Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and Frozone soon arrived in a town car in front of DevTech headquarters. The modern skyscraper seemed to stretch up into the clouds. As they stepped out of the car, the driver handed each of them a security badge. Then he ushered them through the revolving door and into the building.

The sleek glass elevator rose to the top floor, offering an incredible view of the city below. When the doors opened, a man took their coats and led them into the enormous penthouse.

“I LOVE SUPERHEROES!” said a lively voice behind them. They turned to see Winston Deavor, beaming as he trotted down a curved staircase. “The powers, the costumes, the mythic struggles ...” he said as he crossed over to them. He introduced himself and shook their hands, enthusiastically singing each of their theme songs.

“I can’t tell you what a thrill this is,” said Winston as a woman entered the room. He gestured toward her. “And this is my tardy sister, Evelyn.”

“Hello there, Superheroes,” she said. “I’m late.” She turned to Winston and added, “I’m scolding myself so you don’t have to.”

Winston shot her a disapproving look and then turned back to the Supers, admiring their suits. “Spectacular,” he said. “Sporting the old suits from yesteryear, not the ones you wore earlier today with your kids.”

Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl swapped a look, visibly shaken by the fact that Winston Deavor knew their children.

He quickly responded. “You’re uncomfortable that I know your alter egos — that you two are married and have kids.” He told them they had nothing to worry about. “You probably don’t remember me,” he added, “but I worked for Rick Dicker for a short period, right before you all went underground.”

Frozone studied his face, and something suddenly clicked. “Yeah!” he said, recapturing the image in his mind. “Long hair?”

Winston nodded. “Dicker made me cut it. My father was SO proud that I was even remotely connected to you guys.” Looking over at a portrait of his father hanging on the wall, Winston explained that he had adored Supers. “He donated to Superhero causes, he raised money for the Dynaguy statue in Avery Park ...” Winston’s thoughts drifted to his parent’s admiration. “He got to know Supers personally, even installed a phone with direct lines to Gazerbeam and Fironic in case of emergencies. He loved that, showed it off to everyone ...” Winston’s voice trailed off as he paused for a moment, enjoying the fond memory. Then he snapped back to the conversation and fixed his gaze on the Supers. “He was heartbroken when you were all forced to go underground,” he said.

“Father believed the world would become more dangerous without you,” added Evelyn.

“He didn’t know how right he was,” said Winston. Then he shared a painful event from their childhood. One night, someone had broken into their family’s home. “My mother wanted to hide, but my father insisted they call Gazerbeam — on the direct line. No answer. He called Fironic; no answer. Superheroes had just been made illegal, but somehow he was sure they’d answer his call. The robbers discovered him on the phone ... and shot him.”

“Must have been hard,” said Elastigirl.

“Especially for Mother,” said Evelyn. “She died a few months later. Heartbreak.”

“If Superheroes had not been forced underground, it never would have happened. I’m sure of it,” said Winston.

“Or ... Dad could’ve taken Mom to the safe room as soon as he knew —” added Evelyn, a tinge of irritation to her voice.

“I disagree strongly,” Winston interrupted. “But we’re not going into it right now,” he added, his tone becoming light again. He turned to the Supers. “We’ve had this argument forever. Pay no attention. The point is — we picked ourselves up and put our energy into building DevTech.”

“A world-class telecommunications company,” said Frozone.

“Perfectly positioned to make some wrong things right. Hence this meeting!” said Winston.

Moments later, Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and Frozone were seated on a couch inside a screening room. Winston stood before them as Evelyn shut the blinds. “Let me ask you something. What is the main reason you were all forced underground?”

“Ignorance,” Mr. Incredible answered quickly.

“Perception,” said Winston.

Evelyn clicked a button on a remote, and footage from the Underminer attack appeared on a wall-sized screen. “Take today, for example, with the Underminer. Difficult situation. You were faced with a lot of hard decisions.”

“Ah, tell me about it,” said Mr. Incredible.

“I can’t,” said Winston. He leaned in dramatically. “Because I didn’t see it.” The Supers exchanged glances. “Neither did anyone else. So when you fight bad guys — like today — people don’t see the fight or what led up to it. They see what politicians tell them to see: they see destruction, and they see you.” Winston paused before continuing. “You know what they don’t see? This —”

Footage of a woman speaking to a camera appeared. “My car was headed over the edge, and suddenly, I felt this arm wrapping around me and pulling me out of my window to safety,” the woman said. “Elastigirl saved my life,” she added gratefully.

“Yeah, you’re darn straight, she did!” said Mr. Incredible.

The footage paused, freezing on the image, and Winston turned to the Supers. “If we want to change people’s perceptions about Superheroes, we need you to share your perceptions with the world.”

“How do we do that?” asked Elastigirl.

Evelyn put three separate images on the screen. Two of them showed different angles of Elastigirl’s face, and one showed Winston. It was footage from just minutes before. On the screen, Winston said, “We need you to share your perceptions with the world.”

Then Elastigirl asked her question. “How do we do that?”

Evelyn clicked the remote again, and a live feed appeared on the screen, showing the three Supers’ faces. Simultaneously, they looked down at the security badges clipped to their suits. “With cameras,” said Evelyn. She explained that they would sew tiny cameras into the fabric of their Supersuits.

Elastigirl was impressed. “That is so cool,” she said, inspecting the badge. She looked up at the screen, admiring the crystal clear images. “So small, and the picture is outstanding.”

Evelyn thanked her for the compliment. “Designed ’em myself.”

“Well, that’s fantastic,” said Mr. Incredible, getting more and more excited. “The public needs to be in our shoes.”

“All we need now are the Superest Superheroes. We need you three!” said Winston enthusiastically.

“But our family just had a run-in with the law,” said Elastigirl, bringing them all back to reality. “I can’t risk that happening again.”

“Understood — but do you change your kids to fit into a smaller world, or do you make the world larger for your kids?” asked Winston. “We’ve got resources, lobbyists, worldwide connections, and, most important, insurance.”

“Insurance is key,” said Mr. Incredible.

Winston explained that it would be their top priority. “You just be Super, and we’ll get the public on your side. We won’t stop until you’re all legal again,” he said.

“This sounds GREAT!” said Mr. Incredible. He slapped his hands together. “Let’s say we’re all in — what’s my first assignment?”

“That enthusiasm is golden,” Winston replied. “Hold on to it. But for our first move, Elastigirl is our best play.”

As Winston extended a hand to Elastigirl, Mr. Incredible stood, completely stunned, as if he had just been punched in the gut. “Better than ... me?” he asked, finally getting out a few words. Elastigirl cleared her throat and glared at her husband, and he stammered, “I mean, she’s good. She’s — uh — really a credit to her — uh, but ... I mean, you know?”

Winston smiled at Mr. Incredible. “With great respect, let’s not test the whole ‘insurance will pay for everything’ idea on the first go-round, okay?” he said gently, trying not to offend him.

Frozone clenched his lips together, trying to hold back the laughter that wanted to blast out of his mouth.

“Wait a minute — you’re saying, what, I’m ... messy?” said Mr. Incredible, still trying to process what was happening.

Winston handed Mr. Incredible a folder. He looked at it, bewildered, as Winston explained that Evelyn had compared the costs and benefits of their last five years of crime fighting. “Elastigirl’s numbers are self-explanatory,” he said.

Mr. Incredible shifted his weight uncomfortably. “Well, it’s not a fair comparison ...” he said, feeling the need to defend himself. “Heavyweight problems need heavyweight solutions.”

Winston smiled. “Of course, we’ll solve all kinds of problems together, after the perfect launch with Elastigirl,” he said brightly, wrapping up the meeting.

Evelyn turned to Elastigirl. “So, whaddya say?” she asked.

All eyes turned to Elastigirl, waiting for her response. “What do I say?” she said, stalling and looking over at Mr. Incredible. She chuckled. “I don’t know.” kUmXdzGmJnGFrlt23G1/oubPYzjasBb4Lagv9Gu7Y3RpTaVwMPf0HjIiuaIKZsm2