Disclaimer: I do not own Static Shock or The Incredibles

Chapter Thirteen: Super Celebration

"Ok, let's start off slow." Bob stared at Francis warily. They were standing in the middle of the loft. Lucius was up in the control room, hand hovering over the button to activate the sprinkler system, just in case.

Francis was wearing his uniform, sans mask, and was grinning excitedly. "Okay."

"Let's just see what you can do." Bob explained. "Light up."

Immediately, Francis' body was consumed by flames and his eyes flashed red. Francis clenched his fists, loving the feeling of power that came with the eruption.

Bob took a step back. "Okay, good. Now focus it into one hand."

Francis lowered his fists and closed his eyes. He concentrated on re-directing the flow of the flames, feeling the heat travel from his chest where it originated down his right arm and into his palm. Francis opened his eyes, they had returned back to their natural green. The flames had dissipated from around his body and he was holding a little bundle of fire on his right hand. Francis casually tossed it into the air and caught it.

Bob was smiling at him. "Not bad. You ever play around with your powers on your own?"

Francis nodded. "Yeah, a little."

"Show me something." Bob made a gesture up to the control booth. A target sprang out of the wall behind Francis, spiraling towards the teen.

Francis spun and threw the fireball at the target. It was engulfed in the flames and exploded harmlessly, a twisted metal carcass fell smoldering to the Loft floor. Francis smirked. That felt good.

Bob whistled behind him. "Reflexes, good."

"Thanks." Francis turned around.

"How hot do you think you can go?" Bob asked.

Francis shrugged. "Pretty hot, I can melt the tar on the road if I want to. I'm pretty sure I can go hotter but I've never tried."

Bob nodded. "Fair enough. We'll work on developing a containment unit where we can gauge your temperature. Find where your limit is."

"Cool." Francis said.

"How long can you stay lit?" Bob asked.

"I dunno." Francis said. "Depends on how hot I go or how tired I am or if I get wet. At some point, I burn out. It depends on the situation."

Bob jotted all of this down onto a notepad he had. He was busy trying to devise some sort of training regimine for Francis. He'd never trained a pyro before and wasn't sure what was important to focus on. Durability seemed like a key point but Bob had been working on that with Francis for months. They just hadn't had the opportunity to see if the pool work had made any difference. They could continue working in the weight room as supplemental training. Reflex training and situation training also seemed important. Finding Francis' limit was at the forefront of the list. Bob added in textbook training. No doubt Francis would hate that particular portion of the program, but Virgil and Violet had to do it so Francis would have to do it to.

"What now?" Francis asked, interrupting Bob's thoughts. The older Super looked up, Francis was waiting for the next instruction.

"Let's run a session." Bob said. Why not? Throw the kid into the fire to see what he's made of.

Francis grinned. "Awesome."

Bob made a hand gesture up to Lucius in the control room and left the room. Francis' eyes darted around warily. He knew every wall contained weapons that could launch at any moment.

"Target practice Francis." Lucius' voice came down from an intercom. "We'll start off slow. If you need to stop, put your right fist straight up over your head. We good?"

Francis gave threw him a thumbs up.

There was the sound of grinding cogs from behind the walls. The session had started. Francis unknowingly slid his feet apart, giving him a more stable stance. He bounced on the balls of his feet, hands loose at his sides. The pyro couldn't stop the grin that crept onto his face. This is what he wanted. To use his powers, to get better, to have the knowledge and the power that had been denied him for so long.

Francis felt the heat within him flow into his limbs. His pulse quickened. Behind him a projectile shot out of the wall. Francis spun and blasted it out of the air. Almost before the smoke had cleared, two more projectiles were launched from the adjacent wall.

Francis ignited two fireballs into his hands and threw them, each colliding with their target.

Smoke curled around Francis' body. He reacted on instinct alone and it seemed to be enough. Not a single target escaped a fiery demise. Francis was feeling pretty good about himself. Then a projectile flew up from the floor beneath Francis' feet. It knocked him under the chin and Francis fell back on his butt, rubbing his face. The projectile made it back to another hatch in a wall unscathed. Francis growled. He'd missed one.

Barking laughter echoed around the room. "You alright?" Bob asked.

Francis got to his feet, scowling. "M'fine."

"Actually not too bad for your first time. But we got a long way to go." It came out as half a compliment and half an insult.

Francis rolled his eyes. "Whatever. We gonna go again or what?"

Bob snickered. "That's the right attitude. Starting in ten."

Francis let the grin back onto his face and resumed his stance, convinced he was going to demolish every projectile that crossed his path.

Violet sat in the bay window in the living room, looking out into the falling snow. The sun had set and the glow from the table lamp illuminated a square of light on the white lawn outside. She hugged her knees to her chest and smiled. She loved winter. She loved the snow. It was so pretty. It made everything look fresh and unspoiled. Every morning was a new start.

"You ready to go?" It was Francis, behind her.

Violet slid off the window seat and nodded. She had her uniform on under her jacket and her mask in her pocket.

Francis had thrown a hoodie on over his uniform. He fiddled with the zipper unhappily.

"C'mon kids." Helen walked into the room and turned the table lamp off, ushering the two teens towards the garage.

They were taking the van, Virgil and his dad were already seated. Bob was tossing a football back and forth with Dash as they waited for last of their party to arrive. Jack-Jack was safely at a baby-sitter's, an NSA approved sitter. No one wanted a repeat of the Kari disaster.

"I still don't see why I have to go." Francis grumbled.

"Just get in the car." Bob motioned for the pyro to get in the van. "We're all going and we're all going to have a good time. You kids don't know how special this is. Nothing like this has ever happened before."

Francis rolled his eyes when Bob turned his back. Violet giggled and got in, sitting next to Virgil. Francis and Dash climbed in, fighting for the window seat. Francis won.

"Enough of that." Helen scolded. "I want everyone on their best behavior tonight."

"Helen, relax. Tonight's going to be fine." Lucius assured his friend. "Right guys?" Lucius looked over his shoulder at the four kids. They all nodded back at him. "See?" Lucius grinned.

"Oh, I feel so much better now." Helen scoffed.

Bob pulled out of the garage and the van full of Supers was on the road, each of them wearing their uniforms under their coats.

They were on their way to the first ever Super Holiday Party. Since Syndrome's defeat and the truth about the disappearance of many Supers had some to light, a lot of the old Supers wanted to get together and reminisce and plan comebacks. Of course this party required secrecy and uniforms. Most Supers never knew the identity of other Supers.

Another component of the party was to remember their fallen comrades. Syndrome had murdered twenty-six Supers in his quest to perfect the Omnidroid. Twenty-six friends and colleagues. They deserved to be commemorated.

Francis rested his head against the cool glass and closed his eyes, tuning out the chatter of the others. He did not want to go to this party. He did not want to be in a roomful of people who had known his parents better than he did and would want to talk about them all night. In fact, it was the last thing Francis wanted to do.

They drove to a house on the outskirts of the city one of the Supers had rented for the night and outfitted for the party. They pulled into the driveway. Every light in the house was on and music could be heard from within.

Everyone piled out and put their masks on before trudging through the snow to the front door. Francis jumped out last and slid the door shut. He sighed heavily and stared at his reflection in the car window. He pulled his mask from his pocket and slid it onto his face. It molded perfectly to his features. Francis scowled at his reflection and turned towards the house.

Inside the party was in full swing. Supers had amassed from all over the country and were now crowded into every corner of the house. All of them wore their uniforms, some showing signs of age. Many had potbellies or wrinkles while a few were still on pretty good shape.

Bob, Helen, and Lucius disappeared into the crowd quickly, being swallowed by their fellow Supers. A raucous cheer went up when the Supers realized Bob had walked in. Several went up and shook hands with him, patting him on the back. Bob put his arm around Helen and motioned at Violet and Dash, who dutifully walked to their father to be introduced. On the other side of the room Lucius was telling a story to a Super dressed in purple, Virgil at his side.

Francis looked around awkwardly and finally wandered into another room. He had never been around so many Supers before. He didn't recognize most of them. A few he could. He'd seen them blow in and out of the government center when he was young. They had ignored him then and they were ignoring him now. Francis rubbed his arm nervously. This was his first time wearing his uniform out of the house, what if he looked silly? He suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Francis sought the safety of the kitchen. He could kill a few minutes pouring himself a drink.

Francis found a can of pop and went back to the living room. He had completely lost sight of the others and was alone in the sea of Supers.

"Hi." Someone tapped Francis on the shoulder.

He spun around. A teenaged African American girl was standing behind him, a friendly smile on her face. She wore a purple mask that tied behind her head and a red and purple uniform, complete with purple cape.

"Hey." Francis nodded.

"I've never seen you before. Are you new?" The girl asked.

Francis shrugged. "You could say that."

"I'm Shebang." The girl pushed her hand into Francis' face.

He laughed. "I'm…uh…" He couldn't introduce himself as Francis. It was a huge no-no to reveal his identity when in uniform, even to another Super.

"Don't you have a name?" Shebang asked, a challenging look in her eye.

"Yeah I got a name." Francis said. "It's…Hotstreak." Where had that come from? Francis mentally shrugged. He could have said worse. He could have gone with Flame-O or something equally awful. Hotstreak wasn't so bad, it had a nice ring to it.

"Hotstreak?" Shebang giggled. "Nice."

"Thanks." Francis was proud of himself.

"Where're you from?" Shebang asked. The two had meandered near an empty table. They slid into the chairs. Francis was grateful to have found someone to talk to.

"Metroville." Francis said. "You?"

"Out in California." Shebang supplied. "My parents wanted to come in for this party so here I am."

"Your parents...?" Francis trailed off.

Shebang nodded over Francis' shoulder. "Over there."

Francis turned and noticed a man and a woman dressed in matching green uniforms talking to a man in yellow.

"They were a team before they got married, hence the matching uniforms." Shebang explained. "The Daring Duo."

"Nice." Francis said. "My parents were on a team too." He'd seen a photo of them once in their Beta Force uniforms in one of Dicker's files. Lucius had been the leader of that team. It was how his parents had met.

"Which one?" Shebang asked.

"Beta Force." Francis said.

Shebang's brow furrowed. "Then your parents are…"

"Hey guys." Virgil slid into the seat next to Francis. "What's going on?"

"Nothin' man." Francis was quick to distract Shebang. He hadn't meant to redirect their conversation towards his parents.

"Hey Shebang." Vigril grinned across the table.

"Hey yourself." Shebang returned the greeting.

"You guys know each other?" Francis asked.

"Yup. Our parents were friends back in the old days." Virgil explained. "We used to have playdates all the time before they permanently moved West."

"How I miss pummeling you at Nintendo." Shebang smirked.

Virgil scoffed. "Please."

Francis drained the last of his pop and crushed the can in one hand. He looked around the room. He noticed a screen was put up on one wall. It was playing a slideshow of photographs of Supers. "What's that?"

Shebang's face fell. "That's all the Supers who were killed by Syndrome."

The three teens somberly watched as the photos changed. Apogee, Everseer, Macroburst, Stormicide, Blitzerman, Gamma Jack, Universal Man. Francis turned away when Blazestone's picture lit up the screen.

He felt eyes on him and he looked up. Shebang was staring at him with a sad look. Francis scowled. He hated that look. He stood up and stalked from the room.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Helen stopped him in the hallway.

"Nothing." Francis lied. He wanted to get away. He hated being around so many people in so small a space, especially when most of those people were bulkier than your average person. It made his pulse race. Francis felt claustrophobic. "Just wanna get some air."

Helen nodded and released her grip on his arm.

Francis was fighting through the crowd to get to the door when he was stopped again. "Hey, you're that kid Incredible was telling us about right?" Two men stood in his way. One clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Blazestone's son?"

Francis nodded. "It's Hotstreak."

"I'm Fironic. This is Plasmabolt." The one in red introduced them. "Listen, I'm really sorry about your parents."

Plasmabolt nodded sympathetically. "I knew them both. Blazestone and Downburst were good people and damn good Supers."

"Thanks." Francis said through gritted teeth. He eyed the door anxiously.

"What happened to them could have happened to any of us. I'm just glad Syndrome never got his hands on me. I'd be in that slideshow too." Fironic continued.

Plasmabolt nodded again. "If even a Super as smart as Blaze got fooled, then all of us were fair game."

Fironic laughed. "Yeah, but it wouldn't have taken much to fool old Downburst."

"No it wouldn't." Plasmabolt joined the laughter. "But if he landed a girl like Blaze then he probably had more going for him that I thought."

Francis shrugged off Fironic's hand and left the two without saying goodbye. They didn't seem to notice. He found the front door and pulled it open, escaping to the cold outside.

Francis jumped the porch steps and walked to the driveway, standing in the fluorescent lighting from the outside lights. Snowflakes still fell lazily from the sky. Francis shook them from his hair but more took their place. He wrapped his arms around himself, wondering if he should heat up a little. His breath puffed in little clouds in front of his face.

It was quiet outside, although muffled noise from the party could still be heard. Francis kicked at the snow. He was shivering, whether it was from the cold or from rage he couldn't tell. He shouldn't have come tonight. Francis should have argued more adamantly to stay home. He was nothing but a novelty to the Supers inside. He was Blazestone's son, or Downburst's son. He was the kid who was orphaned by Syndrome. He wasn't Francis. He wasn't even Hotstreak.

"Hey."

Francis looked up. Bob was standing at the door, looking towards him with concern.

"Hey."

"You okay?"

Francis looked away.

Bob walked towards the teenager. "I saw you leave. What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie."

"I…I just…" Francis growled in frustration. "I don't belong in there. I couldn't handle it."

"Sure you can." Bob tried to placate the pyro. "I'll introduce you to a couple of good people and you'll feel better…"

"That's not it!" Francis shouted. He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know how to explain it."

"Well you gotta try kid, otherwise I'm not going to understand." Bob said.

"It's like…" Francis sighed. "It's like everybody in there knew my parents better than I did. I don't like it. They talk about them and I have no idea what they're saying. I see a picture of them up on the wall and I don't recognize them. I don't have any connection to them or any of the people in there. I don't belong. Virgil knew that Shebang chick, you and Helen and Lucius know everybody in there. I was the only one who couldn't find someone to talk to or didn't know what to do. I've never felt like that before. I hate it."

Bob listened in silence. When Francis stopped, he nodded. "It's okay. I understand."

"Yeah?" Francis asked. He hadn't expected his rambling to make much sense.

"Yes, and it's okay to feel like that." Bob sighed. "I don't exactly know what to say to make you feel better because I don't think there is anything I could say. It's something that's going to pass the more you're around people like us. "We Supers," Bob put a hand on Francis' shoulder and motioned between them and then back at the house. "We're a rowdy bunch who aren't always so eloquent or disciplined. So you're going to have to forgive our manners."

Francis smiled.

Bob turned and walked back towards the door. Francis stood still, hands in pockets. "Do I have to go back in?" He asked before Bob reached the door.

Bob looked over his shoulder at Francis, hunched against the wind, snowflakes swirling around his face. "No. But if you do, come find me. We'll stick together, okay kid?"

Francis nodded.

Bob went back inside, leaving Francis alone in the snow.

A half an hour later Bob noticed Francis watching him from the corner of the room, shuffling his feet nervously. Bob was talking to an old friend, Soul Power. The guy had been an old-timer when Bob was a young superhero. His uniform fit him loosely and his face was lined with wrinkles, his hair long gone white. Despite his age, Soul Power was sharp as a tack and a very warm, caring person. He was the perfect Super to put Francis at ease. Bob gestured at for the pyro to come over.

The teenager approached them cautiously.

"Soul have you met my new protégé?" Bob asked, wrapping an arm around Francis.

"I don't believe I've had the pleasure." Soul Power extended his hand. "Soul Power. Pleased to meet you."

"Hotstreak." Francis responded. Bob raised an eyebrow at the boy. The name was new.

"So you're being trained by Incredible?" Soul Power asked, a friendly smile on his weathered face.

"Yeah, we just started." Francis said. "He said we have to take it slow."

Bob rolled his eyes. "I only said that because you've never really used your powers before." He playfully punched Francis' arm. "But he's coming along nicely."

"A pyrotech I take it?" Soul Power glanced down at the fire emblazoned on Francis' chest.

Francis nodded. "Yeah."

"Like your mother." Soul Power nodded but didn't continue on the subject of Francis' parents. He surprisingly switched over to sports. "What do you think about the Conference?"

Bob scoffed. "None of them have the heart or the skill. They play like spoiled little children."

Soul Power tutted like a disapproving parent. "Now, now. You can't say that about Municiberg. They're all heart."

"Yeah but no skill." Francis put in. "Jones dropped an easy reverse pass that would have been the winning touchdown but he fumbled under pressure."

Soul Power's eyes twinkled at Francis' comment. "Right you are Hotstreak. So who do you think has the stuff to go all the way?"

Francis grinned and launched into a detailed analysis he had been forming since October. He didn't even notice when Bob left his side.

"Go long."

Dash looked behind him. "How long is long?"

Francis grinned. "Just get behind the couch." The teenged pyro was standing at one end of the living room, an opened bag of gummy fruit snacks in one hand. He popped one into his mouth while he waited for Dash to find his position across the room.

Dash jumped up and down on the balls of his feet, almost giggling in anticipation. "Okay! Now!"

Francis took a gummy and threw it to Dash. The boy ducked right and caught the gummy in his mouth. He chewed in delight.

Now Dash was the one to tear open his own package of gummies and toss one to Francis. The red-head had to dive but still made an impressive catch, rolling onto his back and kicking back to his feet.

The two threw gummies across the room, making each throw harder and harder, trying to make the other boy miss. A few gummies went skidding under the couch and behind the TV. At one point Dash didn't look where he was going and slammed into the coffee table. He jumped back up laughing.

They had gone through almost six packs of gummies when Helen walked into the room. "No. No no no. Out. You guys are making a mess!"

"Aw Mom." Dash whined.

Francis emptied the last of his package into his mouth, stuffing the wrapper into his pocket, feigning innocence.

"Oh, don't give me that look." Helen pointed a finger at Francis. "This was probably your idea. I bet there's going to be melted blobs of sucrose all over my living room."

Francis shrugged. "Sorry?"

Helen sighed. She motioned at the door. "Go, go outside. Burn off your energy. This house isn't big enough for three boys."

Virgil leaned out of the kitchen. "Hey! I'm in here doing my homework like a good boy."

Helen smiled. "No offense Virgil."

"None taken."

"C'mon, let's go play outside." Dash tugged at Francis' sleeve.

Francis shrugged again. "Alright. Why not?"

"Boots!" Helen called after them.

Dash and Francis got suited up for winter. Dash put on his snow pants, coat, gloves, boots, and a hat. He practically disappeared inside the clothing. Francis, on the other hand, put on his bomber jacket, a hat, and tucked his jeans into his Hi-Top sneakers.

It was the middle of the day. The sun shining off the snow was practically blinding. Francis squinted in the light.

Dash ran out into the middle of the yard, throwing himself into the new fallen snow and rolling around. Francis plodded out towards the little boy, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Now what?"

Dash sat up. "Dunno. What do you wanna do?"

Francis shrugged. "Dunno."

Dash played with the snow next to him, gathering a handful and packing it into a spehere. Dash grinned and threw it at Francis.

The teenager had been looking down the street and took the snowball right to the face. Francis turned and stared at Dash, mouth agape. Clumps of snow fell down his cheek and onto his collar.

"You serious?"

Dash jumped to his feet and ran away laughing. Francis bent over and scooped up a handful of snow. It melted the instant it hit his palm. Francis frowned and concentrated on lowering his body temperature. He shivered at the new rush of cold but when he reached down for another handful the snow stayed solid. He packed it between his hands, making the perfect snowball.

He treaded noiselessly through the snow, stalking after Dash. The little boy was hiding behind a tree. When he saw Francis he moved for cover behind the house and that was when Francis launched his missile. The snowball cracked against the back of Dash's heand and he lurched forward into the snow.

Francis burst into laughter and darted away, Dash in hot pursuit. The two engaged in a snowball war for the better part of the afternoon and when they came in for dinner, their cheeks were rosy with cold and Francis had been thoroughly trounced by the his much younger foe.

Author's Note:

I'm sure we've all gone into a party where we didn't know anyone and felt so acutely uncomfortable we just wanted to leave immediately. Now Francis has too. And look! He's Hotstreak now! Yay! And more cameos from our Static Shock friends. There will be more to come.

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