Disclaimer: I do not own Static Shock or The Incredibles
Chapter Six: New Colors
Metroville High School was a bitch.
No, no. Metroville High School was a tease.
Francis rested his forehead against the cool surface of the kitchen table and folded his hands over the back of his head, suppressing the urge to groan and whine like a four year old who didn't get their way.
Metroville High School was closed yet again. Francis' sanctuary was cruelly torn from his grip. Virgil, Violet, and Francis were seated at the kitchen table, watching the news. Under school closings flashed the name of their high school.
"Cool. Another day off." Virgil grinned.
Violet wasn't as enthusiastic. "They said the school would be closed indefinitely. What are we supposed to do?"
"Die a slow painful death?" Francis muttered to the table.
Violet and Virgil ignored him.
Helen walked into the kitchen. She looked from the TV to the three teens sitting around the table. "No school again?" She sounded frustrated.
Virgil shook his head. "Nope."
"Well." Helen put her hands on her hips. "That is unacceptable."
Violet knew that look. "What are you going to do?" She asked.
Helen pursed her lips. "I don't know. But I'm going to do something." She looked at Francis. "You'd better get down to the pool."
Francis couldn't help the groan that escaped his lips. Virgil chuckled at him. Francis glared back.
"Go on." Helen flicked the dishcloth at him.
"I'm going." Francis stood and walked from the kitchen, dragging his feet in reluctance.
Nobody knew what Helen was up to until Friday. Then she dropped a bomb on the teenaged inhabitants of the Sanctum.
It happened at lunchtime. Francis was lying across two chairs, trying not to fall asleep. Virgil and Violet were arguing over who got the last pop and were jerking the can back and forth between them in a heated exchange.
Helen interrupted the fight by walking into the room and unceremoniously dropping a stack of papers onto the kitchen table. The smack of hundreds of papers meeting the table reverberated around the kitchen like a gunshot, causing Francis to jerk his head up suddenly in alarm. Violet and Virgil stopped arguing to look at Helen.
"What's all that?" Violet asked.
Helen put her hand on the stack of paper and smiled at the three teens. "These are all the forms I have filled out this past week concerning your transference to Dakota High School."
Violet and Virgil's mouths drops open. Francis raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Virgil managed to choke out.
Helen nodded. "You heard me. Who knows when Metroville is going to re-open? In the meantime your studies are being neglected and that is simply unacceptable."
"Well, yeah." Violet said slowly. "But…Dakota?"
"I thought it would be a nice change of pace." Helen explained.
"Mom..." Violet started.
Virgil jumped in. "Dakota's forty-five minutes away! It's a different city. How can we go to school there?"
"We'll pay an out-of-district tuition." Helen said, maintaining a calm demeanor. "Dakota is a very good high school." She looked around the kitchen. "And you're going, no more arguing. Be ready on Monday."
Violet huffed angrily and stalked from the kitchen, leaving Virgil with the can of pop in hand, a bewildered look on his face. After a few moment of standing there comically, Virgil left the kitchen too.
Francis thought about throwing a hissy fit, hen decided he was too tired. But this did suck, a lot. Now he'd never get to see his crew again, and they would for sure think he'd either ditched them or bit the dust. Neither was acceptable to Francis.
And Dakota?
What parent in their right mind would send their kid to Dakota for school?
Ok, yeah, the school itself might be good with dedicated teachers and all that brochure bull shit, but the city was known for its gang problems. It was even more overrun than Metroville. Not to mention there was no Super in Dakota, which meant the gangs had little fear. All they had to do was avoid the cops, which wasn't really that hard.
The more Francis thought about it, the more he realized Dakota might be a good place for him. He could try and fall in with a new crew. He'd have a clean slate. Francis smirked and let his head fall back against the chair cushion. That sounded like a very good thing.
Come Monday morning, all the kids of the Sanctum were up and ready for school, albeit grudgingly. Dash had woken up early to see his sister and Virgil off. "So, how are we getting there?" Virgil asked sleepily with a frown.
"Yeah. Are you going to drive us forty-five minutes every morning?" Violet asked snidely.
Helen, Bob, and Lucius exchanged glance. "Nope." Bob answered.
"We figured Virg could fly." Lucius explained.
Virgil's head shot up, a grin exploding across his face. "Really?"
"If…" Lucius held up his hand warningly. "…if you are extremely careful."
Virgil's grin just got wider and he nodded quickly. "Yeah. No problem."
"I mean it Virgil." Lucius said. "We're trusting you. Don't let us down."
"I won't." Virgil assured him. "I'll go grab my uniform." He dashed from the room to retrieve his Static uniform.
"As for you two." Helen looked at Francis and Violet. "Come with us."
Francis and Violet exchanged uneasy looks but followed after the adults.
They were led to a massive garage where all the family cars and various vehicles were stored. Bob walked over to something covered with a sheet, gripped the fabric, and pulled it away. Beneath the sheet was a shiny, new motorcycle with a red paint job.
Francis' eyes widened just looking at the fine piece of machinery. "Wow." He gasped appreciatively.
"You'll be taking this to school." Helen explained.
"What?" Violet and Francis asked simultaneously.
"I looked through your wallet." Bob pulled Francis' wallet from his pocket. "I noticed you had a motorcycle license." He tossed the wallet back to Francis. "You can drive this, and Violet, to school, so long as you obey these rules."
Francis rolled his eyes. "Of course there are rules."
Bob held up one finger. "You obey all traffic laws." He looked at Violet. "Feel free to tell me if he doesn't." Violet nodded. Bob held up another finger. "You drive very carefully." He pointed at Violet. "You are transporting my daughter. Hurt her and I will hurt you."
"Daddy." Violet flushed.
Bob held up a third and final finger. "You will always be on time. No tardies."
Francis nodded and held out his hand eagerly. Bob tossed him the keys with a grimace, as though he regretted it already.
Violet looked over to her mother, apprehension on her face. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Helen smoother a wisp of Violet's hair away form her face. "Don't worry sweetie. I wouldn't let this happen if I didn't think you'd be safe. Besides, I just don't have the time to drive forty-five minutes every morning. I have Jack-Jack to look after, my Super duties, not to mention all the house work." Helen noticed the distressed look hadn't left Violet's face. "Anyway, I'm sure Francis will take good care of you." This last was directed at Francis with a pointed stare.
Francis nodded hurriedly. " Yes ma'am."
Virgil ran into the room, in uniform with his backpack slung over his shoulder and his disc unfolded and in his hand. "I'm ready to…" He stopped short, noticing the motorcycle. "Whoa."
Lucius pulled his sleeve up to check his watch. "You guys better be leaving."
"Here." Helen plucked the two black helmets off the motorcycle and handed them to Violet and Francis. "Another rule, you always have to wear helmets." Both teens nodded.
A loud wail emitted from the baby monitor clipped to Helen's belt. She sighed. "I've got to go check on Jack-Jack." Helen leaned over and kissed Violet on the cheek. "Have a good first day. I can't wait to hear all about it." Helen left the room.
Lucius hit the garage door button and the door creaked open, letting in the weak morning light.
Virgil slid his mask on and jumped onto his disc, hovering a few feet in the air. "See you guys at school." He saluted the group and took off.
Francis swung one leg over the motorcycle and put his hands on the handlebars, flexing his hands in anticipation. Violet edged her way over to the bike and looked at it uncertainly. Francis let one hand drop, sighed, and looked at her. "C'mon. Don't have all day you know." He scooted forward on the seat and patted the cushion behind him.
Slowly, Violet swung one leg over the bike and straddled the seat. She put her helmet on and tried to find a place for her feet. Lucius smiled at them and walked back into the house.
Francis was about to slip the helmet on over his face when Bob grabbed his arm and leaned over. "I mean it. Don't screw this up."
Francis wrenched his arm away. "Yeah, I got it."
Bob continued to stare stonily at Francis for a moment before backing away and then heading into the house after Lucius.
Francis kicked the side stand away and was about to start the engine when he remembered Violet was sitting rigidly behind him. He turned his head and flipped the visor open. "Seriously?"
Violet opened her visor as well. "What?"
"I can't have you falling off the back of the bike because then your Dad's gonna kick my ass, so hold on for fuck's sake." Francis snapped.
"Hold on…?" Violet muttered to questioningly herself.
Francis rolled his eyes. He reached behind, took hold of Violet's arms, and wrapped them around his waist. "Like this."
"Oh." Violet clasped her hands together over Francis' stomach. "Ok."
"Don't let go." Francis reminded her.
"Ok." Violet agreed.
Francis slapped his visor shut and put the key in the ignition, starting the engine. The bike roared to life beneath them. Violet let out a startled little yelp. Her grip tightened on Francis.
Francis chuckled. He loved that sound. He turned the throttle and shifted the bike into the right gear. Then he pealed out of the garage and onto the street.
Violet buried her head into Francis' shoulder, swearing at the sudden acceleration. It was uncomfortable riding on the back, mostly because Francis' backpack was making it difficult to hang on.
Francis veered onto the freeway and directed the bike towards Dakota, a smile on his face.
They pulled into the parking lot of Dakota High School five minutes before the warning bell rang. They attracted quite a few stares. It was nice bike after all. And they probably looked badass riding it.
"Can't believe I found this place on the first try." Francis pulled his helmet off, running a hand through his spiky red hair and looking up at the building. Behind him, Violet unclasped her hands and removed her own helmet, shaking out her hair.
"Where do we put these?" Violet asked, meaning the helmets. Francis swung his leg over the side of the bike and kicked the side stand out in one fluid movement. He offered Violet his hand and she allowed him to help her up. Francis took the helmet from her and popped a latch behind the cushion. The seat sprang up. There was a little compartment under the seat and Francis stowed the helmets there.
"Okay." Violet said, putting her hands on her hips, looking just like her mother. "When we're on the bike, your backpack is going in there. It was hard to hold onto you around that thing."
Francis chuckled. "Deal."
The two turned and headed for the school, taking no notice of the stares. "You know, you're actually a very good driver." Violet said.
Francis looked sideways at her. "One of my many talents."
"How'd you learn to drive?" They climbed the steps to the front doors, and again Francis was the picture of chivalry, holding the door open for Violet.
He shrugged. "Got into some track racing stuff when I was younger. Got pretty good at it."
"In Metroville?" Violet's brow furrowed. "I didn't know here was a motorcycle racing circuit in Metroville."
Francis smirked. "Not a legal one."
"Oh." Violet wasn't sure what to say after that. She pulled at a lock of her hair. "Um…I think we're supposed to go the principal's office…to…you know..." She coughed uncomfortably.
"Get our schedules?" Francis guessed.
"Yes." Violet said.
Francis smirked, relishing the in the fact that he had just made Incredi-Girl so nervous over some petty crime.
"Hey guys!" Virgil waved to them from a doorway. "Beat you here."
"You didn't have to deal with morning traffic." Violet reminded him and followed the other boy into the room, which was the office. Francis reluctantly stepped in after them. He didn't like principal's offices.
Virgil dropped into a plastic chair along the wall and Violet and Francis followed suit. "They said they'd be right with us." Virgil explained.
"So, no trouble?" Violet asked.
Virgil grinned. "Nope. It was great."
"Good." Violet smiled back.
Francis rolled his eyes and slumped in his seat, assuming the posture of the slacker punk role he was so accustomed to. The secretary gave him the stink eye over her computer. Francis smirked back.
"Check out this schedule!" Virgil exclaimed. "Advanced everything! These courses are going to kick my ass."
"Somebody should." Francis muttered. Violet smacked him on the arm with a disapproving look. Francis pouted, rubbing the spot. "I thought that stopped outside the house!" He protested.
The three had gotten their schedules and a map of the school to find their classes. They had missed the first class and were about to set off from the office to find their next class.
"Mr. Stone, could I have a word with you?" The principal asked from his office doorway.
Francis frowned and nodded.
"See you at lunch." Violet said. It wasn't a question. Helen had asked that they all stick together on the first day.
"Sure." Francis nodded. Virgil and Violet disappeared into the stream of students in the hallway. Francis sighed and walked into the office.
"Have a seat." The principal gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk. Francis shrugged his backpack off and slid into the chair. The name placard on the desk said Peter Duncan. Principal Duncan.
"I was reading through your file Francis, as I do for all transfer students." Duncan placed a rather hefty manila folder onto the desk. It had a rubber band to hold it shut. Francis felt the corner of his mouth quirk up. Yup. That was his file all right.
"Let me make one thing very clear." Duncan said slowly, putting one hand on the file and tapping the desk with the other. "I do not want trouble at this school. If your record is any indication, you seem to like causing disruptions." Duncan looked at Francis for confirmation. Francis stared stonily back.
Duncan's face hardened. "I will not tolerate that kind of behavior here. I'm warning you now. One wrong move, and you will not be a student at Dakota High School any longer. It took a lot of campaigning on behalf of your guardian for this transfer to even be accepted by the board."
Francis frowned. "My guardian?"
Duncan nodded. "A Mrs. Helen Parr."
Son of a bitch. The Parrs were his guardians now? Fuck that. Francis clenched his fists.
"I just want to stress that second chances don't come along all that often. I hope you take advantage of this one." Duncan put the file away and stood up. Francis followed suit.
"I hope I don't see you in here again." Duncan extended his hand.
Francis shook it, fighting the urge to crush the man's hand. He forced a thin smile onto his face and then left the office as fast as he could.
Francis' morning went as smoothly as could be expected. He controlled his temper and kept quiet, sitting in the back of all his classes, ducking his head whenever the teacher looked his way. Thankfully classes had only been in session for a few weeks so he hadn't missed very much.
His schedule was very similar to the one he had had back at Metroville, all the usual classes. Nothing advanced like Virgil or artistic like Violet, who had somehow managed to be in two art classes and a creative writing course.
Francis slunk into the cafeteria feeling very strung out, his lingering anger sapping his energy. Francis looked around for Violet and Virgil and saw them sitting with some blond kid at a table off to the side. Violet spotted him at the moment and waved him over. Francis sank into a chair at the table and rested his head in his hand, closing his eyes.
"What's wrong with you?" Virgil asked.
"Nothin'." Francis mumbled.
"You should eat something." Violet suggested.
"In a minute." Francis just wanted to rest for second.
When he opened his eyes, the other three were looking at him curiously. "Bad morning." He explained and sat up straight.
"Hi." The blond boy stuck out his hand. "I'm Richie."
"Francis." He shook hands.
"Rich is in most of my classes." Virgil explained.
"Yeah, so you guys were telling about the whole terrorist thing." Richie looked excited. "We heard all about that. Sounds crazy."
"It was." Violet said. "But also pretty scary."
Virgil nodded. "Those guys were not messing around. It's a good thing no one was hurt."
Francis cleared his throat.
Virgil smirked. "Oh, yeah except Francis. He got pistol whipped."
Richie turned to Francis with astonishment on his face. "Really? Oh, is that what that bandage is?"
The bruise over Francis' nose had mostly faded but his stitches weren't due to come out until the weekend so he was still sporting a white bandage. He nodded. "Yup."
"Wow." Richie was impressed. He looked at the three undercover Supers. "So, you guys all live together?"
Violet, Virgil, and Francis exchanged looks. They hadn't really figured out how to explain their living situation to others.
"Well my Dad and Vi's Dad have been best friends since before we were born. Our families have always been close and then we just sort of moved in with them." Virgil explained.
Richie looked at Francis. He shrugged. "I got nothing."
Violet laughed nervously. "Don't be stupid Francis." Francis raised an eyebrow at her. "You're staying with us because we're a foster home." Violet explained to Richie.
"Ah." Richie nodded in understanding.
Francis frowned. Foster home?
"Go eat." Violet prodded Francis from his seat. "Mom made me promise to make sure you do."
Francis rolled his eyes but refrained from saying something mean. He'd probably just get hit again. Instead, Francis wandered off towards the food line. Hopefully he could find something to eat.
"What did you want me to say?" Violet asked.
"I dunno." Francis muttered. "I just didn't think you were gonna announce I was suddenly a foster kid."
They were walking to English, which they had together.
Violet pulled at her hair nervously. "Well, Richie's not exactly the first person I've said that to."
Francis stopped. "What?"
Violet sighed. "I might've told some girls who went to Metroville High." Francis gaped at her. She stomped her foot in frustration. "What do you want me to say? I had to explain you being with us somehow. They saw us together at the mall."
Francis threw his hands up in exasperation. "Whatever. Forget it. It's not like I'm gonna see anyone who goes to that school ever again."
He stormed past Violet to the classroom. She rushed to catch up.
"Looks like you're having a craptastic day." Virgil commented.
Francis slammed his locker shut and leveled a glare at the other boy. "Yeah, actually I am. I thought going back to school meant I could get away from you freaks for a couple of hours but no. You're everywhere."
Virgil smirked. "Get used to it."
"Hey guys." Richie walked up to them with a smile. "Wanna hang out after school? I was going to head over to Burger Fool with some people."
"Aw, sorry bro." Virgil apologized. "We're supposed to head straight back to Metroville. Our parents want a full report on our first day."
Richie laughed. "Yeah okay. Some other time?"
"Of course." The two bumped fists, already fast friends.
Francis snorted. Dorks.
"Hey. Were you the one driving that bike today?" Richie asked Francis.
"Yeah."
"Awesome ride."
Francis did a double take. "Yeah?"
Richie nodded. "Oh yeah, definitely. You are packing some serious horsepower there. I can only imagine the control you get on that thing."
Francis chuckled. Okay, not too big of a dork. He knew his engines at least.
"It handles pretty good." Francis agreed. The three boys turned to walk down the hallway.
Richie opened his mouth to say something else, but Francis didn't catch what it was. A girl walked past going in the opposite direction and Francis felt his jaw drop. She was gorgeous. She had long reddish brown hair and sparkly blue eyes. She was laughing at something her friend had said and Francis thought absently that it was the prettiest laugh he had ever heard.
Then he walked into a locker.
"Ow." Francis put a hand to his face, feeling it flush with embarrassment. Virgil was cracking up beside him. His gaze was still on the girl walking away. The view was just as good going as it was coming.
"Who is that?" He gasped.
"Who?" Richie asked.
Francis pointed after the girl.
"Oh. That's Frieda Goren. She's cool." Richie explained.
"I want her." Francis said.
"You want her?" Richie asked.
Francis nodded. "Yeah."
Richie shrugged. "Good luck. She's not into your type."
Francis turned on the bespectacled blond. "What do you mean my type?"
Richie held his hands up in a placating manner. "Hey, no offense or anything but Frieda's as clean cut as they come and well," he gestured to Francis. "You're not."
Francis shrugged "Opposites attract."
Virgil clapped a hand on Francis' shoulder. "Yeah, go after her. It'll be fun to watch."
Francis scowled and knocked Virgil's hand away. "I'm gonna go out with her." He stated firmly.
"Sure you are." Virgil laughed slinging an arm around Richie's shoulder. The two walked away to their next class.
"I am." Francis said. Frieda Goren huh? Francis smiled to himself. His horrible day may have just been salvaged.
Helen was waiting for them when they got home. Violet ran inside to launch into a play-by-play account of the entire day while Francis put the bike and helmets away. He checked the fuel. He'd have to fill up before they got on the freeway tomorrow.
When Francis walked into the kitchen there were milk and cookies, of the wheat and non-wheat variety, laid out on the table. Virgil and Violet were already busily dunking their cookies and answering questions. Francis pulled up a chair. Helen handed him a glass of milk. "So how was your day Francis?"
He grabbed a cookie and shrugged. "Could've been worse."
Author's Note:
Hooray! Look! Familiar faces! And you probably thought I wasn't going to bring them to Dakota. Well you thought wrong! I did! Can you tell I'm excited! Yay!
I am so proud of myself. I actually sat down and made a timeline for this entire story, so now I won't be able to talk myself out of stopping somewhere in the middle. This is going all the way baby! At the moment I have it down for thirty chapters, so get ready for a long haul. It will tie for my longest story. I have one other thirty-chapter behemoth in the archives. Yes, thirty may not seem like a lot, but trust me, when you're the one writing it seems like forever.
P.S If you're having trouble visualizing the motorcycle, go to google images and type in racing motorcycle. The red one in the third row farthest to the right was what I was thinking, although the rest are pretty similar. I'd put a link but FF doesn't like those.
PLEASE REVIEW!
FHGVZEhyde