Author's Note: I switched the chronology a little bit here. According to the movie, Helen and Bob are technically married before the Superhero Relocation Act is passed, but I needed to change it around for this chapter. Thanks for reading!
Helen is watching television, eyebrows furrowed in deep concern. The late night news brings awful tidings, and she slumps deeper into her shabby sofa, absentmindedly pooling into a pile of limbs. Her eyes quickly fill with tears from what she is seeing despite her best efforts.
"…Another suit has been filed by victims of the train accident. Incredible's court losses are costing the government millions… "
It had been debated over for months. But was it the real deal this time?
"…Tremendous public pressure and the crushing financial burden of an ever mounting series of lawsuits are provoking the government to initiate a superhero relocation program..."
Could it truly be over? Everything that she had worked so hard for; that they had fought for. How could thousands of saved citizens not count against the word of a few ungrateful instigators?
"…It is time for their secret identity to become their only identity. Time for them to join us, or go away…"
How could the public so quickly disregard all that the Supers had done for them?
"...The supers will be granted amnesty from responsibility for past actions, in exchange for the promise to never again resume hero work…"
Helen feels her heart shrinking, shrinking. Everything that she is and believes in revolves around hero work. Without her duty, there is nothing.
Except…
Bob must be seeing this, too, and Helen can only imagine how he's reacting. She pulls herself up, extending one arm across the room for the phone.
Helen hesitates for a moment before she dials, thinking of the two stable elements in her life: Bob, and hero work. At least, there had been two. The latter is slipping away from her, but Helen hopes that Robert Parr will always be there for her.
She looks at her engagement ring, deciding that she knows he will be. She dials his number, preparing for the conversation.
"What?"
Not even a hello. It's bad, she thinks.
"Bob. It's me. I guess you've been watching the news?"
"Have I been...? Yeah, I have," he spits out, "And Helen, I'm freaking out."
Helen can only hope that he hasn't broken anything important.
"Bob, honey, calm down," she replies, knowing that she must sound on edge herself. "It's gonna be all right. Do you want to come over?"
There's silence for a moment, and he lets out a sigh.
"Of course. I'll see you soon."
Helen hangs up the phone with one hand, switching off the television with the other. She leans against the tiny kitchen's wall, tears finally falling as she thinks about what she can do to fix the situation.
Things won't be the same anymore, that's for sure. The future can't be anything other than horrible, but at least she and Bob will face it together. Helen knows that they can take on anything that challenges them. She grimaces at the thought of hanging up the cape, so to speak, of being forced to get a job in the private sector, of settling down...
But with the help of each other, they'll survive.
