defenderofdesmoines | Hargreeves Mansion

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Hargreeves Mansion | Evening

Given that they had nothing to really do but sit around and worry and stare at Allison, a tour of the mansion had seemed the preferable option to Annie. Plus it helped that she genuinely still didn't know her way around, and given how things had been going lately, she kind of suspected this wasn't going to be her last time visiting the place.

And, admittedly, part of her was enjoying spending a little time with Luther. He and Diego might have had the most...adversarial relationship of the bunch, but Annie found herself liking the guy, all the same. Something about the combination of polite and just, like, crippingly awkward. It was sort of weirdly charming.

Vanya	Allison was gone, Leonard was gone. Vanya had nowhere to go other than home. Despite what Leonard had told her, she hoped to find some empathy from her siblings. They had to know she hadn't hurt Allison on purpose, right? She entered the mansion quietly, hoping that maybe she'd be able to find Pogo and explain things to him before she ran into any of her siblings. He'd understand. Maybe he would help the rest of them understand.
Luther	Luther had been upstairs with Annie (look at him being polite and showing her around), and they were at the balcony overlooking the foyer just in time to see Vanya walk in. He held out his hand to keep Annie from moving closer or making too much noise.
Annie	Yeah, no problem there, Luther -- Annie actually shrank back on her own, her hands immediately sort of floating out to her sides in case she needed to be ready. "She looks calm for now," she murmured, which was the most important thing. They needed to either keep Vanya calm, or...well, be ready to deal with fighting her. Again, in Annie's case, though this time she wouldn't hesitate. But maybe they could just keep her calm.
Luther	Luther nodded in agreement. "I'll approach her alone." He wasn't sure if seeing Annie would trigger something in Vanya regarding the whole Allison incident but he wasn't going to take that chance. "It was you that went through the cabin wall, wasn't it?" Luther had been focused on other things at the time, but that was the only thing that made sense. Plus she had told him she was tougher than she looked earlier.
Annie	"Yep," Annie said softly, eyes trained on Vanya before looking back to Luther. "I don't think Vanya knew I could take it, but -- yeah. I have powers. Everyone who does where I'm from is physically really tough, and super-strong. Not like you. But stronger than you'd think." Hence how she'd caught Diego and held him like he was an overtired kindergartener earlier.
Luther	Well that was useful. "Okay, so, I approach her alone, try to put her down." There was a pause. "Non-lethally, of course." Of course. "If she gets past me--well, I'd prefer you do what you can to get Allison out of here before fighting Vanya."
Annie	"Got it," Annie said with an acknowledging nod. Grace and Pogo, too. Evacuate the injured and the civilians first. Though if Vanya got past Luther, they were all probably kind of fucked. There was totally a tiny part of her brain that was telling her she was being disloyal to Diego by taking orders from Luther, but she wasn't, they were just smart orders.
Vanya	"Hello?" Vanya called out. At least they knew she wasn't trying to be all sneaky here, at least.
Luther	Luther gave Annie a nod, placing a reassuring (gloved) hand on Annie's shoulder before heading down the stairs. He tried to keep the anger and distrust off of his face. This wasn't going to work if she was afraid of him. "Vanya."
Vanya	She wasn't immediately being attacked, which was a good sign. "Is Allison--?" God, she couldn't even say it out loud.
Luther	"She survived," Luther said.
Vanya	Vanya's shoulders immediately lost some of their tension and she felt like she could breathe again. "Thank god."
Luther	"What happened?" He had heard Annie's side of things, obviously, and he did believe her version of events. Still, he wanted to know what the hell Vanya had been thinking.
Vanya	"We got in an argument," Vanya said. "And things got out of control. I didn't mean to hurt her. It was an accident. And I was--I was angry and it just happened."
Annie	"You were completely out of control," Annie interjected, stepping away from the wall she'd been quietly leaning against and moving to the balcony rail again. "It didn't just happen." Hey, so, that whole Annie-hanging-back thing was a good plan and all, Luther, but just because she'd agreed didn't mean she was going to stick to it. (Everyone who was surprised that Diego's girlfriend had impulse control problems, raise your hands.)
Vanya	"I didn't know what I was doing," Vanya said, looking up at Annie. "This is--it's all new to me. I didn't mean to hurt anybody."
Annie	"I know," Annie said, her tone turning a little more gentle and sad, though she was clearly still very guarded. "But you still did, Vanya." And she was too dangerous to just...take at her word that she wouldn't again.
Vanya	Vanya frowned, looking back at Luther. "Please. Please, you have to believe me."
Luther	"I do." Annie's outburst had kind of worked, in a way. Luther could play good cop to her bad cop pretty easily.
Vanya	Vanya looked relieved. "Could I see her?"
Luther	"She's resting." If he had it his way Vanya wouldn't be anywhere near Allison for a long, long time. "Maybe later."
Vanya	Vanya nodded, looking between Luther and Annie. She normally felt like an outsider but right now she really felt like an outsider. "Is it okay if I wait here for a bit?"
Luther	"Of course," Luther said. "This is your home." He held out his arms to her as a further gesture of goodwill.
Vanya	Vanya immediately went to give her brother a hug, bursting into tears. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it--"
Luther	"I can see that, Vanya." He really did believe she was sorry. However, he couldn't just let her wander around, not with how out of control she was with her powers. Which was why he squeezed his arms a little more tightly around her.
Vanya	Vanya didn't realize what was really happening at first, figuring Luther was just trying to comfort her. Then it started getting a little harder to breathe. "You're hurting me."
Luther	"I'm sorry too." Luther tightened his hold on Vanya, squeezing even harder as she tried to fight back. He looked up at Annie, looking for some sort of guidance to make sure he was doing the right thing here.
Annie	Annie nodded, even as she covered her mouth in quiet horror, because she hated that they had to do this. "We have to," she said aloud, for her own benefit as much as his. Vanya's, too, if she was still listening. 'Cause yeah, Annie wasn't the one squeezing Vanya into unconsciousness, here, but she might as well be, given how she'd...signed off on this. But they had to.
Vanya	The house started shaking as Vanya struggled against Luther's hold. She was fading fast and tried to focus on her powers as a last ditch attempt to get free. It was enough that the drywall started cracking and falling on the more dilapidated parts of the house, but it didn't do anything other than prove Annie and Luther's point about her powers. Soon everything went dark and Vanya slumped in Luther's arms. The house instantly stopped shaking.
Luther	Luther sighed, scooping Vanya up in his arms. He looked up at Annie. "You okay?"
Annie	"I'm fine," Annie said, nervously eyeing the walls like the house might start shaking again, even if it seemed like Vanya was pretty out cold now. "Are you? I--I'm sorry we had to do that, Luther." She felt awful about it, and Vanya wasn't her sister.
Luther	"I'll be fine." That right there was a huge lie. "Come on, let's get her downstairs before she comes to."

Annie	So. Annie was lingering back up in the foyer now to wait for Diego, having accompanied Luther down to put Vanya in the soundproof room (and felt horrible about it.) She kind of figured she might be the best person to try to break this news to him, before he got down there and saw for himself. Not to mention that she'd have to admit to collaborating with Luther. Maybe talking to him about it would help convince her that they had definitely done the right thing. It felt like the safest thing, for sure, but her conscience was arguing.
Diego	Diego had already had a day with the dead body and being knocked out and everything. So coming back into the house to see Annie standing there alone with that look on her face didn't really do much for his mood. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Is Allison okay?"
Annie	"The same," Annie replied, immediately crossing over to take one of his hands. "We've been sitting with her, mostly. But Pogo told me and Luther some stuff about Vanya, in the meantime. And about your dad." Might as well start there, right? And then she'd get to 'And PS, Vanya's here now.'
Diego	He looked down at their joined hands, and was even more convinced he wasn't going to like this. "What's going on?"
Annie	"Vanya can manipulate sound," she told him quietly, rubbing her thumb along his knuckles in a soothing, affectionate gesture. "And it's more powerful when she's angry and out of control. So your dad had this...soundproof room built when you were all little? Downstairs? Because she was dangerous. She's still dangerous." She swallowed, worrying her lower lip a second before adding, "So, um...she came back and she's in there now." Because Luther had hugged her unconscious and put her there, with Annie's seal of approval. Remember the time when Annie had been kept in a power-dampening cell? Yeah, she felt great about all of this.
Diego	That was a lot to take in all at once. He was quiet for a moment as he tried to process this whole thing. He wasn't exactly surprised by the fact that Dad knew, but building a soundproof room to stick a child in? That was a whole new level of gross. Still, something about this wasn't adding up. Annie wouldn't be standing here looking all concerned if she just wanted to tell him about his dad being a dick. They all knew that. "Vanya went into a soundproof room," he said. "Like, voluntarily, until we figure this out?" Please say yes.
Annie	Half-right. "Not voluntarily," Annie said, quiet and clearly at odds with herself about this decision. "But temporarily." She didn't want to keep Vanya in there indefinitely. Just until it was all figured out.
Diego	"How did she get in there then?" he asked. "You said she kicked your ass." Well, not in quite those words. But still.
Annie	Annie stayed quiet for a second before offering a soft, "Luther subdued her. She didn't expect it." The fact that Annie was having a hard time coming out with the details was probably a good sign that tricking Vanya and hugging her into submission had been a shitty thing for them to do.
Diego	"And you haven't tried to get her out?" Diego asked, letting go of Annie's hand. If anyone would have been able to stop Luther... "Where is she? I need to see her." He had absolutely no problem stabbing Luther to get Vanya out, if need be.
Annie	"Downstairs. I'll show you," Annie said, ignoring the deep pang of shame that hit her when he dropped her hand. She probably deserved that, but. But. "You weren't there with Allison. You don't know," she added, unable to keep from looking a little hurt, here. "Vanya came here and I -- we had to make a call. " So, no, she had not tried to get her out. Annie had stood there and watched when Luther put her in there.
Diego	"We?" he asked, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. "You mean you and Luther? She's not your sister." And Luther was a freaking idiot on a good day. "Just--just take me to her."
Annie	Annie had arguments in her favor to offer -- she and Luther had been the only ones available to make the decision, Vanya had made the walls shake with her powers, Annie herself was still sort of recovering from the events of the cabin -- but they all died on her lips, because she couldn't have been more hurt if he'd actually slapped her. And maybe she deserved it. "Okay. This way." And with that, she turned to lead the way to the room where they were keeping Vanya, stamping down on her own feelings all the way.
Diego	Diego would feel bad about that comment later on. Right now, his anger was staying with him, and ramped up as he was led to a part of the house he didn't even know existed. Then to see Vanya trapped in that little room, crying and slamming her hands against the door while Klaus and Luther looked at her like she was a zoo exhibit. "What the fuck?"
Annie	God, it was so much harder to stand by this with Vanya awake, and Annie felt like a full-on monster looking at her like this. Though given how upset Vanya was, maybe this really was for the best. It was cowardly, but Annie shifted her stance so she couldn't actually...see Vanya, anymore. "I'm glad she's awake," she offered quietly, glancing over at Luther. "Maybe we can get to the bottom of this soon." With Vanya in there for now, though.
Alfredo	"I can't believe you locked her up!" Diego snapped, glaring at Luther. "Why would they hide this from us?"
Klaus	"Dad hid a lot from us." Honestly, that was the least surprising thing about all of this.
Luther	"He hid it because he was afraid," Luther said, turning to look at where Vanya was still silently slamming her hands against the door. "Of her."
Klaus	Klaus huffed. "Oh don't be ridiculous."
Luther	"Is it?" Luther asked. "Dad lied to us about everything else, why is this so far-fetched?" The man had a soundproof room made, obviously he thought she was a danger.
Klaus	"I'm sorry--let's go back. This is Vanya we're talking about. Our sister. The one who always cried when we stepped on ants as kids." And usually it had been Klaus doing the stepping and she still liked him!
Luther	Luther sighed. They didn't have time for this. "I know this is hard to accept--"
Klaus	Yeah, nope, he was refusing to accept this. "What if we just open the door and ask what happened with this Harold guy?" Maybe he had stabbed himself ten times!
Luther	Luther shook his head. "No, she's not going anywhere."
Diego	"Even if she is dangerous, she needs our help," Diego said, gesturing to the door of the soundproof room. "And we can't help her if she's locked in a cage." He looked over at Annie, hoping she'd understand where he was coming from.
Annie	She did, and it was written all over her face that she did. But she still said, "She can't hurt you in there, either." No one else here got it. None of them had seen what had happened at the cabin. None of them had been there when Annie had been so afraid she wouldn't find Allison's pulse. Vanya was a victim here, yes, which was what made this so heartbreaking. But she was also an out of control weapon. And all of the regret and insistence that it was an accident in the world wouldn't matter if she got angry again and actually killed one of them this time.
Allison	Allison couldn't exactly announce her presence, but her steps could be heard as she entered the room. Judging from the look on her face, she was about as horrified as Diego and Klaus were about this whole thing.
Luther	"Allison," Luther said, approaching her. "What are you doing down here? You should be in bed."
Allison	Allison had come equipped with a pad of paper and a pen just for this purpose. She scribbled out a note and lifted up the pad for everyone to see. Let her go.
Luther	Luther shook his head. "I can't do that, she hurt you." Nearly killed her.
Allison	Allison scribbled down another note. My fault.
Annie	"It was not," Annie argued immediately, crossing over towards Allison and stopping halfway. "It wasn't your fault at all. You were trying to talk her down, and she wasn't --" Honestly, if it was anyone's fault but Vanya's, it was Annie's for trying to get in the middle. And between that realization and Diego's comment earlier, Annie was going to shut up, now. This was clearly...family business she didn't understand, because she was clearly not considered part of this family in any capacity, no matter how tangential. "It wasn't your fault," she said again, quieter, and then just sort of retreated back into herself.
Luther	At least Annie's input made Luther feel more confident they had done the right thing. "She's staying put. Just until we know what we're dealing with." When Allison tried to push forward towards the door of the cell, Luther gently pushed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "She stays put."
Allison	Tears welled up in Allison's eyes as she looked from Vanya to Luther. She started punching at Luther's chest even though she knew she wasn't doing any damage at all. This wasn't fair. To Vanya, or anybody else here.
Luther	"Come on," Luther said, taking Allison by the arms to keep her from hurting herself. "You need to rest." When Allison's shoulders slumped and she gave him a curt nod, he let go of one of her arms. He didn't even bother looking back at Vanya or the rest of them as he led Allison out of the room.

[Continued in the comments! Taken from 1x09 "Changes" and preplayed with

knife_bender]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It took a few minutes for Diego to pull himself away from the soundproof room. He wished that he could explain to Vanya that he was sorry this had happened and it wasn't his choice, but he felt like even if he could he wouldn't be believed. It's not like he and Vanya had the best track record together.

When he did find himself back upstairs, his first priority was to find Annie. He was still mad, at both her and Luther, but it's not like he wanted to stay mad at Annie. "Hey."

Annie, for her part, was pretty upset still. Maybe frustrated was the better word. She had made a very difficult call, and now the very people she was trying to protect were undermining that decision and, honestly, making her doubt what she herself had experienced. (Like, Allison. What? What was that?)

If not for the bruises that were starting to bloom under her clothes, Annie would have wondered if she was exaggerating how bad that had been. But no, Vanya had been wholly out of control, and right now Annie felt like the only person who could see clearly. Maybe because she was the only one who wasn't related.

Didn't make it any easier to be the bad guy, though. And it didn't make that clear line that Diego had drawn between her and his family hurt any less.

"Hi," she replied, arms crossed around her midsection. And while her posture was defensive, her voice was carefully neutral. "She's staying in there?"

Priorities. Safety first.

Diego nodded. He wasn't exactly emitting open and welcoming vibes either right now. "What Number One says is law still, apparently."

"Well, that's bullshit, but it's still the right call," Annie replied, still maintaining that neutral tone. "I wish it wasn't."

She really did. She had liked Vanya a whole lot, in spite of her biases. It didn't feel good to see her locked up in there, but -- they were flying blind, here. Right now, there were potentially six people (one of whom was already badly injured), a chimpanzee (who already used a cane) and a robot woman (who had already been apparently brought back from the dead once) to think of.

"I wish the rest of us had a say in that call," Diego replied. "This last week he's been shoveling that whole 'we're family, we need to stick together' down my throat. I guess it only counts when things go his way."

"You weren't here," Annie pointed out, gentling very slightly though absolutely none of the tension left her posture. "And you do need to stick together. Vanya needs you guys to stick together. And you can't do that if you're dead or hurt before you can help her."

Not us or we, mind you. Annie now knew perfectly well she wasn't part of this, thanks.

Edited 2021-09-07 14:20 (UTC)

"Yeah, I'm sure Vanya is going to be totally understanding about this," Diego said. "I mean, being knocked unconscious and thrown into a room where you're cut off from your powers by your own family is a totally forgivable thing."

At least Annie had known Vought had been the enemy when it happened to her.

"So is slitting your sister's throat and throwing your brother's girlfriend through a wall," Annie replied flatly. "Super forgivable. She had no way of knowing I could take that, you know."

Yeah, at least Annie had known Black Noir had been the enemy when he'd thrown her through a wall. Vanya had been a surprise.

"I know. I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean it like that. I just--she must have been scared to begin with, and now she must feel scared and alone."

"I know," Annie replied, shaking her head. "I was there. I can tell you -- she's scared, and she's very emotional, and she doesn't know what to do with these powers. I don't feel good about this, Diego. But I don't think you should let her just have full rein of powers she can't control."

How many people should she let Vanya kill or try to kill because she was upset and scared? Why should Vanya's feelings take precedence over everyone's actual safety?

"I know you don't feel good about it." He didn't even think Luther felt good about it. He had just hoped they could have tried having a conversation with Vanya before throwing her into a jail cell.

"I'm sorry you had to get involved, you shouldn't have been put in that situation."

"Yeah." And that got close to the reason she was so upset about this -- there was of course the fact that she herself was actually starting to notice the lingering physical pain from being thrown through that wall, and the fact that it was never fun to have to search for someone's pulse as they bled out -- but even aside from the painful realities of the Vanya situation, Annie was smarting pretty bad from his comment earlier, still.

She hadn't been under any delusions that this was her family or anything. She had just kind of figured that bringing her home -- bringing her into this -- meant that maybe Diego wanted her to start thinking that way.

"I mean, I shouldn't have overstepped, I guess," she added, carefully keeping emotion out of her voice as much as she could. "Everyone disagrees anyway."

Which, again, made her feel completely fucking crazy, on top of rejected.

"It's a complicated situation." Like, he got where Annie and Luther had been coming from, he did. But it seemed like a clinical way to approach it; a decision his father would have made. Which was never a good thing. That's how they ended up here in the first place.

He didn't miss her tone, or lack of one, rather. Obviously she was upset, and knew he hadn't exactly been supportive earlier. "You didn't overstep. You're right, I wasn't here."

"It's not that complicated from where I'm standing, but maybe that's the problem," Annie replied, because that concession sort of just made her anger and hurt feelings seem a little more justified. Because yeah, that lack of support had stung, particularly when paired with the physical damage she'd taken in her own failed attempt to protect Allison and subdue Vanya.

Apparently it was cool to be involved to a point, but only to that life-risking point. "So I'm just gonna stay out of it. You're right -- she's not my sister."

Diego winced slightly because, yeah, now that she was saying it out loud he realized how that comment might have came off. He hadn't--well he had meant it at the time, but was only now realizing the deeper implication of it. That part he hadn't intended.

"I don't want to block you out," he said quietly. "You're my family too."

Something in Annie softened at hearing that. Her shoulders relaxed some, though she stayed quiet for a long moment. It had been a very long day, but that was the crux of her hurt feelings.

"It didn't feel like it earlier," she said after a moment, but there wasn't any heat behind it. "I'm always on your side, Diego. Always."

And today it had very much not seemed like he'd been on hers, and she didn't like how it had felt.

Edited 2021-09-07 15:51 (UTC)

"I know." He knew that her decision to side with Luther had been in his own best interest. It just so happened to be coinciding with the massive amount of guilt over how he treated Vanya over the years.

"I haven't really ever been close enough with anyone to really integrate them into the family dynamic," he admitted. "And I really didn't picture it happening under these circumstances."

Usually being invited over for Christmas or Thanksgiving was the hurdle people had to get over. Not...funerals and superpowered sisters.

He was extremely lucky that he'd been saving Annie's mother's life when they'd met, since Annie knew a thing or two about the difficulty of introducing one's partner to one's family.

His words helped, though. At least, enough that Annie uncurled her arms from around herself, taking a careful step closer to Diego. "I'm new to this, too," she offered, shrugging a shoulder. "And these are definitely, like, extraordinary circumstances, and they would be even without all the...." She just kind of waved a hand around. The present circumstances. "You guys are extraordinary people. I'm just not used to feeling like...I don't know. Like I'm at odds with you. Like I'm on the outside and no one's listening to me."

Because in a way, that's how it felt. He knew perfectly damn well what it took to scare her. And maybe it was just that Annie was an only child -- she was willing to concede that that sibling bond was something she just straight up did not understand. It was the only way she could justify Allison's stance, anyway, and then she could extrapolate from there.

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way." It hadn't been his intention. If anything, he felt like he had been giving her an out. This really was a lot of family drama to be introduced to at one time. Just in this past week with his family he had been shot and she had been thrown through a wall. Who knows what the next family event would bring?

Well. At least they didn't have the apocalypse to worry about anymore, apparently.

"I do want you to be a part of this family," he said. "And it's going to be messy, and we probably won't agree on everything, but I want you to have your say in things."

That was pretty much exactly what Annie had needed to hear in order to let go of her resentment over the day entirely, and she reached over to take one of his hands.

"I never expected it to not be messy," she assured him softly. "And, like, you and I won't agree on everything, let alone adding five other people's opinions into it. I just...I'm in. I've been in, and I want to help."

He might have been giving her an out, but it had felt more like keeping her out, to Annie.

Diego nodded, and took her hand. "I've been a total jackass. I mean--I haven't really even checked in on you to see how you were feeling."

It had gotten lost in the Allison thing and the Vanya thing and the dead Harold Jenkins' thing...

"I'll be okay," Annie assured him, smiling slightly -- she wouldn't admit it, but she was also adjusting to having to share Diego's attention. His sisters had kind of commandeered his focus, which was more than fair, but Annie was also fairly used to being treated like the center of his universe. "It was just the wall."

When Noir had gotten ahold of her, there had been a wall, and concrete to the face, and strangulation. So it was like a 6 out of 10, on Annie's scale.

"How's your gunshot?" she added, stepping a little closer to get a better look at his arm. Allison and Vanya and Harold-Leonard had distracted her, too.

"Just a wall," he repeated, smiling a little. "I'm fine. Don't even need a sling anymore."

Of course the cops had forcibly pulled his sling off when he was arrested so he hadn't had a choice in that matter. But it all worked out, it was just another scar among many.

"I want to see it when we're done with all of this," Annie replied, idly sliding her hand up along his forearm, light and careful and affectionate. "And you can see what just the wall did, okay?"

Because yeah, she was downplaying it, and she kind of loved that he knew she was, but they had other concerns right now.

"What even happened?" she added. "Did those people come back? With the masks?"

"Uh, yeah, Five was just having a margarita with one," he said. "Apparently it was 'just business' and I should let it go."

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