l i t t l e l i o n m a n | t h e u m b r e l l a a c a d e m y

1 . 1

right back where we started

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sebastian woke up in midair.

he had no recollection of passing out to begin with, but before he could asses the situation he was on the ground. the glowing blue energy ball disappeared above him, leaving him dazed and confused.

he rubbed his eyes and rolled onto his stomach, then struggled to his feet. he looked around the alley he was in.

he jumped at the sound of a camera shutter clicking, but there was no one there. just some trash cans and boarded up windows.

there was no one there.

sebastian's head snapped left and right as he searched his surroundings. he looked behind boxes and in the dumpsters. not a single hargreeves in sight.

he looked up, but the way he had come was long gone. the sun was shining high in the sky, burning his eyes.

a newspaper box near the alley caught his attention. he crept over to it and grabbed a paper sneakily, then dove back into the shadows.

he ignored the headline and honed in on the date, september 15th, 1962.

1962?

well, shit.

he felt a pair of eyes on him and looked towards one of the buildings walling in the alleyway. there was a man staring at him through a window, camera in hand. when he noticed he'd been caught he shut the blinds quickly.

sebastian clenched his jaw and marched up to the building's side entrance. the sign on the door read, 'morty's television radio'.

he inspected the lock for a moment, then returned to the piles of boxes. one was full of old hair care products. he tossed aside a bag of curlers, and smiled in satisfaction when he found what he was looking for.

sebastian returned to the door with a pack of bobby pins. he tore it open and used one to pick the lock. he moved quickly; if someone saw a young boy of color picking a lock he was toast.

he sighed in relief when the lock clicked, and slipped inside. he ran up the stairs and rapped on the first door he saw.

the man with the camera opened the door slightly and gasped when he saw the boy before him.

"i knew i was right!" he gasped. he narrowed his eyes and backed up slightly. "you from the pentagon? cia? fbi? kgb?"

one more acronym and i'll bite you.

the man allowed his curiosity to take over and he opened the door a little more. "what are you?"

what do you think i am?

"some sort of...government experiment?" he guessed. sebastian grinned wickedly.

maybe. who are you?

"no!" he screeched. he slammed the door and shouted through the wood. "i will not give my information to some government agent."