Cookies Comics and Revenge
By Lejindarybunny
A/N: c4bl3fl4m3 has been involved in some lovely art for CCR, and also, I suggest you take a look at vexxation .deviantart. com as well.
Disclaimer: Incredibles and all that belongs to Disney/Pixar. Darn.
Chapter 14: Staying for Dinner
Vex had never seen as beautiful a restaurant as Le Tour D'Argent, let alone been in the private room of one.
As they entered the Maitre D' greeted them warmly, and his manner only improved when Syndrome introduced himself as Isaac Douglas.
"Ah, Monsieur Douglas," the man greeted excitedly. "Oui, oui, right zis way, everything is ready."
Vex glanced up at Syndrome as they were led away into the reserved chamber. That couldn't be his real name, she thought, it sounds suspiciously like a pseudonym. It was with a jolt that she realized that she didn't even know his real name. Sure, she didn't mind calling him Syndrome, quite the contrary, Vex had always been of the opinion that people were who they believed themselves to be, but she still wanted to know who he had been. Even if she never called him that.
The room was rich with luxury and the window they sat beside looked out on the river Seine and Notre Dame. The sun was just below the horizon, and the city outside was cast in twilight purples, with just the barest hint of orange left from the sunset. Vex gasped when she saw it.
"Is that a 'Syndrome, you're amazing', I hear?" he murmured wryly to her.
"Definitely!"
They sat down at the elegant table, already set with various rich, delicious looking appetizers. The Maitre D' uncorked and poured a bottle of wine.
"Ze first course will arrive shortly, Monsieur," he assured Syndrome. "Is zere anything I can do for you in ze mean time?"
"No, not a the moment," he replied dismissively.
"Very well, Monsieur," he nodded deeply, and left them alone in the room.
The room was dim, and the table was aglow with the light of candles and Vex watched soft, flickering shadows play over Syndrome's face.
"This is magnificent," she said in wonder. "It has to be the most beautiful place in Paris. But, aren't things like this usually booked months ahead of time?" Vex wasn't sure, but she thought that she must be taking Mirage's place at a date that had been planned long ago.
"Usually," he told her taking a sip of wine. "But I pulled a few strings this morning to get it for you."
"This morning?" Vex said, wide eyed, and taken aback. "Wow, those must have been some strings! Do you know the President of France or something?"
Syndrome chuckled darkly. "Purse strings," he said with a smirk, "and if I hadn't called, it would be the President of France sitting where we are now."
Vex's impressed-o-meter was practically through the roof. "You bribed the staff enough, to get them to reseat the President of their country?"
"Yes, sweetheart, that's exactly what I did."
"Thank you," she smiled at him, and her heart did a little dance. He called her sweetheart! She gazed out the window, down at the Cathedral below.
"I'm glad you like it."
"How could I not?" she asked looking up again. "This has been the second most amazing day ever."
"Only the second?" he asked curiously. The glow of the candles brought out the deep golds and oranges in his hair, some of which was loose from his ponytail, and glimmered in his eyes. "What would be the first?"
"Day before yesterday," she told him. "When you came for me. I don't think I told you yet, how deeply, deeply thankful I am. You rescued me, Syndrome."
His eyes softened, and Vex thought she saw there, behind confusion and doubt, a spark of joy at this revelation. "You think so?"
"Not think, know. My soul was withering and dying as I was, and then you came, and you took me away. No matter what happens after this, whether we succeed or fail, whether I live or die, you saved me." Vex poured her emotions out, letting them hang in the room like the candlelight, and hoping Syndrome would understand how she felt.
"I-"
That was when the Maitre D' and a small bevy of other serving men bustled into the room with trays of food.
Vex felt very restrained and charitable as she gave them all a glare of death, for keeping herself from immediately jumping up and lighting all their kidneys on fire.
000
It was almost a relief for Syndrome to have the tension of such a vulnerable moment so rudely broken. That didn't mean he was any less angry at the interruption, but it was nothing on the way the Vex was glaring at them.
Seeking to smooth the moment over, as the busybody waiters prepared things on the table, Syndrome quipped. "Is anything the matter? You seem, Vexed."
Her gaze immediately snapped away from the offending serving men, and she gave a snorting sort of giggle. "You just love those bad puns, don't you?"
"Why, do you find them punishing?"
Vex cringed, but still giggled. "Okay, that's just not witty."
"But it made you laugh," he pointed out.
"Point," she said, grinning bemusedly, as the waiters trooped from the room again. "So what is all this?" she asked, gesturing at the food laden table. "I missed the running commentary."
"Yeah, that would be because you were too busy trying to make all the waiters' heads explode," he chuckled. "You should have seen their faces too. They thought you were going to jump up and stab them all with a fork."
She laughed. "Then who would bring dinner? You still didn't answer me, though."
"There's a good reason for that," he explained wryly. "And that's because I don't have a clue either. But, I advise you to avoid it, if it looks like snails."
She began to assemble a plate. "Let it never be said that I don't trust you entirely too much."
"What are you implying I'm not trustworthy?" he joked.
"Insert Jack Sparrow 'honesty' quote here," she replied, pointing her fork at him.
"And now you're implying that I'm dishonest," he grinned, recalling the quote she was referencing.
Vex stared at him. "Oh. My god. You know the movie."
"Of course I do, what, you think just because I was living on a remote island, plotting various nefarious schemes, I didn't have time to watch movies?"
Actually, as Syndrome said this, he realized that was what most people would assume. One didn't typically put the role of the villain together with the role of a geek. Unless you counted the sixth season of Buffy...
"I grovel at your feet," Vex replied, making a little hailing motion, from her chair.
"Oh, really?" Syndrome smirked. "Maybe you should save that for after dinner."
The fangirl's face went bright red.
000
Violet had snuck downstairs and copied down the address and room number of where Mirage was staying. Luckily it was on a familiar bus route, and luckier still it was Saturday, so she could actually go.
"Mom, I'm going to go to the mall, okay?" she asked, leaning into the living room where her mother was sitting.
"Do you want me to drive you?" she looked up.
"No, it's okay, I'll catch the bus."
"Are you sure?"
"I'll be fine, mom," she assured her, and headed out the door.
She didn't like lying to her mom, but it wasn't as if she'd be able to get anyone to agree with her. And she just couldn't do nothing. Sharon was in trouble, and it was up to Violet to help.
The bus ride was unpleasant, but mercifully short, ending in the expensive district of down town. That was another strike against Mirage in her book. If she was staying in this nice a hotel, Syndrome was definitely paying for it.
In the impressive hotel lobby, she quickly spotted a ladies room, and hurried inside. She put her normal clothes in the small duffle bag she had brought, and disappeared.
The stuffy hotel guy looked bored, and it was a cinch to creep up behind him and grab the spare room key. But now she had to be even more careful. One thing people would be really suspicious of? A room key floating midair.
She kept close to the wall, hoping the key would get lost in the patterned wall paper, and made her way up the stairs to the room. The stairs would be way safer than the elevator, since nobody took them except in emergencies.
Unfortunately, Violet realized as she stood outside Mirage's door. She had another problem.
'How can I get in, without her noticing the door open? Darn it, Violet,' she thought to herself. 'You have to think of these things before you rush off!'
She got an idea. It looked like the keys had been a waste of effort, since she wasn't going to need them after all. She set them down on the floor, and knocked on the door.
Violet heard footsteps, and imagined Mirage looking through the peep hole and seeing no one. The footsteps retreated, and Vi only waited a second before knocking again.
"Who's there?" came the muffled question from behind the heavy door.
Violet of course, said nothing.
Mirage retreated again, and Violet knocked a third time.
This time the footsteps were thumping and irritated. Violet heard the click of the door being unlocked and she crouched low to the ground.
Mirage pulled the door open fiercely. "Okay, who the hell is there?!"
As she did so, Violet slipped through the door, low to the ground, and hid in the closet, the door open just a crack so she could see and hear.
"Oh for goodness sake," Mirage closed the door, exasperated. She collapsed on the bed, and turned on the TV.
'Greeeeaaaat,' Violet grumbled to herself, 'Now all I have to do is wait here for her to actually do something. I am such a moron...'
000
"Thank you for dinner," Vex said, kissing Syndrome as they exited the restaurant almost two hours later.
"My pleasure," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "Now, shall we go pick up that costume of yours?"
An eager thrill went through her. In all the hours of shopping, and running around the city with Syndrome, she had almost completely forgotten the reason that he had brought her there.
"Definitely!" she said, keeping herself close to the man as they made their way to the car. The night had grown very cool, and the shawl just didn't make up for not wearing a coat.
They clambered into the car, and Syndrome once again sped off toward Maurice's shop.
"Can I ask you something without offending you?" she asked him, suddenly making the decision.
"I don't know, can you?" he raised his eyebrows at her.
She turned, studying him, his long, amused face, boyish grin, fiery red hair, and asked carefully. "Will you tell me what your name was, before you became Syndrome?"
He glanced over at her. "If you want," he shrugged.
"If you don't want me to know, I understand."
"Aw hell, you could find it easy on the internet," he ran a hand over his jaw, and admitted, "It's Buddy Pine. Short for Balthazar," he cringed visibly on the last part.
"Buddy, huh? I kinda like that," she told him.
"Start calling me by it and you go back to being Sharon," he threatened half-seriously.
"I was about to say," she added, "But I like Syndrome better."
"Good," he nodded approvingly and put his arm around her shoulder, steering with one hand.
It didn't take them long to get back to Maurice's, and when they did, the designer hurried out to meet them.
"Bon soir!" he greeted with an emphatic grin. "You 'ave returned at just ze right time Mademoiselle, your attire is awaiting you in ze dressing room. Come, let us see how it looks, eh?"
Vex was honestly a little apprehensive about returning to the room where she'd had that weird delusion, but to get her costume, she would conquer it.
"I'll be right out," she told them, smiling at Syndrome, and clicked the door shut behind her.
The suit was hanging on a peg, and Vex inspected it as she took it down. It was made of a shiny, stretchy material, which glowed rather like leather, stretched like spandex, and felt like no fabric she'd ever touched. The body was in one piece, like a bathing suit, and she discovered as she put in on, that Maurice had not been deceiving her when he said the parts that looked vulnerable were actually covered. She sat down on the chair, and pulled the boots on next, then the gloves, and then buckled the belt so that it fell loosely around her hips.
That, she discovered in the mirror, looked pretty snazzy by itself, but there were two more pieces before it would be complete. With a sort of reverence that she was sure only fangirls knew the feeling of, she took down the cape and mask. She affixed the cape to where it connected to the suit at her shoulders, and watching her own transformation in the mirror, held the mask in the palm of her hand, and slowly, slowly touched it to her face.
She looked up.
There stood proudly some sort of dark knight, kin to the Sith lords, or the Generals of the Negaverse. This was the embodiment of everything regal, and powerful, mysterious, and slightly cruel. The beauty of the night sky with stars overshadowed.
No, she realized. Not the embodiment. The radiation of it. All that was buried within her, and the costume simply let people know it was there. Not a disguise, a warning.
As she turned to look at herself, the cape billowed and waved slightly, responding to the tiny motions of her shoulders, but something more troubling caught her eye.
There was a small amount of blood on the mirror, where she had touched it that morning.
Vex peeled off one of her gloves, and licked her thumb. Hesitantly, she touched the mirror. When her hand didn't go through, she gained confidence, and rubbed the glass, trying to wipe away the crimson smudge. But it wouldn't be washed clean, though she scrubbed at it fiercely.
Frustrated, and rather alarmed, Vex peered closer, and discovered that the mark wasn't on the surface of the glass, as she had though, but scattered within it, as though the maker had bled upon it as it was made.
'It must have been there before,' she rationalized. 'A complete coincidence.'
She turned sharply, her cape swishing around her heels, and opened the door.
It was the same reaction from the morning, only more so, and this time Vex grinned confidently.
She grabbed the edge of the cape, and bowed sweepingly, imitating the cartoon villains she had idolized for so long.
Syndrome chuckled, and reached down, pulling her face up. "Get up," he said, "You're making me feel underdressed."
Vex laughed, standing immediately, and hugging him tightly. "Other than that, how do I look?"
"Wickedly wonderful, darkly dazzling, villainously vivacious..."
"And other Marvel comics-esque alliterative epithets?" she grinned.
"Exactly."
Vex pulled his shoulders down slightly, and leaned upwards, kissing him deeply, not wanting to let go. Syndrome was her super villain, one whose heart she didn't have to patiently share with other fangirls, or anyone else. He had stalked her, and rescued her, and made her his subordinate. Just her. Nobody else could have him.
"Interesting," Syndrome mused, as they finally parted, smirking down at her.
"Oh?"
Maurice coughed, and Vex found him standing there, arms crossed. "If ze two of you are quite finished?"
Vex pouted at him, beginning to think that people in general really liked interrupting her and Syndrome.
000
Violet was startled out of a near drowse when the phone rang. Suddenly, she was alert, and awake, and listening for every scrap of the conversation that she could hear.
"How do you know that name?...Oh, that's right. But, how'd you get this number? ...What kind of information?"
Violet's ears pricked up. This was just the thing that she had been waiting for! Obviously, one of Syndrome's old henchman was on the phone.
"You know where Syndrome is?"
'Score!' Violet grinned to herself. 'Now come, on, tell me where he is...'
"Keep talking...." Mirage scrambled in the dresser drawer for something "...I do now."
Mirage repeated a set of coordinates she was being given, as she wrote them down, and Violet committed them to memory.
"Yes...Just one thing. How did you find him?...Hello? Hello?"
She hung up the phone.
'Yes!' Violet congratulated herself. 'I didn't come here for nothing! Now, how do I get out? Should I wait for Mirage to leave?'
That was probably the wisest thing to do, but Violet didn't know how long it would be until the woman did decide to go anywhere. Luckily, soon after the phone conversation had ended, Mirage got up and headed to the bathroom. Hastily acting on the opportunity, Violet crept from the closet, and out of the hotel room.
To be continued...
dKiWi: Thank you very much, I love getting reviews, the more the better. The Nomanisan island thing was a conclusion I arrived to shortly after seeing the movie the second time, when I was considering the relationship between Incrediboy and Syndrome. I am so glad you like my interpretation.
CD Anders: Is Mikhail alive? That's a good question. I suppose you'll have to keep reading to find out, won't you? (evil grin) Long live the Ock Coat!
RavensHaelo: Beware of crystal gazing, it can be...misleading. Or truthful. Or both. Mikhail scares you? ...interesting....
Shadow Fox Forever: I'm glad it didn't take long too!
See ya tomorrow!!