THIRTY-TWO

Invulnergirl had seen the pictures, read the stories but actually sitting in the passenger seat, next to the Athlete in the Heroic Jet was something else! The sleek private jet was able to vertically launch, using special thrusters underneath it. Next to enough passenger seat for the entire Heroic Alliance it was filled with high-tech computers and weapons. It felt surreal to be inside it.

The Athlete piloted the jet with great ease, taking it up in the air from the parking space he’d found on the roof of the hospital.

Invulnergirl couldn’t contain her enthusiasm, although she regretted it immediately. “Wow, awesome to be actually in the Heroic Jet!” The Athlete must think she is such a fangirl.

“It’s quite machine indeed,” the Athlete agreed. “Just one of the many great wonders of technology Digi-Man was able to create for us. It will have us at the Hoarder’s base in no time.”

“You actually know where he is? Aren’t supervillain lairs supposed to be hidden and top secret?” Invulnergirl wondered.

“Sure, but with the tech we have it’s hard for the baddies to keep their headquarters hidden from us. It’s just that often we are so busy saving the world or even multiverse it’s hard to find the time to take them down. And I can’t keep putting off doing my laundry either.”

“Laundry?” Invulnergirl wasn’t sure if the hero was joking.

“Sure. These outfits get smelly real fast with the amount of psychical feats we do on a deadly bases. And they’re often too expensive and made of too special kinds of material to have a closet full of.”

“That makes sense I guess. So, what do we do when we get to the Hoarder’s headquarters?”

The Athlete gave her a misschevious grin. “We kick his ass.”

Invulnergirl shrugged. “Gues that’s as good a plan as any.”

The athletic hero was so sure of himself… He didn’t seem to be worried he could be in danger at all. Like defeating a murderous supervillain wasn’t any more difficult than solving a crossword puzzle. She had a long way to go. Of course, the Athlete had been wearing that costume for more than ten years now. She still had time to get on that level.

Looking through the window of the Heroic Jet she could see they had left the city and were flying across the river now. The view was great.

“Still fifteen minutes to go until we arrive at Pasko City. Might be a good moment for you to go to the toilet,” the Athlete said.

“There’s a toilet in here?”

“Sure, sometimes we have to fly a long time. And nobody wants to have to go during a battle with killer cyborgs or mud monsters, right?”

“Sounds logical,” Invulnergirl had to admit.

After she came back from the onboard restroom the Athlete told her, “Almost there. You see that warehouse there? That’s where the Hoarder is based now.”

Invulnergirl could see the large warehouse coming closer throught the jet’s window. “A warehouse? Isn’t that a bit too obvious a villain’s headquarters?”

“Hey, there’s a reason it has become a trope. Guys like the Hoarder need a lot of space. And he’s got too many customers coming over to build a base in the middle of the ocean or in space. So, let’s see how invulnerable you are… I propose you jump out of the jet and clear a path for me. I will land the jet on the roof and follow you inside after you’ve disabled the boobytraps.”

“Boobytraps? Jump out of a plane?”

“Yeah, you said you were indestructible, right?”

“Sure. Yes. As far as I know. Sure.” It was all just a bit overwhelming to Invulnergirl. Doing this kind of daredevil superhero stuff felt a little bit crazy still. Like part of her knew she couldn’t get hurt but the primitive part of it told her it would be crazy to do something like that. Like bungee jumping or something.

The Athlete gave her a thumbs up. “Great, let me open the hatch. Good luck, girl!”