This is a decent sized chapter, so tackle it when you have time. :)
Chapter Fourteen: Their Estranged Passion
"This life is filled with hurt when happiness doesn't work. Trust me and take my hand. When the lights go out, you'll understand."
"Pain," by Three Days Grace
Buddy had been right. She had been given two choices: Come freely or kicking or screaming. Unfortunately for her, she had decided to choose the latter, and now she was currently sitting in the back of a limo, two giant men beside her, her arms bound tightly to her sides and her legs wrapped together with thick rope. She was still struggling to get free by trying to wiggle her arms out, but the men had tied it extremely tight and her limbs were already losing circulation.
"Urgh, dammit!" She kicked out with frustration, accidentally hitting the two unconscious men in front of her. She looked down briefly at their bruised faces, and then kicked them again just for the heck of it.
She hadn't been taken easily, and the proof was all over the living room and the kitchen at her house. It was lucky that Dash had left to go to his friend's house a few minutes before the men came. She wouldn't have wanted him to get in the middle of the battle. She had broken enough furniture and bones and having her brother be there, risking his safety, would have been awful.
Despite the fact that she had nearly trashed the house when battling the men, a few others had stayed behind to fix things up. One of them had been a woman in her mid twenties. She had short, brunette hair, hazel almond eyes, and was rather beautiful. She had stood out like a stain on a white shirt amongst the hulking body guards and Violet had to wonder why in the world she had been with them.
Who knows? I really don't care at the moment. She struggled and grunted and tried to flex her hands, but it was growing more and more useless by the second.
"Stop wiggling," demanded the large, bald man on her right.
"Let me go!" was her just as powerful reply.
"You'll be untied once you are inside the Pine residence," said the other man on her left, a man that looked as if he had just come out of jail, which wouldn't surprise her if that was the truth.
She would be let free once she was in his grasp? Not only was that absurd, it was completely stupid and there was no way she was just going to sit there and wait to be passed over to Buddy. She struggled some more, kicked out again, and then let out a groan of frustration. "I don't want to see him!" she growled out as she tried to at least work her hands free. "Do you know that this is illegal? You guys will be sent to jail!"
"Been there, done that," murmured the man on her left, and the bald man chuckled. Then, he grabbed onto Violet's shoulders with his two giant hands and forced her into the seat, pinning her in place. "Stop wiggling," he said again, this time quieter, but with much more danger in his voice.
Violet glared at him, but didn't move any further. "I knew it," she mumbled. The man gave her a look, but she ignored him and instead resigned to sulk, frowning intensely at the men on the floor.
She had tried to call Buddy's bluff, and had lost more than poker chips. She should have known that big, evil head of his would pull off something like this.
A cold feeling crept up her spine. But maybe it wasn't Buddy. Maybe it was…
So stupid. She was so stupid. She had nearly forgotten just who Buddy was, or rather, what Buddy could be, and because of that carelessness she was now being taken away to the lion's cave. No amount of mental slaps or punches or curses could ever make her pay for the fact that she had forgotten that Syndrome was not dead.
Buddy and Syndrome, Syndrome and Buddy. I can't forget! However, they were two separate personalities and she couldn't treat them equally even though they resided in one body. She needed to learn the difference between the two and she needed to do so in record time or else she could pay the ultimate price. It was a daunting task and the more she thought about it, the more unsettled she became.
Don't think about it. Try and think about how you are going to get out of this.
She tested her bindings and almost cried when they felt like they were getting tighter. Why hadn't she been born with a useful super power, like laser vision, or hands that could turn into scissors? No, she had invisibility and forcefields and neither would help her.
Maybe you might have had more options if you actually kept up with your superpower practice, said a scalding voice in her head. It spoke the truth, and Violet grew even more moody because of it.
Recently, she had been experimenting with her powers, trying to see what else she could do. She worked with theoretic ideas, trying to weave her way down into the basic working parts and pieces of her powers. That lead to the idea that her powers worked with three major components: The composition of her body, the power of her mind, and the manipulation of light. All her forcefields were was concentrated ultraviolet light manipulated and controlled by her will. Her invisibility worked in the same manner, subtracting all color pigments in her body and bending the light around her in specific amounts, but that was where it got tricky. She could only make herself invisible along with special clothing that Edna made for her. Invisibility, it seemed, was instinctual for her and until she could learn to focus that power on other objects, all she would be able to do was turn, essentially, her own body invisible. Her supersuit and other clothing from Edna were made of special fabric that was similar to her unique body composition, so the premise was the same.
If she could learn to control both of her powers, theoretically she could accomplish much, much more. If she could manipulate and concentrate light in the form of a forcefield, why couldn't she make it into other shapes, throw concentrated light, like a fireball, or even create weapons?
Like scissors.
And her invisibility, if properly practiced, could be extended to other things around her. People, furniture, and maybe one day an entire building! Even the special composition of her body could result to something if she just focused her time and attention on figuring out how to control her powers.
But it's so hard! she whined, puffing her lip out in protest. But she was going to have to learn to progress because one day she would be one of the big-time superheroes and if she couldn't grow, she would eventually find herself stuck in a rut that would be awfully hard to climb out of.
You've got to do it though because if you don't, you'll end up in far stickier situations than the one you're in right now.
Violet frowned, and then reluctantly shrugged. Yeah, there was that.
The limousine began to slow down. She straightened and peered out the window. Beyond the glass she could see the familiar gates to Buddy's mansion. They drove on through, and her heart fell just as fast as the gates closed, coming together and locking, sealing her doom. She slowly leaned back into her seat, trying to control the rolling sickness in her stomach. A minute passed and she had to close her eyes because she felt as if she was going to vomit.
Apparently she did look pretty sick because the men scooted away from her and gave their unconscious friends pitying looks.
"Better hurry before they're covered," commented the bald man with no lacking amount of seriousness, and then called out to the driver to pick up the pace.
No, don't pick up the pace. She really, really, really didn't want to see Buddy, not after today. She may have been able to sort through her emotions, at least some of them, but that didn't mean she wanted to confront him about it. For one, she had no idea what she was going to say. Two, she didn't know what she should say, and three, she didn't want to see him because she didn't know who he was!
This last part went different ways. She didn't know if he was friend or foe, Buddy or Syndrome, or her… her boyfriend or something, she didn't know!None of it sounded right and it was all random puzzle pieces in her head and she sucked at puzzles and why should she have to put one together, especially since his fat head was the stupid picture!
I don't want to put together a stupid, ugly, fat head puzzle because I suck at puzzles, I don't like them, and I really don't like anything right now!
And then her brain got sidetracked, recalled her comment about him being her boyfriend, and then twisted her face in disgust because she didn't like that idea much at all. At least, she didn't like that word being coupled with his face because it made no sense. It was like trying to imagine her father giving bi-
NO! Don't think that!! She shuddered. No, never think that again. Bad Violet!
Even though the mental image of her father was forcefully pushed away, she still did not accept she and Buddy had a relationship when it was so very obvious that they did, even though the aspects of said relationship were very much shrouded in darkness and unseen to almost all eyes.
The limo finally rolled to a stop, and the moment it did, Violet's adrenaline rushed through her body like magic elixir. So, just as the bald man reached for her, she lashed out and began to thrash about like an enraged snake, spiting and biting her fury. She even got a hold of the man's arm with her mouth, sinking her teeth into him, causing him to cry out with pain. He hissed and grabbed onto his arm, quickly becoming furious. He loomed over her, preparing to rip her to shreds, but her feet swung out first and kicked him square in the groin. Fury switched to surprise and then agony as he fell over with a groan, almost on the verge of whimpers.
"Vince!" The man had been pinned back by Violet's violence, but now was coming forward and struggling to pin Violet down on her back. "Stupid girl, you better stop moving before I knock you good and hard!"
She struggled, arching. "Get… off!" Her legs came up and she kicked him right in the face, his nose breaking and blood flying. Then, she threw herself forward and tumbled, struggling to get onto her knees.
"Now I've just gotta-"
The car door opened, and the limousine driver jumped at the sight within the back seat, but that was the only response he could get out. Violet jumped at him, sending them both crashing to the ground. She rolled off of him and down the road, and as she did so, she worked her feet free from her shoes, which allowed her to slip out of her feet bindings. Putting weight on her side, she let the rope around her arms slow her down as it rubbed against the pavement, and then she got up to her feet and began to run.
"Whoops!"
A familiar humming sound, and she could not move. Nothing could move, nothing except her eyes. She remembered this feeling of being utterly frozen, and as she began to hover back towards the limousine, she knew what face she would see.
"Wowee, Violet," said Buddy with an entertained grin, "look what you did all by yourself!"
He was dressed in casual attire; a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers. He would have almost looked normal if it wasn't for the white armlet he wore, which was now emitting a beam of blue zero-point energy at her, stopping her literally in her tracks. He was smiling at her, and even though his goons were unconscious and bleeding and crying, and a tooth could be seen just behind his shoe, there wasn't an ounce of anger on his face. In fact, he was oozing happiness and enjoyment.
It infuriated her.
"I never knew what kind of spitfire you had, Violet. Just when I think I've seen it all, petite little Miss Parr renders four of my best body guards unconscious and/or incapacitated and my driver in need of a new tooth." He grinned. "And on top of all that, she's bound head to toe!" He laughed, slapping his knee, making Violet even angrier. "Man! You are just too funny!" He sighed with content and wiped a tear out of his eye. "Wow, you really are something, you know that?" He gave her a look, and that look made her anger spin around and twist into embarrassment, but there was no way he could see that because her face was still frozen into an expression of terror, which was really odd considering just how flustered she felt at that moment.
"Come on," he said, his voice still laced with laughter, "let's go inside, shall we?"
It had been her hope that he would turn off the zero-point energy, but that hope was soundly quashed. He still kept her suspended and led her through the doors of his home, humming a bubbly tune to himself. This made the atmosphere rather comical, but in a disturbing way because all emotions were opposite, and expressions were false, and seriousness was treated with a grin and a happy-go-lucky attitude and it was making Violet really confused and unsettled.
The doors shut behind them on their own, and then, to her horror, the sound of a locking mechanism clicked through the air. The moment the final tumbler made its way into its spot, he let her go, dropping her unceremoniously onto the floor.
"Welcome back," he said with a smirk.
"Not really," was her bitter reply.
He raised an eyebrow at her, his lips twisting upwards. "I gave you options, Violet. This was your own choice."
"No, my choice was to not come at all," she corrected firmly, "but of course I don't get a say in anything, do I?"
"Of course you do!" exclaimed Buddy. He walked over to her, making her flinch away, but all he did was lean down and begin to untie her arms.
"I do have a choice?" she said with disbelief. She gave him a skeptic glare. "I'm sorry, but I have not been given any proof that would prove this."
Buddy chuckled. "Okay," he said, tugging at a tight knot, "let me correct myself, then. You have a choice." The rope fell away and he stood up, smirking. "You just don't have a choice in this particular matter."
Violet shook the ropes off of her body and massaged her aching arms. She looked up at Buddy with a sense of trepidation, all of her fight-or-flight instincts kicking in. She began to stand up and as she straightened, she refused to look away from him. She swore that the moment she did, something else bad would happen.
Hesitantly, she did flick her gaze around her surroundings, assessing the situation. When she saw no exits, no form of help or hope anywhere, she began to panic. Her whole body tensed as the feeling of entrapment crept further and further into her brain, and it only worsened when she realized just whom she was entrapped with.
"Let me out," she demanded shakily.
Buddy rolled his eyes at her and made a noise of displeasure in his throat. "Don't tell me we're going to go through this again," he groused. "Don't you think once is enough for one day?"
She was confused for a moment, and then she realized that they had already had a similar conversation inside of the chemistry room, and the end of that particular conversation hadn't ended… as expected.
Violet's mouth, on its own accord, snapped shut.
"Good girl."
"I'm not a pet," she snapped. "I will not be addressed like one!"
He chuckled at her and took two steps forward. Violet skittered six steps backwards and took shelter behind a couch. Anything between them was relief, even though it wasn't the best of solutions.
Buddy stopped. "Are we going to have to play a little game of cat and mouse?" he asked with an unsettling grin.
"Depends what your next move is," replied Violet, tensing.
A long pause dragged through the air. It was thick and heavy, but charged with energy. It hovered like a starting flag, and as it grew more and more taut, the energy began to dance like crazy, almost like the sparkling fuse of a firework. A few more moments, the flame dancing closer to the gunpowder, and the tension cracked, the energy exploded-
You aren't Buddy-!
She gasped at the sudden darkness that had rushed into his normally sharp, blue eyes. He aimed a beam of zero-point energy at her, but she ducked quickly out of the way. She rolled to her feet and sprang up, rushing forward and into the kitchen. She could hear laughter behind her, which only made her adrenaline rush faster. She picked a corner in the spot of the kitchen a safe distance away, and then her thoughts fell into themselves. She had to plan, had to defend, and if necessary, attack, but she would also have to cope with the fact she was no longer with anyone that could help her.
He's gone. He's gone and Syndrome's here and now that he's here he's going to kill me and I'll be dead and I'll never see him again…
She was such a foolish girl.
I must run or fight. Maybe both. She looked down at her clothing, and her heart fell into her stomach. She had changed out of her school clothes when she had gotten home into more comfortable attire. Unfortunately, not a single stitch belonged to Edna.
Dammit. No matter how hard I try to explain myself, the story will always be I ran naked through Buddy Pine's house.
There was no time to complain. Syndrome was coming for her, and she had to escape before he captured her and locked her up forever. So, when the kitchen doors banged open, she slipped her socks off. Her hands were at the edge of her shirt just before he turned around and faced her, smirking.
"Violet," he said, taking a step forward. "You've got nowhere to hide."
"Maybe," she breathed, and then she pulled off her shirt and flung it to the side. She faced him, her whole body tense.
Through the mess of her hair, she saw an extremely stunned Syndrome. His eyes were wide and his jaw was slightly slack. It looked as if his brain had shut down completely, which was so strange to see on the face of a mad genius. She took the opportunity to slide the elastic band of her sweatpants down her hips, the fabric falling and collecting around her feet.
Let me have my shame later.
Syndrome took in a sharp breath, his body visibly rigid. He took a stumbling step towards her, his hand slightly outstretched and reaching towards her. His eyes flickered across her body, caressing her, staring at, in, and beyond her. The intensity of his eyes made her shiver and she had to clench her fists to control herself.
Why must you have his eyes? Damn you.
His eyes came up and locked with hers. Violet shuddered when she saw the dark hunger in his gaze, but it brought her no warmth. This was Syndrome, and she did not like Syndrome's eyes-
Buddy?
"Violet," he rasped, "you-"
Buddy is gone.
"Cat and mouse, Syndrome," she whispered.
He flinched, startled, and then a knowing smirk fell over his mouth. He chuckled a little, and then he pinned a powerful look onto her, his eyes narrowing and his smirk growing bigger, stronger, deadlier.
"I was right to pursue you. You are so interesting."
"Make your move."
"After you."
Violet's foot slid back a brief fraction, eyes narrowing. "I'm not going to hold back, Syndrome."
He smiled at her. "I wouldn't expect you to, Invisigirl."
Yes. Invisigirl.
Her mind cradled the idea, tended to it lovingly, and then forged it into armor of diamonds and wrapped it around her tender heart. Violet fell away, and Invisigirl faced Syndrome with conviction.
Good to evil. Purple to blue. They stared each other down, and each second of the standoff, Violet's heart ached a little more.
This is hopeless.
"Invisigirl…"
Why must you be so…
"Move."
And yet I still care for you, you bastard.
A beam of energy exploded to the right of her, cuing her to move. She spun around and ran, unclipping the back of her bra as her feet slapped against the tiled floor. It fell to the floor, fluttering away. Then, she prepared to slide off her underwear, but before they went to the floor, she became completely invisible. The moment she disappeared, a bolt of blue energy shot towards her, but she dodged and it instead hit a pot hanging on a rack, sending it flying. Adrenaline rushing, she ran like a gazelle, hitting the exiting doors and zooming out of them just as another beam of energy zapped behind her.
"I'll catch you, Invisigirl!" declared Syndrome, his voice echoing behind her. "I'll catch you, and once I have you, you'll never want to leave again!"
As she tried to find an exit, a small part of her was completely mortified. She was running around in her birthday suit like a crazed maniac. Who cared if no one could see her? She could certainly feel the freedom of no clothing and it wasn't exactly comfortable.
Don't let him catch you. Don't let him touch you. You will never be his.
Bolts of zero-point energy exploded all around her. She turned around and ducked out of the way just as Syndrome aimed another one at her.
"I know you're here, Invisigirl!" he yelled, eyes darting around. "I can feel you, sense you." He smirked. "And I can most certainly smell your lovely vanilla scent."
Invisigirl remained as still as a statue, stilling her breath completely. Silence fell upon them as Syndrome listened with a sensitive ear to his surroundings. He stood there, motionless, simply listening. Seconds turned to minutes, and they began to build up upon Invisigirl's back like heavy stones. She could not hold her breath for much longer, her legs were burning because of her crouched position, and if she didn't do anything soon, he'd sense her and she'd be dead.
He's not your lover, Invisigirl. Do not take pity.
She flexed her arms, curled her toes, clenched her fist, and took a sharp breath.
Syndrome's head snapped towards her. "I've got you, Invisigirl!"
She lunged with a grunt, arm stretched out before her, and then she punched him square in the jaw. He reeled back, his aim thrown completely off and shattering a nearby light. As glass littered around them, Invisigirl was already up on her feet and scrambling away, darting away and out another door.
Too close, don't do that again, had to do it, but never again, just run, stay safe, don't think, do not feel…
She ran down an unexplored part of the mansion. There was nothing special about it, just a nondescript hallway with the occasional painting. She saw no one, and the more she wandered, the more she wondered where the hell everyone was. The entire mansion couldn't be empty all the time, or maybe it was only empty when Syndrome was out and having his fun.
She weaved through different halls, opened and went through random doors, trying to confuse her path so that Syndrome would get confused if he was following her. This plan quickly turned around and smacked her in the face when she realized she herself was terribly lost. Her terror faded slightly as she tried to figure out where in the world she was. There were no landmarks, no signs of anything, and the more she tried to find her way around things, the more confused she became. Eventually she was wandering around, scratching her head, the sense of danger a small ember compared to her bafflement.
"Now, I could have sworn that I've passed this vase before…"
She stopped. There was something in the air. Familiar, crisp, and she sniffed it, once, twice-
"Yes!" It was the smell of nature and flowers and the chilled scent of the dying day. She hoped that there was a door nearby that led outside.
Following her instincts, she ran down the hallway and rounded the second corner she came across. Things began to look a little familiar and she smiled. She paused at an intersection and hesitated, not remembering if she had taken the left hall or the right hall last time. She closed her eyes, and then she went left, praying that she was right.
Please let me be right. Please let me be free.
She stumbled slightly, her heart swelling. At the end of the hallway there was a magnificent glass door and beyond that was a garden. Relief spread through her and she smiled. Her legs urged her onwards and she sprinted towards the exit.
Danger, warning, instincts kicking in- Move quickly, now!- and just after she erected a forcefield around her, bullets rained down upon her from guns that had suddenly appeared from behind hidden panels in the walls around her. The noise was deafening, even from behind her shield. She strained to keep herself from screaming so that the horrible sound would cease.
The guns stopped firing after a moment, and then a familiar voice echoed above her.
"What an interesting predicament you've gotten yourself into, Invisigirl," said Syndrome, clearly entertained.
"Where are you?" she demanded, looking around. She was not nearly as happy as he.
He chuckled. "Well, after your little stunt, I knew it was going to be nearly impossible to try and locate you… at least, not with my naked eye." He laughed at his joke and she wrinkled her nose with distaste. "I am currently sitting inside a control room," he explained. "It feeds me live footage from dozens of cameras inside of my mansion. I can also see you, my little invisible mouse. Why you may ask? Well-"
"Thermographic cameras," she answered with a sense of annoyance. "Yes, good for you." She frowned and let out a small sound of anger. "Dammit. All of that for nothing."
Thank goodness. No more fighting…
"It looks like I've won this round," stated Syndrome, his words filled with pride. The guns around her moved slightly closer to her. "You prepared to negotiate?"
"No."
The guns clicked and she could hear a low humming come from them. She peered up the barrel of one, and inside she could see a slowly growing light.
"Plasma rays. You may be able to take a couple shots from these, but not for long. Now, I'm going to ask again. Are you prepared to negotiate?"
She wanted to say no again, and her mouth was already opening to say so, but she knew, as much as she disliked it, she had lost. Again. To Syndrome. Again. And she couldn't help but wonder when she would ever win against him.
Dammit!
"Fine," she spat with loathing, "I'll negotiate."
The guns did not move. "Condition number one: You are not to use your powers again in my house without my permission."
She held back her anger. "Fine."
"Condition number two: You are to come to my house whenever I ask you to."
"Fine."
"And you stay as long as I want you to stay."
She bit the inside of her cheek. "…Fine."
A pause, and she could tell he was thinking of someting else. "I could ask for a lot more, but that would make things… boring." He chuckled. "Oh, I do have one last idea."
The guns went back into their places behind the walls and she finally let her shield down. She remained invisible though, for her own comfort. She was scowling up at the ceiling where his laughter was still echoing.
"You're going to have to come and get your clothes from me," he said with a devious tone, causing her whole face to flush with embarrassment and anger. "I'll be waiting for you in the main hall."
She heard the speakers cut off, and the moment they did, she let out a giant sigh. The battle was over, and though she had lost, there was nothing else to run from. Her job was done, so she safely let the protective identity Invisigirl fall away from her.
"Should have known something like this would have happened," grumbled Violet, blushing. Even though Syndrome's words embarrassed Violet beyond comprehension, she noted the playfulness in his voice, his mischievous attitude, and the teasing banter. That was not Syndrome. His humor was more sadistic and dark. This was silly and there was no evil behind his words. Was Buddy in charge now?
It was just like her life as Violet Parr and as Invisigirl, two personalities she had and used. Both had a purpose, Invisigirl to protect both the people and herself, and Violet to balance out the chaos of a super's life. She was one person, but lived two different lives. It worked the same way with him. His change in attitude marked the times when he was either Buddy, the egotistical tease, or Syndrome, the cunning devil. Sometimes she felt that he was a combination of the two, but that wasn't too dangerous. Even she had her dark moments. It was only truly dangerous when his feelings and attitude from his days as Syndrome made up his personality completely. Back inside of the main hall and in the kitchen, that had been Syndrome. She could recognize that maniacal gleam in his eyes any day.
This is so difficult.
Even though it was Buddy and not Syndrome, that did not change the fact that she was butt naked and she was going to have to go to Buddy and beg for her clothing. That knowledge made her stomach churn horribly. She didn't want to see him but no matter how hard she tried, she wouldn't be able to get that through his thick head.
Doesn't he know I'm trying to figure things out? One minute I hate him, then I don't, and then I'm suddenly exchanging blows with him. What is this? What are we? What am I doing with him?
Depression hit her like a ton of bricks and she wrapped her arms around herself, shaking. What was she doing? Here she was, standing naked in the middle of a hallway, preparing to get her clothes from a man that, not more than two weeks ago, she had hated more than anyone in her entire life. Now, she couldn't imagine another day without seeing him. He had snuck past her defenses and burrowed himself deep into the pits of her mind. She couldn't think of anything without his name coming up at least once.
Especially since today in the chemistry room. That was…
Her lips became hot and she licked them. She could taste him there, and the apex between her legs tingled. Today he had shown her just how pleasurable life could be, how pleasurable he could be. His hands had been so firm, his kisses hot, and the whole world spun around them when they came together. She had very little experience with things like that, and the only other time had been-
NO.
Barriers rose up all around her mind and as she tried to access her previous thought, she found… nothing. In fact, she couldn't remember anything about what she was thinking about. It was as if something had skipped and time had jumped and she was now standing in a place with no memory. She glanced around, confused.
What was that? Was I going to say something…? She shook her head. I don't know.
Chilly air brushed against her skin and she shivered. "I need my clothes," she murmured, and reluctantly she made her way towards the main hall, making sure to remain completely invisible. She hoped that Buddy wouldn't find it too humorous to make her do tricks for her things back. She also hoped that things wouldn't get... out of hand.
Unconsciously, she licked her bottom lip, but continued on.
Do I take this door, or…? She peered through the door and saw the hallway where she had punched Syndrome. She grinned at the memory.
Served him right. Okay, here's the kitchen, so behind this door is… She froze. She didn't want to see him. It was too dangerous.
But I have to, dammit. I have to.
Everything told her to run away, but she couldn't. She pressed forward, forcing herself through the doorway, down the small hall, and then she stumbled into main hall.
"Buddy," she said with a breath, "I-!"
She blinked. He wasn't there. There was, however, a woman. It was the woman that had been at her house, and she was holding her folded clothes.
"Hello, Violet," she greeted with a smile. Her eyes squinted slightly and she peered forward. "You are here, aren't you?"
"Y-yes," replied Violet, confused. She looked around, but Buddy was nowhere to be seen. "Where's-"
"Here are your clothes," said the woman, offering them out before placing them on a nearby couch. "You can change in here if you want. There's no one to see. Mr. Pine will see you for dinner in half an hour."
The woman left without another word, leaving Violet standing all by herself, gaping at the empty spot she had once occupied. She stared, blinked, stared some more, and then became extremely confused.
"What? Dinner?" She glanced around, waiting for the fabric of space and time to begin to split and tear. "There's no way he would be treating me to dinner!" When she received no response, agreeable or otherwise, she grew flustered and angry. She stomped her foot, yelling into the air. "No! I just fought him and nearly died in the process. Eating dinner with him would be… would be…!" She struggled and stared down at her twitching hands. "It would be against all my morals and the written and/or unspoken code between hero and nemesis!!"
Again, no one heard her and she had a feeling that no matter how long or loud she yelled and no matter how persuasive she could be, no one would even care. She was stuck doing a crazy thing in a scary place with a dangerous man whom she happened to have a crush on.
"God… dammit!!" She stormed over to the couch, snatched up her bra, and hooked around her with a snap. "I hate this!" She pulled up her underwear high over her hips and then shoved her feet into the legs of her pants, cursing under her breath. "This is so freaking stupid. Dammit, I hate this so much!" She grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head with sharp, angry tugs, not giving a damn about tangling her hair. "Damn him. Damn me!"
She paused, and then looked up slowly towards the ceiling, past that, and at the heavens. "No." She pointed to the sky. "This is your fault for making stupid teenagers with stupid hormones. Oh, and Buddy is probably one of your worst pieces of art yet! What is he, a mistake? Was he a spit stain that you threw down here just to get rid of it?" She snorted. "I guess I wouldn't blame you for wanting him out of your sight."
She fumed a little bit more, and then picked up her socks. She looked them over and then slid them back onto her feet. Once she was completely dressed, she allowed herself a loud sigh of relief and then began to relax. After a little over a half an hour of running around naked and invisible, she finally let herself fade back into existence.
She glowered down at her feet and wiggled her toes. It reminded her that her shoes were somewhere outside; at least that was where she left them last. She didn't know if that woman had picked them up or not.
If she did, then why the hell did she not leave them with me? That's just plain stupid and rude.
Violet had a good feeling that the woman did have her shoes and she also knew that the woman was keeping them from her on purpose. It didn't take her long to deduce that keeping her shoes from her would help keep her at the mansion. It was an okay idea, but Violet knew if anything went overboard or became dangerous, she would walk over burning glass to get out.
Other than that, it's fine. I'll give you a point. She sat down on the couch, thinking quietly to herself. So, I'm to have dinner with Mr. Buddy Pine, huh? I suppose I should be a little relieved. At least this resembles the mechanics of a real relationship a tiny bit. She frowned. Still, I know he had wanted to see me get my clothes from him. Why would he want to give that up?
If it had been any other guy, she would have thought that perhaps Buddy had felt bad, but that was complete nonsense, so she continued to ponder different ideas.
She was so deep in thought, she did not hear an older man enter from the kitchen. He watched her for a moment, smiled briefly, and then cleared his throat.
"Miss Violet Parr?"
She jumped and turned around. "Er- yes?"
The man bowed. "Dinner is served."
"O-oh." She stood up and looked around to see if she saw Buddy. "Um, where is…?"
"Mr. Pine is waiting for you in the dining hall," answered the man. "Come now, we can't keep him waiting." He gestured for her to follow, which she did with a little bit of hesitation. The man looked nice, wise, had a pleasant French accent, and was much friendlier than another man she knew. She wondered why he would work for a crazy guy like Buddy.
"May I ask you your name? It only seems fair since you know mine."
He chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you're right." He bowed again. "Geoffry LaFontaine. I am the head and only chef here."
She blinked. "Only chef? Why only you?"
Geoffry gave her a surprised look, and then glanced around secretly before leaning over to her. "He is rather picky," he whispered. "He apparently only likes my cooking. I suppose it's a relief on my part. It guarantees me my job."
Violet looked at him, baffled. "Are you serious?"
"Deathly serious."
"Wow." She looked down towards the kitchen doors, knowing he sat somewhere beyond them. "I never knew."
"Not many people do, so if you could, please keep that secret to yourself, eh?" He chuckled to himself again. "Alright, no more lollygagging. We've got to get to the dining area before I lose my paycheck for this week."
Violet followed the man, but did so without thinking much of it. Instead, she kept playing with the knowledge of Buddy's pickiness. It was absurd to think that something so silly and childish and normal could be a part of him. What's more, she held that intimate knowledge for herself, a secret that apparently few people knew about. Was this the first step towards a friendly relationship between them? Watching other couples, for instance her mom and dad, she knew that a couple couldn't live comfortably until they trusted each other. That trust led to a relaxed atmosphere, and when that was in place, they could exist in harmony.
Only problem is that Buddy wasn't the one who told me this, Geoffry did… But Buddy did tell me once about Mirage. Does that count for something?
Technically, it had happened before anything dramatic had occurred between them, but still. The information had been shared freely. Did Buddy trust her? Could she trust him?
She felt her heart grow cold. She wanted to trust him, but with Syndrome lingering around, she doubted she ever could.
And that means no trust, which means…
A part of her saddened at this, but she knew it was for the best. In fact, if there had been any sign that something could happen to make her change her ideas of him, any movement that could lead to an affection stronger than friendship or a crush, she would have immediately fled.
She could like him. She could be his friend. She certainly wouldn't deny any of the pleasure she had experienced with him hours before. But…
I will never love him. Never.
People could call it friends with benefits. She called it survival of her sanity and sense of self. She was already dancing across hot, poisonous ground. If she dared to jump towards the center of the chaos, she knew she would slip and tumble into the fire, consumed in her entirety.
Violet, you foolish girl. What a mess you've gotten yourself into.
Geoffry suddenly stopped and she almost smacked her nose into his back, but she stopped before it could happen. He turned and stepped to the side of a pair of double doors. He grabbed onto the handle, but before he opened the door, he asked, "Are you ready?"
She looked up at him, slightly startled by the question. She never would have thought he would have asked something like that, but it was comforting. Perhaps there were others out there that would support her.
She took a deep breath. "Yeah."
He nodded and then opened the door for her, gesturing for her to go inside. She hesitated in the doorway, but after another encouraging word from him, she made her way into the dining area. Once she was inside, her fear left her like the tide rushing out and back into the sea.
"Oh my…"
The dining room was positively beautiful. Deep reds and magnificent golds made up the color scheme. The tables and chairs were rich mahogany wood, and on top of the table was mouth-watering food. Prime rib, vegetables, steaming hot rolls, all of it lit beautifully by candlelight. A crystal chandelier hung above, but it was dimmed. Its beauty, however, was not at all diminished. Firelight flickered off the crystal like fireflies. Everything was delicious and beautiful and wonderful and not at all dangerous. Not even Buddy looked dangerous. In fact…
"…Buddy?" Violet stared at him. "Buddy, you're…"
Buddy looked down at his clothing. He had swapped his shirt and jeans for a nice pair of black dress pants and a matching black dress shirt. "I didn't want to host a dinner of this quality looking like I had just come back from the supermarket," said Buddy. He glanced up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"
Violet jumped. "Huh? N-no, there's no problem, just…" Her brain tried to sort through everything, but each time she stacked everything up, it tumbled down around her. Eventually, she was so confused and unsettled that not even the tantalizing scent of food could shake her out of her thoughts.
"Violet?" Buddy stood up from his chair and went to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her slightly. "Violet, are you-"
"Why?" whispered Violet, looking up at him with large, pleading eyes. "Why this… this change? This strange animosity between us? It makes no sense! People like us…" She gestured between them. "People who have experienced what we have experienced together don't fight each other and try to kill each other." She pointed frustratingly at the dinner table. "And they definitely don't have a romantic candlelit dinner afterwards!" She grabbed onto his arms and shook him, growing frantic. "Buddy, you can't keep doing this to me! I can't take it! I know that you are more complicated than any enigma, and I accept that, but you can't flip flop on me like this, without any warning!" She grew angry at him and poked him in the chest, wanting to punch him again. "I'm not stupid. I know the kind of guy you can be, but if you're going to try and kill me again, do it without pulling this stunt again!"
Buddy gave her a mild look. "You don't want me to be nice?"
"That's not what I said!" She gave him a fierce look. "What I don't want is for you to try and be Buddy right after Syndrome tried to fucking kill me! That's like spitting on me and my feelings for you." Her voice wobbled slightly, and her eyes began to shimmer. "When you're Syndrome, I have no choice but to be Invisigirl, and when I'm Invisigirl, I… I won't hold back!" She let out a small sob. "Dammit, Buddy, this bullcrap you've forced upon me these past two weeks have been difficult enough to deal with. Don't make me regret my feelings."
The room fell into silence. Violet sniffled slightly and she had to wipe her eyes, but she didn't waver. She waited for Buddy and his stupid, fat, handsome head to say something else that would probably make her even angrier. Men typically did that. They always had to find a magical set of words that would set off women like a brilliant firework, and no matter how many burns they received, they still had to have the balls to try again.
Come on! What do you have to say, Buddy? Huh? Any other smartass comments? Come on, bring it! I dare you! I'll tear you apart, verbally, physically, mentally, and all other ways that I bet would just absolutely hurt-!
She froze, and her eyes widened as she suddenly found herself being wrapped up in his arms. She stared up at him and opened her mouth to protest, but he silenced her with a kiss. The touch of his lips upon hers melted away her anger, and she relaxed into him, her eyes closing.
Mmmm, kisses. I love his kisses. So warm, so tasty. Mmmm, yes, I could definitely have more of these…
After a moment, he pulled back. His eyes stared into hers with a hidden look, and she paused for him to say something. Patiently she waited while he searched her eyes, looked into her thoughts which she knew she could barely hide. Finally, after another long moment, he spoke.
"Let's have dinner," was all he said.
She blinked at him, and then puffed up and slapped on the shoulder, scowling. "Is that all you have to say?"
"I figured my kiss would have been a good enough answer," he said with a shrug.
She gaped at him, and then slapped him again, harder this time, causing him to make a noise of protest. "This isn't some sort of lovey-dovey, magical story of romance and lust, you dunce! I want a verbal reply from you!"
"Dunce?" He looked away with a pondering expression. "Have I been called that before? I don't think so."
"ARGH!" She beat her fists on his chest over and over, screaming through her teeth. "God dammit, you are so frustrating!!"
"You mean endearing."
"No I do not mean endearing!" she spat out angrily. "Obviously you're dodging the topic, which means you disagree with me, which means we're going to have a whole bunch of issues in the future, which means I am not going to stick around for them, which-"
"Now wait a minute," he said, "I never said I disagreed with you."
"Then tell me what you think, then!"
Buddy looked at her with no particular emotion, and then shrugged. "I don't know."
Her eyebrows came down in a flat look of irritation. "You don't know."
"Precisely."
"How can you not know!"
"I don't hold all of the answers," replied Buddy, giving her a reprimanding look. "Don't automatically assume that I do."
Her anger stumbled and she grew huffy as she tried to recover her words. "So, you're telling me you conveniently don't have a reply for something that could possibly one of the most important things about our relationship that could ever be ever?" She arched an eyebrow. "Well?"
Again, that lackadaisical look of his. "I suppose," he said with a shrug.
Her face scrunched up as she took in a sharp breath of irritation before she let it out as a scream, pounding her head against his chest. "You're so irritating!!"
"You mean endearing."
She froze, slowly looked up, and looked as if she was going to destroy him on the spot. She wanted to. She wanted to wrap her hands around his neck and strangle him until he turned blue. But she didn't because another idea sprang up like a little deviant. Her anger smoothed out, and gave him a venomous smile.
"Yeah," she said slowly, reaching towards the dining room table. "Endearing. You know what would make you even more attractive?"
He smirked. "My face covered in kisses?"
"Close," she shrugged with a smile, "but no."
Before he could blink, she snatched up a bowl of gravy and, drawing her arm back with a grin, thrust it forward and shoved his face right into it, splashing everywhere.
"Mmpht-!"
He stumbled back, sputtering and spitting gravy all over the red carpet. She stood back and puffed out her chest in a heroic manner, much like her dad, and held onto the bowl like the Key to the City. She watched Buddy drag his hand across his eyes and flicking it to the ground with a growl. He faced her with a dangerous look, gravy dribbling down and all over his nice, most likely expensive, black shirt, and she matched his look, smirking.
"Looks good on you," she commented. She pointed towards his face. "It really brings out the color of your eyes."
"Oh really?" He also reached for the table and she watched him carefully and cautiously. His hand disappeared behind the prime rib and she couldn't see what he was grabbing. "Well, thank you." He grinned at her, eyebrows dancing mischievously. "You know, I'm going to have to repay you for your kindness."
He moved, dishes clacked together, and she spun around and turned to flee, but he easily caught up to her and grabbed onto her. He pinned her back up against his chest, and before she could even scream, his hand came around and smacked an entire key lime pie right into her face with a satisfying splat. Whipped cream and filling flew everywhere, sticking in her hair and dirtying her shirt and covering her face entirely.
…I will kill him.
Buddy slowly pulled the tin away and stepped away, his mouth twisting closed as he forced down his laughter. Violet turned around and faced him, and then both of her hands came up and scrapped away two spots for her eyes. From within the green and white mess, two identical purple spots of burning fury bore right into Buddy's brown, dripping, handsome face of barely contained laughter.
"You," she ground out, her mouth appearing to just be a black hole, "are going to pay for that."
Buddy chuckled and strode over to her, looking down at her over the bride of his nose. "How are you going to do that? If you could, please do not let it be in the form of more food. I happen to be very hungry. In fact…" He licked his lips and pulled Violet towards him. He gave her a naughty look.
"You know, I happen to love key lime pie."
Violet gaped at him and then shoved his face away from her, huffing. "If you think you're going to get a kiss from me right after you shoved an entire pie into my face, you've got another thing coming!" A pause, and then she turned on him, pointing at him angrily. "Which reminds me! You still have not given me a proper reply! I know you have an answer in that fat head of yours, Buddy Pine, and I want to know what it is!"
He sighed. "Violet, I don't have an answer for you."
"Yes you do!"
"No, I don't, and no matter how much you keep insisting I do, it's not going to change anything."
"Then… then what are we supposed to do? What am I supposed to do?" She gestured to herself. "I won't do it, Buddy! I can't!"
He looked over at her, analyzed her, and then let out another sigh. "The only answer I can give you is this." He came back up to her again and rested his hands on both of her shoulders. He looked into her eyes, and no matter how hard she tried, she could never see beyond the blue.
"No matter what happens," he said with a murmur, "things will end how they're supposed to."
Violet sighed at him. "Is that it?"
He shrugged. "There's more to it, but I can't put it into words."
"Try."
He gave her a look and then rolled his eyes. "Alright. Hmm..." He looked away briefly, concentrating and scratching his chin in thought. "Ah, how about this?" He gave her a serious look. "You worry that you will regret your feelings towards me. I will tell you and promise you that I will never make a move that would make you regret having me."
Violet's eyes widened fractionally and she came closer to him. "You would promise something like that?" she asked with the softest of breaths.
"Of course."
"But… But that's-!"
"Impossible?" He chuckled. "No, it's not." He reached towards the dining room table and picked up a napkin. Then, he proceeded to clean her face, taking delicate care not to get any food into her eyes or her nose. She watched the passes of his hand as if in a dream, stunned silent by the tender motion.
As the napkin crossed over her lips, she moved to speak. "Buddy, I…"
He smiled at her and then quickly wiped his own face, not taking nearly as much care as he had done with her. "Does my answer satisfy you?"
Violet stared up at him, looking at him as if she had never seen him before. She had seen anger. She had seen insanity. She had seen passion. But she had never seen such a friendly look in his eyes before, and it was so amazing and foreign and absolutely beautiful she couldn't do anything but take his face into her hands and kiss him.
"Yes," she said softly, pulling away, "it satisfies me."
It was his turn to be startled, but his face smoothed out and he smiled at her. "Good." He reached for her hair and pulled out a chunk of pie crust from it. "Shall we wash up? It may just be me, but I'm not overly fond of wandering around covered in food."
She giggled and took his arm. "Yes, if you could lead me to the bathroom, I would absolutely love a quick shower."
"Shower?"
"Of course! You don't expect me to wash this giant mass of hair inside a sink!" She gave him a reprimanding look. "Really, Buddy, use your common sense."
"Yes, yes." He pulled out a palm pilot from the pocket of his pants and looked at it. "Sorry, Violet," he said, putting it back into his pocket, "you don't have time for a shower here. You have to get back to your house."
Violet's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed a rush before she sped out of the dining room and out of the kitchen before she skidded to a halt in the main hall. Her heart plummeted when she saw twilight shine through the windows. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I completely forgot!" She spun around and faced Buddy who had followed her. "Buddy, oh my gosh, I'm going to be in so much trouble!"
"No, you aren't," he said easily, striding up to her as if nothing had occurred. "Your parents think you're babysitting for my secretary, Miss Patterson."
"Huh?" She searched her memory. "The woman who gave me my clothes?"
"Most likely. She's going to give you a ride home." Buddy looked down at her, smiled, and then pulled another piece of pie out of her hair. "I'm sure you can come up with a story to explain the mess."
"Yeah," she said. She glanced back towards the kitchens and then gave Buddy an apologetic look. "I'm sorry for ruining dinner. It's just that… well, we had just fought and-"
"Don't talk about it," said Buddy quickly, cutting her off. "We both know what happened. There's no need to discuss it."
Normally, most girls would try and attempt to talk to their men about the no-no's of murder, but life as a super granted her a little more control over situations relating to life-threatening dangers. They both knew who they were and what roles they played and how they should and should not act.
Also, most couples fought. This was a fact of life. Buddy and Violet were not any different in this way. What was different was that she was a superhero, and he was a supervillain. Their fights were bound to be much more exciting.
But still.
"Don't do something like that again, Buddy."
"But it was so fun!"
"It was not fun, and don't think it was."
Buddy looked away. "Old habits die hard, and I admit, I wanted to see if you've gotten any better." He glanced at her sidelong. "You should be proud of your progress."
Violet blushed a little, but retained her anger. "You're so irritating."
"Don't you mean endear-"
"We are not starting that again!"
"I didn't start it, you did."
"I did not!"
"But you did." He came up to her, grinning. "See? Fun!"
She glared at him. "I hate you," she grumbled, but all she got was a laugh from him.
"Yeah, I bet you do."
She didn't hate him, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hate him. He was too smart, too handsome, too strong. He was a force that she couldn't help but be attracted to, despite the darkness lingering in his soul. In fact, that darkness probably contributed to her affection towards him. He was an irresistible energy and no amount of evil would change this fact.
The sound of heels clacked in the distance. Buddy pulled away from her and she turned towards the sound. The woman returned, Miss Patterson Buddy had said, and she was smiling.
"You ready to go, miss?"
Violet nodded and then glanced back over to Buddy. "I guess I'll see you then," she said with a smile.
He nodded. "Of course."
A pause. "When will that time be?"
His eyes widened briefly with surprise before he smirked. "Looking forward to our next meeting already?"
She glowered at him and turned up her nose, sniffing. "You wish. I just want to know so that I can make sure to be prepared. I can't tell you how much trouble I thought I was going to be in when mom's favorite lamp was broken. You better have replaced everything."
He chuckled at her. "Don't worry, and as for our next meeting..." He shrugged. "School."
"School? No other times in between?"
"Nope, not at least until you're ungrounded."
"Really?" She looked at him with open surprise. "Is there a reason why?"
He shrugged again. "It is just easier with you able to come and go as you please. It takes money to choreograph your capture."
She laughed at him and he chuckled a little with her. Miss Patterson watched them both with quiet amusement before clearing her throat. "We really must be going, Mr. Pine."
"Yes." He nodded towards Violet. "I shall see you tomorrow then in chemistry."
"Yup."
A long pause, almost too long, and when she saw his grin begin to turn devilish, she flushed brilliant red.
"And no, we are not doing that again!!"