Dominion (Futuristic Four)

"Like a Secret Superhero Base."

The ripples of time on the other side of the time machine glass had never looked so inviting.  They almost seemed to be calling Hiro.  Time travel was what would save Tadashi.  He knew it.

Hiro glanced at the others in the time machine.  They were all talking about something trivial.  He frowned.

Wilbur would never let Hiro borrow the time machine.  He would side with Violet and say that time shouldn't be messed with.  But this was Tadashi!  The best guy in the world!  They just didn't understand yet.

I'll have to make my own time machine, Hiro thought.  I can't tell them about it.  Not yet.  I'll tell them afterwards, when Tadashi is safe.

"I guess you're right," Wilbur said.  "I guess we can go back to the future.  But it has to be before Kyuubi."

"None of us are arguing there," Penny responded.

"Didn't you say you made a hideout?" Violet asked.

"Yeah.  I was making it for the day we could all be in the same time again.  Like a secret superhero base."

"You've got some big ideas, Wilbur," Penny said.

"Nah, just being hopeful."

The windows cleared.  Soon they were flying through rippling grasslands. Trees dotted the landscape, but they were few and far between.

"Hey, we look older!" Penny announced. Hiro glanced around. It was true. Everyone looked like they had grown up just the slightest bit.

"Must be that returning to our proper time fixed whatever made us young," Wilbur said.

"But this isn't Violet or my proper time," Hiro pointed out.

"Oh, would you look at that we're here!" Wilbur blurted. A single glimmering blue building interrupted the view. He guided the time machine past one garage door and into a second.

"Why didn't you park in the first garage?" Penny asked.

"Because that's Hiro's workshop," Wilbur answered. "I built this place with everyone in mind. Come on! I'll give you a tour!"

Hiro couldn't believe how much effort Wilbur had put into building their hideout. It had four different wings, one for each person.  He didn't remember most of the tour.  Only that Penny's section had a huge room for pets, but especially for her dog Bolt.

Hiro's area had a bedroom, a research room, a library, a lab, and a second lab which was attached to one of the garages.

This lab will be perfect for building a time machine, Hiro thought.  For a split second he felt guilty about not telling his friends what he was doing. Then he pushed the feeling away. This is none of their business. It's my choice to make, and I'm making it.

———

The days blended together as Hiro secluded himself to work on his time machine.  Eventually it began to take shape.  He built it to look like Wilbur's, as well as adding a few features of his own.  Among those were laser cannons and a powerful computer which could sense changes in timelines.

He also created several other inventions to help him with rescuing Tadashi. He created a tiny globe, like a stress ball, which when squeezed would slow down time to 1/16th of it's normal speed. Squeezing again would return time to its normal pace. Another invention was a spray bottle which could lower the temperature of the air by fifteen degrees and put out fires instantly. One of the earlier versions of the spray bottle actually encased the fire inside of a protective blue covering. Somehow the fire kept burning. Hiro didn't understand it, but he kept several of the trapped flames in his room because they looked epic.

His final invention was a robot which was built to look like a huge dog.  He programmed it to follow his every command and do whatever he wanted, but he left it powered down for the moment.  There was no need to activate it now.

As time passed Hiro and the others gradually returned to their proper ages. Hiro liked to call the strange process "recovering from time lag." The changes in age seemed to push everyone apart. That, combined with how Hiro hardly ever left his lab, meant that he hardly ever saw the others. Only Violet still visited him. Even she hadn't seen what Hiro was working on. But that would all change. The time machine was done, Hiro was ready, and he was finally going to rescue Tadashi.

Soon they would all realize he was a hero.