Chapter Eight: Home Invasion

JEMMA SKIPPED BESIDE HER SISTERS AS THEY strolled down the sidewalk in the bright sun. Her short hair swayed around her cheeks and in front of her electric eyes. The extra pep in her step was most likely due to her being able to be with both of her sisters. After all, it had been over twelve years since all three of them had been together. Jemma, of course, has seen both of them within that time, as she lives with Vanya and she periodically visited Allison, but it hadn't been the three of them together. That's how things had been, especially after Vanya had written her book.

The blonde didn't like the fact that Vanya had written her tell-all book, however, she forgave Vanya at least a little. Well, Jemma wasn't necessarily happy to know that Vanya had spilled every and any secret that was within the family, sans a few, but she's gotten over it. Besides, it wasn't like anyone was really talking about it anymore. The hype behind the book had only lasted at least a few months and Jemma hadn't been bothered by anybody because of it, unlike Allison. Thankfully, Jemma had a quiet life ever since she left the academy which she was perfectly okay with. Doing odd jobs from time to time certainly didn't give her any lasting relationships between her co-workers, unlike being an actress. Imagine it, having cameras constantly shoved in your face wherever you go. Jemma couldn't fathom the idea.

Another factor could be that her metabolism had run through the alcohol she had previously downed. So once again, surprisingly, she was sober! This time she was actually completely okay with it. That was most likely because Jemma had a distraction to focus on. She wasn't worried about the apocalypse for the moment, she wasn't thinking about him, and she didn't think about their father's death. Instead, she was high off of the fact that her sisters were finally together, getting along. Sure maybe there was a lingering fact that the world was going to end in a few days, and she had an inkling of regret still poking at her mind, but some sisterly bonding was pushing that all aside.

All that mattered was getting back to the academy. Which reminded her, "Allie?"

Allison turned to her blonde sister, "Yeah?"

"Are you doing to tell us what you and Luther think is wrong with Mom?" Jemma tilted her head in question. The suspicion that she had of her siblings from only about a half-hour earlier had not disappeared in the slightest. It was extremely concerning to hear what they had said about their mother earlier. How could they have any doubt that Mom wasn't caring? Sure, she is just an android, however, they must have seen that she was beyond that now. Especially after witnessing Grace raise them for years and being so human-like, how could they doubt her?

Allison's eyebrows furrowed, "Did I not tell you?"

"I don't think so... If you did, I may have been working through the alcohol." She shrugged her shoulders, "so I might have forgotten."

Vanya and Allison shared a glance with each other. A mutual understanding between the two of them about Jemma. While Vanya was used to this, Allison was not, since she was new to the fact that Jemma was an alcoholic. Thankfully, Jemma had been able to control herself to be at least more sober than usual. Being around family usually had her doing that. 

Even when she saw her family members, more specifically Allison or Diego, she hid her problems from them. She didn't need them to know about her alcoholism because all they would do is worry about her. She was the sibling who always was perceived as innocent, untouched by the trauma that was caused by their father. Which is something she even tried to convince herself of. Every one of them had their issues, but not Jemma. She's the glue that tried to keep her family together, and if the glue was damaged or ineffective, then the entire family would fall apart. Jemma couldn't allow that, so she hid her problems as much as she could. Of course, she couldn't hide it from Vanya or Klaus since she saw them the most, but as long as she didn't worry them too much then it was okay. Luther didn't need to know or anything because he was on the fucking moon, and Ben was well, gone so he would never know. Diego was someone that she rarely checked upon and even when she did, he made sure to make it brief as he wanted to keep up his lone-wolf persona. Allison was across the country and never physically around for Jemma to see her, so she could hide her problems from her sister easily. Overall, Jemma did her best to hide her problems from everyone she could. Was it a good thing? She wasn't sure, but it didn't matter right now.

Allison cleared her throat, "Well, yeah. We just think that-"

"That she has something to do with what happened to Dad?" Jemma asked airily as she eyed her sister from the side with large eyes.

Vanya looked between her two taller sisters in confusion, "What does that mean?"

The tallest of the three shook her head firmly. "We'll talk about it when we're all together, alright." Her tone spoke with finality which ended their conversation abruptly. So now the trio of sister walked along the sidewalk in silence as they headed back to the academy. The atmosphere around them growing tense as they continued their walk with an awkward feeling surrounding them.

---

Now, most of the Hargreeves siblings stood in the main living room with one of the old televisions proped up on the table. The video clip of their father's death playing in front of them. As much as Jemma disliked their father, she couldn't stomach watching the video. Death was something that she hated. The idea of a life ending, being torn away in some way, was so heartbreaking for her. Maybe it was because she had the experience of having someone so close to her die or because she was raised with the idea of killing is necessary for a mission, but either way, she hated it. 

She bit the inside of her cheek as she looked away from the television. Even if they had wanted her to watch it, to witness whatever they thought their mother had done to their father, she couldn't bear to watch it. Her chest hurt at the idea. She had heard what Luther and Allison had insinuated before she had left to get Vanya, but seeing it now just seemed to infuriate her more. Jemma would never want to believe that the woman who had looked after her for nearly two decades had even hurt a fly. So seeing it was just... the worst thing for her.

"I mean, do you really think Mom would hurt Dad?" Vanya asked Luther as they crowded around the television.

The "Leader" rolled his eyes at his powerless sibling. "You haven't been home in a long time, Vanya. Maybe you don't know Grace anymore."

"And you do?" Jemma voiced softly, which barely earned her a glance from Luther. She huffed out through her nose in annoyance, since he had written her off so easily. Klaus placed a hand on her shoulder in silent reassurance which caused some of the tension in her to disperse if only a little. It was a valid question, in her opinion, considering Luther wasn't all that close to Grace, unlike Vanya.

Diego shook his head at Luther's insistence about this. "If he was poisoned, it would have shown in the coroner's report."

"Well, I don't need a report to tell me what I can see with my own eyes." Luther harshly exclaimed while pointing at the screen like it was the biggest piece of evidence that he had ever found.

"Maybe all that low gravity in space messed with your vision." Diego casually insulted him before rewinding the tape once again. "Look closer. Dad has his monocle. Mom stands up. Monocle's gone."

Taking a closer look, they found that he was correct. Grace was just taking the monocle from Reginald to clean it like she usually did every other night. This time just ended with a disaster. The real question was; how did she not notice Reginald in distress?

"Oh, yeah!" Klaus exclaimed seeing it as well.

Diego nodded his head in triumph, most likely in satisfaction of proving Luther wrong. The best thing that could ever happen to him. "She wasn't poisoning him. She was taking it. To clean it."

Luther was speechless for a moment before finally collecting his words, "Then where is it? No, I've searched the house including all her things. She doesn't have it."

Diego pursed his lips, "That's because I took it from her. After the funeral."Everyone turned to him in surprise.

"You've had the monocle this whole time?" Allison asked in disbelif as she leaned against one of the pillars, "What the hell, Diego?"

"Give it to me," Luther instantly demanded.

Diego deadpanned, "I threw it away."

"You what?"

Deigo started to walk towards his brother with a sneer as he pointed one of his knives at him. "Look, I knew that if you found it on Mom, you'd lose your shit, just like you're doing right now."

"Diego," Luther grounded out through clenched teeth as the two brothers advanced at each other, "you son of a bitch."

Vanya finally stepped in to stop the two of them from possibly fighting, which they all knew they would do. "Hey. No. Calm down." The two continued to scowl at each other as Vanya continued, "Look, I know Dad wasn't exactly an open book. But I do remember one thing he said. Mom was, well, designed to be a caretaker, but... also as a protector."

"What does that mean?" Allison asked.

"She was programmed to intervene if someone's life was in jeopardy," Vanya explained.

Luther shook his head in thought, "Well, if her hardware is degrading, then... We need to turn her off."

"What if her hardware isn't degrading though," Jemma quickly called out with a paniced hand raised in the air, finally trying to add in her two cents. She tilted her head in thought with large, alarmed eyes, "What if someone just programmed her differently?"

"And who would do that?" The big bafoon asked the blonde with a roll of his eyes. He obviously was not taking what little contribution that Jemma had to the conversation seriously. Like he always did. Jemma opened her mouth to elaborate about what she thought, but Luther cut her off. "Come on, Jemma, think logically for once."

Jemma deflated at being written off by Luther. A bitter taste hit her tongue at his dismissal. Though it wasn't anything new. For some reason, no matter what Luther always valued Jemma's thoughts less than others. He usually does this for just about everyone, sans Allison, as he thought that he was better than everyone just because he is Number One, the Leader of their team. So why would he listen to his siblings? Jemma's opinions was at the lowest of the low, not matter what. Something that she never understood, not matter how many times she tried to.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait." Diego started to protest, "She's not just a vacuum cleaner you can throw in a closet. She feels things, I've seen it!"

Luther stood his ground, "She just stood there, Diego, and watched out father die."

"I'm with Luther." Allison said, which surprised no one.

Diego turned to her with a sneer, "Surprise, surprise."

"Shut up."

They then turned to Vanya, both Luther and Diego trying to gage whether she would agree with one of them. "I-- I don't--"

Diego shook his head and dismissed her, "Yeah, she shouldn't get a vote."

"I was gonna say that I agree with you."

"Okay. She should get a vote." Diego said, now that their powerless sister was agreeing with him. He then turned to Klaus, who was leaning against the pillar besides Jemma with a far off look, obviously barely paying attention to the conversation. "What about you, stoner boy? What do you got?"

Klaus looked up in surprise, "Oh, so what? You need my help now? Oh 'Get out of the van, Klaus!' 'Well, welcome back to the van.'"

"What van?" Allison asked as Luther just shook his head, knowing that he was referring to earlier that day.

Luther just scoffed lightly under his breath, "What's it gonna be, Klaus?"

"I'm with Diego, because screw you!" He exclaimed, "And if Ben were here, he'd agree with me." He then hissed at the air, as Ben had disagreed with him.

Diego then turned to his blonde sister. "Jemma?"

"There has to be something wrong with mom," she started as Luther nodded his head, seemingly valuing what she had to say now since she seemed to be siding with him. "But I'm not saying to turn her off okay!" Diego clapped, now thinking that she was siding with him as Luther scoffed. Jemma just shook her head, already knowing that she didn't want to take sides at all. "I don't want to vote on this! Like I said there's more to this, someone could have--"

Seeing that she wasn't going to vote for either side, Diego turned to Luther with a smug smile. "So that's three to two." Jemma threw her hands up, knowing that neither of them were going to listen to what she had to say. Why was she being treated like a child?!

"Wait-" Luther tried to protest but was cut off by Allison.

"Vote's not final yet."

Diego's head snapped into her direction, "What?"

"Five's not here." She said as if it was obvious, "The whole family has to vote. We owe each other that."

Luther agreed, "Right."

"No, we should wait." Vanya piped up. To Diego's dismay, they all came to the same conclusion; they couldn't make a final decision without Five.

Allison, Luther, and Klaus then filed out of the room, seemingly done with the conversation until Five finally voted. As much as they wanted to get this over with, they couldn't really do that with Five not around and Jemma not picking a side. This left Vanya, Diego, and Jemma together who had noticed Grace standing in the shadows of the living room. The trio walked over to Grace who stared at the ground emotionlessly.

"Hey," Diego said softly to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. A softness in his actions that he only ever had for his mother. "How long you been here?"

Grace looked up, now with a smile on her face that was almost unnerving considering what they had just been discussing. "You all seem upset. I'll make cookies." She then turned around and left them alone.

After a beat of silence, Vanya spoke up, "Do you ever wonder... All those moments with Mom, the things she said. Like, was it her, or was it really Dad?"

"What are you talking about?" Diego asked as if it was a blasphemous question.

"Well, he built her." She elaborated as Jemma bit her lip in consideration. The idea of their father, Reginald Hargreeves, ever caring about anything was a foreign thought. The cold, calculating billionaire didn't have any emotions other than anger, disappointment, or annoyance, in Jemma's opinion. So how could he be expressing his... caring nature through their mother? "And he programmed her to be a mom, to be our mom. Sometimes when I look at her, I just see him."

"I don't." Jemma said stoically which was extremely contradictory to her bubbly personality.

Diego nodded his head in agreement with Jemma, "Maybe that was true at first. But she evolved."

"Well, how do you know?" Vanya asked curiously.

"Because Dad only loved himself."

With that, Diego walked off, leaving Vanya and Jemma by themselves. Anxiety welled inside Vanya which caused her to pull out her pill bottle and pop one in her mouth. Jemma sighed loudly and plastered a faux smile on her face. "Well, I need a drink." She said joyfully trying to distance herself from her depressing thoughts, "you want one too, V?"

Vanya shook her head, "no, but I'll come with you to make sure you don't get drunk."

Jemma whined like a child and bounced away with Vanya trailing behind, "Aw, but that's the whole point!" Overhead, Pogo watched the sisters walked off with a solem gaze.

---

The dim bedroom lamp glowed in Jemma's bedroom as she lazily laid on her bed. Night had descended upon the academy as Vanya and Jemma had decided to relax in Jemma's childhood room since the afternoon. Another gulpful of alcohol already running down her throat as Jemma wallowed in her own anxiety. As much as she tried to not show her nervousness or anything around her siblings, Vanya was a different story. Vanya was one of the only people who had seen Jemma at her lowest, so she was allowed to see Jemma's problems even now. Which was why Jemma was perfectly comfortable with having Vanya around as she drank. The blond was almost at the end of her first bottle as Vanya had done her best to try and take it from her. The violinist had given up at some point, knowing that Jemma would not give up her drink no matter what.

Jemma huffed and glanced over at Vanya who sat stiffly in her chair at the small desk by the door. "Turning off Mom just..." Jemma blew a raspberry and groaned in displeasure, "I don't like it, V."

"I know you don't," Vanya agreed, "I don't either."

Jemma stared up at the ceiling with a troubled expression. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts, which was exactly what she didn't want. The whole point of drinking is to slow down her thoughts, to minimize how fast she thought. To mellow her out, to put it lightly. Though that didn't seem to be happening since she was extremely worried about their mom. "She's one of the only good things about our childhood." She said the sad truth with a soft voice, "She may be an android but she's... she's more human than Dad was, you know."

She looked over at Vanya with her pink cheeks and glassy eyes. Vanya nodded her head along with her while slumping down in her seat, "You're right."

"I understand the concern," Jemma stated, knowing why Luther and Allison may want to turn off their mother, "but there's something that just doesn't make sense."

Vanya nodded her head along with her. She had noticed what Jemma had said earlier when they were together, which was ignored by the rest of the family. "You said you thought someone messed with her hardware?"

Jemma looked off to the side in thought, "Mom was a protector, yes? Like you said. So how would she just... not help dad? The only way that would happen is if--"

"She was programmed not to," Vanya cut her off, understanding where she was going.

Jemma nodded, "Exactly."

If their mother was a protector, like Vanya remembered, then that meant that she would have saved their father while he was dying. The argument that Luther had made about her hardware deteriorating also didn't make much sense. Sure, she didn't have any kids around anymore to take care of, but she wasn't just meant to be a mother. Reginald designed her to take care of the home and such, so it would only make sense for him to keep her around to take care of mundane things. Not only that, but Pogo would certainly not allow her to deteriorate to the point of her hardware being deteriorated. Pogo cared about her, at least more than Reginald might have. So that meant her hardware wasn't broken down but instead tampered with. By who? That was the real question.

"She doesn't seem like she could hurt anyone," Vanya said softly as if the thought of their mother hurting anyone was completely foreign. Which was true. All Grace ever was to them was nurturing, supportive, and just over all motherly. She was the real parent that they had in their childhood. Reginald may have been their father in name, but he certainly didn't act like it. It was kind of funny that a robot was more human-like than Reginald was. Maybe that just proved Jemma's theory that Reginald wasn't actually human. Imagine that!

Thinking back on their childhood, more specifically the very few good parts of it, a thought popped into Jemma's head. She chuckled to herself softly, "Do you remember when I taught you self-defense?"

"Yeah." Vanya said with a raised eyebrow, "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. It just popped into my head," Jemma shrugged her shoulders and shuffled on her bed to sit up. She tapped her chin in thought, "I don't know why Dad didn't teach you anything like that."

"I wasn't a part of the team, so it made sense not to train me."

"I still thought it was a good idea."

"Maybe," Vanya chuckled slightly and rubbed her arms as they ached from past injuries, "but it didn't feel like a good idea."

"Oh, you big baby," Jemma giggled loudly, "You only got a few bruises!"

Vanya let out an exasperated scoff, "A few, try more like a few dozen!"

---

17 YEARS AGO

"Jemma, I'm not sure about this…" A thirteen-year-old Vanya shakily breathed out as he stood outside in the courtyard. Her fingers were twisted together nervously as a soft autumn breeze brushed over them. The sun had only a few more minutes to gaze down on the city, which was why the two sisters were out there. It was only a few minutes after Jemma had finished her training for the day and instantly dragged Vanya outside. As risky as it was to go outside without the permission of their father, Jemma was more than willing to risk whatever punishment that came with it. After all, she had a good reason for this.

The blonde girl just shook her head at her sister's nervousness. "Vanya, it's important that you learn how to defend yourself. Every one of us can fight even without our powers, except you!"

"Thanks," Vanya said sarcastically.

Jemma shook her head while putting her hair up into a high ponytail. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just saying since dad won't teach you how to fight, I will!" She cheered and gently pulled Vanya's to the middle of the courtyard. "I just want to make sure that if you end up in a situation where you have to defend yourself, you'll be ready to."

It didn't make much sense to her as to why Vanya was kept out of training. Well, yes, Vanya didn't have any powers like them, however, she was apart of the family! The Umbrella Academy was well known, and even if the world didn't know much about Vanya being the phantom seventh sibling, there was still a chance of her getting caught in the crossfire. Who's to say that Vanya wouldn't be attacked or something. If that were the case, she should have some sort of simple combat training to keep herself safe. It only made sense.

Vanya sighed out, slightly uncomfortable, "You don't have to, Jem. If dad finds out about this--"

"He won't!" Jemma exclaimed loudly before getting a look from Vanya to quiet down. The blonde cringed with a sheepish smile, "We'll be quick and make sure that he doesn't see us. And you know I'm pretty fast."

She got into a defensive stance and tried to prompt Vanya to get into the same one. Her eager, vibrant blue eyes seemed to glow in the dim sunlight. As much as Vanya wanted to protest, she had to admit that it was at least somewhat of a good idea. After all, it wasn't like anyone else was going to show her how. Vanya sighed out in reluctance but also got into a fighting stance, though it was not as confident as Jemma's, "Alright."

"That's the spirit!" Jemma jumped in joy before her expression hardened into one of determination, "Now, let's start!"

---

At the memory of their secret training sessions, the two women laughed with each other. It was a moment, one little moment, in their abysmal childhoods that seemed fun. The two of them bonded even more with each other during their sessions. A moment when they could act like kids, more or less. Not only that, but the two weren't caught. Well, they weren't caught by their father. Ben had found out at one point, completely by accident, however, he would never rat them out. Even if he had the thought to, Jemma could easily just flash him her puppy-dog eyes and he'd be putty in her hands.

The sudden reminder of her best friend dampened Jemma's mood instantly. She quieted down while staring down at the bottle in her hands. The amber liquid glaring back at her heatedly with its silent repetitive taunts. 

There was suddenly a constant popping sound that resonated from somewhere else in the house. A sound that caused Jemma's blood to freeze at the familiarity of it. Vanya stared at the door as worry started to creep up in her chest, "Did you hear that?"

"Gunfire?" Jemma asked in confusion before abruptly standing up from her seat on her bed. That was a sound that she certainly could not forget, as she grew up having guns fired at her on a near-daily basis. Already having a bad feeling, she points to Vanya as sternly as she could. Though that was a bit hard when she is both not intimidating and slightly buzzed. "Stay here."

She then zoomed out of the bedroom to head to where they heard the sound of fighting. The speedster found herself in the middle of the foyer where she was able to see two figures standing in the living room. In their hands were a pair of guns, which obviously meant that they were the ones who were shooting. For what reason they were here, Jemma had no idea. However, they couldn't just come into her family's home and shoot up the place without thinking that they would defend themselves. They had made a mistake coming into this house, she'd make that clear to them.

The figures fired more shots, aiming at one of the couches where someone must have been hiding. Jemma jumped on the back of the bigger attackers as soon as she got close enough to try and stop him from shooting anymore. Meanwhile, as the hail storm of bullets stopped now that the two assailants knew they were being attacked, Luther came out to take on the smaller of the two, who had a bunny-like mask on. Allison also came out from the shadows to help Jemma fight against the big guy who had a bear mask on.

They scuffled around for a bit which included Jemma being thrown off the bear-man's back and landing harshly on the ground. The wind had been knocked out of her as she groaned at the flare of pain that racked her back. She was certainly a bit rusty when it came to fighting. After all, she hasn't been in a fight since she was in her teens at least. Though the bear-man got the upper hand when he grabbed Allison and held her in the air by the throat and stood with his foot on top of Jemma's throat as well.

Diego jumped out from behind his hiding spot and started to beat on the guy as well. "Let them go!"

Luther finally finished with the bunny-masked attacker, came back into the fray, and helped Diego with punching the bear-man which forced the man to let go of Allison and step off of Jemma. The super-strong Luther then grabbed the attacker and threw him effortlessly through the air away from them and into the foyer. 

"Who the hell are these guys?" Allison asked out breathlessly while helping Jemma to her feet. 

Luther turned to Diego, barely out of breath, "You're welcome."

"I was doing fine," Diego exclaimed, not willing to admit that he may have needed some help.

"Oh, yeah, you really had them--"

Diego huffed, "Ever hear of a rope-a-dope?"

Growing fed up, Jemma shouted at them with a scratch voice, "Stop bickering you two!" She then let out a small yelp as she ducked down along with her other siblings to avoid the bullets that were now being shot at them.

"Get out of here now!" Luther called out as he ushered Allison out who had a hold on Jemma as well, "Go!"

"Luther, go!" Diego shouted out as he went off in a different direction.

There was a moment of silence that passed through the academy. With the bear-man, Hazel, having lost his gun and the bunny-woman, Cha-Cha, going after the siblings, there was a short moment of uneasy stillness.

"Hello?" It was broken by the soft voice of the powerless Hargreeves sibling.

As she hid around the corner from the attackers, Jemma could faintly hear the sound of Vanya as she descended the main stairs. Obviously, she had bypassed Jemma's stern warning to stay in her room and decided to check out everything that was happening. With her vision still a tad bit blurry from the alcohol that was still running through her system, Jemma cursed, "Shit, Vanya."

"Guys? Is everyone okay?" Vanya continued to call out as her anxiety started to increase. She walked towards the living room to investigate and saw that the room was in disarray. "Hello? Guys?" 

The quietness was unsettling to her. Though it only lasted for a little bit longer when Hazel came out from nowhere with a medieval flail in his hands. He used it to try and attack Vanya who ducts just at the last second. Hazel goes back in to try and hit her again, only for her to block it and try to get in her own hit. However, her little punch did nothing to the hefty man who was able to backhand her easily and throw her onto the table.

"Hey, asshole," Luther called out from behind Hazel before he could attack Vanya again. Seeing that Luther was a bigger target than the meek Vanya, Hazel set out to attack him.

As Luther and Hazel went at each other, both surprisingly a good match for each other, Jemma sped into the living room to find Vanya laid out on the coffee table. Seeing her frazzled sister, Jemma rushed over to her and grabbed her hand to pull her up. "Come on!" Jemma then sped the both of them into a hiding spot in one of the hallways, away from the fighting. The landing wasn't as graceful as Jemma had hoped, seeing as she was still being hindered by her slight drunkenness. She had hoped that the adrenaline would have helped clear it out as well as her speedy metabolism, but it seemed like she was going to need more than just a few minutes for that to happen. "Stay here, V, okay?"

Vanya nodded her head shakily at Jemma's command. As much as she wished she could help her siblings, she knew that she couldn't really do anything because she was powerless. 

Jemma took a moment to check Vanya and make sure that she didn't have any injuries, though she did see the beginnings of a bruise starting to form on her cheek. Filing that away for the moment, Jemma then ran out of the small alcove where Vanya would hide for the time being. She zoomed back into the living room to find that Hazel had thrown Luther to the ground who was now groaning in pain. She growled, "Hey, care bear!" Hazel turned around to find the petite blonde glaring at him from behind her bangs. Her blue eyes glowing with rage was the only thing he saw before her blurred form started to attack him. He could barely do anything as a flurry of punches came at him at such speeds that he couldn't keep up with. While they weren't exactly the strongest punches that he had ever received, having so many thrown at him like this was causing him quite a bit of pain.

This continued on for only a few minutes, as Jemma tried to knock the behemoth of a man down. Jemma was so caught up in her punches that she didn't notice the leg that swiped out to knock her feet from under her. She gasped as she fell to the ground at normal speed and earned a powerful kick to the gut and then to the head which had her yelping loudly in pain. Hazel, having handled the little speed-puncher, then lumbered off to find Cha-Cha leaving the pair of hurting siblings in the foyer.

"Damn," Jemma grounded out through her clenched teeth as she fought the pain, "I'm out of practice."

"Luther! Jemma!" Allison called out as she and Diego found their two siblings on the ground. Allison rushed over to Luther while Diego went over to Jemma. "Come on, Luther, get up."

"Everything is spinning," Jemma grunted as she was helped to her feet by her knife-throwing brother.

"Come on, Jem."

Once all of them were standing up, Jemma and Luther both using the other two as crutches, they glanced up at the second floor to see Cha-Cha staring back down at them. With the knife that Diego had thrown at her prior, she cut the cord that connected the chandelier to the ceiling. 

"Get out of the way!" Luther called out as the light fixture started to fall and pushed his siblings away. Diego fell with Jemma and made sure to protect her as they fell while Allison was pushed to the other side.

"Luther!" Allison shouted out before Luther was crushed by the chandelier. Though it would take more than that to hurt Luther, considering he was built like a giant. So he started to get up, only for his coat to start being ripped off to show off what was underneath it in the pale light.

Diego stared at him in disbelief, "Holy shit."

Now on display for everyone to see, it was revealed that Luther had the upper body like an ape. Something that no one was really expecting to see underneath his large coat. Even Jemma was in surprise as she may or may not have a concussion. In embarrassment, Luther rushed off to most likely his room, leaving behind his confused and frazzled siblings.

The speedster, still on the ground, groaned while Diego made sure that she was alright, "God, things are getting weird, even for us."

---

"Who were those people?" Vanya asked as she sat on one of the couches as Allison handed her and handkerchief to clean up her face.

Besides her, Jemma laid on the couch with half-lidded eyes as she held an ice pack ot her head. Even if Jemma had been raised to be a super-hero, she was still the most susceptible out of the family to get bruised. She wasn't sure why, but she was the easiest out of her siblings to get bruises. Suppose that's why they viewed her as the most fragile out of them all, sans Vanya of course. There was no doubt going to be bruising on her stomach and most likely her head after this. Perhaps she should consider training again since this has proven that she's completely rusty when it comes to hand-to-hand fighting.

"I don't know." Allison said while sitting across from the two, "But we are lucky to be alive. You sure you're okay?" Vanya just nodded her head silently, more worried about her siblings than anything else. Allison turned to Jemma with the same concerned look. Obviously, she didn't like seeing anyone, especially the sweet Jemma, in pain like this. "Jemma?"

The blonde sighed out though it sounded like it hurt her, "I should be fine, Allie."

The trio of sisters then noticed Diego pacing behind them. He was agitated by something, which they all weren't sure what it was, assuming that it was just about the attack. "Diego?" Vanya asked.

"What are you still doing here?" He asked sharply.

Vanya stared at him, "I'm just trying to help."

"No, you could've been killed." He shouted out in what was most likely a combination of frustration, anger, and worry. "Or gotten any of us killed. She is a liability."

Vanya shook her head at being called that. She knew that she wasn't much of a help, but at least thought that her siblings wouldn't belittle her to the point of being a hindrance to them. She turned to her sisters, "Allison? Jemma?"

Jemma spoke up first and shifted in her seat, though it may have pained her to do so, "He's worried, V. We all are worried about you." They heard Diego scoff at that, trying to make it seem like the reason he said that wasn't because he cared about their sister.

"I think what he's trying to say is that this kind of stuff is dangerous." Allison explained, "You're just--"

"Not like you," Vanya said emotionlessly.

"No, that's not what I--" Allison tried to salvage it as her sister got up and shuffled out of the room. She tried to go out after her, "Vanya, wait."

"Let her go." Diego called out, causing her to pause, "It's for the best."

Growing fed up, Jemma turned to her brother sharply and scowled. The sight of her angered expression threw off Diego for a moment as it was extremely rare to see Jemma angry like this. Her lip was curled up in a slight sneer as she stood up from her seat on the couch. "Maybe you think that, but she's our sister. I want to make sure that she's alright, unlike you apparently."

She then hobbled out of the living room after Vanya, to the protest of Allison. She got over to Vanya just as she was pulling on her coat. "Vanya, hey, look are you sure that you're okay?"

The violinist glanced up at Jemma and shook her head. The expression of worry and concern on her face was something that she saw often, perhaps too often. As much as Vanya appreciated the care that Jemma always had for her, it was getting on her nerves at the moment. "I'll be fine Jemma, just sit back down."

Jemma sighed, "If you want to leave we can head to the apartment--"

"No," she harshly answered back before clearing her throat, "I want to be by myself. Besides, you should rest."

Jemma stared at her with uncertainty, "Oh. Right, yeah, just call me later alright? I just wanna make sure you're okay."

"Yeah, I know." With that, Vanya went off to collect her things so she could leave that academy. She left behind a slightly beaten Jemma who was more than worried about her and everything that had happened. Though Vanya was right, Jemma should rest so her injuries heal as fast as possible.