The Incredibles were together again, but not in the best of circumstances. They had hidden themselves in the cargo hatch of Syndrome's jet in order to escape the blazing inferno -- which here means fire -- that had engulfed the Hemoglobin Hospital. Violet, Bob, and Helen Parr were just starting to recover from the drugs they had been given. Dash and Jack-Jack were catching their breath after the superheroic rescue they had accomplished which had saved the rest of the family from villains and flames.
The plane was now high in the air, headed only-Count-Buddy-knew-where. The children didn't know how they would get out of the cargo hatch, or if Syndrome and his goons would open the hatch when they landed, or if the jet was about to fly so high that it would make breathing difficult. All they could do was wait.
"Oooogh!" Bob Parr sighed. He blinked his eyes and looked around. "What happened?"
Helen also woke. "Last I remember we were in the hospital. How did we get here?"
Dash gave them a quick run-down of the situation.
"I'm going to try to listen to what they're saying," Bob said.
Bob crawled forward and with super-strong fingers tore a small hole from the cargo hatch into the main cabin of the plane. He put an ear to the hole.
It was hard to hear over the engine noise, but he caught a few words in Count Buddy's voice. "If they survived... find them... Madame Lulu... psychic."
There were mutters of disapproval from the rest of the crew, then a yell from Syndrome, "HER POWERS ARE REAL, I TELL YOU! NOW SHUT UP!"
Bob crawled back to the others. "Syndrome's going to consult a psychic named Madame Lola or something like that. He thinks she will help him find survivors, probably us."
"Psychics aren't real, are they Mother?" Violet asked.
"I knew a real one," said Helen. "Clairvoyance is a super-power just like being able to cast force fields. But most are fakes."
"I hope this one's a fake," Dash said. "A real psychic helping Syndrome would be terrible."
"Groof!" agreed Jack-Jack.
The plane came in for a landing on a flat field near a small collection of caravans and tents. It parked behind a stack of bales of hay. Syndrome, Esmé, and all the guards got out and walked toward the caravans.
Bob forced the door of the cargo hatch, being careful to keep the damage from being too obvious. The family got out and looked over at the encampment.
"Caligula Carnival," said Helen, reading from the sign on one of the tents. "That's the place I read about in the newspaper that needs new freaks."
"Still want to try that idea of disguising ourselves as freaks and applying for a job?" Bob asked.
"If we do, we might be able to learn if this place has a real psychic and what she told Syndrome," Helen said.
"Count Buddy disguises himself all the time," Violet suggested. "There may be a box of disguises and makeup in the truck."
They found makeup, wigs, and all sorts of odd clothing. Jack-Jack grabbed a fake beard and morphed himself into a furry monster-baby. Bob and Helen put makeup on themselves and the other two children.
Bob hunched over and said "Call me Hugo the Hunchback."
Helen contorted her body into an "S" shape. "Call me Collette the Contortionist."
Violet went invisible and removed her overalls and costume, then put the overalls back on and became visible again.
"Being able to turn invisible is handy for changing clothes," she said. "Here, Dash. Put this over your other clothes."
"What were we going to do, again?" asked Dash skeptically.
"I can make the costume invisible, and that makes anything inside it invisible. People will see nothing but your head. If you climb on my back and put your head on my shoulder we'll look like a two-headed freak."
They tried it and the effect was pretty good. Violet had to keep part of herself invisible to make it work. She chose a small part of her upper lip, so it looked like she had a cleft palette, sometimes called a "harelip."
"Now all you need is a scarf to hide where Dash's neck doesn't join to your body," said Helen. She dug a scarf out of the clothing box and wound it around their necks.
"Not bad, but Count Buddy's pretty smart," said Dash. "I doubt these'll fool him."
"We won't try them on him," said Bob. "We'll sneak over and talk to the manager after he leaves."
They moved out into the field and watched carefully through the grass until Count Buddy and the others returned to the plane. Nobody seemed to notice any tampering, because the plane took off again without incident.
The Incredibles went to the door of the main caravan and knocked. A woman's voice with a foreign accent called to them
"Who it is, please?" the voice said. "My Buddy back so soon? No, I sense is someone else. Enter, please?"
A woman wearing a turban was sitting at a table. She was broad-shouldered and had a rather plain, ugly face.
"Mr. Incredible, I see," said the woman. "And your entire family, including your three wayward children wanted by the police."
The Incredibles gave a gasp of surprise at being so easily recognized. This psychic was too good!