Buddy Pine stood outside of the National Super Agency headquarters, grinning from ear to ear as he was showered with questions and the flashing of cameras. Press conferences were now a monthly ritual for him and the NSA. The agents accompanying him on stage varied depending on the updates he could provide but one thing that never changed was that WatchDog was always standing nearby.

He preferred solitude when it came to his work but he was still a sucker for the limelight and he was always the center of attention on these trips. Surveying the small crowd of reporters before him he pointed to a woman in a pale blue dress.

"I'll take your question, Janet," he purred as he leaned against the podium and all eyes went to her. In the last year, he had essentially made it to a first-name basis with most of the journalists that attended these briefings. Initially, the press was particularly hostile towards him, for good reason given his history, but the interrogations of his intentions had slowly died down to only a few media centers. Now he had writers, like Janet, who were digging into the most intimate details of his life.

"Mr. Pine, the readers of Techies Digest all want to know one thing. Is there a special lady in your life?"

Buddy smirked. This wasn't the first time he had been asked about his marital status. He had become something of an illegal bachelor. Even with his body count, he managed to gain a rather interesting fanbase all bent on 'fixing' him but the answer always remained the same. "Sorry ladies, and gentlemen- but my true love lies with science. Next question!"

Hands shot up and Buddy spotted his favorite nuisance. Guy Barton, who reported for the Daily Examiner. He and the paper he worked on were on a warpath against him, and it wasn't surprising given the fact that half of the E-Board consisted of supers.

"Syndrome," Barton began, an emphasis placed on 'SYN'. "We are coming up on thirteen years since your terrorist attack on American soil. Do you have any plans for that remembrance day?"

Buddy's smile didn't fade, though his eyes did narrow on the man. Prior to his personal revival, nobody gave a damn about the attack or the casualties that came from it outside of those personally affected by the Omnidroid attack, but now a third of the country treated the day like they personally fought the robot in the streets. It was irritating, though he did find it rather comical that the Daily Examiner's best selling product wasn't a subscription to their Sunday Edition, but poorly printed bumper stickers that read 'Remember the Droid Invasion'.

"Unless our government lifts my house arrest, I'll likely be working on something to make our supers safer," Buddy replied dryly, turning his head to find the next question to pull but the hound for the Daily Examiner took advantage of the momentary silence to steal another question.

"We took a poll last week and found that less than 40% of the country trusts you or your inventions. When focused on the super population, that rate falls to 8%. How do you expect anyone to trust you with numbers like that?"

Buddy resisted the urge to click his jaw and instead chuckled at the question.

"You know that's a really good point, Guy... You shouldn't trust me," Buddy said with a shrug and the cameras began to flash madly again but Buddy only had eyes for the instigator. "Hell, I wouldn't trust me. I'm sure those numbers don't lie outside of your 100 or so civies, and I'm shocked that I have a single super in my corner, or at least one hero not looking to find me in a dark alley." That comment managed to win some laughs from the crowd, leaving only Guy Barton with a scour on his middle-aged mug.

Buddy shook his head. Winning over the leeches was easy enough, he had charisma for days but the real challenge was convincing supers not to try to merc his ass. It wasn't all bad though. Watching Violet's public persona put supers through walls was certainly the highlight to his mandatory getaways but the attempts were growing old.

"If there is anything that the public can trust, it's not my promises or the will of our friends at the NSA. It's America's favorite mute, my handler, WatchDog" Pine stated before looking back to the vigilante dressed like a motocross bounty hunter. "Isn't that right?"

Even through the tinted visor, Buddy could feel the heated glare from Violet. There would be a fight. There was always a fight after interactions with the public. She wanted him to make an effort to appease the people but there was no changing how most of the sane world already felt about him. Redemption wasn't his color anyway.

"That's all the questions we have time for today," Rick Dicker grumbled into the microphone before prodding Buddy to move off the stage, but the man took his time to wave to his adoring and loathsome fans. "Enough of that, I need to speak with you two, in private," Rick stated, triggering Buddy to roll his eyes. It was always something with the suits here, both the supers and agents. Just miscommunications and hassles all around between the unrealistic requests from the NSA to the death threats from the supers when they finally managed to get them to agree to fittings for tech enhancements.

"If this is about Leviathan, I'm not sorry for breaking his nose. And I'm sure as hell not going to apologize to him over it, especially given the fact that he doesn't even remember the encounter- '' Buddy growled. The incident wasn't his brightest moment as Leviathan was one of the few supers who could stand to be in the same room as him, but Buddy was more than happy to throw out that mutalship when the lanky bastard spoke of his one night stand with Violet.

"This isn't about Leviathan, but it is a domestic problem that might be best placed into your hands," Rick stated as the pair followed behind Rick through the halls of the NSA office. Dicker opened the door to a viewing room for an interrogation room and once they were all in, Rick locked the door, giving the trip some privacy. Violet removed her helmet, taking advantage of one of the few places that she could maintain her anonymity.

"So what's the situation, Rick? A terrorist plot, super villain on the rise, a public official in trouble?" Violet asked as she approached the blacked-out glass, eager to work an actual mission again.

"Not exactly, Rick replied before nodding to the two-way mirror and the couple peered into the room. They were expecting to see a villain inside but were instead confronted with the sight of a child, a girl no older than 10 who sat inside with a female agent, a few toys and a made up cot.

"Is this a joke from the whole, sitter thing back in the day because I gotta tell ya, Rick, this is some bull-"

"Who is she?" Violet quickly interrupted, her gloved hand covering Buddy's mouth, her gaze still on the child in the next room. She was so fragile looking and the thing that stuck out most for Violet was how terrified the girl looked. She wasn't sure if it was the kid's first time being in an NSA office, but she remembered clearly her first incident. A game of hide-and-go-seek had landed her in a similar room, a half dozen people with mind wipes. Aside from her father, Violet was the only one in her family to have caused an incident that forced them to move.

"Her name is Lillian Thomas, and we aren't exactly sure what to do with her."

"Did she kill someone?" Buddy asked, his lips free from the super's hold though not from her scrutiny.

"No. At least we don't believe that to be the case. Are either of you familiar with the heroes Carbon Copy or Lady Fantasia?"

Violet shook her head but Buddy was very aware of those names.

"Yeah, they used to run together in New Urban back before the super ban. Carbon Copy had the ability to make exact physical copies of himself and Lady Fantasia was something else. Her powers were insanely off the charts in the nuclear department and she was well on her way to being graduated from the junior league of supers too," he responded quickly, leaving off the part of how he had spent a pretty penny trying to track them down for his Kronos project.

"Well this is their daughter, and to be frank she needs your help."

"She's a super kid?" Violet asked without looking away from the child. "I didn't think that there were other super families still in hiding."

"The Thomas family was apparently more than content remaining in the civilian sector, even though they were highly sought after. Seems that having a family was a higher priority. She had an older brother but… Her family is dead. Murdered actually."

Violet and Buddy both exchanged glances before looking back at Rick.

"So you need us to find the killer? I can tap into my database and start looking into what villains were most likely associated with their deaths and-"

"While your aid in solving this crime is appreciated, agent, it's not the main point of you two being tapped into this situation," Rick interjected as he raised his hand. "The higher-ups are actually hoping that you two would be willing to take her into protection."

"Absolutely!" Violet said without hesitation.

"That's not happening," Buddy stated with the same level of energy and the pair met each other's gaze once again, confusion and frustration written on each of their faces.

"A decision doesn't have to be made this minute as the department that oversees displaced supers is weighing out other options, but you are a top pick from-"

"I swear if you tell me Mirage put you up to this-"

"Director Mirage believes you two are the best option available given the circumstances," Rick said without emotion. Even with the passing of time and added connections it was still clear that there was no love lost between the former lovers, even more so with Mirage's recent promotion. Errands of all sorts had been bypassed through the usual departments only to land on the unsuspecting desk of Buddy 'Syndrome' Pine.

Buddy rubbed at his temples, doing his best not to ignite. "I suppose she doesn't want us to leave the city until we agree to this burden?"

"Buddy!" Violet hissed making the ginger cringe but Rick just shook his head. Clearly not amused by the difference.

"You two are free to return to your base of operations, but an answer is expected within the next 48 hours. If you find to be in a position to look after her, compensation will be provided and I'll fly her down myself.

Buddy nodded in understanding. He was confident he could get Violet to see his side of the issue before they hit the halfway point home from the flight, the real battle however would be writing up the damn report Mirage would be expecting along with the answer and how they came to the conclusion. He was trying to figure out how Mirage turned into the Queen of micromanaging.

"Can we get a copy of her file? Or any info the agency can spare on the situation?" Violet asked and Rick nodded.

"We'll send you out with what info they can spare but there isn't much to tell at this point. What I can say however is this. The kid has been through a lot and her parents clearly sealed the deal for her distrusting the agency. She could use people on the outside and you two are the best we got."

Rick seemed to be pigeonholed into the choice of words, but he did have a point given the history that the NSA had with super children.

Violet sighed before placing the helmet back over her head. "So I guess you'll be spending more time in the capital and not coming back with us, huh?"

"Someone has to look after the kid until you two come to the right consensus," Rick stated, his gaze hardening on Buddy's face before giving a shrug. "But I'll be here a while longer, yes. Be sure to keep this one in line, WatchDog."

On his aircraft again, Buddy was silent as he prepped the controls for the autopilot ride home. He hated these monthly trips to the capital, he always felt like some kind of show pony for the agency.

He'd turn in whatever reports or device prototypes he'd been working on Friday night, Saturday the pair of them would be stuck in review boards, meetings, and the occasional interview with a super in need of assistance though those were becoming more and more rare. Since being put to work, he had 'improved' the lives of two dozen supers personally, not including the distribution of his Super Transition Devices, but in that same amount of time, a dozen supers had made actual attempts against his life. None of them saw consequences beyond whatever beat down WatchDog delivered, though the damage that Violet managed to give did surpass what the justice system could do anyway. Sundays were usually the day that the assassination attempts came, and it was almost always during his press conferences, the only enjoyable part of this whole arrangement.

He was a glutton for the camera, and the press knew that. There wasn't a question he had tried to avoid yet and he always made the 6 O'Clock News for the statements he'd make. If WatchDog didn't steal the limelight with saving his ass anyway- but Sundays were typically his favorite even with the testing of his mortality. The first weekend of every month the pair of them would fly out to the nation's capital and their flight back would only ever result in two different ways for him.

Sensual worshipping the body of the woman who continuously saved his sorry ass or the pair of them fighting most of the trip over some stunt he pulled with a 25/75 shot of make-up sex before they landed.

Needless to say, Buddy did not have the odds in his favor this trip back.

"We should take her in," Violet blurted once the wheels were off the ground.

Buddy inhaled deeply. He had hoped he could have had eyes on the file currently in her hands before she started this fight but he didn't need to see the case to know this was nothing but damage waiting to happen.

"Do you want to expand on that opening argument, Parr, or should I take the stand first?" he asked as he turned his seat around to face the woman he had fallen from grace for. Or maybe he rose from hell to meet her. He didn't regret the sacrifices he made over the deadly beauty that was now his fiance, but he did question if he was in a better or worse position constantly.

He had lost out on a great deal of his freedom. Nearly every aspect of his life had to go through the bureaucratic powers that be.

Acquisition forms, leave requests, reports on success, reports on failure, reports on reports. Everything that required something beyond his own scrap and wit had to be followed with paperwork of some sort. It was enough to send him over the edge, but it sure as hell beat being Schmerzen's captive.

He also had to admit that he had gained from this relationship too. First and foremost he did love her. Christ, he had to with the bullshit he put up with to be with her, but he did love her. Truly, madly, and deeply. But there were benefits outside of her companionship and their carnal affairs.

For one he never tired of seeing Mr. Incredible's dilemma over their union. It was the sweetest revenge he knew, and while he wasn't all that fond of PDA, Buddy would take every opportunity to showcase his love for Violet. Pet names, kisses. And if he was feeling particularly risky, try to sneak in something lewder into view. By Newton's apple, seeing Robert Parr's face contort into sickened rage or disgust never got old- and they had yet to inform the family on their engagement.

Additionally, Buddy enjoyed the freedom of no longer having to hide who he was. Sure, he'd be urged to play along with certain scenarios every now and then but the days of James Everett and playing nice were done. He could freely announce to the world that he, Syndrome, the guy who racked up the most kills and the catalyst of the second coming of supers was alive and well. He still got giddy after interacting with begrudged supers and burned-out agents. It was an odd relief in knowing he could be himself, though he knew the main reason why he could be so bold stemmed from the knowledge that Violet would always come to his rescue if he pushed the envelope too far. A fight would usual follow said rescue however.

Like the disagreement they were now walking into.

"This girl, Lillian, she has no one Buddy. No one else- we can't just leave her with the NSA as a primary caregiver, because you saw what they had, right? They have her sleeping in an interrogation room!"

"Pretty sure you don't have to worry about Uncle Sam's special cousin looking after the little sup for long. They are trying to pawn off the responsibility to the first idiot who agrees to the job and we don't need that in our life."

"Her family was murdered, Buddy," Violet said as she raised the file that an intern had passed off to them on their way out. "She came home from school to find her family dead and you have to admit that we are potentially the safest option for her. Nobody knows outside of our circle where you live, and to be honest it wouldn't look too bad for your image to be hosting an orphaned super."

"Oooh, I get it now. It's not actually about the kid, is it? It's about me," Buddy snubbed as got out of his seat to check into the bar cart. It was evident this flight would not feature the mile-high club, meaning he'd have to sink his pleasures elsewhere. "Look, I appreciate you still wanting to make a redemption story out of me. I do. It's cute, endearing and all that jazz but playing house isn't going to make anybody actually believe I've changed. I'm fine with the darling supers and civilians hating my guts- disappointment is actually great fuel to get shit done AND it also lets me focus on work that I actually want to pursue, not idiotic group projects like this."

Violet rose from her own chair and stalked towards him. With the file in her hand, she offered it to him when Buddy half expected her to shove the information into his face, but the super had something else to rub his nose into.

"She's an orphan, Buddy. An orphan without anyone left in her life to look out for her. I would have thought if anyone could understand her situation it would be you."

Buddy narrowed his gaze as he snatched the file from her hand, abandoning his partially mad gin and tonic. It was a low blow, but he had the right ammunition to fight this chore.

"And I'm sure me being a notorious super killer is going to make her feel right at home."

"She needs us, Buddy."

"Does she? I'm sure some other super will come along to adopt her. Maybe someone who has a civilian spouse that can't reproduce-"

And then it hit him. They never had that talk, not really anyway. No, they hadn't talked about kids since their first time, an impulse fucking on the dining room table.

"... You want kids, don't you?"

"It's not about what I want," Violet said quickly, attempting to avoid the question but he wasn't going to change the subject while he had her on the run.

"If that's the case then I can just get you another dog, I know you are missing Apple but a kid is a lot of responsibility, one that will probably end our ability to maintain WatchDog."

"I know that! But that doesn't change the fact that she needs someone right now, and not just anyone either, looking at her history-"

"I'll make a deal with you, Vi. The next time a kid needs a place to stay we can throw our hat in the ring? Maybe wait for someone a little older who doesn't require so much work "

"We might not have another opportunity like this!"

And there it was. Violet was looking to play house. He scoffed, ignoring the tears that welled up in her eyes. They were tears of anger and he had made the mistake of misplacing the waterworks as a sign of weakness once before. Those tears were really a warning sign that he was going to be in trouble.

"Do you really want a kid, or are you just getting bored of our current routine? I can start taking myself to these monthly check-ins and gear up for any bold supers that way you can spend more time on the outside. Maybe visit another state or country with the family, you know, have an actual vacation?"

"Dammit, Buddy- can you just look over her file and give her a fighting chance before you just let the system take her somewhere else?!"

The man blinked as Violet marched to the back of the aircraft, shutting the blinds behind her. He would have preferred to keep the conversation going, maybe even get her to lead him back to the bed, but now he'd have to show some effort if he was going to get his way.

Opening the file he scanned over the brief intel.

Name: Lillian Thomas

Age: 8

Known powers: Power replication, must be within a distance of ten feet or less of another super to trigger.

Now that was something new. As long as there wasn't another super around she was just a normal kid. She could fit in anywhere, be placed with any family looking to adopt some runt.

However, that kind of power was ripe for taking advantage of.

"Fuck," he hissed under his breath as he considered the raw possibilities.

He and Violet may have dealt with his old colleagues, but that didn't mean there wasn't still evil afoot. Plenty of eccentric and brilliant villains still existed and while power replication had its limits there were people. People like Schmerzen, may he rot in hell, who could find ways to exploit such powers and push their limitations. LeBrock had hinted that Schmerzen had found a way to extract powers from supers. He had yet to see any evidence of that potential but if it was true, if this kid fell into the wrong hands…

It wasn't his problem.

It wasn't their responsibility to protect supers, and this was one of the few times that his handlers gave him a choice on working with a super. What did he care if the kid ended up becoming a humanized weapon or diced up into a petri dish? It wasn't like the NSA didn't have a history of killing kids or rouge supers before.

… But Violet had a point on his own personal experiences. And he hated that she brought that up.

He wasn't going to come outright and say she had a point. He could only give the woman so much credit. He should come to the conclusion himself, point out something within reason rather than emotion. Like how it could be interesting to see the development of a growing super first hand, even if it was likely the kid already had decent control over her powers.

Doubting his own hypothesis, Buddy quickly checked the file again to see the cause of death to her family members and gave a sigh of relief. The likelihood of the kid going haywire was still a very real threat but the kid couldn't have possibly killed her family seeing that it was currently theorized to be an execution. The photos included in the report gave him that impression as well. He was just surprised that someone got the slip on Carbon Copy.

Picking up his drink, which was just gin, he threw the liquid down his throat and contemplated the pros and cons of playing 'sitter'.

Violet wanted it, so siding with her decision would make things on the home front relatively easier. It should also rack up some brownie points with the NSA, and could even make for some plausible excuses to break protocol, like unauthorized field trips. After all, kids required engagement. Lots of engagement.

That was as much of a negative as it was a positive point, right? The kid could be a distraction, consume more energy than he or Violet could spare. He could stick her with the 'nanny' bot if they needed a break, but that could only do so much depending on the kid's temperament, and right now the only personality available in the file was trauma. That was something he had personal experience with, but Violet would be the better fit for navigating that area if it had to be addressed.

And then there were the powers. She'd be feeding off Violet's abilities and one bad tantrum could take him off the next census. He doubted anyone at HQ would object to the use of his Super Transition Device, but even if that was the case, he was willing to risk a slap on the wrist from Mirage over being decapitated by a force field wielded by some emotional brat.

Buddy rubbed at his eyelids as he came to the full realization that he was agreeing to take the kid. Setting the empty glass down, the former villain made his way to the back of the aircraft to find Violet awake in bed with her own reading material in hand.

"Parr, I just want to say that this is the worst idea I've ever heard. And you have to trust me on this because I'm a professional in making bad plans," Buddy murmured as he made his way to her side of the bed and seated himself on the edge.

"That's Mrs. Pine to you," Violet corrected with a smirk as she closed her book and his expression softened.

"Ah ah ah. We are only engaged, ma'am. But even if we did get the official thing down, our union would only be recognized in France, seeing that you are dead and all," Buddy pointed out as he handed the file back to her. Violet's dark blue eyes were full of anticipation for the next words to come out of his mouth.

"So what's the verdict?"

"... We can take the kid in."

Violet leaped forward and planted her lips onto his, kissing him eagerly but he was not as quick to respond to the passion.

"We can take the kid in, but-"

"She's my responsibility, I got it," Violet replied, just happy he was willing to budge her way on this but she was taken aback when he shook his head.

"I'll be around to help however I can just- don't expect too much out of me, alright? Not exactly family-friendly material over here," he noted with a grin and Violet rolled her eyes as she placed her hands over his chest, his own hands folding over hers. "I have to ask though, do you actually want kids?"

Violet turned her gaze downward only for one of his hands to lift her chin up, patiently waiting for her answer.

"I'm not sure. It's never really been a top priority of mine… I only know that this kid needs us, Buddy. There might be other people who could step up to the plate but I don't think it's a coincidence that her life was spared."

"You think the suits are hiding something?"

"Maybe, but I think the more likely option is that they don't have the facts yet either. Why else would Mirage want to get the kid out of the facility?"

"To spite me? Again, I'm not exactly built for kids," Buddy reminded as he recalled the numerous times he told Mirage that he didn't care for children but Violet shook her head as she pulled away and opened up the file pointing to the crime scene photos.

"This was an execution. Plain and simple. Somebody either had a score to settle with one or both of the parents, or the killer was looking for something and I looking at the mess they left, I don't think they found it."

"So what's the game plan here? Are we playing guard dog or are we going hunting for this super killer?"

Violet shrugged gently as she set the file aside again. "Who says we can't do both?"