Dominion (Futuristic Four)

"No Secrets, Huh?"

Hiro folded his arms. "You bet we need to talk."

"So we're on the same page. Good."

Hiro huffed. Same page. Yeah. That's where they were, alright. "I'm leaving."

"What?" Wilbur snorted a laugh and shook his head. "Don't be stupid. You have to stay here."

"So I'm stupid now, huh?"

"You know that's not what I meant, Hiro."

"Who knows what you really mean? You're the secrets guy here!"

"You're calling me the secrets guy?"

"It couldn't be more obvious you don't trust me. You guys won't let me do anything to help!"

"Maybe that's because we can't trust you! And we're a team, or we were. What kind of secrets am I keeping? I've been completely straight with you all!"

Hiro and Wilbur were standing practically nose to nose when the hotel room door burst open again. Penny burst in holding a wriggling mountain of white fur. A dog of some sort. A black cat with white markings on its chest, paws, and muzzle strutted in at her heels. Violet followed just behind holding a hamster which was running crazy circles in its hamster ball.

"I can't believe you fixed the time machine!" Penny gushed as the white dog licked her face frantically. "And you went all the way back in time just to get Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino! Thank you thank you thank you!"

She seemed to notice Wilbur and Hiro for the first time, their clenched fists and glaring eyes. Her smile faded. Wilbur backed away.

"No problem, Penny," he said with a nervous chuckle. "I thought they'd cheer you up after . . . everything."

"No secrets, huh?" Hiro muttered.

"Hiro, I was going to tell you guys eventually-"

Hiro walked past him and out into the hallway. Penny moved out of his way, but Violet followed him.

"Hiro, wait! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to do something useful," he said. His mind was buzzing. "I'm going to get Baymax, since you guys say he's so important. That's the only thing I'm good for around here!"

"But there's things you don't understand yet. Baymax isn't-"

"Better run that by Wilbur first. He seems to know everything here and if he says I can't be trusted to know stuff then I'll just leave you and your stupid superpowers alone!"

"You . . ."

"Violet, let him go." That was Penny. Hiro kept walking, not bothering to look back to see if anyone was following him. He was done with them. All of them. He needed somewhere to clear his head. He needed someone who would listen to him, trust him.

But nobody like that existed here. He wasn't even in his own time.

Before he realized it Hiro was standing in front of Aunt Cass's Cafe with a rapidly cooling temper. Yes, Wilbur was being a bit of a jerk, or at least annoying for not telling Hiro everything, but that was no reason to take it out on Violet. She was only trying to help, after all. She was just doing her best.

And she probably hates me now, Hiro mourned. So much for having friends from the future. Or the past. Or whenever they were from. He wondered what she was trying to tell him about Baymax. He wondered why they wanted Baymax in the first place. What could they do with a personal healthcare assistant? Must be something important for it to be one of the first things Wilbur and Penny had asked about.

Hiro heard footsteps approaching from behind. He didn't know who was coming, but he couldn't risk it being himself. Without many options Hiro threw himself behind a garbage can and crouched down so that he could see who it was.

Someone short hurried forward, glancing over his shoulder from time to time. It looked like Hiro, but it wasn't Hiro. Or maybe it was? It was too confusing for Hiro to wrap his mind around. He watched as Piro (Past Hiro) fumbled with the locked door. He was probably trying to make as little noise as possible but failing terribly at it. Hiro squinted. Was I really that short?

"What are you doing out so late, kid?" a voice asked, startling both Hiro and Piro. Piro spun around to face the speaker. It was a man dressed in a leather jacket, sunglasses, and a wide brimmed hat. Piro didn't seem to recognize the stranger, and neither did Hiro. Then again, Hiro could barely see anything about the stranger from where he crouched.

"Just getting home," Piro said, pointing over his shoulder at the door. "Late projects and stuff."

"Keep working at it," the man said. "People will tell you some things are impossible. Even your friends. But you just have to believe in yourself. You're going to save lives some day."

"Right," Piro said. "I need to go. My Aunt's waiting for me."

Hiro knew that wasn't true, but he was glad for Piro to get away from the stranger. There was something about him that was just . . . wrong. Like the very air around him was trying to rip itself apart atom by atom. Piro pulled open the door and slipped inside. A couple of moments later the stranger walked away and Hiro allowed himself to stand. He glanced up at the dark windows of the Cafe. How was he supposed to get Baymax now? He'd forgotten that Tadashi kept Baymax at the school lab, and that would be locked tight by now. He'd have to get Baymax in the morning.

"Back out so soon?"

Hiro flinched violently and spun around. The stranger was back again, a bemused expression on his face. Hiro managed a weak grin.

"Just dropped something on the sidewalk," he said. The excuse sounded lame even to his own ears. "I just needed to grab it. I'll be going back inside now."

The stranger chuckled slightly, but the sound soon died away. His eyebrows lowered as if he was examining Hiro closely under the sunglasses. Hiro's heart caught in his throat. He was wearing different clothes than Piro had been. Had the stranger noticed?

"Bye," Hiro said, moving to the Cafe door and pulling it open. Luckily Piro had forgotten to lock it, just as Hiro would have done. Hiro closed it and triple checked that it was locked behind him.

He was safe from the stranger's probing eyes for now, but he was in the same building as Piro, Tadashi, and Aunt Cass. He couldn't leave without risking the stranger coming back.

He was trapped.