FicWad

The next day, while eating breakfast, Laura Reed noticed that the clock was working again. Jack woke up and looked out the window in his room at the inn. Felix was out walking his dog, as Ms. Wood passed by. Michelle was putting out the sign for the Diner when Ellen arrived carrying groceries.
-----
Derek sat in his living room, flipping through Hilary's book. He paused on a page depicting the Incredibles fighting the Omnidroid. When he turned the page, he found that the last several pages had been ripped from the book. In a huff, he shut the book and stormed into Hilary's room as she was getting ready for school.
"Where are the missing pages?" He demanded.
She shrugged. "Why do you care?
Derek turned her around to face him. "I care because you think I’m some supervillain. And that hurts me, Hilary. I’m your father." He touched her cheek.
"No, you’re not." She turned away from him.
"Well, then who is? That man you brought here? I don’t like what he and this book are doing to you. Good thing neither are a problem anymore." Hilary looked down at the floor as if disagreeing. "What?"
In the distance, the clock tower chimed, causing Derek to turn his head toward the sound, shocked. Hilary ran out of the room while he was distracted.
———–
Out in the town square, Derek stood on the sidewalk, looking up at the clock. Felix was out walking Dug when he came up beside Derek and also looked at the clock.
"Hey, how about that? Guess those rusty old innards finally straightened themselves out, huh?"
Derek turned to face him, about to remark, but then noticed Jack’s car parked on the side of the road.
"Yes, how about that, indeed."
———–
There was a knock at the door and Jack opens it to Derek, standing in the hallway, smiling.
"Good morning. I just wanted to offer you a gift. He held up a high tech watch. "I'm sort of an expert with technology. I've always had a knack for making things."
"Thanks." Jack watched him carefully as he accepted the watch.
“I’m sure you’ll use it on your drive home.”
"Actually, I've decided to stay for a while."
"I don't think that's such a good idea. Hilary has enough issues, she doesn't need you confusing her."
"All due respect, Mr. Mayor, the fact that you've now threatened me twice in the last twelve hours makes me wanna stay more."
"Since when is technology a threat?"
"I can read between the lines. Sorry, I just wanna make sure Hilary's okay."
"She's fine. Her problems are being taken care of."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means I have her in therapy. It's all under control. Take my advice, Jack. Only one of us knows what's best for Hilary."
"Yeah, I think you're right about that."
"It's time for you to go."
"Or what?"
Derek took a step toward Jack until they were close to each other. "Don't underestimate me. You have no idea what I'm capable of."
-----
Derek sat in his lab, working on a new project, when a woman walked up behind him, holding a newspaper with Jack on the front page.
"The Droid strikes again!"
"You’re late."
"Sorry. I wanted to bring you the latest edition. I assure you it’s one of my better hatchet jobs."
Derek turned around to look at the paper, taking it out of her hands.
"That’s not what I asked for. What’d you find out about him?"
"Well, to be honest, there wasn’t much. He spent a lot of time in foster homes." Derek scoffed and turned back to his project. The woman kept explaining over his shoulder. "Uh, he got into some trouble when he was a kid, but the details are locked up pretty tight. Since then, he’s clean. Bounced around all over. The only thing I really learned was that he doesn’t like to sit still."
"Well, that seems to have changed."
"Did you know that, um, Hilary was born while he was in Phoenix? Huh, how’d she wind up here in Maine?"
"So, let me get this straight... you found nothing of value. Which means you have no value, Olga. Do you know what I do with things that hold no value to me? I throw them away."
"I-I’ll keep looking." She stuttered nervously and then left, while Derek looked at the newspaper again.
———–
Jack was seated at the counter of the Diner, reading the newspaper.
"Here you go." Michelle placed a mug of hot chocolate, with cinnamon, in front of him.
"Thank you, but I didn't order that."
"Yeah, I know. You have an admirer." Michelle smiled.
Jack turned around to see Sheriff Andrea seated in a booth. He put down the paper and walked over to her. She looked up at her, surprised. "So, you decided to stay."
"Very observant for a cop."
"That's good news for our tourism business, bad for our local signage." Jack gave her a look. "It's--it's a joke... because you ran over our sign."
"Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture, and I'm impressed that you guessed that I like cinnamon in my chocolate, 'cause most people don't, but I'm not here to flirt. So, thank you, but no thank you." He set the mug on the table.
Andrea shook her head. "I didn't send it."
"I did." Hilary chimed in, seated at another booth. "I like cinnamon, too." She stood up and came over to them.
"Don't you have school?" asked Jack
"Duh, I'm ten. Walk me."
———–
Outside, Jack and Hilary walked down the sidewalk, crossed the street, before reaching the other sidewalk.
"So, what’s the deal with you and your dad?"
"It’s not about us, it’s about his curse. We have to break it. Luckily, I have a plan. Step one – identification. I call it Operation Cobra."
"Cobra? How is that connected to Pixar stories?"
"It's not. It’s a code name to throw Syndrome off the trail."
"So, everyone here is a Pixar character. They just don’t know it."
"That’s the curse. Time’s been frozen until you got here." Hilary noticed the watch on Jack's wrist. "Hey! Where’d you get that?"
"Your dad gave it to me."
Hilary yanked the watch off and threw it on the ground, stomping on it.
"What are you doing?"
"Haven't you seen the Incredibles movie? Syndrome makes weapons."
"O-okay. Uh, all right. What about their pasts?"
"They don’t know. It’s a haze to them. Ask anyone anything. And you’ll see."
"So, for decades, people have been walking around in a haze, not aging, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town that kept them oblivious."
"You got it." Hilary smiled. "That’s why we need you. You’re the only one who can stop the curse."
"Because I’m the son of Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl-'"
"Yes. And right now, we have the advantage. My dad doesn’t know that." Hilary unzipped her backpack and took out pages from her Disney/Pixar Storybook Collection book and handed them to Jack. "I took out the end. The part with you in it." The pages showed an illustration of Mr. Incredible placing baby Jack-Jack through the door. "See? Your mom is Elastigirl."
"Oh, kid." Jack shook his head, speechless.
"I know the hero never believes at first. If they did, it wouldn’t be a very good story. If you need proof, take them. Read them. But whatever you do, don’t let him see these pages. They’re dangerous. If he finds out who you are, then it would be bad."

They soon reached the outside of the school.
"I got to go, but I’ll find you later and we can get started. I knew you’d believe me!" Hilary began running to join the other kids.
"I never said I did."
"Why else would you be here?"
Jack watched her go, with a slight smile. Hilary ran to the front steps of the school, past Laura Reed, who turned to see Jack and approached him.
"It’s good to see her smiling again."
"I didn’t do anything."
"You stayed. So, does the Mayor know you’re still here?"
"Oh, he knows. What's with him? He’s not a great people person. How did he get elected?"
"He’s been mayor for as long as I can remember. No one’s ever been brave enough to run against him. He inspires quite a bit of... well, fear. I think I only made that worse by giving Hilary that book. Now she thinks he's Syndrome."
"Who does he think you are?"
Laura Reed shook her head, smiling. "Nothing. It’s silly."
"Try me."
"Elastigirl." Jack's eyes widened, and he stared at her in absolute shock. If she's Elastigirl, then that means she's my mother. No, it can't be. Th-this whole thing is crazy. "Who does he think you are?" Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"I’m not in the book. Can I ask you a favor? Derek mentioned the girl’s in therapy. Do you know where I could find the doctor?"
———–
Felix was reading in his office when there was a knock on the door.
“Hello.” Greeted Jack as he entered.
“Jack Swan.” He stood up, picking up a copy of the newspaper. “I was just, uh, reading about you. Let me guess, you're here for help with a little post-traumatic stress?" He chuckled, setting the paper down. "That diagnosis was free, by the way."
"No, I'm actually here about Hilary."
“I'm sorry, I-I I really shouldn't...”
“I know, I'm sorry. Just tell me something. This Pixar obsession, what's causing it? I mean, she thinks everyone is a character in her book. That's... crazy.”
“I-I hope you don't talk that way in front of her. The word "crazy" is um... quite damaging. These stories-- they're her language.” Felix explained. “She has no idea how to express complex emotions so she's translating as best she can, this is how she communicates. She's using this book to help deal with her problems.”
“But she got the book a month ago. Has she been seeing you longer than that?”
"Um... Yes, she has."
"So, it's Derek, isn't it?"
"Uh, her father is a... very complicated man, and uh, over the years, he's tried to try and bring Hilary closer, but it's backfired." He walked over to a filing cabinet, opened it and took out a file. "Why don't you take a look at the file? Um... see what I mean."
"Why are you doing this?" Jack wondered.
"Well, she talks about you a lot. You're very important to her."
"Thank you.”
"Just uh... see that I get it back, okay?" He opened the door and Jack started to leave. "Just for the sake of the girl, be careful how you handle her belief system. To destroy her imagination would be... would be devastating." Jack left and Felix closed the door. He sat down at a desk and picked up the phone, making a call. "You were right. He was just here."
“Did he take the file?” Derek's voice asked on the other end of the line.
“Yes. H-how did you know he was gonna come here?”
“Because I'm the one who gave him the idea.” He replied with a sinister smile on his face.

In his room, Jack sat on his bed, reading through Hilary's file when he heard a knock on the door. He opened it to find Sheriff Andrea standing in the hallway.
"Hey there. If you're concerned about the 'Do Not Disturb' signs, don't worry; I've left them alone."
"Actually, I'm here about Dr. Felix Cutter. He mentioned you got into a bit of a dispute with him earlier?"
"What? No." Jack looked at her, shocked.
"I'm surprised, too, given your shy, delicate nature. He says you demanded to see Hilary's files and when he refused, you came back and stole them."
Jack shook his head. "He gave them to me."
"He's telling a different story. May I check your room? Or must I get a search warrant?"
Jack opened the door completely, walked over to his bed and gestured to the files spread on it. "This what you're lookin' for?"
Andrea picked up a file and glanced at it. "Well, you're very accommodating. But, I'm afraid you're under arrest. Again." She took out a pair of handcuffs and began to cuff his wrists.
"You realize I'm being set up, don't you?"
"And who, may I ask, is setting you up?"

Outside of Pixfare Elementary, Laura Reed was giving her class a lesson when Derek approached them. He cleared his throat and Laura Reed stood and approached him. "May I speak with my daughter?"
"We're in the middle of a lesson. Is it important?"
"Do you think I'd be here if it wasn't!?" He walked away from her. She watched curiously as he talked to Hilary, alone
"Hilary, hon, I have some bad news. The man who you brought here... he's been arrested. He broke into Dr. Cutter's office and stole his files. He's a con man. He's trying to learn about us in order to take advantage of us. That's why he's sticking around. I'm sorry."
"No, you're not." She said in disbelief.
"I know you think otherwise, but all I'm doing is trying to protect you. This is gonna be good for us, you'll see. Things will be better." The school bell rang in the background.
"I gotta get back to class." She walked away, rejoining the rest of the kids.

At Pixfare Sheriff Department, Sheriff Andrea took mugshots of Jack.
"You realize the shrink is lying, right?"
"To the right, please. Why would he lie?"
"The Mayor put him up to this. He's gotta have something on him. He's terrified of him, like everyone else in this town."
"To the left." Jack rolled his eyes and turned around. "Derek may be a bit intimidating, but I don't think he'd go as far as a frame job."
"How far would he go? What does he have his hands in?"
"Well, he's the Mayor. He has his hands in everything."
"Including the police force?"
"Hey." Hilary came running in, with Laura Reed following behind her.
"Hilary, what are you doing here?" Andrea asked.
"Her father told her what happened." Laura Reed answered.
"Of course he did!" Jack said, glancing at Andrea. He then turned to the girl. "Hilary, I don't know what he said--"
"You're a genius!" She interrupted.
"What?"
"I know what you were up to." Jack looked at her, confused. "You were gathering intel. For Operation Cobra".
"I'm sorry, I'm a bit lost." Andrea shook her head.
"It's need to know, Sheriff, and all you need to know is that Miss Richards is gonna bail him out."
"You are? Why?" Jack asked.
"I, uh, trust you."
"Well. If you could uncuff me..." Jack extended his cuffed wrists toward Andrea. "I have something to do."

Derek sat working at his desk in the Mayor's Office when he heard crashing sounds coming from another room. He rushed into his lab to find Jack destroying his tech with a baseball bat.
"What do you think you're doing!?"
"Inventing," he replied, dropping the bat.
"You're out of your mind!" Derek snarled.
"No, you are if you think a shoddy frame job's gonna scare me off. You're gonna have to do better than that. If you come after me one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of this stuff. Because, Mister, you have no idea what I'm capable of. Your move." Jack started walking away.

Jack returned to the inn and was about to open the door to his room.
"Jack?" A woman's voice called from behind him. He turned around to see Ellen. "Oh my, this is terribly awkward. I need to ask you to leave." Jack looked at her with a confused look on his face. "I'm afraid we have a 'No felons' rule. It turns out it's a city ordinance."
"Let me guess: the Mayor's office just called to remind you."
Ellen nodded. "You can gather your things, but I need to have your room key back."
Jack handed her the key.

In his lab, Derek kneeled on the floor next to the table, putting the broken pieces of tech in a box. Sheriff Andrea approached him from behind.
"He destroyed private property. I want him arrested."
"Again?"
"What are you waiting for?" Derek turned to face her.
"I don't think arresting him is the right plan." Derek stood up, with a look of disbelief. "And I'm not talking about your tech. We both know he didn't steal those files."
"Oh, do we?"
"I mean, he looked pretty shocked when I leveled the charges against him."
"That's because he doesn't like being caught." He kneeled down on the floor again.
"Or because he was set up. And if he was, that means Dr. Cutter was lying. If he's lying that means that someone asked him to." Derek stood up again. "Are we really confident that the man's conscience won't eventually get the best of him?"
"I think your schoolgirl crush is clouding your judgment. Remember, I made you Sheriff. And I can take it away just as easily." He said threateningly.
"You want me to arrest him again? I will."
"Good." He kneeled down again to pick up the mess.
"But you two are gonna keep comin' at each other. You'll do whatever it takes to make him leave. And you may succeed."
"I will succeed!" Derek shouted angrily, standing up. "She's my daughter! It's what's best for her."
"I know that's what you think. But if this gets worse, it seems to me the only one who'll get hurt is Hilary."

Outside Ellen's Bed and Breakfast, Jack was walking along the sidewalk when he noticed that his car had a boot on it. His phone then rang. He picked it up and answered it. "Yeah?"
"Jack, I'd be happy to continue demonstrating my power," Derek said on the other side. "But I'm guessing your choice to stay is only growing?"
"You have no idea."
"Well then. I think it's time we made peace. Why don't you drive over to my office." Jack put his jacket in the car and slammed the door. "Or walk—whatever suits you."
Jack hung up and rolled his eyes. I do not believe that guy.

Derek and Jack were seated in Derek's office, talking. Jack sat on the couch across from Derek, seated in a chair
"I'd like to apologize, Jack."
"What?"
"I just have to accept the fact that you want to be here..."
"Yes, I do."
"And that you're here to take my daughter from me."
"Okay, first of all: I don't want to take her from anyone."
"Well then, what are you doing here?"
"I know I'm not a father— I think that's pretty clear—but she's my flesh and blood, and I can't help it—she got in my head and I want to make sure she's okay. The more you try to push me out, the more I want to be here, especially after seeing how troubled she is."
"You think she's troubled?"
"Well, she's in therapy, and I only got through a couple pages of her shrink's notes before you had me arrested. But putting all that aside—she thinks everyone in this town is a Pixar character."
"And you don't?"
"How can I? The poor kid can't even tell the difference between fantasy and reality and it's only getting worse. It's crazy."
"You think I'm crazy?" Jack turned to see Hillary standing in the doorway.
"Hilary..." She ran out of the office, hurt. Jack stood up to follow her, then addressed Derek. "How much did she hear?
"Just enough."
"You knew she would be here."
"Did I know that my daughter comes to my office every Thursday at exactly 5 P.M. so I can take her for dinner before her therapy session? Of course, I did. I'm her father." Derek sat back in his chair with a smug grin on his face. "Your move."
"You have no soul," Jack said in disgust. "How did you get like this?"
Derek didn't answer as Jack exited the office.

Laura Reed sat in her apartment, working on needlecraft when there was a knock at the door. She opened the door to find Jack standing in the hallway.
"Hey. Just wanted to say thank you and, um," He handed her an envelope. "Pay you back the bail money."
Laura Reed took the envelope but just stared at Jack, not saying a word. After an awkward pause, Jack sighed, looking exasperated. "You look like you need to talk."

Later, Jack sat at the table, sipping a cup of hot cocoa.
"Cinnamon?" Jack wondered.
Laura Reed brought a plate of cookies to the table. "Oh, I'm sorry. I should have asked. It's a little quirk of mine. Do you mind?"
"Not at all." She offered him a cookie, but he refused. "When you bailed me out, you said.. that you trusted me. Why?"
"It's weird, but—ever since you came here, I've had the strangest feeling, like we've met before. I mean, I know it's crazy."
"I'm starting to reevaluate my definition of crazy."
"For what it's worth, I think you're innocent."
"Of breaking and entering, or just in general?"
"Whichever makes you feel better."
"Doesn't really matter what anyone thinks I did. I'm leaving. Thank you for everything, but I think it's for the best. If I stay, Hilary's only gonna keep getting hurt."
"What happens if you go?" Jack didn't say anything. "I think the very fact that you want to leave is why you have to stay. You care about her. Who will protect Hilary if you won't?"

In Felix Cutter's office, Hilary sat on the couch during a therapy session.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Felix asked. Hilary didn't answer, only fiddled with a rock. "You know, that rock is kind of my good luck charm." Hilary still remained silent. "Is that why you think I'm Flik?"
"I don't think you're anyone." She set the rock down on the table.
Jack, holding the storybook pages, opened the office door.
"Jack." Felix stood up and came over to him. "Look, I can explain. The Mayor forced me--"
"I know. Don't worry about it. I get it." Jack interrupted and then turned to Hilary. "Hilary, I'm sorry."
"I don't want to talk to you."
"Jack, if he knew you were here--"
"So what?" He sat in the chair across from Hilary. "Hilary, the reason I stayed here is you. I wanted to get to know you."
"You think I'm crazy!"
"No, I think the Curse is crazy, and it is. But that doesn't mean that it isn't true. It's a lot to ask anyone to believe in, but there are a lot of crazy things in this world. So, what do I know? Maybe it is true."
"But you told my dad--"
"--what he needed to hear. What I do know... is that if the Curse is real, the only way to break it is by tricking Syndrome..." Hilary turned to look at him. "into thinking that we're nonbelievers. 'Cause, that way, he's not on to us. Is that what Operation Cobra was all about? Throwing him off the trail?"
"Brilliant!" Hilary smiled and leaned closer to him.
"I read the pages, and you're right—they're dangerous. There's only one way to make sure that he never sees them." Jack stood up and takes and put the pages in the fireplace, burning them. "Now we have the advantage."
Hilary got up from the couch and hugged Jack. "I knew you were here to help me!"
"That's right, kid. I am." He broke the embrace and looked at her. "And nothing, not even a curse, is gonna stop that." They hug again.
Jack and Hilary left Dr. Cutter's office building together and walked down the street, smiling at each other.

Derek was tending to the broken tech in his lab when Ms. Wood entered.
“What a mess.”
“Not for long. What can I do for you, Ms. Wood?”
“I was just in the neighborhood, thought I'd stop by. You're in a good mood.”
“Well, it's been a good day.” Derek chuckled. “The town’s now free of an unwanted pest.”
“Jack Swan? Really?”
“Yes. I bet he's halfway to Boston by now.”
“Oh, I wouldn't bet on that. I just saw him strolling down the street with your girl. Thick as thieves, they looked.”
“What?”
“Perhaps you should have come to me. If Jack is a problem you can't fix, I can help, for a price, of course.”
“I'm not making deals with you anymore.” Derek scoffed, turning his back to her, returning to the broken pile.
“Which deal would that be?”
Derek turned and looked at her. “You know what deal.”
“Oh, right, yeah. The girl I obtained for you. Hilary. Did I ever tell you what a lovely name that was?”
Derek turned back to face her. “Did you want him to come to town? You wanted all this to happen, didn't you? You didn't find Hilary by an accident, did you?”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“Where did you get her?” Ms. Wood remained silent, with a slight smirk. “Do you know something?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I think you do. Who is that man, her father, that... Jack Swan?”
“I would say you think you know exactly who he is.” Derek stared at her, stunned. "I really must be going." She turned around to leave, but he blocked her path.
“Tell me what you know about him.”
“I'm not gonna answer you, dear, so I suggest you excuse me." He said nothing and didn't move. "Please." She walked away, while Derek turned and watched her go, stunned.