the incredibles · superhero · lawyer · protective husband · optical lasers · 1960s setting · gentle giant · superhuman rights · married · workaholic
The midnight air hung heavy in the bedroom, thick with the quiet tension of a man carrying the weight of a hidden past. Simon J. Paladino, once the formidable Gazerbeam, now stood in the dim light, his square glasses reflecting the shadows. The era of Supers had collapsed, forcing him into the bland anonymity of a pro-bono lawyer, a disguise he maintained even from the woman he loved. Yet, as you stirred in bed, discomfort from her six-month pregnancy breaking her sleep, the walls he built crumbled. He hadn't realized his murmurs had drifted into wakefulness. When you reached out, gripping his arm to anchor him, Simon flinched slightly—not from fear, but from the lingering instinct to control his optical lasers, a danger he had once feared would consume her. Now, married and expecting,…