{Helen's PoV - Hours earlier, outskirts of Paris}
We're finally out of that place!
SNAP
BOOM
I look up in time to see the displaced air and the sonic boom those two made as they flew away towards... the English Channel.
'I hope Matt can deal with whatever Xerek became...'
'For now, we need to take care of Bob and the kids, especially Dash.' I look at him and he contorts slightly now and then but doesn't wake up. Violet holds him with a grim expression. I wish I could hold him too but we need to act.
"Frozone, are you feeling okay? Apex is dealing with Xerek, but if I know that man, he has plans under his plans. We need to keep in contact with the French heroes and the NSA." I say and Lucius tiredly nods.
"I hear you, Elastigirl." He turns back to see the entrance/exit we just used, "Should we... go back in? Now that they're outta there." I ponder, and nod.
"I'll go there and grab a radio or communicator. You stay here and keep an eye on them, ok?" I say, nodding to the children and also to Bob. Lucius follows my eyes and nods back. Ever since that wound out of nowhere, Bob's been getting paler as we ran. While we were in the elevator climbing out of the base he was panting. I rarely see him panting.
"Leave it to me, Elastigirl. We'll be cool." Lucius responds and I walk back into the elevator access entrance.
A three-minute ride back down into the base and its silence got to me.
I haven't had much time at all to think much about what is happening, but Xerek was somehow able to create a lab here in the deepest part of the NSA's agency. 'I knew he had connections here in France, but this...'
Cautiously navigating through the silent base, I head to the comms center. I've been to these bases so many times back in the day, I still remember their layout like the back of my hand. I hear some chatter from within and quietly put my head around the door to look inside. 'Damn it!'
A bunch of agents are wearing glasses, talking orders and directions into the microphones in a monotone. Judging by the way they move, that's one of those hypnotic glasses that the Deavor woman created.
I drop low to the ground, morphing my body to crawl better and infiltrate the room. Luckily for me, sneaking up on them was easy enough, and getting their glasses off was enough for the agents to slowly come to.
"Wha?" One of them asks, blinking slowly.
"We are at the NSA's French Branch, base 73. You were using one of these," I show them the goggles, "And saying instructions on the microphone. I think it's best if you go over everything that has been said over the last few hours or even days and write off any weird orders or conflicting parameters. For now, I need communicators and you need to start organizing the base again." I sternly finish, trying to get them out of their funk.
"I... yeah, ok." One officer slaps his face and shakes his head, takes a mug of cold black coffee from the table, chugs it, and nods in my direction, "You got it, Elastigirl!"
I nod back, take the communicators given to me, and turn to leave, fixing one of them to my ear. A quick push of its button throws me into a cacophony of sounds and conflicting instructions. I turn the volume down and say, "The comms line has been compromised, code 2295-4. Clean up necessary."
"On it!" Comes the response.
The sounds and instructions are all silenced at once and I hear, "I put you through a secured line, Elastigirl. We're trying to reconnect with the parties that make sense right now, but the process might be slow. Are you able to scout the base?"
"Negative. I have Mr. Incredible injured on the surface, along with two civilian hostages. Are there any other operatives of able mind in the base for clean up?" I respond, already making my way back to the elevator.
"None I've found... Are you completely sure you can't spare even a few rooms?" The operator asks again, his mounting stress makes his voice sound strained.
I frown, stopping in place. "... It's that bad?"
"Yes." Is his curt response.
I look at the elevator at the end of the hallway, then back at the base's interior. "... Direct me to the closest operation room. Try to track down at least three soldier squads and I'll check on them, but I can't take too long."
There's a relieved sigh on the other end, "Head to the northern vehicle bay; there's activity there and they're not responding."
"On it."
'I'll take just a bit longer, Dash, Violet, Bob...'
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{Bob's PoV - Minutes later}
Oof...
It's been a while since I've felt like this. This beaten, this battered...
I can barely think straight now - the days of torture not doing any good - and the pain all over my body feels like I've been hit by a superpowered truck all over my body. The right side of my torso is hurting like a son of a bitch - like someone took a sledgehammer and hit me there with the force of... well, with my strength, at least.
My eyes blink slowly, looking around. I see Violet walking from side to side in front of a confused Dash, sitting on the pavement. I try to move, but my right side cracks, and I feel the cold ice touch a different part of my skin.
"You woke up, huh." I hear Lucius' voice beside me. I look over at him and he doesn't seem to be in bad shape at all.
"Lucius... what happened?" I ask, my words slurring more than I would like.
Lucius shakes his head, pointing to his mask. 'Damn, I used his name...' "I don't know much, Incredible. I just know Apex took that crazy bastard away from here." He looks in a direction, then at the elevator's entrance. "We're here to let you take a break while Elastigirl gets us communicators. Though she sure is taking her time..." He frowns.
"I'm sure she... has her reasons..." I say. I'm still reeling from the news about Violet. That guy's her father? Helen got with another man...?
I blackout for a moment and my eyes snap open again when I feel a hand propping up my chin. I see Helen looking back at me, concern written all over her face. She smiles seeing me wake up, "How are you feeling, Bob?" She whispers to me.
"Been... better." I rasp out. I could really use a drink of water... or five.
She nods and looks at Lucius, "The city is in chaos now. In any other circumstance, I'd take him to the base we just got out of, but considering the cleanup they'll have to do in there..." She frowns, thinking about something. 'She's pretty when she frowns...'
"Lucius, we'll need to get him into some house. We'll take the fall for it later, but he needs to lay down and rest now." She looks back at me, "Maybe it'd be better for me to check on him too, while I'm at it."
"I hear ya, he's looking bad." Lucius agrees. Helen looks someplace, says something with a stern face, and looks at me again, "Go... sleep, Bob. We got you."
I slowly nod and give in to the grip of sleep, my body's aches irrelevant in front of the sheer exhaustion that assaults me.
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{Helen's PoV - A few hours later.}
"Frozone! We got another group coming at us from the left!" I yell, taking cover behind a vehicle.
"I'm on it!" He yells back, creating an ice ramp and skiing over the hypnotized guards, freezing their guns and legs to the ground. I spring out of cover and run to them, punching the goggles off their faces.
"Phew, these should be the last of them here," Lucius says, sitting on the hood of a car, panting heavily.
We've been 'cleaning up' a few nearby bases, just enough to get the NSA back on its feet. Some other emergency personnel are scouring the city, calming down the civilians, and shutting off the power in the buildings that still have the hypnotizing pattern. It's been a rough couple of hours for sure, but Lucius seems to be more tired than normal.
I lean on the car he's sitting on and ask, "You ok?"
He takes a few more deep breaths before trying to get his breathing in check again. "Yeah, I'm getting better now. For some reason, I was really tired... must have been the terrible accommodations of our host." He flashes me a smile as he cracks the joke and I smile back.
"I'm serious!" The smile on my face slowly drops, "With how Mr. Incredible was and now you, I fear Xerek did something to us." At his once over me, I shrug. "Ok, maybe what he did to you..."
He sighs, gets up, and jumps off the car, "As I said, I'm getting better now. If you must know, I was tired when I woke up and kept getting more drained as we moved from base to base. I'm not feeling like that anymore though." He smiles again and as I'm about to continue the conversation, the comms device on our ears starts beeping. We both touch it and respond.
"Elastigirl, Frozone. That's the last of the five bases nearby. We have enough agents active now, thank you both for the assistance." The operator informs us. Lucius and I sigh in relief. Despite the exercise I've been doing with Matt and the family, staying active like this for hours in a state of tension is still exhausting. "We would be thankful if you stood on standby, just in case."
"Understood. We'll take a break, but if an emergency occurs, don't hesitate to call us." I respond and after his affirmation, shut off the line.
I look at Lucius, "Let's see how they're doing... and catch a break ourselves, too."
"Amen to that!" He cheers.
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As we get close to the hotel room we temporarily "appropriated", I hear voices yelling inside.
"-ore do you think they're hiding!?" Violet's voice yells, followed by a thud on the wall.
I share a quick look with Lucius and he shrugs with a wry smile.
"I think you need to talk." He pats my shoulder. "I'll stay here for now."
I nod to him and take a deep breath, preparing for a not-so-simple talk.
I walk up to the door and softly knock three times. "It's me."
I wait a second and then open the door with my key. As soon as I get in, I see Bob lying on the bed, still pale but properly resting. 'I've seen him shrug off worse. I'm sure he'll be fine.'
I also see Dash sitting on another bed. He looks between me and Violet a few times and I finally turn to look at her.
Violet's hair is up in a mess, eyes wide open and she looks furious. "Violet, honey-" The lull in the room breaks and she throws a pillow at me.
"SAVE IT!" I take the pillow off my face and see her eyes water. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!"
"I can explain-" I try again but she throws another pillow at me.
"You're just gonna lie again! It's what you two always do!" She turns invisible, but I can still see her clothes and outline on the bed sheets.
I sigh and walk up to her bed, taking off my mask as I do so. "Vi, I know you're feeling... betrayed right now, but..." I sit down on the edge of her bed. The softest of her sobs hurt me more than any bullet or punch anyone could throw at me. "This whole situation is... complicated."
"Explain it then..." She softly mumbles. I look over to Dash who, surprisingly, has kept quiet during this debacle. He notices my look and stares back like a deer caught by headlights.
"Can you leave the room, sweety? Your father and I will talk with both of you later, but for now, I need to talk with just your sister." I calmly say. He quickly nods and rushes to leave the room. "Don't go too far!" I yell out after he slams the door in his rush.
I look back to Violet's indent in the sheets and extend my hand. "The first thing I need to say, honey... I'm sorry." I feel her hand on mine and I squeeze it. "I still don't think you're old enough to truly understand the whole picture, but I owe you an explanation nonetheless."
Her head reappears and she frowns, "You and Dad keep treating me like a child, but I'm not! I can understand it if you just give me a chance!" She squeezes my hand back, less in comfort and more in challenge.
I look into her eyes and I can see she truly believes that. "As you heard, Bob is not your biological father..." She simply nods; it's no longer news for her.
"It happened when I was starting my training here in Europe. I was 21 and just starting my hero "career". The U.S. NSA saw potential in me and sent me here to train with more experienced heroes abroad." I wryly smile, remembering one of the biggest reasons why I accepted.
Violet seems to catch on to it and squints. I sigh, "I accepted because, one: I didn't truly have a choice at the time, and two... France is my mother's home country." Violet widens her eyes. I smile. "I know me and Bob rarely talk to you about your grandparents and there is a reason for that. They were heroes, much like he and I. They had different circumstances though and I cannot reveal those under the code of law." She still seems in shock but nods numbly so I can proceed.
"Seeing as I never had the opportunity to visit the county of origin of my mother, I jumped at the chance." I smile again, now thinking about the good times here. "It was a blast. I met a lot of heroes and agents who helped me a ton. It was here I learned most of the things I know. I have fond memories of the place..." I idly caress her hand with my thumb and notice she is totally visible now.
"I spent almost two years here and my "meteoric rise" as some would say caught people's attention. The good and the bad kind of attention." I frown. "At the time, the NSA tried to shield me from the constant harassment and villain attacks, but they had their plates full with several other heroes. They couldn't spend all their time on a newbie."
"That was when a man approached me. A certain Atticus X, he said he was called," I sneer, "He was always a smooth talker and a very helpful individual. But looking back on it, I can see he waited until I was desperate with no one to turn to." I look at Violet. "Take this as a lesson, Vi. Nobody helps other people for the good of their hearts. Even the most altruistic person has something to gain from helping someone else." She nods, even as a frown forms on her face.
"Does that mean that when you were a hero you also wanted something from the people you helped? Do you want something from the NSA now? You helped them..." She questions.
I sigh again. "When I was a hero, I wanted to keep people safe. You might have learned in history class, but the years following the War were tough. As for the NSA... You could say I feel indebted to them, even after all that's happened. Despite the blow superheroes took to their image in the crash of '47, the NSA took the brunt of it and kept us safe from the populace outrage..." I look into her eyes and then at Bob. "They allowed us to have a family..."
Violet squeezes my hand and a small smile appears on her face. "So, when I was at my lowest, Atticus X offered me a helping hand. He was charming, influential, well-connected, and smart. He always knew what to say and how to convince people to do what he wanted. With his help, not only did the harassment disappear, I started to rise in fame again. Everything was going great." I shake my head. "Before I realized, I fell in love with him and he, too, loved me back. We started dating and slowly but surely his mask started to slip."
"We dated for about 8 months and he started showing me the extent of his reach. He had several corporations in his pocket, dirt on major politicians in important cities, and more money than someone could ever imagine spending in a lifetime. He had it all. But one thing started to seem weird: he was the sole owner of most of those assets - a self-made man you could say - but they dated back to the mid to late eighties." Violet frowns, seemingly as confused as I was when I found out about that.
"You've seen him and even now I would say he's in his late 50s at worst, so "how come?" I asked myself at the time. So I started looking into it." I give Vi a sly smile. "Your mother might not look it, but I've had my fair share of infiltration missions and I started questioning him, slowly prodding for an answer to such a mystery. At some point, I think he knew what I was doing, but he slowly chose to trust me." I shake my head again.
"I don't know if he thought I would understand his side or that maybe I would be tempted by his power and influence enough to stay quiet... No matter what he thought, he showed me his 'masterpiece'." I give Violet a serious look. "What I'm about to tell you is top secret, so you can't tell anyone, ok Vi? I'll tell you since it somewhat has to do with you..."
"I understand, Mom. You can trust me." Violet says, squeezing my hand and urging me to continue.
I take a deep breath. "At the time, the technology was still in its infancy, but it was already enough to be scary. He found a way to connect with a different dimension or manipulate some sort of quantum energy- I'm sorry I can't explain it fully, I never truly understood exactly what it was. The scary point was how he used it. He... He took a year of life off of every person in the world, Vi. He took that and infused it in himself." Violet widens her eyes and even her grip slacks. I hold her hand. "At the time, he said his life expectancy was already in the hundreds, and that, too, with an inefficient conversion. The technology was in its infancy."
"As soon as I learned about it, I was in shock. I called him crazy, a maniac even! That was the type of thing a villain would do, the type of thing I strived to stop. I tried to convince him, but he was dead set on it being right. "It's not even that much" he would say. "They are never going to miss it"... It was in that discussion that I met the real him for the first time. The Xerek part of him." I mumble. "The charismatic man, powerful, influential, and smart saw himself as above everyone else. He thought that he was better than everyone else, so he didn't feel guilty of robbing people of their very life."
I give Violet a minute to process things up until here. I know it's a lot, I've been through it.
"So... what happened next? Why didn't you stop him?" She asks.
I boop her nose and shake my head with a smile, "And who said I didn't?" She frowns in confusion and I also deflate. "At least I thought I did..."
"I ended everything with him that night. I couldn't stay with him after knowing that. I went to the NSA and reported it all and they went down on him, hard. The last I heard, they were confiscating his possessions and throwing him in jail forever." I pause for a moment. "Noticing how he had that lab inside the main NSA building in Paris makes me wonder if I made the right choice..."
"I might've given him the way in he needed..." I mumble to myself. Was it really that or did he already have contacts inside?
"Mom! You did the right thing!" Violet firmly says. "You reported him to the authorities and they dealt with him! If he found a way to get out of prison and resurface, that's on him and them! But why did you not tell us about it before?"
I smile sadly, "He was my first-ever boyfriend, Violet. The first person besides my parents that I truly tried to open up to. To trust. I felt... hurt, incredibly hurt by what he was and by his betrayal. I even asked for a break in my activities, which is why they sent me back to the U.S. I think if I stayed here, I could have been an international hero by the time I was 23. My world was upside down and for a very bad reason. Those were truly difficult times..."
"Until I met your father..." I look over to Bob again. "He might be a doofus, might have his inflated ego and a bigger pride as a superhero than I would like, but he is charming in his own way, he really cares about the people and he... he was one of the only ones to notice how much I was suffering." Violet follows my eyes and glances at Bob too. "Back in the U.S., the NSA took a backseat and mainly gave equipment to help superheroes track and deal with crime on their own. I had reservations about it, especially when I had run-ins with Frozone, Mr. Incredible, or Gamma Jack. It wasn't as efficient, but it did give each hero more freedom of movement and expression."
"I'm going off script, sorry, haha." I shake the nostalgia off and focus back on the story. "He was one of the first to notice I wasn't well and offered to take care of some parts of the city I used to patrol. At first, I thought he just wanted to be more famous - and I don't doubt that was one of his reasons - but then he started checking on me every few days." Now my smile is genuine and happy. "He asked normal, everyday questions, checked up on how I was feeling being back in the U.S. and he even asked me out to dinner!" I look at Violet and notice the situation didn't fully register for her. "He asked me out to dinner as Mr. Incredible to Elastigirl."
"Oh! But how would that work?" She seems genuinely confused.
I shrug. "I don't know, honey. I don't know what was going on in his head, but his actions - silly and clumsy as they were - were honest, and eventually, I asked him out on a date: Helen and Bob. I never told him the details, only that something pretty bad happened in France and he didn't ask for more details. I remember him holding my hand and saying everything would be okay and we kissed and-"
"Ewww!! Stop, Mom!" Violet blocks my mouth with her hands. I laugh at her. So much for not being a child anymore~
"Anyway, Vi... we got together fast and quickly got married. At the time, I was pretty famous as a symbol for women: I was one of the most famous independent female heroes. Women from all over the world looked up to me as a spearhead in the fight for women's rights. I... fought for it, for a time, but... after a while, I was just there because I was the only one in that position."
"Sometimes, I thank the crash of '47... I don't know how our family would have fared if we were still superheroes." I softly say, looking into Violet's eyes.
She holds my look, "You didn't want to be a hero anymore?"
"I..." I caress her face. "I wanted to be a mother more than anything."
I let my hand fall and frown, "Which is why, when we got the news that I was pregnant, I ran tests and checks with trusted doctors. What they found didn't match the time frame I had with Bob, so I knew it could only be one thing." I intensely look at Violet. "I don't regret what I did for even a second, Vi. I would do it all again. But I understand if Bob doesn't forgive me... I lied to him, after all."
"I... understand. You were afraid, right?" Violet says, grabbing my hands. "You were scared he would leave you?" I slowly nod, looking down.
"I realized he wouldn't do that when you were little. Despite his accomplishments as a superhero and the stress he had to deal with; several lawsuits, trying to get a job, and friends moving away. He went through all that, but he never let it show at home. And the look on his face whenever he saw you..." It melts my heart when I remember it. "He loves you, Violet. And if you ask me, he is the only father that should matter."
Violet nods, "I know. That Xerek tortured my brother and my father. My family." I beam a smile at her and grab her in a hug.
"Ugh... what did I miss?" Bob mumbles, tossing and turning in his bed.
We look at each other, smile, and nod. "It was nothing, honey. You can go to sleep."
"Yeah...? Ok, I sleep..." He mumbles again and starts snoring. I stretch my arm and turn him so the wounded side is turned up and he's not sleeping on his back. He snores a lot when he sleeps like that.
"I think he will understand too, you know," Violet says from my side.
I sigh, "I hope so, Vi. I hope he can forgive me."
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(Matt's PoV - Tuesday, June 26th, 1962. 23:43 p.m. - Paris, France)
Man, that was crazy.
I was so tired after that fight, I had to lie down on top of a building and sleep. It's been... 5 hours since I slept.
I get up and stretch. Unfortunately, my body doesn't pop or creak at any point.
'Syn, you there?'
{Yawn~ Yeah. Though I don't wanna help you for a while! Humph~}
'Sorry... but it worked, right?' I smirk.
{I guess it did... dumbass.}
'On the bright side: that was the last of it. No more Anomalies around. All in all, I think that was a good fight.' I fly up and overlook the city.
{Considering what we knew, I guess we did pretty well. Good job!}
'You too. Thanks again.'
Now, the city... it's a mess. City services are all around rescuing people from fallen debris on the outskirts, the city center has several special forces operatives taking care of the hypnotized people and while flying over some parts of the city, I'm pretty sure I heard some gunshots here and there.
I connect to a few radio frequencies before I find an NSA one.They're pretty compartmentalized and organized, leading teams to conquer their own bases from hypnotized agents, reallocating resources and taking stock of everything. Basically accessing the damage.
Honestly? It could've been much worse if that second Omnidroid wave went loose, but even then, this secret agency might have some trouble maintaining its secrecy for long if they take too long in this clean-up operation.
'Then again, they could just say they're the police and they're taking care of the terrorists or villains responsible for this.'
Never mind that, there doesn't seem to be anything extra urgent going on, so I'll proceed with the following priorities:
One, I need to purge this city of whatever was broadcasting the hypnotizing transmission. I see it repeated in the maze of signals, but even if I have to destroy all these bases, I will. Having their television back should calm people down and it might help the relevant sources to spread information.
Two, I need to find the Parr family, Lucius and Buddy. Check if they're ok and go on from there. Actually, as this is probably faster than the first priority, I'll do this first.
I extend my Observation Haki to its max and fly around the area of the main NSA base. After a few minutes of searching, I find them all in a hotel room.
I fly over to their window and tap it lightly. Dash runs up to it and opens the curtains. I wave at him with a smile and he waves back. "Who is it, Dash?" I hear Helen's voice from inside. She seems alert.
"It's Matt! Or, err, Apex!" He says.
Helen walks up to the window and breathes a sigh of relief once she sees me. They open the window - more like a balcony door, so big the thing is - and I fly into the room.
"How's it going people?" I greet with a smile as I look over the room.
They have a radio on the side spewing news about the city and instructions to citizens not to turn on their televisions. Lucius is on a bed with his arm in front of his eyes, though he does sit up to see me and wave before lying down again. Bob is sleeping on his side on a big bed - he seems pale -, Violet is sitting on a bed still in civilian clothing, Dash runs up to me and we dap each other up as I taught him and he rushes to an arm chair and Helen walks to sit down by Violet. Jack-Jack is sleeping in a nest of covers in the bed farthest from the radio.
"We're ok, Matt. Well, Bob is a bit out of it, but we're all just tired." Helen smiles and explains. I nod to her and signal to Bob.
"Can I see him? I might be able to help." I ask.
She nods her head easily, "Sure, go ahead. I'm pretty sure he'll be alright with some rest, but if you can help him. He's in pain..."
I go over to the guy and touch his shoulder. A quick scan shows deep signs of exhaustion, initial stages of malnutrition and dehydration, and a nasty amount of damage to the right side of his torso, below the ribcage and... onto the kidney...
'Isn't that where I punched Xerek, Syn?'
{Hmm... yeah, seems like it.}
'So the 'lives' Xerek had were them!?'
I look around with more attention, trying to gauge if anyone else was in a similar situation. I remember I did some pretty nasty damage to that guy, after all...
Nobody seems particularly injured (or dead), so that's a plus.
"Helen, can I give each of you a check? I'm worried Xerek might have done something to you." I state straightforwardly.
Her eyebrows climb high and then come low in a frown. "I'd appreciate it if you could, but how will you do that exactly?"
"I have my means. It's urgent." I say and walk around the room, putting my hand on each of their shoulders.
Violet is perfectly healthy, Helen is the same, Dash has slight nerve and muscle tissue damage, Lucius has signs of deep exhaustion and Jack-Jack's power is fighting a sleeping agent of some kind. I give the little guy some help by neutralizing it and his power does the rest.
"Ayah?" Jack-Jack groggily opens his eyes and wipes them with his little hand.
"Jack-Jack!" Helen dashes to us faster than Dash could ever hope to react and cradles Jack-Jack in her embrace. She looks at me in askance and I nod my head.
"He's fine, only sleepy. Give him some time to rest and he should be fine." I look around the room, "In fact, that's true for most of you. I'll just give Dash and Bob a little help and with a good night's sleep they should be fine as well."
Walking up to the fast little guy, a simple hair shuffle with an Overclocked Panacea and the immediate damage is fixed right up. He'll still need to take it easy; I don't think nerve damage is easy to deal with when you have his reaction times or his speed.
Bob, the tank he is, is not in such deep trouble. With how his powers work, he should be fine in a few days at most. Still, I can easily help with the damage done to him.
After fixing him, I lean on the wall next to the window. "I know you're all tired, so I'll leave you to rest." I look outside, taking in the city's skyline. "I still have things to do. Good night."
"Wait!" I stop and turn to see Violet looking at me. She quickly averts her gaze and tucks a hairstrand behind her ears, "Aren't you tired? You can sleep here if you want..." By the end of her sentence, she was barely whispering.
I chuckle, "I'd be lying if I said I'm not due for some relaxation. But I still need to deal with that hypnotic sh-" A stare from Helen makes me choke out the word. "Nonsense. So you go ahead, sleep tight, and rest well because the city will still need some help tomorrow."
Violet looks somewhat dejected, but nods nonetheless.
Dash pipes up, however. "Are we going to help them!? Like superheroes??"
Bob groans in his sleep and turns to lie on his right side. Helen stretches her arm to stop him, but seeing no complaints, she leaves him be while glancing at me. She doesn't leave Dash without an answer though. "No, Dash, we will not help them as superheroes. At least not if they don't ask first."
"You know, this could be good publicity for heroes," I say. Most people in the room turn to me, even Lucius takes a glance. "A villain infiltrated a secret agency and spread chaos and destruction with his robots! A Superhero comes and swoops him away and deals with him!" I intone with purpose, inflating my chest and all in the process. "That's good and all, but what do people know heroes do?" At their lack of response, I roll my eyes. "People expect the heroes to defeat the bad guy; that's what they do. What they don't expect is a superhero who actually cares, and takes the time to rescue them after all is said and done. Someone willing to face governmental backlash if it means bringing order to a city and its people."
"... And you're suggesting we do that?" Helen cautiously says, slowly rocking Jack-Jack back into sleep. "Why don't you do that?"
'Cause I'm not that guy.'
"I think it would cause much more impact if it were you five. Yes, even the children if they want to participate."
"YES!" Dash punches the air and smiles at his mom, who glares and shushes him, pointing to Jack-Jack trying to sleep. Dash puts both his hands to his mouth with widened eyes.
"And why..." Helen relents her glare and looks back at me, fed up with the situation. "Would it be better if we did it?"
"A few reasons, but I'll make it quick, I can explain better tomorrow if you want. First: You and Bob are known superheroes. Even if you didn't operate here, they must have heard about you. Meanwhile, I am unknown and not as relevant. Second: If the four of you appear as a family of superheroes, the public will be much more endeared to you. There might be backlash, but seeing superheroes with children of their own will humanize you. Make you more relatable to them. Approachable."
"That's hella cynical of you, kid," Lucius comments from his bed and I shrug.
"I'm just saying, if you want this hero ban to be over, it's an idea. Anyway, good night." I wave at them all and give Violet a smile and nod. "Thanks for the worry."
She averts her eyes and nods. I open the window, fly off, and close it behind me.
The city needs time to destress, process what happened, and react accordingly. If someone is to put in the good word and deeds for superheroes, it would be here and now, where people need an inspiring figure and help. No one's going to tell you what you're doing is illegal if it helps them, after all.
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(Matt's PoV - Wednesday, June 27th, 1962. 11:30 a.m. - Paris, France)
And that's done.
Fake labs were scraped and their data deleted. ALL of them were transmitting the broadcast, so I had to be through in my cleansing. Unfortunately, I probably can't erase whatever this transmission is from the world, so these people will have to deal with it on their own.
'If I were to try, as I don't think it will ever be possible to erase it, I'd start with maybe an audio that universally 'resets' the brain? Or maybe subtly conditioning people's brains to not be so easily hypnotized?'
Whatever they do, it's not going to be easy. 'I hate mind control so much...'
No matter, let's see what the literal embodiment of 'thick thighs save lives' and her husband are doing.