The Modern Four

Chapter 44

Hiro, Wilbur, and Penny walked into the building. It was pitch black, except for the light that shone from their flashlights. They saw nothing, besides some old equipment, likely just from the old forgotten farm. They walked silently, unsure of where to look or even what to do. As they walked, Wilbur became more and more distressed.

"She's not here." He said, eventually, his voice breaking. "There's no way she could be here..." He bit his lip, shaking his head.
Penny looked at him, feeling her heart break for her friend. She wished desperately that she could help him, but knew the only way to make him okay again would be to find Violet. So, she just took his hand and gave it a squeeze. Which made Hiro a bit jealous, she knew, but she didn't care. "She has to be." She said, looking at him. He looked away, which made her know she wasn't helping. So she let go, and they continued walking. That is, until Hiro grabbed both of them and yanked them behind a machine. "Ah!" She yelled, as she was pulled back.

"Dude, what the-" Wilbur started.

"Shhh..." Hiro shushed them. "I hear footsteps." Wilbur and Penny shared a look, and quickly quieted down. And they were thankful they did. As soon as they became quiet, a door on the side of the warehouse, a door that came from seemingly nowhere, opened up. The three glancced at each other, their eyes wide, as two men walked out, both wearing matching white suits. Not the fancy kind of suit, the kind of suit one would find a super villain wearing. Penny felt her stomach drop, and Wilbur and Hiro looked nervous as well. Wilbur looked at Hiro, his eyes wide. Hiro frowned, and then began wild gestures that neither Penny nor Wilbur understood. Wilbur and Penny shared a confused glance, and Hiro sighed silently, his shoulders slouching. He then attempted some hand motions once again, going a bit slower this time. Penny and Wilbur both shook their heads, still confused.
"Man, what the heck." Wilbur whispered quietly.

But not quietly enough. One of the two men in the white suits turned towards their hiding spot. "Did you hear something, James?" The man on the left asked. Behind the machine, Hiro face-palmed, silently. The man on the right shook his head, laughing a little.
"Nah man, you're going crazy, Lance. There's nobody here but us. It's probably just the wind messing with you. You're always so paranoid." The man on the right, presumably James, said.

"I am, for good reasons! This place is creepy, dude." The other man, Lance, complained. Hiro looked at Wilbur, and leaned in close. Wilbur leaned back, feeling creeped out. Hiro rolled his eyes, grabbing Wilbur and whispering as quietly as possible.

"Take them out. Quietly. Painlessly. Fast." He said.

"Fast is my middle name." Wilbur smirked, and speed off in a blur. He pushed a pressure point on each man's neck, and they fell in a heap, before they even had time to react. Wilbur raced back over to his friends, smirking. "Piece of cake." He held up his hand for a high five, but was ignored by both as they hurried over to the door. He slumped, sighing and running after them, just barely making it in before the door shut.

"Woah.." Penny whispered. Before them was a long, pristine white hallway. Hiro frowned, looking around.

"Don't move. There's a camera there. If we're not careful, it'll pick us up. If you move fast enough, Wilbur, you'll just look like a blur. A glitch. But, it's too high for you to reach. Penny, I think we need you to fly up there and shut it down." Hiro said, now in full leader mode.

"But I'm not fast. The cameras will catch me, right?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Hiro shook his head.

"I'm betting there's some white suit staring at a screen somewhere who won't even notice. Do it. Fast." He encouraged, and Penny nodded, flying up and quickly disabling the camera with little fuss. "Good job." Hiro smirked, looking at his friend. Penny smiled back, nodding. The three hurried down the hallway, now feeling as invisible as Violet. They weren't. Little did they realize, that two guards in one of the rooms spotted them. The guards shared a look, pulling themselves out of the chairs, and following the three. The first guard pressed a small black button on the wall, signaling to the rest of the facility that there were invaders, sending a ringing tone into the headsets of the white suits. The three didn't notice they were being followed, until Hiro glanced back behind them. He tensed, noticing the two men that were trailing them, and leaned over to Wilbur.

"Don't look behind us. We're being followed. Tell Penny." He whispered as softly as his could. Wilbur's eyes widened, and Hiro worried that he was going to turn around. But, he didn't. He just leaned over to Penny, and let her know. Penny looked over at Hiro, a fearful expression on her face. Hiro nodded, and glanced around. They had to lose them. Hiro briefly considered breaking out into a run and racing down the hall, but quickly realized that was his worst idea yet. He then realized that slipping into a dark room and taking the two guards down as soon as they followed in, if they followed in. Hiro whispered over to Wilbur again. "Follow my lead." Wilbur nodded, and told Penny. Hiro glanced around, and turned into a dark room nearby. Hiro counted to a minute, and waited, tensely, for the two men to pop in and attack. But they didn't. Perhaps they weren't following them, after all.

The two men weren't going to pop in. Instead, they pushed a button on their communicators. "Sir. They're in room 223. Ready for the showdown." The first guard said, smirking. The second guard grinned.

"This'll be good."