Dateline: Tuesday, July 7, 1981, 2:17 PM, Pacific Daylight Time.

"VIOLET!"

Kimberly was more than just a little scared of her sister-in-law's driving. Violet had the pedal to the metal and both of the car's rocket engines flaring. Needless to say she was going fast enough to make Dash look like a snail. The road was scorched in her wake, and she was barely avoiding collisions left and right.

"Vi, please tell me you didn't learn this reckless behavior in driving school!"

"Driving school?" said Violet.

Kim's jaw dropped. "You mean to tell me you never took driving lessons!"

"The best way to learn is by doing, right?" she responded, trying to save face.

"Now you tell me?" Kim looked back at the road. "AAH! Violet, look out!" Violet swerved just in time to miss another car. "Seriously, Vi, you should slow down a little bit, maybe we can get to the hospital in one piece?"

"If we don't go fast, we may not get to the hospital at all! Now, hold on to something, I'm about to shift into second gear."

"It was in first the whole time?" Kim couldn't believe what she was hearing! Quickly, she clasped her hands and began to pray, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Naaaaaaaaaaaaame!" She screamed at that point because the car had suddenly accelerated to a near supersonic speed. They arrived at the hospital in no time at all. When Violet stepped in the brakes, the screech could be heard as far away Rio de Janeiro.

"See, I told you we'd get here all right," said Violet turning to the passenger seat. She was confused when Kim wasn't there. Her glasses were there, but her body wasn't. "Kim? KIM?"
"Back here, boss," Kim said with a muffled voice. The sudden acceleration had flung the fluid female against the back window of the car, where she now hung in a rather unsettling splatter.

"Oh my God, Kim! Are you okay?"

"After being tossed like a rag doll across an SUV because of my sister-in-law's reckless driving? Of course I'm not okay! I'm not physically injured, if that's what you mean." She fell off the window and landed on the floor of the car with a disturbing plop. Then she oozed her way back into the passenger's seat and her normal form. "Consider yourself lucky, leadfoot."

"I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"A promise never to drive again comes to mind," Kim said.

"Done," said Violet.

The two of them got out of the car and walked (not ran) into the building. Locating Superdoc was not difficult; he was watching the press release that the sheriff was talking about earlier. Shannon was startled when Violet tapped him on the shoulder.

"Violet Parr!" he said excitedly, "Just the person I wanted to see! Listen, about what I said earlier, I'm sorry, but I didn't…" Vi cut him off.

"You're forgiven, now listen carefully, I've got a problem with my powers and I need you to take a look at it okay?"

"Right, yes, of course. Step into my office."

…

"As you can see, Doctor, I can still shoot force fields out of my left hand, but my right hand produces nothing, and I don't know what's going on!"

"Hmm, that is unusual. Have you been feeling any strange pain or discomfort in your right side?"

"Now that you mention it, my armpit has been feeling kind of funny since I tangled with M. Mincemeat."

"Is that when you noticed this problem?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Let me take a look at that," Dr. Gibson said. He started to poke around at the site Violet was complaining about, literally. He asked periodically whether something hurt or not. After the examination, Superdoc said very thoughtfully, "It seems you've ruptured your energy converter vessel."

"That's what I was afraid of," Violet moped.

"Wait, what does that mean?" asked Kim.

"The energy converter vessel," Dr. Gibson said, "is what carries stored energy from Violet's liver into her hands, where she can convert it into a force field."

"Oh," Kim said, though she still didn't fully comprehend it.

"We could perform minor surgery at the site of the break and stitch it back together. Shouldn't take more than two, maybe three hours."

"Sounds like a plan. What time?"

"Tomorrow, at say, 7:00?"

"I don't know," said Violet, "I've been away from my desk for quite some time now and if I don't check back in with Mr. Black soon, I'll get canned for sure."

"So, sometime this weekend then?"

"I don't think I can wait that long either."

"Then what are we going to do?"

Violet said nothing for what seemed like hours but was really only ten minutes. She was contemplating a plan. When she did speak, she said this: "Book me an operating room for tomorrow at 10:00 AM. I'll see if I can work something out with Mr. Black."

"All right, Violet. Take care of yourself, and I'll see you on Wednesday."

"I sure hope so, doc."

Back in the parking lot, Violet reached for the driver's side door, but Kim stopped her.

"Oh no you don't!" she stated boldly. "You promised! I'm driving us home!"

"Okay, but are you sure you can work a stick?"

"I haven't heard any complaints from Dash!" Kim joked. Violet punched her square in the jaw. "OW!"

"Don't EVER…joke like that again!" she scolded.

"All right, Sister Mary Python."

"And don't call me that either!"

"Would you prefer I called you short stuff?"

"You will call me 'boss', until further notice, you little insect! Understood?" Violet was visibly enraged.

"Yes, ma'am," Kim said, realizing that she could do much worse to her than a fat lip.

Back at home, the sight Violet saw when she walked in the door did not squelch her rage. She saw Dash, Ashley and José listening to music instead of discussing strategy like she asked them to.

"I still don't understand the lyrics," José said, "what exactly is a 'back right turn?'"

"Back right turn?" Dash asked curiously.

"You know, in that Beatles song, it goes 'make the back right turn?'"

"No, no, no," said Ashley; "it's 'Paperback Writer'!"

"Oh! That makes so much more sense!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Violet screamed at the top of her lungs. They all scrambled to their feet and stood at attention, facing their leader. All, that is, except for Ashley. Fortunately, Dash noticed this and corrected her.

Violet began to pace in front of her troops like the aggravated drill instructor she felt like just then. "Maybe you guys need (pause) to be re-taught (pause) the concept of (pause) chain of command, hmm?"

What got into her? Ashley thought-spoke to Dash, is she usually like this?

I don't know, he answered.

Violet seemed to notice that Ashley was using her powers. She moved in three inches away from the redhead's face. "Are you think-talking while I'm talking, Cohen?"

She didn't even need her powers to tell how upset Violet was. "Ma'am, no, ma'am," she said.

"I can't hear you!"

"Ma'am, no, ma'am!" Ashley repeated a little bit louder.

"You better not be! Now, I am (pause) your leader. Do you know what that means?" That was a rhetorical question. "It means that what I say do, you do. If I say 'jump,' you say…?"

"How high, ma'am?" they said in unison.

"If I say 'run', you say…?"

"How far, ma'am?"

"If I say 'bring me a burger,' you say…?"

"Would you like fries with that?"

"Would you like fries with that, what?"

"Would you like fries with that, ma'am?"

"That's right! So if I say 'go home and discuss strategy,' should you go home and listen to music?"

"Ma'am, no, ma'am!"

"What should you do then?"

"Discuss strategy, ma'am!"

"Then what were you doing listening to music?" Violet asked. There was no response. "Do you realize that because of this, we are now a day short on defeating our newest threat?" Now Violet was red-faced from yelling so much. "Well, look what I have for soldiers! A bunch of dumb mutes! But I think I know how to get them talking again! All of you drop and give me ten! Drop!" They did.

After this little basic training session, Violet drew herself a bath and soaked in it. While she did that, the others began to talk about what just happened.

"My God," said José, "I've never seen this side of her before!"

"I could sense a rage like a wildfire in her soul!" commented Ashley.

"I guess we really screwed up this time," Dash said somberly.

"You're not alone," said Kim, "I think I caused her to be this upset."

"What did you do?"

Kim told them about the names that she called Violet.

"You didn't!" said Dash in surprise.

"I didn't see what the big deal was! You call her short stuff all the time, honey!"

"Exactly! It's okay when I call her that. 'Short stuff' is mine!"

"Dash, we're married. That means what's yours is mine!"

They all laughed.

"What's going on out there?" asked Violet.

"Nothing, boss!" said Kim. "Yeah, she said I have to call her that until she decides not to be angry with me anymore."

"She can't stay mad at us forever, right Dash?" asked Ashley and José.

"Don't worry, once she's had her bath, she'll be back to normal. Well, as normal as she gets!" Nobody laughed.

(A/N: Okay, I think I'll stop here for now before this chapter gets way too long. The team will discuss a unique battle strategy in the next chapter. At first, I was thinking this story would be much shorter than Dawn of the Silver Age, but now that I'm fully committed to finishing it, I think Destination Europe might be forty chapters too. I just like the number forty, it's biblical. Anyway, review, be honest, and I'll see you next time!)