Bob Parr sat down at his desk. He knew he'd never truly be happy doing office work, but this job was certainly better than the last one. Larger office (although still too small for his large frame), a nicer boss, and best of all, his job was to help people. After the Syndrome incident, the government had found him a job as personnel manager for a law firm. He liked the employees he worked with, and his experience in insurance proved invaluable when the company had to find a new health plan. Dealing with lawyers, especially the younger ones, was often trying, but they usually left him alone to do what he thought best. As long as he kept expenses down, they trusted his judgment. Bob started work on an employee memo about the upcoming Halloween party, and was just finishing when his phone rang.

"Peterson, Ward, and McGiver law offices. Bob Parr speaking."

The voice of Helen Parr came over the phone. "Bob."

Bob smiled. "Hi, honey, what's up?" What happened, did I forget my lunch? Or does she want to get something from the store on the way home?

Helen's voice was high-pitched and frantic. "Bob, turn on your radio. There's been a shooting at Violet's school!"

"What!" Bob leaped up and flicked on his radio. Normally he left it off, but sometimes he turned it on in the afternoons to catch the news, half-listening while he did his work. This time, however, he gave his full attention as the radio crackled to life.

". . . several students running from the main building. Witnesses say there is one gunmen armed with at least two pistols. He's apparently shooting randomly. We don't have an ID on the gunman yet, but the police have just arrived and are surrounding the school. We don't have confirmation on any casualties, but it appears that one security guard and at least two students have been shot."

Bob felt like his heart was being squeezed in ice. He heard his wife's voice over the phone. "I'm headed over there, but I've got Jack-Jack with me. I can't go as Elastigirl."

Bob understood, and now that he had a course of action in mind, he felt his heart start to beat again. "Got it. I'm on my way."

He started to put the phone down when he heard Helen's voice again and put it back to his ear. "Be careful. I love you."

"I love you, too. I'll bring her back!"

Bob hung up the phone and went to his boss' office. He forced himself to breathe slowly as he went. It was only a short walk down the hall, and the secretary, an attractive short-haired woman in her early thirties, looked up and greeted him with a smile. "Hi, Bob. What's up?"

"Hi, Carolyn. I need to see Mr. Peterson. It's kind of important."

Carolyn reached for her phone. "I think he's going over his closing statement for court this afternoon." She pressed a button and spoke, "Mr. Peterson, Bob Parr is here to see you. OK." She put the phone down and looked at Bob. "You can go right in."

"Thanks, Carolyn." Bob pushed through the door to find Harvey Peterson, Esquire, a man in his early fifties with a receding hairline, standing at his window and making notes on a legal pad. He looked at Bob as he entered. "Bob, what can I do for you?"

"Mr. Peterson, I really need to leave the office for a while. An emergency's come up."

"Well, when will you be back?"

"I don't know."

"What's the emergency?"

"There's been a shooting at my daughter's school. I have to go there right away."

"A shooting?" Mr. Peterson was shocked for a moment. But only for a moment. "OK, go. Take care of business. We'll muddle through without you."

Bob was already half out the door. "Thank you, sir!" he called back. Bob rushed to the exit and down the stairs to the parking lot. He was very thankful that his boss was OK with him going. If he had said no, he wasn't sure what he would have done. He only knew that nothing was going to stop him from protecting his little girl.

He got into his car and put on his mask. "Showtime," he said as he started his car and drove out.

B------------------------------------------------

Mr. Incredible arrived at Western View Junior High School about fifteen minutes later. The police had cordoned off a large section of the neighborhood around the school, and patrolmen were holding the perimeter, trying to reassure all of the frantic parents. Mr. Incredible parked his car and walked to the line of policemen. They immediately parted to let him through. Police cars were everywhere, and several helicopters were buzzing overhead. He spotted the captain by the command car, in conference with another officer and looking at a blueprint of the school, and walked over. The captain looked up. "Ah, Mr. Incredible. I'm glad you're here."

Mr. Incredible shook the captain's hand. "Hey, Sully. What's the situation?"

"Well, we're pretty sure we're dealing with one gunman, a student. Witnesses have identified him as Calvin Dobbins, a 10th grader. The last we heard, he was in Room 112," he pointed at the room on the blueprint, "and the Shield had him cornered."

Mr. Incredible was startled. "The Shield?"

"Yeah, she got here soon after the shooting started. She shows up, saves a classroom of students, tells them to evacuate, and the last anyone sees, she and Dobbins are facing off. We haven't heard any shots for a while now. It may all be over." Captain Sullivan pointed to the man standing next to them. "Mr. Incredible, Lt. Jenkins. He's in charge of our SWAT team, I was just about to send him and his boys in."

Mr. Incredible shook the lieutenant's hand. "Mind if I go in with you?"

Jenkins hesitated. Sullivan saw this. "Dan, this ain't the time for a turf battle. You have the best SWAT team in the state, but Mr. Incredible is almost invulnerable, and there are kids' lives at stake. Besides," Sullivan said, slapping his hand on Mr. Incredible's massive shoulder, "he's had a lot of practice."

Mr. Incredible grinned. "Back in the day, eh, Sully?"

"Back in the day. When we had fewer pounds and more hair." Sully turned back to look at the school buildings. "And we didn't get crap like this." The captain turned back to the two men, his smile replaced by a grimly serious look. "Mr. Incredible will go in. SWAT will be right on his tail. Cover his ass." The last sentence was directed at Lieutenant Jenkins, who nodded.

Mr. Incredible spoke up, "What about explosives? Could the kid have planted any?"

"After we got the ID, we had his house searched. No bomb paraphernalia, no components. Only gun stuff."

"Only guns, huh?" Jenkins looked at Mr. Incredible. "Well, I don't know about you, but I feel a whole lot better."

"Can the sarcasm," Sully growled. "When can your team be ready?"

"Two minutes."

"All right. Go." As Lieutenant Jenkins and Mr. Incredible moved off, Captain Sullivan turned his gaze back to the school, putting a pair of binoculars to his eyes. He didn't see movement in any of the windows. If anyone was still in there, they either weren't moving, or weren't able to move. Sully put the binoculars down. "Damn," he said to himself.

B----------------------------------------------------

Lt. Jenkins and Mr. Incredible crouched behind the car closest to the school, with two members of the Metro City SWAT team behind them.. They had a clear line of sight to the entrance. Everyone was in position. Time to move.

"All teams go!", Jenkins said into his headset, and ran for the door, his gun up and his head down. All around the school, other officers were doing the same thing, going into every entrance to cut off any escape route the gunman might try. Mr. Incredible ran up the steps and reached the entry doors first, paused to allow the policemen to catch up, and flung the doors open. He headed straight for Room 112, running down the hall. Jenkins ran to keep up, his eye peeled for threats. The others were more methodical, checking every room for bad guys. Mr. Incredible got to the room and burst through the door. He charged into the room, ready for anything.

The room was full of empty desks in disarray. There were books and notes on the desks and on the floor where students had abandoned them in their escape. Mr. Incredible's throat tightened when he saw the body. It was a teenage boy, dressed in black, lying face-down on the floor in the middle of the room. He was lying in a pool of blood, and there was a semi-automatic pistol at his side. Mr. Incredible knelt down near the body. The eyes were open, and devoid of life. It was then that he first heard quiet sobbing.

Mr. Incredible got up and looked around. The crying sounded like it was coming from the back of the room. He stepped over the body, being careful not to step in the blood. "Shield? Are you all right?" Jenkins came into the room behind Mr. Incredible, his weapon at the ready. He saw the body and checked it.

Mr. Incredible ignored him. "Shield? It's OK, honey. It's over."

The Shield rematerialized at the back of the room where she had been sitting, invisible, since Calvin had shot himself. "Daddy?" Her face was wet with tears.

Bob Parr started to breathe again. "Oh, thank God." He knelt down and wrapped her in his arms. "It's OK, sweetie. I'm here. Are you hurt?"

Violet shook her head as she hugged her father tightly. "No. He didn't shoot me." She found herself looking at Calvin's body. Lt. Jenkins was kneeling over it, speaking into his headset.

"I'm in the target room. Got a male DB, looks like Dobbins. All teams, report in."

"Team one, all quiet so far."

"Team two, found a couple of students hiding under their desks. They're clean."

"Team three, all clear."

"Team four, nothing to report. Heading in your direction."

Jenkins spoke back into his headset. "OK, finish the sweep and stay frosty until we're done. Check every corner." He looked at the masked teenage girl he knew only as the Shield. "Was he alone?"

Violet tore her eyes away from Calvin's body to look at the SWAT leader. "Yes. He was all alone."

Mr. Incredible helped his daughter up. "C'mon. Let's get out of here." He turned to Jenkins. "Can you handle things from here?"

Jenkins was looking down at the body. "Looks like a job for the detectives now." He looked back up at Mr. Incredible. "Thanks. It was good working with you." He stuck his hand out.

Mr. Incredible shook it. "Such as it was. See you around." Mr. Incredible turned and left the classroom, his arm wrapped around his daughter. As he left, he saw the other members of the SWAT team converging, finishing their sweep, apparently having found no other threats. I guess that's that. Thank God. Mr. Incredible looked down at his daughter. "Where'd you leave your civvies?"

The Shield looked up at her father with a weak smile. "Girl's bathroom."

"OK. Are you sure you're all right?"

No, I'm not! "I'm fine, Dad."

B------------------------------------

Violet Parr rejoined her class. All non-injured students were outside on the lawn, organized into their homeroom classes for a head count. Violet was the last one to join them. She was relieved to see all her classmates there, and they were relieved to see her.

"Violet!" her teacher exclaimed. "Oh, thank goodness. Where were you? Are you OK?"

"I'm fine, Ms. Kingery. I hid in the closet until it was over. Mr. Incredible came and found me."

"Good." Anita Kingery raised her voice to address her charges. "All right, everyone! Your parents have been called, and they'll be here soon to pick you up. Classes are cancelled for the rest of the day. No one is to go back into the school building for any reason."

"But what about our stuff?" one boy asked.

"Until the police say different, this school is now a crime scene. They promise they'll be done as soon as they can, but until further notice, the school is closed. The police will want to talk to you all later, but don't worry, it's just routine. For now, go home. Be with your parents. That's all."

A few students stuck around to ask Ms. Kingery more questions, but Violet wasn't among them. She was very tired all of a sudden, and put her bag over her shoulder and left to find her mom. When Violet found her mother, she didn't say much, and she was very quiet on the way home.

E-------------------------------------

More chapters coming soon!