The Modern Four

Chapter 14

Everyone stared at Violet in amazement. "A super?" Wilbur said. "Like uh...like the Flash or Superman or Batman or...wait, what?!" He shook his head. "I'm losing my mind. Completely and utterly losing my mind someone slap me. Right here. Slap me. I'm losing it." He said, shaking his head. Violet blinked, looking at the others.

"Listen, I know it's hard to believe..." She said quietly, looking down. Hiro shook his head.

"Hard? Try impossible. Superheros aren't real, Violet. I think you're losing your mind." Hiro said, crossing his arms. Violet glared at him.

"I literally just saved your butt from getting crushed by falling debris and you're thanking me by telling me it's impossible that I am what I am? Do you know how much trust it took in you all to tell you this, only to have you just not trust me? Fine. Just don't turn to me next time you need some help." She said, turning away. and starting off down the stairs. Penny glared at Hiro and chased after Violet.

"Violet! Wait!" She ran after her. Violet went into one of the empty rooms, slamming the door behind her. Penny knocked softly. "Violet? Hey, listen, Hiro will come around. He's just too caught up in his sciencey stuff to believe anything that's in anyway out of the realm of possibility. He's kinda a jerk like that. But I believe you. And I'm sure Wilbur will believe you, after he gets over his initial shock." She bit her lip, trying the door. Finding it unlocked, she walked in and over to Violet, who was on a bed, staring at her hands. Penny sat down next to her. Violet sighed.

"I'm just scared, Penny. If my friends react like this, just imagine how... how anyone else would." She looked at Penny. "How are you so calm?" She asked, frowning.

Penny smiled. "I've seen some weird things in my time." She laughed. "I'll have to tell you about it sometimes."

Violet raised an eyebrow. "Oh, it can't be much weirder than the stories I have." She smiled a bit. Penny grinned and gave her friend a quick hug.

"So, force fields...is that all you can do?" Wilbur asked from the door, grinning a bit. Violet and Penny looked at him, blinking. Wilbur grinned. "I've always wanted to meet a real life superhero. Who knew one of them was one of my best friends?" He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Violet smiled, looking down. "Well, it's not like that's something I can just come out and say. I mean, if I just randomly turned invisible or started telling someone about how freaky my powers are, I might actually end up getting sent to a mental institute." She sighed, looking down. "Sorry I freaked out back there...I just didn't know what to do. I was scared. Just be glad I didn't just...disappear. Because I do that sometimes when I'm scared." She laughed a bit. Penny smiled, and turned to Wilbur.

"Do you wanna go get Hiro and get out of here? I am so ready to leave this place."

Wilbur nodded, running upstairs. "Hiro? Hey, are you ready to go? Hiro?" He looked around, searching the rooms.

"Over here.' Hiro mumbled, sitting down on the floor.

"Hey man, we're gonna go back, Tadashi should be here soon, right?" Wilbur asked, looking at Hiro. Hiro sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, he should be here...Hey, is..is Violet okay? I didn't mean to..to.." He sighed, looking down and biting his lip. "Just tell her I'm sorry, okay?"

Wilbur laughed, nodding. "Yeah, I'll tell her." The two started walking down the stairs. Hiro kept his eyes on the floor, keeping silent. Wilbur sighed, watching him. "Man, relax. She's gonna forgive you, I'm sure of it."

Hiro sighed, looking up at Wilbur. "Yeah, I guess she-wait, did you hear that?" He started running off down a hallway.

"Hiro? Hear what?" Wilbur sighed, chasing after Hiro. When he got there, Hiro was peering down another hallway. He frowned, looking around.

"That...it sounds like..like-FIRE!" He yelled, taking off. Wilbur's eyes widened, and he glanced down the hallway that Hiro was running from. He saw a bright yellow and orange flame and sprinted after his friend.

"PENNY! VIOLET! FIRE!" He yelled. Up ahead, he saw Violet burst out of a room, looking back at the the boys. Violet skidded to a stop, her eyes wild.

"The front doors blocked! We can't get out!" She said, sounding panicked.

Wilbur shook his head, coughing from the smoke. "Where's Penny?" He asked, looking around for her.

"I-she went to find you guys!" She choked out, searching for an exit. Hiro, who had been looking for an exit, called them over.

"Guys! I found a way out!" He shouted, pointing to the open window then came in from. He started to climb out, coughing.

Wilbur shook his head. "Penny's still in here!" He said, eyes wide. Hiro shook his head. "She'll find a way out. We have to go."

Hiro climbed out, followed by Violet. Wilbur swallowed, glancing back for any signs of Penny. Hiro, who was tired of waiting, grabbed his arm and yanked him out. Almost instantly, Tadashi was at their sides.

"Is anyone else in there?" He said, sounding calm yet fearful.

Wilbur nodded, his eyes full of panic. "Penny! We have to-" he stopped to cough. He didn't need to finish, as Tadashi ran into the burning building at full speed.

"Penny!" Tadashi called. He heard coughing, and followed it into one of the many rooms. There, he found Penny, whose ankle was stuck under a plank of wood that had fallen down in the flames. She coughed, blinking at Tadashi, who was a little more than a blur to her, as the smoke had made her eyes water. Tadashi grinned, picking her up, making sure to avoid touching the girls ankle, which, at the very least was badly bruised. He hesitated to take her out into the smoke filled hallway, as the girl was already coughing, but he decided it was his best way out. He hurried his way through, trying to stay low to the ground to avoid smoke. He made it to the window, and first handed Penny off to the kids and Honey Lemon, who were waiting outside.

"Watch her ankle." He said cautiously, watching them take her to his car. He started to climb through the window, when the quickly approaching fire seared his arm. He shouted, stumbling back into the house. Hiro heard his brother shout, and he rushed up to the window.

"Tadashi!" He said, eyes wide.

"I'm..I'm okay." Tadashi mumbled, looking at his little brother. The house groaned, threatening to collapse under its own weight. Tadashi looked back at the fire, then at his brother. He started to try to climb in the window, groaning at the pain in his arm. As soon as he got out of the window, the house collapsed behind him. Everyone coughed as the dust settled, and at that time, the fire department, which Honey Lemon and Tadashi had called, finally showed up. Wilbur looked around at everyone, covered in ash and smoke, and coughed.

"Well..That was exciting." He said bluntly. Everyone looked around and laughed, all happy they survived. No one noticed that in the woods, there was a tall man with a bowler hat and time machine, holding a recently emptied bottle of gasoline and a pack of matches, watching them.