Author's Opening Note: I hope everyone had a happy Halloween since the last chapter. This one took a while due to having to cover more hours at work and its length. Over 13,000 words. Maybe the longest chapter I've ever written. If I made any mistakes, please point them out ASAP. And don't forget to vote on the one-shot poll.
Review Responses
EmeraldStirling: Yeah, I figured as much. But I'll have to make it relatively brief to get on with the next one-shot adaptation.
THEOWLPALADIN: Then you're going to love this. I put a lot of work into the "No capes!" scene, lol.
LoamyCoffee: Oh, absolutely. Bob/Ghira was just at an all-time low. And now, so it seems, Mirage/Emerald gave him the chance of a lifetime to truly relive the glory days.
Guest, October 27th: It's possible for a one-shot adaptation in my other multiverse fic.
Matt: No, not yet.
Pharamine: Hahaha, you're not the only one. Poor Ruby.
VirusChris: Oh, yes. I can hardly wait to write out the reactions to those scenes myself.
blaiseingfire: Great idea, my friend. Keep reading and check out the notes at the end, and I think you'll be pleased.
Blackwing8: My thoughts exactly. Ghira is a very fortunate man to have married Kali. The "No capes!" is the second funniest part of the movie. And it's possible, but unlikely, that I'll use any deleted scenes.
Wrath of The Sun Deity: I'll think about it. And it's a good thing Frozone didn't fight the Omindiroid 8000, because I don't think he could have won, especially if he was inside the volcano where he wouldn't be able to use is ice powers.
Imperial Romance: That's possible, and I agree. It's a nice change of pace from the last four films in the series.
DYnoJackal19: Hahaha, probably. Read and find out.
4545: Indeed, my friend. The wheel of time stops for nobody, not even Mr. Incredible. But things are looking up for him now that he's back in shape.
XenoBlaze: You want MOAR, I'll give you MOAR! Hahaha. And there will probably be two more chapters after this one.
Inspiration: The Incredibles
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit story for entertainment purposes only. "RWBY" is the property of director and animator Monty Oum (RIP) and production company Rooster Teeth, and "The Incredibles is the property of director Brad Bird, production companies Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios, and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
In his new car, Ghira drove up to a large estate with high white walls and a metal gate emitting a red-laser beam security grid. He stopped next to a booth with a screen.
"Wow. Whoever he's visiting must be very well off," Marrow commented on the mansion.
"Indeed. Especially with such high-tech security around it," Penny added with an impressed smile.
The screen turned on, showing a dark-skinned guard wearing sunglasses. "You have an appointment?" he asked.
"I'm an old friend. I just wanted to..." Ghira began.
But the guard cut him off. "All visitors are required to make a reser-" the guard then suddenly threw his hands up and stumbled off camera.
Ghira watched in puzzlement as a short, dark-skinned woman in a black dress and grey hair tied in a braided ponytail shooed the guard away. "Hey, get back to work! Go check the electric fence or something!" she barked.
"It's Maria," Nora quickly identified the woman.
Maria nodded. "I thought as much. When Gold-Sith mentioned my job, I figured Ghira would ask me to repair his super suit," she said.
"Then you two must be good friends," Jaune smiled as he munched on some popcorn.
Maria pressed her face against the screen, revealing large, black rimmed eyeglasses over her eyes. "What is it? Who are you? What do you want?" she demanded.
Ghira simply pushed down his sunglasses to reveal his eyes to Maria.
"My God, you've gotten fat," she muttered. "Come in, Come, come!" The laser grid shut off and the gate opened, allowing Ghira access to the manor.
A few people snickered at Maria's remark while Blake looked offended. "Hey! He's lost a lot of weight, for your information," she defended her father.
"At least she's letting him in without any trouble," Maria pointed out, glad her counterpart remained friendly with Ghira.
Inside the estate, Ghira and Maria were shown walking down a hall, expensive vases on display in the walls on either side.
"Yes, things are going quite well," Maria said in a dull tone. "Quite well. My Gods, no complaints. But, you know, it is not the same. Not the same at all."
"Would you mind telling us a bit more about my counterpart, Gold-Sith?" Maria requested.
"Certainly. Your counterpart is unrivaled when it came to designing and providing first-rate super hero suits," Gold-Sith supplied.
"But then what has she been doing for the past fifteen years after all the supers were forced into retirement?" Oscar questioned.
"Weren't you in the news? Some show in…Mistral?" Ghira asked.
"Yes, darling. In Mistral," Maria confirmed as they entered a large room. "Supermodels. Ha!" she scoffed. "Nothing super about them. Spoiled, stupid, little stick figures with poofy lips who think only about themselves," she said in contempt before gesturing to a statue in the middle of an indoor pond. "I used to design for gods!"
"Oh, I'm a regular fashion designer now. Albeit one who's done very well for herself," Maria nodded, appreciating her counterpart's affluence.
"Makes sense, given her talent for designing clothes. There's no reason it should be limited to superhero suits," Vine reasoned.
Weiss frowned. "She doesn't sound too elated about it. I guess she yearns for the glory days like Ghira does," she presumed.
Maria turned to face Ghira with a grin. "But perhaps you come with a challenge, eh? I was surprised to get your call."
Ghira presented his suit to the approaching Maria. "M, I just need a patch job."
Maria took the costume and inspected it. "Hmm. This is mega mesh. Outmoded, but very sturdy. And you've torn right through it!" she exclaimed as she stuck her hand through the hole before narrowing her gaze at Ghira. "What have you been doing, Ghira? Moonlighting hero work?"
"Ding, ding, ding!" Nora chimed. "Good guess."
"Uh…must have happened a long time ago," Ghira lied, averting his gaze.
"No way will she believe that. She knows the durability of her suits better than anyone," Ironwood said skeptically.
"Your dad's not a very good liar," Yang said to her partner, who nodded silently.
Maria didn't look convinced. "I see. This is a hobo suit, darling," she focused back on the suit. "You can't be seen in this. I won't allow it!" she said in disgust as she stuffed the suit into a trash bin and walked away. "Fifteen years ago, maybe, but now?"
Ghira quickly fished the suit out. "What do you mean? You designed it," he implored.
Nora gaped. "Hobo suit? That suit looks awesome!" she defended.
"Yeah. At least let him keep it so he can look back on the good old days," Ren shared his partners opinion.
"She's right though. Ghira could use a new look if he's continuing hero work," Qrow agreed with Maria's counterpart.
"I never look back, darling," Maria stated as she sat down at an O-shaped table. "It distracts from the now."
Maria's gaze intensified. "You need a new suit. That much is certain," she declared.
"He's gonna get a new suit? Awesome!" Ruby beamed.
"A new suit?" Ghira slumped into a chair across from Maria. "Where the heck am I gonna get a new suit-"
Maria cut him off. "You can't! It's impossible! I'm far too busy. So, ask me now, before I again become sane." She looked away from Ghira with a pouty lower lip.
Ruby arched her brow. "Uh…what?"
Weiss looked just as perplexed. "I'm confused. Is she trying to persuade him or dissuade him?"
"That's a good question, sister," Winter said, not quite able to get a read on Marias counterpart.
"Wait…" Ghira shot Maria a dumbfounded look. "You want to make me... a suit?"
"Oh, you push too hard, darling! But I accept," Maria gave a wide grin.
The audience stared silent and dumbfounded at Maria onscreen.
"Well…she seems to have a screw loose," Yang remarked before turning to Maria. "No offense."
Maria waved her off. "None taken. Although I'd say she's more eccentric than crazy."
"Well, you can't blame her. For someone like Maria, designing clothes is a passion, like a form of art. She must have been dying to design clothes for supers again," Vine said reasonably.
"But wouldn't designing a new suit be illegal?" Oscar brought up a good point.
Harriet nodded. "True. But with Ghira's new government connection, he should be all right," she countered gently.
"Maria pulled open a drawer next to the table and pulled out a sketchpad and pen, clicking on the latter. "It will be bold. Dramatic!" she proclaimed.
"Yeah," Ghira said excitedly.
"Heroic!"
The audience became eager to see Maria's new suit design. They could hardly wait to see Mr. Incredible in action wearing his new threads.
Ruby gasped sharply as an idea came to her. "It should have a cape! Mr. Incredible would look amazing with one!" she chimed in. [1]
"Yeah, something classic, like Dynaguy!" Ghira happily remembered a fellow superhero. "Oh! He had a great look! Oh, the cape and the boots-"
A crumpled-up ball of paper hit Ghira's forehead. "No capes!" Maria said sharply before looking back at her notebook.
"Huh?" several people said in unified confusion.
Ruby looked heartbroken. "Wh-why not?" she asked in a small voice. "Capes are what make superheroes so awesome!"
"Yeah. Why can't he have a cape" Nora agreed with a slight whine.
"Isn't that my decision?" Ghira asked, his eyebrow cocked.
Maria narrowed her eyes and peered over her book. "Do you remember Thunderhead?"
The scene shifted to a superhero was standing beneath a dark cloudy sky. He was wearing a blue costume of several different shades and a long, billowing cape.
"Tall, storm powers. Nice man. Good with kids," Maria described the hero.
Ren looked curious. "Storm powers? You mean like lightning?" he asked.
"Yes. He could control weather conditions, including thunder and lightning," Gold-Sith confirmed.
"Sounds like my kind of superhero," Nora smiled and gazed upward as she imagined herself as a similar kind of superheroine.
"Listen, M..." Ghira tried to interject.
Maria hopped onto the table, pointing her finger at Ghira. "November 15th of '58!"
A short supervillain wearing an eyepatch was shown cackling while holding a detonator, then an offscreen, blue-gloved fist hit him, knocking him out and a tooth from his mouth.
"All was well, another day saved when…"
The scene shifted to Thunderhead standing on a rocky islet, pushing the supervillains missile aimed at the city towards the ocean. He then bowed to a blonde woman in a tattered white dress who watched in awe.
Winter squinted at Thunderheads cape. "Wait…did it just…" then her eyes widened. "Oh no…"
"…his cape snagged on a missile fin."
The missile launched, taking Thunderhead with it, leaving only his boots behind while the woman let out a terrified scream.
A few people recoiled at Thunderheads sudden death with a gasp while others couldn't help but laugh at the dark humor.
Blake elbowed her partner. "Yang! Stop laughing," she scolded.
Yang stopped and cleared her throat. "Sorry…"
Ruby threw up her hands. "Oh, come on! That was just a freak accident. It could have happened to anyone," she protested.
"Thunderhead was not the brightest bulb…" Ghira tried to reason.
But Maria cut him off again. "Stratogale! April 23rd, '57."
A young haired girl in a costume had just righted a damaged airship in midflight, then she flew over to the side to wave at the passengers.
"Cape caught in a jet turbine." Stratogale was then instantly yanked backwards with a brief gagging sound as she was sucked headfirst into the turbine and one of the passengers winced as an alarm on board the plane went off.
Everybody cringed or exclaimed at Stratogales death, even if it was offscreen.
"Okay…that's not funny," Yang drew the line.
"Poor girl, she couldn't have been older than Ruby," Elm noted Stratogales youth.
"Oh, my Gods…I hope she at least died quickly," Clover grimaced, noticing the young heroine went into the turbine headfirst.
"Uh…well…she…" Ruby stammered, trying to refute other-Maria's point.
"M You can't generalize about these things," Ghira tried again.
But Maria wasn't done. "Meta-Man. Express elevator. Dynaguy, snag on takeoff! Splashdown, sucked into a vortex!" a quick series of clips showed three more unfortunate heroes whose capes cost them their lives before returning to Maria's final declaration. "No capes!"
Marrow held up his hands. "Okay! Enough! We get the point," he shouted.
Weiss tapped her cheek. "Come to think of it, didn't your cloak almost get you killed on initiation day, Ruby?" she recalled from two years ago, creating a short pause as everyone looked at Ruby.
Yang nodded with a frown. "Hey…Ruby. Maybe you should-" she began.
Ruby gasped sharply, cutting her sister off. "No! I will never give up my cape!" she declared as she protectively caressed her cloak while her teammates all sighed.
"But Mr. Incredible doesn't have to worry about that. His super toughness would save him from those accidents…right?" Oscar questioned uncertainly.
"Even so, a cape may not be worth the risk," Ozpin saw other-Maria's point.
"Now, go on. Your new suit will be finished before your next assignment."
"You know I'm retired from hero work," Ghira reminded.
"As am I, Ghira," Maria gave Ghira a sly grin. "Yet here we are."
"You're not fooling my counterpart, Ghira," Maria's grin matched her counterpart. "You'd never need your suit repaired if you weren't performing hero work."
"Even so, she's all for it. The glory days aren't just coming back for Ghira," Elm said positively.
"I hope dad isn't the only one who gets his chance to shine again," Blake said, wondering if the rest of her alternate family will get to perform hero work.
"M, I only need a patch job," Ghira repeated, offering his old suit. "For sentimental reasons."
Maria sighed. "Fine. I will also fix the hobo suit," she took the old suit and walked up a flight of stairs.
Ghira laughed. "You're the best of the best, M," he called after her.
"Yes, I know, darling. I know," Maria replied without looking back.
Qrow chuckled. "You have an ego, Maria."
"She's not insufferable about it though, unlike some people," Winter commented, acidly referring to her father.
Maria just sipped her tea. "Whether her confidence is founded or not remains to be seen."
Back at the Belladonna house, Kali was hanging shirts in the master bedroom's closet only to spot something. It was a single, long, bright green hair off on one of her husband's suit jackets. Her eyes widened at the sight of it as she plucked it off.
"Oh no," Oscar muttered, immediately knowing what was coming.
"But how did that hair get onto his jacket?" Blake asked aloud before her eyes widened. "Y-you don't really think he-"
Yang shook her head. "No way, Blake. You saw all the passion come back to their marriage. Ghira would never cheat on Kali," she promised.
"But Kali doesn't know that. That hair is going to make her suspicious," Ozpin quickly predicted.
And then the phone rang. Still noticeably concerned about the green hair, Kali moved to answer the phone, but Ghira's loud voice stopped her. "I got it, I got it!" he called.
Kali paused in answering the phone but looked suspicious. "Don't answer it, honey, I got it!"
"Oh boy…" Jaune sighed heavily. "That's not going to help."
"In his office, Ghira sat at his desk, speaking on his phone. "Hello?"
"We have a new assignment for you," Emerald answered from her headquarters.
Ironwood pursed his lips. "It seems like Ghira was expecting that phone call," he noted.
"Well, Emerald's employer did say he wanted to bring Ghira back, so she must have told him to expect another call," Ozpin presumed. "It might also part of the deal in tripling his previous Insuricare salary."
Kali finally picked up the receiver in time to hear Emerald's voice. "How soon can you get here?"
"I'll leave tomorrow morning, "Ghira answered, making Kali look even more suspicious.
Harriet cringed. "Oh, man. That's horrible timing…"
"She's gonna think he's having an affair," Elm fretted.
Qrow facepalmed. "Oh, come on. Not that old cliché," he grumbled.
Maria sighed. "A woman's intuition knows best, even if that isn't the case here," she said softly.
"Goodbye," Ghira excitedly leaned back in his chair before he hung up the phone.
Excited for his next assignment, Ghira spun around, and moved toward the door. He opened it to find Kali standing right there with her arms crossed and a neutral look on her face.
Everybody steeled themselves for Kali exploding and accusing Ghira of cheating.
"Here we go," Qrow muttered, leaning back in his seat.
Kali forced a smile. "Who was that, honey? The, uh, office?" she asked placing a hand on the doorframe.
The audience relaxed a little.
"Okay, she may not be accusing him of anything, but she still suspects something," Winter observed Kali's behavior.
Blake nodded. "At least she's giving him the benefit of the doubt, despite the seemingly obvious hints," she noted her mother still having faith in her father.
"Another conference," Ghira replied quickly as he jerked his thumb behind him and circled around Kali while speaking. "Short notice, but you know...duty calls," he chuckled nervously before making it past Kali.
Kali kept her smile until Ghira stopped looking at her, she observed the inside of his darkened office, her arms crossed.
"He can't come confess at this point. Think about it, just telling Kali he's unemployed and doing superhero work behind her back would not only damage their marriage, but risk exposing them again," Ozpin surmised, eliciting a few nods and mutters of agreement.
"He's right. He's already crossed the Rubicon," Ironwood declared with a frown.
"But Kali's no fool by a long shot. The truth is going to come out sooner or later," Vine predicted.
The next morning, Ghira slipped into his sporty new car wearing a suit and sunglasses, ready to leave for his next fired up the engine when the garage door opened behind him. A bathrobe clad Kali walked approached his car door. "Ghira?"
"Yeah, what's up, honey?" Ghira answered as he adjusted the rearview mirror.
Kali took a deep breath and bent over with a smile. "Ha... Have a great trip."
"Thanks, sweetie," Ghira looked behind him to make sure the driveway was clear. "I'll call you when I get there."
"I love you. So much," Kali said with a bit of desperation.
Ghira turned to face his wife and lowered his shades. "I love you too," he leaned out and gave her a kiss.
With that, Ghira backed out of the garage and drove off down the street. drove smoothly backwards out of the garage and onto the street while Kali hesitantly waved goodbye.
Nearly everyone, especially the girls, felt a tinge of sorrow for Kali.
Weiss sighed. "She's holding on to the hope that Ghira still loves her," she said forlornly.
Cut to a dark manta-ray shaped airship flying across the ocean, bound for the mysterious island.
On board, Mr. Incredible was leaning back in a chair, clad in his brand-new super suit Maria had designed for him. It was a heroic red color with black shorts, gloves and boots. A gold-buckled belt was strapped around his waist. The insignia on his chest was smaller than the old one, and, in addition, had gold accents around it. A black domino mask, unchanged from the first one, completed the outfit.
The scene cleared some of the discomfort from the previous scene.
"Wow. Check out Mr. Incredibles new outfit. No more hobo suit," Harriet pointed at the screen.
"He looks even more awesome than ever!" Nora gave the screen a thumbs up.
"You've outdone yourself this time, Maria," Ruby complimented.
Maria nodded. "It looks like my counterpart really is the best at what she does," she said with a proud smile.
Once again, Ghira was munching on some shrimp with marinara sauce while an automated voice, identical to the one from the tablet, asked: "This is your automated Captain. Would you care for more mimosa?"
Ghira hummed. "Don't mind if I do," he affirmed as he set his empty glass onto a metal cylinder that elevated beside him, then quickly sank downward, and returned filled for him. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"What's a mimosa?" Ruby asked aloud.
"A cocktail. Champagne mixed with orange juice. Kind of like a screwdriver," Yang answered.
"I tried a few of those before I quit drinking," Qrow mentioned, still relieved he finally got on the wagon.
The plane veered to the left as it neared its destination. At this point, Ghira could see the same island where he had fought the Omnidroid and smiled at its tropical beauty while the ship began to descend.
"Currently 78 degrees in Nomanisan," the automated captain gave a brief weather report. "Perfect weather for flying."
"Nomanisan. So that's the islands name," Ren realized.
"I wonder what his assignment will be this time?" Nora wondered as she munched on a slice of pancake.
The ship flew over the island's thick jungle and swerved around the volcano as its altitude decreased. "Please Fasten Your Seat Belt. We're Beginning Our Descent," the automated captain instructed.
Ghira complied and strapped in as his transport picked up speed for a few seconds. One moment, they were almost skimming across surface of the water, heading quickly towards the shore. Then the ship dove beneath the waves and glided underneath the edge of the island towards a wall. It opened up to reveal a landing pad which swiftly drained the water inside while the doors slid shut behind.
"Wow! It's like an airship and a submarine combined," Yang exclaimed, wishing she could take the vehicle for a spin.
"That explains why it's shaped like a manta ray," Vine noted the vehicles design.
"Whoever Emerald's working for has some very nifty technology at his disposal," Penny commented
A metal tube extended to connect to the airship, and as Mr. Incredible undid his seatbelt, a door on his left slid open to reveal a seated Emerald inside a pod. "Hello, Mr. Incredible. Nice suit," she greeted him in with a smile. Ghira rose from his seat, picking up a thin briefcase as he did. "Thanks. Nice to be back, Emerald," he smiled back as he entered the pod.
Blake glared at Emerald for the rift she had created between her parents.
Ghira glanced around the pod holding them both before sitting down opposite from her, "Mirage." The pod closed and swiftly took off on a set of rails, transporting them through a tunnel just wide enough to accommodate it.
The pod then zoomed across the island, passing the jungle. After a short trip, it reached a very high waterfall, which split in half to reveal a giant spiral granting the pod easy travel upwards. After a few swirls, Mr. Incredible's transport was back in another dark tunnel leading deeper into the island's compound. He glanced around while conversing with Emerald. A couple of clamps grabbed the pod from both sides before quickly lifting it upwards.
"Penny was right. All this tech is pretty cool," Marrow marveled before sipping his soda.
"I wish we had pods like those here in Argus," Weiss said with some jealousy.
"And they've taken pretty big steps to keep the base hidden," Ironwood remarked on the waterfall concealing the lift system.
The scene shifted to an elevator opening into a fancy apartment, revealing Emerald speaking to Mr. Incredible explaining more. "You'll be briefed on your assignment in the conference room at two," she explained while Mr. Incredible stepped out to observe the new room he'd be staying in while she stayed behind in the elevator.
"D Wing, room A-113," Emerald finished.
"2:00. Got it," Ghira nodded to her before walking off.
Emerald gave a suspicious smile. "See you there," she said right before the doors closed.
But Mr. Incredible didn't notice. He set his briefcase onto the bed and head for the balcony. There was a fruit bowl nearby. Mr. Incredible plucked a pear from it and took a bite out as he leaned against the railing, enjoying the beautiful view.
"Just look at that. It's paradise," Yang said in soft awe.
"It reminds me of Kuo Kuana," Blake said with a hint of homesickness.
"Unfortunately, Ghira isn't there for a vacation. So, he won't be able to enjoy it for too long," Qrow reminded.
"But what's the point of building this place anyway?" Elm questioned. "Is Emeralds employer trying to start a tropical resort or something?"
Back at the Belladonna residence, Kali was vacuuming the hallway just outside Ghira's office. Suddenly, just as the vacuum neared the door, there came a soft rattling sound. Noticing, Kali pulled the vacuum away briefly, then slid it back to get the same result. Groaning loudly, Kali opened the door and entered the office as the noises continued.
Ruby giggled. "Looks like Ghira needs to clean his room more often."
"She's stuck doing housework while Ghira's doing hero work in on a beautiful, tropical island," Weiss commented, feeling bad for Kali.
Then, just as she neared Ghira's old suit on display, her eyes spotted something. She shut off the vacuum cleaner and leaned closer to examine the glass. Then she gasped at the freshly repaired rip on the sleeve.
"Maria," Kali deducted with a frown.
"Wow. First the bit of rubble on Ghira's jacket, then Emerald's hair, now that patched up rip?" Elm listed off, amazed by Kali's detective skills.
Weiss tapped her cheek. "Now that you mention it, Maria's the only contact Ghira and Kali have that can repair a damaged super suit."
"In that case, Kali is a step closer to finding out what Ghira's up to," Jaune muttered, dreading the outcome already.
A bit later, Kali was seen making a phone call in the kitchen. "I'd like to speak to Maria," she requested with a few glances around. "This is Maria," a voice answered.
"M? This is Kali."
"Kali who?" Maria asked, confused.
"Huh?" Blake blinked. "She doesn't remember her?"
"But she was there at their wedding day," Elm remembered from earlier.
Maria shrugged. "Well, it has been fifteen years. And maybe I wasn't as close to Kali as I am to Ghira," she guessed.
"Kali Belladonna?" she frowned. "You know..." she sighed before saying in exasperation.
"Elastigirl?"
"Darling! "Maria exclaimed so suddenly, Kali was startled into nearly dropping the phone and juggled it as Maria went on. "It's been such a long time after all these years! So long!"
Ruby, Jaune, Oscar, and Ren jumped in their seats in surprise at Maria's loud "Darling!" before they, and everyone else, laughed at Kali fumbling with the phone.
The phone finally dropped fell on the floor, which Kali picked back up and spoke quickly. "Yes, yes, yes. It's been a while," she then cleared her throat to take on a more serious tone. "Listen, there's only one person Ghira would trust to patch his super suit and that's you, M."
Cut to Maria at her estate. She was sitting in a darkened room with a fireplace, a magazine on her lap.
"Yes, yes, yes," Maria replied. "Marvelous, isn't it? Much better than those horrible pajamas he used to wear." She folded the magazine dropped it onto a table.
Marrow chuckled briefly. "That's very ironic, considering she designed them in the first place."
"True," Harriet held up a finger. "But she also said she 'never looks back'."
"Uh...huh?" Kali was audibly confused.
"They are finished. When are you coming to see?" Maria asked.
Ruby quirked an eyebrow. "They? What does she mean by that?"
An idea occurred to Penny. "I think I know…but I'll keep it to myself."
A few people glanced curiously at Penny, wondering what her hunch was.
"Look, I'm calling about..."
"Don't make me beg, darling. I won't do it, you know," Maria looked at her nails with a smile.
"Beg? Uh, no," Kali said, clueless as to what Maria was talking about. "I'm-I'm calling a beg-about suit," she fumbled with her words before shutting her eyes. "Ab-ab-about Ghira's suit! I'm calling about Ghira's suit!"
But Maria seemingly didn't understand. "You come in one hour, darling. I insist, okay? Okay. Goodbye," she said quickly.
With that, Maria hung up, leaving Kali standing there confused and frustrated.
"I think your counterpart lost her, Maria," Qrow commented.
"She's lost everyone," Maria chuckled.
Elm shrugged. "Well, either way, Kali is definitely going to find out what Ghira's been up to," she said simply.
Back to Ghira. He was walking through a lightly colored hallway before taking a right turn and heading down another one. At the end was a double set of black doors. He opened one with a smile on his face, only for it to fade once he looked inside. The darkened conference room had a long wooden table with adjoining seats and a stylish looking "S" on its surface. But there was nobody there.
Oscar quirked his brow. "That's odd. He's on time, isn't he?"
"Something's not right," Ironwood said suspiciously.
Puzzled, Mr. Incredible looked up at a clock above the doors: confirming that it was two o'clock. Humming to himself, he let the door close behind him as he took a seat in the closest chair, tapping his fingers on the table as he glanced around the silent room…
…then he perked up at feint but heavy sounds coming from somewhere.
Blake's ears twitched slightly. "Did anyone else hear that?"
Then, suddenly, the wall on the far side of the room opened to reveal a new model Omnidroid.
"Whoa!" half the audience jumped in their seats with a yelp.
"Another Omnidroid?!" Penny exclaimed in confusion.
The surprised Mister Incredible tried to run for the door, but the Omnidroid quickly reached inside and grabbed him with its claw. The hero was then flung out into a jungle surrounded clear. He bounced across the ground before smacking into a boulder.
"It's bigger!" a modulated voice rang out on a speaker.
The Omnidroid grabbed Mr. Incredible and threw him again, then grabbed him again the instant he stopped bouncing across the ground.
"It's badder!" for the third time, Mr. Incredible was thrown and he hit with the ground with a pained grunt.
Everyone winced as Mr. Incredible was effortlessly thrown around by the new Omnidroid.
"Man! He's getting his ass handed to him," Yang cringed.
"It seems this Omnidroid model has all the combat data collected from the last one Mr. Incredible fought," Ironwood observed.
"You're right, general. This robot knows all of his moves and weaknesses. He doesn't stand a chance this time," Clover said, shaking his head.
Finally, Ghira was snagged as he tried to crawl away and lifted into the air.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's. Too much for Mr. Incredible!"
The robot raised two of its claws, spun them like helicopter blades, and brought their perilously close to the hero's neck. Helpless, Ghira clenched his teeth, expecting the worst, but then the voice rang out again. "Whoa, whoa!"
Ruby scanned the screen. "Where's that voice coming from?"
"It's the same one that was speaking to Emerald in that monitor room when Mr. Incredible destroyed the first Omnidroid," Winter quickly identified the speaker.
Just then, a man in a black and white costume swooped down from the sky, flying on a pair of rocket boots. He wore a black cape and matching domino mask, and his chest was decorated with a large white "S". A voice modulator was fitted over his mouth [2] while his hair was styled in a pointed, flame shape.
"It's finally ready!" he declared proudly as he landed atop the Omnidroid.
"You know, I went through quite," he tapped a button on his left metal gauntlet, which made the robot stop spinning it's claws and bring Mr. Incredible closer to its creator, "a few supers to get it worthy to fight you, but man," the man chuckled before leaning toward to his confused captive, "it wasn't good enough!"
Everyone took in what the newcomer was saying, quickly connecting the dots as he spoke. Ironwood and Penny in particularly looked at the man closely, 90% sure he knew who it was.
"I've got a strong feeling this guy is our villain. And the same person who designed and built the Omnidroid," Winter deducted.
Penny furrowed her brows. "And judging from what he said, Ghira wasn't the first super he lured to the island," she added correctly with a hint of anger in her voice.
Jaune grimaced, his eyes widening. "But…how many has he lured?" he asked the big question, eliciting looks that matched his own.
"After you trashed the last one, I had to make some major modifications. Sure, it was difficult," he admitted with a shrug. "But you are worth it. I mean, after all..." he removed his voice modulator, revealing a handlebar mustache over a smirk as he dropped a hint. "I am your biggest fan.
That revelation made almost everyone gasp softly or go rigid with shock. Anyone else who had their suspicions, namely Ozpin, Penny, and Ironwood, simply frowned at being correct.
"Mr. Incredible was stunned. "Arthur…?" he muttered in recognition with squinted eyes.
Arthur's smirk turned into a scowl as he dropped the modulator and pressed another button on his gauntlet. "My name is not Arthur!" he shouted furiously as the Omnidroid dropped Mr. Incredible to the ground in front of a huge rock.
"And it's not IncrediBoy either! That ship has sailed!" Arthur declared as he hovered to the ground on his rocket boots. He marched toward Mr. Incredible as the hero got to his feet.
"You mean that annoying little fanboy has become a supervillain? He's responsible for all this?!" Harriet asked loudly in disbelief.
"I can't believe it. He can't be past his mid-twenties and already a supervillain who designed robots that can defeat Mr. Incredible," Ironwood remarked, sounding impressed.
"That's amazing…and terrifying at the same time," Oscar mumbled begrudgingly.
"All I wanted was to help you," Arthur said sadly before his tone turned angry again. "I only wanted to help! And what did you say to me?!" he spread out indignantly.
The scene showed a flashback of that fateful night at the bank. "Incrediboy" was standing in the same pose in front of Mr. Incredible, but the hero turned away with a dismissive gesture. "Fly home, Arthur. I work alone."
Ruby blinked in confusion. "What? But that's now how it happened," she refuted before admitting. "I mean…Mr. Incredible did say that, but where was Bomb Voyage?"
"You're right, Ruby," Blake nodded. "Plus, Mr. Incredibles posture wasn't that condescending, either," she added.
Ozpin sighed. "It's a self-serving memory. He only remembers what he wants to remember so he can justify his behavior," he psycho-analyzed Arthur's false memory. [3]
"And he's completely leaving out the part when Mr. Incredible saved his life from that bomb," Clover added with contempt.
Harriet clenched her arm rests. "And he's conveniently forgotten about all those people he indirectly endangered on that train."
Back home, a young Arthur was shown leering at something in his bedroom, still wearing his costume minus the mask. All around him were Mr. Incredible toys and memorabilia. "It tore me apart. But I learned an important lesson…"
He then angrily tore a large picture of Mr. Incredible off the wall and threw it aside.
"You can't count on anyone," the adult Arthur snarled at his former hero. "Especially your heroes."
Ruby, Jaune, and Oscar couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for Arthur; not wanting to imagine such feelings of rejection or disappointment from somebody they admired.
Ghira was leaning against the rock. "I was wrong to treat you that way. I'm sorry," he apologized.
"See?" Arthur rolled his eyes. "Now you respect me, because I'm a threat. That's the way it works."
"Well, that's a chilling line," Jaune muttered uneasily, prompting a few nods.
"Unfortunately, a lot of people think if you're not dangerous or powerful, they'll never take you seriously," Blake said wisely, remembering how Adam thought the same way.
Mr. Incredible was panting from being thrown around by the Omnidroid when he spotted a log nearby. He inched toward it while Arthur continued speaking. "Turns out there's a lot of people, whole countries who want respect. And they will pay through the nose to get it."
Nora saw what Mr. Incredible was doing. "I see what he's up to," she snapped her finger. "He's going to chuck that log at him!"
"All while he's monologuing, just like Ghira and Whitley were talking about," Harriet smirked in amusement.
"That's it, Ghira. Keep him talking," Qrow encouraged the hero.
"How do you think I got rich? I invented weapons," Arthur went on, proudly gesturing to himself. "And now I have a weapon only I can defeat. And when I unleash it, I'll get-"
Just then Mr. Incredible reached and threw forward the log. Arthur yelped and narrowly dodged the log as it shattered into splinters against the Omnidroid's leg.
Groans of disappointment filled the theater.
Yang scowled. "Damn! Just missed him!"
The villain immediately pointed his index finger at Mr. Incredible as he charged, trapping him in a strange energy field. "You sly dog!" he chuckled. "You got me monologuing! I can't believe it." Arthur then spun Mr. Incredible around and slammed him back against the rock.
"What the? What's that?" Nora pointed in befuddlement at what Arthur just did to Ghira.
"It must be a gadget of his…that allows him to freeze and capture objects," Ren quickly figured out.
"It reminds me of Glynda's telekinesis, but superior, since it completely immobilizes the target," Ozpin noted the similarity.
"It's cool, huh? Zero-point energy. "Arthur knelt down to Mr. Incredible's scowling face. "Yeah, I saved the best inventions for myself." Arthur then seized Ghira with another energy beam and hurled him up into the sky. "Am I good enough now?!" Ghira was free for only a second before another beam caught him and slammed him onto the ground. Then he was caught again. "Who's super now?!" Syndrome yelled bitterly.
Everyone winced or groaned every time Mr. Incredible hit the ground. Blake looked especially worried.
"He may not have any superpowers, but his inventions certainly make up for it. He can even subdue Mr. Incredible with his gadgets," Oscar remarked.
"I'm Syndrome!" the villain declared, revealing his alter-ego. "Your nemesis and-!" he then pointed up into the air… and then did a double-take before looking up at the sky and saw that he'd accidentally sent Mr. Incredible flying away into the jungle.
Syndrome rolled his eyes. "Oh, brilliant," he muttered as he went to pursue his former idol.
"Nice job, jackass," Yang barked with laughter.
Blake sighed in relief. "Looks like it's dad's lucky day. Now he has a chance to escape."
"It won't be so easy. Syndrome has rocket boots, and he knows the island better than Ghira," Penny countered, but still hoped Mr. Incredible could get away.
Mr. Incredible fell into a river leading towards a small waterfall. He then surfaced and pulled himself coughing out of the water and onto an outcropping. But he had no time to recuperate as Syndrome appeared in the sky flying towards him. Mr. Incredible quickly jumped off the waterfall just as his new enemy fired another zero-point blast at him but luckily missed. Mr. Incredible dove into the water below while Syndrome landed on the outcropping.
"All right. Try this one on for size, big boy," Syndrome removed from his gauntlet a thin, spoon shaped device with a circle at the top. He tapped the circle, causing it to blink red and emanate a beeping sound, then dropped it into the falls.
"Is that a bomb," Oscar in a low voice.
"I think so," Harriet confirmed with a sigh.
"Swim away, dad!" Blake called.
Underwater, the little device sank past Mr. Incredible. The heroes' eyes widened in realization that it was a bomb, and he swiftly turned and swam away from it as quickly as he could. He absent-mindedly entered an underwater passageway.
The bomb continued to blink, until it hit the bottom of the pond, and exploded. A geyser of water erupted and rose so high, it nearly reached Syndrome on the rocky outcropping. The blast force travelled through the water after the retreating hero. He was quickly caught in the underwater blast wave and propelled upward into a grotto.
"Whoa. Such a big explosion from such a tiny device," Weiss commented, imagining Bomb Voyage would have been jealous.
"Good thing for him that tunnel was there," Jaune commented on Ghiras luck.
He landed onto the rocky ground, groaning and coughing up water he'd swallowed. Ghira lifted his head…
…and then he gasped and recoiled away in surprise from a skeleton right in front of him.
The audience shared Mr. Incredibles reaction, then, after calming down, a few grumbled about how much they hated jump scares.
"Wait a second. That helmet looks familiar…"Ozpin noted, his excellent memory serving him well as he looked back on the Belladonna's wedding.
Panting, Mr. Incredible collected himself and crawled back over to the corpse, recognizing the superhero suit and visor covering the skulls eye sockets. Rubbing the dirt off the spot above it revealed a "GB" insignia.
"Gazerbeam…" he mumbled in grief and recognition, realizing what had happened to his old friend and fellow retired superhero.
Everyone bowed their heads in respect for the fallen former hero. And at the same time, realized with horror what Syndrome meant by "quite a few supers".
"Poor Bart…it's as I feared" Ozpin grieved for his old friend.
"This is the second time we've seen him as a skeleton," Ruby said sadly, referencing Oobleck's corpse in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
Mr. Incredible looked to the wall behind him and noticed something. He traced his deceased friend's line of sight with his fingers and then slid into position to see the last thing Gazerbeam did before he died.
On the far wall, there was a word burned into the wall. "KRONOS?" Mr. Incredible read loud, staring at the skeleton again before flinching at another sound.
Ruby scratched her head. "Kronos. What does that mean?"
Oscar looked pensive. "I'm not sure. But something tells me it'll help Mr. Incredible find out what Syndrome is up to."
"My thoughts exactly," Ironwood nodded before remembering something. "Plus, Syndrome did say something about unleashing a new weapon before Mr. Incredible cut him off."
A tiny probe hovered up out of the pool Mr. Incredible came from, scanning its surroundings with a blue scanning wave. A red light and negative beeping emanated from it, then it glided deeper into the grotto to search further.
But Mr. Incredible was gone. The probe scanned the area again, it's the blue wave sweeping across the grotto and over Gazerbeam's skeleton it but only gave the same negative beeping sound. Finished, it flew back out the way it came. Mr. Incredible peered out from behind the skeleton to make sure it was clear.
"Great quick thinking to hide behind Gazerbeam to avoid that scanner," Winter praised Mr. Incredibles cleverness.
"Indeed. Mr. Incredible has a good head on his shoulders to balance out his super strength," Ironwood added.
Back outside, atop the waterfall, Syndrome waited for the probe to return.
The little device fitted itself into a slot on his gauntlet and reported: "Life Readings Negative. Mr. Incredible Terminated. "Syndrome looked down at the water with a smirk before swaggering off in triumph.
Nearly everyone sighed with relief while a few others were miffed by Syndrome's smug grin, especially since it was pleasure in thinking his former idol had just been killed.
"That smirk of his pisses me off," Qrow grumbled.
Yang nodded, scowling. "Me too."
"Good thing that trick against the probe worked," Ren remarked.
Clover scratched his chin. "So, now that Syndrome thinks Mr. Incredible is dead, he can probably do some snooping around to get to the bottom of things," he suggested.
Meanwhile, back in Vale, Kali had arrived at Maria's estate.
"This project has completely confiscated my life, darling," Maria explained as she and Kali walked down a flight of stairs. "Consumed me as only hero work can. My best work, I must admit." They reached the floor and walked down a dark hall. Lights turned on as the two women passed, illuminating recesses with superhero suits on display. "Simple, elegant, yet bold. You will die." Maria continued while waving a thin pointer to emphasize her point.
"M, I just..." Kali tried to speak.
"I did Ghira's suit, and it turned out so beautiful, I had to continue," Maria interrupted.
Penny's eyes widened a bit. "I knew it. She's made even more super suits and she's going to show them off to Kali."
"So, Blake and I will have our own suits?!" Ruby gushed hopefully. "Awesome!"
Blake cleared her throat. "I have a feeling mom won't share your opinion for obvious reasons," she said doubtfully.
"Maria, it's great to see you," Kali tried again. "But I have no idea what you're talking about. I just-"
Maria turned to Kali with a fierce gaze. "Yes, words are useless," she flapped her free hand in a 'talking' gesture. "Gobble, gobble, gobble. Too much of it, darling. Too much! That is why I show you my work. That is why you are here!"
Maria then turned around to quickly and used her pointer to insert a code next to a door. Next came a hand scanner, she then pulled down her glasses for a retinal scan, and finally she identified herself into a microphone. "Maria Caravalho."
A hidden twin-barreled machine gun suddenly emerged from the ceiling and aimed at Kali. She took on a defensive stance.
"And guest," Maria added nonchalantly, and the gun quickly retracted back into the ceiling.
Ruby giggled. "I see Kali still has held onto her combat instincts," she noted.
"Some reflexes like that stay with you for life," Ironwood remarked.
"Not necessarily a bad habit to develop," Ren said with a sip of tea.
A triple set of security doors opened for the two to enter a larger room full of high-tech equipment. On one side was a design desk with paper, tools and rolls of fabric. And they passed tables with outlines for people and spikes jutting from the ceiling right over them. Kali watched a trio of torso models slide back the wall as she walked past. Another big piece of machinery that resembled like a printing device folded inward on itself. "Come. Sit," Maria led Kali to a coffee table laden with a tea set and adjoined by two swiveling chairs. Maria sat down and poured a cup of sat down while the shorter woman offered her the cup. "Cream and sugar?"
"Thanks," Kali accepted the cup.
Maria raised her own teacup at the screen. "I see my counterpart and I both have a taste for tea," she smiled, while Weiss and Ren parroted her gesture.
The two women swiveled in their chairs towards a viewing room separated from them by thick glass.
"I started with the baby," Maria began to explain.
"Started?" Kali asked unhappily.
"Started?" Oscar, Weiss, and Elm all said in unison with Kali before they all started laughing at the jinx.
"Shh, darling, shh!" Maria shushed.
A baby model perched on a metal beam and wearing a small version of Mr. Incredible's new red suit emerged from an opening inside the viewing chamber. The models stubby arms and legs made crawling motions.
"Awww, she made a suit for little Adrien," Ruby cooed, picturing the baby wearing his little suit.
Marrow scratched his head. "But Adrien doesn't have any powers. Why would she make a suit for him?" he questioned.
"And why would a baby be doing superhero work anyway?" Jaune added, not liking such an implication toward his nephew.
"I cut it a little roomy for free movement," Maria supplied.
Maria continued to explain to an increasingly concerned Kali as their seats and the table moved to keep pace with the model. "The fabric is comfortable for sensitive skin…"
Then the entire display room was engulfed in fire.
Almost everyone either jumped or gasped in shock and horror at the sudden flames. Jaune even looked horrified.
Helen watched in shock as both the model and suit remained intact. "…And can also withstand a temperature of over 1000 degrees," Maria boasted with an unnerving grin, the flames reflecting off her glasses.
"Awesome!" Nora squealed in awe.
Ren and Jaune looked at Nora like she was insane. The orange-haired girl noticed and cleared her throat awkwardly. "Sorry…" she mumbled.
Then the flames stopped as Maria continued. "Completely bulletproof." Four machine turrets emerged to pepper the model with bullets, but didn't leave a mark on it or the suit. "And machine washable, darling. That's a new feature."
Weiss scoffed. "Oh sure. Kali will definitely approve if it's machine washable," she said sarcastically.
"Am I the only one freaked out by that look on Maria's face," Nora shuddered at Maria's manic grin.
"Nope," Yang said, making a little popping sound with the "p".
Kali stared in bewilderment at the display." What on Remnant do you think the baby will be doing?!".
"She's right, other me," Maria reprimanded her counterpart. "Expecting a baby to perform superhero work is just wrong."
"Sweet Brothers, I hope it doesn't come to that," Jaune said, knowing Saphron would be furious if she could see this.
"Well, I'm sure I don't know, darling," Maria shrugged, playing innocent. "Luck favors the prepared." A hatch opened, allowing the model to exit out of sight. "I didn't know the baby's powers, so I covered the basics."
"Adrien doesn't have any powers," Kali countered while Maria sipped her tea.
"No?" Maria paused before shrugging again. "Well, he'll look fabulous anyway."
With that, the table and chairs quickly slid back the starting point. So quickly, Kali was nearly knocked out of her seat.
"Jeez. Those chairs have to be murder on your back," Qrow rubbed his own back.
"Then Kali better brace herself, because Maria said she started with the baby," Marrow recommended.
Maria began to present a second, girl-sized model wearing a suit a little bigger than Adrien's with gloves stretched up to its elbows and the boots going past the thighs. "Your younger daughters suit I designed to withstand enormous friction without heating up or wearing out. A useful feature."
The model was making swift running motions at very high speeds without damaging the suit.
Ruby looked delighted that she was right and squealed jubilantly at her counterpart's super suit.
"Hey, that's pretty cool. You'll be able to run as fast as you can, sis," Yang said encouragingly.
Again, they returned to their original point. "Your older daughter's suit was tricky." This time, a female model came out wearing an even larger female super suit. "But I finally created a sturdy material that will disappear completely as she does." Two large devices emerged from the ceiling side and emitted an electrical current around the suit. A second later, both the model and the suit became invisible.
"Nice," Blake was impressed and pleased at the same time.
"Maria's counterpart may not be all there, but I doubt anyone can outdo her at designing super suits," Ironwood remarked with a sip of water.
The duo was brought back to the beginning one last time, where a bigger version of the previous suit appeared.
"Your suit can stretch as far as you can without injuring yourself and still retain its shape." A pair of robotic arms grabbed the hands and feet, then pulled and twisted at the same time. "Virtually indestructible." Two missile turrets popped up and fired at the suit, creating a big explosion, but didn't even leave a scratch on it. "Yet it breathes like Vacuan cotton," Maria whispered the last part in awe.
"Amazing she could design such a durable suit," Vine lauded Maria's work.
"Indeed. In the event you lose your aura, that suit would be a great second shield," Penny praised, feeling her father would be intrigued by Maria's creations…but would probably find her off-putting as everyone else did.
Ironwood nodded. "Yes. But the problem is, such a suit would be too expensive to mass produce," he lamented.
Kali stared at the display with her mouth agape. Maria finished her demonstration by pulling out a small red device with an antenna. "As an extra feature, each suit contains a homing device, giving you the precise global location of the wearer at the touch of a button," she handed the device to Kali.
The heroine looked at the screen, which showed an image of planet Remnant before zooming in onto Maria's estate in Vale when she pressed the black button.
A few people couldn't help but applaud Maria's work, even if she was a bit on the crazy side.
"It reminds me of Ruby's enthusiasm for weapon designing," Yang giggled.
"On a final note, those homing devices are a good precaution in case anyone in the family becomes lost or captured," Ironwood complimented, not knowing how right he was.
"Well, darling? What do you think?" Maria asked as the table came to a stop.
Kali finally gave a dumbstruck scoff. "What do I think? Ghira is retired! I'm retired! Our family is underground!" she exclaimed as she set the tracker down, stood up, and began to pace. "You helped my husband resume secret hero work behind my back?!" she asked incredulously.
Blake nodded in agreement. "She's right. I'm happy for dad getting back in the game and all, but mom has every right to be angry."
"And you can't really fault Maria. It was Syndrome and Emerald who tricked Ghira into resuming superhero work in the first place. Maria just designed a new suit for him," Penny added in defense of Mr. Incredible.
"Well, I assumed you knew, darling," Maria replied while she swiveled in her seat to look away from Kali. "Why would he keep secrets from you?"
Kali recoiled at that question. "H-he wouldn't-didn't-doesn't," she stammered.
Blake shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "That's…not quite true, mom," she muttered sadly.
Maria hummed in contemplation. "Men at Ghira's age are often unstable. Prone to weakness."
Kali didn't like the sound of that at all. "What are you saying?"
"Even if it's not that kind of weakness she's talking about, she's right," Qrow agreed with Maria's counterpart. "This is all pretty much a midlife crisis for Ghira."
"Do you know where he is?" Maria asked the big question.
Kali looked conflicted. "Of...course-"
Edna spun around to stare at Kali. "Do you know where he is?"
"Who is she kidding. She doesn't have a clue," Harriet said bluntly, referring to Kali.
"Even Maria doesn't quite know. Only that he's back in the superhero game," Blake added.
"There's only one way to know," Marrow finished, remembering the homing device.
Back on Nomanisan Island, night had fallen as Mr. Incredible crawled to the edge of a cliff overlooking a jungle. He and peaked over the edge, then cautiously ducked back down as a pod of the same type that had transported him and Mirage earlier hummed past. He then launched himself off the cliff and fell toward the ground below. He grabbed onto the trunk of a protruding palm tree's trunk to slow his descent, then he jumped as quietly as he could atop a second one.
"Back to Mr. Incredible," Jaune said excitedly. "I'm guessing he's heading for Syndrome's headquarters to get some answers."
"He must be. What else can he do, swim all the way back to Vale?" Yang said half-jokingly.
"He must be stealthy though, now that Syndrome thinks he's dead, he can't be spotted or he'll never get inside," Ironwood strongly recommended with a sip of water.
Inside the pod were two guards dressed like the one who had launched Mr. Incredible's pod on his first mission. Soft radio chatter came from an interior radio. From above, there came a heavy thud that indented the roof slightly. The startled guards had no time to react as Mr. Incredible reached inside, grabbed them, and threw them both out into the water.
Mr. Incredible then quickly flipped inside the pod, punched the dented roof back in place and turned off the radio.
Ironwood nodded in reverence. "I can tell he's done this kind of thing before," he noted astutely.
"Oh yeah. Getting into Syndromes base should be a cakewalk for him," Oscar said confidently.
The pod zoomed down a track that skirted a cliffside. Soon, Syndromes main base came into view, it's lights glowing in the darkness. But between the pod and base was a railway gate and checkpoint.
Two more guards stood at the gate when they spotted a light flickering up ahead as something moved towards them from the track. The object got close enough to reveal it was the pod's bottom, but the pod itself had been torn off. They stared in confusion as it slid to a stop between them, sparks flickering from the damaged base.
"Hmm?" Oscar hummed in puzzlement.
Jaune squinted at the screen. "What's he doing out there? I can't see?"
"I can. This is gonna be good," Blake smirked, thanks to her night vision.
From the darkness ahead came a grunting sound. The guards raised their SMGs at the sound right before something big was thrown upwards. It appeared in front of the moon for just moment before it plummeted towards them so fast, they couldn't dodge it as it crashed into the gate.
Mr. Incredible then sprinted down the track toward the now destroyed gate and pod he'd thrown. Chatter emanated from one groaning guard's radios, but the hero ignored it as he continued down the track toward the base.
The crowd laughed or applauded Mr. Incredibles progress so far.
"Nice one, Ghira. That was really a smash," Yang laughed while everyone else groaned.
Ghira slowed down as he neared the edge of the base, concealing himself in the foliage lining the cliff. He could see guards patrolling most of the complex's exterior, but none of them had spotted the hero.
"Well, he's reached the base. Now he's gotta find a way inside," Oscar scratched his chin, pondering how Mr. Incredible would infiltrate Syndromes base.
"And he'll need to be quick about it before anyone finds out about the destroyed pod and gate," Jaune noted that time was of the essence.
Two guards were stationed in front of a metal door: his quickest way inside. He slipped from one hiding spot to another until he focused on a lone guard standing on the upper level of the base. Mr. Incredible bent down and picked up a coconut from the base of a tree. He tested its weight, and then then threw it before hiding behind the tree. The coconut hit the guard on top of his head, causing him to fall from his perch.
A second guard spotted his colleague lying on the ground and knelt to check on him. "Hey, hey. We got a man down!" he called for help.
"Come on, let's go," two more guards answered the call and left their posts.
"Clever thinking with the coconut,"
Weiss looked surprise. "I wouldn't expect Mr. Incredible to be the stealthy type of hero given how big he is," she remarked.
"Well, you can't always rely on brute strength to get the job done, so he must have developed some stealth techniques back in the old days," Clover assumed.
Seizing his chance, Mr. Incredible ran from the darkness of the jungle toward the now unguarded door while the guards spoke nearby. "Are you okay? What happened?"
He inspected the door for any way to open it, even knocking on it to no avail. He looked alarmed as he heard the guards move back towards his location. "Break surveillance and engage. Continuing sweep..."
Suddenly, and fortunately, the door swung open upwards with Mr. Incredible on top. A large vehicle drove out before the door shut again.
"Wow. Lucky him," Nora said with relief.
"Yeah. They almost spotted him," Ren said with a nod.
Now inside, Mr. Incredible ran through a garage with more pods sitting idle and down one of the tunnels. Deeper inside the base, a hover cart carried a couple of guards down a corridor just before a door opened. Mr. Incredible peeked out and moved along when he saw the coast was clear.
Next, Mr. Incredible peaked through a slightly open stone door. He then slipped into the same dining room where he had dinner with Emerald the first time he visited the island, closing the door behind him as quietly as he could. He ran for the center of the room and before the wall of flowing lava, both statues on either side staring silently at the opposite wall.
"The dining room," Jaune recognized the room.
Oscar snapped his finger. "Oh, right. I remember. That's where Syndrome was talking to Emerald from. From inside the gap in the lava," he remembered.
"Then there must be something very vital on the other side, like a database or something," Maria presumed.
"But how is he supposed to make the lava part?" Vine questioned as he gazed around the screen. "I don't see any switches or anything."
Mr. Incredible frowned in contemplation at the obstacle before he came up with a plan. He ran over to the large head shaped statue on the left. He easily lifted it and then flipped over so he could support it. He then moved back toward the lava and took a few steps back grunting all the way, statue still above his head.
"He really knows how to come up with plans on the fly," Clover complimented Mr. Incredibles quick thinking.
"But there's no guarantee that will work. What if the statue dissolves before he reaches the other side," Ren brought up, creating unease among the audience.
Mr. Incredible took in a few rapid breaths before rushing toward the lavafall…
And then suddenly the lava parted just before the statue made contact with it.
The startled hero stumbled with the huge statue and out of sight from an approaching Emerald. The woman was focused on a binder in her hands when she perked up at the sound of Ghira exerting himself, muffled by the waterfall. She turned her head to her right, but fortunately only saw the giant statue just as Mr. Incredible set it back down in its original spot.
Everyone glared at Emeralds counterpart for tricking Ghira. She may not have been a homewrecker but helping a supervillain lure in and murder heroes was no better.
"I knew she would turn out to be bad news," Blake growled.
"I can't say I'm surprised," Weiss remarked.
"But now Ghira has a way to get through the lava," Jaune looked on the bright side.
From behind the statue, Mr. Incredible watched as Emerald walked away and then ran inside the gap in the lava. But the gap was already beginning to close back up again, forcing the hero to move sideways down the path before getting incinerated.
Everybody tensed up at Mr. Incredibles perilous position. Blake even sweated a little, as if she could feel the heat of the lava.
Just a split second before the lava engulfed him, Ghira jumped through the narrow slit in the lava and him and his everything went dark as his only light source vanished courtesy of a door sliding down over it.
Heavy sighs of relief filled the theater, especially from Blake.
"That was way too close," Oscar wiped sweat from his forehead.
"I'll say. Mr. Incredible may be super tough, but I doubt even he can survive being submerged in molten lava," Harriet said.
A series of twin floor lights snapped on in front of Mr. Incredible, illuminating a narrow path that led to a desk illuminated by an overhead light. Mr. Incredible warily approached the desk and sat down. There was a keyboard on the desk. He pressed a button, and in response, the entire wall in front of him lit up in a giant computer screen. It requested "PASSWORD" to proceed further.
Oscar cupped his chin. "Hmmm, what could the password be?"
"Something simple, by the looks of it," Penny guessed.
Within Oscar's mind, Ozpin pondered what the password could be. Then he remembered the cave…and the message Gazerbeam left behind.
Ghira looked pensive as he stared at the keyboard. Then he typed in "KRONOS" and hit 'enter'.
The password was correct, and the screen displayed a short list of options to choose from: "ISLAND OPERATIONS," "FINANCES," "OMNIDROID METATRAINING," and "SUPERS." Ghira smiled now that he was getting somewhere, thanks to Gazerbeam.
Nora raised her fists. "Yeah!" she cheered. "Now we're getting somewhere."
"So that means Bart discovered the password, escaped the facility, but then was fatally wounded. Then he left that clue inside the cave before succumbing to his injury," Ozpin summed up concisely, sounding impressed.
Oscar nodded. "Lucky for Ghira. Otherwise, he would never be able to find out what Syndrome is planning."
"Speaking of which, I have a feeling it's going to be really bad, but we gotta get to the meat and potatoes," Qrow said forebodingly.
Back at Maria's estate, the homeowner was casually sipping her tea while Kali was making a phone call in the background.
A single ring was heard, then a woman answered with "Insuricare."
Everyone felt varying levels of apprehension now that Kali was only seconds away from learning the truth.
Blake exhaled through her nose. "It was inevitable…" she muttered sadly.
"Oh, hello," Kali said "this is Kali Belladonna. Ghira Belladonna is my husband. I was wondering if you could give me the number of the hotel he's staying at? The number I have is, uh, is no good."
"Mr. Belladonna no longer works at Insuricare,"the operator informed.
Kali looked confused. "What do you mean? He's on a business trip. A company retreat."
"Hmmm," the operator hummed before replying. "My records say he was terminated almost two months ago."
"I knew this was going to backfire eventually," Ozpin recalled what he said earlier.
"Well, at this point, that's the least of Ghiras problems now," Harriet said, sticking to the matter at hand.
Back at Syndromes headquarters, Ghira scrolled down and selected supers at the bottom of the list and hit enter. Feint but noticeable diabolical music began to play and build up as the scene dragged on.
The screen split into two sections. The left one displayed a photo of a hero named Universal Man, along with information on his powers and threat level. The right section showed an Omnidroid model and its features, starting with them mk.X1. A red line reading "TERMINATED" appeared over Universal Man's picture with a dinging sound, then his image was replaced with that of a heroine, Psycwave, only for "TERMINATED" to immediately appear over her as well, and she too was replaced by the next hero. Thus began a rapid series of superhero profiles appearing and being listed as TERMINATED. Every so often, a super would score a victory and their Omnidroid opponent was listed as terminated, only for the next improved model to terminate the victorious hero/heroine.
Sadness from the last scene evolved to outright horror at what the audience were seeing.
"My Gods…he killed so many," Ruby said shakily as tears began to well in her eyes.
Penny lowered her gaze in thought. "And since Mr. Incredible fought the eighth model… Syndrome may have killed dozens of heroes with the older models," she deducted, realizing that Syndrome was essentially committing genocide.
"And he tricked them all into coming to the island thinking they could be heroes and help people again. The bastard!" Ironwood hissed, although he wasn't surprised that Watt's counterpart would do such a thing.
At Maria's place, Kali exhaled in in shock now that she knew Ghira had lied to her.
A horrified Mr. Incredible stood up with a gasp as he stared at the sequence of TERMINATED heroes being listed off one by one: Blitzerman, Tradewind, Vectress, and Gazerbeam, who was revealed to have destroyed the Omnidroid mk.X4 before being killed himself.
Mr. Incredible could only pinch the bridge of his nose in grief at the revelation that most of his friends from the glory days were dead.
A few people parroted Ghira's gesture. It was even worse than they thought it was when they heard Syndromes "quite a few supers" line.
"Many of those supers were probably his friends," Weiss guessed correctly as she began to tear up as well.
Ruby sniffed. "And they all might have had families of their own in the civilian lives who would never see them again," she croaked out while wiping her eyes.
Oscar paled a little as he realized something. "It's no wonder Frozone never saw anyone else from the old days…"
Clover bristled. "And worst of all, the 'Superhero Relocation Act', gave Syndrome the perfect chance to pick them off one by one without anyone noticing," he said angrily.
Maria slid back in her chair. "So, you don't know where he is," she said before holding up the homing device. "Would you like to find out?"
Just then, Blake froze and went pale as a terrifying thought occurred to her: "What if Syndrome knew where the rest of the Belladonna family lived?"
Mr. Incredible quickly typed in "Elastigirl" and Kali's file appeared on screen. He stared tensely at the spot next to "Location". And then the word "Unknown" flashed in red next to it. Ghira slumped back in the chair, sighing with relief.
Almost everyone in the audience sighed with Ghira's counterpart, especially Blake, who slumped in her own seat just like her father's counterpart.
Elm put a hand to her chest. "Thank the brothers. At least Kali and the children are safe."
Weiss paused for a moment before her eyes widened. "But what about Whitley…"
But then another thought occurred to Ghira, and he searched for "Frozone". Unfortunately, his location was known.
A few groans of disappointment echoed through the theater while Weiss and Winter looked very worried for their brother if Syndrome decided to lure him to the island next.
"It's a good thing Ghira was chosen instead. Otherwise, Whitley would have been sent to fight the Omnidroid," Vine pointed out.
"And I'm sorry to say it, but I don't think he could have taken it," Yang stated bluntly.
"And if he were killed, nobody would even know what happened to him. Ghira and his family would only know that Whitley was missing, just like Gazerbeam," Winter finished darkly, but was grateful that Whitley had been narrowly spared such a fate.
Next, he searched for his own file "Mr. Incredible", who was listed as TERMINATED by the Omnidroid mk.X9
Maria held up a finger. "That's actually a good thing. If Syndrome thinks Ghira is dead, then he can stay under the radar long enough to stop him. Or at least escape the island," she said.
"If he's to escape back to Vale, he must bring back proof of Kronos. Only then perhaps he can rally enough heroes to stop Syndrome," Oscar suggested.
"Good idea. But he'll need to have to hurry. He only has eight hours," Ren reminded.
Kali took the homing device and stared at it in hesitation.
Penny gasped. "Wait. No, no. Don't activate it!" she warned loudly.
"What's the matter, Penny?" Ruby asked.
"I wouldn't advise activating inside that room, it could set off an alarm," Penny explained.
"Penny is correct. Considering the information stored inside that database, there must be security measures to detect any intruders," Vine shared Penny's caution.
Mr. Incredible typed away at the keyboard, and the screen presented schematics of the Omnidroid mk.X10, the largest and most powerful design. OPERATION KRONOS was visible on the bottom right, over a bar of three separate phases. Ghira pressed 1, and the computer answered his request while the diabolical music reached a peak.
Phase 1 was loading the Omnidroid into a rocket ship. Phase 2 was having the rocket transport the robot to Vale. And Phase 3 was allowing the robot to attack the city.
And as the horrified hero watched, the screen finally shifted to a countdown for PROJECT KRONOS. Only eight hours, ten minutes and forty-two seconds remained until the launch.
The audience's terror reached its peak as well as they stared slack jawed at the countdown.
"Wh-what's the point of this even?!" Oscar stammered. "He thinks Mr. Incredible is dead, so why bother unleashing the final Omnidroid model?!"
"It could be out of spite towards Mistral. Or to takeout any remaining supers there, like Kali and Whitley,"
"I don't know about that. I feel that it's something else, but I can't quite put my finger on it,"
Finished, Mr. Incredible turned to quickly leave the room, knowing he had to thwart Syndromes plan somehow.
Just then, Kali pressed the button on the homing device. Its map of Remnant zoomed in on Ghira's location on Nomanisan island, located between Menagerie and Anima.
At that moment, the white spot on the "I" of Mr. Incredibles suit started flashing and beeping rapidly. He stared at it in surprise when the lights above suddenly flashed on. Dozens of holes lining the concrete walls of the room opened to reveal gun turrets that aimed at Mr. Incredible while an automated voice sounded out: "Intruder Alert. Intruder Alert."
"Uh-oh," Ruby muttered.
"Bad timing, mom," Blake groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Penny deflated. "That's what I was afraid of. Sensors inside must have picked up the signal," she said.
One of the turrets fired something black that hit Ghira's left shoulder. He pulled it off to discover it was a round, expanding ball of black foam. He tried to wave it off to no avail, while a second ball hit his back and expanded. He immediately sprinted toward the exit as the turrets fired a barrage of foam balls that narrowly missed him.
Weiss grimaced. "Ew. What are those things?"
"They look like foam balls to me," Vine answered.
But the turrets were too numerous and fired too quickly. One struck his leg, tripping him fall down, then another hit his left cheek. Both of them expanded.
Mr. Incredible got back to himself to his feet and kept on running towards the exit while more and more foam balls were fired. By this point, his back was completely covered, and he only managed to take a few more steps before he fell over, nearly immobilized. Naturally, this allowed only more foam balls to hit him.
Yang was outraged. "How are those things stopping him?! He's strong enough to bench press a freakin train!" she exclaimed. [4]
"It's all about leverage, Yang," Penny explained. "With so many of those balls covering him and confining his movements, even Mr. Incredible can't free himself if he can't move properly."
Marrow cringed. "Oh geez. Then he has to escape, somehow," he said, hoping against hope Ghira could get away.
"Come on, dad. Get up! Get out of there!" Blake said urgently.
Ghira tried to get back up, but by this point it was futile; nearly his whole body was covered in foam by this point. Finally, he gave up and collapsed to the ground.
The last thing the subdued hero saw before the foam obscured his vision was Emerald's legs walking toward him.
Everyone groaned or sagged in their seats at Mr. Incredibles capture.
Harriet growled in frustration. "Damn. They got him."
Jaune sighed deeply. "So, how's he supposed to get out of this one?"
"I believe he'll need rescuing now," Ozpin said expectantly.
Author's Closing Note: Things are really picking up now. Anyway, I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving. The next chapter will be sometime before Christmas.
Author's Points
[1]-I thought the same thing. Mr. Incredible would have looked even more awesome with a cape. Oh well.
[2]-This idea was provided by blaiseingfire as a suggestion to keep Syndromes true identity a secret to the audience for as long as possible. Special thanks to him.
[3]- This initially went over my head, but looking back at it, it's a false memory Syndrome uses to justify his actions being the narcissist he is.
[4]-This kind of bugged me at first. At first, I thought the material in the foam was designed to be dense enough to immobilize Mr. Incredible once it dried and fully covers him. But as it turns out, without proper leverage, even super strength can't help you if you can't move.