2
"I'm a cosmopolitan sophisticate of culture and intelligence. The culmination of technology and civilized experience..."
- Running On Ice by Billy Joel
Blueprints were scattered across an otherwise sleek and clean looking desk. Each of them had detailed drawings of some weapon or other random item. Draped over the desk chair was a black spandex suit, with a large white 'S' on the front and back. Nearby, on the floor, was a cape, black on one side, blue on the other. High up on a shelf in a glass case was a pair of white boots and white gauntlets, both sleek and new looking. Buddy Pine entered his bedroom, sighing as he observed the mess he had made the night before. He picked a few things up off the floor and put them in their proper places. He grabbed his list of things to do off of his desk and squinted, trying to read his own sloppy handwriting in the dim light.
"Work on utility gauntlets," he muttered to himself, reading the paper out loud.
He remembered that the zero-point energy part he had installed a few months ago was on the blink, and he'd need to rewire a few internal components to get it working properly. He had been slacking off on working on his revenge plot, more caught up in running a huge business than anything. Having a social life was hindering him from getting anything done, and that displeased him. He turned up the light in the room, grabbed his gauntlets from their protective case, and sat down on the satin sheets of his large bed. He grabbed a screwdriver from by his pillow and opened up the left gauntlet, noticing the problem immediately.
The wires inside were not spliced together properly, most likely because he had put them together in the wee hours of the morning, after not sleeping a wink. He must have lost concentration and wound up doing everything all wrong. He murmured angrily and got up to get something to drink from his fridge. He found a half bottle of soda pop he had mixed with vodka, and took it out, pouring a good amount of the contents into a glass before walking back to his bedroom, beverage in hand. He took his pliers out of the toolbox under his bed and began to repair the electronic mess. After a while of working, he sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve, rolling over to grab his drink off of his night stand and take a sip.
He then rolled onto his stomach and spliced the last of the wires together in the left gauntlet. He then pulled the right one closer to himself and opened it up, finding himself being greeted by a tangle of sparking wires and battery acid leaking all over his hands. He grimaced and grabbed the box of tissues that was sitting by his bed in an attempt to mop up the acid before it damaged something. He cursed and started to work on repairing everything in side of it. He couldn't figure out how the things had got so damaged when all they'd really ever done is sit on his top shelf. He hoped to whatever higher power there may be that they didn't give out when he really needed them the most.
Buddy worked long into the night, his eyes only growing droopier as the minutes ticked by. Eventually, he dozed off without even having changed into his night clothes. He snored lightly, his cheek pressed against his arm. He awoke what seemed like seconds later after falling asleep, to the sound of his alarm clock radio playing music from a local station. He sleepily looked around, wiping crust out of his eyes as he came to his senses. He carefully put away his utility gauntlets in their cases before sluggishly dragging himself to the bathroom so that he could take a cold shower, and hopefully wake himself up. He turned on the water and tossed off the clothing he had worn since the day before. He then staggered into the shower, nearly jumping back as the cold spray hit his skin. He washed himself carefully, using multiple kinds of shampoo and body wash.
He believed in keeping himself neat and clean as to make a good impression to everyone at his business, and even everyone on the street. He walked out of the shower and grabbed his blow dryer, drying out his semi-long red hair before combing it back into a professional, yet stylish businessman-type hairstyle. He grabbed his razor and shaving cream and began to shave his face, trying his best not to cut himself as he had the other day when he had proceeded about the job too hastily. He finished and applied aftershave before drying the rest of his body off with his towel and heading to the closet to pick out a suit to wear that day. He chose a navy blue one, and his black-and-white Syncorporated tie to go along with it. He adjusted everything to make sure he looked his best, and pranced back and forth in front of the mirror to check himself. Satisfied with the way he looked, he went into his kitchen and put some coffee on, and forced a couple of slices of bread into the toaster.
There really wasn't much time to have anything else to eat. He passed by the large window in his apartment as he waited for his breakfast to complete itself. He stopped abruptly and turned his head, noticing that his window was still broken, and pieces of glass were still all over the floor. He smacked himself on the forehead and grabbed his phone, angrily dialing the building's repair service number. It rung for a while before a tired-sounding voice answered:
"Hello, this is Manson Apartment Complex Repair Services, how may I help you so early on this wonderful morning?"
Buddy grabbed his toast as it popped out of the slots on the toaster. "My big window is broken, and I need you to fix it." He said between bites.
"Alright, tell us which apartment you live in and we'll send someone to fix it for you."
"I live on level A1, in apartment 13," Buddy said, holding the phone under his chin as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "I need it fixed as soon as possible, please, it's really drafty in here, what with it being winter and all. There's like two inches of snow on my carpet."
"Thank you for the weather report. We'll have our team come fix it sometime today."
"Alright then, goodbye."
"Goodbye."
He hung up the phone and went back to eating his minuscule breakfast while listening to the news on the radio. Most of it consisted of dull celebrity gossip, and he turned it off before he could find out which famous person was gay or dead. He checked his watch and saw that he still had plenty of time to get to his office. He grabbed his coat out of the closet and walked out the door. He paused and backed up, grabbing his briefcase before exiting again. He took the stairs down instead of the elevator, and briefly greeted Ms. Kimble before going through the revolving does and onto the sidewalk, casually sliding himself into the flow of people.
Since he had wrecked his sports car, and it hadn't yet been fixed, he'd have to use the subway. It wasn't something he particularly enjoyed doing, it was too crowded and too filthy for his taste. He rushed down the stairs, almost slipping on a patch of ice as he did. Luckily, he had quick reflexes to save him from ending up with a broken leg. He pushed his way through a crowd to get himself a ticket, casting angry glances at people who bumped into him. He slunk into the subway train, getting himself the best seat he could find, free of trash and not near to any particularly odd people, save for the man with the afro who was sitting across from him listening to his Stereobelt.
Buddy was amused by the man's odd hairstyle, he could somehow picture himself in something similar. Of course, what he pictured his hair looking like wasn't exactly a true-to-book afro, in fact he pictured it to look more like flames. He kept himself occupied for the rest of the train ride by thinking of different hairstyles for himself. In the end, the best one was the first one. Maybe one day, after he grew bored of his career as a successful business owner, he'd his typical haircut around. In fact, maybe it would fit in with his vengeance plans. Many villains he'd heard of had some little quirky detail that made them stand out from the others, and maybe his quirk could be an odd hairstyle.
"Move it, you yuppie," came an annoyed grunt from a young man, who couldn't have been older than sixteen.
This snapped Buddy out of his daydreaming state, and he grunted as he got off at his stop, kicking people in the shins to get them to move a little bit faster. He cut through the crowd up the stairs and then proceeded in walking as dignified as possible, so no one would think lesser of him despite the fact that he had just emerged from the underground slums of the subway station. He marched up to his company headquarters and pushed through the doors, straightening his tie and jacket and casually strolling to the elevator. He was stopped mid-step as a seductive, familiar voice greeted him.
"Hello, boss."
He turned around to see his personal assistant, Carmina del Sol, who preferred to be known by her nickname, Mirage. Her long platinum blond hair flowed left and right as she sashayed up to him, catlike green eyes glowing. Buddy stammered as he searched for the right words to say in greeting.
"Um, ah – hello, Mirage, lovely weather, nice morning, let's get to work!" he exclaimed in a jumbled, rushed sentence.
She smiled and followed him into the elevator. They stood in silence as the elevator rang to signal the climb and passing of each floor. They eventually reached the top level, and got off. The entire top level was Buddy Pine's luxurious office. Every wall of it was made out of glass, as was the roof, so that he could see the city and the sky as he worked. It kept him calm and stress-free. He had a modern-looking fountain placed over by a few tropical potted plants. His desk was in the middle of the floor, it was shaped like a crescent moon and had a keyboard on top of it. To both sides were cabinets to store important papers in.
He passed by the place where any papers that he had to review and sign were placed in a small wire basket. He picked them up and started looking over them as he walked towards his desk. He sat down and pressed a button on his keyboard. In front of him a holographic screen appeared, the lights in the room dimmed, and the glass on the windows were covered by steel panels. Up on the screen was a blinking message asking for his password. He paused for a second before entering the word 'skyline', on the screen. It brought up a list of all sorts of file folders for his company, including finances, reports, and all sorts of corporate what-not.
"Mirage, do you mind getting me some water, I'm kind of thirsty," he murmured.
As soon as she left the room he exited out of the Syncorporated files and it brought him back to the password screen. This time he typed 'kronos', and it top secret files appeared on the screen. He had long scrapped his Operation Kronos plan, but he had saved a few details that may come in handy for his next plot on his computer. He scrolled through the lists of superheroes and their profiles until he came to that of Mr. Incredible. He pressed 'enter' and it displayed every last bit of information he had gathered on both the superhero and his alter-ego.
"Sir?"
Buddy looked startled as he whirled around to see Mirage standing there with a cup of water in hand, looking up at the large screen. "Uh – er – yes, Mirage?" he stammered.
Mirage turned her gaze towards him. "What is this? It seems to be information on a Mr. Incredible fellow, is he a business partner?" she questioned, setting the water down on his desk.
"You could say that, I guess," Buddy coughed.
There was a silence as they both stared at each other.
"I have to confess that I've been watching you do this every single time you send me out for water," she sighed. "Don't be mad at me, I'm just a bit curious. What are you up to?"
Should I tell her? She might be able to help me! Then again, she might call the police or something and betray me. Wow, this is quite a conundrum. Oh, heck, what's the worst Mirage can do?
"I'm trying to get revenge on someone who wronged me a long time ago," he blurted out.
Mirage raised an eyebrow. "Why were you trying to hide this from me?"
"I don't know, I thought you'd go to the authorities, I guess," Buddy muttered. "I was scared you were going to betray me just like – just like Mr. Incredible."
"I wouldn't, ever," she assured him, raising one hand as though she were taking an oath. "Your secret is safe with me, sir."
Buddy sighed with relief. "Thank you," he said, shakily taking a sip of the water she'd brought him. "If word of this got out, I'd be ruined."
"Care to tell me more about this Mr. Incredible fellow?"
"Well, it all started back in Municiburg where I grew up..."
He went on to elaborate as Mirage stood, feeling every bit of pain in his voice echo in her heart. She hadn't know he'd been so hurt long ago. At the end of his long-winded and possibly exaggerated story, she felt the want to embrace him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. He had every right to seek revenge for what that superhero had done to him so many years ago. Now Buddy Pine had an ally; he had Mirage, and she would follow him to the ends of the Earth. Or, at least he hoped. It all depended on how things went.
Mirage's eyes were teary as she stood there. "I had no idea, Mr. Pine," she whispered. "Don't worry, I'm on your side."
The look on Buddy's face was a mixture of surprise and pleasure as his lips twisted into a crooked smile. "That's good to hear, Mirage."
--
Violet woke up ecstatic. The day before she had got her dream job, or at least the springboard job to her dream job. On top of that, she had eaten at one of the best restaurants in the world, and her new boss had asked her out on a date. Granted, he hadn't looked too happy about the whole deal, but at least he had asked. She pushed her covers off her body, but immediately wished she hadn't due to the fact that it was nearly freezing in her bedroom. She could hear Mimi snoring the next room, so loud she could have sworn it shook the apartment building.
She tiptoed into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal. She picked every last raisin out of the bowl before pouring in the milk. She had never really liked raisins. Unfortunately for her, Mimi loved them, and brought home only boxes of raisin bran from the store. Every morning Violet wanted to have a nice bowl of flaky cereal, she'd have to jump hurdles to get it. She sighed and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. It was slightly dirty on the inside, so she rinsed it out before filling it with orange juice from the pitcher inside the refrigerator.
She heard footsteps as Mimi lumbered out of her room, eyes drooping and hair frazzled. It would have scared Violet had she not been used to the sight. "Morning, Mimi," she greeted. "Can I get you anything to eat?"
"No thank you, I can get it myself, Vi, but it was sweet of you to offer." Mimi walked over to the Mr. Coffee and dumped a good measure of ground coffee beans into the filter.
Violet sat down at the breakfast nook and turned on the small television they had sitting on the counter. She flipped through channels until she came to something that looked interesting. It was a documentary on superheroes, and their accomplishments up until the point where they were banned. She munched on her raisin-less raisin bran and watched the program intently. Her father had been one of the more prominent superheroes back in what was known as the 'Golden Age.' She barely noticed Mimi had sat down next to her until the commercial.
"You interested in supers?" Mimi asked.
Violet brushed back a loose bit of hair from her face and took a bite of cereal. "I suppose you could say that."
"It's a shame they were banned all those years ago," Mimi sighed. "I had a friend whose mother was a superhero. After the banning, her mother went crazy, ran off one day, and my friend never heard from her again."
"That's terrible!" Violet exclaimed. "I think the government made a mistake banning the supers."
"Agreed," Mimi muttered.
After that, they ate their breakfast in silence, watching the documentary on television and making mental plans for the day. After it was over, Violet got up and set her dishes in the sink, running a bit of water so that they could soak in it. She walked into her room and began brushing her long, black hair. She had taken a shower the previous night so that she wouldn't have to bother with it that morning. She did her hair up in a tight bun, in an effort to make herself look more professional. She picked out an outfit from her closet, consisting of a long-sleeved white blouse, a purple vest, and black bell-bottomed jeans. After putting them on she looked at herself in the mirror. She thought she looked great, though perhaps she could loose a bit of weight around the derrière. Unfortunately, she was all dressed up with no where to go. She wasn't starting work until next week. She sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed.
She let out a long and heavy sigh. Perhaps she could pay a visit to her family who lived back in Metroville? She wasn't sure she could afford the bus ticket there, though. She wasn't even sure she wanted to ride the bus to Metroville. There would be strangers of all sorts, and who knew what could happen? Perhaps she was being a bit too paranoid, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. She stood up and grabbed her jacket from where it was laying on the floor and put it on. She said a quick 'goodbye' to Mimi and walked out the door.
She stepped out onto the crunchy snow that covered the sidewalk. It would have been nice if someone had cleared it off, but she could deal with walking on the slippery surface. As she walked she wondered what she was going to do that day. Typically she'd either job hunt or stay home and watch television with Mimi. Today seemed different, though, today she needed some excitement in her life. Last night's excitement had left her wanting more. She pulled her jacket closer to her body as fresh snow began to fall.
Violet decided she wasn't going to take transportation anywhere. After all, she didn't even know where she was going. She kept walking down the street, hoping to come across something interesting. After a long while, she came into a section of the city with art galleries left and right. She shrugged and walked inside one of them, looking around at the quirky, abstract paintings hanging on the walls. As far as she could see there was no one around. All of the sudden she heard yelling coming from behind closed doors. Moments later, a man walked out in a huff, carrying a painting down by his side. He brushed his way past Violet, cursing under his breath.
"Excuse me, sir!" Violet called out, following him.
The man barely bothered to look at her. "What do you want, Sunshine?"
"I know it's probably none of my business, but why did you come out of there looking so – angry?"
She knew she was horrible at striking up conversations with strangers, or anyone for that matter.
"The hippie bitch who runs that place back there promised me a certain sum of bread for one of my paintings, but now she won't take it! It's a major bummer, I haven't been able to sell any of my work on the art scene for weeks!" the man growled.
Violet looked confused for a moment. "Oh, that's – terrible, mister – er... I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name –"
"I didn't throw it, chicky. But it's Hawkins, Ramone Hawkins."
"I'm Violet," she murmured. "You kind of look familiar..."
"Unless you hang around the jet set side of town, I probably haven't seen you," Ramone said.
"I was there last night – hey, weren't you with Buddy Pine?" Violet asked.
Ramone paused before replying. "Yes, I was, actually. Aren't you the bunny I set him up with?"
"Yes, I am!"
"Coolio, Vi. Do you mind if I call you 'Vi'?"
"Oh, no, I don't. Everyone calls me that, anyway," Violet replied. "So if you're one of those rich people, what are you doing here?"
Ramone stopped walking so that he could put his coat on. "I'm not as sophisticated as those Upper East Side cats think I am," he replied. "I'm more of an artist than anything. Of course, I dabble in the whole big-business gig, but I feel more at home down in the artsy partsies of NYC."
Violet nodded every once in a while to assure him that she was listening as he began to ramble on about the ups and downs of his life as both an artist and a businessman. After a few minutes of walking and talking, she decided to ask a question. "How do you know Buddy Pine?"
"Oh, Buddy? We're old high school pals," Ramone responded. "He's a bit of an oddball... I guess you'd call him eccentric or something."
"Is he?"
Ramone shrugged slightly, taking a moment to look at the time on his watch. "Yeah, he's pretty loony at times. He's got this nasty temper, too. He's a real hothead, if you catch my drift."
Violet looked worried. "He's not – violent or anything, is he?"
"Violent? Well, he threatens a lot, but trust me, he's all bark and no bite," Ramone assured her.
Violet was quite relieved at this news. She didn't want to go out on a date with a psycho, nor did she want to work for one. She could handle him if his threats were nothing but a bunch of tough talk. Neither of them spoke for a little while. They had wandered into an entirely different part of the city, and were attempting to get their bearings before continuing the conversation.
Ramone stopped to look at his watch again. "Oh, bummer, I've got to split. I've got this meeting that I'm going to miss if I don't zip. See ya, Sunshine!"
Violet waved to him as he walked away. She kind of liked him. He seemed like the kind of person one would want to hang around and talk to. Maybe she'd meet up again with him someday. According to her watch, it was lunchtime. She sniffed the air and caught the scent of burgers cooking. She followed her nose until she came to the source: a small hole-in-the-wall diner. She walked inside and sat herself down at a table. Before too long a waitress walked up, carrying a menu and setting it down in front of her.
"What can I get you to drink?" the waitress mumbled, taking the scrunchy out of her red hair only to put it back in seconds later. She took out a pad and pencil from her pouch pocket and prepared to write.
Violet bit her lower lip as she scanned the menu. "I'll just have water – with a lemon."
The waitress scribbled the order down on the menu before shoving it back into her waist pouch. "I'll be back in a moment."
Violet looked up as the waitress was walking away. The woman looked familiar, almost exactly like --
"Kari!"
The waitress turned around, looking quite surprised. "Vi, is that you?"
Violet nodded rapidly and stood up to give her old best friend a hug. "Yes, it is! What are you doing here? I thought you went to Florida to live with your dad!"
Kari embraced Violet and smiled. "I did, but you know him – the biggest drunk in the world, that's what he was. Eventually, I got fed up with it and bought a bus ticked here. So, what brings you to Sin City?"
"Job opportunities. I'm starting work as the receptionist at Syncorporated's headquarters on Monday!" Violet announced.
"That's great!" Kari exclaimed. "I wish I could get a job at one of those huge corporations, but I don't think I have what it takes."
"Hey, pussycat, cut the clamor and take the orders," came a gruff voice from behind the counter.
Violet turned her head and saw a large, heavyset man, grease all over his apron. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, possibly older. His hair was done in a buzz cut manner. He looked generally threatening. Kari sighed loudly and walked towards the kitchen.
"'Kay, Gary," she murmured.
Violet sat back down. In the background she could hear the sounds of the Bee Gees' song Jive Talkin' on the radio. She hummed along to the tune and played around with the salt shakers on the table. Before too long, Kari returned with Violet's drink in hand. She also set down a paper with a phone number on it.
"Call me later, okay?" Kari said. "What would you like to eat?"
Violet nodded. "Sure," she responded. "I'd like – er – the 'Red Plate Special'..."
"Good choice. That's the one that goes down the easiest," Kari giggled. "I'll have it back right quick."
After Kari left, Violet stared out the dusty window at the snow falling. It was nice to see her old friend again. Maybe when she got higher up the ladder at Syncorporated she could recommend Kari for a job there. Maybe dating her future boss could have its advantages. She really didn't want to take advantage of him or anything, but she didn't want Kari to be stuck as a waitress in a run-down diner for all eternity, either.
She looked around, bored. She spotted a buisness magazine laying in the seat opposite of her. She picked it up and started flipping through it as she waited for her food to arrive. It was entertaining enough, though magazines weren't her normal reading material. She spotted an article about Buddy Pine on the seventh page. It was rather short, and simply stated things about his incredible success. It included an interview that had interesting information in it, and very flattering photos of the businessman himself. He looked amazing, and in the interview he seemed very down-to-earth and non-narcissistic, just the way Violet wanted him to be.
She could hardly wait to see him again.
A/N: I'm terribly sorry it took me forever to get this up, I've been quite busy with things recently. Anyhow -- er -- yes, please review, I really appreciate feedback!