one leg over the other after sitting.

"Nothing?" she asked Five, who turned to her upon her arrival.

He shook his head, letting out a sigh. "What was the meeting about?"

"Well, some people think that Mom killed Dad, and then there was a vote to see if we should turn her off," Valerie explained briefly, a small frown on her face.

Five furrowed his eyebrows as he asked, "And? Are we?"

"It was three to three," she sighed. "You get to decide."

"Oh, that's—" He cut his sentence off, leaning forward as he spotted a moving figure in the darkness ahead. "There's our guy."

Valerie shifted forward in her seat, watching intently as Mr. Biggs headed towards the sidewalk, a duffle bag in hand.

Mr. Biggs paused for a moment, looking around before walking up to the sidewalk as a car approached.

Valerie's eyebrows furrowed as she watched Mr. Biggs slide the duffel bag through the passenger window. Mr. Biggs straightened up, and her eyes briefly caught a glimpse of an orange package as Mr. Biggs slipped it into the inside of his coat.

Five turned to look at Valerie, whose eyes were wide with confusion, and questioned, "What the hell is he up to?"

—♫—

"There he is," Five whispered to Valerie, his gaze fixated on the man that they had been searching for.

It was the next morning, and the two of them were hiding behind a thick pole, having been waiting for Mr. Biggs (and his dog) to come back from their walk.

As Five had just said, the man was walking up the sidewalk on the opposite side of them, dressed in blue fitness wear, his dog tucked under his arm.

"What's the plan?" Valerie questioned quietly, peering around the pole slightly to get a better look.

"You phase into the car and I'll spatial-jump, and then I threaten to kill him with a knife, and then he helps us," Five explained briefly, watching as the man looked both ways and made his way to cross the street.

"See, I think that plan is a bit . . . flawed," Valerie said slowly as she squinted her eyes. "How about I talk this time? And we don't threaten anyone?"

"Fine, you'll talk," Five conceded with a nod. He shifted in his spot as he watched Mr. Biggs unlock his car and get inside before quickly instructing, "Let's go."

While Mr. Biggs was facing the other direction, Five spatial jumped into the front passenger seat as Valerie phased into the back. She ended up next to the dog, who seemed confused but happy about the new visitors.

"Oh, Jesus!" Mr. Biggs exclaimed as he jumped in his seat, clearly startled by their sudden appearance.

Valerie was about to say something when Five pulled out a knife and held it against Mr. Bigg's throat.

"One chance," Five warned, his voice low as he gently pressed the blade against the soft skin. "That's all you've got. One chance to tell us exactly what's going on in that lab."

Valerie groaned internally. This boy was going to give her a heart attack one day.

"I . . . I manufacture prosthetic devices for fake patients," Mr. Biggs confessed, his voice quivering in fear as his eyes nervously glanced between the boy and the knife. "I bill the insurance companies and then sell them for cash on the black market."

"Including eyeballs?"

"Yeah, they're my biggest seller," he answered shakily. "I mean, they sell like hotcakes. I-I've got a list—a waiting list, probably twenty buyers."

Valerie leaned forward, her eyebrows tightly knit together as she realized, "So, the serial number we told you . . ."

"Uh, could've already been bought." Mr. Biggs nodded as much as the knife could allow him to do so. "Yes, off—off the books."

"I need that list, Lance." The miffed smile was back as Five pressed the knife closer to the doctor's neck. "Names and numbers, and I need it now!"

"I don't have it," he said quickly, his eyes widened. "I mean, not on me. The only copy's in my safe at the lab."

"Well, you start the car, then," Five ordered, nodding towards the steering wheel. "'Cause we're going on a field trip."

"Okay." Mr. Biggs nodded swiftly as Five leaned back into his spot and pocketed the knife.

"Now."

Mr. Biggs immediately began to drive, gulping as his hands gripped the wheel, and frighteningly glancing over at Five every now and then.

Valerie leaned towards the right of Five's seat, muttering quiet enough so that only Five could hear as she threatened, "I'm going to rip off your mouth."

Five turned to her, a small smirk on his face. "I'd like to see you try," he whispered.

She leaned back in her spot, folding her arms as she muttered, "Son of a bitch."

They arrived at the parking lot, and Five and Valerie immediately got out of the car, not bothering to give Mr. Biggs a second glance.

Knowing they couldn't use their power in front of him, they speed-walked down the sidewalk, Five especially eager to get there as soon as possible.

But, instead of the nice, proud building that usually stood tall, there were now clouds of black and grey, and flames billowed out of the many open windows of the entire place.

Five ran to the front of the crumbling structure with horror in his eyes, clearly very upset.

Valerie saw a pack of fire travelling towards the entrance, realizing that an explosion was about to burst through the doors.

She glanced back at Mr. Biggs, who was busy watching his building disintegrate with terror before she sped towards Five. She grabbed him just as the fire exploded through the door, black smoke and sparks flying out in slow motion as she ran.

She came to a stop at the other side of the building, time around her resuming to normal as the explosion fast-tracked.

Still clutched in her arms, Five just stared in front of him, a look of hopelessness showcased in his green eyes.

After a minute, Five murmured to her, "I need a drink."

"C'mon, Five, don't you think they'd ID you?" Valerie questioned as she shook her head, pulling him closer to her. "You don't look a day over twenty-one. You hardly even look seventeen."

"I'll steal it," he mumbled as he turned his head towards her. "Now, bring me to a store where I can steal."

"Five, I'm not—"

"Valerie."

Valerie sighed and readjusted her grip on Five before speeding off. She looked around at each passing building, finally finding a liquor store after a couple of seconds of search.

She dropped Five off inside and then came to a stop outside of the store, letting out a sigh as soon as she had stopped.

She sat on the bench that was placed next to the doors and then began to nervously play with the pendant of her necklace as she tapped her foot on the ground.

Five appeared after a few minutes, a bottle of tequila in hand, and he muttered, "Let's go."

"Where?" asked Valerie as she stood up, brushing off the dust from the skirt of her dress.

"I don't care." Five uncapped the bottle and took a large swig of it, gulping it down with a scrunched face. "Wherever you want to go."