Mirage sat slack-jawed, trying to formulate a response to Violet’s assertion. “Well…” She stammered, “…no.”
“But mom said you were a…” She cut off the sentence and reddened. “Um… that you were, um, trying to… uh, you know.” Her face was beet red now and she couldn’t even look in the general direction of the blonde.
“I know what it must have looked like from her perspective, but… I, uh…”
“Oh! My! God!” Violet suddenly sat upright and spun to face Mirage. “Does my mom know who you are? I mean, if she knew who you were and she knew you were here, she’d probably try to kill you!”
Mirage rubbed her throat absentmindedly and considered her next words very carefully. “Your mother and I spoke a few months ago, just before you disappeared. I, uh... I kinda thought that was why I didn’t hear from you all summer.”
“You talked to my mom and she didn't kill you?” Violet sat back down in stunned amazement. She didn't see the look of panic that appeared fleetingly on Mirage's face. “You helped that psycho guy trick my dad into fighting that robot thing...” She shook her head, as if to clear it. “Why are you telling me this?” She didn't wait for an answer, “You could... I could... I... I don't understand.”
“Lies and secrets make for poor… friendships, Vi.” Mirage said quietly. “I... I've come to… care for you a great deal over the last few months and I don't want to have something like this festering between us.”
“Why would I want to be friends with someone who... did that to my dad?” Violet looked at the blonde with searching eyes, “I don't understand why you told me this.”
“I would rather you know the truth about me and leave than for you to remain here under false pretenses.” Violet sat, still stunned, occasionally looking around as if to find an escape route. Her mouth moved but she didn't say anything. After a few moments Mirage continued, “Look, you don't have to figure this out tonight. I'll get a hotel room for the next couple of days and you can call me when you feel ready to talk.” She stood and started to walk out of the room.
“Wait!”
“Yes?”
“You mean... you're just going to let me stay here until...” Violet looked around in confusion. “You aren't afraid I'm going to… do something...?” She groped around mentally for some way to complete the thought and finally gave up.
Mirage walked back and crouched down until she was at eye level with the dark haired girl. Violet shied away as far as the chair would allow. “Trust is a funny thing, Vi.” Mirage said with a sad smile. “If you want it, you have to give it. This is me giving you trust, and giving you space to think about it.”
“How long...?”
Mirage smiled a little wider, “If I don't hear from you in a few days, I'll check in. If you're here, we'll talk, if you're not...” She sighed, “Well, if you're not, I guess I’ll have your answer and I'll let you be.” She caught Violet's eyes with her own, “But even if you're not here, when I come back, it doesn't mean that you can't come back whenever you want.”
Violet watched her leave the room, and then sat there until she heard the front door open and close about half an hour later. She was chasing the thoughts around in her head trying to make sense of them. Try as she might, she couldn’t wrap her mind around the implications. Chi was the same woman who had helped them on the island… OK, she got that part. Chi was the same woman who had tricked her dad into going to the island in the first place… OK, something might have happened on the island to make her change her mind about being evil. And she was the same woman who had listened to her when everyone in her family had turned their back on her… So that proves she wants to be good, right? She had searched her out and tried to befriend her… Also good. But she admitted that she was trying to use her… Not so good… in fact, not good at all. But if she’s really just trying to use me, why would she tell me about it? Violet’s mind couldn’t sort anything out. Every time she went down a logic path that showed her she needed to get away from Mirage, it took her breath away and she got nervous. The whole situation was too convoluted and too painful. It was a long night and when the sun touched her toes she felt like she hadn’t slept at all.
She staggered into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. She needed to talk to someone, but the only person that she wanted to talk with about this was Chi… Mirage. She stared at her coffee for a long time. Finally, she rummaged through her purse for her cell phone. Just as she was pulling it out it rang and she was so startled that she dropped it. It took her a few moments to finally pick it back up and she hit the answer button without checking to see who was calling.
---
At four in the morning on Saturday, Mirage admitted to herself that she wasn’t going to get any more sleep so she might as well get up and get some work done. She hadn’t gone to a hotel. Chi Mera Industries maintained several efficiency apartments in her building downtown for visiting VIPS. There were a couple empty ones, so she availed herself of her own hospitality and figured she’d get some extra hours in over the weekend. By five a.m. she was behind her desk looking over a proposal for a manufacturing process improvement.
By six, she admitted to herself that she wasn’t actually getting anything done and she was spending more time looking at the phone, trying not to call Violet to check in than she was reading her papers.
By seven she realized she wasn’t going to be able to work at all and tried to take her mind off of the girl by working out. That plan failed miserably when the local news channel ran a special interest feature on The Incredibles’ contribution to Metroville’s tourism industry. She turned off all the TVs in the gym, and tackled the toughest face of the rock-climbing wall. That worked until about nine o’clock when she finally gave in and picked up the phone.
---
“Dash!” Bob yelled up the stairs. “We’ve got twenty minutes before we have to leave! You need to make sure all your gear is in the car!”
There was a stiff breeze and the sound of a car door slamming. “Done!”
“Are you sure you can’t come with us today, Hon?” Bob asked his wife. “The meet should be over by two and you and Jack can go to the playhouse then.”
“Learning Center.” Helen corrected him. “It’s called the Learning Center and Jack needs to play with normal kids.” The words had become a mantra for her over the last few months. As if she believed that by surrounding her youngest child with normals, she could avoid whatever had turned Violet against her.
“Dash needs you too…”
“Track and field is your thing, Bob.” She said, exasperated. “Besides, Dash doesn’t want his stuffy old mom pinching his cheeks and hugging him in front of all his friends anyway.” She demonstrated by pinching the boy’s face.
“MO-O-OM!” The boy managed to fit three syllables into the word.
“See? You two have fun, and tell me all about it tonight over dinner.” With that, she gathered up Jack-Jack and slid out the door.
When she had pulled away, Bob picked up the phone and dialed. “Please pick up.” He repeated over and over to himself. “Hello!” He shouted when the line was answered. “Don’t-hang-up-sweetie-its-dad.” He blurted out.
“Dad?” Violet asked then went on suspiciously, “Did mom tell you to call me?”
“No,” Bob reassured her. “She doesn’t know.”
Sudden concern gripped Violet. She wasn’t fond of her family right now, but they were still hers and she didn’t want anything bad to happen to them. Well, maybe her mom, but nothing too bad. “Is everyone alright?”
“Yeah… yeah, we’re fine. We really miss you though.”
“We’re not going to get into that.” Violet said briskly. “Why’d you call?”
“I know its short notice, but Dash has a track meet today and I was wondering if you’d come by…?”
“Is mom going to be there?”
“No. Just me and Dash, and maybe Uncle Lucius.”
“What time?”
“Eleven o’clock.”
“Maybe.” She said shortly. “We’ll see.”
“We really do miss you, sweetheart.” He said sincerely. “All of us miss you.”
Violet considered it for a minute, she really missed them. Even though she was pissed off and didn’t want to see them at all, she really missed them. Finally she said, “O.K. I’ll see you guys there.” And hung up the phone. The idea that she’d be seeing her dad and brother later in the day actually choked her up a little bit. She calmed herself with a series of deep breaths threw out the remains of her coffee and headed for the shower.
---
“Let go of me!” Dash squirmed out of Violet’s grasp and scrubbed his cheek with the heel of his hand to wipe away the feel of her kiss. “Geez! You’re as bad as m--” He cut off his sentence when he saw her stiffen. “Mandy!” he tried to cover. “You’re as bad as Mandy, always kissing on me and gloming on me and… stuff.” He looked over to see if she was pissed, but she just smiled and tried to hug him again.
As Dash ran off to talk to his friends, Bob put his hand on Violet’s shoulder. “You’re welcome to come home for dinner…” He said hopefully. The afternoon had gone so well he believed that if he could just keep it going, there was the possibility that everything would work out all right.
“Maybe some other time, Dad.” She smiled.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Can I tell your mother you said that?” He teased.
“Yeah…” And tell her I miss her too. She didn’t add, omitting a hug. Instead they stood awkwardly staring at each other for a few minutes until Bob said, “Well, we’ve got to go…” He shuffled backward toward the parking lot with a rueful expression. Finally turning completely away from her. She maintained her composure until the car with her father and brother pulled away and then sagged against the handrail that ringed the field. Watching them walk away and knowing she could go with them had been a lot harder than she had expected.
She wandered about halfway up the bleachers and sat down while the crowd thinned down to nothing and the sun set. She let the stresses of the day drain out of her and follow the waning light. She had enjoyed the day a lot more than she thought she would and the only thing lacking was someone to share it with. Several times she had found herself turning to point something out or share an observation with Chi and remembering at the last moment that she wasn’t there and her name wasn’t “Chi.” Violet wasn’t sure how she felt about the way she’d been manipulated, but what ever name the blonde went by and what ever her past actions, she was now an important part of Violet’s life and however it turned out, however it had been formed, she didn’t want to throw away the bond they had now. After about half an hour she became aware that she wasn’t alone. She glanced down and saw Rick standing at the foot of the bleachers apparently waiting for her to notice him. “What can I do for you, Agent Dicker?” She called out.
“May I join you?”
She snorted, “Like I have a choice.”
“There is always a choice, Ms. Parr.” He said evenly.
“You’ve never given me one.” She said sullenly.
He sat next to her and shook his head. “Just because you don’t like the choices you’re presented with, doesn’t mean you don’t have any choice.”
“Isn’t that profound. You got something important to say or did you just swing by to play Svengali?”
“Hmph.” Rick shook his head again. “You certainly know how to make things hard on yourself.”
Violet frowned and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I came here to apologize to you.” He said matter of factly. “But you’re giving me enough attitude that I don’t really feel like it any more.”
Violet didn’t know whether to be flattered or suspicious. “What did you want to say you were sorry for?”
Rick sighed. “The Agency made a huge mistake with your friend Kari…”
“No shit, Sherl…” Violet trailed off when she noticed Rick’s raised eyebrow. “Sorry.” She said quietly, “you were saying…?”
“We made a couple of mistakes and I made the first one.” He paused for a moment and turned away from her. “I put my trust in someone who didn’t deserve it. I allowed agent Johnson too much leeway and the end result was that you got hurt.” He faced her again and put his hand on her shoulder. “I just want you to understand that it was my mistake that caused you pain and not your mother’s.”
Violet searched his eyes for some sign of duplicity or ulterior motive and found only honesty. “Why tell me this now?” She asked bluntly.
“Because I want you to make peace with your family.”
It was Violet’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “And…?” She prompted.
Rick smiled ruefully, “And… because, without you to lead the team, your dad and your brother are destroying my town.”
“Fair enough.” Violet said with a laugh. “What’s in it for me?”
That rocked Rick back a little bit. “You want money?”
“Of course not, but I’ve learned over the last few months that nobody cares for my butt more than me. So, if I make nice with my mom and start fighting crime with the team again, what are you going to do for me?”
The agent thought about it for a few minutes and turned back to the dark haired girl, “What do you want?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
---
“You’ve reached the home of Chi Mera. I’m sorry I can’t come to the phone right now, but if you’ll leave your name, number and a brief message, I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” Beep
Mirage hung up the phone without leaving a message… again. She glanced over at the clock: 7 p.m. After finally giving in to her desire to hear Violet’s voice, she was bitterly disappointed when there was no answer at their apartment. Stung that Violet had made up her mind so quickly and made the choice that Mirage dreaded, the blonde spent the rest of the day in a series of internal struggles and emotional extremes, occasionally convincing herself that she’d dialed wrong the last several times and she should try again only to have her hopes dashed once more by the same halting recorded message. Mentally and physically exhausted, she headed for home, with the painful knowledge that it would be empty, festering in her stomach like a sour apple.