Ultraviolet

Chapter 11

Mark of a Super

Violet stepped out of the prison's public restroom, having changed into her Super-suit. Fortunately the coat she was wearing could cover her entire suit; the only exposed parts were her boots and gloves. Glancing down at her overall image, she smiled to herself, thinking that this could be a future fashion fad. She slipped the mask into her front pocket, choosing to wear it later. Trudging towards the park through the thin layer of snow, she caught sight of the wrought-iron gate leading into the park.

Beyond the metallic barrier, she could see sporadic groups of children enjoying themselves, messing around in the snow, as adults watched on. Boys having a snowball fight. Girls making snow angels, giggling away. Dating couples strolling along the concrete pathway. That brought Tony to Violet's mind. She could imagine the two of them, seated by the park bench…

No, she chided herself silently, driving that thought from her mind. She needed to focus for the fight ahead. After… after everything is resolved… then she can think about Tony. If there was anything at all in her hunch, she would soon be facing four Supers, superior with their technology and possessing unlimited advantage with their mysterious powers. She needed to concentrate… She couldn't let Tony get in her way… in her thoughts.

She sighed and treaded through the snow towards the gate. Taking one quick glance at the scene in front of her, she wondered if she got the right location. It didn't look as though the park was under attack.

"Hey, Violet!"

Violet whirled around as she reacted to the familiar voice. Jogging up to her was Tony Rydinger, panting to catch up with her. Violet found her heart pumping faster as blood flushed her cheeks. Great, she thought, the last thing I need to distract me.

"Hey, Violet," Tony repeated as soon as he came to a halt. Running his fingers through his hair, he flashed a sheepish grin at her while trying to catch his breath from his run.

All that Violet could muster up was a shy grin, letting the silence continue until it was getting uncomfortable. All this while her heart was still racing and the strange warmth remained in her cheeks. Already she was losing focus of the mission, and she knew it, but she couldn't do anything about it.

"So… when you said that you had something on, this was what you had in mind." The awkward pause stretched on for a full ten seconds before Tony spoke up again. "So do you, like, wanna hang out or something… I mean, if you don't have anything else to…"

"I'd love to," Violet blurted out without thinking of the consequence. Her eyes widened, taking a quick glance around the park as though it was under attack, before looking back at Tony.

"Right…" Tony hesitated, "So… hang out…"

"A walk around here would be good," Violet suggested, taking off before Tony could react. Turning back with a grin, she called out, "Coming?"

The path took them beside the now-frozen lake, as hundreds of snowflakes wafted down upon them. The silence between them was compensated for by the shrill laughs from the carefree children, while their parents looked on with their video camcorders.

Violet watched as the kids drew intricate patterns on the icy lake, pausing to watch as she wished that her life were like this; there would be no need to hunt down the Specialists, go on patrols… She knew that it was impossible, but at least it was something to strive towards. With a satisfied grin, she continued staring until Tony realised that she was no longer with him.

"Violet?" Tony called out, gently shaking her from her trance. "Are you alright?" Violet smiled in embarrassment as Tony came back for her. "Why don't we take a rest?" Tony gestured at a bench behind them, leading Violet towards the seat. "You seem awfully weird today, Violet. You can tell me what's troubling you, I promise I won't tell anyone."

"If you really need to know…" Violet hesitated as another thought came to mind. With the new act allowing Supers to work in the open again, she may never be able to enjoy this again. Her whole life would be consumed with hero work… until the day when she is finally defeated, or when the NSA thinks that she is useless for their needs… or until she can contribute no more as a Super. The thought made her hold back, as she considered surrendering all that to Tony, possibly making him regret his choice. No, he can't know… can't know any more.

"Yes?" Tony probed, sensing hesitation from Violet again. There came no answer from her blank face. Instead, her head was raised towards the sky, at the menacing shadow overhead, its rotors spelling an ominous doom for whoever may be hearing it.

"It's here…" Violet whispered, though she did not expect Tony to be able to hear it. The sound of chopper blades rotating drowned most noises around it, attracting the attention of others all around. After all, it was not every day that a helicopter flew over the Metroville Park at such low altitudes.

Within seconds it passed the park, threatening to pass out of Violet's line of sight. Cursing silently under her breath, she got up to her feet, knowing it will soon disappear over the horizon. The mechanical drone of rotors was fading along with the diminutive dot in the sky. She had to think… Where could it be headed…?

"What do you think, Violet? Impressive, isn't it?" Violet hung her head, exasperated at Tony for saying such things at such a critical period, but she'll have to forgive him for his ignorance. This was something she had to deal with alone; normal people like Tony won't be able to understand it, much less do anything about it. That… was the mark of a Super…

"Hey, look, there it comes again," Tony exclaimed. Violet lifted her head, and sure enough, the tiny dot was now enlarging, heading back towards them at the same high speed. Within seconds, it was hovering over the park premises, slowing down as it came past the frozen lake, casting a shadow over it.

The initial commotion had died down, now replaced with civilians scrambling to clear the lake, hands cupped firmly over their ears. Even Violet couldn't resist the deafening roar. Beside her, Tony's hands were firmly over his ears, mouth gaping as the rotor whirl died down. With the blades slowing down, the massive helicopter seemed to float to a halt, resting gently over the now-evacuated lake.

Violet waited with bated breath, half wanting to shout out for the crowd to disperse. On the contrary, the crowd had once again gathered to marvel at the vehicle, oblivious to the danger implicit within its presence. There was even clapping amongst some of the children; even adults were cheering, as though this was some kind of show.

The tension was building up in Violet's mind; they were up to something. Were they waiting for her to reveal herself? Or perhaps there was something darker, a more sinister plot that she knew they were capable of coming up with. Violet felt her breathing quicken; she was losing her focus like she did when she fought Mirage just a few weeks earlier. There, she almost lowered herself to despicable level of her opponents. She cannot afford to make that mistake again.

There was a cry from within the crowd; a flurry of footsteps followed with screams of joy. From the corner of her eye, Violet noticed a pair of children, no more than 5 years old, breaking away from their parents' grip, rushing forward to lay their hands on the hull of the helicopter. For a second everyone stared as they realised just what could have happened to those kids. Their parents' screams of protest replaced every other sound in the vicinity as the crowd fell silent, as their tiny palms came into contact with the smooth metal frame. Everyone else watched on, each imagining a thousand things that could have gone wrong in that instant.

But nothing came. Murmurs of relief flooded the area; other children, not wanting to lose out, were rushing out to surround the vehicle. Violet almost slapped her head in grief. She couldn't shoulder the burden of keeping the safety of civilians all around… not alone at least. She needed experience, and there was no way she could get it if she ran away from it now.

If… She thought, with a bitter smile… If she wasn't a Super… No, that fact couldn't be changed now; maybe she should just accept it and start learning.

"Citizens of Metroville!" The booming voice blasted out from within the helicopter, as the children stopped in their merry caper, and adults looked up from their children towards the source of the voice. The front cockpit of the helicopter opened with a sound much like an airtight container being opened, revealing the four Supers called the Specialists. The leader, whatever his name was, stood up to address the crowd.

This is it, Violet thought, the moment you've been waiting for.

"We're a bit lost around here… We've heard that Metroville is famed for their superheroes, and would like to meet some of them… Maybe one of you can help us find them?" Mutterings started to spread around the crowd. They had no idea the Supers were slated return from their hiding after the SRP was put in place for fifteen years. The news was supposed to be out by the evening post. "Perhaps this young couple can help us," he continued, as twin headlights shone at Tony and Violet.

Violet felt a gasp escape from her pursed lips as she prepared for the worst. Dozens of pairs of eyes were trained on them, despite the light's ineffectiveness in bright daylight. "Great, now I know what the politicians feel like," Violet heard Tony whisper to her ear, resisting the urge to nudge him to shut up.

"A little encouragement, maybe?" On some unspoken order, a missile hatch emerged from the roof of the helicopter. People who could see the rows of explosives lined up inside it were starting to back away, while hysterical screams erupted from others. "No answer… Maybe this will help…" A soft hiss emitted from within the launcher, as a single missile shot forth, first towards the sky, then plummeting down towards them

Violet had a choice: She could both use her powers and reveal herself to the world, or risk death. Maybe she should have chosen the first option to protect Tony as a Super, but if there was one thing she learnt, using her powers was not always the best of choices. She could come up with something more.

"Tony, look out!" she yelled, grabbing him by the hand. For a fleeting moment, they stared each other in the eye, as though passing some unspoken instructions. With a single leg on the bench, they used it to propel themselves over it, hurtling as far away from the bench as possible, as the missile streaked down and struck an empty area, embedded in the snow without exploding. The crowd awed at the miraculous escape, while Tony and Violet came face to face again.

"Shouldn't that be my line?" Tony asked, grinning in the face of death. The couple struggled to their feet together, amid the applause from the crowd. Tony beamed at the crowd, not quite used to this type of attention.

Violet chose not to answer; she was listening out for anything from the Specialists' helicopter. From the open cockpit she could see the four Supers gathered in deep discussion, maybe even arguing about something. Great, Violet thought, a weakness to be exploited. She watched on as they split up and went back to their own stations in the vehicle. The only one left standing was by far the youngest, a female who didn't look much older than Violet herself. With a leap she jumped clear out of the cockpit, a feat not impossible without practice. Sliding down the smooth front hull, she landed on a clear area with a gentle thud, several feet away from the icy lake, drawing most of the crowd's attention again.

"I shall clear things up here, while my siblings take care of business elsewhere."

Clear blue streams of flame erupted from the bottom of the helicopter, propelling the helicopter above their heads, before shooting off into the horizon. Violet glanced from the helicopter to the Specialist in front of her. Does she know that her opponent is right in front of her?

However at that moment Violet's attention was drawn away from her once again. A faint cracking sound was spreading across the lake, then as though in slow motion the sheet of ice over the lake snapped into several pieces. Those with children on them were tipping over, taking the kid with them. Within seconds, around twenty kids were flailing in the ice-cold lake, with frantic parents trying to haul them onto safe ground.

A general state of panic was all around; children were screaming while parents were rushing to grab hold of their kids, with some help from the others. A couple of teenagers were pulling off their jackets, ready to dive in to help the struggling kids.

Through all this, the Specialist watched on with slight bemusement, as though this was a television programme. This stirred up the sense of justice in Violet; there were children in trouble, and yet all she could do is stare… Something had to be done.

"Tony, find a way to get those kids to safety. I'll go call for help." Tony turned to look at Violet, nodding in agreement. With a last glance back at Violet, he took off, feet pounding against the compacted snow.

Violet watched on as he tugged at some kid's arm, pulling him to safety. When the coast was clear, she ducked behind the nearest tree, crouching to avoid detection. In one swift action, she grabbed her mask before tossing her coat aside. Securing her mask on her face, she stood up, resisting an urge to smile.

"So this is how Batman does it…" Violet whispered to herself.

Trivia: The addition of Tony in this chapter was really an aside thing; but I can't get it to work without him there. Pardon the reference to Batman, though. Disclaim: do not own Batman.