"Mel?"

"Simon always told me to embrace what I can do with my powers." Melody said quietly, hardly moving her lips – though thanks to her powers, her voice was just as clear as if she'd been speaking normally. "Everything I can do. Do you see any surveillance cameras?"

"One," Mr. Incredible responded in a muffled voice, following Melody's lead so their plan would be imperceptible. "Over your head – you have your back to it."

"Play along," Melody mouthed silently. She drew a steady breath before her tone shifted entirely. "You're all pathetic!" Melody yelled shrilly, making a point to raise her voice enough to be heard outside. "I did what I had to do – that's how you survive, Incredibles! And I'm done playing hero with you!"

Melody raised her eyebrows – Mr. Incredible seemed dumbfounded, when he was supposed to be playing along.

"Melody – how could you?!" Vi yelled dramatically, and Melody gave an almost imperceptible nod – she'd have to remember to thank her for it later. "I looked up to you!"

"Maybe I'm not cut out to be one of the good guys after all, kid." Melody replied haughtily – steps could be heard shifting outside, meaning that Syndrome was listening. "I'm a criminal, kid. Do you want a role model like me?"

In that instant, the sound of clapping was to be heard as the doors slid open, revealing Syndrome, bearing a nasty grin. "Bravo, Mel," he chuckled, and he'd clearly fallen for it – Mr. Incredible couldn't understand why. Syndrome was smart – would he really be swayed so easily? "You've still got a brain hiding in that super little head of yours."

Only then did Syndrome really take a good look at Sonik, slapping a dumbfounded expression across his face.

Sometime in the tussle, Melody must have managed to hit a button on her utility belt – her bodysuit had shifted from the waist down into a dangerously short skirt. As she stood, Syndrome raised an eyebrow, eyes locked on the vast expanse of leg now visible. Mr. Incredible's jaw clenched - he could tell what Melody was trying to do, but did not place much trust in Syndrome being sane or human enough to fall for it. The red-haired man raised an eyebrow, as though he were catching on.

Melody stalked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and pushing him back into his chair where he'd been sitting in front of the control panel of the entire island. "I have more than brains, Syndrome," she said silkily – Mr. Incredible's jaw dropped. Not because he believed what Melody was saying, but because now, he knew what she was doing. Melody's voice was echoing slightly, almost like a siren song, and from the slightly dazed expression on Syndrome's face, it was working all according to plan. He was almost completely hypnotized.

"Prove it," Syndrome said with the last bit of lucidity he could muster. "Kill them all."

"How?" Melody asked, unfazed and never breaking eye contact with him, never making it clear that she was lying. A part of her felt strange, as though she felt a thrill in the way he was looking at her, as though she wasn't merely pretending for the sake of saving her friends.

"I'll let you choose," he replied blankly – he was incorrigible, as Melody had expected. Mr. Incredible looked back at his family unsurely, as though they thought their trust in Melody's plan had been a mistake. Mel, however, did not miss a beat.

"How kind," she said, making sure to continue talking so that the hypnotic effect went unbroken. Mel strode over to the table, where Syndrome had a variety of objects – prototypes, gadgets, and a thick, metal two-by-four. Melody reached out and picked it up, turning back to face Mr. Incredible.

"My sincerest apologies, Mr. Parr," she said, her voice still echoing hypnotically. He clenched his eyes shut, tightening his jaw in expectation as Melody raised her arm.

Suddenly, she shifted on the ball of her foot and took a swing, hitting Syndrome on the back of the head. He staggered a bit, falling unconscious backwards and hitting the control panel, catching on a blaring red button that read 'self destruct'.

"Damn it!" Melody yelled, her voice reverting back to normal – sirens were beginning to go off, and it was clear that if they didn't evacuate quickly, they would all be blown to bits. The entire family rushed over, and the grouped up, ready to leave. But just as they neared the door, Melody turned around, looking at Syndrome lying on the ground.

"Mel, come on!" Vi said, tugging on her mentor's sleeve with a good bit of force. Elastigirl and Dash had already run ahead to fire up the jet, but Mr. Incredible and Vi remained with Melody. "Sonik –"

"We can't leave him, it's not right," Melody insisted – her conscience twinged. She wouldn't feel particularly heroic, knowing she'd as good as killed her childhood best friend, regardless of what his lot in life had turned out to be. "Let the police deal with him, but don't leave him here."

Mr. Incredible eyed her appraisingly – the look of Melody's face was strange, pained as though this was more than a mere crisis of conscience. She didn't merely want to spare him out of pity –"If we die because of him, it's your fault," he grunted, running back and slinging his nemesis over his shoulder as the rest of them dashed out to the jet.

"He's going to need a hospital before we put him behind bars," Mr. Incredible admitted grudgingly as they were taking off. Melody's eyes seemed trained inextricably on him all the way back to Metroville, something which did not go unnoticed.

Melody cleared her throat, looking up at Vi, her lopsided smile working its way back onto her face. "I want you to forget everything you just saw me do," she said matter-of-factly. "I doubt your parents would appreciate you pulling a stunt like that."

No one was quite sure what to expect when the plane landed – surely the explosion of an entire island would have been noticed. As the door of the plane slid open, a rush of sound alarmed them briefly until they realized that it was a cheering crowd.

"You're a hero!" cried one voice as a reporter immediately began snapping photos of Mr. Incredible. "Mr. Incredible, you defeated Syndrome again –"

"No," he said with a smile, and Melody, who had been caught by surprise by the whole scene, felt herself being tugged to the front of the group. "You have Sonik to thank for this one."

Suddenly, Mel's vision came into focus as she realized that in an instant, the cheering and the cameras were directed towards her – a warm, wet stinging appeared behind her eyes. They were cheering for her – if Simon could have been here to see this, to see the crowds cheering for his baby sister the way he'd always dreamed they would cheer for him…

Mel ran her hand over her brother's belt buckle, still fastened tightly around her waist, and glanced with gratitude towards Mr. Incredible. For the first time, she truly felt like a hero.

"He's been out cold since yesterday," Melody said, looking at Mr. Incredible and Violet as they strode down the hallway of the hospital in full super-regalia – they couldn't for the life of them figure out why Melody insisted on coming back. When they stepped through the door of Syndrome's room, they were surprised to find a doctor already hovering over their redheaded nemesis, whose eyes were already open.

Upon seeing them enter, the doctor glanced at them and walked over. "We have a very – peculiar turn of events ever since you brought him in," the doctor warned them, before gesturing them into the hospital room. Mr. Incredible was the first to enter, hovering over the hospital bed with a stiff, set jaw.

"Syndrome."

"What?" said the red-headed young man, looking alarmed. "You – what are you – I never told anyone that name!"

Mr. Incredible eyed him hostilely.

"Since you're awake, we can call the –"

"No!" Melody yelped, rushing to the front of the group and catching on before the others what was really wrong. She leaned over the bed, brow furrowed. "Buddy?"

"What?" he said, looking clearly confused before he started speaking very fast. "What on a rat's butt are you doing here? I thought you were moving to Maryland, you just left yesterday – why do you look so old?"

Melody's jaw dropped slightly – not only at the fact that she'd just been called old, and recognized even with her mask on, but also that her suspicions had been correct. He didn't remember anything. She glanced around at Bob and Vi, who looked dumbstruck as well, then reached out for a mirror on the table. Mel handed it to Buddy, who stared at it, only to find a face years older than the one he'd expected to see.

"Damn it!" he said, dropping the mirror in his lap as the doctors left them alone to speak. "And what is he doing here?" he snarled childishly towards Bob, only just recognizing him. Panic started to set in as they realized that Syndrome, still in the mindset of the teenager who'd felt rejected by his idol, was about to do something insane. Melody leaned over, hissing slightly to keep him from saying anything further, before leaning over and laying her powers on as thick as she could without being obvious.

"Don't you remember?" she asked sweetly. "You and Mr. Incredible have been working together – oof!" Mel yelped slightly as Mr. Incredible pulled her to the side, eyeing her critically. Her gaze softened, and her voice took on a pleading tone. "Please – he used to be my best friend. If we give him a chance –"

"How about when his memory comes back?"

"He'll be changed by then," Melody said resolutely. "If I know one thing, it's that heroes aren't about punishing people. They're – we're about helping them. Saving people."

Mr. Incredible paused at this – she sounded so much like Simon when they were younger, and he and Simon had always agreed. Letting out a sigh, Mr. Incredible gripped Melody's arm to make sure she was listening to his conditions.

"One chance." He said meaningfully - he wasn't sure why Melody wanted this, but he trusted in her. As the younger sister of one of his former closest friends, she was entitled to that much. Mistake or not, she meant no harm by it. "Say what you need to say to him. You have one chance - if you can't change him, then I take over."

A/N's

I know, I know. I've literally been gone for years – but I've finished highschool, gotten married, and started college ever since you last heard from me, and I've been getting a quite few responses about this story lately. I figured it was about time I gave it another shot, so I've reacquainted myself with it, and decided the new direction I want to go into.

If I still have any readers out there, please make your presence known!

In any case – Syndrome has amnesia, and for those of you who are fans of fluff, there will be a few chapters of it coming up. For those of you who dislike fluff, fear not. It's not permanent.