Parr for the Course
By Shahrezad1
Summary: "When you got down to it, they were only human." Unrelated glimpses into each of the Parr's lives.
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.
Chapter 1: Jack
Jackson Parr at the age of ten was everything a kid should be. He was optimistic, creative, and full of energy.
But above all, he was insatiably curious.
It had all started just a month before, the 'Curious Happenstance of Curiously Mysterious Curiosity' (as he defined it within his ten-year old mind) occurring, and consequently opening up a whole world of questions.
The family had been sitting down to eat, Violet visiting from college and Dash present for once instead of off 'gallivanting' (Jack's Mom's words) with friends or working through his Senior-year activities. They had been eating meatloaf, of all things, when the stories had begun innocently enough; each of the older children asking their parents just exactly how their powers had first appeared.
First there was Dash. He'd been running since the very beginning, in the womb. They had all laughed and joked about how much more it would have hurt if Mom hadn't been the RubberQueen that she was, the little boy running right through his own birth.
Then came stories of Violet. They hadn't known she could turn invisible until she was in kindergarten, the sudden pressure and embarrassment of being in school for the first time and around other kids turning her instantly see-through, until she learned how to control it. The little boy could almost imagine the teacher's amazement as she was confronted not a dark-haired child, but a walking set of bodiless clothes, before falling into a dead faint.
Sitting expectantly, Jack had waited on the edge of his seat for the laughter to continue, the stories to include him in a big ball of collective mirth. But when his parents had paused, then moved deliberately on to other subjects, the little boy couldn't stop himself from speaking, the disappointment and immediate feelings of rejection furrowing dark auburn brows.
"Wait! What about me? How did I get mine?"
His parents had blanched and shared a dubious glance before his mother had finally spoken. Delicately, as though walking through a china shop. One full of easily frightened cats.
"You were two, and you were being babysat, Jack. For a long time we actually thought you didn't have any powers, until just after you turned two."
What? That was it?! Affronted, the boy opened his mouth to demand an explanation, when he suddenly received The Look.
Every child is familiar with The Look. It was the trademark expression of Moms everywhere. The 'You want to know what about where babies come from?!,' look, as well as the 'Do I need to talk to your father about this?' one.
He recognized it from how many times it had been used on his older brother over the years.
"Jackson Nathaniel Parr…we'll talk about it later."
Ah, man, the full name. Realizing that he must really be in more trouble than he'd thought, the child settled back into his seat with a petulant scowl. Although he couldn't for the life of him figure out what he'd done wrong.
His brother had caught the expression, as well as Jack's confusion, and sent him a sympathetic look in response. Ruffling Jack's cow licked auburn hair easily with one hand, the 18-year old had bent to whisper a platitude in his ear.
"Don't worry about it, kiddo. I'll tell you later."
But he never had. And here Jack was, with the perfect opportunity to confront his older brother, nearly a month later.
To put it bluntly, Dash was stuck babysitting. Not that Jack needed a sitter, really, he rationalized since he was ten and all, but his parents just couldn't quite get past the idea that he was their 'Baby.' Being eight years younger than your closest sibling tended to do that to you. A problem that none of his friends seemed to have to deal with, being mostly middle children in fairly normal families.
Then again, they also didn't have any problems with retaining their shape for extended periods of time, nor did they have a talent for breaking things. So Jackson supposed he could understand his parents' reasoning, but it still irked him (his word for the day, bestowed upon him by his sister via phone) to the core.
Today, however, he would utilize it as an opportunity.
And so it was that the plan became set, the victim completely unaware.
Dash stood slouching beside the phone, medium build just on the side of lankiness as she was stuck listening to their mother natter on about instructions and bedtimes. There was even a point, Jack noted as he watched with his head sticking halfway through the ceiling, that the teenager moved to mock her words with a finely-placed hand, fingers pinched to resemble a mouth constantly talking, duck-like.
It was only as the older youth finally hung up the phone with one last eye-roll, that the metamorph struck.
Almost literally, as the case may be, the elementary school student dropping straight through the ceiling and to the ground below, landing with ease directly in front of his brother's feet.
The effect was instantaneous, the teenage-almost-adult letting out a wild scream of surprise before stifling it with a scowl, cool teenager façade slicking the shock back the same way the teen slicked back his hair.
"Hey, Dash! Do you wanna play Chutes and Ladders with me?"
"Not if it involves me having to chase you down the drain pipes again," his brother shot him a pointed look.
"Aaaaah. Well, fine, what about Monopoly?"
"You set fire to that game board, remember?"
"That was not my fault! How was I to know that me getting angry was my trigger to burst into flames?"
Dash didn't believe his kid brother's look of virtue for a second.
"Right."
The ten-year old huffed in response, petulance making him pout indignantly, arms crossed over his tiny chest, "fine. If you won't play with me, you could always tell me a story."
"What kind of story?" Dash was clearly distracted. Jack could see that the Senior's aim was their family computer, bought just a few months ago with the aim of using it for business and school purposes. Instead Dashiell tended to use it for messaging purposes, many times leaving Jack to his own devices.
Which gave the child an idea…
"Weeeell…you could always tell me about how my powers first appeared," the seemingly innocent sentence came complete with a grinning, toothy smile and wiggling eyebrows.
The teen froze.
"Jack, you know I can't--."
"Or you can always tell me about your pen-pal in Hawaii! Then I can share it with Mom and Dad--I think they'd like that one."
Complete childlike purity clashed immediately with righteous indignation, "you wouldn't…"
"Lilo, I think her name was. You left the computer on one time when you were in the bathroom," the tiny redhead smiled slyly, "and I think I remember her saying something about being friends with 'legal aliens,' or something…?"
He apparently would.
The wry, twisted look remained irritated, but a slight dose of admiration suddenly colored the youth's features, "training to become a villain, are we?" A smile softened the blow, making sure to let his younger brother know that he was only teasing.
"Not if you tell me what happened. Then I won't have to keep doing evil things," stubborn eyes of light blue met his brother's and Dash couldn't help but laugh, even if it was in resignation, hand scratching wearily at the blonde hair he'd only just slicked back.
"Alright! Fine, I'll tell you, Squirt. What do you want to know?"
Suddenly Jack was across the room, teleporting without thought so that he was standing directly before his older brother and long-time idol. Eyes shining amid messy auburn hair, just a shade darker than their uniforms.
"Tell me everything. Please. Why won't Mom and Dad talk about me getting my powers? And what happened that makes them so worried and sad sometimes?"
Sighing, Dashiell Parr couldn't help the melancholy smile that came to his lips, "well, it's a bit of a long story. You might want to sit down."
"'Kay."
Crouching low within the computer chair, hands clasped together, Dash began the story. Wetting his lips as he searched for somewhere to begin.
"You see, it all started on Mom and Dad's wedding day…"