The Spirit of Adventure stopped at the Pixfare harbor and was tethered to the dock. Seeing that the coast was clear, Katherine lowered the gangplank and walked down, followed by Evelyn.
"Well, Evelyn, this is where we should part ways. Thank you for everything. It's time for me to catch my father's bird."
As Katherine turned to leave, Evelyn teleported from behind her and then reappeared in front of her.
"You might want to rethink this."
"We had a deal. Get out of my way."
"Believe it or not, I'm doing you a favor."
"By preventing my father's vengeance?"
"Ask yourself how I'm doing that."
"By using your technology."
"Exactly. Magic and superheroes are here, and that makes matters a bit more complicated. If you go off half-cocked after Rivera, do you know what'll happen?" Katherine looked away, a troubled look on her face. "So you do. Good."
A nearby fisherman spotted the two on the pier and approached them. "Hey. Do you ladies need anything? Tackle shop doesn't open until morning, but if you want to go out and try and snare some of New England's finest pescetarian creatures, I'd be happy to open early for ya."
"No, thank you. We're fine." Katherine refused.
"It's a fine vessel you got there. When'd you get in?"
"What vessel?"
"Why, that one right..." Evelyn pressed a button and the dirigible turned invisible. "Hey, that's a neat trick. You some kind of magician back in our land?" Annoyed, Evelyn tased the man, knocking him out.
"What did you do with my father's blimp?" Katherine asked.
"I hid it from prying eyes. For what we both want to do, we need the element of surprise. Now you ready to listen to me?"
"Go on. What now?"
"Let's go have a little look at this Pixfare. Shall we?"
The townspeople were gathered together in the Diner for Jack and Laura Reed's welcome home party. Everyone cheered as the Parrs entered.
Michelle rushed to hug Laura Reed. "I wasn't worried a bit."
"I can tell."
"Oh, we all missed you." Felix hugged Laura Reed.
Jack presented Ellen with a food tray. "Tacos. I can't tell you the relief of cooking something that I didn't have to kill first."
"Don't I know it." Ellen commented.
Clark spoke up, holding a glass. "I just wanted to, uh, thank you all for joining us tonight. Um, Helen and I- we have a saying- that we will always find each other, and while I believe that with all my heart, I'd like you all to raise your glasses and join me when I say, here's to not having to look for a while. To Helen and Jack-Jack."
Everyone raised and clinked their glasses.
Soon, the door opened and Derek entered, holding a casserole dish. "Sorry I'm late."
Everyone turned to face him.
"What's he doing here?" Dash asked.
"I invited him." Jack replied. Laura Reed took the family aside. "We're celebrating today because of Derek." He explained. "He helped us get home. No matter what he did in the past, we owe him our thanks now."
"Didn't you think to tell us about it?" Clark asked.
"I did, but you two were... a little busy this afternoon." Jack said, eyeing his younger siblings.
"Jack-Jack, he tried to kill us yesterday." Laura Reed reminded him.
"No, he didn't. He's trying to change for Hilary. She believes in him, and right now that's enough for me. I couldn't have changed if I wasn't given a chance, so... he gets one, too."
Clark and Laura Reed looked at each other and then nodded.
Hilary sat with Derek as he sliced the lasagna he brought. "I'm glad you came." She smiled.
"Me, too." He noticed Bart and offered him a piece. "Oh, I made a lasagna."
"What's the secret ingredient? Poison?" Bart scoffed.
"Red pepper flakes. Gives it some kick."
Bart sniffed the lasagna suspiciously but took a plate.
Later in the evening, the party started winding down. People had split off into groups to talk, while Derek sat alone in one of the booths. He grabbed his coat and decided to leave. Jack saw Derek exit and followed him outside.
"Felix made a cake. You don't want to stay for a piece?"
"I'm fine. Thank you."
"Okay." Jack turned to go back inside.
"Thank you."
Jack turned again and faced Derek. "You just said that."
"For inviting me."
"Hilary wanted it." Derek looked slightly surprised. "I'm glad you guys got to spend some time together."
"Me, too. I'd like to see her more. Maybe you'd consider letting her stay over some time. I-I have her room... just waiting for her."
Unsure, Jack glanced back at the diner. "Oh. I'm-I'm not sure that's best."
"Because you know so much about parenting in the five minutes you've been with her." Derek said sarcastically. "Talk to Clark. At least he took care of her while you were away. Like I did during the ten years you were away the first time."
"Okay. Thanks for coming." Offended, Jack turned to leave, but Derek stopped him.
"No, wait. I'm sorry. I..." Derek tried to control himself. "Jack, I'm-I'm sorry. Snapping at you, I shouldn't have done that. Will you accept my apology?"
"Okay. You're right. Felix said you were trying to change, and, well, you are."
"Dr. Cutter said I was trying?"
"He said you came to see him. That you're trying not to use weapons, that you're trying to be a better person. You understand I was hesitant to invite you. I asked him and he thought it was a good idea."
"Thank you. It was. I should be going." Derek left and started to walk home. Somehow, Jack almost felt bad for him. He turned and walked back inside the diner.
From a nearby rooftop, Evelyn and Katherine used a telescope to spy on Derek as he headed down the sidewalk.
"Well, is he broken?" Katherine asked.
"Not yet."
The next morning, Felix was out walking Dug by the docks when he saw Derek and approached him. "Beautiful day, isn't it, Derek?"
"Why should I answer you, bug?"
"Because I'm making friendly conversation."
"That you'll just repeat to anyone with an ear. You told Jack about our sessions."
Felix sighed. "I was just trying to help you."
"By betraying my trust?"
"I-I mentioned only that you had come to see me as an example of your commitment to change."
"I came to you in confidence. How am I supposed to prove to people I've changed, when you're there to chirp in their ears and remind them of my past?"
"I didn't say anything specific. I would never betray the doctor-patient confidentiality."
"'Doctor'? Doctor? Need I remind you, you got your Ph.D. from a curse?"
Michelle had been jogging in the distance. She saw the two of them arguing and came over. "Hey. Is everything okay here?"
"Private conversation. Go shoot your arrows."
Michelle continued her run.
"I can be trusted. I assure you." Felix promised.
"You're lucky I've changed." Derek turned and walked away.
As Michelle closed up the diner for the night, she saw Derek enter Felix's office across the street. Inside, Felix was at his desk when he heard a knock at the door. He got up to answer it and saw it was Derek.
"I know it's late, but I was hoping we can talk."
"Sure. Come on in." When Felix let Derek in, Dug started barking and growling. "Hush, Dug. You know Derek." Felix went over to his filing cabinet to retrieve Derek's file. "I know how hard it is. Real change can often be a struggle."
"I couldn't agree more."
Felix turned around to see Derek right in front of him. "Derek, is there something..."
Derek zapped Felix with his zero-point energy and lifted him into the air. Dug got up and started barking again, but Derek stunned him. Electricity began to flow from Derek's hand and into Felix's body.
Later, Derek exited the building and headed home. When he reached an alleyway and was out of sight, Derek transformed back into Evelyn, who smiled sinisterly.
The next morning, Jack, Hilary, and his siblings were having breakfast at the Diner.
"So, what was it like over there?" Hilary asked.
"Well, let's see. There were robots, hypnotized superheroes, people trying to kill me, and dinosaurs." Jack explained.
"Cool." Hilary and Dash both said at once, smiling.
"We gotta work on your sense of cool." Jack smiled, amused, and then finished eating. "Come on, it's time for school. I'll walk you guys to the bus."
"That's okay. We can go on our own." Violet insisted, grabbing her backpack.
"I know that you can. That doesn't mean that you should." Jack remarked, getting up from the booth.
"Dad let us." Dash complained, putting his backpack on.
"Well, I'm not Dad."
"You used to let me." Hilary said.
"Well, I'm not me. I'm walking you because that's what fathers and big brothers do, and I'm doing it." Jack put his arms around the kids and they left the diner.
As they walked out the door, Dug ran up to the kids, barking.
"Hey, Dug." Hilary greeted him but he just continued to bark. "It's okay. It's okay."
"Where's Felix?" Jack wondered, looking around and noticing the dog's owner wasn't there.
Michelle came rushing out from the Diner and over to Dug. "Jack, something's wrong."
"How do you know? Never mind." Jack turned to the kids. "You know what? You guys are old enough to walk to the bus stop. I'll pick you up later."
"Okay." Hilary said as they left.
Dug began running off down the street, with Michelle and Jack following him. Soon, they reached Dr. Cutter's office and found the door slightly ajar.
"Felix?" Jack knocked on the door. "Felix?" He entered the office and saw Felix lying on the floor where Evelyn left him. "Oh, no."
"What? What is it?" Michelle asked, entering with Dug.
"Felix." Jack checked for a pulse, but couldn't find one.
"No. No." Michelle looked horrified.
Jack stared at the body in disbelief. "Who would do this?"
Michelle then got an idea. "I think I know."
Derek sat in the interrogation room at the Sheriff's station. Jack and Clark entered, while Laura Reed watched through the glass.
"Glad to see the Sheriff's station's now a family business. Why am I here?" Derek asked.
"You know why you're here. Because of Felix." Jack replied.
"Oh, it's now against the law to get into an argument with someone?"
"It is if you go to their office later that night and kill them." Clark answered, leaning against the wall.
Derek looked at them, shocked. "Felix's dead?"
"Stop it, Derek. Michelle saw you going into his office last night."
"Then she's lying. I was home all night." Derek turned to Jack, who sat on a corner of the table. "After everything I've done to change, to win Hilary back, why would I throw it all away now? And, if I did and I was going to kill Felix, you would never know it. The fact that he's dead and you caught me shows sloppiness."
"You've been caught before." Clark mentioned. "Come on, Jack-Jack. Who do you think is lying? Michelle or him? He's incapable of change, no matter how many times we've given him the chance. Why should this time be any different?"
Jack and Clark joined Laura Reed outside of the interrogation room.
"So what do we do with him now?" She asked, still looking at Derek.
"Lock him up." Clark answered.
"We can't lock him up, because he didn't do it." Jack refused. His parents both gave him a surprised look.
"You really believe him?"
"I watched him when we told him Felix was dead. He didn't know."
"Jack-Jack, I know that you want to believe that Derek can change for Hilary, but..." Laura Reed started.
"I know what I saw. Look at him in there." Jack gestured to the window. "The old Derek would've reduced this building to ashes. That's a man who wants to change. He just wants everyone else to see it. I know that look. I know him. I believe him."
"You don't know him like we do." Clark mentioned. Laura Reed shook her head in agreement.
"Maybe that's the problem. I know in your world, he was Syndrome. But here, he's Derek. And I'm still the Sheriff, and I say he's innocent until proven guilty."
"So… uh, what do you suggest we do?" Laura Reed asked.
"Let him go." Jack decided.
"Jack-Jack..." Clark started to say.
"We let him go, and then we find the truth."
After deciding that he was right, Clark nodded in agreement.
Later, the Parrs searched for evidence in Felix's office.
Clark looked through the filing cabinet. He found one folder and opened it. "Huh. Derek's file, it's empty."
"So he did it." Laura Reed concluded. "He killed the kindest soul in this town. A man who only cared about helping."
"I promise we'll find whoever really did this." Jack vowed.
"Isn't it time you admit we already have?" Clark suggested. "Derek had a fight with Felix, Michelle saw him outside last night, and now his file is empty. That's a lot of evidence."
Jack suddenly had a thought. "Maybe that's the point."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I don't know how it is in your world, but in the real world, it's usually hard to find evidence. But this has been way too easy. Unless someone wants us to find evidence."
"What? So you think he was framed?" Laura Reed asked, sitting beside Jack on the couch.
"Well, it wouldn't be the first time that happened in this town."
"Who would want to frame him?" Clark wondered.
"That's a long list. Present company included." Laura Reed remarked.
Jack nodded. "Yeah, but there's only one name on that list that would resort to killing to get what they want."
Jack, Laura Reed, and Clark entered Ms. Wood's shop.
"Ah... Nothing warms the heart more than a family reunited. You have your mother's chin, Jack."
"We know that you killed him." Jack cut to the chase.
"And your father's tact." Ms. Wood added. "Someone's dead?"
"Dr. Cutter."
"Why on earth would you think I had anything to do with that?"
"Because all the evidence points to Derek."
"And he's not possibly capable of doing something so vile?"
"It's a frame job."
"It wouldn't be the first time you used someone to try to hurt him." Laura Reed mentioned.
Ms. Wood smiled. "Nice to see your memory's still intact, dearie. But this time, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to disappoint you. It wasn't me."
"Why should we believe you?" Clark looked skeptical.
"Because I can prove it. Ask the witness."
"No one was there." Jack said.
"Well, that's not strictly true, now is it?" Clark found Dug and led him into the shop. Ms. Wood kneeled to pet him. "Hey, boy. Good boy. Good boy. Good boy."
"Unless you speak dog, how is Dug gonna tell us anything?" Jack questioned.
"Through magic, of course."
"Why should we trust you? Couldn't you just as easily use magic to fool us?"
"Because I'm not gonna be the one using magic. You are."
"Me? How?"
Ms. Wood walked over to a wooden cabinet. "You have it within you. Told me so yourself." She turned to Laura Reed. "You witnessed it, didn't you?"
"Jack-Jack, you don't have to do this."
"If it tells us something about Felix's death, so be it."
Ms. Wood took out a large brown high-tech collar and showed it to Jack. "Do you know what this is?"
"A dog collar."
"Well, it's capable of translating his thoughts into speech and images." She put the collar around Dug's neck, which caused it to start glowing a bright yellow. "What is that?"
"Memories. Now, Jack. You show us how."
"How? It's just a jumble."
"Will it. Will it, and we shall all see." Ms. Wood instructed.
Jack touched the collar with both hands and focused on the jumbled swirl, but nothing happened. "I can't."
"Yes, you can."
Jack briefly closed his eyes, which caused the jumble to transform into a holographic image. In the projection, Dug's memories of 'Derek' entering Felix's office began to play.
"Jack-Jack… you're doing it." Clark said proudly.
The memory got to the part where 'Derek' electrically shocked Felix. Laura Reed, turned away, horrified.
Having seen enough, Jack let go of the collar and turned it off. "You were right all along." He admitted to his parents.
"I'm sorry, Jack-Jack." Clark said sadly.
Jack rushed out of the shop and headed down the sidewalk.
"Jack-Jack! Wait, where are you going?" Clark asked as he and Laura Reed followed him.
"To get Derek."
"Well, can we talk about this?" Laura Reed spoke up.
"What's there to talk about? He killed Felix. Now, he's gotta pay."
"And how do you plan on doing that? He has his weapons back here."
"Yeah, well, in case you've forgotten, we each have our powers."
Clark made Jack stop walking and turned him around to face them. "Yeah, we have something, but we haven't used them in years, and now you're gonna go take on the most powerful man in town?"
"Excuse me, aren't you both the ones who've been pushing on the 'it's Derek' kick the whole time? You should be happy you were right."
"We may be right, but I also know that going after him without a plan is a mistake." Laura Reed argued.
"So what do we do?"
"Even if the monsters construct a cell to hold him, we need a way to contain his weapons until then." Clark brought up.
"Magic." Laura Reed suggested. "Ian said he's gone back to using it."
"Will that stop his power?" Jack asked.
Clark nodded. "It has before. Problem is, he'll see us coming."
"Leave that to me. Trust me, we're locking him up."
Jack knocked on Derek's front door, while Clark and Laura Reed stood behind him.
Derek answered the door. "Jack. I assume you're here to apologize."
"I saw you do it."
"What?"
"I saw it. You shocked the life out of Felix."
"What are you talking about? How is that even possible?"
"Magic." Jack and Clark both said at once.
"You..."
"I saw what happened, and it was you."
Derek was confused but then figured it out. "Wood. She helped you. You're going to trust her, of all people, when she's probably the one behind this?"
"We didn't trust her. That's why Jack-Jack used magic instead." Laura Reed clarified.
"You can use magic. The Savior. Of course. Well, I can only assume she warned you, then."
"About what?"
"That magic always has its price."
"Yeah? Well, that's a price we're both going to pay."
"How's that?"
"Hilary. She believed in you. Her heart's going to break. That's both our prices."
"No. I will not let you poison Hilary against me." Derek shook his head, angrily.
"It's an interesting word choice. Since you already did."
Jack and his parents started to leave and Derek followed them down the walkway.
"I want to see her. She deserves to hear my side of the story! She's my daughter!"
Jack stopped and turned around, furious. "She's not! She's mine! And after this, you're not getting anywhere near her! Do it!"
Ian appeared behind a tree and fired a blast of magic at Derek. However, he saw it coming in time and stopped it with his zero-point energy.
"Did you really think that would work again?" Derek tossed the magic orb on the ground near Clark and Laura Reed. He turned to face Jack. "You. You will not keep my daughter from me!" Derek hit Jack with his zero-point energy and flung him backward down the walkway. "So much for magic." Laura Reed ran over and helped Jack up. "Maybe some of your powers can save you now." He said, getting in Jack's face.
"I don't need them. I already won. There's no way Hilary will swallow your lies about Felix now. You can pretend all you want, but we know how you are, and who you will always be.
Knowing he had been defeated, Derek flew away using his rocket boots.
The Parrs were waiting near the bus stop on the main street.
"Their bus is going to be here any minute." Jack said, noticing the time.
"You can do this." Laura Reed encouraged.
"Tell my daughter that someone she loved was killed by someone else she cares about? I don't know if I can." Jack shook his head, nervously. "Okay, I don't think I can do any of this. This is like real parent stuff. How can I be a parent if I never was one?"
"I know. I've been asking myself the same question." Clark agreed.
"Oh, no. You guys don't have to... It...It's different."
"No, it isn't. And yes, we have to. We can figure it out. So can you." Laura Reed assured Jack.
"You don't know me. You don't know what I was before Pixfare. And trust me, I wasn't parenting material."
"Yeah, but we know who you are since you've been here." Clark reminded him.
"What if I revert? Derek did."
"You're not going to. And the Jack-Jack I know was great with Hilary."
"I was her parent for five minutes."
"And I was yours for five minutes, too. But things are different now, for all of us. We don't have to go through any of it alone. We're family."
They saw that the bus had pulled up and watched as the kids got off. Jack took another glance at his parents before walking over to meet Hilary, Dash, and Violet.
"Jack? We told you we could walk ourselves." Hilary said.
"I know. Something happened, and... I want you to hear it from me first."
"What is it?"
"Come here." Jack led Hilary to a bench where the two of them sat down to talk.
From a distance, Derek sat in his car and watched the scene unfold in the side mirror. He start getting emotional as he saw Jack break the news to Hilary. Hilary, looking upset, hugged Jack.
At the docks, Katherine was sharpening her weapons when Evelyn arrived. "You're back. So, did you get what you wanted?"
"Yes. My son's lost everything now."
"Ah. Well, aren't you Mom of the Year?" Katherine said sarcastically.
"I did what was needed."
"What about what I need? You promised you'd help me get my revenge on Rivera."
"And I've already started. Or didn't you notice the little gift I left you in the hold of your blimp?"
"A gift? What is it?"
"Not 'what.' 'Who'." Evelyn gestured for Katherine to follow her. They entered the invisible blimp and went down to the bottom level. Evelyn opened up a grate, allowing Katherine to look inside.
"Who's that?"
"Someone privy to Pixfare's deepest secrets, including Rivera's. Someone who can help us determine her weaknesses here." Felix was bound and gagged in the hold. "Can't you, Dr. Cutter?"
"If that's him, then who did you kill?" Katherine asked, confused.
Evelyn shrugged. "How should I know? It's my first day in town."
"You disguised the body to look like him. As if death wasn't punishment enough. Marvelous work."
"Thank you." Evelyn smiled. "Now you'll have all the knowledge you'll need. It may take some work, but this ant will chirp."
"That he will." Katherine agreed.
/Thanks to my co-writer varzate732 for helping with the dog collar scene