Ask Your Dad Who I Am[open]

William Bastion sat in his small apartment. His only company was the periodic spurts of speech obscured by static from the police scanner sitting on the table, and the nostalgiac feel of spandex under his clothes. It was the costume from his liberty league days. Certainly more current than the star-spangled outfit he wore back in the war, but still outdated. You didn't see people in spandex and capes much these days. You didn't see much that William liked these days, so maybe it was time to bring back some old trends. He tapped his foot impatiently as the black box on the table rattled off reports of traffic stops and domestic disturbances. Letting out a deep sigh, he scooted back his kitchen chair and rose to refill his coffee cup. He crossed his small kitchen in a few long strides, stopping in front of the pot of warm coffee. An old "Mr. Coffee," practically an antique now. William liked it because it just made coffee. He didn't need it whipped, or frothed, or turned in to anything that only has a name in French. He just needed it warm and strong.

As he was pondering the finer points of caffeinated beverages, the call he had been waiting for rang out. He almost couldn't believe it, who robs banks in this day and age? William suddenly had more energy than he had in a long time. He planted his left foot firmly behind him before twirling around at a blinding speed. The human twister slowed to a stop to reveal Captain Incredible...who unfortunately had William Bastion's pants around his ankles and an inside-out button up caught on his wrist. "A little rusty." The old man commented to himself as he removed the last of his civilian clothing and switched off the scanner as he headed over to his apartment's window. Opening it, he flew out leaving the empty apartment behind.


Two armed men in ski masks ran from the scene of a recent bank robbery, though only the register tills had been emptied in the large black bag they carried with them. Police sirens wailed in the distance, but it wasn't the police they were running from. As the rounded a corner bolts of bright red flames shot at them from above, blowing potholes in the sidewalk and overturning a street lamp that went crashing down onto the street below, causing cars to pile up as they slammed their brakes. Behind them a youth pursued, couldn't have even been drinking age yet. He wore a jet black trench coat and had a Japanese katana sword strapped to his back. A wicked smile hung on his face as he shot bolts of fire from his hands at the petty criminals. The terrorized crooks looked back and exchanges curses as they ran as fast as their adrenaline-fueled legs would carry them. They were so busy looking back they didn't see what they ran into, a solid wall that knocked them back on their hindquarters.

The befuddled lowlifes looked up at the "wall" they had struck. Dressed in white spandex from head to toe, Captain Incredible stood with his fists pressed against his waist and a stern look on his face. The broad chest that they had run into was emblazoned with a Red capital I centered in a solid blue crest. His white cape fluttered lightly in the day's moderate breeze. He looked at the criminals not with anger, but the look of a displeased father. Piercing blue eyes framed between silvery-white hair and an exquisite jawline stared down at the dumbfounded pair momentary before white-gloved hands reached out and grabbed each by the head before knocking them together with a hollow thunk that left each instantly unconscious. As they fell to the ground and cleared Incredible's view, he saw the youth in the trench coat approach with a look of contempt.

"Hey man" He began with a whiny, disrespectful tone that instantly offended the Captain. "Those guys were mine. What the hell are you doing?" Cap folded his arms as he glared at the boy. "I'm here to clean up these streets. Things will go better for you if you surrender without a fuss." The boy was taken aback. "Uh, I'm one of the good guys here ya goofy old-timer, or can't you see good? Maybe you need to take your pills and lie down." Cap let out a long sigh. The more super powers these kids got, the less respect they bothered learning. "I see you wrecking this neighborhood to catch some petty criminals. I see people living in fear, and I'm tired of it. Surrender quietly, or learn the hard way." The boy scoffed and drew his blade. "You serious grandpa?" Incredible dropped his arms to his side and took several deliberate steps towards the vigilante. "That's right. I'm your daddy's daddy." He said looking down at the boy with a glare that dared him to try something. The youth seemed confused now. "You don't stand a chance against me man, this hellfire blade was forged by Beelzebub himself!" He brought the Jap sword down towards Cap, who simply caught it in his palm. He could feel it was it hit his palm. It stung a little, like an ant bite. Cap fought back a smile, it had been a long time since he felt even that much. Cap leaned forward as the boy tried in vain to reclaim his weapons from the elderly superhero's grip. "I've been to hell boy. You? You wouldn't have lasted a day." As if to punctuate his statement, cap snapped the blade in two and let the end of the blade clatter uselessly against the ground. The black-clad vigilante raised both hands with open palms and let out an embarrassingly high-pitched scream as he summoned his red flames. Captain Incredible simply grabbed the flame-covered arms and yanked them down with a fraction of his strength. The boys shoulders let out a sick pop as they were both dislocated, they hung limp at his sides as he fell to his knees in pain. "Y-you're crazy man." He managed to mutter out between sobs.

"No..." Cap muttered as he turned towards the news cameras across the street that had been filming the event. He spoke louder for their benefit. He didn't yell, but he didn't need a microphone either. He spoke with the volume and confidence of someone who had commanded lives amidst gunfire. "it's this country that's gone crazy. People afraid to walk outside in their own neighborhoods, for fear of self-proclaimed heroes. Cops, afraid not of criminals but of vigilantes. In my day we had heroes. It's time we had some again. I'm here to help. I'm here to guide those that would walk a higher path, I'm here to make sure no one is afraid to walk outside in their own neighborhood!" He paused, looking around. No one else spoke. "And I'm also here to put an end to punks like this." He motioned to the boy, now in shock. "I don't resort to violence if I don't have to, but as soon as you start putting civilians in danger you'll have to answer to me! So go ahead, go home and ask your parents or their parents who Captain Incredible is, and then let them know that he's back!" People clapped and cheered. Not all, but a good few. It reminded him of the old days, when heroes got respect.

The police had arrived at the scene as he made his speech. They had pointed their weapons at him, but remained silent as he spoke. Cap put his hands in the air. "I'm no vigilante. You want to take me in boys, I'll go without trouble. I'll even let ya cuff me. If you don't think I've committed any crimes though, I bet everyone would appreciate it if I moved that light post out of the street" He said, looking at the street lamp that had been knocked over in the struggle. The cops nodded and quietly lowered their weapons as the paramedics arrived and began lifting the broken vigilante up and walking him to the back of an ambulance. Cap walked proudly towards the light post and began to lift it up as people gathered on sidewalks to gawk at him. Damn, it felt good to be Captain Incredible again.

Damn the blue phantom thought watching from afar. This was supposed to be easy. The other day he had hired two thugs that looked like they could take a punch to rob a bank. There weren't even supposed to be any tough vigilantes in the area just some dumb kid with a sword some sort of Pyro maybe, the reports were vague he hadn't heard much, Jetblack was supposed to be a major rookie. The thugs were supposed to lead him here so he could get the drop on that teen maybe score a sick sword but all of a sudden this man ... mountain with white hair appeared and with a judgmental and patronizing gaze beat the living crap out of everyone. First he slammed the sides of the thugs heads together in a movement so swift it was surprising to even Blues toned nerves. Then the Mountain Man started talking to the guy and all of a sudden with his disapproving gaze fixed on him just... popped his arms out of the sockets holy shit was this guy hard core, didn't he get that all vigilante scum were supposed to work together. Then he started some sort of speech towards the cameras man this guy was a ham he could barely last a minute without bursting into a... wait could he... no why would... is that... oh my god that's Captain incredible. He used to read all his stories written by a medic who witnessed it all damn. He would have to be extra careful taking down Captain Incredible he was amazingly strong and durable and was complete bad ass when it came to fighting it would be difficult but Blue thought of it as a milestone defeating a famous vigilante and maybe shaking his hand too(yes even renegades want to skae the captains hand) he resolved to follow him and see if he could try to take down the geezer. It couldn't be too hard, right?