Erasing the Line
By Dancer of the Moonlit Lake
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"To your left, you'll see some very interesting documents, signed right here in this very hall…"
Violet felt her eyes droop as her teacher led the class through Metroville's city hall. As part of a major history grade, she was to endure this moronic field trip and write a report about it later. While the logical part of her brain understood this, she could help being bored.
Her eyes wandered out a large window, instead of the documents she was supposed to be examining. Across the street resided the Mertoville First National Bank… and it was surrounded by several police cars.
Violet's heart gave a leap. A bank robbery! At last, salvation from mediocrity!
"I have to go to the bathroom," Violet heard herself say. Before her teacher could stop her, Violet had broken away from the group. In a ladies' room stall, she hastily threw on her super-suit. She turned invisible and hurried across the street.
The police chief was interrogating a witness. The woman seemed quite upset. Violet, still invisible, listened to their conversation.
"Calm down," the chief soothed, "Is there anyone else inside the bank? Any hostages at all?"
The woman swallowed and shook her head. "No. Th-there were three boys, they burst in so suddenly… They demanded that everyone get outside, they forced the bank tellers out, too… Everyone ran… That's all I remember…"
"Can you describe the boys to me?"
"They were in matching suits. I couldn't see their faces, they all had visors of some sort…"
Violet turned away and slipped inside the bank. No one was even aware of her presence, save when she opened the door. Even then, the police assumed it had been the wind.
The inside of the bank was quiet and empty. Violet couldn't see the thieves anywhere, but she'd stopped enough bank robberies over the past three years to know that criminals never linger in the hall; they head straight for the vaults.
She rushed through a myriad of hallways and came to the first vault. The metal door had been reduced to rubble. Violet peered inside.
In the middle of the room stood a boy a bit older than her. He wore a suit of dark blue with white boots and gloves. Across his eyes he donned a white visor. He seemed to be a typical high-paid criminal, except he didn't have to move at all. The money and gold bricks that occupied the vault seemed to fly towards him at the mere flick of a wrist. He quickly stuffed the bags at his feet.
"He can move things at will… He's psychic!" Violet whispered to herself.
The boy heard her. He turned around, looked straight at Violet, and smiled. "You're Mr. Incredible's daughter! The invisible one, right? You might as well stop hiding."
"Y-You can see me?" Violet choked, her throat closing in fear. She resumed visibility. The boy took off his visor, revealing chestnut-colored eyes.
"These visors are heat sensitive. Good for spotting lasers, security devices and pretty super-girls," he said, offering her a sheepish grin..
Violet felt herself blush against her will. "That's a nice line, but I don't date criminals."
The boy moved towards her. The bags of money rose into the air and followed him.
"What, you mean this? It's just a one-time thing. My boss wanted to see if I could do it, that's all. He knows all about you, your family, and your powers. So do I."
"And just who is you 'boss?'" Violet asked. The boy stopped just in front of her and smiled once more, but he did not answer. A diamond floated into his hand. He held it out for her. Violet's stared back at him confidently. "I also don't take stolen gifts."
"Okay, party's over," a strong voice said from behind Violet. She turned and saw two others wearing uniforms identical to the physic boy's. The one who spoke was in his early twenties, red hair, and was much taller than the rest of them. Slung over both shoulders were bags of stolen money. The other was between the ages of his partners, but his skin was a pale blue color.
The redhead spoke again. "The police are moving in. I've got us a back-way out."
The psychic boy stepped towards them.
"Sorry, super-girl, but we have to go," he said. "Don't bother using a force-field to trap us. Wildfire here," he motioned towards his large comrade, "could break through it, easy." As his teammates ran down the hall, he reached out and grasped Violet's hand. He pressed his gift into it. "It was a pleasure to meet you. My name's Joshua."
And just as quickly as they came, the three boys disappeared. Violet was left with a diamond in her hand, and confusion in her mind and heart.
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Mirage's former employees were, to say the least, surprised to see Syndrome alive. He'd gathered them all into the main hall and hovered over them on a platform, Mirage at his side. They'd been standing there for fifteen minutes, listening as Syndrome spilled some monologue about his latest plan. Many of them were greatly confused; they were hired after Syndrome's "death" and had never performed acts of villainy.
Mirage coughed into her hand, encouraging Syndrome to wrap up his speech.
Syndrome leaned forward over his platform and shouted, "In short, if you all shut up and do as I say, you'll get a big raise! Triple whatever Mirage was paying you!"
Comprehension washed throughout the crowd. Some started cheering, others applauded. Mirage rolled her eyes as she followed Syndrome from the platform and into a hallway.
"Production on the new Omnidroid must begin immediately," Syndrome called lazily over his shoulder. Mirage pretended to write that down on a clipboard. "I also need a new super-suit. How fast can Edna Mode have one done?"
"Edna doesn't design suits for villains," Mirage reminded. "You told her you were a Super last time, but I doubt she'll be fooled again."
"Anyone can bribed, sweetheart," Sydrome shrugged. "Offer Edna an obscene amount of money for the suit, and for her silence, bribe her with new gadgets for her designing studio. My suit needs to be heat proof (that stupid 'Incredible' baby turns into fire,) virtually indestructible, accessible to all my inventions…"
Mirage stopped listening. Syndrome was like a small child; if you nodded and pretended to agree with him, he didn't notice if you were listening or not.
"I still want a cape, too..."
That broke through Mirage's boredom. She laughed. "After it got stuck in that jet? And here I thought you were smart."
Syndrome stopped and turned to her, eyes narrowed. "'And here I thought you were smart,'" he mocked. "I've always wanted a cape, even when I was Incredibo-" He cut himself short and started over. "I mean, my authority is not for you to question. You forget your place."
Before he could blink, Mirage lashed out and grabbed his wrist, pointing at his remote. "My place? Why? Because of this? It's you who has forgotten. You forget what I can do."
Those blue eyes widened, and that freckled face paled once more. Syndrome remembered well the extent of Mirage's power, her ability to make you think or feel whatever she wished you to believe… Why, she'd even fooled Mr. Incredible and Frozone into thinking a building was on fire, and that the police were signaling for help… Mirage could fool the best of them, and Syndrome was no exception.
He pulled away and continued their walk down the hall. He didn't speak until they reached the doors of Mirage's living space. With the punch of a button, the doors slid open and Syndrome motioned for her to enter.
"Set up the appointment with Edna Mode and order any missing resources," he murmured. He turned to leave, but then came back, as if he'd forgotten something. "One last thing. It's not that I don't trust you are anything," he couldn't hide the sarcasm in his voice, "but all of your calls will be monitored. Can't have the Parr family knowing I'm alive, right?"
He laughed maniacally. As the doors clicked shut behind him, Mirage couldn't help but feel as though she had been locked in a tomb.
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Bob Parr was raving.
He didn't mean too, of course. However, even super-heroes sometimes have a problem restraining themselves, and Bob was one of the worst.
"I can't believe they got away with it!" he yelled over the dinner table. "No one stopped them!"
Violet froze in her chair, hoping, praying that her father didn't know about her presence bank robbery. If there was anything her father hated, it was a bad guy who slipped through their fingers.
Bob pointed at an article in the sports section of the newspaper. "How can the Metroville professional football team be this terrible?! It's crazy! They just let the other team waltz in, beat them into the ground, and leave! We have no defense! No one on our team could stop them!"
Violet let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Her dad wasn't talking about the robbery at all!
"It's just sports, honey," Helen said absently. She continued coaxing Jack-Jack to eat his steamed carrots. Violet, meanwhile, was just about to stop worrying when Helen said, "Oh, did you hear? Three unidentified boys robbed the First National Bank today. Eyewitnesses say they had 'unnatural powers.'"
Bob looked up sharply. "Unnatural powers? Do you… Do you think they'll revoke the Super-Human Rights if this catches on?"
Helen grinned. "That's why we'd better catch them. Strangest thing, though. They didn't take that much money."
"Maybe they were just in it for thrills," Violet said before she could stop herself. She couldn't help but think of Joshua's words. "I mean, they could have taken it all, but they didn't. Maybe they'll just go away."
Dash eyed Violet suspiciously. "Weren't you in that area today, Vi'? You see anything?"
Violet stammered, "N-No. I- I, I mean, it must have happened after we left. I didn't spot anything unusual." She hated having all those eyes on her. She wanted to hide behind her hair like she used to, or even better, turn invisible. But such an action would look too suspicious. Instead, she stood up. "I'm full. Loads of homework to do. 'Night."
She hurried from the room. Dash watched her go. He'd known his sister all his life, and he knew better than anyone when she was telling a lie.
The phone in Bob's office began to ring. It was a video-phone, specially made by Mirage's company for all the Supers she knew. Bob answered it, and was surprised to see Edna Mode on the other line.
"Robert! How good it is to see you. We should chat more often, darling, but you never call. So lonely I am in this big house." Edna said, her words coming from her mouth faster them Bob could comprehend them.
"I'm sorry, E, I've just been real busy, what with coming out of retirement and all-" Bob tried to explain.
Edna interrupted. "Yes, yes, we all have our excuses, darling. The reason for my call. I had a very unusual order come in over the phone. People usually come in person, but no, not her. Do you know who it was?"
"Who?" Bob asked reluctantly.
"This I cannot tell you!" Edna shouted. "This order was placed for someone who would be of much interest to you, but I have been paid for my silence. I think, perhaps, the woman who called in the order did so not of her own will. She could not say so, of course."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because she sent this with the measurements for the suit," Edna explained. She held up a square business card. It had small, neat handwriting on it. Bob leaned closure to the screen and read aloud.
"'Tell Bob he's alive,'" he read. "What? Of course I'm alive, what does that have to do with-"
"NO!" Edna shouted. She waved a free hand on her end of the screen as if to hit her correspondent. "The card is not about you! Look what's on the back."
She turned it around. In the middle of the card was a company insignia that Bob could not identify. A capital 'S' sat etched in the center of a triangle, surrounded by an embellished circle.
"I don't recognize it…" Bob admitted.
"Oh?" Edna mused. She pressed it closer the video phone. "I suppose you wouldn't, you haven't seen it in three years. This, my pudgy friend, is the logo for SyndroCorp."
"What?! He's- he's alive?!" Bob sputtered, saliva flying all over the screen.
"Maybe, darling, and maybe no," Edna said in her broken English. She leaned back and put her finger on the disconnect button. "But, remember, I have been paid to say nothing."
She hung up just as abruptly as she had called. Long after the screen had gone blank, Bob sat with his head in a daze, wishing Edna could tell him more.
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Mirage couldn't believe that at this time yesterday, she had been the president of her own multi-billion dollar company. Now she was forced to stay in he room, starving, by an twenty-six-year old child. She cursed her luck as her stomach gave another growl. Perhaps she could order something from a guard, but then again, Syndrome never did treat his captives well.
She felt tears burn behind her eyes, threatening to fall. The whole thing was so unjust, so wrong… She wished her powers worked on herself, and she could make herself believe she was on an island somewhere, sipping a martini.
A knock came at her door. She forced the tears down and straightened herself before answering.
"The boss is waiting for you," the guard who had knocked stated. "The Lava Room has been set up, and dinner has been prepared."
Mirage raised an eyebrow. This was unexpected. She allowed herself to be lead to the transport that would take her to the Lava Room.
Once there, she opened the doors without knocking. Syndrome was there, accompanied but three younger men.
They stopped talking immediately after she came in. The three men, all either in or barely out of their teens, were dressed in identical outfits. One of them, oddly enough, had skin the color of pale blue. Mirage had no knowledge of these boys, and therefore, did not trust them.
Syndrome wrapped up the conversation. "That's good, boys, I'm glad to see that you can get pass Metroville's best security. I'll speak with you tomorrow."
The three nodded to Mirage as they left through the doors she entered through. Mirage, rather than look at the tuxedo-clad Syndrome, stared at the moving lava that was the room's fourth wall.
Syndrome approached her, saying, "Come on, sweetheart. You can't pretend you're not hungry. Look, I've got all your favorite foods." He beckoned towards the large table piled with food. It all smelled wonderful, and Mirage hadn't eaten since her coffee earlier that morning. Her stomach let out another betraying growl.
"I'd rather not," Mirage lied. "I don't feel like dining with you."
Still not looking at him, Mirage headed towards the door. She stopped as he grasped her hand.
Syndrome's hold on her hand tightened, but it was gentle, like that of a lost child alone and scared. She heard him say, "Please…"
Mirage turned. Syndrome's eyes were on the floor, downcast. She knew that his greatest weakness was being left alone, shunned aside like he was as a boy. He had shoved away the powerful villain charade, and was genuinely asking her to dine with him.
"Okay," the word came out of her mouth, though she had not been aware of willing it. She took her seat at the table, and hoped she would not regret it.
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Author's Note:
I hope you've enjoyed what I have so far and are looking forward to the next chapter (Which will be up on Thursday or Friday.) In case you couldn't tell, Violet's pairing in this fanfic is my "OC" (Original Character) Joshua. Pixar didn't give Violet a super-powered love interest in the film, so we fanfic authors have the fun of creating our own. (Wasn't Tony ugly? I thought so…) But don't worry, Joshua isn't completely trustworthy, so the relationship won't be too boring in the chapters to come. Please leave me a review if you've read this far; I'd sure love to hear what you think. :)