Bonus chapter
A week had passed since the Syndrome incident. Rapunzel was done with her oversea modeling shoot and had returned to the states, allowing her to continue her superhero duties with Riley. The two of them had come to a compromise, with her agreeing to lighten up on her apprentice and Riley learning to be a little more understanding and less stubborn, realizing that there were some things she just wasn't ready to handle alone.
At the moment the pair were atop a building, enjoying the beautiful sunny day and watching for any signs of trouble from the streets below. Limelight was standing at the edge of a rooftop in silence as she glanced over at her apprentice.
She turned her head and arched a brow, finding her protege completely engrossed in her communicator.
Spectrum was sitting at the edge of the roof, legs dangling off the side as she typed away on her communicator, a bright smile alighting her face.
This had been happening a lot lately her mentor noted. She was constantly texting someone, and whoever it was always made her light up. Limelight slowly shuffled over to the side before bending to see if she could read the messages.
Spectrum stopped typing and suddenly glanced up and at her mentor with a frown. "Limelight, stop trying to read my texts!" she cried in annoyance.
"Sorry," Limelight said as she took a step back. Satisfied, Spectrum turned her attention back to her communicator. "So who are you texting anyway?" she asked casually.
"My friend Hiro," she answered.
"What about?"
"Seeing if he wants to go to the movies this weekend," she answered.
Limelight hummed curiously. She'd been noticing her change in demeanor and tone of voice every time she mentioned this…'Hiro' person, over the last few days. Whoever this 'Hiro' person was, Riley seemed quite fond of him. She couldn't help but wonder...
"Is it like...a date?" she asked curiously.
Spectrum stiffened up and shifted around to look at her mentor in embarrassment. "What?! No! What?! No! We're just going with some friends of mine! It's not a date! Gosh! Shut up! You're being weird!" she babbled before shifting away to avoid Limelight's gaze.
Limelight arched a brow at that strange reaction before smiling knowingly.
Suddenly both their communicators went off, alerting them to a robbery. They took to the air and toward the adress, hearing an alarm blaring as they drew nearer. They got there just in time to see the perpetrator rushing out of a jewelry store, fleeing the scene.
"Oh not this guy again," Spectrum said in irritation.
"Haha! You squares just got jacked by the Jive Turkey!" the ridiculously dressed villain shouted as he ran down the street, pushing by pedestrians as he fled.
Both heroines watched with blank faces before Limelight spoke up.
"You want to take this?" Limelight asked her apprentice.
Spectrum perked up and looked to her. "Really? You sure?"
"Why not?" Limelight said with a shrug. "Like I said, I'll try to loosen the reigns a bit from now on. So go ahead, I'll keep the people back," she told her with a smile.
Spectrum's gave her a wide and grateful smile as she rocketed down and after the villain.
"Hey chicken man!" she shouted.
He skidded to a stop before whirling around in outrage. "It's Jive-" he paused and released a breath as Spectrum's scarf wrapped around his body and squeezed, constricting him like a snake. "Turkey," he finished weakly.
Spectrum smiled before she reeled her scarf in. Jive Turkey was lifted off the ground and went flying toward the young superhero. As he was coming she lifted a hand and clenched it into a fist in preparation.
As he came within striking distance she couldn't help but think about her life as a superhero apprentice.
It was awesome!
The next day Bill Andersen came home early from work. He opened the door to his home and entered before shutting it. He stretched his arms over his head and popped his back, glad to be back home. He took a step, preparing to go toward the stairs, only to catch a glance of something out of the corner of his eye.
He turned his head, and his eyes fell on someone who wasn't a member of his family sitting at his kitchen table, eating a sandwich. A young boy he didn't know stared back at him, half eaten sandwich in hand and mouth full.
They stared at each other in silence before Bill shouted for his wife. "Honey! Why is there a boy in my house eating a sandwich!?"
"That's Riley's friend, Hiro!" Jill shouted back from somewhere upstairs.
Bill arched a brow at his strange name. And his fatherly instincts kicking in he forgoed going upstairs in favor of stepping into the kitchen and taking a seat across from the young teen.
"So...Hiro, was it?" Bill asked.
Hiro quickly swallowed his food so he could answer. "Yes sir Mr. Andersen. Hiro Hamada," Hiro answered with a nod.
Bill clasped his hands together and sat up straight. Hiro couldn't help but suddenly feel nervous. As if he were sitting in an interrogation room all of a sudden.
"So Hiro, why are you here?" Bill asked evenly, trying to ascertain his motives.
"Oh. Well I was going to go see a movie with Riley and some of her friends," he explained.
Red flags went off in Bill's head at the thought of a boy he wasn't familiar with going anywhere with his daughter. Then there was the fact that he had been allowed inside his home, and been prepared food while he waited. These were all indicators that this boy and Riley were close.
Too close.
"So Hiro, do you go to Riley's school?" Bill asked next.
And then Hiro spoke the dreaded words. Words Bill shouldn't have had to hear for another few years, when Riley was nearing the end of her high school years or just starting off at college. Words no father wants to hear out of a young man who may have an interest in his daughter speak.
"No, I'm in college actually," Hiro said.
The red flags in Bill's mind turned to a blaring alarm. The situation went up to Defcon three as he stared down this college boy about to go on an outing with his daughter.
But before he could do or say anything Riley came down the stairs. "Hey Hiro, ready to go?" she called.
Hiro quickly stood up and made his way to her. "Yes," he said quickly.
"Alright. Bye dad. Bye mom!" she called out as they went out the door. Bill stood up and went to the door to watch them walk down the street side by side in the direction of a friend's house.
Jill came down to stand next to him. "I like that Hiro. He's a good influence on Riley. Really polite and smart too," she said with a smile.
Bill was silent, staring at the back of the boy's head as if he were trying to shoot laser beams through it. "Honey, what do you think about moving?"
END
sorry everybody. Not time for Hiro and Hiccup to meet just yet.
