Disclaimer: I do not own The Incredibles or Static Shock

Chapter Thirty: Riding off into the Sunset

Quietly and discreetly, Violet had been moved to a new room, which was also occupied by her mother and brother. The room was designed for Supers; the windows were blacked out to provide privacy and the beds and equipment were all specially designed to provide the needs of any Super. NSA guards stood watch outside the door.

Helen and Dash had been brought from the scene of the battle straight to the hospital, where Super-specialists were already set up to receive and diagnose them. Upon Virgil's advice, the doctors had performed brain scans on the pair and, as theorized, found the Super part of the brain blocked. They also found that the effects were temporary. The Super genes were already breaking down the barriers. While the ordeal was painful and disorienting, Helen and Dash should both recover.

The relief was plainly visible on Bob's face. He had refused to be seen by doctors, although being nearly indestructible meant he wasn't even scratched, and was sitting by his wife's side. Every few minutes he would shift his attention to his children, to make sure they were still safe and whole. For someone who loved his family so much, it was as if seeing them in pain also caused Bob physical pain. He had spoken with Rick Dicker by phone to bring the NSA man up to date on the situation and now sat a silent vigil over his family.

Virgil and Francis had been thoroughly examined by the specialist team. Francis squirmed under the attention but allowed them to check his shoulder wound, which required cleaning and rewrapping after he'd torn it open during the fight. He had superficial cuts and bruises, which were tended to as well. A long cut on his forearm, the product of a shard of glass shearing through flesh, had needed stitches. Virgil was physically fine, having never entered the fray, but was checked over anyway because Lucius was anxiously standing nearby with that Dad look in his eyes.

After being reassured that Virgil was fine, Lucius had gone back out to oversee the cleanup. A large portion of Dakota had suffered damages from the fight and the robot itself needed to be seen to. Lucius wanted to make sure it was dismantled and sent to the NSA for analysis. It was pretty clear that the robot was created to fight and destroy Supers. The question on everyone's mind now was, why?

The who was not such a big question. Virgil had briefed his father on the robot's origins and had been sent off to track down Specs and Trapper with strict orders to report any findings before acting.

That left Francis and the Parrs at the hospital. Francis crossed his arms firmly over his chest and tried not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. God, did he hate hospitals.

An orderly hurried by with a tray laden down with sharp and shiny implements. Francis shivered and turned his attention back to the room in front of him. The NSA guard stationed by the door nodded to him, obviously recognizing the teenaged pyro.

Francis returned the nod and pushed open the door. Both Bob and Helen looked up when he entered. Francis wasn't surprised to see Helen awake, she was a tough lady.

"Francis, are you alright?" Helen immediately asked with a motherly concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Francis shut the door behind him. "Just some cuts. How're you feeling?"

Helen smiled and motioned to a vacant chair on the other side of her bed with one hand. Bob had encased her other hand between both of his large paws and seemed reluctant to let go. "Better now that we know what's going on. I'm just relieved everyone is alright and we'll get our powers back soon."

Francis nodded. "Me too."

Helen reached for Francis and he gave her his hand. "Francis, where did you go? We were so worried about you."

Francis stared at the floor. "I went to Frieda's. I was…scared." There. He had said it.

Bob got to his feet and circled around to Francis's side of the bed. Francis looked up, his face pale and nervous. Wordlessly, Bob pulled Francis out of the chair and into his arms, crushing Francis in a tight bear hug. "You never have to be scared of me Francis." The big man muttered gruffly. He released the teen but kept a hand on either shoulder so Francis was forced to face him. "I was upset and I said things I shouldn't have. I apologize."

Francis was so shocked at first he could only nod. When he found his voice he stumbled over the words that had been running on a loop through his mind since the accident. "But it's my fault. I shouldn't have let Wade get to me. I'm the one who got Violet hurt…"

Bob cut Francis off. "No. People make mistakes. I don't blame you for what happened. We, " he motioned at Helen, "don't blame you."

"That's right." Helen added firmly. "You're family Francis. Families are allowed to get mad and say stupid things, so long as they make up for it later. Families forgive each other."

Francis nodded jerkily and then laughed softly. "I guess I don't have a lot of experience with this whole family thing."

"Well, you're a part of this family." Helen continued.

"Absolutely." Bob nodded. "In fact." He walked over to a bag sitting by the door. "I had Lucius bring this over. As the family lawyer, he's been working on it for us for a while." Bob pulled out a file and handed it to Francis. "Just so you know we already consider you a part of the family. This would just make it official."

Francis opened the file and stared in bewilderment at the adoption papers inside. He looked back and forth between the Parrs and the papers.

"Now, obviously we don't have to do this if it makes you uncomfortable." Helen said. "But if you do want to become a Parr officially, all we need is your signature."

Bob smiled at Francis. "We just wanted to let you know that there's no danger of us sending you back to Dicker, not now. You're ours. We intend to keep you."

Slowly, a smile spread across Francis' face. "Anybody got a pen?"

Virgil flew low over the city, eyes scanning the streets. He'd already searched the school and the homes of Specs and Trapper. Their parents hadn't seen them in over a day and were worried. Their lab and lockers at school had been cleaned of anything incriminating.

Virgil followed his instincts and decided to check out the industrial sector. Factories and warehouses dotted the landscape below him. The Alva Industries warehouse was one of the largest around and Virgil prepared to fly right over when he noticed maintenance men fixing a tear in the chain link fence surrounding the warehouse. Virgil's eyes narrowed and he looked for anything else suspicious. There, hidden behind some strategically placed crates, was a gaping hole in the warehouse's concrete wall. Construction workers were quietly and quickly patching the wall. That was certainly questionable enough for Virgil to call in. He got out his shock-vox.

By the time Lucius and Bob arrived on the scene flanked by uniformed NSA officers, Virgil had circled the area and taken some surveillance photos with his phone. If this lead actually got them somewhere, he wanted to have enough evidence to convict.

Lucius and Bob, with Francis in tow looking uncomfortable around so many uniformed and armed men, marched up to the guard's station. Virgil landed beside them just in time to see Lucius brandish a warrant at the guard and Bob to forcibly open the gates for the officers to walk through.

The guard must have radioed ahead because Edwin Alva himself was waiting in the warehouse looking expectant. Lucius did the talking. He was good at legal jargon. "Mr. Alva, we have reason to believe an illegal weapon may have a connection to this warehouse. Do you mind if we have a look around?" He was asking to be polite. Alva's answer didn't matter one way or the other because Bob, Francis, Virgil, and the NSA men were already fanned out searching the area.

Francis placed a hand on one of dozens of large wooden crates lining the wall. They were robot-sized. Virgil found a label on one of the crates with the Specs and Trapper logo on it.

"As you can see, I'm not bothering to hide anything." Alva said from behind them. His voice was as calm as ever. Virgil wondered if he ever got upset.

Bob pried open one of the crates and an intact and immobile robot stared back at him. The senior NSA officer stepped forward. "We're seizing these crates as evidence." He pointed at his men, giving orders. "Seal off the area and gather up the employees for questioning. Call in some transportation to get these crates out of here."

The officers scurried off to do their work, leaving some to guard the robots. Alva looked resigned to his fate. "What happened last night was an accident. That robot was not supposed to have been activated."

Bob's eyes narrowed. "And yet somehow it was. Care to explain that?"

Alva shook his head. "My attention was elsewhere at that moment. I didn't see." He held his hands up, to indicate he was peaceful. "I made a legal transaction with some scientists, which in hindsight is perhaps too generous a word. I was going to have my engineers examine the robots in more detail. I thought the technology could be useful."

"These scientists." Virgil cut in. "Would they happen to be students at the Vanmoor Institute?"

Alva nodded. "Yes. Specs and Trapper." He frowned and a sharp line creased his brow. "They took off the moment their little science experiment got loose. I've been trying to track them down."

"Any idea where they might be?" Lucius asked. "We'd be interested in speaking with them."

"That's an understatement." Bob growled under his breath.

The look on Alva's face gave them their answer before he opened his mouth. "My resources haven't uncovered anything thus far."

Lucius nodded. "Then we'd better get back to looking." He nodded at Virgil. "Back in the air son."

Virgil flashed his dad a thumbs-up before hopping on his disc and taking off through the hole in the wall. Virgil could continue to look from the air while the other Supers searched on the ground.

Bob was already stalking towards the door and Francis hurried after him. Lucius stayed with Alva. "Cooperating with us is a good move on your part. But this is still going to be trouble for you. That robot was capable of illegal biological weaponry and the fact that it was in your possession means we're going to have to take you in for further questioning."

Alva nodded stiffly, as if he'd been expecting that. Lucius tried not to frown. It seemed like Alva had expected all of this. As a lawyer Lucius was pretty good at analyzing body language and reading between the lines. Alva was trying to present himself as the innocent businessman, probably trying to avoid a trial or jail time. Possibly even trying to keep his image in the press good. Lucius motioned for one of the NSA men to come over and deal with Alva.

He could try and work out Alva's motives later. He still had some evil teenaged scientists to find.

By the time the sun was setting, Dicker had arrived on the scene. Normally, when a Super is involved in an incident, Dicker's feet were the first on the ground. However, he had been responding to a Code Mauve in California at the same time a robot was tearing through downtown Dakota. He had had to wrap that up before hopping the first available flight.

Despite the spontaneous and often stressful nature of his schedule, when Bob and Lucius met with Dicker at the battles scene, he looked the same as always. Although significantly shorter in stature than either of the Supers, Dicker squared his shoulders and walked briskly about the personnel in a way that commanded respect. When he entered a room, people hushed in expectation of what he was going to say. And although Dicker was a man of few words, what he did say carried weight. There was no questioning why he was the head of the NSA.

Dicker took a lap around the street, surveying the damage from the fight and nodding to repair and rescue personnel as he passed them. He circled back to Bob and Lucius at the barricade to keep civilians and journalists out. He tapped a manila folder idly against his thigh before looking up at he two. His frown made the wrinkle between his eyebrows look like a deep furrow. "Maybe you'd better start at the beginning." Dicker said. He brandished the folder at them like a sword. "I read over the situation on the flight, but I think I'm missing a few details."

Bob and Lucius took turned running through the day's events and what they knew. Virgil's notes on Specs and Trapper's robot had been found and entered into evidence. They were rounding up the other students involved for questioning. Alva was in custody and awaiting interrogation. The manhunt for Specs and Trapper was still on. Police and NSA units were sweeping the city and posting alerts to nearby areas to be on the lookout for the two rogue students.

Dicker's already stony face turned even harder when Bob explained Helen and Dash's condition. The robot was clearly designed as a weapon against Supers; Dicker did not like someone threatening his people.

"And Virgil and Francis, where are they now?" Dicker asked after the explanation had come to an end.

"They're still on the trail. We're in contact." Lucius explained, holding up a shock-vox.

Dicker nodded and glanced around again at the churned up road littered with glass and brick from smashed buildings. A fire still smoldered on the next street over. Sirens were still echoing up and down the boulevards as first responders ferried the wounded and newly homeless across the city. "We'd better get to work."

Francis glowered at the setting sun. He and Virgil were supposed to report back to the hospital by the time the streetlights came on and their time was running out. The golden light swept over the rooftop Francis was standing on, casting everything into vivid, bright tones. Francis' scowl deepened and his crossed his arms. "I can't believe this. How many places can there be to hide in a city?"

Virgil hovered on his disc beside him. "I don't know. Thousands. Millions." He smirked at the frustrated pyro. "We have to remember we're not dealing with the common criminal. These guys are smart. We have to be smart too."

Francis nodded. "Alright, so what have we been doing wrong?" He glanced up at Virgil. "You're the smart one. Think of something."

"Genius on command is what I'm known for." Virgil mused to himself. He set down on the roof and folded his disc into his jacket pocket. He began to pace back and forth. Francis followed his movements but didn't interrupt. Instead he hopped up to sit on the ledge of the roof and waited for Virgil.

Only a few minutes had passed before Virgil whirled to face Francis. "If I were building a giant, scary robot at the Sanctum, don't you think someone would notice? Even if I tried to keep it a secret?"

Francis quirked an eyebrow. "Um, yeah?"

"So, if Specs and Trapper had been building their freakish robot army at home or at school, then shouldn't someone have noticed?"

Francis nodded. "Yeah." He followed Virgil's train of thought. "Wait, they built these robots someplace else. Like a lab."

"Exactly like a lab!" Virgil punched one fist into the palm of the other, practically jumping with excitement. "And this lab would have to have some specific requirements, such as a large power supply to charge all of their little projects." He stopped to smirk smugly at Francis. He pointed one finger towards the sky and a spark ran up and down his hand. "And I happen to know someone who's very good at tracing electrical signals back to the source."

Francis grinned at Virgil. "That's my nerd." He jumped off the ledge and bumped fists with Virgil. "Let's go."

Virgil sat perched on the telephone pole like some bizarre overgrown crow. Both of his hands grasped at the electrical lines beside him and his eyes were closed in concentration.

Flowing through those cable were thousands and thousands of volts of electricity, coursing into and out of Virgil as he made his body into a giant conduit. As each charge went through him, Virgil examined it, turned it around and around, and read all the information the sparks could tell him.

His face, blank with concentration, suddenly expressed interest. "152 Richland?" He asked aloud, without opening his eyes or disrupting the electrical flow.

Francis, who was sitting cross-legged on a platform below Virgil, typed the address into his phone. "It's a night club."

Virgil went back to work; the tense rigidity of his shoulders the only sign of creeping frustration. They had been at this for at least an hour. The sun had long disappeared beyond the horizon. They were running out of time.

Francis craned his neck to watch Virgil for a moment before returning to his research. In the last hour they had eliminated some of the more obvious large, energy-eating locations in the city.

Virgil's entire body suddenly twitched and he grinned. "Courtland 1783."

Francis searched for the address and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "It's a warehouse. By the docks." He scrolled down. "Hey Virg, supposedly all those warehouses are abandoned."

"Then why am I getting a large electrical surge from there?"

The two Supers exchanged looks and jumped to their feet.

"Where are those boys? They were supposed to be back by dark." Lucius paced back and forth in the hospital room. Bob and Helen watched him with patient amusement.

"Maybe they found a lead?" Helen suggested.

Lucius turned to her. "They're supposed to call in any leads."

"Relax Fro, they can handle themselves. They probably just wanted to squeeze in a little more search time. They're probably on their way back now." Bob offered, looking far less concerned than Lucius.

Lucius crossed his arms and then dropped them to his sides again in frustration. "Normally, I'd agree with you. But they're trying to find two scientists who have some how found a way to neutralize Super powers. I think that calls for a little worry."

Bob's brow furrowed. That was true. "Even so, they're well-trained. If they find anything, they'll call in."

As if on cue, the shock-vox on the nightstand suddenly buzzed and crackled to life. "Yo Pops, are you there?" Virgil's voice floated into the room.

Helen grabbed for the walkie-talkie. "Virgil, you two had better be on your way back."

"Um…not exactly."

"Care to explain?" Helen asked in her "mom" voice, which made the question more of a command and less of a request.

"We found a lead and we're going to investigate a warehouse down by the docks. It's large enough to house a laboratory and the electrical output is through the roof, considering those buildings are supposed to be boarded up and locked down."

Lucius grabbed for the shock-vox. "Virgil, don't do anything until back-up arrives. We'll call it into the NSA forces and then meet you there. Do not enter that building until we arrive."

"Understood Pops, see you there."

Bob stood up and stretched, popping his back loudly. "Let's suit up."

Francis and Virgil crept around the top of the warehouse, inching towards a glass skylight. A faint light from inside illuminated the roof and the two boys used every inch of their stealth training in approaching the window.

They reached the glass and peered inside. Desks with computers and paperwork lay directly under the window. Complicated looking scientific equipment lay off to the side. Enormous crates were stacked against the far wall. Harsh, artificial lighting from temporary lamps dotted the room. A shadow suddenly bounced into view and Francis and Virgil drew back from the window to avoid being seen. Two people walked into the room, arguing and shouting.

"That's them." Virgil hissed. "Specs and Trapper."

The two seemed to be getting angrier and angrier. Wild gesturing turned into shoving and they circled around each other as they shouted.

"We need to get out now, while we still have the chance." Specs shouted.

"Not until we get rid of the leftover experiments." Trapper argued.

"The longer we stay the more time those Supers have to find us. And I don't know about you, but I don't have any Super powers, they'll tear us to shreds!"

Trapper frowned but continued in an insistent voice. "We have an entire bay just outside these walls. We can dump the extras and be gone by morning."

Specs looked far from satisfied but he nodded. "Let's get going." He walked over to one of the crates and laid a hand on the wood. "Such a shame."

Trapper walked up beside him. "Yes, a truly unique piece of engineering. I hate to let it go to waste."

Specs suddenly perked up and a feral grin spread across his pale face. "We know the Supers are hunting us, chances are they'll find this place." He gestured at the crates. "Why not leave them a little welcoming gift?"

After a moment, Trapper returned the grin. "Activate the robots. Let them deal with the mess while we make our escape during the chaos. A truly genius plan Mr. Specs."

"Why thank you Mr. Trapper."

Trapper went over to the bank of computers and began typing while Specs grabbed a crowbar and opened the crate. An inert robot lay inside. Specs moved on to the next crate.

"They're going to turn the robots on!" Francis whispered. "We've got to get in there."

Virgil grabbed his arm. "Wait, my dad said not to go in without back-up."

"Virgil, back-up's gonna arrive just in time to get slaughtered by an army of those things. We need to get in there and corral those two nuts before they turn the robots on."

After a second's hesitation, Virgil nodded. "Let's go."

They crashed through the skylight and burst into action, hoping to shock Specs and Trapper and catch them before they could react.

Virgil dove for Trapper and Francis ran after Specs. Talented scientists they may be, skilled fighters they were not. Specs wielded the crowbar like a sword and took a wild swing at Francis, who simply ducked and buried a fist in Specs' stomach. The blond boy doubled up and crumpled to the ground.

Trapper spared Virgil a glance before typing in one final command and punching the 'enter' key. Virgil grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him from the desk chair. Trapper smirked in his face. "What's so funny?" Virgil asked.

"That." Trapper jerked his head back towards the crates and Virgil followed, paling when he saw the freed robot's light suddenly flare green.

"Hotstreak!" Virgil called in warning.

Francis looked up, noted the panic on Virgil's face, and then turned to the robot. It jerked upright and stepped out of its box, swiveling its head all around the warehouse before settling on Francis, the Super closest to it. "Oh shit." Francis swore and backpedaled away as the robot advanced towards him.

Specs choked out a winded laugh and got to his feet. "Nice work Mr. Trapper."

Virgil's eyes narrowed and he thrust Trapper back towards the computers. "Shut it down."

Trapper laughed. "No."

Virgil held up a sparking fist. "Shut it down now."

Trapper's eyes widened for a moment before his smirk returned. "You wouldn't. You're the good guys." He made the term sound mocking.

Virgil wanted to hit him; he really, really wanted to hit him. But Trapper was right. When dealing with non-Super suspects the use of powers wasn't acceptable unless they posed an imminent threat. Virgil threw Trapper aside and sat at the computer instead. "Let's see what we've got here."

Francis leapt away from a burst of green light and rolled into the wall of the warehouse, using it as leverage to get back to his feet. The robot swung an arm after the pyro and Francis ducked. The heavy metal arm swung through drywall and concrete and a cloud of dust enveloped both of them. Francis covered his head as bits of plaster rained down on him. Coughing and covered in a fine mist of white dust, Francis crawled away from the robot in the cover the sudden smoke screen gave him.

"Static! Can you shut this thing down?" Francis shouted once he had put some distance between himself and the behemoth.

"Working on it." Virgil called back, his eyes glued to the computer screen and his fingers flashing over the keyboard.

With the attentions of both Supers directed elsewhere, Trapper ran to Specs, pulled his friend to his feet, and began moving towards the door. Virgil caught their movement out of the corner of his eye and he burst from the chair. "Where do you think you're going?"

Specs and Trapper made a run for it but Virgil magnetized the doors shut and pulled a pair of handcuffs from his coat. "You two aren't going anywhere."

With the two locked together around a water pipe, Virgil ran back for the computer. Crashes and yells from the back of the warehouse told him Francis was still fighting.

"Any day now V." Francis grunted as he hit the floor yet again. He scrambled under a desk for cover as the robot sent another flash of green at him. He was not expecting the table to catch fire from the blast. He yelped in surprise and then grinned. He planted both feet on the underside of the table and kicked it up into the robot's face. The fire and embers stole the robot's attention for a moment and allowed Francis to get back to his feet.

Virgil laughed in triumph when he finally found the shut down sequence. He began typing it in when Francis and the robot came crashing back into the main room. The robot crunched through anything in its path, computers, scanners, and beakers becoming pits of glass and plastic under its tread.

Francis feinted left and then ran right, but the robot tracked him and this time the flash of green light hit the pyro square in the chest. Francis' eyes went wide and he collapsed backwards. "No!" Virgil feverishly typed in the last few bits of code and punched the 'enter' key. The robot stutter-stepped and then jerked to a halt, its open claw extended towards Francis.

Virgil leapt to his feet and ran to Francis. He knelt at his friend's side and checked the other boy over with worry in his eyes. "Francis? Can you hear me? Are you okay?"

Francis groaned, his face pale with pain. "It hurts, I can't feel it."

"What?" Virgil asked.

Francis grabbed at Virgil's coat. "I can't feel the fire. It's not there." A shiver went up and down Francis' body and he whimpered. "It's so cold."

"I told you to wait for back-up." Lucius said sternly. His eyes flashed from his son standing in front of him to Francis, being loaded into an ambulance.

"We were." Virgil insisted. The father and son stood off to the side, allowing the NSA men to sweep the warehouse while they argued. "But Specs and Trapper were activating the robots, we had to go in to stop them before they were activated."

Lucius still looked unhappy about the situation, but he couldn't fault their reasoning. He would have done the dame thing. Had done the same thing many times before. He nodded and then pulled Virgil into a one-armed hug. "You alright?"

"I'm fine." Virgil said. "Didn't even break a sweat." They both looked over to the ambulance to where Bob was speaking in hushed tones with a paramedic. "He is going to be okay, right? All of them will be okay?"

Lucius squeezed Virgil's shoulder. "The doctors are positive that the effects are only temporary. They'll be fine, in a few days."

They watched the ambulance peel away, even as more NSA mobile units poured into the area. Bob walked over to them, his face pale and tired. "How is he?" Lucius asked as his friend approached.

"The same as Helen and Dash, except he can't stop shivering." Bob shrugged. "I suppose always having a higher than average body temperature and then suddenly being dropped down to 98.6 would be a bit of a shock. They've got him wrapped up in heated blankets to try and make him comfortable." He looked Virgil over quickly to assure himself that the other boy was alright before jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "Let's get out of here. The delinquent scientists are on their way to the station and I'd really like to avoid another briefing from Dicker."

As Virgil pulled his disc out of his coat, Bob patted him on the shoulder and smiled at the boy. "You two did good work tonight."

Virgil returned the smile, although it didn't feel like good work. More than half their team was in the hospital. He jumped onto his disc and floated upwards into the dark night sky. Sometimes, he thought as he watched his father and Bob commandeer an NSA car, victory comes at a steep price.

"Enough with the needles and the poking and the stupid blood tests!" Francis wrenched his arm away from the nurse. "I feel fine."

"Francis please, would you just let the nice lady do her job?" Helen asked, exasperation in her voice.

Three days later and Helen and Dash had mostly recovered from their run-in with the robot. Neither of them was back to full power yet, but they no longer felt sickly and exhausted. Francis, on the other hand, was not quite out of that phase and was determined to be as uncooperative a patient as he could be.

"Don't worry Elastigirl, I've been a nurse for twenty years. I know how to work with all kinds of patients." The nurse smiled at Helen and then walked over to the IV drip bag by Francis' bedside. While Francis was looking the other way, she injected a needle of morphine into the solution. Francis turned to look at her, then the needle in her hand, then the IV bag.

"Not fair." He slurred, eyes suddenly drooping.

The nurse patted him on the head. "Go to sleep dear."

Within seconds, Francis was asleep and the nurse and Helen exchanged amused smiles.

The nurse finished up with her task and then tidied up before leaving the room. Because Helen and Dash had been released, Francis now shared the room with Violet, who was also recovering well from her head injury. She still complained of dizziness and nausea but was able to remain conscious and lucid throughout the day. Helen scooped Jack-Jack up from the foot of Francis' bed and swung him around, making the little boy giggle with glee.

Helen twisted around to make sure the sound hadn't disturbed Francis, but he was sleeping a sound, drug-induced slumber. Helen cuddled Jack-Jack to her chest and smiled at her son, rubbing her nose against his for a moment, making Jack-Jack laugh. "Everybody's alive and in one piece. Maybe things can get a little less complicated around here now." She said to herself, continuing to sway and dance around the room.

Jack-Jack's eyes settled on the doorway and a broad smile crossed his little face. "Da!" He stretched his arms out towards the door.

Helen turned to see Bob, Dash, and Violet entering the room. The doctor had recommended Violet get up and moving so Bob and Dash had taken her for a walk around the hospital, all three of them wearing masks to hide their identities.

Bob crossed the room and swept Jack-Jack into his arms. "Did someone call for their Daddy? I think they did."

"No way. He said my name." Dash insisted.

Violet rolled her eyes. "Not this again."

Helen smiled at her bickering family and helped Violet back into bed. Francis shifted restlessly. She turned back to Bob. "Hush, you're going to wake him."

Bob and Dash glanced over at Francis and then both lowered their voices sheepishly. "Sorry." Father and son apologized in unison.

"How are you feeling sweetie?" Helen asked, sitting on the edge of Violet's bed and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her daughter's ear.

Violet smiled. "I'm fine Mom, really. I'm feeling a lot better. I didn't get dizzy at all walking with Dad and Dash."

"That's good to hear." Helen ran a hand over the bandage still wrapped around Violet's head. "But the doctor wants to keep you for a few more days, just to be sure there will be no lasting effects."

"A few more days?" Violet moaned. "I'm so tired of the hospital. It's boring and the food sucks." She turned hopeful eyes on Helen. "Can't I just take it easy at home?"

Helen shook her head. "Doctor's orders Vi. Besides," Helen adjusted the blanket around Violet. "You can keep Francis company."

"What did he do now?" Bob asked, a smile in his voice. Francis' phobia of doctors and hospitals had led to several amusing moments in the last few days.

"Made a nurse's life a little more difficult than it had to be." Helen explained.

Bob chuckled and bounced Jack-Jack in his arms. The family was so busy talking over one another and laughing at stories that no one noticed that the door to the hospital room had been left open and that a red-haired girl was standing in the entrance.

She hesitantly reached out and knocked on the open door.

All eyes turned to the doorway and Violet gasped. "Frieda!"

Bob and Helen exchanged panicked looks. Bob attempted to hide Jack-Jack behind his back. "This is a private area."

"Um, I'm sorry to intrude. I just wanted to see if Francis was alright. I haven't heard anything in a few days and the news was saying that Hotstreak got hurt so I…"

"WHAT!" Bob roared suddenly.

Francis sat up, dazed and confused from sleep. "Whazza?"

Bob rounded on Francis. "You told her?"

Francis looked from Bob to Frieda and then back again. His brow furrowed as he tried put the pieces together again. Then his eyes shot back to Frieda. "Oh!"

"Yes 'oh.'" Helen frowned.

Bob motioned at Frieda. "Come in, shut the door."

Frieda stepped into the room. "I didn't mean to cause a fuss."

"Everybody stop, wait a second before you start yelling." Francis swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up a little shakily. Helen looked like she wanted to tie him back to the bed so he walked over to Frieda and put an arm around her shoulders. "Hi."

"Hi." Frieda turned into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his chest. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Before you begin divulging details of an on-going investigation, I'd like to know why it is that your girlfriend knows so much about our pastime." Bob cut in. "Because I'm pretty sure that one of the first things I taught you was that your secret identity is meant to be a secret."

Francis sighed. "I told her. I told her everything." Helen and Bob did not look happy. Francis continued. "Although to be fair, she kind of figured most of it out on her own."

Frieda, sensing the tension in the room, jumped in to defend Francis. "I promised I wouldn't say anything and I won't."

Bob ran a hand tiredly over his face. "It's not that simple."

"So Miss Goren, why don't we start at the beginning? Let's talk about your relationship with Francis."

Frieda sat stiffly in the cold chair, hands clasped together in her lap. "Well, at first he was kind of annoying."

Dicker raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He gestured for Frieda to continue. It was just the two of them sitting in an old office room on opposite sides of a slim desk.

"He was pretty…insistent is probably the right word. He wanted to go out with me but I wasn't really interested." Frieda looked down at her hands. "Actually, I think I hurt his feelings." She glanced back up at Dicker. He was listening quietly, his face betraying none of his thoughts or feelings. Frieda took a deep breath and continued. "And after that we became friends. We spent a lot of time together and I learned a lot about him, not as much as he was keeping from me it turned out." She sighed. "But I can't blame him for that. Anyway, we sort of slowly stopped being friends and started being something else."

She looked up sharply. "Mr. Dicker, I love Francis. I want to be with him. He makes me feel good about myself and he's always trying to protect me and make me laugh." Her eyes were hard and serious. "I want to protect him too, and I will. Whatever that takes."

Dicker said nothing, but simply folded his hands atop the desk and quietly considered the girl before him.

"What the big deal?" Francis asked. "She goes in, talks to Dicker, then we move on. Frieda promised not to tell and she won't."

"It's not always like that Francis." Violet insisted. She had followed him from their shared hospital room and was waiting anxiously for Frieda to return from her talk with Dicker. "In Metroville I have a friend named Kari. When we went to fight Syndrome, we left Jack-Jack with her."

Francis' eyes widened. He knew full well what babysitting Jack-Jack was like.

"He didn't have his powers yet, we thought it was safe." Violet explained. "Of course, when we got back the house was a wreck, Jack-Jack was on fire, and Kari had seen way too much. She went for a talk with Dicker." Violet made sure Francis was listening before continuing. "Now she doesn't even remember I have a baby brother."

Francis nearly jumped from his seat. "Wait, you're saying Dicker could take Frieda's memories away? Her memories of me? He can make her forget me?" Francis threw a panicked look down the hall where Frieda and Dicker had disappeared. "No." He shakily got to his feet and started down the hallway but Violet caught his arm.

"Francis, wait. We don't know if…"

"I'm not taking that chance. Let go!"

"Just listen for a second."

"Whoa, what's the problem guys?"

Francis and Violet turned away from their argument to find Frieda standing in front of them, a light, easy smile on her face. Francis shrugged Violet off and hurried over to his girlfriend. "You…are you okay?" Francis ran his hands up Frieda's arms, looking her over with a critical eye as though he could see if her memories had been tampered with.

Frieda laughed. "Yes, I'm fine. Mr. Dicker and I came to an understanding." She went up on tiptoe and kissed Francis, just a brief sweet touch of their lips. Her mouth lingered by his ear. "He thinks I'm good for you."

Francis blinked in response and then noticed Dicker standing a little ways down the hall watching them, and although his face was as blank as usual, there was a little twinkle in his eyes that was usually absent. Francis nodded at the NSA man in gratitude. Dicker returned the acknowledgement before turning and walking towards the door, leaving the teens happily together.

Richie set down the newspaper, and turned it over so he wouldn't have to look at Specs and Trapper's photos plastered across the front page. The Dakota Daily had run a full expose on the two teenaged scientists and their robots. Almost every reporter and news outlet in the country was denouncing the attacks and the technology as genocidal. A direct attack on a specific group of people, Supers. Of course there was always that small, outspoken section of the populace who questioned the use or need for Supers, and who were rallying around Specs and Trapper, hailing them as "evolutionary thinkers." Humans vs. Supers, them vs. us.

Richie shuddered when he thought about it. As far as he was concerned, Supers were mostly good people who put aside their own lives and safety to protect others. There were bad eggs in the bunch, but that could be said about any group of people. Richie was grateful to have the Incredibles and their team and felt safer having them around. Another thought crossed his mind as he glanced at the folded paper in front of him. The Daily had talked about the technology used by Specs and Trapper, and how it had a short-term effect. Several scientists had been quoted about the lack of sophistication of the technology. That just meant that others, smarter more qualified people, would be looking at that technology and would probably fine-tune it into a more lethal, long-term weapon. Richie pushed the thought from his mind and looked up as more customers streamed in through the door.

The small coffee shop he was sitting in was crowded with the morning traffic of people stopping for coffee and breakfast on their way to work. He sipped at his hot chocolate and sat back for a little people-watching, one of his favorite activities. You could learn a lot about a person just from watching them for a few moments without them knowing it. For instance, the woman in the red coat second in line, had streaks of colored marker ink on her hand. She fumbled with her wallet as she approached the counter and Richie noted that it was bulging with photos. Clearly a mother, and based on her frequent looks out the window and the three chocolate milks she bought, they were waiting in the car for her to get back.

Richie jumped up and held the door open for her. She smiled gratefully at him, her hands full with her oversized purse and milk bottles, before hurrying to her minivan. Richie went back to his little chair, tucked away in the corner where he could see everything and everyone and wait for Virgil to show up. He checked his watch. Virgil was five minutes late.

Another two minutes passed before Virgil stumbled in the door, looked around the shop, spotted, Richie, and fell into the chair opposite his friend. "Hey bro, what's up?"

"Just waiting for you." Richie grinned so Virgil would know he wasn't serious. "How's Vi doing?"

Virgil hadn't spoken with Richie since before the whole Specs and Trapper debacle so as far as the blond boy knew, Violet was still in the hospital from the motorcycle accident. "She's much better. She got released a few days ago and there doesn't seem to be any long-term damage."

"Good, I'm glad. Maybe I can drop by and visit her some time." Richie sipped at his hot chocolate. "I miss you guys, I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks."

Virgil nodded. "Sorry about that. Things have been kind of hectic lately. How are things with you?"

"Kind of hectic." Richie grinned again. "My house took a little collateral damage from that robot, so we've been bunking down with my aunt until the contractors give it the okay."

Virgil's eyes widened. "What, really? Are you guys okay? I didn't know."

Richie waved the sudden wave of concern away. "We're fine. The only trouble is that I didn't know I was allergic to my aunt's five cats." He sniffed and smiled.

Virgil chuckled. "Bummer man. Any time you need to give your sinuses a break, give me a call. We'll go shoot hoops or something."

"Thanks." Richie swirled the last of his hot chocolate around in the cup. "So how's everything on your end? Francis hasn't been to school in a while and Frieda's being oddly tight-lipped about it all."

Now it was Virgil's turn to wave off concern. "He's fine. There was a family thing we had to deal with but it's settled. Francis and Violet should both be back in school on Monday."

"Good." Richie leaned back in his chair, an easy smile on his face. "So, have you read the latest Molecule Man?"

"Dash! You're going to be late for school!" Helen charged around the house, Jack-Jack balanced on one hip, a basketful of laundry on the other. A blond blur raced past her and circled the kitchen. An apple and a brown paper lunch bag were swept off the counter.

"Bye Mom!" Dash shouted as he continued to the front door, slowing down only for as long as it took to turn the knob.

Helen shook her head in exasperation. She bounced Jack-Jack and then smiled down at him when he laughed happily. "You're not going to give me so much trouble when you start school are you?" Jack-Jack just let loose with another peal of laughter.

A strong pair of arms wrapper around her waist and Helen leaned back into her husband's solid chest. Bob took the hamper of laundry from her and kissed her cheek. "All the kids off to school?"

"Dash just left." Helen replied.

Bob smiled and followed Helen to the laundry room. While she sorted clothes, Bob entertained Jack-Jack. "Where's the baby? Where's the baby?" Bob uncovered his eyes and scooped his son into his arms. "There he is!"

Jack-Jack expressed his delight by threading his fingers in his father's hair and pulling on it, hard.

"Ow." Bob worked to untangle Jack-Jack's fingers from his head. He looked over to Helen. "A little help?"

Helen was holding one of Francis' shirts and when she glanced up, she just snorted and gave Bob one of her amused looks. "What, the famous Mr. Incredible can't handle a little hair-pulling?"

"Ha ha." Bob muttered, but his voice was the same light teasing tone as his wife's.

Helen folded Francis' shirt and reached for another. "I swear, every time I do the laundry the number of clothes has multiplied. I know I haven't taken any of the kids shopping lately. Where do all these clothes come from?"

Having finally separated Jack-Jack from his hair, Bob sidled up beside his wide. "Well, that's what happens when you've got four kids."

Helen paused in her folding and then shook her head, a soft smile on her face. "Four kids. And wasn't that last one a surprise?"

"Very unplanned." Bob agreed. "Our happy little accident."

Helen laughed and turned around to swat at Bob with the shirt. "I wouldn't say that around Francis if I was you."

"Francis!" Frieda met her boyfriend and Violet in the parking lot, Richie trailing along behind her. She stepped into Francis' open arms. While Richie was greeting Violet, Frieda quickly checked Francis over for any lingering signs of illness. He looked fine and fit, and the patiently exasperated look on his face told her he knew exactly what she was doing.

"I'm fine." He whispered. "Honestly."

"That's a fine looking bruise you've got there Vi." Richie pointed out.

The last remnant of the motorcycle accident that had caused so much grief and anguish was a bruise on Violet's forehead. The fading brown and yellow bruise would be gone in a few days. Violet put a hand to the mark but just smiled. "It makes me look tough doesn't it?"

Richie nodded. "Oh, very tough. Fearsome even." Violet laughed and the group started walked towards the school entrance.

All of the sudden, several police cars raced by with their sirens blaring. Francis and Violet exchanged looks and Frieda's grip tightened on Francis' arm. "I wonder what's up?" Richie asked aloud for all of them.

The crackle of a walkie-talkie sounded from inside the motorcycle's under-seat compartment. "Uh, I think I forgot my notebook. I'll go get it." Violet said quickly, hurrying back over to the bike and giving Francis a meaningful look as she passed him.

Francis, in turn, gave the same look to Frieda. She sighed, nodded, and then turned to Richie. "Hey Rich, can I borrow your calculator for calculus today? I left mine at home."

Richie stared at her quizzically for a second. "Uh sure. We'd better hurry though, the bell's gonna ring any second."

"I'm right behind you." Frieda assured Richie. She and Francis watched him walk off. She turned back to her boyfriend. "Be careful?"

Francis swooped in and kissed her, quickly though because Violet was making impatient noises behind him. "Always. See you at lunch?"

"I'd better." Frieda smiled.

Francis hurried to Violet. "What's up?"

She held up a shock-vox. "Virg called in a rogue Super near Vanmoor. He's already on the scene and he's calling for back up. Some guy with huge feet."

"Feet?" Francis snorted and shook his head. "There sure are some weird superpowers out there." He took the helmet Violet offered him and they both got on the motorcycle. He revved the engine and grinned. "Well, duty calls."

Author's Note:

Two years, ten months, and around eleven days later and this story is finally finished. I profusely apologize and am eternally grateful to anyone who's stuck around since the beginning. This was a long haul.

I also have to apologize about how late this final chapter is. I completely lost track of time. All of my deadlines came and went without my noticing. To make up for it, however, this is the absolute longest chapter I've ever written. Clocking in at 20 pages and some 8,000 words. So there's that anyway.

I tried to wrap everything up nicely and give everyone their final moment. I hope you guys are as satisfied with the ending as I am, because I'm pretty fond of it.

I don't have any new story ideas in the works at the moment, so I'm not sure when I'll next be posting here. But thanks again to all my readers and especially my reviewers. I love you guys.

PLEASE REVIEW!