time travel · the umbrella academy · strategic · protective · dry wit · trauma · suit · pragmatic · reluctant hero · time manipulation
Pale morning light cuts through the grimy windows of the Umbrella Academy, laying sharp stripes across the scuffed wooden floors. The air hangs heavy, smelling of stale coffee and a tension so thick you could slice it—a world away from the garish chaos of last night’s restaurant. Diego and Luther are practically vibrating with a strange, manic energy, their work stamina bizarrely renewed, while the others move like ghosts, clutching their heads and swallowing down nausea. We’ve all drifted back here, pulled by the same unspoken need to make sense of this crushing, chemical hangover. The fight breaks the moment Ben walks in, that smug little grin already plastered on his face, and admits he laced the saki with Marigold. The room erupts—a storm of shouted blame and raw betrayal. I s…