Violet was bored. Bored. Bored. Bored.

She flipped through the channels again before throwing the remote down. Typical, even with the satellite set up Syndrome had, there was still nothing to watch.

Her powers hadn't come back to full strength and her leg still wouldn't hold her weight. She'd seen Syndrome a few times since the 'bikini' conversation, as she called it in her head, and he hadn't said much. He'd brought her bags from her hotel (and why hadn't she packed her DS?), which, of course, it turned out he owned.

She was going to have a long talk with someone at the NSA about the meaning of 'freezing assets' when she got back. Because Syndrome wasn't hurting for money, that was sure. And what was up with villains and islands?

A sign of making the big time? Overcompensating for something? The desire to use James Bond villain lines like 'You'll never leave this island alive'?

Violet sighed. At least she'd been able to change into more modest clothing. She wasn't about to let him have any more views of her legs, or any other part of her body, than he'd already gotten.

It'd occurred to her, more than once, that there could be cameras in the room, which creeped her out, but she refused too make a production of it all and simply changed in the bathroom. Somehow that seemed worse than letting him get up close views of her skin. Because then he'd know he was getting to her. And he wasn't.

"Bored?"

Violet jumped slightly and glared over in his direction. "No."

He was leaning against the door frame with a smirk. "I guess you don't want this then." He held up the thin laptop with one hand.

She frowned. "What's the catch?"

He looked exasperated. "What is it with you? Why do you think everything I do has a catch?"

"Do you want a full list or a rough summary?" Violet asked, crossing her arms.

"This is going to another of those 'I'm a villain' things, isn't it?" he asked, rolling his eyes. He walked over to the bed.

Violet's eyes followed him as he moved across the room; he still had that cockiness to his walk from years ago. He was bigger than her, stronger than her, and had her at his mercy. "Does it have Internet?"

"You think I'd build a system without a connection to the Internet?" he asked in return, raising an eyebrow.

She reached out for it. "Fine, then give it here."

"Ah-ah," he told her holding it out of her grip.

"So there is a catch!" she said triumphantly.

Syndrome gave her a dirty look, but he still looked amused. "Say 'please', first."

Violet blinked. "That's all?"

"Hey, not my fault your parents didn't teach you any manners," he smirked.

"Please, give me the laptop," she said through gritted teeth.

He handed it over. "Was that so hard?"

She opened it up and started to turn it on. "I supposed you want me to say thank you, too."

"Would be nice," he agreed with a laugh.

"Fine, 'thank you'," she spat.

Syndrome laughed. "Aren't you feisty, today. Oh, by the way, the system will automatically filter out any mention of this place, should you try to tell anyone where you are."

"See, prisoner," she told him.

"Would you be happier if I'd put you in a cell?" he asked. "Maybe with some rats. Or were you thinking a bit more high tech?"

She thought about it for a moment. "No, but I would like a cane or something. Holding onto the wall to walk to the bathroom is kind of annoying."

"I'll make a note of that," he chuckled.

Violet pointedly looked away from his amused face and looked at the computer. It felt incredibly light, and had started up faster than any computer she'd ever used. The operating system threw her for a moment, before she realized it was a completely new and unfamiliar one. "Did you design the OS?" she asked, looking up, but found he'd already left the room.

Violet felt a twinge of annoyance at herself. She had wanted to talk to him. How messed up was that? What the hell was wrong with her?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next time he came into the room with food, she practically pounced on him with questions about the laptop and the OS. He'd seemed both pleased and embarrassed, and Violet got the feeling people normally didn't ask him how he built things. Which was weird.

It was far easier to take down a villain after they'd explained to you how all their stuff worked. And Syndrome seemed the kind of guy that would be more than happy to tell you, just to prove how good he was.

So, she asked him more about his inventions. He talked about what he was working on at that moment, some sort of water purification system that was solar based.

Syndrome was as much of a genius as he had once claimed, she realized over the several more conversations over the next few days. She'd become so used to dealing with people that claimed to be geniuses, but really were nothing of the sort. It had been his own genius that had defeated him when her and her family had face him. If he hadn't created a machine that almost literally had a mind of its own, that took him down, and gave them the chance to get that remote…Violet didn't want to think about what could have happened.

Talking to someone who used brains over brawn, was a relief after all the idiot boys she had to deal with. Supers or not, some of them had the mistaken belief that strength could defeat anything. Her dad said guys like that would outgrow that thought process eventually, but Violet wasn't so sure. She wasn't sure her dad had even outgrown that way of thinking completely.

"I see I'm not the only one pulling a late night," Syndrome's voice came from the doorway.

She looked up from the research she was doing for a chemistry paper, not that she'd really been concentrating on it. The paper was due soon and she'd been putting it off with superhero work and everything else. "Yeah, research for a college paper. It's a pain, because I can't sound like I know too much," she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "The lab work is always easier, you can get away with more free experimenting, to a point."

He nodded like he understood, and maybe he did. "Holding oneself to others opinions of your capabilities, can be annoying," he agreed with a slightly smug smile. She figured it was a jab at her father, but let it go. "Thought you'd want some coffee," he told her, walking over to hand her the mug he held in his right hand.

She curled her hands around it and almost dropped it. "Ouch, that's hot! How did you not feel that?"

"Just handled too many hot pieces of metal over the years, deadens the nerve endings," he said dismissively. His eyes darted away from hers and Violet very carefully put the mug down. His right hand had clenched into a fist.

Violet took a breath, wondering why her chest felt tight. He could be telling the truth, it sounded like the truth, but his body language… "How did you survive being sucked into that jet engine?"

She heard him inhale sharply. "I'd rather not talk about it, if it's all the same."

"Did something happen to your arm?" she pushed, not sure as to why she was doing so.

"I was sucked into a chamber of razor sharp blades, moving at extreme speeds," he said very softly. "You're bound to not come out in the same shape you entered."

"Syndrome…"

"Goodnight, Invisagirl," he said coolly and walked towards the door.

"Wait, I…" she didn't know what she would say, but she didn't want him to leave angry with her. And how fucked up was that?

"Goodnight," he paused at the door. "Your leg should be healed enough to put weight on it," he added as he left.

Violet was left staring at the door confused and shaken. Carefully, she picked up the mug of coffee and took a drink. He'd added just enough milk and sugar to make it just how she liked it, which left her wondering if he knew that or if this was how he drank his coffee too.

She suddenly decided it would have been easier if he'd put in her a cell. At least then she could have hated him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Buddy stepped into Robin's room, letting the sight of her sleeping soundly calm him. He hadn't been prepared for Violet's question, but he should have been. She was a smart girl, and much to his chagrin, he liked her. It was too bad she was Mr. Incredible's daughter and super.

Robin stirred restlessly in her sleep and Buddy moved over to the bed to smooth down her hair. She wore a pair of special fitted glasses, different from her daytime ones. This pair had frames that were practically cloth, soft and comfortable against the child's face as she slept. It had taken a bit of finagling with E, who had made sure he knew her opinion on her actions and his cape, but she hadn't been able to resist the challenge of developing a series of frames for the special lenses he'd made. A pair for the bath, a pair for bedtime, a pair for every-day play.

She was starting to outgrow the current set and he'd have to take her over to E for a new set soon. Maybe after this whole fiasco was over. Xerek would get tired of sending people after him, eventually.

He hoped.

"Daddy?" Robin asked sleepily, blinking her eyes open.

"Shh, it's okay, I was just checking on you," he murmured bending down to kiss her forehead. "Go back to sleep."

She yawned and curled her small hand around two of his fingers. "Didja check on super too?"

Buddy chuckled. "I did."

"Can I meet her yet?" she asked.

"Robin, she's still recovering, I want you to leave her alone. Okay?" Buddy told her firmly. If Violet found out about Robin, it would be because he wanted her too and on his terms.

"Kay," Robin agreed, already falling back asleep. "Love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Robin." Buddy stroked her hair again, watching until she was fast asleep again.