Violet and Dash were falling like a meteor toward rocky ground. If Dash hadn't already participated in a midair escape once that day, he might have panicked. As it was, he remembered how the clown costume they had dropped had caught the air like a parachute.
His reflexes went into overdrive. Just like the last time, he stripped off Violet's costume at super-speed. This time, however, he kept hold of it, looped the long silk scarf they were wearing around their waists, tied the ends of the scarf to the arms of the suit, and released it.
There was a sharp upward tug as the voluminous - a word which here means "having enough extra material to form a parachute" - clown costume caught the wind and slowed their fall.
By tugging on the scarf ends, Dash was able to steer them to a long, straight stretch of mountain road. They touched down inside a force-field ball, and Dash was able to run them up the road fast enough to kill their downward momentum.
Only then did they stop and take stock - a phrase which here means "stop and realize what a disastrous situation they were in."
"This is really, really bad," said Dash. "I can't believe Mom and Dad are helping Syndrome try to kill us."
"Their minds have been warped by the collars," said Violet. "Speaking of that, there's no reason to wear these any more." She tore her collar off her neck and stomped on it until it bent.
"Everseer must have known what they could do," said Dash, also removing and smashing his collar. "He was just as evil as Psycwave."
"Being able to control minds leads to exploiting people," said Violet. "I'm glad I'm not a mentalist."
"We don't need to be two-headed any more, Vi, so you can have your costume back," said Dash.
Violet put her old costume and overalls back on.
"Now what'll we do?" asked Dash. "Syndrome has Mom, Dad, Jack-Jack, and Macroburst as hostages."
"All but Jack-Jack think they've joined his gang. But Count Buddy knows who they really are," said Violet. "He'll play along while it amuses him. But then..." Violet drew her finger across her throat.
"Don't say that!" said Dash. "We've got to find them and help them. As we were parachuting down I saw the plane land on the flat top of this mountain."
"This road might take us there," said Violet.
"No, it didn't look from the air like it goes to the top. I saw a trail by a stream a little ways back there," said Dash.
They followed the stream, which was so choked with ash and pollution that it looked like the fish were suffocating. The trail was steep and rocky, so they couldn't use their normal rolling-ball running trick.
"Hey, what's that buzzing white cloud?" Dash asked. "Ow!"
He had been stung by a tiny white gnat. Violet started getting stung, too. She formed a force-field close around them and expanded it, shutting out most of the gnats. In a blur of motion Dash swatted the rest that were left inside. The gnats outside continued to swarm, looking for a way through.
"Now we're safe but it's hard to see," said Violet.
They pushed on for a while, stumbling at unexpected steep places. It was not easy going. Finally, they spotted a cave.
"Let's hide in there and maybe they'll go away," said Dash.
Once they entered the cave they caught a faint whiff of smoke. The gnats immediately darted away.
The two Incredibles moved deeper into the cave. Suddenly a voice called out.
"Go away, cakesniffers! This is a private Snow Scout party for me," came the unmistakable voice of Kari Melita Spats. Kari was a former friend of Violet's and a would-be babysitter of Jack-Jack's, but she had revealed a mean streak and a nasty temper when they were attending Prudence Preparatory School.
"Who are you talking to, Kari Melita?" said a man's voice.
"I see two shadows, Uncle Bruce," said Kari, "And I think they're cakesniffers."
It was easier for Dash and Violet to see the group of young people around the fire from the dark part of the cave where they stood. They also saw that everyone was wearing a fencing mask, concealing their features. They also saw spare masks hung on a rack on the back wall.
"Dash, could you zip over there and get us a couple of masks?" Violet said. "We don't want to be recognized from our pictures in the paper."
Dash did one of his too-fast-to-see moves and in an instant he was back with two masks. The two Parrs put them on and moved into the firelight.
"Hi, we're two lost mountain travelers," Violet said. "We were attacked by gnats and we hid in here to get away from them. The smoke seemed to scare them away. Is it all right if we rest here a while?"
"NO!" shouted Kari Melita. "This is only a camp for Snow Scouts who are going to crown me False Spring Queen."
"Why, Kari Melita," said the man who was leading the group. "We must be accommodating. Snow Scouts are..."
"Accommodating, basic, calm, daring, emblematic, frisky, grinning, human, innocent, jumping, kept, limited, meek, nap-loving, official, pretty, quarantined, recent, schedules, tidy, understandable, victorious, wholesome, xylophone, young, and zippered -- every morning, every afternoon, every night, and all day long!" chorused all the Snow Scouts except Kari Melita.
"That's the Snow Scout oath. As I was saying, we are accom- uhm, that is, certainly you can stay," said the man. "I'm Uncle Bruce, the Snow Scout leader."
"I'm the False Spring Queen, and I say they have to go," said Kari Melita in a sulky voice.
"Not yet, not until we dance around the Spring pole tomorrow," said Bruce. "Tonight's the night we sit around the campfire, eat marshmallows, and tell stories."
"Why don't we ask the newcomers to tell us a story?" said one of the scouts who was wearing a knitted sweater. "I'd like to hear a Very Fine Drama."
There was something familiar about this scout and the initials in the words he was emphasizing. Violet and Dash decided to try the same thing back.
"This was a Very Frightening Day," said Dash.
"This afternoon we nearly had a Violent Feline Demise," said Violet.
"Then we had a Vertical Fall Down," said Dash. "And that's how we got here."
"Booooring!" said Kari Melita. "I've got a better story."
She proceeded to tell a story about how wonderful, beautiful. and talented she was, which was far more boring than the Parr's tale, so I'll omit it.
After the Snow Scouts had fallen asleep on blankets, the sweatered scout came over to the Parrs and whispered, "Come on, we have a mission to do."
"What?" asked Dash.
"Quiet," said the scout. "You'll wake Bruce. He used to work for Josephine E. Mode as a gate guard, and he spied on the supers who came there for costumes. I believe he also stole Frozone's collection of genetically modified reptiles."
"How do you know about Josephine Mode and Frozone?" asked Violet.
"V.F.D. training," said the scout. "I know you, too. Don't you recognize me?"
"Quigley?" asked Violet in delighted surprise.
Violet had been attracted to Quigley Rydinger at school for ages, but had never dared to speak to him. He had suddenly turned up during their imprisonment at the village of Villainous Fowl Devotees and helped both them and his triplet siblings, Duncan and Isadora, to escape. All three of the triplets had minor super-powers which had come in very handy: Duncan's shareable memories, Isadora's couplet cantrips, and Quigley's map-making and energy beam projection.
Quigley nodded. He pointed to a chimney-like rock formation in the back wall.
"Now we climb. We have a mission to the V.F.D. secret headquarters just above us," said Quigley.