Disclaimer: I do not own Static Shock or The Incredibles

Chapter Twenty-Two: Exposition

Francis' return to Dakota High School was met with very little fanfare, except from his girlfriend.

Frieda was waiting in the parking lot when Francis and Violet pulled in and she had enough restraint to not tackle-hug Francis until he'd turned the engine off.

Francis wrapped his arms around Frieda and just enjoyed the feel of her. She was wearing some kind of incredibly good smelling perfume. She felt warm and safe and Francis felt all the anxiety and tension of the last few weeks roll off him.

Frieda pulled back after a few moments, beaming excitedly at her boyfriend. "God, I missed you. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good." Francis reached up and pulled his helmet off. Frieda gasped at the sight of his face.

"What? What happened…?" She tentatively reached out to touch the bruising under Francis' eye. Her finger was cool on his skin. Francis leant into her hand. Frieda explored the bruise for a moment before locking eyes with Francis. "Well?"

"Nothing, it was nothing." Francis looked over at Violet for help, but she only shook her head and moved away towards the school. He was on his own with this one.

"Well I can see it's not nothing." Frieda said. "C'mon." She pulled on Francis' hand to get him to stand up. Francis shouldered his backpack and slung an arm around Frieda, pulling her close to him as they walked towards the entrance.

"What happened?" Frieda asked again.

Francis sighed. "You're not gonna let this go huh?"

"I think I deserve to know why my boyfriend shows up after two weeks looking like he was in a gang fight," Frieda retorted petulantly.

Frieda felt Francis tense. "Oh, did I just guess it?"

"Sort of." Francis admitted. "Look, it was back in Metroville. Some guys I used to roll with took exception to my face."

Frieda looked up at Francis. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am." Francis smiled at her. "It's over with anyway. For good."

"Good." Frieda snuggled deeper into Francis' side, enjoying how her body perfectly melded to his. "Not that the whole rugged and scarred look isn't attractive, but I prefer you unbruised."

"Noted." Francis grinned.

The couple arrived at Frieda's locker first and she detached herself from Francis to open the locker and get her books. She smiled impishly at Francis. "So, do you want to know how many tests you missed while you were gone?"

Francis groaned. "Not even a little."

"Hi Virgil!"

Virgil looked up and waved at Daisy. She was hurrying up to the Vanmoor Institute's entrance laden down with charts and papers. Virgil rushed to help her before she dropped something.

"Thanks." Daisy smiled. She blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. "I swear, this project Specs and Trapper have us working on is going to kill me. The workload is ridiculous."

Virgil laughed. "Yeah, but it's actually kind of interesting. I may hate the dastardly duo something fierce, but even I have to admit they're like super geniuses or something."

"Eloquent as always Virgil." Daisy said with a teasing grin. They walked into the school's lobby and Daisy stopped short, her eyes widening. "Oh my god."

"What?" Virgil looked around, expecting to see something shocking. There was nothing around except a handful of people talking near the office.

"That's Edwin Alva." Daisy hissed, eyes locked onto the stately figure of a white-haired man shaking hands with Mrs. Bancroft, the school's principal.

"That's Alva?" Virgil looked the man over. He was dressed impeccably in an expensive looking suit and seemed to be doing all the talking. Mrs. Bancroft was listening intently and kept nodding.

Edwin Alva was the richest man in Dakota, possibly the richest man on the East Coast. He owned nearly half of Dakota and was responsible for funding every major research and development facility in the area, including the Vanmoor Institute. He must be dropping in to check on his investment.

"Who's the scarecrow standing next to him?" Virgil whispered to Daisy.

"That's his son, Edwin Jr." Daisy answered. "He graduated from here a few years ago. Now he works for his dad."

The son seemed the very opposite of the father. At least in demeanor. Where Edwin Alva the senior practically radiated intelligence and confidence, Edwin Jr. was the personification of discomfort and uncertainty. He stood slumped beside his father, staring at the floor, hands jammed into his pockets.

"Well isn't' he just a ray of sunshine?" Virgil muttered.

"Be nice." Daisy scolded. "Come on. We're going to be late for class."

The days were getting warmer. Most of the snow was gone, leaving behind only dirty slush in the gutters. For the first time since autumn, Violet wasn't wearing a heavy winter coat as she and Francis walked out of the school towards the parking lot.

The students were all in a cheerful mood, the signs of the coming spring animating them and drawing them outdoors. Instead of racing for their cars to head home as quickly as possible, they were lingering on the grounds talking in small groups. A group of boys was passing a football back and forth. Some senior girls were sitting on the hood of a car, blasting music through the speakers. The students could feel summer fast approaching.

Violet tilted her head back to luxuriate in the feel of the sun's warmth on her face. "It's so nice outside."

Francis looked around. "Yeah."

"You know what, I kinda want to stick around a little. Virgil said he was going to come into town today to hang out with Richie. We could all walk up to mall or something." Violet said.

Francis looked over Violet's head and noticed Frieda standing with a group of her friends from newspaper. "That sounds okay. I'm gonna go ask Frieda if she wants to go."

Violet snorted.

Francis turned to look at her. "What?"

"No, nothing." She smiled. "It's just you're so coupley. It's kind of funny. I didn't think you'd be Mr. Boyfriend but you totally are."

Francis pouted a little. "I think I'm offended."

"No, don't be. It's a good thing." Violet shoved Francis' shoulder. "Go. We'll catch up at the mall."

Francis nodded before turning to trot over to Frieda. She saw him coming and smiled as he approached. Her friends all greeted him warmly before excusing themselves.

"Hi." Francis said. "Violet wants to go to the mall with Virg and Richie. Wanna come?"

"Sure. That sounds like fun." Frieda hooked her arm in Francis'. "Drive me?"

"You wanna ride the bike?" Francis looked surprised. Frieda had never ridden on his motorcycle before.

"Yeah. You have a spare helmet right?" Frieda asked.

"Yup, you can use Violet's." Francis led Frieda over to the bike and pulled the helmets out of the storage compartment before straddling the bike. Frieda slipped onto the seat behind him and put her helmet on. Francis made sure Frieda was comfortable before putting his own helmet on and starting the engine. Frieda jumped as the rumble of the engine shot through the bike and she wrapped her arms tightly around Francis, leaning against his back.

Francis grinned and shot forward. The motorcycle careened out of the parking lot and onto the main road. Frieda's grip tightened. "Whoa!"

Francis laughed out loud and Frieda punched his shoulder. "I heard that! Slow down!"

"Gotcha freak." Francis tackled the purple-haired Super and the two went sprawling to the ground.

The other boy was on his feet in an instant, a disturbingly wide smile on his face. "Nuh uh, I got you!" His hands glowed purple and sharpened into blades and giggling to himself the teen slashed wildly at Francis.

Francis backpedaled, desperately trying to keep out of range of the arcing blades.

"I could use a little help!" Francis called out.

One of the blades swung towards him, on a collision course with side of Francis' neck when it impacted against a bubbly force field that manifested in front of Francis.

"Good timing." Francis said, his eyes wide.

Violet materialized before the pyro and grinned. "One of the best parts of working in a team…" She looked at the confused purple-haired boy in front of her and forced the shield forward, throwing the boy back onto his butt. "…is someone's always got your back."

"Am I missing the fun again?" Virgil swooped in on his disc, surveying the scene. "Traffic was terrible."

Virgil landed beside Violet and Francis, the three teens turning to face the Super.

Today during lunch, new reports had come on stating that there was a rogue Super terrorizing the downtown Dakota area. Francis and Violet immediately made excuses and rushed to change into their uniforms before heading out to the scene.

What they found was an Asian boy about their age with the power of shape shifting his hands into any weapon imaginable. When they had arrived, he'd been chopping through a storefront window with an ax he'd made from his right hand. While the Sanctum teens had been trained to try and talk their opponents out of a fight if possible, to avoid injury and property damage, it was clear there would be no reasoning with this Super. There was something wrong with him mentally, the longer the fight went on and the more brutal it became, the more delighted he became. He seemed to relish in the excitement of fighting and did not want it to end. Even more unsettling was his clear enjoyment for hurting others. He slashed without restraint at the two superheroes, not caring that if one of his swings connected it could be fatal.

The Super got to his feet and started giggling again, his entire body convulsing with glee. "Alright, now it's a party!"

Virgil cast a confused look at Francis and Violet. "Stay out of his range." Violet warned him. "We're going to have to incapacitate him from afar."

"Aerial attack?" Virgil suggested hopefully.

"Yeah." Francis agreed.

"Come at him from behind, we'll distract him." Violet added. "Make sure you immobilize his hands somehow, wrap them in metal."

"Gotcha." Virgil jumped back onto his disc and shot straight up into the sky.

"Hey! Where you going?" The Super followed Virgil's ascent with his eyes.

"Over here!" Francis called at him. The Super's eyes locked onto the pyro.

"What's your name?" Violet asked in a soothing tone. They had to keep the Super's attention focused on them. Maybe they could get him talking.

"Shiv." The Super answered.

Francis quirked an eyebrow. "A little obvious don't you think?"

Shiv smirked, and there was that dangerous glint in his eye, the one that reminded Violet they were dealing with someone not to be taken lightly. "I like knives."

Shiv's hands glowed again and suddenly morphed into long blades again. The Super launched himself at the other two. Francis and Violet dove in opposite directions. Shiv followed after Francis.

Francis got back to his feet in time to duck a swipe. Shiv kept pressing forward, hacking away with abandon. Francis stepped backward and caught his heel on the edge of the sidewalk, toppling over backwards. Shiv pounced. Francis rolled away but still caught a glancing cut to his right shoulder.

Francis leapt to his feet and put a hand to the wound, his fingers came away sticky with blood. Shiv's grin widened. Francis' eyes glowed red with anger and flames crept up his body. Francis ducked another swing of the blades and smashed his fist into the underside of Shiv's chin, fire erupting at the point of contact.

Shiv was thrown backward, his chin and neck burned by the punch. Before he could resume attacking the pyro, Static made his entrance. He'd found a giant slab of sheet metal at a construction site the next block over and magnetized it around Shiv's body, completely encasing him. Shiv wobbled unsteadily for a moment before Violet walked over and toppled him with a light shove.

Virgil landed beside her. They both looked over to Francis. He'd calmed down and reined his powers in. He still held his bleeding shoulder with one hand. He noticed their concerned looks and threw them a thumbs up to reassure them. "It's nothing."

"You're saying that too often lately." Virgil remarked.

Police cars skid onto the street and stopped in front of the teenaged superheroes. One officer got out, his weapon drawn, and assessed the situation. "We a little late?"

"Yeah, but you can bring him in if you want." Violet gestured at the trapped Shiv. "Do you guys have NSA power suppressors on hand?"

"Back at the station yeah." The officer answered. He motioned for a few other cops to deal with Shiv. He looked back at Violet. "You guys alright?"

Virgil has walked over to Francis to examine the cut. It was indeed just a shallow wound. They wouldn't even have to call Doc Sunbright in to deal with it. "We're fine, it's just a flesh wound."

The cops went around the area, taking statements and talking with storeowners whose property had been damaged.

Violet walked over to her two partners and threw her arms around them. "Let's go home guys."

"Hey Pops." Virgil walked into his father's room. "What's happening?"

"Virg, you guys are home late." Lucius stuck his head out of the closet, an untied tie draped around his neck.

"Yeah, we got sort of hung up with something." Virgil jumped onto his dad's bed and reached for the sports magazine on the bedside table.

"And that something wouldn't happen to be a psychotic knife-wielding Super would it?" Lucius emerged, dressed in a slacks and a nice collared shirt.

Virgil sat up. "Whoa Pops, looking good. Got a hot date?"

Lucius smirked and turned to the mirror. "You didn't answer the question."

"It seemed rhetorical." Virgil got up and walked to stand beside his father. He reached for his dad's favorite cologne and sniffed it.

"Is Francis okay?" Lucius asked, reaching for the aftershave.

Virgil put the bottle down. "Yeah, Helen fixed him up. You didn't answer my question."

Lucius looked at him sideways. "Which was?"

"Where're you going all spruced up?"

Lucius hesitated. "I've got a date."

Virgil snorted. "Very funny Pops. I was just joking."

"No, really." Lucius turned to Virgil. "It's with a woman who works for the same firm I do. Her name is Trina. We're going to dinner in the city."

Virgil dropped his gaze to the carpet. "Oh."

Lucius sighed and ran a hand across his face. "Look Virgil, I know this is new for you. I haven't dated since your mother died. But it's been almost eight years. I feel good about this, I really like Trina."

Virgil nodded. "Yeah, I get it. You should date if you want to. It's fine."

Lucius put a hand on the back of Virgil's neck in a comforting manner. "Are you going to be okay with this? I don't want to make you uncomfortable. No matter what Virgil, you are the most important thing in my life. I want you to be okay."

Virgil looked up and smiled at his dad. "It's okay." He saw the skepticism in Lucius' eyes. "Really. It's a little strange. But I'll get used it." He punched his father's shoulder lightly. "I hope you have fun tonight."

"Thanks son." Lucius pulled Virgil into a one-armed hug. "Don't wait up."

Virgil pushed Lucius away, laughing. "Ugh Pops, don't even."

The next day, Frieda and Violet were sitting on the bleachers in gym class with a group of other girls, passing around a magazine.

On the court, Francis was playing basketball with some other guys, but he would glance up every now and again to see what Frieda was doing. At one point he looked up and Frieda's face was a bright red and Violet was looking right at him.

Francis frowned in confusion and bowed out of the game, sneaking up on the group of girls.

"Wow Frieda, a 100% match." One of the girls, Heather, remarked. "That's pretty telling."

Violet pretended not to notice Francis slinking up behind them. "Yeah, and you're the only one who scored that high for him. Everybody else were Static girls."

"You haven't taken the test yet Vi." Frieda pointed out. Her cheeks had gone as red as her hair. "Don't you want to figure out your superhero love match?"

Violet grinned and shook her head. "No, not really."

Francis settled down behind Frieda and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Watcha doin'?"

Frieda jumped and the other girls started laughing. Frieda turned and smacked Francis' shoulder. He hid a wince. "You scared me!"

Francis smirked. "I'm not even a little bit sorry." He looked around at the circle of girls. "So what're you doing?"

"Nothing." Frieda said quickly.

Another girl, Jess, held up the magazine they had been passing around. It was one of those cheap teenybopper magazines and it was opened to a page that had Hotstreak on one side against a red background and Static on the other against a blue background. The bold typeface read, "Which hottie Super is perfect for you? Take our love test and find out."

"Frieda scored a 100% for Hotstreak." Jess said. "Face it Frieda, you're a Hotstreak girl."

Francis felt a smirk on his face and Violet nudged him. Right, he shouldn't be happy about his girlfriend taking a love test for another guy. Even if it wasn't really another guy. 100% huh?

"It's just some silly test. Right Francis?" Frieda leant backwards into Francis' chest. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Right." He agreed.

"Did you guys see the news footage of that fight yesterday?" Heather asked. "It was pretty intense. I hope Hotstreak didn't get hurt too bad."

"It didn't look that bad." Violet answered.

"I swear, all of the weirdoes are coming out of the woodwork now that the superheroes are back. Thanks god for the good ones. We'd be in some serious trouble without them." Jess added.

The bell rang just then, signaling the end of gym. The girls started to get up to go to the locker room and change. Francis stepped down the bleachers with Frieda and they started for the locker room. One of the boys Francis had been playing basketball with passed by him and tugged on his shirtsleeve, revealing the edge of a clean white bandage on his shoulder.

"Here's your basketball." The boy handed Francis the ball and walked away.

Francis bounced the ball and looked at Frieda, who was staring intently at his shoulder. "What?"

Frieda shook her head. "Nothing. Want to go grab something from the snack bar?"

"I think you know me too well." Francis grinned.

Frieda smiled back but she couldn't shake the image of that bandage. Yesterday, she had seen the superhero Hotstreak get cut in the exact same place. But it had to just be a coincidence. Didn't it?

Author's Note:

Whoa. It's been a loooong time since I updated. I swear, it's the weirdest thing. I can't write even a sentence over summer vacation, when I have oodles of free time, but the second I get back to school and my life gets hectic I can write. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Sorry this took so long. Also sorry this chapter's kind of short. Don't worry, the next one should be pretty intense. Also, what is this? Foreshadowing? Since when do I foreshadow? Look at me being all writery.

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