A/N: Well, I'm back. I can't tell you how hard it's been for me writing this chapter. Goddamn writers block! But I managed to come up with something, so here it is. Enjoy!
The next morning, Syndrome returned to Violet's cell as he had said he would. All the way down there, he kept convincing himself that whatever feeling he thought he might have felt the day before, where completely gone.
"It was just the rush of the power I have over her," he mumbled to himself as he walked down the dark hallway. "Or the fact that I haven't been with a with a woman for a very long time."
He regretfully thought about his Mirage, his ex-girlfriend. She had been a beautiful woman, no doubt about that. And he had cared for her, although he hadn't really been good at showing it to her. He had made all the mistakes you possible could, putting his plans ahead of her well-being. He had been willing to bet her life, and he knew that was what had caused her to betray him. But that incident just proved to him what he had known all along.
"You can't count on anyone," he said out loud. "Not your heroes, and not your loved ones."
He reached the door and entered the code. However, he got a shock as he entered the cell. It was empty. He began to panic, but then he heard the water running in the bathroom. He sighed in relief and sat down. She was just taking a shower.
He noticed her backpack standing on the floor close to were he was sitting. Curiously, he lifted it into his lap and searched through her things, pulling out one item after the other. A teenage magazine, a worn-out copy of Romeo and Juliet, a discman, and finally, a photo album.
He was just about to open it when the door to the bathroom opened and Violet stepped out. She was wearing a green t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Her black hair was clinging to her damp cheeks.
"Oh, It's you," she said, and threw a white towel on the bed.
"Who else would it be?" he added.
"Well, I dont know. Maybe... Hey, what are you doing?" she shrieked. Angrily she lunged for the album which he was holding.
"That's private! Give it back!"
"I'm just looking!" he claimed, standing up and lifting the album over his head where she couldn't reach.
"I didn't give you permission to look at my stuff!" she yelled, jumping up an attempting to grab it from his grasp.
He laughed. "You think I need permission? Listen cutie, you're in my world. I can do whatever please."
With these words, he pushed her slightly away, just enough to give him space to use his zero-point energy. He shot at her, freezing her in the blue ray.
Violet regretfully found herself unable to move anything, except her eyes.
'If he looks at my photos, I'm gonna kill him!' she thought.
She watched him as he said down on the bed and flipped the album open, giving her a clear smirk before looking at the first page. Apparently, he didn't find anything interesting, cause he flipped through the pages rather quickly, hardly bothering to look at any of them. Violet got the feeling that he was just doing it to annoy her.
'Bastard!' she thought to himself.
"Boring... boring... boring..."
Violets blood was boiling. She couldn't believe this was happening. How dared he roam through her belongings and look at her personal pictures?
"Awww, look! A family photo," he said. With a quick movement, he ripped out the photo and held it in his clenched fist. "You know, you don't really look like any of your parents, " he told her as he examined the picture. "Good for you."
Violet felt her heart beat faster and faster. If she hadn't been frozen, she would have attacked him, powers or no powers.
"Hey, who's this?" he suddenly asked, and studied one of the pictures on the page before him. From where Violet was standing, she could see that it was a picture from her school years. It showed her and Tony sitting on a bench, he with his arm around Violet, and her head resting on his shoulder.
Tony had been a good boyfriend. Sweet, caring, ordinary... To ordinary! In the end, Violet had ended it. It had been a tough decision, but it had been clear to her that they were just to different. Luckily, they had parted as friends.
As Syndrome looked at the happy teens, he couldn't help but feel a sting of pain in his chest. Was it... jealousy?
'No! Not in a million years,' he told himself. He quickly closed the album, and, clearing his throat, he said:
"We should get moving. I have a lot of work to do."
He turned off the zero-point energy and got up, ready to leave. However, he was nearly knocked of his feet when Violet ran up to him and began to punch him with clenched fists.
"You jerk!" she hissed. "You big, annoying, stupid... bully!"
Syndrome, completely taken off guard by her attack, stood still for a moment just wathcing her as she continued hitting him, before finally grabbing her shoulders and pulling her away.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked. She didn't answer, but wriggled free from his grasp.
"I can't believe you," she told him. "Can't I even have a little bit of privacy?"
Angrily, she stuffed the photoalbum back into her bag, mumbling under her breath.
"Stupid bastard..."
Syndrome watched her as she packed all the things he had pulled out back into her bag. He was surprised she had dared hitting him. After all, she was kind of weak without her powers. But it seemed she had a temper, just like him.
"So, who is that guy?" he asked, trying to sound at least interested as possible. Violet looked up.
"Who?"
"That guy on the picture."
"Oh." She looked down. "My ex-boyfriend."
'I could have figured that one out by myself,' he thought.
"You carry around a picture of your ex? Sounds like someone has a trouble letting go of the past."
"Says the person who's been having a psycotic grudge against supers for 19 years," she spat back.
His face darkened. "You don't know anything about that."
"I know plenty," she growled. "My father has told me all about when you were a fan of him. How you used to follow him around, ruining his work and stopping him in catching a dangerous villian."
"Shut up!"
"No!" she said. "I'm not gonna shut up. I'm not gonna obey a selfish, murderous, spoiled asshole like you, Buddy!"
"Thats it!" Syndrome roared. Angrily, he grabbed her hand in an iron grip. She gasped and tried pulling away, but he held on tightly, forcing her to come with him.
"Ow! Let go!" she cried. He didn't. She still attempted to pull free, but he tightened his grip on her. Violet screamed in pain. He was much stronger then she had ever assumed, and she was afraid he was gonna break her wrist.
"Stop!" she pleaded. "It hurts!"
He heard her cries, but chose to ignore them He was fuming with fury as he dragged her towards his lab. When they entered, he pushed her roughly into a chair and turned to his table, where he began to search for various objects which he placed n front of him.
Violet sobbed quietly as she sat still, rubbing her bruised wrist. She was sure that what she had just witnessed was the real Syndrome. Not the cute, boyish Syndrome, but the evil, violent one. She couldn't believe that she had been fooled by his charming act. He was nothing but an evil, murderous villain.
Syndrome could hear her sobs and sniffles, and he cursed himself for letting his temper get the best of him. He had no reason to do this to her. What she said had been the truth, he knew that. He pretended to be busy, but he couldn't stop himself from occasionally looking at her. She looked so fragile sitting there, with her black hair covering half her face. He sighed and turned towards her.
Violet looked alarmed as he came towards her. Was he gonna hurt her again? He seemed to be reading her thoughts, cause the second he kneeled down in front of her, he said:
"Don't worry, I'm not going to harm you. I just want to have a look at your hand."
She hesitantly reached it out to him, keeping eyecontact with him in the progress. He gently took her hand in his, turning it over and examining the red bruises on her fine skin. He ran his fingers along hers, gently bending them to check for breaks. She winced slightly and tried pulling away, but he kept her locked in a firm, yet gentle grip.
"It hurts," she told him. He sighed.
"I know."
"You didn't have to be so rough."
He looked up at her, narrowing his eyes.
"You deserved it," he snapped, bending her bruised fingers. In spite of his hard tone of voice, his touch was still as gentle as ever. Violet watched him as moved his fingers over hers, like a butterfly batting it's wings against her skin. She felt a tingling sensation in her stomach, but willed herself to ignore it.
'You're not supposed to be feeling this,' she told herself. 'He is evil. Look what he did to your hand. He almost broke it!'
And yet, she couldn't stop enjoying his touch.
"Well, there doesn't appear to be any breaks," he said, dropping her hand. "The pain will properly fade soon.
Now, I have some more test i need to do."
Violet nodded understandingly and dried the tears from her eyes. "Okay."
"I'm just gonna start of with another blood sample," he said. She sighed impatiently.
"More blood? Seriously, are you a vampire or something?"
He didn't reply, but he couldn't stop himself from smiling at her, which caused her to blush slightly.
'He looks so cute while smiling.'
Syndrome noticed Violet's cheeks taking a slight red color, and he felt his heart give a little jump. At she sat there in front of him, she seemed so shy and fragile.
'Adorable,' his mind whispered.
Violet could feel his eyes on her, and she idly wondered why he was looking at her that way. She nervously began to twirl a lock of her dark hair around her fingers, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground.
"Could you hold out your hand?" he suddenly asked. She looked up at him and found him standing in front of her with a syringe. She did as asked. Surprised, she noticed that he was being very careful, almost as if he didn't want to hurt her.
'I'm imagining thinks', she thought. But still, he was being so gentle...
'No! It's just an act again!' a part of her warned. 'He is evil. E-V-I-L! And... very handsome.'
"There!"
He pulled out the needle and turned to his table, where he picked up a flashlight and returned to stand beside her.
"Now, just follow the light with your eyes," he told her. She did so.
"This is like being at the doctors," she suddenly said.
'Wouldn't mind playing doctor with you', his mind whispered. He pushed the thought away immediatly, but he couldn't help smiling childishly as he stood up again.
Violet watched him as he pulled out a little black notebook. "Have you expirinced any sideeffects? Nausea, headache, nosebleedings...?"
"No, nothing," she answered. Except for the fact that I find you unbelievably attractive,' her mind added. Embarrassed, she closed her eyes. 'No, don't think that!'
Syndrome, having noticed nothing, continued writing something down. Violet, feeling curious, stood on her toes and attempted to get a look at his scriblings.
"How far have you come?" she asked. "I mean, have you gotten closer to finishing your super-posion-thingy?"
"I've gotten a bit closer," he answered. "Not much, but I'm guessing it wont be long now."
He smiled proudly. If there was one thing he loved, it was bragging. Talking about his own great accomplishments, though there weren't many of them.
"Soon," he continued, "all supers in the world will be turned into ordinary people. Week and defenseless. No powers, no special abilities. And then..."
He began to chuckle mischievously, like a madman, but stopped suddenly when he realised what he had done. Monologging.
'Good way to scare the crap out of her,' he told himself.
Violet stared at him like he had just fallen down from the moon.
"What about me?" she asked carefully. She was afraid of the answer, but still, she needed to know, and now seemed like at good time to ask.
"What are you gonna do with me, once you finished this plan of yours?"
"You?" he asked. "Oh, that... Well, lets not talk about that now..."
"Just say it," she snapped at him.
He stared at her for a moment before turning away, avoiding her deep and thoughtful eyes.
"Okay. Once the plan is pulled through, I'm going to... I have to... get rid of you."
He didn't understand why he suddenly had so much trouble telling her this. It should be so easy. He was supposed to mock her about it, and yet, he almost didn't have the heart to tell her.
"You mean kill me?" she asked. He took a deep breath and nodded, still not looking at her.
"Yes."
It was exactly the answer she had feared. She sat down quickly, before her legs gave away under her. Sobbing, she buried her face in her hands and cried, feeling like someone had just ripped her heart out.
"My parents will find out," she whispered. "When they don't hear from me, they'll know something is wrong. And they'll find me, and..."
"No they won't," he said calmly. "Every week, until my plan is pulled through, your parents will receive a fake postcard from different places. They'll believe you are fine, therefore not searching for you."'
He moved closer to her trembling form, looking at her as she sat before him, her whole body shaking with fright and sorrow.
'Oh god,' he thought. 'This is so not how things are supposed to be happening.'
Violet drew a quivering breath. She wasn't sobbing anymore, but crystal clear tears were streaming down her face. Syndrome felt a desperate need to wrap his arms around her and comfort her. Instead, he took a hold of her shoulders and look her in the eyes.
"Listen Violet, I'm really sorry that.."
"Let go of me," she hissed, immediately pushing him away. He did as she said, but kept standing near her.
"I want to go back to my cell," she told him. Syndrome nodded.
"Fine." He pressed a button on the remote control on his arm, and a few seconds later, one of his henchmen entered.
"Take her back to her cell," Syndrome ordered.
Violet felt the mans hands on her arm, but she shrugged him of.
"I can walk myself," she hissed and hurried out. The guard, at first slightly confused, hurried after her.
Syndrome sighed and dropped down in his chair. Frustrated, he ran his hand through his hair and rested his elbow on the table in front of him.
'This has got to stop,' he said to himself. 'I have to stop thinking about her.' But a part of him refused to put her from his mind. He glanced at the huge computer screen, biting his lip nervously.
'One little peek wont hurt.'
He turned on the screen and dialed in a code, which allowed him to look into her cell through the hidden camera. As for now, the cell was empty, but he knew she would come soon. And true enough, a minute later she appeared.
He cringed at bit at the way the guard pushed her to the ground. He was apparently talking to her, cause Syndrome could see his lips moving. Quickly, he turned on the sound, trying to hear what he was saying.
"... Bet it will be painful."
Syndrome watched Violet's face twist with sorrow and anger, and just as the guard left the room, she jumped to her feet and bolted for the door.
"Let me out of here!" she cried, slamming her fists against the cold metal. "Let me out! I wanna go home! I wanna go home!"
Syndrome watched her, feeling a sting of guilt with every sob she let out. He hated himself for bringing her this kind of pain. But he didn't have any choice. He had a plan to follow through. And no matter what, they were still enemies.
A/N: I promise Syndrome will be a little nicer in the next chapter. Meanwhile, review please :)