Author: A Markov
Mirage’s quiet introspection was shattered when her front door blew inward and slid across the polished marble floor into her vestibule table.
“VIOLET!” Helen shouted.
“She’s not here, Mrs. Parr.” Mirage tried to be civil, but the sight of Helen standing in the shattered remains of her hand-carved oak door brought a sarcastic, challenging tone into her voice.
“You, shut the hell up!” Helen snarled. “How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from my family?”
Mirage had known this confrontation would come eventually. She had prepared a series of responses and reasoned arguments to persuade Helen of her benign intentions. But being invaded in this manner just twisted her panties into a bunch and she couldn’t stop herself from replying sarcastically. “I’m trying to, but they keep following me home like stray puppies. Maybe you’re not treating them right.” She was expecting the physical attack that followed but still found it difficult to avoid.
“VIOLET!” the intruding woman shouted again while keeping Mirage busy avoiding her elongated, twisting attacks.
“I told you she’s not here!” Mirage said in frustration.
Helen stopped expending energy looking around the penthouse apartment and narrowed in on Mirage. She pinned the blonde woman against a wall and got in her face. “Where are you hiding her?”
“I already told you she’s not here. How am I supposed to know where she is?”
“You’re tricking her!” Helen accused. “Messing up her mind and turning her against me.” She wrapped herself tightly around the slender woman and began to squeeze. “Now you tell me where you’re hiding my daughter or else!”
“Or else what?” Mirage gasped. “You’ll crush me?”
“You’re damn right, sister.” Helen hissed. “I want my daughter back right now, or so help me, you won’t ever take another breath.”
Mirage struggled for air. “I don’t know where she is.”
“Don’t lie to me!” Helen screamed. “Where else would she go?”
“Yeah,” Mirage forced out, “You sent her other friends away, where else would she go?”
“I had nothing to do with that!” Helen insisted, but she loosened her grip enough for Mirage to take a breath. “That wasn’t my idea!”
“You didn’t oppose it, though.” Mirage’s green eyes burned with righteous anger.
Helen dropped her gaze and murmured distractedly, “Violet is having nightmares about stuff. She won’t talk to me. She won’t listen to me… What was I supposed to do?” She asked.
“I don’t know; maybe listen to her without being a judgmental bitch?”
Helen turned her full attention back to Mirage. “Is that what you did, you home-wrecking whore?” She began to squeeze again. “Did you pretend to be Violet’s friend while you worked to destroy my family? Did you ‘listen to her’ while you tried to figure out how to screw my husband?” Even though she was looking right at the blonde woman, Helen’s eyes were unseeing.
Mirage struggled to find a position where she could draw breath but Helen’s flexible form crushed in on her from every direction making it impossible. Shortly the brown haired woman’s hateful visage began to fade as Mirage lost consciousness. Just before she passed out, she thought she heard Mr. Incredible coming to her rescue, but she dismissed it as a hallucination from her oxygen deprived brain.
Lucius Best had spared no expense when he purchased a sofa for his living room. It had recliners at both ends and retractable cup holders in every place that you might want to set a cup. It was well constructed, with a solid wood frame and heavy-duty hardware. It was a marvel of modern comfort and ergonomic engineering. It was also a hell of a thing to get hit in the back with. Even a glancing blow from the sofa was enough to knock the wind out of Johnson and send him careening across the room. Violet tried to lift it for another shot at the agent threatening her, but the effort caused pain to shoot through her skull. She scrambled over to where Honey lay on the floor. The woman was breathing but unconscious.
“What do you people want from me?” Violet screamed at the recovering agent. With her mind, she reached for another piece of furniture to use as a missile but the shooting pains in her head returned. She ran across the room to where Johnson was trying to get up and began kicking him. “What’d you do to me?” She screamed.
The kicks were strong and quite painful. Johnson timed the next blow and blocked it off to one side, trying to get a grip on Violet’s waist. She eluded the counter attack and skipped backward from him. Not fully recovered, but feeling able to handle a desuper-powered teenaged girl, the agent rolled to his feet and assumed a fighting stance. He was very surprised to see her take up a classic defensive position and back warily to a more easily defended spot in the hallway.
“You think you know how to fight?” he asked her derisively. “You think you can take on a trained agent without your powers? I’m takin’ you in girl and there’s nothing you can do but delay the inevitable.”
“I don’t know who you think you are, but if you come over here and try to take me anywhere, I’m gonna unleash a can of whup-ass on your sorry butt.” She sounded defiant, but there was a tremor of fear in her voice.
It took less than a minute for Johnson to establish that she knew what she was doing when it came to fighting. She had taken up a position that made it tough for him to get at her and she defended well. He tried enticing her out of the hallway to a place where he would be able to bring his superior strength to bear, but she wasn’t going for it at all. He tried to power through her defenses but ended up with a few bruises for his efforts. She seemed unassailable, but there was still fear in her eyes and he couldn’t figure it out. He made a few more feints and backed off to study her. He watched her eyes flicking back and forth from him to another point in the room; she seemed poised, almost ready to run out from her defensive position. Puzzled he took his eyes off of her for long enough to glance at the places where she had been looking and silently cursed himself for being a fool.
Violet noticed his realization and made a desperate move for the tranquilizer gun but he was faster and slid across the polished hardwood floor to where it had fallen a few minutes earlier. He came around, homing in on her defensive position, but she dived behind the broken sofa and started lobbing anything she could put her hands on in his direction. A heavy glass serving dish caught him on the shoulder. He stifled a cry of pain and retreated a bit further from her hiding place. His retreat brought him in contact with the sleeping form of Honey Best. He grabbed the knocked-out woman and called out, “I’ve got Mrs. Best, Violet. It’s time for you to give yourself up.”
“I thought you said you were from The Agency.” Violet called, trying to catch her breath.
“So?”
“So, aren’t you supposed to be one of the good guys?”
“I’m taking you in.” He said forcefully, “and if this so-called innocent bystander gets hurt in the process, it’s going to be on your head.” He cocked the pistol and put it to the unconscious woman’s neck. “It’s not a bullet.” He explained. “But at this range, it’ll still tear a hole in her throat.”
Helen Parr’s fear and rage consumed her. She concentrated her energies on the source of her problems and worked to squeeze the life out of her. The blonde’s face was turning a nice shade of purple and Helen was betting herself that she could actually make it blue.
“Helen?” Bob’s normally confident voice was filled with confused concern.
“What?” She snarled at him.
He entered the room and gasped at the scene before him. “Helen, Stop!” He shouted.
“Stay out of this, Bob!”
“You’re killing her!”
“And if you stay out of it, you won’t be an accomplice!” She yelled at him. “If you stay in it, you’ll be next!”
“Helen, listen to yourself!” he pleaded.
“She’s got my baby!” The distraught woman cried. “She stole my baby from me and I’m going to kill her!”
“Violet’s at Lucius’ house, Helen.” He reasoned with her. “Let Mirage go and we’ll go get her together.”
Helen turned swiftly to face him. “That’s what you want isn’t it?” She was beyond reason now. “You’re just trying to save your girlfriend’s life.” She accused.
“I haven’t seen her since we all left the island, Hon. I swear!” Bob asserted, “Let her go, Helen, Violet is waiting for us at Honey and Lucius’ place.” He walked toward her slowly, keeping his eyes directly on her’s. “Let her go.” He pled.
“Let her go!” Violet shouted.
“Why would I do that?” Johnson laughed. He inventoried his remaining items and cursed silent at finding the null point energy generator broken.
“I said, ‘Let her go!’” Violet shouted again.
“What’s in it for me?”
“Well, for one thing, you get to live.” Lucius Best’s calm voice did nothing to mitigate the threat his words carried. Johnson started and spun to face the open door. Lucius’ eyes burned with anger and a frost was forming in the air around his tall frame. Johnson’s eyes darted from the entry to the sofa and back. He heaved Honey’s limp body toward the seething man and brought the gun to bear on his chest. Before he could pull the trigger, the hand holding the gun was incased in ice up to the elbow and Lucius was sliding across the room directly toward him. So scared by the sight of his swiftly approaching doom, he didn’t even hear Violet behind him.
Lucius caught Honey and looked over at Violet, who had collapsed to her knees holding the remains of a floor lamp in her hands. Agent Johnson was laid out face down on the floor, a trickle of blood running down the side of his face. Lucius went to Violet’s side and, holding Honey in one arm, drew the shaking girl into a close embrace with the other. He let her sob for a few minutes and when she calmed down, he said sternly, “That lamp cost two hundred dollars.” Then he broke into a friendly grin, “It was worth every penny.” and gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head.
Helen looked down into the face of the woman who had caused her so much pain and uncertainty. She could hear Bob’s pleading in the back of her mind, but she kept playing Violet’s last words over and over in her head. Suddenly she realized what she was doing and released the blonde. Mirage fell limply to the floor.
“Oh, Bob! What’d I do?” Helen sobbed. For a split second Bob was torn between comforting his distraught wife and tending her injured victim. He was spared the necessity of making a choice by the timely arrival of an Agency medical team. They tended Mirage while he gathered Helen into his arms and held her while she cried.
“It’s going to be OK, Helen.” He told her calmly. “Everything is going to be OK.”
"My baby’s gone.” She sobbed. “She hates me and she’s never coming back.”
“I’ve been trying to tell you, Violet’s safe. She’s over at Honey and Lucius’ house.”
Helen looked over at the crowd of people attending Mirage. The blonde looked shaken and there were ugly red welts across her face and arms. When, she raised her eyes, Helen looked away. “I can’t face her.” She whispered to Bob. “Get me out of here.” Bob glanced across the room to where Mirage was sipping water under the attentive care of the medical team. Her eyes narrowed when they met his. He smiled, apologetically, and hurried Helen out of the apartment.
Mirage watched the Parrs slink out of her home and grabbed one of the attending medicos by the arm. “You get Dicker on the phone.” She hissed through her abused throat. “And tell him my price just went up.”
Bob and Helen were agitated when they got to The Agency. Helen’s frustration was only made worse when she was told that Violet wouldn’t see her. The girl was fine physically and the Agency shrink said she was emotionally stable so Helen couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t want to see her own mother. But it was the news that Rick gave her that put her over the edge.
“You agreed to what?” She shouted when he finished telling her the details of his deal for Violet.
“It’s the easiest way to make sure that Violet is closely supervised.” The elder agent deadpanned.
“Well you don’t speak for me, and you sure as hell don’t speak for my daughter.” Helen was on her feet, looming over the old man’s desk. “How dare you make a deal like that without even consulting me?”
He cleared his throat. “Technically, Violet speaks for herself.” He said looking at his hands.
“Well, I’m not going to stand for it! I’m going up the chain of command and I’m getting my baby back!” She stretched out and poked the stoic agent in the chest, “And not you or anyone else is going to stand in my way!”
“Helen, I think you’ll find that this decision is backed up to the top levels of The Agency.” Rick said tiredly. “If you fight it, they’re just going to cut off your support.”
She turned to her husband, “What about you, Bob?” She asked. “Are you all right with this? You’re happy to hand over our daughter to that home-wrecker?”
“It seems like the best way to keep an eye on her while letting her have some freedom”
Helen glared at him for a few minutes then turned her disapproving eye on Rick for a little while before turning her back on both of them and stalking out of the office.
The next few months were hard on Bob and the kids. Helen spent all of her time assailing the various government officials and directors, trying to get someone to overturn the decision. Her attempts were usually met with polite refusal but she was treated with hostility and contempt often enough that she began to understand that her kind wasn’t universally loved and respected. Even her attempts to sabotage the whole thing by revealing the plot to Violet were for nothing. Her daughter still wasn’t speaking to her or listening to her. By the end of the third month she was ready to admit defeat and return to her life, such as it was.
Violet spent most of the summer testifying before investigating committees and undergoing psychological evaluations. She was informed that she had completed the requirements for graduating High School and that her diploma would be mailed to her. It was unnecessary for her to attend any ceremonies. In fact, she was discouraged from leaving the Agency’s complex at all. At one point she confronted Rick about the grilling she was getting from the investigators.
“They’re treating me like a criminal!” she complained. “Keeping me cooped up in here, questioning everything I did and everything I say. It’s like they want me to be screwed up so they can punish me, or something.”
“Violet,” Rick took a deep breath. “You have to understand, these people fear you.” He picked up a piece of paper from his desk and began to crumple it up. “You could literally crush them with your mind. They’re scared to death.”
“But, I’m a good guy.” She protested. “I don’t do things like that!”
“I know, kid.” He smiled kindly. “But it doesn’t matter. You can do things that normal people can’t and everyone is going to react in one of three ways. Some will suck up to you and try to win your favor. Some will be as nice as they can to you so that when you do go over the edge and start killing people, you’ll spare them. And the rest…” His voice trailed off and he looked away.
“What about the rest?”
“They’ll try to control you, manipulate you, use you for their own personal designs.”
She digested that for a while and asked him in a quiet voice, “Which kind are you?”
He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I’ve never lied to you, Violet.” He said evenly. “Would it help if I reminded you that my personal goals are to maintain peace?” Now he met her eyes and saw the suspicion prevailing in them. “That’s the feeling, Violet!” He said intensely. “That feeling of fear and disbelief that you have for me right now, that’s the way they all feel about you!” He put his hands on her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. “Remember this feeling every time you interact with them… with us.” Including himself in that group was a level of honesty and openness she hadn’t expected and it took her by surprise.
“You’re afraid of me?” The words caught in her throat and she could feel the tears welling in her eyes. He didn’t speak, but the sadness in his eyes was answer enough.
Cleared of wrongdoing by the investigators and released on her own recognizance, Violet stood on the sidewalk in front of The Agency. She had never felt so alone in her life. She felt like a woman without a country. She didn’t want to face her mother and put herself back into that stifling environment. She realized she had nothing. Kari was gone, she had never really been close to anyone else at school and her home was a minefield of emotions that she couldn’t bear to face. Her world had been astonishingly small, now it felt overwhelmingly big and frightening. She called the only person she could think of who might listen to her and be willing to help.
The phone rang.
“Dicker.”
”She’s here.” The voice was flat and emotionless.
“Good.” The agent allowed himself a ghost of a smile. “You know the deal--”
“I know.” The expressionless voice interrupted. “I’ll be a good little girl, and I’ll make sure she’s a good little girl and you’ll keep your grubby little hands off of me and mine.”
“There’s no need to be so cynical about it.”
”I just want you to know one thing, Rick.” A tiny quaver crept into her words. “I’m not doing this for you. I’m not doing it to keep my company or my money. And I’m sure as hell not doing it for Helen Parr. I’m doing this for her.” Mirage slammed the phone down, cutting off the call.
Rick listened to the dial tone for a few seconds and gently placed the receiver back on its cradle. The stoic agent pulled out his handkerchief and dabbed the moisture from the corner of his eye. “That’s what I’m counting on.” He whispered.