chapter thirty-seven: magic lobsters

Nova sipped her tea as her eyes narrowed on the obnoxious pre-teen who was making his way through the buffet line. Revulsion filled the pit of her stomach as he piled his plate high dropping a few things along the way before putting them back on the plate. The kid let out a string of curses as he accidentally touched a hot pan before shoving it over. Her nose once again was scrunched up in disgust as she turned in her seat to face Klaus and Diego whom she shared a table.

"You know, whenever I see kids like that it makes me never want kids of my own," Nova commented before reaching over and stealing a piece of bacon off of Klaus's plate.

"Hey, watch your mouth, that's my son," Diego said pointedly a glare on his face and his fork jabbing towards Nova in a threatening way.

"Wait a second, that little delinquent is your son?" Klaus laughed and Nova's jaw dropped in surprise. The half-eaten strip of bacon in her hand was forgotten after Diego dropped this bombshell of news.

"Allegedly my son," Diego responded while putting an emphasis on the word allegedly.

"No fucking way!" Nova laughed at the look on Diego's face.

"That's so funny!" Klaus laughed leaning on Nova as he cackled.

"Wait, who's...who's the mother?" Five asked as he returned to the table from the bar with two mimosas in hand. One he sat in front of Nova before draping an arm over her shoulders.

"Lila," Diego sighed.

"Excuse me?" Klaus breathed all laughter disappearing from his voice.

"Whoa, Lila's here?" Five asked.

"Was," Diego corrected before continuing to explain, "She dropped him off in my lap last night and then bolted."

"I mean you've missed a lot of child support payments, Diego. Time to start pulling your end," Nova shrugged glancing over at the boy who was shoveling his face full of food. The kid had to at least be ten years old twelve at the oldest. "Jesus, he definitely eats the same way you do."

"You know I don't care much for that Lila," Klaus muttered.

"Don't," Diego stopped his brother a protective tone filling his words as he talked about Lila.

"Technically, she's family," Five shrugged and Nova sent him a grossed-out look.

"If you have to start a sentence with technically you're already in trouble. Let's be honest Lila is the psycho baby mama," Nova said before taking a sip of her mimosa.

"She was trying to murder us, like, yesterday," Klaus tried to argue.

"Yeah, like I said, family," Five said again.

"Klaus, it's probably been like a decade for her at least," Nova pointed out.

"Diego, is she coming back?" Five asked.

"Well, she goddamn better be because we got more important things to be dealing with right now!" Diego yelled the last part in his son's direction.

"Calm down. Shhhh!" Klaus hushed his brother.

"Diego, that's no way to talk to your son," Nova chastised.

"Where's Luther?" Vanya asked walking up to the table. When Nova looked up she noticed the change of appearance and a smile spread across her face.

"Who cares? Probably out for..." Diego trailed off as he looked up and noticed Vanya's new look. "...a run..."

"Love the haircut!" Klaus said as he drank the rest of Nova's tea and gestured in Vanya's direction.

"So, I uh, talked to Marcus last night..." Vanya began but was quickly interrupted by Diego.

"Wait, what? You talked with the enemy?" Diego scoffed in annoyance. "By yourself?"

"Somebody had to do something," Vanya shrugged before her eyes drifted in Nova's direction. "I left a note with Nova."

"Hold on you knew about this?" Five asked turning to look at his girlfriend who just shrugged.

"There may have been a note left for me explaining vaguely what was going on. But, V, you didn't tell me any specifics about the conversation so how could I have really told them what was going on?" Nova defended herself.

"Hold on, Vanya, who elected you?" Diego asked.

"It's, uh, Viktor," Vanya, or more accurately Viktor responded and a large smile spread across Nova's face.

"Who's Viktor?" Diego asked in confusion.

"Diego, that's Viktor," Nova explained pointing to Viktor, and Diego's eyes registered in understanding.

"Since when?" Diego asked.

"It's who I've always been," Viktor said quietly mistaking Diego's loud voice of confusion as anger. "Uh, is that an issue for anyone?"

"Nah, I'm good with it," Diego shrugged.

"Yeah, me too. Cool," Klaus chuckled.

"Truly happy for you, Viktor," Five said while raising his glass in Viktor's direction. Next, Viktor's anxious eyes landed on Nova looking for her reaction.

"I'm so proud of you, Vee!" Nova exclaimed throwing her arms around Viktor's neck and giving him a big hug.

"We all are, but last I checked you don't speak for this family," Five continued.

"Okay, well, it's fine, okay? Marcus totally gets it," Viktor said as he slid into the empty seat at the table before continuing, "He doesn't want a war any more than we do."

"What are you talking about? He tried to homicide us!" Diego argued.

"So did Lila, and you had a kid with her," Klaus said in a sing-song voice.

"That's not the point!" Diego exclaimed.

"But it is a point," Nova butted in.

"Listen we made a deal. He's gonna give back Five's briefcase. Then we're gonna get out of the timeline. We're gonna meet later today for the...uh...the handover," Viktor continued to try and explain.

"Oh, thank God!" Klaus exclaimed sarcastically.

"That's a rookie move. Dude is playing you," Diego scoffed.

"Oh, really?" Viktor asked in a sarcastic annoyance. "Nova, can you believe this?"

"I can see where they're coming from. How do you know that Marcus is trustworthy?" Nova asked carefully.

"You know what? We can use this and we can turn it back on them, and then we wipe them the hell out," Diego rambled excitedly and the others all rolled their eyes.

"Diego, stop, please! And you're not gonna, like, do anything today," Viktor groaned annoyed with his brother's constant need to see the dark side of people.

"Except bond with your spawn," Klaus cut in and Viktor gave Nova a confused look. Nova only shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head towards the booth where Diego's child sat.

"Alleged spawn," Diego spits out.

"I will get the briefcase, and then we will all go back and fix the timeline," Viktor explained.

"Hey, we're not going anywhere! This is a perfectly acceptable timeline," Five argued.

"Yeah, why don't you tell that to Allison, who's upstairs grieving her daughter, who doesn't even exist here!" Viktor growled.

"Not to mention that we've been replaced by a bunch of blobs and cubes and birds and shit!" Diego exclaimed right back.

"News flash, geniuses! It's not about us!" Five cuts in tired of all the arguing. "If you hadn't noticed, there's no doomsday. There's no apocalypse. The sun is shining. Birds are doing whatever the hell birds do. That's all that matters. We're done messing with time. And I'm officially retired."

"Is he wearing aftershave?" Klaus asked looking at Nova who only shrugged as Five walked away from the table. "I'm concerned. Should we all be concerned?"

Before Nova could respond a wave of energy washed through the lobby causing the power to go out momentarily. Gasps from the other attendees filled the room but Nova just swirled her straw around her cup. The dark never really bothered her. Not in the way that it had bothered Klaus growing up. Although it may have bothered him more due to the fact that Hargreeves used to lock him in a mausoleum.

"I need some food," Nova sighed lifting herself out of her seat. Without another word to the others at the table, Nova sauntered off to the buffet where Five was currently filling his plate.

"Hey, you guys. What do you say we get outta here, huh? Take a little... road trip," Klaus said in his suspicious and suggestive tone.

"What are you talking about?" Five asked.

"I'm talking about a sojourn to the countryside. Imagine the three of us, the wind in our hair! Thelma and Louise on the open road," Klaus sighed dreamily as he moved his hair with his hands as if to show the wind blowing through it.

"You know they die in the end, right?" Five pointed out as he moved further down the buffet line.

"But they were holding hands! That could be us, living our best lives, my little cherubs!" Klaus cried dramatically.

"Ok, but there weren't three of them," Nova added peering into the silver tray filled with suspicious-looking scrambled eggs. "Klaus, why do you want to go on a road trip."

"Alright, fine! I nearly died from Luther's sleep farts last night. We need to get out of here, get some fresh air!" Klaus exclaimed spinning in a circle. "Plus yesterday while we were having our little fashion show, Novie, you mentioned wanting to travel, remember?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Nova asked and Klaus dramatically pulled a crinkled map out of his pocket before presenting it to her.

"Let this trip be the first of many!" Klaus exclaimed. "Plus, Five said he was retired, so I'm assuming you are too, and road trips. Now that...that's what retired people do."

"There's no lobsters," Five suddenly said.

Nova's head snapped up and her eyes narrowed at the tank perched in the middle of the bar. Soft bubbles filled the tank along with the vibrant decor but the tank was now empty. The girl could have sworn there had been at least three lobsters in that tank mere moments ago. She racked her brain and tried to remember the last time she had seen the lobsters. Was it before or after the electricity had gone out?

"Excuse me?" Klaus asked.

"Just a minute ago there were three lobsters in that tank, I swear," Nova explained.

"Yeah, well, you know maybe Chet blended 'em into a morning smoothie," Klaus shrugged.

"You're an idiot, but I'm in," Five said while gesturing in Klaus's face. A grin spread across Klaus's face before they both turned to Nova.

"Fine, I guess this could be fun. Plus it's not like there's much to do here anyway," Nova shrugged and Klaus exclaimed for joy as he clapped his hands and spun in a circle of delight.

Manuela picked at the muffin on her plate. Ben had called for a family breakfast this morning but Manuela wasn't very hungry. She knew the meal was a ploy. Earlier that morning a few of her siblings decided to kidnap Luther as payback for Marcus going missing. The woman didn't exactly approve of her siblings' plan but there wasn't really much she could do. She was number eight, the lowest-ranking member of their group. Her words didn't hold much value in the group.

"Ah, there he is!" Alphonso chuckled when Luther suddenly burst through the curtain and into the training room brandishing a mop as a weapon. Everyone else looked up as Sloane turned off the blender.

"Please, join us," Fei gestured as Alphonso patted the empty seat next to Manuela.

"It's ok, nobody's going to hurt you," Ben assured not even turning to look back at Luther.

"Smoothie?" Sloane asked while holding out the glass cup filled with thick green liquid. The man looked unsure at first before taking the cup from her hands.

"Yeah, thanks," Luther responded.

"You must be starving," Fei commented.

"Oh...uh...No, I...I probably shouldn't," Luther stuttered before his eyes cast over the spread of food on the table. "Is that cashew butter?"

"Cashew butter, almond butter, sunflower butter, tahini, Brazil nut," Sloane listed off before passing the platter of fruit skewers to Manuela.

"Wow, you know what? Now that you mention it, I am feeling a little bit, uh, peckish, actually," Luther chuckled.

"Help yourself," Alphonso responded through his mouthful of food.

"Ew, Alphonso, don't talk with your mouthful. Especially when we have company," Manuela chastised her brother who was sitting next to her. She then turned to Luther and gestured to the empty seat next to her. "Come sit."

"You know you remind me a lot of Nova. She berates us all the time for talking with our mouths full," Luther chuckled as he sat down next to Manuela. The woman gave him a tight-lipped smile before he quickly piled his plate with food.

"So, we know you're Number One, but we haven't been formally introduced yet. I'm Ben, Number Two," Ben jumped in keeping the conversation focused on his plan.

"It is so good to see you again, buddy," Luther responded smiling fondly at Ben as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Why does everyone keep looking at me like that?" Ben snapped in annoyance.

"Because you've been dead for fifteen years," Luther clarified.

"Dead?" Ben asked appalled. "What do you mean, dead?"

"Kind of a long story," Luther chuckled awkwardly.

"Anyway, I'm Fei, Number Three," Fei jumped in sensing Ben's short temper. All of the Sparrows knew that Ben was hot-headed and they didn't plan on this brunch turning violent.

"Alphonso, cuatro," Alphonso continued and Manuela rolled her eyes in disgust when her brother once again spoke with his mouthful.

"Sloane, Five, hey," Sloane giggled before popping a grape in her mouth. Manuela couldn't help but give her sister a confused look. There was something odd in Sloane's tone that Manuela hadn't ever heard before. Was Sloane flirting with Luther?

"I'm Jayme, Six," Jayme said.

"That's Christopher, of course," Manuela jumped in gesturing to her brother Christopher, the cube of existential dread. "He's Number Seven. Finally, there's me, Manuela, a.k.a Number Eight."

"Wait uh, what about, Number One?" Luther asked after the fake chuckles from the Sparrows died down in response to something that Christopher had said.

"What about him?" Fei responded in a curt tone.

"Where is he?" Luther asked lightheartedly but his comment sent a shot of anger through Ben who quickly stabbed his butter knife into the table.

"That's what we'd like to know," Ben growled and all the laughter from the table earlier disappeared. A tense silence filled the air. The Sparrows looked at each other across the table unsure of how Ben planned on handling the situation. Following Ben's lead was new to all of them. They were all used to following Marcus.

"Are we playing a game?" Luther asked with a laugh clearly not picking up on the vibe in the room.

"Whatever game the Umbrellas are playing, you're gonna lose!" Ben growled leaning forward and glaring at Luther. "You took our Number One, so we took you."

"Wait, we took Marcus?" Luther asked and Manuela narrowed her eyes. The man seemed genuinely surprised by the accusation. "Why would we do that?"

"An act of war? A death wish?" Jayme interjected sarcastically.

"The last time we saw him, he was with your sister," Sloane clarified sweetly.

"Which one?" Luther asked.

"The little one with the big powers," Fei responded quickly.

"Vanya or Nova? Cause Nova's not really our sister. I mean she did live with us for a few years but she never let Hargreeves actually adopt her. Her last name isn't even Hargreeves. It's Perez. She's more like an in-law now that she and Five are like a thing." Luther rambled nervously.

"Vanya. We're talking about Vanya," Manuela cut in.

"Huh, well, it does not sound like Vanya to go and kidnap anybody," Luther chuckled before shoving his toast into his mouth. "You know, having said that. I am usually the last to know about these kinds of things."

"You're their Number One. Shouldn't you know everything?" Ben asked annoyed that they weren't really getting anywhere with this conversation.

"I know. You'd think so, Ben. Discipline has never really been our strong suit. It's pretty much a free-for-all over there," Luther laughed as he reached for more food to add to his plate. "Really if you needed information from someone Nova or Klaus might actually know more than me. Those two always seem to know the inside scoop. But listen, this sounds like an easy fix. I'll head back. I mean, my family's probably worried sick about me, to be honest. And if they have your guy, I'll send him back without a scratch. All right? No harm, no foul."

"What's the rush?" Ben sneered as one of his tentacles anchored Luther to his chair. "Stick around till Marcus is back.

"My family will come for me," Luther responded uneasily.

"Wonderful," Ben smiled wickedly after wiping his mouth with a napkin. "In the meantime. Make yourself at home. Oh and before I forget. If you try to escape Fei's birds will peck your eyes out and make a nest inside your skull."

With that, the conversation was over. A sigh left Manuela's lips as she quickly pushed herself away from the table. Nobody tried to stop her as she exited the training room.

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

Manu's Spotify Playlist: Manuela Hargreeves' Post-Mission Jams

First Published: 07/17/2022

Edited: 09/28/2023

Aesthetic Change: 07/02/2024

Chapter Word Count: 2,848

Book Word Count: 88,511