Time: 1200 hrs
Location: Outside the Parr Residence
The Next Day...
Gavin pulled his car up at the curb then killed the engine.
"Well here we are."
Violet unfastened her seatbealt and turned to look at her boyfriend.
"Thanks for last night, I had a great time."
She and her college buddies had an absolute ball, talking, drinking, dancing -lots of dancing- and singing boisterously to all their favorite songs. Even though Gavin didn't really know the others, he still managed to fit in. Then the couple drove out to the waterfront and sat watching the sunrise. After a quick nap, he took her home.
"Hey, my pleasure," he said, smiling at her. Then he leaned in and kissed her. She didn't resist. It was their first actual kiss as a couple, only having been going out for a few weeks. She felt a tingle rush down her spine and all through her body. She thought it was just her hormones going beserk. She was so sure that he was the one for her. She was wrong. Finally pulling away, Gavin's warm, pleasant smile was replaced by a leering smirk. Then he started to laugh.
"What? What is it?"
"Oh nothing," he said, "It's just amusing how you think that you actually mean something to me. When really you're just another pawn in my little game."
Her eyes widened, but before he could do anything, his hand reached around and grabbed her by the back of the neck then slammed her head against the dashboard. She was out cold.
"I'll be back for you later. Maybe we can have some more fun."
Gavin walked up to the house, just as Bob and Lucius walked out, talking to each-other about their glory days.
"Look Bob, all I'm saying is that I think that I should have invested in some body armor. Nothing too heavy, just a little padding. Honey reckons it could have saved me a lot of back, neck and leg trouble from getting knocked around so much."
"Uh....Lucius?" interjected his friend.
"Just hear me out man. I mean it's alright for you, it takes a bazooka just to wind you!"
"Ix Nay on the Eroics-Hey."
"Say what now?"
"Civilian."
"Oh."
The older men looked awkwardly at Furthington, their covers compromised.
"Uh...Gavin," began Bob "There's a good reason..."
"It's okay sir. You don't have to explain anything," the younger man cut him off. "Incidentally, it's an honour to be able to say that I beat the crap out of the Mr. Incredible"
"Wait, how-"
KA-POW!
Unleashing a devastating uppercut, Gavin sent Bob flying. The veteran super landed about five blocks away. Instinct kicking in, Lucius threw a punch at Gavin, who caught the fist and squeezed, forcing it's owner to his knees. Lucius cried out in pain as his bones began to shatter.
"In case you're wondering, I'm using the strength of Mr. Incredible himself. Hmm...you're Frozone right? I've always wanted to try cryokenisis." Gavin removed the black glove from his other hand and placed his palm on his victim's face, fingers spread wide. Lucius felt a buzzing sensation rippling through his body, like an electric shock. Furthington took his hand away and concentrated, making a small circular motion with his wrist. As he had hoped, the air around his hand began to freeze, little moisture droplets forming then hardening.
"Excellent. It's always nice to add something to the arsenal."
"Wh....who are you?" Lucius asked weakly.
"You can call me Fusion. I'm the man who killed the Incredibles."
Then he used his free hand to palm-strike the other man square in the chest, sending him crashing through the front door. Striding through the threshold of the Parr home, he saw a startled looking Helen. She lashed out at him, stretching across the room, but he was to fast and grabbed her arm, then yanked her off balance, dragging her over.
"Ah...ElastiGirl I presume," said the villain, "Consider this a little gift to show how much I admire you." Then he used his newly acquired power to freeze her. She may be pretty flexible, but when exposed to extreme sub-zero temperatures, she became very brittle.
"Oh we are going to have an absolutely smashing time, you and I," Gavin said mockingly, drawing back a fist to deliver the final blow. A familiar rushing of wind and the Mrs. Incredible ice sculpture vanished.
"Hmm....hello Daniel. How predictably noble of you, rushing in to save your mother. But I'm going to get her anyway."
A blur of movement and the middle Parr child was standing in front of him.
"You should not have attacked her," he said with more than a hint of malice in his tone. "You're going down ass-hat."
Dash was on his enemy in a split second, wildly swinging punches at a mind-boggling pace. Fusion blocked each blow with calm, practiced ease, before aiming a karate-chop at the neck of his adversary. Dash barely managed to dodge the strike and backed off.
"Struggling is useless. I'm just as fast as you. But by all means make it more interesting."
"You'll never be as fast as me. You're nothing but a cheap knock-off."
"Let's put that to the test shall we?"
In the time it took to blink, Dash was already halfway across Metroville with Fusion close behind. They raced along walls, around the comparatively slow moving traffic and over the surface of the river. As they rocketed along the road on the outskirts of town, Fusion skidded to a sudden halt, knowing he'd never catch the Dash. Instead he reached out a hand and concentrated. After a few moments, he managed to project a sizeable force-field, just in front of Daniel, who didn't see it until too late and collided with wall of solid energy. The Dash was down for the count.
Fusion zipped back to the house, carrying his defeated junior over one shoulder. Mr. Incredible had returned, ready for some more punishment. He fought bravely, but was sorely outclassed in speed and ability. For every punch Bob threw, Gavin landed a dozen blows. Eventually, even Mr. Incredible couldn't take any more. His clothing was in tatters, his face a mess. His assailant pressed a foot against his throat. He could feel the burning in his lungs, see his vision growing darker, and yet he was spent, unable to lift a finger. Fusion grinned with satisfaction. Finally, the great Mr. Incredible was at his mercy. He savored the victory. Until he found himself surrounded by a purple-blue force-field. Violet stood at the door, glaring at him, nursing the split in her chin where her head connected with the dashboard.
"You bastard," she said. She didn't scream. Her voice was cold and hard. The tone she reserved for the lowest of the low. "Don't waste your energy trying to bash your way out. It won't work. I don't believe it. I trusted you and then you go and attacked my family."
"You'd better believe it baby-cakes."
"What are you?" she asked.
"My name really is Gavin. I happen to have the ability to absorb and duplicate the powers of other supers. All I need is the slightest touch, flesh to flesh contact and voilà."
Violet shuddered inwardly as she remembered how they had kissed just minutes earlier and resisted the urge to compact the force-field and crush the man she thought she loved.
"How did you know who we are?"
"Most of my life, I lived on Nomanisan Island. My mother was the rougue government agent known as Mirage. I got on quite well with her employer, Syndrome."
UV nodded, the names were familiar to her.
"So as a result, I had access to all the his files. All your identities. I'm surprised you didn't find and breach my panic-room when you were there." He gave a small chuckle. "I was eleven when I discovered I could absorb other peoples abilities, although my exposure to supers have been very limited. But now I have the powers of the fantastic family known as 'The Incredibles'. You want to know what I am? I am the Amalgamated Man. I am Fusion."
Before Violet could do anything, he took a deep breath and let loose a piercing, sonic cry. Her concentration broken, she released him from the orb as she sank to her knees in agony.
"You shouldn't have said anything. Now I know that sound still travels through your little bubbles."
UV said nothing as she tried to block out the ringing in her ears.
"Do you really think your pathetic little family are the only supers in existence? Back on the island, I met the man who called himself Phylange when he was working for us back on the Island. One of the ones who were involved with the testing of testing the Omidroids. Before he died, I managed to absorb his power to generate sonic fields with his voice."
Knowing that her forcefields, were now useless, she turned invisible, moving quietly to get around behind him. Fusion began sniffing at the air, then without warning, turned and used
Mrs. Incredible's stretching powers to kick her from the other side of the room. She collapsed to the ground, regaining visibilty. Fusion iced her arms to the ground, preventing her from fighting back.
"Heightened senses baby," he said. "Courtesy of Creature Kid. Taomaster gave me his martial-arts abilities and you can probably guess what I got out of your mother."
He looked around at the fallen super-heroes.
"After you killed Syndrome, I decided that the best way to honour his memory – and make a name for myself- as a cape killer. What better way to do that then by killing the Incredibles? Sure it took some waiting, but it was worth it. Really Vi, I couldn't have done it without you."
"Go to hell," she mumbled.
"Ooh...still feisty huh? Perhaps you'd like me to pound you six feet into the ground with your dad's super strength? Or would you like to find out what happens when you hit a wall after travelling at mach 3?"
"You talk way too much man!"
Fusion turned and saw the youngest Parr sibling.
"Right....I forgot about you, the titch. You wanna do this the easy way or the hard way?"
"I'm not afraid of you. Get out of here creep!"
"Or what you little snot-faced weasel? You'll spit on me?"
"Actually my saliva is acidic," said Jack-Jack.
"Whatever," said Fusion, who had lost interest. Stretching out again, he punched the kid, only to hit solid metal. Jack-Jack grinned at the intruder as he stood in his metal form.
Gavin was taken aback.
"How is that possible? The files said you had no powers?"
"Guess they were wrong."
Switching tactics, Fusion decided to rely on sheer brute, strength. He was strong enough to tear through metal. Jack-Jack changed back before leaping backwards, avoiding Fusion's fist and clambered up the wall, out of range.
"Just call me the Amazing Spider Kid!" he quipped cheekily, crawling along the ceiling. Fusion said nothing and formed a spike made from ice and hurled it at the boy. Jack-Jack dropped at the last second, the icicle missing by inches. Gavin hurled icy blast after icy blast, but the kid countered with fire-balls of his own. The surprises kept on coming.
"Well Jack-Jack, you certainly put up more of a fight than the rest of your family."
"Thanks. But you can call me Incrediboy."
"I don't think so. But I will give you a choice. You can join me, help to rid the world of the capes, or be destroyed."
"I'll take option three, none of the above."
Fusion stretched again, quickly wrapping the youngling up in his arms then began to choke him. But Jack-Jack made himself intangible and phased out of the villain's grip. Becoming solid again, Jack-Jack poked his tongue out at his new nemesis.
"Is that all you got?"
Fusion created a force-field to contain the brat then cut off his oxygen supply. He was fast, but Incrediboy was faster. He vanished into thin air, reappearing on the other side of the room in almost the same instant.
"Dash is fast, but I'm a teleporter," he said.
Infuriated at being foiled at the child, Fusion was desperately trying to think of a good strategy.
"Your continued resistance is futile, I will destroy you now unless you surrender."
"Geez, you are just one big, walking book of cliches aren't you?"
"For a little punk, you're pretty smart."
"And for a guy who absorbed my dad's strength, you fight like a little old lady."
Fusion thought for a moment. Then picked up Daniel.
"Alright, stand down, and maybe I won't snap your brothers neck like twig. Or maybe I'll find some of your little friends and kill them in creative yet agonisingly painful ways."
That did it. Jack-Jack began teleporting his family out of the room and safely down the straight. He had never moved so fast, so frequently or with so many people with him. It was risky, he might burn himself out, but he kept going. Even, with his acquired super speed, Furthington couldn't keep track of him. It was as if he were everywhere at once, like there were several doppelgangers. Then the youngest Parr flashed back into the house, and hit Fusion with a solid metal arm. Looking up at the roof, he focused and twin beams of purple energy erupted from his eyes, blasting a hole in the ceiling. Grabbing Fusion's shirt, he launched himself off the ground, flying up wards, making sure to slam his opponent against the roof on the way up. Higher and higher he flew, yet showed no signs of stopping. The air began to thin and Fusion was struggling to breathe. Jack-Jack was changing his form again, becoming a red-skinned monster, at least twice his usual size and far more resistant to the effects of the atmosphere. When he had flown high enough, he stooped and looked the power-duplicator in the eyes.
"YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE ATTACKED MY FAMILY!" he said in a demonic voice and let go. As Fusion fell, the creature laced his figures together and with a powerful blow, sent his enemy towards the ground even faster. The the impact of Fusion hitting the ground in the Parr's backyard, caused the ground to shudder and a small shock-wave rippled outwards as though he was a stone being dropped into a pond. But before he could move, a metallic Jack-Jack slammed into him at terminal velocity, who then reverted to his monster form and leaped out of the now enlarged crater.
"Not so tough now are you?" asked Incrediboy. "Gravity and Physics one, Fusion zilch. Incidentally,you should have combined your abilities knucklehead. That way you might have lasted a bit longer. Thanks to his enhanced durability and rapid level of healing, Fusion was already recovering.
"Not a bad idea," he said and used another sonic cry. Jack-Jack recoiled, giving Fusion to jump up and out of the hole. He extended his legs and delivered an axe-kick, following up with a blast of ice. He grabbed the boy by the neck, hauling him up so that his feet dangled helplessly off the ground and then ran. Combining the super speed and strength, he ploughed through several houses, using Jack-Jack as a battering ram before pinning him up against a tree. Losing consciousness, Jack-Jack became human again.
"I got ya now you little piss-ant. You sure put up one hell of a struggle, but now it's time for you to say good-night," Fusion spat. "But first, I could sure use a few of those impressive powers of yours!" He took his bare hand and placed on Jack-Jack's forehead. The boy struggled, but couldn't stop the energy being siphoned out of him.
"Of course by a few, I mean all of them."
He felt the new power surging through him, energizing him. But it wasn't enough.
"More! I NEED MORE!"
Jack-Jack didn't offer any more resistance. And Fusion just kept on absorbing.
It wasn't until it was too late that he realized something was wrong. Before he could pull away, there was a flash of light and he was knocked back. Jack-Jack slumped down onto the ground. Fusion got back to his feet, looking slightly frazzled.
"HA! I got it all baby!" he stared at his hands in amazement, "I can feel it."
On the grass, Jack-Jack opened his eyes to look at the villain. And smiled.
"What? What's so funny? How can you be smiling when now I am the single most powerful being in the universe? See, I have it all!"
He snapped his fingers and ignited a flame in his hand, but the fire was extinguished by a burst of cold air. He frowned. That wasn't what he had wanted to do. He tried turning to metal, but his arms sagged to the ground, like wet, limp noodles. He tried the ocular blast, but his left became intangible and he sank into the ground before managing to stop himself. Then he noticed the sudden hammering in his head. His field of vision began to blur, his balance was thrown out of whack. He couldn't control the powers.
"NOOOOO!" he screamed as the muscles in his face began to go slack. "THIS CAN'T HAPPEN TO ME! I AM ALL POWERFUL....I AM FUSION...." his words broke off into a primal how, a mixture of rage and agony before he collapsed to the ground. Jack-Jack took his time standing up. His injuries were not fatal, a few days of rest and he should be back in action in no time. He winced as he realized that he probably had a broken arm, maybe a cracked rib or two. But he had won. Limping over to Fusion- who was curled up in a ball, babbling incoherently- he pressed a finger into a pressure point on his neck. Immediately, Gavin Furthington's body released all it's tension and he slipped into a deep sleep.
"Alright big boy, let's get you out of here." With one more big effort, Jack-Jack teleported them both back home.
***
Daniel was awake when they materialized in the living room and rush over to catch his brother when he sank to his knees in exhaustion.
"Jack-Jack! Dude, what happened? How did you beat him?"
"I simply overloaded him."
"Say what now?"
"Fusion, or Gavin if you like, has the power to absorb and duplicate the metahuman abilities of all that he comes into contact with, storing them within like a battery. I allowed him to use all of my 'unique gifts' until the surplus of energy became far too great, wreaking havoc on him internally and causing extensive physiological trauma."
Daniel just blinked at him.
"Seriously little bro, slow down. I have a hell of a headache and even I can't keep up with your big words."
Jack-Jack sighed. It was easy to forget that most kids his age -or often above for that matter- weren't quite as intellectually gifted as he was.
"Basically he took more than he could cope with and burnt his gourd."
"Yeah whatever. Try and wake the others up. I need a drink. Don't tell dad."
And he was gone.
Since he first saw Gavin after taking out his family, Jack-Jack had assessed the situation and figured out his strategy right away. Along with the powers he had already acquired, the combination of his family's powers, Frozone's and his all of his own, proved to be far too much for any one man. Yes, it wasn't nice to cause people to have a mental meltdown, but Fusion was just too dangerous to be left alone. Later on, NSA agents would collect the criminal and place him in solitary confinement, under constant observation. It was unlikely Fusion would regain his sanity any time soon, but there was no reason to take any chances. But for now, he needed sleep.
He was only thirteen after all.
Time: 0700 hrs
Location: Metroville Asylum
Several weeks later...
A skinny, dark-haired, young man sat all alone in the far corner a white padded cell. The strait Jacket seemed to be several sizes to big for him. He had been losing a lot of weight lately, refusing to eat. The only way to get any nutrients into him was via a intravenous tube. Even then, he had to be heavily sedated to avoid one of his screaming fits. As he sat, he couldn't help but get the feeling he was supposed to remember something. Something very important. He had tried to inform the nice big men in pretty white coats of his problem, but for some reason they couldn't understand them. So he stayed ensconced in his little corner, talking to know one in particular.
"Do you know who I am? You should....I am....Incrediboy....king of the cakes....apes? Capes? I don't remember. How do you do? Do you know who I am?"