Stripped of his winged costume, Bald Eagle spent the night in jail for having assaulted Calvin Turnmire, billionaire philanthropist. The police looked for an excuse to detain him longer due to the alleged fact that he was a super, but could find none, so he was released on Tuesday morning. Upon returning to his apartment, he immediately phoned Helen Parr.
"How did my parents take the news?" he asked.
"They seem okay with it," Helen answered. "They're happy to know that you're doing something good with your life."
"I want to see them again," said Edgar.
"You'll get your chance tonight," Helen told him. "We're all gathering at Mirage's place to make plans for getting Bob's powers back and defeating The Solon."
"Great! I'll be there."
Laying down the receiver, Edgar Best looked around at the spartan walls of his gadget-filled apartment. He had been told of rich playboys and playgirls who indulged in crimefighting because they had the time and resources to do so. No such luxuries availed themselves to him. A mere college student, he had to balance homework, fighting evil, and a few hours of sleep every night. His costume was in police possession, and it would take him weeks to either get it back through legal means, or save up enough money to build a new one. Yet a light at the end of the tunnel had appeared, as "legitimate" superheroes were starting to recognize the immense threat posed by The Solon and his ilk. Would the Bald Eagle soon be able to hang up his cowl?
----
Violet's pork chop lay untouched on her plate. She idly grasped a fork between her thumb and forefinger, and gazed across the cafeteria at a boy who sat alone at a table. The boy was short and rather pudgy, and freckles dotted his cheeky face. Oblivious to Violet's attention, he eagerly wolfed down a slice of coconut cream pie. His name was Nigel Kirk.
He wasn't a stereotypical geek, as he didn't wear glasses and wasn't exceptionally bright. Perhaps, Violet thought, she could work with the boy, bring out his potential, help him to gain more confidence. But with her luck, that would lead Nigel to become interested in other girls. Girls that weren't her.
Violet was seated across from Chris Hamilton at a table occupied by popular girls. She knew they were popular because they traveled in packs, talked only about boyfriends and fashion, and said "like" after every few words. They spoke, but didn't really communicate.
This particular lunch hour was unusual, as Chris was dolefully picking at her food as well. Some of the girls noticed her altered behavior and became concerned. One of their number was acting differently from the group, so they could only conclude that she was sick, or mentally deranged, or possessed by space aliens.
"Something wrong, Chris?" asked Brittany.
"Mm-hmm," the blond girl grunted.
"She's unhappy because she doesn't have a boyfriend," Heather theorized.
"She'd have lots of boyfriends if she would just uncover her face," Jessica added.
"I don't like boys," Chris muttered.
The other girls, except for Violet, exchanged confused glances. Two of them picked up their lunch trays and walked off to other tables.
Brittany remained behind to provide some token support. "I understand, Chris. If that's the lifestyle you want, I say, go for it."
Suddenly infuriated, Chris pushed her tray forward and rose abruptly to her feet. "Violet, come with me," she ordered.
Intrigued by the blond girl's display of emotion, Violet followed her out of the cafeteria and through the school exit. Chris continued her determined march until she reached the hedges at the end of the campus.
"What is it?" Violet asked. Her friend turned around, revealing that she was on the brink of tears.
"I can't live like this anymore," Chris complained sorrowfully. "I hate what my parents are doing to me. I have to get away from them."
Violet opened her mouth to offer words of comfort, but was cut off by the blond girl's ongoing tirade.
"They're bad people, Vi. Remember when they said they wanted to help you fight the evil Mr. Incredible? That was a lie. We watched it on TV, and I tried to convince them that we should help, but they didn't care. My dad even said, 'Maybe they'll kill each other off.'"
"Those scumbags," Violet grumbled.
Chris, her eyes full of longing, pressed her hands against Violet's shoulders. "I know what I want to be now," she said earnestly.
Violet braced herself for the frightening words she expected to hear--"Your boyfriend."
Instead Chris said, "I want to be a superhero." Seeing that her declaration had relaxed Violet, she went on, "My parents worked for The Solon until they enrolled in the supervillain relocation program. If he ever finds them, he'll kill them. If I help you fight him, I'll have to leave them forever. That's what I'm going to do."
Many expressions of encouragement raced through Violet's mind, all of them too trite for the occasion.
"I'll need a place to stay," Chris told her. "Will you and the other superheroes help me?"
"Yes, we will," replied Violet with a gratified smile. "I promise."
With that, she threw her arms around her friend's neck and held her tightly.
Brittany, who had followed out of curiosity, spied their embrace from behind a tree. "Chris and Violet," she marveled. "Wait till the girls hear this."
----
Bob's first day at work without his powers had gone smoothly--no monsters or villains had attacked the city center. As he drove his economy car through bumper-to-bumper traffic, three things dominated his thoughts--the approaching meeting of heroes at Mirage's hideout, the shadowy new menace they faced, and the prospect of being magically transferred into a powerful body that resembled his own, but might hide significant differences.
He arrived at home to discover that his wife and three children were awaiting him in an orderly fashion, standing at attention, their super suits concealed under their regular clothes. He smiled proudly. "Showtime," he declared.
"Get in the car, kids," commanded Helen, who was cradling Jack-Jack. "We're going to aunt Mirage's for dinner."
"Yay!" Dash exclaimed.
"We have to wait for Chris," said Violet urgently.
"Chris isn't coming," Helen insisted.
The girl in question had packed two suitcases with all of her clothes and essential belongings. Resting them on the living room floor in front of her seated parents, she announced solemnly, "Mom, Dad...I'm leaving."
"Leaving?" responded Mrs. Hamilton with alarm. "For where?"
"I'm going to help the Incredibles fight The Solon," said Chris with determination. "I may never see you again."
Ike and Gloria exchanged pained looks, then rose and confronted their daughter.
"Please don't do this," Gloria begged. "We love you."
"You could be killed," Ike added. "We won't be able to help you."
"I've made up my mind," said Chris, bending down to pick up her luggage. "I'm through hiding. I'm through pretending. I want to be free."
"We won't try to stop you," said her mother with barely concealed anguish. "But remember, once you walk out that door, you can never come back."
Seeing that their daughter showed no sign of changing her course, Ike and Gloria pulled her into a final group hug. All three shed tears freely.
"Goodbye, Mom," Chris gushed. "Goodbye, Dad. I love you."
The embrace seemed to last for an eternity. Tearing herself away from her parents, Chris marched through the front door with her suitcases. The door closed behind her with a quiet click that echoed through her tormented mind, but she didn't look back.
Inside the house, Ike and Gloria Hamilton hugged and wept, struggling to be brave in the face of their daughter's departure.
"We knew this day had to come," Ike remarked sadly.
"I'll call Rick," Gloria offered. "There's nothing left for us here."
Violet was startled by the look of devastation on Chris' half-hidden face as she climbed into the station wagon with the Parr family.
"You did the right thing," said the raven-haired girl, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Now you're one of us. Now you're a superhero."
----
Mirage's lair turned out to be a large house by the intersection of two rural roads miles from the city. It was the sort of home a successful farmer or sheep rancher might inhabit, with several satellite dishes jutting out of the front lawn. The Parrs, accompanied by Chris Hamilton, pulled into the gravel driveway to find several other cars present. They recognized two of the vehicles--the old Buick owned by Lucius Best, a.k.a. Frozone, and the natural gas-powered sedan driven by Magdalena "Maggie" Guerrero, a.k.a. Magicadabra.
The walls of the spacious domicile were adorned with movie posters, evidence that Mirage had once taken a shot at a Hollywood career. The living room, actually a conference room, featured suede chairs surrounding a long glass table. A TV monitor covered the entire length of one wall, displaying informational broadcasts from various sources. There was also an indoor swimming pool and hot tub, but the gathered heroes showed no interest in them.
Mirage stood at the head of the table, welcoming the Parr family as well as Chris, the Bests (including Edgar), and Maggie. All were aware of the secret identities of the others, so no one was in costume.
"I'd like to thank you all for trusting me enough to visit my humble abode," Mirage began. "It's true that I collaborated with Syndrome during the recent Omnidroid crisis, and I deeply regret it. The government has wiped my record clean due to my assistance to the Incredibles, and I now offer my winter home as a headquarters for your crimefighting activities. Despite our differences, we have a common enemy--The Solon."
Bob Parr stood up, holding a sheet of paper. "Are there any comments before we proceed with our business?" he asked the combined heroes.
"I have a comment," said Honey. "Lucius and I are very happy to be with our son again."
As Edgar's parents embraced him, Bob glanced around the table for a few seconds, then started to read from the paper. "Our first order of business is to choose a name for our team," he announced. "Any suggestions?"
"How about the Super Sized Incredibles?" Dash chimed in.
"Or the Solon Busters," Violet added.
"The Unstoppables," Lucius proposed.
"The Justice Gods," Maggie contributed.
"The Unstoppables it is," Bob declared. "Our next order of business is to welcome Christina Hamilton as a member." Chris rose hesitantly. "Chris, also known as The Transfixer, has the ability to change gender at will, and immobilize anyone of the opposite sex who looks at her, or his, face."
"She's pretty good, too," Mirage chimed in. "When she turned into a boy, I literally couldn't take my eyes off him."
"Our next order of business," Bob continued, "is to review the current state of our knowledge about The Solon, and devise a strategy against him."
"My parents, Anna Konda and Impregnable Man, were supervillains in the employ of The Solon," Chris recounted. "They never met him. Nobody knew who he really was. Nobody quit working for him and lived--until the supervillain relocation program came along. I was born while my parents were in hiding. When they realized what I was, they tried to raise money to find a cure for my condition, so I could live normally without having to cover my face. When they couldn't find enough money through legal means, they returned to crime. By choosing to fight The Solon, I've permanently turned my back on them."
"The Solon is an expert in virtually every field of human knowledge," Edgar told the group. "He has studied every superhero and supervillain he knows of, and is familiar with their strengths and weaknesses. He funds many criminal activities and employs many supervillains. Some you've had experience with, like Cloud Cover, Plutonia, and the so-called Mr. Incred-Evil. He specializes in alchemy, and has collected the necessary elements to create a Philosopher's Stone, a device that can transmute matter. Its power is limitless--it can change one element into another, or even one person into another. I believe he used it to strip Mr. Incredible of his powers, and to transform one of his thugs into Mr. Incred-Evil. I have reason to believe that The Solon is none other than Calvin Turnmire, billionaire philanthropist."
"The man you went to jail for attacking," Helen observed.
"When I saw him reach for his camera, I thought he was reaching for the Stone," Edgar continued. "He was also present at the fight between Mr. Incredible and Plutonia. I believe his plan is to lure you into confrontations with his underlings, and use the Stone to rob you of your powers, one by one. However, since he never underestimates his opponents, the mere fact that I suspect him suggests that he has already changed his plans."
"Maggie, have you picked up any more vibrations about The Solon?" Helen asked her Hispanic friend.
"Nothing new," was the reply.
"I won't be much help against The Solon unless I can get my suit back from the police," said Edgar. "But I know how he thinks, and I can recommend strategy. I suggest you split into two teams--one to help Mr. Parr get his powers back, and one to investigate Turnmire. In a perfectly legal manner, of course."
"I can use my invisibility power to check out Turnmire," Violet volunteered.
"And I can run so fast, he won't see me," Dash added.
"We'll do it together," Helen told her children.
"I'll be part of the first team, naturally," said Bob.
"I know the way to the maximum security prison where supervillains are held," said Lucius.
"I will bring the Permutare charm to switch the bodies of Robert and the clone," said Maggie. "However, the spell requires great concentration, so someone will need to keep the clone under control."
"I can do that," Chris offered.
"Then we're agreed," Bob declared. "We will enact our plan tomorrow evening."
Unfortunately the plan hit a surprise snag, as Robert Parr awoke the next morning to a shocking headline in the local newspaper: MR. INCREDIBLE IS DEAD.
----
to be continued