And earthquakes are to a girl's guitar: they're just another good vibration.
Californication: Red Hot Chili Peppers
When Violet stepped out onto the island, her first thought was businesslike. The port was a multitude of vehicles, amphibious or otherwise, and there were working people everywhere. Violet decided the best approach would be businesslike herself. She approached the nearest group of talking workmen.
"When's the next boat to Barbados?" she asked firmly. One of the men turned from their conversation and gave her an appraising look.
"We don't do tourist shipping." Violet flashed the blue plastic card. The man nodded as if this was perfectly normal. "Day after next," he said, and rejoined his conversation.
Violet thanked him and walked straight into the harbour building to survey her home for the next two days.
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Violet was sat in the harbour worker's cafe with a cup of coffee and a faraway expression when a woman in blue overalls plonked herself unceremoniously in front of her. She had yellow-blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and a curiously closed face, as if expressions weren't something that she welcomed readily, although her smile seemed natural. Her blue eyes looked at her thoughtfully.
"Should you be here? We don't deal in tourists." Her accent was Oxford English.
Violet showed her the blue card. She took it and glanced it over.
"Fair enough. Where are you trying to get to?"
"Barbados. And you'd be...?"
"Oh, sorry. I'm Catrina, but every calls me -"
"Cat?"
"No, Red."
Violet looked at her bluntly. She was wearing blue overalls with blonde hair and blue eyes. She raised her eyebrows. 'Red' nodded.
"I sunburn easily. I work in a tropical environment, so..."
Violet grinned in spite of herself and nodded.
"So, Barbados... you'll be hanging around for how long? Two days?"
"Yeah... pretty much. I figured I can camp out, and I have some cash left... the dollar seems to be hard currency here."
"Yeah. You're brave, camping out... do you know what kind of animals are in those trees?"
Violet allowed herself a smirk. "I can hold my own."
Red raised her eyebrows. "You know what? I believe you. But I have a better idea. The workers get a common room if their ship doesn't leave for a while, and dormitories are provided, for both the men and the women. It'd probably be safer, and warmer."
"The temperatures drop at night," said Violet, who knew well. There had been times when she hadn't been able to find shelter and had camped out in her emergency hammock in caves and suchlike. Brrrr.
"Yeah. So what do you think?"
Violet nodded slowly. It seemed like a good idea. She grabbed her rucksack and stood up. "Where can I find it?"
"I'll show you. I've got a three-hour break. Plane I'm meant to be looking at has given up the ghost on the mainland." Red offered Violet a friendly smile as they headed through the harbour building. "So, what are you doing here? You're a long way from home."
"Island hopping. One week, one island. I'm trying to get to Barbados to finish the tour."
"Finished the Leeward Islands?"
"Yeah, most of them. I'm on the home stretch now."
They were passing heavy industrial machinery now, but Red seemed to know where she was going.
"So, this isn't a tourist destination then?"
Red shook her head. "No, it's privately owned. Some kind of science project... cybernetics or something like that."
"Robots," mused Violet. Alarm bells started to ring inside her head. Red shot her a sharp look, softened with a grin. "You're fast. So, they need lots of people to help support the docks for supplies. Engineers -" Red mock-bowed, " - boat captains, crews, pilots, that kind of thing, and they all need someplace to sleep." Red continued to explain the processes to her, but Violet listened with only half an ear.
Violet had become well-versed in the lies that shrouded supervillain bases, having encountered several, with and without her family to help her, on purpose and by accident. This one smacked of secrecy. No doubt there would be doors no-one could enter and suchlike. She began to feel the first inkling of Snug's uneasy feelings: she was here, all alone, and nobody knew where she was - her family all thought she was on Barbados.
She resurfaced to hear: " - and everyone has a free run of the harbour and the grounds surrounding it, but they like to admit as few people as possible to the research lab."Aha, thought Violet. "There are these religious nuts who think robots are the work of Satan. I agree with them every time a plane lands that should rightly have been sent to the scrapheap long ago, but we've already had a couple of infiltration efforts."
"How many?"
"Two in as many years, ever since the whole thing was set up. The security here is remarkably good, but you'll be all right - that blue card you've got is like a diplomatic passport."
"What?" said Violet, genuinely startled. Red nodded. "It gives free travel on any ship that caries cargo... you can go all over the world with it. Usually only the most trusted pilots and officers get them. They're not usually replaceable."
Violet looked at the card with a slight feeling of guilt. If she had known what it was she wouldn't have accepted it. Then she remembered what her mom had said on the phone, about Snug owning a whole airport of planes, and felt a little better about it.
They arrived at a wooden door with 'private' marked on it in shiny black letters. There was a small card slot.
"Put the card in," advised Red. Violet inserted it into the slot. A green light came on momentarily, and the door slid open. Violet raised her eyebrows as she stepped in and prepared to make herself feel comfortable.
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"Well?"
"We've run the scans. She seems to have the same skeletal structure as the super on St. Lucia."
"Same girl?"
"Possibly... you could run a scan on that 'Maelstrom' loser and a complete stranger and they might be very similar."
"Did you get a good look at her face?"
"She had her back to the camera when she didn't have the mask on. We only saw her with it on. And it would have been impossible to check facial structures with it on."
"Do we even know how old she is?"
"Passport check says she was twenty; look, here's the security footage. Personally, I don't think she looks older than sixteen. Apparently, her name is Violet Dee."
"Fake name?"
"Almost certainly."
"Why that camera was focused on the steps to the bathrooms... I mean, what a place to put a camera..."
"It's the best we've got. All of the others were destroyed in the fight. No-one even saw what her powers were."
"I don't like it. Keep her on surveillance. If she's a super, she'll show herself soon."
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It was her first and last full day on the island. Violet had eaten and was slipping her feet into her hiking trainers. She fully intended to explore the grounds of this place - as far as she was allowed to go. If this place really was a supervillain lair, then she didn't want to risk being caught. Best to stay safe.
Violet wandered out into the main building, and sought the exit. After some directions and a few wrong turns, she finally made it out into the hot, tropical sunshine.
It was a delight on her skin. Violet also noted a slight, cool breeze blowing around the island, which was pleasantly refreshing. She headed inland.
Lots of other people had similar ideas, she noticed. The harbour was an intensely busy place. Many people had stripped off as much clothing as was decent and were sunbathing, throwing a ball around, surfing.
Violet surveyed what the island had to offer.
For a stretch in front of her there was green grass; a sort of lawn on the gently undulating land. Behind her, on the coast, a white beach stretched away. Ahead of her and past the people, a forest of dense trees appeared and yawned away and up, as far as the eye could see across the island. Violet let her gaze travel up the side of a gently sloping hill to the horizon line. The hill seemed remarkably near to be either a volcano or the end of the island.
"Not much of a volcano, huh?" remarked a voice. Violet turned to see Red following her gaze. Violet grinned. "No," she confirmed.
"That'd be because that isn't the volcano. You see, the volcano that formed this place is underwater, so when the magma cooled it left a sort of funnel shape. From that hill there it all leads downwards."
"Like a funnel?"
"Yeah, and a pretty big one. Aerial survey says at least five miles across. And it all leads down to a volcano entrance."
Violet pondered this. "Has the crater filled up with water?" she asked at last. It seemed pretty reasonable.
"Strangely, no. Life got there first. Trees and whatnot, the whole way down."
Violet giggled at the word 'whatnot'. It seemed so... British. Red noticed her amusement, and laughed too. "You try being the only British person on this island," she said with a grin. "Most everyone is American, or local."
Violet nodded her apology, and Red seemed satisfied. It was strange to see Red out of her overalls; this was evidently her day off or something. She was in a green pair of shorts and a white vest top with her ID badge pinned to her pocket. Her long, yellow-blonde hair was carefree over her shoulders. Her pale skin glowed in the sunlight. Already she had a pinkish tinge over her shoulders, even though her skin was shiny with sunblock.
"How far inland can we go?" asked Violet experimentally.
Red shrugged. "See that tower, over there?"
Violet scrunched up her eyes. It was just possible to make out the tip of what looked like a manmade structure, if you squinted and looked at the top of the hill. "That's as far as we can go. Draw a straight line North to South across the island with the tower in the middle, and there you go. That's about..." Red closed her eyes, lips moving as she calculated. "About fifty square miles, we've got, and most of it as never seen a human being."
Violet raised her eyebrows and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "That's a pretty big eruption."
"That's tectonic activity for you. If it had been an earthquake, it would have measured 9.45 on the Richter scale. And fifty square miles is only half the island."
"Is the volcano still active?"
"You bet. We've got early warning systems which can give warning of a definite eruption up to two days in advance, and up to a week for a 'maybe' eruption. We're pretty well protected." Red seemed mildly amused by it. Violet saw the black humour: A few days, the island would be destroyed, and they'd have to start over. It would be like watching the cycle of creation finish, and then start again.
"What about the poor losers in the robotics facility? How do they get out?" asked Violet, teasingly.
Red flashed her a grin. "They don't. The whole thing is underground. The only way they would be in any danger would be if the island broke up, and the chances of that happening are practically nil. Islands don't break up that easily." Violet nodded to herself, and bit her lower lip in contemplation. "In fact," continued Red, "We've got reports to expect a very minor earthquake today... nothing too exciting. Just a tremor - you'll feel it, but barely."
Violet grinned, her natural paranoid survival instincts kicking in. "No chance of an eruption?"
"None. No sign of harmonic tremor on the instruments - that would show moving lava."
Violet, for the first time, threw Red a shrewd glance.
"How come you know so much about geology?"
"I did it at University as a hobby, along with engineering, but they'd got all the geologists they wanted here. I lend a hand sometimes when someone's ill, or needs the night shift covering. I've also got a good qualification in medical science, and I'm usually the one people go to if they're ill."
Violet nodded, and smiled at Red. "Smarter than the average bear, huh. So no explosion?"
"No," confirmed a grinning Red. "In fact, all the signs point to the island settling down a little."
Violet nodded, brow creased in a mock-frown. "That's always good to hear."
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"So... what do you think?"
"Huh?"
"D'you think she's a super?"
"The boss doesn't put someone on surveillance without good cause."
"That didn't answer my question."
"If we get caught having this conversation we'll probably be shot, you know."
"Yep. Answer the question."
"I honestly don't know. Passport check didn't show up much, but the Agency could have covered that easily. It is a government subsect, after all."
"What's she doing now?"
"Uh... she's in the grounds. Camera three six eight."
"She's with some woman. Identify?"
"Catrina McIntyre. British. Chief engineer."
"..."
"Stop staring at the monitor. What is it?"
"What if she is a super? I mean, will she defeat... him?"
"I shouldn't think so. He's pretty hard-edged."
"You would know. You're the only one he talks to when it comes to security."
"He doesn't trust people."
"I'm not surprised. Look at your predecessor."
"Good point."
"Still... do you think?"
"You know what? If I say no, we'll get demolished. If I say yes, she won't be a super. Murphy's law. I'll reserve judgement."
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Violet kicked a small pebble as she wandered aimlessly across the grounds. She hadn't entered the forest, on the basis that anything supervillain-y would be taking place in there, and Violet wanted to stay as far away from it as possible. She didn't trust it, although her vague feeling of disquiet had disappeared. She reckoned she could get out of here unscathed.
There was absolutely no evidence for a hidden lair of any kind, but for some reason Violet assumed it was there... she didn't know why. Maybe it was finely-honed instincts telling her something, and it would be wise not to ignore them.
Aimlessly, she headed back to the harbour, simply enjoying the sunshine and the play of the wind on her skin.
It was about one o'clock in the afternoon, and Violet felt just fine. She turned to face the wind, hands by her sides, shut her eyes and let the breeze dance across the sensitive skin of her eyelids.
Violet stayed like this for a long time, thoroughly enjoying herself. It had been quite a while since she had really been able to let the tension drain from her shoulders. She'd been on the move non-stop for the last six weeks... it really was fantastic to just rest for a while.
Violet carefully lay down on the grass and folded her arms behind her head. It was peaceful here, a way away from the harbour and all its bustle. She was properly relaxed, for the first time in too long. She was consciously aware of every part of her body, and what it was doing. Her very blood felt alive and fizzy.
The grass rippled in concentric circles, all around her. She viewed the azure sky through half-lidded eyes, eyelashes blocking some of the glare from the sun.
It was calm. Birds sang. The trees swished lightly. Violet shut her eyes properly and, without knowing it, slept.
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Violet awoke because there were no more birds in the nearby trees. They had been scared away by the impending earthquake.
Violet sat up and rubbed her head. It must be that earthquake that was predicted, she thought sleepily. This sent a jolt of unease through her. Light or not, the idea of the ground moving beneath her did not appeal at all.
Violet started back to the harbour at a light jog; she wanted to get back and find a familiar face before the whole thing started. She wouldn't admit it, but she was nervous. Not scared; that would suggest that the whole earthquake was going to be a lot higher than predicted, but just plain paranoiac nervousness.
The harbour building came into view. If it was possible, even more people had come outside into the glorious sunshine. It seemed that the entire population was out to get a front row seat for the earthquake. Violet stood at the edge of the crowd, biting her lower lip, looking about nervously. Red couldn't be seen.
"Hey! Violet!"
Her head whipped around to find that Red had found her first. She was waving and walking over.
"Hey, Violet. Here to see the show?"
"Um, yeah."
"This is about the time all the wags on the beach start yelling 'cowabunga'. Surfers. Tch."
"Er... what do you mean, 'now'?"
"I mean now."
The ground began to shake. Violet's face blanched a little, and Red smiled at her, eyes flashing. "Don't worry about it. I was scared first time, too."
'Shake' was an exaggeration. The ground barely trembled - it was like the vibration of a guitar string. As soon as it was over people began cheering. Violet shot Red a confused look. Red shrugged as she grinned. "It's sort of traditional now."
Violet gave a shaky smile and they headed toward the harbour building with the rest of the crowd.
Reaching the deserted dormitories, Red collapsed theatrically onto a sofa. Violet grinned at her friend's dramatic sigh of relief as she picked up a newspaper. There was dust on it. Frowning, Violet shook it off, just as the soft pitter-patter of more falling dust announced itself. Except it wasn't dust. It was... white. Like plaster.
Violet looked up.
One of the metal joints in the ceiling had come loose, very slightly, but it was enough for it to be poking through a hole in the ceiling. And it was enough for the plaster to be sagging, for the wooden infrastructure to be creaking horribly and for a deep sense of foreboding to unravel in the pit of her stomach.
"Er, Red," she said cautiously, as if by lowering her voice the ceiling would stay exactly where it was, thank you very much.
"Yeah?"
"The ceiling... um, the ceiling..."
Red looked up.
The world stopped for a moment. Then a chunk of the ceiling gave way.
Violet acted without thinking. Survival instincts made stronger by constant use snapped into action. Violet lunged forwards, grabbed Red, dragged her to the centre of the floor and brought a shield into existence around them as a large chunk of mismatched wood, metal and plaster landed on top the sofa, flinging debris everywhere.
Red uncurled from her ball just in time to catch the purple shield around them winking out of existence.
"Did you - what was - are you - "
Violet stood up slowly, prepared for a fresh onslaught. Rubbing her head, she viewed the roof critically. The rest of the ceiling was sound enough; there were no more cracks, creaks or groans.
Red was looking at her fearfully, and Violet offered her a hand to help her up.
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"Oh my God."
"Sweet Jesus."
"Call in the guards. Do it now. I'll phone the boss."
"Right. I'm on it."
"Operator, connect me to the base HQ. Thanks... Sir?"
"Yes, this had better be good."
"Sir, that girl is a super. We have the video footage. And you'll never guess which one."
"Don't play games."
"Sir, it's the Incredible girl."
"What?"
"Sir, it's Mr. Incredible's daughter."
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Red looked at her for a moment, before reaching out her own hand -
There was a loud, resounding crash as the door to the dorms burst open, and fifteen heavily-armed men with automatic weapons ran in and trained those weapons on Violet. Each man was dressed in grey, nondescript army gear and with grey helmets and visors. The click of weapons being primed resonated throughout the room.
"Freeze!"
Violet did the only thing that made sense.
She phased out and she ran.
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Violet ran and ran and ran. Sometimes the soldiers sounded right on her tail, and sometimes they sounded some distance away. Pausing for breath at a stream, she wiped her forehead, and carried on running.
She had no idea where she was headed. She just needed to be away from the men with the big guns. She did think, however, that she was wandering into enemy territory so she paused under a tree, invisible, to consider her next move.
Okay; so the fight-or-flight instinct had kicked in and she had chosen flight. The brain has been carried all this way at great expense... now it's time for it to do some work.
Violet glanced back the way she had come. Shouts drifted across the still air. They didn't know where she had gone. Just as well.
Slowly, very quietly and very meticulously Violet began to walk back the way she had come. She had barely gone fifty metres when she saw the soldiers, arranged in a group. She stopped short. She had had no idea that they were that close.
"Set visors on infra-red. She might be invisible but she'll still give off heat."
Every soldier put a hand up to his eye-covering visor and tapped it a couple of times. Violet didn't even have a chance.
"There she is!"
Violet, bringing herself back to visibility, brought up a shield just in time as a hail of bullets splattered into it. Violet turned to run, but she was surrounded on every side. Her shield disappeared as she lost the meagre concentration it took to keep it going. The fresh adrenaline surging through her bloodstream cut off any rational thought as her heart rate tripled and her breathing rose in rapidity. Panic, never good at the best of times, had battered its way into her nervous system and refused to let her brain take control. There had to be a way out. Had to.
The soldiers were closing in on her, so Violet gave in to the prey instincts, brought a shield around herself and pushed. It blew the armed soldiers away, slamming them into tree trunks and dropping them unceremoniously to the ground. Violet turned to run.
She didn't even see the rock as it smashed into her skull. She went down and hard, the adrenaline in her brain still roaring, still screaming for the run, still trying to move her now curiously weak body.
Violet's collapse was slow. First, her knees had a meeting with the packed earth beneath her. Her back slumped, and then (for no readily apparent reason) the ground tilted itself ninety degrees and slapped her on the back.
Her eyes open, but feeling curiously dreamlike, Violet watched as the soldiers approached. One of them said something into a walkie-talkie, but the words sounded jumbled to Violet's confused mind.
That same soldier said something to her, but her mind made no sense of the words. All she was aware of was the thick leaf litter beneath her back, the smell of the forest and the silhouette of branches against a cheerfully blue sky. Everything was warm, everything was beautiful. Curiously, nothing in her body would move. She felt paralysed, but this could not be right. Her body felt asleep, not dead.
The man shook his head. He then crouched down next to Violet and pushed her head slightly to one side, exposing the web of flesh where neck met shoulder.
He's a vampire. He's going to bite me, thought Violet dazedly. The whole thing had an unreal, confused quality to it.
A surprisingly gentle hand slipped onto that triangle of skin, and squeezed lightly. Instantly, Violet's vision went dark, and all she knew as she descended into unconsciousness that this was not good, not good at all.
To be continued...
Pitbulllady: Thanks for being my first reviewer! To be honest, I never intended for Snug to be from Maine. He says about seven words in the whole film, so I just played with his dialogue, and 'Ayuh' just seemed to fit him.
Insofar as the 'good stuff' goes, give it a couple of chapters. But not many. More reviews, please!
The Star Swordsman: The reason Violet is about 19 is because I wanted to make sure Violet was an adult before embarking into a relationship (eventually) with a man in his late twenties. Keep reviewing!
LotusSister: Thanks for reviewing! Keep writing 'Changes', I am loving that story to BITS.
Gremblin: There you go!
Miss Mina Murray: I know... V x S fics are cool... it's just hard to find them. They don't occur many other places except this site, really.
Nina: I figure Violet's old enough to have outgrown some of her shyness. It seems to work... at least, I hope so.
Nny11: Snug is waaaaay cool.
Catalina Tavington: Get Well Soon from me to your keyboard. And as for Syndrome... next chapter. Keep reviewing!