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Prison hospital - 7PM

Where am I...who am I...

That night had been like any other for Mirage. It had been five years since the last time she'd seen him awake, well and alive, and she imagined that tonight would be no different then any other; She'd visited this hospital once a month to check up on his condition and never had there been a change worth mentioning. Just the same sleeping form of a man she'd been amazed had survived his ordeal against the turbine blade. Miraculously he'd managed to stay in one piece and even more surprisingly had made it to the hospital before he'd breathed his final breath. They'd managed to get the former villain known as Syndrome into a stable condition and there he'd stayed, and there he was five years later in that same condition with no hopes or expectations of ever coming out of the coma he'd fallen into. All was well, however. The world was better off without Buddy Pine for a while so far as she was concerned.

Mirage flipped her hair as she walked through the security gates, they knew her well. Various security checks had eventually brought her to the room in which he stayed, silent except for the beeping monitors that reminded the nurses that he was indeed still alive, if barely. She came up on his bedside, peering lifelessly down at what might as well have been nothing at all. The years had hardly passed him by and what she saw as her head tilted ever-slightly was nothing but a peaceful expression, far more pleasant than she'd ever remembered him having while awake.

"Nothing of consequence has happened lately." Her voice cracked on the first word, speaking up as if he could hear her. The echo of the walls had always distracted her, she hated the emptiness of the place. She never knew for sure if he was listening, but she'd done it for so long that it almost felt as though she was obligated to continue. "Some pathetic attempts at villainy, easily dispatched. Things have changed a lot these past few years, haven't they?"

She didn't expect an answer, she never had. Her left hand stayed stiffly clasped to the side of her business suit, but her right couldn't help but creepy slowly upwards to the bed patient's head, fingers sliding across his hair that had done little else but grow in all of its spare time. Her expression changed to a small but gentle smile and for a moment, she was with somebody else. Everything he'd done was gone and forgotten, The Incredibles didn't exist, and she wasn't Mirage anymore.

A slight movement had caused her to jerk her hand back several inches, eyes wide in that moment. It had been so slight, but more than had ever happened before; Buddy Pine's eye had twitched. Mirage couldn't help but take several more quick steps backwards as that twitch turned into more. For the first time in five years, his bright blue eyes had been visible, cringed against the harsh light of the hospital ceiling lamps. The monitors beeped furiously as new life emerged before her, not recognizing their new surroundings. A confused sound followed, and by that time she'd gathered her composure and rushed back to his side.

"Buddy.. Buddy, can you hear me?" She hadn't realized that her voice had sounded almost panicked. His head tilted in her direction, and in that moment their eyes had met but she knew he hadn't recognized her at first.

"Where am I..." Dazed, cracked, hardly there, and yet she couldn't have been more excited. Her hand returned to his hair, smiling.

"The hospital, the hospital. You've been here a long time."

"What...what day is it..." By this time he was fully awake, eyes flicking back and forth across the tiles. Yes, this is where he was. He'd overheard the conversations between the guards and nurses more than once in his dreams. When she'd told him, he'd done his best not to seem entirely too shocked, but had that much time truly passed him by? Before he could utter another word to her, Mirage cleared her throat and began on what she'd been rehearsing.

"Nomanisan is, for a lack of better words, sunk. Th--"

"Those bastards froze my assets. All the major accounts are done for. So much for support from the stockholders." The silver-haired female had done a double take as she'd been interrupted. He was surprisingly well-informed for someone who hadn't seen the light of day in such a long time. Her thoughts were short-lived however; His eyes were on her, searching for something. "You're on their side now."

"I am." She replied a little more bluntly than she would've liked. Her hands gripped the side-railing of the bed tightly and all hope she'd had that he would have changed wavered. The expression she'd received was less than thrilled. He looked away, head nodding.

"Wouldn't have expected any less."

"And that's supposed to mean what, exactly?" Mirage was now on the offensive, arms crossed across her chest. Buddy exhaled, eyes rolling.

"It'll mean whatever you make of it."

"And if I take offense?"

"Wouldn't be the first time." His quick tongue had silenced her, and the tension between them kept it quiet for several minutes longer. She wanted to say something, anything to break it apart, but no words could be found and he didn't seem interested in conversation. A nurse had come in just in time, smiling brightly at the newly awakened patient. She immediately went over his vitals while he muttered various responses to general questions and eyeballed a passing guard. Mirage moved away from them, standing off in an empty corner and observing from a distance.

She wished in that moment that she could remember a time in which he'd been honestly happy, and not just thrilled at the thought of revenge and world domination. Years ago, years before it all...

"You're doing surprisingly well, Mr. Pine. A number of us were pretty sure you wouldn't pull out of it without some major damage to speak of, if not physically than most certainly mentally. Quite a trooper you are."

"Genius never sleeps." He flashed the nurse a sly grin, nodding respectfully to a doctor who had come in a few moments later. Together the three went over deciding what kind of motor skills the patient had; Not only had he not forgotten his signature, but took care of the paperwork in the same few minutes. "Seems I'm stuck here, hm?"

"Would seem that way, Mr. Pine, or whatever you prefer to be called these days." The doctor replied, waving a flashlight over his eyes again to be sure that the first time hadn't been a fluke. "Things have changed a great deal since you've been out but rest assured or downtrodden that you've not been forgotten. That being said, you're allowed visitors after they've gone through a background check."

"I'm pretty dangerous in a hospital bed."

"You won't be there for long at the rate you've recovered."

"I can't wait to race the old men down the halls." The doctor chuckled, putting his flashlight away and taking the paperwork that had been signed, double-checking all of it before tucking the pile under his arm.

"Haven't lost a bit of your wit. I'd hold your tongue if you want a chance of getting out of here before you're one of them." The doctor winked and left them, the nurse following closely behind. Mirage's gaze fell upon the patient in the bed who's expression had fallen into deep contemplation over those last words. "That might be the single greatest piece of advice someone's ever given you." She muttered.

"You're still here?" He asked bluntly, and it was at that point that she'd decided enough was enough. It was pointless to argue with Syndrome OR Buddy Pine, and she'd had more than her share of experience with both. The thin woman turned around, heels clicking on the linoleum as she let herself out. Before she could fully leave however, his voice pulled her back. "Find me a new secretary."

She turned her head, eyes narrow. "I haven't quit yet." His expression was no less than snarky and for a moment she thought she'd seen an old spark come back.

"Haven't been a very trustworthy co-worker, babe."

"Don't go there." She sighed through his silence, head shaking. "I do try to love you, Buddy, but you make it so damn hard. I'll be back tomorrow." And with that, she left him there to watch after her retreating figure.

So that's how it's gonna be, Mirage?