Really, Violet wasn't certain why she volunteered for this. She'd been listening to Hiccup's plan, feeling more and more wary every moment. That stupid dream kept coming to mind, and while she was glad it kept her from embarrassing herself about what she was considering a slight crush on her friend, it didn't change the fact that it bothered her. So, she told herself she'd face that fear, as much as she could. Yet, it probably wasn't the best way she could go about it. Getting the suit itself for the role would be bad enough, let alone actually playing a real villain. Edna would probably hate Violet for using one of her suits for infamy, but maybe she was wrong. At least her family wouldn't know she got it. Unless she put in a tracker like she'd done with her Dad's suit before Supers were legal. That thought made her pause, shaking her head. She had to stay positive!
The suit itself hadn't taken long to develop. She'd told Edna that she wanted to try doing some work on her own, without her family for a change. That meant she'd need to go under a different name, like her mom going as Elastagirl or something. The designer had only been too happy to have a chance to personalize the costume for an individual again, rather than an entire family. Violet had asked for something darker than before, and Edna had delivered. The suit itself was slick, mostly black in color. Violet thought it made make her skin look pale and washed out in comparison, but Edna had flashed in streaks of dark violet in the design, saying she'd been inspired by Violet's force fields. They almost looked like the energy inside of her fields too, scattering out in random bursts across the fabric itself. With dark purple boots and fingerless gloves to finish the suit, Violet actually thought it fit her personally better than the bright red she usually wore. This kept her in the dark, making her stand out less than bright colors in a fight. It really was a shame she was using it for this…but she didn't have any new ideas over the week they'd planned this out.
Now, Violet stood dressed in the outfit. Her mask was even different, this time covering her hair as well. She had pulled it back in a hair tie, at least attempting to hid from her parents exactly what she was doing. Right now, she couldn't help but be worried that someone was going to interfere. Jack was in the air above her, resting on Toothless in the sky. Merida was ready to run a path through the backstreets near her, shooting arrows that Hiccup had designed to look like snakes of some kind. She still didn't get how Merida would be able to shoot them, but the girl had insisted that she'd make it work somehow. Rapunzel had told them to go to her if any of them got hurt, claiming she had a lot of experience with some kind of first aid. Violet wasn't going to even ask why, since it at least kept one of them away from what could potentially become an actual battle on the streets of town.
So, what exactly was Violet going to do with all of this? Well, that was what she was a bit nervous on. Usually, she was against villains that had a set goal. Most of them wanted to get rich or get power, and had a set target. Her? Her role was a villain that just wanted to be a villain. She'd want the spotlight on her, and would gain it by any means necessary. It really didn't fit with her personality, and that was why Hiccup was with her, talking her through the plan one last time. "Are you sure you want to do this? Really…it is my own plan, so you don't have to if you don't want to."
Meeting his gaze, she nodded. "I have to." He wouldn't understand why. None of them would. This was her own problem to deal with, after all.
Hiccup nodded, giving her a weak smile. "Alright then. Just…be careful, okay?"
She nodded, smiling weakly at him. "I will. Trust me, I know a thing or two about how Supers and villains operate in this town. We might be placing a bit of an oddball into the crowd, but I can definitely pull off a believable act here."
He nodded, stepping back. Over the last week, they'd actually done nothing but watch. Nightmares had spread, which wasn't that surprising given the rate they'd spread amongst themselves. Her parents had commented on it even, saying something was weird about the way Violet's peers were acting. After watching Dash's latest track meet last night, they'd only emphasized that belief. With the way their school set up those events, students of all age groups competed in different events on the same day. For the younger kids like Dash, it had been obvious that they loved the sport and were invested in winning. For Violet's grade? The students were there because they had to be. When they were signaled to start, some of them seemed too dazed to even move. It was like watching snails race in comparison, with none of them putting in much effort to win. Overall, it helped their case now, though. Violet could see that Jack was right about the effects those dreams would have. Now, she just had to claim that she had caused them.
Walking forward, Violet took a deep breath. She glanced up, giving Jack a slight nod. Hoping he saw, she began walking towards town. The dragon followed not long after, swooping down low to the streets with a loud roar. Toothless seemed to grin, opening his mouth and inhaling sharply. Ice shot out quickly in front of Violet, only for Toothless to unleash a massive blast of fire into the town. That was part of why Jack was the better pair with Toothless than Hiccup for now, actually. With his snow and ice, he could at least minimize the damage Toothless would cause on his rampage.
More roars and blasts started getting the attention of others. People waking up walked outside, seeing Violet walking with a dragon by her side. They'd scream, backing away in fear. However, that would be when Merida would shoot. Already afraid of Toothless, they'd see the fake snakes and run, not even questioning what was shot at them. If that wasn't enough, Hiccup had set up his own smaller contraptions around town. They were catapults, meant to launch whatever he deemed scary enough into town. So, that often led to fake bugs, or random goo getting launched into the streets.
Once she noticed the news catching wind of her, Violet let out her best impression of a villain's evil laugh. However, it wasn't exactly comfortable and she found herself coughing part way through the process. Taking a deep breath, she looked up and tried again, glaring at the camera. "Greetings! I am Miss Terror, and I've come to bring your nightmares to life! For months now, I've been growing my power, making you fear exactly what I can do and seeing inside of your minds to know your greatest fears. Today, witness the true depth of my power for the first time. Witness my power…to bring those fears of yours into reality."
It was ridiculous, really. She had no massive contraption like Underminer, and it wasn't like Syndrome who had massive robots fighting for him either. Yet, Toothless was enough. Hiccup had mentioned something about trying to get others, but it didn't look like they were even needed. As chaos began to start growing further. Jack landed Toothless and seemed to grin, kneeling down. "Ready for this?" Violet nodded, watching as he sent out sharp shards of ice, creating massive spikes jutting into the air and giving the entire street a sense of danger. She hadn't seen him use much magic involving ice, but he wasn't lying about being skilled. Right after that, he seemed to take a deep breath, covering the ground in frost and tracing images on the surface. From there, Jack's drawings came to life. Violet watched as more dragons seemed to fly into the air, side by side with ghosts and whatever else Jack imagined in his drawings. It made it seem like Violet was creating an endless swarm of unnatural creatures to terrorize the town, and it worked surprisingly well.
"Any sign of this guy we're supposed to be drawing out?"
Jack glanced at her, hearing her whispered question. He glanced around slowly, before nodding. "Yeah. He's…watching for now." He didn't say much else, frowning before continuing on his work. That was when he seemed to stop abruptly, spinning around and sending a blast of ice behind her. Surprised, Violet turned and saw another spike of ice in the street, but this one looked different. Intertwined with the faintly blue crystal, she saw streaks of black twisting inside making it look darker than the rest. "Or…maybe just a little more than that."
Violet swallowed, before looking up again. Raising her volume, she tried to keep up the act. "This town will belong to all of us! You will tremble in fear over my name! No one else has such great power, the power to control dreams themselves and mix them with—"
"A touch of fear. Give them his trademark, Violet."
"—a touch of fear." She had hoped for something a little more impactful than that, but she wasn't going to argue with Jack. However, that was when things started to get a little bit…difficult to manage. The ice Jack had created began melting into the air, making Violet scan the street for signs of a familiar Super. "Looks like we're going to have company, Jack."
The winter spirit blinked at the melting ice, before grinning and rising to his feet. "Another ice user, huh? Let me guess…this is the Frozone you thought I was when we met." Spotting the blue suit skating amidst the ice, Violet slowly nodded. "Let's see if this guy knows how to have fun with his magic or not then." With that, Jack charged forward, getting ready to fight for her. Glancing towards Toothless, she saw the dragon shrug, resting on the ground and closing his eyes as if he were bored with the entire thing.
A warning shot came from the sidelines. with Merida shooting an actual arrow rather than the snakes she had been using. Jack sent a blast of snow towards him as well, which Frozone quickly melted with a swift grin. "You know, I like your style, but I think you need to take a lesson from the master, Miss Terror." She smiled, realizing Jack was still invisible liked planned.
"Master? Are you seriously saying you're better than me?" Jack shook his head, and with a laugh, snow began to fall from above them. "Try and top this. Last time I made a storm like this, Bunny decided to hate me for nearly forty years. Can you stop what he couldn't?"
Uncertain of what that was about, Violet tried to laugh it off. However, that was when she realized just how harsh this storm was. It was a whiteout blizzard, preventing her from seeing a thing in front of her. "What the hell is this? You can't be serious…" Frozone seemed to try again to tame the snow, but it was a blizzard rather than a simple attack like before.
Seeing her chance, Violet stepped forward. "As you can see, I can make nightmares come to life, Frozone. You fear being overpowered…fear losing to a villain. As a result, I can bring your nightmare to life and guarantee my victory, so long as there exists even the slightest worry that such a thing will occur."
"Every power has a weakness! You will be stopped!" Frozone was denying everything, but that was when Violet felt something slam into her back. She didn't know what it was, but it made her stumble, inhaling sharply. Turning around, she expected to see her family getting ready to fight as well. However, that wasn't what she saw. Instead, she saw a golden pair of eyes staring at her through the white, and a dark shadow came lashing out towards her. Instinctively, Violet raised her force field, blocking the attack. Luckily, the blizzard stopped Frozone from seeing her power, and revealing who she really was.
"Oh? Well, now this is a familiar sight." That voice sounded…odd. Violet wasn't certain what she was expecting, but he sounded too calm all things considering. "The super hero who fears failing her family…who fears that she will bring about their destruction. Imagine my surprise, to see that you are the one claiming to be creating this wonderful fear in the world. Imagine my surprise…to see that Jack Frost, of all people, stole away the belief that was rightfully mine."
Staring at him, Violet took a deep breath. When had she started seeing him? She didn't know. Maybe it came from her acknowledgment that pretty much any fairy tale was real. He could have been any number of them, but that didn't matter. "You aren't getting away with this. Jack, Hiccup…all of us, we're ending this plan of yours right now."
"Are you really?" She felt hands grab her shoulders, spinning her around to face the town. She felt cold, and she was startled at how close he had gotten without her noticing. "Take a good look, young Super. Are people afraid?" She saw people running and could hear their screams. "Then I have succeeded, have I not? You, my dear, have only helped further my goals in the end."
"But they'll never believe you were the one who did this. Not even the dreams."
The man chuckled, shaking his head. "Perhaps. Though…why would that worry me? After all, you seem to be a smart young girl. You know when you can't win…so why not help me instead? Announce your 'sidekick' to the world. Tell them I'm here, helping from the shadows…always ready to jump out from their closets or under their bed to give them the true fear they hold close to their hearts. Do that…and I just might be able to help with your own problems in return."
Snorting, Violet pulled away. A flash of red seemed to run past her, towards where Frozone had been. Her family was here now, preparing to fight against her. "I don't have any problems that I need your help with."
"Oh really?" He laughed, letting her go. "Then tell me, why are you still so afraid of failing them? Of remaining so weak?" She closed her eyes, not liking his words. Jack was in the air, focused on his blizzard, Merida was likely waiting for it to end to keep firing her own arrows, and Hiccup was no where to be found. She was alone, and this wasn't stopping. "I can make you strong, Violet. By my side…we will be unstoppable. I can guarantee your family's safety too, if you just consider the possibility of—"
"Shut up. Please"
"Did I strike a nerve? I suppose you really are a lot like Frost after all, then. He wasn't all that fond of my advice either…and take a look at where his refusal to listen has brought him." Violet frowned, glancing towards him. What did that even mean? "All alone, yet again, with the only person he ever relied on forgetting he even existed. If only Jack had agreed to help me, then he could have had an ally, a family to remain by his side for eternity. But no, he was foolish and chose the Guardians over me, over true power and what we could bring about together. But you…you aren't a fool like him, are you? You know when you cannot gain something on your own, and this power you seek…you cannot find it without me."
Jack was…alone? Thinking back, she inhaled deeply. She hadn't seen him around anyone before. He mentioned his friends, sure, but had she seen them? Heck, she hadn't even seen Jack until…until she believed he was real. It was starting to slowly make more sense, why people like Jack acted as they did. Kids would believe anything…so they protected the people that could actually see them instead. People weren't supposed to see Jack and his friends once they were older. That was why he was breaking his own rules right now. Yet…did that mean he would have been happier with Pitch?
She took a deep breath, seeing a quick flash as Dash ran past her. She jumped to the side just in time, but he was quickly coming back. "Times almost up, Violet. Tell me now…and I'll help you win. Tell me we'll work together…and bring this town to its knees."
Looking up and meeting his gaze, she found herself taking a deep breath. "I am Miss Terror…and I am the only one responsible for the fear this town is enduring. No one will stop me…not even you." Pitch glared at her, charging forward with a sudden leap. Shrieking, Violet ducked, letting her body become invisible and rolling away. Now, she saw a massive scythe in the real villain's grip, made out of some dark material she had never seen before.
No longer caring about the act, Violet glanced up into the sky and let out a shout. "Jack! Help!" The snow seemed to slow for a moment, and it didn't take long for a shot of ice to come between her and Pitch.
"Violet? Honey, we're here! Just hold on!" Her mother shouted, having heard her own voice. Yet, she didn't realize the truth quite yet. Jack was invested in his fight with Pitch, glaring at him and keeping him away from Violet with a swift slash of his staff, colliding with the scythe Pitch wielded.
"Pitch…I see you've shown your face finally. Ready to give up this little ploy of yours? Because I have to say, it's just getting to be boring always winning like this."
"And I have to say you're annoying, Frost. Is there a single rule you won't break in the end?" Pitch chuckled, shaking his head. "Of course not. After all, you're still the same spirit from before…who just can't help but ruin everything."
"Maybe. But you do have to admit, a lot of people have fun in the process."
Listening to their banter wasn't exactly helping, but it at least gave her something to distract herself. Pitch's earlier words still frightened her, making her realize she really might have been willing to…help him. She could see what Jack meant, when he said the guy had a way of terrifying people with just his words. Still, she had to focus. With the snowfall slowed and Jack distracted, she was now facing her family and Frozone as a villain for a change. "Alright…let's put on a good show." She had to win, after all. If she lost, Pitch would be free to grow his reputation again on his own.
Her dad launched her mom, throwing her towards Violet. She didn't know when she became visible again, but without thinking, she ducked to the side. Stretching out her arm, her mother aimed a punch towards Violet's face. However, she'd seen that move so many times before. Leaning to the side, she at least managed to avoid a direct hit, but her mom curved the attack at the last second, slamming into her shoulder instead. That hit shoved her towards Dash, who seemed to smirk as he delivered a rapid series of punches into her side, leaving her winded and hitting the ground hard. Trying to catch her breath, she looked up just in time to see Frozone preparing a blast of ice against her. Rolling away with a yelp, she took a deep breath and bounced back to her feet.
Her motion placed Violet next to her dad, who grinned and seemed to get ready to stop her as well. "You really should have picked—" He broke off, jumping back as a blast of fire came between the two of them. Toothless growled at her father, flashing his teeth at the Supers joining the battle. By his side, she caught the sight of Hiccup, staying low near his leg and trying to remain out of sight. Yet, this fight really wouldn't go well if she couldn't use her own powers. "The dragon can actually breath fire? Why didn't you say something?"
"Because I've been dealing with slowing down a blizzard, thank you very much." Frozone shook his head at her father, turning back towards the girl. "She doesn't seem to have much skill in terms of close combat. If we can take out her creations, we just might have the upper hand after all."
"Against someone who uses fear itself to win?" Elastagirl shook her head. "No, we have to be smart about this. She's luring us into a trap…it's almost as if she wants us to attack that dragon she made."
She didn't have any such plan, but she'd let her family think she was smarter in this battle than she actually was being. However, that was when Dash ran forward again, laughing. "That's why we have our secret weapon!" Looking up, she blinked in surprise at what he was carrying this time.
"D—son No! Why'd you bring your brother on the battlefield?" Violet looked over, seeing Jack Jack in her brother's hands. Groaning, she quickly took a few steps back, hoping to at least avoid some of his however many powers he would use.
"Is that…a baby?" Jack saw her brother, and Violet nodded.
"Don't ask. Just focus on Pitch!" The winter spirit shrugged, but Pitch had used his distraction to his advantage. He got a solid hit in to Jack's stomach, sending the spirit flying back onto the ground. He quickly rose back to his feet, joining in the fight again to keep Pitch down. Meanwhile, golden sand seemed to start hovering in the air above them, making Violet wonder just how many Supers were coming to this battle in the first place. She didn't have time to search for them however, because that was when her brother started using her own trick on Jack Jack.
"Jack Jack, pew pew!" Hearing the command, she quickly ducked, seeing her baby brother activate his laser eyes. The green blasts shot past her, shattering the windows of some store behind her. Violet winced at the shattering noise, but cringed completely when the alarm started blasting through the street. She really wasn't doing well with her goal of minimizing damage at all.
"Get the baby out of here!" Arms grabbed Dash, pulling him back away from Violet. "We'll deal with—" Elastagirl stopped, freezing when she realized Jack Jack was no longer in Dash's arms. Startled, her brother seemed to start looking panicked himself, trying to search for the boy. However, her mother focused on Violet in the process, charging forward with a shout. "Find the baby, I'll keep her busy."
"You feared the danger your child was in, didn't you? You feared you'd lose him in this battle." Violet smiled, keeping her fake creepy voice going. She had to play this role, and when she saw her mother's enraged expression, she wondered if maybe she'd taken things a little too far. However, before her mom could actually do anything, golden strands wrapped around her waist, yanking her into the sky. Startled, Violet spun around, preparing herself to launch an attack at the newcomer. However, that was when she noticed exactly who it was. A man, completely golden with hair that almost looked like sand smiled at her. He gave a slight bow, before pointing down with a frown, a question mark forming above his head.
"Sorry…but I have no idea what you want. I've got something I'm kinda in the middle of, so—" The man stopped her, grabbing her wrist and keeping her trapped on his…flying sand cloud. Snowflakes made of sand appeared above his head, followed by what looked like Pitch's face, then the question mark again. "Jack? He asked us to come up with some plan to stop Pitch. He said his friends wouldn't help unless he was targeting kids…" She trailed off, frowning at him. "Are you one of his…friends? The Guardian people he kept mentioning?"
The man nodded, smiling brightly. "Then I suggest you go help him. That enemy of yours has been wreaking havoc in this place. He really shouldn't have targeted those of us with super powers, really."
Nodding, the man landed with her, frowning at the battle around him. He grabbed Pitch away from Jack quickly, sending the man flying into the air with whips of sand. Compared to Jack, this guy's power seemed different…and far more suited to an actual fight. "Sandy? What are you doing here?" The man narrowed his eyes at Jack, placing his hands on his hips. "Don't give me that look! I was the one who told you guys Pitch would be coming back soon. I was just trying to stop him before he became as big of a problem as he was last time."
The shorter man gave out a silent sigh, shaking his head before focusing again. However, Violet was already getting tossed about once more. A loud grumbling was coming from her side, and she jumped back as she saw her brother in his demon baby form, charging forward. Dodging, she glanced around. It might really be time to search for an escape now, so she could win and come back to 'fight' another day. However, that was when her baby brother seemed to realize he was just barely out of reach and that a different form might harm her. He burst into flames, making Violet gasp in pain as the fire burned her exposed fingers, turning them angry red and blistering them in an instant. To stop the fire from doing any further damage, she found herself putting up a force field, shoving Jack Jack back as she stumbled away.
Her parents had been mostly distracted by trying to find Jack Jack, but Dash had seen the power. "Wait…Violet?" Hearing his words, she cringed, running towards the dragon behind her. Even Jack Jack had paused, dropping his flames and sitting as a regular baby for a change.
Not answering, she realized she'd have to get Toothless to trust her, and fast. "Hiccup, let's get out of here." The boy saw her, nodding and jumping up on Toothless. "Let's hope he doesn't hate me as much as I thought he did."
Chuckling, Hiccup shook his head as she got on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I can at least say he likes you better than Merida."
"Like that's any better."
Toothless charged forward with that, leaping upward and into the sky. She saw her mom try and launch her arms forward to grab in, but Toothless growled and quickly shot out a warning blast at her grip. "Come on bud, let's get higher now." Before her dad could try launching Elastagirl, Toothless shot straight up into the clouds, out of sight and away from them. "So…did we manage to help out at all?"
Looking at Hiccup, Violet let out a shaky breath. Thinking back to Pitch, and how Jack seemed to get help at the end, she slowly smiled. "Actually…I'm starting to think we should have just had Jack talk to his friends in the first place. I…met one of them. He seemed pretty willing to help out anyway, without kids being involved."
"Well, there was that baby in the fight…"
Snorting, Violet shook her head. "Like he counts. Jack Jack really doesn't have control of his powers yet and—" She broke off, realizing what she'd just said. Hiccup blinked, glancing back at her and raising his eyebrows.
"Jack Jack, huh?" He watched her, slowly smiling and focusing ahead of them. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone about it. But…I have to say, I did see you do some pretty unusual things yourself in that fight. Plus, you know exactly where to go to find the kind of costumes Supers wear? I get the feeling you're not exactly the normal girl you appear to be, Violet Par."
"Uh…well, you see, it's not me that knows where to get them. It's, well, this friend of mine? She, or well he, or…did I—"
Hiccup's laughter stopped her rambling attempts to write it off. "Come on, stop trying that hard. I know the sound of someone struggling for an excuse when I hear it."
Sighing, she leaned forward, resting on his back. She winced slightly as her fingers bent the wrong way, the pain lingering after Jack Jack's fire. "I guess I am." She looked towards him, frowning. "You're not lying, right? You seriously aren't telling anyone?"
"I won't." He landed, waiting for Violet to get off of Toothless. Rapunzel was waiting here, she remembered. "After all, it's not like you don't know a few secrets of my own. Toothless here isn't exactly a normal pet, and it's not like he knows he has a secret identity to keep too." He gave Violet a crooked smile, and she laughed at that. Maybe it really wasn't so bad having him know the truth. Yet, that was when Rapunzel rushed out, staring at her with wide eyes.
"Oh my gosh! Is the fight over already? Your hands!" She grabbed Violet quickly, shaking her head. "Here, I'll take care of that quickly." She seemed to pause, glancing around. "You two are my friends…and it is about time I got over this fear of letting people know about this secret anyway. Eugene did say people aren't all that likely to want to steal my hair after all, even if they did know the truth."
"Steal your hair? Again?" Hiccup groaned, closing his eyes. "I don't know what it is with you thinking—" He broke off however, when Rapunzel began singing. The lyrics themselves weren't anything special, but what caught both his attention and Violet's was her glowing hair. "Uh…I take that back. Glowing hair…definitely normal."
"Like you're one to talk, mister-dragon-for-a-pet." Violet smirked at him, while Hiccup only smiled and sighed.
"Alright, you got me there."
She smiled, however, that was when she realized the pain in her hands had faded almost completely. Rapunzel's hair stopped glowing, and she seemed to release Violet with a smile. "There, all done. See, my hair…kinda has magic healing powers? I guess you could say I'm a Super…but I'm not really all that great in a fight."
"That's gotta be one rare ability, lass. I take it that's why you've avoided school for so long?" Merida seemed to have caught up, walking towards them and shaking her head. Glaring towards Hiccup, she placed her hands on her hips with a scowl. "And you! How dare you just leave me standing around in the middle of no where? You have no manners whatsoever, do you?"
"Oh really? And you do? You were the one who kept saying my plan for the rubber snakes was lame!"
"Because it was. What adult is afraid of some prank toy like these?" She held out some of the remaining fake snakes, dropping them on the ground with a shake of her head. "Either way, it's already done with. I take it Violet's been helped too?" They nodded, and Merida placed her hands on her hips. "Then I suppose this mission can be considered a success! Team Dunbroch has finally finished our task, and now everything can go back to normal."
"I highly doubt that'll be the case." Hiccup crossed his arms over his chest, grinning at her. "After all, we did make friends with an invisible winter spirit. I have a feeling that talking to our new friend might make us seem a bit odd at school…and that it might bring a few strange things into our lives in general."
Thinking about Jack, Violet couldn't help but nod in agreement. The winter spirit would likely hang around town like usual, and this time, she'd know what signs to look for to find where he was. He'd be their friend that no one else knew about, the hidden member of their group that usually only children saw. In the meantime, Violet would hide away her villain suit for good, and only pull it back out if things got desperate again with Pitch. Dash might have an inkling about her being involved, but it wasn't like he had proof when it was Hiccup hiding away the suit itself. After letting him search her room, he would back off and have nothing to show in the end, so she'd be back to her normal life. Or well, at least as normal as her life could ever be. Maybe she'd hold off on doing much else for a while, though. As much as she thought she had been ready to date before, she was starting to realize that maybe she needed to get used to handling a few close friendships first, before figuring out how to balance her time out properly with everyone she was starting to value having around in her life.
Thank you all for reading! Please review and tell me what you think!