The Path of Redemption

The Incredibles: The path of redemption.
Englishwitch
Disclaimer: Disclaimer- I do not own The Incredibles, it is a Disney/ Pixar animation motion picture

Chapter 26- Surrender

Violet walked, using the crutches for support. She wasn’t relying on them as heavily as she had been before. She wanted to toss them aside, she felt like she could, but the damn doctor had insisted on ‘small steps’. She walked from one end of the room to the other and the doctor, watching her every move, clapped his hands with pride.
“Marvellous. Simply fantastic. Violet you have made such wonderful progress in such a short amount of time.”
“Thanks to my Super healing.” Violet said in a neutral tone that the doctor had come to associate with her now. He could think of her talking any other way. “Just great.” She sighed. The doctor tried to maintain a more positive attitude, even though she was dragging him down a little. “Alright. Now, how about we just try one little lap without the crutches, just to see how you go.”

Violet had been waiting for this, if she’d tried to toss the crutches aside before this he would have stopped her. She let them drop to the floor and felt more than a little satisfaction when they clattered loudly as they hit the wooden boards. Her legs started to get a little sore, they weren’t used to holding all of her weight. She took a couple of tentative steps and they held her up. The doctor watched in silence as she made her way across the room, her steps were slow and heavy but they were strong, it looked like her three months of therapy had worked, she was walking again. “Absolutely fantastic. You should be so pleased with this. Regaining this mobility in such a short space of time is nothing short of a miracle.”
“Whatever.” Violet muttered. Her legs were hurting, but she wasn’t going to let that show. Te smile on the doctor’s face dropped because of her lack of enthusiasm.
“Well just take it easy, you need to get used to walking around again. Use the crutches when you get tired. I have some paperwork to complete and a report to give to agent Price.”
“I’ll be fine.” Violet muttered, not even looking at him, in a non caring tone. The doctor just sighed and walked out of the room. Violet made her way to the window. It was a miserable day, thick black clouds rolled overhead and a light rain was beginning to fall and threatening to get worse. Now she could walk again, it was time for her to follow through with the plan she had held for all these weeks. Her whole reason for forcing herself to walk again.

************

Tony ran into the doctor in the hallway. Tony had been avoiding Violet since his arrival, at her request. She just didn’t think that he deserved to be with her and rejected any attempts at being persuaded otherwise. “How is she?” He blurted out as soon as the doctor came close. The doctor, like all the staff was friendly with Tony, at least the kid showed some emotion from time to time. “She’s walking again. Slow but strong, a little more practise and she’ll be fine.”
Tony smiled, he hadn’t done that in a while. Then the doctor dropped the bombshell. “I’m not sure if she’ll be able to do the active hero life she used to have, but she will be able to walk again. Considering the odds that she might have ended up in the wheelchair for the rest of her life she should be happy that she’s up and about again.” He walked off, leaving Tony standing in the hallway. Tony didn’t think that Violet would be satisfied with just walking, he knew her and he knew that would not be enough.

He walked onward, leaving the doc with his delusions and shook his head. He wished that he could talk with her, maybe now she was walking again her mood would be more cooperative. It was killing him that she should be so close and be unable to see or speak with her, just as bad as if she‘d stayed in the city and he had been unable to see her again at all.

The room was empty. Violet couldn’t have walked out without him seeing her, she should still be here. A cold blast of air caught Tony down the back of the neck. He hurried across the room and pulled open the verticle blinds, the door to the patio was open and he could just see a figure in the rain, making their way slowly but surely across the grounds toward the mountain trails. It was Violet, he couldn’t tell for sure at this distance, but he knew it was her. Tony had a bad feeling as he saw her walking closer and closer to those mountain paths. He didn’t wait to think the situation over, or he might have gone and told Mirage Violet had gone AWOL. But because he hadn’t given it any thought he went off after her.

***********

Violet felt fire up her legs, which wasn’t helped by the freezing rain falling down on her head. She climbed up higher and higher on the rough mountain path. She hadn’t gone through a workout like this in months. The physiotherapy just wasn’t the same.

She came to a stop and stood by the edge. The view was amazing, a wide valley stretched before her, in the centre was the safe house. With the fresh air filling her lungs and the breathtaking sight before her Violet felt a strength begin to fill her body that she had been lost so long ago. It was a cold comfort for her. She spread her arms out wide and closed her eyes, leaning forward and letting gravity do what it does best.
“VIOLET!”

Next thing she knew a heavy mass rammed into her side and knocked her off her feet. The two of them landed on the muddy ground and slid along for almost ten feet before coming to a stop. Violet opened and her eyes and was straight right into the face of Tony. He was soaked to the bone but the tears on his face were still obvious. She pushed him away angrily, using a lot more force than she might have once upon a time. “GET OFF ME. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

Tony picked himself up and tried to brush some of the mud from his clothing, impossible, they were ruined. “What am I…? what are you doing here? Vi’ you were about to throw yourself off the cliff.”

Violet pushed her way past him, as if trying to get back to the edge. Tony grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. Violet spun round and slapped him so hard that he fell backwards and landed in the mud again. He gripped his stinging cheek in shock and Violet stared down at him and started to cry. “Look what he’s done to me.” She said miserably, just talking loud enough to be heard over the rain. “I just can’t do this anymore Tony. He hurt me too much.”
“So you jump off a cliff?” He shouted back at her, sounding more frightened than angry at her. “But all those weeks, all that therapy you put yourself through. Was this the reason?” He climbed back to his feet. “Did you only learn to walk again just to do this?” he was crying too, the tears rolled down his face and were lost in the rain, which was steadily growing heavier.
“It was all I could do.” She shouted back. “I couldn’t get up here in that chair. Don’t you think I prayed every day for a reason to live? Don’t you think I cried myself to sleep every night knowing I was just waiting to die? There’s nothing left for me anymore. I’ve lost everything.” She wiped at her eyes furiously. “Even you.” She added with a mutter. She started to back slowly toward the edge of the cliff again.
“No.” Tony protested immediately. “Violet you never lost me.” He made to step close but the desperate look on Violet’s face made hi stop in his tracks.
“Don’t, patronise, me, Tony.” She yelled, emphasising every word. “I don’t want pity. I’m nothing anymore. Vanisher died and this pathetic thing is all that’s left.” She waved her hands, and indicated herself. “You know what the doctors said; I’ll never be able to be her again. I can barely walk.”
“Is what you think I’m like?” Tony interrupted, “Only staying with you out of pity? I love *you* Violet, no matter what. After everything we’ve been through I thought you would have known that. It’s not Vanisher I care about. It’s the person underneath. The woman behind the mask. It’s you…It’s always been you.” He risked a few steps toward her, and Violet didn’t back further away. She was still a few feet from the cliff edge. Tony held out his hand but she didn’t take it. “You’re still alive.” He said earnestly. “Don’t throw it all away. Don’t let Psychewave win.” But still Violet didn’t move toward him, she glanced over her shoulder and felt a tiny stab of fear as she saw just how far a drop it was to the bottom. She hadn’t felt that a minute ago, maybe he was starting to get to her. “You are alive.” Tony repeated. “Somewhere deep inside Vanisher is alive too. Psychewave hurt you, beat you, even broke you and you still survived. He did everything in his power to try and destroy you and Vanisher and you’re still alive. Don’t kill her. Please.”

Violet hoped she wouldn’t regret the decision she made in that moment. She reached out and took Tony’s hand. He pulled her into a tight hug and wouldn’t let her go. She could hear him sobbing in her ear, she couldn’t help herself, she started to cry too. “Don’t do that again.” Tony yelled at her between his sobs. “Don’t you ever fucking do that again.”
“I won’t” She sobbed back at him. “I won’t”

***************

Agent Price sat in her office, trying to type up a report onto a computer. Her mind kept drifting to Metroville. All the communications to and from the city had been cut off. She had no way of speaking to Rick for any advice, leaving her alone to make the decisions on what to do with Tony and Violet. Things were bad in Metroville, almost all news reporters had abandoned the city. Anything that came out was like reporting from a war zone. The last she had heard civilians were rioting in the streets and marshal law had been declared. She hadn’t told Violet and Tony any of this, they were down enough. But they would undoubtedly find out sooner or later, they did watch the television vividly for any news on the city.

There was a light knock at the door, Mirage was thankful for the distraction. “Come in.” Her jaw dropped as Violet came in, soaked to the bone with mud staining her clothes. Mirage was thankful to see she had taken her shoes off, but her socks were leaving wet footprints on the wooden floor. After quick thought Elizabeth decided not to press the subject. “Violet, I’m pleased to see that you really are up and around.” Violet didn’t say anything but came and sat down in front of the desk. She looked serious, soaked to the bone, but till serious nonetheless. “What can I do for you?” Elizabeth asked. Violet brushed a little of her wet hair out of her eyes and looked right at Elizabeth. She hadn’t looked anyone in the eyes for quite a while, and Elizabeth could have been mistaken, but she thought that perhaps she could see something in those eyes that hadn’t been there when she arrived here at the safe house. Could it be spirit? No, couldn’t be.
“I don’t care what I have to go through.” Violet said with total seriousness. “I need to become worthy of being Vanisher again.”

Mirage felt her jaw drop toward the floor ad her eyebrows raise toward the ceiling. “I…you…er…” she was totally lost for words. Violet pressed onwards with an explanation.
“I’m not Vanisher anymore, I’m just some broken version of her. I need to regain my strength; my physical power. I need to regain that strength, so I need to know what it’ll take.”
“Violet…” Mirage began. “You do understand…that the doctors said…the odds of you ever regaining anything close to the abilities you used to have…are slim to none.”
Violet was completely unfazed by the speech. “They also said it was slim that I would even walk again. I know it will not be easy, long, hard and probably very, very painful. But I want to do this. I *have* to do this. I can’t let him win.” She muttered the last sentence but Elizabeth heard the last part. Mirage sighed and nodded. She almost understood Violet’s reasons for wanting this. She couldn’t understand the change that had come across the child. Just yesterday Violet didn’t care about anything. She wouldn’t have cared if she was in the safe house or back in the hospital in Metroville. But now she was…changed. The exact opposite of how she was twenty-four hours ago. In fact, judging from what the doctor said, the opposite of how she was just two hours ago. She couldn’t even begin to guess what could have turned her around in such a way. “You’re right; it won’t be easy. You would have to be pushed hard if you were to stand even the smallest chance of becoming Vanisher again. You can’t take baby steps with something as serious as this.”
“What do you have in mind?” Violet said, folding her arms across her chest.
Elizabeth leaned forward on her desk, meshing her fingers together. “I’m fully trained in advanced unarmed combat. I know everything it will take to bring you back. If it doesn’t work then nothing will.” She rose to her feet and rested her hands on her desk. “Get yourself dry and get some rest Violet. We start bright and early at dawn.”

***********

So began the days of pain, always following one way. From Mirage to Violet. She delivered it in a dozen forms and a hundred techniques, some baffling, all silent. Mirage hurt Violet again and again, never uttering a single word. But when necessary she healed her too, all in the same silence. Two weeks into it Violet could finally begin to see the blows coming, and then even to sense them. The result however was still the same.

But then, one day, just an ordinary day by most accounts, something snapped within Violet and from it, something flowed outwards. Speed, strength and precision, all perfectly centred. It was the first and only pain Mirage felt. In that moment Violet had regained her capacity for violence; the ability to fight. In the wake of that moment, holding the pain to her heart as if it were something precious, she finally spoke. “Excellent. You are ready.”

But that is a long story which is best saved for another time.

To be continued.