METAL CLANKED as she shifted tools on the table, eyes fixed before her as she reached to her right and lifted a welding torch, twirling it in between her fingers absentmindedly. The chewing of her gum meshed with the music of her headsets, the loud adrenaline rush instilled by the guitar riffs setting her in the precise zone of focus she needed to complete her task.
Sparks flew, the torch guided by her skilled hand as she moved it across the circuit board. The wafer lay nestled within a board, its large yellow body expanding outward on the table and brushing up against a crassly placed tool box that almost fell off it.
The white of the room encroached on her, the expansiveness of it feeling suffocating despite providing the amplest of working spaces. The noise and lack of space available in her old lab at SFIT grew on her and the new vicinity felt alien. The music she played compensated for the noise at least, the openness around her becoming a burden she had to stomach.
The thunderous snares sharpened her focus, the bass drum triplets causing her heart beat to race and the screams motivating her to work through the massive headache she sustained from the all-nighter she endured the previous night. The chorus rushed in, the rhythm causing her to thrust her head back and forth, losing herself in the melody and accidentally dropping the torch. She bent down to pick up the tool when familiar and irritating white sneakers came into view.
"Fred, what're you doing here?" she groaned as she straightened up.
"I just wanted you to see the awesome ad campaign I came up with." He greeted her with a wide grin.
"Not interested." She turned back to the table.
She removed her headsets, draping them over her neck. Despite having told him to leave, she knew him too well to expect him to listen to her. She went back to working on the circuit board.
"How far have you gone with it?" he peeped over her shoulder, her dismissal of his question failing to make his glee falter.
"It's none of your business, just leave."
"Is it almost done?" he looked at the board before him, its colour widening his grin.
"What does it look like?"
"It's totally done!" he jumped near the table, eyeing the machine, "this is like Back to the Future, or maybe it's not," he shot up, "is it like Back to the Future?"
"Get outta here, Fred." She grabbed his face, dragging him toward the door.
"Come on, GoGo, hear me out." His voice muffled against her palm.
"Ew." She looked at her hand, saliva coating it.
She wiped it on his shirt, the action somehow widening his grin. She groaned, cocking her neck as her eyes latched onto nothing. She sighed, smacking her gum loudly as she grew more impatient.
"What do you want?" she locked eyes with him, her frown deepening.
"Have you ever wondered, 'what could I do if I had a hover board?'" his voice deepened, his imitation of an infomercial narrator putting a silly smile on his face.
"What're you doing?" she folded her arms, her eyelids lowered in exasperation.
"Well, wonder no more with this amazing," he slid past GoGo, slipping past her work station and falling on the floor. He clumsily got to his feet, latching onto the table and barely catching the toolbox that fell off it.
He smiled embarrassedly, GoGo's eyes shooting daggers at him as he stood up. He tossed the toolbox behind him and gestured at the hover board, the loud clanking of tools echoing throughout the room. She placed a hand on her hip, her patience reaching its end.
"With this amazing Go-Go Hover Board!" he continued, GoGo's expression remaining deadpanned "Ever dropped your keys under the couch while walking up to the driveway and you begin to panic 'cuz you're late for work? Well, don't worry, 'cuz the Go-Go Hover Board can solve your problems. With this marvel of a machine, you can fly thousands of miles into the air and retrieve your keys!"
She looked at him blankly, her disinterest faltering his excitement. He kept his smile wide, his eyes darting around as he tried to think of another way to reel her in.
"Not impressed? The Go-Go Hover Board can do far more!" he grinned wider, "Ever failed to calculate your taxes? The Go-Go Hover Board can do it all with the mere push of a button," he reached to touch the open circuit board.
"Wait, Fred, don't –,"
He put his finger in the circuit board, the resultant surge knocking him off his feet. He squirmed on the floor as the shock continued.
"Fred, are you o –," he got up instantly, brushing his shirt as if nothing had happened.
"Shocking isn't it? The Go-Go Hover Board is the only machine you will ever need!" he grinned widely, stretching his arms outward, "It can do that and a lot more!"
"Get outta here, Fred." She locked her eyes with his, blankness washing over her face.
"Let me bring a volunteer to demonstrate!" he walked over to the door, past the shorter girl who followed him with her narrowing eyes.
"Fred, leave!" she groaned.
"Fasten your seatbelts!" he slid up to her after opening the door, his arm draping over her, "I bring you our volunteer, the lovely Cat Valentine!"
GoGo pushed him away from her, her frown deepening as she adjusted her jacket. Cat's head popped into the room, a grin stretching her face.
"Hi!" Cat sung, her step edging into a skip as she entered, her hands wiggling in sync with Fred's as she joined his pose.
"Ugh, God, kill me now." GoGo's eyes latched to the ceiling.
"Cat, if you will?" Fred gestured to the hover board.
"Certainly." she walked over to it.
"Hell, no, get away from it!" GoGo followed her, Fred's hands clasped on her shoulders impeding her progression.
"Hold on, GoGo, let her show you the magic."
"I'll show you the magic of my feet if she touches that board." GoGo growled.
"Huh?" Fred's brows stitched in confusion.
GoGo kicked his groin, his reaction surprising her. He placed his fists on his waist, his heroic pose further made silly by the smirk that wrinkled his face and his eyebrows that rose as he stared at nothing.
"Steel plated underwear." His voice deepened.
"Really?" GoGo folded her arms, her expression soaking with disbelief.
"Okay, that actually hurt," he crouched in pain.
"Mmmm-hmm," she nodded as she watched him fall.
"How do you fly this thing?" Cat's screaming voice drew her attention.
Cat swooped past her on the hover board, exhaust permeating the air and trailing out the door as she flew. GoGo ran after her, leaving Fred to grovel painfully on the floor.
Cat flew into the hallway, the whine of the machine drawing the attention of scientists who walked up to the glass walls of their labs. She shot past Phineas and Ferb's lab, the two boys running into the hall at the sound of the board.
"Hey, I thought we weren't allowed to test stuff outside the lab?" Phineas' eyes squinted as he watched Cat.
"The rule probably applies of you're not some hot girl." Ferb's eyes lowered and his blank expression swelled.
"Come on, guys, I doubt Tony Stark gives that much attention to beautiful women." Baljeet walked up to them.
Phineas and Ferb turned to him, both raising a brow as they looked at him in disbelief. GoGo ran past them, pulling the safety goggles off her face and disrobing her lab coat. She drew out yellow gloves from her jacket pockets, draping them over her hands and shot them forward. Four maglev discs swooped through the air, following her at high speeds and attaching to her hands and feet magnetically, propelling her body as she switched from running to skating.
"Somebody get me off this thing!" Cat fell on her knees and clung to the hover board.
She swooped over Peter Parker who walked through the hallway, swiping his finger across his tablet screen. He looked up, the machine catching his attention as it swept past him.
"Hey, that's my shtick!" he shook his fist in the air, "If you start shooting webs, I'm gonna sue!"
Scientists in labs around him turned, murmuring spreading. His eyes darted around as unease seeped in his expression.
"Heh, no you see the thing about me saying things is that –,"
"Ninja smoke bomb!" a puff of smoke exploded, a teen clad in a full black body suit, a mask and a red scarf appearing him. The teen looked around, his eyes widening in surprise through his space in his mask, "Whoops, wrong state. Ninja Smoke Bomb!" he threw down a small ball, another puff of smoke shrouding him as he disappeared.
"Uh…" Peter's eyes darted around in confusion.
GoGo manoeuvred through the halls, crisscrossing as she avoided scientists that roamed them. Cat flew a few feet above her, barely holding on as she made awkward turns and loops in the air, nearly falling off with every move. She needed to catch up to her before things got out of hand.
She skated up to a wall and jumped onto it, traversing its expanse laterally as she ascending upward. She leaped off, landing on an opposite one as she continued the chase. Cat ascended higher and GoGo slowly fell.
She skated onward, the discs screeching against the glass as she slowly lost traction. A small bridge came into view between two separate upper floors and she jumped, flipping high up into the air. She landed onto the guardrail, leaping off it with exceptional agility as she launched herself toward Cat.
She twirled in the air, propelling herself toward Cat high above people who roamed the halls. She flipped onto the hover board and landed on it, placing her feet onto the magnetic foot pads placed on either end of it, pushing Cat to its edge.
She motioned her feet, swerving through the air to make a U-turn toward her lab. The board shuddered, the sudden jerk destabilizing her and sending her toward the floor.
"Oh, crap, now this thing's malfunctioning," GoGo turned to Cat who had clung to her, gripped with terror. "I should kick you off, you idiot!" she began to shake her leg, loosening Cat's hold.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Cat cried, clasping her eyes tightly as she clung to GoGo.
"Get off, you –," An approaching bridge caught GoGo's attention.
She bent backward, her chin nearly scraping against the concrete as the hover board careened out of control, plummeting toward the floor. She lifted her left leg, raising the board upward as she tried to bring it to a takeoff. The magnetic pads shut off, separating GoGo's feet from the board.
The two girls fell on the floor, bouncing uncontrollably as the board flipped into the air above them and the maglev discs splayed all over. Their screams filled the halls, the clanking board spreading echoes throughout. GoGo slid on the floor, smacking against a wall and the machine flew past her, smashing through a door nearby, its once intact glass flying around as it shattered.
She stood up, pain searing through her body as she walked toward the destroyed door. She stepped in, her feet crunching against the broken glass and her eyes dilating as fear enveloped her.
"Oh, God dammit." She ran into the room, her eyes darting around as a panic raged within her.
She grabbed the board, worry washing over her paling face as she uncovered what it fell on. A red Muscle car came to her view, its sheen and unscathed paintjob lessening her fear. She sighed, pressure depleting as she held her invention and wiped sweat off her brow.
The fear swept away, clearing her mind as she realized where she was. The bright lights illumined the expansive blue room, several cars of mid-forties origin cluttering around in glass casing and small podiums that had enthusiasts crowding around them, all of whom turned to her as she entered.
"Heh, sorry about that." She rubbed her nape.
She stepped back, a black car easing into the corner of her eye and tugging her attention. A turn drew an awestricken whistle from her as her brown eyes dilated in excitement.
A black car hung in the air, tethers pulling it toward the ceiling and holding it before a sign. The words "Stark Prototype Aero Vehicle, 1943" adorned it, the lettering stretching her face as a confident smirk plastered it.
"Hmm, I'm pretty sure I can build that." She stitched her brows, determination flaring in her eyes.
Cat stumbled into the room, a hand clasped to her head as pain throbbed its way through. She walked up to GoGo who turned to her, a frown forming at her presence.
"Am I dead?" she groaned, eyes half-closed.
"You will be." GoGo grabbed her arm, dragging her as she left the room.
"CAN YOU believe that?" She scowled, crimson drenching her face as her anger swelled, food puffing up her cheeks as she chewed.
Hiro huffed; arms folded before him as his eyes turned away from the table, anger flaring in his expression. A sense of awkwardness ensued, Wasabi, Honey Lemon and Fred having front row seats to a display of anger whose origin was unbeknownst to them. Their table sat at the centre of the large cafeteria, black carpeting contrasting against the white furniture and walls that encompassed the room.
"Okay … would you like to tell me what exactly you are angry about?" Wasabi's eyes turned to GoGo, unease evident as he expected her to yell at him or burst into flames as her face deepened in colour.
"It's Fred and his dumb girlfriend," she stabbed her fork into the steak on her plate, the bang causing Honey to jerk in surprise, "She had to come in and screw up my hover board and I got on Ms. Helen's bad side. I'm just lucky 'cuz I thought I'd get in trouble with Ms. Potts herself." She bit a chunk of the steak, it awkwardly wobbling off the fork that it was barely stuck to, "Do you know how hard it was to clean that room up?!"
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to help." Fred's eyes locked onto his plate, trying his best to avoid contact with her darkening brown eyes.
"I should kill you." She pointed a knife at him, light gleaming off its pointy end.
"Yeah, let's not do that." Honey took the knife from her, pinching the blade carefully and setting it on the side of her plate, "Apologize, Freddie."
"I just did." Fred lifted his grilled cheese sandwich.
"See, so we're good then, right?" Honey turned to GoGo, her smile tugging at her to act in kind.
"Tsk." GoGo turned away from her, eyes locked at her steak as she stabbed her fork in it murderously.
Wasabi cringed as she grazed the fork against the plate, the sound drilling into his ears and causing his eyes to squint. He turned to Hiro whose expression remained stagnant, a huff escaping his nose, anger heating his breath.
"So, Hiro, got anything interesting to talk about?" Wasabi jested, knowing full well that he was just as angry as GoGo.
"Why the hell did they put me with that guy? Thinks he's so smart just because he can do calculations mentally; I can do that!" Hiro's eyes widened, his voice raising and simultaneously elevating GoGo's anger as she stabbed at her steak again, Honey jerking in response, "He's younger than I am, but he treats me like I'm some kinda undergrad."
"But you are and he's only three months younger," Fred bit into his sandwich.
"That's not the point!" Hiro banged his fist on the table, hot wings jumping off his plate.
"He's the seventh most intelligent person in the world, Hiro." Honey turned to him, her eyes pleading for him to calm down.
"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm smarter than he is." Hiro muttered as he sat back, arms crossed before him.
"Just relax; you won't work under him forever." Wasabi patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"At least I'm getting extra credit for this crap or I'd have quitted a long time ago." Hiro's voice calmed slightly.
"It's only your first day, Hiro." Honey's eyes pleaded, gaining a growl from him.
"Well, I never!" a man gasped.
Hiro turned, his brow raising as he set his eyes on a slim, brunette haired man, his green shirt with a Green Lantern logo drawing his attention. Another man walked up to him, his glasses brushing against his brow as he groaned in disapproval.
"Sheldon, what're you doing?" the bespectacled man walked up to him.
"H-how can this stupid kid be here with me? I thought only the world's brightest scientists were allowed in Stark Industries." Sheldon pointed at Hiro, his whiny voice coming off like a childish tantrum.
"You see why I said we should've just worked in LA?" his bespectacled friend frowned at him, impatience evident in his voice.
"Well, I needed to show that I am smarter than that troglodyte, Stephen," Sheldon pouted, his plastic fork raking through his plate of salad, "Makes a dumb time machine and he thinks he's some kinda Einstein; ridiculous. He couldn't even come up with cool acronym. Project YELLOW? Could've found that inside a gum wrapper."
"Did you call me 'stupid'?" Hiro rose to his feet, his swift movement causing Sheldon to back up.
"Does that annoy you? I will have you know that you are talking to a world renowned physicist." Sheldon continued.
"Ain't so renowned if we've never heard of you." GoGo rose to her feet, her frown shrivelling, "You can't be smarter than Stephen if you can't come up with a better insult than 'troglodyte'," she chuckled.
"I wouldn't need any form of insult to prove my point. He is an insult in himself. I mean, who thinks cocoanuts are relatives of Clint Eastwood?" Sheldon scoffed.
His bespectacled friend groaned, his eyes latching onto the ceiling in exasperation. He stroked the bridge of his nose as Sheldon smirked at his attempt to bicker with them.
"I'm sorry, we were just leaving." he dragged Sheldon along with him.
He scolded Sheldon as he left, Hiro and GoGo returning to their seats soon after. A girl caught Hiro's attention as he sat, her straight blond hair brushing her slender face, cherry pink bubbling in her cheeks as her green eyes darted around uneasily. Her brown jacket matched her hair, covering a white shirt that swept against blue jeans that wrapped around white sneakers.
"Uh, can I help you?" he furrowed his brow, the stranger coming off as odd.
"Good afternoon, forgive me for disturbing you, but may I sit with you?" she curtseyed slightly as she greeted them, "I'm new here and I don't know where to sit."
"Sure." Honey smiled at her, gesturing at the free seat next to Hiro, her expression masking her bewilderment at the stranger's behaviour.
"Thank you." The girl took her seat, "My name is Allie Rook, I'm working in the biomedicine department. I was just moved to this city after a pandemic spread."
"What pandemic?" Honey leaned toward her, almost subconsciously motioning to jot down what she was saying though she had no pen and pad.
"About a few months ago, reports arose of people dying after their skin turned grey and solidified. The numbers were astonishing. We've only recently pinpointed the cause to be fish oil, though we're unsure which ocean it stemmed from and we're working on a cure." She rubbed chopsticks between her fingers, the cutlery dipping into a bowl of noodles, "I was stationed here to try and see if it would arise in San Fransokyo."
"You're rather young for a biomedical scientist." Wasabi smiled warmly.
"Thank you, but I can't brag about it." pink welled up in her cheeks.
"That sounds terrible." Honey's expression fell then brightened up, "Oh, we forgot to introduce ourselves," she gestured as she mentioned their names, "I'm Honey Lemon, he's Hiro, he's Fred, she's GoGo and he's Wasabi."
"Forgive my rudeness, but those names seem rather … odd." Allie raised her eyebrow.
"They're nicknames and they just sorta stuck. You can thank this guy for 'em." Honey tapped Fred's shoulder.
"It's nice to meet you all." Allie nodded, glee widening her smile.
"What's your deal?" GoGo's eyelids lowered in disapproval.
"I don't understand." Allie's brows furrowed.
"Why are you so polite? Geez, relax, this ain't court or anything." GoGo chuckled.
"Forgive me if I offended you." Allie's eyes welled with worry.
GoGo popped her gum, her eyes fixed on Allie with disinterest. Her gaze felt uncomfortable as if it probed into her. She looked away, her eyes latching onto her bowl of noodles. Wasabi looked around, sensing the unease weaving its way back into the conversation.
"Well, let's try to talk about something cool. I've found another use for my laser-induced plasma projects." Wasabi's eyes trailed around the table, excitement glinting in them, "Configuring circuit boards for Nano-bots!"
Everyone eyed him, confused and disinterested expressions littering around. Hiro and GoGo scoffed almost simultaneously, returning to their displays of anger while Allie continued eating, barring a chuckle behind tightly pressed lips.
"That's awesome!" Fred's arms shot up then quickly fell as he rubbed his goatee, "what does that mean?"
"It means that Nano-bots can each carry out individual tasks simultaneously." A smile crossed Wasabi's face.
"Hey, Genius, Wasabi just stole your idea." GoGo smirked.
"You're not understanding me; Hiro's micro-bots all follow a singular instruction given by his neurotransmitter, but with the chips I'm working on, each bot can carry out a task independently." Wasabi's smile expanded.
"I'm failing to see where this gets exciting." GoGo folded her arms, eyes trailing off in dismissal.
"We should team up!" a grin formed on Honey's face.
"On what?" Wasabi turned to her.
"I've been working to super-compress chemicals to improve storage in labs. What if we compressed medicines, put 'em in your Nano-bots and …" she gestured her hands, expecting him to finish her sentence.
"And what?" Wasabi raised his brow.
"Oh, it only works with Freddie, I guess." Honey's shoulders slumped in disappointment. She turned to Fred, "What If we compressed medicines, put 'em in Wasabi's Nano-bots and …?"
"Make Nachos! Now, those cowboys will pay!" Fred clenched his fist. Attention shifted to him, confusion plastering on everyone's faces, "You didn't hear anything!"
"Ugh." Honey's eyes latched to the ceiling. She shook her head and turned to Wasabi, "We could combine our tech and use Nano-bots for medicinal application. Imagine the possibilities of using microscopic robots inside a patient?"
"That'd be awesome!" Wasabi's eyes lit up.
"Have you taking into account the possibility of a patient reacting negatively to certain types of metal?" Allie furrowed her brow.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Honey grinned and gave Wasabi a high-five.
THE BRIGHT city lights fought against the darkness as night set in. Hiro and GoGo walked down a crowded sidewalk, his arms stretched back as he gave out a sigh of relief.
"Well, as first days go, that one sucked like hell." Hiro pocketed his hands.
"I just hope they won't let Cat back there again." She shrugged.
"They probably will since Fred let her in the first time."
"Unless they're insane. She just destroyed company property within thirty minutes of being in the building."
"Is she getting dumber or something?"
GoGo shrugged, a warm smile gracing her face as she wrapped her arm to the crook of his. She pressed her head on his shoulder, her eyes meeting with his as she brought a smile to his face.
"I'm happy about one thing, though." She hummed slightly, straightening her head as they strode on. "It's been more than a month and there've been no super villains for us to fight. I could get used to it."
"Thought you liked the thrill." He turned her, his brow raised in surprise.
"Nearly dying overwhelms it sometimes." She shrugged, "We could still be heroes, but it is nice to have a break once in a while."
"Yeah, I guess."
A man walked towards them, his black NY beanie with a white horizontal line matching a vest that had the word 'KING' adorned vertically on it and shorts that hung low over black socks and sneakers. He leaned toward a newspaper vending machine, his hand clenched to his elbow as he read the headline.
"Oh word?" excitement widened his eyes and he exclaimed, "We got a black president, y'all!"
He ran past GoGo and Hiro, his stifled step coming off as odd to them. She glanced at him, a brow raised in confusion as a chuckle emanated from her.
"Isn't that old news?" she pointed at him.
The man stopped and turned, his eyes narrowing as he checked GoGo out. He turned, nodding as he rubbed his goatee.
"Damn, dat girl fine." He smirked, "Ayo, ma! Lemme get yo number!"
He ran toward her, his step coming to a halt as he eyed another girl across the street. He crossed the road, sprinting toward her and flipping over an oncoming car, landing on his ass.
"Yo, ma! Lemme get yo number!" he approached the girl.
"Wait … was that King B –," GoGo interrupted Hiro.
"Move on." She pushed him onward.
"I just wanted to see if it was him."
"Move."
"Well, if that was him, the writers are just going crazy." Hiro shook his head.
"Just move on." She looked around, her eyes latching onto a building across the street, "huh, Mr. Osamu's shop's back up." She stopped pushing him, turning to the building.
"Hey, yeah. At least he's recovered since the blackout; lots of people didn't." Hiro stopped walking, adjusting his jacket.
A man waved at GoGo from across the street, his smile accentuating his thinly opened eyes and chubby face. She crossed the road, Hiro following instinctively as she approached him.
"Good evening." The man nodded, turning to Hiro, "Good evening."
"Uh, hey." Hiro shrugged slightly, feeling uneasy around the man.
"Are you on your way home, Ethel-San?" he turned to GoGo.
"Yeah. How's the shop doing?" she turned to the small store that stood behind the man, two larger buildings adjacent to it.
"Better than ever. I'm even building another branch soon." The man's smile widened.
"Well, good luck on that." GoGo smiled, the gesture seeming forced though it was genuine, "Goodnight."
"Good –," A rumbling cut Mr. Osamu off, its reverberation bringing traffic to a halt as mumbling wove through the crowd, a panic ensuing.
"What was that?" GoGo looked around.
A cracking sound caught Hiro's ears, drawing him to a swift turn as his eyes dilated with fear. A deep crack fissured through a nearby skyscraper's wall, its windows breaking apart in a ripple as the building shook violently.
"Oh my God." Hiro stepped back, bumping against GoGo accidentally as fear enveloped him.
Smoke rushed out of the building's roof violently as it collapsed, its walls curving outward as the edifice plummeted and debris sprayed around. A cloud of cement spread out, swallowing cars and pedestrians nearby.
GoGo screamed and backtracked, following Hiro as he ran away from the cloud that fast approached. It swallowed them, debris flinging around as it crashed onto people and cars, blood and glass splattering around as it littered the street.
As always, Follow, Favourite and Review and Await the Awesomeness as we dive deeper into the universe. Thanks for reading,
