Test of the heart.

Englishwitch.
The Incredibles.

Chapter 10- The fall.

Disclaimer- I do not own The Incredibles, it is a Disney/ Pixar animation motion picture.

"And then he left. Just like that." Violet said miserably. "I would have given everything up for him, and he just tossed me aside like yesterdays newspaper."

She took a sip of her coffee and Richard took the opportunity to speak.
"I can't believe that you honestly thought that would work."

Richard King was better known as Psychewave. He and Violet had developed a friendship over the last week. Violet had called him almost immediately after arriving home. They had met up for coffee and were discussing Violets poor run of luck with Tony.
"I just wanted him back." Violet said quietly. Richard nodded his head but his look was more snide.
"What?" She demanded.
"He knows you better than you think. He knows you like I do. You are a hero, and can't stop what you're born to be. You seem to be the only one under the delusion that you could stop being yourself."

Violet glared at him.
"Strangely enough, this isn't making me feel better. I've played normal all my life. I should have the Oscar for playing normal."
"But when you had to be normal, you were miserable. You may have thought you wanted to be normal, but really you just wanted to be yourself. Now that you have been Vanisher for so long that you have grown and developed into a much stronger person, and I don't think you could go back to what you were."

Violet continued to glare at him. Richard was right and she knew it, that's what made her so mad.

Richard glanced at his watch and knocked back the last of his coffee.
"I have to go, I'm going to be late for my patrol. You go home and rest those ribs ok?" He tossed a couple of dollars onto the table, his share of the bill, and walked off. Violet took a sip of her drink, her chest was still sore but getting better. She wouldn't be doing any hero work for a few weeks.

Violet sat at the table for a while, not wanting to go home just yet. Her family weren't saying it, but they certainly implied the 'I told you so' atmosphere. Violet had been told by her mother and the family friend Lucian that relationships between supers and normal people rarely work out. Richard seemed to be the only one that understood. He alone seemed to have wished her well in her relationship with Tony. He supported her when she wanted the relationship, he was there when Tony broke up with her, and he was here now, trying to advise her in whatever decision she was making. He wasn't that bad looking too.

Violet tossed her money onto the table and left her coffee. She felt guilty about her feelings for Richard, she still had strong emotions for Tony. But was Richard really such a bad choice. He was a super, so he would be able to understand her hectic life and the danger she needed to live with and even dropping him when it came down to the choice of a boyfriend and stopping the bad guy. Her was a nice enough guy and could even help her in any tough jobs. Maybe she would ask him for coffee again soon.

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Violet returned home and went straight to her room without stopping to say hello to her family. She closed the door, trying to get a little privacy. She sat on her bed staring into her closet, the secret door was open and her suit hung limp and lifeless, looking almost abandoned and forgotten. Only the dull pain in her ribs stopped her thinking about putting it on.

Her privacy seemed destined not to last, there was a light knock at the door. Violet sighed angrily and nodded her head.
"Come in." She said.

The door opened and Dash walked in. He closed the door behind him and jumped onto the bed beside her.
"Are you ok?" He asked. Violet sighed, she didn't want to bother with Dash and his fake sympathy right now. He climbed to her feet and walked toward her door.
"Fine." She called back to him as she went out to the hall and went to the living room.

Her dad was watching the TV. He smiled as she came into the room.
"How are you doing honey?" He asked as she sat down on a chair.
"Fine." She said gloomily.

On the TV a news report was just starting up.
"There is a situation developing downtown. Eight armed police have cornered the super villain known as the Shifter in an apartment complex. Residents have been successfully evacuated for their safety. Police are waiting for reinforcements, supers are rumoured to be on their way. Two officers and tree civilians have received minor injuries."

Bob climbed out of his chair and took a deep breath.
"Show time." He said quietly. He took a regretful at Violet. "Are you going to be ok here?"

Violet glared at him, he could go off and do hero work while she had to stay at home and rest. He was rubbing her face in it and he knew it.
"Fine." She said quietly.

Bob looked at her apprehensively, but didn't press the subject.
"Dash, get suited up, we're needed." He called as he went toward the bedroom. Violet turned her attention back to the television as the news reporter continued.
"This just in." He grabbed a sheet of paper someone off camera was handing to him. "The super Psychewave has arrived on the scene and has attempted to capture Shifter. Early reports say that moments after entering the building there were sounds of a struggle but Psychewave has not emerged."

Violet jumped to her feet, ignoring the throbbing in her chest. She moved as quickly as she could to her room and grabbed her suit from its hiding place.

Suited up and shifted out of sight Violet waited for her father and Dash to race off toward the crime scene in the incedimobile. Violet mounted her scooter, at her touch the machine shimmered out of sight ad Violet sped off, knowing that at top speed she would beat her fathers' car.

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Violet pulled up around the corner from the building. Away from the crowds and the cops. Staying invisible she jogged quietly toward the trouble. She didn't want to alert anyone to her presence. In, help Psychewave, out and home before anyone knew she was gone. She had a personal vendetta with Shifter. He had injured her and escaped when they had first met.

How had that happened? She had the guy trapped inside a shield and was about to call the police and tell them things were safe. Then she had felt light-headed and her concentration wavered. During this loss of focus, her shield would have dropped, releasing Shifter.

What had made her feel like that? She'd never known it to happen before and it hadn't happened since. She suspected that there might be more to shifter than met the eye.

Four police cars were parked outside the apartment building, across the street were a large crowd, waiting to see what might happen. The police were standing by their cars and holding their guns, just in case Shifter should emerge from the building. They were waiting for backup, from either more police, or supers.

Violet stepped past them all without notice and slid through the open front door. There were noises coming from the upper floors, they sounded like growls and pained yells. Spurred on with concern, Violet up the stairs, taking them two at a time and wasn't being too silent about it either.

Three floors up she knew she was on the right level. There were more growls coming from down the hallway. Violet hurried onward, hoping that she would make it to Psychewave in time.

The fourth apartment. The door was ajar and the noises were coming from within. Violet readied herself, ready to activate her shield at a seconds notice.
"I'm coming."

Violet kicked the door open wide and jumped into the room, shifting into visibility in mid-jump.

Shifter turned and saw her, he was in his werewolf form. He bared his teeth and leapt at her, claws raised.

Violet put a field around him and Shifter stopped in mid-air, just three feet from Violet. He growled and thrashed wildly, but the field held. Violet looked around the room. The furniture was trashed, but there was no sign of Psychewave.
"Psychewave?" She called.

The was a sound of a flushing toilet and Psychewave waked in, zipping up his suit as he walked. He stopped in the doorway and stared at Violet and the suspended Shifter.
"What are you doing here?" He asked bewildered.
"Rescuing you." She asked in her own bewildered voice.

Violet glanced between Psychewave and Shifter. There was only one reason that a super villain would allow his hostage to walk around so freely. When the hostage wasn't a hostage.
"YOU AND HIM?" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

Psychewave held up his hands.
"Let me explain, please." He started, But violet wasn't willing to hear anything. She jumped for Psychewave, intending to perform a spin kick that she'd learnt in karate. Psychewave fired a telekinetic blast and sent Violet flying backward. She landed hard onto the slashed remains of a sofa.

Her shield dropped and Shifter fell to the floor so hard that dust fell from the ceiling. He climbed to his feet and growled loudly at Vanisher. He raised his claws and bared his teeth.
"Easy big fella." Said Psychewave. Shifter stopped growling and looked at Psychewave for a few seconds before dropping his clawed hands.

Violet was pinned to the sofa by Psychewave's telekinetic powers.
"At times his intelligence leaves something to be desired, but for sheer muscle power, he is invaluable. Aren't you?" Psychewave asked Shifter. There werewolf nodded his head.
"Yes." He said simply in his deep growl of a voice.

Violet looked between the two. Her eyes stung with held back tears.
"You're a super villain." She yelled at him angrily.

Psychewave walked over to the window and peered down at the cops and crowd in the street.
"A matter of perception my dear." He looked at Violet and pointed to the street below. "Have you ever stopped to think about it Vi' I mean really think about our place in this world? I have, many times."

He stepped away from the window and squatted down in front of the paralysed Violet. If she could move Violet would have kicked him in jaw.
"The people need help, and the supers are ones that give it to them. From the minute we are born, that is our destiny. Like you, I bought into that propaganda."

He climbed to his feet and moved around until he was standing behind Violet. He leaned over so his head was right next to her left ear.
"Then my eyes were opened. Indirectly by your own father nonetheless. When Syndrome killed my mother." He stood up and went by the window again.
"When I heard he was responsible for her death I was shown the way. This world is made up of those with power, and those too weak to seek it."

The boy just wouldn't stay still. He moved to stand in front Violet.
"If we wanted we could rule this city, this country or even this world. Instead we place ourselves under the boot of the normal people. They cause the problems and we clean up their mess." He squatted down low and looked Violet right in the eye.
"If we stopped being the cleaners and put ourselves in charge, used our powers, not to help one person at a time, but to help large groups at once, imagine what we could do." He stood up and yet again looked out of the window.
"The weak should not be put in charge of the powerful. It will only lead to failure. The powerful should be put in charge of the weak, guide them. Help them en masse. It's the only true way to success."

Violet listened, not that she wanted too, but Psychewave was keeping her mouth shut. But as he made his speech, she found herself...moved.

He had a good point. She didn't want to admit it, but Psychewave actually had a good point.
"You may call me a super villain. I admit I may use some, less than pleasant, methods to secure my goals. But once we are in charge, we could do good on a scale never before imagined by human minds."

Could he be right? It certainly sounded achievable. As an ordinary super, Violet could only help a few people at a time with problems that, in the long run, made no major difference to their lives. But as a super in charge, she could make major changes that would improve people's lives in new ways every day.

Psychewave leaned against the wall and looked at her. He smiled and waved a finger and Violet felt his hold drop across her mouth. Violet was silent for a moment.
"With your skill on our side, we could run this city in a matter of weeks. People will object at first, but when they see how well supers work when put in charge every city in the world will be tripping over themselves to be like ours."

He climbed to his feet and using his telekinetic powers pulled Violet upright from the sofa and onto the floor. He dropped his telekinetic hold on her and gave Violet her muscle control back.

She stared at him, hardly able to believe that he was showing such trust in her. She could stop them both right now if she wanted to. She could put a shield around her body and expand it quickly, knocking both of the villains off their feet and into the walls. But Violet knew that she wasn't going to do that, and somehow, Psychewave knew that too.
"Welcome to the group Vanisher. As of this moment, Violet Parr is no more. She was the disguise you wore, the true mask. The camouflage needed to hide your self. Vanisher is who you are and there is no need to hide anymore."

Violet nodded, there was no need to hide away as Violet anymore. Violet had the relationship problems, Violet had to worry about school, and family and friends. Violet was weak, Vanisher was powerful.
"Violet?" A familiar voice broke her out of her trance. Shifter spun and growled loudly at Dash, who took a worried step backward.
"Back off fuzz ball." Said Violet. Shifter stopped growling and Dash looked at her, obviously freaked out that Violet was able to command the super villain. Violet looked at him with a neutral expression.
"Vi' What's going on?"

She laughed coldly and shimmered out of sight.
"There is no Violet." Her voice came from the left.
"There is only Vanisher." From his right.
"And if you're not with us." In front of him.
"Then you're against us." Behind him.

Dash was too surprised to react. Violet kicked his hard in the back and he flew three feet. Psychewave caught Dash in mid-air and took him the rest of the way until Dash hit the wall and fell unconscious.

Vanisher shimmered back to visibility and looked at her unconscious brother, no, Violets unconscious brother. This person was Vanisher's unconscious enemy.
"We should go now. The procedure is that Dash races through the room faster than the eye can see to scope out the situation. He gives the information to Mr. Incredible and the two of them stop the villains. The only reason Mr. Incredible isn't here right now is because my presence surprised Dash to a stop. Mr. Incredible will not wait much longer, he probably already thinks something is wrong. We have no time."

Psychewave nodded and rooted through one of the pockets of his suit. He pulled out a small card with an address printed on it.
"This is where we are staying, get there as fast as you can." Violet took the card and nodded. Shimmering to invisibility as she tucked the cardboard inside the waistband of her suit. Violet realised that they had a better chance of escape if they separated.

Shifter was shrinking, turning into a wolf. At a casual glance he could be mistaken for a dog. Psychewave glanced at the ceiling, he would head for the roof and fly to where he needed to go.

By the time Mr. Incredible ran into the room, Dash was just coming to and Violet and the gang had been gone from the room for a good ten seconds, more then enough of a head start.

To be continued.