"I still don't know how you talked me into this, Mom." Violet said in a mildly grumbly tone as fidgeted in the wooden chair on which she sat.
Helen chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I already told you, Vi: I wanted to experience this thing with at least one other person in the family, and Dash & your dad had plans today." The brunette super flashed her daughter a reassuring smile. "Besides, this'll be good for you! From what I've read, hypnosis is a good way to relax and really put you at ease with yourself. That sounds nice, doesn't it?"
"I'm plenty "at ease" with myself as it is, thank you very much." The 14-year-old replied dryly, leaning back in her seat and folding one leg over the other as she eyed her mother rather questionably. "Also, you seem a little too keen on going through with this; especially considering the whole 'Screenslaver' incident only happened, what? A month ago? Maybe two, if you wanna be generous?"
At that, the Parr matriarch had to give a quiet, contemplative hum. While having her mind temporarily hijacked by someone she thought was her friend to help with some convoluted plot to destroy the reputation of supers everywhere & commit some pretty terrible acts in the process (including attempting to harm her beloved family), Helen had admittedly walked away from that particular incident with a genuine curiosity about the art of hypnotism and how it generally worked. Such a curiosity led her to do a little research in her downtime, and this in turn morphed her desire to know more about general hypnosis into a desire to actually experience it for herself.
That is, experience it for herself without the fear of being enslaved by a supervillain as part of some nefarious scheme. She had already dealt with quite enough of that with Evelyn Deavor, and even a couple of the villains she fought back during the heyday of supers.
'Heh.' The flexible heroine thought to herself. 'Boy, was I ever happy when Mezmerella got sentenced to life in the slammer. If I had a dime for every time that slimebag brainwashed me to either make me her minion or just plain embarrass me….'
Firmly shaking her head (earning her a bit of a look from her daughter), Helen managed to push those negative memories of days long past into the back of her mind, and instead chose to focus on the recollection of how she managed to get herself & Violet into this situation in the first place. She recalled how excited she'd been when she first saw the poster for a stage hypnosis show being held at the local community center whilst taking an evening walk with her husband, and how dismissive Violet had been when she was initially asked to be her mother's plus-one to the event; the young super having admitted that she'd much rather spend her Saturday afternoon hanging out with her boyfriend than taking part in, quote, "some cheesy magic act". But, over twenty minutes of negotiating and a hefty allowance raise later, here they were: mother and daughter sitting side by side in identical wooden chairs on a large wooden stage within one of the rooms of the Metroville Community Center, staring out to a crowd of at least thirty or so people and making small-talk with each other as they waited for the hypnotist to arrive & start the show.
"Okay, you kinda got me there." Helen finally said after taking longer than she would've liked to think up an answer to her eldest child's query. "My time fighting the Screenslaver may have influenced my thinking a little (okay, maybe a lot), but don't worry, honey; the last thing I want is to land us in any sort of trouble. I did a little reading on the lady who'll be hypnotizing us, and from what I've read, she's really good at what she does. In fact, in the five years she's been doing her job, she's apparently only had one major incident during a show."
Violet raised a brow. "Oh yeah? What happened?"
"Last year, these two college girls she'd picked as volunteers actually stripped to their underwear on stage and got into a fistfight with someone in the audience, and the show had to end early just to keep things from escalating. The story goes that when the girls went into their trances, they fell under a little too deeply and wound up taking one of their suggestions too seriously; which, of course, led to all that trouble."
"Uh-huh. So, what you're saying is that this is perfectly safe for us to participate in….but there's still the chance that this hypnotist lady is gonna make us do something crazy, something super embarrassing, or something super crazy and super embarrassing?"
Again, Helen couldn't help but let out a chuckle; keeping her voice low as she spoke to her daughter in a calm yet playful tone. "Violet, sweetie, relax. I'm sure there are measures in place by now to keep something like that from happening, and it's not like we're gonna be told to use our powers at any point. Just try to loosen up & enjoy yourself; nothing's gonna go wrong!"
As much as she wanted to protest that she'd just jinxed everything by uttering those last four words, Violet decided to just humor her mother for the time being and gave a half-hearted thumbs-up before turning her gaze back to the crowd; glancing down momentarily to check on her outfit. Because this wasn't any sort of formal event and wouldn't be viewed by anyone important (or anyone they knew, for that matter), the Parr women had decided that there was no real need to dress up, and were simply attending the show in their casual streetwear. In addition to her signature pink headband, Violet was clad in one of her favorite ensembles (a striped pale blue sweater, jeans, and pink Converse sneakers), while Helen was wearing a plain white long-sleeved sweater, black yoga pants with a pink stripe going around the waistband, and a pair of black ankle boots.
At that moment, the lights all dimmed (save for the row of spotlights pointed directly at the stage) and a chipper fanfare blared from the speakers on either side of the room. Knowing exactly what this meant, Helen broke out into an excited grin as she whispered to her daughter in a hushed yet clearly feverish tone.
"Ooh, it's starting! You ready for this, Vi?"
Violet only replied with a quasi-forced smile of her own, but that was about all she could muster. Despite her little chat with her mom moments prior, the dark-haired teen still had her reservations.
Just then, a red-haired woman who looked to be about the same age as Helen (if two or three years younger) stepped out from behind the stage's bright red curtains and took a dramatic bow as the audience broke out into a fairly generous round of applause; a pretty cheesy grin plastered on her face. Apart from the silver pocket watch sticking out of her pocket and the ruby red lipstick coating her lips, the woman was wearing the attire that one would commonly associate with a person in her line of work: a white undershirt, a black coat with long coattails & purple accents, a matching black peplum skirt, light grey tights, black high heels, white gloves, and a silky black top hat with a single purple feather sticking out of the band atop her head. Once the audience's clapping had finally died down, the young woman finally began to speak.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of Metroville!" She said, her voice bombastic and full of energy, but also sweet and inviting. "As many of you know, my name is Elenore the Enchanted: Stage Hypnotist Extraordinaire. And today, I'd like to give a big thank you to the two brave souls who have so courageously volunteered to fall under my spell for your entertainment here today! Let's give 'em a hand now, shall we?"
The audience soon began clapping & cheering again as Elenore boldly gestured to where Helen and Violet were seated; with the former giving a smile & a polite wave, while the latter folded her arms over her chest and glanced at the boisterous show-woman to her right with an unamused expression. Again did the adulation settle down after a minute or so, and when it did, Elenore turned her full attention to her pair of volunteers.
"Alrighty then!" The redhead began. "Now, from what I understand, you two are mother and daughter. Care to tell me your names?"
"Helen Parr."
"Violet Parr."
"Aww, what lovely names! So, Helen and Violet, the audience and I are just dying to know: have either of you ever been hypnotized before?"
"A few times, yes; especially when I was younger." Helen replied, trying to be as vague with that statement as possible. "But, let's just say that pretty much all of those experiences have been….unpleasant, to put it mildly…."
"Really? Well, that's a shame; I'm very sorry to hear that. But, rest assured, that's not going to be the case with my show. I'd bet my rabbit's life on it!" Elenore giggled, then zeroed in on Violet. "What about you, my dear? Have you ever had the pleasure of being on the business end of a pocket watch in the past?"
In spite of her best efforts not too, Violet let out an exasperated sigh. "No, and I doubt that's gonna change anytime soon. I'll be honest? I don't really believe in all this "stage hypnosis" junk. I'm only here 'cause my mom promised to give me a raise in my allowance if I came with her."
Helen gave her daughter a light nudge for that comment, but Elenore and a handful of audience members just laughed.
"Haha! Ah, so we have a skeptic in our midst, eh? No matter; I just know you'll be changing your tune by the time I'm through here." Before Violet could reply to such an ominous statement, Elenore reached into her pocket and whipped out her watch; gripping it by the chain as she continued to speak. "Now, before we begin, I need the both of you to sit nice & straight in your seats with your hands in your laps and your feet flat on the floor. If you have any loose items on you, I suggest you take them off and place them under your chairs so that they don't fall off & get broken. Oh, and if it'll help you get more comfortable, you're also allowed to take your shoes off if you'd like."
The two Parrs swiftly complied with the request without a word of objection. Violet felt fairly comfortable with what she had on, though she did adjust her headband just in case it slipped off at any point (not that she expected this to actually work on her, but better safe than sorry). Helen, meanwhile, chose to take off her ankle boots and place them under her chair until the show was over; leaving her barefoot as she got herself into the position that Elenore had described. Once Violet had reluctantly done the same, Elenore walked in front of her volunteers and stood between their respective seats; dangling her pocket watch before their eyes as she took a moment to clear her throat.
"Okay, ladies." She said with a smirk. "Are you two ready to fall under the hypnotic spell of Elenore the Enchanted: Stage Hypnotist Extraordinaire?"
Helen nodded eagerly. "Ready as I'll ever be, Elenore!"
"I guess." Violet shrugged. "But, Mom? Don't say I didn't tell you so when you're the only one who ends up falling asleep or whatever."
"Hehe. Duly noted, sweetheart."
With a quiet chuckle of her own, Elenore began to gently swing her watch back & forth on its chain; placing her free hand on her hip as she watched Helen & Violet's gaze become drawn to it. An amused smirk crossing her face, it didn't take the 30-something-year-old redhead long to begin the first stages of her induction.
"Listen very carefully, Helen & Violet." Elenore said in a gentle, soothing voice. "Right now, all I need you both to do is keep your eyes locked on my watch, and follow it with your eyes as it swings back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth…."
"Hmm. Sounds simple enough." Helen mused, her brown eyes already following the motions of the watch per Elenore's instructions as her smile shrunk to a smaller, more approachable one.
'This is ridiculous. I shouldn't be wasting my time with this.' Violet thought to herself. As much as she wanted to roll her eyes again, her blueish-purple peepers had regrettably fixed themselves entirely on the swaying, ticking pendulum before her just like her mother's had; leaving her unable to subtly display her annoyance. 'I'll give her this, though: at least she's making us stare at something that's actually kinda pretty….'
"That's it, my dears. Just keep focusing on the watch, and only on the watch." Elenore continued, her watch never ceasing its motions. "Let the rest of the world just fade around you except for the watch, and tune out all other sounds apart from my voice. The watch is just so pretty & shiny, and my voice is so calming & gentle; it's rather difficult to resist either of them, isn't it?"
"I…I guess so…." Violet conceded, the tenseness on her face melting away into a more neutral expression. "I hate to admit it, but this….this is kinda relaxing…."
Elenore winked at the younger Parr. "I'm glad you feel that way, Miss Violet, because that's a completely normal part of the process. As you and your mom continue following the watch, I want you both to allow yourselves to become very relaxed. With every pass of this pretty little trinket, you can just feel your minds & bodies become totally and completely relaxed; as if someone's wrapping you up in a warm, fuzzy blanket. Now, I want you two to start taking some deep breaths as well, and every time you exhale, just let whatever stress & tension you have built up inside you exit your bodies; sending you ten times deeper into relaxation."
Again, the mother-daughter duo did as the freckled illusionist instructed; inhaling deeply through their noses and exhaling out of their mouths repeatedly until they got themselves into an even rhythm. Sure enough, with every breath out they took, both Helen and Violet found themselves entering a state of relaxation & bliss the likes of which they had never experienced before in their lives; with the former allowing her arms to slip off her lap and fall uselessly to her sides while the latter began shuffling her feet a little. Elenore took notice of this, and almost immediately became curious.
"Something the matter, Violet?" She asked.
"I-I'm fine…." The blue-clad super replied, finding it rather hard to form the words on account of her brain becoming cloudy from the relaxation. "It's just….c-can I take my shoes off, please. They're a l-little uncomfortable…."
"Oh, of course! Do whatever you need to in order to get yourself comfortable, dear. Just don't take your eyes off the watch, and once you have your shoes off, allow your limbs to become limp & floppy like a ragdoll's as this warm, intense feeling of relaxation spreads throughout every single part of your body. That goes for you as well, Helen. At this point, you should both feel so relaxed that your minds are growing blanker & foggier with every word I speak, and the mere thought of moving your bodies is such a chore…."
Her eyes never once leaving the swaying watch's motions, Violet nodded her head before removing her sneakers; leaving her in bare feet as well as she gently kicked her footwear under her chair for the time being. As her daughter's own arms fell to her sides with all the limpness of a pair of cooked spaghetti noodles, Helen let out a calmed sigh and leaned back in her seat. Elenore was right: there was a heavy, foggy feeling settling into her brain that seemed to be wiping out her thoughts minute by minute. Though, were her eyelids supposed to be getting as heavy as they were by now?...
Before she knew it, Helen was letting out a rather loud yawn while Violet's eyes began to droop as well, prompting Elenore to speak up again as a subtle smirk crossed her face once more.
"Well, well. Feeling like you could go for a nap right about now, eh Parrs?" The redhead asked. Rhetorically, of course. "Well, don't you worry, 'cause that's what's coming up in just a bit. But first, I'd just like you two to focus on how sleepy you're feeling at the moment. How all of that relaxation you're currently feeling is morphic into a heavy sense of drowsiness that's sapping all of your energy away; leaving you unable to do anything else but listen to my words and focus on the watch for just a teeny bit longer. How your eyelids feel as though they're made of concrete, how your bodies are practically numb with bliss, and how you'd love nothing more right now than for me to give you permission to shut your eyes & drift away to dreamland for even the briefest of moments. Does that sound about right?"
Helen and Violet gingerly nodded their heads in affirmation, their proverbial batteries too drained to give any sort of reply beyond that. Indeed, to the crowd of amused onlookers, the two females of the Parr family were quite the sight by this point; both of them slumped lazily in their seats, with Violet allowing for a thin stream of drool to drip out of the corner of her mouth while Helen's elasticity subconsciously kicked in a tad and caused her arms to extend lower to the ground than she would've preferred. Thankfully, though, nobody seemed to notice this last detail; not even Elenore, who simply carried on with the final stage of her induction.
"You're feeling very sleepy, ladies. So amazingly, incredibly sleepy." She said slowly, trying to work at a pace that her subjects' drowsy minds could pick up on. "With every swing of the watch, staying awake becomes harder & harder, and the thought of simply dozing off for a spell becomes all the more appealing. But luckily for you, I'm going to help you with that. In a moment, I'm going to count backwards from five, and when I hit zero, you're both going to fall into a deep, hypnotic sleep for me; ready and willing to obey whatever commands or suggestions I give you. If you understand, just say 'yes'."
"Y-yes…." The woozy duo droned out as best they could.
"Perfect! Now, here comes the countdown. Five….feeling very calm & ready for what's to come. Four….eyelids ready to drop at any second. Three….you just can't resist your drowsiness anymore. Two….we're almost done here; you're doing so well. One….just a couple seconds more. And, zero! Sleep!"
With a loud snap of Elenore's fingers, it was all over. An exhausted groan escaping both their mouths, Helen & Violet's eyes snapped shut and their heads slumped down to their chests as they finally fell into a slumbering state of hypnosis; minds completely blank and ready for any sort of input. Pleased with her accomplishment, Elenore carefully stuck her watch back into the pocket of her coat before stepping over to Helen's left and looking back towards the audience; the broad smile of a performer back on her face as she grandly gestured her arm towards her sleeping volunteers.
"Ladies and gentlemen: the power of hypnosis!" The audience soon took to giving a third round of applause that Elenore rightly responded to with a grateful bow. Once everything was quiet again, the redheaded woman redirected her attention back to her subjects. "Helen and Violet Parr, you are now completely under my hypnotic sway. Can you hear me?"
Still lacking the amount of energy needed for speaking at the moment, the mother and daughter again nodded their heads to affirm Elenore's question; their motions perfectly synced with one another's.
"Good." The hypnotist said with a content smile. "So, be honest: how does it feel to be hypnotized?"
"Wonderful, Miss Elenore." Helen replied, her voice emotionless and almost at a mumble in terms of volume. "I can only count on one hand the number of times I've felt this relaxed…."
"Hehe. And I'm sure all of those times happened before you had kids." Elenore quipped, earning a few chuckles from the crowd. "And what about our little skeptic, hmm? Care to tell us how you're feeling, Violet?"
"I feel really good, Miss Elenore," Violet explained with the same sort of inflection as her mother. "And also a little stupid at the same time."
Again did a handful of audience members chuckle at this statement, though Elenore simply raised a brow. "Stupid? Why do you feel stupid?"
"I didn't believe you could actually hypnotize me and my mom, but you did. You put us to sleep in front of dozens of people, and I feel dumb for doubting you…."
Her smile returning, Elenore playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh, Violet; I've had countless volunteers that had the exact same mindset you did when you first got here, and each & every one of them has been proven wrong in the very same way I've done with you. However, that in no way means that you're stupid for being skeptical of my abilities; as I think everyone is at least a little suspicious when trying new things. And hey; not only will you be walking away from this show a little bit more enlightened, but you'll also get to have so much fun with me and your mom while you're in this state! Doesn't that sound nice?"
It was a little hard to tell because of her slumped posture, but Elenore was sure that Violet was smiling on account of her words; however slightly. "Yes, Miss Elenore, that sounds like so much fun. Thank you…."
"No need to thank me, my dear, it was my pleasure. Now, enough beating around the bush; let's get this show on the road!" The hypnotist cleared her throat before proceeding with the first suggestion. "Helen, Violet? When I snap my fingers, you are both going to wake up believing that you are each a different animal. Helen, you'll be a dog, and Violet will be a cat. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Miss Elenore…." The duo replied in unison.
Nodding in recognition, Elenore gave another snap of her fingers; causing the hypnotized Parrs' eyes to snap open as they sank out of their seats and onto the floor on all fours, with Helen's arms retracting back to their normal length as they did. Not a few seconds after this, they both lifted their heads up; giving the audience a good view of the dopey grin Helen was currently wearing (along with the fact that her tongue was hanging out as she audibly panted), as well as Violet's comparatively calmer, eased smile.
"RUFF! RUFF!" Helen yapped excitedly, wiggling her rear-end as if she were wagging an imaginary tail. The canine-minded woman then crawled over to her daughter and gave her a few licks on the cheek; sparking an amused chorus of laughter from the audience.
"Mmmrrrooowww." Violet mewed in annoyance. Before she could be assaulted with anymore doggy kisses, the brainwashed teen crawled some distance away from her mother (subconsciously making sure to remain in the crowd's line of sight) and licked the back of her right hand a few times before bringing it up to the side of her head to "groom" herself….only for Helen to come up and begin to energetically pace in a circle around the younger super; clearly wanting to do more than just laze about.
"Ruff, ruff, ruff! Ruff, ruff!"
"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Elenore cooed as the audience continued to laugh. "No need to be grumpy, kitty. Helen just wants to play with you a little."
Violet, however, was apparently not in the mood to have a playmate; even in a hypnotized state, the dark-haired girl seemed to prefer being on her own. Once Helen had trotted back in front of her face, the younger super donned an irritated look befitting of an actual irate feline and held out one hand as if she were barring a set of claws, hissing loudly.
"HIIIIIISSSSSS!"
"Grrr…." Helen growled in defense, scowling herself as she bared her teeth and took a single stride back. All she wanted to do was play around with her daughter, and she had the gall to threaten her? Dog-brained or not, there was no way in Hell she was going to stand for that!
In no time, the housepet-minded Parrs were crawling around & circling each other like a pair of street animals preparing for a duel; with Violet hissing defensively and occasionally batting her imaginary claws at her mother while Helen replied with growls and quick chomping motions directed at her daughter. This only got more laughs from the audience, but Elenore (having seen a scenario like this at least once before) suddenly became incredibly anxious, and soon set about amending it.
"Gah, nope! None of that!" She blurted out before snapping her fingers. "Violet, calm down! Helen, wake up; you're a human again!"
The crowd's guffaws soon died down as the Parrs stopped in their tracks (and just in time, too; from the looks of things, Violet was about to pounce) as their faces went blank. After taking another second or so to blink off any lingering dazedness, Helen got back up on her feet and looked all around the stage in utter confusion. Violet, meanwhile, remained down on her hands & knees; now back in a docile, cat-like state of mind as she carefully made her way over to her mom.
"What in the-?" Helen glanced over at the empty pair of seats she & her daughter once occupied, then down at her daughter herself (who was now rubbing her head affectionately against her leg), and then finally at Elenore; who was trying her best to look innocent. "I thought-? Weren't we just-? Did….did you already hypnotize us?"
"Maaaaybe?" Unable to keep up the charade for any longer, Elenore just laughed. "Yeah, you got me. The induction was a success; I just woke you up for a bit to, uh…ahem. Prevent a little dispute between you and your kid, as it were."
"Well, whatever you did to us, you must've done a pretty damn good job. I can barely remember a thing!" The Parr matriarch replied, absent-mindedly bending down to scratch her daughter's head for a bit before straightening up. "Though, what's this about an 'incident' between me and Vi that you had to break up?"
"Meow….meow…." Violet uttered at the sound of her name before sitting back on her knees in a manner befitting of a four-legged creature and nuzzling her parent's leg with the top of her head, earning a few endearing coos from the crowd.
"Oh, it's nothing you have to worry about. I'll fill you in once the show's over." Elenore fibbed with a dismissive wave of her hand. "In the meantime, though, do you mind if I try something out on you?"
"Um, I suppose. What exactly did you-?"
"Helen, you are now a chatty little parrot!" Elenore wound up cutting her older volunteer off with her eager declaration, followed by a finger snap.
The minute she heard Elenore snap her fingers, Helen's face went blank again, and this time it stayed like that; save for her eyes crossing in a rather brainless fashion. She then crotched down a smidge and tucked her arms close to her sides as if they were wings before craning her neck in all directions; almost as if she had no idea where she was. And given her current state of mind, she may as well not.
"Squawk! Pretty bird, pretty bird, pretty bird!" The 38-year-old heroine cawed, flapping her imaginary wings a bit. Seconds later, though, she was jogging around the room at an humorously quick pace; arms still flapping and an endless barrage of noises coming out of her throat that she'd never dream of saying if she weren't under mind-control. "Pretty bird! Helen's a pretty bird! Pretty bird wants a cracker!..."
"Yes, yes; I'm sure you do." Was all Elenore said in response as she crossed the room to stand next to the still-sitting Violet. "Your mom really is something, y'know that? Definitely someone who's taken part in shows like these before."
Violet looked up at the hypnotist and tilted her head, confused. "...Meow?"
"Hehe. Yeah, I guess you're right. Guess it's time for us to move on to the next suggestion."
"Move on, move on! Time to move on! Squawk!" Helen came to a stop in front of Elenore, though hilariously enough, she continued to jog on the spot. "It's time to move on! Time to give the pretty bird a cracker!"
"No, Helen, it's time for you and Violet to…." Elenore paused, then snapped her fingers in the bird-brained brunette's face. "...Sleep!"
In an instant, Helen & Violet's eyes blinked back shut as they returned to a programmable slumber; their faces once again devoid of emotion as their heads dipped down. Glancing back at the audience only for a moment to give them a wink, Elenore knelt down to Violet's level and softly whispered something into her ear before standing back up to do the same with Helen. As she did this, the audience murmured amongst each other as to what the performer might be doing; it was no secret to the public that Elenore had a tendency to do these sorts of things at her shows (especially when she had more than one volunteer to mess with), so what these mystery suggestions could be was entirely up in the air.
Once she was finished hushedly programming Helen, Elenore snapped her fingers yet again to wake the Parr women up; a visible smirk now etched on her face as a result of her mischief. Helen ended up being the first to fully awaken, and as soon as her senses had fully rebooted, the mother of three bent down to help her bemused daughter up off the floor.
"Whoa." The 14-year-old super muttered, looking between her mother and the hypnotist before finally settling her gaze on the former. "So….we were actually just hypnotized there, right?"
"Yes, we most certainly were." Helen replied with a good-natured snicker. "Still think this is all just made-up nonsense, Little Miss Skeptic?"
"After I almost tried to claw your eyes out 'cause I saw you as some annoying puppy? Heck no I don't!" Violet laughed, then rubbed her arm and flashed her mother a sheepish grin. "So sorry about that, by the way. You probably already know this, but I'd never try to actually hurt you like that. The hypnosis just made me-"
"-Go a little crazy for a bit?" With a warm smile, Helen placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder and patted it assuringly. "There's no need to apologize, honey; I completely understand. And if it makes you feel any better, I knew you weren't actually going to hurt me."
"Did you really, or are you just saying that to make me feel better?"
"Oh, I mean it. From what I've read about hypnosis, your subconscious would've held you back just enough to keep you from hurting me, but not too much so that you wouldn't go through with the suggestion all together. So, yeah; even though you and I were stuck with the brains of animals at the time, I knew we'd both be okay."
Violet snuck a glance back at Elenore for a second, who merely responded with an affirmative head nod. Upon seeing this, the dark-haired heroine looked back up at her mother with a sincerely assured smile; in turn sparking a soft chuckle from Helen as she removed her hand from her eldest child's shoulder and turned to face Elenore; folding her arms over her chest.
"Okay, now that that's been settled, would you care to explain just what you've done to us this time?"
"Mrs. Parr, I thought you'd never ask." Elenore replied, hands on her hips with one brow arched in a teasing manner. "If you must know, I've given you both your own specific post-hypnotic trigger that will provoke a different reaction from each of you the minute I utter what I like to call the 'trigger code'. Y'know, the phrase that triggers the effects of the suggestion?"
Helen smirked. "Yeah, we kinda figured that already. But, could you maybe give us a hint as to what our 'trigger codes' are? I mean, there's probably some unspoken rule among you performers about this sort of thing, but-"
"Oh no, there's no rule about it whatsoever. I'd be more than happy to give you a clue or two, and since you seem so adamant on cracking this little case, I think I'm going to start with your trigger. In other words, Helen my dear….it's your time to shine…."
Practically the second those words fully left the hypnotist's mouth, Helen's face lost any semblance of emotion as she turned herself around to face the crowd and took a single bold step forward; her arms flat at her sides and her legs stiffly placed together with hardly a gap between them. She then began to gently sway from side to side, subtly employing her elasticity in order to make her legs (particularly her ankles) more flexible; in turn making her look even more like a human pendulum. Oh, and the cherry on this ever-growing sundae of hypnotic weirdness? When the hypnotized super opened her mouth to speak after several seconds of silence….
"Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock…"
"Uhh, Mom? Are you okay?"
Rightly perplexed by her mother's current behavior, Violet carefully walked over to the older heroine (oblivious to Elenore's attempts at hiding her giggles behind her) and waved a hand in front of her face a few times. Nothing happened. She then tried snapping her fingers at least five times in a row. Again, no reaction; Helen simply fixated on swaying like the watch the two of them had been focusing on just moments prior whilst repeating the same mantra over and over again in a slow, blank, almost calculated manner.
"Okay, seriously; what the heck even is this?" Violet questioned, now starting to get a little annoyed by the lack of any concrete answer. "Is this some kind of prank? Did you and Elenore make up some weird inside joke with each other while I was doing cat stuff earlier?"
"Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock…" Was all Helen replied with. Out in the audience (a majority of whom had already figured out what Elenore had done), several amused chuckles & murmurs could be heard; some of which Violet could hear, which only fueled her irritation.
"That doesn't answer anything. Seriously, that's starting to get a little - waaaait…." The second the penny finally dropped, Violet slowly turned to face the now giggling Elenore with a look of sheepish realization. "Wait, lemme guess: the trigger made her think she's a clock, right?"
"Haha! Give the girl a prize!" Elenore grinned and nodded her head. "No offense, dearie, but I was starting to think you'd never catch on. You seem a little more diligent than that."
"Meh, what can I say? I guess my brain's still a little worn-out from the induction. I tend to suck at stuff like this when I'm tired." Glancing back at the clockwork-brained woman that was her mother, Violet pulled back her left sleeve to inspect the red leather wristwatch she kept hidden underneath. Upon seeing the time and double-checking the pattern of Helen's tick-tocks, she let out an impressed whistle. "Dang, and in perfect sync with my watch too. You're good, lady…."
Elenore shrugged. "Well, what can I say? It's the little things that really make these shows come alive. Now, getting back to business…." Walking up to the hypnotized matriarch, the freckled performer cleared her throat before speaking coolly to her older volunteer. "Helen, dearie? Your time is up…."
Falling silent as soon as those four words had been spoken, Helen ceased her swaying and shook her head as her human mind returned to her in the blink of an eye. Staring out to the still-sniggering crowd for about a minute, the elder Parr turned to Violet & Elenore and raised a genuinely confused brow.
"Okay, so clearly I must've done something during the time I thought I'd fallen asleep that everyone found hilarious. Would one of you care to fill me in on what it was?"
"Elenore's suggestion turned you into a human clock. You were synced up with my watch and everything." Violet explained plainly with a good-natured smirk. "I didn't really get it at first, but now that I've figured it out, I have no shame in admitting that I found it kind of hilarious."
Despite her annoyance that she couldn't remember such an event, Helen found that her daughter's amusement was infectious, and soon found herself sharing a quick laugh with both her and Elenore; who apparently felt the exact same way.
"Hahaha! O-okay, yeah, that does sound kinda funny; especially with how many times your father's bored me and himself to death about his old boss' dumb "a company is like an enormous clock" analogy or whatever it was." The brunette woman admitted as the trio (as well as the audience) recomposed themselves. "But don't let yourself get too cocky, Vi. Assuming nothing else happened while I was tick-tocking away, you still haven't figured out what your trigger makes you do."
"Couldn't've put it better myself, Helen!" Elenore agreed, glancing over to the unfazed younger female Parr. "Now then, Violet, before I drop your mind back into a trance, I gotta ask: how would you describe yourself? Are you an outgoing, extroverted type of person, or are a quiet type who more or less keeps to herself? Either answer works fine; I'm just a little curious."
Violet mulled this over for a moment, then made a 'so-so' gesture with her hand. "Eh, a bit of both, I guess. I have friends & a boyfriend and all, but most of the time, I don't mind being by myself. Now, I used to be a big-time wallflower, but over the last four or so months…."
Both mother and daughter exchanged knowing smiles before the latter resumed speaking.
"...I like to think I've really come into my own, y'know?"
"Aww, what a lovely sentiment! Definitely something lil' 14-year-old Elenore could relate to herself. But going back to you, I'm actually kind of glad you're a quiet gal, because….IT'S TIME TO BLOOM, LITTLE FLOWER!"
Now, in this particular case, it wasn't the hypnotist's surprisingly loud declaration of the proverbial "magic words" that caused the dark-haired teen to snap back into a trance. Rather, it was the sound of soft, classical piano music coming in through the speakers lining the walls of the room that did the trick; much to the collective surprise of both Helen and a good chunk of the audience.
Her eyes going wide as a sweet, blank smile crept its way onto her lips, Violet turned her back to her mother & Elenore and briskly walked to the center of the stage. Taking a bow for the audience, the hypnotized super soon began to engage in a beautiful, downright near-professional ballet routine set to the tune of the piece that was presently filling the room around her. Although she'd never taken a ballet lesson in her life, Violet's choreography was surprisingly elegant; as she was able to pull off several smooth, graceful twirls & leaps that would make a handful of the dance students at her school mildly jealous, and even managed to do a four second pirouette without breaking a sweat. Needless to say, not only did the crowd find this display to be anything less than awe-inspiring (as evidenced by the many 'ooo's and 'aah's being directed at Violet whilst she danced), but Helen was also quite impressed by her first-born's unexpected skills.
"Wow. I mean, just….wow." She said, far too awestruck to give much in terms of a verbal reaction. "I had no idea Violet could pull something like this off! Did you have anything to do with this?"
Elenore just laughed. "To an extent, yes; but all I really did was pick out the music before the show started (one of the perks of you calling me yesterday to ask if you could volunteer, you understand) and put the actual suggestion in her head. Remember what you were telling her a minute ago about the effects the subconscious can have on a hypnotized mind?"
"Ooh, I see. So, she's more or less just copying something she saw on, say, TV or the like?"
"Bingo! Gotta say, Helen, you're almost as knowledgeable on hypnotism as I am." Elenore let out a dry chuckle. "Maybe you should consider going into this line of work someday; you'd certainly give me a run for my money."
Helen had to smirk at that. "I appreciate the compliment, Elenore, but I don't really think I'm cut out for this sort of thing. Besides, I've got a pretty super job as it is. Eh-hehe…."
Although she wanted to inquire as to what this mysterious occupation was (or why Helen had put a tad extra emphasis on the word 'super'), Elenore decided to save her questions until the end of the show and promptly went back to focusing on Violet; the hypnotized teen's little recital apparently starting to wind down at this point, judging by her slower & more simplistic moves. Sharing a nod of silent agreement with the girl's mother, Elenore stepped up just a tiny bit closer to the youngest of her pair of volunteers and cleared her throat before bellowing out the phrase she'd selected to turn Violet back to normal.
"IT'S WINTERTIME, LITTLE FLOWER!"
"'Wintertime'?" Helen raised a brow.
"The kid shares her name with a flower? Flowers wilt in the winter? Not my cleverest, I'll admit, but I'm still pretty proud of it…."
At that moment, the music came to a somewhat abrupt stop, and Violet blinked a few times as she awoke from her entranced state; ceasing her dancing with one final little twirl as the still very much wowed audience began clapping & cheering for her. Someone in the front row even tossed a single rose at her feet, which she accepted with a put-off smile as she waved to the audience before turning on her heel and walking back over to her mother & Elenore; allowing her smile to drop into a confused frown the minute she stopped next to them.
"Umm….does anyone wanna tell me what the heck just happened?" The 14-year-old asked, setting the rose down on her nearby chair as the audience's clapping died down. "Only asking 'cause the last thing I remember happening before blacking out was music playing over the speakers. Mozart, I think it was?"
"Hehe. I'll fill you in on the way home, honey." Helen replied with a laugh. "For now, though, I'll say this: you should really consider joining that dance club at school…."
"Okaaaay, but what does-?"
"Ladies, sleep!" Elenore cut in, snapping her fingers. Without so much as a peep, the Parr women's minds returned to a soothing state of blankness as they once again fell asleep while standing up. Once that was done, the redheaded hypnotist continued. "Excellent. Now, before we carry on, I need to ask you a question: how much do either of you know at hand-to-hand combat?"
"A lot, Miss Elenore." Helen & Violet replied synchronously. "We take self-defense classes together every Tuesday night…."
"Ooh, perfect! That'll come in extra handy for what I have in mind!" Elenore smiled and cleared her throat before elaborating. "When I snap my fingers this time, you are both going to wake up as your normal selves, albeit under the delusion that not long ago, you signed up to fight each other in a martial arts competition that's taking place tomorrow. You are each extremely driven to win the trophy for yourselves, and the weeks (no, months) of training you've endured has culminated in this: a friendly little sparring match between one another to really hone your skills for the actual competition, with the winner being whoever can pin the other to the floor for at least five seconds."
"Martial arts competition….friendly little sparring match…." The Parrs mumbled sleepily, the fantasy and artificial competitiveness already settling within their minds.
"I implore you, though," Elenore continued. "While you are allowed to use whatever skills you picked up in those self-defense classes you've been to, I don't want either of you seeking to actually hurt each other. This should go without saying, but if your subconscious tells you to hold back when you start getting too aggressive, listen to it and dial it back. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Miss Elenore…."
Sighing in relief over how this rather intense suggestion seemed as though it was going to go smoothly, Elenore gave another finger snap to wake up her volunteers and let the fun begin. And judging by the fact that the duo's faces twisted into cocky, confident grins practically the second their conscious minds were restored, the entire audience could tell that they were in for a real treat.
Taking a few steps away from each other (aided by Elenore helping Helen to move their chairs & shoes farther back near the curtain for the time being in order to free up some space), the mother & daughter turned to face each other and swiftly adopted defensive stances; their legs spread apart at a precise angle with their hands raised up & balled into fists. All the while, their determined grins never once faltered; as far as they were concerned, they were in this to win, and everyone around them (especially Elenore) could tell.
"You ready to go down hard, old-timer?" Violet called to her mother in a taunting yet clearly teasing tone.
"Hah!" Helen barked out in response. "Oh please, Vi; you may have used your allowance to pay for that personal trainer, but I had your father help me brush up on my skills. If anyone's going down today (and in the fight tomorrow, might I add), it's you."
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that. Think fast!"
Jogging up to the older woman, Violet attempted to knock her mother down with a roundhouse kick to the face, but Helen managed to counter this by grabbing her daughter's ankle just as her foot got within an inch of her cheek. She smirked.
"Heh. You never were the greatest at surprised attacks, were you sweetie?"
Giving a smirk of her own, Violet summoned all of her strength and leapt up into the air a couple feet, freeing her leg from Helen's grasp as she attempted to nail her with a flip kick that the brunette woman was just barely able to dodge. The audience let out several impressed murmurs as the brainwashed teen landed perfectly back on her feet; getting herself into a pose that practically dared her equally-brainwashed opponent to come at her.
"You were saying, mother dear?"
"Oh-ho-ho. It is ON, missy!"
From there, the two hypnotized supers engaged in a series of rapid-fire punches, kicks, and blocks that left the audience awed once again, and even managed to garner an impressed grin from Elenore; who didn't expect these seemingly easy-going people to be such pros when it came to fighting. For every move that Violet tried to land on any part of Helen's body, the 38-year-old matriarch managed to block it with some sort of genius maneuver; at one point even succeeding in knocking the younger girl off her feet via a surprise sweep kick. Although, they did stop at least once when it looked as though Violet got hit a little too hard in the stomach, but she only wound up needing less than a minute to recuperate before the sparring resumed.
Yes, it seemed that everything was going swimmingly for a time…but then, it happened.
By now, the mother & daughter were quite a distance apart from each other, but the fight was still going strong and Helen would be damned if she were to admit defeat at the hands of her own child; no matter how skilled said child was. To that end, the brown-eyed adult (under the hypnosis-induced delusion that she & her opponent were alone) ended up summoning her powers and stretched her arm all the way to where Violet was standing; intending on disorienting her with a light punch. Needless to say, the entire audience gasped in alarm upon seeing this, and rightly gasped a second time shortly after when Violet summoned a force-field around herself to block her mother's attack; expanding it at the last minute so that the older heroine's fist went recoiling back to punch her instead.
From there, the Parrs seemed to decide to just let the proverbial gloves come off, and wound up unintentionally giving the already heavily shocked crowd a showcase of their respective powers as they continued to square off; with Helen using her elasticity for both offense and defense measures, while Violet protected herself with the greatest amount of force-fields she'd ever conjured that specific month. She did contemplate using her invisibility at one point, but figured it'd be pointless without her super suit to hide her entire physique. This blatant (and admittedly petty; hypnotized or not) usage of the pair's superhuman abilities went on for at least two minutes more before finally…
"Sleep, sleep, SLEEP! Both of you, stop and go back to sleep!"
Snapping her fingers repeatedly with all the ferocity of a madwoman, Elenore quickly dashed over to her superpowered volunteers as they once again dozed off where they stood; their smiles reducing themselves to a calmer state and their fists unballing as they did. After sending Violet back to her seat for a little while (making sure to put her rose on her lap once the entranced teenager had plopped herself into her chair), the panicked hypnotist marched up to Helen and spoke to her in a hushed yet frantic tone; covering the sides of their faces with her top hat so as to prevent anyone in the crowd (who were already talking amongst each other over what they just saw) from reading their lips.
"Okay, I just….I-I….you….Helen, c-could you please explain what the flipping hell I just saw out there just now?!" She spluttered. "D-did you really stretch your body around like some kind of human rubber band? How did your daughter make those weird energy shield thingies? What are you people, and should I notify the government?!"
"No, Miss Elenore. The government already knows about us." Helen replied, her hypnotic state allowing her to keep her cool even whilst outing herself to a civilian. "The thing is: both myself and my daughter are supers, and since we thought we were alone, we figured it'd be okay to use our powers against each other while sparring…."
Elenore swore she felt her jaw hit the ground upon hearing that, with tiny beads of sweat running down her face as she took a moment to process what she'd just been told by someone she assumed as just another, ordinary human woman. "Wait, supers? As in, superheroes?! S-so, all that stretching and extending your limbs was because-?"
"My hero name is Elastigirl, Miss Elenore. I'm sure you've heard a lot about me over the past few months." Helen continued. "And Violet's hero name is Invisigirl; aside from creating force fields, she can turn herself completely invisible…."
"I'm sorry, she can what? Well, i-if she can do that, then why didn't-?!"
"None of her clothes can turn invisible with her except her super suit, and unless this was an event for other supers apart from us, she can't exactly wear that to a public function for regular civilians like this…."
Elenore blinked; knowing that while what Helen was saying was 100% correct (and was admittedly giving her ideas for a future show that was sure to draw a large crowd), it still didn't change the fact that she had unintentionally caused two supers, people who were famous for keeping their civilian alter-egos separate from the personas they created for hero work, to reveal themselves to a fairly large group of people. About a million questions were running through her head at the moment as to what this could mean for both her and her volunteers, but these could be sorted out later. Right now, two things were for certain: no one in the crowd could remember what they saw here today, and Helen & Violet couldn't remember what they'd done there today. As such, the distressed redhead managed to steel her nerves long enough to make her next move.
"...R-right. Yes, of course; a v-very valid point! T-thank you so much for clearing things up for me, Elasti-err, Helen. Now, j-just return to your chair for now, and I'll tend to you & Violet in just a minute. Okay?"
Helen sluggishly nodded and briskly made her way back to her seat. Putting her hat back on her head, Elenore turned to face the still-chattering crowd and clapped her hands to get their attention. Once the room had fallen silent and all eyes were back on her, the freckled woman took a deep breath before pulling her pocket watch back out and holding it up by the chain for everyone to see.
"Folks, I know you're still quite antsy about what just happened with out volunteers (believe me, so am I), but after talking it over with Mrs. Parr, I've managed to figure out the problem!"
"What is it then?" Someone called, their voice making it clear that they were desperate for answers.
"I'll tell you in just a minute," Elenore replied. "But first….could all of you direct your attention to my watch for a moment, please?..."
Fifteen minutes later…..
"...Three, two, one! Everyone, wake up!"
Stuffing her watch back into her pocket in one swift motion, Elenore raised her hand over her head and loudly snapped her fingers; watching with bated breath as every single member of the audience stirred from their impromptu hypnotic slumber as their regular selves….albeit with absolutely no memory of the fact that the mother & daughter currently sleeping up on the stage were in fact superheroes with genuine powers and the like. As far as they were concerned, Elenore had just gotten done explaining to them that what they saw was simply a very complex illusion she implemented to make this particular suggestion, quote, "more exciting" and that the Parrs were in on the whole thing.
'Oh God, I hope that holds up.' The redhead thought to herself worriedly, doing her best to hide the anxious look she so desperately wanted to adopt. 'The last time I had to do something like this, those kids at that birthday party barely believed that I turned them into ducks by accident. Why little Suzy Fitzgerald had to go make things difficult for me & run out of her backyard to chase a field mouse, I'll never know. Last time I make a ten-year-old think she's a cat, that's for sure….'
Shaking her head to rid herself of the migraine-inducing memories of one of her first failed hypnosis shows back when she was a simple party entertainer, Elenore let out a small sigh before plastering on her signature performer's smiles (this one admittedly a little more forced than the others) and addressed the crowd; clasping her hands together as she spoke in the most upbeat voice she could manage given the bizarre circumstances.
"Alrighty then! So, how does everyone feel now? Did what I say help clear some things up for you, or do I need to break it all down again?"
Although a handful of people were a little confused as to why it felt like they zoned out whilst Elenore was "recapping" what they'd just witnessed, the audience all gave various affirmative replies and confessions that what they'd been fed was acceptable; all of which the hypnotist accepted with a firm head nod.
"Great! Fantastic; now, we can get back to the gals of the hour!" She then turned back to Helen & Violet; the latter of whom was still snoozing in her seat, while the former was sitting crossed-legged in her chair as if she were meditating. "Okay, Parrs, I want you to listen very carefully to what I have to say. In a moment, I'm going to count from five to zero again, and when I hit zero, you're both going to completely awaken from your hypnotic states with absolutely no memory of what happened while you were hypnotized. You'll remember specific little fragments of the first two suggestions (things like Helen acting like a parrot, Violet's surprise recital, etcetera), but the full scope of your actions will be completely lost on you."
"Yes, Miss Elenore….We will forget everything that happened to us…." The superpowered parent & child mumbled in unison, their memories already starting to fade.
"That's right." Elenore continued. "But, you know what? None of that is going to matter to either of you in the slightest! Why? Because although you won't remember anything upon waking up, you will remember the overall experience of being under hypnosis as an incredibly fun and relaxing one that you'd totally want to do again. In fact, I'm actually doing another show in Metroville next weekend (this one being an outdoor performance at the park), and I trust you two will wanna volunteer again?"
'Hopefully without using your powers this time?...' She restricted this last part to her mind.
Helen and Violet both smiled. "We'd be delighted to take part again, Miss Elenore. You truly are the greatest stage hypnotist in the world…."
"Why thank you, dearies! I'm so glad I was able to make some new fans out of you. Now, let's not stall this thing any longer; time to send you two on your way!" The freckled woman paused to clear her throat yet again. She really needed to see her doctor about that when she got back to her hometown. "Five….you've both been wonderful volunteers. The best I've had in a while, in fact. Four….the memories of being under my spell are getting blurrier & blurrier. Three….the fog of hypnosis is starting to lift. Two….eyelids are starting to crack open. One….nearly there now. And, zero! Rise and shine, my sleeping beauties!"
With one last finger snap (the loudest she'd done all day, some had to admit), Elenore eyed her volunteers just long enough to see them undergo the first stages of waking up from their hypnotic slumbers before twisting back to face the audience and giving a stiff bow; not even bothering to soak up the praise & adulation they gave her shortly afterwards via a heavy round of applause as she immediately took to marching off the stage. At the end of a regular show of hers, she'd talk to her volunteers a bit & question them about how they felt upon coming out of hypnosis before delivering some closing comments and a sincere 'thank you' towards the audience. But with this show? All the hypnotist was feeling at this point was nothing but exhaustion & burnout, and if one were to listen carefully as she departed from sight, you could faintly hear her mumble something about getting hammered and how this city better have at least one decent bar within driving distance of the venue….
While that was going on, Violet had just gotten done stretching her arms over her head and was presently in the middle of rubbing her eyes in order to rid herself of any lingering sleepiness. Once she was done with that, it didn't take her long to notice that Elenore was nowhere to be found and that most of the crowd was starting to depart; prompting her to look over at her mother in confusion as the house lights came back on.
"Hey, where did that Elenore lady go? And how come everyone's leaving?" She asked, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the audience. "I thought this show was supposed to last for an hour."
Uncrossing her legs, Helen hid a yawn behind her hand before replying. "That's what it said on the flyer I found. Maybe she just ran out of suggestions for us and decided to call it a day early?"
"I don't entirely buy that, but it's not like we can ask her since she flew the coop while we were waking up." The dark-haired teen shrugged, then gave a small smile. "I'm not really complaining, though; I still had a fun time. Thanks for inviting me to come with you, Mom."
"It was my pleasure, sweetie." Helen returned the smile as she reached under her chair to grab her ankle boots. At this point, she was a little tired of being barefoot. "And hey, I remember Elenore saying something about her doing a show in the park next weekend. Wanna be a part of that one too?"
"Sure, that actually sounds like fun!" Violet replied, setting the rose on her lap down as she reached for her own footwear. "I just hope this one will have more volunteers besides just me and you. Or that we'll actually get to keep our memories of the show next time…."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. The only thing I seem to recall clearly is crawling around while barking my head off and….I think I acted like a clock or something at one point? But, that's about where my memories stop."
"Same here. All I remember is thinking I was a cat and twirling around like a ballerina while everyone watched me." The younger Parr tapped her chin in contemplation. "Hmm. Hey, do you think something bad happened during the show, and Elenore purposefully made us forget everything so that she wouldn't get in trouble? Or, heck, maybe so we wouldn't get in trouble?"
Helen chuckled. "Vi, don't be so paranoid. The worst thing that could've happened to us was if Elenore had us confess to everyone that we're supers, but she doesn't even know that we have powers. Whatever happened during the show, I'm sure it couldn't've been that bad…."
