A/N: This is just to serve as a little backstory for Buddy, and as a... gift to bide over anyone reading Girl of Earth. While there is a huge reference to my other story, this can serve as a standalone piece. Hence why it's a separate story, and not a chapter. Enjoy!

Mentor

A figure stood alone, staring out at the people running laps from the workshop window. His bright blue eyes seemed troubled and the bags under his eyes only served to show how depressed the figure had become.

Just months before, this man had the world at his fingertips. He was the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, and had more than a hundred henchmen willing to do his bidding by the time he could legally drink.

Now, the man had nothing. The sole reason for him to build up his fortune had been his downfall, and with it had gone the dream that he would have a mass of fans chanting the name; Syndrome.

He had wanted to make pay. Pay for warping his dream of one day aiding people with his inventions, to harming and killing them. His greedy family had started selling the inventions the child made to anyone willing to buy them. Buddy's family didn't care if they were selling to both sides of a civil war off in some foreign country, or if they were helping a tyrant strike fear into the hearts of his people. All that mattered was that there was money coming in, and lots of it.

This increase in income forced Buddy Pine to be a slave among his own blood. As soon as he had turned 18, he ran away, aware of how much harm his inventions were causing. 9 months later, the kid was forced to return to making weapons to survive in the big bad world.

Buddy blamed for turning his life into what it was. That's why when his plan was foiled by the Incredibles, he had decided to corrupt their youngest son. Just like he himself had been corrupted.

When his cape had gotten caught in that jet's turbine, Buddy's entire life had flashed before his eyes. The months he had spent in the hospital afterward had given him time to think about what he truly had done. The whole incident had been the cause of his depression and the reason why it was so hard for him to get out of bed most days.

That's why, when Mirage had come to try and persuade him to join the NSA, the man had already decided on what he wanted to do with his life. He didn't want to feel broken, and useless anymore. He wanted to reclaim his childhood dream, from the nightmarish hell he had been forced into.

All those Super's he had killed, had families. Innocent kids who had to live knowing mom or dad wasn't coming home anymore. Only, some of them were the same age as Buddy himself, and no doubt they held a grudge against the former villain.

The NSA would train the next generation of Supers. They would try to train them to try and keep the cost of damages in mind, but the main priority would be the same as with all Super's; to ensure that the loss of life was as minimal as possible.

The best way to do this, would be to teach the new Super's how to deal with a villain before they became a bigger threat. The only way to do that, would be to train them the same way the agency trained its own agents. Somewhere along the line, someone decided 'to hell with it, might as well make them official agents'. Such a plan meant that the young super's would have to figure out their fellow recruits were also, Super's. Buddy himself did not understand the logic of that last part, but Rick had assured him that this was a tradition in the NSA.

Of course, the NSA knew that such a secret couldn't be kept for long. Hand-to-hand combat training could only go so far, and eventually the power's themselves would have to be brought into it. It had been the agent that handled the Incredibles that had brought up the idea of letting the recruits figure it out for themselves. They would give the young Super's two weeks to figure out what one other recruit's power was, before Mirage would reveal the true reason for them all being brought to the NSA Academy.

Buddy wasn't sure what his role in all of it was, but if the NSA was willing to let him try and repent for his past deeds, he would take the opportunity.

Which was why the man was staring out at the window now, watching as these 'recruits' ran laps around the outdoor track. He had taken a break from working on his latest project after hearing that loud mouth Hanson yelling.

Buddy brought himself to his feet when he heard the door to his workshop open. Mirage came walking in, gaze focused on the tablet in her hand. She looked up when the man had let out a small cough.

"Are you watching the recruits?" She asked, walking closer to see what he had been looking at.

" I was. Hanson is being tough on them, isn't he?"

Mirage didn't reply, as she was busy watching one of the recruits that seemed to be lagging behind the rest.

" I came to talk to you about mentoring one of them."

Buddy seemed shocked, by her words." You're telling me the NSA think's it's a good a idea to leave me alone with one of them?"

"Are you saying it's not a good idea?" Mirage implied.

"No…"

"Good."

The recruit Mirage had been watching was now running with three other recruits, who seemed to not care about how much Hanson was yelling at them to keep up their previous pace. The recruit was very young, and the recruits who had slowed down to keep to her pace seemed to be instructing her on how to run faster. Slowly the group began to catch up with the recruits in front of them.

Buddy was curious as to why the woman seemed so interested in watching them, and before he could voice his thoughts, Mirage had spoken up.

"The red-head in that group is the one we want you to mentor. We pulled her out of foster care to be here. Before you ask, no, you had nothing to do with her being there. "

'Unlike everyone else out there…' Buddy thought.

"I thought it would be helpful to pull someone that smart out of a situation like that." Mirage added.

That comment seemed to be directed more towards him, than the girl.

"So she isn't a Super then?" Buddy questioned.

"We aren't sure. There were a few… incidents at some of the foster homes she had been placed with, and they seem to hint the girl is." Mirage seemed a bit saddened, before saying; " Her name's Riley."

Buddy nodded. "Ok, well, why have me mentor her?"

"She's has an extremely high IQ, and is excellent with computers." Mirage informed.

"No offense babe-"

"Don't call me that." Mirage quipped,

"-but you're just as good with computers as me, so why not take her in yourself?" Buddy finished.

" I think it would be good for you to have someone to teach. The whole reason why the NSA is letting you stay here is so you can fix your mistakes. We can't exactly have you teach any of the other recruits, so this is your only option." Mirage told the male.

Buddy stared out the window, watching the recruits collapse in the grass from exhaustion. He had never met any of them before, hell he didn't even know of their existence before the NSA had gotten a hold of him. No doubt they all want to kill him in the most gruesome way possible. The male was fairly certain he wouldn't fight back, either.

But there was something Buddy had seen in the recruits that had inspired him to actually do more than just repent for his misdeeds. For the first time in months, he wanted to build things again. In fact, he was working on a schematic for upgraded rocket boots at the moment. Or at least he was, before Agent Hanson's yelling had brought Buddy's attention outside.

Either way, the man was in a much better mental state than what had come to be the norm for him. If he were to accept, Buddy would have to strive to be a better person….

Which might be exactly what Mirage meant, when she said this would be a good opportunity.

After mulling it over so more, he finally gave the women his answer,"Okay, I'll do it."

Mirage gave a silent nod of acknowledgment, but said nothing more. She had already turned, and started making her way towards the door when Buddy's voice had stopped her.

"I know you're still angry about what happened on Nomanisan, so why are you trying to help me?" The question had been eating at his mind for months now, ever since the blonde had first come to him at the hospital.

"I was at a low point once too, and you were the one that pulled me out of it. All I'm doing is repaying that debt." Mirage didn't skip a beat. She then left, leaving Buddy to his thoughts.