Dateline: Tuesday, July 7, 1981, 2:58 PM, Pacific Daylight Time.
You've heard the expression "the tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife". In the living room of the Alpha Force supers this afternoon, the tension was so thick, a knife wouldn't help; you'd need a jackhammer. Violet had had a very bad day. She had only been home for about two hours, and already she had been in and out of jail, insulted by her sister-in-law, and disrespected by the others. She had already vented most of her frustration onto the other members of the team, and now had spent the last twenty minutes in a warm bath, trying to calm down. While she did that, the others sat silently in the living room, too frightened to even move. They were waiting for Violet to come out, and were scared by what she would do next. Presently, she emerged from the bath with her hair in a towel and her robe wrapped tightly.
"Guys," she began. "I'm sorry I blew up in your faces earlier. But you have to understand that I was very upset then. What I need from you guys right now is some respect and obedience. Okay?"
"Sure thing, boss," the team echoed.
"Good. Now, let's talk strategy."
They met over the dining room table. "Okay," said Violet, "what do we know about our enemies?"
"We know that they're almost identical to ourselves," said Kim.
"They have all our same powers," said Dash.
"Oh my God!" said Ashley, "Vi, I think this is what your dream was about!"
"What dream?" asked José.
Violet told them all about the dream she had on the plane.
"Oh, wow."
"Yeah, wow," she said. "Anyway, it seems that the logical course of action is for each of us to face our own counterparts."
"Wait," said Kim. "I don't think that's a very good idea. First of all, they'll be expecting us to do just that. Second of all, a battle between a super and his clone is likely to end in a tie. But we don't want to tie; we want to win, right? So let's send someone else against each clone, someone who can beat them?"
"Genius!" said José. "Liquegirl does it again! Or, no, wait, who's going to take on my clone? He's got more powers than a Swiss army knife. Any physical attack is likely to be stopped."
"So let's use a mental attack!" Dash piped up.
"ME?" Ashley screamed in terror. She had seen José in action, (okay, maybe 'seen' isn't the right word, but you know what I mean) and she knew how powerful he was. "I don't think I can do it!"
"I believe in you, Ashley," said Violet. "Come on, you didn't think you could beat Five-Alarm Jim, but you did!"
"I beat Fiver Jim by reading his mind and getting to the root of his aggression. This evil clone probably doesn't even think! My telepathy won't be of any use."
"So don't use it! Use your telekinesis instead. Grab him in a chokehold and go Vader on him!"
"Hmm. I never thought of that."
"Okay, so Ashley will fight Heart Attack, José's clone," said Violet.
"Wait, how do you know his name is Heart Attack?"
"I don't. I made it up myself. What do you think?"
"It fits," said José. "But who's going to face Ashley's clone? I mean, if she can kill me, so to speak, she can kill any of us!"
"I think I can take her!" said Kim. "If the evil Ashley pulls a Vader on me, I can just slip out of it!" Kim pulled her head off to show every one how it could be done.
"All right, it's Kim v. Blind Fate. Now, what about Floodgate, Kim's clone? She practically can't be touched, right?"
"I call dibs on that one!" said Dash. "All I have to do is pull the pin from her neck, right?"
"Yes," said Violet, "and I think I can take care of Demon, Dash's clone. That leaves José to tangle with my evil twin, Viper."
"I don't know if I can," said José.
"What? Since when do you have doubt in your abilities?"
"It's not that I doubt my abilities, it's just that every other villain I've faced was one I could see!"
"Oh, that's all?" said Dash. "Vi, what say we give him, the demonstration?"
"Okay, if you think it will help," she said. She rose from the table and turned invisible.
"You see, José, in the eighteen years that I've lived with Violet, I've learned how to pinpoint invisible threats, and stop them." Dash closed his eyes and brought his hands together like he was meditating. Then he delivered a jab at what looked like air. Really, he had punched Violet, and they learned this when she suddenly reappeared. "It's really all a matter of…focus. I can show you my secrets, if you are willing."
"Sure, but I'm not sure it would be right to pick on Violet because she's the only one of us who can turn invisible,"
"It's no big deal," Violet said. "I'm used to it. Oh, that reminds me, I'm going to have surgery tomorrow at ten in the morning."
"Why?" asked Dash.
Violet whispered in his ear.
"Oh!"
"I just hope Mr. Black will be okay with it."
"Of course he'll be okay with it! Come on, a super hero needs medical attention as much as anyone else, right?"
"Yeah, but I've spent an awful lot of time away from my desk, and you know how bosses are when you take lots of time of work for no reason."
"So tell him the reason," Kim suggested.
Violet was stunned silent. "You mean you want me to tell my boss that I'm a superhero?"
"Well, if you're going to be taking off work a lot, costing him thousands of dollars a year, he at least deserves to know why, don't you think?"
"But what if he turns out to be a hero hater? If I tell him my secret, then he'll fire me!"
"If he does, you can collect unemployment insurance."
"What if he spills the beans?"
"Tell him you'll find a new job if he does. That will keep his mouth shut!"
"Violet," said Ashley, "you can't expect to keep you secret identity a secret from everyone. You have to be able to trust some people. I think Mr. Black needs to know the truth about his Director of Personnel."
"And besides," said Dash, "if he turns out to be untrustworthy, we can always erase his memory."
Violet sighed. "All right, I'll tell him, but if it goes awry, it will be on your heads, clear?"
"Fair enough," they echoed.
"Okay, so what do we do now?"
"I'm going to take José and Violet into the backyard for a few invisible enemy drills," said Dash, "and you two can do whatever you want."
"Do you mind if we watch?" Ashley asked.
"No, I guess not."
(A/N: Sorry, but I have to stop here. I think I'm getting another case of writer's block. You know, we can put a man on the moon, but we can't develop a cure for writer's block. Go figure. Anyway, the next few chapters are probably going to be boring filler, but stay tuned anyway, because I promise much action later! Until next time…)