Dateline: Wednesday, July 8, 1981, 9:03 AM, Pacific Daylight Time

Today was the day Violet was due to go under the knife, to fix the little problem with her powers. All she had to do was find a way to get away from her desk. As Python, she had escaped from numerous super villains' deathtraps without so much as a blemish. But getting off work at 10:00, now that takes some doing. Theoretically, all she had to do was tell Mr. Black what was going on. Theoretically, it should have been easy. But in the real world, "theoretically" only goes so far. Violet's co-worker Zachary Smith seemed to sense that something was bothering her as she passed by his cubicle.

"Hey Vi," he said, "I sense that something is bothering you."

"It's nothing," she said. It was a knee-jerk response for her, trying to maintain her secret identity and such.

"Maybe if you tell me what's bugging you, I can help. What have you got to lose?"

Violet probably could have thought of a very good reason to keep her mouth shut if she thought about it long enough. But, she didn't, so she spilled her guts. She told him she was due for an operation, and at what time. She didn't mention the nature of the operation, or who would be performing it. Then she said she was afraid to ask the big cheese for the morning off because of all the time she had taken off of work recently.

Smitty took a minute to digest this information, then said, "Is there any particular reason why you've been away from your desk during business hours?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to tell me what that reason is?"

"No."

"Is this reason completely and utterly trivial?"

"No."

"Then you should tell Mr. Black the truth. I'm sure if you have a good reason for taking off of work, he'll understand."

Violet sighed. "That's what my roommates all say."

"Listen to them. They sound smart."

"You wouldn't know, Smitty. You don't have to live with them!"

Smitty chuckled. "How true!"

"Wish me luck!"

"Good luck, Violet. Hmm, I have the strangest feeling we've done this before."

Violet opened Mr. Black's office door and barely stuck her head in. Even though she could choke the man to death without him even knowing it, he still gave her a sense of inferiority ever time she saw him. At that moment, Violet thought about how much easier this would be if someone had drugged his coffee like last time.

"What do you want, Parr?"

Damn, no such luck.

"C-can I talk to you, sir?"

"Well, what do you call what you're doing right now? Breathing fancy?"

Violet stepped into the room and sat down. It was now or never. "Sir, I was wondering if it would be okay if I took off of work at ten today?"

"Why? Do you have plans?"

"I'm due for surgery," she said.

"Oh, my!" said Mr. Black in what seemed like mock surprise. "I had no idea you were terminally ill! In that case, by all means…"

"I'm not going to die, sir," Violet interrupted.

"Then why don't you wait until this weekend?"

"It really can't wait, sir."

"Why not?"

Violet couldn't decide what to say next. Should she lie? Should she come right out and say who she really was? Perhaps she should tell him something to keep him from probing further; like that the information would come at a steep price. She didn't know for sure, and it didn't help that Mr. Black was staring at her, waiting for a response.

"You know," he said, "you've spent a lot of time away from your desk lately. I pay you way too much money for you to goof off, Parr."

"You're right, sir, you're absolutely right." Violet couldn't believe it. She was turning into a company yes-man.

"I should dock your pay for all the lost productivity you've caused. But I'm a compassionate guy." Don't believe him? Neither did Violet. "If you tell me what you've been doing when you're supposed to be working, I might be lenient toward you. Now, tell me the truth."

"Sir, I would love to tell you everything, but the thing is it needs to be kept secret from the general public. If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell another living soul, under penalty of death without notification of your next of kin. Understand?"

"If you're just trying to scare me into not wanting to know what's going on, you should know that it's not working."

"Okay, sir, but I warned you. The truth is I've got another job. I work for the police. It's my duty to protect the streets, and lead the fight for truth, justice, and the American way. Mr. Black, I'm a superhero."

Mr. Black scoffed. "Yeah, if I nickel for every time I've heard that one!"

"I can prove it!" She turned invisible the instant after she said "it". Mr. Black jumped onto his chair in terror. Violet reappeared.

"Jeez, Parr! Give me a heart attack, why don't you?"

"It's like this. My powers are a little weakened from a previous battle, so I need to go under the knife to bring them back to their fullest, before my next confrontation. So it's just like I said, I'm not terminally ill, but the surgery can't wait. The doctor says it shouldn't take more than three hours."

"All right, you can go, but I want you back at your desk the minute you get out of the operating room. Also, I'm taking that time from your paycheck this week."

"Fair enough. Now, remember what I said, you can't tell anyone that I'm a super, or you'll be killed."

"Relax, I've never spilled a secret in my entire life."

"Good." As Violet turned to leave, she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, before I forget, Jenkins told me not to tell you that she's stealing paper from the copier."

Mr. Black stifled a laugh. "Okay, well you tell her that I have no idea what she's doing! Get well soon!"

"I will, sir." Violet strode out of the boss's office with her head held high. She glanced at her watch. It was 9:41. It would take her twenty minutes to get to the hospital, so she had to move now. As she made her way to the elevator, she passed by her office rival, Sarah Jenkins.

"Hello, Parr."

"Oh, Jenkins, Mr. Black told me to tell you that he is completely unaware of your stealing paper from the copier!"

"Really? He's completely in the dark?"

Violet smiled inwardly. "That's what he said."

"Great! I knew I could count on you not to tell him!"

"Yeah, that's me, trusty dependable Violet Parr, who would never in a million years dream of lying to anyone, or spill anyone's secret. Yep, that's just the kind of woman I am!" Violet smiled her best innocent smile. "Um, don't you have something you need to do, Sarah?"

"Oh, right, see ya." It wasn't until Violet had made it to the elevator that Jenkins realized what had happened. "Wait a minute…" Sarah whipped around. Too late, the doors were closed! "Damn you, Parr!"

(A/N: Funny stuff, right? I may do a whole series of stuff around Violet and the workplace thing. Do you think I should, or would it be too boring for words? Oh, and this was never my intention to let Mr. Black know the truth. If you can think of a better way to resolve this, let me know, okay? Okay, see ya in the funny papers!)