Helen paced the floor quickly, her mind brimming with thoughts of everything that had been going on the past few weeks in her life...how stressful...how unbelievably cruel her life had become...how everyone around her had become. She rarely ever saw her other Super friends...she only had her husband, Robert. How could those ungrateful idiots think that they could just get rid of the Supers forever? They had done so much for them...how could they ever think that they could manage without them?
How can I tell him? Maybe not now...later...I can't believe it's positive...
She looked back at the colorful screen of the television, sitting in the back corner of the living room. Video clips of Supers flying through the air and performing "unnecessary duties", as the press now labeled it as, flashed across the screen in a dramatic montage of all the Supers' life's work...what they had ever done...what they would ever do. A lump would form in her throat every so often, but she'd just swallow it away. She couldn't cry now...she had too much to think about. There was too much to do; too much to say. She sat down on the edge of the couch and covered her face in her hands. When was the last time she had slept? She couldn't remember...she wanted so bad to sleep, but she wasn't tired enough.
I can't be...not now...
It had been about a month since her husband, Robert Parr had saved a man from his dramatic suicide attempt and a trainful of people from imminent death...it was the last thing anyone had expected that the public would lash back so violently from something as simple as saving a life. But was it really so simple anymore? Helen had always treated it like everyday work...like filing paperwork or typing a few words on a computer. But to the victims, it was so much more than that.
"You didn't save my life! You ruined my death!"
Words from past television programs flashed through her head...the situation seemed truly hopeless. What had used to be a sense of security in what she was doing...what she had always done was now turning into a daily nightmare. A weak instinct in the pit of her stomach assured her that everything was going to be okay. That this would all go away and they would resume normal hero work. But she knew in her mind that something like this could not simply be brushed away. If she ever did resume hero work, would they be wanted? Or would they win just on a technicality? She got up and walked over to the closet, where she pulled out a red mask with trembling fingers...her mask. Elastigirl's mask.
She jumped as the phone rang. It rang again. She picked up the receiver and held it to her ear, her other hand clutching the mask.
"P-Parr residents," she said quietly.
"Elastigirl," said a voice on the other side of the phone.
"Hey E," sighed Helen quietly, recognizing the voice as her friend Edna. "And please call me Helen...you don't know who could be listening."
"Right," said Edna. "You've been listening to da television programs I presume?" Helen sighed and massaged her temples.
"I don't know what to do, E," she said. "I'm desperate! I don't--!" she stopped, not knowing what else to say. "I don't think we'll pull out of this."
"Turn to channel 5. They are making a final decision on the Supers...I'll get back to you latah dahling, goodbye." Helen sighed as she heard the dial tone and hung up the phone. She flipped to channel five and saw her husband, Robert standing among a group of other Supers that had been present. She sat down on the couch, her eyes glued to the screen, and her mask clutched to her chest.
"The court has made a final decision," said a woman who took a place at the podium. "The Supers will no longer be continuing hero work."
"No!" cried Helen, standing up quickly. There was a murmur of talk around the courthouse. The camera panned over to the Supers. Helen could barely stand the look of sadness on her husband's face. Her eyes sparkled with tears, and she covered her face in her hands.
"It's time for their secret identity to become their only identity!" cried the woman on the screen. "Time for them to join us, or go away!"
There was a roar of agreement from the people in the courthouse, as the Supers left the building and headed home. Helen switched off the TV, her shoulders shaking with sobs. It was over. Everything she had ever worked for. She looked down at the mask in her hand and stroked the smooth rubber sides. She got up and placed the mask in a box with her outfit and hid it in the deepest, darkest corner of her closet. She shut the door of the closet and walked quietly into the kitchen, picking up the day's newspaper. When she was Elastigirl, her day was always buzzing with excitement...the prospect of evil making itself known was always there...but now she was just Helen Parr.
She flipped to the job section and started looking. Now that she was "unemployed" she would have to get a real job. She sighed and looked down at her stomach and stroked it gently.
Besides, she thought with a melancholy smile. I can't be a Super when I'm pregnant anyway.