Chapter five
Mirage awoke to the rays of light reaching her eyes. Her sat up in bed and looked at the clock. "6:30?" She thought, "that's the latest I've slept in a long time." Getting out of bed, she yawned and gave a big stretch. She wandered over to her closet and chose an outfit for the day, A pair of jeans and a black cami. Going into the bathroom, she got changed and brushed her teeth. Looking in the mirror, she brushed her hair and threw it back into a ponytail.
Walking out of the bathroom, she made her bed and walked out in the living room. " What a switch, no one's up." She thought to herself as she noticed that the living room was empty. She sat down on the couch and turned on the TV it was the first time in a while she had actually had the time to sit down and watch T.V. She found herself laughing at jokes and jumping at scary moments. " This is fun…I missed too much on that dumb island." She thought to herself, looking at the clock. " Oh my god, I've been sitting here for a whole hour! This is the most time I've had to sit and do nothing for almost seven years!" She flipped through a few more channels and reluctantly pulled herself off of the couch.
She walked into the kitchen and began to think. " Hmm, at this rate they're going to sleep through breakfast…maybe I should make something… pancakes and sausage? Or maybe Bacon, eggs, and toast…that sounds good…ok, let's see here." She looked in the cabinet and took out the bread and coffee mix. Putting the coffee in the coffeemaker (no really?) and putting the bead in the toaster, She went into the refrigerator and took out some eggs and bacon. " Now…I wonder where their frying pans are…" She thought to herself. Searching around for a little while, she finally found the drawer where the pots and pans were kept. She took out a large one and a medium one. Putting the eggs in the medium one and the bacon in the large one, she put the first round of toast on a plate and put a second round in. Down the hall in the master bedroom, Bob was awakened by a delicious odor.
" Mm, that smells good, I wonder why Helen's up so early?"
He put his hand on the space next to him, but he felt something soft under it…his wife was still in bed, sleeping peacefully until his hand hit her in the chin.
" unhh…Bob…what're you doing? It's so early." She was barely awake at this point.
" I'm sorry honey, I thought you were awake already."
" Why would you think that? I'm never up early… I used to be able to get up, but not now."
" Well, someone is, do you smell that?" Bob said. Helen sniffed the air.
" Yeah, it smells really good."
" But who is it? Could it be Violet or Dash?"
When they both realized who it was, they were wide-awake.
" Mirage." They said in unison.
Back out in the kitchen, Mirage was sipping a cup of coffee, waiting for the bacon and eggs to be done. She was staring at a bird that was perched on the tree outside of the window. It was a beautiful bird. She was enjoying it. On Nomanisan, birds were uncommon; they hid within the deep jungle of the island. The more common animals included snakes, lizards, and bugs. God how she hated the bugs. Waking up in the morning to a spider dangling ten inches above her head was not one of the most pleasant experiences. When the bird finally flew away, she began to put the bacon and eggs on a plate and was greeted by two voices.
" Mirage? What are you doing up so early?"
" Well, you have Nomanisan to thank for that. On that island, sleeping in was like a crime. I made some breakfast, help yourselves. There's coffee too."
" Wow, you really didn't have to go through all the trouble" Bob said.
" Well, the way I see it, you didn't have to go through all the trouble of having a houseguest. Now let's eat before it gets cold. Should I wake the children up?"
" I should hate to see them miss a meal like this. You can if you want to."
Mirage nodded and disappeared down the hallway. She went into Violet's room first.
" Violet…Violet! Are you awake?"
" Ugh…whozzat… M'rage? What're you doing up so early."
" I'm just a morning person. I made breakfast, are you interested?"
" I guess… I am kinda hungry. Are my mom and dad awake?"
" Yes, they just got up not too long ago. Should I try to wake your brother up?"
" Psh! Good luck with that."
Mirage smiled. " See you in the kitchen." Violet nodded and Mirage was gone from the room, bound for the horror that was dash's room. She opened the door and almost tripped on a shoe. Dodging the things on the floor, she finally made it to the lump of covers that was the sleeping Dash.
" Dash…Dash…Earth to dash."
" Mhumfgidlop." Mirage stifled a laugh.
" I know you're in there Dashiell, speak to me."
" C'mon mom, it's too early…five more minutes."
" Well, I would say alright except for one thing…I'm not your mother." Dash opened his eyes to find that the voice was right, she wasn't his mother.
" Mirage? Where's mom?"
" Out in the kitchen eating breakfast with your father and sister."
" Is it a holiday or something? Mom never makes breakfast this early…" Dash sat up and rubbed one eye, trying to get the sleep out of it.
" Nope, I made breakfast… now are you coming out? Or should I let you sleep some more?"
" I guess I'll come out, I'm starving."
" Alright then, get dressed and I'll see you in a bit." She left Dash to get changed. She was about to go into Jack-Jack's room when Mrs. Incredible stopped her.
" Let him sleep, he was up late last night."
Mirage nodded and the two women walked quietly down the hall, soon followed by Dash. The whole family sat down at the table and began to eat. Violet and Dash poured themselves orange juice and took seats at the table, Bob and Helen were at both ends, and Dash was across from Mirage, and violet sat next to Mirage, talking with her about nothing in particular. Bob soon interrupted their conversation.
" Alright family, before we even touch on scrap of this delicious looking meal, we must thank Mirage for preparing it. To the naked eye, Mirage looked normal after Bob's statement, but if they were really paying attention, they could've seen Mirage turn a light shade of pink.
" Yes, thank you Mirage, for doing what even I as a housewife failed to do…get up early and prepare a meal." Helen said, smiling.
" Thanks Mirage." Dash said, giving her one of his goofy grins.
" Yeah, thanks, this looks great." Mirage smiled warmly.
" You're all very welcome, but honestly, it's the least I could do." Mirage said, taking a bite out of a piece of bacon.
" For what?" Bob asked
" For letting me stay here… You didn't exactly need another house-guest during your summer vacation."
" Are you kidding? We're happier to have you here than you could even imagine." Bob said, looking at his wife, who was also smiling.
" Really?"
" Really, because of our hero lifestyle, we don't have many adult friends…none at all actually, so you're the first." Helen stated.
" Wow, I never thought I would actually be thought of that highly by anyone."
" Who wouldn't think highly of you, you're smart, beautiful." Mirage blushed as Bob said that. " You're nice, and almost as sophisticated as it gets. It's impossible to think bad of you."
" You have no idea." Mirage said with a bitter tone, it made Helen shiver. She put down her coffee mug and turned to face Mirage.
" Are you talking about Syndrome?"
" He speaks for himself…but if you knew what I dealt with before Syndrome…you would very quickly change your tune…" Mirage eyes practically glowed with anger. " But let's not talk about that, what are we going to do today?" She said, picking up her tone of voice.
" Well, Bob has to work around 3:00, so It'll be just you, me and the kids…"
" We could drive around and see what we can find…"
" That sounds like a good idea, we can take my car."
Mirage and Helen cleaned up the kitchen and then they joined Bob, violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack in the living room. Violet and Dash were fighting over the remote and Jack-jack was drinking from his bottle, giggling at his quarreling siblings. The three adults were in a heated debate. Mirage and Helen were trying to convince Bob that men only think with one side of their brain, (this is a known fact.) after about fifteen minutes of debate, they were interrupted by dash.
"OW! MOM! VIOLET BIT ME!" Dash yelped, his hand bleeding.
" VIOLET! Come with me Dash." Helen led dash down the hall to the bathroom. Mirage gave Violet a stern glare.
" Violet, why did you bite your brother?"
" He wouldn't give me the remote."
" We noticed, but was it really worth biting him?"
" Uh…yes?" Mirage's deep hazel eyes pierced right through her... putting her to shame, more than her mother ever could.
" Honestly Violet, a little immature isn't it?"
" I'm sorry." Violet said softly.
" Don't tell me, say it to Dash." Mirage folded her arms across her chest.
When Dash came out, Violet apologized, much to the shock of her mother.
" Woah…she said she was sorry... what'd you say to her Bob?" Helen asked, still shocked about Violet. Bob answered her, still in awe of what had happened.
" Don't ask me! Mirage dealt with it." Fear suddenly crept over Mirage…had she overstepped her boundaries?
" What did you say to her Mirage?"
" I merely said that what she did was immature and that she should apologize." Helen looked over to Bob.
" She's telling the truth…that's all she said."
" Then how come it never worked for me?" Helen said. Violet spoke, making them all turn around.
" I had to apologize… have you ever had Mirage glare at you? It sent shivers down my spine." Violet said.
Helen laughed " Really? Let's see, ok Mirage, glare at me." She and her husband stood in front of Mirage. " Well, I can't just glare at someone for no reason." Mirage said uneasily. Helen thought for a moment, and then had an idea. " Pretend I'm syndrome." She said. In an instant, Mirage forgot all of her surroundings. All that was visible was the being in front of her…which she knew to be Helen…or so she thought. Who she thought was Helen began to change…her red hair became longer and stood straight up…before long, she was staring face to face with the man she had come to hate so much, Syndrome. Mirages eyes narrowed, and the glare in her eyes was more deadly that that of the infamous basilisk . Helen's eyes grew wide Mirage snapped back to reality.
" Did you see that Bob? Oh my god…I seriously couldn't move."
" I know…jeez Mirage, that's some stare you've got." Bob said
" Great, now I will be world renowned as the one who's looks can kill." Mirage added huffily.
" Mom! Dad's gonna be late for work…It's almost 2:30." Dash said
" Oh shoot! I gotta run, goodbye Helen, kids, Mirage. I'll see you all later." Bob said. He gave Helen a good-bye kiss, and Ran out the door and drove away to work, leaving Mirage, Helen, and the kids.
" So, what shall we do today?" Mirage said, regaining her composure.
" I dunno, lets go into the city and see what we can find.
With that, they got into Helen's car and drove off into Metroville. When they reached the city, they drove up and down the streets looking for something to do. They decided against seeing a movie, the kids had already done that yesterday. Mirage and Helen decided that they would go to the park. When the reached the park, Violet was chasing Dash around the playground, and Mirage and Helen sat on a park bench. Mirage was enjoying the sun, and Helen was holding Jack-jack…
" Beautiful out today isn't it?" Mirage asked, closing her eyes.
" Gorgeous… look at those two…they fight like cats and dogs." Helen pointed to Violet and Dash.
" Yes, but truthfully, I think it's normal… the age difference could play a small part too…"
" This is true…Hey, I've got a question, Mirage." Helen shifted Jack-Jack on her knee
" Yes?"
" Violet's birthday is coming up soon, in like a month or so…do you have any ideas for what I could do? I think she's a bit old for a party…" Helen said. Mirage closed her eyes in deep thought. When she was thinking…she heard a sound… It was a group of teenagers, and one of them had just gotten their driver's license. They were all chanting a famous catch phrase…and it was then that she got an idea…
" Road trip…" She said quietly.
" What?" Helen said. Mirage spoke louder this time.
" Road trip…we'll take Violet on a road trip." Mirage said.
" Wow…that's a great idea Mirage…but it's a little bit hard…with Dash and Jack-Jack, and then there's Bob and his job. I don't think we could be able to do it." Helen shook her head. Mirage looked at Helen, an idea forming in her head.
" Well…I…could take her." She said timidly.
" You? Oh no, I couldn't do that to you, you should be relaxing… not on vacation with a rambunctious 14 year old."
" Seriously Helen, I think I need a little vacation… plus, Violet and I could get to know each other better. I could take her off your hands for a while." Mirage smiled. " it will be my birthday gift to her."
" Are you sure? Because I love the idea…but do you really need the burden?" Helen was mentally questioning herself. Could Mirage be trusted with something like this? "Well, I suppose I should let her. If she's going to me staying with us for a while, I'm going to have to trust her with my kids sooner or later…"
" Alright, Mirage, I hereby grant you the permission to take my daughter on a road trip for her birthday." Helen took on a formal tone
" Great! This will be fun… I haven't been on vacation for a very long time." Mirage smiled. " hmmm, now I need to figure out how to get enough money to put aside for this whole trip." Mirage was thinking to herself when helen chuckled.
" Well, a good place to start would be to ask me…. She's my daughter, any money you spend will come from me, plus whatever you decide to throw in."
" But I feel horrible spending your money… I feel like a leech." Mirage folded her arms.
" Don't be silly, now…let's go buy the kids some water from the machine. They dehydrate easily when fighting one another."
Laughing, Mirage, Helen, and jack-Jack walked over to the soda machine and bought three waters and one diet soda. Giving the children their water, Mirage took a sip from hers. She looked around the park, it was rather quiet today, except for Dash and Violet fighting. She was thinking to herself about how fun the road trip was going to be… It would be a great chance to get to know Violet. Mirage smiled…maybe she was really starting to fit in after all.
A/N- well? Did you enjoy chapter five? I apologize in advance for the rather unexciting ending, but it had to be done… I needed a good wrap-up point to start the next chapter. So, as we progress in the story, we near the unveiling of Mirage' past. Join me next time for chapter six " Happy birthday Violet! Road trip part one." Any questions or comments regarding this story, you can email me at cya!