It must have been the constant and all too soothing sound of the morning air whipping through the tall snow-capped evergreens that brought Zaheer to the San Gabriel Mountain range each morning, although it could have also been that the new Pasadena headquarters building was becoming louder with all the new recruits waking up for training at five. Zaheer stood in awe looking at the large granite peak that was only dwarfed by the morning sky, dotted with the last of the bright stars that dared to exist while the first rays of light crested over the eastern horizon.  

He stared off into the morning sky for only a few moments before noticing someone else headed up the trail. Step by step she approached coming more into view for Zaheer. Her long blonde hair draped out from the left side of her jacket as the sun’s rays began to give it an orange color. She held a small notebook in her hand and waved with the other. She looked familiar but Zaheer wasn’t quite sure who she was just yet. It was not until she was 50 yards out that Zaheer was finally able to identify her as one of WallyWest’s newest recruits. She continued step by step until she was within speaking range of Zaheer before smiling and asking permission to approach. Zaheer had usually set this time aside for quiet reflecting but it was not often that he was able to have a truly one on one chat with a new associate. He waved her over to the rock he was leaning against. “Good Morning Sir” she said quietly as she turned the pages in her notebook. “What brings you all the way up here?” Zaheer said to her. She smiled and made eye contact with Zaheer, her stunning blueish green eyes had the most interesting and well defined character. “Wally thought it would be a good idea for me to train my skill set from as far away as possible.”

Zaheer continued his gaze expecting for her to say more. Wally had been assembling a team of sorts to work under him for some new jobs he had planned and was choosing his candidates based on unique skill sets that were almost superhuman. Zaheer gave a nod as if to beckon her to continue explaining her training. Her cheeks turned an instant red as she fumbled to show him her notebook. Zaheer glanced down into the notebook, he was unsure what he was reading, it appeared to be a bunch of nonsense, street signs rewritten, restaurant menus, dry cleaner hours, as well as what appeared to be physical character descriptions of individuals along with times and routes. Zaheer handed the book back to her, still unsure of what she was doing. “Don’t let me stop you then, go ahead, continue your training.” Zaheer told her as she pulled a pen from her jacket pocket. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, upon opening her eyes she leaned forward ever so slightly and began writing. Zaheer fixated in the direction she was gazing. He was able to see the cars moving on the road and the tiny movements of humans starting their day in the business district that was a little over a mile away. He looked down at her notebook as she jotted down the names of the shops a mile away as well as the arrival time of each of the the business owners. Zaheer was stunned, this girl was using her eyesight like binoculars. “That is quite impressive, how long have you been able to do this?” Zaheer asked her. She continued writing and watching the business district as she spoke, “I’ve always had perfect vision but WallyWest was the one that pushed me to train it, every day he has me testing my vision from farther away.” Zaheer couldn’t contain his pride as a smile appeared across his face. “Are you able to tell what is going on at the Headquarters from here?” Zaheer asked her. She finished writing in her page and turned her gaze across town, “Horses! There are horses on our property! How exciting!” The girl lit up excited to see them. Zaheer stopped for a moment and questioned everything, was she really able to see that far? Why would there be horses at the headquarters, then again, why would someone make up horses. Zaheer snapped back from his train of thought. “I best go see what is going on with the horses, will you be okay up here by yourself?” The girl nodded and turned the page in her notebook, she then returned her gaze to the business district. Zaheer made his way back down the mountain with ease and took the most direct route to the headquarters. 

Sure enough parked outside of the headquarters was a large horse trailer parked behind a fish and wildlife box truck. It was shaping up to be an odd morning. Zaheer stepped through the front lawn narrowly avoiding some horse shit on his way. He was rounding the property to the side yard when he came face to face with 2 large horses attempting to make traction in the dirt. They were tied in tandem to a chain which zaheer followed into the side yard where he found one of Wally’s associates shaking furiously as he held his arms outstretched in front of him. In each arm was a chain connected to 2 horses each attempting to pull his arms outward. The expression on his face reminded Zaheer of an arm wrestle competition between evenly matched opponents but this was definitely something else entirely. In that moment Zaheer knew that the girl on the mountain and the man in his side yard were not horse shitting him. “Have you seen WallyWest?” Zaheer asked the strong man who had just recognized his presence. The man slowly let the horses pull one arm so that he could point towards the kitchen window. Zaheer gave a nod and the man returned the nod before pulling the horses back a few steps as he returned to his arms outstretched position. 

Zaheer made his way back to the front door and opened it, expecting to find an empty foyer he was surprised to see his entryway littered with various full scale safes. A man sitting on a stool was spinning the dial slowly. Before Zaheer could come up with the words in which to question it a man in the kitchen shouted out the word “Drop”. The man on the stool stopped spinning the dial and turned the handle. The door to the safe swung open gently. “Thats another one!” The man on the stool shouted into the kitchen. Zaheer ignored the man on the stool and made his way straight for the hallway that connected to the kitchen. A new recruit with long hair was sitting in the kitchen, his head was down on the table and he was squeezing an orange in his fist. “Hi Zaheer, I heard you were looking for Wally?” Zaheer had not even entered the room before the man had addressed him. “How did you -” The man interrupted, “I have really good hearing, he is out on the pool deck”. Zaheer gave a nod as this was par for the course today. 

The pool deck was in the rear of the house, the quickest way was through the meeting room. Zaheer grabbed himself an unsqueezed orange and began to peel it as he entered the meeting room. Two people were inside making use of the chalkboard. One was furiously writing 2 very long numbers, both numbers included 4 commas and were written one on top of the other. The other person in the room was sitting with their back to the board, she smiled at Zaheer and was ready to introduce herself until the other girl yelled out “GO”. She turned around and looked at the board, Zaheer watched as she stared at the numbers, multiplying them together in her head while the other girl watched the seconds hand race around the clock. The girl who was being tested began to spout out a long number digit by digit as the other recorded it on the chalkboard. “Yes!” Both girls looked at Zaheer “28 seconds” he said with a rather impressed and slightly confused look on his face. The girls returned to their starting positions to do it again with different numbers. Zaheer gave them a friendly nod and made his way out to the pool. 

The paving bricks were wet from the door to the pools edge where WallyWest stood looking deep into the water. Zaheer sloshed through the wet poolside patio and stood at the pools edge with him, he looked down and saw 2 shadows in the water below circling each other or possibly chasing each other. Zaheer addressed Wally casually, “Your recruits are some of the most interesting people I have ever met, you have a true talent for finding people with unique skill sets and I’m quite impressed with the training. A well trained team like the people I saw today would be able to pull off even the most risky of jobs.” Wally smiled, “Did you meet my grease man? He’s down at the tennis court trying to fit himself through your old racket.” The look on Zaheer’s face matched the one of the girl doing 13 digit multiplication and told Wally all he needed to know, “Come on, you gotta see this” Wally said as he directed his attention away from the pool and towards the court. 

“In a moment Wally” Zaheer responded. “I think we may have to make some changes, I don’t know that this property is well suited for the training your new crew is going to need.” Wally’s excitement to show Zaheer something was replaced with a look of curiosity. “That is why I have decided that you will run your own operation, you’ll need to find a location that can house and train your recruits and their unique skill sets.” Zaheer looked to Wally who was momentarily stunned at the news. 

“Shall I take your silence as a yes? Remember, you’ll need a good name, any ideas on what you would call such a team of unique individuals?” Wally smiled and thought for a moment, he checked his watch and slowly opened the umbrella leaning against his side. He handed it to Zaheer and immediately opened another. The shadows in the pool grew larger and larger until they were replaced by a wave of water that cascaded around the two men as a large seal was tossed onto the pool deck by the man inside the pool. 
 

As Zaheer looked at him and pondered what Wally might call his new organization.....Wally was doing the same. The Umbrella's had helped save them a good bit from the splash of water. Although they were not totally unscathed from the blast of pool water. That's when a lightbulb went off and the idea came to him. An umbrella was a great symbol in it's representation of what it does for those who are underneath it's protection. It will do it's best to keep you safe from the downpour of the elements, but at times it cannot fully protect you from every droplet or splash whether it comes from above or below. 

That was what he would aspire to do with the people he was and would be training....give them somewhere they could feel that they were adequately protected from the harshest of what the world had to offer. He just wouldn't be able to protect them every little thing just as the protection of an umbrella was not perfect. No matter how fast he was, Wally couldn't save everyone he cared for or worked with. 

"The Umbrella Academy." He smirked as he looked over at Zaheer, "I think it will be a good name for such an interesting organization. It will of course also help me keep these people out of your hair for the future. But when they are ready they will always be able to use their skills and knowledge to help you, Pasadena, and Los Angeles as a whole."

Zaheer nodded as he looked around at the interesting people that Wally had been 'collecting' during his time here at the Red Lotus, especially recently after some of the carnage that happened within the mafia underworld. Los Angeles was not unaffected by it either. The look upon Wally's face was evidence enough that the losses were still somewhat fresh in his mind.

"You know that Zoom would have been proud of you and been happy to see you set up your own organization, right?" He looked at Wally who seemed to perk up a bit.

"Yeah, I know. Just would have been better for the slowpoke to be here to see it himself. Him and Giovanni Laurel. Those two were bright spots in this city and had a great influence on me. Not that we don't still have a fantastic group of men and women here working together. It's just always tough when you lose some of them. Hell we even lost the Reverse Flash and that's been bugging me too no matter how evil that guy could be." He closed up his umbrella and leaned it against the fence. 

The two of them began to walk inside where the same fellow in the kitchen was still trying his best to squeeze that orange....

"You guys, that was some touching stuff out there." He said as he wiped away a tear.

"You really need to stop doing that...." Wally said as they continued past him and into the foyer.

The safes were really piling up and Wally motioned for the man to stop and head elsewhere. He turned back to Zaheer who seemed to possibly be smiling....although it was insanely hard to tell as Zaheer struggled with showing more than a couple emotions. 

"There will be a few fellows I'd hope to bring along for the ride besides some of my gifted friends here. If you won't mind. I think they'll be excellent help in the rebuilding of Pasadena." The words were coming out and Zaheer was already nodding.

"Take whoever you need to help you get things settled and ready for rebuilding. I'd rather you get a strong start with some good men and women by your side. Just make sure you take that troublesome Kid with ya and his pet monkey too. I think they'll fit in just fine with what you're building over there. The Umbrella Academy sounds like the place for a chimpanzee if I do say so myself." He smiled....Wally assumed. 

"Alright I'll do that. Maybe I can train the monkey to walk and talk like us.....but who knows." He paused for a moment before continuing, "On a serious note though. Thank you Zaheer. When I came to Los Angeles and joined Zoom I figured I'd be with him for most of my time in this life. But you asked me to come along for the ride as your right hand man to help build the Red Lotus. I won't ever forget that as I now do my best to continue helping you, just from inside the walls of my own organization."

Zaheer waved it off, "No thank you needed. You've done what you can to help me and earned this opportunity. I know the others here in Los Angeles will and have agreed. We'll help you just as you've helped us."

Out of the kitchen came the recruit who had been squeezing the orange with tears on his cheeks, "Have you been squeezing an onion since we left?"

He wiped away the tears, "No you guys are just really pulling at my emotions with all this sentimental stuff.

Wally rubbed his forehead, "Are you sure you don't want to at least keep one of them Zaheer?"

"No I think I'm quite alright Wally." He said which made Wally chuckle as the recruit went out the front door. 

"Alright, I guess it's time I got on my way to get everything in order for the move. Hopefully won't take too long for me to do that and start bringing in some exceptionally talented people." He began opening the door as all his thoughts and plans raced through his mind at high speed. 

Klejnot heard the news and made the flight into Pasadena to meet a old friend. She made sure to have stopped by the seattles district for a local item for Wally and Zaheer. She walked along the streets holding the packages, as she made her way towards the Red lotus HQ. She was stopped just before the HQ by some guards as she did not inform of her arrival. She smiled and gave the information on who she was and why she was there before being escorted over to Wallywest and Zaheer. 

"Congratulations Wally, I am glad to see you leading new young criminals. I hope you have a wonderful time and a long run." 

She handed him a bottle of seattles finest rum, and then to Zaheer, giving him a bottle of the rum as well. 

"I hope you are well Zaheer, I am glad to see Wally working beside you and hope you have a wonderful day."

Including Zaheer and Wally to the last part bit of her speaking, "I hope that the next visit to Seattle, you come find me at the Jewels Pet Emporium." And with that she gave herself leave to head back to her duties.

Wolf heard the great news and wanna grat the new CL so he wanders into the office and manage to see Wally standingg there surrounded  of many people who wanted to pay their respect, Wolf stands a while and waits for his turn and now there are time for him to encounter WallyWest.

"Hey Wally, grest thing when hearing this, congratulation to it and make sure now to have fun with your won crew"

Hearing the news of WallyWest and his Umbrella Academy, Isabella sent a runner with a letter and a gift to the man whose ancestors had been so closer with hers.  She wanted him to know that, though they were on opposite sides of the country, she thought of him fondly and hoped their children or their children's children would work together again one day.

It had taken some work to get the right size but once she had it from her informants she had a pair of shoes made for him by some of the best Italian cobblers.  With the shoes, she included a small note.

Don Wally,

Congratulations!  I've included a small token of my esteem.  They should fit you well if my little birds have done their work proper.  If not, please let me know and we'll have a new pair commissioned immediately. 

A good man like you must keep very busy and on his feet for long hours and I know the importance of decent pair of shoes while muddling through the rigors of daily leadership activities.  A man with sore feet isn't a man thinking clearly... a man noth thinking clearly in this life of ours isn't long for it.  So, may these shoes serve you well!  May you stride forward across all you survey as a force of nature and may your coffers never be empty and your enemies never know peace.

Your Friend in this Life & the Next - wishing you only success and joy,

Bella Byrne

Flexx had just hit LA and got the invite. He was in route to congratulate his new crew lead, and was more than excited to hustle with him. One of his buddies was sent to pick him up, so Flexx posted up outside the airport waiting smoking a blunt. As his buddy pulls up Flexx hops in and passes the blunt to him. Shaw takes the blunt and pulls a few drags off of it before he passes it back,

“Cough!! I hope your ready for this, this kat is all about business. I know you got your hustle lined up so you should be good.”

His buddy Jstrong tells him as they hit the block and dip into the alley behind the location. J passes the blunt back and Flexx takes another drag as they pull up into the parking lot in the 1930’s V-16 Cadillac. They hop out and Flexx was dressed casual, the occasion was upscale so he wanted to look at least presentable. As he steps out he brushes his double breasted suit before he enters the establishment to greet his fellow mobsters, and the guest of honor. As they enter they stand right inside and scan the area. Seeing familiar faces and everyone conversing together was always great relationship building, but that was to come as the young Flexx was just getting started. He wanted to make sure he congratulated his new boss, and assure him that his hustle would always stay sharp. He continues to scan the room and he spots him near a few other associates. He makes his way over dap’in up his fellow mobsters in route. He approaches the boss, but hangs back for a sec. There were a lot of his fellow family members greeting him, and Flexx did not want to seem rude. He looks over and sees the coast is clear. He approaches @WallyWest,

“Congrats Brother, very much looking forward to hustling with ya, anything ya need   let me know.”

Flexx holds his hand out and congratulates WallyWest on his up.

The night was heavy and Gray could not fall asleep, not because he's back in the can together with his decrepit and knackered bed but because he had heard the news that the Right Hand Man of Red Lotus, WallyWest had set up his crew of special people in Pasadena. Gray was bothered by the thought that if he was younger, he may have been able to qualify and join the crew. But alas, time is not on his side and there was a lingering pang of regret that has been bugging him just enough to keep him awake. If he had not spent his prime years away at Buena Vista County Jail, he could have achieved great things. But a harsh realization came and he thought that it was futile to think about what could have been and instead channel his inner remorse into a joyful one by congratulating his former boss. Gray grabbed a pristine parchment of paper and with his wrinkled hands, scattered with lines and sunspots he wrote: 

Sir WallyWest, 

I am writing to extend my hearty congratulations on establishing The Umbrella Academy. I am nothing but a mere associate of Red Lotus but your accomplishments and contributions to the crew have never gone unnoticed. I will always be in awe of what your body has achieved always be impresseb by your impeccable track record. Please accept my tribute as a proof of my support to your wonderful cause.

Respectfully,

Wise Guy Gray

After finishing the letter, a sense of calmness finally engulfed the troubled old man and a few moments later he was able to snore and eventually go into a deep slumber.

Louis found his way into the mountains.  His roots, while somewhat diluted, were partially drawn from the Highlands of Scotland so he was comfortable finding himself outdoors.  The rest of him though, was more firmly of an indoor persuasion.  Particularly at times like this where the chill on the wind started penetrating through to his bones.

Yet here he continued; pressing on up the nearest mountain.  He had been visited in a dream by a vision of Ras Al Ghul.

“Head west...great people live beyond the Rockies.  Meet the wall in the west.”

Louis had woken the next morning, cursing the cheese he had eaten at bedtime yet sure there was more to this.  So here he was, searching the mountains on the west coast for signs of the great hope, WallyWest.

From high atop a hill, Louis could see that birds circled above a building far below, this must be a sign.  He cursed as the effort required appeared to have been wasted had he paid more attention however maybe it had needed this effort and sort of sacrifice to see things more clearly.

It took another hour’s hike to get to the building where the birds were circling and squawking in a malevolent manner however Louis was greeted by people who claimed to have seen and heard him coming.

This freaked him out a little however, in the distance he saw Zaheer and WallyWest socialising with all manner of odd looking people.

There was an unmistakable glow about WallyWest.  A certain confidence and je ne sais quoi was exuding from him, almost like a pheromonal musk but one that attracted everyone from far and wide.

Figuring he needed to get in before the masses descended in some spiritual pilgrimage, Louis rushed over.

“Congratulations Wally and to you too Zaheer.  May everything in Pasadena work out well for both of you.”

Video lands in Los Angeles. His short 45 minute flight from Vegas couldn't have been any more enjoyable laughing the entire way with some of his friends in his crew and considering the future and what to do to enhance their lives. He made his way through the busy streets until he reached his destination. 

The Umbrella Academy. 

Video smiled greatly. He was more than excited for this opportunity. He walked up to WallyWest and gave him a gift on his new authorization as crew leader in the city of angels. 

My dear friend. Our grandfathers once roamed these streets together and now we do as well. Although not side by side i still feel that same connection that they must have felt in their hq bar long ago. I am proud of where you stand. I believe this is truly well deserved and you will make a remarkable leader. I could only imagine that anyone who joins the Academy of Umbrellas will find themselves sought out and treated so well. 

Video looks at the gift he handed WallyWest

Truly it is not much but it is my way to say congratulations brother. I wish for nothing but the absolute best. I look forward to seeing how you will shape this wonderful city. 

It was strange to have such effective lookouts. They weren't even paying attention but their skill sets couldn't be ignored, especially not with how much they've embraced them during their training exercises. "Someone is in the mountains, the footsteps are that direction by the hill, based on breathing rate it sounds like someone with hiking experience in high altitude that is very out of practice." The man with excellent hearing interrupted a few people. The girl with the incredible blueish green eyes turned her head toward the hill, a few moments passed before a large smile appeared on her face, "We have a very important visitor from the east coast, very important." She checked her dress for dirt and began to wipe away what can only be assumed to be microscopic particles of dust. She began to straighten up the grounds before meeting him at the edge of the party. She escorted him in directly to the center when he began to hurry his pace to greet Zaheer and WallyWest. 

Louis expressed his congratulations and well wishes to WallyWest who was so excited to have such an important guest in front of him. It really was a shame there was a line of visitors because there were so many people Wally wished to sit down and enjoy time with. Luckily Zaheer had plenty of time to mingle. 

"LouisMezzo himself comes to Pasadena, I'm so glad you could make it! I do hope you didn't walk here from Philadelphia. Thank you so much for the kind words, please, come have a drink with me and Klejnot who was kind enough to bring some of Seattles finest rum." Zaheer placed his arm around Louis and directed him towards a table. Zaheer filled three rocks glasses and passed them out to Louis and Klejnot, he picked up the remaining one and raised his glass. "To WallyWest and the Umbrella Academy and to our supportive friends both near and far, thank you for coming to celebrate" Zaheer knocked back the drink and paused for a moment, savoring the flavor. He inspected the bottle and set the glass down before speaking again, this time to everyone. "This is some damn good rum, too good not to share. Would anyone else like some?".