Chapter 7: Suit Up
As the evening sun began to set into the San Fransokyo bay, Fred and Violet made their way across the SFIT campus.
"You know, for a tour guide, you're being awfully quiet," Violet observed with a smirk as she looked over at Fred.
"Oh man, I'm sorry," Fred quickly apologised as he looked back at Violet.
"It's okay," Violet replied with a small laugh, taken aback slightly by the forcefulness of Fred's apology, "I was just teasing you."
"Ah, geez," Fred sighed as his face flushed with embarrassment, "I'm really sorry then."
"You don't need to apologize," Violet said as she stopped walking next to one of the campus buildings and gave Fred a questioning look, "Is there something wrong?"
"Wrong?" Fred repeated with a nervous titter, "Why would anything be wrong?"
"Because this is the second time we've interacted, and you've been weird both times," Violet answered bluntly, "Did I do something wrong?"
"What? No, it's not you," Fred replied with a sigh as he scratched the back of his head and looked down at his feet.
"Then what is it?" Violet questioned as she crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow at Fred, "We might as well get it out of the way now."
Fred was quiet for a moment as he searched for the right words, feeling like his face was on fire. Finally, Fred took a deep breath and lifted his head to look at Violet.
"Would you be mad if I told you that I act weird around you because I think you're really pretty?" Fred inquired as he gave Violet an awkward smile.
A silent moment passed between the two as Violet blinked at Fred in surprise, a blush slowly coloring her cheeks.
"Oh," Violet said meekly, finally breaking the silence as she lowered her head and allowed some of her hair to curtain part of her face, "That...that explains a lot actually."
"Look, I'm sorry if I made this super weird or something," Fred said quickly as he held his hands up in front of him, "If you want to leave, I totally get it."
"Oh, come on," Violet chided with a smile, sweeping her hair back with one hand, "I don't mind a guy calling me pretty if he's not being a creep about it. Which you're not, by the way."
"Oh," Fred replied in surprise, "Alright then."
"So, is this the part where you ask me out?" Violet questioned.
"W-What?" Fred stuttered as his face flushed again.
"I said, is this the part where you ask me out?" Violet repeated, smiling as she rolled her eyes.
"...Would you say yes?" Fred inquired.
"I haven't decided yet," Violet answered with a shrug and a smirk before giving Fred an appraising look, a blush still coloring her features, "I will say that I don't think you're exactly hard on the eyes either."
Fred felt his face turn completely red as Violet gave him a teasing wink.
"Well, I'd totally ask you out then, but I feel like we barely know each other," Fred explained as he scratched the back of his head.
"Lucky for you, we're in the perfect situation to fix that," Violet replied.
Turning to a low, stone wall that surrounded most of the building they were standing near, Violet took off her backpack and placed it on the ground next to her before leaning her skateboard against it. Then, turning towards Fred, Violet sat on the wall.
"Come on," Violet said as she pat the space next to her with one hand, "Have a seat."
Smiling, Fred sat down next to Violet.
"Now what?" Fred inquired once he was comfortable.
"Now, we talk," Violet answered, "Tell me all about yourself."
"Well, my name's Fred," he responded in a jovial tone.
"I know that," Violet said with a laugh as she elbowed Fred playfully in the side.
"Well, what do you want to know then?" Fred inquired with a chuckle of his own.
"How old are you?" Violet asked.
"Twenty-one," Fred answered.
"Oooo, an older man," Violet said with amusement, "My dad would not approve. What's your major?"
"English lit," Fred replied.
"I didn't know SFIT had an English department," Violet said as her brow furrowed.
"It doesn't," Fred confirmed with a shake of his head, "I'm not a student here."
A moment passed as Violet stared at Fred in confusion.
"Then why are you here so much?" Violet inquired.
"I like it here," Fred explained with a shrug, "I consider myself something of a science enthusiast. I love checking this stuff out even if I don't fully understand it."
"And the school just lets you hang around like that?" Violet questioned as she quirked an eyebrow at Fred.
"Well, in their defense, I am also the mascot," Fred answered with a smirk, causing Violet to let out a snort of laughter.
"The mascot, huh?" Violet inquired, earning a nod from Fred, "Nice. Alright, your turn."
"My turn?" Fred parroted in confusion.
"To ask me a question," Violet explained.
"Right, right," Fred replied before thinking for a moment, "Well, I suppose I should cut right to the chase. You dating anyone?"
"Not at the moment, no," Violet answered with a wan smile, "There was a guy I was dating for awhile back in high school but that didn't work out."
"Sounds like a touchy issue," Fred observed.
"Not really," Violet replied with a shrug, "He ultimately wasn't onboard with what I wanted to do with my life."
"His loss," Fred stated.
"Now you're just brown nosing," Violet observed as she pointed a finger at Fred, "But keep it up. Flattery will get you everywhere."
"Alright," Fred replied with a chuckle that failed to hide the reddening of his cheeks, "Your turn."
"Got any siblings?" Violet inquired.
"Nah, only child," Fred answered with a shake of his head, "You?"
"Two younger brothers," Violet replied.
"Favorite movie?" Fred asked.
"The Princess Bride, easy," Violet answered quickly.
"Not Star Wars?" Fred questioned in mock offense, "Inconceivable!"
Violet giggled in delight at the joke before a thoughtful look crossed her face.
"Here's a meaty one," Violet warned with a smile, "Why are you such a 'science enthusiast'?"
"Well, I guess there are a couple of reasons for that," Fred replied, "The first is that my dad is something of a scientist, so even though I've never really had the smarts for that kind of stuff, I grew up admiring the kind of things that science could do. The second is that I've always been a pretty big fan of superheroes."
"What do superheroes have to do with science?" Violet questioned in amusement.
"What don't they have to do with science?" Fred countered, "The only way that you can get superpowers is through science. You either have to be involved in a freak lab accident, or get your hands on some advanced tech, or, if you're lucky, have parents who were superheroes so they can pass their superpowers on to you."
"I don't think it works quite like that," Violet observed with an enigmatic smile.
"But it must be close to it," Fred replied with a shrug, "My point is that, as a kid, there was nothing I wanted in the world more than to become a superhero. So, I think I ended up hanging around in a place full of bleeding edge science because part of me hoped that, on the off chance, I would become a superhero by being here."
"And do you still hope that you'll become a superhero by hanging around here?" Violet inquired.
"Eh, not any more," Fred answered with a shrug, "I mostly just like hanging out with the friends I've made here. Just watching them do all their crazy science experiments is excitement enough for me."
"What kind of stuff do your friends do?" Violet inquired, "I suppose I have to count myself as a science enthusiast, so I'm interested to find out."
"Did you want to go have a look?" Fred questioned with an excited smile.
"Are we allowed to do that?" Violet questioned with a doubtful but amused expression.
"Look, my friends trust me not to break their stuff," Fred reassured her, "As long as we only touch a few things, it should be fine."
"That sounds extremely dubious," Violet observed with a grin before she hopped off the wall, "Let's do it."
"Really?" Fred questioned in excitement as he hopped off the wall as well, "Alright!"
"Lead on, fellow science enthusiast," Violet said, gesturing at Fred as she picked up her backpack and skateboard. Nodding in reply, Fred began making his way across the campus with Violet falling in step next to him.
Meanwhile,
Across town, Wasabi's van rumbled to a stop in front of a restaurant sitting at the corner of two intersecting streets. The building was colorfully painted, with the first floor consisting of a cafe while the upper floors were clearly a living space. Above the door was a sign reading "Lucky Cat Cafe" which was being held by a carved, smiling, white cat.
"Look, I don't understand why I can't drive the van," Tip said in annoyance from her position in the middle seat of the van's second row.
"Because it's illegal," Wasabi replied with a sigh from the driver's seat as he put the van into park and killed the engine.
"So's being a vigilante," Go Go stated with a tone of amusement as she opened the door and hopped out of the front row passenger seat.
"Just because we're out in the city fighting crime every night doesn't mean I'm going to let a twelve year old drive a car in broad daylight," Wasabi argued in a hushed tone as everyone else exited the van.
"You're just jealous because I'm a better driver than you," Tip accused as the group entered the cafe, a tiny bell above the door ringing as it opened.
The inside of the cafe was typical for a restaurant of its type, with small tables and comfortable chairs scattered about for the handful of patrons who were present to use. Directly across from the front door was a counter, on which sat a cash register and a cappuccino machine while a television hung in a corner above it. Behind the counter were a pair of double doors that led into a back room while a staircase to the upper floors sat on the right side of the room.
Standing behind the counter was a middle aged woman with light brown hair that hung to the base of her neck, green eyes and Caucasian features. She wore a green apron over a black t-shirt and blue jeans.
Looking over at the group as they entered, the woman flashed them a bright smile.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite customers?" the woman observed.
"Hey, Aunt Cass," Hiro greeted as the group made their way to the counter.
"I see you even managed to drag Honey out of the lab," the woman, Cass observed before she gave the young woman in question a warning look, "You had better not be here to work."
"No, just here for some food," Honey replied with an embarrassed smile.
"That's good to hear," Cass replied, her brow furrowing as she looked over the group, "Though you all seem to have lost Fred along the way."
"Oh, well, on the way here we ran into Violet, that girl he likes," Riley explained with a grin.
"Did you now?" Cass questioned, her interest peaked as she leaned against the counter.
"Yeah, so we left them alone so they could talk," Riley continued with a tone of excitement in her voice.
"Well, I'm going to need all the details once you have them," Cass said as she straightened back up, "But for now, what can I get you kids?"
"Uh, Cass," Wasabi spoke up, his attention fixed on the television in the corner, "Can you turn the volume up?"
Looking at Wasabi in confusion for a moment, Cass grabbed a remote from behind the counter and turned up the volume of the television.
"If you're just joining us, this is SFNN with a breaking news report," the voice of a reporter said as the television displayed a bird's eye view of a large building somewhere in the city, with a swarm of police cars parked in front of it, their lights flashing, "A few minutes ago, armed men stormed the interm headquarters of KreiTech, which is being used while repairs are being conducted on their main headquarters following the alien attack a few months ago. Police were quick to surround the building following reports of gunshots, but were repelled by heavy weapons fire. So far, the gunmen have not emerged from the building, and no demands are currently known."
"Oh my God," Cass whispered in horror, covering her mouth with her hand as she tore her gaze away from the television and looked at the others. At that point, the group also pulled their attentions away from the television and looked at one another anxiously.
"I imagine you guys are going to go handle this?" Cass said quietly to them.
"We need to, but we don't have any of our equipment," Hiro answered with an anxious expression.
"What!?" Cass whispered in shock, glancing around to make sure none of the other patrons weren't listening in, "Where is it?"
"Back at Fred's house," Riley explained, "We didn't think to carry it around with us."
"So you have to go all the way to Fred's house to get your stuff before you can go help those people!?" Cass asked.
"It's the only way," Tip replied, "I could pilot the van over there but I could never get it inside the building."
"We're just going to hope we can get our stuff before things kick off down there," Go Go said.
"Too late," Wasabi said solemnly as he looked back at the television. Following his gaze, the others saw that gunmen in the building's windows had opened fire on the police officers, forcing them to retreat and find cover as the high caliber bullets tore into their vehicles.
"We have to do something!" Riley whispered, her eyes wide.
"But what? At this rate, we'll never get there in time," Hiro replied, "Our stuff is too far away."
"That's not strictly true," Honey replied with an awkward tone.
At this, the others turned and looked at Honey with confused expressions.
"So, you know how you made some pieces of our equipment as backup, Hiro?" Honey questioned with a strained smile.
"Yeah?" Hiro confirmed with a questioning tone.
"I may have borrowed some of it," Honey admitted.
"Why?" Tip questioned.
"I was seeing if I could chemically treat them to withstand certain hazards we might encounter," Honey explained with a shrug, "I had some time on my hands and I….wanted to stay busy."
"Girl, we need to teach you how to have fun again," Go Go commented as she gave Honey a level look.
"This is fun for me," Honey replied defensively, causing Go Go to roll her eyes.
"So what you're telling me is that you left out equipment laying around the school lab!?" Wasabi hissed sharply.
"I locked it up," Honey argued weakly.
"Okay, so you've got a set of our equipment at the lab," Hiro said, "I don't see how that helps us. We'd still need to go there and grab it before-"
"Fred is currently within close proximity to the lab," Baymax pointed out, bringing everyone's attention to him.
"Right, Fred's still on campus!" Riley exclaimed.
"And what, we're just going to send him in there by himself?" Tip questioned.
"Until we can get there to help him, it's the best thing we can do," Hiro said as he pulled out his cellphone, "Those people in there need help, and one superhero is better than none at all."
Meanwhile,
Opening the door, Fred reached in and flicked the lights on before stepping aside and letting Violet enter the lab. Stepping inside, Violet looked around with wide eyes.
"Wow, you weren't kidding," Violet said with a note of awe in her voice, "This is some cutting edge stuff."
"You don't know the half of it," Fred replied with an excited smile before he waved Violet over to one of the work stations. Walking over to it, Violet found what appeared to be a high end bicycle, constructed out of sleek, yellow metal. On close inspection, Violet noticed that the wheels, which were solid metal disk, were not attached to the bike frame, but hovered an inch or so away from the spokes.
"Magnetic suspension?" Violet inquired as she inspected it.
"Yeah, this is Go Go's baby," Fred explained, "No friction means faster speed right?"
"Exactly," Violet agreed with a nod before glancing away from the bike. As she did, she spotted something that made her eyes light up with excitement.
"Are those laser field emitters?" Violet questioned as she jogged over to a different part of the lab, where two pylons sat about three feet away from one another.
"Yeah, this is Wasabi's project," Fred confirmed as he ran over to her, "Careful with it though. I've seen those lasers cut through solid steel."
"I bet," Violet replied with an impressed expression, "So this is Wasabi's, the bike is Go Go's, what about Honey?"
"Right over here," Fred answered as he led Violet over to a different work area, where most of the work space was occupied by vials and beakers of various sizes, "This is where she makes the chemistry happen."
"Chemistry, huh?" Violet commented.
"Yeah, Honey's a wiz at," Fred confirmed, "And then there's Hiro's area where he does his robotics stuff, but there's not much in there right now."
"Chemistry, robotics," Violet muttered to herself as she swept her gaze around the room, a thoughtful expression on her face, "Magnetic suspension and lasers…."
"Everything okay?" Fred asked with concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just-" Violet replied before her expression turned anxious, "Fred….can I-"
"Remember me, for centuries!" a voice loudly declared from Fred's pocket as it began to buzz.
"Oh crap!" Fred exclaimed as he fished his phone out while the song continued to blare, "I'm sorry Violet, that….they wouldn't call if it wasn't an emergency…."
"No, it's fine," Violet replied as she waved off his apology, her expression still nervous.
"Sorry, it will be just a minute," Fred said as he turned and walked a short distance from Violet before answering the phone.
"Hiro, I'm kind of in the middle of something," Fred answered somewhat curtly before his posture became tense, "What?...It's happening right now?….I mean, yeah but what am I….The lab? Really? I mean I'm there right now….Nevermind what I'm doing wha-...Yes, I'm still with her….I'll see what I can do, what was that number again….Okay thanks, I'll get there as quick as I can."
With that Fred ended the call and slid his phone back into his pocket with a sigh.
"Everything okay?" Violet asked, quirking an eyebrow at Fred as he turned back to her.
"Oh, uh, yeah, everything is fine!" Fred replied with a nervous laugh, "I just….need to go?"
"You need to go?" Violet questioned in confusion.
"No, I mean, you need to go," Fred quickly corrected.
"Why?" Violet inquired, her tone turning suspicious.
"Because…." Fred floundered as he glanced around the room, his eyes falling on Honey's chemistry equipment, "Because there's a leak! A chemical leak!"
"A chemical leak?" Violet parroted, clearly not believing him.
"Yeah!" Fred exclaimed.
"And your friends now that….how?" Violet pressed, looking unamused.
"Because-" Fred began to say before Violet stopped him by holding up her hand.
"Nevermind, I don't care," Violet said before pointing at Fred, "You're hiding something."
"What?" Fred replied, sweat forming on his brow as he let out a nervous laugh, "No, I'm not-"
"Fred," Violet interrupted sharply, giving Fred a cold look as he did.
Seeing this, Fred bit his lip and clenched his hands while glancing around nervously before sighing and slumping his shoulders in defeat.
"Yeah, I'm hiding something," Fred admitted before raising his head and looked at Violet pleadingly, "Do you think….you can keep a secret?"
At this, Violet smiled and placed her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, I think I can manage that," Violet replied.
A few moments later, Fred and Violet were standing in front of a large cabinet that sat in the corner of Honey's work area. Turning his attention towards the keypad on the front of the cabinet, Fred quickly inputted a series of numbers, causing the keypad to chirp and unlock. Pulling the cabinet open, Fred found that the inside was made up of a number black metal shelves on rollers, each labeled with a name. Spotting the name Kaiju, Fred grabbed it and pulled it out, revealing a complete set of his equipment.
"You're Kaiju," Violet said as she stood on the opposite side of the shelf from Fred, looking down at the costume as she spoke, "You're one of the Big Hero 9. You and your friends are the Big Hero 9!"
Looking up at Fred, Violet found him scratching the back of his head and looking at her nervously.
"...Yyyyyessss?" Fred finally admitted.
A quiet moment passed between the two of them before a smile that threatened to tear her face open spread across Violet's features.
"I knew it!" Violet declared triumphantly, "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"
"You did?" Fred asked in confusion.
"What's the emergency?" Violet questioned quickly.
"How did you-" Fred began to ask.
"Fred!" Violet cut him off as she made a "hurry up" motion at him with her hands, "What's the emergency!?"
"Oh, uh, armed gunmen have stormed the KreiTech headquarters and are in a shootout with police," Fred explained, "None of the others have their equipment, so I have to go ahead of them."
"What!?" Violet exclaimed before she grabbed hold of the bottom part of Fred's costume and tossed it at him, forcing the young man back a step as he caught it, "What are you waiting for!? Hurry up and get your stuff on!"
Nodding his head in understanding, Fred quickly began to pull on the bottom half of his costume, hopping up and down until he had his back to Violet. Reaching behind him, he grabbed the top part of his costume and slipped it on. As he finished securing the costume, he paused as he heard the sounds of zippers and rustling cloth.
"Are you…." Fred began to say, his brow furrowing as he began to turn around, "Are you….getting changed?"
"Yes! Don't turn around!" Violet snapped, causing Fred to quickly turn so his back was to the young woman as his face turn bright red.
"S-Sorry!" Fred apologized, "I-I wasn't trying to peek at you! Honest!"
Violet didn't say anything as Fred reached behind him and grabbed his head piece.
"V-Violet?" Fred questioned nervously.
More silence.
"Violet?" Fred repeated, his tone becoming confused.
Steeling himself, Fred turned around, only to find Violet was completely gone. He looked around wildly but found no sign of Violet anywhere besides her skateboard and backpack, which sat open on the floor with her crumbled up jeans on top of it.
"I thought I said don't turn around," Violet suddenly said from directly behind him. Letting out a yelp, Fred spun around, but found no one behind him.
"Violet?" Fred asked in confusion, "Where are you?"
"Right here," Violet said before she suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of him. As he jumped back in surprise, Fred got a good look at the outfit Violet was now wearing which was largely made out of spandex that was skin tight in places. The costume was made up of a leotard that was mostly purple in color except around her waist, where it was black, matching her black, thigh-high boots and gloves. Over this she wore an open, stylish, black coat, the end of which hung loosely by the back of her calves. Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail with a purple hair tie, and her features were obscured by a black domino mask. On her chest was an insignia displaying a stylized purple V on a black oval.
A moment of silence passed between the too as Fred stared at Violet in shock, his headpiece slipping out of his numb hands and thumping against the ground.
"You okay?" Violet questioned with an amused smirk.
"...Ooooooh my God, you'RE ULTRAVIOLET!" Fred exclaimed, his voice reaching a pitch that hurt Violet's ears.
"Yep," Violet replied as she stuck a finger in her ear and wiggled it, "That's me."
"That….I….This is so cool!" Fred shouted excitedly, "Is….Is that a new costume?"
"Yep," Violet replied as she took the ends of her coat in her hands and did a quick pirouette, "I figured since I'm branching out on my own, I needed a solo outfit for myself."
"That's awesome!" Fred stated, his grin threatening to tear his face apart.
"Look, I'd love to stand here and talk shop with you, but there are people who need our help," Violet said, looking Fred dead in the eye as she spoke, "So, what do you say, Kaiju? You up for an old fashioned superhero team up?"
His grin turning savage, Fred snapped his headpiece into place.
"You know it."
A/N: Now this was a very fun chapter for me to write. Very excited to fully introduce my version of Violet. Hope you guys like it! Plenty of action to come next chapter! As always, feedback and critiques are welcome, so please review! Later!