SYNDROME'S STORY
Buddy Pine was walking home one day from the grocery store. His mom had asked him to run a few errands for him. When he had whined about it, his mom had insisted that he needed the exercise.
So here he was, out walking the streets. At first he had been worried about going out on his own for the first time, but now he felt more relaxed – more controlled. For once he actually felt like he wasn't a goof-up.
He had never fit in with the other kids at his school. When he had tried to be cool, to fit in with the others, he had just made a major fool of himself. Ever since then he had stayed to himself.
Suddenly, he thought he heard a rumbling. A large, sleek, sphere-like robot, with a place for someone to control it from the inside, was tumbling down the street. A man with purple skin was inside.
Buddy tried to recall. Hadn't he seen that man before? Oh yeah… on the news! He had also seen him on a wanted poster. And there was another man pursuing him in a sleek car.
The man inside the car was wearing a blue and black suit. It was a Super! Cool! As the robot kept moving down the street, the man clicked a button on his car and he was jettisoned out of his car and flying through the air towards the robot. A tentacle from it deflected the Super and he flew backwards to the pavement. Buddy cringed. That had to hurt.
Suddenly, the robot moved down the street Buddy was on. A tentacle shot out and reached for Buddy. He ran as fast as he could down the street, but to no avail. The robot had him. Buddy screamed as he was raised up above the ground.
Suddenly, a blast seemed to rock the robot. The tentacle slowly fell and Buddy touched the ground without getting hurt. Buddy looked to see what happened. The Super had saved him. Buddy's grin stretched as far as it could go as the black-and-blue clad Super delivered a punch that shattered the wiring inside.
The robot started to send electric pulses through it's internal mechanism. The super punched through the glass dome on the top and grabbed the super-villain. He jumped away, with the villain in his arms, as the robot exploded.
As crowds cheered on the Super, Buddy asked a man nearby a question. "Who is this guy?"
"He's a Super. His name is Mr. Incredible." Said the man.
As the crowds cheered the Super – Mr. Incredible – Buddy thought to himself. He saved me. Looks like I've got a new hero – Mr. Incredible!
Buddy was still thinking about the man who had saved his life the day before. He couldn't help it. He was so cool. He had Super powers, he was brave, he was handsome, and he had saved his life. What more could he want? He had almost forgotten about sitting on the spinning wheel ride at the school playground.
Suddenly, Buddy started spinning and he was suddenly jerked. He fell off and skidded into the sand. He spat sand out of his mouth as he stared at the large towering figure over him. It was 6th grader Bison Jones. Not many people knew the 6th grade bully's first name, so they called him Bison. Frankly, Buddy thought it was a weird nickname to have.
"Ha, ha! Lookie here, little Buddy, stuck in the sand." Bison taunted.
"Cut it out, Bison." Buddy remarked.
"Oh really? Who's going to make me?" asked Bison, before kicking some sand into Buddy's face. Buddy grunted and tried to shield his face with his hands.
"Hey, stop it!" Buddy cried, trying to get up. Bison grabbed his arms and lifted him through the air. He dropped him onto the spinning wheel ride and started grabbing the rail and making it spin. Bison let go and Buddy spun around and around until he fell off and felt dizzy.
"STOP IT!" Buddy yelled.
"Or what?" asked Bison. Buddy got up this time without Bison hurting him.
"Or I'll…" Buddy said, making a fist.
"Punch me? Yeah, right. You are so pathetic, Buddy." Said Bison.
Buddy lost control and slammed his fist into Bison's nose. Buddy beamed. That was the coolest thing he had ever done. The bully clutched his nose and yelled in pain. Blood seeped out. Suddenly, Buddy realized what he had done. He ran out of the school playground as the teachers came to help Bison.
'Why on earth did I ever do that? What has changed since Friday?' Buddy thought. He tried to figure out what, but he came back to once answer. 'Mr. Incredible! He must have boosted my confidence. This is so cool. I can do anything I want now that I have Mr. Incredible's bravery!'
Buddy Pine sat in his room, working on the newest modifications to his rocket boots. It had been 2 months since the day he first met Mr. Incredible, and his room was now a shrine for him, with autographs scattered across the walls. But Buddy was not happy now.
He had been caught doing things he shouldn't have done in the past few weeks, because Buddy thought he could get away with anything. He had stolen a few posters and newspapers, along with various Mr. Incredible items.
He had been caught the day before, and was grounded in his room. But now, as he slipped on his rocket boots and homemade Super suit, Buddy had a plan. He was going to leave this life forever and join Mr. incredible. His dad had left 3 months ago, and mom was always a wreck, so nothing to lose there.
He had no friends at school, and he was starting to flunk 5th grade. He had nothing more to go for here. Mr. Incredible was the only thing left. Buddy started up the gears for his rocket boots and blasted out the window for the first time ever. Goodbye old home. Buddy Pine was no more. Incrediboy had begun his reign of justice.
Buddy watched as Mr. Incredible blasted down the street in the Incredibile. As Mr. Incredible left, he snuck into the passengers seat. This would work for sure, and Mr. Incredible would take him to fame and glory. He had to! He was his number one fan!
But minutes later, he was being ejected out of the seat. 'Oh I see. Smart boy, Mr. Incredible. You don't think I have what it takes. Well, anything you can do, I can do just the same. I'll show you! I'll stop a bad guy by sunset!'
Buddy followed closely behind as Mr. Incredible stopped a man's suicide and found Bomb Voyage. Buddy figured this was as good a time as any to jump in the way.
But this time, Buddy was left in a police car, betrayed by Mr. Incredible. His hero had turned against him, and this time, he was going to pay. He stopped a bad guy and was being brought home in a police car.
"You are in big trouble, son." The officer said.
"For what, trying to be a hero?" Buddy asked, bitterly.
"You watch your tongue, boy. And leave the hero business to the Supers." The officer said.
"I am a Super." Buddy said.
"What's your power?" the officer asked, amused.
"I can hold a grudge forever, and I will." Buddy said, before sulking into his seat. Silence plagued the car for the rest of the drive home. Buddy was sent back up to his room and was grounded for double the original time period.
Buddy vowed right then and there Mr. Incredible would pay. As it turns out, you can't trust anyone. Especially not your heroes. Buddy took down the Mr. Incredible poster from his room and grabbed a dart, before throwing it to the frame. The whole glass covering shattered into hundreds of little pieces, and all that remained was the poster.
Angrily, Buddy crept downstairs and stole a match, lighting the Mr. Incredible poster into flames. He then tossed it into the fireplace, vowing that Mr. Incredible would have a fiery demise.
Mr. Incredible would die.
Buddy strapped on his rocket boots, and bitterly gazed back at his room. Goodbye old house. Goodbye old family. Goodbye old life. Buddy fired up his rocket boots after hitting a button. Fire smoked from the bottoms and he slowly levitated into the air. He flew out the window, vowing never to return back to this town.
He flew around and found a large warehouse on the outskirts of town. He landed there and walked inside. Many flammable chemicals were being processed, and radioactivity was beaming in between two posts. It went out from one side, and in the other. Then it was sent back out to the original one, where it was sucked up. No one would ever think to look for him here. Buddy grabbed a large blue piece of paper from a table nearby and started sketching stuff down in the white pen nearby.
He drew a circle on the page and started sketching on the page, drawing the image of the robot that had captured him when he had first met Mr. Incredible. Buddy paused for a moment, staring down at his artwork, and sighed. He had always been the best artist in school, but somehow, that was considered geeky to some kids. Just another scar on his reputation.
Suddenly, he got an idea. Buddy took out another sheet and redrew the picture, except taking out the command console. He programmed more arms on it and sketched the inner wirings, specially detailing every cord and it's name. He kept drawing on this project for hours until he had come up with an ultimate robot. Now it just needed a catchy name. Suddenly, he had it!
He faintly scribbled down THE OMNIDROID in the top right corner of his blueprint. The plan was flaw-proof. Yes… this was how Mr. Incredible would die. Buddy just had to build it now. He decided to make a mini model, and took a pece of scrap metal on the floor and twisted it into a circular shape and paced it vertically. He took another and made another circle and looped it horizontally on the original circle. He took some glass and placed it over the open spots, soon creating a sphere. He left a hole open on top, for him to control from the inside once the big model was created, and slowly thought of where he could find spare wiring.
He decided to dismantle the radioactive machine. But without proper protection, it could kill him. He grabbed some old clothes from a dumpster nearby, and stitched them together with glue. He felt uncomfortable wearing a suit that was only glued together, but he was never good at sewing.
He donned the suit, and took a mask that you would normally use for welding and put it on. He was upset his hair wasn't covered, but he hadn't been able to find a hat. Buddy carefully approached, the pressure growing, and took off one of the covering to the machine. He reached for a wire in the machine and yanked. Suddenly, the radioactive glow expanded and veered out of control, burning the warehouse. Buddy screamed in agony.
In that moment, Buddy had died, and Syndrome had been born.
About one-fifth of a mile away, on a tall hillside, a young girl about age 12, saw the explosion down below at the warehouse, as the light spilled out. She was on a picnic with her family, against her will. She wanted to do something fun and exciting, and now might be her chance. Her nickname was Mirage. She didn't like her real name, so she never told anyone.
"Mom, can I go exploring. I won't go too far, I promise!" she asked, wanting to explore the warehouse. The glow had stopped now.
"Well, okay. But stay out of trouble." Her mom said. Mirage grinned mischievously, as the word 'trouble' was all in perspective. Besides, the glowing had stopped. What danger could there be? She ran down the hillside and headed down towards the warehouse. It would be a while until they noticed she was gone.
She pulled back the door to the warehouse and saw a broken machine that was barely sizzling, and a boy about a little younger than her was injured on the ground, his ridiculous outfit in pieces. Luckily for her, the costume was over his clothes, so he wasn't without clothes. She nudged him carefully. Was he dead? The boy didn't stir.
Mirage thought to herself. The explosion must have made his hair stick out like a member of a punk band. Either that, or he had some really strong hair gel. She then kicked the boy square in the head. The boy leaped up, grabbing his throbbing head. "Ow!" he cried. Mirage simply shrugged her shoulders as he looked at her.
"What did you do that for?" he cried.
"I thought you were dead." She replied.
"I wish. Being dead probably wouldn't hurt this much." He said, rubbing his aching head.
"Look, I can kill you if you want…" Mirage started. Buddy jumped up, away from her.
"No! Actually, I- I'm fine. Living sounds pretty good right now, actually." Said the boy. Mirage rolled her eyes. He still hadn't even asked who she was.
Suddenly, it dawned on the boy. "Okay, so who are you?"
"Man, are all men this ignorant?" Mirage asked.
"Hey, listen. I asked you a question." Said the boy.
"I'm Mirage." She said.
"Mirage…" the boy started, wondering what her last name was.
"Just Mirage."
"Okay, then."
"You got a name? Or do you just let people call you what they want on the street?"
"Yeah. It's… um, it's… Syndrome!" he said, obviously ad-libbing.
"I am assuming you don't have a last name, since you didn't say anything." She said.
"Hey, I'll tell you what I want when I want. And I don't have to tell you my last name is Pine, for that matter!" he said, obviously not even thinking.
"Riight." Mirage said, rolling her eyes sarcastically. This kid had obviously gotten a few screws knocked loose during the explosion. That's when she noticed he wasn't paying attention to her anymore. He was working on a little gadget, applying some wires.
"What are you doing?" she asked, curiously. Syndrome didn't look at her.
"None of your beeswax." He rudely replied. He wrote a few numbers and letters down on a sheet of paper. Mirage couldn't even understand them. Had this kid skipped a few grades?
"What are you working on?" she asked.
"Quiet." He shushed her. She studied some more as he fiddled on a controller.
"What's that?" she asked.
"You know, you really can't shut up, can you?" he rudely said. Mirage took this personally and took the blueprint from him.
"Hey!" he cried, as she held it slightly out of his reach. "Okay, okay. I'll show you my project."
"Yay!" she excitedly cried, giving him back his plans. He took a little Lego guy from his pocket and placed it inside the mini-model. He pressed a few buttons on his control. Nothing.
"You sure you're playing with a full deck of cards?" Mirage checked. Suddenly, the little circle device moved one of it's claws. Syndrome got a wide grin on his face and Mirage's eyes opened wide. Syndrome clicked another button and the robot lifted it's claw and slowly walked away. The claw then slammed down on the table.
"It's perfect!" he cried, before turning off the robot.
"Um, it's just a little toy." She said. Syndrome glared at her.
"Mirage!" her mom cried out. Mirage's eyes opened wide.
"Please, you've got to help me. I don't want to leave yet!" Mirage pleaded.
"Well, I do want you to leave. Now." Syndrome said.
"Come on! I'm going to be grounded for infinity if mom finds me here." Mirage cried.
"I missed the part where that's my problem." Syndrome angrily replied.
"Look, boy. I have your last name, and the location of your hideout. You let my mom take me home, and I'll have your mom coming this way before you know it." Mirage said. Syndrome's eyes opened wide and motioned her to hide behind a giant chemical container. It was wide enough to hide them. Through the murky green water, the kids could see Mirage's mom poking her head in, and then leaving.
Before Syndrome knew it, Mirage had offered to be Syndrome's helper in exchange for that. And that's how they met. But Syndrome now was determined to build his dream droid, and it was going to be perfect!
4 years later…
Syndrome was working on the finishing touches to the Omnidroid. It had taken a long time, but now his dream could become a reality. Syndrome started to take off using his rocket boots, but then realized that the radioactivity and electricity still sparked from there. Plus, it was also easily flammable.
"What's wrong?" Mirage asked, from her desk nearby.
"Nothing. Why would you assume that?" he asked.
"Because your hovering over the hole on the top of the Omnidroid, but you're not going in." she replied.
"Just get back to your computer." Syndrome said.
"You're scared about the radioactivity in there." She said, knowingly. She still hadn't turned from her computer screen yet.
"It's been 5 years. It should be gone!" He said.
"So why won't you go in?" she asked. Buddy started to reply, but then he realized he couldn't win this time.
"There's a woman out there." She said.
"I don't want to get help from an old lady." He said.
"She's a world renowned fashion designer."
"So what are we going to go do? Get some fashion tips? Learn how to build clothes?"
"No…"
"See? I—"
"She'll do that for us."
Mirage was driving the car through the streets of Metroville. Syndrome reclined in his chair and rested his feet upon the dashboard. Mirage glared at him and Syndrome just looked away. As if it wasn't painful enough he had to return to this town. A security guard appeared at the screen.
"Name?" he asked.
"We have a reservation. I'm Mirage." She said. The guard opened the gates and they drove in.
"And I'm Syndrome!" Syndrome called out to the screen after they were already way past the gate. Unfortunately, no one heard him because the screen had blacked out by this time.
The two teenagers walked down the long corridor to see Edna, who was relaxing in the swimming pool. Syndrome wasn't sure that he was ready for this, but Mirage seemed to have it under control.
"Um, Edna?" Mirage asked, when they saw her in the swimming pool. She turned to see them.
"Dahling, fetch me a new towel, this one smells weird." She said, throwing a towel at Syndrome. He tried to block himself, but it hit his face. He just threw it down to the ground.
"No, I'm Mirage and that is Syndrome. We're your clients, not servants." Mirage said.
"So what are your powers?" Edna asked.
"Powers? I, um, why would you assume we have powers?" Mirage asked.
"I am a Super fashion designer. Not just an ordinary one."
"Oh. Um, I can… disappear and I have vast technological knowledge." Mirage bluffed.
"And you?" Edna asked Syndrome.
"Um, I can create radioactive, um, internal combustions! That's why my hair is like this. Couldn't control it for a while." Said Syndrome.
"I see." Edna said, unimpressed.
"Do you think we can get our suits now? Tick-tick-tick." He said impatiently.
"I will have them ready in seven hours. Come back then, goodbye!" Edna said, then pushing them out of the factory.
"Well, that was interesting. So what are we going to do?" asked Mirage.
"Huh?" Syndrome asked.
"Well, we can't go back to the factory. It's a five-hour car drive. We have seven hours before we have to be here. So what are we going to do?" she asked.
"Um, we could order pizza?" he asked. Mirage glared at him.
"Extra pepperoni?" he asked.
"Double cheese?" he asked, a cheesy grin on his face.
"Fine. I'll come back with it in an hour. Meet me here. You go have some fun now." She said, before driving away in her car.
Later, Syndrome headed back to the spot and Mirage was waiting for him.
"Take your slice and start eating. But do it sparingly – we'll be driving for a while." She said. Syndrome grabbed a piece and started chomping down. The Omnidroid would soon rise to full power.
14 years and 10 months later…
The Omnidroid Version 9 had finished the job. Mr. Incredible was no more as of 3 hours ago. Syndrome cackled evilly to himself. He had Edna to thank for the original designs. It was her that had created his suit. It was completely indestructible and produced a living force field around the user at any time. Perfect for those (ahem) radioactive combustions.
Suddenly, he got a call on his beeper. It was Mirage. "What is it, Mirage?"
"We have an, um, unexpected, visitor. The camera panned to Mr. Incredible being bombarded by electricity, and held in his cell.
"What?" Syndrome gaped.
"We request you come down here." Mirage said.
"Right away." He replied. 'Mr. Incredible alive? Well, this ought to be interesting' Syndrome thought as he approached the cell.
THE END