The darkness soon disappeared and brown eyes shot open. Hiro looked around his hotel room and found he was still in the same room he had fallen asleep in last night.
Everything in that dream felt all to real. He felt the exhaustion, the injuries he received and even the girl he held in his arms.
Violet Parr.
He hadn't thought about her in years. Even Wilbur. Back when they were five, they were best friends. An inseparable three. But as life goes by, everyone eventually goes their separate ways.
Maybe he'd at least see Wilbur today. Today was the first day of the Robinson showcase. His microbot technology had been chosen by the board. So for the next week, he'd be staying in Todayland. Wilbur was the son of Cornelius, head of Robinson industries. But the teenager didn't plan on saying anything. Wilbur had probably moved on.
In the same hotel on a different floor, Violet Parr took a deep breath as she threw her robe over herself and went to the bedroom where her clothes for the day had been laid out on the bed.
The dream was crazy. All too real. But she shook it off. For the next week, she was going to focus on her article for the newspaper she worked as an intern at. This could be her big break and could get her the scholarship she needed.
The raven haired girl placed her purple v neck and black pants on. She would have to ignore her exhaustion. That dream seemed off. As if she had literally used up all her energy to keep that forcefield up.
At the Robinson home, Wilbur was staring at his chest where he had been shot. Relief washed over him when he saw no sign of a wound. Not even a scratch. But he was still able to feel the blood on his hand and even Violet's lips against his. He hadn't seen the girl in years and for some reason he just kissed her in a dream?
What was that all about?
But in the dream all three of them, including Hiro, seemed well caught up. Oh well. It was just a dream.
"Wilbur!" His mother called. "Don't forget to get your stuff ready for the showcase tonight!"
"Yeah, mom!" He shouted back.
People were moving all over the place at Robinson Industries. Preparing for the Showcase. It was hectic.
One of the workers, went by unnoticed. He moved under a security camera by the stage and quickly stuck on a magnetic bug.
In a secure location, a screen turned on and showed the stage.
"Now we are all hooked to the system." A man said.
"Excellent." A deeper voice grinned.
"Robinson will be too busy with the showcase. We'll be in and out before he realizes its too late."
He threw a bowler hat on the table. It looked ordinary, but thanks to the stolen DOR-15 blueprints, the hat was so much more.
Robinson hadn't even noticed the missing blueprints. Then again, it was a discarded project and no one really gave them much of a second thought.
"Patience is the only thing we must wait for now."
The rest of the gang had arrived to support Hiro. Baymax was strolling behind.
"Photo!" Honey announced and everyone gathered together as she held her phone out.
"I'm going to go look around. I'll catch up later." Hiro said after the photo.
Besides the dream, Hiro couldn't help but shake off the feeling that this had all happened before. As if he had already lived this moment.
A serious case of déjà vu no doubt.
"My scans indicate you are under some kind of stress and you are extremely exhausted." Baymax pointed out.
Hiro let out a yawn. "Rough sleep. I'll catch up on some sleep afterwards." He brushed off.
He was looking at some of the other inventions on display. He wasn't on tonight, but he still needed to make an appearance and explain his work for anyone interested.
No one was at his spot, so he could look around and his brief information did explain the basic purpose of his microbots.
"Of all places to run into you." A girl's voice said.
Hiro turned around and could not believe who was standing there. It was Violet. She was so much older than the last time he had seen her. Then again, eleven years is a long time.
"Violet?"
"Who else?" She smiled.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm an intern for Metroville Times. I was given the opportunity to do an article on the showcase."
"Wow." He said wide eyed. "That sounds big."
"It is. If I do good, I could get a scholarship on journalism when I reach college." She seemed happy about it and he couldn't blame her. "What are you doing here?"
"I have my own invention on display."
"That sounds super duper. You have an invention here?"
"Yeah. Mine's the microbots."
"Microbots?"
"I could give you a demonstration." He offered.
"I've got time to spare."
"Your body temperature has slowly risen." Baymax said.
Hiro turned to the robot. "B-Baymax? Keep it down." He said through gritted teeth.
Violet just giggled.
"This is Baymax. He's supposedly a robotic nurse."
"Oh. He sounds handy. Are you going to be showcasing him?"
"No. He's not really my invention. He was Tadashi's."
Violet fell silent. "I'm really sorry about that."
She remembered when her mom called her about it. Tadashi had been the big brother she never had and he did stand up for her back in kindergarten. So hearing he died did lower her mood that day.
"It's not your fault and it was years ago." Hiro assured.
The girl dropped the subject and Hiro led her through the maze of displays. There were some good stuff being demonstrated.
They finally stopped at his station. He placed the band on his head.
"This is a neurotransmitter. It allows me to communicate telepathically with the microbots."
"So it's like you're controlling it with your mind."
"Basically." He then thought of something and the microbots formed a normal sized hand, extending out to Violet. She willingly shook it and then closely examine it.
"Weren't these used in the Krei Tech attack?"
"Ahh...it was stolen. Someone wanted to use my invention for other methods."
Violet raised an eyebrow at him. "You'll probably need to sound real convincing with this."
"Huh?"
"This technology. It was used to destroy something. As helpful as it seems, you wouldn't want it to fall into the wrong hands. The Krei Tech incident made that clear."
She had a point. How many people would be willing to want his technology? The event had been two years ago, but stuff like that stayed for life.
"But seeing as a company like Robinson Industries has allowed it to he showcased, it could help gain some positive feedback."
"Let hope it's enough. Who knows? Maybe I'll be working here in a year." He joked.
"Violet?!"
The two turned around and saw Aunt Cass with a stunned expression.
Hey, Hiro was still technically underage. He needs a guardian.
"Oh, hi." She waved.
"My goodness. You've grown. Last time I saw you, you could barely see the top of the counter at the cafe. How've you been?" The woman asked.
"I've been good."
"You here alone?"
"No. My mom came with me. She was getting some coffee last time I saw her."
"Maybe I'll join her." Cass said.
"It was nice seeing you again. You two enjoy yourselves." She smiled and then headed towards the cafe.
"Still as chipper as before." Violet said.
"That's Aunt Cass for you." Hiro laughed , removing his neurotransmitter.
After that, the two caught up and walked around. Looking at all the other inventions. Baymax was a lot more distracted and several times, Hiro had to pull him away from some of the inventions.
When exchanging information, Violet kept the whole super thing on the down low. She never did tell them her secret and her mom had told her that her identity was her most valuable position. Hiro didn't do much mentioning of his secret super work either. Unlike the Incredibles who were known to the public, their team kept it low and avoided being seen.
He noticed Violet had seemed to lack rest as well. She had yawned a couple of times as they went by.
What kind of a coincidence was this?
"Get any sleep?" He asked her.
"Not as much as I thought." She replied modestly.
"Lack of sleep can cause slow reactions and decrease one's focus. And in your case, Violet, effect your X gene."
Her blue eyes widened when she heard the last part of Baymax's statement.
"Woah! Your robot here gives out a lot of information."
"He tends to do that. But what's an X gene?" He tilted his head.
"X gene is..."
"Nothing. It's like a rare blood type sort of thing." She said over the robot. "How about we grab something to eat before the introductions start."
She was hiding something. Her reaction to the whole X gene thing seemed like it would be bad if he knew. But, he understood she had her reasons and Baymax was out of line for bringing it up.
"Hey buddy. Maybe next time you should keep the scanning to a minimum." He patted the robot on his stomach. When he went after Violet, Baymax looked down at his stomach and patted it like Hiro just did.
"Mom." Wilbur moaned for the umpteenth time as the woman adjusted his jacket. "This isn't a formal event. Stop making it look like you want me to wear a tie or something."
"It's an important event and it qualifies as formal." She stated.
"Dad's just looking at what inventions people have. He does that everyday."
"Franny. You should stop." Cornelius stepped in to save his son. "That's the best you can get a jacket to look." He then turned to his teenaged son. It's hard to believe how much he had grown since the time at the science fair. "And your mother is right. This is a formal event. But also informal."
"You're only saying that because she has to be right about everything."
"Just...run along. I'll see you later."
Wilbur rolled his eyes and headed inside.
"Is he the same kid who left the garage door unlocked?" Cornelius joked. Wilbur did learn his lesson about time travel and was more careful now around inventions. But part of Cornelius missed that troublemaking side of him. Nowadays, he barely saw him. But who could blame him for their lack on interaction? Cornelius spent a lot of time at work or locked up in his office at home. Barely giving anyone the time of day.
"It's a phase, honey. It'll past. But you...we have to accept that he's not a kid anymore." She sighed.
Every year he attended these and they eventually got boring. There were some cool inventions, but the excitement would only last for so long and the speeches people gave about their products seriously bore him. One long lecture would be enough to take anyone's attention away. As he made his way through the crowd, he let out a yawn. He didn't pay attention to where he was going and bumped into someone.
"Hey, kid, watch it." A woman said. He looked to see a young woman, with black hair in a pixie cut and purple highlights. She reminded him of a biker chick.
"Sorry." He mumbled.
"Oh my gosh, Gogo! Do you know who that is?" Another female voice said excitedly. "It's Wilbur Robinson."
The other woman was tall and her heels gave her more height. She had long dark blonde hair and pink glasses.
The one called Gogo looked him over and realization clicked. "So it is."
"Are you expecting an autograph?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh no. But it's an honor to meet the son of one of the world's greatest inventors. I'm Honey."
Honey? Gogo? What kind of names were those?
"Yeah. That's me. Son of a great inventor." Was that all he was to people? Happened every year.
"You're a lot younger than I thought you'd be?" Gogo stated.
"How old were you expecting I'd be?"
"I don't know. Maybe in your twenties." Gogo shrugged.
"No...I'm only sixteen."
"Figured."
"Come on. Lets take a photo." Honey held out her camera.
Gogo reluctantly joined and Wilbur brought up a smile.
"Everybody say Keep Moving Forward."
The three said it and Honey then clicked the button.
"It was great meeting you." Honey grinned and unexpectedly hugged the boy.
"Always a pleasure to meet fans." Wilbur said awkwardly.
Hiro and Violet brought hot chips and found an empty table to sit at.
"Have you ever been to one of these things?" Hiro asked, so they weren't eating in silence.
"No." Violet shook her head. "Unless you count school science fairs. But I did attend the Super convention a few months ago."
"Super convention?"
"It's a gather up of well known supers and a few others heroes. Last year they brought up the Mysterious Six."
"Mysterious Six?"
"I would've thought you heard of them. They operate in San Fransokyo. They said they were involved in the Krei Tech incident and are now fighting off crime in the city."
He almost choked on his chip. She meant them. She was talking about him, Baymax, Gogo, Honey, Wasabi and Fred. They were known as the Mysterious Six? What genius came up with that?
"They sound...interesting."
"Yeah...but I hear the government is tracking them."
"What? Why?"
"Don't you know how the superhero gig works?"
"No..."
"Supers have been in hiding and since the whole Omnidroid incident a few years back, supers have been coming out of hiding, but now they need government approval before coming out into the field. I think it's because some people aren't okay with the whole supers thing yet or to save money on damages."
Wow. There were rules to being a kind of hero. They did want to help people, but he never thought he needed to get government approval. He definitely needed to tell the team this later. Now they had to be careful with the government tracking them.
"They wouldn't get in trouble, would they?"
"Not really. They just need to be registered and if something goes wrong, the NSA steps in and cleans the mess. Kinda like an insurance policy."
"Hey Hiro." It was Wasabi. He must've seen him from wherever he had been. Fred was with him as well.
"Oh hi." He faced his friend.
"Guess who Honey and Gogo saw?" Fred jumped in.
"Who?" Hiro raised an eyebrow.
"Wilbur Robinson. She already has the photo up on her Instagram."
"He's here already?" Violet's eyes widened.
The two men looked over to the girl, only noticing her now.
"Yeah. Meaning the introductions will be starting soon. And you are?" Wasabi said.
"Wasabi, Fred. This is Violet. She's a friend of mine." Hiro introduced.
"Pleasure, milady." Fred bowed.
Violet giggled. "Pleasure is all mine."
"Hiro's never mentioned you before." Wasabi informed.
"Well, it's been years since we last saw each other. Big coincidence meeting him here."
"I see." He nodded. "Guess you two probably want to be alone and catch up."
"Yeah, catch up." Fred joked.
Neither of the two noticed the two teenagers had blushed in embarrassment.
Violet cleared her throat. "Lets see if we can find him."
"Find who?"
"Wilbur. Seeing as all three of us are in the same place, lets have our own small reunion."
"You think someone like Wilbur is going to remember us?"
"I'd be surprised if he didn't."
It didn't seem like a bad idea. Even if he didn't remember them, saying hi wouldn't hurt.
"Is this Wilbur another old friend?" Baymax asked.
"Yeah. All three of us go way back." Hiro replied.
Once again, they were making their way through the crowds of people. Finding one person seemed impossible. Like a needle in a haystack.
The one in search, was currently avoiding being spotted by people. He was going to be blinded by all the camera flashes and his jaws were hurting from all that smiling for photos. The last group who caught him had trouble with their camera and it was the longest ten minutes of the night so far.
"Do you mind a photo?"
Wilbur moaned. He should've stayed home, but when he turned around he thought otherwise. It may have been years and they seemed to changed, but he could recognize them anywhere.
"This isn't a joke is it?" He said looking around for anyone else acting suspicious. He found no one and brought his attention back to the other two.
"No joke." Violet smiled. "It's Hiro and Violet in the flesh."
He always figured if he was to see either of the two again, he'd just bump into one of them, seeing both of them together was a surprise.
"I can see the fangirls have kept you busy." Hiro teased.
"As annoying as it is, at least it makes their day. Most of them are probably just here for that." Wilbur shrugged.
"Well you certainly made Honey's night."
"Honey? You mean that tall girl with the glasses who was with that biker chick?"
"They're here for support."
"You have something to showcase?"
"Microbots."
"Uh-huh." Wilbur slowly nodded.
"They're a lot cooler than they sound." Violet said.
"So you two are here for the whole week?"
"Yup. So if the famous Wilbur Robinson isn't busy, how about the three of us catch up and make the best of it?" Violet smiled.
"Who are you and what have you done to Violet Parr?" Wilbur joked.
"A lot can happen in a decade."
"Obviously."
Franny too had ran into her old friends and the three women smirked at seeing their kids interact. It had been such a long time.
"It looks like their nights have been made." Cass chuckled.
The three woman had been having their own conversation. Besides the usual catch up, they figured that maybe the kids would be up for spending their own time together.
"They could stay at home. We have plenty of rooms." Franny said.
"I recall. We spent hours looking for them in your home."
"But it certainly beats staying at a hotel." Cass nodded.
"You graduated at thirteen?" The two teens were both giving surprised stares at Hiro.
"Looks like dad's got some competition." Wilbur laughed.
"Maybe. But I doubt he spent a year off bot fighting."
"But that's illegal." Violet raised an eyebrow.
"No. Betting on bot fighting is illegal." He corrected.
"You'd still get in trouble for it, unless its an official tournament."
"Isn't your dad against those?" Violet asked.
"Well he does want to make the world a better place and he creates robots to be equal, but even he can't stop what some people call fun. C.A.R.L on the other hand. He's another story."
"Most battle robots don't have AI anyway. Although, that Omnidroid could be an exception."
"You mean that big boulder octopus robot?" Wilbur asked.
"Yeah. That robot was equipped with an AI that allowed it to solve any problem it came across. But that's what caused it to go rogue, then again that's what they said."
"Whose they?" Hiro now questioned.
"The one behind it all. Apparently it was a plot to lure supers in."
"Why?" Both boys asked.
"Beats me." Violet shrugged. "The guy had a grudge? I don't know."
The rest was rather classified. She couldn't inform them about the rest and that it was against her own father. She already said too much.
"How do you even know all this?" Wilbur asked.
"Ahh...journalists are known to snoop around." She answered. Not exactly the truth, but not a lie either.
Both boys gave her odd looks, but let her reply go for now. If there was one thing about Violet Parr that they knew, it was that she was very secretive and hesitated a lot because of it. She knew she could trust them, but whatever secret she had, she never could tell them. As much as it irked them, they respected her privacy and always let it go, but how long were they going to keep it up?
"Who would've thought Hiro knew Wilbur Robinson." Gogo said.
"Cass says they were friends up until kindergarten. But that Violet is adorable." Honey smiled.
"At least Hiro is hanging around with kids his age." Wasabi pointed out.
They all loved Hiro and he was their friend, but he was a few years younger and it was definitely nice to see him hanging around with kids his own age. It must've been hard making friends when you constantly skipped grades and finished high school before you're even qualified to start.
"Is it just me or does she look like Invisigirl?" Fred asked, carefully examining the girl.
"Okay. Don't." Gogo said. "We don't need to make accusations and its probably a coincidence."
"But just imagine meeting a real super out of costume?"
"Aren't we technically that?" Wasabi raised an eyebrow.
"No." Honey shook her head. "We may be heroes, but supers is mostly referred to those who have advanced human skills and are higher up the evolutionary scale."
This wasn't one of Fred's comic books where a random blend in put on a costume and suddenly became a super hero. In their world, supers were actually supers. Beings who looked like the rest of them, but had skills that, if not carefully concealed, could do what they'd only dream about.
"Your friends seem to be eyeing us?" Violet announced, catching glimpses of Hiro's friends giving them glances.
"Maybe they are having a hard time believing your friends with me." Wilbur laughed lightly.
Hiro turned around and could see they were definitely discussing something. "I guess it is a lot to take in. I don't normally hang out with kids my age."
"I get you're in college, but don't you hang out with kids outside of school?" Wilbur asked.
"Not many people are comfortable hanging out with someone whose graduated early."
"Well, they're missing out." Violet said. "Because it'd be dumb to pass up the opportunity to be your friend." She smile and hugged him from behind.
Hiro blushed lightly. "Thanks, Vi."
"What are friends for?"
All three smiled, but it fell when the déjà vu feeling returned. Did all this happen before and why did it feel as if something big was going to happen?
A loud ringing echoed through the speakers around the area as someone set up the microphone on stage.
The show was about to start.
AN: And claps for my longest chapter to date. I should give a heads up, I'll bouncing back and forth between the future we saw in the beginning and this time line.
And yes, I do have this on Wattpad. That one will be updated more frequently.
