𝗟𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬

                                    

                                          
༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛
ꕺ "I HEARD A RUMOUR" ꕺ
"I thought they loved me, but all they loved was my powers." 
༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛
ALL OF WHAT HAD happened in the span of a few days had finally caught up, Klaus informing us that Reginald had committed suicide being the candle on the cake. 
Pacing around my living room, I panicked, my heart beating rapidly as I thought back to what the Handler had said back at the commission. It was only now, after I had woken up and had the chance to think about it, she had exposed me.
"You can't change what's to come, Five. Estelle. Estelle! You must know that fixed points in time can't be changed, you being lab and all."
She knew about the lab. 
She knew about my past. 
She must know everything. 
Let me explain...
Growing up, my parents were fascinated with my powers. They wanted to adapt them, use them for their studies as scientists. They were world renowned scientists in fact, travelling around the world and discovering different cures and species, elements and technologies. 
It sounds like a dream, but what they were doing to me wasn't too... nice. 
When my powers showed up, just like they hoped they would (they heard about the umbrella academy children and my mothers pregnancy was of the same origin). They started experimenting, checking to see what I could do. 
In the end, they found out I had a strong brain. I had mutated brainwaves that allowed me to pick up objects with my mind. My telekinesis. 
With my time power, it was a different story. It was purely accidental. 
I had just been in the living room of my house one day, I was around 7 at this point. I had dropped my crayon while I was colouring on the floor, but before I could pick up the crayon, it fell through the floor and into a glowing ring of light. My parents saw this on the security cameras they installed all over the house. They liked to monitor my powers, even if they weren't home. 
They slowly discovered I could control binds of time, creating distilled pockets of time and holding things within it. It was only later on I could do my time jumps. 
They created an invention, a machine that could possibly travel backwards and forwards in the future. With this, they would be able to see the dinosaurs or bring back the dodo. It was a masterpiece. 
In their eyes. 
For me, it was torture. They would constantly drain me of energy and power each time they used me to power this 'time machine'. They were never successful in travelling through time. 
Eventually, when I had turned 17, the same year Five had left, they died. Apparently they died in a care crash, but it seemed more like an assassination rather than an accidental death. The tires had been shot, causing the car to spin out of control, in the end they spun out into a river and sunk to their deaths. 
I had to plan their funeral. 
I looked up from my kitchen counter, hearing the familiar 'whoosh' of Five's jumps. The boy walked into my kitchen and saw the down fallen look on my face. "You good?" He asked, making his way over to me. "Yeah... I'm- I'm fine, perfectly fine." I smiled weakly at the boy. 
He glared down at me as he knew I was lying, holding my shoulders with the same intensity he'd done with my waist back at the commission. 
"You're lying." He muttered, but I heard it clearly. "I'm sorry... everything right now is just- it's a bit much. I... I haven't had to deal with issues like this in years and it's so overwhelming. I'm dumping on you right now- you should just go. I don't want you to see me in this state." I stood from my seat and made my way over to a cupboard, grabbing a bottle of wine and a glass, bringing it back over to the counter. 
Pouring myself a cup, I sipped it solemnly. My past is catching up to me. 
"We have two days until the apocalypse." Five spoke, sitting next to me. His hand was hesitant, but it eventually laid over mine on the counter. 
"I know. I guess that's why I've been worked up." I admit, taking another sip. "I meant it though, I don't want you seeing me like this. You have more important things to worry about, Five." I looked at him, my eyes tired and my heart heavy. I hated people seeing me like this. So... empty. 
"We're friends, Estelle. Aren't friends meant to care. I know I don't show it, but I do care." He reassured me, a small smile making its way onto my lips, but I hid it with my glass as I took yet another sip. 
"You can stay." I huffed, standing and grabbing another glass. Pouring Five a drink, I slid it over to him with a smirk. "I'm assuming you want some. This isn't strong enough to get us like we were at the library, but it's enough to ease the tension." I sat, rubbing the furrow in his brows like I'd done the last night, a small smile on Five's lips too. 
Putting one hand on the table and another on my glass, another sip was taken. 
"Is this about what the Handler said at the commission?" He wondered aloud, making my eyes widen and my heart drop again. "I-" the words wouldn't come out. 
There was a brief pause before I replied, "...yes. Yes, it is." I hummed, another sip. 
"What did she mean by a lab? You didn't mention a lab in any of your letters." I sighed deeply, turning my whole body in my chair to face the curious man. 
"I was drained of my power at a young age in a secret underground lab my parents made. It's the reason why I wouldn't reply to your letters for a few days. I was kind of cooped up in a lab having constant tests done." He gave me a sympathetic stare, but I just grunted, "Don't give me sympathy. The time has come and gone. They're dead now. I don't have to hurt like that anymore." He only nodded, drinking his wine as we fell into a comfortable silence. 
"What did they want to do?" Curiosity killed the cat, and boy was I gonna kill this fucker. "They wanted me to power a Time Machine. My power was the right power for it, but they never succeeded, and that's because I never let them. I thought they loved me, but all they loved was my powers." 
A few beats of pondering silence. He was deep in thought while my leg was bouncing anxiously. 
Standing, he grabbed my hand and asked, "Come to the academy with me."
"I... okay. Just- let me get changed first. I've been wearing these stupid pyjamas since I passed out." I left the room, changing into a simple outfit.
I made my way back into the kitchen, chugged the last of my wine and spoke. 
"Let's go."