Chapter 21: Shut Up and Drive
Night had fallen by the time the five of them emerged from Hiro's garage, the pale orange glow of the streetlights combining with the ambient glow from inside the nearby buildings providing illumination.
"Come on," Hiro said, keeping his voice low as he signaled the others to follow him before he began making his way down the street. Together, the group made their way through the side streets and winding back alleys that led to the abandoned warehouse where they had first encountered the masked man. As they approached the front door, Hiro stepped to the side to allow Baymax to take the lead.
"Alright, Baymax," Hiro said as he nodded towards the door, "Knock it down."
Stepping forward, Baymax squared up against the door before throwing a high kick at it, the wooden door shattering with a large crash, sending debris flying into the darkened warehouse. There was a long, quiet moment as all of them waited for something to happen, but the echo of the door's destruction faded away and silence fell over the area. Looking past Baymax, Hiro couldn't see anything moving in the darkness, nor could he hear the sounds of working machinery like he had before.
"Well, that's a whole lot of nothing," Disgust commented.
"Come on," Hiro said as he moved to enter the warehouse, "Let's see where this guy is."
"Um," Oh spoke up nervously as his skin began to turn yellow, "Perhaps I shoulds be waiting out here?"
"Yeah," Tip said as she grabbed Oh by one of his arms and began dragging him along with her, "I don't think so."
As the group entered the warehouse, they were all on guard, doing their best to look in every direction at once.
"Riley, do you sense anything?" Hiro questioned with a hushed tone.
"I don't think I'm picking up anything," Sadness commented, "You guys?"
A chorus of no's followed in Riley's head.
"No," Riley answered Hiro with a shake of her head, "Nothing like I felt before."
"I do not see the machinery we observed in this area either," Baymax commented.
"Seems like Mr. Kabuki cleared out of here since we last saw him," Tip observed.
"Damnit," Hiro cursed as he began fishing around in his pockets, "We have to track him down."
As he spoke, Hiro pulled out a petri dish, which contained the lone microbot he still had in his possession.
"I made sure to grab this, just in case we needed to track this guy down again," Hiro stated as he held the petri dish up so he could look at it.
"Your tiny robot is trying to go somewhere," Baymax observed as he walked up next to Hiro and looked down at the petri dish as well.
"This way," Hiro said, signaling for the others to follow him as he made his way back out of the warehouse. As the others trailed behind him, Hiro led the group around the warehouse towards a series of docks along the water. Hiro's eyes were glued to the petri dish as he walked, meaning he wasn't watching where he was going as he approached the edge of the docks.
"Um…." Tip muttered as she glanced over at Riley.
"We might want to-" Joy started to say.
"Hiro!" Riley shouted as she hopped forward and grabbed the back of the boy's sweatshirt just as he was about to walk off the docks. Hiro let out a small sound of alarm as Riley yanked him back.
"Whoa," Hiro said as he regained his footing and looked over at Riley, "Thanks."
"No problem," Riley replied as she caught her breath.
"Try watching where you're going next time," Tip commented with a shake of her head, "You're lucky you didn't wander into traffic or something."
"Sorry, I-" Hiro began to say before the petri dish began to rattle violently in his hands. Before Hiro could get a better grip on it, the microbot managed to squeeze out of the petri dish and hop into the water.
"Damnit!" Hiro cursed as he dropped the petri dish and ran a hand through his hair in frustration, "I-"
Hiro was abruptly silenced as Oh quickly waddled over and slapped his hand over the boy's mouth, the others looking at the alien in shock as he began to turn a bright shade of yellow, his eyes focused on the bay.
"There is being somethings coming," Oh whispered, his eyes wide. Following Oh's gaze, the children stared into the gloom over the bay, squinting their eyes to try and get a better look at what Oh was talking about. Then, all three of them saw it. The shadow of something moving in the darkness.
Something big.
"We has to hides!" Oh whispered quickly before he turned and scuttled away from the dock's edge, the rest of the group following closely behind him. Together, the group ducked behind a nearby stack of shipping crates before huddling near the edge and peeking their heads around, the fear coming off all of them causing Riley to shake before she managed to regain control of herself.
As they watched, the shadow came to shore right where the group had been standing moments before. Now illuminated by the street light that sat nearby, the group could see that the shadow was the masked man riding on a giant mass of microbots, which held him aloft roughly a dozen feet in the air. As the microbots reached the docks, they clambered up onto them, their mass causing the sea water to spew up onto the docks.
As the masked man was carried on to land, he paused and glanced around for a moment before he turned back to the bay. The group watched in amazement as the masked man made a lifting motion with his hands, prompting the microbots to carry what looked like a huge chunk of metal out of the water. As the masked man pulled the chunk of metal up onto the shore, it passed beneath the street light, allowing the group to get a better look at it.
The chunk of metal seemed to have been part of a large machine at some point, as it was made of finely polished steel and had various bits of wiring sticking out of either end. The machinery was curved as well, giving the impression that whatever larger piece of equipment it was part of was circular in shape. As it passed under the light, the group was able to make out a symbol painted on the side of the machinery, a pure white bird drawn on top of a red dot.
"I don't think I like this plan anymore," Fear whispered through chattering teeth.
"All your heart rates have accelerated," Baymax commented, prompting the three children to spin around and shush him. Quickly looking back around the shipping container, the group saw that the masked man hadn't apparently noticed them, causing them to let out sighs of relief.
"Okay, Baymax," Hiro said as he nodded towards the robot, "Time to put those upgrades to work."
As Hiro spoke, the group was suddenly blinded as a van pulled out from around another shipping and turned towards them, shining its headlights at them.
"Panic!" Fear screamed, "Panicpanicpanic!"
"Ah!" Oh screeched, "They has located me! They has come to do their experiments upon me!"
"Shut up!" Tip hissed as she hit Oh on the side of the head, causing him to yelp and rub his head in pain.
Suddenly, the lights winked out as the van's engine shut off, allowing the group to see Wasabi, Honey, Go Go and Fred sitting inside with confused expressions on their faces. Quickly the four of them opened the doors and piled out of the vehicle.
"Hiro? Riley? Tip?" Honey questioned as she stood up, "What are you all doing here?"
"And why did you bring Oh outside?" Wasabi added as he closed his door behind him.
"And why is Baymax wearing carbon-fiber underpants?" Go Go asked as she pointed at the robot and quirked an eyebrow.
"Okay, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing," Joy commented.
"Oh, no," Hiro whispered as another fresh wave of fear washed over him, "No, no, you guys have to leave!"
"Dude, seriously, what are you all doing out here?" Fred questioned.
"Nothing!" Hiro lied as he glanced back and forth between the two groups, "We're just….going for a walk."
Tip let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose at that.
"Seriously, you guys need to go," Hiro asserted, ignoring Tip.
"Don't push us away, Hiro," Honey pleaded, leaning down to rest her hand on the boy's shoulder, "I'm happy to see you out with Tip and Riley, but we're your friends too."
"How'd you guys find us anyway?" Tip questioned.
"Well, I kind of noticed when my alien roommate went missing," Wasabi answered sardonically, "After that, it was pretty easy to narrow down the possible places he could have gone. When we saw you five sneaking out of the cafe, we followed you all here to try and figure out what you all were up to."
"So, come on, Fargo," Go Go spoke up, focusing her attention on Riley, "Spill the beans. What the hell is going on here?"
"Um…." Riley began to say, but stopped as she felt a sudden wave of anger from behind her, "Oh no."
"What's-" Fred began to say before his head suddenly snapped up to look at something above Riley, "Holy mother of Megazon!"
Following Fred's gaze, the rest of the group looked up to find the masked man looming above them at the top of the stack of shipping crates, using the microbot swarm to lift the topmost crate into the air above his head.
"Um….am I the only one who's seeing this?" Fred questioned as Honey slowly pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the masked man, the feeling of growing fear coming off everyone causing Riley to start shaking. Then, without warning, the masked man hurled the container at the group.
Most of the group scrambled for cover except for Wasabi, who was directly in the container's path, meaning all he could do was curl up into a ball and scream. Before the container could crush him though, Baymax managed to dart in front of Wasabi and catch the container, holding it just a few feet over the young man's head.
There was a pause as everyone looked at the scene in shock, Wasabi slowly opening his eyes and glancing around at the others.
"Oh my god, why are we all standing here!?" Fear screamed.
"Run!" Hiro screamed, which immediately caused everyone else to spring into action, "Go! Get out of here!"
As the others scrambled to their feet and began rushing towards Wasabi's van, Hiro turned his attention back towards Baymax, who was in the process of setting the shipping container on the ground.
"Are you kidding me!?" Disgust exclaimed.
"Hiro!" Riley shouted at the boy as she turned around and found him lagging behind. Hearing Riley's call, Go Go spun back around, her eyes widening when she saw that Hiro and Riley weren't following. Running back, Go Go quickly grabbed both Hiro and Riley by the hand before practically dragging them in the direction of Wasabi's van.
"Wait, no!" Hiro protested, "What are you doing!?"
"I'm saving your life!" Go Go shouted as she shoved Hiro and Riley into the back seat of the van before hopping into the passenger seat while Wasabi started the engine.
"Are you kidding me!?" Hiro replied as he pushed his way up to the front seat, "Baymax can handle this guy!"
A loud bang came from the other side of the shipping crates, catching everyone's attention and allowing them to see Baymax being flung through the air before he landed on top of the van with a crash, his rear punching a hole through the vehicle's roof. The others looked up at Baymax in stunned silence as the robot blinked his eyes clear.
"That seems bad," Joy commented.
"Oh no," Baymax stated, bringing everyone's attention to where he had flown in from, allowing the group to watch as the masked man, still standing on the mass of microbots, raised his hands up, causing a wave of microbots to form behind him.
"Drive!" Tip shouted, her eyes wide with fear.
"Yep, bye!" Wasabi babbled as he threw the van into reverse and hit the gas pedal, "See you never!"
"Alright, all of you!" Go Go shouted as she spun around in her seat and motioned to Hiro, Riley, Tip and Oh, "Explanation! Now!"
"He stole my microbots!" Hiro quickly answered.
"He's the one who set the fire!" Riley added.
"What!?" Honey exclaimed.
"You're kidding me!" Wasabi added looking shocked.
"We are very much not the kidding!" Oh insisted.
"Who is this bastard?" Go Go snarled.
"We don't know," Tip answered before her eyes went wide and she pointed forward, "But here he comes!"
Looking where Tip indicated, the group collectively panicked as they saw a column of microbots racing towards them, aimed directly at the front windshield.
"Baymax!" Hiro shouted as the others screamed in mortal terror.
"Activating defensive shield," Baymax stated as he held out his arm and the glowing, blue energy field sprung into life in front of him and the windshield. A second later, the microbots slammed into the shield, the force of the impact sending the van spinning the van around, prompting Wasabi to change gears and continue speeding away.
"What the hell was that?" Wasabi questioned, his grip on the steering wheel so tight his knuckles.
"I has helped with the upgrades to your robot," Oh explained.
"You gave Baymax a force field?" Fred inquired with an excited smile, "That's awesome!"
"It is not beings a force field," Oh corrected with an annoyed tone, "It is-"
Oh was cut off as Wasabi took a hard turn, sending the Boov tumbling across the van floor before slamming against one of the windows.
"He's getting closer!" Honey called as she watched the masked man chase after them through the rear window, riding the swarm of microbots like a cresting wave.
"That mask, that black suit," Fred muttered to himself as he looked out the rear window as well before he abruptly broke into a grin, "We're under attack by a supervillain here people! How cool is that!?"
Glancing around, Fred noticed that everyone else was looking at him with baffled expression on their faces.
"I don't feel like that's the appropriate sentiment at the moment," Sadness said.
"I mean, it's scary, obviously," Fred amended apologetically before grinning again, "But how cool!?"
Wasabi continued glancing back fearfully at their pursuer while also doing his best to keep an eye on the road. As he did, he saw something in front of the van that caused him to slam on the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a screeching stop.
Blinking her eyes as she recovered from the sudden jolt, Go Go glanced around at the empty intersection they were stopped at before turning her gaze towards Wasabi.
"Why are we stopped?" Go Go demanded as she internally dreaded the answer.
"Red light," Wasabi answered as he stared at the glowing traffic signal with wide, fearful eyes.
"What!?" Disgust shrieked.
"Are you kidding me, Darron!?" Go Go screamed in frustration, "There are no red lights in a car chase!"
As she spoke, the light turned green and Wasabi pushed the accelerator to the floor, causing the van to take off with a screech of rubber against asphalt.
"Okay, so, explain to me why this guy is trying to kill us!?" Wasabi stammered as he drove, the masked man almost on top of them now.
"It's a classic villain move," Fred explained, "We've seen too much! He has to make sure we can't talk!"
"Uh, let's not jump to conclusions," Honey quickly argued, "We don't really know he's trying to kill us!"
"Um, I think he just chucked a car at us!" Tip declared as she looked out the back window, watching as a sedan tumbled through the air in the direction of the van.
"Holy crap!" Wasabi screamed as he took a sharp turn and narrowly avoided the thrown car, which slammed against the pavement and skidded out of view in a shower of sparks and debris.
"Alright, okay," Honey said, her voice rising several octaves as she fought her growing panic, "Maybe he is trying to kill us!"
"Gee, you think!?" Anger questioned sarcastically.
"He totally just tried to kill us!" Go Go snapped before she whirled on Wasabi, "Darron, if you don't get us out of here, I'm going to-!"
Go Go was interrupted as the van suddenly came to a screeching halt, the stop causing the three children to fall out of their seats and for Oh to tumble all the way to the front of the vehicle, landing at Go Go's feet.
"What's happening!?" Go Go questioned, "Why aren't we moving!?"
"I don't know!" Wasabi replied as he repeatedly jammed on the accelerator, "Something's wrong!"
"He's got the rear axle!" Fred shouted as he looked out the rear window, where a thick strand of microbots had latched onto the back of the van and were lifting it off the ground, the tires spinning in the air uselessly. As the group looked on in horror, the masked man wrapped more microbots around the back of the van before he began lifting it into the air.
The van was lifted with its engine pointed towards the ground, causing gravity to pull the occupants towards the front. Riley let out a scream as she lost her grip on her seat and began falling towards the windshield, but stopped as both Fred and Honey quickly reached out and grabbed her arms, leaving her feet dangling between Wasabi and Go Go.
"Baymax!" Hiro shouted as the van was lifted further into the air, "Do something!"
"Activating defensive-" Baymax began to say as he raised his arm only to be interrupted as the masked man lashed out at him with another strand of microbots, wrapping them around the robot's arm before yanking the gauntlet holding the shield off.
"Defensive shield disabled," Baymax announced as the masked man leveled the van out in front of him, causing Riley to fall to the floor. Hiro's breathing quickened as his met the yellow one of the man's mask, the two holding each other's gaze for a few moments. Then, the masked man reached out with his hands and strands of microbots descended on the van.
Honey screamed as one of the strands punched through the window next to her, while another latched onto the door next to Go Go and ripped it off, the screeching of tearing metal deafening to everyone's ears.
"We're going to die!" Fear screamed, "WE! ARE! GOING! TO! DIE!"
"What do we do!?" Wasabi questioned as panic settled in while his van was violently jostled back and forth, "Oh God, what do we do!?"
It was only then that, over the cacophony of screams and sounds of violence that surrounded him, that Wasabi realized someone was shouting his name. Looking around, Wasabi eventually spotted Oh still lying at Go Go's feet and desperately trying to get his attention.
"Push the button!" Oh screamed, his skin strobing between purple and yellow, "Darron Waylans! You must be pushings the red button!"
"Button!?" Wasabie questioned in confusion as he looked at the van's dashboard, "What-"
The words died in Wasabi's throat as his eyes fell on a single red button directly above the van's radio. A button he did not recognize.
"What is this!?" Wasabi shouted, pointing at the button before turning his attention towards Oh, "What did you do to my van!?"
"Why are you asking questions!?" Go Go screeched as she kicked at a strand of microbots that had invaded the van's interior, "Just push it!"
After sparing a moment to glance between Oh, Go Go and the button, Wasabi reached out and pressed it. Immediately, the van seemed to spring to life as the dashboard lit up with a pale blue light. The steering wheel ripped itself out of Wasabi's hands and receded into the dashboard, replaced a moment later by what looked like a pair of flight sticks attached to a steering column. At the same time, panels began opening in the back of the van, allowing various sized clear tubes to emerge, each containing a viscous liquid that was colored bright neon blues, reds and greens. Outside, the tires rotated to face downwards and their hubcaps opened up, revealing a glowing blue light within. Panels on either side of the van pushed up as well, revealing a pair of futuristic turbines that gave off the same blue glow as the tires.
"Um, um, um," Wasabi muttered, unsure what to do with his hands or even how to process what had just happened.
"Be pushing the pedal of go, please!" Oh screamed as one of the microbot tendrils drew dangerously close to him.
Managing to regain some of his composure, Wasabi gripped both of the flight sticks before slamming his foot on the accelerator. In response, the glow coming from the turbines on the side of the van increased dramatically before van suddenly surged forward. The masked man tilted his head in confusion at the dramatic change in vehicle before he used the microbots to pull him to the side as the van abruptly broke free of his grasp and rocketed forward. Everyone in the van began screaming as the vehicle shot through the air like a bullet from a gun, climbing higher into air as Wasabi reflexively pulled back on the steering column.
"Too high!" Wasabi screeched as he pushed down on the steering column, "Way too high!"
As they shot back down towards the ground, Wasabi did his best to level the van off while taking his foot off the accelerator and applying the break. Nevertheless, by the time the van touched back down on the street, the excess speed sent it skidding across the pavement, sparks flying in its wake before it ground to a halt.
There was a long, quiet moment as the occupants of the van sat in stunned silent, everyone trying their best to process what had just happened.
"Somebody explain what just happened," Disgust stated.
"Who cares!?" Fear replied, "We're alive!"
"Okay," Wasabi said as he turned towards Oh, "What the hell did you do to my van!?"
"I has made the improvements to it," Oh answered, "It should the hover much better now."
"It didn't hover before!" Wasabi exclaimed.
"Wasabi, I don't think now is a good time to look a gift horse in the mouth," Honey stated.
"Especially because he's coming back!" Fred shouted, prompting the others to look out the rear window, where they saw that the masked man was indeed speeding towards them.
"Do something, Wasabi!" Go Go shouted as she turned back towards him.
His eyes wide with panic, Wasabi turned his attention back to the controls. Gripping the flight sticks tightly, Wasabi tried to move the van forward, but instead, he ended up sending the vehicle spinning down the street at an uncontrollable speed. Everyone in the van shouted in surprise as the van spun, Wasabi finding himself unable to regain control of the vehicle.
"I take it back!" Fear screamed, "We're going to die!"
"Darron!" Go Go shouted as she unbuckled her seatbelt and moved towards the controls, "Give me the-"
As she moved to take the controls from Wasabi, Go Go's foot slipped and she slid out of van through the now gaping hole where the passenger's door used to be. Go Go let out a surprised cry as she fell out of the car, but Baymax managed to reach out and snag Go Go's leg, holding her just above the ground.
"Wasabi!" Honey screamed as the van sped down the street directly towards a building at the end of the road, "Do something!"
"I can't!" Wasabi shouted back, "I don't know how to control this thing!"
As everyone else panicked and held on for dear life, Tip managed to steady herself in a position that allowed her to get a look at the controls. Her eyes narrowing in concentration, she studied the controls before a look of shock crossed her face.
"I can control it," Tip whispered.
"What!?" Wasabi shouted in surprise as they sped towards the end of the road.
"I can control it!" Tip shouted as she scrambled towards the driver seat, "Move! Let me through!"
Wasabi could do nothing more than throw his hands into the as Tip planted herself in his lap, sitting on the edge of his knees. Gripping the controls tightly, Tip's brow knitted together in concentration before she stopped on the foot Wasabi had over the brake and twisted the controls to one side. As she did, the van slowed down and straightened out, drifting backwards towards the building.
"We're not slowing down enough!" Fred reported as the building drew closer in the rear window.
"I've got it," Tip reported as she adjusted the controls, causing the van to drift up the front of the building instead of crashing into it, hanging at a vertical angle, pointed directly at the ground. After a second, Tip released the brake, sending the van drifting back down to the street. As the van settled back into place, Baymax placed Go Go back in the passenger's seat, her hair tousled by the whipping winds.
"Are you okay?" Wasabi questioned, doing his best to catch her breath.
"Yeah," Go Go confirmed with a nod, her heart hammering in her chest as she eyed Tip sitting on Wasabi's lap, "Why is she driving?"
"Because I'm the only one who can," Tip answered, not looking away from the road ahead of her.
"...Why is that?" Go Go inquired, quirking an eyebrow.
"Because that one," Tip said, pointing at Oh as the Boov scrambled upright, "Based the controls off of a videogame he saw me playing."
The others all looked at Oh incredulously, the Boov glancing around at the others with a look of surprise from his position at Go Go's feet.
"Is this not how you are controlling most vehicles on this planet?" Oh questioned, "I was thinkings Darron Waylans was merely using an outdated control system."
"Okay, in the back you go," Go Go said as she picked Oh up and tossed him into the back seats.
"Uh, guys," Wasabi spoke up as he looked out the front window, "I don't think this guy is done with us yet."
Looking out the window, the others saw the masked man rapidly approaching them again, riding a wave of microbots as he had before.
"Alright, if he wants to play, I'm ready to play," Tip stated as she adjusted her grip on the controls, "Everyone buckle up."
"Seatbelts save lives," Baymax concurred as everyone strapped themselves in, "Buckle up, every time."
As the others buckled in, Tip began playing with the radio.
"What are you doing?" Wasabi questioned.
"I need something good for this," Tip replied as she continued playing around with the radio before she stopped on a song, "Yes! This is my jam!"
"I've been looking for a driver who's qualified," the voice on the radio sang as Tip pushed the controls forward and prompted Wasabi to push down on the accelerator, sending the van speeding towards the masked man.
"So if you think that you're the one, step into my ride," the song continued as Tip kept her grip on the controls tight and Wasabi's foot pressed against the accelerator, the masked man showing no signs of slowing down either as his microbots spread out to encompass the entire road.
"Tip!" Hiro shouted, his wide eyes focused on the rapidly approaching swarm of microbots.
"I'm a fine-tuned, supersonic, speed machine," the music blared as the two drew closer, prompting the masked man to thrust his hands forward and send two columns of microbots shooting towards the van.
"Tip!" Riley screamed in a panic.
"With a sunroof top," the song went on as Tip suddenly veered to the side, dodging the attack while heading directly towards a wall. The others let out screams of fear and surprise as they sped towards the wall, but Tip merely adjusted the controls, causing the van to instead start riding up the wall.
"And a gangsta lean," the words echoed as Tip drifted up and over the masked man and his microbots, the man following their movement as they went and though Riley couldn't make out his facial features, she could sense his shock.
"So, if you feel me let me know, know, know!" the song continued, Tip angled the van back towards the ground, realigning with the street as a grin began spreading across the face.
"Come on, now, what are you waiting for, for, for!" the singer called as Tip pushed down on the accelerator, the masked man whirling around to chase them as they sped down the street.
"My engine's ready to explode, explode, explode!" the radio shouted as the masked man thrust his arms out, sending a wave of microbots shooting forward, the miniature robots forming a tunnel around the van as they attempted to enclose on it.
"So start me up and watch me go, go, go!" the song called as Tip pushed her foot down hard on the accelerator, causing Wasabi to let out a small squeak of pain as her heel crushed his toes. As the microbots tried to close in on the van, it instead punched through, sending the vehicle flying into the air and out of their grasp.
"What do we do now!?" Honey questioned.
"Get you where you wanna go if you know what I mean."
Glancing around, Tip spotted a set of tracks cutting through an industrial section of the city, a large training carrying shipping containers rumbling down it.
"There!" Tip shouted as she aimed the van towards the tracks.
"Got a ride that's smoother than a limosine."
As the van flew down through the air, the masked man lashed out with more strands of microbots, attempting to grab hold of the van, but Tip managed to dodge out of the way of each of them. Returning to ground level, Tip sped along a road that intersected with the train tracks.
"Can you handle the curves?"
"Uh, Tip," Honey said as he spotted the train rapidly approaching, the warning lights at the intersection flashing angrily while the sound of bells filled the air.
"Can you run all the lights?"
As Tip raced towards the train intersection, the masked man appeared behind them, rushing down the street after them.
"If you can, baby boy, then we can go all night."
"Tip!" Fred shouted as he looked out the back windows, watching as the masked man readied another attack.
"Cause it's zero to sixty in three point five."
As they approached the intersection, the train quickly descended upon it as well, blaring its horn as they showed no sign of stopping.
"Baby, you've got the keys."
"Tip!" Riley screamed as they smashed through the lowering barriers just as the train reached the intersection.
"Now shut up and drive."
The masked man paused at the intersection, watching for a moment as the train sped by in front of him. Using the microbots, he pushed himself up to try and get a better look at the other side the intersection, but found that the van had disappeared. The man looked for a few more moments before his gloved hands tightened into fists and he turned away, disappearing into the shadows of the city.
Meanwhile, the van hung from the side of the train, facing the ground as it rapidly sped by before it. For a long moment, everyone was quiet as Tip's foot was pressed hard against the brake and she calmly reached out and turned off the radio.
"I think we lost him," Fred commented.
"Okay," Tip replied with a nod as the train began crossing a bridge, allowing her to release the brake and send the van hovering across the harbor, "I think I've had enough excitement for the night. I'll bring you guys home."
"We can't go home," Hiro replied.
"What?" Riley questioned in confusion, "Why not?"
"Because this guy has already tried to kill us," Hiro answered, "And since he knew where to get my microbots, that means he knows who I am. He probably knows who we all are."
A hush fell over the van as everyone realized the implications of this.
"We need to place to go then," Go Go spoke up, "A place where this guy won't think to look for us."
As they spoke, a knowing smile spread across Fred's face.
"It's cool, guys," Fred spoke up, bringing all their attentions to him, "I know a place."
A/N: Well, this one got away from me a little bit, but I was having so much fun with it I couldn't stop. Hope you guys enjoyed it as well! As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!