Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter One: Bring Your Child to Work Day

Robinson Industries was one of the brightest companies in the San Fransokyo area. The city was known for its technological impact on the world, but anywhere where the minds of Robinson, Deavor, Krei and countless others converged would be. 

Cornelius Robinson had always strived to make his company as welcoming as possible. They held parties and expos constantly, always inviting families and the public to see new projects. Bring your child to work day was no different. 

Which meant that sixteen year old Wilbur Robinson was skipping school to hang out with his dad. 

He’d gone to every take your child to work day since he was two and old enough to actually enjoy it. At first, his dad had kept him in the lab and they’d worked on small projects, or he’d gone down to the lounge to meet some of the other kids. Now that he was older, Cornelius mostly let him lounge in his office as he caught up on paperwork and father-son conversations. 

“Remember, we’ve got that party with the Deavors this weekend,” Cornelius reminded his son. “I need you to make sure your sister doesn’t get overwhelmed,” 

“Dad, Vex is going to love Aunt Evelyn, it's me who you should be worried about,” The teenager responded. Cornelius laughed, looking up from his computer to smile at his son. 

“Let's finish up these files and head down to the labs,” Cornelius suggested, glancing at his watch. “There's plenty of stuff that will interest you,” 

“Sure!” Wilbur cried. “Sounds cool!” 

Cornelius went back to his files, leaving Wilbur to play with one of the mind bending toys on his desk. It was quiet for a few minutes, the only sounds were the clinking of the newton’s cradles or the rustle of papers. 

“Dad?” Wilbur asked. “Did you see that report on the Big Four?” 

“There's been several Wil,” Cornelius responded, smiling. “But I assume you mean the one where they saved the ambassador?” 

The Big Four were San Fransokyo’s local branch of superheroes. Although they’d only made their public debut about two years ago, people already knew them by name - Nightfury, Frost, Archer and Solarflare. Supers had been more common back when Cornelius was a kid, but Wilbur’s generation rarely saw them, due to outdated regulations that had caused the supers to go into hiding. The Big Four were one of the first teams to come out of the darkness. 

“YES!” Wilbur said, flipping his phone around to show the article he was reading. “They totally saved Queen Elena from that assassination!” 

“That is their job Wil,” 

“Superheroes are so cool,” Wilbur mused. “ Our superheroes are so cool,” 

“Being a superhero is rough, Wilbur,” Cornelius said quietly. “You have to be aware of everything, and keep yourself and civilians safe. They could get seriously hurt out there,” 

“Da-ad,” Wilbur groaned. “It’s not like I’m going to become a super! It's genetic!” 

Cornelius smiled and put his files down. 

“I suppose you’re right,” He said. “Ready to go check out the lower lab-” 

Suddenly, they were interrupted by a frantic ringing from Cornelius’s pocket. He pulled out his phone, tapping the call button and holding it up to his ear. 

“Hello- oh no.” Cornelius whispered. “I’ll be right down, don’t worry!” 

He ran for the door, flinging it open. 

“What’s wrong?” Wilbur asked, and Cornelius whipped around. 

“Wil, stay here,” Cornelius said hurriedly. “There's an issue I need to take care of, but you need to stay here,” 

“But-” 

“ Wilbur . Promise me you’ll stay here.” 

Wilbur nodded, and just like that, his father disappeared as he raced down the hall towards the elevator. 

He tried to stay still - really he did. But it was boring just sitting in the office with nothing to do, and he’d never really outgrown his curious streak, so Wilbur snuck out after his dad. 

On the ride down to the lab floor (which he knew was right because the elevator had programs that showed him the last known destination), Wilbur fiddled with his visitor ID badge clipped to his shirt. 

“What is this thing?” He muttered, playing with a little metal cap over the edge. It hadn’t been there before, and the only thing he could think of to explain it was that it limited his access to certain areas or was meant to track him. “Huh?”

The corners of the elevator had suddenly gotten very dark, and there was a weird wispy sound, like when you kicked up sand at the beach or poured a bunch of sprinkles onto a plate. Wilbur blinked, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. 

The elevator dinged, and Wilbur promptly forgot about the weird visitor badge or shadow sand. He stepped out onto the lab floor, scanning the marked doors for any sign of his father. 

One of the labs had loud sounds coming from it, like a machine on overdrive and the yells of people trying to hear each other over the noise. There. 

“Doctor Manny Moone,” Wilbur read off of the plaque on the door, then peeked inside. 

“SHUT IT DOWN!” Merida Dunbroch - research assistant - screamed.

Doctor Haddock rolled his eyes at his girlfriend, then went back to trying to do exactly that. Dr Moone’s project had had its good and bad days before, but nothing as stressful as this. 

“Do you want me to…” Jackson Overland - research assistant - yelled to Dr Moone, who shook his head. 

“We just need to cut the power!” The portly old man said, nodding over to Hiccup and the final assistant, Rapunzel Corona. 

“We’re trying!” Rapunzel yelled. “It’s like it has a mind of its own! I can’t even tell why it's going crazy!” 

Hiccup growled. None of their tests were picking up any abnormalities in the machines, but it was clearly overheating in front of them. 

“Moone!” Cornelius cried. “Should I start the evacuation?” 

Moone shook his head. 

“I don’t think that will be necessary Dr Robinson!” He yelled. “Jackson, Merida, updates?” 

“Well it's getting super hot in here,” Jack griped, pulling his shirt collar away from his neck and panting. 

“Ow!” Merida shrieked, yanking her hand back from the machine. “There’s somethin’ blocking tha’ master switch!” 

Rapunzel ran a quick diagnostic, then gasped loudly. 

“There's a layer of this… unidentified metal!” The blonde yelled over the ever growing din. “It’s blocking the master switch, the main vents and it's messing with the chemical balances!” 

Moone’s eyes widened and he turned to Cornelius. 

“Now would be the time to start the evacu-” He started, but was cut off as the main machine exploded. 

Jack and Hiccup locked eyes before lunging towards Rapunzel and Merida respectively, the two pairs crashing to the ground. 

Everyone in the room was thrown back with the force of the explosion, and as fires started to swarm the room, everything started to go black. 

“We are here at Robinson Industries after a massive explosion led to a huge police and fire presence,” One of the many reporters outside the building said. “So far there’s been no sign of San Fransokyo’s famed Big Four, but firemen have been successful in pulling any victims from the wreckage,” 

Behind the news vans, Robinson Industries was still smoking from the fire. Firefighters had been successful in putting out the flames from the explosion and pulling out everyone inside. 

“We’re found Mr Robinson!” One of the firemen yelled, and several others helped the blonde man out of the rubble. 

“Mr Robinson!” The reporter yelled, running towards him. “Do you know what caused this explosion!?” 

“Sadly I do,” He responded, letting paramedics check him over. “It seems an experiment in the lower lab overheated and caused unforeseen complications. Luckily, the other labs close by were unoccupied,” 

Cornelius let himself be escorted to an ambulance, but he insisted on checking out his other employee’s first. There were only minor injuries - scrapes, bruises, the odd broken bone - but everyone just seemed shaken up. While the employee’s lounge had been right above the explosion, it seemed that all of the children had been safely accounted for. 

“We’ve found more!” A firefighter yelled as he and a few others uncovered another person. “He’s not responding, completely unconscious!” 

“That’s Dr Moone!” A voice from the crowd gasped as the older man was removed from the rubble and rushed to an ambulance. “Where are his assistants?!” 

“Two more!” 

Jack and Rapunzel were pulled out, both miraculously uninjured and just dirty from the rubble. Rapunzel ignored the paramedics who tried to help her and stumbled towards the crowd of rescues, but Jack grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. Onlookers watched as a small brunette girl burst from the crowd, hurtling towards the couple. Jack grabbed her as well and the three sank to the ground, still holding each other close. 

The firefighters were worried that they wouldn’t find anyone else alive, but moved a portion of the floor to discover Hiccup and Merida, hidden in an extremely lucky pocket in the ruins. It almost seemed impossible with how untouched the two were. 

Firemen helped a panting and exhausted Merida out, followed by Hiccup, who scooped up the redhead and took her to the ambulance himself. 

Cornelius was glad to see the four had survived, but was quickly distracted when he didn’t see his son in the crowd. 

“WIL?” He yelled, but no familiar cowlick appeared. “WILBUR?!” 

“Sir, your son is Wilbur Robinson?” The firechief asked. Cornelius nodded, eyes wide. 

“Teenage, dark hair?” 

“Yes, is he okay?” Cornelius asked frantically. “Where is my son?!” 

“They just found him,” The fire chief said, nodding towards the rubble where two firemen had pulled the final victim from the rubble. 

It was Wilbur, and he wasn’t waking up. 

“Come on sir, we’ll let you ride with him to the hospital,” 

Cornelius nodded blankly, and followed the fire chief to the ambulance. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Two: The Days After

“Think they’ll accept?” Solarflare asked as she and Archer walked up the driveway to a small suburban house in Metroville. 

“Bob Parr constantly gets his family relocated due to unauthorized hero work,” Archer responded, gesturing towards the stacked cardboard boxes left for recycling with her folder. “And Elastigirl was a renowned hero herself,” 

“So?” 

“I think it’ll take us ten minutes tops,” The red headed superhero grinned. They made their way to the door and knocked, waiting as it was opened by a frazzled looking auburn haired woman with a toddler on her hip. 

“Hello?” She said, “I’m sorry but we won’t be buying anyth-” 

“Helen Parr, alias Elastigirl?” Solarflare asked. “Is your husband home? We’d like to talk to you both.” 

Helen immediately straightened up, expression changing to a determined one. 

“You’d better come inside,” She said, then turned around, body twisting with unnatural flexibility. “BOB!” 

Once inside, Solarflare and Archer were escorted to the dinner table with Bob, while Helen placed her toddler son in the living room. 

“I’m Rapunzel Corona, but you’ll probably recognize me as Solarflare,” The blonde hero said. “This is my teammate, Merida Dunbroch-” 

“Archer,” Merida interrupted, sticking a hand out. 

“What brings you here?” Bob asked. “Is there a super level threat?” 

“Not necessarily,” Merida said. “But I’m sure you’ve seen the news about the explosion in San Fransokyo?” 

“Yes,” Helen said. 

“Yeah!” Bob yelled. “Where were those Big Four kids anyway- oh…” 

“We were caught in the blast,” Rapunzel said calmly. “As were many others, which leads us to our point,” 

“There is a group of children who have parents who work at Robinson Industries,” Merida said. “All of these children were wearing the same ID badges, which someone had tampered with and created a circuit that hit all of them,” 

“And due to Dr Moone’s previous experiments and the nature of his machines, the kids who were targeted were supposed to be killed. Luckily, we undid that part of the machine, but were all turned into… supers,” 

“Supers?” Bob and Helen cried. “How is that possible?” 

“Dr Moone studied the anatomy of Super cells,” Rapunzel said. As one of the top assistants, this was her area of expertise. “It’s how the four of us - the Big Four - got our powers. We were one of his participants. We were his most successful trial, the delta experiments,” 

“Artificial supers?” Helen asked. “Are your powers sustainable?” 

“Yep,” Merida almost groaned. “It permanently altered our genealogy, and it did the same to seven other teenagers aged thirteen to sixteen,” 

“Oh god,” Helen whispered. Superpowers were hard enough to handle as an adult, and they were difficult for her own naturally super born children. But for teens in the midst of the most turbulent time of their life? She was genuinely worried for them. 

“We, on behalf of Mr Robinson, want ta’ enlist your help as Senior Supers,” Merida continued. “We’ve already talked ta’ Lucius Best, whose agreed ta’ assist on a part time basis, but we feel tha’ you two - as some of the best supers in history - and with three supered children of your own would be imperative,” 

“Bob?” Helen asked. “What do you think?” 

“Of course we’ll help,” Bob said. “Mr Incredible at your service,” 

“No!” A voice cried as a teenage girl suddenly materialized in the doorway. “We’re moving again?!” 

Back in San Fransokyo, the tensions were still high, especially in families affected in the blast. Luckily, many employees understood Mr Robinson’s love for his company and his workers, and didn’t blame him. The CEO had been more than willing to be interviewed to dispel the rumors, even while his own son was still in a coma from the explosion. 

Penny Forrester insisted she was fine anyways. 

Sure she’d been in the blast, had to be pulled out by firefighters and police and had gotten to ride in the ambulance, but the worst she’s suffered was some bruising and a teensy bit of smoke inhalation. 

It had taken Penny five years to convince her mom to let her visit her dad’s workplace, and she wasn’t going to let one miniscule explosion hurt her. So Penny insisted that she was perfectly alright and went to go get some ice cream two weeks after everything had happened. To abate her mom’s worry, she even took her dog with her. 

The line at the shop wasn’t too busy, and Penny was in and out in just under five minutes. They took the long way home, giving the teenager plenty of time to lick at her chocolate cone and vent to Bolt. 

“I just want to be trusted more!” Penny muttered. Bolt woofed in agreement. 

“It just gets so frustrating!” She continued. “I know Mom and Dad had their struggles… especially since they were separated for so long…” 

“Woof!” 

“But you’d think they’d try to be civil for their own kid!” Penny groaned. “Bolt, sometimes I just feel so… alone ,” 

“But… I’m here for you Penny!” 

“Yeah but you aren’t the same,” Penny said sadly. “Wait, what?” 

She looked down at her feet, where Bolt sat, loyal as always. His tail wagged as he looked up at his owner, but Penny couldn’t have sworn he had just talked . 

“But that’s insane!” She stuttered. “Dogs don’t talk!” 

“Penny?” Bolt asked, voice laced with concern. “Should we go home?”  

“Yes.” Penny said, voice shaking. “We should go home.” 

Penny walked faster, making it home in record time, ice cream forgotten until it started to drip onto her hand. She shook it off, dropping the melting dessert into the trash as she reentered the house just as her dad was slipping out. 

“Dad!” Penny yelled, and Dr Forrester stopped in his tracks. “W-what happened in the explosion?” 

He’d had a constant headache since the explosion. 

Hiro’s ears had been ringing, but that had gone away after a good night's sleep. Now he was just suffering with a constant migraine as he tried to help Aunt Cass with her cafe. 

“Hiro honey, you doing okay?” Aunt Cass asked, flipping her hand around to check her nephew's forehead for a fever. “Want to go upstairs and lie down?” 

“I’m okay Aunt Cass,” Hiro muttered. “I just want to go outside again,” 

“Give me a little more time hon,” Cass responded, smiling softly. “But… if you can fix my cash register, I’ll let ‘dashi take you out for dinner. Your choice!” 

“Guess I’m going to fix the cash register,” Hiro muttered, looking at the offending device. He slid behind the pastry counter and tapped the eject button, which was stuck. The register was an old electronic one, but they hadn’t been able to buy a new one. 

Hiro spent a few minutes tapping buttons and trying to loosen the cash drawer. Nothing seemed to work, and his headache only got worse the longer he tried to focus on his job. 

“Urgh…” Hiro groaned, slamming his head into the counter and smacking the cash register with his fist. There was a ching and the drawer popped open, the screen suddenly clearing and becoming brighter. The whole register looked almost… new. 

From across the cafe, Tadashi watched as his brother fixed the years-long issue with only one smack. He heard the mechanic chimes as things suddenly clicked into place and started to work properly. He’d watched the whole thing - and he knew what was happening to some of the other teenagers caught in the Robinson explosion. 

Tadashi ducked into the hall, towards the back stairs up to the apartment and pulled out his phone. He quickly dialed, and the phone only rang a few times before someone on the other end picked up. 

“Hello?” He said. “I need to talk to you,” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Three: First Impressions

The Parrs had driven for most of the day to get from Metroville to San Fransokyo. They’d stopped for lunch in the city, but hadn’t been able to stay as long as Violet would have liked. SFIT had been on her top lists for schools after all, but she didn’t even really understand this whole ‘supering mentor’ thing. 

Finally - as it was starting to get dark - they made the last turn into the mountains, where they entered a secluded area. There was a lake that bordered one of the towering mountains, where a large… building had seemingly been built into the stone. The Parrs crossed the bridge over a lake and into a dark tunnel. It was a dark drive, but it was only a few minutes before they entered a large garage, lit with warm lights. 

They were met by Archer, Solarflare and another blond man, who introduced himself as Cornelius Robinson before hurrying off to do something. 

“We thought that Violet and Dash might like to room with the others on their floor,” Rapunzel said as she and Merida led the Parrs through the facility. “You’ll get a full tour later, but you guys probably want to get some sleep,” 

Violet rolled her eyes, watching as her parents followed along intently. Jack Jack had long since fallen asleep, and Dash kept quivering with excitement, like he was about to go tearing off and go exploring. 

Violet rolled her eyes again. Since her brother had hit thirteen, he had only gotten faster… and started to eat more. 

“You two will ‘ave an apartment on a higher floor,” Merida explained. “Gives you more privacy, and you won’t ‘ave to worry about the baby,” 

“This place is much more… in depth than I was expecting,” Helen said. 

“There are more supers than us and the teenagers,” Merida said simply. “The Beta experiments are living here too,” 

“Are we training them too?” Bob asked. 

“No, their powers are already mastered,” Merida answered. “Here’s tha’ dorms,” 

She swept an arm across a hall, then opened a door at the end, followed by another one further down. Dash ran for the far one, and Violet stepped inside the closer one. 

It wasn’t bad. A medium sized bedroom with a full sized bed against the back wall, and a desk and bookshelf along the other one. There was a nice looking rug on the floor, and the walls were painted a warm white. Violet dropped her suitcase and backpack on the bed and turned to smile awkwardly at the others. 

Rapunzel led her parents up to their room, while Merida stayed behind to make sure Violet and Dash could find their way to the lounge before leaving herself. 

Violet sank into the bed, closing her eyes as she flopped backwards into the mattress. 

“You can do this, you can do this, you can do this…” The dark haired teen whispered, trying to convince herself more than anything. 

“What happened!?” Cornelius cried, out of breath from running up several flights of stairs. “Is he okay?!” 

Franny turned around, tears in her eyes as she grabbed her husband into a bone crushing hug. She then smiled and stepped out of the way, revealing a hospital bed. 

“Hi Dad,” Wilbur said, waving a little as he sat up. 

“Wil!” Cornelius cried, rushing forward and hugging his son. 

“What happe-” Wilbur started, then suddenly clutched his chest as his entire body blurred and flickered in and out of existence. “Woah,” 

“Wilbur I’m so sorry!” Cornelius cried, ignoring the weird phenomenon. He was used to it anyway. Ever since the explosion, Wilbur had been flickering, or ‘hopping’ as the doctors called it. He was actually teleporting in and out of the same spot, his new powers trying to assimilate with his body. 

“Dad,” Wilbur said weakly. “It was my fault, I’m the one who didn’t listen and snuck down there, not you,” 

“I’m just so happy you’re alive,” His dad gushed. “Are you doing okay?” 

“I feel fine!” 

Either way, Cornelius still insisted the doctors check him over before they let Wilbur get out of bed and walk around. Once he was given the okay, his parents led him out of the infirmary and through a quick tour of the new place he’d be staying in. 

At first, Wilbur wanted to know why he couldn’t just go home with them, but he stopped complaining when his entire body conversed and hopped every five minutes.

“What exactly happened in the explosion Dad?” Wilbur asked. 

Cornelius opened his phone and showed Wilbur security footage of himself the past few days. Even though he was unconscious, Wilbur watched as his power hopped around different places in the room - the bed, the floor, a lone chair in the corner. His parents showed up a few times, nervously watching as their son teleported without a thought. 

“The explosion gave me superpowers?” Wilbur finally said. 

“Dr Moone’s machine gave you superpowers,” A new voice said. Wilbur turned and recognized Dr Haddock, but he wasn’t wearing his normal lab coat, and instead was in a soft looking green shirt. “Or more accurately, it turned you into a super,” 

“You knew?” Wilbur asked. “Did you dad?” 

Cornelius nodded, then gestured to Dr Haddock and the other man, Mr Overland. 

“I was fully aware of Dr Moone’s experiments,” He said. “He used willing participants in all of his trials, he had excellent research, and there never should have been any danger.” 

“But?” 

“Villains have a way of just showing up,” Mr Overland muttered. “Are we gonna tell him Hic?” 

“Might as well,” Hiccup shrugged, then rolled his shoulders, letting two huge dark bat wings unfold behind him. “Ah, that feels so good. Anyways, Wilbur, nice to meet you, I’m Nightfury,” 

“Frost,” Jack smirked, sticking out a hand. “Merida and Rapunzel are Archer and Solarflare.” 

Wilbur’s mouth dropped open. 

“Dr Moone turned us into supers in an earlier trial, and we were his most successful batch… at least until your,” Hiccup said. “So I’d like to introduce you to project omega,” 

“I’m going to be a superhero?!” Wilbur yelled. “You’re going to train me?!” 

“More than just you,” Jack said. “There's six others, plus a few natural born supers for variety,” 

“Six more are showing symptoms?” Franny asked. “Oh my god…” 

“Luckily we know a few or they know each other,” Jack said. “We’ve even got a few siblings,” 

“We’re going to be superheroes!” Wilbur yelled, getting so excited he teleported a few feet away. “YES!” 

“Not training,” Cornelius said. “At least not yet. This is also for your protection ,” 

“Protection?” 

“We have reason to believe the explosion was deliberate,” Hiccup - Nightfury - said. “Dr Moone used to work with a man named Kozmotis Pitchiner. There was a falling out and Kozmotis used Moone’s machines, which led him to become a supervillain, now known to us as Pitch Black,” 

“So he’s the one who set up the bomb?” 

“There was no bomb,” Cornelius said, shaking his head. “But there were alterations made to Moone’s machine, which on later observation seemed to create a circuit with your visitor badges. They all had the same weird metal coating,” 

“We think it was meant to kill you,” Jack said quietly. “But we managed to change the machine just enough to create a widespread super-maker instead,” 

“Which is why you’ll be staying here for a while,” Cornelius finished. “Now let's get you to your room so you can settle in,” 

The dorm hall wasn’t that far from the lounge, and Wilbur managed to stay solid the entire walk. Franny opened the door to his new room at the far end of the hall, ushering him inside. 

Wilbur smiled as he recognized a lot of his old things. At least the move wouldn’t be too different. He turned around to thank his parents when he caught a glimpse of someone else at the end of the hall. 

It was a girl, probably about his age with dark hair that fell almost in front of her face. She noticed his staring and quickly whipped back into her room, disappearing completely. 

Violet groaned again. 

She still didn’t really understand why her parents had taken this dumb offer in the first place. Well, actually she had a pretty good idea. Both of her parents had been forced into early retirement from being heroes, but they had clearly loved it. She supposed they would have taken any chance to get back in, as minor as it may seem. 

She finished unpacking what she could. Her dad had promised to get more of their stuff sent over if they liked the building, so she’d eventually have more of her books and knick-knacks. So far, she’d put up her favorite series on the top shelf of the bookshelf, and unloaded all of her clothes into the dresser and closet. The bedspread would have to do for now, but she really did want to change it from the regulation colored blanket to something more her. 

“Alright Parr, now what,” She muttered, sitting back down and surveying her new space. “What do you want to do with the walls?” 

“VI!” 

“What do you want, Dash?” Violet groaned, turning to look at her brother. 

“Vi!” Dash said quickly, voice doing the weird loop it did whenever he ran too fast. “I went exploring and snuck into what I think are the labs? Well anyways, I found something really weird, you need to come with me! Now!” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Four: Explanations

Violet let Dash grab her and run to the labs. It took only a few seconds, but she still felt a little sick afterwards. She quickly turned invisible as the two snuck inside, and headed straight for one of the computers. 

“What exactly are you looking for?” Dash asked. 

“I heard Archer and Solarflare call the dorms the Omega wing,” Violet muttered, eyes scanning through different file names. “So I’m looking for a project… omega!” 

She clicked the folder, causing a bunch of documents to pop up across the screen. Violet clicked the first one she recognized - profiles for the Big Four. Immediately, four more separate documents appeared.

“Why is so much of it blacked out?” Dash groaned.  

It was. It varied through the different people, but Merida’s powers were completely password protected, as was Jack and Rapunzel’s backgrounds. Random information throughout Hiccups (like names or places) were locked too, giving four very incomplete profiles. 

Violet changed tactics, picking a new set of documents. 

“Wait, that's mom and dad!” Dash interrupted, snatching the mouse and clicking. 

“Mr Incredible and Elastigirl,” Violet read. “Super strength and elasticity. Both function as solo heroes and are good candidates for mentorship if needed. Known secret identities?!” 

“And family tree!” Dash yelped, clicking on another link, which transferred him to a profile on himself and one for Violet. “This is getting weird,” 

“Same age range as Omegas?” Violet asked. “Click that one!” 

The omega list was also password protected, but the two siblings could at least see a list of names amongst the blacked out information. It listed them by first initial, last name, with a link to whoever had brought them into the facility that day. 

“Oh my god,” Violet whispered. “Dash, look who’s on this contact list,” 

She pointed to names under the list, and Dash gulped. He’s heard his parents stories about fighting these guys, and they’d never seemed like some you’d want to meet alone. Gru - most notably known for stealing random artifacts and having outrageous countermeasures like freeze rays or rocket launchers. Wreck-it-Ralph - super strength and almost no control over it, people ran at the first sight of the guy! There were others too, Megamind, some lady named Mirage, Dagur the Deranged. 

“This is a trap,” Violet muttered. “That many villains on call?” 

“We gotta go find mom and dad!” Dash yelped. “Come on!” 

He turned around, preparing to grab Violet and run out with her, when a figure stepped out of the shadows and cleared her throat. 

“Sorry, but tha’s not gonna happen,” Archer said. 

“Sorry kiddos,” Nightfury said, and both kids looked up to where the hero was sitting on a tall beam across the ceiling. His eyes seemed to almost glow in the dark, and they could see the outline of his wings against the wall. 

“Let's go!” Dash yelled, running for the door. He was almost out when an arm thrust out and caught him, yanking him back. Dash’s eyes widened as they met Merida’s steely blue ones. No one had ever been able to stop him with his speed, Violet only ever got close with her force fields. 

Violet only put her hands up, letting Nightfury lead her out of the lab and back into the lounge. She wore a sullen but determined look on her face, still clearly unsure who to actually trust. 

“I’m sorry you had to find out some information that way,” Cornelius Robinson said. “But let me assure you, we are the good guys,” 

“You have supervillains on your contact list!” Violet snapped. “Mom, Dad, this is a trap!” 

“Supervillains!?” Bob cried. “What is this?” 

“Yes, we are in contact with a few people of questionable background,” Cornelius said. “But not without good reason,” 

“Mirage is a super who went off the grid years ago,” Rapunzel said. “She sends us tips about any rising villains who try and recruit her,” 

“Megamind really laid off his attacks,” Jack explained. “He’s also a brilliant scientist, and has a new way of looking at things,” 

“I was considering inviting him to my company to try out some new projects,” Cornelius said. “Same thing with Gru. He actually works for me now, and his daughters were caught in the Omega Blast,” 

“Dagur’s a good source to have,” Hiccup explained. “Like Mirage, he doesn’t give loyalty very easily,” 

“Ralph Wrecker is a hero in Sugarus,” Merida finished. “Has his own sidekick and everything. People never gave him a chance before,” 

“Even if we buy that,” Violet said. “Why are we here - the truth this time.” 

“We need more supers to help train the omega’s,” Hiccup said simply. “Besides, you and your brother are in the same age range as these kids. We think that having someone with powers their own age will help not feel so alone,” 

Violet sighed. After the explanations, things did make some sort of sense. And with all the password protected information, it was clear they wanted privacy and protection. 

“You’re also going to be able to help us determine how stable the new powers are,” Rapunzel said. “Which means we’d like to take some blood tests and other things,” 

The Parrs nodded, so the blonde girl continued. 

“We won’t start any official training until next week, so you have a few days to get settled before we start any testing. We’ll also work on updating your files, and then… well you guys can start training,” 

“Okay, off to bed kids,” Helen interrupted. “We’ll have plenty of time to figure things out later,” 

Dash and Violet shared the same look, but headed back towards their rooms, leaving the adults clustered together. Cornelius also excused himself, heading back to talk with his wife before she left the compound. 

“I know you’re the Big Four, but who exactly are you?” Helen asked, mothering persona dropping into her Elastigirl one. 

“Rapunzel Corona,” The blonde said, sticking her hand out. “Research assistant, field nurse, and general art lover. I was a willing participant in the Delta trials, which gave me light based powers, flight and magic hair that glows when I sing. Alias, Solarflare,” 

“Dr Hiccup Haddock, but I’m also known as Nightfury,” Hiccup said. He looked very different with his wings out, more confident and like he meant to take up the space he did. “I worked closely with Dr Moone before the experiments and gained more physical attributes. I’m basically a human dragon, but I can also conduct small electricity blasts for combat,” 

“Merida Dunbroch,” The redhead said. “Codename Archer. Ah shoot things,” 

Hiccup gave her a look, but the redhead didn’t say anything else. He nudged her with one wing, eye’s glowing a little brighter as he urged her on. 

“My powers are more unstable,” She said finally. “Ah donnae like to use them,” 

“Unstable?” Helen asked.

“Ah have control over them,” Merida said. “But ah donnae use them like the others. Dr Moone fully understood tha’ and let me choose how ah used my skills,” 

“Jack Overland,” The final member of the four interrupted, sticking his hand out. “I’m Frost, which basically gives away my abilities. Flight, cryokinesis, the whole bundle. Dr Moone was my foster dad,” 

“Really?” Bob asked. Jack nodded. 

“He was always really good to me and my little sister Emma. It was why I was so willing to do Delta. I needed to protect her,” 

“How old is Emma?” Helen asked, noting how he talked about his sister. 

“Just turned fourteen,” Jack said. “She’s an omega now,” 

The Parrs couldn’t tell if Jack was excited or worried about Emma having superpowers. He had a fun aura, but also seemed like he could be extremely protective. 

“Dr Moone was intent on creating more supers,” Hiccup explained. “As his most successful trial, we stayed on to help him continue. Project Beta created supers, but their powers aren’t combat based and are generally weaker.” 

“Beta and Delta?” Helen said. “What about…” 

“Project Gamma was sabotaged,” Merida said quickly. “By Pitch Black, one of the most dangerous villains in the world,” 

“He was jealous and took over the machine,” Rapunzel said. “He’s been dead set on trying to get us since Moone kept going. We believe it was him behind the explosion,” 

“His powers were too strong, which corrupted his mind,” Hiccup explained. “If he knew that the explosion created more supers, we have no doubt that he would go after them. This is a safety program Moone set up in case we ever needed to go into hiding,” 

He gestured out to the compound as he spoke. Bob and Helen nodded in understanding. 

“Why would he do so much?” Bob asked. “So much protection, so many layers?” 

“He was a super too,” Jack whispered. “He… had a bit of prophetic sight, and he’d see flashes, bad things that were going to happen. He knew that one day this would be needed, but he never told us if he knew why,” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Five: Gratuity Tucci

“I’d say things went pretty well,” Frost finally commented, breaking the awkward silence the Big Four had fallen into. 

“It could have gone better,” Solarflare said, floating aimlessly. “Y’know, without the kids breaking into the lab,” 

Frost grinned and used his shepherd's crook to snag her foot, pulling the blonde down to his level. Frost wore a pale blue super suit with white piping, boots and cuffs, with a silverish pattern across the sleeves and a stripe down the leg. He had a hood pulled partially over his white hair, and a mask that matched the rest of his suit. The staff hadn’t originally been a part of the costume, but Jack liked fighting with something in his hands, and had always favored a bo staff in practice fights. 

 Solarflare’s long blonde hair seemed even longer in costume. She let it hang loose, and it floated around her head in a wave, especially when she was flying. Her suit was a rich purple color with magenta gloves, boots, and shoulder pads. Her mask was the same color, and everything was cuffed with gold that matched her hair, with a bright sun shaped emblem across her chest. 

“Those kids have spirit, tha’s for sure,” Archer grinned, looking up at the antics of her flying companions. As the only member of the super team without flight, she picked tall buildings to start on, and the others tended to gather around her. 

Archer’s super suit was a mix of dark and brighter green. She wore thicker boots on her feet, and her arms and legs had plenty of padding to protect from falls or hits. She also had a hood like Frost, but her bushy red curls still managed to peek out. On her back was a double layered quiver full of arrows for her bow, and her suit had several pockets with extra arrowheads or gadgets. Her suit was more tactical than the others, but Archer did have a tendency to throw herself into more hand to hand battles. 

“The others will be arriving over the next week,” Nightfury said, finally joining the conversation with a smirk. Unlike the others, he didn’t wear a mask, but his lack of glasses and the small scales that appeared around his face hid his identity. His suit was a dusty black color with red details, and built in a way that wouldn’t impede his wings but still provide protection. 

“Are they excited?” Solarflare asked brightly. 

“Most are confused, but there's definitely a few,” Nightfury answered. 

“Em’s both terrified and way too hyper,” Frost muttered. “And you guys thought I was the ice menace,” 

“She’s got ice powers?” Archer said, voice taking on a surprised tone. 

“Oh yeah,” Frost nodded. “The little flurry can’t seem to stop freezing everything in the apartment,” 

“I’m sure that will go away with training,” Solarflare assured. “It did with you,” 

“Yeah, but I had Moone breathing down my neck!” Frost added, grinning quickly, but his face fell. “Do… Do you guys think he’d be proud of us?” 

“Proud of us?” Archer said. “He was always proud o’ our abilities,” 

“No I mean, of what we’re doing with the kids, moving them all into one place and training them,” 

“It’s the safest option,” Solarflare said. “We don’t know the limits of their powers or even all they can do. Can you imagine something going wrong without our help?” 

“We need to do our best to steer them in the right direction,” Nightfury said calmly. “And if they want to be heroes in the future, then it's our job to successfully prepare them,” 

“Besides,” Archer offered. “Moone never told us everything, so we’re runnin’ on blanks anyways,” 

“I still miss him,” Frost confessed, summoning a tiny little ice sculpture of a crescent moon in his palm. “Weird proverbs, cryptic messages and all,” 

“I know she’s younger than the others, but did you guys see Tooth’s message?” Solarflare said, trying to make things more positive. “Babienne’s powers came in!” 

“Genetic or Omega?” Nightfury asked, intrigued. 

“Genetic but definitely spurred on by the blast,” Solarflare answered. “She’s got little wings!” 

“Really?!” Archer asked, eyes wide. Solarflare bit back a laugh and nodded furiously. 

“Tooth called me at four am,” Frost smirked. “She was halfway out the door on the way to the ER when they popped out of Babi’s back,” 

“So they’ll be joining us full time then?” Nightfury asked. 

“Looks like it,” 

The four sat in silence for a little longer, enjoying the peaceful night as long as they could. They often patrolled San Fransokyo together, but it was rare for them to have time to just sit and enjoy the views. 

A sudden beeping from Nightfury’s wrist shattered the moment and the four heroes leapt up. 

“Nightmare attack,” Nightfury muttered. “South end of the city… Fox Avenue,” 

“On it,” Solarflare and Frost said together, leaping off the building and flying towards the location. Solarflare’s lightly glowing hair made her a beacon as the two zipped off. 

“M’lady?” Nightfury offered, and Archer let him pick her up to follow. 

The house wasn’t too far off, and as they neared the street, Nightfury dropped Archer. The redhead free-fell for a minute, then snagged two hooks on the edge of her suit, opening up fabric panels that let her glide to the ground. Archer rolled to a stop and pulled her bow out, already attacking the Nightmares. 

“They’re making a break for the house!” Frost said, freezing a nightmare that lunged for him. “Civilians inside!” 

“Solarflare, that’s on you!” Nightfury yelled, swooping back to help Frost and Archer hold off the door. 

The blonde hero slammed through a group of Nightmares and into the house, still floating a few inches off the ground as she whirled around and tried to locate the people inside. There - screams from the second floor. Solarflare put on a burst of speed and flew up the stairs, making it just in time to see a mother and daughter trying to escape a larger nightmare, flanked by two others. 

“Oh no you don’t!” Solarflare muttered. “Close your eyes!” 

The civilians nodded and Solarflare screwed her eyes shut, concentrating on the power flowing through her veins. She pulled that power up, focusing on her hair and with a bright flash that would blind anyone else, she obliterated the nightmares. 

“It's safe now,” The hero said, opening her eyes and smiling at the civilians. “We’re here to help,” 

“They just came out of nowhere!” The mother cried. “Thank you for helping us…?” 

“Solarflare,” She said, “My teammates are outside. This seems to be a targeted attack. Do you have any reason why?” 

The girl behind her mom stuck her hand up and pointed at herself. Her mother looked horrified, face crumpling with defeat. 

“I’m Lucy,” She said. “My daughter… she’s a super,” 

“Oh,” Solarflare said. “I guess that’s a good reason,” 

Lucy nodded sadly, and grabbed her daughter's hand. Solarflare led them downstairs, blasting rogue nightmares with her powers as she did her best to protect them. They’d made it out onto the street when another swarm of monsters appeared between the alleyways, growling menacingly. 

“Solarflare, come in!” Nightfury yelled over his comm. “Status?” 

“I’ve found the civilians, but we’re going to need more cover!” 

“You already used your sunwave?” Nightfury asked, shooting a lightning ball at a group of Nightmares as he surveyed the situation from the sky. 

“I need to recharge that one!” Solarflare responded. “They’re closing in!” 

“I’m a little busy right now!” Frost yelled. “Archer?” 

“Ah’m doing things too Frost!” The redhead yelled, comm cutting out as she hit the ground with a loud thump. “Ow!” 

“Meri!” Nightfury yelled, whipping around to go after her. 

Solarflare bit her bottom lip, trying to think of a way out. She could only carry one person, and even then a nightmare might jump at her. Her sunwave wouldn’t work until she had time to recharge, but she didn’t have the time. 

Lucy and her daughter stuck close behind her, and Solarflare watched as more and more nightmares crept out of the shadows. A low laugh followed them, and the hero growled as she recognized the voice. 

Pitch Black wanted this girl. But Pitch Black was not going to get her. 

The nightmares were closing in, and the Big Four couldn’t regroup and protect the civilians at the same time. If something didn’t happen soon, there was a very real chance they were about to get overrun. 

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” 

Solarflare flung her hands over her ears, wincing in pain as Lucy’s daughter stepped in front of her and unleashed a sonic scream that blasted the horde of nightmares away. 

“I’m Tip Tucci,” The teenager signed, her mother interpreting. 

“She only just learned sign,” Lucy said proudly. “She doesn’t… have control over the screams yet,” 

“She’s a naturally born super?” Nightfury asked. He looked a little awkward, wings cramped around him as he tried to fit inside the small kitchen. Lucy nodded. 

“Her father was the super,” She explained. “But he left before I knew I was pregnant, and I was never able to track him down,” 

“Did you know he was a super?” Solarflare asked. 

“He could make little light shows,” Lucy smiled. “We met in Barbados, and then I had Tip and it was just the two of us, but the screams started, so we moved here,” 

“It’s getting worse,” Tip signed. “I learned sign so I could still talk, but…” 

“Ah think we might be able to help,” Archer smirked. 

“Think of it as a study away program,” Frost grinned. 

“Did you get her?” A low voice asked. It belonged to a woman with curly black hair who sat lazily in a chair off to the side. Right now, she wore a thin looking bathrobe draped over her frame and was examining her eyes in a handheld mirror. 

“No.” Pitch Black snarled, dispersing the remaining nightmares. “Those kids were there to stop me,” 

The woman - Gothel - laughed. It was both in frustration and amusement, as she too had been thwarted by the Big Four multiple times. 

“Seems like a running theme,” Another person groaned. Pitch shot the younger man a look, and he immediately shut up. 

“The Big Four have had their string of good luck,” Pitch said, then focused on another nightmare, this one a small scout he’d left in the Tucci household. He was able to see through the nightmares eyes, and located where the family and heroes sat in the kitchen. 

“Its over,” The younger villain - Syndrome - griped. “What are you doing?” 

“A group of new supers?” Pitch mused. “Young ones too… easily susceptible to fear and manipulation…” 

“New supers, la de do,” Syndrome muttered. “What, you want an army of kids now?” 

“Hush, like you aren’t any older than they are,” Gothel snapped. “Kids these days,” 

“Saying stuff like that really shows your age hag- ” 

“Hag!? Pitch darling did you hear what he called me-” 

“Quiet!” Pitch snapped, then turned to another person in the room. “I need you to continue your mission,” 

“I thought the infiltration at Robinson ended with the explosion,” 

“You’ve gained Robinson’s trust,” Pitch explained. “Find a way into this new super program and stay there. You are a wonderful source to have on the inside,” 

“How the hell am I supposed to do that?” 

“I’m sure you’ll figure out something,” Pitch mused. “Wasn’t there a man you knew whose daughter ended up a super?” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Six: Early Morning Mindfulness

Violet woke up to the sound of one of the big doors in the lounge opening and closing. It was a loud metallic sound she wasn’t really used to yet, and it kept startling her. 

She looked over at her alarm clock, which told her that it was close to four thirty am. Groaning, she pulled the pillow out from under her and shoved it over her face, letting out a low scream. 

She grabbed her book on her nightstand, opening it up and sitting up. She clicked on her lamp and flipped it open. Violet read a few pages, but she didn’t get any tireder, only more awake. 

She then tried to listen to some more music to relax, but her mind was already whirring with the possibilities of the next day. The week of testing and pre-work had gone by, and every night, more and more boxes had arrived and been moved into the other dorm rooms. 

No other kids yet, but Violet wasn’t really anxious to get to the meet and greets. 

“Might as well work on the map,” She muttered, swinging her legs off of the bed. The map was Violet’s own personal mental blueprint of the compound. She and Dash had gotten their first exploring privileges revoked after the lab debacle, but Violet had been slowly working on her own. 

Violet grabbed something at the end of her bed and a pair of socks. She rolled up the legs of her pajama pants, slipped the socks onto her feet and yanked her pair of roller skates on after them.  

She clunked towards the door and pulled it open slowly, then slid out into the hall and rolled out towards the lounge. Once she was out of the dorm hall, Violet slipped her earbuds into her ears and pressed shuffle on her music. 

Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. 

Violet looped around the kitchen island, skating backwards for one as she hit her stride. Feeling a little adventurous, she put an extra spin on the last turn, flipping around to land on one foot as she glided out into the halls. 

‘Wake me up, before you go-go’ 

Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. 

‘Cause I’m not plannin’ on goin’ solo!’ 

Violet closed her eyes a little, letting herself drift off as she slid past another empty room. Dancing and roller skating were really only for people who’d mastered the sport, but her force fields kept her from injuring herself too much, and Violet had long since left any embarrassment at midnight. 

Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. 

The song ended and a new one started. It was still poppy and upbeat - Cyndi Lauper - and belonged to Violet’s ‘center yourself’ playlist. Sometimes it just felt good to act like she was the main character in an 80s movie. 

Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. 

‘Oh daddy dear you’re still number one, but girls wanna have fun!’ 

Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. 

Violet looped through the balcony over what looked like a training deck. She shifted her weight easily, picking up speed and slowing down in time to the music. 

Violet broke out in a smile as the third song started. Maybe having the opportunity to skate more would make this whole ‘super school’ thing more bearable. She stepped into a spin and tilted her head back, letting her hair fly out to the side. 

Fourth song - Gimme Gimme Gimme. 

Fifth song - Livin’ on a Prayer.

Sixth song - These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.

Seventh song - Come on Eileen. 

She wasn’t really lost. 

No, Violet could probably find her way back to her bedroom, but the compound was still big. She didn’t have access to everywhere yet, and she’d looped through the places she could go at least twice. 

Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. 

“Now I must say more than ever-” 

Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. 

“Tu-la-ru-la-ru-yea-ay!” 

Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk. 

Violet was really into it now. She’d slowed down for the verses, but sped up for the chorus, body swinging in time to beat. Eyes closed, the dark haired teen spun in circles and just enjoyed herself, something she never did often enough. 

It came with the territory of having two younger brothers, too small of a house, parents who were overworked trying to make sure their kids fit in and kept their powers a secret, and generally just having superpowers. 

But none of that mattered when Violet was alone with her music. 

“Hey!” 

Violet shrieked, lost her footing, turned invisible and fell over. She conjured some tiny force fields to break her fall at the last second, and whipped around to see a dark haired boy around her own age. 

What Wilbur saw was a very pretty girl get so started she fell over, then disappeared. He then watched a set of floating pajamas and roller skates hit the ground with a series of tiny purple bubbles. 

“Sorry!” He squeaked as the girl went visible again. Now that he could see her, Wilbur watched as she brushed her dark hair away from her face, revealing her dark blue eyes. Her pajamas were a pale blue with thin stripes in a darker shade. She’d rolled them up to keep the fabric from snagging in her wheels, which were a normal shade of while with lilac wheels. 

“It's okay,” She muttered. “I should have been paying more attention,” 

“You looked like you were having a pretty good time,” Wilbur tried, offering a hand to help her up. 

“I was, then it ended,” She shrugged. “I’m Violet,” 

“Wilbur Robinson,” He said. “You look like you have better control over your powers than- ahh - I-I do,” 

Midway through the sentence, Wilbur winced as his body tried to teleport again. His vision blurred and he watched the girl’s face go from calm to concerned. She stepped forward, but he waved her off. 

“That happens,” He groaned. 

“You’re an Omega?” She asked curiously. Wilbur nodded. 

“You aren’t?” He asked back. She shook her head. 

“Violet Parr,” She said. “My parents and siblings were brought in to help,” 

“So you’re a naturally born super?” Wilbur asked. 

“All five of us are,” Violet muttered. “Oh it's not as cool as you think! Mom and Dad think we’re too young to fight, and then the government stuff mostly targeted them, so they have us hide our powers,” 

“You turn invisible,” Wilbur joked. “Isn’t that hiding?” 

“Nobody notices me,” Violet said. “Sometimes, I like it that way,” 

“I think my powers might be cool once they stop spazzing,” Wilbur said. “Dad says that I’m definitely a teleporter,” 

“Your dad knows how to classify a teleporter?” Violet asked. “What, is he some sort of- oh wait he’s Cornelius Robinson, that makes perfect sense,” 

Wilbur laughed a little, causing Violet to join him. By this point, they’d made their way back to the lounge, Violet skating slowly to stay with him. Sitting down on one of the large couches, they kept talking. 

“So you were caught in the explosion?” 

“I was right outside the door,” Wilbur said. “They almost didn’t find me,” 

“Sounds rough,” Violet admitted. “I could have put a shield up, but I doubt it would have helped. The blow backs usually knock me out,” 

“Do you like your powers?” Wilbur asked. 

“When I was younger, I really didn’t,” Violet said quietly. “Now, now I do,” 

“What’s the rest of your family's powers?” Wilbur asked, leaning forwards. 

“Dash is a speedster, Mom stretches her limbs, Dad’s got super strength, and Jack-Jack’s a polymorph,” Violet rattled off. “It makes for interesting family dinners,” 

“Are you excited to meet other super kids? I bet you can really teach us everything,” 

Violet suddenly grew very quiet. She still didn’t know how this whole ‘training’ thing would go. Would she be a teacher or just another student? What if they came up with an antiserum and took the Omega’s powers away? Would her parents put her and her brothers through treatment? They’d always insisted the kids never use their powers. 

Violet took a deep breath and looked up at Wilbur, blue eyes meeting his hazel. 

“Are you?” She asked, then stood up and rolled back to her bedroom to try and get another few hours of sleep. 

She didn’t notice how Wilbur’s face fell or how he watched her glide out of the room. She didn’t know how much anxiety she’d accidentally caused. Only Wilbur did, and suddenly, he was worried that he might never feel normal again. It had been his fathers company that had exploded and given all of those kids their powers - would they blame him? 

“That… is an excellent question,” He mumbled, watching Violet disappear through the door. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven: Testing Montage

“Thank you for coming to join us here,” Cornelius said to the group once they’d gathered in the new training room. It was only around mid morning, but Cornelius already felt tired. The teenagers in front of him seemed worried or overeager, and he couldn’t tell which was worse. 

“We’ve got this,” Hiccup said, letting Cornelius leave to stand with his wife and son. “I’m Nightfury, but you will come to know me as Hiccup, or Dr Haddock, depending on what I’m doing at the time. I’m also a super, and I am here to help you learn about your new powers,” 

“I’m Doctor Corona, but you can also call me Rapunzel,” The blonde said, stepping up next to Hiccup. None of the Big Four were dressed in their supersuits, instead wearing comfortable looking pants and shirts under their lab coats. “While on duty, you’ll use my codename, Solarflare,” 

“These are the more active members of the team, Jack Overland and Merida Dunbroch,” Hiccup explained, gesturing to the others. 

“In the field, ah’m Archer and he’s Frost,” Merida added. Jack just grinned and waved at the kids, his smile helping to ease some of the nerves. “We’re also going ta’ teach you control,” 

“But still make it fun,” Jack added. 

“But you won’t just be training with us,” Rapunzel continued. “There are several others you should meet,” 

Another small group of people entered from a doorway. It was a motley group, mostly men with one small woman, who held the hand of a little girl as they walked inside. One of the men was tall and broad, another very short and a third normal except for two brilliant gray streaks at his hairline.

“This is Nikolas North, Aster Bunnymund, Sandy ManSnoozie, Toothiana Enamel and her daughter Babienne,” Jack said quickly, gesturing to each in turn. “They’re also supers, but their powers are significantly weaker than yours or mine,” 

“W-what are their powers?” A voice from the crowd asked. Everyone turned to look at it, and a brown haired girl with glasses shrunk back a little behind her father. 

“I’m sure they’ll tell you later,” Jack smiled, letting the girl know it was alright. “But now, it's time to see what you guys are capable of,” 

“We’ll give you a few minutes with your families, but then we’d like everyone not testing today to head up to the loft,” Rapunzel said. “Safety's sake and all that,” 

Wilbur took a second to scan the kids he'd be training with. Most of them looked nervously, awkwardly fiddling with the hem of the shirts they’d been given. Each one had been printed with a separate number, which his dad had explained was for filing. Only the girl he’d met that morning, what looked like her brother, another boy around his age and glasses girl's blonde haired sister seemed particularly unfazed. 

‘That’s weird’ Wilbur thought when he noticed another girl, only a year or so younger than he was, wearing a chunky set of headphones over her ears. ‘What's with that?’  

“Just do your best Wil,” Cornelius told his son, giving him a hug. “I know you’ll get the hang of this soon,” 

“Thanks Dad,” Wilbur smiled. “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” 

“Margo, Edith, show ‘zem how ‘ze Gru family does ‘zings, alright?” Felonius Gru whispered to his two adopted daughters. Edith was buzzing with excitement (and her powers), but Margo still looked very unsure. 

“What if this was a mistake?” Margo asked. Gru didn’t know what to tell her. If he’d had a choice, all three of his daughters would be at home, no powers to weigh them down or make them a target. It was only by pure coincidence that the oldest two had any, and not all three. 

“Make me proud!” Agnes cheered, smiling at her older sisters. Margo gave her a weak smile in return. 

“Edith, take your sister to ‘ze door,” Gru said. “I need to talk to Margo,” 

“I’m sorry,” Margo whispered, still fidgeting.

“Vat do you have to be sorry for?” Gru smirked. “I know vat you did before ze explosion,” 

Margo’s eyes widened. They’d been informed that their ID badges had been linked with the machine explosion, and that was how they’d created a circuit for their powers. They were supposed to be powerful, especially since the levels hadn’t been monitored. 

Margo really didn’t know if she agreed. The most she’d had was a residual headache. 

Gru had seen her powers when she was asleep though, and knew that his eldest needed this more than anyone. 

“Make me proud,” He whispered. “But it's not like you don’t already,” 

Margo took a deep breath and went to stand next to Edith along the wall. More parents hugged their children and made their way up to the loft, finally clearing the training room out as the teens prepared for the day of tests. 

“Alright, so tell us your name, security number and show us your powers,” Rapunzel said cheerfully. 

“Violet Parr, 2216-00,” Violet said quickly. She cupped her hands and produced a small forcefield, dropping it after the scientists nodded and noted it on their papers. 

She turned invisible for a few minutes, using more energy than she wanted to extend the camoflauge to her clothes, then turned back to normal. 

“How big can you make the field?” Someone asked. 

“It's usually spur of the moment,” Violet responded. “But usually big enough,” 

“Alright,” They replied. “Heads up!” 

A laser in the wall suddenly fired at her. 

“Dashiell Robert Parr!” Dash yelled. He rattled off his number too, leg bouncing in anticipation. 

“Top speed?” 

“FAST!” 

He took off running. 

“Tip Tucci,” The carribean girl signed quickly. “No number ,” 

“Powers?” 

“No thank you” 

Violet managed to make a force field around herself to deflect the beam, then pushed it outwards as more came from behind her. The scientist - North - smiled and stopped the exercise, letting her drop the shield and glare at him from below. 

“Can you do more?” He asked. 

Dash easily dodged all of the lasers coming at him. He was light footed and extremely fast, making his body a gray blur on the ground. He grinned and put on more speed, relishing in this chance to finally show off. 

Suddenly, his foot collided with an outcropping that hadn’t been there before, and he tumbled forwards, sliding across the floor on his face. 

“Alright, needs to work on perceptiveness,” A voice from the balcony chimed - Toothiana. 

“Tip, you need to show them your powers!” Lucy yelled from her spot above the arena. She gave an exasperated sigh when her daughter shook her head again, and the woman next to her - Helen she’d said her name was - gave her a reassuring pat. 

“It can be hard,” The other mother said. “But she’ll get there,” 

The woman sitting with the Big Four leaned forward to whisper in Dr Haddock’s ear. The young man nodded, his wings flexing a little as he leaned forward again to watch. The woman closed her eyes and pointed at Tip, who froze mid-sign. 

A few seconds passed, and suddenly, Tip turned to the side and screamed . 

Everyone lunged to cover their ears, and the woman pulled her hand back, leaving Tip to stagger forward in surprise. 

“What was that?!” Lucy asked nervously. 

“I triggered an old memory,” Toothiana replied. “It was a little unorthodox and mean, but we can’t proceed until she accepts her powers,” 

Lucy sat back and took another breath. 

Oh what had she gotten herself into when she met that super? 

“Okay, that's the naturally born supers to use as a baseline,” Hiccup said, turning to the others. “Ready for the fun part?” 

“Name?” 

“Riley Kaitlyn Anderson,” She mumbled. Her choppy blonde hair just dusted her shoulders, held back by the set of white headphones over her ears. 

“Riley, can you remove the headphones?” 

Riley shook her head and took a deep breath. 

“They help block out all the feelings,” The fourteen year old mumbled, voice amplified by the size of the room. “It gets too loud without them,” 

Solarflare sent her a sympathetic look. Riley felt a spike of fear in her chest, but removed the headphone, suddenly calming as waves of hopeful energy burst past her shoddy barriers. 

She smiled at the Big Four, grinning wider as Frost sent her a thumbs up. 

From where they sat, her brain waves were going insane. 

Babienne leapt into the air, little wings beating furiously to keep her in the air. She huffed and puffed a little, landing back on the floor with a thump. 

The next girl was about average height, her short red hair a little messed up in the back. She’d tied the hem of her training shirt in a knot that sat on her hip, which only made her legs look a little longer. 

“I’m Penny Forrester,” She said, voice clear. “I can talk to animals,” 

She whistled, and a white German Shepherd bounded towards her, skidding to a stop at her feet. 

Hiccup adjusted the screen to show the rest of the group. As Penny began to talk, they watched as her brain started to interpret it into words. 

“Okay Margo, we’re monitoring your brainwaves,” Rapunzel said calmly. “Now, just focus on your powers,” 

Margo closed her eyes, then slipped off her glasses. The headache suddenly spiked, and she almost crumpled into herself. But, like a floodgate, everything washed away. 

“Margo? Are you okay?” 

Margo blinked. She hadn’t physically heard anything, but when she looked up, she knew the super was thinking the same thing. 

“Rapunzel?!” 

“You’ve got this Emma!” Jack yelled. “Just like we practiced!” 

Emma looked up at her brother and nodded. She held up her hands and concentrated, focusing her powers into the image she wanted. The temperature dropped a little, and Emma smiled as a small frost rabbit appeared in her palm. 

“That’s my sister!” Jack cheered. Bunny started to grumble next to him, muttering something about ‘ two ankle-biting scamps with no respect for their elders’ . 

Edith grinned as she told the scientists her name and number. Before they could even ask, she took off running, effortlessly looping the edge of the arena. 

‘I can do better,’ She thought, and put on more speed. 

CRASH. 

Edith reeled backwards, rubbing her head where she’d slammed it into the wall. Above her, the other heroes muttered stuff about control and perceptiveness, but Edith just growled. 

The blonde boy was laughing at her from his spot in line. 

“Hiro Hamada, 88-03,” 

He was a short asian boy with messy black hair that almost covered his eyes, and his stance was loose and bored as he stood in the center of the room. 

With no prompting and a sly smirk creeping on his face, he raised his hands and the various features of the arena began to whir and activate. Platforms raised, trenches formed, and Hiro Hamada’s smirk grew wider. 

Wilbur didn’t know how to prompt the teleportation yet, but from watching the others, he assumed it was more intent based than anything. So, when it was finally his turn, Wilbur just closed his eyes and visualized a new spot across the arena. 

And when he opened them, he was standing there. 

Riley relished the support when it started, but slowly, more feelings started to creep in alongside it, crowding out her own thoughts. She could hear them all fighting for dominance in her head, and was starting to get overwhelming again. 

She slammed the headphones back on and willed it all to go away . 

“Ow!” 

“Ah!” 

“Oh my-” 

“Wot was tha-” 

Everyone else was rubbing their foreheads in pain too. 

“Tadashi said this was going to be exciting. All I’m seeing are girls who think.” 

Margo whipped around, catching the eyes of one of the two boys in the line - the short, shaggy haired one. 

“At least I can see past my own ego nit-wad” She glared, then suddenly cocked her head to the side. 

Hiro broke out into hiccups. 

“So I’m thinking that I’m faster,” Edith grinned at the other speedster. 

Dash growled.

 “Try me pinkalicious,” He snarled. “I’ll beat you on my worst day,”  

“Really?” Edith asked, zooming up and flicking his nose, leaving Dash sputtering angrily. “I’d like to see you try ,” 

“Wait, what’s that noise?!” Penny asked. Bolt barked in response while the others just exchanged looks. The teen snapped her fingers and there was a thump as a flock of birds landed on the skylight above her. 

“Penny, I think you can also control animals,” Rapunzel said as the younger girl gazed slack jawed at the ceiling. 

“Woah…” 

“Is Emma’s hair getting lighter?” Rapunzel asked, nudging Jack in the side. 

Emma’s hair had been pulled back into a ponytail for the trials, making it hard to tell for sure, but Jack could see where the roots had started to turn the same white his own hair was. 

“Guess it’s a side effect?” He guessed. 

He’d bounced back and forth between the two ends of the arena, each teleportation getting easier and earlier. Wilbur grinned as a familiar rush filled his body everytime he moved. It was almost like a roller coaster at a theme park, how his stomach dropped with each landing. 

He caught a glimpse of Violet against the wall, and the other super sent him a smile and a thumbs up. Wilbur smiled back, and his body suddenly teleported across the arena before going off into another one in quick succession. 

He finally managed to stop in the middle of the arena, breathing heavily as he flopped onto his back. 

“Ow…” 

Hiro’s demonstration may have looked cool, but it actually took a lot more energy and focus than he’d originally thought. He tried to stay focused, not wanting to completely fall apart with his new powers, but there was a lot of moving pieces. 

“Hiro?” 

He jerked his head up, trying to see who had said his name, and his concentration slipped. 

The doors around the arena started to slam open and closed at random, and Hiro jumped to fix it.

“Alright, so we have a group of ten,” Bunny said, both to the teens and other heroes as they stood clustered around in another room, this one with large screens along the walls. As he talked, files started to pop up and display the information. “Three naturally born and seven omega blasts. I’m not counting Tooth’s sheila because she’s too young,” 

“And from that group, we have a stealth based, a sonic screamer, two speedsters, a telepath and an empath, a technopath, a teleporter, one who can talk to animals and one with cryokinesis,” Hiccup added, mostly for the others benefit than his own. “I’d say we’d have a pretty balanced team of stealth and fighters,” 

“Team?” One of the parents - Penny’s mom - asked nervously. “I thought this was just training,” 

“It's not like I can call them a class,” Hiccup responded, almost avoiding the question. “Team is short and fits the description,” 

“Ah hope you all saw what the others are capable of,” Merida said, turning the conversation back to the teens. “It’s important to remember each others limits,” 

“And your limits will grow with every new day,” Rapunzel added. “We want to work with you to completely master your powers,” 

“Oh, and by the way?” Jack grinned. “Consider this your official welcome to the P.O.L.E.!” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Eight: Welcome to the P.O.L.E.

“Oh, and by the way?” Jack grinned. “Consider this your official welcome to the P.O.L.E.!” 

The large man - North - clicked something on his tablet, which replaced the files with blueprints and maps of the facility. 

“P.O.L.E is my pride and joy!” The older man said cheerfully, voice thick with what sounded like a russian accent. “Powers and Objective Learning Establishment, but also - our home,” 

“The Pole is fortified and heavily secluded, which lets us practice and stay safe without worrying about dangers from possible super threats,” Hiccup explained. “Dr Moone wanted to open it up as a nationwide super safe zone, but we’ll be using it more like a home base,” 

As he and North explained the background behind the facility, Merida, Rapunzel and Tooth had started to hand out small bracelets to each of the teens and a few adults. They were on a strong but stretchy band, with a mini tablet - almost like a watch face - attached. 

“Those are communicator bracelets,” Hiccup explained. “We’ll use them to keep in touch and generally track your location, but it's nothing serious. Think of it like your phones GPS,” 

“They’re also coded to help you navigate the Pole,” Bunny stepped in. “Vary access points will be open at different times, depending on the color,” 

“Since we’ve moved some of the surviving experiments from Robinson Industries to here, we don’t want any of you to accidentally come across something dangerous,” Rapunzel said. “Green zones are open twenty four seven, places like dorms, the lounge and kitchen, training rooms, the med wing,” 

Hiccup showed them where the green zones were located on the map, then pressed a button to show the next color. 

“Yellow needs individual permission,” Rapunzel continued. “Things like labs, the adult apartments. The debriefing room and mission room, which we’re in now, are also considered yellow zones.  And finally, the red zones. These are technically off limits to younger supers, but adults have full access. As time passes, we might change these permissions,” 

“The zones are for your safety,” Jack explained. “We aren’t hiding anything from you, it's just that several people in this building are inventors or scientists, and we’d like to avoid any repeats of the incident that gave you your powers,” 

“We also aren’t holding you against your will,” Rapunzel said, voice stiff and insistent. “Once you get a hold of your powers, we’re completely open to trips into San Fransokyo. But, you still will be expected to attend meetings and do some more testing for your powers,” 

“Us too?” Dash asked. “Vi and I didn’t get our powers in the explosion,” 

“Me either,” Tip signed. 

“You guys could still use some training,” Merida said. “So yes, you will,” 

The teens nodded in agreement, then waited for the briefing to continue. 

“We’ll handle the tours for the adults,” Tooth said. “And start filing for the schedules,” 

“This way then,” North said, leading the older supers out as the Big Four led the younger ones back towards the lounge. 

“Unlike the Big Four, we mostly work here, rather than in the field,” Bunny explained. “Our powers aren’t really… suited for combat,” 

“What are your powers?” Helen asked. “If you don’t mind me asking,” 

“I have… telekinesis, but not lot,” North said. “Small things I can pick up, nothing bigger than a few dinner plates,” 

“I’m a human map,” Bunny summarized. “One tap of my foot and I know the layout of every building I step in,” 

“Sandy and I are more medical,” Tooth said, her daughter walking in time with her steps, tiny wings fluttering. “My bit of telepathy means I can remind people of certain memories, and Sandy can sedate people,” 

The short man signed something, then tapped the side of his head and clapped his hands. Two short puffs of golden sand appeared in his palms, and Sandy twirled them into a series of pictures. A hospital caduceus, the figures of the big four, a few other symbols. 

“He uses dreamsand,” Tooth translated. “More of a tangible thing,” 

“Interesting,” Helen said. 

“Most of you will be staying here, so the labs will be down to the right…” 

“You guys excited to start training?” Jack asked as the kids reached the lounge. 

“I guess,” Margo muttered. 

“That is an excellent question!” Wilbur said. “But yes, yes I am,” 

“Oh right, you can’t control it,” Hiro smirked. 

“Shut up, everyone's different,” The girl with headphones - Riley - snapped. “Besides, I can feel your anxiety,” 

Hiro went red and sputtered something, but Riley just smirked in response. As she passed, Violet gave Wilbur a reassuring pat on the shoulder before slumping down on the couch herself. With a ‘thump’ Merida sat down next to her. 

Violet realized that the Big Four weren’t that much older than she was. With her curly hair loose around her shoulders and the loose training clothes instead of her super suit, Merida looked a bit like a college student back from a workout. 

“It would be a good thing for you all to get to know each other,” Hiccup mumbled, seated over at the kitchen island. “Y’know, since you’ll all be living together,” 

“Alright then,” Edith Gru grinned. “Why won’t blondie take those headphones off?” 

“Edith! That’s rude!” Margo yelped, smacking her sister in the back of the head. “I’m sorry Riley!” 

“The headphones help block out all your stupid emotions,” Riley said, and Violet almost saw her eyes flash red. “Otherwise I overload,” 

“Ye need mental walls lassie,” Merida said. “It’ll be tha’ first thing we do with you,” 

Riley nodded and fixed her headphones, making sure they completely covered her ears. 

“Sorry,” Edith muttered at Margo’s urging. 

“I think her speed came with the inability to check her mouth,” Her sister grumbled. “Will mental walls help me too?” 

Merida nodded, and Margo let out a sign of relief. She slumped down in one of the large armchairs, sinking into the heavy cushions. 

“Tip, are you deaf?” Emma asked. The others had been a little anxious around her, considering her brother was Frost, but Emma was almost entirely different. She was small and shy, but seemed to open up with Jack’s encouragement. 

“No,” Tip signed. “I can’t control the scream. You use sign?” 

“Sandy is deaf,” Jack said. “Em’s been learning for a few years now,” 

“I haven’t spoken in a few years,” Tip signed, Jack interpreting. “I don’t think I will again. I miss singing…” 

“Mental training for you too,” Merida determined. “And general control for all o’ you,” 

“Do we get super names!?” Dash asked accidentally. “For after training?” 

“We haven’t gotten that far yet,” Hiccup muttered. “But, it might be good for training in case you ever have to,” 

“The Dash!” Dash grinned. “Yeah, the dash!” 

“Don’t pick your own name!” Violet groaned. “Pick something that won’t give away your identity!” 

“How do we even pick a name?” Penny asked. “Cause if I can do it myself then I’m totally calling myself the Pied Piper,” 

“You sound like a rat themed supervillain,” Wilbur interrupted. “Also, you don’t magically compel animals by singing! It’s all mental!” 

“Jack, tell them how you picked yours!” Emma interrupted. Jack grinned and ruffled his sisters slowly changing hair, then shrugged at the other adult heroes. 

“Should we?” He asked. The other four exchanged looks before nodding, and the teens settled back to hear from the adults. 

“Well, I chose Frost,” Jack said slowly. “Mostly because of my powers, but also because Moone used to say I reminded him of Jack Frost, which was one of his favorite stories,” 

“So a fairy tale?” Edith asked. “Weird but okay,” 

“Jack Frost brings winter, but I didn’t want to scare anyone, especially with my powers,” Jack explained. “Frost is the first warning of winter, and it's not as scary as other things in winter,” 

“I picked Solarflare because of the sun,” Rapunzel said. “And my sunwave. It’s my way of burning despite the drawbacks. It’s a reminder,” 

“Nightfuries are an old legend in my hometown,” Hiccup explained. “They were dragons that were the unholy offspring of lightning and death, and they were some of the most powerful beings. But they were rare, and nobody ever saw them. So when my wings appeared… they just reminded me of the stories,” 

Most of the teens were nodding and whispering as the Big Four shared. Finally, they turned to Merida, who was still curled up in her seat. Hiccup learned over and nudged her, and the redhead rolled her eyes and learned forwards, elbows resting on her knees. 

“Ah picked Archer because it was my choice,” She said slowly. “My powers didnae control me, and ah was just as good a hero with ma’ bow than anything else,” 

“Alright, so legends, reminders and power,” Penny said, listing things off with her fingers. “So let's get to it people!” 

“Frost and Flurry!” Riley suddenly yelled. “Emma, you should be Flurry!” 

“Flurry?” Emma mused. “I like it,” 

“So do I,” Jack responded. “You’ve always been a blizzard,” 

So far, they had a few names. Emma was Flurry, meant to copy her brother’s Frost. Both Gru girl’s had theirs, both given to them by themselves and with others' support. Margo was Spectacle, but would probably get shortened to Specs, for both her glasses and how her powers were theorized to work. Edith had picked Skoro, which was the shortened version of the word speed in Gru’s first language. Following them, Dash had finally landed on Velocity.  

“Okay, it's Riley’s turn now,” Margo and Emma determined. “Suggestions?” 

“My powers are all emotion based, but I don’t want to be Miss Emote or something like that,” 

“Emotion… emotion…” Violet muttered aloud.

“Kanjo is emotion in japanese,” Hiro said softly. His face went red as everyone looked at him in confusion.  “My mom used to speak to me in japanese!” 

“Kanjo…” Riley said. “I like it,” 

Hiro beamed and Riley stuck her hand out for a fist bump. 

“You named me, so I should help you,” The empath muttered. “How about… Rocketeer?” 

“Rocketeer?” 

“I saw your sketches,” Riley explained. “W-what you’re doing now I mean. I didn’t see it when I felt your emotions I swear! Well… I did, but I could feel the excitement, not see the picture… sorry,” 

“It's fine,” Hiro said. “I was thinking about making some rocket boots and other armor. Rocketeer would fit that,” 

Riley beamed, blush finally disappearing off of her cheeks. Attention then turned back to Penny and Tip, who were perched on a couch across the room. 

“So far, I’ve come up with Pied Piper, Ark, Noah, Zookeeper, and Farmer,” Penny muttered. “They all suck,” 

“Ark isn’t bad,” Violet said. “I don’t know… you mostly talk to Bolt?” 

“Dad’s actually been looking into… enhancing him?” Penny said slowly, not really sure if she should share the information. “Since I can actually talk to him, Bolt keeps telling me how he wants to protect me, so Dad figured out how to give him… powers too?” 

“Cool,” Wilbur said immediately. Penny smiled, scooping Bolt up into her lap from the floor. 

“Barker,” Dash suddenly yelled from the floor. “Since you two are gonna be a team!” 

“Barker,” Penny nodded. “Sounds sick,” 

“Onto the siren then,” Hiro said, smirking at Tip, who rolled her eyes and signed something back at him. 

“Screamer sounds evil,” Wilbur remarks. “Or vaguely… inappropriate,” 

“Yeah,” Violet winced. “Howl?” 

“War cry?” Edith tried. 

“Banshee,” Margo said. “They’re beautiful women who trap you with their screams,” 

“I like Banshee,” Tip signed, nodding. 

“Two left!” Dash cried. “Wilbur’s turn!” 

“Pop,” Edith tried. “Portal-master?” 

“Maybe just portal?” Margo said. “Captain Portal?” 

Wilbur shrugged. 

“I don’t want to sound cheesy,” He admitted. “And if I pick one then I will,” 

“Dimension.” Violet said suddenly. “That’s kind of how Jack-Jack’s teleporting worked with he went through that stint,” 

“Kind of how mine works I think,” Wilbur said. “Like my body gets dragged somewhere else,” 

“Dimension it is then,” Hiccup remarked. “Alright, Violet now,” 

“Mom and Dad call her Invisigirl,” Dash said. “Or Incredigirl since we’re the Incredibles when we work as a team,” 

“You’ve done hero work before?” WIlbur asked, surprised. Violet just shook her head. 

“Dash and I have done crowd control,” She corrected. “There was a supervillain at a track meet a year ago,” 

“Invisigirl works as a power specific one, since you won’t be in a team much,” Hiro said. Riley nodded next to him, barely looking up from the blueprints Hiro was sharing with her. 

“I don’t like it,” Violet admitted. “I didn’t chose it, and it just sounds really weak,” 

“And you donae want to be weak,” Merida said, giving Violet a reassuring pat. “Ah understand,” 

“You can turn invisible and make force fields, which could help you protect or move things,” Hiccup muttered, thinking back to Violet’s trial earlier that day. “Stealthy powers kid,” 

“Ghost sounds like an assassin,” Penny murmured. “And you probably don’t want to be called Poltergeist,” 

Violet shook her head furiously at that. 

“I got it!” Wilbur cried. “Phantom!” 

“Doesn’t that sound… y’know, evil?” Violet asked. 

“No, it’s all about what you make of the name,” Rapunzel interrupted. “And I think Phantom would be perfect, if you like it,” 

“I do,” Violet said. “Phantom works really well,” 

She smiled, watching as the kids launched back into their conversations and expectations, all making new friends and sharing smiles and looks. 

Maybe this whole training thing would work out. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Nine: Training, Tears & Trouble 

The schedules were handed out and gone over the next morning. From there, the kids were shuffled around to various one-on-one meetings for the rest of that day, with the promise of actual training the morning after. 

When that time finally came around, everyone was a little less happy. 

Violet groaned as she rolled out of bed, yanking on her practice uniform. The training uniforms were a reinforced fabric in a greyish white, with darker grey armored patches at the joints. It was meant to help them train without worrying about hurting each other. 

Training started early, mostly before the Big Four had to work on their own jobs. In all honesty, Violet compared it to a gym class, with lots of laps, core exercises and different sets based on everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. The Big Four had promised more variety as they excelled, but that was a long way off. 

After morning training, which went on until breakfast at a time everyone else would prefer to wake up (usually around eight or nine in the morning), the Big Four went off to their labs or out to run patrols in the city. 

From there, most of the kids retreated out to the library, lounge or their own bedrooms to do school, since despite their new powers, their parents still needed them to stay up to date. Margo and Edith usually found their way to Gru’s lab, where Margo helped Agnes do hers and Edith tried out new inventions. 

Since some of the older kids figured out how to handle their work faster than the younger ones, Violet had gotten almost an hour and a half of uninterrupted reading time in the library. Sometimes Tip joined her, which Violet liked. Tip was calm, unlike some of the others in the group. 

Then it was off to more training in the afternoon. 

Merida and Jack handled a lot of hand to hand training, but Hiccup and Rapunzel joined in to help anyways. Most of the teens were completely inadequate at any sort of fighting, so they definitely needed the help. Unsurprisingly, the best at those lessons were Violet, Dash, Wilbur but also surprisingly - Riley. 

Margo and Hiro both got into their own heads too much, which tripped them up. Penny and Edith were too excited and got sloppy, while Emma and Tip were just average, not too bad but also not spectacular. Merida assured them that they’d all get better at their own pace. 

Then they had free time. The POLE was actually fairly big, especially now that their wristbands let them into some of the deeper levels. There was a pool that some of the teens hung out in, the training arena and library of course, but also a game room and more interesting places to explore. With all the rooms, sometimes families ate dinner together, sometimes with another family (for those who had families staying), and sometimes it was just the kids, clustered together to watch a movie. 

Some families stayed, others hadn’t, and it really just depended on other circumstances. The Parrs were all together of course, and so were the Grus, since Gru himself worked as a scientist in the POLE. Mr Robinson visited a lot, but was still dealing with the rebuilding of his company during the day. Tadashi Hamada was given a job at the POLE though, and he got to stick with his brother. Same went with Penny’s dad, who was brought in with Dr Calico, another member from his team. Parents who didn’t really work in science or had other obligations mostly visited on the weekends. 

This routine worked… for a while that is. 

The constant training meant that the teens were all advancing. The Big Four started to pair them off for one of one spars, alternating on powers and previous partners. Everyone had started to regain more control of their powers and even use them in combat. 

Wilbur and Violet’s fights were always some of the most interesting. With her invisibility and his teleportation, it was lucky that one of them managed to land a hit, let alone several. 

Things were going well until one day, there was a yell as Edith went flying, having bounced off of a force field. She got snagged on one of the raised platforms, and when she finally stopped moving, there was a huge tear down the side of her practice suit. It wasn’t the first time either - most of the teen’s suits had started to show wear from their constant practicing. 

“It might be time to meet Edna,” Rapunzel finally said, absolutely sick to death of fixing the uniforms. 

“I’ll bring it up at the next Senior Super meeting,” Hiccup groaned. 

“Absolutely not .” Elastigirl snapped. “They’re just kids!” 

“Kids with superpowers,” Frost added under his breath. 

“They’re just suits Helen,” Mr Incredible tried. “Why are you so against this?” 

“Suits mean they’ll be expecting damage to warrant them,” Elastigirl said. “Which means you guys want to put those kids out in the field!” 

“There's not much of a field to be out in,” Nightfury tried. “But… yes, they’re supers, if they want to, there's no reason we shouldn’t prepare them to protect people,” 

“They’re just kids!” Mrs. Forrester worried. They’d brought in all of the parents for this meeting, not just the super ones, since this was a big topic. 

“Kids with superpowers,” Archer said. “They need this,” 

“No!” 

“They’re young!” Jill Anderson cried. “Riley just barely turned fourteen! Gru, your daughter’s younger than she is!” 

“Actually, I’m for it,” Gru shrugged. “I was stealing zings when I vas eleven,” 

“Great,” Bill Anderson griped. “I forgot we have a super villian in our midst!” 

“Ex-super villain.” Gru snarled. 

“I don’t know if I want Tip out there,” Lucy said. “She still refuses to use her powers!” 

“Something the field could help her with,” Archer replied. “Ah didn’t use mine until ah was in the field,” 

“What even are your powers, Archer?” Bill snapped. “Aiming?” 

Archer growled , placing her hands on the table as she leaned across from the older man. Her eyes almost glowed in the shadow of her bangs, but Nightfury laided a comforting hand on her arm and glared at the man himself. His eyes actually did glow. 

Outside, Violet groaned, shaking her head in a ‘not going well’ expression at Margo, who was working to keep the mental link with the rest of the teens up. Her mental links were a relatively new development, but made spying fantastic . 

Also outside the door was Wilbur. The plan was for him to grab Margo and teleport away if they got caught. Violet could easily turn invisible to avoid any angry adults. 

“Our kids are too young!” Someone yelled. 

“You can’t shelter them forever!” Cornelius burst out. “I know my son, and he will do anything to help others! Your own children will too!” 

“It’s a super trait,” Mr Incredible said, clearly on the ‘go ahead’ side despite his wife’s reservations. 

“They weren’t always supers!” Someone else cried. 

“They are now, whether you like it or not.” A new voice said quietly. Most of the parents sputtered, turning their heads to glare in his direction. 

“Mr Dicker, would you like to explain?” Nightfury asked, suppressing a grin. Rick Dicker was an old face in the NSA portion of the government, responsible for the relocation and assimilation of supers twenty years ago. Unlike most in his branch though, he was actually a fan of the people he was hiding. 

“Certainly,” The old government agent said, pulling himself to his feet. “Your children were all given a miraculous gift. Unfortunately, but they were given it. I have seen their training, I have seen their files and I have watched them grow more confident in even the past two weeks. I can tell you for certain - some of those kids will be out there fighting. And it might be sooner rather than later,” 

“Not ours though.” Bill Anderson muttered. Dicker shot him a laugh. 

“Your’s that Riley?” He said. “She’s got the spirit, and a pretty good wield on her powers already. Mr Anderson, she’s had them for a month . The Parr’s kids struggled for a good year before they were half as good as she is now,” 

Bill stepped back, sputtering angrily. Jill just looked frozen. 

“Your children will be heroes because they have the spirit and the drive,” Dicker continued. “The best thing you can do now is to protect and support them. And if that means giving them a damn supersuit, then give them the damn supersuit.” 

“Thank you Mr Dicker,” Solarflare said. “Anyone else have anything to say?” 

Outside the door, Wilbur, Violet and Margo shared a group high five as the mental link exploded into cheers. 

“Okay, we have a guest today,” Hiccup said to the team. “Which means you guys have to listen.” 

A short woman wearing a metallic dress hurried through the door, clutching an enormous black binder. Her thick glasses were perched on her nose, and she seemed bothered by the horde of sweaty, tired almost-superheros that stood in front of her. 

“Hello darlings,” She purred. “It's finally time for your supersuits…” 

The teens were almost quivering with excitement, and the Big Four watched in enjoyment, smirks barely hidden. 

“A good suit is individualized darling,” Edna said. “They are built to be sturdy, strong and useful. They are tuned to the wearers powers and limits, keeping them safe in battle,” 

She flipped open the binder and gestured towards it. 

“But that does not mean they must be boring darlings!” 

Things got a little crazy from there. Edna went into a flurry of measuring, power breakdowns and general fashion design nonsense that nobody but herself understood. She made comments about their teen’s heights and powers, how the girls should be wearing their hair - everything. When she got to the Parrs, she took only a few minutes to gush about how much they resembled their parents before insisting the whole family meet her for dinner. The whole thing took less than two hours, and Edna left the compound just as extravagantly as she had arrived. 

“As soon as the suits arrive and you’ve practiced in them, we’ll talk about missions,” Hiccup said to the group, launching another round of cheers. “For now, keep training and stay ready,” 

“YES!” Edith cheered. “I am so ready!” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Ten: The Big Four

“I’d say that meeting went well,” Frost muttered, twirling his staff around in his hands. “Much less screaming than I thought,” 

“Yeah right,” Solarflare replied, smirking. “Like Meri didn’t try to jump across a table!” 

Archer rolled her eyes at the two's antics, turning her attention back to her bow. Beside her, Nightfury sent his two teammates a look. 

“The team is making some great progress though,” He said, switching the conversation. 

“Oh yeah!” Solarflare cheered. “They’re getting so confident!” 

“Actually kinda glad we moved into the POLE permanently,” Frost said. “Our apartment would be in the negatives by now,” 

“Is Flurry having trouble?” Nightfury asked, concern laced through his voice. Frost had struggled a bit with his powers too, accidentally freezing things he came into contact with. 

“Nah, she just likes a lower temperature now,” Frost explained. “Her room is practically antarctica, but nobody else is really going to be in there,” 

“Tip still won’t use her powers, but she’s getting better in hand to hand,” Solarflare finally said. 

“Enough to replace her powers?” Nightfury asked, pointedly looking towards Archer. 

“No,” The redheaded hero said. “She needs to at least accept her powers,” 

“Don’t you ignore yours?” Frost asked. 

“Ah know my limits Frost,” Archer sniped. “Ah chose to use my other talents,” 

There was silence, only the wind rustling, cracking of ice that seemed to accompany Frost’s magic, and the sound of Archer fiddling with her bow string. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but the four knew that they would have to figure out something to do about Tip. Before anyone could speak though - a beep from Nightfury’s communicator alerted them. 

“Attack at the Bank Gala on Wilder,” Nightfury cried. “Looks like Outcasts,” 

“Full team attack,” Solarflare said, hair burning a little brighter as she flew out of her seat. “Frost and I will do first hit,” 

Frost nodded, grabbing his staff and leaping into the air to follow Solarflare as they zipped towards the ballrooms. 

“Come up Archer,” Nightfury grinned, holding a hand out to his teammate. “Can’t be too late,” 

Archer looked up from her own communicator - beeping with a different alert - and winked. 

“Canae have tha’,” 

“Hand over the bags, and nothing has to go wrong…” 

She nodded, absolutely terrified to her core, and dropped the shopping bags on the ground before pulling her purse off and tossing it in too. 

All she’d done was get back a little late from her shopping, which meant she’d missed the bus to take her home. But she didn’t live that far and thought she could walk it. Now… Anita wasn’t sure if she’d get home at all. 

One of the thugs lunged for her purse and chucked it back at his partner, then started to go through the other bags. His face changed from excitement to disgust as he pulled out a few baby onesies, followed by bottles. 

“Baby stuff?” He growled. “This is useless!” 

“She doesn’t have much money on her either,” The thug in the back muttered. “Useless stop,” 

Anita once again wished she’d brought Perdita with her, but the dog was back at home, watching over her o wn puppies. She took a shaky breath as the thug in front of her held up his gun, screwing her eyes shut and still hoping - 

Whoosh . Thawk. 

“AHH!” The thug holding the gun screamed, holding his hand as an arrow stuck out of the palm. “What the f-” 

“It's those heroes!” The other one shrieked. “Where are they?!” 

“Right here,” A female voice said. Both thugs whipped their heads up to see Archer standing on the building above Anita, bow drawn back as she aimed a second arrow. 

Anita let out a sigh of relief. 

“Archer!” 

The thugs turned and ran in the opposite direction, but were cut off by the figure with large black wings landing on the ground in front of them. 

“And Nightfury!” Anita breathed. 

The heroes made short work of the muggers, knocking them out and tying them to a light post for the police. Archer helped Anita gather her things and sent her on her way, but told her that the police might need to take her statement. 

“We have to get going,” Nightfury muttered. “Frost and Solarflare need the backup,” 

Archer fixed her bow to her back and nodded. 

“Lets go,” 

“Ready?” Solarflare muttered to her partner as they reached the attack. 

“Oh yeah,” Frost replied, and the two heroes burst through the doors into the ballroom. 

Nightfury had been right, it was an Outcast attack. The ballroom was littered with gang members, all laughing maniacally as they threatened the party guests. Most of the people were pressed against the walls or hiding under tables, but a select few had been dragged to the center of the room. Solarflare recognized them as the owners of the banks, and probably the ones who knew the most codes. 

“Hey!” Solarflare yelled, launching herself back into the air. “Let them go!” 

The outcasts leapt for her, and the blonde hero rolled to avoid them. One of the goons fired some sort of taser or laser shot at her, and Solarflare yelled as if barely missed her chest. She flung a sun blast at his feet, knocking the man backwards and into his fellow gang members. 

Frost iced the ground, making it harder for the goons to stay steady. He also used his powers to make walls around the civilians to protect them. With Solarflare taking most of the damage, he was also able to slip around unnoticed. 

Frost couldn’t help but grin as Solarflare knocked another goon off his feet with her sun blasts. She was always so beautiful when she was angry. 

“Hey guys,” Frost said, leaping over an ice wall to talk to the citizens. “Party crashers, am I right?” 

“Frost!” One of the investors, a woman dressed in a fancy evening gown, hissed. “Can you get us out of here?” 

“Yeah… just a second…” He muttered, scanning the walls, before his face lit up. “Oh this will be fun!” 

Using his staff to move guests aside, Frost wormed his way to one of the large windows. He opened it quickly and checked outside, happily finding the alleyway devoid of Outcasts. Checking to see that the Outcasts inside were still occupied by Solarflare, Frost stuck his staff out the window and funneled enough ice through it to make a deep slide to the ground below. 

“Here we go!” Frost said, picking up the closest person next to him and placing them on the slide. “Get across the street, don’t make too much noise!” 

Most of the guests went quietly, just wanting to escape the fighting. A few people were worried but complied, and only one or two had to be shoved . Frost moved quickly, not wanting to draw more attention to himself. Finally, it was just the employees in the middle, which was good, since Solarflare had started to wear herself out. 

“Where's the backup?” Frost hissed to himself, trying to see if Archer or Nightfury had arrived. 

As if on cue, the door slammed open to reveal his other teammates. Nightfury launched into the sky and Archer slid down the banister to get her fill of hand to hand, and Frost grinned. 

“Right on time.” 

Archer blocked an outcast’s punch with her bow, twisting it to throw them off balance. She kicked him back into a second one, and kept fighting her way into the middle of the ballroom. 

Nightfury snatched outcasts off the ground and dropped them for Solarflare and Frost to blast back. Solarflare might have been tired, but her blasts were still powerful, and Outcasts had started to run to escape her. 

“Time to wrap this up!” Nightfury yelled to Frost as they passed each other. 

“Archer, get off the floor!” Frost yelped into his communicator. “I’m dropping the barriers,” 

He flew into the air and focused on the ice barriers he’d put up, not counting the one in the middle. At Nightfury;s signal, Frost melted the outer barriers, letting a wave of inch high water splash across the floor. 

Nightfury lobbed one of his electricity balls at it, and the remaining outcasts yelled in pain as they were all shocked. 

“AHHH!” 

Frost panicked, recognizing the scream. His head jerked towards Archer, who’d jumped for Solarflare, but who had also been grabbed around the ankle by an Outcast. As the shockwave had rolled through the room, she’d been caught in the blast. 

Frost recalled the water, hurriedly dissipating it into the air. He lowered the shield for the bank employees as the others touched down. With Nightfury’s help and some of his gadgets, they worked to tie up the remaining outcasts. 

Frost used ice to bind their hands and feet first, leaving Nightfury to follow with studier bindings. He was almost done when there was a loud crack , and the ice hero stumbled forwards. 

When he turned around, Nightfury had zapped one of the outcasts, knocking him out. He’s smacked Frost with his ice covered hands, trying to escape. 

“Go see Solarflare,” The dragon hero muttered, and went to talk to the bank employees. His voice was stiff and low, and Frost knew it was because of Archer’s injury. 

He stumbled over to Solarflare, collapsing next to Archer on the ground as he breathed heavily. The blonde heroe sent a worried look at him, but handed him a portion of her hair and closed her eyes, focusing on healing them both. 

“Flower gleam and glow,” She muttered. “Let your power shine…” 

Frost let out a heavy sigh of relief as the healing power surged through his body, fixing any small injuries from the fight. Next to him, Archer did the same as her body magically recovered from the shock. 

“I think…” Frost muttered. “I think we’re going to need that beta team sooner rather than later…” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Eleven: Team Tag

“The sensors you’ve all strapped on will trigger when another person hits them. This is an exercise for you to get used to teamwork with the people in your group,” 

The Big Four had put the teens into three groups, each separated in different sides of the arena. Right now, the kids were tightening the straps of their sensors or adjusting their last set of practice uniforms. The game had been described as a mix between tag and capture the flag, and everyone was excited. 

Violet was on Team A with both her brother and Riley. She could already work well with Dash, especially since they both knew to hold their sibling arguments together until things were over. Riley was also an expert hand to hand fighter, and Violet was convinced she could hold her own. 

Wilbur, Hiro and Edith were on Team B. They were probably the most challenging group to take down, between Hiro’s control of the arena and Edith’s speed. Violet had fought Wilbur in enough spars to catch his teleportation, but it could trip up the others. Mostly, she hoped for a few things: Hiro to get distracted with the arena, and Edith to accidentally take herself out. 

Finally, Team C. Tip refused to use her powers still, Penny only had her cat Mittens, since Bolt was undergoing his first round of superpower treatments. Emma might be hard to knock out, but her ice could make trouble for the others too. Finally, they also had Margo, which meant they had the advantage of the mental link. 

“Alright,” Violet muttered. “Take out the weaker ones first. You already know who they are,” 

Dash and Riley nodded, eyes scanning the other teams quickly. Violet grinned. 

“Go!” Rapunzel yelled, and the buzzer went off. 

Hiro automatically tapped into the arena, causing the platforms and walls to start moving. At the same time, Edith and Dash sped off, the other supers moving slightly slower. 

“Stay on top of it!” Violet muttered to Riley, who nodded and slid into one of the tunnels before Hiro closed it. 

There was a crash as Edith tackled Tip and Margo. Violet noticed the yelling, but no buzzers sounded to signify that anyone was out. Violet went invisible and crept a little closer. 

“Get off!” Margo yelled, throwing her hand out at Edith. Edith grabbed at her head in pain, reeling back from her sister’s telepathic commands. As Margo clenched her fist, Edith flung herself forward and ran full speed into her own teammate. 

Edith and Hiro hit the ground, rolling a few feet from the force of Edith’s speed. There was a loud buzzer and Edith’s angry scream as an ‘X’ appeared next to her name. 

Her sensor had been tripped. 

“VI!” 

Violet turned to see Penny directing Mitten to jump at Riley. The younger girl was just barely avoiding it, but her arms already had some claw marks. As the cat jumped again, Violet flung her hands out and captured it in a force field. The cat struggled, but her claws just slipped off the sides of the purple bubble. 

“Dash!” Violet yelled. There was a gush of wind as Dash raced past his sister from wherever he’d been hiding, sliding past both Violet and Riley before tagging Penny out. As he did that, Violet dropped the force field and Riley slipped back into the tunnels. 

Dash kept going after tapping out Penny, laying eyes on Wilbur. He reached out his hand to hit his sensor, but the older boy noticed and teleported away at the last minute. Dash skidded to a stop, teeth clenched in anger. 

“Gah!” He groaned. “I was this close!” 

Hiro slipped into one of the tunnels, staying out of sight of the others. He’d lost his hold on the electronics when Edith had fallen into him, but if he had enough quiet he’d be able to get them back. 

Hiro figured that nobody else had even thought about the tunnels, but as he was settling against the wall to regain control, he noticed someone outlined in the light from the arena. 

She brushed her hair back from her face and Hiro noticed the rolled up legs of her jumpsuit. Riley. Hiro stuck to the shadows, running over all the possible scenarios. Riley was younger than he was, smaller and skinnier too. Her powers were still fairly basic, no real way to use them in combat. Sure she was great at hand to hand, but Hiro wouldn’t need to worry about that if he took advantage of this moment. 

He crept forwards, and Riley made no move. The sensor on her back was glowing, and Hiro reached out a hand to tap it. 

He froze, a wall of fear crippling him and preventing his body from moving. Hiro’s eyes widened as Riley turned around and he met her gaze. She grinned, hands moving in slow circles as she focused her emotional wall on him. 

Hiro tried to speak, but he physically couldn’t. He was paralyzed with fear but was also mesmerized by the weird sparkling glow in her eyes. He didn’t know why she hadn’t tagged him out yet, but then he noticed the strain in her face. 

‘Oh, ’ Hiro realized. ‘ She’s never done this before, ’ 

It was a standstill. 

They stood there for a while, the others fighting around them. Hiro thought that maybe they’d be the last ones standing, when all of a sudden there was a ‘whoosh’ and Dash appeared behind Riley. 

There was a light thump as Wilbur teleported behind Hiro. Dash ran up to Riley, and both boys locked eyes and saw the standstill at the same time. 

Wilbur grabbed Hiro and Dash scooped Riley up, neither breaking the tentative eye contact the two shared. At the same time, Wilbur teleported away and Dash ran off, separating Hiro and Riley. 

“She’s got a new thing,” Hiro muttered when he was finally able to move again. 

“That hurt more than I was expecting,” Riley grumbled. 

Violet used another force field to trip Tip, who stumbled into Margo. The two girls stood back to back, but struggled to fight stuff they couldn’t see. Violet knew to keep moving - or Margo might have an easier time latching onto her brain. 

Tip skipped awkwardly to the side, giving an invisible Violet a chance to tag her out. The caribbean girl signed something unflattering about Violet as she stomped off to the side. 

Margo moved right into position, and Violet reached out. At the last second, Margo seemed to feel the other girls presence, and she whipped around. 

Violet groaned as a mental attack ripped through her head, causing her to lose control of her invisible. Flickering back and forth between visible and invisible, Violet shoved Margo back, tapping her out in the process. 

“Gah!” Violet yelled, stumbling backwards and clutching at her forehead. Margo hadn’t had time to deliver a calculated hit, but had basically given her a migraine instead. 

Emma moved on top of a platform, then focused all of her power to coat the floor with ice. It took a lot of effort, but there was also a part of her that wanted to go crazy and freeze everything. 

Shouts rang out across the arena as Violet slipped and hit her head again, Dash slipped and both he and Riley went flying. Wilbur and Hiro were at the edge, but were separated as a rogue wall and platform appeared between them. 

Riley balled herself up and rolled to a stop, quickly regaining her footing. As she stood up, she found herself face to face with Hiro. Again. 

Riley looked between Hiro and her surroundings, watching as Wilbur teleported to her side. The two boys nodded at each other, both aiming to gang up on the younger girl. 

“Oh no you don’t,” Riley muttered under her breath. As the boys moved, she launched an emotion blast at Wilbur, jumping into action to tag him out. 

Thump . 

Riley reeled backwards, clutching at her nose and glaring at Hiro. The technopath grinned, lowering the automatic door he’d just slammed into her face. 

“That's it!” Riley shrieked, and threw herself at Hiro. She hit the asain in a tackle, and the two rolled out onto the icy floor. 

Fighting and shoving at each other, the others couldn’t figure out a way to step in without getting hurt or tagged themselves. As soon as Hiro got a decent foothold against the ice, Riley would catch him in the stomach and throw him back down. When Riley tried to worm her way out, Hiro grabbed her ankle and hauled her back. 

Finally, there was a loud buzz as x’s appeared next to Hiro and Riley. 

And then there were four left. 

Dash floundered on the ice, struggling to move without falling. He was too focused on her feet, which distracted him to the point he didn’t notice his sensor getting tripped. 

“Bye!” Emma grinned, moving around on the ice like she was skating. Dash groaned as he saw the x appear next to his name. A few seconds later, one appeared next to Emma’s name, and he heard her outraged yell. 

“Bye!” Wilbur said, teleporting away. 

Violet had watched it all go down and snuck a glance at the scoreboard. The only two still in the game were her and Wilbur. If she played this right, team a would win, and if she didn’t team b would and she’d never hear the end of it from Dash and her dad. 

“Hey captain whack a mole!” She yelled. “It's just you and me now!” 

Wilbur appeared in front of her - far enough away that she couldn’t just get him out, but close enough to talk. 

“Yes, miss invisible?” He replied. 

“Come and get me,” Violet smirked, going invisible as red blossomed over Wilbur’s face. 

She snuck behind him, slipping into one of the tunnels and coming up on the other side of the arena. Violet made slow moving steps, using her powers to her advantage. 

Her hand was inches away from tagging Wilbur’s sensor when his spine stiffened and he teleported away. Violet dropped her hand, whirling around as she heard the thump of Wilbur reappearing. 

“I can feel you there Violet,” He muttered. “Won’t be that easy,” 

Oh. It was on . 

Wilbur reached forward to tag her, and Violet turned visible, which startled him a little, as he hadn’t thought she was that close. Violet ignored the fact she and Wilbur were actually very close - almost nose to nose - and put a quick force field around him. 

Wilbur blinked in surprise, then tried to teleport out. Violet made a face and put more power into the field, intentionally shielding it against powers. When he didn’t go anywhere, Wilbur gaped in shock. 

“Hey!” The dark haired boy yelped. “Not fair!” 

“Not my fault I have cooler powers!” Violet taunted, going invisible and moving away where he couldn’t find her. The force field around him flickered, signaling to Wilbur that Violet’s show of power might be just that - a show. She was getting tired, which meant she might trip up. 

Speaking of… 

“Ow, shit!” 

Wilbur used Violet’s temporary moment of pain to break out of the force field and teleport away. The young super glared at his previous location from her spot in the middle of the arena, rubbing her hip where she’d landed after slipping on ice. 

But as soon as she stood up, she was down again as Wilbur teleported on top of her and they slammed into the ground. 

Like Hiro and Riley, they devolved into a catfight, rolling around and going after each other's arms and legs in a half ditch effort to escape. Both teens were exhausted from surviving the fight for so long, but also pumping full of adrenaline in their chance to win. 

“Arrh!” Wilbur groaned, using the last of his momentum to roll over and pin Violet to the ground below him. Nose to nose again, the two teenage super breathed heavily, chests heaving as everything seemed to slow down. 

Then Wilbur’s hand slipped on the ice, and in an attempt to not break Violet’s nose with his own, he smacked her chest sensor. 

The buzzer echoed in the arena and the room erupted into cheers, boos, or outraged yells. Hiro and Edith especially, were the loudest voices. 

Wilbur blushed again, just realizing how close he and Violet were. 

“Watch your hands… Dimension, ” Phantom grinned, and rolled him off onto the arena floor. She stood up, cracking her back and stretching her arms out. 

“Team B is the winner!” Frost said. “This was a great exercise folks!” 

“Ah’m sure you’ve noticed your weaknesses during this fight,” Archer said. “So keep tha’ in mind,” 

“Suits come tomorrow,” Nightfury grinned. “Things will start to get real then,” 

“You’re going to be heroes,” Solarflare finished. “You need to be aware,”

Chapter Text

Chapter Twelve: Suits and Masks

The next day, the team once again in the arena, this time with the removable walls set up in a formation that created a bunch of little changing spaces. The Big Four and other Senior Supers were there, along with Edna and two huge boxes. 

The suits were quickly handed out and everyone changed, then reassembled in a line that Edna oversaw. Apparently, she wanted to show off her hard work one by one. 

“Violet’s suit is made of an element resistant fabric, also capable of surviving extreme fire and other normal damage,” Edna said. “I used it on all the suits, making them highly hard to damage at all and another layer of protection for the wearer. To work with her powers, her suit is making of tricky material that will disappear with her - without her having to extend more concentration to do so,” 

Violet’s suit was nice, as they all were. The main bodysuit was a dark purple with black piping lines down the front. She had two black pockets on the sides of the legs, which reminded her of cargo pockets. Her boots were thin and ended in a lighter purple cuff over her knees, the black matching the gloves on her hands and her domino mask. Her arms were covered by a sort of arm-coat in the same medium purple, edged with black. Overall, it was clear that her suit had been modeled after her force fields, and was built for stealth. 

The teen created a small force field to test the gloves, and was pleased to see it was the same as if she wasn’t wearing any. When she turned invisible, the suit went with her, and Edna clapped approvingly. 

“Her brother's suit has the same qualities as the others, but is also able to move at high speeds without heating up or wearing down. Due to his previous training and quick reactions, his lacks outer armor, but is no less sturdy because of that,” 

Dash grinned and turned to show off his suit. It was more orangey than the red of his parent’s super suits, and lacked the Incredibles emblem. He kept the same boots, gloves and shorts style, but the black had orange stripes at the hems. Like Violet’s he also had black piping lines down the nonexistent seams. If he looked closely, he could see how the color of the suit changed as the fabric moved. 

“The other speedster’s suit is similar to Dashiell’s in construction, but of course differs in color and armor. Her file indicates that she is slightly slower and prone to crashes, so I added extra armor and a helmet to further cushion her fighting style,” 

Edith’s suit was pink. It was a darker bodysuit with brighter lines, and the same bright pink was used on her goggles/helmet combo that protected her head and pushed her hair back and away from her eyes. A lighter collarbone, pauldron, elbow and knee pad armor was definitely more pronounced than the others, and she had a set of thick looking white boots. It looked like it might weigh her down, but her lap around the arena was just as fast and Edna assured her that it was all lightweight despite its strength. 

“Gratuity Tucci’s suit had a different design,” The designer continued. “The bodysuit appears to be sleeveless, but that is just design. It still has the same coverage and protection as the others. Her boots are steel tipped for maximum power, due her... refusal of her powers. The belts will provide places for any inventions or weapons,” 

Tip’s suit was a mix of dark and regular olive green, with a white mask, boots and high gloves. It looked like a mix of an army uniform and a spy’s wardrobe, built for tactical but more combat heavy encounters than some of the others. The dark green pants tucked into her white boots, while the lighter green bodysuit had a swirling symbol across the chest. Tip smiled at the symbol, clearly familiar with the emblem. 

“What is it?” Helen asked Lucy as the teen grinned. “I kind of recognize it…” 

“It was her fathers symbol,” Lucy said. “It's the only thing she knows about him,” 

“The next suit is also armored, with extra power in the legs so she can keep up with her animal companions without getting worn out. There are compartments for food to help call more animals to her side,” Edna said, gesturing to Penny next.

Penny’s suit also had a lot of white, but also with an orange bodysuit and black under armor. She had a black mask across her face, and her gloves and boots were an armored white. White armor climbed up her legs, with orange details at the edges and joints. The style lines across the orange body were also white, and the others realized that Edna had designed Penny’s suit to resemble Bolt, who would be accompanying her on most missions. 

“The telepath’s suit was fairly easy, and falls back to a more traditional style,” Edna drawled. “The jacket and skirt are mostly illusionary seamwork, and will not impede her movement. The green…. Though bright, works nicely with the grounding color,” 

Margo’s suit was green. It was more mint than neon, and the grounding color Edna had mentioned was a warm gray. Her legs, mask and jacket were mint, the jacket having the illusion of a tailcoat at the back. The undersuit was gray, the short skirt lined with the same mint as the coat. Her boots were gray, but with white soles. 

“I do my best to make sure each suit is unique,” Edna said, gesturing to Riley, who was up next. “Which means I sometimes have to move back from traditional costumes,” 

Riley’s suit was a thin black armored suit like Violet and Dash’s, but with an overlay of a yellow sleeveless tunic length coat that buttoned down the side. Her mask was the same color yellow. She had heavier boots (to deliver more power behind her kicks), and magenta blocked gloves over the black ones. The sides of her legs were also armored to further protect her. 

Riley pushed her hair back before doing a few kicks to test the fit. Before the blonde was satisfied, she even did a quick roundoff and nodded approvingly. The suit clung to her body, but not in a way that kept her from moving, just in one that protected her. 

“The technopath had his own ideas about his suit… so I let him collaborate.” Edna said, gesturing to Hiro. “It’s more armored, but the same light material as the others, instead of something he planned to use,” 

Hiro’s suit did look more like armor than a traditional supersuit. His undersuit was black like Riley’s, but there was a thick looking toolbelt slung around his waist. The armor itself was mostly kept to his upper body, and was a dark blue metal with red accents. Most notably, he wore a set of thick looking metal gloves, with rotated and stored small pieces for him to use with his powers. Unlike the others, he didn’t wear a mask, instead a helmet and tinted visor combination. 

“I did get to go back to my roots for the other boy’s suit,” Edna grinned. “Only the head covering strays from the traditional suits,” 

Wilbur’s was a dark blue at the pants that became a few shades lighter for the shirt and mask piece. He also had typical black gloves and boots, and he also had an insignia - a popping bubble that Cornelius had designed for him. The suit was darker and tight fitting, which fit as his powers could be used in stealth or rescue missions and the others wanted to make him as non-flashy as they could. 

Finally, it was Emma’s turn. 

Edna told the adults how she’d used the same tactics as she did for Frost’s suit, but mixed up the colors so she wouldn’t be confused for her brother. 

It was a light blue color with a white collar piece, leg guards and arm guards that looked a bit like ice skating warmers. She had the same snowflake as her brother, and the blue of his suit was used for the style lines on hers. Since Emma could also manipulate the wind like Jack, it was unarmored so as to not drag her down. 

“Edna had also equipped all of your suits with tracking beacons and communicators,” Hiccup told the group. “This way we can get to you should something go badly, and you can find us. If you’re ever in a bad situation, all you need to do is triple tap the chest and it’ll send a ping to everyone else,” 

“All of your suits are different colors now, but ah’d like you to tap the chest twice,” Merida added, then waited as the teens all did so. She was met with gasps and various surprised noises as the suits transformed to shades of white and gray, then to blacks as they did it again. “The suits are also made with chameleon technology, which will help with arctic and stealth missions,” 

“Speaking of missions,” Rapunzel said, glancing between the adults and teens. “This is how missions will go down,” 

The teens murmured in excitement, sharing looks as they grinned. 

“Some missions, you’ll be paired with a senior super, but others will be as a full team, and some with a select team,” Rapunzel continued. “We’ll also put up a weekly patrol schedule, where you’ll be a team under a senior super to survey the city,” 

“You’re also allowed to leave the compound on your own,” Jack interjected. “But do not, under any circumstance, seek out trouble. You’re supers, but you don’t want to put yourself into a trap you’re unprepared for,” 

The teens cheered again. The Big Four exchanged looks, smiling at the new possibilities and the kids infectious energy. 

The room, lair, hideout, whatever they called it was dark. Any lights were old and flickering, courtesy of the shadowmaster who called himself their leader. 

They were a group that nobody would have ever expected. An insane super, an aging witch, two mad geniuses, and a super whose strength rivaled that of Mr Incredible. 

“It turns out that the Big Four have more enemies than just us…” Pitch grinned, scanning the room, full of disgruntled and annoyed villains. “It seems we require… new blood,” 

A new figure stepped out from behind the shadowy super. They wore a baggy black jumpsuit and mask, the goggle shaped eyes a twisting, glowing blue. 

“Screenslaver, at your service…” Their altered voice drawled. Pitch grinned, his teeth shining in his twisted smile. 

“What are they going to do?” Gothel muttered loudly. Syndrome mumbled in agreement, as did the others in the room.

“I have… a useful set of skills,” Screenslaver said, and snapped their fingers. Behind them, the same blue glow appeared in the hall. 

“Screenslaver will be able to hypnotize people who could stand in our way,” Pitch grinned. “Making our plans go much easier,” 

“What good will that do?” One of the thin men asked. 

“My dear scientist,” Pitch practically purred. “It will mean your work won’t be as hard,” 

The scientist relented, and murmurs of approval went around the room. 

“Our first plan failed dramatically,” Pitch snarled. “Instead of killing those closest to Moone and crippling the others by the deaths of their children, it gave them powers . Our scientist infiltrated Robinson Industries, added our metal to the machines and clips, but still the Big Four won,” 

“So what do you want to do about it?” Gothel whined. 

“We need our informant…” Pitch said, gesturing at the scientist. “To be able to do more research,” 

“So you want a diversion?” Syndrome grinned. Pitch grinned and nodded. “Excellent!” 

In the back of the room, the final man - Yokai - sat, moving his hands in a circle as he practiced moving the tiny robots that connected to his mind. As the others laughed and plotted, Yokai felt a twinge of uneasiness settle in his chest. 

Would all of this be worth it? 

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirteen: First Mission

“The robot’s been destroying things in the Joyce plaza, which had trapped civilians inside their apartments,” Nightfury said, voice strong as the entire team - omega and senior supers - flew towards the city. “It’s caused a lot of damage, but we can’t tell what the main goal is yet,” 

Archer pulled up a life newsfeed on the jet’s main console, showing the rest of the team what they were up against. The robot was huge, with six legs that connected all the way around its spherical body. An angry looking red ‘eye’ scanned around, and the news people and civilians looked like they were trapped. 

“Where did it come from?” Elastigirl asked. “A robotics experiment gone wrong?” 

“It just showed up on the radar,” Frost said. “It just appeared overnight,” 

The omega team stayed silent, watching the senior supers work. The robot looked dangerous, but the group knew from their training that civilian health came first. Whatever this robot was, they could handle it. 

“The senior supers are in charge of evacuations,” Nightfury continued. “We have the most flying and trained heroes, so we should be able to rescue people in higher levels. Omega Team will distract the omnidroid,” 

“What?” Violet said. “You want us to fight the robot?” 

“Yes,” Nightfury nodded. “Keep it engaged, keep it away from people. If things start to go south, you have to call it in. We will step in and the team will switch to evacuations,” 

“This is your mission,” Solarflare said. “Does everyone understand it?” 

The team nodded, and the jet slowed as it reached the plaza. Two doors on either side slid open, letting the wind inside to rustle through the cabin. 

The senior supers leapt out of the cabin, the flying supers catching those who needed them to swoop down to the building below. Inside, the omega supers started to unbuckle as the jet dropped lower to let them off. 

Tip fidgeted with the wrists of her gloves, taking a few quick breaths. While training for the others had gotten easier, her own was still at a standstill. She refused to use her powers unless she had to, and it meant she still lacked control. 

“Let's go!” Phantom called to the team. “You know what to do!” 

Banshee shook herself out of it and followed the others. She was a super. This was what she did now. 

There was no going back. 

Banshee ducked behind the plaza’s fountain, trying to catch her breath. It seemed from the minute they’d stepped off the jet, the omnidroid had known they were coming. It had latched onto the younger supers, unleashing more powerful attacks than anyone had expected. It had launched a detachable arm at the team before they’d had a chance to come up with a plan, and things had spiraled from there. 

Banshee didn’t really have any options. The omnidroid was moving closer, and while she normally didn’t like to use her powers - this was enough of an emergency. 

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Banshee screamed, the sonic scream echoing like a bird call, but the force hitting the robot full force… and Rocketeer who’d jumped to attack it. 

Tip’s eyes widened as she watched her friend shoot backwards. The technopath flailed in the air, trying to right himself, but it was no use. Right before he smashed into the ground, Dimension appeared and Rocketeer slammed into him, throwing both boys backwards a few feet. 

Once steady, Dimension and Rocketeer teleported back, landing next to Spectacle and Kanjo. 

“Ladies,” Wilbur smiled. “Lovely weather we’re hav-” 

“MOVE!” Kanjo shrieked, and the four dove down as a rock crashed into the building above their heads. “God, I feel so useless!” 

The others groaned and gripped their heads as they were hit with a wall of frustration. 

“Cool your jets Kanjo,” Dimension muttered. “Or reel in the feelings blasters,” 

“She had a point though,” Spectacle commented. “We’re more human based. This is a robot!” 

“I’m sure you can do something!” Wilbur said, anxiously watching the battle. 

“Yes, like the robot would like to be included in the mental chain… oh shit I forgot the mental chain,” 

“Language.” Riley muttered under her breath. Margo rolled her neck and snapped her fingers, letting one of her mental walls down and releasing a tidal wave that hit the rest of the team. 

“Everybody in?” The telepath asked, then grinned as the replies started to roll in. 

“We need a plan!” Someone - Barker - cried. 

“We needed one ten minutes ago,” Phantom griped. “Speedsters, try and distract it!” 

“That’s just Skoro and Velocity,” Kanjo muttered. “What are we going to do?” 

“Well we co-” 

“WATCH OUT!” Flurry shrieked, the ice super getting flung over their heads by the omnidroid. The others ducked, and Emma managed to right herself, using the wall to bounce off of. The omnidroid fired its blasters at her, and Emma yelped in surprise before creating an ice dome around her and the others. “Hi,” 

“What were you saying?” Rocketeer asked. 

“Can’t you mess with the robot with your powers?” Dimension said. “Rewire it to help us, or shut it down!” 

“I’d have to be close!” Rocketeer said. “It's so complex, I’d have to basically be on top of it! How the hell do you suggest I get there?” 

The boys exchanged a look, then nodded. Dimension smiled at the girls, grabbed Rocketeer and teleported away. 

“Flurry!” Spectacle cried. “How long can you keep this shelter going?” 

“We needed one ten minutes ago,” Phantom griped. “Speedsters, try and distract it!” 

“On it!” Skoro grinned, skidding to a stop in front of the omnidroid as it rained down on Emma’s ice shield. “Hey ugly!” 

She ran off, checking behind her to make sure the omnidroid had taken the bait. It had, the red eye scanner searching for her. Skoro grinned again, but forgot to check her footing, and tripped over a loose block in the pavement, falling forwards and skidding to a stop in front of Velocity. 

“Ooo, not so graceful now, hey ballerina?” He grinned. Edith pushed herself to her feet, glaring at the other speedster. Across the plaza, the omnidroid caught sight of them, retracting its legs and rolling full speed towards them like a giant boulder in Indiana Jones. 

“This way!” 

“Run!” 

Skoro and Velocity ran - slamming into each other full force. They were knocked back onto the ground, angry yells and taunts flying from their mouths as the robot got closer. 

“Hey!” Dash yelled. “I’m the senior super here, I know what’s up!” 

“Senior super?!” Edith shot back. “Oh give me a break!” 

A dark shadow covered the arguing teens, and their fighting fizzled out as they looked up at the omnidroid, arms popping out of its sides as it prepared to attack. 

“Move!” Phantom yelled, going visible in front of her brother and Edith and throwing up a force field in front of them. “GO!” 

Skoro took off, hurtling away so far the others could barely recognize her blur. Velocity ran forwards and grabbed his sister, darling out of the way before the Omnidroid could actually attack. 

“We need to take this thing down!” Violet muttered as Dash dropped her, craning her neck to check on the others. “TEAM!” 

But nobody responded, either out loud or in the link, and Violet’s eyes widened in fear as things looked to get worse. Emma’s ice shield completely disintegrated and the girl almost collapsed, Margo and Riley catching her at the last second. Wilbur and Hiro were nowhere to be found, and Penny and the speedsters were still in the field. 

Tip launched a sonic scream at the omnidroid at the same time Penny commanded Bolt to do the same. Instead of doing anything against the robot, the blasts combined and only seemed to work against the other. 

Violet groaned, knowing that if they didn’t shape up soon, they could very well lose the fight. The senior supers were still evacuating people, and she could see the flying ones looping through the air. If there weren’t people to save, then they would have joined the fight, which meant that the team need to keep going just a little while long- 

Violet was cut off by a scream. 

She whirled around to see the omnidroid hovering over Kanjo, Spec and Flurry. Flurry was frantically freezing the robot’s joint, stopping it from moving, but it was clear she was getting worn out. Spec grabbed her and scrambled out of the way, leaving only Kanjo behind. The empath tried to follow, but tripped over the destroyed pavement and smacked her head into the ground. . 

Phantom ran forwards and slid under the omnidroid just as it smashed down, throwing a force field up around her and Riley. The blowback smashed into her like a bullet train when the omnidroid bounced off, and Violet willed more power into making it unbreakable . 

“Ahhh!” Violet groaned, screwing her eyes shut as the omnidroid stuck again. 

There was a pop and a thump as Dimension teleported inside the force field. His eyes widened in surprise as he took in the situation, and Violet frantically nodded towards the woozy Kanjo. 

“Get Riley out of here!” Phantom ordered, reinforcing the shield and bracing herself for the blowback. 

“It’s hard to teleport with more than one person!” Dimension shot back. “I don’t know if I can take both of you,” 

“Just. Take. Her.” Violet panted. 

“I can’t leave you!” He protested. “Maybe I can get us a short distance, here-” 

The omnidroid struck again, and Violet’s shaking arms gave out. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she stumbled to the ground, knocking back Riley who hit the pavement just as hard as before. Wilbur’s flight or fight response kicked in and he accidentally teleported back to the others, who were hiding by the fountain. 

“No!” He yelled, whipping around to go back, but Tip and Penny locked their arms around his waist to hold him there. “Let me go!” 

The omnidroid rose back up, neither Riley or Violet moving to get out from under it. 

“Move!” Hiro yelled, eyes wide with panic. “MOVE!” 

The omnidroid dropped… and hit nothing. 

“Yeah!
 

“We rock!” 

Violet stirred, opening her eyes to her brother, who sent her a wide grin as he dropped her off with the others. Behind him, Edith dropped Riley, who sat up and rubbed her head. The others gathered around them, settling into fighting stances as the omnidroid searches for its missing prey. 

“We need a plan!” Riley said, using Dash to pull herself to her feet. 

“No, no, no, we need to call this in!” Hiro cried. “We can’t win this!” 

“The civilians aren’t out yet!” Violet snapped. “We have to hold out just a little longer!” 

“And how do you plan to do that?” Wilbur asked, hauling her up. 

“Like this.” 

“Flurry, instead of freezing the joints, freeze the ground under it,” 

Flurry pressed her hands into the ground, blowing out and letting her power flow through her fingertips. Two thick streams of ice shot out, spreading out in a circle underneath the robot. 

“Skoro and Velocity will use this to their advantage, and run in different directions so the robot will have no choice but to move on the ice to follow,” 

“Hey ugly!” Velocity yelled, the omnidroid’s eye spinning to meet him. “Come and get me!” 

“Yoo who!” Skoro catcalled from the other side. “What, are you too slow?” 

The omnidroid tried to take a step towards the speedsters, but its legs slipped on the ice, and it crashed to the ground, sending icy chunks flying. 

As they passed each other, Skoro and Velocity shared a high five. 

“We need that eye gone, which means that this one is up to Rocketeer, Dimension and I,” 

Rocketeer used the materials in his gloves and some of the debris to create a crowbar, then handed it over to his teammate. Dimension teleported away from the others, reappearing a few inches above the omnidroid. He landed on the robot’s head, stabbed the crowbar into the space between the top camera and the body, and ripped it off. 

As the camera hit the ground, Phantom put a force field around Rocketeer and shoved it out, shooting him towards the omnidroid. The robot tried to shoot him out of the air, but the shield reflected the blasts away. She dropped the shield as it collided with the omnidroid, and Dimension grabbed Rocketeer to keep him from falling. Within seconds, they’d slipped inside the robot. 

The ice on the ground had crept up to incase the omnidroids legs, but the robot seemed to fight against Rocketeer’s technopathy, and ripped a few out to try and stab at them. 

“Now!” Phantom yelled, signaling Barker and Banshee. Banshee directed a scream at one of the waving arms, blowing it back with the concentrated force. 

“Bolt, speak!” Barker commanded, and the dog joined in, his sonic level bark hitting the same arm, breaking it off and flinging it away. “Yes!” 

Penny held her hand out for a high five, giddy with the success. Bolt rubbed about against her leg, woofing and adding onto the joy. Another animal rubbed at her leg, and Penny looked down to see Mittens, her next in line if Bolt was busy. 

“Barker, we’ve got a situation.” The cat said. “There are people in that building, and the senior supers aren’t coming back,” 

“Oh no,” Barker muttered, glancing quickly at the building. It was supposed to be one of the already evacuated ones, so whoever was inside must had hidden before. The base of the apartment was already crumbling from the fight with the omnidroid, and it could conceivably fall at any minute. “We have a problem!” 

“What is it?” Phantom asked, reappearing with a force field and startling both Banshee and Barker. 

“We’ve got civilians stuck in a building, and it's going to come down any minute,” 

“Alright,” Phantom muttered. “Barker, I want you to go with Kanjo and Specs, Find the civilians and get them out safely,” 

“On it!” Barker said, then made her way back to the others. Using Mittens as a guide, the three girls avoided the battle and slipped into the building. 

“Is that smoke?” Spec asked, then broke out into coughs. “Yeah that’s smoke,” 

They moved quickly to avoid the fire and followed Mittens to the fifth floor, where the cat stopped short. Kanjo stepped forward and used her empathy to track the individual civilians, then helped the others break open the door. 

“Don’t worry!” Barker yelped as the civilians panicked. “We’re heroes! We’re here to get you out!” 

As she spoke, Kanjo put out a calming wave, and she felt her powers sink into everyone’s heads. As long as she stayed focused, nobody in the room could let their fear get the best of them and they’d be able to escape faster. 

Spec took Kanjo’s lead, extending a new mental link to everyone in the room. 

“We need to get the kids out first,” She said, and the mother nodded, letting her two kids go to Penny and Riley. 

Barker commanded Bolt and Mittens to escape, then kicked out a window, scanning the ground below. 

“Phantom!” She yelled out loud and in the link, then jumped out of the building. 

On the ground, Phantom whirled around and created a shield around Barker and the civilian, letting them bounce to the ground easily. Barker ran with the little kid towards the safer parts of the district, where the senior supers were busy sheltering the others. 

“Let's go!” Spec said, holding out arms to the two adults. They jumped out of the building, but Phantom had just gotten distracted by the omnidroid. With a sudden rush to her head, Margo used the link to yell for her sister, then willed herself to slow down . 

And for a solid three seconds, she actually did. 

As Skoro and Velocity zipped through and grabbed her and civilians, Spec wondered what had happened, but she was deposited back into the fight before she could stop. 

Picking up the last kid - a little girl - Kanjo assessed her options. Phantom was running back to catch her, but the omnidroid snatched her off the ground, and the older hero’s face smashed into the cement. Riley cringed, imagining her pain, and suddenly, her emotional bridge broke. 

“Ow!” She groaned, feeling the heavy wall of fear from the civilians slam into her all at once. The little girl in her arms squirmed anxiously, and there was a loud crack behind them both. Kanjo slowly turned around and gulped, watching as the support beam above her head cracked down the middle. 

With another loud crack , the ceiling collapsed, and Kanji stumbled backwards - out of the building. As the wind rushed past her ears, she moved her body so the little girl was above her. She closed her eyes, preparing for the impact, when she hit something before the cement. 

Riley let out a loud gasp of relief, sitting up and staring at what had broken her fall. It was a large sled like hoverboard, constructed of what seemed like the omnidroid itself. Her eyes went to Hiro, who was standing on top of the robot, focused on the thruster powering the sled. 

He let it slowly go out, lowering the sled, and Kanjo quickly rolled off with the little girl. She handed her over to her mother, letting Skoro run them back to the other civilians.

The team moved together, ready to keep fighting despite the various injuries they all had. With a pop, Wilbur teleported back to join them, a wide smile stretched across his face.  Still standing on top of the robot, Rocketeer snapped his fingers, and the omnidroid fell to the ground, completely limp and powerless. 

Everyone let out a sigh of relief as they looked at the finished fight. Violet sagged to the ground, completely exhausted. Wilbur managed to catch her, and the others sank to the ground before they passed out too. 

The scream of sirens filled the air, the smell of smoke still hanging heavily, and the senior supers finally came back. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Fourteen: Cooldown

“You should have called it in,” Nightfury said once the team had made it back to the Pole. They were all still in their suits, but were in the process of changing out of them. “That was a dangerous mission for us to put on you, especially as first timers,” 

“We would ‘ave understood tha’ it was too much,” Archer said. “But you didnae call it in, and that makes you real heroes,” 

The team shared grins, glad to know that the Big Four were on their side. Some of them had already been scolded by their parents for letting it get too dangerous, but this made up for it. 

Violet gingerly shifted her ice pack from one hand to the other, resting it on her head to quell the headache she had from overuse of her powers. Next to her, Solarflare was using her hair to heal Riley, who was scraped up from both the omnidroid and the falling building. Apparently she’d sprained quite a few muscles without realizing. 

Hiro hovered off to the side, eyes darting back and forth from Riley to the wall. He was only a little bruised up from the fight. Noticing his brother's look, Tadashi joined the supers and gave him a loose pat on the back. 

“Hey,” He whispered. “Come with me,” 

He led him down to the elevator, scanned his wristband and typed in the appropriate code to let Hiro join him. His brother stayed quiet the entire ride down to the labs, only speaking once they were inside. 

“Why’d you bring me down here?” Hiro finally grumbled. 

“I want to introduce you to Baymax,” Tadashi said, pulling up a computer program. “Here,” 

“Hello Hi-ro,” The computer said, the robotic voice calm if not slow. “I am Baymax, a personal healthcare companion,” 

“Healthcare program?” Hiro asked. 

“He’s going to be a fully fledged robot soon,” Tadashi responded. “But I could use your help to get it done faster,” 

“Okay,” Hiro shrugged, picking up some tools. “Let's do it,” 

Tadashi explained his plan, then the two boys set to work. Occasionally, Tadashi put in some comment or question, doing his best to bring his brother out of his shell. Hiro would respond, but go back to being quiet. Finally, one of the questions seemed to crack through the wall. 

“A lot of the team got hurt,” Hiro muttered. “Riley especially,” 

“It’s an occupational hazard,” Tadashi said, quoting Hiccup. 

“Yeah but Ri- some of them don’t have offensive powers,” Hiro said. “And even if they do, then they’re left open for defense. Even with the suits we’re still bruised!” 

“You keep bringing Riley up,” Tadashi teased. “I’ve seen that girl fight, she’s tough,” 

“Yeah, I guess,” Hiro muttered sullenly. 

“Do you like her?” Tadashi asked simply, knowing full well what he was doing. 

“What? No!” Hiro protested, face going red as he fumbled with the joint he was tightening. “Why would you say that?” 

“Nothing, it’s fine,” Tadashi backtracked. “I just think you may be overreacting. Solarflare has magic hair, so you guys have a healer for these situations,” 

“Yeah but she’s a senior super,” Hiro replied. “She won’t always be there! We need a healer for our team, in case something happens!” 

“Where are you going to get another healer from?” Tadashi asked. “Unless…” 

The Hamada’s shared a look before slowly turning their heads towards the partially assembled robot on the lab floor. 

Penny gingerly wiped off the dirt and scabs that had crusted at her hairline. Her suit had protected herself from most of the battle damage, but any exposed skin was still caked in dust. Grabbing an ice pack, she moved to hold it up to her head. 

“You okay?” Tip signed, entering the infirmary herself. “Hurt?” 

“No I’m okay,” Penny smiled, making sure to sign a little back, even if Tip could technically hear her. 

“You did a good job out there,” 

Penny smiled again, then adjusted the ice pack to hide the blushing on her cheeks. 

“So did you,” She replied. “You and Bolt could have torn that robot to pieces by yourselves!” 

Tip smiled widely, so Penny kept going. 

“You’re so powerful,” She said. “Like, so amazingly powerful already! Imagine how good a hero you’ll be when you’re not a trainee!” 

“You’ll be amazing too,” 

“My powers aren’t really good for combat. I’ll make a much better vet than a superhero,” 

“Why?”

“I couldn’t really do much during that fight. If my dad hadn’t enhanced Bolt, then I’d be even more useless,” 

“You’re the reason we saved those people in that building,” Tip signed shyly. “We wouldn’t have found them without you. Plus… I think your powers are really cool,” 

Penny blushed harder, then scratched Bolt’s head to try and distract herself. Tip was also red, and both girls stopped talking. 

“I… guess you’re right,” Penny said finally. “Thank you,” 

“No problem,” 

Out in the lounge, the only ones left were Violet, Dash, Wilbur and Edith. They’d all gotten the good to go from Rapunzel, and were resting before the senior supers called them in for a debrief. 

“We completely smashed that robot!” Edith said, voice a little shaky as she zipped around the room. Violet groaned and covered her face with a throw pillow. “That was the fastest I’ve ever gone!” 

Unlike the other speedster, Edith hadn’t stopped moving after the mission was over. It was like she couldn’t go back to a normal speed after so much running. When she did sit still, her form blurred like she was shaking at supersonic speed. 

“Edith, take a breath,” Dash replied from his spot on the couch. “You’re going into hyperdrive,” 

“What?” 

“Instead of transitioning back to normal, your body wants to stay at super speed, or go faster,” Dash explained. “I used to have that issue a lot when I was younger,” 

“Now that you mention it-” Edith said, still lapping the lounge as she spoke. “-everything is moving a little slow!” 

“It flared up when we fought one of dad’s old enemies,” Dash added, joining Edith in her laps to talk to her easier. “It was the first time I’d used my powers like that, and with the adrenaline high, I didn’t come down from it until later that night,” 

“So this is normal?” Edith asked. Dash nodded. “Do you think the others are having the same problem?”

“I don’t know, I don’t think Violet ever has, hey Vi-” 

“That’s it!” Violet snapped. “Go away! You’re bringing my migraine back!” 

The two speedsters stopped, sheepishly smiling at the team leader. 

“I love you both,” Violet grumbled. “But you’re talking too fast, and you’re moving too fast, and my head hurts, so please, go away ,” 

“Come on,” Dash said, grabbing Edith by the arm and zipping away. When they stopped, they’d arrived in the training arena. “We can run off the energy here,” 

Instead of laps, Dash started a practice spar, giving Edith something other than her own speed to focus on. Unlike a normal paced one, this fight was all speed, each blow or parry barely half a second before the next. 

“How did you ever survive not using your powers?” Edith asked finally. “I can’t imagine stopping now,” 

“It was hard,” Dash admitted. “It was really hard,” 

“Entire family of supers with no outlet? Sounds like a bloodbath,” 

“Sometimes, I’d just sneak out at night and go for runs,” Dash said. “Up and down the highway, through the entire town, wherever. We moved so much that nobody else ever seemed to figure out the layout, but I always could,” 

“Your parents didn’t know?” Edith asked, surprised laced in her words. 

“I think Violet noticed, but Mom and Dad really didn’t,” He said simply. “They had their own problems, but Vi understood mine. It’s hard to have never used your powers, but know how much you can do with them,” 

“Yeah,” Edith said quietly, and the two stopped fighting. “It sounds hard… I’m sorry you ha-” 

“Hey lovebirds, briefings soon,” Wilbur interrupted, appearing with a pop into the center of the arena. “Also, next time you want to sneak off, don’t go to the biggest, most echoey room in the building,” 

Both teens went a little pink, then quickly scowled at the older boy, who smirked back. 

“Why are you even here?” Dash grumbled. “What, did you get sick of making eyes at my sister?” 

Wilbur went red and immediately teleported away. Dash and Edith shared a look, and broke out into loud laughter as they walked - normal speed now - back towards the briefing room. 

“That mission was too dangerous!” Helen yelled, slamming her hands on the table. “Too much could have gone wrong!” 

“They’re supers!” Cornelius responded. “And we didn’t send them out there unprotected!” 

“Supers can get hurt too,” Gru said from his place. “Zey are not invincible,” 

“More so than civilians - which they saved!” Bob added, pointedly glaring at his wife. 

“They had every chance to call it in,” Rapunzel interrupted. “And they didn’t, not because they were reckless, but because they knew that people came first,” 

“And they worked to protect their weaker links!” Hiccup added. “What you’re feeling now is parental fear, but we need you to step back and see the truth. Those kids are good with their powers ,” 

“They’re resourceful, good teammates, an’ strong willed,” Merida said. “Any lesser team would have crumbled, but nae them,” 

“It was still extremely dangerous,” Helen grumbled. “They aren’t adult heros,” 

“So we give them more training,” Jack supplied. “More one on one, more missions that aren’t so high level it takes all of us at once. We work with them on their weak points, and we let them heal,” 

The parents started to nod, finally swayed by the Big Four’s argument. 

“More stealth missions, smaller groups, more activities,” Hiccup said, writing everything down. “We let them heal, but we don’t stop them. Not when it comes to this,” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Fifteen: One Month Later

One Month Later: 

Sycorax Labs had risen to fame quickly. Almost too quickly. Workers were quiet and unresponsive when asked questions about their jobs, and they’d yet to submit any new discoveries or current projects to any scientific boards. 

Right now, the building was dark, having been closed up for the night. But, if anyone was still working in one of the main computer labs, they would have heard a small ‘pop’. 

“Good job Dimension,” Phantom whispered, hands out as she held up a forcefield big enough for four people. Dimension grinned, barely tired from teleporting everyone inside the bubble. The team had turned their suits to black stealth mode for this mission, but it wouldn’t have mattered. From the outside, the group was completely untraceable, as Phantom had turned the field invisible, along with everyone inside. 

Those individual practice sessions were really paying off. 

“You’re up Rhino,” Barker whispered, letting a small hamster out of her pocket and placing him on the ground. As the little animal left the protective shield, Dimension grabbed Barker and teleported away, to an out of the way closet they could stay hidden in. Barker sat down and settled her hands on her knees, breathing in and activating a new power - transferring her consciousness to a willing animal. 

Through the hamster's eyes, Barker was able to scout out a path for Rocketeer and Phantom. Since she couldn’t control her own body when she did this, Dimension stayed behind to guard her. 

“Think the rumors are true?” Phantom asked Rocketeer as he set up one of the nearby computers. 

The ‘rumors’ said that Sycorax Labs had been dabbling in illegal cloning of their employees, and that they’d also been working on a line of equally unstable mutation drugs. The four had been sent on this stealth mission to figure out if the rumors held any truth or not. 

Rocketeer finished booting up the computer and grinned as he plugged it into the tech panel on his wrist. 

“Oh definitely,” He muttered, then used his powers to find useful files. In the past month, he’d worked on infiltrating cybertech, as well as the physical creations. As he located the files, he transferred them over to his tech panel to go through later. “Yeah, these are some pretty shady experiments,” 

“Dimension, there are possible malicious clones in the building, we need to find and lock it down before we go,” Phantom said to her communicator. 

“Rhino found the labs,” Barker interrupted. Phantom nodded. 

“Lets go,” 

Rocketeer and Phantom quickly met up with Barker and Dimension, and the four snuck down to the labs, following Barker’s directions. Their suits kept them from being outright spotted, and Rocketeer had already tapped into the security systems. A quick scan of the elevator revealed a hidden button, which led to the labs. 

Well, the non-public ones. Those were the labs that interested the supers. 

Dimension teleported himself and Phantom beside two watchmen guarding the doors, where they were quickly knocked out. Rocketeer used his powers to fry the lock, letting the team inside. 

“Move quickly,” Phantom ordered. “We need to be in and out,” 

As Dimension and Barker kept spying, Rocketeer worked on freezing the locks, using his technopathy to rewire how it all worked. Now, Sycorax would be unable to remove the clones from their built-in pods. He was halfway down the second line when something… went wrong. 

“Issue!” He yelled, stumbling back as the pod’s door opened, and a large mutated clone stepped out. 

“Keep locking things down, we’ll handle this!” Phantom yelled, sliding into her fighting stance as the mutated clone straightened up. Dimension teleported next to her, both drawing the clone’s attention away from Rocketeer. 

Barker leapt up, landing a little awkwardly on the clone’s shoulders. She quickly righted herself, then jabbed her fists into its neck, triggering the two bracelets on her wrist into tasers, which shot bursts of electricity through the clone’s body. 

The clone screamed, shaking around wildly. Barker slipped off, landing a little hard on the lab floor. Dimension teleported towards her and dragged her away, and Phantom went invisible to trick the clone further. 

Using small force fields to shield her fists, Phantom started to punch at the clone’s pressure points. Dimension and Barker lunged at it again, using their combined weight to drag the monster backwards. 

“Back off!” Phantom yelled, creating a force field and pushed it out, shoving the clone back into the empty pod. She quickly drew her hands back and switched the field’s position, trapping the clone inside as Rocketeer swept in to lock the pod. 

“That’s got to have alerted someone,” Dimension muttered. “We need to get out of here,” 

“Gather up,” Phantom said, then created the shield around the group. With a small pop, Dimension teleported them all outside of the building, where they snuck into the woodland area behind the building. 

“All aboard,” Penny smiled, sweeping her arm out towards the Sleigh - their stealth mode ship, hidden in the brush. The others smiled and rebooted the ship, flying it up and back towards the Pole. 

The four docked the Sleigh in the hangar, where Rapunzel was waiting for them. She checked them over for wounds, then directed them into the briefing room for their debrief with the rest of the senior supers. 

Hiccup took the information Hiro had collected and set up a program to search through it for him. Combined with that and the locked down clones in the sublevel, Sycorax Labs had a lot to answer for. 

“The rest of the team is in the arena,” Rapunzel said. “Go get cleaned up and you can join them,” 

The team nodded, then quickly made their way to the locker rooms to take off their suits. Bolt and Mittens met Penny halfway there, and the teen stopped to give her pets the love they were insisting on. 

When they made it to the training deck, there was quite a bit going on. On the sidelines, Margo was working on her telekinesis, which was still weak compared to her telepathy, about on par with North’s powers. The older man had been training her for the past month, and right now, she was working on moving different blocks around to form patterns. In the middle of the room, Dash and Edith were in the middle of a mock battle with Tip and Riley. 

Margo waved the older teens over, and they joined her at the bench, careful to avoid the floating blocks. 

“Emma’s out with Jack again, up in Poles,” She explained. Over the last month, Frost had debuted his new sidekick Flurry in both San Fransokyo and their hometown Poles, which was a few hours north and had a massive crime problem for being such a small city. None of the other heroes had claimed an Omega as their sidekick, but nobody was really put off by it. Jack and Emma were siblings after all, and they basically had the same powers. In reality, it was the equivalent of her one on one training. 

Out in the arena, the fight was still going. 

Tip was still wary about using her powers unless she had too, and was sticking with more hand to hand combat, trying to catch the speedsters as they flew by. She got a few lucky shots in, but her sonic scream definitely would have knocked either off their feet. 

“Step it up blondie!” Dash joked as he spun past Edith. “Stop making us speedsters look bad!” 

Edith growled, putting on more speed. The two speedster’s rivalry was still as strong as ever, despite how close the two had become since their first meeting.

“Why are they still doing that?” Violet groused. “He’s going to get himself beat up,” 

“It's flirting,” Wilbur grinned, nudging Violet with his elbow. “It's some weird speedster flirting tactic,” 

“Look, just because those two heroes in your comic books do it doesn’t mean it's a universal superhero trait,” Violet responded. “And my brother might be stupid, but he’d never let himself get sucked into a wormhole and erased from exsistence,” 

“Ah Vi, have you read my comic-” 

“How was the mission?” Margo interrupted. 

“Went well,” Hiro replied, half in the conversation, half watching as Riley and Tip fought the others. “Minor issue, but we handled it,” 

“Those taser bracers worked great Hiro!” Penny chimed in. “The others definitely need some,” 

“I’ve got other ideas for the others,” He replied. “For one, Riley’s going to have small darts that can help break through mental walls, they’re going to dispute concentration-” 

Hearing her name, Riley turned and noticed the others sitting on the sidelines. Hiro waved, and when she tried to wave back, missed Dash’s attack and was slammed onto her back with a thump. It took only a few seconds for Tip to join her, naming the speedsters the winners. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Sixteen: One on Ones 

“Riley, I want you to drop your mental walls,” Tooth said, giving a soft smile to the girl. Riley nodded, then readjusted in her armchair, pulling her legs up to sit cross legged as she closed her eyes. 

Riley dropped her walls, surprised at how the emotions no longer overwhelmed her. Instead, she could easily pick out Tooth and Merida’s emotions, separating them by feel and aura alone. Soon, it was as if she had created two mental forms of the older women. 

“Okay,” Merida said, voice a lull in the background. “Breathe in, an’ out. Now, how many people can ye feel?” 

“Two,” 

In, and out. 

“Are we stable?” 

“Yes,” 

In, and out. 

“Push out,” Merida said. “Try and find the others in the building,” 

“I don’t think I can…” 

“Riley,” Merida said, and her aura sparked a determined blue. “Do it jus’ like ah taught you,” 

In, and out. Riley pushed her borders out as she breathed out, feeling her empathy pick up on more people. They weren’t as focused as Tooth and Merida, but they were there. With more prompting, she focused on the figures, bringing them into focus as she concentrated. 

“Alright Riley, you can bring it back now,” 

The teen’s eyes flashed open, a kaleidoscope of colors from the emotions swirling in her head. Merida grinned at her, approval evident in her face. Tooth was also smiling - both satisfied with the lesson. 

“You’re making real progress,” She said. “Make sure to keep practicing on your own though,” 

“I thought my shields and blasts were good enough,” Riley confessed. “Why are we practicing this?” 

“Ah had to learn mental techniques for my own powers,” Merida answered. “Helped me unlock those things ah had blocked off,” 

“Merida, your powers are different than mine,” Riley protested. “What even are your powers?” 

Merida only grinned in response. 

“Here, let me try something,” Tooth said, holding her hands out to Riley, who took them. 

The older woman used her powers on the teen, suddenly bringing a rush of memories forwards. Riley suddenly relieved birthdays, vacations and hockey games, and as her own empathy registered the happy emotions, she felt her mental awareness of the others spread out. 

“Woah…” 

“Yeah, happiness is a good bridge,” Tooth said. “Use those as a way to bridge with others. If you can disarm an enemies mental wall, you can slip in and make them feel what you want them too,” 

“Do other emotions work?” 

“Ah think they might have other effects,” Merida said. “But we should focus on one at a time,” 

“Yes, we should,” Tooth nodded. “I think with some practice, you could potentially create mental links like Margo,” 

Riley’s eyes lit up, and she immediately went back to practicing. It took her a few minutes, but she was able to fall back into a calm loop. Her breathing leveled off, leaving the other supers basically alone to talk and check over the notes. After a few more minutes, Riley had drifted off into sleep, but she was still using her powers to follow the emotions inside the Pole. 

“Should we start double lessons with Margo and Riley?” Tooth asked. “Both are telepaths,” 

“Riley’s an empath,” Merida replied. “Ah think her powers are more sensitive,” 

Right now, Margo was working on bridging into the small telekinesis she’d recently discovered. Her own mental walls were great, and she was able to mentally link whoever she wanted. As she got more advanced, she would be able to use a form of mind control, but it was a slippery slope, and the adults and teen had agreed to wait on that training. 

“Ah!” 

Merida’s head jerked towards Riley, who was shaking, eyes screwed shut. The redhead lunged up, hands landing on the younger teen’s shoulders. 

Tooth used her powers quickly, nailing down the memories Riley was focused on. 

“She’s stuck in a loop,” She said. “When the omnidroid attacked her,” 

“Lass, snap out of it!” Merida said, shaking Riley a little. The empath’s eyes fluttered, but still stayed closed. Sweat had started to gather at her brow, and the shaking only seemed to get worse.  

“Here!” Tooth yelped, taking Riley’s head in her hands and pulling a massive amount of happy memories forward. The blonde girls eyes flashed open, quickling turning back to her regular blue from the electric purple they’d been before. She gasped for air, clutching her head in pain. 

“Are you okay lassie?” Merida asked quietly. Riley nodded, biting back a sob as the redhead rubbed her back. “Here, go back to your dorm an’ rest up,” 

Riley nodded, then pulled herself to her feet and let Tooth escort her out, leaving Merida in the room alone. 

“Mental blocks are the worst,” She muttered. 

“So the mental training isn’t going well?” Hiccup asked, kicking a leg up. Merida easily blocked with her forearm, then shoved him backwards. Instead of falling off balance, Hiccup used his wings to circle around and right himself. 

“No, it is,” Merida replied, huffing a chunk of hair out of the way. “She just pushed herself too far,” 

“But she’s still making progress?” 

“She’s started using her powers during hand ta’ hand, it trips the others up,” 

Hiccup grinned and took the chance to strike, but Merida caught it again. He didn’t mind, and the two just kept sparring. It was one of the methods they’d discovered worked for them when they’d first gotten their powers. Hiccup had needed a lot of work to get used to his new wings (which had dwarfed his body at the time), and Merida had a lot of anger to work off. Now, as teachers for the omega’s, it was one of the only times the two weren’t interrupted and could spend time alone. 

“Alright,” Merida grinned as she swung. “Updates on Tip?” 

“Rapunzel says she’s still nervous about her powers, but she’d certainly opened up to the others on the team,” Hiccup answered, ducking. “But you of all people know about power anxiety,” 

“Give her time,” 

“Violet, on the other hand, is still a little withdrawn,” Hiccup went on. “Her power growth is huge though,” 

“She is really powerful,” Merida agreed. The two moved onto a leg swipe and jump combo. “Ah’d worry if there were warning signs, but she’s stable,” 

“Moving on then, tell me about Wilbur,” 

“Isnae he your student?” Merida teased. “Ah’m surprised he’s nae a showboat,” 

“He’s surrounded by actual heroes,” Hiccup surmised, catching Merida’s punch and sidestepping. “I think it makes him think. Either way, he’s got way better at control his powers,” 

“Still needs to think in the moment,” Merida countered. “He lets the others do the thinking for him,” 

“Penny’s getting better at hand to hand. Combined with those bracers Hiro made her, I don’t think we have a lot to worry about,” 

“But she needs to work on seeking out animals. We canae have her defenseless without Bolt, Mittens an’ Rhino,” 

“And speaking of Hiro,” Hiccup ducked and almost swore as he landed a bit hard on his wrist. “He gets stuck. Tadashi said he tends to get creative blocks,” 

“Not good for someone who needs ta’ be able to construct things from nothing,” 

“But what he does create always works perfectly. They’re insanely detailed and well thought out,” 

Merida jumped off a platform and landed on Hiccup, who used his wings as a shield to deflect her. The redhead landed on her back with a thump, the air knocked from her lungs as she coughed. 

“The speedsters are both showboats,” She gasped, chest heaving. “But their teamwork is immaculate,” 

“True,” Hiccup grinned, helping her up. “And Margo needs to focus on making things better, not pushing her limits to find new powers,” 

“She gets distracted,” Merida nodded. “And ah don’t want to be the one to tell Jack this, but Emma needs a chance to go out on her own,” 

“She’s a quick thinker though,” Hiccup added. “I guess it runs in the family,” 

They finally stopped sparring, settling down on one of the platforms to catch their breath. As Hiccup drank from a water bottle, Merida took her hair out of its tie and ran her fingers through it. 

“Do you think we’ve been training those kids the right way?” She asked quietly. 

“I think we’ve done it… the best we can,” Hiccup said slowly. “Moon never gave us straight answers, and sure he was a great man, but his visions were cryptic and he never seemed to realize that he didn’t need to be,” 

“Think he saw this?” 

“Probably,” Hiccup said sarcastically.  

“Ah think we’re trying. An’ trying is the best we can do,” 

“Everyone here’s a super,” Hiccup said. “The kids especially. We learned to control our powers, and they have even more support to learn theirs,” 

“Not all supers are heroes, but not all heroes are supers,” Merida replied. Hiccup grinned and shoved her shoulder. 

“That sounds like one of your mom’s sayings,” He laughed. Merida joined in, laughing before her head twitched and her eyes darted up. Hiccup followed her eye line, noticing Tadashi Hamada standing on the viewers deck. When the young man noticed the two supers, he quickly backed off and disappeared. 

“He’s been watching an awful lot lately,” Hiccup grinned. 

“He’s not going to watch what happens next,” Merida grinned, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him up and towards the door. “C’mon dragon boy,” 

Hiccup’s smile widened, and he jogged a bit to catch up and kiss the redhead on the top of the head. His face nestled in the curls for a second, but Merida moved too quickly for him to get used to it. 

“Lets go,” She prompted, and pulled him out of the arena. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Seventeen: Kobayashi Maru

Things had died down after the last few missions, and both the team and senior supers were spending a lot more time in the Pole. Right now, only Archer was out, surveying San Fransokyo for her scheduled patrol. 

Violet was curled up on the couch reading, legs across Wiblur’s lap as he, Penny, Tip and Emma watched an episode of a reality show. Jack joined them, also sprawled across one of the armchairs. Edith, Dash and Riley had dragged Hiro into a game of Trouble in the kitchen, and Margo was training with Rapunzel in the arena. 

Hiccup sat at the other side of the kitchen island, working on his laptop as the Trouble players sat on the other side. Suddenly, his wrist communicator beeped, signaling he had a message from Merida. 

“Yes milady?” 

“Hic. Check the news. Now .” The redhead ordered, voice laced with uncharacteristic worry. 

Lunging from his seat, Hiccup took over the tv, throwing up the news. The reporter seemed stressed, relaying the terrifying information that supers had been disappearing in the midst of battle with mysterious enemies. Wrecker in Sugarus, Megamind in Metrocity, the Regalos from Encanto, Atlantica in Montresor - all gone. 

The others started to converge on the lounge, watching in terror as the news only seemed to get worse. Hiccup was frantically yelling through his communicator, trying to get ahold of Merida. 

“Archer, come in!” 

“Ah’m here!” She yelled finally, voice crackling through the communicator. “But it’s not looking good,” 

“Stay hidden, we’re on our way!” Hiccup yelled, turning towards the hangar, but a yell from Archer stopped him. “Meri!?” 

“Hic-p ge- -ut -ere,” Her voice was choppy, the words not making any sense. “Ah’m sorry Hiccup,” 

“Meri?! Merida!?” 

“Ah lov-” 

There was an explosion in the background and her line went quiet. On the tv, the news station sadly replayed a new video of Archer getting hit by the attackers beam and knocked from her perch on top of a building. She was gone before she had even hit the ground. 

The teen’s were silent, eyes wide in terror. Behind them, Hiccup let out a guttural howl, then fought to get towards the nest exit as both Jack and Rapunzel held him back. Finally, he broke free, panting and with tears streaming down his face. 

“We have to go,” Jack said, turning to the other senior supers. “We have to at least try,” 

They nodded grimly and set off towards the hangar. It was only a few minutes before the teens heard the Pole announce their departure, and the news station kept playing.  Even the Guardians had gone with the adults, the situation so dire it needed even the weakest supers. 

Nobody wanted to move. Instead, the team sat huddled together as they watched the Sleigh touch down in central square and the older supers started to fight back. 

The battle on screen wasn’t going very well. The attackers had a strong energy beam from their main ship, but also used a similar one with their blaster-guns. Because they weren’t used to fighting, the guardians all fell quickly.  The attackers took out Nightfury, then Frozone when he tried to trip them with his ice. Solarflare’s sun blast didn’t even seem to work, and they’d gotten her at her weakest. Frost was zapped out of the sky, finally leaving only Mr Incredible and Elastigirl. 

When they too were hit by the beam, Dash and Violet’s mouths dropped open. 

“We’re… the last ones left…” She mumbled. 

“What are we going to do?” Penny whispered. 

“Look!” Riley suddenly said, leaping towards the tv. “Pole, pause and enhance!” 

The screen froze and zoomed in on the video, showing a clear shot of one of the attackers. Riley pointed at the screen and circled a spot on its arm - a symbol. 

“What’s this?” The blonde asked, looking back at the others. 

“Ri, you’re brilliant!” Hiro yelled, quickly tapping on his wrist panel and showing the others. Riley blushed bright red. “It's a company logo - a company in San Fransokyo!” 

“Which is?” Violet demanded. 

“A place called Dreamscape Inc. It’s in the upper district,” 

Violet nodded and stood up, turning towards the others. 

“Let's get going,” She said. “We’re the last ones left,” 

There was nobody inside Dreamscape Inc, but then again, there was a doomsday scenario further in the city, so the team was able to slip inside. The group split up until they found the server room, where they all gathered again. Rocketeer was efficient - plugging his wrist panel into the servers and using his powers to search for anything about the attackers. 

“Do you think they’re mutants?” Dimension asked. “Like at Sycorax?” 

“No… well, maybe,” Rocketeer replied. “All I’ve found is information on the attack. They’ve been planning it for months,” 

“Why?” Spec asked nervously. 

“I don’t know yet, but what I do know is that there are literally hundreds of these attackers, and it says here that they-” 

Boom . The explosion rocked the building, causing smoke to come raining down from the ceiling. The windows outside the server room were smashed in as thirty or so of the attackers broke inside. 

“Run!” Phantom screamed, turning invisible as the others scattered. Skoro grabbed her sister and escaped down the stairs, with Velocity and Kanjo close behind. Dimension and Banshee teleported back down to the street. As the men closed in, Phantom grabbed Rocketeer and Barker before throwing herself out the window. She encased them all in a force field, and the trio bounced once before rolling across the ground. 

Velocity followed Skoro and Spec down the stairs, moving as fast as he could without injuring Kanjo. He was ten feet outside the door when the attackers started to fire, breaking up the asphalt in front of him. His feet caught on the broken chunks, and he hit the ground hard, Kanjo rolling out of his arms and across the ground. 

The attackers landed on the ground, circling her before anyone else could move. Kanjo scrambled to her feet, throwing her hands out to emotion blast them - and nothing happened. 

From the ship, Rocketeer turned just in time to see Riley’s eyes widen in surprise before three laser blasts struck her in the chest, vaporizing her instantly. 

“RILEY!” Hiro screamed. The others whipped around, a mix of screams, yells and gasps filling the air. Violet screamed for her brother, and the ship took off before the door was even fully closed, zooming away from the battle. 

“W-what do we do now?” Margo whispered after a few silent moments. Nobody replied. They were all too shaken up as well. Dash was quivering uncontrollably, body blurry from the speed he was shaking. 

“Hiro.” Violet said, voice dangerously even. “Did you get any more files?” 

“Nothing useful,” He growled angrily. “Just finances. A group called ‘the night’ donated a lot of money that Dreamscape used,” 

“There's nothing about how the attackers or their weapons were made?” 

“No.” Hiro growled. “They could be humans, aliens, or mutants,” 

“But Riley’s powers didn’t work…” Emma whispered. “That’s why s-she…” 

“Her powers didn’t work on the omnidroid because it didn’t feel,” Hiro remembered. “That means the attackers are all robotic!” 

“And you should be able to stop them!” Wilbur added. 

Despite the loss, the group seemed to calm down. Now that they had a game plan, things might actually work out. The Sleigh they were flying in suddenly pinged, and the control switched from manual to auto in Violet’s hands. 

“What?” She sputtered. “I just got an SOS from the spot Archer went down!” 

The rest of the team shared a hopeful look as the ship veered before touching down. Wilbur and the speedsters clambered out to look for whoever had sent the message, but there was nothing. Just rocks and debris from the destroyed city. 

“I can’t find anyone!” Edith stressed. “You?” 

“No,” Dash answered, voice just as anxious. “Wilbur?” 

Wilbur swept a curtain away from the remains of a wall and staggered back, eyes flashing open. 

“Guys…?” 

The others ran out, then stopped as they all caught a glimpse of the words angrily scrawled across the bricks. 

Go, snap out o- 

“W-what?” Margo asked. “I-is that?” 

“Snap out,” Violet mused. “What does that mean?” 

“Well, they all disappeared fast,” Dash said. “Everyone who got zapped,” 

“Snapped!” Edith added. 

“So the disintegration machine isn’t actually a disintegration beam!” Wilbur cried. “It’s a teleporter!” 

“Which means they’re all alive!” Hiro yelled. Tip nodded in agreement, and Emma’s face brightened a little. 

“So let's catch them,” Penny said. “Let's catch them and get everyone back. 

“If I can get close enough, I can tap into the robots' systems and turn them to our side!” Hiro said. 

“But be careful,” Violet warned. “We can’t lose anyone else if this goes wrong,” 

The trap had worked almost too well. 

Robot attackers swarmed the abandoned city, heading straight for Penny and Tip in the middle of the rubble. The two girls fought back to back, both Tip and Bolt’s sonic screams giving them a wider berth. 

“Stay on top of it!” Violet yelled into her communicator. “Don’t let them hit you!” 

Hiro tried to rewire one of the attackers, leaping down from his hiding spot. The robot stiffened, but despite his best efforts, he was struggling. 

“They must have some sort of firewall keeping me out!” He griped. 

Margo was trying to use her telekinesis to move more obstacles into the attackers way, but it took more effort, causing her to trip backwards and fall into the rocks. The robots saw the opportunity, swarming her as she tried to recover. 

The attackers' beams lit up as they began to charge and glow. Margo had nowhere to go, and she screwed her eyes shut. 

“No!” 

Margo’s body hit the ground as she rolled to a stop before shooting back up. Edith had noticed and pushed her out of the way just before the beam hit - but she hadn’t been fast enough. The blonde caught her sister's eyes as the beam hit, and suddenly, Edith was gone. 

“Edith!” Dash screamed, stopping as he watched the other speedster disappear. The attackers whirled around to fire at him, and several blasts of light shot towards the younger teen. Dash realized this too late, but Violet was watching out for her brother, and encased him in a force field. 

But the beams bounced off the field and one hit her straight in the chest, knocking her back as she disappeared. Dash, Wilbur and Emma screamed in unison. 

“Hiro!” Wilbur yelled. “STATUS UPDATE!” 

“It's not working!” The other boy yelled. “And I don’t know why!” 

“We need to retreat!” Penny yelled to the others. “Now!” 

“You can’t escape this,” Emma answered, landing hard in front of Wilbur. “But I can hold them off and give you time,” 

“Me too,” Tip signed. The two girls shared a look, then ran back into the fighting headfirst. The others didn’t want to leave them, but it was either this or risk everyone dying in the remains of the buildings. 

Ignoring the tears in the corners of his eyes, Wilbur grabbed Penny and Dash and teleported them back to the Sleigh - hidden a few hundred feet from the battle. He quickly went back for Margo and Hiro, and the ship took off just as fast. 

“T-they’re gone,” Penny whispered, not even glancing back towards the battle. “We’re screwed,” 

“V-vi…” Dash mumbled. “And Edith…” 

“We have no leader, no senior supers, and we’re down to half a team of half trained heroes!” Hiro raged. Wilbur’s grip tightened on the ship’s controls. 

“We’re going straight to the source.” He said, voice stiff and angry. The sleigh turned around and headed back towards the empty battlefield, trailing the attackers as they marched away. 

They stuck to the clouds, everyone too upset to even talk. It took about an hour, but finally, the army arrived at a dark building, hidden up in the hills. Wilbur landed the sleigh, and the remaining Omega Team disembarked and moved down towards the building. 

It was almost too easy to get inside, but they hardly noticed. Hiro’s powers had finally started to work again, so he broke into the computer system and located what seemed like a lab/holding area. Wilbur teleported them all to the location Hiro pointed out, but the room was completely dark. 

Margo and Penny walked over to the closest cell, and Hiro used his powers on the control panel. Suddenly, the lights in the room went up, temporarily blinding them. 

There was nobody else. There was nobody to save. No one who’d been teleported away from the fight. 

It was all a trap. 

Attacker robots had been hiding in the shadows, and they moved quickly, grabbing the five teens and shoving them all into separate cell blocks. Wilbur tried to teleport, but something in the cell was stopping his powers. Hiro couldn’t open the cell he was in either, and the girls had started yelling angrily as the glass panels locked them all inside. 

“We need more power,” A low voice said. It was a new attacker, this one in more elaborate armor. They stood in the doorway, their helmet visor hiding their identity. “Drain them.” 

“Wait!” Wilbur yelled. “Who are you- why are you doing this?!” 

The leader laughed, then took off their helmet, freeing a head of tropical color hair and a set of familier pinkish eyes. 

“You all need to wake up.” Toothiana said, just as someone else flipped a switch. Electricity shot out from the walls, hitting each teen and thoroughly frying their bodies. The teen’s began to feel both their lives and powers drain away as they stumbled to the ground, looking up in fear at the woman who’d once been their friend. 

They’d lost. 

“They’re awake!” 

“Oh thank god!” 

“Margo, Edith?” 

“Oh god, Violet, Dashiell!” 

“Wilbur!” 

The teens sat up, brains fuzzy and confused. Instead of dying in mysterious cells, they were all lying on separate platforms in the middle of the arena. The senior supers and parents were gathered around their kids, and everyone was perfectly healthy and alive. 

“W-what happened?” Wilbur asked. “T-tooth betrayed us!” 

“No, I didn’t” Toothiana replied, and the last five tried to scoot back warily. “Try to remember, this was a training exercise,” 

“I-it was…” Violet whispered. “You said it would help us learn,” 

“Tooth’s powers with memories and Margo’s telepathic abilities were combined to create a scenario where you would have to face an unknown attacker,” Hiccup recounted. “We’ve tried it before, just not with all of you at the same time,” 

The teens nodded, all remembering the constant practices in the past week. 

“The only thing different about this was that the scenario is meant to be unstoppable. You were always going to lose,” 

“That's why you hardly reacted when the adults died, or when breaking into places seemed easy, or civilians barely existed,” Jack added, not letting go of Emma as he hugged her. 

“But then, Riley died,” Rapunzel said quietly. “And the collective grief made Margo forget, and she accidentally took control,” 

“We couldnae get in to help you, but we tried,” Merida added. “The notes, the sos…” 

“Me at the end.” Tooth whispered. “That's why it seemed like I had betrayed you,” 

“My powers did that?” Margo asked. Tooth nodded. 

“They did,” 

“This is bad!” 

“They’re still inside! We have to go back!” 

“That building is coming down!” 

The air was full of hazy smoke, but Margo could recognize San Fransokyo. They were in the middle of the SFIT campus, but darkness was creeping in all around, and she could hear fighting all around her. Someone screamed into the comms, and Margo stumbled backwards. 

“Spec!” 

Her eyes darted up, and a man - around the same age as the Big Four - suddenly appeared in front of her, catching the telepath before she hit the ground. 

“Spec, I need you to hel-” 

The man had Wilbur’s hair, and although his voice was a little deeper, it had the same lilt. His suit was slightly different, but it was still him. 

“Margo, I need you to stop this!” He begged. “It only gets worse from here!” 

Her eyes flashed open, and Margo sat up quickly, grabbing for her glasses. She wasn’t in a ruined city. She wasn’t about to die. She was in her room, all alone, and everything before had just been a bad dream. 

Or had it? 

Chapter Text

Chapter Eighteen: Therapy and Thinking

The next few days were quiet. The Big Four canceled training, letting the teens recover with their families while they tried to figure out what had caused so much damage. 

On the third day, The Big Four called the kids into the lounge - not the arena, some of them were still a little jumpy - and divided them into groups. Rapunzel took the Gru girls and Emma, Jack took Riley, Penny and Tip, Merida took the Parr’s, leaving Hiccup with Hiro and Wilbur. Then, the four groups walked into four different conference rooms, and everyone got settled in for some good old fashioned therapy. 

“Ah know you all knew it was fake at the beginning,” Merida started. “But ah still want to know… how did it feel when your parents died?” 

Dash and Violet were silent, but Merida let them think. Eventually, Violet opened her mouth. 

“I… I’ve been terrified of Mom and Dad dying in a fight since I was six,” She said slowly. “That’s when I found out they were supers and what that meant. Even if we had to hide our powers, I knew Dad would sneak out to do hero work and that Mom didn’t like it,” 

“Ah understand,” 

“But when it happened a few days ago, it… didn’t stop me. I just wanted to get out there and stop the people who’d killed them. It was almost like my mind was blank,” 

“Violet!” Dash suddenly yelled, lunging out of his chair. “Why would you say that?! It’s mom and dad!” 

“Dash,” Merida said, calming him down. “She’s entitled to her own feelings,” 

“I-I,” He stuttered. “I felt the same, and I just feel so crummy about it!” 

“It's okay,” The redheaded hero said, taking one of the two teens' hands in each of hers. “Your feelings come from many things. At the beginning, you knew it was all fake, so your brain didn’t fully react. And… at the same time, it's something Ah’ve learned as a hero,” 

“What?” 

“Sometimes you can’t win,” Merida said. “And it sometimes means you lose someone. But you have to keep going, so you push your feelings off until later,” 

“Merida… did you lose someone?” Violet asked quietly. The older hero looked at her feet, then took a deep breath. 

“Ah almost did,” She said. “But at the time, Ah thought he was gone forever,” 

“The two of you were part of the group that lived through the entire exercise,” Hiccup started. “Which means you watched as a lot of the team went down. Are you okay with that?” 

Hiro growled under her breath and crossed his arms, sinking deep into his chair. Wilbur shifted awkwardly, not wanting to meet the older hero’s eyes. 

“Y’know,” Hiccup continued. “As a team, it's important to not keep secrets from each other. You don’t have to tell everyone everything about you, but if it’ll hurt how the team functions, then it’s important to get it off your chest,” 

“What could possibly hurt the team?” Hiro groused. 

“Worrying about Kanjo to the point you impede both her powers and yours,” Hiccup said simply. Hiro sputtered and turned red. Hiccup gave him a look. 

“I wouldn’t do that…” He grumbled. 

“You reacted very strongly when Riley was hit by the beam,” Hiccup said. “And everything you did afterwards was because you refused to give up hope that she was okay,” 

“Wha-? No-, give me a break!” Hiro stomped towards the door and yanked it open. “I’m fine! If you need me for anything worthwhile , I’ll be finishing Baymax with Tadashi!” 

And he was gone. Hiccup let out a sigh and shifted his attention to Wilbur. 

“Keep an eye on him,” He said. “And if you have something that might make you act differently around the team, just know that we’re here for you to talk to. Anyone in this Pole is,” 

Wilbur nodded slowly, and Hiccup broke out into a small smile. 

“Hiccup…” He asked. “How did you and Merida get together?” 

Hiccup started to cough loudly, eyes bulging as he looked at Wilbur with surprise. He’d expected almost anything but that question. 

“You two are together right? You’re always so close, and she said she loved you in the simulations so I thought-” 

“It’s okay, it's okay,” Hiccup said. “You just caught me off guard,” 

“But you and Merida are together?” 

“Yes, we are,” Hiccup said. “We got together a few months after Moone gave us our powers. A lot of things happened before that, and it took a lot of time for us to realize that the other person could understand what we were going through. It wasn’t easy at first,” 

“But you’re happy?” 

“Very,” Hiccup smiled. “And I wouldn’t do anything different to get to where we are now,” 

“Okay,” Wilbur nodded. Internally, he’d made his decision. He needed to tell Violet that when she’d been disintegrated, he felt his heart fall apart, and that he was terrified of anything ever happening without her knowing. 

“Do you feel better?” 

“Yeah,” Wilbur nodded. “Thanks,” 

“Do you know why I picked you three?” Jack asked quietly. Tip and Penny shook their heads, and Jack could see that they’d moved closer together on their couch, hands gripped tightly. 

“Because we felt helpless,” Riley said, even quieter than Jack. It briefly surprised him, but then he remembered that she’d been perceptive even before the addition of her empathy. 

“I was helpless before I met Moone,” Jack continued. “It was just Emma and I, two kids on the streets with no parents left to watch us. We’d been bounced around different foster homes, and at the last one, I was told that if they didn’t like me, it was just going to be me who moved from then on,” 

“They wanted to separate you two?” Penny asked. Jack nodded. 

“I acted out a lot,” He said. “Emma was too little, so she was automatically the quiet one. When we ran away, she was barely six years old. For the year and a half we were on the streets, I finally learned what helpless meant,” 

“And then Moone found you and gave you your powers,” Riley grumbled. “And you weren’t helpless,” 

“No,” 

“No?” 

“It was when he gave us a family that I stopped feeling helpless. My powers came way later. But even then, it was the fact I had Rapunzel, Hiccup and Merida to rely on that made me stronger,” 

“So… you’re saying it's the same as us having the rest of the team?” Tip signed. 

“It’s not your powers that define you,” Jack said. “It's what’s in your hearts and how you trust that does,” 

Rapunzel handled her group a little differently. First, she took Emma into the room with her, leaving Margo and Edith outside to wait. 

“Please don’t tell Jack,” Emma said once she was seated. 

“Why would I do that?” Rapunzel answered. “I promise not to tell him anything,” 

“And you-” 

“Never ever break a promise,” The two girls finished together. 

“Go ahead Emma,” Rapunzel encouraged. “You can tell me anything,” 

“I was terrified during the simulation,” Emma admitted. “I was so scared that I’d lost you guys, the rest of my team… that I was going to die. Everything,” 

“That’s understandable,” 

“But I don’t want Jack to think I’m not ready! I am! I want to be a hero, and I want to be there with him!” 

“Emma-” 

“He’s the only family I have left!” Emma finished, then sank back into her chair. Rapunzel shivered a bit, and the younger teen suddenly realized she’d dropped the temperature of the room down to single digits. 

“You have more family than just Jack,” Rapunzel promised. “You have me, the rest of the Big Four, but you also have your team,” 

“Sometimes I think they just tolerate me because I’m Frost’s sister,” 

“They don’t. And if you ever, ever feel this way again, I want you to come straight to me, okay?” 

Emma nodded, and Rapunzel smiled. She pulled the girl into a hug, then brushed her bangs back away from her face. 

“Send Edith in for me?” 

“Nothing happened. No trauma, no nightmares, nothing,” 

Rapunzel gave Edith a look and crossed her legs, one over the other. 

“You really expect me to believe that?” 

“It's true!” Edith protested. “I watched Riley go down, but I really didn’t. Then I was the next to go,” 

“And you’re completely fine?” 

“It was just an experiment! Dad does them all the time!” 

“You sacrificed yourself for Margo,” Rapunzel continued. “I’m sure she feels very strongly about that incident,” 

“I…” Edith let out a breath. “I had to, okay?” 

“Keep going,” 

“When Robinson Industries exploded…” Edith started carefully. “And we all got our powers because we were wearing the visitor passes… Agnes wasn’t,” 

“That’s why she didn’t get any powers,” Rapunzel muttered to herself. “Okay?” 

“Margo was holding it. I was supposed to watch Edith because Margo was actually really interested in the tour, but I got bored… so I handed her back. And she had broken the clip on her badge, so Margo was trying to fix it,” 

“And then the explosion happened,” Rapunzel breathed. Edith nodded. 

“Because I wasn’t doing my job, Margo got hit with a double blast of whatever gave us powers,” She said. “Dad thinks the two badges might have created a loop that Margo got trapped in,” 

“Explaining her unnaturally strong telepathy,” 

Edith nodded again. 

“It was my fault,” She said. “And I need to make up for it,” 

“Okay Margo, it's your turn,” 

Margo sat huddled up on the other armchair, knees pulled up under her chin. Her hair was messy and a little tangled, and there were fresh tear tracks down her cheeks. 

“I-I’m really scared,” She finally said. “I-I t-took over that w-whole thing, a-and nobody e-else r-remembered!” 

“You’re young, with powers we severely underestimated,” Rapunzel assured. “Edith told be about the double dose during the explosion, and now that we know, we can make a better training system for you,” 

“I-I’m too dangerous,” 

“It took a lot of work for me to manage my powers, Margo,” Rapunzel continued. “Do you think I was a natural at Sunwaves? I almost blinded Jack and Dr Moone when they startled me! And this is still before I could control my hair growth - so my hair kept getting longer, and the more frustrated I got, the more it grew!” 

Margo laughed a little, eyes brightening. 

“Y’know, it's okay to be scared of your powers,” Rapunzel added. “Merida still is,” 

“Isn’t her power magical accuracy or something?” Margo asked. 

“No, Rapunzel said quietly. “It’s something that took her months to control, and it’s something I think she still wants to forget,” 

Margo nodded silently, and Rapunzel smiled as she stood up. 

“I think with some more training and field practice, you’ll be good to go. It might also be beneficial for you to spend more time with some Senior Supers. Now, go back out to the lounge, the others are waiting for you,” 

Margo left the conference room, heading back towards the kitchen and lounge area. The others were indeed there, all sitting around but too nervous to talk. As Margo entered the room, the team shared a look of understanding, and several people nodded. As Margo sat down on the couch next to Tip and Edith, Dash hit the remote to start up a movie. 

In the doorway, the Big Four watched the Omega’s slowly settle back together, and smiled to themselves. They were tough kids. They could handle this. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Nineteen: I Want You to Rob a Bank... 

The Outcasts were one of several gangs that used San Fransokyo as their home turf. But unlike gangs run by Mor’du or Mr Yama, they were typically more… brutal. 

Their hideout was a seedy little on the harbor, called The Island. Now, a good chunk of the gang members were clustered inside, drinking, eating and causing a general ruckus. The flickering lights only seemed to get worse as the yelling got louder, so everyone inside noticed when the door swung open and a bright stream of sunlight broke up the dust. 

“Hello…” A deep altered voice - Screenslaver - practically purred. “I have a job for you…” 

“What do you want?” Savage, the second in command sneered from the bar. Screenslaver smiled, or well, they would have, if their face wasn’t blocked by their mask. 

“I want you to rob a bank for me. Actually… I need you to rob two banks,” 

The Outcasts looked around and started to smile. It had been a while since they’d caused some trouble… 

“EVERYBODY DOWN!” 

The St Augusto Bank in West San Fransokyo was praised for its amazing security in spite of the ‘rough’ part of town. But when the Outcasts swarmed inside, guns ablazing, the patrons were still terrified. 

Savage grinned as he fired his gun off into the ceiling. The sun from the skylight lit up the atrium, so even if he managed to fire into a light, it wouldn’t hurt. 

And then the shadow appeared over his head. Gulping, Savage slowly looked up towards the skylight, where Nightfury grinned down at him. Behind him, there was a flash of red - Archer’s hair. 

“Wait-” Savage opened his mouth to yell, but two arrows suddenly hit the ground by his feet. Smoke suddenly started to pour off of canisters on the sides, quickly filling up the room and blinding the gang. 

Flashes of blue magic appeared as Frost moved quickly around the room, freezing stray Outcasts to the floor with climbing chunks of ice. He moved so fast that the smoke started to dissipate, but before the Outcast’s could regroup, Solarflare hit the ground hard in the middle of the bank. 

“Civilians close your eyes!” She yelled, and unleashed a Sunwave on the intruders. Outcasts shrieked in pain as they were blinded again. Those who’d been around the merry go round on this before had closed their eyes in time, and tried to make a break for the door. 

But they had barely moved a few feet when Nightfury hurled two glowly balls of purpled energy at them. The blasts hit the gang members in the back, and he collapsed to the ground, shaking. 

Archer lowered herself down with a grappling hook, then helped Solarflare tie up the remaining Outcast’s for the police. Nightfury launched back up into the air to be on the lookout for any stragglers, and Frost had started to tend to the hostages and bank employees. 

Police sirens started to grow louder, and the Big Four shared identical grins. 

On the east side of San Fransokyo, the other group of Outcasts had been a lot more successful. They’d taken the outer bank easily, and now several had made it down to the vault, where they were scooping wads of cash and valuables into duffle bags. 

“Heh heh heh,” One of them laughed. “This is the easiest job ever!” 

Pop. 

“Hey fellas,” Dimension grinned, teleporting into the doorway and startling the Outcasts. As they reached for their weapons, Phantom, Banshee, Rocketeer and Kanjo all materialized behind him - ready for a fight. 

“Feel bad yet?” Kanjo asked, then threw out an emotion wall, and the Outcasts stumbled back and clutched their heads, tears brimming in their eyes. Even if they’d been able to still use their weapons, there wasn’t time before Rocketeer used his powers to jam their guns. 

“Vault is secure,” Phantom relayed over her comm, encasing the Outcasts in force fields. “B team, move in,” 

“On it!” Flurry answered. 

Up in the main bank, the Outcasts and hostages were startled as the doors slammed open and a wave of cold air rushed in. Ice covered the ground under the Outcasts feet, causing them to slip. 

Skoro and Velocity took advantage of the chaos, whipping into the building and each grabbing a hostage. They ran back outside and deposited civilians a safe distance away before going back for more. Before the Outcast’s knew what was happening, the bank was half empty, and steadily losing more people. 

Outside, Spec and Barker ran surveillance and crowd control. Dimension had teleported Kanjo back outside, and together with Spec, the two girls had laid a large emotional shield over the civilians to calm them down. 

“Bolt and Mittens are looking for any stragglers who might attack us out here,”  Barker relayed as the white dog bounded up to her. “But Bolt says that the police are on their way!” 

“ Everyone hear that?” Spec said, pulling up the mind link to the rest of the team. Despite the comms, it was a useful way to make sure everyone got the information. “Police are on the way!”  

The police appeared around the corner, slowing to a stop in front of the bank. Phantom met them outside with the Outcast’s from the vault tied up, then relayed the situation to the officers. 

“Thank you heroes,” One of the officers said, thanking the team. “This could have been way worse,” 

“It's what we’re here for,” Barker assured. “We’re just happy that we and the Big Four were able to catch these two threats in time,” 

“Both attacks seem to be coordinated by the Outcasts,” The officer relayed. “We’ve had to shut down some of the other nearby facilities for extra protection,” 

The team helped the police wrap up before heading back to their rendezvous with the Big Four, who were waiting on a building in the middle of the town. The adults were a little roughed up, but it wasn’t if the teens weren’t. 

“Good job,” Nightfury praised. “You all did great,” 

“Really?” Velocity grinned. “Does that mean we can go on more missions?!” 

“Maybe,” Solarflare responded. “Let's just stick with what we have now,” 

The teens let out a sign of relief, then followed the others into the Sleigh to head back home. 

Kreitech was located close to the eastern side of San Fransokyo. The bank Screenslaver had paid the Outcasts to rob was only a street over, making the facility one of the first ones to go into lockdown. 

The lockdown made it easy for Screenslaver, Yokai, Pitch and Gothel to sneak inside. 

Gothel quickly used her magic on the remaining security guards, muddling their minds to even forget that they were supposed to be on high alert. She was able to completely disarm them with a few well placed words and expressions, rejoining the others with an evil but seductive smirk on her face. 

Pitch set a group of nightmares off into the halls, looking for any stragglers who might rat them out. The nightmares would confuse and scare anyone they caught, leaving a clear path for the villains of The Night. At the same time, Yokai was tasked with using his microbots to disable any of the cameras and security that blocked their path. The masked man followed stoically, clearly not enjoying the adventure like his comrades. 

When they reached the server room, Screenslaver quickly inserted a disk and transferred files, then searched through the Kreitech database for any useful information.  After a few minutes, they pulled back, face emotionless due to the mask. 

“Two down…” They purred. “Two more to go…” 

A grin crossed Pitch’s face. 

“Perfect,” He smiled. “Everything is falling into place,” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty: Thoughts

Once they were back at the POLE, the group went their separate ways. Most of the teens headed for the showers, but the speedsters made a beeline for the arena to run off steam. Margo usually joined the shower crew, but instead, she barely spared the time to strip off her mask, boots and gloves before she headed towards the library. 

Sitting down at one of the computers, Margo resumed the research she’d been working on ever since the failed mental experiment. The Night. They’d appeared during the scenario, supposedly as a donor for the end of days attack, but Margo hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that they were something more. 

The young teen was combing through previous super villain threats that the Big Four had faced. She marked repeat villains that worried her, but a lot of the information was classified far above her level. 

Margo bit her lip. This was getting a little frustrating and repetitive, but it was important. She could feel it. 

“What are you up to, Miss Gru?” A voice asked, and Margo jumped, startled as Dr Calico appeared around the corner. “Sorry for the scare,” 

“J-just some research,” Margo said, quickly changing tabs. “What are you doing Dr?” 

“Everyone needs a break from the labs now and then,” The older man said, then slipped back into the shelves. “Good luck miss Gru,” 

Margo let out a sigh of relief. She reopened her research tab and kept combing, occasionally highlighting and pasting new information into a document. 

“What’s up Spec?” 

Margo jumped again. Wilbur stepped back to avoid any strike the younger girl could throw at him, the smile still on his face. Margo visibly relaxed, relenting as she showed him her documents. 

“After the experiment, I had this… dream,” She muttered. “It was terrifying, the world was in shambles and we definitely looked like we were losing,” 

“Okay?” 

“And then you showed up,” Margo said. “But it wasn’t you. You were older, almost the Big Four’s age, and your suit was slightly different. You said it ‘only got worse’ from that point, and that I had to stop it,” 

“So you saw the future?” Wilbur asked. Margo shook her head. 

“No, I was the same age,” Margo whispered. “ You were the one from the future,” 

“And you think this connects to this weird Night organization you’re researching?” 

“Yes, no, well, I don’t know,” Margo muttered, defeated. “Besides, I think your warning was just a dream anyways. There's no reason you should be able to time travel,” 

“...yeah,” Wilbur muttered. “Well, bye Margo,” 

He teleported away, landing on top of his bed and flopping into it with a satisfying thump. He laid back and closed his eyes. Maybe he could get a quick nap in before the adults dragged him down for training. 

“Okay, I think this is it,” Tadashi muttered, taking a screwdriver out of his mouth and tightening a final screw. “Ready?” 

“Let's do this,” Hiro answered, and the two brothers finished their work and stepped back.  

“Ow,” They said together. Small motors whirred as the vinyl shape inflated, then, two circular black eyes opened. 

“Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion,” The robot recited, causing the Hamada’s to break out into happy screams. “I was alerted to help when you said ow,” 

“Scan me!” Hiro yelled, flinging his arms out. Baymax did so, then repeated the results as Tadashi checked the robots diagnostic on his computer. 

“Scanning works like a charm, and he’s now searching and discounting treatments that don’t apply!” He cheered. “He works!” 

“Okay Baymax, now show us your super protocol!” Hiro said. Baymax nodded, then effortlessly slid back into a karate pose, running through some of his newly programming fighting techniques. 

“Yes!” Tadashi cheered. “Fist bump!” 

The brothers fist bumped, then held their hands out for Baymax who only looked confused. Tadashi bit back a laugh while Hiro taught the robot, then all three celebrated. 

“Hiro, you're missing training… oh hey, is that Baymax?” Riley asked, swinging into the lab by the doorframe. 

“Oh h-hey Riley!” Hiro answered. “Yeah, and he’s finished!” 

“Cool!” Riley cried, running into the room. “Is he going to join us?” 

“Yeah, we just need to give him so-” 

“Your heart rate has spiked Hiro,” Baymax said. “You are most likely experiencing attraction, common in teenagers with a crush-” 

“Okay thank you Baymax!” Hiro interrupted. “Come on Riley, let's go to training!” 

He grabbed her around the waist and quickly shoved the blonde out of the room, then followed behind, yanking the door closed and leaving Tadashi and Baymax behind. 

“What happened?” Baymax asked, but Tadashi just kept laughing. 

The Big Four promised that tonight’s training session wouldn’t be too long, especially after the younger team had just handled another mission. They still need to address any mistakes early though, so they’d already divided up into groups by the time Hiro and Riley arrived. 

Merida was running through a set of calming and centering exercises with Riley, Margo, Penny and Tip. It was a useful way of training the heros with mental based powers, and Tip found that it helped with her own personal power block. Margo seemed a little distracted, most likely wanting to get back to her research. 

Jack had Emma making a series of icy walls to block Dash and Edith. Instead of running around them, he was having them practice a new skill - vibration. The technique was to get their bodies to move quickly without actually moving their feet, which would let them vibrate between the molecules of solid surfaces and go through them. 

Rapunzel was 1v1ing with Violet, using her sunbursts and hair to give the younger hero a challenge. Violet was using her shields to the max, changing and moving them around to give her an edge. Their fight was fast, but neither girl looked tired or angry. 

Wilbur stood on the sidelines, waiting for them to finish. Because of Rapunzel’s hair, she had a shorter rebound than anyone else, making her a great person to run individual fights. While he was waiting, Hiccup walked up to him and started to watch himself. 

“Margo told me something weird,” Wilbur finally said. “That there might be more to my powers,” 

Hiccup hummed, listening but not replying yet. 

“It's probably stupid. She didn’t really think into it much,” 

“My powers didn’t come in at first,” Hiccup said. Wilbur looked at him in surprise, but the other man was still watching the fight. “After Moone gave us the treatment, all I could do was see in the dark. My eyes looked a little different if anything. The others were making ice or glowing or… and well, I could see in the dark,” 

“But you have wings!” 

“Well, the next few weeks were full of testing and training and a lot of heartache,” Hiccup continued. “But with all of the stress, we never really noticed the scales that had started to appear, and even though my back hurt like hel, we were too busy trying to help Jack and Merida that when my wings finally came in, I actually passed out. When Dr Moone’s first lab was attacked, I used my first energy blast,” 

“So… you’re saying that it can take time,” Wilbur mused. “So Margo might be right?” 

“Exactly,” Hiccup said. “There might be more than you were expecting. Moone’s experiments tended to do that,” 

Around midnight, when he was sure everyone was asleep, Wilbur slipped out of bed and put on one of his old training suits. He teleported out past the dorm hallway, then snuck down to the arena and let himself in. 

After setting and gripping the watch he’d grabbed earlier that evening, he closed his eyes and focused on his teleportation, but instead of thinking of where he wanted to go, he thought of when . 

It was hard. He couldn’t really just travel back to the same spot, or go too far, especially since he didn’t know how to get back yet. Wilbur didn’t know how much time passed, even if he managed to actually travel back in time. It could have an hour, or it could have been the rest of the night. Once or twice, he felt a weird twist in his stomach and opened his eyes just in time to see another Wilbur Robinson disappear a few feet in front of him. 

From a spot about the arena, hidden on the catwalk in the shadows, Hiccup watched as Wilbur flickered around the arena. The younger teen didn’t seem to notice, but Hiccup’s vantage point let him watch as more Wilburs started to appear and disappear - their varying states of dress and exhaustion any hint to the time they had come from. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty One: The Westburg Bridge

The mornings in Westburg were nothing like the ones in San Fransokyo. The smaller city woke up a little sleepier than the bustling robotic metropolis. Just as the sun was peeking over the horizon, causing the river to sparkle orange and yellow, a set of two lone travel buses started to cross the Westburg Bridge. As the passengers yawned or tried to wake up from their naps, the drivers kept trucking along. They were the only ones on the bridge, the ride only about twenty minutes longer until they reached the station. 

All of a sudden, the bridge shook as an explosion knocked the vehicles forward, destroying the middle of the road and leaving the buses trapped on a crumbling bridge. Inside the buses, the passengers screamed, grabbing for the seats or bars to try and steady themselves. The bus shifted dangerously towards the drop, but there was a solid push and it began to tip back towards the safer ground. 

“It’s the Incredibles!” Someone yelled. “It’s Mr Incredible!” 

“Solarflare and Nightfury!” Someone in the other bus exclaimed. “It’s the Big Four!” 

Solarflare and Nightfury were both flying, shoving the first bus up by the rear bumper, straining against the weight. Solarflare willed more of her power into her muscles, and the two shoved their bus up over the edge. 

Mr Incredible grabbed the front jumper of the second bus, holding it steady as Elastigirl wrapped her arms around the back to help him. At the same time as the others, they managed to steady the vehicle. 

“Targets are stabilized,” Archer said into her comm, surveying the field from a platform at the top of the bridge supports. “Sending in Kanjo ta’ calm the civilians,” 

She grabbed an arrow from her quiver and fired it into the other side of the bridge, near the ground. Securing the other end, she turned to Riley, who was waiting next to her. 

“Ready?” She asked the younger hero. She strapped her into a harness and gave her a boost. Kanjo slid down and landed easily on the ground, detaching her harness and running towards Mr Incredible, who gave her a boost inside his bus. 

Once inside, she closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, lying down a heavy emotional shield that calmed everyone inside both buses. Kanjo’s practice had paid off, and she was able to keep the other supers out of the field's effects, keeping their minds clear. 

“Sending in extraction,” Archer relayed. Dimension teleported into the field, followed by Velocity and Skoro, who ran in a second later. Across the bridge from Archer’s perch, Rocketeer and Baymax took off, the duo lowering to the ground carefully. “And Baymax’s armor is goin’ strong, good job lads,” 

Rocketeer dismounted from the robot and focused on the inner mechanisms of the buses, using his powers to force the different doors and emergency exits open. The speedsters were off and running, zipping inside the buses to grab and remove the citizens from the danger zone. Dimension joined them, and the three extraction heroes worked to get the people out of danger and into Westburg. 

The bridge cumbled a little, causing the buses to slide backwards. Solarflare let out a growl of exertion, eyes flashing gold as she shoved the bus again. Nightfury helped the best he could, but their main hitter was losing power quickly. 

Archer noticed too. 

“Frost and Flurry, we need some backup,” She said, watching the situation closely. 

The duo answered by flying in and freezing the front part of the buses to the ground so they wouldn’t rock back again. 

Baymax and Rocketeer had started to check over the rescued citizens, the number growing by the second at the extraction team brought back more. 

“That’s the last of them!” Skoro yelled. Archer watched approvingly, twisting her fingers on her bowstring as the comms came in from the others. 

“Archer, we’ve caught sight of the troll, requesting permission to pursue,” Phantom asked. 

“Go ahead,” Archer said. “Phase three’s starting everyone,” 

Phantom turned to her team: Barker, Banshee and Spec. 

“Let's move,” She said, and the group started to follow the bridge bomber - the troll. Just as they’d suspected, the troll was using the bridge attack as a distraction. Like his other attacks, he’d gone after a high profile target, which would let him break into a smaller area without the risk of a super catching him. 

The Troll had shown up on the team’s rader after security cameras had picked up blips of a long workman over the past week. More research revealed that a local bank had its scheduled pickup scheduled for that very morning. 

In order to cut him off, the small team had stayed out of the big rescue and tracked the troll. Now, they were ready to take him down. 

“I love when everything goes according to plan!” Barker grinned. 

“Do you think this might have to do with the night?” Spec asked. 

“The troll is too much of a low profile villain,” Phantom replied. “I doubt he’d get inducted into a top secret society,” 

Velocity whipped out of the last bus, holding Kanjo bridal style in his arms. The blonde girl rubbed at her face, smudging the nosebleed she had from exerting so much energy. 

“Riley, are you okay?” Rocketeer yelped. “Baymax!” 

“Hiro I’m fine,” Kanjo protested, letting Velocity set her down. “Baymax don’t worry about me, go help the others,” 

“Yes Kanjo,” The robot answered, turning back to help a woman with a possible broken arm. 

“You can bring the shield down now, sweetheart,” Elastigirl told the empath. “You’ve done a great job,” 

As Kanjo dropped the empathic wave, Archer ziplined down to join the rest of the team on ground level. 

“Team four had moved in,” She relayed. “Everything’s working,” 

“Do they need backup?” Mr Incredible asked. 

“Ah’ve already got heat signature tracking on them, and it's all fine,” Archer replied. “The girls are good ta go,” 

The Troll ducked into what looked like an abandoned warehouse, stopping to check if anyone had seen him. 

“Lets go,” Phantom said, and the team slipped inside. The girls fell into place, ready to fight, but were cut off as large metal panels suddenly slid into place, blocking the large windows around the ceiling, and the door behind them. The only light left in the warehouse was a single fluorescent light in the back, flickering dangerously. 

An electric crackle and smell filled the air, and a figure standing in the middle of the room was suddenly illuminated by two batons, glowing with a deadly electricity. 

“That’s not the troll,” Penny muttered, and the mysterious assassin jumped forward. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty Two: The Warehouse

“That’s not the troll,” Penny muttered, and the mysterious assassin jumped forward. They wore a black skin tight suit with blue lines down the front seams. They were a little taller than Margo, about Violet’s height, but their gender and any other identifying features were concealed by their steel face mask. 

Violet made a forcefield that the assassin slammed into and rolled away, avoiding the pulsing energy sticks. One hit from those would definitely take her down. 

More lights went up along the sides of the warehouse, revealing more minions, dressed in black with their eyes hidden by identical glowly blue goggles. When the girls scattered to avoid the assassin, the enemies along the sides pulled out small tasers. 

A third light came on above the catwalk, and a man wearing a blue super suit grinned evilly. Violet bit her bottom lip and growled. 

“Great,” Tip signed, Penny interpreting. “They have a super,” 

A taller, beefier man stepped out from the shadows behind He-lectrix, his blue suit broken up by the silver K on his chest. 

“No.” Violet muttered. “They have two,” 

“You think this isn’t connected to the night now?” Margo whispered.

“Krushauer, He-lectrix, get in here!” The assassin growled, voice decidedly male. He then leapt at Spec, knocking her back. Phantom moved to help her teammate, but she wasn’t fast enough. 

“On it Tortazo!” The skinny super yelled, and fired two bolts of lightning at the girls. The lightning hit the ground in front of Violet’s feet, distracting her. 

The hypnotized minions on the bottom level suddenly lunged at Tip and Penny. The girls started to fight them hand to hand, careful to avoid the tasers. Bolt leapt up and buried his teeth in one of the men’s arms, but the man didn’t even scream. There were too many of them for the duo to get a leg up, but they were still holding their own. 

Violet yelped and put a force field around herself to keep He-lectrix’s lightning away. It worked, but every shock of the bolts hitting the field traveled back into her arms and through her body. 

Tortazo had knocked Margo down, then managed to pin her to the ground. The brunette whipped around, struggling against his hold. Glaring, she tried to mind control him and convince him to move, but the assassin only laughed. 

“You’ll have to try harder than that, Senorita,” He tapped the side of his metal mask. Margo growled and continued to struggle, avoiding the electric batons as he dangled them close to her. 

Violet tried to move in to help her teammate, but tripped as another lightning bolt rippled through the shield. Krushauer took the advantage, focusing his power on her force field and forcibly shrinking it around her. 

She started to scream as pain rushed into her body from all angles. Penny and Tip’s heads whipped towards her, terrified at the sound. 

Tip used her sonic scream at the villain, throwing the huge super backwards and releasing his hold on her leader. He-lectrix growled and threw a bolt at her in return. 

Tortazo deactivated one of his batons and tipped Margo’s head back with it. Her eyes widened in fear, and although his mask didn’t show it, his voice gave away his smirk. 

“You are not going to win Senorita,” He practically purred, leaning further into her. 

Violet tripped again, putting up another shield just in time before He-lectrix hit her with a bolt. She screamed again, curling into a ball. With all the electricity, the warehouse lights had started to go out and buzz dangerously. 

Suddenly, sunlight shot through the room as the main door was forced open. There was a familiar pop as Wilbur teleported onto the catwalk and punched He-lectrix in the face. The other super reeled back, and Violet let down her shield, breathing out heavily. 

Dash ran around Tip and Penny, whipping them out of the attack zone and back towards Violet before helping her up. Edith was close behind, throwing her entire body into Tortazo and knocking him off of Margo. 

“Don’t touch my sister!” She yelled. The assassin growled and reactivated his batons, ready for a fight. 

Suddenly, the hypnotized minions slumped to the ground, the blue light dying from their goggles. Now outnumbered, Kaushauer and He-lectrix started to run. 

“Tortazo, let's go!” The lightning super yelled, and the assassin growled again before dodging past Edith. 

“You got lucky this time,” He spat, then ran towards the others. They ran through a door, but before the others could follow, Krushauer had closed the entrance off. 

“How’s it looking, Baymax?” Hiro asked. 

“She had sustained significant nerve damage from electrocution,” The robot said as Violet groaned. “But it is gone now,” 

“Rapunzel healed me,” Violet muttered. “I’m just sore now,” 

“Right!” Hiro muttered, smacking his forehead. “I need to update our powers into his systems,” 

“You can do that later,” Helen Parr said. “Now, I think we need to know what happened girls,” 

“It was a trap,” Violet muttered. “The troll disappeared as soon as we were inside that warehouse,” 

“They were waiting,” Penny added. “Two supers and an assassin - Tortazo,” 

“The supers?” Hiccup asked. 

“He-lectrix and Krushuaer,” Violet said. “They weren’t trained. They just threw the raw power at us,” 

“And Tip already told us about the hypnotized minions,” Hiccup mused. “That’s what concerns me,” 

“Tortazo sounds spanish,” Gru said. 

“He had an accent,” Margo confirmed. “Definitely a spanish one. He kept calling me senorita,” 

“El Macho was the only good spanish villain with decent tech in the past twenty years,” Bob Parr recalled. 

“But ‘e died in a volcano fifteen years ago,” Gru said. 

“That doesn’t always guarantee death,” Rapunzel muttered, shooting a look at Jack. 

“Tha’ bridge rescue worked well, almost too well,” Merida muttered, examining the footage they’d gathered. “It was probably a trap, someone wanted those girls alone,” 

“We gathered the hypnotized fighters and brought them back here, but they aren’t talking,” Jack said. The teens looked confused, sharing glances among themselves. “But Riley can tell if they’re lying, and none of them had any idea what they were doing,” 

“Except for the leader,” Riley said. “He knows something,” 

“I’ll try to heal the others and we can let them go,” Rapunzel said. “And we can keep working on the leader,” 

When the rest of the team nodded, the blonde looked back at the diagrams and reports pulled up throughout the briefing room. 

“There is definitely something else happening here,”

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty Three: Cooldown II

“Baymax did well,” Riley commented. She was sitting on top of one of the tables in Tadashi’s lab, watching as Hiro checked over the medical robot. 

“Riley Anderson, fourteen years old. Full body scan suggests genetic abnormality, linked to those with superhuman abilities,” Baymax said. “Your scan will be filed,” 

“You really need to stop scanning people without permission,” Hiro muttered. 

“That could be a useful thing to keep though,” Riley commented. 

“Ri, you did a good job on the bridge, I mean… well… the wave… people… yeah…” 

“Relax,” Riley said, using her powers on Hiro. Instantly, his mind cleared from the stress and he felt his tongue loosen. 

“Thank’s Ri,” Hiro mumbled. 

“What were you saying?” 

“N-nothing,” He muttered. “So… did you have any imaginary friends?” 

“Why do you ask?” 

“Just wondering,” Hiro said quickly. “I didn’t, but I always had Tadashi, but you’re an only child…” 

“I had one,” Riley said. “His name was Bing Bong. He was this pink cat-elephant-racoon thing. We had a lot of fun, I think,” 

“Bing-bong?” 

“I was three!” Riley protested. “Y’know, I don’t have to take this!” 

She jokingly jumped off the counter and fake-stormed towards the door, sticking her tongue out at her teammate. 

“Wait!” Hiro yelped. Quickly waving his hand, a few stray parts on the table constructed themselves into a miniature replication of her imaginary friend. “Here,” 

“Want some company?” Penny asked, knocking on the doorframe of Tip’s room. The other girl smiled and saved her in, so the redhead flopped onto the bed, Rhino, Mittens and Bolt settling on the ground by her feet. “I heard your mom was pretty upset,” 

“You would not believe it,” Tip signed. “She almost tried to pull me out of the team,” 

“What?!” 

“I do miss spending time with her,” Tip admitted. “But it's different than before. Now I’m not accidentally using my powers all the time. I can actually control them,” 

“Do you think you’ll ever speak again?” Penny asked slowly. “Now that you’re better about controlling the scream?” 

“I don’t know,” 

“Not now, just maybe in the future… we could sing,” Penny suggested quietly. She’d learned about Tip’s love for music a few weeks ago, and wanted to know more. “Or you could sign, it's not a problem,” 

“It's apart of me, and I know the sonic scream is dangerous, but other things used to happen when I spoke… not just the scream,” 

“What?” Penny sat up, then looked at the other girl - her girlfriend? She wasn’t sure yet - as she explained. 

“Well people would do things for me, stuff they wouldn’t do unless I asked. Or, they’d forget doing them afterwards. It was… confusing,” 

“Huh,” 

“Signs are useful anyways,” Tip continued. “There's a girl in Hawaii who signs with an alien she met. Tooth told me,” 

There was a peaceful silence as the two girls enjoyed each other's company. Tip let the animals climb up on her bed, and Mittens snuggled into her lap while Bolt flopped down over Penny. Rhino continued to explore Tip’s room, everything huge from his hamster point of view. 

“I did tell mom about you,” Tip added. “About us,” 

“You did!?” Penny squealed. She grabbed the other girl in a huge hug and buried her face in her neck. “I’m so happy you did!”

While the others flocked to their rooms, labs or the arena, Wilbur and Violet had their own space - an out of the way closet they’d discovered and stocked with snacks. The two snuck over there (easy when one could teleport and the other was invisible) after every battle and shared a set of earbuds plugged into Violet’s ipod. 

“So I think that went well until the trap,” Wilbur said, grabbing a handful of chips. “Team leader?” 

“I’m not the leader!” Violet protested, shoving him. Wilbur’s cheeks tinted pink as he smiled at her. “But yeah, we did well,” 

“So Margo is still on the whole ‘The Night’ thing,” 

Violet groaned and slouched a little, planting her face in her hands. 

“I know. She’s obsessed!” 

“Think there’s any credence?” 

“For real? Yes.” 

“Alrighty then,” Wilbur grinned. “Moving on… Dash and Edith are definitely into each other,” 

“That’s just speedster competitiveness,” Violet retorted. “I should know, Dash has been like this his entire life!” 

“Nah, he’s got a crush,” Wilbur smirked. “He’s a boy, I should know, ” 

“Ew, that's my brother !” Violet protested, laughing, and getting louder and louder as she tried to stop. Wilbur joined her, slinging an arm around the girl’s shoulders and pulling her closer. Violet just kept laughing. 

Suddenly, the tiny closet was yanked from dark to light as the door was yanked open. Both teen’s squinted then jumped as Mr Incredible looked down at them, face twisting into fatherly rage. 

Violet squeaked and turned invisible at the same time Wilbur was debating teleporting away and moving to Russia. 

“Violet…” Bob growled. Violet sheepishly turned visible again and smiled at her dad, but he wasn’t amused. 

Riley lay in bed, lights off but not intending on actually going to bed. She held the tiny Bing Bong robot in her hands, watching as he robotically raised his arms up and down. It was a surprisingly detailed piece for something so small. 

“It was nice of Hiro to give you to me,” She smiled, watching the robot march up and down her nightstand. Her smile dropped as she kept thinking - Hiro was really different than she was, and he was older than she was (a year, but that was a lot to a teenager). Even if she thought she did have a chance, Hiro basically treated her like a little sister, so it was probably best to just give up. 

Riley groaned and rolled over, grabbing her pillow to flip over her face. Crushes were hard . 

A scream suddenly cut through the air, and Riley jumped up, running towards the sound as her emotional alarms started to blare. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty Four : The Night

Margo closed her door and sat down in the middle of her room. The others might not be as worried about the Night as she was, but things were only getting worse.

"Let's do this," She whispered, then closed her eyes. Margo focused on all of her power, branching out to try and find Tortazo. She brushed past everyone inside the POLE, going so far their individual brains melted into a single blur. Scanning quickly, Margo latched onto a link and pulled.

Suddenly, she was inside an old warehouse, and she could hear whispers of various people around her. Margo grinned. She'd found The Night.

Inside the Night's lair, Tortazo rubbed his eyes. The headache had come on fast, and his vision was going a little blurry as he tried to pay attention to the next plan.

"Son, what is it?" His dad asked. El Macho stood up from his chair and grabbed his boy by the shoulders.

"What is it?" Pitch Black snarled, rising from his seat. When he noticed the boy's symptoms, the older villain growled. "Allow me,"

He took Tortazos head in his hands and focused, staring deep into his soul.

"We are being spied on," Pitch snarled, and Tortazo felt a sharp pain in his head before everything went black.

Margo reeled back and screamed a Pitch latched onto her mental link with Tortazo. He'd forced her out of the other teen's mind, in a way that she was sure would hurt both of them. As Margo screamed and tried to calm down, her bedroom door slammed open.

"Margo!" Edith yelled, Dash close behind. Outside the door, Riley, Hiro and Emma almost crashed into each other.

"Are you okay?" Hiro asked.

"Margo." Riley yelped, pushing past him and using her powers to try and calm the telepath down. Emma shoved Hiro out of the room.

"Go find Gru! And Jack!" She yelled. "And Punz!"

Hiro nodded and took off running.

Bob was not amused, but the screaming had interrupted the parental lecture. With a pop, Wilbur grabbed Violet and teleported them into the dorms. They ran towards Margo's room, the rest of the senior supers appearing at the end of the hall as Penny and Tip burst out of Tip's bedroom.

"Move!" Rapunzel shrieked, shoving past the others and sliding to her knees in front of Margo. She grabbed her hair and pressed it to the teen, then started to sing the healing song. When she finished, Margo's breathing had slowed, and she'd stopped rocking back and forth.

Gru and Agnes made it into the room, but it was getting too crowded with everyone inside.

"Team - back to your rooms!" Merida yelled. "Now!"

Edith and Agnes stayed with their dad and sister, while the other senior supers shooed the rest of the teenagers out into the hall. Violet and Wilbur tried to move quickly, but Helen grabbed the back of their shirts and dragged them back, then into Violet's room at the end of the hall.

"I know about your little cool down spot," She said. "But your father didn't,"

Violet groaned and Wilbur went red.

"Don't we have more pressing matters?!" Violet muttered, tilting her head back towards Margo's room.

"Just keep this relationship appropriate," Helen said. "And don't let Bob think anything else is going on,"

Wilbur and Violet went red as they started to protest, but Helen shook her head and cut them off.

"I'm more understanding than Bob is about this stuff," She smirked. "Just be careful… and aware,"

Wilbur went pale, so Helen pushed him back out into the hallway.

"Go back to your room Wilbur, and Vi, you better stay here young lady," She said. "We'll tell you what happened to Margo when we figure it out,"

"I've healed the damage, but you should still take it easy," Rapunzel said, helping Margo get into her bed. "But come get me if anything goes wrong,"

"I'll get her for you," Edith said. "I'm faster,"

"We'll stay with you Margo!" Agnes said, snuggling into the blanket. "Just in case!"

Edith nodded fiercely, and Gru checked over his daughters one last time before leaving with Rapunzel. While the adults headed back to the briefing room for an emergency meeting, the sisters all went to sleep.

"I know what you did…" A low voice said in her ear. "I know just where you're hiding, and I know how to find and hurt everyone I need to to win,"

Margo gasped awake, eyes wide and sweat sticking her shirt to her back. Pitch. He knew. He'd just been in her head. He hadn't pushed her out, he'd pushed himself in.

She took a shaking breath and stood up, legs wobbling.

Pitch knew too much.

The next morning, when the team staggered out to the lounge for an update, they found a note pinned to the table.

"No, no, no!" Gru was yelling, and Agnes looked like she'd been crying. Margo and Edith were nowhere to be found.

"What's happening?" Dash demanded. "What happened to Margo?"

"Here," Jack muttered, sliding the note over. Dash grabbed it, and the color drained out of his face as he read.

I'm sorry.

Pitch Black knows too much, and it's safer for me to leave. I can't let him use me to get to you.

Goodbye,

Margo and Edith

"W-what?" Dash stuttered. "They're… gone,"

"As the other teens grabbed for the note and began to question the senior supers, the speedster slumped into a chair and stared at the wall.

"I understand Margo…" He mumbled. "But Edith… I thought… she'd stay…"

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty Five : Sugarus

THREE MONTHS LATER:

"Robots - like the omnidroids in San Fransokyo - have mysteriously appeared in Sugarus. So far there are four, so we've split up into teams to handle them. Keep civilians safe, but keep the robots contained. We've been brought in by Wrecker and his team, so let him call any shots if need be,"

Velocity slid to a stop outside the Sugarus Mall and dropped Kanjo to her feet. The blonde raised her hands, instantly negating the emotions from frightened civilians who'd just evacuated the building.

"Hey look, it's your boyfriend's nanny bot," The speedster grinned, pointing up towards Baymax as he flew overhead. Riley's face turned bright red as she glared at Dash, who was smirking.

"He's scanning for injured citizens!" She protested. "And he's not my boyfriend - shut up Dash!"

Dash bit back his laughter and sped back into the mall, leaving an angry Riley behind. He was back to the battle in seconds, zipping into the main atrium as the omnidroid rampaged.

Frost and Flurry worked on freezing the robot's legs together from the air, trying to fuse the metal to the floor and slow it down. There was a crackle of electricity as Shockwave - Wreckers sidekick - dropped from the second floor level and landed next to Velocity.

She was his age, but almost a foot and shorter than the speedster. Her super suit was a solid black with licorice red piping, sharp brown eyes that gave away her excitement under her mask.

"Nice of you to finally join the party, slowpoke!" Shockwave grinned, smacking Velocity on the back and accidentally shocking her. Wrecker and Shockwave were the stationed heroes in Sugarus (which was a city on the eastern side of the states), and they didn't get to work with others often.

"Shut up," Velocity groaned, and took off running.

"We may need some backup over here!" Wrecker yelped into his comm, which Frost picked up.

"On it!" Frost said, flying up towards the already broken skylight. "You guys are good here, right?"

"Jack we're fine!" Flurry yelled. "Just go!"

Her brother grinned and flew off to meet team four: Wrecker, Mr Incredible and Rocketeer. The team at the mall were team three, and teams one and two were off in other parts of the city. Those teams were made up of Solarflare, Banshee, Elastigirl and Barker, and Phantom, Dimension, Nightfury and Archer respectively.

Once their senior super left, the younger team put more effort into taking out their omnidroid. Flurry put more power behind her ice, but the robot had figured her out, and an arm almost swiped Emma out of the air.

Shockwave phased through the robot's arms when it tried to hit her, which just kept angering the omnidroid more.

"Gosh," Emma muttered through her comm. "We need more bodies! We're getting too slow!"

Dash was painfully reminded of Edith, who'd be the first to argue against that, and almost got tripped up himself. Shaking his head, Dash roared and sprinted towards the robot head on. The Omnidroid noticed, raising two arms to trap and smash him into the ground, but Dash didn't notice until it was too late.

Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming fear that gave him an extra burst of speed and avoided the hit, rolling to a stop across the floor. When he looked up, Dash saw Kanjo at the balcony, hand outstretched as she focused all of her power on him at once.

"BAYMAX!" She shrieked. "NOW!"

Riley put an emotion shield over the team, focusing from the balcony, which kept her close but out of the action. The team felt their anxiety disappear, giving them more clarity. Baymax flew over Riley's head and slammed into one of the Omnidroid's arms, which snapped off.

Using the distraction to his advantage, Velocity grabbed Shockwave and sprinted up another frozen leg, getting the girl close enough to phase inside the robot. He jumped off to the side as the Omnidroid ripped its arm free, and slid into an ice slide Flurry constructed.

As he hit the ground, Flurry pulled a wall of ice out of the ground to cover them, then made another to shield Kanjo.

Inside the robot, Shockwave started to physically vibrate with electricity. She released it all at once, effectively short circuiting the Omnidroid from the inside out. Sparks rained out around the team's shelters, but the robot slumped to the ground - broken beyond repair.

"Woo!" Shockwave cheered, phasing out of the top as the rest of the team poked their heads around Emma's walls. "I love this!"

The POLE was too far for the entire team to meet up, so they instead bunked at Wrecker and Shockwave's place. Ralph Wreck and his niece Vanellope lived in a pretty normal suburban house, but it was also home to a decent sized garage and sub-garage they used as headquarters.

When team two stumbled in, Wilbur's cowlick was messed up, Violet and Merida both looked singed, and Hiccup looked decidedly more… dragonlike than usual.

Jack was recounting his story to Rapunzel, who grinned and just tried to heal his arms. Apparently, he'd grabbed both Ralph and Bob in an ice shield before the robot smashed them, then put more power into freezing the entire robot solid before giving Hiro enough time to get inside and use his powers.

The adults briefed and handled any first aid before shooing the teens down into the basement. When the team had first landed in Sugarus, the first omnidroid had taken out one of the Sleighs engines, which left them stranded until it was repaired.

Even though it was barely nine o'clock, most of the teens were out cold, exhausted from the fight. Only team three was awake, talking with Vanellope about heroing in her city.

"There's that much to do here?" Dash asked. "Like, I understand San Fransokyo, but this place?"

"Oh there's more than you'd think," Vanellope grumbled, before a sly grin crossed her face. "Hey, want to help me with a secret mission?"

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty Six : O’Hare Air Part One

“Where are we headed?” Emma asked nervously. 

“O’Hare Air,” Vanellope answered. “They… you guys have heard the rumors, right?” 

“That Aloysius O’Hare had his hands in gang rings,” Riley said. “Yeah, I’ve heard,” 

“There's a building out by the wharf,” Vanellope explained. “It’s owned by O’Hare, and I know it's part of a smuggling operation,” 

“How do you know that?’ Dash muttered as the building came into view. 

“Because I was smuggled through that building, and the people who grabbed me are O’Hare’s,” Vanellope said simply, but her voice was tight. “There were more with me, more kids,” 

“They’re probably long gone by now,” 

Vanellope shook her head, bangs falling in front of her mask. None of the group was in their full costumes, but they’d kept their masks for secrecy and stealth mode. 

“O’Hare gave me my powers,” She said. “They gave all of us powers… after they stole us off the streets,” 

“How many of you were there?” Emma asked, voice soft. Dash remembered that the Overland siblings had spent time on the street, so out of the group, Emma knew how Vanellope felt. 

“Four,” The phaser whispered. “It was me, Mavis, and the twins… Oncie and Audrey,” 

The team had reached the building, and stared up at it, looking for an opening to sneak inside. 

“We should have brought Wilbur and Hiro,” Riley commented. “They’re always the best for these missions,” 

“They’re all goody two shoes,” Vanellope grumbled. “I need you three,” 

They broke into the main offices, Riley using her powers to put the night shift guards to sleep. At the same time, Vanellope and Dash short circuited the cameras with their powers. Emma iced the locks on the doors to keep them shut and gave the team more time to spy. 

Vanellope broke into the computers (a little less sophisticated than Hiro) and started poking around, tracking down different trade routes that O’Hare used. Suddenly, she stopped, a new document pulled open. 

“Look!” She yelped. “These deliveries go straight to the labs, but they’re super sporadic. This has to be them!” 

“So where are the labs?” Dash asked. 

“A few levels down,” 

“So we go back and get the others and then we go find them!” Emma said. 

“No,” Vanellope shook her head. “We need to find them now. They might catch on that we were here and move them!” 

The dark haired girl turned to run back to the doors, but Dash stopped her. Even though he was usually one to jump right on the action train, something was tugging at the edge of his mind. 

“We need to slow down,” He said. Vanellope looked a little annoyed, but sighed and relaxed. “Let's do this smart,” 

The team talked it over quickly, then shut down the computers and removed any evidence of them inside the room. Vanellope phased through the floors down to the lab while Dash ran down the stairwell, making two trips - one with Emma and other with Riley. 

The lab entrance didn’t look like much - only a boiler room - but Vanellope insisted it was more. After some searching, they shoved aside some crates to reveal another trap door and staircase, and snuck down it. 

Dash half expected to find a room full of experimental super teens, but it was a lot more grim. The room was large, with cells lining the walls, and it was completely dark. Vanellope took a step towards the cells to try and open them, but was cut off as the lights in the room went up, almost blinding the teens. All of the cells were empty, no sign that they’d even been recently lived in. 

The team slid into defensive positions, scanning for any attackers. As they moved, several figures walked out of the back of the room. 

“Are those your friends?” Emma asked Vanellope, who shook her head angrily, panic appearing in her eyes. 

“No,” Dash muttered, recognizing two of them. “They used to be ours,” 

Standing at the other end of the room with Tortazo, He-lectrix and another super, were Margo and Edith Gru. 

“Hey guys,” Edith smirked, making Dash’s blood boil. Behind her, the other villians got ready for a fight. 

“So Skoro and Spec, you guys actually betrayed us?” Emma demanded cooly. Edith just groaned in response. 

“Actually,” She said. “Its Hastemaker and Mindness now,” 

“Got yourself some new friends there?” Riley spat. Dash could feel the anger rolling off of her, and realized what she was doing. She was laying down the roots for an emotion wave to hit the villains with and give the others time to escape. Margo responded this time, putting a hand out in front of Edith. 

“Voyd, He-Lectrix, take out the snowball. I’ll take little miss temper tantrum. Tortazo, you can have the… new girl,” 

“You’re going to leave me with Mr Miles, eh?” Edith grinned, and sprinted straight for Dash. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty Seven : O’Hare Air Part Two

As Edith - Hastemaker - zipped towards Dash, Riley dropped her emotional wave, causing everyone in the room to become hyper aware of their feelings. Dash felt his anger and hurt boil up, and pushed down the crumbs of affection he felt as the blonde tackled him. 

The two speedsters rolled across the ground. Dash remembered all the training and missions where the same thing had happened and almost shielded Edith’s fall, then suddenly remembered that she was the enemy now. 

He rolled on top of her and tried to pin her down. Hastemaker fought back and the two started to wrestle, limbs moving at super speed as she tried to escape. 

Emma flew into the air, shooting ice towards He-lectrix, but Voyd stepped in and created a portal that turned the ice back towards her. Emma managed to dissolve it before it hit, but growled loudly, eyes flashing a cold blue. 

Tortazo jumped towards Vanellope with his batons buzzing with electricity, but they didn’t have any effect. The phaser’s body absorbed electricity and used it to power herself up, so she was only in danger of getting hit by the sticks. 

In the middle of the fighting, Margo - Mindness - and Riley stood still, facing off in some sort of mental fight. Waves of emotion rolled off Riley as she glared at Mindness, whose look showed that she was fighting just as hard with her telepathic powers. 

She apparently still had the capacity to notice her surroundings, and realizing that Tortazo and Vanellope were at a standstill, motioned for the assassin to switch targets with her. Tortazo moved quickly and engaged Riley in hand to hand, but he had the advantage and managed to pin her to the ground. He activated his batons and started to shock her, and Riley started to scream as the electricity coursed through her. 

Mindness turned her back on that fight quickly, then used her powers to trap Vanellope in a loop of her own worst memories. The phaser sank to the ground, muttering to herself as her eyes unfocused.

Emma looked down and realized her entire team had been taken out. She readied an ice spray to knock Tortazo off of Riley, but was caught in the back by one of He-lectrix’s lightning bolts. As the white haired girl crumpled to the ground, the villains smirked, basking in their victory.  

“Knock them out,” Voyd commanded, and Dash’s eyes widened as he struggled more. Before He-lectrix could shock him, the door to the labs smashed open, revealing three more figures. 

“Back away from my brother bitch,” Violet snapped as a force field slammed into Edith and threw to the side. 

“Back away from my brother bitch,” Violet snapped as a force field slammed into Edith and threw to the side. She put a shield around Dash before jumping into the battle, which started to glow a faint purple as she constructed shields around Emma, Riley and Vanellope. 

The villains lunged at the other teens, but they were faster, showing just why they’d been sent on so many stealth missions. 

Wilbur teleported and grabbed Vanellope out from under Mindness, who stumbled back and dropped her attack in surprise. He propped her up next to the lab entrance, getting her out of harm's way as the younger hero recovered. 

The lights started to flash on and off as Hiro stepped forwards, anger obvious on his face when he noticed the injured Riley. The villains reeled back as Hiro pulled the metal doors off of their hingled and into the air. He pushed, and one slammed into Tortazo and knocked him to the ground. 

Doors still floating around him, Hiro picked up Riley and handed her to Wilbur, who teleported her over to Vanellope. Riley shook a little, but was awake, if not a little woozy. Hiro raised his arm to send another door at Margo, who stumbled back in terror at his actions. 

Edith gave up attacking Dash and moved her sisters out of the way just before the door struck. She stopped at the other end of the lab, spinning Margo behind her protectively. 

Dash was a little disoriented from everything that was happening, and missed the lightning bolt He-lectrix had fired at him. Violet didn’t, and jumped off the stairs above her brother and put a shield around the both of them, somehow keeping herself in the air while doing so. 

“How are you doing that?!” Dash demanded in shock. 

“I don’t know!” Violet answered, clearly shocked herself. 

“Well, whatever it is, don’t stop!” 

Dash took off running, which moved the force field like a massive hamster ball. The siblings rolled around the ground, slamming into Tortazo as he tried to get up, then made a sharp turn and used one of Hiro’s discarded doors to jump into the air and land in front of Voyd and He-lectrix as Violet dropped the field. 

The villain supers prepared to attack the Parr’s, distracted enough to give Wilbur an opening. He teleported behind them and smacked Voyd in the back of the head, knocking her out. 

He-lectrix fired lightning at Violet and Dash, but the former used another force field to mirror the lightning back at the lesser super, which stunned him and caused him to stumble. Emma took the opportunity to freeze the ground beneath his feet, and He-lectrix slammed into the ground. 

Hiro was facing off against both Hastemaker and Mindness now, and the power of controlling the doors was wearing on him. He could probably take out both girls, but they could still get the jump on him. 

The stalemate was just about to end as Edith twitched, but suddenly, both Gru girls crumpled to the ground unconscious. Hiro whirled around to see Riley standing in the doorway, hands pulled apart and eye’s fading back her normal blue. She started to breathe heavily and stumbled a little, but smiled at the technopath. 

“Flared up their exhaustion!” She yelled. “No time to recover means they pass out!” 

“Okay,” Hiro thought to himself. “That’s both hot and kind of evil,” 

Hiro, Wilbur and Violet got the younger teens out of O’Hare Air before the villains woke up, and into a nearby alleyway. 

“What were you thinking?!” Hiro yelled. “Why didn’t you call for backup when things went south?!” 

“Hey!” Vanellope protested. 

“We had it-” Dash added, but Violet cut him off, eyes narrowed in a way that reminded him of their mother. 

“We’re heroes. Not villains. And heroes work together,” She said. “I don’t know why you snuck out, but I won’t ask. Obviously it was important,” 

“Yeah…” 

“I know that fight was hard on you,” Violet whispered, pulling her brother into a hug. “With Edith… but just know that I still love you, even with all that stupid teenage boy in there,” 

“You shouldn’t have left without telling one of us,” Hiro muttered to Riley, checking her over for signs of injury. She’d collapsed soon after using her powers on the Gru’s, and Hiro had physically carried her out of the building. “You guys shouldn’t be out on solo missions!” 

“Because we’re too young?” Riley snapped. 

“No, because you’re too weak! Your powers aren’t built for tha-” 

“I saved your life back there!” Riley yelled, eyes flashing angrily. “I’m not weak!” 

Hiro reeled back, shock and hurt etched on his face. 

“Fine.” He muttered as Riley turned on her heel and marched after the others. 

The (now larger) team snuck back into Ralph and Vanellope’s basement. Nobody else was awake, so the older teen’s must have noticed the younger ones leaving and followed instead of raising an alarm. 

“Why did you go there?” Wilbur whispered to Vanellope as the others slowly went back to sleep. The younger girl looked at him and took a deep breath. 

“They gave me my powers,” She explained. “After they stole me. I was looking for the others,” 

“Hey,” The older boy said, putting a hand on her shoulder. The action was very brotherly, and Wilbur was reminded of his own sister, who he hadn’t seen in almost several weeks. “We’ll do anything we can to help you find them. Promise,” 

“Thanks,” Vanellope said. Then glanced towards the stairs where the adults were sleeping. “Maybe it's time to open up to Ralph about that too,” 

“Maybe,” Wilbur smiled. “Get some sleep kid,” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty Eight: Hastemaker & Mindness

THREE MONTHS PREVIOUSLY: 

Margo gasped awake, eyes wide and sweat sticking her shirt to her back. Pitch. He knew. He’d just been in her head. He hadn’t pushed her out, he’d pushed himself in. 

She took a shaking breath and stood up, legs wobbling. 

Pitch knew too much. 

Margo slipped out of bed - careful to avoid her sleeping sisters - and out into the hall. She made her way down to the briefing room, where the Senior Supers were still in the midst of their meeting. 

“Margo!” Rapunzel cried when she noticed her. “What’s wrong?” 

“When I tried to find Tortazo, I succeeded,” She mumbled. “But then Pitch found out and pushed me out. And I think he got a link on me…” 

“Did Pitch do anything?” Jack asked, but Margo shook her head. 

“No, just tried to scare me. But I think… he might come after us here,” 

“We will always protect you,” Hiccup said firmly. “And this building is built to withstand attacks. Even if they were able to find it,” 

“Not many people know about POLE anyways,” North added. “Us supers, Dr Robinson, Tadashi Hamada, Dr Forester and Dr Calico, are only ones,” 

“Donae worry lass, we’ll keep you safe,” Merida assured. Margo took a deep breath and nodded, then addressed the adults. 

“I think I should…  be a double agent,” 

The room exploded. 

“What?!” 

“No way!” 

“Why would you think that?!” 

“MARGO!” 

“Listen!” Margo yelled. “If Pitch thinks he’s scared me over to his side, he might get sloppy, and I can really help. The Night is a big deal, and I know you guys don’t believe me, but I know,” 

There was silence, a few more hushed conversations, before Merida nodded and stepped up. 

“Ah trust your judgment,” She said. “Your powers are a lot, and if you say this is a threat, then ah believe you,” 

“If we’re going to do this, we have to do it now,” Jack muttered. “Margo, can you be ready to leave tonight?” 

“Here,” Gru said, handing over a small device. “In case zings, go wrong,” 

Margo twisted the lipstick taser in her hands, getting used to the feeling of the metal tube. She’d helped her dad create it, and knew it delivered enough power to subdue people even as strong as Mr Incredible. 

They finished the plan and sent Margo back to grab a few things she would need. On the way out the door, the telepath was cut off by a low whoosh, and Edith suddenly blocked the door. 

“You’re leaving.” The blonde hissed. “Not without me,” 

“This is important,” 

“Still not going without backup,” Edith whispered, and sped off, a second later skidding back - dressed and with a backpack over her shoulder. “Do you really want to fight me?” 

“Fine,” Margo hissed. “I assume you already know everything?” 

“Listened in on comms,” Edith shrugged. “Mr Incredible never turns his off,” 

The two girls slipped out into the hallway and down towards the hangar. The mission was dangerous, they were leaving most of their team in the dark, and there was a low chance that everything would work out. 

Edith glanced at Dash’s bedroom door, but didn’t stop walking. 

After being picked up off the streets and a week of detainment and constant surveillance, Edith and Margo were allowed inside the Night’s lair. It wasn’t as nice as the POLE, and most of the villains still didn’t trust them, but they were one step closer to their goal. 

Pitch brought them in, but quickly floated off to do whatever evil villain overlords did. After that first day, it was like he forgot the girls existed. 

Gothel - which the girls had been briefed on by Rapunzel - was just as bad as she’d sounded. She was an aging woman who complained about the dark and the dust, and especially loved to whine about the addition of two more kids. That attitude quickly changed when the enchantress learned that Edith was capable of super speeding any errands she needed. 

Syndrome, Screenslaver and Yokai were the three scientists of the group. Syndrome was loud and brash, always ranting about something. Screenslaver barely talked, and used a voice alterer when they did. They were also the only people to never remove their mask, and just their presence frightened Margo. Yokai was quiet and awkward, almost like he didn’t want to be there. Out of anyone in The Night, he seemed to look out for the girls. 

El Macho and Tortazo were the last two. They were a father-son duo, and they became the most comfortable with the girls. El Macho loved to recount stories from his ‘glory days’ and compared Margo and Edith to their father in his prime. Tortazo removed his mask after a week, and turned out to be a handsome looking boy around Margo’s age. 

Sucked that he was evil though. 

Since they were so close in age, they were often the two to be paired up. He was quiet, so Margo rambled, but he eventually joined in. 

“So then Edith steals the freeze ray away from my dad and accidentally freezes the neighbor’s cat-” 

“No, no, no!” Tortazo interrupted. “You’re lying!” 

“No!” Margo laughed back. 

Tortazo smiled and brushed his hair back. He looked at her, and Margo could tell he was weighing out the options in his head. Telepathy made her surprisingly perceptive. 

“You don’t read my mind, do you?” He asked. Margo shook her head wildly. “You should. You’re one of us. We don’t do the whole teamwork thing,” 

“Oh,” Margo muttered. “I’m used to that. It's always been me and my sisters,” 

“I like you Margo Gru,” Tortazo smirked, then stuck his hand out. “Antonio Perez,” 

“My dad didn’t expect me to not want to go into villainy,” Antonio muttered one night while out on a stateout. “He had me playing distraction since I was five. By thirteen I was seducing the marks,” 

“Do you enjoy it?” 

“Meh, not like I could do anything else,” Antonio said, leaning back and stretching before pulling out his batons. 

“Why do you do it?” 

“Same reason as you,” He muttered, tossing one of his batons in the air. “Evil’s in my blood,” 

“I’m adopted,” Margo whispered quietly. 

The Night kept having meetings to set up missions, but the kids weren’t allowed inside. Margo would have worried they’d caught onto the girls, but Tortazo wasn’t allowed inside either, so the three of them sat outside the room, waiting. 

“It’s been boring with just me,” Antonio grinned, slinging an arm around Margo and causing her to blush. “Nice to have such lovely company,” 

Later, when El Macho had pulled his son away and the girls were back in their room, Edith confronted her sister. 

“What are you doing getting involved with a supervillain?!” She snapped. 

“I’m no- no, that’s not what this is-, I… I don’t know,” 

“You have to stay on it!” Edith snapped. “We are in too deep for anything to go wrong,” 

“I know,” Margo whispered as the tears brimmed in her eyes. “ I know, ”

PRESENT DAY/THREE MONTHS LATER: 

“So… how did your debut go, Miss Mindness?” Pitch drawled as the team tramped back into the lair. Margo bit back a wince at the name. 

“We almost took them out,” She replied. “It was a small team, the younger ones too,” 

“But?” 

“Dimension, Rocketeer and Phantom showed up,” Edith interrupted. “And they’ve been practicing. I don’t remember Rocketeer being able to control metal,” 

“Mindness, debrief,” Screenslaver said. “Voyd, He-lectrix, go back to your level,” 

The two lesser supers nodded and left quickly. Margo didn’t know where they went, but she knew she never saw them outside of missions. 

Margo followed Pitch, Gothel, El Macho and Screenslaver into the meeting room, standing at the end of the table as the others sat down to survey her. 

“Explain what happened,” 

“The plan worked,” Margo began. “The mini-supers appeared right on schedule. We fought. Combined, we were actually winning,” 

“But you still lost?” El Macho grumbled. “Ay Dios mio!” 

“...yes.” She muttered. “But it works in our favor. They thought we went into hiding. Now that they know we actually betrayed them, I think we’ve rattled at least half of the team. More when they see Hastemaker and I for the first time,” 

“Well, I guess you’re good for something,” Gothel grinned. 

“We can move some of our other plans up then, utilize this new… fear ,” Pitch smiled. “Screenslaver, how much time do you need?” 

“I can get started as soon as she leaves,” The other villain said, nodding towards Margo. Pitch nodded and waved her off, and Margo bowed her head and slipped out of the room. 

Edith and Antonio were waiting for her outside, still in their fighting uniforms. Edith pulled her sister into a hug, then released her to go change. Once she was gone, Antonio grabbed Margo’s hand and sent her a reassuring smile. 

Margo smiled back, hoping it didn’t look pained. 

This undercover thing was getting to be a lot harder than she had thought it would be. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty Nine: Aftermath

“You can’t be telling the truth,” Penny said. “Margo and Edith actually switched sides?!” 

“It's true,” Dash muttered. “They seemed pretty comfortable over there too,” 

“No other reason?” Tip signed. 

“They didn’t hold back,” Emma grumbled, wincing as she tried to readjust her seat. He-lectrix had really done a number on her muscles. 

“Why would they abandon us like that?” Penny mumbled. “Gru and Agnes are still here, so why did they leave?” 

“Villainy is in their blood,” Dash muttered under his breath. 

“You can’t accuse Gru of doing that, he quit before he adopted them!” Penny yelped. 

“Actually, he adopted them for a scheme,” Emma mumbled. “It was only when things went bad he realized he’d been wrong,” 

“What?!” 

“Look,” Violet snapped, interrupting and cutting off what would have been a fight. “What’s done is done. We need to stay focused and move forward. If we let this distract us, the Night has already won,” 

The teens muttered and grumbled, but nodded and stood up to leave. As the others filtered out, Penny and Tip were left alone in the library. 

“I still can’t believe this, why would they even…” Penny’s breathing hitched and got faster as she spiraled. 

“Penny?” 

“It doesn’t seem like them at all, but at the same time-” 

“Penny,” 

“Margo and Edith always seemed to love being heros!” 

“Penny!” Tip suddenly said, voice creaky. “Stop,” 

Penny cut off mid sentence, her breathing lulling to a slow as her eyes looked over at Tip, a little panicked and surprised. It was calm for a few seconds, but Penny suddenly started to choke from lack of air. 

“No!” Tip cried. “Go back to normal!” 

Penny coughed as her breathing righted, then looked up at her girlfriend. 

“So that’s what you were talking about with your powers?” She said. Tip nodded nervously, obviously terrified about what she’d just done. “You need to talk to Tooth - now!” 

Tip shook her head and tried to sign, but her hands were shaking too much to be readable. 

“This is important,” Penny said. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. Just trust me, okay?” 

Tip looked at her girlfriend and took a deep breath. Penny smiled and helped her up, and the two went out to look for Toothiana. 

“Riley - wait!” 

Riley ignored Hiro’s yells and stomped down the hall, heading for the safety of her room. Emotions swirled around in her head, bumping into each other and clashing before she could decipher them. 

“Riley!” Hiro lunged forward and grabbed Riley’s wrist, pulling her back. “Please just listen, I’m sorry!” 

“Let. Go!” Riley yelled, yanking her arm back and tripping backward, falling into the doorframe. “Ow!” 

As she hit the ground, Baymax suddenly appeared in the doorway, summoned by her cry of pain. 

“I was alerted when you said ow,” Baymax said. “How may I help?” 

“Shut up!” Riley shrieked, hauling herself to her feet and pushing past Hiro. “And get this giant walking marshmallow out of my way!” 

She stormed into her bedroom and slammed the door. Tears pricked at her eyes, and Riley snatched her pillow off the bed and sank down the door. Burying her face into the fluff, she let out one loud, angry, heartbroken scream. 

She didn’t notice the things in the room vibrating wildly. 

Outside the door, Hiro tripped as a sudden headache hit him, but it was gone before he even hit the ground. 

“Dash, get back here!” Violet yelled as her brother tried to run off. Growling angrily, she put a field across the hall in front of him, causing the speedster to bounce back when he hit it. “I want to talk to you!” 

Dash growled and tried to run again, but Violet was quicker - putting another shield around herself, her brother and Wilbur, who’d followed from a distance. 

“Wil, if you may?” 

With a pop, the trio were suddenly on the exposed roof of the POLE, overlooking the mountains, field and lake at the bottom. 

“Dash.” Violet said. “You can talk to me,” 

He didn’t say anything, but instead slowly trudged over to the edge of the roof and looked down. When Violet looked closer, she realized he was sniffling. 

“Why would they leave?!” He muttered. “Did they even care?!” 

“There are a lot of reasons…” Violet whispered. “They might have blamed us for their powers, or the Night offered them something they couldn’t get with us, or anything. There are millions of reasons why they left,” 

“But… I know betrayal is a thing… So why does it hurt so much?” 

“I know we’re supposed to be prepared for stuff like this, but… but Margo and Edith were still our friends, and you’re allowed to hurt,” 

Violet pulled Dash into a hug as he sniffed again, the tears finally streaming down his cheeks. Wilbur stayed back, watching the two siblings as they watched the sunset. 

“I’ll let you stay here to think, okay?” Violet said. “I won’t tell anyone where you are either,” 

“Doors right here when you’re ready,” Wilbur added. Violet took his hand and they teleported away, leaving Dash alone with his thoughts. 

He was mad about the betrayal, and he could probably fight them again when he needed to, but why was it that he missed Edith so much? 

“The team wasn’t supposed to find out about the girls,” Helen said. “It’s going to cause issues!” 

“It already has!” Mr Robinson answered. “They need to be told!” 

“If we do that, it will blow their cover,” Hiccup argued. “I’m sorry, but we have to give the girls time to finish their mission,” 

“They’re tough, and if things go wrong, they know how to get in contact with us,” Rapunzel added. 

“Margo said Pitch was watching her,” Jack said. “If it scared her enough to play spy, then something is going on. We need to trust her,” 

“I just don’t want them to get hurt,” Gru admitted. 

“Margo is a promising telepath, able to create strong mental shields and links with other people,” Merida stated. “Edith’s speed is also extraordinary, and if the girls needed ta’ escape, they’d be able to,” 

“Margo sends me regular updates,” Tooth said. “She just told me that something big is about to happen. Once we know more about the Nights plans, we can bring the girls back and let the of the team know,” 

“Also, Violet already knows,” Jack said, and everyone else at the table looked at him in disbelief. “What?” 

“How?” Bob demanded. 

“She knew something was up,” Jack explained. “And she’s a light sleeper. When Margo woke up and came to see us, Violet turned invisible and followed. She heard the whole plan,” 

“Then how do you know?” Hiccup asked. Jack just shrugged. 

“I can pick up when the air is different, so I talked to her the next morning. She knows the stakes, and she agreed to keep it a secret,” 

The others were about to respond when they were cut off by a knock on the door. Bunny walked over to open it, revealing a nervous Tip and tired looking Penny. 

“What do ye’ need sheilas?” 

“Tip needs to talk to Tooth about something with her powers,” Penny translated, even though she didn’t need to. “It’s different, but it's really strong,” 

“I guess I can leave to go do some testing,” Tooth fretted. “Is it another control issue?{ 

“Let me,” Merida said, rising from the table. “Ah’ll be taking two Omega’s out on a short mission. Tip, go get Riley. Then suit up,” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty: Archer’s Control

Archer took the Sleigh down at the edge of a town. It was higher up in the hills and seemed tucked out of the way, not as busy as San Fransokyo would be at the same time of night. 

“Where are we?” Kanjo asked. 

“Loch Alba,” Archer responded, voice level. “Ah grew up here,” 

Riley nodded sullenly, not even bothering to check with Tip. She could tell from her emotions that she felt the same way. Both girls were angry about being dragged on a side mission when they could have been working with the rest of the team to track down the Grus. 

“Ah understand that you’re angry, but ah need you two for this mission. Specifically you two,” 

“What is the mission?” Tip asked. 

“It's about control,” Merida responded. “Both of your powers require control,” 

The trio left the ship and moved into stealth mode, following Archer as she led them expertly around the town and to the top of a roof for a stakeout. There they waited another half hour until dark, where Archer turned to Kanjo. 

“Kanjo, Ah want you to reach out and find strong emotions, then tell me where they’re coming from,” 

Kanjo closed her eyes and put out a field, looking for something off in the sleepy little town. Suddenly, a huge spike of fear shot up on her radar. The blonde shot up and pointed down at a building off the street. 

“There!” She yelled as a window exploded. Riley stumbled backwards. “Oh no,” 

“Move in,” Archer ordered, firing a zipline arrow and sliding down. “Banshee, Ah donnae want you to use your sonic scream. Focus on hand to hand and your new power,” 

Banshee’s eyes widened nervously, but she nodded regardless. 

“Command them ta’ stop, but don’t catch Kanjo in it. Be precise,” Archer said, tapping the emblem on her chest, the suit rippling from black to her signature green-teal. She pulled an arrow from her quiver and nocked it, then ran into the building as a group of men in matching uniforms burst out of the windows. 

They wore the same uniforms of dark pants and jackets, each sliced with angry white tears like claw marks. 

“Could really use Wilbur right now,” Kanjo muttered, then put out a field that heightened the gang's emotions. Focusing on the ones with the most turmoil, she started to manipulate their feelings and trip them up. Two crumpled to the ground and started to fight against the migraines she caused. 

Banshee slid between two gang members as they moved forward. She used one’s shoulder as a brace to kick the first one down, then tried to knock the second away. He was physically stronger than her, and almost had the advantage, yanking her arm down to keep her down. 

“Stop moving,” Tip whispered, making eye contact with the thug. As she watched, the man’s eyes clouded over and he stopped, giving her enough time to flip him into the pavement. 

“Good job!” Riley called to Tip. “Keep ‘em busy, I’m going in!” 

She ran into the building, dropping the emotion field once she’d crossed the threshold. Banshee turned to the remaining three thugs and smiled, feeling the power of the siren song finally make sense in her head. 

“I said… freeze ,” 

Archer had sprinted up the stairs, focusing on the sounds of trapped civilians. They were faint over the sounds of fire and fighting, but her hearing was good enough to pick them up. 

She tore through the debris, ripping up broken beams or shoving past heavy furniture with ease. Merida mentally thanked whoever was in charge that none of the kids were around to see this, but she needed to be quick. She managed to tear open a broken doorway, revealing a group of trapped workers. 

She was about to help them zipline down from a window when the ceiling collapsed, threatening to crush them. Archer caught the broken beam, widening her stance and growling as the weight bared down. 

“Archer!” Kanjo yelped, running inside. Archer cut the blonde off before she could question her. 

“Calm the civilians and get them out of here,” She muttered. “Ah’m fine,” 

Kanjo put a calming shield over the citizens to clear their minds, then helped them towards a window. Archer let her take her bow and a zipline arrow from her hip quiver, and the empath was able to fire it (albeit a little sloppily) down to the opposite side of the street. 

“Civilians first,” Archer ordered, moving out from under the beam. She’d managed to move it to stabilize the roof above them. “Then we can track down the bears,” 

“Ah think we did good,” Merida said, sipping on her milkshake and smiling at the two girls across from her. After helping the citizens to safety and tracking down a few of the Bears who hadn’t escaped, the team had been ushered into a small twenty-four hour diner that Merida loved. 

“I didn’t know it would be that easy,” Tip said, now comfortable enough with her powers. After realizing it was her own mental block that caused them to be so unpredictable, the girl was able to mix both sign and speech when she spoke. “All I had to do was think about it!” 

“I still think I have a block,” Riley admitted, sipping on her own shake. “It’s really hard to do things without feeling like I’m crossing a line, but its all I can do,” 

“It could just be your age,” Merida said. “My powers didn’t fully work until a life or death situation. Besides, you're plenty powerful now,” 

“Yeah, emotions are the worst ,” Tip teased. 

“Shut up! Merida, you said you grew up here?” 

“Loch Alba,” The redhead smiled. “Most scottish town in Oregon, rivals in everything with Berk on the other side o’ the mountain,” 

“You don’t seem like you’d live here,” Tip muttered. “It's too quiet,” 

“It's really not,” Merida shrugged. “Besides from the actual animal issues in this area, we’ve got the old Viking-Scottish blood feud, and Mor’du to worry about,” 

“Mor’du?” 

“He’s the leader of the Bears,” Merida explained. “That gang we fought. Ah… Ah fought him when I first got my powers. It's how ah unlocked them. Hic and I were getting overwhelmed, and Ah hit Mor’du so hard ah thought he’d actually quit crime. Looks like ah was wrong though,” 

“Hiccup was there?” 

“What even are your powers?” 

Merida just laughed and winked at the two girls. 

“Y’know, we could stop in and visit my family if you donnae believe me,” She said. “My mum would love to meet you two,” 

“ Please !” Riley cried, throwing herself across the table. “My parents still don’t think I’m responsible enough to walk through San Fransokyo. If they had their way, they’d keep me locked up on the base all the time,” 

“My mom gets worried too,” Tip added. Merida just smiled. 

“Donnae you two have plenty ta do at the POLE?” She smirked. “Penny and Hiro for one…” 

“Stop!” Riley begged. “Please, please stop!” 

“I’ll tell you when you tell me what’s up with you and Hiccup,” Tip countered, then suddenly smirked. “How far down do the scales actually go?”

Merida choked on her milkshake. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty One: Nomanisan

Even though the Omega’s had progressed so well they could really go on most missions that came through the POLE alone, some were still ranked too high. That meant the Senior Supers took them, leaving the younger team behind as potential backup. 

This time, it was all of the senior supers in the Sleigh as they coasted over the ocean. The Big Four handled the ship itself, but Mr Incredible, Elastigirl, Frozone, Bunny, Gru and Cornelius were all seated and preparing themselves. 

“Getting close to Nomanisan, everyone prepare for drop,” Nightfury said from the head console. “Get ready,” 

“We won’t be gone long. Just overnight at the most,” Helen said. “You and Tooth are in charge,” 

“Why me?” Violet said. Her voice wasn’t whiny or unsure, more joking than anything. Helen felt her heart swell with pride at how much her daughter had grown over the past year. 

“You’re the oldest,” 

“By two months,” Violet reminded. “Then it’s Wil,” 

“I know,” 

“Are you sure you don’t want us to come along? We’ll stay on the ship,” Violet promised. 

“You guys don’t need to take any unnecessary missions,” Helen said. “This is just a rogue Omnidroid on a pacific island. We’ll be just fine on our own,” 

Violet nodded. She and Dash hugged their parents goodbye, then let them leave for the hangar. Helen glanced back and smiled. Dash’s recent growth spurt put him close to Violet’s chin, and even Jack-Jack looked bigger, although he could still be easily balanced on his sister's hip. 

“Good luck,” She smiled. 

The door to the sleigh pulled open, letting the wind inside to rustle the cabin. Nightfury shook his shoulders to loosen up his wings, then securely picked up Archer before leaping out of the plane. 

The ship's cameras showed the duo zooming towards the island, then slowing as Nightfury’s wings snapped out to catch the wind and glide down. A few seconds later, Archer engaged her flight suit. 

“Wait for the signal, then join us on the southwest part of the island,” The hero said. 

“Dad, are you sure this is a good idea?” Wilbur asked. “You haven’t done this before. The others have!” 

“What, you don’t want your old man to be a superhero too?” Cornelius joked, laughing despite Wilbur’s concerned expression. “I’ll be fine,” 

“Mom’s birthday is this weekend,” 

“I’ll be back in plenty of time. We won’t miss her party,” 

“If you do, Mom will kill both of us,” Wilbur smirked. “Just be careful please,” 

“Of course I will,” His dad promised. “Hey, when did you get so tall and grown-up?” 

“Signal received,” Bunny said. “Cornelius, Gru, land the ship but stay back until we finish this,” 

Elastigirl and Mr Incredible jumped out of the Sleigh first, Elastifigrl turning her body into a parachute. Solarflare and Frost picked up Bunny and Frozone, then flew out to join them. The plane door slid shut behind them. 

The team landed in the jungle, where they quickly met up with Nightfury and Archer. 

“Well, it’s certainly here,” The redhead said, gesturing with her chin at the clawed up trees and ground behind them. “Now we just have ta’ find it,” 

“Ah’ll be back soon, and ah’ll know if you skipped trainin’,” Merida joked. Both Tip and Riley smiled back. “Ah’m serious. All you need to do is stay aware,” 

“We know!” Riley said. “Now go! You’ll be late!” 

“The omnidroid should be here…” Nightfury muttered. “The trail ends,” 

“Why would it stop?” Mr Incredible asked. The younger hero shrugged. 

“I don’t know,” He admitted. “It’s not like it could-” 

“AMBUSH!” Solarflare screamed as the giant robot smashed through a patch of hidden jungle and attacked them. 

The heroes started to fight, but this robot was larger, stronger and definitely smarter than anything they’d faced before. A few smaller bots appeared, almost acting like snipers or probes. They swirled around the battlefield before zipping off in another direction. Afraid of giving away the teams position, Elastigirl, Frozone and Bunny gave chase after them. 

“We need to find a way to stop this!” Frost yelped.  

“Freeze it!” Nightfury yelled. “The joints!” 

“It's too hot in this freakin jungle! I don’t do well in humidity!” 

“There's a cave system, about a mile northeast,” Archer interrupted. “Ah donnae care if you melt Frostie, metal does the same!” 

Before Jack could reply, the Omnidroid smacked him out of the sky. He hit a nearby tree trunk, landing on the ground with a loud crack. 

Solarflare screamed and was over him a second. Her eyes glowed bright gold as she frantically used her hair to heal the damage and keep the omnidroid back. 

“Hiccup!” Archer yelled. “This seems like a good tim-” 

“Not yet!” The leader yelled. “Mr Incredible, I need you to distract it!” 

Mr Incredible lunged forward and grabbed ahold of one of the Omnidroid’s legs. He pulled back and swung it like a giant shot put, letting it go and sending it crashing into more trees.

The team raced after it, but the robot retracted its legs and started to roll after them. As the omnidroid chased down the team, the trees and jungle began to clear, revealing a large chasm that stretched across the island. 

Mr Incredible went over first, balling up to protect his head as he hit the ground below. Solarflare and Frost tried to use their powers against the robot, but it was too strong. It seemed focused on taking out Archer - who’d it deemed as the weakest link. 

The redhead put on an extra burst of speed and jumped over the edge of the cliff, the omnidroid close behind. Reaching out desperately, her fingers barely latched onto Nightfury’s as the robot followed. He caught her, and the two flew into the sky as the omnidroid plummeted into the caves below. 

Solarflare and Frost followed it, landing inside what looked like the inside of a volcano. Frost looked a little weak from the heat, but Mr Incredible and Solarflare were able to distract it. 

Solarflare - still pumped on adrenaline and sun energy - ripped out the top camera while Mr Incredible lunged for the bottom. Now blind, the robot staggered around and almost slipped into the bubbling lava. 

Nightfury and Archer arrived just in time to help shove the omnidroid into the lava with the rest of the team. As it disappeared into the fire, the five heroes panted and slouched against the cave wall. 

“I… never… wanna… do that… again,” Frost breathed. 

“I don’t think you’ll have to-” 

Nightfury was cut off as three figures appeared in the cave entrance. Before they could react, Elastigirl, Bunny and Frozone jumped forwards, sliding matching glowing blue goggles over the others' eyes. 

Hitting the ground, Nightfury lunged for his communicator. 

“Gru, Cornelius - get out, I repeat- GET OUT!” He yelled, just as the glasses slid over his eyes. 

As the senior super team rose up, bodies loose and unfocused as the hypnotizing goggles took effect, two more figures appeared at the cave entrance. 

“That was a perfectly good omnidroid,” Syndrome muttered. 

“Who cares, we’ve won,” Screenslaver laughed. The hypnotized heroes turned their attention towards their commander and the villain laughed. “Go get the last two,” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty Two: Double Agents

The day without the Senior Supers was pretty relaxed. The teens played around, went through their normal amount of training, then just mostly split off into their own groups to do whatever they wanted. 

Violet spent most of her day trying to keep Jack Jack entertained. The two year old was talkative, always running, and easily distracted. Violet was able to put him in a force field and let him run around like a giant hamster, which in turn gave her a chance to catch up on her reading. 

After lunch, Tooth joined her, bringing along her own daughter Babienne. Babi had been caught in the Omega Blast, but she was too young to join the team. Her mom had been slowly training her though, teaching her how to use her colorful feathery wings with the help of Nightfury. 

“You’re very good with your brother,” Tooth commented as Violet played with Jack Jack. The other girl shrugged, moving her hair aside so the toddler didn’t grab onto it. 

“Mom and Dad get busy with the hero stuff sometimes,” She said. “Also with life stuff. I don’t mind though, I like my brothers,” 

“It prepares you for your own family, if you want one,” Tooth said. “Although I don’t suggest being a teen mom with superpowers,” 

“Powers are genetic too,” Violet mumbled. “At least with us,” 

“No, I think it's across the board. Babi was born before I had my powers, so you have to remove her from the lineup. Your family had two supers, but Tip only had one,” 

“Mama look!” Babi interrupted. The little girl was floating about two feet off the ground, wings beating at hummingbird speed to keep her in the air. 

“Good job!” Tooth cheered. She stood up and picked her daughter up to put on her hip. “I’ll go start dinner if you want to find and tell the others,” 

“Okay,” Violet smiled. 

The team made and ate dinner, but the Senior Supers still didn’t return. They stayed up until midnight waiting, even though some of the younger kids drifted off to sleep in the lounge. The older ones went through a movie marathon, but eventually had to tap out before the last one finished. 

When the teens woke up the next morning, the others still weren’t back. 

“Didn’t mom say they’d be home by now?” Dash asked as he and Violet handed up breakfast. His sister just shrugged. 

“I’m sure the mission is just going a little long,” Tooth said. “They’ll be home soon,” 

“If my dad’s first superhero mission goes dramatically wrong then I’m going to break something,” Wilbur yelled from his spot on the couch. The TV in front of him was playing Saturday morning cartoons, and both Emma and Babi were engrossed in the show while they shoveled in cereal. 

“Who’s here today?” Riley asked. “I’m picking up less emotions,” 

“Um… Sandy and North were at Robinson Industries yesterday, but they’ll be coming back soon,” Penny rattled off. “My dad went to visit mom, but Dr Calico’s here. Tadashi’s here,” 

“My mom was going to visit, but she got a new job interview and had to cancel,” Tip added. 

The teens finished breakfast and split off again. Tooth offered to handle Jack-Jack so Violet had more time to herself, which the teen was thankful for. 

They met up to play a quick training game before lunch, then checked the logs for any sign of the senior supers. Still nothing. No check ins, no messages, just radio silence. The last gps location showed them over an island in the pacific, but that had been last night. 

“Think they’re okay?” Tip asked. The others shrugged, but she could tell they were just as nervous as she was. 

“Are you sure about this?” Tip asked as Penny opened up the computers in the briefing rooms. “Maybe they’re on their way back,” 

“I just have this feeling that they’re in trouble,” Penny muttered, typing and scrolling through the various programs. “Hey what's this?” 

Tip leaned over as Penny clicked on an unfamiliar set of files. Instead of opening like the others, a new password slot appeared. Penny frowned, then typed something in. 

“Dad gave me an override code,” She muttered. The screen loaded for a moment, then opened. “This is so weird,” 

The files had collected information from the reports on the Robinson Industries explosion, to the omega super’s files, to other mission reports. It was too scattered to be one file, and it looked like someone had picked over the bigger files to steal information. It covered everyone inside the POLE. 

“What?” Tip muttered as the files and pictures continued to cycle through on the screens above them. Videos of the explosions, a weird shape through smoke, a police report for Jackson Overland, Merida with her face covered in scratches and cuts, Hiccup before and after the serum, Dr Moone. There were ones of Rapunzel and her healing hair, security camera footage showing the teens in the employee’s lounge and one of Wilbur following his dad down to the lab. Tadashi, Hiro and Riley all working on Baymax, complete with the robots stats and blueprints. 

“Wait… someone not here…” Penny realized. “There's nothing on Cali-” 

“You girls should have stayed with the others,” Dr Calico snarled. 

“No….” Penny breathed. “But they trusted you, my dad trusted you!” 

“Sean never knew when to leave well enough alone. He’s the one who gave you that access code, didn’t he?” 

Before Penny or Tip could answer or really finish processing what was happening, Calico pulled something from his coat pocket and lunged at the girls. Dodging out of the way and pulling Penny with her, Tip recognized it as the same type of taser baton Tortazo used. 

Calico turned towards them and swung, but Tip used her sonic scream to push him back. Penny lunged for the intercom system in by the door, frantically pushing the button and hitting the ‘everywhere’ function. 

“EMERGENCY! CALICO’S A SPY! EVERYONE GET OU-AHHHH!” 

The taser connected with her back before she could finish the warning. 

“EMERGENCY! CALICO’S A SPY! EVERYONE GET OU-AHHHH!” 

Scattered around the POLE, the various supers and scientists heard Penny scream before a loud thump. More fighting in the background, then Tip’s sonic scream and another pained yell. 

Emma and Tooth locked eyes as the latter grabbed her daughter close. 

The Hamada’s and Wilbur stopped their work on their projects in the lab. 

Violet, Dash and Riley stopped playing their game in the kitchen. 

Calico yelled into a comm that wasn’t the one he’d been given by the Big Four. 

“Pitch, I’ve been compromised,” Calico hissed, voice suddenly filling The Nights lair. Everyone in the warehouse stopped, turning towards their leader as he addressed the situation. 

“Is that Dr Calico?” Edith hissed to Margo. “I thought he was in the POLE?!” 

“Execute the contingency plan,” Pitch told Calico. “We’ve prepared for this possibility,” 

There was silence, then a buzz as Calico replied. 

“Final bombs will go off in ten minutes,” The mad scientist smirked. 

“We shall send someone to retrieve you shortly,” Pitch responded. Gothel bounced and started to giggle in her own weird, twisted way. The other villians started to laugh or cheer, and Margo and Edith stopped in their tracks. 

“Agnes is still inside the POLE,” Margo whispered. Edith’s eyes widened before zipping around the room like she was weighing her odds. 

Antonio stopped and quickly glanced at the sisters, remembering the stories about their youngest sister. Before his father could notice and his conscience could catch up, he moved back. 

Across the room, Yokai looked up from his seat and saw both exchanges. Unbeknownst to the others, he had the same doubts. A group of supervillains might have sounded like a good idea at the beginning, but they clearly didn’t share the limits he thought they did. 

Pitch turned to the group. 

“Mindness, take Yokai, Tortazo, and Hastemaker with you to pick up Calico. You should know the route to take,” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty Three: Countdown

Ten Minutes: 

Once Calico got the go ahead from Pitch, he triggered the first explosive, located in his lab. It was small, really just a way of setting the fuses for the others he’d hidden throughout the compound. 

Calico dodged Penny’s attack, sliding to the ground as the first bomb detonated. The building shook, and Calico growled. He had to get out soon, or risk being blown up with the rest of the teens. 

“What did you do?!” Penny demanded. “Are you trying to kill us?!” 

“Yes!” Calico snapped, and Tip sonic screamed again, knocking him back. Penny grabbed the intercom again, letting her girlfriend shield her. 

“THE BUILDING IS GOING DOWN!” She yelled. “GET OUT NOW!” 

The first bomb exploded. 

Nine Minutes: 

The first bomb exploded. 

Everyone was knocked off their feet as the building shook again. Riley was thrown from her chair and smacked her head into the ground, slipping from the pain when she tried to get back up. 

“Get to the hangar!” Violet yelled as she and Dash climbed up. “Go! Now!” 

“Where are you going?!” He asked, voice high with panic. 

“I HAVE TO GET JACK-JACK!” Violet screamed. Their brother was napping in his room in their parents apartment, which was several floors up. 

“Agnes too!” Dash yelped, then scooped a still dazed Riley into his arms and took off running towards the hangar. Violet ran in the other direction, heading for the stairs. 

Halfway to the hangar, Dash ran into Hiro, Tadashi and Wilbur. The speedster skidded to a stop, facing the others. 

“We need to get out,” He said. “Wilbur, we’re still an extraction team. The others are too far away,” 

Wilbur nodded as Dash handed Riley over to Hiro. The blonde girl stirred a little, but was still mostly dazed. With a pop, Wilbur had teleported away while Dash sped off towards Tooth and the others. 

“Get to the hangar, get a plane, and get out!” Tadashi yelled, turning back. “I’m going to get Baymax!” 

“No!” Hiro argued. 

“Baymax can help,” Tadashi said. “We’ll get out, I swear,” 

And he turned and ran back into the labs. Hiro watched his brother go, feet frozen to the floor. It was only when Riley moved that he remembered the mission and sprinted into the hangar. He boarded the last transport in working shape and started it up, heart sinking when he realized the systems were already damaged from the bomb. 

“We are not  dying here!” He yelled and used his powers to reconstruct the engines. 

Wilbur teleported into Tooth’s room to find absolute chaos. 

The bomb had gone off closer to them, causing the roof to collapse a little and start fires around them. Emma was doing her best to stop them, but the heat was obviously getting to her. 

“Take Babienne!” Tooth ordered. Wilbur grabbed the little girl and teleported back to the hangar. He quickly loaded her into the plane and went back for Tooth. 

The second bomb exploded just as he landed. 

Before the rest of the roof could cave in, Wilbur grabbed Toothiana and teleported to the hangar as Dash ran through the fire and grabbed Emma. 

Emma almost passed over from overexertion and heatstroke, but Dash avoided the fires the best he could. As they wound their way back towards the hangar, Emma used her powers to make slides that let them skip the stairs. 

Finally Dash set the younger Overland down in the jet, then turned back to the door. Where was Violet? 

Five Minutes: 

The third bomb went off.  

Calico had escaped the briefing room, but Penny and Tip hadn’t let him off so easily. Both girls were scraped up, but the mad scientist was definitely worse for wear. 

Once the bombs started going off, Penny had mentally commanded her animals to get to the hangers. She checked in with Bolt while Tip dragged her along, and all three had made it. The dog was upset she wouldn’t let him help, but Penny blocked out his worry. 

She had to handle this on her own. 

“Calico’s gone,” Tip coughed, smoke now filling the halls. “I can't scream anymore either. The smoke will hurt my lungs if I don’t bring the roof down on us first,” 

“Where are we?” Penny asked. “The hangar should be here somewhere!” 

“I think the door collapsed,” Tip said, pointing to the smoky outline of what was the sliding door. “We’re trapped,” 

“No!” Penny yelled, slamming her hand on the metal and recoiling with a scream as heat seared into her palms. “No!” 

“We can’t get out,” Tip coughed, sinking to the ground. “We’d need someone small to even fit and hit the button,” 

“S-small?” 

Tip coughed again, and the two girls slipped down to their stomachs to try and avoid the smoke. Penny screwed her eyes shut. If the hangar was just beyond the door, that meant… 

“Bolt.” Penny yelled into her head. “I need you!” 

There was faint barking from behind the door, then a sudden whoosh of fresh air as the hangar door slid open. Penny looked at Tip and nodded, then covered her ears as an earslipping bark filled the hall and sent the debris bending back and out of the way, clearing a path. 

Bolt stood in the doorway, then dashed forward at the sight of his owner. Penny gripped his collar and pulled Tip close, and let the god pull them out into the open. Within seconds, the other members of the team were helping them into the escape jet. 

“We need to leave!” Tooth cried. “Now!” 

“We don’t have Violet!” Dash protested. 

“We don’t have Violet?!” Wilbur bellowed angrily. 

“Go without us!” Dash told Emma. Just as he spoke, one of the two remaining entrances exploded into fire. 

“Tadashi!” Hiro yelled, then leapt out of his seat and went running towards the hall. 

“NO!” Riley screamed, tearing out of her seat after him. Tooth screamed for them to come back, and in the chaos, Dash and Wilbur met eyes and nodded before the latter grabbed the younger boy and they teleported away. 

Four Minutes: 

Wilbur landed in Agnes’s room, then sprinted out into the hall when he noticed it was empty. Another bomb went off, but he couldn’t remember how many there had been. The hallway was already on fire, but he spotted Violet’s shield in the middle. 

He teleported inside, relieved to see both Jack-Jack and Agnes with the older girl. Violet held her brother on her hip, and both their clothes were singed and faces dirty from the soot. She already looked exhausted. 

“We need to go!” He said. Violet coughed and nodded, then willed more power into the shield as a fireball hit dangerously close to the edge. 

“Can you teleport us all?!” She asked. Wilbur closed his eyes, but his reserves were sapped. 

“I don’t know!” He yelled frantically. Agnes tugged at his pant leg and he picked her up. “I might not be able to control where we go, or how many people come with!” 

“Then we can’t risk it,” Violet said. Wilbur met her gaze, then realized with a start that her eyes were brimming with tears. 

They were going to die. 

Three Minutes: 

“Tadashi! Tadashi!” Hiro roared. “TADASHI!” 

The smoke was getting too thick to move through, much less see. Hiro could feel the heat of fires around him, but he couldn’t tell where they were. 

“Hiro!” 

“TADASHI!” 

Riley slammed into him from behind, and the two almost tumbled onto the ground. Hiro grabbed her at the last second, righting both of them. 

“We h-have to g-go!” She coughed. “Now!” 

“No!” 

“Hiro!” Riley’s eyes were full of tears, but he couldn't tell if they were from the smoke or emotion. “Please!”

“I can’t leave him!” 

“He’ll be fine!” Riley protested. “He has Baymax!” 

“You don’t know anything!” Hiro yelled back, anger clouding his judgement. “You’re just a kid!” 

“I’m sorry,” Riley whispered, then yanked Hiro’s head down to meet her forehead. When they connected, she released an emotion wave that washed over him and pushed everything out of his brain, so much that Hiro couldn’t remember his own name, only that the girl in front of him knew what to do. “We need to get out of here,” 

Hiro let himself be blankly led out of the hall and back onto the ship. 

Tears streaming down her face, Riley commanded him to fly the jet out of the hangar and away from the POLE. 

Two Minutes: 

Trying to conserve energy, Violet pulled the force field in a little tighter, the four inside squeezing together. Another bomb had gone off, but they had no idea how much time was left. 

“VI!” 

Dash appeared at the end of the hall, blond hair streaked with soot, but his face sank into a relieved smile when he saw his sister. Violet let him inside the shield, then glared. 

“I told you to get to the hangar!” 

“I did!” Dash protested. “Then I came back!” 

“Did everyone else get out?” She asked, this time addressing Wilbur. 

“Tadashi went after Bayamx, but they’ll be fine,” He said quickly. “I told Emma to leave without us,” 

“You should both be on that plane!” Violet almost shrieked. “I could protect the three of us!” 

“No way!” Wilbur yelled.