"She what?!" Wilbur said stunned.
"She went missing a few days ago." Lucy repeated. "I'm sorry, are you classmates of hers?" She asked suddenly looking a bit hopeful. "D-do you have any idea where she might be?!"
Wilbur held his hands up. "No, no! I mean… I'm one of her classmates, but I had no idea she was missing." He said. Dash looked at Edith, and then down at the ground. So that's why she hadn't been to school the past few days. He figured she was just sick or something.
Lucy looked back and noticed Violet and Eep standing on the sidewalk. "Those are, more classmates of ours. We came by because we were concerned." He lied. "Is it okay if we come in and talk for a bit? Maybe we could-"
"Wait a second, I know that girl." Lucy said eyeing Violet closely. She looked back at Dash and gasped. "And I know you too! You're-" She covered her own mouth. "Sorry, sorry! Can't say, I'm sorry!" She said waving her hands.
Dash looked stunned. "Wait, you know who I am? Like, who I really am?"
"Wait, how does she…?" Wilbur looked back up at her. "Are you… no, can't be."
Lucy looked back and forth at the two. "Okay, clearly some things need to be explained. Why don't you all come in and we can figure this out."
Wilbur turned and signaled for Violet and Eep for come. "What happening?" Violet asked.
"I… I don't know." Wilbur said honestly. This was a completely curveball to him. How did this woman know who Dash and Violet were? Where the heck was Margo? None of this was in the files he's read through. Then again, Margo had always been pretty secretive about her past.
"You don't know? But you're the future, guy, you're supposed to know everything!" She muttered harshly. "What do we go now?"
"We wing it."
Once they were inside, Lucy led everyone to the living room. They sat down and Lucy took a few minutes to go get snacks. Edith sat with them, clearly just as confused as they were. How did her mom know Dash? "Edith." Dash said.
She looked up from the floor and glared at him. "What?"
"I… wanted to say sorry about your sister." He said honestly. As much as he joked about it, he couldn't imagine what he'd do if something happened to Violet.
She seemed surprised by that. "Thanks." She muttered.
Lucy returned with a tray of cookies. "Edith, we have to talk about some stuff. Like top secret stuff. Would you mind giving us a minute sweetie?" She asked.
Edith pouted and blew a strand of hair from her face. "Fine." She said marching out.
Once Lucy was sure her daughter was out of earshot, she turned back to the group of teens. "I knew I recognized you two from somewhere. You're Mr. and Mrs. Incredibles kids."
"How do you know that exactly?" Violet asked.
Lucy smiled. "I work with the Anti-Villain League, a top-secret organization that is dedicated to combating super-villain activity. We work closely with the NSA."
"Wait? I thought supers and the NSA dealt with villains." Dash said.
"Well yeah, the public villains that make the huge threatening speeches and declare war against the world. But there are quite a few villains who like to try and hide under the radar. That's usually where we jump in." Lucy explained.
"Do you think Margo's disappearance has anything to do with that?" Wilbur asked.
Everyone turned towards him. Violet elbows him in his side. Was he really that dense? He could have at least found a more clever way to ask her. "What Wilbur means to say is-"
"I don't think so." Lucy answered cutting her off. "None of the villains we have any history with are out right now. They're all in lock up. It's like she just… vanished."
"Do you think she ran away?" Violet asked.
"No. Margo was always honest with us about her feelings, if she had been unhappy she would have told us." Lucy said.
Violet put a hand on her chin. "Did… did you daughter start exhibiting any strange behavior before she disappeared?" She asked. "Or… anything that may have pointed to her having powers or something?"
Lucy looked confused. "Powers? No. She definitely would have told us if anything like that happened. Gru always made the girls check with him if there were any side effects from his experiments."
"Experiments?" Dash asked.
"Oh, not on the girls! It's just… my husband is a scientist, and he does a lot of experiments. The girls, especially Margo, like to help him out from time to time."
Wilbur stood up. "Where exactly is your husband?"
Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. "He's downstairs in his lab. He's been down there ever since Margo vanished. I'm sorry, I don't really know you…"
"My name is Wilbur Robinson, and… look, I have a very confusing backstory, so I'm just gonna say I work with the NSA and leave it at that." He said. "Anyway, I think speaking with your husband would really be able to help me fill in some clues."
"Well, I you think it would help. The entrance to his lap is right around the corner. If you need any help then the minions will be able to guide you." Lucy said.
"The what?" Eep asked clearly confused.
Wilbur got up and headed out of the living room. "Eep, come with me. I think you might be able to help out too." He said. Eep followed him out leaving Violet and Dash with Lucy.
Violet honestly felt a little bad. She was a super, she was supposed to notice things like her classmates missing. It would have been one things is Margo had been like she used to be, quiet and under the radar, but she was well known by most people. They'd even worked together on a few assignments. She should have at the very least questioned it.
Lucy seemed to sense her discomfort. "My daughter has mentioned you before. She says you worked on a few projects together." Lucy said hoping to make some small talk.
"Oh, yeah. Though honestly, she did most of the work. Margo is like, super smart. Not surprising her dad is a scientist." Violet said.
Dash stuffed a cookie into his mouth, hoping to avoid getting wrapped up into this conversation. "Edith talks about you too. I think she has a little crush on you." Lucy said in a joking manner. Dash began choking on his cookie. "Oh dear…"
Wilbur made his way into the lab and passed by the dozens of minions. Eep looked around at the little yellow creatures with wonder. "What are these things?"
"They're the Minions. Not exactly sure what they are myself, but I do know that they works for Gru, and they're pretty much like family to him as well." Wilbur said. He remembered some of the few minions who'd survived the attack in his time. They weren't exactly competent, but they were useful and extremely loyal to the resistance.
Some of the minions glanced at them as they walked by. One of them approached Eep and offered a small wave. She smiled back and patted him on the head. "They're kind of cute."
"Funny too." Wilbur said before walking around the corner. He saw Gru standing over a table wielding some type of weird looking machine. "Gru!" He called.
The bald man nearly dropped the blow torch onto the floor. He caught it and quickly turned it off before turning to Wilbur. "What? Who are you?! What are you doing here?!"
"My name is Wilbur Robinson, this is my partner Eep Crood. We work with the NSA and we're here to ask you some questions about your daughter's disappearance."
Gru looked a bit surprised. "You… work with the NSA? Aren't you a little young?" He asked. He then shook his head. He'd seen plenty of strange things since joining the AVL. But that wasn't important right now. "No, never mind. You said something about finding my daughter?"
"You're wife told us a little already, that Margo didn't show any signs of running away or anything strange happening. But we wanted to check with you anyway. Maybe see if you noticed something that she didn't."
Gru scratched his head. "Well… no. She was acting normally. The last I saw her she went to bed, and when we got up in the morning, she was gone. There was no sign of anyone breaking in, the girls sleep in the same room and they didn't hear anything either."
"So she literally just vanished into thin air?" Eep asked.
Gru sighed. "I… I don't know. I've been working on this DNA tracking machine. Hopefully this will be able to find her." He said turning back to the machine.
Eep raised her eyebrow at the piece of technology. It didn't look anything like DNA tracker to her, but what did she know? "Maybe we should look in her room." Eep suggested.
"Would that be okay with you?" Wilbur asked.
Gru nodded. "Oh course, of course. Anything you think could help." He said not even looking towards them. Wilbur looked a bit worried. Gru seemed… off.
He'd been much too willing to let them check Margo's room, and hardly questioned them about them working for the NSA. It was clear Margo's disappearance had him more desperate than he'd ever been before. He'd accept help from anyone without question, even if it was from children. "Thanks."
They made their way back to the entrance of the lab. "He doesn't seem as stubborn as you said he was. Maybe a bit crazy, but not stubborn."
"He's desperate, and panicked. With Margo missing he's just no himself. That's understandable of course." Wilbur said as they made their way up to the main house. "Wait, he didn't tell us where the room it."
Eep saw a little girl running by. "Hey kid." She called. The girl stopped and looked towards them. "Where you going?"
"My room." She said innocently. Wilbur and Eep shared a glance. They remembered Gru saying they shared a room. Eep noticed she had a plate of cookies.
"A little snack?" She asked.
The girl nodded her head. "These are peanut butter cookies, they're Margo's favorite. I'm gonna put them on the window seal and hope she smells them and comes home."
Eep and Wilbur each felt a pang of sadness in their hearts. "Do… do you mind we come with you?" Wilbur asked patting her on the head. The little girl shook her head and began making her way upstairs. They followed after her.
Once they got her room, the girl set a plate down in front of the window seal and opened the window. She then got down on her knees and clasped her hands together. She looked like she was about to start speaking, but then looked back and noticed the two teens still standing. "Hey, aren't you going to pray to?"
Wilbur and Eep looked at each other and shrugged. They both got down on their knees and clasped their hands together. "Dear god, I hope that you bring Margo back. I miss her a whole lot. I hope she's okay and is eating well. I also hope she hasn't forgotten us." She said before nudging Wilbur.
The boy looked a little confused. He couldn't even remembered the last time he prayed. "Um… dear god. I also ask that Margo gets home safely, so that her family can be reunited and stop worrying about her. Also, if you could give me some help on my mission, that'd be great."
Eep figured it was her turn. "Yeah, same thing with the Margo situation. Hope she gets home safe. Also, could you make my dad stop being such a dunder head? I love him, but he's been driving me crazy."
The three of them suddenly felt a blast of wind blow them back. They all looked up and saw a shadowy figure standing in the window. "What the-?! God?!" Wilbur said in disbelief.
The figure stepped forward and revealed itself to be a boy. He was covered in scraps and bruises. "What? I'm not…" He suddenly fell back and grabbed his arm. "Ah!" He winced in pain for a few seconds, before suddenly passing out.
Eep looked confused. She wasn't sure whether to run over and check the kid, or to deck him for busting into some little girls room. Wilbur however chose to do the former. "Go get your mom and dad, quickly!" He told Agnes. The little girl nodded before running off.
Eep stood over Wilbur and looked down at the boy. "Who is he?" She asked confused.
"He… he's one of the guys I was planning on recruiting. But I don't know why he showed up here, or why he'd so banged up." He said gritting his teeth. "I don't remember hearing about any of this in the future! What's going on?!" He said balling his fist up.
Ted had been taken to the guest's room and laid on the bed. They'd cleaned and bandaged up his injuries, and decided it'd be best if they let him sleep for now. Even if they could wake him, they doubt they'd get anything useful from him in this state. Lucy had told the girls to stay down stairs, but Wilbur wasn't sure if there was any point in hiding it anymore. They'd end up getting involved and learning about all the supers soon enough anyway.
"So, who is he again?" Dash asked.
"His name is Ted. He's another super." Wilbur explained. "He was going to be the next guy I recruited after Margo. But, obviously, he shouldn't be here. He lives all the way in Thneedville."
"Where?" Violet asked.
Wilbur sighed. "Small village way off the map. You've probably never heard of it. Anyhow, he said something about Margo. That is definitely not a coincidence."
Dash stood over Ted and poked him in the face. "So, what exactly is our next move?" He asked before Violet slapped his hand.
"We can't do anything but wait for him to wake up and then tell us where Margo is. After that we can head back to the NSA and start preparing."
"That's assuming that Rick and all of our parents will even be willing to let them go along with this." Violet reminded. "We know Eep's dad won't want her joining us. Even if we do find Margo, I doubt Gru will be eager to let his daughter right back into danger. And we have now idea how his parents are going to react."
Before Wilbur could answer her, Ted shot up. "Margo!" He shouted reaching his hand out. He quickly looked around and realized where he was. "This is Margo house right?! I wasn't dreaming, I actually made it here right?!" He asked grabbing Dash's shirt.
Dash removed his hands. "Yeah, it is. Now would you chill out dude? You're safe now."
Ted looked around at all the unfamiliar faces. He stopped at Eep for a moment, and then turned to Violet. "I may be safe, but the others aren't! Now that I've escaped their going to move the others to a different location! We have to hurry before it's too late!"
"Wait, who's 'They'?" Violet asked.
"The ones who captured me. I don't know who they are exactly, government workers, terrorist, mad scientist, all I know is that they experimented on me and now I can do this!" He said opening his hand. A small tornado appeared in his hand. Everyone looked surprised, including Wilbur.
"Wait, wait, wait, experiments? You're not a natural super?"
Ted looked at him as if he were crazy. "What? No I'm not a natural super!"
Wilbur pointed to him. "You lied! Well, I mean, you will lie at some point and-! Ah! Screw it, it doesn't matter right now!" He said clearly frustrated. "Where is Margo?"
"I'll take you to her." Ted said getting up. He winced slightly as he rose up.
"No, you're injured. Just tell us where to-"
"There no time for that!" Ted snapped cutting Eep off. "Every time one of us escaped, they moved the facility within the next few days! We need to get there as soon as we can, and the quickest way is for me to lead you there!"
The others all exchanged glances. "I've fought by myself while injured before." Dash said shrugging. "I'm sure with all of us there he'll be fine."
Violet rolled her eyes. "I can always just put a force field around him. I've gotten way better at making and holding more than one at a time."
Wilbur looked back towards Ted. Even if they did want to leave him behind, it was clear he had no intention of staying put. And he was the only lead there anyway. "Alright then. Let's go."
"I'm coming too!"
Everyone turned towards the door and saw Edith standing there. "Oh crap." Wilbur said.
"How much of that did you hear?" Violet asked.
Edith glared towards them. "Everything. You being supers, the experiments, and my sister." She said walking in. "By the way." She punched Dash on the arm. "I knew there was a reason you kept beating me in the relay race! You cheater!"
Dash backed away from her. "Hey, it's not cheating!"
Violet looked panicked. Someone had found out about their identities. That was their most valuable secret. Wilbur laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. This was going to happen anyway."
It could have been worst. She was going to find out about the supers anyhow, at least she didn't know he was from the future. "This is just got way more complicated. Look Edith, you can't come. This is too dangerous for you."
"Too dangerous? I've helped save the world and put the moon back into orbit." She said crossing her arms. "I've dealt with danger before."
"Wait that time the moon disappeared was you?" Violet asked.
"Not important!" Wilbur said. "This isn't one of your father wacky misadventures, this is a incredibly dangerous mission."
She pulled out a ninja sword. "I'm ready." She said sternly. "It's my sister you're going to rescue, don't think that you can just leave me behind. If you try, I'll tell my father and-"
"Edith, you're father has already lost one daughter. You really going to make him risk another?" Wilbur asked. Edith looked caught off guard by that. He walked towards her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You want to rescue you're sister, I understand that. I really do. But the best thing you can do right now is stay here."
She balled her fist up. "But I want to help!"
"And you can." He took a small button from his belt and handed it to her. "Tell your parents what's happening. They can contact the AVL and use this to follow us once they're ready. We need to get moving now though. If what Ted said is true, every second counts."
Edith still didn't looked satisfied, but she took the button from him. "Fine."
Wilbur nodded. "I swear we'll bring your sister back."
"You better."
Wilbur turned towards the window and hit a button on his watch. His bike appeared in the air outside. "Whoa…" Ted said amazed. "You guys are the real deal huh?"
"More or less." Wilbur said shrugging. "Okay, there a lot of us, so it might be a little cramped. I guess Dash could run there and Ted could-"
"I can fly." Ted said raising his hand.
"What?! Aw, how come he gets to fly?" Dash complained.
Violet rolled her eyes. He could break the sound barrier, but was complaining that he couldn't fly. "I'm gonna call Rick on the way there. We're probably going to get an earful from our parents, but they'll save that for later when they hear the situation."
As they began heading out of the window, Edith grabbed Dash's shoulder. "Hey dweeb, don't go and do anything stupid like get yourself killed. Class would be boring without having you to beat up on you know."
He snorted. "I've been doing this long enough to know how not to get killed. Catch ya later, stupid hat." She punched him in his side. "Okay, no hat jokes, got it."
"And don't think this means we're friends either. I still can't stand you."
"The feelings mutual."
Dash put his mask on and then rushed out of the window. Wilbur turned to Ted. "Try to stay close to the bike so you stay within its cloaking range. People see a flying boy, and they're totally going to freak out."
"What about him?" Ted asked.
Dash smirked. "Oh please, hardly anybody can spot me. And even if they could, I'm the 'Dash'. Nobody is going to be shocked to see me." He said. "Well, they will, but only cause they'll be so excited to see fastest hero on the planet."
"You chose you're real name as your superhero name? Are you stupid?" Edith asked from the window.
"You didn't know!"
"Cause I didn't think anyone was that stupid!"
Wilbur snapped his fingers. "Hey, focus. We have things to do, people to save. Let's get moving." He said jumping onto his bike. "This is going to be our first official mission! Let's not screw it up!"
"Not official." Violet said.
"Don't be such a wet blanket." Dash said getting ready to run.
"Alright, finally some action!" Eep said cracking her knuckles.
"I'm coming guys." Ted said slipping a pair of goggles on.
Wilbur started the bike and took off. Ted flew up beside them, and Dash took off.
In the middle of a dark room, sat three shadowy figures. "One of them finally escaped huh? I knew we shouldn't have left security to that bastard. Thanks to him we have to move, again."
"Well, at least it was only the boy. We can afford to lose him. If Gru's brat would have escaped, well, god knows how much trouble would have come out of that."
"Still, better be safe than sorry. Send someone to take care of the boy."
"I don't think we'll have too."
"What?"
"According to the tracker, he's on his way here."
"You're kidding? This is perfect!" The first figure laughed. "He must think he's going to rescue his little friends! What a riot!"
"I'll deal with the kid myself." One of the figures said getting up.
"No, no need for that. This is the perfect chance to test our new weapon."
"What? You sure it's ready?"
"It's time to find out."
A/N: Okay! The team is one member from completion! I know people tend to have a bittersweet opinion on the Lorax, but I liked it. Of course I never read the book or saw the animated movie(one of the few Dr. Suess works I didn't read/see) so I guess there wasn't much for me to judge it from.
I decided to give him wind powers, mostly because the villain he dealt with was trying to sell air. I would have given him plant powers, but I'm saving that for someone else. Also, Eep's powers will be revealed in the next chapter.
I hope you guys liked it, and I hope it didn't feel too rushed. And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the whole 'Alien invasion' plot. I'm just building up to it, and setting up some plot for what I hope will be a trilogy. Thanks, and remember to read and review!
