"Mr Incredible… It's about time you got here."
"Always ready to do my job, sir."
Solidus Snake smiled. Syndrome was right; Mr Incredible was the perfect candidate. Unmatchable in strength, intimidating in size, and totally, completely oblivious.
"Mr Incredible, we need your help. A mass breakout of insane asylum inmates occurred on this island just last week…" As Solidus spoke, the massive plasma screen that made up the wall behind him burst into life. On it, a computer generated blueprint of an imaginary underground prison visually portrayed the scenario as he spoke. "As you know, there is a massive shield dome that prevents them from escaping for now, but we need to round them up, and return them to the maximum security ring. Before they murder each other out there."
"Murder each other?"
"Yes, that's right. It seems their playing at some kind of deadly game with themselves. They seem to think that only one of them will escape alive, and every one else must be dead for that to happen." Solidus meshed his fingers together, and cracked his knuckles. "Which is nonsense, of course. We want to see every single one of them safely back into their cells, where they can no longer cause harm on this island, around the world… or to themselves. Are you up for the challenge?"
"Sir, it's an honor to be serving your company in this important task. I will do my best."
Solidus waved his arm, and pressed a button. A door at the back of the room slid open, and a guard stepped in, waiting to escort Mr Incredible outside.
"Good, good, I'm glad to hear it. We'll see how the situation pans out for a bit, then we'll send out patrols. You can accompany some of these patrols as they hunt them down. Meanwhile, we have files on all of our escapees, you can study if you like. So you are prepared."
"Sir, I am prepared for anything."
"Glad to hear it. Now, please leave."
Once the great mass of muscles had left, Solidus made a phone call.
"Sakyo?... Yes, he's perfect… No, not a thing. The buffoon thinks he's helping us control our insane asylum… Good, yes, I know. Some of the other enforcers are arriving now as well, I suggest you hurry up here and meet them… No, only Mr Incredible. Everyone else understands who we are. Mostly… Of course not, nobody knows about that!... Just be here. On time. The meeting will begin in a few hours…"
Solidus snapped the flip-phone shut, and nodded to his guards to usher the next arrival in.
Once outside, Mr Incredible made a phone call, at a nearby phone booth.
"Helen?"
"Bob? How are you? Did you make it in time for your meeting? Have you finished your job yet?"
"There was no set time for our meeting honey, and this is no easy little task…" The voice on the other end of the line suddenly became stern.
"How long are you going to be Bob? I told the kids you'd be gone for a week, I can't run this household for a week! I hope you're not going to take longer than…"
"Listen honey, they need my help to track down some escaped prisoners on a massive island. I don't know how long they expect to take, but they said they've got an outpost with enough supplies for a couple of months-"
"A COUPLE OF MONTHS!"
"Shh, Helen, please…" Bob whispered, as loudly as he could. He looked nervously up and down the hallway, worried somebody could hear her shouting through the tiny earpiece. It was not an unreasonable worry. "Listen, they told me not to tell anyone outside about what's going on here, but they're basically a bunch of corporate big shots, running some sort of research facility…"
"Why do they have prisoners at a research facility…?"
"My point is, they don't really have a grasp on the whole 'superhero' thing. Maybe with my help, they'll sort this thing out in a week or two alright…"
"A week or two! Bob, you've been gone for 6 hours, and Dash has already set fire to JakJak's cot"
"Dash? Why would he do that?"
"I don't know Bob, he keeps saying he doesn't know what happened, but I know he's hiding something."
"What about Vi?"
"Vi's been out all day, with you-know-who. I haven't told her your gone yet. She's not going to take it well; Dash certainly didn't. You know all they want to do now is go out and have Super adventures with their Daddy… It's driving me nuts."
"Well, just tell them I love them, and I'm away at a boring conference, and they would hate it if they were here."
"Bob," Helen giggled a little. "They won't believe that. They'll know what you've left for, and they'll keep harassing me until I tell them more. Just hurry home, and be safe."
"I will honey. It is a very big island though…"
"I love you."
"I love you."
There was a click, as the call terminated. Simultaneously, across miles and miles of ocean, Helen and Bob slowly set down their handsets, inwardly sighing, a curious mix of passion, frustration, and fatigue.
Elsewhere in the facility, Charles Ofdenson also removed the speaker from his ear.
"Unbelievable. Disclosing secret information to outside sources, through our own monitored channels. He really is a damned fool."
Behind him, a figure in a similar one-piece jumpsuit to Incredible stood, in starkly contrasting black and white attire. His hair, once large and frizzly had been burned to a few singed strands in a recent accident involving a jet engine, and a cape. He was not wearing the cape anymore.
"Exactly why I recommended him to you Charles. And exactly why he hasn't been told any secrets."
Ignoring the man behind him, Ofdenson punched a few buttons on the console in front of him, then directed his voice into a nearby microphone.
"Security?" the reply from the other end of the line came through a tiny set of wireless earphones worn by Ofdenson, which were connected with both the main console of the facility, and his personal cell phone. They also played mp3s. "Yes Loumis, I want you to assemble a surveillance team… Parr residence, it's already in our records… Yes, just listen in, monitor family activities, the usual… Anything to do with us. Our operation, our existence, the tournament, anything… Mr Incredible let slip some info today, but we'll deal with that in a moment… Yes, that's all."
Ofdenson tapped another button, and the conversation terminated.
"You know, we could just kidnap them, like I suggested earlier."
Charles swiveled his luxurious office chair around to face the speaker.
"To what point and purpose, Syndrome? So you can lock them up, and have your little playtime revenge thing? That's none of BOREDs business. We only want Mr Incredible. We'll sever long distance communication lines at his outpost, so once he's out there, he'll be cut off from his family. There's no need to involve them, and whatever… complications they may bring."
Syndrome bit his lip thoughtfully for a moment, until Ofdenson swiveled back around. After another moment, he answered.
"They'll come for him. If Helen loses contact for too long, she'll come looking for him, probably with the kids as well."
"Then we kill them when they try, and Mr Incredible too when he has outlived his usefulness." Charles didn't even turn his head. He was focusing on a complex map on the console monitor.
"I want them alive."
"Not my concern."
"What if I get to them first?"
"Then so long as you take them away, and they never see the light of day again? Not my problem. But if they make any move towards the island, I will mobilize every man at BOREDs disposal to hunt them down, and kill them. And I'll film it too. I'd imagine it would make great television. If you think you can whisk them away before that happens… I think that would be just as entertaining."
Syndrome grunted in approval, but inwardly scowled. He had hoped that for all the help in finding contestants and enforcers, not to mention the incredible innovations in technology he had provided for the conglomerate would be enough to earn him at least a little support in his personal revenge saga. But there was a part of him that liked the idea. Working alone suited him. Besides, he hadn't given BORED all of his technology. The best gadgets he always saved for himself. As he left the room, a smile began to emerge on his face, as he imagined his righteous quest for vengeance, facing overwhelming odds, but with powers unsurpassed… like a self-made superhero. Perhaps Mr Incredible had not crushed all his dreams after all. How ironic that it would be his slow, painful death that would satisfy them.