The Modern Four

Chapter 11

That afternoon, the four got Hiro's older brother, Tadashi, to drive them to the supermarket, Stewart's, where most of the local high school students work. The four of them walked in, looking around and comparing name tags to the one on the receipt. Hiro sighed, clearly annoyed with their poor luck. "Cmon, Rapunzel cannot be a common name. This Rapunzel chick has to be here somewhere!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms. The others sighed, nodding along.

"Are you looking for me?" A girls voice said behind them. They turned around, coming face to face with a girl with long blond hair and a kind smile. A name tag on her Stewart's uniform read, in plain print 'Rapunzel.'

The four blinked, shocked by their dumb luck. Hiro was the first to speak.

"Hi there, uh, we're looking for this customer, we uh...we..."

Penny took over for him. "We think he stole his bike. And we want to get it back." Rapunzel looked over the receipt, frowning a bit.

"Hm...I can sorta remember this guy. He came in last night, and he bought...well, it's all on the receipt. Only reason I remember him is because he keep causing troubles, and I was gonna ask around to see if anyone knew he if he was usually like that. We have quite a few customers that are like that, Ursula Octipi, Dr. Facilier, even my own aunt, Rebecca Gothel..."

Wilbur nodded along, pretending to listen. "Mhmmm...and did you remember anything about this guy? Like what he looks like...or, you know...his name...?"

Rapunzel frowned. "All I remember is that he wore a bowler hat. I wish I could help more, but I gotta get back to work." She smiled, walking away. The four looked at each other, sighing.

"So much for our evidence." Wilbur sighed, throwing away the receipt.

Violet pulled out the piece of paper that she and Penny found, handing it to Hiro. "Maybe we could try this?" She suggested. Hiro looked it over again, shaking his head.

"I just don't know how I could get this to work." He frowned. "And if I did, it'd take a while."

Wilbur raised an eyebrow. "We've got time."

The four rushed back to Hiro's house, heading into his garage. Penny looked around, raising an eyebrow. "What is this, a mad scientists lab?" She said, grinning. Hiro laughed, looking at her.

"Something like that." He plopped down in a rolly chair, cracked his knuckles, and started typing something on his computer. The other three crowded around him, looking at the computer, eyes wide.

"What are you typing?" Wilbur asked, frowning.

"Is it some kind of super secret code?" Penny asked.

"...it's my password, guys." Hiro said, raising an eyebrow, laughing a bit.

"Oh." The three muttered. Penny blushed, giggling a bit.

"Whoops. You were just typing so fast it seemed important."

Hiro laughed a little. "Well it is."

Penny smiled. Wilbur rolled his eyes. "Alright you love birds, calm down. We've got a time machine to find." He grinned. Wilbur had filled in the others about the time machine after they left Stewart's.

Hiro glanced at the piece of notebook paper, and got to work. The other three crowded around him, watching him as he did his work. A few hours passed by, and, as Hiro kept doing his work, the other four gravitated towards the futon Hiro kept in the garage, and sat down and relaxed. Hiro's aunt had given them some snacks and pops, and the Wilbur, Violet, and Penny chatted about.

"So did you complete the French homework Violet? I'm so stuck on number three." Penny sighed, glancing over at Violet. Violet nodded.

"Yeah, I finished it. I can help you after we get down here." She smiled a bit. Penny beamed and nodded.

"So what about the guy? You know, my cousin, Tony? I see you checking him out everyday in class. Are you gonna ask him out?"

Violet blushed, shaking her head. Wilbur, who had started to fall asleep, was now wide awake and listening intently. "Penny," Violet said, "You and I both know that there is no way I will ever ask him out, and there is no way he will ever ask me out. It's just a stupid crush. nothing more, nothing less."

Wilbur raised an eyebrow, watching the two of them. Penny laughed a bit.

"Hey, you never know. He could have a crush on you and be too embarrassed to talk to you about it."

Violet smiled and shook her head, not saying anything. Wilbur opened his mouth to say something but then Hiro jumped up.

"I've got it! I found it! It-It worked!" He beamed, making room for the other three who were running to the desk to get a better look. They squinted at the screen. Hiro pointed to a little red blimp that flashed on the screen. "That's the time machine." He stated, then moved over to a green blimp. "And that's us. It's about ten miles from here." He said, looking at them with a smirk. Wilbur grinned and raised an eyebrow.

"You think your brother would be willing to take us out again?" He smirked. Hiro nodded.

"Oh I'm sure he will. Just give me a minute to convince him." He laughed, grabbing his bag and running into the house.

The other three turned to each other, chatting excitedly about their success. Wilbur was honestly relieved, thankful for the fact that his friends were willing to help him out. After a few minutes, Hiro returned with his brother, who was trailed by Tadashi's girlfriend, Honey Lemon, who had a bright smile on her face.

"Where to?" Tadashi smiled, grabbing his keys. The only reason he agreed to driving the four is because this was the first time Hiro really had friends. Hiro grinned up at his brother, typing something into his phone and handing it to his brother, who took it and glanced over it.

"Just follow these directions." Hiro smiled. The four, plus Honey Lemon and Tadashi, hopped into the car and were on their way.