Hargreeves Mansion | Day

[knife_bender]

Diego was really starting to get sick of these damn family meetings. Luther comes back from the moon and he goes back to being Number One, bossing them around. He had a feeling what this was all about, and he was ready to straight up pitch a fit if he was right about it.

Luther	Well, Luther had no idea where the hell Five was, but he guessed this was as close to a family meeting they were going to get. "Okay, well, there's no breaking this easily. But, uh, Allison and I were going over surveillance tapes and we found the one from the night Dad died." He had the tape cued up, because Luther was nothing if not organized when it came to family meetings. He played the video, which showed a sleeping Sir Reginald wearing his monocle and Grace entering the room. She blocks the view of him briefly while she bends over him to do...something. When Grace pulls back up, the monocle is gone.
Vanya	"Okay?" Vanya said, looking confused. "So, what, you think Mom is hurting Dad? She wouldn't do that. If she poisoned him or something it would have shown up on the coroner's report."
Luther	"Then where is the monocle? Why would she take it off him and never give it to us?" Luther asked. "I searched the house, she doesn't have it."
Diego	"I took it from her," Diego snapped. "The day of the funeral. Then I threw it away."
Luther	"What the hell, Diego?" Luther said. "Why would you do that?"
Diego	"I knew if you found it on Mom you'd lose your shit," Diego said. "Just like you're doing right now."
Vanya	"Hey, no, wait," Vanya said, wanting to de escalate this before it turned into the Funeral 2.0. "I know Dad wasn't exactly an open book but I do remember one thing he said. Mom was designated to be a caretaker, a protector. She was programmed to intervene if someone's life was in jeopardy."
Allison	Allison gave Vanya a sad look. "Well, if her hardware was degrading..."
Luther	"We need to turn her off," Luther said in a tone that made it seem very final.
Diego	"Whoa, whoa, whoa wait. She's not a vacuum cleaner you can throw in the closet," Diego said, getting up in Luther's space and jabbing a finger into his chest. "She feels things, I've seen it!"
Luther	Luther didn't move, and let Diego be angry. He didn't understand much about his brother, but he did know how close he was to Grace. "She just stood there, Diego," Luther said calmly. "And watched our father die."
Allison	Allison crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm with Luther."
Diego	Diego huffed. "Surprise, surprise."
Vanya	"I..." Vanya paused as she tried to get her thoughts together. "I don't--"
Diego	"She shouldn't get a vote," Diego snapped.
Vanya	Vanya gave Diego a look. "I was going to agree with you." The 'jackass' went unsaid but was heavily implied.
Diego	Diego didn't look entirely apologetic but his expression did soften a little "Okay, she gets a vote."
Luther	Luther looked over at Klaus. "What about you, stoner boy? What do you say?"
Klaus	Klaus had only been vaguely paying attention, but snapped back once he heard his name. "Oh so what? You need my help now? Oh 'Get out of the van, Klaus', 'Welcome back to the van, Klaus'."
Allison	Allison held up a hand. "Wait, what van?"
Luther	"What's it going to be, Klaus?" Luther asked.
Klaus/Ben	"I'm with Diego because screw you!" Klaus said, pointing a finger at Luther. "And if Ben were here he'd agree with me." Ben, who had been leaning against one of the tables listening to this shitshow, glared at Klaus. "No, I don't."
Diego	"So that's three," Diego said, looking relieved. He knew how the math worked.
Allison	Allison shook her head. "No, vote's not final. Five isn't here."
Luther	"Right, we should wait. The whole family has to vote," Luther said. "We owe each other that."
Diego	Diego watched everyone leave the room, wishing he could figure out what to say to change their minds. He didn't trust Five to be on his side for this. He couldn't--wasn't--going to let Luther shut down Grace. He heard the clicking of heels in the hallway and saw the android in question hanging out at the edge of the room. Diego approached her, trying to look like they hadn't just been talking about her destruction. "How long have you been here?"
Grace	Grace didn't answer the question, and gave no indication that she heard any details. "You all seem upset. I'll make some cookies."
Vanya	Vanya came up behind Diego, watching Grace walk towards the kitchen. "Do you ever wonder, all those moments with Mom, all the things she said. Like, was it her or was it really Dad?"
Diego	Diego turned, looking insulted that anyone would even suggest Grace was anything like their father. "What are you talking about?"
Vanya	"Well he built her. And he programmed her to be our mom," she said. "Sometimes when I look at her I just see him." Whether that was for good or bad she didn't even know.
Diego	Diego frowned. "Maybe that was true at first, but she's evolved."
Vanya	"How do you know?" Vanya asked.
Diego	"Because Dad only loved himself." That was one fact that Diego was one hundred percent confident in.

Klaus	After the meeting, Diego sought out Grace when she was alone and not distracted by baking cookies. There really was no interrupting her when she was baking. He found her in her usual spot, sewing. "Mom, we need to talk."
Grace	"Okay, but only for a minute," Grace said, setting aside her work. "I need to finish this cross-stitch." Because it was so important, obviously.
Diego	Diego kneeled down in front of the chair where his mother was sitting. "Everything you did for us when we were kids...for me...why did you do it?" He didn't know what response he was looking for, really, but he needed to know.
Grace	Grace gave Diego a bright smile. "Because being your mother is the greatest gift of my life."
Diego	Diego closed his eyes, really hating that he started this conversation already. "Is that you saying that?"
Grace	"I'm not sure what you mean, Diego," Grace asked, frowning slightly.
Diego	"I mean..." He sighed, trying to form the right words to say. "I mean, our father, he made you. When you think something, is it like he's telling you what to say?" He didn't know what he'd do if she answered in the affirmative. Probably have a breakdown over his whole world shifting, most likely.
Grace	"Your father isn't here, silly," Grace said, smiling again. "Did I do something wrong?"
Diego	"No, it's not--" Diego had to pause for a second as he tried to reel in his frustration. It wasn't her fault that she didn't understand what he was asking. He barely knew what he was asking. "Look, it's okay if you hated him. He was terrible to you, to all of us."
Grace	"Don't say that," Grace reprimanded.
Diego	"Why not?" Diego asked, realizing this might be the first time he had ever contradicted his mother. "We were tools in an experiment to him, nothing more." He softened his tone. "So I'm saying, I would understand if...you know, if...you wanted to hurt him."
Grace	"Now, now, Mr. Hargreeves was a great man," Grace recited. "Industrialist, inventor, Olympic gold medalist. He made the world a better place."
Diego	"Stop it," Diego gritted out. "Stop trying to defend him." He stood up, starting to pace out of frustration. "Mom, you've gotta feel something. He treated you worse than anyone, you worked for him for thirty years. He didn't even give you a room to sleep in." If he saw something, any form of emotion from her regarding this he would know that Luther was wrong. That she was alive, and they couldn't just shut her off.
Grace	Grace tilted her head, looking at Diego like he said something funny. "But I've got such beautiful views here."
Diego	Diego's shoulders slumped, looking over at the 'views' she was talking about. "Those are paintings, Mom." Grace didn't seem to care, picking up her cross-stitch again. Diego left the room a moment later, deciding he'd have to figure out some other way to keep his mother from being shut down.

[NFI, NFB, OOC is appreciated. Preplayed with myself and taken from 1x03 "Extra Ordinary"]