Eclipse - The Incredibles

9. Mr. Incredible

"He should be arriving around twelve thirty, Mirage is on her way to pick him up with airship B5-24. That should be enough time for us to set up." 

Syndrome nodded as he paced back and forth, loosening his shoulders as if he was hyping himself up for something big. Which, in his defense, it was. He was confident that he'd done enough, version ten should be able to take on any super, including Incredible. But now, it was time for the moment of truth, and man was he excited. 

"Sit with me, Viv." Syndrome pulled out the only chair in front of all of the computer screens. "I want us to watch this together."

"Of course." Vivian nodded, before taking the seat. "Don't you need one?"

Syndrome shook his head, the hint of a smirk on his face. "No."

In other words, he was going to be bouncing all over the place in pure excitement. Something she should've expected. 

"Opening voice communication, aerial craft B5-24." Bibbers sounded her que. 

Without hesitation, Eclipse opened her microphone, seeing through the holographic camera lense as she'd done with many supers before. But this one was special. 

"Welcome, Mr. Incredible. My name is Eclipse, and I'm one of the people in charge of this secret organisation." 

Syndrome smirked besides her, hunching over her shoulder like a child. He was enjoying every second of this. 

"As Mirage has told you, the Omnidroid nine thousand is a top secret battle robot. Its artificial intelligence enables it to solve any problem it's confronted with. And, unfortunately..."

"Let me guess." Incredible interrupted, just like she planned. "It got smart enough to wonder why it had to take orders?"

"We lost control." Eclipse spoke again, watching his confidently arrogant face take in every detail on the holographic schematic. "Now, it's loose in the jungle, threatening our facility. We've had to evacuate all personnel from the island for their own safety."

"How am I going in?" Incredible asked.

Syndrome chuckled from besides her, unheard by the super. "Eager much..."

Eclipse smirked. "The Omnidroid's defenses necessitate an airdrop from five thousand feet. Its cloaking devices make it difficult to track, although we're quite certain it's on the southern half of the island."

They watched as Mr. Incredible leaned back in his seat, as if all of this information wasn't a big deal to him at all. He was underestimating this whole situation already, good. 

"One more thing. Obviously it represents a significant investment..."

"You want me to shut it down without completely destroying it." Incredible smirked, masked eyebrow raised as if he was some sort of seer.

Eclipse rolled her eyes. "Precisely."

By the time Incredible was dropped onto the island, Syndrome had calmed down from his sugar rush, and was now patiently standing next to Eclipse's seated figure, keeping watch over the cameras. Now, he was just waiting for Incredible to die. 

Grinning, they watched as the Omnidroid slammed Mr. Incredible into a tree, after he tried to jump over it for a second time. Learning, just as expected.

The Omnidroid chased Mr. Incredible off a cliff, nearing the depths of a lava pit. Eclipse was at the edge of her seat, hoping for a good conclusion.

After the Omnidroid submerged from the lava it was dropped in, they sat in tension as it held the super between two tendrils, stretching further and further. Eclipse held her breath, preparing herself for one of the most gruesome deaths yet... until Mr. Incredible recollected himself, ripping the robot's claw right off.

It didn't take long for him to destroy it, or rather let it destroy itself. After this, Syndrome would have to rebuild it from scratch.

"Surprising." Syndrome hummed, amused, as he laid his hand on Eclipse's shoulder. "We must bring him back. Sound the all-clear, and... invite him to dinner."

Eclipse nodded. This would be interesting.

---

In her best sleek dress, Eclipse made her way past the lava stream, with Syndrome right behind her.

"Remember, the important thing is to keep things light. Praise him, make him feel like we appreciate his abilities."

Eclipse nodded, before being alarmed by a thud behind the door. By the time she turned back to Syndrome, he'd already left, and the lava wall was closed again.

Opening the door, she saw Mr. Incredible get out of the pod. Her shoulders relaxed, realising that he couldn't have heard them.

"I hope I'm not overdressed." Mr. Incredible broke the ice, coming up to shake the woman's hand.

"Actually, you look rather dashing." Eclipse smiled. "Eclipse, but I'm sure you knew that already."

"Your voice is quite recognizable." Incredible retorted, his attitude light.

All was going well, as they sat down at the dinner table. A beautiful array of meals, prepared by their personal chefs. Nutritional, and most of all, delicious.

"I take it our host is-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, he won't be dining with us tonight." Eclipse cut him off, raising her wine glass lightly. "He hopes you understand."

"Of course. I do usually make it a point to know who I'm working for." Incredible nodded, eating another carrot.

Eclipse shrugged. "Well, you're looking at one of them. But, unlike me, he prefers a certain amount of anonymity. Surely, you of all people understand that."

During their conversation, it didn't surprise her that the super hadn't recognized her. After all, who would take the time to remember the face of the little girl who spoke against you in court? Why remember the face of the child you doomed to a life without a parental figure to guide her?

Of course, he wouldn't remember. And it filled Vivian with bitterness.

"I was just wondering, of all the places to settle down, why live-"

"With a volcano?" Eclipse interrupted with a smirk. "He's attracted to power, so am I. It's a... weakness we share."

Mr. Incredible raised his brow, a small smile on his face. "Seems a bit unstable."

"I prefer to think of it as misunderstood." Eclipse smiled, before taking a small sip of her wine.

The super chuckled. "Aren't we all?"

Eclipse fought the urge to frown.

"Volcanic soil is among the most fertile on earth. Everything at the table was grown right here." She pointed to the array of fruit, vegetables and meat. "How does it compare?"

"Everything's delicious" Mr. Incredible raised his glass with a grin.

It was obvious that Eclipse's beauty had once again worked like a charm, as Syndrome knew it would. Her voice was smooth like butter, and could make any man or woman weak to their knees. He knew that, and had been counting on it. So why did he still feel so angry, watching it all through Bibbers' eyes?

As if signaled, Bibbers leaped onto Eclipse's lap with a meow. Eclipse's eyes widened for a second, as the cat was not supposed to intrude. She waved it off to her sensing her heart rate increase.

"You have a cat?" Mr. Incredible let out a small chuckle.

"Yes. I'm sorry, I realise I never asked if you were allergic?" Eclipse tried to play off her shock, still pretending.

The super brushed off her apology. "Good thing I'm not."

Little did Vivian know that Bibbers hadn't sprung into action because of her sensors, but because of a very possessive Syndrome in the other room. Now, with the cat on Vivian's lap, he felt a lot more comfortable that the super wouldn't dare to make a move.

But Mr. Incredible would never do that, as he already had the perfect woman at home... who had no idea where he was.