THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY
fractured || five hargreeves x reader

CHAPTER TWENTY: WHY DID IT SAVE YOU?

Written By: peachyhxlland

°•.☆.•°

"Welcome to Keepers HQ, courtesy of Jean and Gene." Five opened the doors of the room where the Keepers meeting was held. Meanwhile, Viktor, Allison, and Luther used the van that Diego lent to Viktor to drive to see Reginald Hargreeves.

Diego started looking around as Five and Lila followed along. "Jean and Gene didn't give us much to go." Diego commented as he looked around the coffee tables.

"Stay focused for once, darling." Lila sighed as she looked through some drawers. "All the files are gone."

Five went up to the wooden desk and opened its drawer to see if there were more things inside. "Damn it." He gritted his teeth in frustration. "Certainly looks that way."

Diego looked at Five and Lila. "While you two stand around twiddling your dinks, I got some recon to do."

"There's nothing here, Diego." Lila told Diego.

"Our targets left in a hurry, correct?"

"Yeah? So?

"So... haste makes waste, mami." With a sly smile, Diego left the room to see where the thrown files were.

Lila followed Five after seeing that he had been digging through the bookshelves for new clues. "Out with it. Why can't you blink?" Lila asked as she confronted Five.

Five cocked an eyebrow at her. "I can blink." He looked at her and blinked his eyes. "There."

Lila rolled her eyes. "You know damn well what I meant, dummy." She huffed. "You gotta get back on that horse, kemosabe."

Lila quickly grabbed Five's arm. Five's eyes went wide the moment he realized what she was going to do. "Don't!" But Lila spatial jumped with him by mimicking his powers. Five and Lila were transported to a subway station where Five had been a while ago.

Lila gasped. "Woah! Where are we?"

"A subway station." Five answered.

"Yeah, I can see that, numbnuts, but why did you blink us here?"

"Believe me, Lila, it was not on purpose." Five began walking forward and passed by the turnstiles while Lila trailed after him. "Ever since Ben spiked us with that janky marigold, when I blink, this is where I end up."

Lila chuckled. "Neat."

"Not really." Five sighed. "Not to mention there are these visions..." He grumbled softly, which was audible for Lila to hear, but low enough that she could not understand.

Lila walked down the stairs with Five and saw a train station. "Oh!" She laughed wryly. "Okay, not the MTA. Not the Tube."

"Trust me, this is unlike any subway you've been to."

"Well, where do the trains go?"

"That's the weird part. I took a westbound train. I went one station over. When I came up, it was the exact same day, exact same time but a completely different timeline."

Lila stared at Five and grinned. "Now that's interesting." She looked around and saw a map. "A map! That's helpful, innit?" She ran towards the map while Five walked and followed behind her.

"If I could understand it." Five replied. "All it gave me was more confusion and a headache."

Lila chuckled. "I once navigated the Tokyo subway with a bullet wound in my thigh and on my period, so how hard can it be?" She boasted with a smug smirk as she faced Five. Lila looked back at the map and began to study the subway map. "Okay, so... north to south. This connects around here." She circled around the map as she followed a line and she chuckled. "Fuck me, this is confusing."

Lila saw a subway train coming to a stop where she and Five were. She peeked her head out from the map and grinned at Five. "Eastbound. Shall we?"

Five pointed at the exit and looked at Lila. "We should get back to Diego, Lila. We still need to find (Y/—"

"Come on!" Lila whined. "Let's take a ride. Just this once, please?"

Five shook his head. "I don't wanna be hopping on trains until we understand this."

Lila walked towards Five. "How are we supposed to understand this if we're not going to try it? All trial and error, my friend." She took Five's hand and dragged him along to enter the train. "You need to move your ass!"

Five sighed from exhaustion as they boarded the train, and Lila laughed out loud. "I'm too old for this shit." Five grumbled under his breath.

After a few minutes of train ride, the train finally came to a stop and Lila and Five left the train. Lila grimaced as she looked around the dirty station. "Yucko."

Five took out a pen and a small notebook while scanning around his surroundings. With a click of his pen, he began to scribble as Lila peered over his shoulder. "Dear diary, why do I always wear suits?" Lila whispered as she stared at the notepad. "Perhaps it's for preparation for me and my girlfriend's future wedding."

"At least I'm wearing something decent." Five muttered. "Not in a bubble jacket, a t-shirt, and some sweatpants."

Lila scrunched her face in annoyance. "At least I'm comfortable during missions, asshat." She walked away and continued to look around the station. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Leaving breadcrumbs," Five replied. "It's a broken vending machine. Stain on the floor in the shape of Australia. Three burnt-out light bulbs."

"Mhm," Lila hummed in response. "Poetic. Make sure not to put those in your future vows, yeah?" She waited for Five to finish writing his notes. "Where do you reckon we end up?"

"My guess is back in Gene and Jean's apartment," Five said as he placed his notepad and pen back on his coat. He and Lila walked towards the exit of the subway station. "Same day, same time, different timeline."

"Different timeline. I knew that."

Five and Lila came out of the subway and found ruins and destruction around them. Five's eyebrows furrowed in shock and confusion while Lila looked at him. "Shows what you know. You must have jumped forward, ahead of time, to the end of the world."

Five shook his head as he and Lila wandered around. "No, no, no. We haven't jumped anywhere," He told her. "We're not moving forwards or backwards through time. We're just going to alternate versions of now. This is Gene and Jean's apartment."

Five looked around him as the realization dawned on him. "I've been here before," He stated. "This is my apocalypse."

Lila turned around and looked at Five. "Your apocalypse? A timeline where you ended the world?"

Five rolled his eyes in annoyance. "No, dum-dum. The original timeline. I was stuck here for twenty-five years. This is the timeline where Viktor blew up the moon and we didn't stop it."

"Well, this is a very shitty timeline."

Five noticed something in the distance as he squinted his eyes. "Hold on a second." He pulled his binoculars out of his coat and used them to check out what he could see off in the distance.

Lila stood beside him and cocked an eyebrow. "Binoculars?" Lila tried to look at what Five was looking at. "What?"

Five spotted, thanks to his binoculars, that someone was moving and pointing a gun in their direction. He lowered his binoculars and farted, widening his eyes. Lila wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Did you just fart?"

"Get down!" Five shouted and pushed Lila down as they just missed the bullet in time. Lila and Five hurriedly took cover behind a damaged automobile. Another gunshot was heard, and they both flinched.

"Who the hell is shooting at us?!" Lila asked loudly.

"I am." Five replied as he glanced at the shooter to see his younger self shooting. "Okay. We need to get out of here. Go!" Five quickly ran away, leaving Lila.

Lila quickly got on her feet and followed Five. "Wait for me!" She let out a yell as she dodged a bullet and dashed after Five through the subway station.

The two of them quickly entered the train, and Lila panted in exhaustion. "I must improve my cardio." The two of them took different seats as the train began to move. Five sighed and sat back in his chair. "What a waste of time."

"I had fun." Lila giggled. "Even with us almost getting killed. It's bringing back the old days."

Five closed his eyes for a moment. "Yeah, well, I'm glad you have fun because I'm done with this."

Lila quickly sat up straight and frowned. "Why? We barely even got to explore each station!"

"Because your husband is waiting for us and my girlfriend is out there being held captive by cult leaders if you have forgotten." Five sat up straight when he noticed the stop.

Diego returned to the room where Five and Lila were supposed to be, but he was too preoccupied with the files he found in the pile of garbage to realize that they were both gone. Diego heard the sound from behind him as Five and Lila teleported back to the same room after a few seconds.

Five and Lila turned to glance around and saw them seated on a couch. Diego spun around and gave them each a glance. "The hell are you doing?"

"Did you find something, love?" Lila queried.

Diego smirked. "Oh, I found something. Something that's gonna blow this case wide open."

With Lila trailing behind, Five got up and went over to inspect the file with Diego. Five started to scan the file that Diego had lent to him. "Umbrella Academy." He read out loud. "That's impossible. There was no Umbrella Academy in 2006."

"Not in this timeline." Diego replied.

"It must be one of Gene and Jean's artifacts." Lila suspected.

Diego looked at Five. "Keep reading."

Five read the file again and saw a date. "October 14th, 2006..." His eyes widened slightly.

Lila furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Wait, what's so special about October 14th, 2006?" She asked.

"That's the day Ben died. Our Ben." Diego answered. "Now, let me break it down for you both. A random dry cleaner shows up out of the blue and hires us to go to New Grumpson, Maine, to rescue a girl named Jennifer. The whole town goes to shit, we get T-boned, and the girl and our dear (Y/n) get kidnapped by two vigilantes in a station wagon. Now, in their trash, we find a foreign document that has something to do with Ben's death."

"Hence..." Diego sat down on a chair and placed his feet on the table. "...whatever is going on with Jennifer, it's got something to do with Ben. Now, I don't know much about what they want with (Y/n) but it's gotta connect somehow. Ipso facto, mofos."

Five and Lila stared at Diego. Diego looked at Five. "Bet you regret not sending in that resume, huh?"

Five gave him a feigned smile. "For the record, brother mine, I did send it. The higher-ups just didn't update me if they would take you or not."

Lila took the file and looked down at it. "What the hell is the Jennifer Incident?"

Five glanced at Lila. "That was a tragic accident."

°•○●○•°

You were pushed inside the barn by Gene, and he quickly shut the door before you could leave. "Hey! Motherfucker, let me out! Let me out!" But your screams were ignored as you heard a guard standing behind the door while Gene walked away. "Son of a bitch!" You hissed as you kicked the door.

"Hey! Y-You!" You turned around and saw Jennifer calling out to you. "Oh, my God! Finally, someone Ben knows!" She ran towards you. "Please, we have to get out here! We have to do something!"

You faced her and tried to calm her down. "Wait, easy, easy. I'm here to help, okay? We're gonna get out of here."

"These people are fucking insane." As tears welled up around her eyes, Jennifer let out a cry. "These people are so weird and crazy."

You sighed. "Yeah, no shit. Had to deal with them myself too. Are you okay?" You asked in worry as you checked her face for injuries.

"No." Jennifer shook her head as she gulped. "Everything is not okay." She cast a quick glance at the massive squid that was hanging in the center of the barn. "They locked me here to be stuck with it again."

"It?" You asked in confusion as you turned to stare at the corpse of the giant squid. "A giant... squid?"

Jennifer shook her head again. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's the squid that kept me inside. I-I don't want it near me ever again."

You looked around the barn and found more artifacts displayed in the room. You saw the Sparrow Academy pieces of furniture and the comics and figurines from the Umbrella Academy. Jennifer turned to see what you were staring at and saw that you were in one of the photos and action figures. "D-Do you believe them?" She asked. "About this whole alternate timeline plot, they've been telling?"

You looked at Jennifer. "What did they tell you?"

Jennifer started pacing around the room. "A bunch of weird shit! They said I was the key to destroying all the false timelines and restoring the real one. They talked about bringing about the Cleanse." She snapped her head to look at you. "I don't know what the Cleanse is!"

"Jennifer!" You called out, and Jennifer stopped walking. "Look, me, Five, and Lila began investigating about G&J and the Keepers. They did mention the Cleanse and they insisted that you know about it. You have to remember what it is."

"I don't know! Okay? I don't remember my life or anything before I was taken out of that giant squid! All I remember was it ate me."

"Why did it eat you?"

Jennifer began to weep as she tried to remember the events of what had happened before she was inside the squid. "I-I don't remember. All I remember are... voices? Can the squid talk? I-I..." Jennifer asked unsurely. She suddenly stopped in her tracks as she stood in front of the giant squid. She looked up, and her eyes widened. "Oh, God..."

You narrowed your eyes as you stared at Jennifer. "What?"

"I remember..."

As soon as you stepped next to Jennifer, your eyes grew wide. "What? What is it?"

Jennifer did not take her eyes off the giant squid. "I remember... my parents. They were so scared of me. They called me the devil's spawn. I-I'm not sure why." She started telling her story to you. "And then... they threw me out. They said it was vacation, but... they threw me overboard the boat. They said I should go back to where I belong. Deep into the Earth's core."

Your eyebrows knitted close as you frowned. Jennifer continued talking. "Then... before I could fully drown... something saved me." Jennifer took a step towards the deceased giant squid as she touched its tentacles. "I've been so scared of this squid, not knowing that it only helped me. It... saved me." Jennifer's eyes went wider as realization hit her. Jennifer glanced at you as you listened intently. "This squid saved me from death."

You glanced at the squid. "Why did it save you?"

Jennifer shook her head. "I-I'm not sure. But it sure was better than my own parents." She chuckled nervously, but her tears continued to stream down her face. "The Cleanse..." Jennifer moved closer to the dead squid and brushed her fingers on its tentacles.

Jennifer suddenly snapped her head back, and her eyes rolled back so that only the whites in her eyes could be seen. Your gaze grew wide, and you took a closer look at her. "Jennifer!" You shouted, but she wasn't budging. "Jennifer!"

"In the shadow of the world undone, a reckoning looms." Jennifer started speaking with a warped voice, and her hand started glowing red-orange and pulsating. "The Cleanse shall come like a storm, purging the threads of fate and history. Time's betrayal will beckon the old and the new, and those who once wielded power will be stripped bare. Yet from the ashes, one shall rise with ties to both creation and destruction. In their hands lies the balance: to reshape or destroy all that was, all that is, and all that could be. Beware the harbinger masked in virtue, for salvation and ruin walk hand in hand. One must be lost for many to survive, and in that loss, the world shall be rewritten. The end is nigh."

You stared in shock and were disturbed as Jennifer finally came back. She removed her hand from the tentacle and began to take deep breaths heavily. Jennifer turned to face you, her eyes growing wider with disbelief and disorientation. "What the fuck was that?"

The doors opened, allowing two guards to enter before you could respond. You whirled swiftly to face Jennifer. "Jennifer, we'll get through with this, okay? Trust me. You don't say a thing about any of this to Gene and Jean."

As the guards approached you two, Jennifer had a distressed expression. "Wh-What? Why?"

"They don't need to know shit," You reassured. "If what you said is true, they will use you. And you don't want the world to end, right?"

"I-I didn't even get to know your name!"

"It's (Y/n). I'll handle this, okay?"

Your wrists were grabbed by the guard, who started to haul you out. Jennifer started to panic. "Where are you taking her?!" Jennifer attempted to pull a guard away from you by grabbing onto one, but the guard struck her with his elbow. Jennifer collapsed and clutched the side of her head where she had been hit. "(Y/n)!" She screamed in desperation as the guards took you away. "(Y/N)!"

The guards led you outside of the barn, and as soon as the doors closed, you immediately tore free from them and kicked the guard in the groin while using your powers to shoot the other guard. "Dickheads " You huffed and walked towards Gene and Jean, who were waiting by the door of their home. "Well?" Jean asked.

You stared at them and shrugged. "Didn't budge. She doesn't know what the Cleanse is. But she is the key." You walked closer to them and smiled. "If someone comes by, don't stop him. Let it happen. Trust me on this."

You gave them one last wave before turning around and leaving, walking away. Gene moved forward with a step. "Where are you going?"

"My job here is done, Dr. Thibedeau," You told them while continuing to walk. "There's no need for me to stay here."

"But we're partners!" Jean exclaimed.

You came to a halt and turned your head to look at the couple over your shoulder. You choked back a laugh. "Partners?" You questioned. "You guys are nothing more than pawns in my game. The goddamn patsies. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have my own mission to complete." You stated before leaving the couple.