Work Text:
“Oh my god, Karen, look!”
Karen, otherwise known as the superhero Voyd, dressed in a long coat and knitted cap against the December chill, paused and looked across the street to where Violet was pointing.
Across the street, in the display window of Rick’s Records, a man was assembling a display of that new British band everyone was talking about, the Beatles. They’d just released their first single in America.
Violet’s blue eyes were wide with excitement. “We have to get it.”
“You bet!” Karen replied, grinning.
The two teens crossed the street. Karen had driven Violet into Municiberg to shop for some new clothes for school, having outgrown most of her tops in her latest adolescent growth spurt. The older girl, though relieved that she herself had finally outgrown adolescence, had enough sympathy for her friend to turn what could have been an ordeal into a fun afternoon out. Karen had planned to top off the afternoon with a trip to a coffee shop for a hot chocolate, but this was even better. In addition to the new tops, Violet would take home the latest hot band’s latest hot single. It was the perfect end to a great day.
Except for the price.
“A dollar forty-nine?!” Karen said indignantly. “The other singles are only ninety-nine cents!”
The girl at the cash register just shrugged. “These had to come all the way from England.”
Karen raised her eyebrows doubtfully but paid for the 45. Violet’s grin stretched from fuzzy white ear warmer to fuzzy white ear warmer, and Karen couldn’t help but grin back.
“Oh yeah I tell you somethin'
I think you'll understand.
When I say that somethin'
I want to hold your haaaaand!”
The singers, Paul and John, continued to sing, begging to hold the listener’s hand. Violet had pulled her record player out into the Parrs’ living room to let everyone listen, even though Mr. Incredible – Bob, Karen reminded herself, at home he’s just Bob Parr – had a pretty incredible hi-fi system.
The song ended and Violet sighed. “They’re so cool!”
Dash shrugged. “I guess. I like Elvis better.”
Violet rolled her eyes.
Dash hopped off the couch, gyrated his hips and pointed at his sister. “That’s all right, mama,” he said, in a terrible impersonation of Elvis, then swaggered off to do whatever twelve-year-old boys did when they weren’t annoying their sisters.
“Hand! Hand!” Jack-Jack insisted. “Again!”
Karen restrained a laugh. Violet was already resetting the record arm.
Between life as the Parrs’ live-in nanny and supering, Karen’s life over the next week or so took on a montage-like quality, all set to the endlessly-played-and-replayed Beatles single.
Oh yeah I tell you somethin'
I think you'll understand.
When I say that somethin'
I want to hold your hand!
- Supering with the Incredibles, watching Ultra-Violet’s force bubble (with Ultra-Violet inside it) get knocked sky-high by Thunderfist’s punch, Voyd forming a portal and reaching through right as the bubble hit its apogee to grab Violet by the hand and haul her through to safety
Oh please say to me
You'll let me be your man
And please say to me
You'll let me hold your hand
- Walking Jack-Jack, hand-in-hand, as she did the errands for the family
And when I touch you
I feel happy inside
It's such a feelin' that my love
I can't hide
- Washing dishes with the Parrs, everyone happily chatting, handing Violet a cup to put away, their hands brushing for a moment, both smiling and then turning away, each hiding behind their fall of hair
Yeah, you got that somethin'
I think you'll understand
When I say that somethin'
I want to hold your hand
- Voyd getting slammed by a blast from Zap’s ray gun, Ultra-Violet grabbing her hand and hauling her back to her feet
And when I touch you
I feel happy inside
It's such a feelin' that my love
I can't hide
- One night in front of the television, catching Violet next to her, watching her, not what was on the screen, Karen giving a shy smile and a slightly confused, questioning, shake of her head, hand reaching out to touch Violet’s hand in concern – only to have Violet go invisible with embarrassment, Karen pulling her hand back, suddenly bashful
Yeah, you got that somethin'
I think you'll understand
When I feel that somethin'
I want to hold your hand
“Violet, could you PLEASE play a different record?!” Bob hollered from the living room.
“Fine!” she yelled back from her room.
From where she was helping Dash with his math, Karen smiled as Violet flipped to the B-side and Paul began to sing:
“Well she was just seventeen
You know what I mean
And the way she looked
Was way beyond compare
So how could I dance with another,
Oh, when I saw her standing there…”