She was the only one inside; her siblings had all gathered in the courtyard at the back of the house which her bedroom overlooked. They seemed to be waiting for something, but she didn't have time to call to them and ask. Father had demanded her presence, and she had to get to him.

Running up the stairs leading to the roof, she rushed to his side.

"Father?" Number Seven called out hesitantly as she spotted him waiting on the ledge.

"Over here, Number Seven." Father's voice came, dispassionate with a slight edge of impatience.

Their Father was standing with a stopwatch and his red notebook held in hand. She tried to glimpse at his notes over his shoulder, wondering what today's experiment would be.

"You'll be my assistant today." He informed her.

Together they looked down at the waiting children.

"A new task." Father announced, raising his voice to be heard. "A rescue. Rescuing Number Seven to be precise."

"Rescuing her from what?" Number Six called out cautiously.

"The building." Father responded. "Each of you will take it in turns. You need to get her off the roof and down to the ground, unharmed in as fast a time as you can manage."

He wasted no more time with explanations, just as her brother made no hesitations when his name was called.

"Number One."

Running to the door he found it locked. He could easily break it but looked for permission first.

"I think you'll find all the doors leading to the roof are locked. And you're wasting precious time – if this building was on fire Number Seven could only have minutes."

Taking a few steps back, Number One launched himself at the building and climbed. He was still learning to moderate his strength and bits of stone broke away where he grabbed too tightly or pushed his foot too hard to heave himself up. Their Father didn't mind, he only watched the stopwatch and made his notes.

Putting his foot on a window ledge, One pushed up into another jump and landed heavily on the floor beside them. He glanced at his Father but he continued to watch the time, reminding Number One that his aim was not solely to get up but also to get Number Seven down.

Arms outstretched, he waited a moment as if looking for permission, before scooping her up in his arms.

She had tried to prepare herself since learning of the task but couldn't restrain the scream which escaped her when Number One leapt off the edge of the roof and brought them both crashing down to earth.

Their siblings wisely backed out the way of their landing, the ground shaking as Number One took the brunt of their impact with her safely curled in his arms like a football.

The stopwatch clicked off as Number One lowered her to the ground on unsteady legs before walking away to Number Three's side without a backwards glance. Three was impressed with the jump, bringing a smile to One's face.

"Number Two. Sometimes a situation requires more stealth." Father called. "I believe you've been practicing your lock picking as instructed?"

"Yes, Father." Number Two replied, removing a thinner set of tools from his belt than the knives Number Seven usually saw during her sibling's training sessions.

"Number Seven, you come up first. Be quick about it."

Pogo opened the door then, ushering her into the house and locking the door behind him. He was behind her as she hurried through the house, securing every door between them on his masters orders.

Bursting through the top door, Seven was gasping for breath as she reached her Father's side but he was unconcerned.

"You may begin, now."

Placing the stopwatch on top of the book, he reached into his pocket and withdrew a set of keys.

"Hold onto these, Pogo has more important things to do this afternoon."

Accepting them, she placed them into the pocket of her blazer.

This time she moved over to the door rather than waiting by Father's side. She was overdue one of her pills for the afternoon and she could already feel the struggle to stay calm.

Seven knew if she cried in front of him she'd get an undue amount of scorn.

She traced the outline of the door with her eyes, focusing on one corner where the paint had bubbled and peeled. Ideally she would seek solace in her violin to soothe her frayed nerves, however she couldn't picture her father permitting her to use her siblings training session for her own practice. No, she had to stand still and be the perfect victim.

Her heart rate and breathing had returned to normal by the time she heard Two struggle with the lock. He was muttering under his breath but Father couldn't hear him.

The door banged open. Two barely slowed as he grabbed her arm in a vice grip and dragged her down the stairs. He only spoke when they were out of Father's earshot.

"C-come on! Can't y-you go any f-faster?"

She could.

"No." She said instead, only lightly jogging by his side.

Number Two had been mean to her all week, and she knew how much he liked to win.

"Oh, c-come on! I'll never beat O-one now – it's not even f-fair! He just had to scale the house, I had to run through it w-w-ith locked doors in the way. Just go faster!"

She nearly fell down the stairs leading into the main foyer but her brother was too focused on the finishing line to notice, determined to be the best. He dragged her all the way outside with his fingers digging too hard into her skin.

Six grabbed her as she stumbled once Two released her.

"Take a couple of deep breaths." Six suggested, keeping an arm around her wobbling frame. Seven tried to comply but her lungs were already starting to ache – she didn't train like the rest, she didn't play with the rest during scheduled recreation hours, she wasn't used to running around like this.

"You didn't have to drag her here." Number Five told Two's back as he walked off, noticing how she was trying to rub sensation back into her lower arm.

Five was the only one who really noticed her these days, Six was more concerned with Four. The rest just found her annoying.

Father had already moved on with no comment on the performance, leaving Number Two disappointed as usual.

"Seven." He commanded again.

Sighing, she tried to shoot her brothers a reassuring smile, but it didn't sell. She seemed to smile less and less these days and it worried her how the upward movement of her facial muscles almost felt foreign.

Pulling the keys from her pocket she made her way back upstairs.

"Number Three." Father said, once Seven had closed the door behind her. "On an occasion when a suspect is proving difficult to apprehend crowd control may become necessary."

Her sister looked uncomfortable as their father explained the task although she must have known she would have to use her power on Seven. Still, under the scrutiny of her adoptive Father, she marched into the middle of the courtyard from the sidelines and waited for the stopwatch to start again.

"Go to the ledge, Number Seven."

Walking to the edge she looked down at Three, who cupped her hand to her mouth.

"I heard a rumour..." she called up, "that you ran out the building as fast as you could."

Three had only used her powers on Seven once before – to make her stop practicing her violin one afternoon. She had been holed up in her room since breakfast, their father telling her to wait there so she wouldn't disturb her siblings. According to Six their team training hadn't gone so well which was apparently why Seven's melancholy choice of music grated so harshly on her sister's nerves that afternoon.

"I heard a rumour that you didn't play that stupid violin anymore!" She had yelled through Seven's open door, slamming the door to her own bedroom behind her not a few moments later.

The violin had immediately dropped from her hands, like her body had suddenly become powerless to support its weight. The delicate neck broke on impact but Seven could only stare at it, wanting but unable to reach out for it.

Pogo silently had it replaced within hours, with no mention to her father. Three had shyly returned that evening after a long talk with One and undone her command, offering a small apology before excusing herself back downstairs. The others were playing a game of tag, making the most of a rare unobserved evening as their Father was out for a meeting. She could hear them shouting – mainly that Five was cheating – but no call came beckoning her to join them.

Seven had picked up her violin and resumed her gloomy rehearsal once she was sure they were all back out of earshot.

Like the last time Number Seven had no choice but to follow her sister's words. She ran faster than she ever thought possible, nearly throwing herself headfirst down the steps to get out the building as fast as she could.

She wished she had locked the doors behind her on her way up; it would have created obstacles to slow her and created an opportunity to catch her breath. As it was she nearly blacked out as her mind finally regained control over her body, sinking to the ground the instant she set foot outside the building.

"She's here." Number Three shouted.

"I do not see her." Father responded, stopwatch still ticking.

Three darted towards her and, supporting her body, pulled her forward into view.

"Just lean on me." She told Number Seven softly.

"Here she is."

Father muttered to himself and scrawled in his notebook. "You should have told her to get to the courtyard, if there was more than one person they could block the doorway and bottleneck."

"Yes, Father." Number Three replied, her head drooping.

"H-how is this fair?" Number Two said, his voice only for those in the courtyard. "I had locks to p-p-pick. Three didn't even have to g-go up there."

"At least all of us aren't being forced to run up and down the building six times. You don't hear Seven complaining." Five retorted, grinning as he effectively shut his brother up.

"How're you doing?" Number Three asked her quietly.

"Bit tired. But thanks for telling me to go through the building instead of climbing down it." Seven tried to chuckle. She was more than a bit tired. She didn't know what burned worse; her legs or her lungs.

"Don't worry, Seven." Four said, moving to stand beside them. It was his turn next. "I don't care what my time is, we can walk through the building."

"Thanks." Seven exhaled, relieved.

Checking his watch Father announced they would take a short break first and the glare he shot at her said that the break was Seven's fault.

It seemed he would never forgive her for her humanity.

"Number One. A moment." Father added.

One shot a confused look at Three but readily obeyed, heading upstairs.

Pulling away from Three, Seven went to sit on the bench.

Five and Six looked nervous where they stood together. Father had been pushing Five to try teleporting with someone else and had questioned whether Six's powers only had lethal capabilities. They were worried that he intended for them to test this on Seven.

Four went over to them, joining in on their quiet discussion.

She was tempted to go to her brothers and reassure them somehow, but it was a relief to sit and she was in no rush to get back up. Still, she sensed the weight of her Father's disappointed gaze above her and knew he was expecting her to push through.

Standing she went back into the building without a word, passing One silently on the staircase. Her siblings only noticed she'd left when Father summoned Four.

"Quickly."

Four hesitated a second before realising that was the only instruction he would get. He sprinted up the building, going as fast as his, currently too long for his body, legs would carry him.

Again, Seven stayed by the door. She didn't want to stand beside her Father, she couldn't bear it.

The door opened more gently then when it had heralded Two's arrival, and Four offered her his hand rather than dragging her by the arm.

He kept a hold of her hand and, as promised, they walked through the house, going only a little faster than they normally would.

"I think he's getting ready to send us out into the field now." Four said as they reached the second floor.

Seven was surprised. "Already?"

She knew how powerful her siblings were, as they liked to constantly remind her of the fact at every opportunity. But they were still children and not particularly cautious ones either. It didn't seem right to send them into danger – wasn't that what the police were for?

"Apparently we need to prepare for our destiny." Four said, making quote marks with his free hand as he scoffed out the final word.

He squeezed her hand after a glance at her face. "We'll be fine, Seven. Hey, do you think Dad will let you tag along? Watch us beat up all those bad guys." Four joked, dropping her hand to pretend he was fighting an invisible baddie in front of them.

It was a good thing there were five other siblings to watch his back if he really punched like that.

"Doubtful." She sighed.

"Well at least you get to see us in action at home. I bet you'll be the envy of all the girls – getting to live with the four devastatingly handsome boys who saved the world."

"Four?" Seven laughed.

"Oh yeah – One doesn't count. He frowns too much for anyone to find him attractive."

She grinned, the smile blooming naturally. "I'll remember that."

The pair were still smiling as they exited the building. Four tried to get them to skip to the middle of the courtyard but Seven had shrunk back to her normal size as they stepped into the sun and quickly disentangled herself from him.

Looking at Five she gave him a small smile which he barely stopped pacing long enough to acknowledge with one of his own.

Father held up the stopwatch, "Six minutes, Number Four."

"Sorry. I fell down the stairs." Four lied, rubbing the back of his head for emphasis.

"In which case you had best go to Grace." He replied, his tone dubious.

Four and Seven went back inside together, separating in the foyer as Four went down to the kitchen.

Heading back upstairs, Seven twisted her hands together nervously. She hoped Father didn't really want Five to jump to get her – while she thought Five had a good handle on his powers she wasn't thrilled at being a human guinea pig so their Dad could push his abilities even further. Maybe he would just teleport to the roof then they could run downstairs. For Five she'd run as fast as she did for Three, though far more willingly.

Sir Hargreeves was standing where she had last left him, looking down over the ledge.

"There you are, Number Seven." Father said, far more gently than his usual tone. It set the hairs on the back of her neck on edge.

"Proceed to the ledge please."

Obeying, she walked until she was visible to her siblings and waited for further instructions.

"Good. Now jump please."

Her head whipped around, her voice shrill as she asked, "What?"

"Number One is ready to catch you should Number Five not be up to the task. He will jump up to catch you. You shouldn't be harmed."

She stared into those dispassionate eyes and liked to think for one moment she saw some flicker on concern. It was quickly replaced with a quick reminder of his instructions.

"Jump, Number Seven."

Walking forward she held one foot off the ledge, gulping as she heard a loud gasp and several shouts from her siblings.

Why did the girls only get skirts for their uniforms, she thought nervously.

Number One met her eyes and nodded his head, ready for her. She nodded back – she'd seen him train, he could do this. Hopefully.

With a big inhale she stepped forward and over the edge. She clamped her mouth shut to try to suppress another scream but she couldn't force her eyes to shut out the image on an approaching ground.

As the wind whipped past her ears, she seemed to notice a series of things happen in almost slow motion.

Number One ran forward and was preparing to leap just as Number Two evidentially tried to do the same, forcing a collision that knocked them both backwards. Six was pulling off his jacket while Five disappeared in a flash of blue.

There was a tug on her arm and then she was dangling. Dangling was an improvement on falling.

Looking up she saw Five's grimace as he pulled her up into the bedroom he had teleported into.

She helped push herself in once she was at the right height to get a foothold on the window ledge.

"Five."

Despite her attempts at bravery her voice had been reduced to a whimper.

"I've got you. You're fine." He reassured, finally pulling her into the room.

Five didn't do hugs but Seven didn't hold back, throwing her arms around his neck and clinging on tightly.

With a sigh he asked, "Why did you do that?"

"Dad told me to."

"He's not our Father, Seven. No real Father would make their children jump off roofs."

"I know." Seven whispered into his shoulder.

She was trying to convince her arms to let go when he unexpectedly hugged her back.

Seven could count the number of hugs she had received from Five on one hand; to that day she'd never received one so fierce.

"I think now would be the time to bring up a well-known Kōan, if someone told you to jump off a cliff..."

Seven laughed.

"You don't laugh enough." Five said sadly, poking her in the ribs.

"I know."

"You don't say much either." He pointed out, pulling back a bit. With a slightly cautious hand he smoothed her bangs back down where they had gotten stuck up when she'd buried her head in his shoulder.

"Well those pills he gave me are supposed to make me better." Seven excused, trying to make her tone bright. She hated those pills, they made her feel so tired.

"I didn't know there was anything wrong with you."

Seven scrunched up her nose, unwilling to believe him. There was nothing special about her; that in itself meant that there was something wrong with her. The only one who was powerless, with not one redeeming feature to make up for that fact. Even her music was average at best to her own ears.

"I guess I should go back upstairs."

"No – you're coming downstairs first." Five argued. "I'm still on the clock remember. Besides, I think One and Two are arguing and that's always fun to watch."

Five didn't hold her hand like Four did, but he stayed close enough that their shoulders bumped into each other as they trudged back through the house.

Seven cleared her throat. "How do you do it?"

"Hmm?"

"Say no to him?"

"Because I don't care what he thinks." Five replied, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"But you still do all the training."

"Because I want to. I want to get stronger."

She nodded, trying to keep her face clear of sadness.

"Hey." He bumped into her again. "I'm not risking you by teleporting together but I bet I can teach you how to throw a good punch tomorrow if you meet me after training."

"Really?" She asked disbelievingly. None of the six had ever invited her to train and, even though she didn't think Father would allow it, the offer still made her smile.

"Yeah – you're a part of the Academy. Need to know how to protect people, right?"

Five held the door open and ushered her outside where Six quickly pulled her into a hug; the second rare hug of the day, although that was because it was uncommon to get a hug from Six which Four didn't immediately jump on top of. He must still be inside with Mom.

"You scared the hell out of me." Six grumbled.

She wouldn't admit it to anyone because she loved Six dearly and knew it would hurt him to hear, but she found it slightly alarming when he pulled her close as she could feel whatever it was in his chest moving ever so slightly. To that day she had never seen them. Six was very careful about that, despite her curiosity.

So she was glad for the interruption her other siblings provided.

"Seven."

"Ven." Two called out over One.

Six slid an arm over her shoulder and joined the higher numbers in a disapproving glare directed at the pair.

"I was going to catch you..."

"Two crashed into me, I swear I was going to..."

The two tried to talk over one another again, prompting a laugh from Five. He never failed to find their competition for the role of team leader hilarious. And pointless.

"One got in the way..."

"You saw I was going to catch you, like Father told me to..."

"Are you okay?" Three asked over them.

"I'm fine." Seven responded meekly.

"Good, Number Seven." Father said, the first time he had complimented her since she perfected Brahms' Third Violin Sonata two months ago. She hated herself a little for it but her spirits raised at the small praise he offered.

"Number One and Number Two, however. You could have gotten Number Seven killed."

Under his gaze the children always acted in two ways. The undisguised look of guilt, shame and disappointment or thinly veiled anger. Usually Two would be the first to complain but his failure to work with Number One had put one of them at risk – the one member of the Umbrella Academy who needed protecting the most – that was something that couldn't happen and he knew it.

"Number Seven, back upstairs please."

Six held onto her for a moment. "Just wait by the door for me, okay?"

Nodding, she made her way upstairs one final time.

She passed Mom and Four on her way. Mom was trying to make Four take a nap in his room, much to his displeasure.

"Mom, I'm fine! It was just a little fall."

"Then why do you keep rubbing your head?" Grace asked, confused by the mixed signals her son was sending.

Opening the door to the roof, Seven stood by it as Six had asked.

"Number Seven?" Father called, raising her attention.

"Yes, Father." She replied, holding her ground.

He seemed to hesitate before asking: "Have you remembered to take your medicine today?"

"Yes."

She would, once this was over. She was only an hour or two late, it shouldn't matter.

He walked back to the ledge and started the clock for Six, giving her brother no scenario or additional instructions.

Tapping her foot, Seven experimented with the rhythm. She kept herself quiet so as to not draw Father's attention but allowed the noise to grow in her head, wishing she had her instrument in hand to develop it.

Six opened the door, and she felt something decidedly not a hand grab her wrist.

Looking down she harshly bit down on her lip to avoid a shriek, drawing a little blood as she did.

The pair stood still, Six not pushing her to move until she grew used to the appearance of the tentacle wrapped around her.

Their lack of movement drew the attention of Sir Hargreeves who had kept his back to the 'rescues' by his other children so far.

"Good, Six. How is your control?"

"They don't want to hurt her." Six said, sounding amazed by the creature's reaction to Number Seven. The creature which had no qualms about ripping anything in its path to pieces.

He looked down at his appendage, only one having emerged from under his jumper. It swayed harmlessly in the breeze and held Seven's wrist so loosely she knew she could easily pull away if she wanted.

"The time's ticking, Number Six." Father reminded them.

Opening the door, Six led Seven down the stairs onto the next floor.

"Here, I'll let go now." He said once they were out of their Father's hearing range.

The tentacle released her but stayed close and Seven reached for it, surprising both Six and herself.

It curled around her fingers gently and she allowed it to hold her.

"Oh," she breathed, "I think it likes me."

Six laughed, "Everybody likes you, Seven. Even the monsters, apparently."

There were a lot of people who didn't like her, but she was too entranced by the creature's limb to dwell on that. The appendage was lightly mottled, with a slightly rubbery texture resembling that of a squid. The tip which held her was slender, although the tentacle became thicker the closer it got to Six's abdomen – a space it somehow resided virtually unnoticeable under his jumper. She wanted to ask more about it, wondering how it must feel, but she knew Six was often unwilling to discuss his violent powers and didn't want to push him.

"It's not a monster." Seven chided. She found it hard to ascribe such a harsh word to a creature playing with her so gently, even if she was aware of the brutality it was capable of.

Six stared at her in disbelief, even more so when another tentacle unwittingly joined the first and tickled Seven behind the ear; the girl cried in delight.

"S-stop it," she gasped around a laugh, "that tickles!"

"Unbelievable." He muttered before joining her in a laugh. Four was going to be jealous when he found out about this. "Come on, monster fodder. The others will think we got lost."

Number Four joined them on the stairs, having escaped Mom.

"Did I miss something?" He asked, watching the scene unfold before him.

"All the time."

Four ignored Six and watched the two make their way down to the front door. Six's tentacles were now fully surrounding Seven, swaying harmlessly around her.

Six got the slowest time out of them all, but the siblings agreed he had 'won' hands down.