AN: Well, despite the fact that Chapter 6 is totally not done, I decided to type this up anyway. I think I just need to rewrite the whole chapter. So. Enjoy Chapter 5 of Ultraviolet. More reviews would be nice. Seriously, people. Even if it's just a "great job." I'm getting a little tired of people faving this story and leaving no reason as to why it's one of their favorites. I wouldn't be so annoyed if I didn't have fifty some faves and alerts and only ten comments. :/
Okay, minilogue over, I still don't own The Incredibles, but Cara is mine and Charlie... was in The Incredibles but wasn't given any personification so I'm not sure who he belongs to.
Sorry about how long this took... Fight scene inspiration brought to you by Human, written by TheSilverWarrior. Go read it. NOW.
"So he's your nemesis."
Violet chewed her cereal in complete silence. Helen just stared, while Bob continued to try to get information out of his daughter.
"Why didn't you tell us this before?"
"I was going to eventually. I tried to when I helped last week, but no one paid any attention to me."
"We're sorry, Vi. We're just afraid for you. Rick's very confident in you and your abilities, but..."
"What?" Violet asked, her face turning serious.
"We're worried is all," Helen replied. "You have a tendency to get involved with missions very personally, and it could be a handicap here."
"Are you trying to tell me not to go?"
"No, we're just... Please be careful, Vi," her mother pleaded. "You seemed the most affected when we thought he died the first time. He may have just been watching the whole time, he might just be... using you."
Violet was about to protest when she realized that Helen had a point. "I'll be careful not to let him get to me, I promise."
"Okay."
"Do you want me to drive you down to the NSA?" Bob offered.
"Sure."
"I'll be in the Incredibile when you're ready." The aging hero kissed his wife on the cheek and left for the garage.
"Violet... please, be careful. Your dad was one of the most powerful heroes at the time and he barely survived. Syndrome's probably upgraded by now, and... we can't lose you."
The heroine hugged her mother. "I'll be okay, Mom, I promise. After all, I'm a superhero, what could happen?"
Helen was about to tell her daughter that the phrase had only brought bad things to the family, but by the time she opened her mouth, Violet was already at the garage door.
"Bye, Mom."
With that, Violet disappeared into the garage.
"Are you planning on sticking around and hearing what I've got to do?" Violet asked as she hopped into the Incredibile.
"Yeah. Afterword I'll check out some reports on what I can do. There are still Golden Age villains popping up."
"No kidding." The Incredibile's engine rumbled.
"It's been a long time since I- woah!" Violet clung to the door as the vehicle took off.
"Load your suit into the slot below the glove compartment," Bob instructed. "I'm sure Rick would prefer it if we were in 'costume.'"
As Violet placed her suit into the slot and both father and daughter's seats leaned back, Bob continued to speak.
"I'm so glad I got this old thing back. Even though it comes with all the less than pleasant memories..." He glanced at the seat Violet was in.
The seats shot back up as both Parrs became fully suited up. Within a minute, the Incredibile was parked in front of the NSA.
"How you feeling, Vi?" Mr. Incredible whispered as they walked toward the building.
"Pretty good, actually." Ultraviolet smiled at her father.
Mr. Incredible smiled back and pushed open the door as he muttered the family catchphrase.
"Showtime."
The door swung open with relative ease, revealing Rick Dicker to the pair.
Rick smiled down at Violet. "You look great, Vi."
"Thanks."
The trio walked down the hall with no interference, leading them to Rick's office at the end. Rick opened the door, allowing both Incredibles in before shutting the door behind himself.
"So... why you're here." Rick cleared his throat, seeming to prepare himself mentally for the speech he was about to deliver.
"As Violet already knows, numerous amounts of Supers have gone missing. Each one was called on a mission to a remote island, none of them came back. It's been revealed from some of our reports that the same thing has been happening to villains, as well. Some of the most famous have been the disappearances of Sonicwave of Minneapolis, her nemesis Draconia, Psyche and Enigma from New York City, Gemini from Municiberg- nemesis unknown, and of course Syndrome."
"Well, I don't think he'd take villains. He doesn't seem the type, he had stuff against heroes, not fellow villains. Besides, he helped write the code, and I've been looking over it... there's actually stuff against even kidnapping a nemesis that belongs to someone else. Why would he bother putting that in there if he was planning to violate it anyway?"
Bob stared at his daughter. "Why were you reading the villain code?"
"Well, I had to have something to do. I was bored out of my mind and I figured I'd get familiar with their rules so I can use them to my advantage. It won't work against villains that don't follow the code, but maybe I can gain the upper hand over Syndrome that way."
Mr. Incredible looked surprised that any ward of his would even consider reading something partially written by Syndrome, but said nothing.
"So, do go on, Rick. About the missing Supers?"
"Right." The head of the local NSA office blinked, then went on. "We're pretty sure there's a connection between the disappearances and Syndrome. After all, they are going to his former island."
"They started going missing before he did."
"How do you know he wasn't taking them before he left?"
"He was too busy fighting me."
"This could all have been a setup for you."
"What?"
"Syndrome has an obsession with your entire family. He went through an entire genocide plot just to get to your dad... what makes you think he wouldn't kidnap more Supers to get to you?"
Violet pondered this for a moment. "Point."
"Whenever we try and send surveillance technology to the island, it short-circuits once it passes the beachline and leaves us with nothing," Rick continued. "We're assuming that nothing works except things that Syndrome's designed."
"So I'm going in without technology?" Violet asked, aghast.
"Well, you almost have to be flown there, but we have some purely mechanical things, no electricity required. Those should retain their function and get you the rest of the way to the island. You'll also have a few changes of clothes, all of which will be able to turn invisible."
"And you think that's sufficient?"
"I think you can handle it. You've faced him before, you know his weaknesses. You're an Incredible." The old man smiled as Bob stood up, still silent.
When they were both finally out of earshot, she muttered two words under her breath before following suit.
"Not anymore."
After receiving her equipment, Violet boarded the jet and placed her bag on the seat next to her. Unzipping it, she picked up a set of CDs with a taped-on label reading "Syndrome".
"Well, I guess this is the part where I listen to his overly-lengthy life story," she said with a semi-smirk, inserting the first CD into a built-in CD player. Before she fully realized what had happened, the voice of her nemesis had surrounded her.
"Ah, Violet. To open this grand tale I have to call my life, I will use an already overused cliche in greeting. So we meet again.
"This first disc is just a somewhat short synopsis of my life. Everything else is covered in more detail on the other three. Part of my story, I'm sure you already know. For the first eight years of my life, I was the most immense fan of your father anyone had ever met. That, of course, met an abrupt end. For the next fifteen years of my life, I invented only for revenge. Granted, I still had decent grades and got crammed into my share of lockers just as any nerd in high school has, but I turned out alright in the end. It was during high school that I met Cara and subsequently went separate ways from her.
"After I gained some money from inventions, I managed to boost myself into the world of business- not legal business, mind you, but money is money, no matter where it comes from. Soon, I had enough to buy an island. I kept up my operations, and began development of the Omnidroid.
"Well, you know the next part. I slaughtered a trail of Supers, bringing out the worst in me, condemning me to the part of the villain. At the time, I didn't mind. I didn't care. I was just a villain because Mr. Incredible was a hero, and I didn't want to be like him. It took me one visit from him and a lot of phone calls to my workers' families to realize that I didn't do as much mindless killing as he did. Mine was intentional, deliberate... his was because they got in his way. That thought was the one thing that kept me alive after the turbine. I had more of a regard for life in my opinion, and I was more brilliant than he was.
"So, the turbine. There are no words to describe that kind of pain. Not just the physical pain, but mental as well. My greatest hero had just tried to kill me. At that point, I was almost positive that he was going to succeed.
"Then, just when I was certain it was all over, a bloody mass lying on the ground... Cara found me. I've never been quite sure if it was a blessing or a curse since.
"She saved me not out of any obligation, no reason at all. Her only reasoning was that she wanted to save my life. She said I didn't owe her, but a few years later she went back on that agreement and has been sending me nasty messages ever since.
"But... part of me believes firmly that I deserve it. I deserved to die, and now that I haven't I deserve to pay for it. My life is in a sad state of affairs, and my dealing with your family cost me an arm and a leg. Literally.
"I accessed some of my money again, though I'll never tell you where it was in case I end up getting caught. I lived a semi-comfortable life... until I found out about you.
"You... turned my world upside down. You took everything I knew and punched it in the face. You're my nemesis for a reason, Ultraviolet, but that is for me to know and you to figure out on your own."
Violet stared at the disc which had ejected itself. It had been deceptively short, and yet had told her the basics of all she needed to know.
The eldest child of Robert Parr did not settle for the basics. Not now, not ever.
She popped in the second disc and continued to listen to the life story of her nemesis.
Violet was halfway into the third disc when the alarms beeped, signaling her proximity to Nomanisan.
The heroine jabbed the eject button roughly, packing the items back into their temporary housing before the plane crashed with little warning.
The jet did exactly the opposite of what was expected, however.
It approached the beach and Violet prepared herself for departure, but soon found herself unable to move except for her eyes.
The entire plane was encased in a familiar blue glow that nearly made her heart stop.
She'd just been captured, with little to no escape possible.
The vehicle was let down in an oddly regulated manner, setting down gently on the beach instead of crashing. Violet was frightened, scared out of her wits even. This was not how things were supposed to go.
But it was how they were going, and as she exited the plane in full Super attire, her nemesis took the opportunity to utilize his zero-point energy again. Ultraviolet's reflexes were much quicker than she'd anticipated, however, and before the beam even got to her she'd already thrown up a shield to block it as she walked toward him.
"Ultraviolet." Syndrome turned off his technology and bowed slightly, a giant smirk creeping across his face.
"Syndrome," Violet replied with a sarcastic curtsy.
"Shall we dance?"
"It would be my pleasure."
At this cue, the two started into an odd mixture of fighting and dancing. When bolts of zero-point lightning shot from his fingertips, a purple shield of light would deflect them right back at him. He would neatly sidestep, she would disappear from his sight. He'd fly, she'd hit him with another shield. Their fight flowed and moved in ways it should not have, their dance filled with cheap shots at one another. It soon became so heated that neither one could discern where the spar ended and the waltz began.
The fight ended prematurely when Violet, a forcefield surrounding her hand, hit Syndrome in the back of the head. The villain fell face-first into the ground, unconscious.
The heroine dashed back to the plane, taking the opportunity to grab her bag from the seat and return in time to see him on his hands and knees. His once-triumphant red hair had wilted, falling from its signature flame styling ever so slightly. His arms were shaking beyond belief, and Violet found it hard to believe that someone with mechanical limbs would tremble so badly.
Syndrome looked toward her, then fell back into the ground as his arms gave way. His breathing became staggered as one of his arms jolted up momentarily, then fell to his side once more.
"Are you okay?" Violet asked, concern drifting around the edges of her question.
"Not even close," the supervillain groaned. "I can't even stand, thanks to you."
"I didn't hit you that hard."
"No, I failed to capture you. Thus, I have to be punished."
"Says who? Cara?"
Syndrome nodded weakly.
"Why can't you stand up?"
"She can control machines," he replied, trying to push himself up again. This time, however, Violet helped him to his feet, which he quickly turned against her in the form of zero-point energy.
"I'm in horrific pain, but I'm not that weak. You're going to go into a cell with a few other famous chicks like yourself and go through the same routine we all have. I... I'm sorry, but I have no choice in the matter."
Violet was unsettled by this apology. He was a villain, he was supposed to be evil through and through- not apologizing for what another villain was making him do. Shouldn't he be getting some sort of sick pleasure from this? He was capturing his nemesis. Maybe he didn't get joy from it because it was for Cara, but that still didn't justify it all.
Within a few minutes, Syndrome had activated his rocket boots and flown to what was now Cara's base, releasing Violet from the zero-point energy and dropping her in front of a guard all in an uncomfortable silence. Violet stared at him oddly as he walked away, then found a new weight on her chest, however light. She looked down and discovered that she was wearing what looked like a dog tag.
"What is this?" she asked the guard.
"You'll just have to wait and see, Little Miss Disappear."
The voice seemed vaguely familiar to Violet, but the phrase struck her more than his voice did. "Who are you?"
"One of the few that survived the incredible massacre your family caused. I'm glad I was the one sent after you. You're the only one who didn't kill anyone."
"What?" Violet asked, shocked. The guard took her hands and held them behind her back, pushing her toward the door which slid open without a sound.
"Your father threw a rock at my best friend's head. He's still in a coma. I was one of the very few who survived. I think there were only three."
"Who was your best friend?"
"James McKeen."
"Kari," Violet muttered under her breath.
"His daughter, yeah. No one told anyone that he'd been hit by Mr. Incredible. They just said it was a work-related accident. Nobody really wanted a Golden Age redo."
"I didn't know you all had... families. Lives."
"What, so you thought we were all faceless bachelors looking to make a quick buck? Cancer treatment is expensive, Incredigirl, and I'm sure my daughters like not being orphans very much."
"Is your wife going to be okay?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen her in seven years. I've been with him since the beginning, but I'd taken a break for a while. About a year after I got back, the whole thing with your family went over, the NSA took the island, and those of us remaining were kept like prisoners of war. Then this chick took over. She's not paying me, but he is- enough to save her for all the trouble I've gone through. He's even gone to the trouble of working on a side project for me."
"That's uncharacteristically nice."
"Before most of this, he wasn't at all. If someone died, he'd actually laugh sometimes. He didn't care about any of us to begin with. Then... Mirage left, and he realized what would happen if he kept disregarding life that wasn't his own. He started calling families when someone died. It's hard to believe, but... it's like he grew a heart overnight. It was broken to bits, but it was something he'd never had before. Why didn't you kill me, anyway?"
"I can't stand it. I hate the idea and the outcome and everything about it."
"I'm grateful for that." Silence followed his short remark.
"Thanks for the insight. What's your name?" Violet asked as they approached what appeared to be the housing units.
"Charlie. Keep on keepin' on, Incredigirl. Maybe you can get innocent people out of this hell."
"Thanks, and it's Ultraviolet."
After Violet entered the room, Charlie turned around to face a figure in the shadows. "Was that good enough for you, boss?"
"More than, thank you." A hand emerged from the darkness, the silver glove clutching two hundred-dollar bills. "I'm glad you didn't lie about most of it, at least. Well, I think she trusts me enough, or at least has the potential to. Wonderful job, Charlie, I really do appreciate it."
"Thanks," Charlie said as he walked off.
As his subordinate left, Syndrome began to monologue under his breath.
"Cara will never see it coming. She'd never expect us to join forces, but it won't be a joining at all, will it? If I can go through with my plan... then it'll be easier than anticipated to both take down Cara and give a nice good blow to the Incredibles' ego. If not... well, we'll just have to see where it all goes. I can change my plan as I go along, Cara can't, really. This ought to be interesting... the dual execution of opposing master plans."