A/N: The picture above is the adult Nova :)

chapter one: reunions of sorts

For the past fourteen years, Nova knew she had made a mistake. She knew joining the Commission was the worst decision she had ever made in her life. The Handler didn't actually care for her and kept her isolated from all the other agents. Nova was dangerous and her powers put other people in danger.

The woman really only had one job at the Commission. She was a hit woman. One of the greatest of all time. Because of her powers, she didn't even need a weapon to kill someone. Just by touching them, she could drain their entire life force and no evidence would be left behind.

Nova didn't want to kill all those people but if she disobeyed the Handler she was punished. Sometimes she was punished with various torture techniques that spanned across the ages. This served two purposes one was punishment and the other was training in case Nova was ever captured.

The other form of punishment she received was being left in the apocalypse alone for many years at a time. All those years left alone with no one to talk to and no food except for the cockroaches and expired Twinkies.

For years she thought there was no way out of The Commission. Nova thought she would have to go through the rest of her life doing The Commission's dirty work.

That was until Five showed up at the Commission. At first, Nova didn't recognize her old friend. Mostly because he was well old now. During the past forty-ish years at the Commission Nova had grown into an attractive woman roughly in her mid-fifties. Apparently, Five had been gone for just as long spending approximately forty years in the apocalypse, and had aged into a fifty- eight-year-old man.

Nova would be lying if she said it wasn't off-putting sometimes. But there really wasn't anything anyone could do about it and at least she had her friend back. Not only did she have her friend back but he came with a plan. A plan to go back in time and save the world from the impending apocalypse.

"Five are you sure the calculations are correct?" Nova asked for probably the millionth time.

"I've checked the equations a hundred times over. I'm certain they're right. Have faith in me, Nove," Five assures her as he sets the radio onto the picket fence. Right now the two former Umbrella Academy members were on a mission for the Commission.

They were in 1963 in Dallas, Texas. Their mission was to make sure JFK got assassinated. This time they wouldn't be going back to the Commission. No, this time Five was taking them back to 2019.

Nova leaned against an old car in the parking lot and watched as Five attempted to rip a hole in the space-time continuum. She watched as blue energy surrounded his hands and the space in front of him turned into a window into the past.

When she looked through the window she saw the rest of the Umbrella Academy standing there except they all of course looked older than the last time she saw them. Suddenly a fire extinguisher comes flying through the window almost hitting her.

"How much do you want to bet Klaus threw that?" Nova joked as she walked closer to where five stood.

"I can't hold it for much longer. Grab my hand!" Five called over the loud wooshing sound of the time portal. Nova quickly slipped on her gloves and grabbed Five's hand. She wears the gloves to make sure she doesn't accidentally hurt someone especially because her powers stem from her touch. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." She shrugged and he nodded.

"Alright on my count jump! One...two...three... JUMP!" Five yelled and the two of them jumped into the time portal.

Nova gripped Five's hand tightly as the portal pulled them every which way. She didn't want to get lost in time without a briefcase or a time traveler. When they finally broke through to the other side they quickly fell and landed on the cement with a thud.

Five's hand left hers and she groaned in pain at the hard landing. She stood in annoyance and went to dust off the pants of her suit. Nova froze when she realized her perfectly fitted Commission suit now hung loosely off of her small frame.

"Does anyone else see a little number Five and a young Nova?" Klaus asked.

Nova looked over at Five. Her eyes widened when she saw he looked similar to how he did when he disappeared at age thirteen give or take a few years. She could only assume she was also back in her eighteen-year-old body.

"Shit!" Both Nova and Five exclaimed when their eyes met each other. Without saying anything to the others Five briskly walked back into the house with Nova in tow.

"What's the date?" Nova asked the others when they finally got to the kitchen. The rest of the Academy sat around the table as Five began to make a sandwich. Nova on the other hand sat on the counter as she began to peel a banana.

"The exact date," Five snapped and Nova rolled her eyes.

"Be polite, Five," She said and he turned and quickly stuck his tongue out at her. "Very polite, Old Man."

"It's the twenty-fourth," Vanya said slowly as she watched the exchange between the two younger-looking people.

"Of what?" Five asked as he grabbed two slices of bread.

"March," Vanya responded.

"Good," Five said with a nod before turning toward Nova. "See, I didn't mess up the equation."

"Explain these pubescent bodies then," Nova said while pointing her partially eaten banana at him.

"Are we gonna talk about what just happened?" Luther asked rudely and Five ignored him. Nova never really liked Number One. She always thought his ego was too large. "It's been seventeen years since we've seen you Five and Nova you just disappeared. You didn't even come to Ben's funeral."

"It's been a lot longer than that," Five scoffed as Nova looked at her shoes in shame. She heard the sound of Five blinking across the room. When she looked up he was grabbing a jar of peanut butter from the cabinet next to her. She reached up to the other cupboard and pulled out a bag of marshmallows for her friend.

"I haven't missed that," Luther muttered.

"Where'd you guys go anyways?" Diego asked.

"The future. It's shit by the way," Five said as he blinked back to the table to make his sandwich.

"Called it!" Klaus calls.

"I should have listened to the Old Man. You know, jumping through space is one thing, jumping through time is a toss of the dice," Five said.

"What about you Nova? What happened to you?" Allison asked and Nova jumped off of the counter to throw her banana peel away. She tried to avoid the concerned look Five sent her way.

"I made some bad deals. Did some things I wasn't proud of," Nova said with a shrug, "Nice dress, Klaus."

"Oh danke!" Klaus grinned.

"Wait how did you guys get back?" Vanya asked.

"Well, in the end, I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that existed across every possible instance of time," Five said and Nova had to suppress her laughter at the utterly confused faces that Luther and Diego made.

"That makes absolutely no sense," Diego said.

"It would if you were smarter," Five responded without looking up and Luther had to hold an angry Diego back.

"How long were you guys there?" Luther asked.

"I was there for about forty years give or take," Nova said while glancing at Five who just shrugged in response.

"What about you, Five?" Vanya asked.

"Roughly about the same," Five responded with a shrug.

"Wait so you guys are saying that you're actually in your mid to late fifties now?" Luther asked and the two seemingly young adults looked at each other and shrugged.

"Well no our consciousnesses are in their mid to late fifties but our bodies are well..." Nova started before Five interrupted her.

"Our bodies are eighteen again," Five interrupted.

"Wait, how does that even work?" Vanya asked, confused.

"Dolores kept saying the equations were off," Five chuckled and Nova rolled her eyes and threw a spoon at his head.

"Excuse me, I believe I was the one who kept saying the equations were off, not Dolores," Nova said and he just mockingly grinned at her. This caused her to roll her eyes again.

"Looks like we missed the old man's funeral," Five said before tossing the newspaper to Nova. She caught it and read the headline with disgust. Sir Reginald Hargreeves was an awful man and just the sight of him makes Nova sick to her stomach.

"How'd you know about that?" Luther asked.

"What part of the future do you not understand?" Nova asked and Luther glared at her.

"Heart failure huh?" Five asked and Diego said yes while Luther said no. "Nice to see nothing's changed."

"That's all you guys have to say?" Alison asked as Nova followed Five out of the kitchen.

"What else is there to say? It's the circle of life," Five called as they finally made it to the stairs.

"I need to change out of this suit. I can't believe we're eighteen again!" Nova grumbled as she filled Five up the stairs.

"Is this the part where you say, I told you so?" Five said the last part in a mocking version of her own.

"I do not sound like that!" She exclaimed while hitting his arm with the back of her hand. "But yes I told you those equations were off, Old Man."

"Welp, there's nothing we can do about it now. Go change, we only have a few days to stop the end of the world," Five said as he walked into his room. Nova didn't even bother responding as she entered her room that is right next to his.

"Ah, shit," Nova groaned when she opened my wardrobe.

She had forgotten that the only clothes she had were her old academy uniforms. The young-looking woman grimaced in the mirror as she examined the plaid dress, the tucked-in white button-up, and the stupid blue blazer she was wearing. Not to mention the awful knee-high socks and the tie that she never knotted.

"You know Dad always hated that you never tie your tie," Klau says as he sauntered into the room and flopped backward onto Nova's bed.

"It was my act of teenage rebellion. Well, that and disappearing for fourteen years of your timeline," Nova grinned as she sat on the bed next to Klaus.

"Yeah, what did the prettiest girl in the academy do for those fourteen years?" Klaus asked as he propped his head on his arm and looked at the young girl who was a blast from his past.

"I don't know, Klaus, what did the prettiest girl in the academy do for those fourteen years?" I asked and he put a hand to his chest.

"I'm the prettiest girl in the academy?" Klaus asked, tearing up and hugging Nova tightly. In response, the girl chuckled and hugged the man back.

"Of course I mean who else could pull off this skirt and boa combo?" Nova asked and Klaus grinned.

"I knew there was a reason I missed you," Klaus giggled.

"Oh, you have to tell me all the tea! I mean I kind of know what happened after I left because well it's the future and I read Vanya's book. That was really ballsy of her. Anyway, I miss our gossip sessions. Now spill!" Nova rambled excitedly.

"Guys, Luther wants us all out back to scatter Dad's ashes," Alison said after knocking on Nova's bedroom door.

"Our tea sess will have to wait until later my dear," Klaus said as he stood up, "May I escort you, madam?"

"Why of course good sir!" Nova giggled in a posh voice before linking her arm with Klaus.

"It's good to know after all this time you two are exactly the same," Alison chuckled as the three of them made their way to the backyard.

Nova and Klaus stood together under a clear plastic umbrella with pink trim. While the other siblings, Grace, and Pogo stood under black umbrellas in a semi-circle. Nova tensed when she saw the statue of Ben on the other side of the yard.

"What happened to Ben wasn't your fault," Klaus whispered to her as she gazed sadly at the statue.

"I was holding him in my arms. I could feel his life force slipping. I tried to keep it there but I couldn't. He told me it was ok. But it doesn't feel ok. Not after all these years," Nova whispered as her voice cracked.

Five seemed to hear her soft voice and he turned and gave her a sympathetic look. He wasn't there when Ben died and he still doesn't know the full story. As much as he's tried Nova has never told him the full story. It's too painful for her to remember.

"He doesn't blame you," Klaus whispered squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

"How do you know?" Nova asked looking up at the man next to her. It still amazed her how he looked exactly the same but simultaneously so much older than the last time she saw him.

"Whenever you're ready dear boy," Pogo says to Luther successfully catching everyone's attention.

When nobody's looking Klaus lights a cigarette. He offers one to Nova but she declines. She finds it's easier to control her powers when she's sober. If she loses control for even a second lots of people could die.

"Probably would have been better with some wind," Luther said awkwardly after he dumped out Hargreeves's ashes onto the ground. All ten of them stare at the small heap of ashes awkwardly as they stand out in the cold rain.

Pogo asked if any of the Academy members wanted to say anything about Sir Reginald Hargreeves. None of the siblings had anything nice to say so they stood silent and awkward. Trying to break the tension Pogo attempted to say some words but it ended up in a fight between Diego and Luther. The other siblings try to break up the fight by yelling at the boys to stop. None of them are dumb enough to try and physically intervene. None of them really care enough to try.

"Guys stop it!" Nova screamed when she saw Diego duck but Luther kept swinging. She watched in horror as Luther punched Ben's statue. Klaus's arm tightens around her as they watch the statue of their fallen comrade fall to the ground in pieces.

"And there goes Ben's statue," Alison said disappointedly.

"I'm sick of this bullshit. Come on Nove," Five mutters as he walks towards the house. Nova quickly hurries under the safety of his umbrella before they leave the dysfunctional family in the rain.

"I need some caffeine and sugar," Nova mumbled as she and Five made it to the kitchen.

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Five nodded before flashing her a small smile.

Nova's Spotify Playlist: Nova Perez's Epic Time Travel Jams

First Published: 12/09/2020

Edited: 07/24/2023

Aesthetic Change: 06/24/2024

Chapter Word Count: 2,549

Book Word Count: 2,960