Meanwhile, older Wilbur and Violet sneaked along the maze-like corridors. Violet followed the colored sensor wires on the wall which, logically, had to connect to a monitoring or command center.

So far, they hadn't met any more robots, and no alarm had been triggered, so obviously no one had noticed the three robots Junior had knocked out. Everything had gone pretty well so far ...

Nevertheless, Violet was still annoyed. Her heels were burning. She was wearing the wrong shoes for such an adventure. How could she possibly fight in these shoes? And without her super suit? She was a clear, bright-red target for any attacker

At least Junior was quite now. After he had bragged about his defeat of the robot guards, he had preferred to remain quiet for a change.

Suddenly, the ground trembled violently. Wilbur and Violet clung to the railing.

"What the heck is going on here?!" Wilbur exclaimed in panic.

"Stay calm, Junior!" But Violet's voice did not sound very reassuring...

And then, all of a sudden ... it became dark.

Violet immediately lapsed into the first phase of her phobia: freezing. She stood still, barely restraining a scream.

She was in fear of death! Her heart raced, and her body shook uncontrollably! The darkness was a deadly threat, a beast which had surrounded her from all sides, and there was no escape!

"Whoa, what's going on here?" She suddenly heard Junior's confused voice, jerking her violently out of her trance. She wasn't alone! And she wouldn't die as long as someone else was here.

In her panic, Violet stumbled despite her fear in the direction of the voice, clinging to Wilbur with both hands.

It seemed to be her only rescue. The darkness was like a dangerous surge, and Junior was the solid rock onto which she latched with all her might.

"Aah! What's up?" Wilbur cried in surprise.

"I'm-okay-I'm-okay-I'm-okay-I'm-okay-I'm-okay-I'm-okay-I'm-okay!" Violet whispered repeatedly.

"Okay, then let me go!"

"No!" She shrieked in panic when Wilbur tried to nudge her away.

"What's going on?" Wilbur asked, slowly getting nervous himself. If Parr was afraid, then he also had a reason to be frightened.. But he really couldn't hear anything ...much less see anything.

Parr only responded with a pitiful whimper. Her whole body was trembling as she clung violently onto his T-shirt.

What was so bad? Nothing had changed - except for the fact that the lights were off...

Then Wilbur understood. He held back a spiteful laugh.

Was it really true? Did Violet Parr - the tough, self-confident, caustic-tongued Violet Parr - have a fear of darkness?

Suddenly, the lights flickered, and finally came back on.

Wilbur glanced down. Parr's eyes were closed in panic, as she pressed her slender body against his. She hadn't noticed that it was bright again.

Wilbur almost felt sorry for her. He started to wrap his arms around her and calm her, but he froze in the middle of his movement.

He couldn't do that! She was still... well, Parr - the girl who annoyed him for years!

"Are you ready?" He asked sarcastically, after a short pause, before erupting into laughter.

Violet's eyes shot open. How long had the lights been back on?! She pushed Junior roughly away.

"I'm-okay-I'm-okay!" He imitated her anxious voice, and then he burst out laughing again.

"Very funny!" Violet grumbled, taking a few angry steps away. She quickly wiped a tear from her cheek. Hopefully, this idiot hadn't noticed that she had cried.

"Yes! Finally, something I can rub in your face for the rest of your life!" Wilbur grinned gleefully. Violet gritted her teeth.

"Fine! Go ahead and make fun of me! That's what you could always do best, jerk!" She hissed. She wanted to say more, but her voice was still very raspy and trembling from the shock.

"Hey, you're not entirely innocent either!" Wilbur replied snappily, referring to the many times in the past when Violet had made fun of him.

"This ... is by far the worst day of my entire life!" She said breathlessly. She hoped that they could continue their on way in silence. When this whole thing was over, she would never, ever talk to that guy again!

"Hey, I also could imagine doing something better than sneaking along this tunnel with you!" Wilbur growled.

"Why don't you just leave then, huh?" She countered.

"Because you'd be totally lost without me!" Wilbur replied exaggeratedly, standing with his arms crossed boldly in front of her.

It probably was supposed to seem heroic, and it would have surely worked with other girls, but not with Violet.

"Oh! So you don't believe I can take care of myself?" She asked, unmoved.

"Of course not!" Wilbur replied emphatically, "How could a weak, young girl like you possibly defeat these robots? Without me, you'd be hopelessly lost! You can't defend yourself! I can do karate! What about you, missy?!"

At that moment, Violet wanted to tell this imbecile everything. "I'm a super hero, you nitwit!" She thought angrily, "And if I wanted, I could throw you into the next state, you idiot!"

The words were on the tip of her tongue already, and it took a lot of willpower not to say them aloud.

"Of course! YOU'RE the greatest, Junior!" She said sarcastically, "Then why don't you carry on alone?!"

"Fine! That's what I'll do! You're just a big burden anyway!" Wilbur said, giving her a slight shove.

Violet seethed. How dare he shove her!

And "just a big burden"! Violet had never been so offended by anyone! She was Invisigirl! She had saved the city countless times already!

"Then - then I'll go alone too!" She stammered angrily.

"Bye!" Wilbur replied spitefully, turning to leave. Violet stared after him with an open mouth. This idiot seriously thought he could be all alone ...

"Fine! Let's see how far you'll get!" She shouted after him.

"I can't hear you!" He shouted back in a cheerful, sing-song voice.

Violet gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "This - that's just - so ...gosh!" She grumbled, stomping her foot.

Fine! Then she'd search for the kids on her own! She would find another way - a better one!
She turned around and stomped away.
For some reason, she almost started to cry. She was so angry, frustrated and just ... hurt ...

So, she was nothing more than just a big burden? Just a little annoying thing that always came across his way when he needed it the least? Well, actually he didn't need her at all...

After a few steps, her anger disappeared all of a sudden, and only a cold, ashamed feeling remained.

This was a serious matter, and they still had nothing better to do than to argue. That was stupid .... stupid and childish. How old were they? Eight?

Violet slackened her pace. She had to go back. Even if Wilbur couldn't stand her and thought she was weak and useless, she was still a super hero and it was her duty to protect him.

Finally, she stopped. After she took a deep breath to regain her composure, she turned to walk after Wilbur.

But suddenly, she heard something. It seemed to be only an ordinary noise. Maybe it was one of the hydraulic pipes. Violet froze and listened.

When she heard nothing more, she went along.

Suddenly, a dark shadow lunged at her, with a dark pistol pointed right at her! Violet was so shocked that she gave a horrified scream.

She tried to get into a defensive position, but the guy was already too close! He grabbed her arm and gave her a strong slap in the face.

It suddenly clicked in Violet's head.

She had often been slapped in the face by rivals... but then she had been masked... and it was Invisigirl's job to take whatever beating had been dished out for her.

But now, she was here as an ordinary young woman ... as Violet Parr.

And NOBODY hit Violet Parr in the face!

She grabbed the gun, pulled the guy to her, kicked him violently in the stomach, and elbowed him sharply in the chin with her free arm. All at the same time.

The guy fell to the ground unconsciously, and Violet picked up the gun and held it in her hands.

She had lost control! Her hands acted automatically and pointed the gun directly at the guard's head.


Wilbur was absolutely convinced that Parr would sheepishly come back to him within a few minutes. All the other girls he'd known would come back.

Although ...Parr was not like the others. That woman tended to do things that you expected least... or that you didn't expect at all!

Wilbur stopped and turned around.

A small girl like her could be very easily crushed by one of those robots.

With this thought, he started to run back automatically, before his mind had actually decided to do so.

He would have to play the macho man. If she didn't want to come with him, he'd drag her back! He didn't want to have her out of his sight again...

Suddenly, he heard a frightened scream! Violet!

Wilbur ran along the corridor like a lightning bolt in order to save Violet! If they did something to her, he would smash up this whole building!

He dashed around the corner, ready to lunge at the attacker!

But he wasn't prepared for what he saw next.

He stopped abruptly, stumbled and almost fell.

A guard - this time it wasn't a robot - was lying on the ground. Parr was aiming a gun at him, and she looked as if she would fire at any moment!

Her face was red from anger. She trembled and stared furiously at the guard.

"NOBODY slaps my face!" She shouted suddenly, her voice was a trembling shriek..

Wilbur was afraid he'd witness a murder. He had to prevent that!

Slowly, he positioned himself between Violet and the guard lying on the ground.

"Calm down, Violet." He whispered.

"This jerk slapped me right in the face!" She shrieked, the weapon still in her trembling hands.

"Wait, wait! You don't want to kill that guy!" Wilbur said, trying to appease her.

"Nobody hits Violet Parr in the face!" Violet growled angrily.
"And if I beat you in the face, would you kill me too?" Wilbur asked, as he walked slowly towards her.

Violet suddenly stopped trembling. She unlocked the gun and gave him a cool glance. "Without batting an eye!" She hissed, aiming the gun precisely at his chest.

"Violet, put the gun down!" Wilbur cried urgently. He was afraid that she would really fire. He stretched his hand out to take the gun away from her.

Suddenly, he heard a click directly behind his head, and afterwards a shrill whine, sounding like the charging of a photo flash.

The guard had stood up while Violet was distracted. He apparently had a second weapon in his possession, which he now held to the back of Wilbur's head.

"Yeah, Violet ... put the gun down!" The guy mocked with a nasty laugh. Violet made an annoyed face, but still aimed the gun at Wilbur.

"Great Junior ... great job once again!" She said sarcastically.

Wilbur broke out in a cold sweat. Now he was threatened from both the front and the back with unlocked guns! He considered knocking out the guy behind him with a swift karate kick, but he knew the guy would fire before he would have the opportunity to turn around.

And why hadn't Parr put her stupid gun down? She was just making him even more nervous.

"Come on!" The guard hissed, pressing the gun painfully into Wilbur's neck. When the cold metal touched his skin, Wilbur felt almost queasy from fear ...

Violet still kept her weapon aimed on the two in front of her. "Nah." She said coolly.

"I'm going to kill your boyfriend, girl!" The guard shouted in warning.. Wilbur gritted his teeth in panic.

"Ew! He's not my boyfriend!" Violet protested, making a disgusted face. Wilbur couldn't believe it! What was this woman doing? Did she want him to get killed or what?!

"Put the gun down or I'll fire!" The guard ordered again. Wilbur hadn't the slightest doubt that he seriously meant it.

"Okay, then do it." Violet replied serenely.

"What are you doing?!" Wilbur squeaked through clenched teeth.

She ignored him. "Let me tell you something, guard-person, this weapon is strong enough to shoot through his body, through your body, through the wall behind you, the wall behind that wall, and the wall behind that wall too ... and since the life of this guy means nothing to me, you're the one who should put the gun down now." She said calmly, with a slight smirk.

Wilbur and the guard gulped simultaneously.

"You're bluffing!" The guard shouted.

"Any last words, Junior?" Violet asked casually.

"What? You - you can't be serious!" Wilbur squeaked. He felt the guard's breath getting faster - even he was getting nervous!

The guard spoke up again. "Now, I'll count to three and then I - Ooph!" Suddenly, the nameless guard cried in pain and fell to the ground. Wilbur jerked around.

He blinked when he saw that his younger self had kicked the guard in the back of the legs, causing him to fall to the ground, before giving him one last punch in the neck, and making him go unconscious again.

From behind him, Violet's younger self spoke up. "Wow! Who taught you that?" She asked in admiration.

"My mom." Younger Wilbur answered casually. But before the younger Violet could respond, her older self burst into laughter.

"Your Mom?! Awww, how cute!" She laughed mockingly. He had knocked out those robots only because his Mommy had coached him in self-defense?!

Older Wilbur was still too shocked. Only a few seconds earlier, he was so sure that he was going to die. But then he snapped out of it, and suddenly started to yell at her.

"I'd like to slap your stupid face, you feather-brained cow!"

But Violet remained completely unmoved. "It's okay, Junior. You're still in shock." Older Violet said sweetly, patting his cheek mockingly. He slapped her hand away.

"How would you like it if I aimed a gun at you and -"

"Gosh, calm down!" Violet said defensively, "I saw the two little ones coming up from behind you! I gained some time by distracting the guard." Then she began to laugh. "Did you really think I would shoot you?"

"YES!" Older Wilbur shouted, "You're a killer! You nearly scared me to death!"

"Too bad, so sad." Violet answered sarcastically.
While the older two were arguing, younger Violet disarmed the guard. Curiously, she examined the radiation gun. Apparently, good old bullets were out of style. Could her force field really protect her at all from that kind of weapon?

"Wait!" Older Violet called out to her younger self. "I believe I should be the one handling this." She took the gun away. "And where did you came from all of a sudden?" She asked, while she tucked the gun into her purple belt along with the other one. "We were looking for you."

Before younger Wilbur was able to answer, his older self interrupted. "Wait a sec! Why do you have two guns?" He asked older Violet.

"Just because, Junior!" She sighed in annoyance.

"Hey, that's not fair! You have two and I have none!"

"If I gave you a weapon, I could consider myself dead."

"You don't think I could handle this?" He asked.

"What are you doing here anyway?!" She snapped. "Didn't you want to continue alone?! I'm just a big burden to you anyway!"

"Well, whether you believe it or not, I wanted to help you!"

"Aww, did you miss me?" Violet asked sarcastically.

"No! Why would I? You're such a -"

"Hey! You be careful what you say!" Violet warned.

"Why? Will you shoot me otherwise?" Wilbur shot back.

"Oh man!" Wilbur's younger self cried out suddenly, "You're so embarrassing!"

The two brawlers fell silent and looked at their younger versions, who were staring at them completely dumbfounded.

"You two are so pathetic." Younger Violet added ashamedly, shaking her head.

"You're behaving like babies!" Younger Wilbur continued. "I mean, c'mon! We're younger, and we aren't acting as stupidly as you guys are!"

"She started it." His older self said sheepishly.
"No, I didn't!" Older Violet protested.

"Yes, you did!" Older Wilbur insisted.

"Didn't!"

"Did!"

"Didn't!"

"Did!"

"Oh my gosh! Can't you pull yourselves together for one second?!" Younger Violet exclaimed, now thoroughly annoyed. The two older ones gave each other one last irritated glance, then they turned to the two younger ones.

"Whatever! We've found you. That means we can go now!" The older Wilbur said.

"Go?" Replied his younger self confusedly. He glanced back at the younger Violet. First, they had to stop the villain... and second, they couldn't just leave, because -

"What?" Older Violet asked suspiciously.

"Well, leaving could be rather difficult." Answered her younger self.

"Why?" Older Wilbur asked.

"Because we are a few hundred feet above the ground." Violet answered with an uncomfortable grin.

"You mean 'below the ground.'" Violet corrected her younger self.

"No. I mean, we are floating at an alarming altitude above Todayland." Younger Wilbur answered.

The two older ones only stared at them for a moment. Then, both older Violet and Wilbur suddenly freaked out simultaneously.

"WHAT?! Do you at least know which direction we are flying in? How are the others going to find us now?! Now we're totally on our own! Me and a bunch of civilians! We have no chance against them!"

"That means my sister is now all alone, in the middle of nowhere, locked in a car?!" Wilbur said incredulously. "Oh God! We have to got down there somehow! Mom and Dad will kill me!"

But because they both spoke at the same time, their younger versions didn't understand a single word they said.
Suddenly, something moved on the ground. The guard regained consciousness.

The older Violet pulled out a gun, pushed the two time travelers to the side, and leaned over the guard.

"You will lead us to the command center!" She said with a harsh, commanding tone.

"Why? We need to find a way to get down instead!" Older Wilbur exclaimed, almost hysterically. Both Violets and his younger self rolled their eyes in annoyance.

"Maybe we should make sure that we can land this thing first, don't you think, Junior?" Older Violet said irritably.

"I'm not gonna lead you anywhere!" The guard cried defiantly.

Older Violet unlocked the gun, her eyes sparkling dangerously. "You bet ... you will!"