Ultraviolet

Chapter 4

Letting Go

Mr Incredible struck his target; Bloodhound was knocked back into the sofa. Whimpering, he crouched low on all fours. Mr Incredible picked up his armchair and threw it at Bloodhound, who directed it at the television with a swing of his arms. The screen of the television set shattered as the chair landed on top of it. Violet ducked out of the way safely under her force field.

The rampage through their house continued. Bloodhound evaded Mr Incredible's punches, blocking the potentially devastating blows or ducking away from his reach. For a few minutes, neither seemed to be gaining an advantage. The duel reached a brief respite as both men fell back, sweat sliding down their faces.

"Come on, Mr Incredible, show me some real power," Bloodhound taunted.

"I won't show mercy if you try to hurt my family," Mr Incredible said, eyes narrowed. He leapt forward, pre-empting a similar move by Bloodhound. He grabbed the villain in mid-air and slammed him to the floor, creating a tiny crater where they had landed.

"Way to go, Dad! You beat him!" Violet exulted, punched the air in joy and rushed out from behind her cover to hug her father.

"I'll check if he's still alive." They took a few steps towards his limp body. Mr Incredible bent down, just as Violet had done less than an hour ago. This time, he recovered much quicker. Snarling, his eyes snapped open. His feet connected with Mr Incredible's chin. Leaping to his feet, he pounced onto his opponent and they rolled on the ground, struggling to gain control.

Watching the carnage unfold, Violet tried to think of a way to save her father. She couldn't cast a force field to separate them. The situation looks critical to Violet. But was it critical enough for her to do something drastic? She didn't have time to ponder over it. Timing herself, she leapt onto the back of Bloodhound, who was about to deliver the knockout punch to Mr Incredible. Violet wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping her legs around his waist and squeezed, choking the life out of him.

"Get… off… me… girl!" Bloodhound growled as he reached for her. His fingers wrapped around Violet's neck. With the last of his breath, he threw Violet to the ground, back first. She gave a cry as pain shot up her spine, followed by brief numbness. Bloodhound stood triumphant over her.

"I warned you not to interfere. Now I'm going to…" He never got to finish. Mr Incredible's punch to the back of his skull did the job. He fell to his knees, before being pushed to the floor by Mr. Incredible. He raised a fist over the fallen villain's supine body, ready to deliver the killing blow, when he heard Violet.

"Dad… Help me…" Violet's weak plea for help got her father's attention immediately. Abandoning the villain, he rushed over to Violet.

"How are you feeling, Vi?" His shaking hand provided no comfort as he slipped Violet's hand into his.

"My back hurts…"

"Can you move?"

Violet tried to move each limb, succeeding each time, but a jolt of pain went up her back whenever she did.

"I think you're all right. I'll help you up to the sofa, OK?" Violet felt fingers around her back. Her father cradled her in his arms; she felt like a baby. She was laid down on the sofa gently. "I'll get back to you in a while, OK?" Violet heard her father's footsteps as he walked towards Bloodhound. "And where do you think you're going?"

Violet turned her neck as far as it could go without it hurting. Mr Incredible picked up Bloodhound and slammed him against the wall. He seemed bent on unleashing his fury on the man, shaking his limp body and tightening his hold on his neck.

"You win, Mr Incredible…"

"Shut up. Who sent you?" He shook Bloodhound several times more. For a fleeting second, Violet thought he was dead, his hands flailing like a rag doll.

"You'll never get an answer from me!" He swung his right hand in front of him. Mr Incredible managed to duck in time, but that wasn't his target. Bloodhound grabbed his last finger from his left hand, squeezing it with all his might. It broke like a twig, but Bloodhound masked the pain well.

"What are you doing?" Mr Incredible demanded, with the veins in his forehead throbbing.

"Within a few minutes, I'll be dead. Now let go of me!" Mr Incredible frowned, unsure of whether he should believe him or not. Perhaps out of pity, more than anything, he released his grip. Sliding to the ground, Bloodhound slumped over, groaning.

"Hang on, Violet, I'll get some help." Mr Incredible picked up the phone and punched in a few numbers. "Yes, Lucius, Bob here. Take Dash and Jack-Jack to the hospital… You know which one I'm talking about. I'm serious here. All right. See you in a while." He hung up, replacing the receiver. "All right, Violet, I'm going to take you to a friend's place." She was feeling better, and could stand up by herself. Her father helped her to the car and settled her in her seat. "Wait here, OK?" He returned to the house, returning with Helen and Bloodhound in each arm. With the trio in the back seat and their seat belts buckled, they set off.

"How's Mom?" Violet asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hmm? I never checked. Still knocked out cold, I suppose. That Bloodhound's punch is lethal."

Violet sighed and sank into her seat, before realising something important. "Dad, we're still in our Super-suits. And we are going to a hospital, right?"

"This hospital is operated by Supers. Like I said, we'll be around friends." The hospital loomed into sight. Bob turned into the driveway, travelling along the meandering road past several buildings and ambulances. The road led towards a hill, blocked by stop signs to warn drivers. The car drove sped up, seemingly oblivious to the signs.

"Dad? That's a dead end…" She had to eat her words. They blew past the foot of the hill. It was just an illusion, which was probably cast by an elderly female Super behind a guard office. She waved at the car as it drove past. The end of the tunnel was just a few hundred metres away. The front looked exactly like a regular hospital's ground floor: white pillars supporting the front. Beyond the automatic doors were receptionists in desks, doctors rushing around, nurses helping patients to their rooms.

Mr Incredible guided the car to a drive-in area, where nurses unloaded the passengers onto hospital beds and pushed them into separate operating rooms. The doctor on duty, a young female who looked like she was in her mid-twenties, greeted Violet.

"All right, Miss Incredible, let's see your report. Thrown onto your back? Hmm… I'm going to do an X-ray. Turn her over." She was flipped over by the nurses. The X-ray was over in a minute. The doctor spoke briefly with her aides, returning in time to see the results of the X-ray.

"Well, this is good. No lasting damage was done. Perfect condition, I might say. Now, let me do some more checks…" She tapped her finger in various parts of Violet's back, before certifying that she was all right. "The rest of your family's at Operating Room 5, down the hallway, to the right."

Violet thanked the doctor and took off, heading for said room. She pushed the door open, and sure enough, the whole family was there. Jack-Jack lay asleep in Dash's arms. Their mother was conscious at last; the gouges made earlier were healed too. Lucius, better known as Frozone, waved at her.

"Violet! Are you all right?" Her mother came over, followed by the rest of the family, hugging her and asking about her condition.

"I'm fine, Mom. What are we doing here, anyway?" Violet, eager at getting down to things at hand.

"Bloodhound's autopsy." A bespectacled doctor was bent over the cloaked man.

"So… he's dead?"

"Yes, and quite interesting, it seems. With the information your father told me, I checked his finger. There is a glass vial embedded in there. It contained some kind of liquid, his breaking it open must have released the liquid and it triggered his death."

"Maybe it's some kind of poison…" Mr Incredible suggested.

"Yes, more tests will be done to find that out, Mr Incredible. If there's more that we can find from him, I'll inform you. That is all." He exited the room, while the nurse wheeled him to the morgue.

"Right, it's about time we got home. We'll have to fix it up first thing in the morning. Frozone and Dash, would you mind taking Jack-Jack outside to the car first? We have to speak to Violet for a second." His look left no question; they left them alone in the room. Mr and Mrs Incredible turned their focus to their daughter.

"Vi, your father and I were talking about your recent… reckless streak, and tonight just made it clear to us that you have no regard for your life."

"Reckless? No regard for life?" Violet echoed. She had no idea what was coming, or what her parents were driving at. Mr Incredible lay a hand on Elastigirl's shoulder.

"It's OK, Helen, let me continue. You see, that day, during the bank robbery, you were almost killed. Let's face facts here. If not for Frozone, you'd be dead now. And just now, when you threw yourself on Bloodhound, do you know what could possibly happen?"

"Sure I do, just like the time when you were fighting the Omnidroid alone, or when Mom was stretched across three rooms facing five armed men, or when we were surrounded by Velocipods, or…"

"It's not the same, Violet…"

"How so? Any of us could have died…"

"I forbid you from saying such things." Her father sighed, and like a judge passing a verdict, he proclaimed, "the point is, your mother and I… have decided to ground you."

Trivia: The villain Bloodhound killed himself with a vial of snake venom hidden in his finger. In this way, he'll never be captured alive. Cunning for a mercenary… Look out for his re-appearance in Codename: S.P.E.C.I.A.L!