MIT- Twenty-three years ago.

A young Buddy Pine sits in the technology lab of the esteemed college. As the youngest person to be enrolled in the institute, Buddy was something of a spectacle but he wasn't there to make friends or become a teacher's pet. He was there because the social worker who had pulled him from the Wayward Boys Home told him that the best revenge there was on this earth was to become something. And that's exactly what he was going to do.

He was going to make himself the biggest name anyone ever knew. Bigger than any movie star, politician or musician. And he was most definitely going to be better than any super.

The world was going to remember Buddy Pine, or he was going to die trying.

His tongue was tucked in the corner of his lip as he diligently wired together his first robot's circuit board. His professor claimed that it was at this point impossible to create something that could operate of its own volition but he was going to prove him wrong. Him and every other shortsighted ninnyhammer that crossed his path.

He was so entranced by his work that the young Pine didn't realize he wasn't alone until a hand was on his shoulder.

Whipping around with the soldering iron in hand, Buddy raised it like a weapon. "Don't fucking touch me, man. Don't."

The figure who had laid his hand on his shoulder was now holding his hands up in defense and put a fair distance between them. A portly bald fellow who was well over the hill and looked like he should be checking into a senior center rather than a college classroom.

"Easy there, boy. I meant you no harm," came the gruff voice but Buddy wasn't buying it for a second.

"Well I do mean harm. What do you want, asshole?"

A laugh emitted from the man, his wrinkles becoming more defined by the action and he shook his head.

"I'd like to know how a runt like yourself managed to get into this school but I think you've already answered it for me. You're a fighter, aren't you. Certainly looks like you're growing into that build too," the portly man mused looking over him with brown eyes.

Buddy motioned the deadly tool in his hand again, not appreciating the comments or eyes on his body.

"Get bent you pervert. I'll kill you before you so much as lay a finger on me," he hissed but the older man's gaze softened, the once smitten gaze turned to a sympathetic one. Even his jowls sank more if that was even possible.

"Oh. Oh my poor boy, I'm not- I'm sorry for troubling you."

"That's right. You better be sorry," he growled, hating the pity in the man's eyes. Still holding up the tool, Buddy remained ready to strike at a moment's notice. He wasn't going to fall for the apology act. Not again.

"Let me start over, please. My name is Professor Chalk, I teach cryptology here and I wanted to see this prodigy everyone in the lounge was talking about. You are more formidable than they let on."

Buddy swallowed but didn't let his guard down as he lowered the heating device. "Flattery will get you nowhere-"

"Not with you, perhaps, but you still deserve praise. Professor Lewis tells me that you have made quite the array of items in your studies. Lazers that fit into helmets, boots that allow you to fly. I'd love to hear you tell me the inspiration to these things," the man requested as he pulled up a nearby stool and took a seat, still giving him more space than he needed.

Buddy frowned at the question. He just wanted to work on his machine but it was clear this stranger wasn't going to leave him alone now. "I want to give people the chance to be super."

"But supers are illegal," the man countered and the young ginger rolled his eyes.

"A lot of things are illegal, but people still do them anyway."

"Why would you want to make ordinary people placed on the same path as those born with their gifts?"

The hardened youth lowered the tool at long last, but his expression looked to deliver emotional damage.

"Why? Are you kidding me or just touched in the head?! Who wouldn't want to be able to do the incred-... the impossible. I mean, why should supers be the ones to have all the power? Just because they won the evolution lottery? That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair-"

"You're right, it isn't," Buddy replied, well versed in the painful reality. "Life isn't fair, so I'm going to even the odds a bit. Give the average Joe and Jill a chance at being more than fodder on standby."

"You sound more like a man going to war than an inventor. Who is your enemy?"

"Anybody who stands in my way, so you better watch out old man," Buddy warned but the fat bastard just laughed, pissing off the young buck further. "What's so funny?"

"Apologies, I don't mean to offend you, young Prometheus."

"That's not my name," Buddy spat.

"Well, what is it?"

The young man was quiet as he suppressed the urge to throw a fit. It was unbecoming of him to act out in such a way over his name, but he loathed his name. Not only for the having to carry his father's legacy, a useless Pine but he still heard that baritone voice that made it hard to sleep at night.

'Whose my little Buddy?' Father Joseph would ask as he desecrated him.

The Professor standing across from him was patient in waiting, recognizing the look of terror that brewed inside of the young man. It also wasn't too hard to connect the dots when one did their pre-investigation before meeting their mark.

"I see."

"You don't see shit, old man," Buddy muttered as he tried to hide his tears behind a sleeve.

"I see plenty of things in you, son."

"Fuck off, you aren't my dad, and a good thing for you too-" Buddy said, wishing he could use the soldering iron on the man who abandoned him. "What do you want anyway, asshole-"

"Cleaning your mouth out with soap is a top contender for me, champ," the stout older man replied as he tilted his head to the side. "But I'll settle for something to call you. You can always change your name you know…"

"No."

"No?"

"I want people to know me."

"Yet you can't even give me your name now?" the professor asked as he leaned back in his seat and folded his arms.

Buddy bit his tongue as he avoided the man's cool gaze. It took him a full minute for him to contemplate between offering a name or telling the stranger to fuck off again. "It's Reggie," he lied but quickly faltered. "I go by Reggie, but I'm- I'm B-buddy. Buddy Reginald Pine."

The professor smiled at the rapid progress before extending his hand out.

"Professor William Chalk, at your service. But I think you can keep a secret, Reggie. I also have another name others call me from time to time. Does the name Major Metal mean anything to you?"

Buddy kept his distance, but the man continued to keep his hand outstretched. Buddy nodded and pressed his back to the table he had been working at. Setting the soldering tool off and down, he struggled to meet the man's eyes again.

"You're a villain."

"That's what they say," the outed Major Metal said as he laid his arm to rest.

"Why are you talking to me?"

"Because Reggie, I see potential in you. And I think I'd like to teach you something."

"What, how to end up in jail?"

"No. Not if I teach you right anyway. I want to teach you about the world, Reggie. Power, money, connections… So tell me, how do you feel about learning how to never be underneath someone else's foot ever again?"

Hope was suddenly lit behind the pale blue eyes as the child released a pent-up breath.

"Where do I sign up?"

…

Buddy's bright blue eyes opened to take in the ceiling of the room he and Violet resided in. They had arrived early in the morning and only got a few hours of rest and as much as he longed to go back to the recesses of his mind and rest a while longer he knew there was work to be done.

Turning his head, he was surprised to find Violet's tired eyes on him. She offered a sad smile and he gave one in return.

"You should go back to sleep," he urged but the woman gave a shake of her head and inched closer underneath the sheets.

"I'd rather not."

He was half-tempted to joke that they could sleep when they were dead, but he knew Vi would not appreciate the joke as much. Major Metal would have laughed though.

He still had yet to tell her about the Hyperion soldiers using HIS name, but there were only so many things he had left to say to her. And he didn't see the use of wasting his breath on talking about himself when he could spend them on words to soothe her.

"When this is over, I want you to take me and Lillian to Nomansia," Violet said, breaking the silence and the gloom. He'd argue that she was just getting her hopes up. But it would be fun to play pretend.

Rolling onto his side to face her, his eyes lingered on the stitches on her cheek a few seconds before nodded.

"That could be arranged. We could get you into a decent bikini… or no bikini," he said as his fingers brushed along her form.

"Beats the super suit I guess,'' she replied with a faint blush on her cheeks.

She hadn't been there since his men tried to kill her and the rest of her family. How the island must have changed. Plants were surely overtaking the structure by now. Exotic birds nesting in the hangers, crabs overrunning the halls.

"I think a lot of repairs are needed to make the facility habitual. Unless of course, the good colonel had repairs done to the joint while I was away."

"It's nothing that we couldn't fix together," she said, inching closer, only a hand space left between them.

"Oh, does the great and terrible Violet Parr know her way around a tool bag too?"

"Well I am engaged to a tool," she said with a sly smile, laughing as he pulled her into a lock.

"The super has jokes, huh?" he asked as his fingers began to work her sides, tickling her so he could hear her laugh a while longer.

"Buddy! Stop!" she roared in her fit of laughter and he just laughed at her protests.

"Never!"

But he did stop when tears were in her eyes from the stimulation and he began to wipe them away. "The kid said we had to make each other happy, remember?"

Violet nodded, the smile fading from her lips. "Did we do the right thing? Leaving her with Sibyl?"

His silence on the issue neither helped in justifying the move nor did it bring in additional guilt. It just was.

"She's got a fighting chance," he said as he tucked her hair behind her ear. "That's more than most of us get."

Violet nodded as she sat up and looked at the clock, trying to calculate the Zulu time for the actual time in D.C.

"The vote starts in about two hours," he said as he stared at her and Violet ran her hands through her hair. "That's assuming if those hacks don't give speeches beforehand. I'm guessing that they will. So maybe more like five hours."

She just wanted to stop time. Why couldn't that be her power? Instead, all she could do was turn invisible and make shields that people could apparently shoot through now. She forced her eyes onto Buddy again and attempted to continue to act as though his fate wasn't hanging by a thread.

"What's on your agenda today?"

"I'd like to check in with Mirage, see if any of those surviving mercs did roll overnight. Then there is also a matter of trying to figure out what material can pass through your force fields."

"You say it like you didn't have me as a hostage. Did breaking through my powers never cross your mind?"

"No," he confessed quickly. "I mean, when we had that little duel, sure, the thought did cross my mind. But I wanted to imitate your gifts. Not snuff them out."

"If only the minds behind Hyperion felt the same."

Buddy nodded before he rolled up to sit at the edge of the bed. Before he could summon the will to stand Violet was draping herself over his shoulders, her breath on his ear.

"What if instead, we didn't leave this bed?"

Buddy couldn't seem to shake ghosts from his mind today as he heard Leviathan taunt him from the edge of one grave and into the next.

"I know that grief makes for great sex," the prick had said to Violet as he was getting carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey.

He reached for her hand and held it against his chest for a moment. Truthfully, there was nothing he'd love more than to spend the day with her underneath him. He could have one of the lab grunts analyze the bullets they pulled from the Hyperion soldiers but he had another matter to tend to in the lab as well.

"We can celebrate like pagans when congress gains some sense," he jived before he snaked out of her hold and turned to her. Offering his hand, he gave her a smile worthy of his obituary. "But I'd like to get some sugar in you before we break the bed."

…

Violet and Buddy made their way down to the dining facility. Buddy was only going to grab something with a cup of coffee, but the plan to dine and dash was paused by the presence of Violet's parents.

Buddy had completely forgotten about the engagement stunt he pulled to spite Mr. Incredible, but it looked like the father wasn't going to let the deed slide. Helen rushed towards them and pulled Violet into a hug, becoming a helicopter mom for a moment as she looked over the battle wound.

"You can block out explosions but not a bullet?"

"Yeah, I wish I could tell you how that got through, but Buddy is on his way to figure that out right now actually."

Taking his cue to leave, Buddy attempted to sidestep the small reunion but was stopped by the massive hand of Mr. Incredible.

"I saw what you did out there."

"Yeah. That was just for you," Buddy lied. "I gave you fair warning that I was going to make a proper lady out of your little girl."

"Not that. The other thing."

Buddy blinked as he tried to recall what other insult he threw towards the man but taking stock of his childhood idol's face, he didn't see resentment present. Not at the moment anyway. The hand that had stopped him dead in his tracks was now held out for him to take.

"Thank you for saving my daughter's life."

Oh. Yes. That was the other thing. The cameras were still rolling at that point, clearly, and Buddy could only guess that the vultures were hoping to get a shot of a dead super before they started fleeing for their lives.

Buddy's eyes stared at the hand for a full minute before he extended his. Even if it was a trap to throttle and strangle him, he supposed he'd rather let the hero take him out of this life before the government.

Buddy waited for his hand to be crushed, his wrist was still feeling some of the pain that The Ox had left him with but his hand was held firmly.

"If I so much as find a single shred of evidence you had something to do with this, I swear, I'll put your head through a wall."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, popsicle."

The two released their grips on one another, and before he could make his escape a pair of arms wrapped around him and he was pulled into a hug by Elastigirl.

"Thank you," Helen said softly. Buddy didn't even realize he was hugging her back until he caught Violet smiling at them.

Helen broke contact first but her hands traveled to his face to hold his gaze. "We're going to be watching the vote if you want to join us," Helen said as she nodded towards a table in the back where he spotted Winston, Mirage and Voyd all chatting up a storm.

Buddy shook his head as he backed off. "It's alright, really. I got some projects I need to check in on."

Helen nodded before moving to her daughter again and led her away, but Robert remained, eyeing the man with reserved eyes.

"One of the television crews left their cameras behind."

"Hmm?"

"You nearly got snatched back there."

"Heh. Yeah… What can I say, everybody wants a piece of me these days," Buddy said with a shrug, fighting off the prideful joy in his chest as a chuckle came from the man he had once tried to emulate.

"That's a good one. Funny, considering… well, everything," Bob said before he tilted his head. "So… who's Prometheus?"

Buddy paled at the name and had to avert his gaze to the floor.

"I am."

"So you know who's behind this?!" Bob hissed but Buddy pushed the older man towards the coffee bar.

"I don't. Not really at least."

"Oh, are you shy about your villainous friends now?"

"I'm saying I don't know because it's impossible for Major Metal to be behind this. He's the only one who would call me that and he's dead. Been dead for nearly two decades-"

"Well you came back from the dead," Bob mumbled but Buddy shook his head.

"He was a corpse when I last saw him so unless someone out there figured out how to reverse the big die, I'm gonna stand by what I said. He's dead."

Robert shifted his jaw. Still having difficulty believing that he was innocent in all of this, he decided it was time to throw a curveball.

"What really happened between you and Leviathan?"

Buddy held his tongue back as he helped himself to a travel cup of coffee. It was colder than he would have preferred, but it would carry him through his final projects.

"He was talking shit so he got hit," the ginger said with a shrug and his former hero gave another laugh, but one that did not leave Buddy with the warm and fuzzy feelings of validation. No, this was a mockery.

"Wow. Must have been pretty bad, I mean, I think I can count on one hand all the people who might actually have something nice to say about you."

Buddy didn't respond as he put a lid onto his cup but he was barred from moving towards the elevator by Mr. Incredible's hand once again, this tiom it was was on his chest.

"I want to know what made you pissed off enough to go at a super with your bare hands. Did he make fun of your attempt at playing the hero? Belittle your inventions? Or maybe he just doesn't care for gingers."

Buddy knew what he was up to. Get him on edge to cause him to snap down the line in this impromptu interrogation. He set his eyes on the table that Violet was occupying with Mirage, Winston, and her mother as Voyd performed parlor tricks for the group. The television above them was set to C-SPAN. Good, avoid the opinions of those who just regurgitate whatever their producers wanted.

"He wasn't talking shit about me," he said, his eyes still on Violet. Bob followed the line and showed visible surprise.

"What did he say?" Bob asked again, his tone softer than before but there was an underlying harshness to it.

Buddy raised the cup to his lips but didn't inhale the beverage yet. He was still mulling over if he should let the father know about Violet's one-night stand. It wasn't his secret to share, but he could hide the truth with the truth.

"He had a thing for Invisigirl, and shared a theory with me why she wasn't on the super scene anymore. He thought she was using her powers to subdue men in an obscene and lewd fashion," he said before taking a sip of the coffee, confirming it was lukewarm at best. Seeing that the man couldn't read in between the lines, Buddy caved. "He called your daughter a slut, Bob."

Robert was shaken by the words. And upset that he couldn't retaliate to them in the way he wanted to. But Buddy did. That Pulitzer-winning photo of Buddy breaking the nose of the late and beloved Leviathan was captioned in a way that made Buddy look like the bad guy.

In truth, he was still the bad guy. But sometimes that's what was needed to get things done.

"Why didn't you correct the papers?"

Buddy sighed as he rubbed at his eyelids.

"On top of not wanting to potentially out Vi's position as WatchDog? I don't know. I guess I wasn't ready to let the world know I was wrapped around her finger."

Robert Parr looked at the man with a newfound appreciation. Before he could say another word Buddy was stalking off towards the elevator. For a fraction of a second, Robert wondered what Buddy Pine could have been to him if he hadn't shunned him as a kid.

His eyes turned back towards the gathering place Violet took refuge at and approached. He didn't want the NSA to lose to begin with, but now he found himself rooting for the reformed villain as well.

"Where is Lillian?" Robert asked as he took his seat at the table.

"She's sleeping in," Mirage answered for the exclusive group. "Yesterday's excitement really did a number on her."

Violet nodded sadly, still having some doubts about leaving Lillian with the woman who allowed Buddy's torture to take place, but Mirage pointed out that the super could see trouble coming before anyone else.

"Why can't we bring her to The Eighth Wonder?" she had asked the Director of the NSA and the woman shook her head.

"The NSA might only exist for another day. If it shuts down, we won't have jurisdiction over Lillian's protection. I'm not willing to risk her life over pride, are you?"

Just as Buddy predicted, the politicians of the country were all too eager to share their thoughts on the NSA. How they had to do better by the supers who already suffered great injustices. Some made comments about Syndrome, but the primary focus was to take away any agency the NSA had.

After a couple of hours, the Speaker of the House called on the representatives to begin the vote. "On the resolution to cut the National Super Agency of its federal status and funding, How does the gentlemanof South Dakota vote?"

James Abourezk, a man with a thinning hairline and glasses rose to his feet. He quickly adjusted his glasses before clearing his throat.

"I vote yay!"

And so the vote continued. For an agonizing hour and change, each representative stood and answered Yay. Not a single member went against the current, and how could they? To vote in favor of keeping the NSA would be voting to keep the super killers, Syndrome and the NSA, alive.

There was no hiding the distraught at the table by the time a third of the vote was in. Mirage knew her phone was ringing off the hook in her D.C. office, filled with people ready to gloat, agents asking what they were supposed to do next or see if they had to collect their final pay checks. Federal contemporaries ready to start the migration process were likely already waiting outside of her office.

"I should go," she whispered and Winston took to his feet as well.

"We'll figure this out, M. We can start a whole new agency, one that the government can't dismantle."

Mirage smiled sadly before looking to Violet who still had her eyes on the screen in disbelief.

Where was his luck now?

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry," Helen whispered as she sat closer to her daughter and took her hand. Rober also shifted closer to Violet, wrapping a protective arm around her slender shoulders.

"We can try to petition his sentence. Didn't you say the colonel was looking to have him onboarded for this place? Maybe he can pull some last-minute strings?"

"I'm afraid I can't," said the base commander who was lurking at the table behind them. Once all eyes were on him he continued. "That request I put in was denied yesterday and the time it takes for an appeal to make it into the Pentagon would not be able to beat California's rush order on Dr. Pine's death certificate."

The air was stagnant inside of the underwater facility, and Violet felt lead in her chest as she turned her eyes to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Violet. I truly am. And I am under strict orders to make sure neither of you can leave the facility until he is collected by the authorities."

"When?" she asked softly.

"0700 tomorrow."

Without a word, she fled from the table and none of them dared to follow. Condolences could come at any point. For now, it was an unspoken truth that the two should have time alone.

Violet's heart was pounding in her chest as the elevator descended. Nothing was moving fast enough. Nothing, save for the clock that was counting down to Buddy's trip to Death Row. When the doors to the tech lab slid open nearly everyone turned their heads from their work and to the entrance but Violet only had eyes for the ginger on the far side of the room who was focused on the present.

Buddy was hovering over a test station with an assistant. As they waited for the machine to spit results concerning the bullet's material compounds the pair were spitballing their own theories of what metals or chemicals could possibly slip through a shield like it was water. The conversation stopped once Buddy took notice of the silence. Turning his head saw the look on Violet's face and his own stomach dropped.

He whispered something to the other man in the lab coat and slipped him an envelope before crossing the lab floor to get to Violet. The tears were threatening to break free from her eyes now, but Buddy remained stoic as he turned her around and escorted her out of the lab.

"The vote, it passed," Violet stated.

"By how much?"

"Unanimously."

Buddy couldn't help but smirk. "At last, the court of baboons can actually agree on something," he said as he led her into the elevator.

"The colonel said that the request-"

"Was denied. I saw him on my way down and he told me. He also noted that we can expect to be under a temporary house arrest if it went south."

"We can break out. If you can clear out the lab and get us something to break off this stupid bracelet I can-!"

She was cut off by the soft pressure of his lips as the rest of his weight forced her back to the sleek metal wall.

"It's okay, Parr. I'm tired of running," he said gently but that stirred violence into Violet's chest. She shoved him off of her, furious at the statement.

"So that's it? You're just going to roll over and let them take you?"

"What else can I do?" he asked and Violet gave an angry chortle.

"What happened to your speech with Lillian yesterday? Fighting dirty, making sure no one takes you prisoner and all that?"

"I'm tired, Vi."

"So you're just going to leave me alone?!"

"You still have your family-"

"My old life as is gone! I can't just go home with them. Where am I supposed to go, Buddy? Where?!"

"Anywhere you want. I'm able to leave you with a small fortune. Not as much as I'd like but I doubt you'll make a dent in the account with your spending habits anyway."

"I don't want your fucking money, I want you! Let me help you!" she shouted as the doors opened again. It was their floor and Buddy ushered her out and towards their room but she was digging her heels into the floor.

"Vi, please-"

"If you're so tired, why do you insist on taking me to bed for a purpose that doesn't involve sleep? We can use this time to buy us days, years even."

"Your mother was right, I am a horrible influence on you," he said as he let go of her. "I appreciate your willingness to fight the whole goddamn world for me, but we both know that this has been a long time coming. I should have been dead years ago, but I'm tired of dodging death, tired of looking over my shoulder. I don't want this lifestyle for you- it's bad enough that Lillian is living on the run but you deserve to have a life. You've earned that much, haven't you?"

Violet covered her face with her hands as she shook uncontrollably. Her shoulders shuttered from her silent crying. Even as he was heartbroken at the sight, he wore a smile as he took her hands away to see her tear-stricken face.

"I'm okay with this, Violet. I am."

"I'm not! I'm not going to let you go!" Violet screamed, unable to understand how he of all people could be ready to just walk off quietly into the night. He made a show out of everything and fought tooth and nail to live this long. And for what?

"It's okay. It's going to be okay."

"No, it's not! You've been through enough already and what are they going to do? They are going to strap you to a chair. It's barbaric!"

"It's what I deserve, isn't it?"

Violet shook her head violently. "Don't do this to me, Buddy. Don't give up on me now."

"Vi-"

"Don't you fucking give up on me!"

"You're going to have to let me go," he whispered as he held up her face. He could feel her trying to shake her head in disagreement but he wasn't going to budge. "You have to, but for the time being I want you wrapped around me, right up until I've got cuffs on my wrists. I'll do the heavy lifting tonight, Parr. Justgive me the night."

Violet folded into him. She lost the will to fight only because she had to fight him for his life. Soft audible cries escaped her as she allowed Buddy to steal her away into their room. Her tears didn't stop as they shed their clothes, nor when he kissed her. His lips left no inch of her left untouched, branding his love onto her face, neck, shoulders, navel, thighs. She cried even harder as he used his mouth on her.

Her fingers tangling themselves into his flame-colored hair as he lit a fire into her core. His hands were clamped on her hips, his thumbs hooked at her hip bones as he kissed and suckled at her womanhood. Refusing to stop until he felt her legs shutter around him.

"I need you," she cried and he obeyed without question.

He took her into a passionate embrace and Violet still couldn't cease her tears, but they did slow to a trickle as they made love. All the while Buddy was giving positive affirmations to her, threatening to make her become even more emotional.

"You're brilliant."

"Gorgeous."

"Fucking hell, I love that sound you make. I love it."

"I love you."

"You're the best goddamn thing that ever happened to me, Violet. I hope you know that."

"God, I hope you know that."

Violet didn't know if he came multiple times or denied himself the pleasure of a release but he worked her the entire night. They might have been able to reenact the entire kama sutra and then some.

At the points where he let her take control were when Violet felt the weakest because that's when she saw his pale blue eyes turn to glass. Still, even with tears threatening to break, he wore a smile on his mug.

"You know my opinion on the potential of an afterlife, but if I'm wrong on it all, and I manage to not go to hell, I doubt that heaven could have a thing over you, Violet Parr."

...

If they slept it wasn't for more than an hour, but neither of them could imagine catching more sleep at this point. Sleep meant depriving each other of their company, and for Buddy, well, he could sleep when he was dead.

"I think you should find yourself a nice super to shack up with," Buddy stated out of the blue. Violet tensed at the thought of another man in bed with her.

She wanted Buddy to be the last, but she had thought that about Tony. She had thought she had sworn off men altogether after Leviathan, but moving on was the furthest thing from her mind currently. She was still trying to buy more time.

"You could, you know," he whispered. "Find one that isn't so full of themselves. Maybe some lower-tier sup who can do something actually useful like matter manipulation, or talk to animals. You could make yourself a nice little super family."

Violet had to shut her eyes as the thought, an angry tear escaping her. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"So I can get you to promise to name your firstborn after me of course," he jested. He was smiling, but Violet could hear the regret in his voice. Or maybe she was just imagining the pain in his tone to compensate for her own agony.

"What if I only had girls?" Violet countered. She didn't want to have this conversation. She didn't want anything without him. It might have been impossible, but she would have wanted to have a family with him. Get Lillian back and take in another kid or two.

He smirked at her. "All girls, huh?" He asked as he ran his fingers through her hair, trying to mentally imprint the feeling of her silk on his skin. He could see Violet having a bundle of girls to raise. Teach them how to be strong, fierce, and kind. Teach them to be like her.

"I always liked the name Winter."

Violet tried to meet his eyes but they were on the snow white sheets. As much as he had rejected the caregiver role he truly sounded like a man who was planning a family.

"Winter?"

"Yeah. I don't care for the season mind you, but I think if I were to have a kid, and it was a girl, I'd want to name her Winter. Winter Pine. It sounds kinda badass, doesn't it?" he asked, training his eyes on hers again.

Violet nodded as she sat up. She wasn't sold on the name, but her heart poured at how he looked when the name rolled off his tongue. "What would she be like?"

"Oh, gosh. I'd have to set up death rays on the front porch before she hit 16," Buddy said with a laugh and rolled his head to look up at the ceiling. "She'd be stubborn as hell, have a killer right hook too. Smarter than me though I'd likely never let her on to that fact. With long black hair and impossibly dark blue eyes."

"Why not your icy blues?"

Buddy smirked realizing that they had gone back to playing pretend again. A part of him wished that he could have left her with something more than a couple of million dollars to remember him by, but even if you were financially set, being a single mom was a tough life to lead. Thankfully it was impossible for them to procreate.

"I'd be okay with that too, Vi. In this dream scenario, I'd be happy to raise a little minion with you."

Violet closed her eyes as he sat up to kiss her again when the phone on the nightstand rang before their lips could meet again.

It was time for him to go.