Dominion (Futuristic Four)

"Is saving the world fun?"

When Violet and Hiro returned to the cafe his Aunt Cass directed him to the garage Hiro used as a workshop.

"Your friends are already there," she said, leaning further over the glass counter to scrub at a particularly stubborn smudge. "Must be a big project, I keep hearing all sorts of noises!"

"Thanks, Aunt Cass. I'll see you around."

"Have fun!"

"Is saving the world fun?" Hiro asked as he and Violet left the room. She shrugged.

"Sometimes. But it seems like whenever you or Wilbur are involved things go wrong pretty quick."

"Was our first adventure that bad?"

"It was definitely something. My powers still haven't fully come back."

Hiro stopped walking. "Powers?"

"Yeah. I'm a super, remember?"

He most definitely did not remember that. In fact, he was sure he would have noticed if she had extra special powers or things that couldn't be explained happened around her. "What's your power?"

"When they work I can turn invisible or make force fields."

"And when they don't work?"

"Let's not talk about that."

They started walking again. They had almost reached the back of the cafe by this point, but Hiro wasn't eager to let the conversation end now that he finally had Violet talking. "What happened to mess your powers up?"

"Wilbur happened. He let Syndrome steal my powers to use for himself. They've been gradually coming back, but it's like being a little kid and trying to figure it out all over again."

"I'm sure he just thought he was doing the right thing."

"Who, Syndrome or Wilbur?"

"Wilbur."

Violet didn't respond, choosing instead to open the back door and enter the garage. Penny and Wilbur were already there fussing over the machine Wilbur had brought with him. The time machine, Hiro reminded himself. I still can't believe time travel is possible.

"Good, you guys are here!" Wilbur declared. He stretched and rolled his shoulders. "Let's get this party started!"

"Are you doing ok?" Penny asked.

"I'm fine," Hiro said. "Let's just get this over with."

"Everyone into the time machine!" Wilbur jumped into the driver's seat, following his own command with an unusual level of enthusiasm. Hiro wondered vaguely if he was trying to make up for the fact that they were about to kill Tadashi. He climbed into the time machine anyway.

"So what exactly is the plan?" Hiro asked once they were all situated with their seat belts on.

"In the original time, Tadashi died in an explosion from a fire at the science presentation," Wilbur explained.

"Please don't tell me we have to light the fire," Hiro said as a sick feeling came over him. Wilbur shook his head quickly and powered on the time machine.

"No, no, we're not lighting the fire. We just have to make sure that whatever, uh, Kyuubi did to mess things up is put back the way it's supposed to be."

"Maybe you should tell me the details so I can help out in the best way possible."

"The best way for you to help is to stay out of sight of yourself," Penny said.

"And to be honest, we know about as much as you do," Wilbur added. "You never really told us how Tadashi died, and we never asked."

"Convenient," Hiro muttered as the time machine jumped backward through time. Colorful light swirled and ebbed beyond the glass windows. Hiro wondered how long time travel would take. Was it instantaneous? Did it have a proportion of hours to years?

"We're going to end up exactly when the science presentation starts," Wilbur explained. "That way we can figure out what changed pretty quick."

"Sounds like a plan," Violet said. At that moment the time machine rocked violently and the interior glowed with red light. Hiro strained his neck, peering out the window to see what had gone wrong. Smoke billowed from one of the wings. Another time machine, the same one driven by Kyuubi, darted around from another attack. Enormous guns were mounted on the sides and underbelly of his vehicle.

"We've been hit!" Hiro reported as the time machine lurched again. "Looks like Kyuubi put laser cannons on his time machine! We won't last another hit!"

"Why do you have to be such a genius?" Wilbur demanded. "We're jumping out of the time-stream!"

He yanked the steering wheel to the side and the time machine did a barrel roll. The bright colors faded, but the smoke didn't. The riders could do nothing but brace themselves as the time machine smashed headlong into a steel cargo shipping container.