Neutron Row,

Metroville,

USA, 8/12/1975, 6:40 pm

'Vi, you're not eating.' Helen Parr gave her daughter a verbal prod from across the table. She and her husband, Robert "Bob" Parr had already finished their dinners, and Bob was reading an evening newspaper which he'd spread absentmindedly across his gravy-drenched plate.

'No surprise there, then.' Said Violet's ten-year-old brother, Dashiel – or just Dash. He had eaten even quicker than usual tonight, as he was heading to a baseball game with his friends. Violet just looked at her fork and Dash took another shot. 'Probably thinking about Tony…'

The eating tool fell with a clatter and Helen jumped. 'Honey..?' Her daughter's face was pale. 'What's wrong? You don't look too well.'

Violet pushed the plate away. 'I'm just not hungry, sorry mom.'

'That's OK, sweetie. It's no great loss, I'll put the plate into the fridge and maybe I can warm it later for you?'

Dash whinged. 'That's no fair, I always have to clean my plate…'

Helen was disgruntled. 'With your metabolism it's risky for you not to eat everything. Besides, you have a very healthy appetite.' She looked at Bob. 'Go get dressed for the game, Dash, dad will take you in a minute.'

'Yes!' He shouted, running around the table a couple of times before hurtling into his room. Bob snuffled a short laugh but his face soon straightened as he went back to the paper.

Helen wrinkled her nose but turned back to Violet, stretching an arm to take the plate from the table and into the kitchen. 'This is about Tony, isn't it?'

Violet sniffed. 'It is… he dumped me.'

'Oh, sweetheart!' Wailed Helen. 'I know exactly what it's like, I was young once, and I know it hurts, a lot, but…' She stopped, partly confused. 'But… you're not crying?'

Violet gave a final sniff, the faintest trace of a smile cracking her features. 'I- I was really upset, but, there's this new boy at school.' She pushed a hair behind her left ear and stared into middle distance dreamily. 'He's called Nick…' Helen pursed her lips. 'I was really rude to him but when I told him that Tony had been cruel he hi-' She stopped and swallowed before looking at the tabletop. 'He talked to Tony about it for me.'

Helen got up and started to clear the table. 'Would this "Nick" be English?'

Violet sighed heavily. 'Yeah…'

'Tall, long nose, small ears, burnt umber hair, little bit of baby-fat around the middle, broad shoulders?'

Violet just sighed again and nodded.

Helen was about to say something about getting Nick to attack Tony, but Bob interrupted her. 'Interesting… very interesting…'

'What is dear? I couldn't help but notice you were reading at the table.'

'This article in the Evening Chronicle. Look.' Bob lifted the paper from his plate and slid it to the centre of the table. It left a trail of grease as it went and Helen muttered something under her breath.

It was on page six – the headline read "MYSTERY SUPER SAVES CITIZEN". A large black and white picture of something that looked like a flying human figure carrying a child dominated the top half of the page. Violet and Helen took a moment to scan the document. It mentioned a possible name – "Stuntman" – a strange accent, and the fact that nobody in any official post could give any information. The end of the article offered money to persons that could come forward with data regarding the new superhero.

Helen finished wiping the table and took her seat again, looking at first her husband then her daughter. Violet was disturbed from a more detailed reading of the article by a pack of photos thrown to her by Bob.

'Vi.' He began. 'I have been speaking with Captain Guess of the police, and to Agent Dicker, and we have come to an arrangement.' Violet started looking at the images. They were all posed portrait shots of two superheroes, named as Stuntman and Electroboy. The two looked remarkably familiar, like Dash and his father, and Violet could swear she remembered the younger one's face from somewhere. 'Tonight, at around eleven, there will be a "diamond robbery" downtown. We will not be there, but you will, and if I'm right so will this Stuntman character. I need you to watch him tonight, see if he brings his little friend along, where he goes, what he does, gather all the information you can; then report back to your mother at the airfield tomorrow morning before ten.'

'Seems simple enough.' Said Violet. 'But you know I hate this kind of work.'

'We know.' Replied Helen, who had not had a chance to look at the photos closely. If she had, she would have put her finger on the hero's true identity immediately. 'But it's very important that we find out all we can. Remember, you can go to any police station and expect a meal and drink for nothing. We don't expect you to be out in the cold all night. Get what you can, then head to a station to catch some zees. Move out in the morning. I'll be waiting.'

Bob smiled. 'By mid-day tomorrow, you will be able to enjoy your weekend.'

Dash sped out of his room and jumped into his dad's arms. 'OK, Dash, ready to go to the game?'

'Sure am!' Dash replied. He seemed really happy, but Violet wasn't. When he was tucked up in bed she would either be on a couch in a cop staff-room or tracking foreigners through the night. Still, there was one upside. She needed to settle the odd feeling she had when she saw Electroboy's photo, and this gave her the chance. And she guessed this meant that her parents trusted her enough to go solo.

She stood up and half-listened to Bob leaving the house. A car door slammed, and the family people-carrier drove into the darkness with a receding grumble.

Helen wrapped two elastic arms tight around Violet and hugged her. 'Good luck, Vi. I'll be waiting for you tomorrow.' She checked her watch. 'You'd better go and get changed, time is marching on.'

---

Atomic Parks Suburban Housing,

Metroville,

USA, 8/12/1975, 10:50 pm

Nick's lab coat was extremely grimy, stained with soot and grease. He leant on the kitchen side chewing on a cold grilled cheese sandwich. He spoke between mouthfuls. 'Dad, I still can't get over how stupid you were to turn up the ray-gun power like you did, but I just wanted to let you know that I accept your apology. Heck, the damage means that I have some stuff to work on.'

Chris finished pinning his article onto a corkboard. 'How much will it cost to replace all the equipment?'

'Don't worry about that.' Said Nick, licking his fingers. 'I'll go out to the scrap-heaps and do some salvaging. Stuff always turns up. It's the gun I'm the most concerned about.'

'Ruined?' His dad asked.

'Yeah, though thankfully my blueprints weren't incinerated; unlike pretty much everything else in there. It took me ages to get what I needed for that pistol, and all of that time is now down the drain.'

'I'll see what I can get from work on Monday. I'm sure there'll be components lying around, write a list for me.'

'Already done.' Said Nick, producing a roll of toilet paper, which unravelled onto the floor. It was well over six feet long. Chris gasped while his son just laughed.

'You'll be glad to hear that I got the police scanner working straight away, we didn't miss a trick. I even took time to rig up this cool little alarm.' He pointed to a red bulb on the wall.

'Nicely done, lad. Very good-!' The light suddenly started flashing brightly, and a buzzer rang out from the cellar. 'Hey, it works. Prudent of you to test it out.'

Nick was busy removing his super-suit from his school bag. 'I'm not testing it, dad. Looks like we're being called to action!'

---

Stuntman and Electroboy huddled together in the blasted basement listening to the police radio chatter. 'Oscar One, this is Control. Investigate a report of a jewellery heist on Pennyforth Lane, Downtown.'

'Oscar One copies, Control. Await further communication.'

Electroboy remembered something, and pulled his mask over the top of his head. 'Come on, dad. Time to go to work.'

---

Tompkins Jewellers, Pennyforth Lane,

Metroville Downtown,

USA, 8/12/1975, 11:13 pm

It was a grey, damp Friday night and the new superheroes on Metroville's scene had sped out at eleven o'clock that night, responding to a police radio intercept.

'Let's head 'em off at the pass, Electroboy!' Stuntman cried.

'Don't ever say that again, da- uh, Stuntman, or I will hurt you.'

The diamond thieves ran into a side street and piled into the waiting van. One paused for a moment, looking up and down the street to make sure they weren't being followed before slipping into the drivers seat.

'Ha! They call themselves heroes, can't even keep up a chase.' He roared with laughter and turned the key. Nothing.

He tried again, and again, each time the engine just coughed and spluttered but did turn over.

'What's wrong?' Asked a balaclava-muffled voice from the back of the van.

'Van won't start…' The driver answered. He continued to worry the ignition, and finally the engine started with a rumble. Turning the wheel, the driver pulled out into the late night traffic.

'Electroboy!' Stuntman hailed his smaller partner. The tower block gave him an unparalleled view of he city streets, and he studied the van as one might study an insect. He pointed: 'Can you put an EM field around that vehicle?'

'I can try,' replied Electroboy, who then leapt for the fire escape, 'in five minutes be ready to bring them down.'

'Don't panic, I will be.' Stuntman's voice had suddenly taken on a breathless quality, and his skin reflected the neon lights of Metroville in a metallic fashion – like polished steel.

'Titanium within, titanium without.' He muttered before zooming up into the night sky.

---

Electroboy saw the approaching van and guesstimated the distance between him and it. It gained speed to overtake a truck and the young hero picked then to strike. He extended his arms, palms outstretched, and grinned.

The air surrounding the van began to glow blue-white. Arcs of lightning lashed out from Electroboy's hands and whipped against the van, causing the cloud of light to electrify; bright white snakes thrashing away like those inside of a plasma ball. Miniature aurora borealis flickered in and out of life, causing the wet tarmac to glitter dramatically. Inside the van, the driver struggled to control his vehicle; he glanced at the dash and gasped to see all of the gauges rattling away, their needles spinning spastically.

Not thinking, he swung the van into a dark alley. The narrow straight kept the vehicle aligned properly while the driver just slammed his foot on the gas pedal, causing the wheels to screech.

Stuntman fell from the sky like a meteor, his metal skin glowing red-hot. The van rushed onwards, heedless of his presence, and he took up a low ready stance with one foot back to steady himself. Still onwards the van came, and Stuntman gritted his teeth…

'This is going to hurt… OH SH-!'

CRAAASSSHHH!

The van smashed into Stuntman with tremendous force and the noise of rending metal. Debris flew in all directions, but the metal-man was not moved an inch by the impact. Instead, the front of the van warped around the stalwart figure, filling the air with a hail of shattered glass. Under its own momentum, the vehicle flipped over Stuntman in a shower of sparks and came to rest on its back.

'OW!' He screamed, falling to a knee, his skin now more resembling flesh.

With one hand, Electroboy shocked the overturned van enough to knock out anybody within, and helped Stuntman to his feet with the other. 'You OK?'

Stuntman winced. 'Do I look OK?' He cocked his head. 'Sirens. Let's go – ow – we'll let the police – ow – handle this… I think I've broken something.'

'Titanium skin, eh?'

'Shut it! That hit would have killed a lesser super.'

'So you've told me before, on many occasions.'

---

Electroboy ran ahead, Stuntman limping behind, until they came to a paved area at the end of the alley. High-rise towers and wire fencing surrounded the plaza; here and there grass grew from between concrete slabs.

'I can barely hear the sirens now.' Stated Electroboy with a tone of excitement'

'Aye,' replied Stuntman, letting himself slump to the ground, 'Justice has been served!'

'Yeah!' Proclaimed Electroboy, thrusting his fist into the air. The atmosphere crackled with electromagnetic power. 'We're the best! Made in the UK! HA!'

Unexpectedly, a tongue of energy flared up from Electroboy, striking a point at the top of an apartment block. There was a flash of light and a loud scream that echoed around the small plaza, chilling the two partners to the core.

A red object flickered into life at the top of the building and fell, landing with a clang inside the dumpster Stuntman was resting against. He struggled to his feet and looked within.

'Well I'll be beggared!' Exclaimed the larger hero, peering inside.

'What is it?' Electroboy asked nervously. 'Tell me, man!'

Stuntman leant in and pulled the thin girl out, draping her on the paving. She looked to be about fifteen, but it was hard to tell for her long blue-black hair was covering much of her face.

'Cripes!' Shouted Electroboy, recognising her immediately. 'Is she dead?'

Stuntman sighed, forgetting his own pain. 'She's got a pulse, but it's very weak. You put a big shot into her… she's so thin…'

Electroboy fell to her side. 'But, I didn't see her! I- I swear!' He went to touch her shoulder, then whipped his hand back.

'I know, but I don't think it could be helped… I think she's a super.'

'The uniform…' Stated Electroboy, the light dawning. 'The fact I couldn't see her, the way my lightning went for her… it fits, sure. But – she's a girl from my school, the one I met earlier today!'

Stuntman tutted and scooped the limp form up, cradling her in his arms. 'What's her name?' He asked.

'She's called Violet, Violet Parr… I scuffled with her former boyfriend, you recall?'

'Yes, I remember.' Stuntman said. 'Whatever, we need to get her warmed up soon or she won't last much longer. You said Parr, right?'

'Yes.' Electroboy sounded more and more distraught.

'I think I know what to do with her, but it'll have to wait until morning. Come on, Electroboy, back to the car… we'll get her home.'

---

Electroboy sat in the back of the Jaguar with Violet while Stuntman manuvoeured them through Metroville's streets and back to their new home.

They hurried inside and Electroboy laid her softly onto the sofa. He draped a blanket over her and pulled up a chair.

'Nick,' said Stuntman, 'it's not your fault.'

'If you keep saying that, dad, I might start to believe you.'

Chris sighed as he took off his goggles. 'I'm going to get changed and start dinner. Keep an eye on her for the moment, and call me if anything happens.'

'You mean if she croaks?' Nick spat back.

'I meant when she wakes up.' Chris said, limping into the bathroom.