Author's Note: I do not own Static Shock or The Incredibles
Chapter Eighteen: Limelight
Francis had been in a really good, deep sleep.
After riding back from the scene of the fight, losing some paparazzi on the way, Francis and the other two crime-fighting Supers tried to patch each other as best they could with the first aid kit in the bathroom. None of them had reached the emergency medical training portion of their training yet but they did the best they could, slapping band-aids down onto every cut and getting ice packs for swollen bruises.
Dash had bounced in and fluttered between all three, trying to help but really just getting in the way as he recounted the fights as he'd witnessed it from the broadcast on the news.
Somewhere around two in the morning, Virgil had staggered off to his bedroom holding a bag of frozen peas to his temple.
Violet collected her little brother, gave Francis a congratulatory chuck on the chin and went to bed as well.
Francis tried to tidy the bathroom a little, they'd really made a mess and Helen liked things organized, but his eyes kept drifting shut. So Francis turned off the light and walked back to his room, one hand on the wall to steady himself. He managed to wriggle out of his Supersuit and into a pair of sweatpants before he collapsed face first onto his bed. He crawled under the covers and was asleep almost instantly.
Big hands shook Francis out of his dreamless sleep what felt like only a few minutes later.
Francis opened his eyes and stared blearily up at the large figure being silhouetted from the hall light. He blinked in confusion and exhaustion.
"Up. Out of bed now." The silhouette ordered and Francis' eyes widened.
It was Bob.
"Come on." Bob grabbed Francis by the upper arm and helped Francis out of bed before leading the sleepy teenager into the living room.
Violet and Virgil were awake, just barely, and were sprawled onto the couch. Virgil ran a hand over his eyes when he saw Francis prodded in and seated in the armchair. "I think we're in trouble."
"No shit." Francis smothered a yawn.
"No swearing." Helen said. That response was really just a reflex by now. She and Lucius were standing in front of the TV, arms crossed over their chests and looking sternly at the teenagers. Bob came to stand next to them.
The adults stared stonily at the teens for a moment before Helen clasped her hands to her chest. "None of you are hurt are you?" She hurried to Violet's side and gently ran her hand over a nasty bruise on her daughter's cheek. "Oh sweetie, that looks like it hurts." Bob knelt beside his wife, checking Violet's arms and legs for other injuries.
Violet smiled and pulled her mom's hand down. "Kinda, but it's okay. I iced it."
"Are you sure?" Helen asked, her motherly instincts frazzled by the bruises and cut on her daughter.
Lucius squatted next to Virgil. "Honestly, are you okay?"
Virgil sat up a little straighter and nodded. "Yeah Pops. A little beat up. Nothing too bad. I'll be a hundred percent in a few days."
"And you?" Helen moved to Francis and turned his wrist from side to side, checking for a sprain. Onyx had twisted it during the fight and it was turning a nasty blue color. Francis hid a flinch when Helen twisted his wrist a little too far to the right but nodded. "I'm fine."
Once all the adults had assured themselves that the teens were all right, the disapproving looks crept back onto their faces.
"What are you guys doing here?" Francis was the first to ask. He looked at the clock over the TV. "At four in the morning?"
"We caught the red eye." Bob said.
"The evening news got our attention." Lucius added.
Francis, Virgil, and Violet exchanged glances. They hadn't counted on California news broadcasting the fight.
"Dicker in particular was very interested." Bob continued. "He's been calling non-stop."
"About…?" Virgil prodded.
"About you, about those rogue Supers, about property damage, about training regimen, about everything!" Helen said in exasperation.
"Next time you three decide to run off and disobey protocol, how about a phone call? So we can run interference?" Lucius asked sarcastically.
"Sorry." The teens muttered in unison.
Helen shook her head. "No, don't be." She sighed. "You didn't do anything wrong."
Francis looked up in surprise.
"She's right." Bob stepped in. "While technically you disobeyed us, you did the right thing. If you hadn't acted, I would have been disappointed. As it is, I can say I am extremely proud of all of you." He smiled.
The teenagers sat up a little and smiled back. "Thanks Dad." Violet said.
Lucius and Helen both smiled too. "That goes for us as well." Helen agreed.
"But don't think this means you guys are allowed on missions now." Lucius was quick to add. "You're still in training. But it's nice to know things are covered here if we have to leave the city."
"My first mission was a disaster. Half of the downtown area got flattened." Bob said, chuckling lightly at the memory. "I can't believe you guys were so successful. It's incredible."
"Well, we have some pretty good teachers." Violet said. Bob put his arm around his daughter and smiled.
Francis had been expecting some yelling and maybe some light punishment. He hadn't been expecting the worry and pride. Then again, he didn't have much experience with parents.
The adults arranged to have a press conference Monday while the kids would be at school. That gave them all of Sunday to contact Dicker so they could run possible explanations by him and alert the media to the time and location.
Monday morning at school, Virgil kept his cell phone on. It was set to alert him for news updates. He didn't want to miss the big conference. At lunch, his phone vibrated. Virgil pulled his phone out and read the update. He grinned at Violet and Francis. "This is it."
"Can we get a live stream?" Violet asked.
Virgil looked around at the crowded cafeteria and saw Richie and Frieda in the lunch line. They would be joining the table soon. Virgil stood up and grabbed his backpack. "Let's go somewhere more private."
The other two Supers followed Virgil out to the track. It was completely empty, everyone either in class or at lunch. They trekked up the bleachers and sat on the top row, huddling against Francis to keep warm.
Virgil searched for a live feed and found one, holding his phone out so the others could see. The conference was just getting under way. Bob, Helen, and Lucius were in uniform and sitting at a long table on a stage in front of hundreds of reporters. Bob motioned for quiet. The reporters settled down and microphones were thrust forward.
"Good morning everyone." Bob started. "I'm sure you all know why we called this conference so I'll get right down to business. As leader of Metroville's only Superhero team, I would like to welcome three new Superheroes to our roster. Static, Incredi-girl, and Hotstreak."
Pictures of the teens in uniform appeared on a screen behind Bob. It was one of Dicker's ideas. The three had spent all of Sunday in a studio having pictures taken of them so that the media would have instant access after the conference. This way, paparazzi wouldn't be trying to track down the teens so magazines could have their pictures on the cover.
"Most of you have probably seen the footage of them fighting the Super-breed." That was the name Ebon had insisted he and his team be called. "So you have an idea about their powers and what they can do." Bob continued. "The truth is they are still in training and so the full extent of their powers is still unknown. We will not comment on their powers any further. At this time, we will field questions but will not answer any questions about their identities or origins. My team and I expect you to respect our privacy."
Instantly the reporters erupted into sound, waving their hands in the air so that one of the Supers would pick them for a question.
Virgil tucked the phone back into his pocket. "So."
Francis leaned back against the metal fencing and closed his eyes. "Yeah."
"That was pretty cool." Violet said. "I mean, my dad said we were members of the team now. Our group training exercises are going to be a lot more fun now, and a lot more intense."
"Oh yeah." Virgil grinned. "And in a few months, we get to go on missions and everything. I can't wait."
Francis opened his eyes and looked at the two excited teens still talking animatedly about their futures. He scowled. That was their future. He was so far behind in his training it would take him months to catch up to where they were now, maybe years. They had been working in the Loft, honing their skills, and learning all about the high-tech the Supers had at their disposal for a while. Francis was new to this. He was still getting used to his powers and he'd never pushed himself to the limit. He didn't know what he could do. Not really. He had a long road ahead of him and Francis wasn't a patient person.
Violet turned to Francis and smiled. The corner of his mouth quirked up. That didn't mean he wasn't going to give it his all though. Francis was determined to prove his file wrong, to shove his hero status in the face of everybody at the NSA who had locked him up and tried to keep him from fulfilling his potential. He was going to laugh in Dicker's face and it was going to feel good.
Francis hadn't realized how weird it would be to see his face on every newspaper and magazine in the city. His partially obscured face, but still. He knew it was him. Francis had to physically stop himself from stopping and staring at every newsstand.
It had been almost a week since the teenage Supers came out to the press and the city was still going crazy over them. The publicity shots the teens had done beforehand were really coming in handy.
People seemed to be especially enthralled with Hotstreak. He had come out of nowhere; people literally knew nothing about him.
Everyone knew Incredi-girl was Mr. Incredible's daughter and they'd seen her fight before. Static had done some moonlighting before his dad figured out he was sneaking out at night so they had seen him before too.
Francis paused in front of one particular magazine. His picture was on the cover. He was standing in uniform with his arms crossed over his chest, one eyebrow raised and mouth quirked into a smirk. The cover was red and next to his picture was a giant black question mark.
"Crazy isn't it?" Frieda walked up behind Francis and put her arm through his. "I didn't know there were teenage Supers. I thought they were all kind of old."
Francis snorted and turned it into a cough when Frieda looked at him. "I dunno, they have kids don't they? Must be genetic."
"I guess you're right." Frieda said. They turned and continued walking down the sidewalk. School had let out for the day and Violet was at rehearsal so they were wasting time before Francis to go pick her up.
Frieda walked a little ahead of Francis, looking into store windows and pulling him along when she found something especially interesting. It was a warm day and the snow on the ground was swiftly turning to slush. Frieda was wearing a puffy vest over a sweater and a scarf that she kept fiddling with whenever she stopped walking.
Francis was walking slowly on purpose, trying to annoy Frieda. He had his hands in his sweatshirt pockets and was trudging through the slush, making a mess of his sneakers.
Eventually Frieda stopped and turned around, her hands on her hips. "You are sooo slow. Come on."
Francis snickered. "I'm not skipping up and down the sidewalk with you."
"I am not skipping."
"You kinda are."
"Not."
"Are."
"Not."
"Look at your tracks." Francis pointed out. The steps Frieda left in the snow were erratic and danced all across the sidewalk.
Frieda pulled at her scarf and flushed. "There's nothing wrong with skipping."
"I didn't say there was. I'm just saying I'm not." Francis said smartly and walked up beside Frieda.
"You're trying to bug me, you jerk." Frieda laughed and punched his arm playfully.
Francis looked out into the street, fighting the smile that was threatening to creep onto his face. "Maybe."
Frieda smiled at him and linked arms again, walking at a slower pace.
Francis rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and looked down at Frieda. She fit so snuggly into his side, he liked having her there. He wanted to wrap his arm around her shoulders and hold her close, not just link arms. "Hey Frieda?"
"Yeah?" She rested her head against his arm.
"Are you doing anything on Friday?" Francis asked.
Frieda raised her head and looked up at Francis, her brow crinkling slightly. "What are you asking?"
"Do you want to go on a date with me on Friday?" Francis asked. He hated that he could feel the blush creep onto his face.
"Francis, I don't know…"
Francis' face fell. Frieda looked apologetic. "I just really like being friends with you. We're in a good place. I don't want to ruin this."
Francis nodded roughly.
"You understand, right?"
"Yeah, I'm not stupid."
Frieda frowned. "I didn't say you were. Don't be like that."
"You're right." Francis looked off to the side. "Forget I asked."
Frieda laid her head to rest on his bicep again and then stopped in place, staring at a window display. "Those boots are so cute! Let's go in." Frieda pulled at Francis' arm. He held his ground and groaned at her. "Just for a few minutes?" Frieda asked sweetly.
Francis motioned at his watch. "I'm timing you."
Virgil and Richie were walking out of the comic store, talking animatedly about the new issue they had just picked up when Virgil collided with a girl rushing past.
The girl lost her balance and teetered backwards, books and papers flying from her arms. Virgil instinctively reached out and grabbed her wrist to keep her from falling.
"Smooth bro." Richie teased and then bent over to help the girl pick up her things.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't see you." Virgil rushed to apologize and chase after some papers before they got ruined in the slush.
"No, it's my fault. I wasn't looking. I'm sort of in a hurry and I was trying to read this excerpt," The girl hugged her books to her chest. She had light brown skin and short hair that framed her face prettily. She was wearing a red sweater and a long purple skirt.
"An excerpt on measuring electro-magnetic energy sources?" Virgil was looking at a paper. "No way, I'm writing a paper on that for my chem class."
"You are?" The girl asked, taking a bundle of papers back from Richie. "At Dakota High?"
"Yeah. It's kind of my specialty." Virgil smiled and handed the paper over. He frowned suddenly. "Wait, how did you know I go to Dakota?"
The girl shrugged and smiled lightly. "It's where everyone goes around here."
"Except you." Richie said. "I don't recognize you."
"Oh, I go to the Vanmoor Institute. It's just outside the city. I'm actually late for a meeting with my student advisor right now about a project, that's why I'm in such a hurry."
"Oh wow, the Vanmoor Institute, very selective." Richie grinned at the girl.
The girl shrugged. "It's tough, but worth it."
"Well, we don't want to make you any later, uh…" Virgil faltered; he didn't know the girl's name.
"Daisy." The girl held out her hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Virgil." Virgil introduced himself and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too."
"I'm Richie." Richie announced from behind Daisy.
She laughed and shook his hand as well. "Maybe I'll bump into you guys again?"
"I hope so." Virgil said.
Daisy laughed again and hurried away, waving over her shoulder as she turned the corner.
Virgil stared after her in a daze. Richie looked from Virgil to the corner where Daisy had disappeared around and the back at Virgil. He nudged the other boy with his elbow, smirking tauntingly. "Bro, you are so in love with her."
"What? I am not!" Virgil flushed a deep red and turned, stalking up the sidewalk.
Richie chuckled and jogged to catch up. "She's your nerdy soul mate. And you'll never see her again."
"She is not and why should I care. She's just some girl." Virgil shot back unconvincingly.
"Your flaming red face doth protest." Richie teased.
Virgil's hand shot up to cover his cheeks. "Shut up."
Francis walked into school and immediately the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up. He paused in the doorway and glanced over his shoulder. No one. A couple of students brushed by him before the late bell could ring. The hallways were clogged with teenagers getting things out of their lockers, chatting in groups, and heading to their first class of the day. Francis narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze over the hallway again, something was wrong.
One clump of students dispersed and Francis locked eyes with Wade. The larger teen was standing down the hall, leaning casually against the lockers, his big arms crossed over his chest. He was looking at Francis, his face clean of emotion.
Francis kept his own face neutral but his hand went up to grab the strap of his backpack and he clenched the strap so hard his knuckles turned white. The two stared evenly at one another for what seemed like a long time but what must have been only a few minutes.
The late bell rang, shocking Francis back to reality. He released the strap and smirked at Wade before turning down another hallway and heading to class. Once he was out of sight Francis furrowed his brow. He'd have to tread lightly now. No fighting in school. He couldn't afford any more slip-ups with the principal or the police.
Richie found Francis between classes. "Did you see…?"
"Wade, yeah." Francis interrupted the blond boy. He reached into his locker for a book and slammed it shut.
Richie scanned Francis' face. "Okay. What are you going to do?"
Francis shrugged and re-shouldered his backpack. "Nothing."
"Nothing." Richie repeated, one eyebrow rising incredulously. "You're not going to do anything or say anything? What are you going to do if Wade makes a move?"
"He's not." Francis said confidently. "Look over there." The pyro nodded over Richie's shoulder.
Richie turned to look and noticed Principal Duncan was watching them. He acknowledged Richie and Francis' looks with a nod and continued surveying the hall.
"Now look over there." Francis turned in the opposite direction. Wade rounded the corner, looking intent on finding Francis at his locker. Wade faltered when he noticed Duncan watching his movements. A teacher walked around the same corner Wade had just come from and pointedly looked at the banger before walking to the bulletin board on the far wall and posting a notice.
Richie looked at Francis for an explanation. The red head grinned. "They've been doing that all day. They're watching us. All the teachers, the principals, I even saw the janitor tailing Wade a while ago. They don't want another fight on school grounds so they're making sure they're always around. Wade won't start a fight in front of a teacher."
"Wow." Richie was impressed. "I had no idea." He looked at the teacher, who was now pretending to read a flyer. Wade seemed torn about what to do next and he backtracked, disappearing around the corner.
Francis slung an arm around Richie's shoulder and the two walked past Duncan, headed to class. "You know, maybe authority figures aren't so bad."
"I heard that Stone." Duncan smiled.
Francis raised his hand over his shoulder in acknowledgement and he and Richie laughed.
"It's kinda freaky." Virgil said, sliding into the seat beside Francis at lunchtime.
"Hmm?" Francis asked around a mouthful of chips.
Virgil pointed at the lunch ladies, who were not hiding their staring at Wade, seated on the other side of the cafeteria. "Everybody's on Wade's case."
"Good." Frieda said. She was sitting across from the boys eating a salad. "Maybe school can continue to be peaceful. These last few weeks have been great."
Francis looked over at Wade and noticed the clenched fists and furrowed brow, the terse way he spoke with the other members of his crew. Francis frowned. "I think if Wade's gonna snap, and he is, it's gonna be outside of school. He's not stupid."
"Then you can avoid him." Virgil reasoned. "Once Violet's done with the play, you can just go straight home after school."
"I'm not going to hide from him." Francis said.
"You'd rather get arrested again?" Frieda asked.
Francis glared across the table. "Let's just drop it."
"Fine." Frieda shrugged and turned her attention back to her lunch.
"Fine." Francis scowled.
Virgil looked between the two and reached out into the air, wiggling his fingers. "Wow, I can actually feel the awkward." Neither responded. "What happened between you two?"
"Nothing." They said in unison.
"Riiiight." Virgil rolled his eyes. "I buy that."
Francis dropped his pop can onto to the table with a loud thunk. "I asked Frieda out and she said no, again."
"Wait." Virgil made a 'T' motion with his hands. "Flag on the play. Are you guys not going out?"
"No. Why would you think that?" Frieda asked.
Virgil shrugged. "You guys spend every afternoon together. You eat lunch together. You get along really well and are always touching each other. Plus there was that whole kiss thing over break."
Frieda's face went scarlet at the mention of the kiss. "We're not going out. And we're not always touching each other."
"You kind of are." Virgil argued. "But it's not my place. Whatever's going on with you two is between you two."
"I don't even know what's going on with us." Francis muttered.
Frieda shot him a look. Francis raised his eyebrow. "It's true. One second we're kissing and it seems like you're liking it and then the next you just want to be friends. I don't get it. Why can't you even give me a chance?"
"It's not that." Frieda tried to explain. "I said before…"
"Yeah, I remember." Francis frowned. "Sounded like a loud of bull shit to me."
Virgil picked up his tray. "I'm going to…go."
"I'm just asking for one date, if it sucks, we'll be friends. If not, we'll see. What's the harm in that?" Francis persisted.
Virgil looked torn. He knew he should leave and give the two teens a chance to talk about this in private, but he also really wanted to hear how this ended.
Frieda picked at her salad.
"C'mon Frieda. One date." Francis pleaded.
Frieda finally looked up and sighed. "I guess one date couldn't hurt."
Francis grinned broadly. "Awesome."
"I'm going to sit back down." Virgil reclaimed his seat.
"So Friday night?" Francis asked.
Frieda nodded. "Okay. Friday night it is."
Author's Note:
Okay, so I actually have some excuses about why this is so late. Exams, sickness, and moving have consumed my life. So I don't feel all that guilty about this update being so late. But for real, in the future I will try to keep updates to a month or under. Updates that take longer than a month make me feel bad about myself.
About the chapter, I was going to include the date in this chapter, but it got long and I got lazy. Next chapter, expect some epic romance. And some other stuff will probably happen too. The rest of this chapter is mostly filler, which is why it was hard to write. That contributed to the lateness.
PLEASE REVIEW!
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