Warm sun.

Seagulls squalling.

Children laughing.

Tony's smile.

And then people are screaming-

Violet turns her head in the direction of the terror and sees a stampede of people heading to the seaside of the pier, but she can't see what is driving folks back.

"Take cover, I got this," Violet tells Tony as she is already running towards the danger. Putting on her mask she dives into a game booth to change. A benefit to her powers was that any space could become a dressing room if no one could see you.

She had received a new suit from Edna, similar design to the family outfit, only she was now sporting a dark shade of violet as the primary color, and the lower case 'i' that had stood out on her parent's costumes was barely visible, the minor stitching of black thread outlined the letter but one would not be able to notice the detail until it was too late.

Violet remained invisible as she exited the game booth, now able to see who was causing the chaos. The Triplets Mayhem. A trio of brothers who had defected from the Rolland Crime family she had busted last month. What they were doing targeting a pier was beyond her, there were easier targets to hit that had more money, and better exit strategies-

Unless if they weren't here for money, but a person. Ransoms were much more their speed.

Violet only had eyes on two of the brothers. She panicked and searched for the third up ahead but gunfire from the rear told her what she needed to know. She was torn between taking care of the two at the beginning of the docks or running back where she came when Dash ran on the scene, taking that battle from her. Making herself known to her brother, the Parr siblings exchanged nods and Violet ran back the way she came as Dash ran laps around the thugs behind her.

A black chopper flew overhead, the Triplets planned escape route no doubt. Violet searched for any person of interest when a distressed scream from a girl broke out. It was the mayor's daughter! And she was in the grasp of the largest of the three gangsters. Without hesitating she threw a shield towards the man, knocking his jaw and effectively releasing Mayor Wise's daughter who was now retreating back into the crowd.

Coming back to his senses, the criminal found the visible Violet and raised his firearm at her and-

Violet gasped as she sat up, wakened from the recurring nightmare. She didn't dream of it all the time, but something about being taken hostage against your will brought out the bad memories. Violet breathed deeply and felt her sore rib cage when something in the corner of the room caught her eye.

It was Syndrome, sitting in the quilted chair beside the bed. His hands were clasped and raised, covering his mouth. The ice blue orbs seemed to be burning a hole into her skull as they both waited for the other to break the silence.

Violet shifted her gaze to the clock on the nightstand to see what time it was and the clock read back 18:40. She hadn't expected to be out for so long, though she hadn't planned on passing out at all. She was really hoping to see Syndrome's face in the test chamber. Turning her head back to Syndrome, her eyes drifted to the floor, watching his leg shake in a rather uncontrollable manner.

"Shake that leg any faster and you might be able to race against my brother," Violet mumbled as she locked glances with Syndrome again. He stopped suddenly and his hands separated, one of them moved to run through his fiery orange hair. He looked to be holding his breath and Violet wished he'd do so until he was blue in the face. Maybe even beyond that.

"How long do you plan on testing my patience, Parr?" Syndrome asked. Violet smirked, further irritating the man. "I don't think you fully appreciate the situation you are in. If you keep playing these games I can't be held responsible for what happens to you," Syndrome said as he got to his feet and neared the bed. Leaning against the bedpost, he folded his arms and looked up to the ceiling, clicking his jaw in discontent. "I could end your entire world with a click of a button, yet you seem to take pleasure in pushing all of mine at every opportunity you see."

"If you aren't having any fun, you could always let me go," Violet said ignoring the sharp pain in her shoulder as she laid back against the headboard.

"Oh, you'd like that wouldn't you," Syndrome grumbled. "Well, strap in tight, super, because you aren't going anywhere anytime soon. I can't even convince myself to send you back into any of the test chambers with your current condition. That and I'm still convinced you're going to keep up with this suicide path of yours…" His head turning to the floorboard as his voice trailed off. "You're lucky that you didn't break anything."

"Because you are so concerned about my quality of life," Violet said pointedly, turning her own head to the window. "Maybe next time I should just save you the trouble of having to debate putting me down like some workhorse and just take a few bullets instead," she started, her own outrage rising. The nerve of the guy, using words that resembled any semblance of concern. "I can still play your games… But I want to lay out some new ground rules," Violet stated and the man began to laugh.

"If you think that you are in a position to negotiate-"

"The mere fact that we are having this conversation tells me that I am of value to your projects, so yes. I do believe I have an advantage here," Violet interrupted fully knowing that she was only making the ice beneath her feet thinner.

When he approached the bed, Violet felt her blood slow to a crawl. Maybe she had reached his limit. It shouldn't surprise her, but she would have thought that his corporate undertones would appreciate the art of making a deal, but she was clearly dealing with his darker side. She waited for the kill shot. A hand around her throat, her family's current location. Something painful.

His hands were pressed down on the edge of the bed with enough pressure to make her body tilt towards him and he leaned in closer. If he was any more of a monster, Violet would swear he was preparing to rip her throat out with his own teeth. Maybe he was.

"How about we discuss the terms starting with what to do about Tony," he whispered into her ear.

Violet was stunned at the words. Hearing his name in the villain's voice. It felt wrong. Like desecration, or blasphemy. Nobody was supposed to say his name anymore. She didn't want to hear his name anymore. A tear escaped from one of her eyes. She expected many things. But not him.

"Oooh, I knew you had other people you care about! That's why you went underground, isn't it? For some dumb boy with dreamy eyes and good looks- Jesus that's pathetic." Syndrome took the tear as a sign of fear. He was more than ready to take his victory lap around the room. Pushing away from the bed he circled to the far end of the room, chuckling with each step as he rubbed his hands together. "Yeah, let's negotiate, Parr. You cut the crap right now otherwise I'm going to find this little boyfriend of yours and put him through a world of hurt! He must be the fellow who the cops are talking to!"

Grinning, he looked to Violet who looked more distraught than ever. He had her now. That's what all the bad guys in the old movies would do, right? Dangle the damsel before the hero, only the damsel here was the hero and whatever fool she had in her life probably had no clue who she really was. They were both out of their leagues now, the boy with Violet, and Violet with thinking she could continue with her defiance with him.

But then Violet began to move from the bed. She moved to the writing desk, limping as she did. Syndrome raised an eyebrow at the super's priorities, but hell, stress had a way of clamping the mouth shut. Pressing his back against the wall behind him, Syndrome watched as she bent over the desk and began to scribble something down onto a notepad. Violet quickly ripped the sheet away and trudged up to her captor, and against better judgment she shoved the paper against his chest, allowing Syndrome to wrap a forceful hand around hers.

"What's this Parr, cat got your tongue?" Syndrome snickered trying to find the woman's eyes but they were elsewhere.

Somewhere far away from where they stood.

"It's where you can find him," Violet mumbled as she pulled her hand back, something that Syndrome allowed. How could he not let her go? She just made the hunt easier for him.

"Aww, what's the matter, did you guys have a bad break up? Or are you just realizing that you can't hide anything from me now?" He asked, smirking as he watched Violet make her way back into bed. He shook his head, wanting to drag out the situation longer. It was only fair for him to return the torment she had delivered to him. Clearly she wouldn't play along so he moved to leave the woman alone to sulk but stopped in his tracks as he read the details she gave him.

"Anthony "Tony" Rydinger

1800 Pastureview Drive

"Is this a fucking joke?" Syndrome asked as he turned back to the bed to stare at the unresponsive lump. "Parr. Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Violet sat up at the demand, her back was to him but she half-turned to meet the request. A smile was on her lips, but fresh tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"I beat you to it," she answered with a cracked voice. Syndrome remained in place, still holding the paper. "And for your information, he did have dreamy eyes, and a handsome face, but he wasn't dumb... I was the dumbest choice he ever made," she muttered before laying back down.

Syndrome stood in place for another moment. Violet couldn't say how long his presence remained but after she heard the door slam and his footsteps down the hall the floodgates opened and Violet felt as though she had lost him all over again.

Buddy knew the address well. Municiberg Memorial Cemetary. It was where his mother was buried. Where he watched her go into the ground at the ripe old age of eleven. The plot beside her was still empty, intended for her husband, his father, but as far as Buddy was concerned a ditch was too good for his old man. Of course, the government who believed him to be dead didn't see his name to be fit enough to be mounted onto the gravestone either.

Buddy clenched the paper in his hand as he made his way down to the digital lab. The computer system in his den would have sufficed for a simple search on the guy, but he needed more details. Well, it wasn't necessary, but he was too nosy for his own good. He didn't think he would go as far as hacking the NSA to find what he desired, but if it took that he'd damn well make sure it wasn't just some cover story she spun on the spot.

Punching in the name into the search engine the first few hits that came up were news articles. All of them pointing to some tragedy a couple of years back at the pier. Twenty-seven dead, including the man of the hour, and three mobsters.

Buddy dragged his finely trimmed nails against his scalp as he read over the articles. It was a job done wrong on both sides it seemed. The Triplet's Mayhem for trying to snatch a high profile target in such a crowded place and Violet- well any save that has a death count doesn't feel like a save- and the amusement park was totaled, closed down for repairs for two months, which was pretty bad given the event happened in the prime summer months. The press didn't hold it against her, at least not for the most part. They weren't giving her any praise either, but as one columnist pointed out, 'Invisi-girl's element is not in the public eye, but the private eye'.

And in Buddy Pine's honest opinion, that was a load of crap.

There was no denying that the woman had a knack for detective work, even before adding her invisibility into the equation. She had managed to expose a few of his competitors and even one of his more favored clients, though Grand Larceny did have it coming- but in the short time that Violet was in his grasp she had displayed mastery over her powers and was putting up a better fight than the supers he attracted to Nomansian.

If she really wanted to, Violet Parr could put every other super to shame with her gifts.

Who needed super strength when she could create a battering ram with her mind? Outrunning bullets wasn't necessary. Not only do her force fields protect her from harm, but they also deflect the projectiles right back. And as much as Buddy enjoys taking a flight, Violet can climb just about anything by summoning her force fields as platforms. Hell, he had yet to figure out how she managed to split his droids in half!

But still, she was best known for not being noticed. He had a good feeling that there was still a lot of untapped potential in the super. And now that he had reopened this wound of hers. He was no stranger to melancholy, though he presumed that the wrongful death of a loved one was much more debilitating than betrayal. The possibility of getting her productivity back up in the coming days was looking slim to none. He rubbed his face as he began his internal debate of what to do next.

'You could threaten her life'

"Hey idiot, she had no problem trying to kill herself before and I imagine that she's got death on her mind more than before. You'd just save her the trouble."

'You know you're not above torturing for information…'

"Yeah, but I'm looking for a fit to fight super, and that requires being healthy in mind and body. So, torture is off the table."

'Threaten the fam?'

"We brought that gun out the first day."

'Threaten Winston?'

"Oh, she'll call that bluff for sure,"

'What about digging up the boyfriend's grave?'

"WOW. OKAY, NECROMANCER! … Christ, have I really hit the bottom of the well already?"

He sat in silence, trying to come up with something new. Something fresh. But he didn't have to, or at least he would hope that he wouldn't have to. Violet already had terms she wanted to discuss before he fucked everything up more.

He could just hear her out and go from there.

Flipping to the security footage, Syndrome eyed the bed that Violet was still in. She wasn't going anywhere tonight, and he suspected she'd be in this state well into tomorrow. Releasing a heavy sigh, he nodded at his current plan.

He would hear her out.