Chapter 14: Time Passes

[Third Person's PoV] 

After the events of 9/11, time passed, and they grew stronger—both in power and as a family. They trained together, went on more missions, and became more known and respected. Their reputation grew as their teamwork and abilities became legendary.

**Date: October 14, 2006**

In the early morning, Nathaniel was seen in his room, floating with a deep sense of concentration. Suddenly, his astral form shot out from his forehead, enveloped in a bluish light, before disappearing from view.

Nathaniel found himself flying through the chaotic stream of time. Everything moved too fast for his senses to fully comprehend; flashes of images appeared in his mind before slipping away. The sound of glass shattering filled the air as he finally detected the mental imprint he had left in Five's head.

Gritting his teeth, Nathaniel used his psychic powers to force his astral form to move toward where he sensed Five. Closing his eyes, he slipped out of the stream of time. When he opened them again, he saw destruction all around—and his brother, Five, looking confused and lost.

'Holy shit, I actually did it,' Nathaniel thought to himself. 'The sound of glass shattering always distracted me, causing me to be thrown back into my body. It's nice to see that it worked... Although I used a lot of energy using it.'

"Shit..." Five cursed under his breath as he surveyed the destruction of their home.

Nathaniel couldn't help but subconsciously smile, seeing his long lost brother. "I told you not to underestimate the feelings of a psychic, but no, the boy in shorts thought he knew better."

...

Nathaniel awoke in his body with a gasp, breathing heavily from exhaustion. "God damn, that takes a lot of energy and mental power…"

*'So did you fail again?'* Phoenix asked curiously, not expecting much.

*'What do you think?'* Nathan responded smugly, still trying to catch his breath.

*'I see… better luck next time then.'* Phoenix sighed.

*'You know, I hate you sometimes since I'm 100% sure you yourself saw what happened.'*

Nathan sighed as he stood up, his 6'0" frame sturdy and toned at 17 years old. Just then, the alarm started ringing, causing him to sigh again. He put a hand over his clothing, which shifted into the Academy uniform—though they had long abandoned the shorts, now sporting longer pants and black blazers.

He used his telekinesis to call forth his domino mask. As he put it on, he blew upward, shifting his red hair from his face, and walked out to find everyone else getting ready—though they were far from sophisticated.

"Klaus! You left rehab yesterday!" Allison shouted angrily as she tried to pull Klaus from the shower.

"Mazel tov! My beautiful sister, can't you see I'm celebrating getting out of rehab with a drink? Such an event deserves something good to celebrate with!" Klaus shouted, lifting a flask in a cheer before taking a swig.

Luther was seen casually walking through the halls, making sure everyone was getting ready. When he and Nathan passed each other, they exchanged a casual high five, smirking as everyone prepared.

Luther checked in with Ben and found him lying in bed, reading a book. "Why aren't you dressed?"

"Because I'm not going," Ben replied.

"What? Why?" Luther asked.

"I'm tired of doing missions all the time. It's something I've been doing my entire life. When does it end?" Ben sighed.

"Come on, Ben, don't be like that. We need you, man," Luther said, trying to convince him.

"No, you don't," Ben said with a straight expression. "You have Nathan, Vanya, Allison, hell, even Klaus, who has grown in power."

"But we're a family! The Umbrella Academy wouldn't be complete without you," Luther insisted.

Vanya peeked in with her own domino mask on. "Sorry for eavesdropping, but I agree with Luther. If even one of us is gone, we wouldn't be the Umbrella Academy."

"Ughhhh!" Ben groaned, leaning his head back and closing his book. "You guys are such a pain in the ass."

Vanya and Luther exchanged a smirk before fist-pumping and walking away, seeing Ben reluctantly get ready.

Once they were all ready, they went to Reginald, who motioned for them to sit down. He had a plan board right next to him. "Listen up, children. A Moldovan arms dealer has acquired a brand new deadly weapon. It's being held in a shipping container, awaiting a buyer. Your mission is to locate and destroy the weapon before the deal can be made. Do not, and I mean do not, open that container under any circumstances. Do I make myself clear?" Reginald asked with a serious expression.

*"He's lying..."* Nathan thought curiously, wondering what the old man was hiding. He could pry into his thoughts, but where would the fun be in that? He figured he'd find out eventually, and that thought made him feel even more cocky and bored with life. Knowing what everyone was going to say next had a way of dulling the excitement of the unknown.

The team nodded in understanding and set off on their mission, dressed in more undercover clothing as they made their way to the target location.

As they walked, Nathan couldn't help but smile, glancing at each of them. His grin earned him puzzled looks from the others.

"Why are you smiling? It's weird," Diego said abruptly, his usual stutter absent, only appearing when he was stressed.

"I met with Five," Nathan revealed with a smug expression.

All their eyes widened in shock.

"WHAT?!" they all shouted in unison.

"What the hell do you mean you met with Five?" Luther asked, astonished.

"Remember when he left and I chased after him? Well, I left a mental imprint in his head before he blinked into the future. I've been practicing sending my consciousness through time, and I used that imprint as an anchor…"

Their expressions turned to surprise as they processed this. 

"How was he!?"

"What did he look like?"

"Was he older?"

They bombarded him with questions, eager for any news about their lost brother.

"I was only able to see him for a minute before I was suddenly pulled out," Nathan explained before going into more detail about his brief interaction with Five.

"Heh, I knew the future was messed up. It couldn't be more obvious," Klaus said, feeling proud of himself for guessing correctly, though everyone else just gave him a strange look.

"Do you think you'll be able to rescue him?" Vanya asked, her voice filled with curiosity and hope.

"That's an entirely different challenge," Nathan admitted. "It took years of practice and effort just to send my consciousness through time. Sending my body... I have no idea how long that would take. But it doesn't mean I won't try."

Before they could continue their discussion, they arrived at their mission destination, cutting the conversation short.