Chapter 4: The Boy I Once Knew

Suddenly, I could finally see the tall man walk out from the separated lava. As soon as he did the lava began to close back up. He paused momentarily and looked over at me. He had the most peculiar outfit on…

It almost looked like something a super hero would wear…! (Déjà Vu) He wore black and white tights that had the shape of an S patterned on it. He also had a long cape and a mask to match. He had bright orange hair that was very tall and wild looking…It looked a bit familiar…But the most familiar thing about him was his eyes. A bright ocean blue…Where have I seen those eyes before…?

He opened his mouth to talk to me but he seemed almost lost for words for some reason. He stared at me carefully, almost like he went into a state of shock.

"Um…H-Hello there, sir…" I spoke up timidly while giving him a light wave of the hand.

He walked closer towards me to get a better look, "Wendy…?" he muttered in disbelief.

My pale blue eyes widen. How did he know my name…? Maybe, Mirage told him before I came.

"Um yeah, that's my name..! Heh….This might sound really stupid but I actually never got your name…" I confessed while brushing some blonde hair from my face and looking down away from him in discomfort as he continued to stare at me intensely, it was rather intimidating.

He was about to talk again but he just shook his head and almost grinned, "Wendy…! Don't tell me you had already forgotten me…!" he said almost overly-happy. I tensed up and looked back up at his face in confusion.

It was then when it struck me like lightning and my eyes widen like a deer in head lights.

"Wait…Buddy Pine…?" I uttered before gasping loudly. I swore I felt my heart almost flutter away. This can't really be thee Buddy Pine can it…? No… I-it has to be…!

It was then his grin went wider, "Wendy…! Is that really you..?!" Buddy exclaimed happily and walked closer and grabbed my shoulder gently as he stared at me up and down.

"Oh my goodness… BUDDY…!" I inquired overly excited and launched myself on him for a tight longing very-overdue hug.

This almost didn't even seem real…! And just when I thought I would never see Buddy ever again…!

Here he is…

Mega filthy rich…And look at me…! Oh God, I'm so lame compared to him…!

Once I let go of him I stared at him with an overjoyed expression, "You're alive…! I almost thought someone kidnapped you or something…! Where in the world have you been?" I exclaimed and he chuckled and shook his head still in disbelief.

"Oh, you know doing things…-"

"Like becoming super ultra filthy mega rich and living in a freaking volcano on a private tropical island…! You slay me…!" I declared over-dramatically while placing a hand over my chest.

"Yeah well, whatever about me…! What in the world have you been doing…?" he asked just as excitedly as me. I felt like the two annoying kids that we used to be back then. It was the most amazing feeling ever!

"Me…! Really…Me…? Ha… Nothing even slightly compared to this…! I've been trapped in Metro City at some rat infested café and living in some dinky apartment…I'm almost embarrassed to even admit that to you…Seeing you as you are…" I confessed and couldn't stop grinning.

"What, really…? Why would you work there…? I never thought you would end up as some waitress…"

"Neither did I…" I frowned and muttered dully and shook my head and begin grinning again.

"B-but never mind that…How in the world did you become so-…So….RICH…! N-not that I'm surprised or anything… I knew you would be destined for greatness from the very moment I met you…!"

Buddy smiled at that and shrugged, "Oh you know… Selling my personally deigned weapons and gadgets to different arms dealers and other occupations…That kind of stuff…" he droned and I began to laugh again.

"Once again, I'm not surprised..! Your gadgets and what-not are super impressive! I even still have your rocket boots that you had given me years back!"

He looked at me in surprise, "You still have those things…?"

"Well duh! Why wouldn't I…? I still love them…" I told him happily and he smirked.

"Well if you like them so much, maybe I can make a new, way more improved version for you… The ones I gave you years back are way more than just out-dated…And probably too small for you now…"

"Well yeah…. B-But really…?! You don't have to do that!"

"I know but maybe I want too." He stated coolly and I grinned in delight.

"By the way… you look….-"he paused a moment and rubbed the back of his head before speaking, "Nice or no…- well b-beautiful….Yeah… Beautiful…!" he said a bit apprehensively and seemed to be a tad annoyed at himself for some reason.

I was really not expecting that…! I blushed and looked away from him with a light smile, "T-thanks…" I stuttered before then laughed nervously.

"So…Am I definitely hired to be your maid…? I stated and he almost snorted in laughter at me.

"Are you kidding me…? You're not going to be my *maid*." He said humorously and my face fell quickly and I gave a confused expression.

He seemed to notice my discomfort and he quickly adds in, "What I mean is… I'm not going to make my only and best friend my *maid*. How about…-You stay here without all the…Cleaning stuff… I can easily get someone that actually deserves a boring job like that."

I blinked a couple times with my mouth slightly agape, "W-wait you want me to stay…? And be completely useless and do nothing…?"

He looked at me oddly and scowled teasingly, "Useless…? I don't think so… You can stay around and uh…-"he paused for a moment and soon said, "Keep me company…"

"Keep you company…? I'll gladly do that b-but…-"

"You can still stay for free… Obviously." He replied and almost seemed like he was almost begging me to stay without trying to make it completely obvious.

"Stay for free to give you company…? That sounds almost too good to be true, I would feel like a complete free-loader…"

"Free-loader…? Oh please, Wendy…" he muttered and chuckled at me like I said something really stupid.

"Well…. Uh, I guess I could…" I murmured and looked down at my feet.

He started to brighten with a grin, "Great…!"

"But there's one problem…"

His face fell and he looked at me strangely, "and that is…?

"You see I'm sharing my room with a really close friend of mine you could say… And I love him WAY too much to make him leave…" I told him anxiously and he seemed to tense up a lot.

He shifted uncomfortably on his feet and seemed to have this strange look about him. He looked almost like he was really angry about something. I hope he wasn't mad at me…!

"You… Have a boyfriend…?" he asked lowly as if he was trying to keep something in from blowing up.

"Huh, W-what…!? OH NO… NO… Oh my goodness, no…!" I started laughing at him and he looked at me like I was crazy but he seemed to turn less tense when I said that.

"No, no, no… He's a cat… My cat Figaro… "I told him and he made a strange expression before seemingly able to calm down a lot more from the sudden tenseness he had before.

"Oh a cat…Well that's different…Yeah, that's no problem…" he stated and attempted to smile at me weakly.

I sighed in relief, "Oh good… For a moment I thought you were going to cut my head off…!" I laughed and he shook his head with a doubtful expression.

"Why would I do that…?" he said with a teasing voice.

"I don't know! You looked angry for a moment…! Haha…"

He shook his head and stayed quiet for a moment.

"Hey, I bet your hungry about we have some dinner, hmm?" he asked and I nodded slowly.

"Sure…But can I ask you a quick question…?" I asked curiously.

"Of course…"

"What's with the outfit…? You kind of look like a Super! Oh… Did you become a super-hero too…!? And that's why you have a private island away from Metro City… So you can be a hero…?!" I asked a little more excitedly then I should of.

He frowned darkly and looked away from me at a random wall.

"No…" he muttered bitterly and walked over to the table and brought out the chair for me to sit in. I looked at him questioningly from his bitterness to that question but sat down anyways.

He stayed quiet another moment as he walked over and sat at the other end of the table. The table was already decked out with food that I didn't even really notice until now. It mostly consisted of different fruits but that was okay with me.

"…No…?" I questioned a bit feebly.

"No Wendy… It's much different now… Very different." He confessed and stared at me from the other end of the table with a frown.

"What do you mean, Buddy…?"

He chuckled lowly for a moment and shook his head while looking down for a second, "I don't go by that name anymore, Wendy… Things have changed… I'm not some low-life unappreciated side-kick or hero! Those days are over… I am now Syndrome, the arch-nemesis of all supers!" he declared with a mischievous side to him, I've never seen before until now.

My face fell to a look of sadness, "A villain…B-but why? What about Mr. Incredible and Incrediboy…?" I asked in disbelief. I couldn't believe it…The Buddy I once knew wanted nothing more than to be a hero that could save lives and help people but now he became a villain…?!

That's not the Buddy Pine, I knew…! Not at all….

Buddy scoffed loudly and frowned more, "I am ESPECIALLY the arch-nemesis of Mr. Incredible. Times have changed, Wendy. Incrediboy died off a long time ago…But I'm sure you understand…Right…?" he asked and looked at me…Almost hopefully.

I stared down at the table and felt myself lose my appetite. "I know Mr. Incredible hurt you Budd-"

"It's Syndrome..!"

I gawked at him in shock and then bit my lip, "Fine…Syndrome…I know Mr. Incredible hurt you but that doesn't mean you have to hate all supers! In fact…I still love supers even if they aren't amongst us like they used to be! Actually, I want nothing more than to be a super, Buddy-err Syndrome..!" I admitted and he looked at me with a blank expression though his eyes looked cold.

"You don't want to be a super Wendy…Trust me…" he muttered darkly.

"And just why not..?" I demanded a little irritably.

He sighed heavily and seemed to snap suddenly.

"Because I don't want to have to eliminate you…!" Buddy yelled and smashed his fists onto the table roughly.

Everything fell silent from there into an awkward cold dead silence.

I glanced at him and shook my head and then stared blankly down at the plate in front of me. I didn't even know what to say.

Buddy sighed heavily in frustration again and ran his hand through his ginger hair.

"Wendy…-"I cut him off and stood up coldly.

"I think I'm going to retire to my room…Thanks for dinner and good night…" I stated bluntly even though I didn't even touch my food and began walking away towards the door to take one of those pods back to my room.

-POV CHANGE-

Buddy sat there and stared at Wendy's back with more frustration building up within him as she left him in the room alone. He wanted Wendy to be on his side, not the supers…! He had to find a way to persuade her to join him…For some reason he really wanted her…He really, really wanted her. And he wasn't going to let her little dream to become a 'super' change that. Maybe, he could convince her to be a villain…Yes…A villain, his own little villainess. When he thought of her that way it send chills down his spine. He really liked that idea. And maybe when Operation Kronos takes place maybe even that could change but for now he just had to think of a way to persuade her. He would just have to let her cool off for awhile. But Wendy Wips was not going to get away from his grasp that easily.

No…She was the only one he could count on…He would have her and there was nothing she could do about it.

-POV CHANGE-

When I got back to my room, I instantly threw myself on the bed and broke down crying. I can't believe this…! Why would Buddy become this…? A villain…?! It didn't make sense to me at all! I laid there and cried for awhile until I couldn't cry anymore. I eventually just sat there and stared off at the ocean view blankly.

It was true what I told Buddy back there. Deep down inside, I've always wanted to be a super. Sure, I said a doctor would suffice but being a super-hero is what I always wanted to be. I even had the powers to be one…! I lied what I had said about before about not using my powers at all. I've actually used them a lot more once Buddy left me after graduation. I got so attached to my powers that I even drove off on random roads to find dead animals to bring them back to life.

Yup, you heard me… I could bring dead animals back to life. It was crazy but I had become so in love with my powers to heal people and things. Although, I knew I had to be careful of course because being super was banned from Metro but I attempted to keep it as secret as possible. I didn't just heal animals or people either, I would sometimes sit in my apartment and throw disks of green energy out of my hands at bottles and such. I was finally able to get a handle of that…Though it seemed to be much stronger when I was angry or upset.

I laid there and eventually felt myself begin to doze off. It had been a very long day…Things would be awkward because I knew tomorrow I had to face Buddy, or should I say Syndrome again. Maybe, things would get better…I wasn't too sure but I didn't want to harbor on the feelings and thoughts anymore as my mind started to fade to darkness as I fell asleep next to Figaro who cuddled next to me.