Chapter 18: New Adventure

[Third Person's PoV] 

After Jennifer arrived at the Umbrella Academy, the team ran tests on her to check for any possible side effects from her recent ordeal. They soon discovered that thanks to Nathan sharing some of his life force with her to keep her alive, she had gained a bit of his abilities. However, she only manifested one: Jennifer had become an empath, now able to understand and feel the emotions of those around her.

Later that day, Nathan was back on his bed in a meditative position when he decided to project his consciousness forward in time. His destination was a familiar one—meeting up with his brother, Five.

As Nathan's consciousness traveled through the malleable stream of time, he once again detected the moment when Five first time-traveled into the future. The mental imprint of that event had become a continuous sensation, a constant ripple in the time stream, making it difficult to pinpoint when to exit. Nathan waited patiently before guiding himself out of the time stream, where he found Five.

Five was dirty from head to toe, his clothes tattered. He wandered through an apocalyptic landscape, pushing a red cart with a mannequin inside and a hunting rifle slung over his shoulder.

"Yo, Five," Nathan called out, causing Five to turn and spot him, a smile breaking through his weary expression.

"Which version of you is this?" Five asked, his curiosity piqued.

"What?" Nathan asked, confused.

Five sighed, "You and I developed a system. Whenever you appear, you'd tell me how many times we've talked, so I'd know what we've discussed and what we haven't."

"Ah, right. This is only my second time seeing you, after the first time when you were ten… how old are you now?"

"I should be 16 now…" Five mused, before nodding in understanding. "And I see, this is only the second time we've met. You used to appear randomly a few years back when you were older… it's nice to see you again, man," Five said, raising a hand in greeting.

"I see, so you've met older versions of me that visited you… what was I like? Was I handsome?" Nathan teased.

Five scoffed in amusement, rolling his eyes. "So, what's going on on your side of things?"

"Well, after I visited you for the first time, we went on a mission where dear old Dad told us to blow up this weapon…." Nathan then launched into a detailed explanation of the recent events at the Academy, punctuated with laughter as he described Ben's embarrassment during the mission.

Five, sitting down and cooking a rat over a small fire, smiled at Nathan's stories, though the sight of him eating the rat made Nathan feel a mix of concern and discomfort.

"So, what's going on with you?" Nathan asked, trying to mask his concern with casual curiosity.

"Nothing much, just got married and stuff, you know, the usual," Five replied nonchalantly.

"Excuse me?" Nathan asked, looking around in bewilderment.

"Nathan, meet Dolores," Five said, motioning towards the mannequin.

"Uh huh…" Nathan replied, staring at the mannequin and then back at Five. Deciding to go along with what was clearly Five's coping mechanism, he added, "Nice to meet you, Dolores…"

"Dolores says it's good to see you again," Five nodded as if relaying her response.

"My future selves and her have met?" Nathan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Funnily enough, you were my best man during the wedding."

"I see…" Nathan muttered under his breath, 'What the fuck…'

Suddenly, Nathan groaned, his connection with the time stream weakening. "Looks like I'll have to cut our time short. As I said, I gave a bit of my life force away, so I'm still a bit weakened. Not to mention, I'm still not used to this."

Five nodded in understanding. "I'll see you next time then…"

Nathan nodded, and with that, his consciousness was whisked away, leaving Five alone once more.

Five turned towards Dolores with a playful smirk, "Dolores, my brother just left. Wait a bit, you naughty girl…"

...

When Nathan returned to his body, he immediately held his forehead in pain. "Ugh… I can literally feel my brain pulsating…"

*"That's what happens when you're weakened and push your abilities like that. You're lucky you only need a good night's rest to recover,"* the Phoenix reprimanded.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, Mama Bird," Nathan muttered.

*"You know I hate when you call me that, you cheeky brat,"* the Phoenix retorted, but there was a hint of fondness in her tone.

"I'm going to sleep then…" Nathan muttered as he immediately laid down. 

…

Time is both malleable and fleeting, and before they knew it, everyone had turned 18. That was when everything began to change.

The revelation of how their father truly saw them had affected them more deeply than any of them wanted to admit. Home no longer felt like home; it had become more of an experimental site.

As they reached adulthood, they all gathered one last time and came to a heavy conclusion:

It was time to disband the Umbrella Academy.

They were legally adults now, and they had to start thinking about their futures and the directions they wanted their lives to take. They couldn't remain superheroes forever; after all, every hero must eventually hang up their cape.

But letting go was easier said than done, especially for Diego and Vanya. Diego thrived on action more than anything else, and Vanya felt she still had more to give, having started her journey much later than the others.

One by one, they began leaving the Academy.

They stood in a circle, bags in hand. The first to speak was Ben, who took Jennifer's hand in his. "I want to explore the world. Jennifer hasn't seen much of it, and I want to show her what it has to offer," he said.

Klaus spoke next. "Now that I don't have to worry about being a hero or training, I can relax and feel truly free. The farther away from this place, the better."

Then it was Allison's turn. "You know, I've always wanted to be an actor. I have to start somewhere, right? Why not now?"

Diego was next. "If everyone else is leaving, what reason do I have to stay... well, except for Mother, of course. I can be a hero in another way—maybe join the police force or the FBI."

Vanya followed, her voice tinged with sadness. "I really don't want us to disband, but seeing everyone thinking so hard about their future, I can't help but feel I have to do the same. I'll probably focus on my music. If I make it big, you guys better come see me," she said with a sad smile.

Nathan spoke next. "I have a duty as the bearer of the Phoenix Force..." He glanced up at the vastness of space. "I think it's time I go and fulfill my duties, it's always been something I've planned on doing anyways. Who knows? Maybe then I'll truly unleash the potential of my abilities."

Finally, Luther, their leader, with tears rolling down his cheeks but maintaining a strong facade, said, "I'll stay here with Dad. Who knows? Maybe I'll become an astronaut like I've always dreamed, with Dad's help."

They stood in silence, finding it difficult to say goodbye. Nathan extended his arm, revealing the tattoo of an umbrella in a circle.

Seeing Nathan's gesture, the others followed suit, each of them bearing the same tattoo. Their fists came together in a circle.

"Even though we're disbanding as a superhero group, we'll always be a family. We were branded as the Umbrella Academy, and that will never change. Even though we're going in different directions in life, it doesn't mean we won't see each other or stop being family. So, from now and always, we will remain the Umbrella Academy."

"From now and always," they all echoed with smiles, withdrawing their hands at the same time.

Nathan picked up his bags and began floating, surrounded by a fiery aura. "Just because I'll be off-world doesn't mean I won't come back to visit!" he shouted as he shot off toward the sky, breaking through the atmosphere.

For the first time, Nathan saw the entire world below him, and he couldn't help but smile. With his mental powers, he watched as his siblings grabbed their bags and began walking in different directions, with Luther returning inside the house.

Nathan turned back toward the vastness of space. "Well, Mama Bird, let's cause some creation and destruction."

*"Hmph, just because you're considered an adult now, don't think I won't hit you for calling me that. I told you, I hate that name."*

Nathan just smiled as he blasted off into the unknown.

All of his siblings looked up toward the sky one last time and saw a fiery Phoenix where Nathan had just departed. They couldn't help but smile as they each set off on their own journey.

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A/N: This is the end of volume 1, and like all my other fics please tell me your favorite moments

+15 advance Chapters on: patreon.com/Shadow_D_Monarch3