Down a Different Road. (Based on Gumball episode: The Choices.)

Our story begins in the quiet evening of the small suburbs of a city called Metroville. We go now to an extraordinary looking house that is the residence of the Parr family. The mother of the family, Helen, was currently cooking dinner, but something was wrong. She was currently stressed out, due to everything that she had put up with that day. First, she had to pay a large fee after the car broke down on the way to pick up her kids, Dash and Violet. Second, she had to deal with Dash and Violet having a shouting match over something that had happened the night before. Third, she had to deal with Jack-Jack making a mess with his powers around the house. Now, she had to deal with Dash constantly moaning over having to wait for dinner.

"When is dinner ready?!" Dash asked for the umpteenth time.

Helen sighed heavily before she turned to him and said, "Honey, what do I have to do to get you to be patient?" in an exasperated tone. Then, that's when her husband, Bob, came in the door.

"Hey, kids, honey, what's for dinner?" he asked.

"Chicken and pasta." Helen answered while quickly stirring the pot.

"What's wrong, honey?" Bob asked.

"Nothing. It's just that a lot has happened this afternoon and I'm in a bit of a stressed mood." Helen quickly explained before she heard Dash moan again and ask, "When is dinner ready?! I'm so hungry!"

Helen then got aggravated before she turned around and said, "Dashiell Robert Parr, if you ask me about that one more time, not only are you going to bed without dessert, but you're also gonna be grounded. I have had a long afternoon and I personally do not need you constantly nagging me about dinner!" While she was talking, Violet noticed smoke behind her.

"Mom! Watch what you're doing!" she called. Helen turned around and got scared when she saw the pot was on fire.

"Someone get a blanket, quick!" she shouted. Dash ran into the living room and came back with a blanket before he handed it to Bob, who used it to fan the flames, only for it to get worse. Violet quickly put a force field around the flame while Dash ran and got something.

"Hang on, everyone!" he yelled as he came back in with a bucket of water and he threw it at the pot, drenching it and his mother, but successfully quenching the fire. Dash, Violet and Bob sighed in relief before Bob noticed his wife shaking.

"Helen, are you okay?" he asked. Helen looked up and her family was surprised to see her angry. Helen then made everyone jump by pounding her fist on the counter. She then looked at her family with her teeth gritted before she snapped.

"NO! I AM NOT OKAY! THIS WHOLE DAY HAS BEEN A DISASTER AND I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! IT WAS BAD ENOUGH THAT THE CAR BROKE DOWN AND DASH AND VIOLET WOULDN'T QUIT FIGHTING, BUT NOW DINNER'S RUINED! WHY HAVE ALL THREE OF YOU DECIDED TO PUSH MY BUTTONS THIS EVENING?! ALL I WANTED WAS A PEACEFUL DINNER, BUT I SUPPOSE I MIGHT HAVE WISHED FOR IT TO RAIN SWEET TEA! SOMETIMES I WISH THINGS HAD GONE DIFFERENTLY, AT LEAST THAT WAY I WOULDN'T BE STUCK IN SOME DEAD END MESS LIKE THIS!" she yelled, making everyone cover their ears and Jack-Jack cry. Dash and Violet stared at their mother with tears in their eyes before they ran upstairs crying and slammed their doors shut.

"Helen, honey…" Bob said, reaching to put his hand on her shoulder, only for her to slap it away.

"NO! YOU LEAVE ME ALONE! ALL OF YOU!" she screamed before she stomped off into the living room. For the rest of the night, Helen wouldn't talk to any of the rest of her family except Jack-Jack. She also forced Bob to sleep on the couch that night. The next morning, the Parrs dressed in red suits and black masks. What most people didn't know was that when crime gets tough, the Parrs get going as the Incredibles! Bob is Mr. Incredible, due to his super strength. Helen is Elastigirl, because she can stretch her body to long lengths. Dash is Speed Demon, due to super speed, and Violet is Miss Stealth, due to her ability to turn invisible. She also has the ability to project force fields. They were getting ready to head to a luncheon held by their employers, the NSA, or National Supers Agency. Helen was still mad at her family, as she still didn't say anything. After a while, they arrived at the office, where they were greeted by the senior operative, Rick Dicker. Once inside, the family greeted many of the Supers who were their friends before grabbing grub and taking a seat. However, Mirage, family friend of the Incredibles, looked and noticed Dash and Violet were merely picking at their food.

"What's the matter, children? Lose your appetites?" she asked. Dash and Violet just kept silent.

Mr. Incredible sighed before he said, "They're upset cause their mother flipped out on us last night."

"Excuse me?" Elastigirl said.

"Well, you did." Mr. Incredible said with a shrug.

Elastigirl breathed a heavy sigh, "Well, you three were mashing my buttons." she said.

"Helen, what can we do to make it up to you?" Mr. Incredible asked, annoyed.

"Nothing!" Elastigirl snapped.

"One more thing, what did you mean by having things go differently last night?" Mr. Incredible asked, starting to raise his voice.

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Elastigirl yelled.

Outside, someone was walking by the office and was talking into a phone.

"Dang it, Nora. Where are you?" he asked.

After a few minutes, he sighed and said, "After yesterday's meeting, it's gonna take a miracle to finish that villain and you decided to take the night off? Look, I wanted to keep that friend of yours out of it, but what could I do? He called me out and made a fool out of me! I had to suspend him!"

Then, that's when he heard Mr. Incredible yell, "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"

Back in the office, everyone was trying to quell the arguing Supers.

"I WISH I HAD NEVER MET YOU, BOB PARR! IF I COULD, I WOULD TURN BACK TIME AND CHANGE THINGS SO THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN! THERE'S WHAT I MEANT BY WHAT I SAID! HAPPY NOW?!" Elastigirl screamed. Everyone was in shock over what she had just said. Dash and Violet just stared at their mother, heartbroken, about to burst out crying while Bob just stood as still as a statue.

Suddenly, they all heard a voice say, "Are you sure that's a wise thing to say?" Everyone looked and saw a strange person wearing a black mask that left his eyes visible and had green electricity coming from the center like the webs on Spider-Man's mask. He was also wearing black boots with claw-like gloves. His suit was black with green electricity all over it, but the most noticeable trait was large bolts forming an infinity sign in the middle of it.

"I heard you arguing outside. What's the situation here?" the mysterious Super asked.

"First, tell us this. Who are you and why do you want to know? This is none of your business." Dash said, earning him a glare from his mother which got him to quiet down.

"You may call me Infinite. The reason I want to know is none of your concern." the masked person said.

"Well, my wife's been in a bad mood because apparently the world's been cruel to her." Mr. Incredible said, the second part of the explanation being sarcastic, earning him a glare.

"I see. Stress. Elastigirl, when you said what you did, did you mean it?" Infinite asked.

"Yes. This whole time, I haven't been able to stop asking myself, how did it come to this? Where did I go wrong? Now, I've realized, it was the day I met Mr. Incredible." Elastigirl answered, making Infinite nod.

"Well, then, there's only one solution to this problem." he said before he walked over and held her shoulder. He then closed his eyes and concentrated. As he did, he saw Elastigirl's memories of passing by several other supers before she ran into Mr. Incredible on a certain day.

"Whew, that's quite a few routes." he said as he let go of her shoulder.

"What did you do?" Elastigirl asked.

"I saw all those other Supers you passed before you met Mr. Incredible." Infinite answered, shocking everyone.

"Did you just read our mom's mind?!" Violet asked. Infinite nodded before he held up his hand and a glow covered Elastigirl and him. Elastigirl suddenly found herself in a strange blue space.

"Infinite, where are we?" she asked.

"We are inside your consciousness. This is the place your memories call home. Now, tell me, what happened the day you met your husband." Infinite explained.

"I was on my way to a convention with my mom and…" Elastigirl started. Suddenly, a strange screen popped up in front of her as Infinite held up his hand.

FLASHBACK

Helen, younger than now, was sitting in the back seat of her mother's car.

"Helen, I'm so proud of you. Another great college grade!" Helen's mom said as she pulled up to a stoplight and turned to face her daughter with a smile.

"Thanks, Mom." Helen said, smiling back. Suddenly, she heard a siren blaring. She looked out the window and saw robbers fleeing from a bank to the rooftops. Helen looked at her mother, who gave her a determined smile.

"Go get 'em, kiddo." she said. Helen smiled before she got out of the car, carrying a bag, and ran into an alleyway. She came out in her old Elastigirl outfit and stretched her way up to the rooftop. She looked and saw the robbers making their way across many roofs a little bit away from her. She grew a determined face before she made her way across a skyscraper rooftop, where she saw Gazerbeam.

"Hey, Elastigirl, think we could go to dinner later?" he asked, only for her to leap past him.

"Hey, you didn't answer my question." he said before he saw a sticky note in front of him that said, "NO THANKS" making him sigh in disappointment. Elastigirl then slingshot herself from between two buildings, coming near Universal Man.

"Hey, sweetheart, looking to fly into my arms?" he asked only for him to be punched in the face as she flew past him. She then climbed up the side of a skyscraper with the two crooks still in her sight, running into Downburst at the top.

"Hey, Elastigirl! What's up?" he asked as Elastigirl sailed over him. The stretchy Super then free fell to the final roof in this long lane of buildings, passing by Hypershock.

"Hey, need a lift?" he asked, only for her to bounce off his head and onto another building. She looked around for the crooks, but saw no sign of them.

PRESENT

"Then, I realized I had gotten lost and had lost sight of the two robbers." Elastigirl said.

Infinite pulled the screen back and said, "I see. Well, do you ever wonder what your life would've been like had you not married Mr. Incredible?"

"Not until today, no." Elastigirl answered.

"Well, let me show you. This is what would've happened had you hooked up with Gazerbeam." Infinite said before he cut the screen back on.

SCENARIO

"Hey, Elastigirl, think we could go to dinner later?" Gazerbeam asked.

This caught Elastigirl's interest as she dropped in front of him and said, "Sure, Gazerbeam, why not?" Gazerbeam then reached into his pocket and pulled out a notepad. He scribbled his phone number on a note and handed to her.

"Call you later." Elastigirl said before she hurried off in search of the crooks. A couple of years later, Helen found herself walking out of a church in a wedding dress beside Gazerbeam's secret identity. Some days after, she was fighting alongside Gazerbeam, but after defeating some villains, she had to deal with confused fans and reporters, wondering what drove her to marry him, troubling her. Some time after, she was shunned by Gazerbeam's female fans who used to be hers, saying she didn't deserve him, further adding stress to her life. After a while, she gave up her crime-fighting career and disappeared from the public eye, falling into depression.

PRESENT

"Wow, what a disaster." Elastigirl said.

"Here's your outcome with Universal Man." Infinite said as a new scenario began.

SCENARIO

"Hey, sweetheart, looking to fly into my arms?" Universal Man asked. At that point, Elastigirl was blown by a sudden wind gust, making her lose her balance and get caught by Universal Man.

"Hey, thanks." Elastigirl said.

"Just doing my job, keeping beginners in line." he said, puzzling Elastigirl.

"I'm not a beginner, nor do I need to be kept in line." she said.

"Hey, sorry. As the best Super around, I was just trying to say that someone as inferior to my skills as you could use some training." Universal Man replied. Despite what he said, Elastigirl still found him charming.

A couple of years later, as Helen and Universal Man walked out of the church, newlywed, Universal Man said, "I think my outfit's more appealing than yours." making Helen sad. Some years later, despite having a successful crime-fighting career, Helen's feelings about her husband were rocky, because he thought himself superior to her in every way, despite the fact that she still loved him.

As she sat at the dinner table, she asked her husband, "So, how do you like my spaghetti? It took me a while to get your recipe right."

"It's too bland. You're inferior to me even in cooking." he said as he pushed the bowl away. At that point, Helen had been fed up.

She smiled before she stood up and said, "Let me spice it up for you."

The next thing anyone knew, Universal Man was being sent to the hospital due to suffering from too much hot sauce and Helen was being arrested for intentionally doing it, all the while screaming, "Is that spicy enough for you?!"

PRESENT

"Yikes, not worth it." Elastigirl said.

"Yeah, I was gonna say." Infinite answered before he showed her another one.

SCENARIO

"Hey, Downburst!" Elastigirl called as she landed in front of him.

"How's about dinner and a movie?" he asked.

"Sure. I'll buy the tickets if you buy the popcorn." Elastigirl answered before they exchanged phone numbers. The two went to a candlelit dinner before going to see a movie and had a great time. However, in his later years, Downburst ended up losing control of his powers and accidentally ended up reshaping Helen's molecular matter and was unable to reshape her in time to heal her, resulting in her passing on.

PRESENT

"Downburst, to be honest, wouldn't be all that bad if that loss of control wouldn't happen." Elastigirl said.

Infinite then reset the screen one more time before saying, "This is the last scenario, Hypershock."

SCENARIO

"Sure, actually. Can you help me catch those crooks?" Elastigirl asked, directing Hypershock to the two crooks still on the run.

"No problem." Hypershock said before he put his arms around her waist and helped her catch the crooks. A few years later, the two of them were living peacefully married. But, unfortunately, nothing good lasts forever. One day, Hypershock and Helen got into an argument and he ended up punching a wall in anger, but in the process, activated his powers, generating a powerful shockwave strong enough to bring down the house, literally. Helen was severely injured in the accident and as a result, had to be sent to the hospital, where she stayed in a coma for months before leaving this world.

PRESENT

"Man, talk about a shaky relationship." Elastigirl said.

"Now, this is the last thing I'm going to show you. It's your history." Infinite said before he snapped his fingers and Elastigirl's memories started moving in her head like a movie through a projector.

PAST TILL NOW

Elastigirl had caught one of the crooks and was on her way to catch the other one when suddenly she saw him held by the collar by someone with blonde hair, a mask around his eyes and a blue and black suit. The man then punched the guy, knocking him out.

"Hey." Elastigirl said walking over to him.

The man looked at her and started to stare before he snapped out of it and said, "Hey. Elastigirl, right?" he said as he shook her hand.

"Correct. Mr. Incredible, I'm sure your name is?" she asked. Mr. Incredible nodded.

"Thanks for helping me with this scumbag. You might make a good sidekick for me." Elastigirl said, causing them both to chuckle.

"I work alone." Mr. Incredible said.

"Well, then I think you need to be more flexible." she said, stretching her fingers on him in a flirting motion.

She then started to leave before Mr. Incredible said, "Wait. Think I could treat you to dinner and a movie?"

Elastigirl turned around and smirked, "What? Think I'm pretty?" she asked. Mr. Incredible blushed before Elastigirl walked over and stuck something on his face. He pulled it off and saw it was a sticky note with a phone number on it.

"Sure. Why not?" Elastigirl asked. Mr. Incredible looked shocked before he smiled widely and gave her his number.

"Catch ya later." Elastigirl said before she ran and stretched across the rooftops, Mr. Incredible staring after her like he was in a trance. From that day forward, Bob and Helen got to know each other much better, becoming boyfriend and girlfriend, sticking by each other even through the SRA, the darkest of times for Supers. Over the course of the next few years, the two of them ended up married. Elastigirl then remembered the joy of seeing Violet take her first steps, her eyes misting up as her husband threw his arms in the air and yelled in joy, and the first time she used her powers when something was about to fall on her and the first time she and her husband saw moving clothes in midair with someone invisible in them. Then she remembered Dash's birth, first steps and the first time he used his powers. She also remembered how hard it was to catch him when it was time for him to go to the doctor or school when he was little She then remembered Jack-Jack's birth, the battle against the Omnidroid and Syndrome, Jack-Jack's powers being revealed, and finally, two family portraits they had recently taken as the Parrs and then as the Incredibles.

PRESENT

Elastigirl just stood in shock as Infinite and her ended up back in the room where everyone else was.

"Well, Elastigirl, after everything that I've shown you, what do you have to say?" Infinite asked, helping her up. When he had taken her inside her consciousness, her body fell asleep and ended up fainting, with Mr. Incredible and the others watching over her. Elastigirl looked at her family, who were watching her with anxiety.

"What did you show her, Infinite?" Dash asked.

"I showed her how her life would've gone had she married someone else before I showed her the history she made with your father." Infinite answered.

"So, would she still prefer someone else over me?" Mr. Incredible asked. Elastigirl looked down and started shaking. Everybody looked at her. She looked up with tears streaming down her face and a smile.

"Actually, you know what? I wouldn't change a thing." she said, standing up and opening her arms. Her family smiled real wide and started to tear up themselves as they rushed toward her and they wrapped their arms around each other, falling to their knees in a tight family hug, tears pouring out of their eyes. Everyone else was overjoyed at seeing the scene, many of them giving an "Aww" or crying tears of joy. You couldn't see it, but Infinite was smiling under his mask.

Elastigirl looked at him and said, "Thank you, Infinite." Infinite gave her a thumbs-up before a watch under his suit's sleeve beeped.

"I've gotta go. See ya." he said before he vanished in flash of green light. Later, after finishing dinner, the Incredibles left the agency.

"Hey, honey, can you have Rick store the car for the weekend?" asked Elastigirl.

"Sure, but why?" Mr. Incredible asked.

"Cause I have an awesome idea on how to get home." she said before she stretched herself between two cars and made her body flat and circular.

"All right!" Mr. Incredible said before he ran and jumped, springing off her back onto the top of a building.

"Let's do it!" Dash said before he and Violet ran and jumped off their mom to where their dad was. Elastigirl then stretched to them and repeated the process until they got home. Elastigirl laughed with her family as they landed before she gave them all a hug and kissed Mr. Incredible. That day, Elastigirl learned that her family might not be perfect, but that when she got down to it, she would have no other family but her's, as it was not just their powers, but their flaws, uniqueness and love that made them perfect to her.