Chapter 27: Schemes

[Third Person's PoV] 

As Ben entered the room alongside Jennifer and set their bags down, Luther abruptly stood up and walked away, leaving the area in stunned silence.

"Seriously, what's going on? We just got here," Ben asked, looking around in confusion.

"Klaus kinda snapped at Luther, and we're still processing that," Nathan explained, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Really? I'm kinda sad I missed it," Ben sighed, clearly disappointed.

Diego then stood up from the couch. "I'll go see what the big guy is doing and check on him."

Meanwhile, Klaus wandered aimlessly, clutching a bottle of rum like it was a teddy bear, with an empty cup in his other hand.

"So, what led to Klaus snapping?" Ben asked curiously.

"We were talking about our dad 'raising us,' and Luther called us ungrateful," Allison said as she stood up as well.

"Ah, I see now… Is Luther a dumbass?"

Vanya walked up and patted Ben's shoulder. "Luther cares a lot about our dad and is the most affected by his passing. He's not really thinking straight."

"Okay, is it just me, or does everyone start walking away as soon as we enter?" Ben said, a bit irritated.

Nathan, the only one still sitting, chuckled. "Everyone's just being a baby and doesn't know how to handle their complicated emotions. Even though they wouldn't admit it, his passing has affected all of them in one way or another. They want to be alone to process their feelings."

"You don't seem that affected by his passing," Ben noted, smiling at Nathan's relaxed demeanor.

Nathan smiled back. "Of course I am. Can't you see how heartbroken I am? My heart and mind are in shambles."

Ben couldn't help but scoff in amusement. He grabbed his bags again. "We'll talk later. I need to settle our belongings in my old room."

Nathan waved him off, and as they walked away, Jennifer waved to Nathan. "It's nice to see you again, Nathan."

"Yeah, you too, Jennifer," Nathan replied with a smile before throwing his head back on the couch, left alone.

"I guess that everyone accounted for, minus 5 obviously…" Nathan said while looking at the ceiling… Nathan then tilted his head in confusion, 

"Hold up…" Nate muttered, he suddenly lifted his hands to the ceiling, 'Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Ben, Vanya, and I…' Nathan thought, lifting a finger for all of them. 

...

Diego secretly followed Luther and saw him inspecting the windows and their father's master bedroom.

Leaning against the door, Diego crossed his arms. "You're wasting your time, Luther. There were no signs of entry, no break-in, no struggle. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary."

"What do you want, Diego?" Luther sighed in annoyance.

Diego reached into his back pocket and pulled out a note, handing it to Luther. "The autopsy report."

"And you have this, why exactly?" Luther asked, snatching it out of Diego's hand and beginning to examine it, along with a picture of their father's dead body.

"Because I broke in and stole it, obviously," Diego replied as he sat in a nearby chair. "And surprise, surprise—Dad's death was completely normal. A boring old heart failure... quite a dull way to go if you ask me."

"So why are you telling me all of this?" Luther asked, still focused on the report.

"Why are you here, Luther?" Diego countered, a serious expression on his face. "Checking all the windows and everything?"

"Were you the first one at the scene?" Luther asked, ignoring Diego's question.

"No, it was Pogo who found the body," Diego informed him.

"Yeah, well, I talked to Pogo. He said he couldn't find Dad's monocle."

"Okay, and?" Diego asked, motioning for Luther to get to the point.

"My point is, when have you ever seen our father without his monocle?" Luther questioned.

"I'll ask you another question instead," came a voice from the doorway, where Nathan now stood in the spot Diego had been. "When have we all ever truly been together?"

"What?" both Diego and Luther asked, tilting their heads in confusion.

"Think about it," Nathan continued. "Ever since we split up, when have we all truly been together? And I mean all of us, taking Five out of the equation."

Both of them pondered the question. "Weren't we all there at Allison's wedding?" Luther suggested, trying to remember.

"I was the only one who missed it. Remember, I was in space," Luther replied.

"We've all been to at least one of Claire's birthday parties with everyone together, right?" Diego asked, trying to recall.

"Klaus missed her first birthday party because he was in rehab. You missed the second one because you were being an idiot during your vigilante phase and got injured so badly you couldn't make it. Luther couldn't make the third one because he'd been off the moon too many times and needed to do whatever his duties were, Ben couldn't make the 4th one as He and Jen just opened their diner and couldn't step away as it would have been bad for business" Nathan pointed out.

Diego glared at Nathan, reaching for his scar visible at the side of his head. "I still resent you for not healing me when you could have."

"It was supposed to be a lesson, dumbass," Nathan shot back, "If I'd healed you, you wouldn't have learned and would've kept making the same reckless mistakes."

Luther's expression turned serious. "You're right… ever since we disbanded, none of us have ever truly come together as a whole."

"Come on, Nate. Do you seriously expect us to believe that the old man would kill himself just to get us all together for one of his schemes? That this is all some elaborate master plan?" Diego scoffed.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"SON OF A BITCH!" Diego cursed in anger. "That sounds exactly like something that crazy old bastard would do!"

"Is that why the monocle is missing? So there could be a mystery that forces us all to come together and solve it, rebuilding the team?" Luther mused aloud.

Diego clicked his tongue in frustration and stood up, heading out of the room with Nathan following a bit behind him.

Luther stared at the autopsy report in his hands for a moment before folding it and tucking it into his back pocket. He watched as Diego disappeared into his own room, with Nathan looking lost for a moment before deciding to head to his as well.

Feeling disappointed with everything, Luther made his way to his room. Once inside, a wave of nostalgia washed over him—he had been on the moon for far too long. 

He ran his fingers over his old record player and smiled as he lifted the needle, carefully positioning it to play.

(Song: I think we're alone now by Tiffany) 

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