She stretched her legs to their full length until she towered over the warehouse. Down below, she watched a car careen around the corner. It screeched to a stop in front of Downburst. Mr. Incredible stepped out of the car. She had forgotten he was planning to patrol after the screening of his cartoon.

  “Go back to the band shell!” she shouted down at Mr. Incredible.

  He shielded his eyes with a hand as he gazed up at her. “Look,” he began, sounding insulted, “I know you prefer to work alone, but—”

  Elastigirl cut him off. “No! That’s where it’s all going down!” she exclaimed. “There’s going to be an attack on the Supers there!”

  “Well, in that case, get in!” He hopped back inside his car. The passenger doors popped open as he leaned out the driver’s side window. “We’ll get there faster in the Incredibile!”

  He was right. Elastigirl shrank back to normal size. She slid into the passenger seat beside Mr. Incredible. Downburst scrambled into the back just as Mr. Incredible started up the car.

  They zoomed through town, Elastigirl and Downburst filling Mr. Incredible in on what they knew. Downburst tried his radio again. “No use,” he growled.

  “Any of the gadgets in this car give you a way to communicate with the NSA?” Elastigirl asked, staring at the complicated dashboard.

  “Hold down the green button,” Mr. Incredible said, his eyes on the road. The brakes squealed as he took a sharp corner and then made another high-speed turn.

  Downburst leaned over the seat and reached between Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. He pressed his thumb on the green button.

  “Mayday! Mayday!” he shouted. “SOS!”

  A voice came through the radio speakers. “Report, please?” the voice asked calmly.

  Elastigirl slid against the passenger door as Mr. Incredible made another hair-raising turn.

  “It’s Blazestone!” Downburst exclaimed. “She’s the one who took the ZAP! She’s heading for the band shell to—”

  “We know,” the voice said grimly as the band shell came into view through the Incredibile’s windshield.

  “We’re too late!” Downburst exclaimed.

  Elastigirl’s heart sank. Mayhem had broken out. Costumed contestants ran screaming through the streets away from the pier.

  Worst of all, a giant net covered the band shell, trapping the Supers inside. Blazestone must have taken it from the warehouse before trapping us there, Elastigirl realized.

  Chaos reigned among the Supers as they argued about the best way to escape. Mini-explosions that mixed with a terrible smell of burning rubber, electrical buzzing, and flashes of light inside the netted band shell sent citizens shrieking away, banging into each other and falling. The police tried to shepherd them to safety, but the area was packed and everyone was panicking. Some Supers were being thrown around as the radioactive materials repelled them away from the net.

  Blazestone stood surrounded by helpers, most of them costumed as Supers. Any officer who approached was blasted by one of her potentially deadly rays. Two of her henchmen were dragging the mayor to a nearby tree, where Rick Dicker and Shirley were already tied up. Shirley yelled at them so loudly and persistently that one of the henchmen gagged her.

  Downburst, Mr. Incredible, and Elastigirl leapt out of the Incredibile. Downburst immediately started for the band shell. Elastigirl stretched her arm and gripped his cape. She yanked him back. “We need a plan first,” she told him. She glanced up at Mr. Incredible. He nodded.

  “Stay away from the netting!” someone shouted from the band shell. “It’s messing with our powers!”

  “Let me at it!” Apogee elbowed her way through the trapped Supers. “It enhances my powers. I’ll tear a hole for us to escape through.” She flung her hands toward the netting, a fiery blast bursting out of her.

  “Duck!” Elastigirl shouted. She threw herself to the ground, flattening herself to an inch thick. Mr. Incredible crouched beside her, shoving Downburst behind him so his massive bulk could provide cover.

  Fireballs flew over their heads. Screams and shouts filled the air.

  “Oh, no!” Elastigirl heard Apogee cry out. “All this ZAP overenhanced my powers!”

  Elastigirl kept her body flat on the ground as she lifted her head to see if the coast was clear.

  Whoa. Small fires burned across the area where Apogee’s uncontrollable blasts had set things aflame. She pulled herself up off the ground, trying to come up with a plan.

  Universal Man was inside the netting, shouting at Blazestone. “You were always a terrible partner! I knew you would never make it as a true Super!”

  Blazestone laughed. “Oh, please. You’re the one who’s not a true Super. I carried you the whole time we were partners.”

  Universal Man glared at her. “I’m getting out of here now. And I’m coming after you!”

  Elastigirl saw his eyes narrow with concentration. He flickered and began to use his ability to shift from a full solid to a more gaseous form. “He’s going to get through the holes in the net!” Elastigirl realized. “Great! Come on, let’s give him backup.” She pulled herself up off the ground.

  But something was wrong. Universal Man’s body was a bubble of shifting molecules that was starting to flow through a hole in the netting, yet his head was still completely solid!

  His expression transformed from fury to fear. “The ZAP!”

  “Stop!” Elastigirl called. “If your head comes into contact with that much ZAP, who knows—”

  Blazestone cackled. “I always said you were full of hot air! And now, you old windbag, it’s going to be the end of you!”

  “Help!” he cried. “The ZAP is pulling me toward it!”

  Several Supers grabbed his still-solid head and tugged. Elastigirl winced. That must have hurt. But it did the trick. Pulled free of the netting, he was able to rematerialize his body.

  “You’re going to pay for this, Blazestone,” Universal Man hissed.

  “I don’t think so,” Blazestone scoffed. “I think this is one giant gift, no payment required.”

  “We can’t just stand here trying to come up with a perfect plan,” Mr. Incredible said. “It’s time for action!”

  Elastigirl knew he was right. She scanned the area, looking for ideas, for help, for something that would give them the upper hand. She remembered how she had thought Blazestone’s arrogance would be her downfall. Now was the time to prove it.

  They needed to work together—even if that meant splitting up.

  Her eyes landed on a bicycle leaning against the fence that separated that section of the pier into a private area intended for the costume contestants and Supers. She pointed to it. “Is that one of yours?” she asked Downburst.

  “Yeah,” Downburst said. “I made it specially for you as a surprise. It stretches. But it hasn’t been properly tested yet and I don’t know how the ZAP might affect it.”

  “Time to find out. I’m taking it for a test ride.”

  “What is she up to?” Mr. Incredible wondered, peering up at Blazestone, who was now hovering above the ground. “And what are they doing?”

  Blazestone’s criminal helpers had rushed to the net and were locking it to the bottom of the band shell. They wore special gloves to protect them from the ZAP.

  “Too bad we don’t have those gloves,” Downburst said.

  “We’ll just have to make do with what we’ve got!” Elastigirl said—which, at the moment, didn’t seem like much.

  “Look!” Apogee shouted and pointed up.

  Everyone watched, stunned, as Blazestone used her power to raise herself high into the air. With a furious laugh, she grabbed the top of the net and began to slowly lift the Super-filled band shell off the ground. Elastigirl was thankful the cops had managed to clear the area of civilians. Otherwise, they’d have been in grave danger.

  Instead, it was only the Supers who were in real trouble.

  “You use your stretch—I’ll use my strength,” Mr. Incredible said to Elastigirl.

  “What will I use?” Downburst worried.

  Mr. Incredible clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Everything you’ve got, kid.”

  “I’m heading for the bike,” Elastigirl said.

  “Maybe I can manipulate the locks to release the netting,” Downburst said.

  “Go for it,” Mr. Incredible said. “And I’ll go after the criminals!”

  “We’ve got this!” Elastigirl put out her hand. Downburst laid his on top of hers, and then Mr. Incredible placed his hand on top. Elastigirl looked from one to the other, feeling a powerful connection among the three of them. Her mouth twisted up into a crooked grin. She met Mr. Incredible’s bright eyes, gleaming with excitement. Downburst’s face was a study in determination. She gave a slight nod.

  “We’ve got this!” they shouted together, then flung up their hands.

  They raced toward the band shell. Elastigirl veered off and ran to the fence, dodging wayward blasts and explosions caused by the short-circuiting Super powers. She could hear the Supers yelling at Blazestone above them as she r-e-a-c-h-e-d out and grabbed the prototype bike, tugging hard on the handlebars to yank it to her. She flung herself onto the seat and pedaled furiously. She wished she’d asked Downburst how it worked. But that would have taken time. Time they didn’t have. She’d just have to consider this on-the-job training!

  Blazestone seemed to be struggling a bit with the weight of the Super-filled band shell. It was rising very slowly. Elastigirl wondered where she planned to take it. Or maybe she just meant to keep it up there until the high volume of the ZAP did terrible things to the Supers, short-circuiting their powers.

  The bottom of the band shell swayed above Elastigirl. She could see the air in front of Downburst shimmering. He was trying to break the locks without having to touch the radioactive metal. She wasn’t sure if the reason it wasn’t working was because of the ZAP.

  Meanwhile, it seemed Mr. Incredible had already taken out three criminals. They were tied to a tree, moaning. That guy can really get down to business, Elastigirl thought.

  Elastigirl looked down at the bike gears. “Gotta try something!” She pushed on the red lever. The wheels began to stretch! “Bingo!” she cheered.

  She gave herself enough momentum to yank the bike up onto its back wheel and plant the now-oversized front tire onto the slowly rising net. It reached!

  “Look! It’s Elastigirl,” Apogee cried out.

  Elastigirl pedaled furiously until the bike was positioned precariously on the netting at the top of the band shell. The stretchy material Downburst had created was also sticky, which helped keep the bike on the net despite the repellent properties of the ZAP.

  Elastigirl wrinkled her nose. What is that awful stink? She looked down. The ZAP was melting the wheels of the bike! She pedaled harder. As long as she kept moving, she could keep the ZAP from destroying the bike too quickly.

  She hoped.

  She rode around and around the dome of the netted band shell, trying to come up with an idea. She knew she had to keep up her momentum to avoid falling off—or melting.

  “Elastigirl!” someone inside the net cheered.

  “You have a plan?” another trapped Super asked hopefully.

  “Coming up with one now,” Elastigirl responded. Her brow furrowed as she pedaled, trying to think of a way to free the Supers. Contact with the net was highly dangerous, and it seemed pretty indestructible based on how it made everyone’s powers so wonky.

  Elastigirl peered up at Blazestone. She appeared to be concentrating on guiding the netted band shell out over the water. Trapped inside, the Supers might all drown if she dropped them into the river!

  We have to end this, and fast! Elastigirl thought. “Anyone’s powers work normally?” she called down into the netted band shell. She had to keep moving, though, so she wasn’t sure what the answers were. And her wheels were still melting, not to mention positioned awkwardly on the moving structure. She stretched them again, bringing her seat up higher and farther away from the ZAP. After a full circuit she was above Frozone again.

  “E-girl!” Frozone called. “I’ve been icing the net, but every time I get a section frozen, Blazestone heats it up and it goes back to being all ZAP-py.”

  “I’ll distract her! That may give you time to get to work.”

  “I’ll help!” Apogee said. “But you’re going to need to watch out for any ricochets from my blasts.”

  Elastigirl watched Apogee’s head whip back and forth. She spotted Universal Man. “Lift me up!” she ordered the towering Super.

  “But—”

  “Come on!” Apogee insisted. “You’re the tallest Super in here! You want to stop Blazestone, don’t you?”

  Hearing Blazestone’s name, Universal Man immediately gripped Apogee’s outstretched hands and yanked her up to a sitting position on his shoulders. Blazestone was still high above them, but Elastigirl knew Apogee’s solar-powered energy blast had a pretty long range, even without the ZAP enhancing it.

  With Apogee now in place, Elastigirl rode the stretchy bike up to the top, where Blazestone grasped the net.

  “Give up now, Blazestone!” Elastigirl shouted.

  Blazestone glared at her. “You have got to be kidding. What are you going to do? On a melting bicycle? Surrounded by radioactive material?”

  Suddenly, a blast startled them both. The ZAP may increase Apogee’s firepower, but it messes with her aim, Elastigirl realized. She missed Blazestone by a mile. And she missed me, too, thank goodness.

  “It’s over, Blazestone,” Apogee called from atop Universal Man’s shoulders.

  “You got that right!” Blazestone said. “Over for you!”

  She released one hand from the netting, making it tilt. All the Supers inside tumbled as Blazestone threw pyrotechnic fire first at Apogee and then at Elastigirl. Apogee deflected the crackling and sparking blasts with shots of her own as Universal Man struggled to stay upright, but one of Apogee’s solar flares caught Elastigirl’s bike.

  “Don’t come into contact with the ZAP!” Frozone shouted from below. “You don’t know what it’s going to do to you!”

  Elastigirl looked down. Frozone had iced half the netting! The plan to keep Blazestone occupied was working. One problem: her bike was only about five inches high now—and the handlebars were on fire.

  “You can do it!” a young girl called up to her. Elastigirl peered down and saw the young fan in the Elastigirl costume still standing in the back row of the bleachers. “We believe in you.”

  Elastigirl’s heart swelled. And she knew she had only one option.

  With a shout, she stretched all her limbs and grabbed hold of Blazestone. The bike fell to the ground and exploded. Darn. And just when she was getting the hang of how to use it.

  “Get off me!” Blazestone shrieked.

  Elastigirl wrapped her legs around Blazestone’s torso, twisting to avoid her blasts. She wrapped a super-stretched arm around and around the traitorous villain’s throwing arm.

  “Let me go!” Blazestone screamed.

  “No way,” Elastigirl said. “You have two choices. You can let go of the netting to fight me, or you can just give up now.”

  With a howl of fury, Blazestone released the netting. But as she reared back her arm to charge her firepower, Elastigirl wrapped her other arm around it. She knotted her own arms behind Blazestone’s back as an extra precaution.

  Elastigirl heard shouts and screams as the band shell crashed back to the ground. Blazestone slumped in her arms. That told Elastigirl Blazestone had realized she’d been defeated.

  “I suggest you bring us down nice and gentle,” Elastigirl said to Blazestone.

  “I don’t get you, Elastigirl,” Blazestone said as she flew them slowly toward the ground. “I thought we were alike: Strong. Independent.”

  Elastigirl unwrapped her legs and stretched them the rest of the way down.

  “You’re right about that,” Elastigirl said as she placed her feet back on the ground. “But you forgot about being loyal. And law-abiding. And wanting to make Municiberg a safe and happy place. Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.”

  “Such a Goody Two-shoes,” Blazestone sneered.

  “Nothing wrong with being good,” Elastigirl said. “And I think you’re about to discover that it’s not such a great idea to be bad!”

  Mr. Incredible and Downburst raced over. “We’ve got all of her henchmen and women in custody,” Mr. Incredible announced while Downburst worked to catch his breath. “NSA reinforcements are on the way to deal with Blazestone and any injured Supers.”

  “Good. I’ll be glad when I can get far away from this traitor!” Elastigirl knew she couldn’t untie her arms until Blazestone had truly been neutralized. “How are we on getting everyone out of that thing and away from the ZAP?” she asked.

  “See for yourself,” Mr. Incredible said.

  Frozone had managed to freeze the entire net. “I think this will counteract the ZAP’s effects,” he said.

  “Let me test it out,” Apogee offered. “If my powers aren’t enhanced anymore, we’re good to go.”

  Apogee stepped up to the netting. She took a deep breath, and Elastigirl took one, too. She really hoped Frozone’s freezing had neutralized the ZAP.

  Apogee gripped the frozen netting. Then she took a step back and sent out a blast. It tore a hole in the netting.

  “Totally normal!” Apogee announced.

  The whole group cheered.

  “But I wouldn’t want to risk using my power to break us out of here,” Apogee warned. “We’re too close together.”

  “I got this.” Mr. Incredible smashed the icicles the netting had become and released everyone.

  Elastigirl continued to grip Blazestone tightly. She stood with Downburst, watching the Supers climb out of their bizarre prison. Some straightened their supersuits and checked for damage; some hugged. Elastigirl heard a few apologies for short tempers while trapped, and more than one nervous joke was told to break the tension they were all still feeling.

  “We did it!” Downburst exclaimed.

  “Yup! The Supers have prevailed,” Elastigirl said proudly. “We all worked together, as a team.”

 

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