Hey guys! This chapter is really long overdue, sorry for the long hiatus! I didn't really end up doing a lot of edits on the past few chapters, everything's essentially the same, but at least I've figured out where the story is going. Anyway, the timeline is kinda messy right now, but here's a quick rundown on what's happening, in order:

Vi's transported to the future, and appears in Penny's backyard in July 2037, at late afternoon (around 4 pm.) This chapter takes place after Chapter Three. Chapter Two and Four take place after Chapter Three, i.e. that night at the Robinson Industries' Gala, around 7 pm. So things happening in order: Chapter One, Chapter Three, Chapter Five, Chapter Two, Chapter Four.

OK, so I hope no one gets too confused. Feel free to drop me a line in the comments if I made some timeline errors or anything!

~ DragonWasser

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Chapter Five

Violet's POV

'...and here I am,' Violet sighed, absent-mindedly stroking the black cat that had decided to settle on her lap to sleep. She sank back into the couch, head still spinning from all that had happened. 'It's crazy.'

The petite girl who had found her - Penny - nodded sympathetically. It hadn't taken long for Violet to trust her, after she'd gotten over her initial shock. Sure, it wasn't like she had much of a choice if she wanted to figure out how to get home, but Penny was also hard not to trust, since she was so trusting herself (considering Vi had basically appeared out of nowhere, she figured being invited into Penny's home was a pretty big leap of faith.) And so, after Vi had woken up, gotten a glass of water, showered, and calmed down enough to not pass out again, she launched into her story, leaving almost nothing out besides the Parr's identities. It couldn't hurt to be wary, and as much as she trusted Penny, she really needed to stay vigilant. And focus on getting her family back together.

Or she might never see them again.

Penny seemed deep in thought, like she was trying to make sense of Violet's story. 'So you're from the past. And you were teleported to this year. And if we want to help you get back...'

She trailed off, then continued. 'Time travel. We need a way to get you back to 1962. That means we need... a time machine.'

'A time machine,' Violet echoed. She recalled a movie she'd seen when she was twelve, The Time Machine. She didn't remember a lot about it, besides that at the time she thought the whole thing was impossible. But now? 'Do you have time machines in the future?'

Penny shrugged. 'Well, not really. It's just rumours, but I guess it's the best lead we've got.' She leaned in a little, lowering her voice as if she were letting Violet in on a secret. 'Rumour has it that Cornelius Robinson - that's this famous inventor from Todayland - that he invented a time machine. They asked him in an interview, and he gave this long talk about time and time travel theories, but he didn't really answer the questions. No one asked him after that, but the rumours kept spreading.'

'Okay,' Violet said, trying to digest all that information. She shifted uneasily on the couch, unconsciously tugging at the hem of Penny's T-shirt, a little small for her. 'A famous inventor?'

'Yup,' Penny grinned. 'He runs this company called Robinson Industries. Some of their inventions can get pretty weird though.'

'Nothing bad though, right? A clean record?'

'Pretty much, I guess,' Penny replied, looking mildly bewildered. 'There were some incidents when his inventions needed to be recalled or something, but nothing really bad.'

Violet pushed down her unease, and started stroking Penny's cat again. 'Alright. We need to find this inventor.'

Penny frowned slightly, then nodded. 'Yeah, I guess. The problem is Todayland's forty-five minutes away and since I'm helping you find Cornelius, I need permission from my mom. And even if we do get to Todayland, we might not be able to meet him either, because he's a pretty private person.'

Vi felt herself deflate a little. If this was their best chance... what were the other options? Did they even have other options?

'Wait!' Penny cried out suddenly, startling Violet as she lunged for the strange futuristic 'phone' on the coffee table, and swiftly tapped with both thumbs on its glass surface. 'Tonight's the Robinson Industries' Gala!'

'What?'

Penny's face was scrunched up in concentration as she continued tapping on her phone, not looking up, but answered, 'It was in the news this morning. Apparently it's an event where they invite lots of scientists and inventors to present stuff. My point is, I just might know someone who'll be there.' With a final, satisfied tap on her phone, she grinned and looked up at Violet. 'His name's Hiro, and he's like fourteen, but he's already got a few inventions under his belt. He's going to present tonight. Maybe I could ask him to do us a favour and pass on a message if he manages to talk to Cornelius.'

'He'd do it?'

'Hopefully,' Penny said. 'We're on good terms, even if we're not very close.' She put the 'phone' next to the ear, then put it down after a while, Violet looking at her curiously. 'He's not picking up. Guess I'll leave him a message, and then we'll wait for my mom to get home.'

'Well, alright,' Violet said, a little uncertain. She knew there were good inventors - people who invented stuff to help others - but she was also overwhelmingly aware of the bad ones. Like Screenslaver. She gingerly fingered her neck where a mind-controlled Voyd had pinned her to the wall. That had hurt. It had hurt even worse afterwards, when Voyd kept apologising for that, when it was never her fault. And before that, Syndrome. Violet stopped fingering her neck, and circled her left wrist with a finger instead. Supers being lured to the jungle to meet their deaths, never even knowing what they were really fighting for. She twitched sharply, the black mass on her lap giving a startled mew. Penny watched as Violet stroked the cat again, calming down.

'Her name's Mittens,' Penny volunteered, moving closer. 'You can try scratching behind her ears. She likes it.'

Violet moved her hand to scratch behind Mittens' ears, and within a few seconds Mittens was purring, stretching herself out on Vi's lap. Violet smiled. 'You have a lot of pets.'

As if on cue, Bolt rushed it barking from the backyard, startling Mittens into leaping up from Violet's lap, hissing violently. Bolt didn't seem to mind - instead, he jumped straight onto the couch, giving Mittens a sloppy lick. She gave him a look that was very disdainful for a cat, then curled up again. Penny, meanwhile, giggled, and patted Bolt's head. Turning to Violet, she replied, 'Only three, really, but they're a handful. Bolt, Mittens, and my hamster. His name's Rhino.'

'Rhino?' Violet asked, raising an eyebrow, trying to stifle a grin.

'Don't ask,' Penny said, grinning. 'He goes crazy whenever he sees them on TV or anywhere. So we just call him Rhino.'

Vi laughed, leaning back into the couch. 'I never really wanted a pet before, but my little brother wants a dog. My mom and dad said no, but he's trying to butter them up. He cleaned all the silverware last week. That was... a lot of silverware.' She felt her heart clench after she finished speaking. Dash. 'He's really annoying and embarassing and he irritates me all the time...' Vi trailed off, but the little voice in her head went on. And I'm scared I'll never see him again.

'Hey,' Penny said gently but firmly, tentatively resting a comforting hand on Vi's shoulder, 'we are going to find your family. Your parents, your annoying kid brother, anyone else that went missing. Okay?' She took her hand off Vi's shoulder, a small smile crossing her face. 'I might not be able to make promises, but I am a pretty lucky penny, and I'm positive your brother's going to annoy you till the end of time. Hang in there, Incredigirl.'

Violet gave her a shaky smile, rubbing at the beginnings of tears in her eyes. 'Thanks, Penny,' she said, as determination warmed in her heart. 'And,' she added as an afterthought. 'Just call me Violet.'

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Hope you guys liked it! I'm going to try to update more frequently, maybe at least once per two weeks. Feel free to leave a review or follow my updates on Tumblr dragonwasser! ~ DragonWasser