《The Indestructible Invulnergirl》


 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Prologue

    PROLOGUE


    The apartment building was totally ablaze. Flames licked the concrete structure as firemen surrounded it, trying to put out the hungry fire with their hoses.


    An older, grizzled veteran of a fireman tells his younger colleague, ¡°I heard there¡¯s a kid in there. But there¡¯s no way we can get in there while the fire is that bad.¡±


    ¡°I think I can give it a try,¡± a voice said behind them.


    The firemen turned around them. Behind them was a young, athletic looking woman. A girl really. She was dressed in blue spandex and a mask that only left the bottom of her face visible. A brown ponytail sprouted from the back of her mask and she was wearing a pink beanie hat. Her boots and gloves were a dark brown.


    ¡°You¡¯ll die in there, lady. That fancy masked vigilante outfit won¡¯t protect you from the fire,¡± the older fireman said.


    ¡°Besides that, the building is going to collapse if the fire keeps burning like that,¡± the younger fireman said.


    ¡°It will make sense. That¡¯s why I¡¯m Invulnergirl,¡± the young woman told them. ¡°You see, I¡¯m indestructible. Invulnerable.¡±


    ¡°Huh, haven¡¯t heard of you before,¡± the old man said. ¡°You with the Heroic Alliance?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I¡¯m pretty new at this. Just let me do what I do best.¡± With those words she ran towards the burning building.


    The flames give off so much light Invulnergirl has to cover her eyes a bit as she walks into the building. While the flames lick her skin they don¡¯t hurt her. Her body ablaze she walks the stairs of the building.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Hey! Anybody in there? I¡¯m here to save you!¡± she yells as she moves through the hallways, banging on doors, scanning for anyone still in there.


    Then she hears a scream for help. ¡°Help! I¡¯m over here!¡±


    Squinting to see through the smoke Invulnergirl spots a young boy, about seven years old huddled in the corner of the hallway. She runs towards him. She tells him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get you out of there.¡±


    That¡¯s when part of the ceiling drops down on her, covering her with debris. If only she wasn¡¯t just invulnerable but also super strong. Then she would have been able to get the debris off of her in seconds. Now she was stuck under the large pieces of ceiling.


    The pieces of debris were slowly sliding off. Just enough so she could move her arms again and shove off the rest. She saw the boy push against the pieces of debris with all the strength he could muster.


    She was free of the debris and grabbed the boy¡¯s hand. ¡°Thanks a lot, kid. Now let¡¯s get out of here before more of the building collapses.¡±


    They made their way down the stairs, Invulnergirl covering the boy from harm with her indestructible body. Left and right pieces of the building started to collapse. She understood time was really running out.


    She told the boy, ¡°We¡¯re going to have to leave the building right now. It¡¯s really going to collapse now. Hold on to me.¡±


    ¡°Hold on?¡±


    She grabbed the boy in her arms and ran for a window. Protecting the boy with her body she jumped right through, what was left of the glass shattering. The ground rushed at them while behind them there was a loud rumble as the building collapsed. She landed on her back, holding the boy up in her arms, taking all of the impact of the wall. And where any regular person¡¯s back would have broken into pieces, Invulnergirl was totally unharmed.


    Firemen and paramedics came running at them. Quickly they took the boy from her, immediately putting him on a stretcher.


    ¡°Holy crap. Are you okay?¡± the older fireman asked Invulnergirl.


    The indestructible young woman got back on her feet, brushing off debris from her spandex. ¡°Yeah, totally. Told you I¡¯m invulnerable, right?¡±


    ¡°How? How can that be?¡± the fireman wondered.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a story, but I¡¯ll keep that to myself,¡± Invulnergirl said, smiling.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter One

    ONE


    Two Days Ago


    Katie Gleason walked out of the gym. Her cheerleaders¡¯ outfit clung to her sweaty body. That was quite a workout. Katie liked pushing her body to its limits.


    "Wow, Katie! You''re getting better by the day," the pretty Asian cheerleader next to her said.


    "Thanks, Akiro. Guess hard work pays off."


    "I work hard, but I''m nowhere near as good as you. You''re a natural. Ugh, wait... There''s that dork, Hank.." Akiro stuck out her tongue.


    A young man with longish hair, glasses and a Bowling For Soup T-shirt greeted them. "Hi, ladies... Katie, are you ready for tonight?"


    "Tonight?" Akiro asked and gave Katie a surprised look.


    "Yes, Hank is helping me with my math homework, the dear," Katie said. Akiro could be such a bitch sometimes. Katie liked Hank. He was brigh, kind and could be quite funny in his nerdish way.


    "Hmpf. All right," Akiro said.


    "I can help you as well," Hank offered Akiro.


    "I''d rather fail math," Akiro said. "Or swallow a frog." At that moment a big and handsome jock put an arm over her shoulder.


    "Hey, babe. Come, I''ll take you to the new Star Wars movie," the jock said.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Awesome, Frank!"


    As the couple walked off Katie told Hank, "Sorry about Akiro being such a bitch."


    "I''m used to it, don''t worry. Would love to see the new Star Wars, though."


    "Maybe if we make good progress with homework we can go together?"


    Excited, Hank clapped his hands together. "Great!"


    ¡°Just give me a minute to shower and I¡¯ll be right with you,¡± Katie said.


    Some time later Katie was on her scooter, Hank on the back.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to grip me that hard,¡± Katie said. ¡°I¡¯m not going that fast.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I get a bit nervous on these things,¡± Hank apologized. "Say, did you see Godling defeat those cyborgs on the news?"


    "Of course I did. Must be so awesome to be a superhero, right?"


    "Yeah! Sick! Did you know my dad used to work with Doc Proton?"


    "The Doc Proton? The superhero / scientist?"


    "The same. In fact, my dad is working on some pretty cool stuff right now. Let''s go say to him before we get to work."


    "Sounds good."


    The scooter stopped at a big bungalow. Katie had never been there and was quite impressed. They got off the scooter and went inside the house.


    "Dahaaaaaad? I want you to meet someone," Hank yelled as they walked in.


    "I''m in my lab, Hank!" a voice sounded.


    "Follow me," Hank said and opened a door that lead into a big room full of machines, monitors vials, cupboards, etc. Just what you would think a scientist''s lab in a comic book would look like.


    "Amazing!" Katie said. "I would have never figured this to be just in a room inside your house."


    "Some dudes have a mancave, my dad has a lab. Ever since mom died he spends most of his time here," Hank said.


    A tall, thin man with red hair in a labcoat greeted them. "Hi, kids!"


    "Mr. Connors! Nice to meet you," Katie said and shook his hand.


    "You must be Katie Gleason? My boy can''t shut up about you!" Hank''s dad said.


    "Oh?" Katie said. Hank blushed.


    "Err... Dad, why don''t you tell Katie what you''re working on right now?" Hank asked.


    Mr. Connors said, "Sure... Working with Doc Proton and watching Godling at work kinda inspired me. I got to work on this radiation that will alter the molecular structure of things. Or perhaps even people. It will make them indestructible."


    "What? That would be amazing!" Katie said.


    "Cool, right?" Hank told Katie, winking.


    Connors pointed at a large machine with what looked like a huge cannon on it. "That''s where they radiation comes from and..."


    It is that moment the wall exploded.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Two

    TWO


    Two Days Ago


    Four men wearing red skintight outfits and commando gear walked in through the hole in the wall the explosion left. They were carrying submachine guns. Red masks with big goggles covered their faces. Right after they entered a fifth man walked in, wearing the same outfit but instead of the red mask with goggles he was wearing a skull mask.


    "What?!" Connor says.


    "Oh god! That''s The Red Raider" Hank said.


    "Get down!" Katie yelled and tackled Hank to the ground. A barrage of machinegun fire barely missed him but hit the special radiation machine. It started to spark and fizzle, then explode. The explosion lifted Katie from her feet, throwing her across the room.


    "Take them all out!" The Red Raider said.


    "No! Leave us alone!" Connors said, running towards The Red Raider. The henchmen¡¯s guns crack several times. Connors is dead before his body hits the ground.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "Daaaaaaaaad!" Hank screamed and ran towards his father.


    The henchmen pointed their guns at Hank, ready to fire. Katie, having made it back on her feet again could only think of one thing to do. It was either the stupidest or most heroic thing she had ever done. She jumped in front of Hank, the bullets hitting her, but never penetrating her body. They only tickled a bit. She fell on top of Hank. Had a miracle just happened?


    "Sorry!" she said, her body covering that of the young man.


    "Sorry? You just saved my life! But how can it be those bullets didn''t kill you?"


    "No time for that. We will have to survive these guys first," Katie said. The adrenaline coursing through her veins was incredible. She just knew there was no time for long thoughts or fear. She had to take action if they were to survive.


    "We take the equipment, maybe we let you live," a henchman said.


    "No, kill them. You know how it is with these survivors. Before you know it they want revenge and put on a mask or something,¡± The Red Raider said.


    Katie understood this was their last chance. She jumped up, somersaulting, using her cheerleader training and natural athletic ability to the fullest. She landed on top of a henchman. She tackled him to the ground. Gritting her teeth, fueled by anger of seeing Connors getting killed, grabbed his gun and hit him in the face with it.


    The other henchmen fired their guns at her. The bullets just bounced off.


    "How?! Is she wearing kevlar or something?" The Red Raider wondered.


    Katie had never handled a gun in her life but figured it had to be easy enough. Just pull the trigger, right? She squeezed the trigger and as it shook in her hands bullets flew from it just past The Red Raider.


    "Damn! Let''s get out of here!" The Red Raider said, apparently not sure what to do with someone able to fight back, someone not hurt by gunfire. He ran off, the henchmen following him. The sound of motorcycles starting. Then that of sirens in the distance.


    "I think this is the start of a very strange time," Katie thought.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Three

    THREE


    Two Days Ago


    Katie had been holding Hank, hugging him as he cried the entire time until the arrive of the police. There were a lot of them, brandishing their guns. They were of course way too late.


    After a brief explanation by Katie they called in a detective. Hank had been too shocked and full of grief to tell them anything.


    The detective that arrived was a heavyset Latino woman with a pretty face and tastefully applied make up. She wore tan slacks and a black blazer. She told them she was Detective Manuela Ortiz. Katie told her who she and Hank were.


    ¡°Is any of you in need of medical attention?¡± Ortiz asked them.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± Katie said.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m not hurt,¡± Hank answered.


    ¡°What happened here?¡± Ortiz asked.


    ¡°I was just visiting my friend Hank. He was introducing me to his dad. Then the wall just exploded,¡± Katie told her. ¡°These guys in red masks came in as well as this guy with a skull mask.¡±


    ¡°Damn, The Red Raider!¡± Ortiz said.


    ¡°Yes, I think so,¡± Katie answered. ¡°They seemed to be after the technology in the lab.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Ortiz nodded. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s their M.O. They raid tech.¡±


    ¡°They just came in shooting. They shot professor Connors. Hank and I managed to duck, evading their bullets.¡±


    ¡°That must have been quite scary,¡± Ortiz said. There was a lot empathy coming from her large, dark eyes. She seemed nice.


    ¡°Very,¡± Katie said.


    ¡°So then what happened?¡±


    Katie thought about what to say. Should she tell she suddenly seemed to have become indestructible after the machine exploded? She was afraid that would mean they¡¯d want to study her in labs and stuff. She didn¡¯t feel like that right now. She just wanted to be a regular high school kid and concentrate on cheerleading. ¡°Then I guess they heard the sirens and ran off. I figure someone must have called 911 after hearing the explosion.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. I guess you two could use some rest now and some professional help.¡± Ortiz handed Katie a card. ¡°Here¡¯s some numbers for you. Call them. And Hank¡­ I¡¯m very sorry for your loss. Now I need you two to leave the crime scene please. The folks from Forensics will want to have a look here.¡±


    Katie took Hank by the hand and they slowly walked away from the crime scene. Hank¡¯s hand was shaking. She squeezed his hand, looked him straight in the eye and swore, ¡°I¡¯ll help you get through this.¡±


    Tears flowing from his eyes he told her, ¡°I have no idea how to get through something like this. First my mom dies from cancer, now this¡­ How do you get over something like this?¡±


    Katie was at a loss for words for a moment. Both her parents were still alive. In fact, she¡¯d seen little tragedy in her life. Not hard to be positive the, right? She¡¯d always been the popular girl. Cheerleader, good grades, all the boys seemed to want her and all the girls seemed to want to be her. She felt very bad. Not just for Hank, but in a way about how privileged she¡¯d been all her life without really appreciating it. Maybe this, this tragedy and the stranger power she¡¯d received from the explosion had come on her path to appreciate her situation better and do something positive, help people who weren¡¯t as fortunate as she was. How? She had no idea yet.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, Hank. But I will be there for you. Whenever you need me to be. Let¡¯s get to my place. My mom and dad will be there for you as well.¡±


    Hank nodded. He hugged Katie. She held him again. Poor kid. Things couldn¡¯t get any worse, could they?

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Four

    FOUR


    One Day Ago


    Katie¡¯s parents had taken care of Hank as she knew they would. They hugged him, got him dinner and made sure he his bed in the guestroom was made up. They told him they would be there for him until the details were worked out where he would stay.


    Katie was staring at the ceiling in her bedroom. She was trying to come to grips with what had just happened. Had she really become invulnerable? It sounded incredible but in a world where heroes like Johnny Bubblegum was running around the streets at superspeed, Godling flew through the air and Octo Boy was slinging around the city with octopus arms anything was possible. She just never thought she¡¯d get superpowers herself. Well, powers¡­ Just one. And probably not one with a lot of use as a superhero. Okay, maybe she couldn¡¯t get hurt. That would be no real use in a fight. Although she had to hand it to herself, she took care of the Red Raider¡¯s henchmen pretty well. Not that she had any urge to become a superhero. She was busy enough with cheerleader practice and homework. Still, she couldn¡¯t help but feel she should use her power to make a difference somehow.


    There was a knock on the door.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Katie said.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Hank. I can¡¯t sleep.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Come in,¡± Katie said, drawing the covers over her My Little Pony nightgown.


    Hank walked in, wearing her dad''s old pajamas, being a size too big. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Sit down,¡± Katie said, tapping a spot on her bed. Hank sat down.


    ¡°I really can¡¯t sleep. I keep wondering what will happen to me now that I¡¯m an orphan. I have no family left. And I just keep seeing Red Raider¡¯s mask staring at me. I¡¯m scared. So scared.¡±


    Katie hugged Hank. ¡°I¡¯m indestructible now. That means I can protect you. You¡¯ll be okay. We¡¯ll work it out.¡±


    Hank cried. ¡°You have been so good to me. Me, just a stupid geek kid.¡±


    Katie wiped his tears with her fingers. ¡°You¡¯re a nice guy, Hank. You deserve a good and loyal friend.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­ That makes me feel a bit better. But not as much as seeing Red Raider in jail.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure the cops will do their best to catch him.¡±


    ¡°The cops in this place don¡¯t have too good a record of catching supervillains. If we didn¡¯t have Johnny Bubblegum this city would be ruled by them. Red Raider has been around for years now. And every heist he pulls he gets more technology making him more and more invincible.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll get him eventually. Hasn¡¯t Godling shown us all that good always overcomes evil?¡±


    ¡°Tell that to my dad.¡±


    Katie didn¡¯t know what to say to that. And it was true that Johnny Bubblegum and Godling seemed so busy these days fighting alien invaders, huge monsters and world conquering tyrants their time to go up against the slightly more B-list villains seemed lacking. The cops lacked the time and resources as well.


    ¡°You have to stay positive. If you don¡¯t, the villains will win.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. You are always so positive! How do you manage that?¡±


    Katie shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m a cheerleader, right? It¡¯s my job to stay positive and spread the positive cheer.¡±


    Hank chuckled. ¡°I guess. You¡¯re great, Katie. I really feel a bit better. I¡¯m going to try and sleep again. Good night.¡±


    Katie kissed Hank goodnight on his forehead. He blushed and left the room. Katie thought about the positive impact she seemed to have had on Hank. Maybe aside from being invulnerable she had another superpower. The power of positivity and good cheer.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Five

    FIVE


    One Day Ago


    Katie was having breakfast with Hank and her parents. Her mom, a brunette like she was, served them pancakes. Katie was almost amazed her mom always managed to get her make-up on before breakfast. Looking perfect in a blazer and skirt, ready for her work as an Assistant D.A.


    ¡°I hope you like pancakes, Hank,¡± she said.


    Hank nodded. ¡°I love them. Thank you so very much!¡±


    ¡°I called school. It¡¯s okay to stay home. There will be quite some stuff to arrange. Mike will help you.¡±


    Katie¡¯s dad, Mike, put a hand on the kid¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll deal with it, buddy.¡± As a freelance writer Mike was able to work from home. Where Katie¡¯s mom, Marjorie, always looked perfect her dad preferred to wear jogging pants and geeky T-shirt around the house.


    The radio was on, as Marjorie liked to hear the morning news when she got up. Katie¡¯s interested was peaked when she heard the newscaster say, ¡°¡­the firefighters are busy fighting the fire with all their might but there is talk about some people trapped inside the building¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s terrible! What a nightmare that must be, trapped inside a burning building like that!¡± Katie said.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Yes. Poor people. I hope the firemen get them out,¡± Mike said. ¡°Such heroes, those guys.¡±


    ¡°I do hope so as well. It won¡¯t be easy though,¡± Marjorie said. ¡°A burning building is so very dangerous. You¡¯re not just dealing with the fire but with the risk of the building collapsing as well.¡±


    Katie thought about that. Regular firemen ran the risk of burning, being crushed by the collapsing building. But if she was really invulnerable she wouldn¡¯t be at risk at all, right?


    ¡°And then of course there¡¯s the smoke,¡± Marjorie said.


    Okay, maybe there would be some risk. She had no idea if inhaling the smoke could hurt the new invulnerable her. But for sure she would have a better chance at surviving something like that than the firemen. She couldn¡¯t just sit there doing nothing, right?


    She stood from the table. ¡°I totally forgot to put some stuff in my bag for school today. Gotta run, sorry.¡±


    Before her parents could protest she ran up the stairs to her room. She really felt she needed to try and make a difference over at the fire. She also didn¡¯t want people to know she had these superpowers until she was sure what she wanted to do with them. So she went through her closet, looking for the dark blue spandex costume she¡¯d worn for Halloween. She was dressed up as a female version of Thespian. It was quite a hit among the boys, but mainly for the skintight way it clung to her body, not for how much she looked like the superhero. She found it. It had a mask attached she quickly cut up a bit so it wasn¡¯t Thespian¡¯s mask anymore. She put on some brown boots and gloves on as well. She looked into the mirror and felt something was missing. She put on a brown belt she had in a drawer. Still not right. It looked a bit too dark. She put on a pink beanie. Perfect. Now to get away from there as fast as possible. She decided the quickest way out of there was the window.


    She opened the window and jumped from it. With her athletic abilities she landed on her feet a like cat, her invulnerability making sure she wasn¡¯t hurt. She got on her scooter and sped off to the fire, ready to play the hero as only an invulnerable girl could. She chuckled a bit, thinking ¡°I¡¯m an Invulnergirl now.¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Six

    SIX


    One Day Ago


    The Red Raider was drinking a can of beer in his lair, his skull mask pulled up so he could drink. His four henchmen were doing the same. The place is just packed with crates, boxes, wires, machines, monitors, computers. So much they are all sitting on boxlike machines themselves.


    ¡°I¡¯d never seen that chick before. She did some pretty superheroic stuff though. Just what this city needs. Another superpowered do-gooder,¡± The Red Raider said.


    ¡°At least she was kinda hot looking,¡± one of the henchmen piped in.


    The Red Raider threw his can at the henchman. ¡°Shut up, idiot!¡±


    The other henchmen chuckled.


    ¡°You think this is funny? More and more of these superfreaks are showing up. It is getting harder and harder to raid tech. And all the tech we raid has to go into fighting these bastards. We need to go bigger if we are to survive. We need to ally ourselves with the others.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°The others?¡± a henchman questioned.


    ¡°Yeah, folks like Doctor Mozart, Speed Metal, King Winter¡­¡±


    ¡°What about The Balloon Clown?¡± a henchman suggested.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky I don¡¯t have another can handy,¡± The Red Raider said.


    ¡°I actually heard he gave Johnny Bubblegum a hard time once,¡± the henchman said.


    ¡°That pink clad idiot is as big an idiot as The Balloon Clown. But why not, if the Clown wants to ally himself with us, guess he¡¯s welcome. We¡¯re going to take over this town. In fact, I have an online meeting scheduled with King Winter right now.¡± With those words he switched on a computer screen. A man clad in blue and white spandex, his face half covered by a mask appeared on the screen. He was wearing a crown that seemed to be made from ice.


    ¡°Hello Raider,¡± the man said.


    ¡°King Winter. Good to see you,¡± The Raider said.


    ¡°Same here. Haven¡¯t seen you since we took on The Athlete a few years back. That do-gooder was lucky Godling showed up to break the ice from him.¡±


    ¡°He sure was. We made a pretty good team then, however. On that note¡­ I am thinking about getting a group together. Take out the local heroes and take over the city.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty huge plan. Not the kind of stuff we usually do,¡± Winter King said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sick and tired of thinking small and getting defeated by these powered idiots. If we stand together, they won¡¯t stand a chance. You¡¯ve been at this for quite some time¡­ Maybe you can call some of the other guys?¡±


    King Winter thought about that for a moment, then said, ¡°Sure. I can probably get Speed Metal to join. Maximizer. Queen Neanderthal. Balloon Clown.¡±


    ¡°Balloon Clown?¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t knock him. He¡¯s got some pretty nifty gadgets and held his own against Digi-Man a few months back.¡±


    ¡°All right. Give them a call. We¡¯re going to show these heroes hell.¡±


    ¡°I guess it will be a cold day in hell then,¡± King Winter joked.


    The Red Raider clenched his fist. ¡°Dead cold.¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Seven

    SEVEN


    Katie parked her scooter with squealing breaks. She had to really hurry to be in time for class. Her spandex outfit went into her backpack, no time to put on some make-up. It had been quite some time she¡¯d ever arrived at school without it. She hopped off the scooter and ran inside the school. The halls, she noticed were already empty. She was afraid to get into trouble, but figured saving that young boy in the fire was worth it.


    She stumbled into the classroom, English class already in session. Mister Parker didn¡¯t appreciate here coming in late. And he was one of the younger, cooler teachers. Parker was a thin man wearing Ramones and Anthrax shirts underneath his blazers. His glasses managed to give him that teacher look though.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t young Miss Gleason,¡± Parker said and glanced at his watch. ¡°We went ahead and started without you since you¡¯re ten minutes late.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Katie said. ¡°I ran into to some trouble on the way.¡±


    ¡°Some kind of trouble involving fire and smoke?¡± Parker asked.


    Katie¡¯s heart skipped a beat. How could he know that? Was her secret identity in danger the first day of her superhero career? ¡°Huh? Why?¡±


    Parker put a finger on his left cheek. ¡°There¡¯s some soot on your cheek there.¡±


    Katie wiped her cheek and had a look at her hand. It carried a black smudge. ¡°Oh, this. Yeah, well. It¡¯s just some dirt from my scooter. Engine problem.¡±


    ¡°Have a quick seat. For this one time, since you¡¯re never late I will allow it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much,¡± Katie said and had a seat next to Akiro. She was dressed perfectly as always, tight jeans, pink top and some jewelry.


    ¡°No make-up? Did you sleep over at a guy¡¯s place?¡± Akiro whispered to Katie.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°What? No!¡± Katie answered a little too loud.


    ¡°I would appreciate it if you would keep it down now, Katie. You interrupted my class once already. I won¡¯t accept a third time,¡± Parker warned.


    Katie made a locking motion with her hand in front of her mouth to show she would be quiet. Parker smiled and continued his lecture.


    Katie was unable to concentrate on what Parker said, though. She couldn¡¯t stop thinking about what would happen to Hank now he was an orphan. Where would he live? Aside from those thoughts she was also full of adrenaline still from her adventure in the burning building. It had been a bit scary to go in there, but it also had felt so amazingly good to save that kid. She could kind of understand why folks like Johnny Bubblegum and The Athlete did what they did. The rush, the feeling to do something good were so intoxicating.


    ¡°¡­so where did the saying about something being rotten in Denmark come from, Katie?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Katie only barely registered the question from Mr. Parker.


    ¡°Katie, I know you went through some stuff with Hank. I think it would be good if you went to the school nurse and see if you can get some professional help learning to cope with it,¡± Parker told her. ¡°Maybe you should just go over there now.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right,¡± Katie said and left her desk. She could hear whispers behind her. It sounded like not everyone had heard the news about Red Raider¡¯s attack yet. She really didn¡¯t want to be treated differently in class. Best to go with the flow, though.


    The school nurse, Betty Taylor, was a stout, red-haired woman in her fifties. Usually when Katie visited her it was to get patched up from some kind of bruise or scrape after falling down during some kind of cheerleader maneuver.


    ¡°I heard about what happened. That must have been quite traumatizing,¡± Betty said.


    ¡°A bit, I guess. But nowhere as much for me as for Hank,¡± Katie said.


    ¡°I can help you get some professional help, dear.¡±


    ¡°I really think I¡¯ll be okay. I just need some time to think.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should stay home a few days to start with, just like Hank did. You may not have lost your parents but it can be quite upsetting to be a murder witness I figure.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Some days away from school would be good,¡± Katie agreed.


    ¡°If that doesn¡¯t help, let me know. We¡¯ll get you the help you need,¡± nurse Taylor promised her.


    ¡°Thank you so very much. Will you arrange things with the principal?¡±


    ¡°I will, sweetie. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    After getting a hug from the nurse Katie left the office. She figured a few days away from school, getting to figure out how her powers worked and what to do with them would be a good idea. Walking out of the school building she noticed something in the air. Someone. Godling, flying by. What a hunk, with his long black hair and muscular body. She couldn¡¯t really see herself as one of the heroes like Godling. She was just an average high school kid who¡¯d just happened to get some superpower. Right?

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Eight

    EIGHT


    Katie was on her way back home on her scooter. Nurse Katie was such a nice woman, taking care of some sick days for her to get over the death of Hank¡¯s dad. She figured the event should have been quite traumatic to her. Honestly though, the fact that she¡¯d gotten the power of invulnerability during the event kept her mind too busy for any trauma. She was just filled with a sense of curiosity and wonder like she¡¯d never felt before.


    Her thoughts were interrupted by two police cars speeding by, sirens flashing. She wondered what was going on. Maybe it was something she could assist with? Helping the firemen save a kid that morning had felt so good¡­ She followed the police cars.


    She saw them park next to some other police cars. The cops were standing next to a barricade of patrol cars, all with their guns drawn. They were parked at the Moulton City Bank. Katie parked the scooter at the street corner, slipping into a deserted alley. There she got her costume from her backpack and slipped it on.


    She walked over to the cops. One of them, a freckled, young one, spotted her.


    ¡°Get back! It¡¯s dangerous here!¡±


    ¡°I laugh at danger. Or at least giggle,¡± Invulnergirl said, giving the cops her best superheroic pose, confidently crossing her arms.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°You some kind of new superheroine?¡± the cop asked.


    ¡°Name¡¯s Invulnergirl. I¡¯m indestructible.¡±


    ¡°Well, we could use a superhero right now, I guess,¡± the cop said. Then he hollered, ¡°Sarge!¡±


    A muscular black cop walked over to the freckled cop. His head was shaven, his chin was covered with a goatee and he was wearing glasses. He was as imposing as a superhero. ¡°What¡¯s up, Junior?¡±


    The freckled cop pointed at Invulnergirl. ¡°We¡¯ve got a superheroine on the scene.¡±


    The sergeant scowled at Invulnergirl. ¡°Who are you supposed to be? Never seen you before.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m new, I¡¯m the indestructible Invulnergirl.¡± She did her best to still look heroic  even though she felt a bit intimidated by the big cop.


    ¡°I¡¯m sergeant Vic Epps. I don¡¯t like working with you super-types much. Usually all you do is create a lot of damage and draw in a lot of supervillains and monsters out for revenge. But I guess you might be able to help here if you¡¯re really indestructible.¡±


    ¡°Tell me more,¡± Invulnergirl said.


    ¡°According to the security cameras at the bank there are three armed robbers in there, holding the people in there hostage. We¡¯ve been trying to negotiate with them. They demand a helicopter to arrive within half an hour or they start shooting people. We won¡¯t be able to make that deadline though.¡±


    Invulnergirl nodded. She knew the bullets from the robbers would be unable to hurt her. But how would she prevent them from hurting the hostages? And would she be able to defeat the robbers? It¡¯s not like she was a trained fighter. She might have held her own against the Red Raider¡¯s henchmen before, but that was probably part due to the adrenaline and anger rushing through her veins. She couldn¡¯t really just walk off now, could she?


    ¡°I¡¯ll go in there,¡± she told Sgt. Epps.¡±


    ¡°But how will you get in there before they shoot the hostages?¡± Epps wondered.


    Invulnergirl glanced at one of the patrol cars. ¡°Full speed ahead.¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Nine

    NINE


    Invulnergirl just opened the door to one of the police cars and got behind the wheel. Protests of the policemen that she couldn¡¯t do that she just ignored. If it was because they were actually thinking she might be able to solve the hostages, the respect and awe for someone looking like a superhero or they were just too dumbfounded she didn¡¯t know. What she did know was that she was going to get only one chance at this.


    The key was still in the ignition. She turned and stepped on the gas. Gritting her teeth she drove towards the bank at top speed. The car plowed right through the bank¡¯s door. Wood, glass, plaster splintered and rained down on it. She saw one of the bank robbers get thrown against the car window, his gun flying out of his hands. She knocked her head against the steering wheel as she stepped on the brakes. That didn¡¯t hurt her at all.


    She got out of the car, running towards the hostages. The two criminals that were still on their feet aimed automatic rifles at her. She smiled, boy where they in for a surprise. She did her best to just catch the bullets the robbers fired, making sure they hit her invulnerable body, not those of the hostages.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± one of the robbers said as his gun made a dry click, all bullets spend.


    The other robber went for a pistol he had in a shoulderrig. ¡°I¡¯m going to shoot her in the head.¡±


    Invulnergirl stepped forward, putting her forehead against the pistol as the robber fired. Empty shells hit the floor. She was unharmed. Amazed, the robber removed the gun from her head and looked at it, like trying to understand why it hadn¡¯t killed her. She gave him a headbutt, splintering his nose as he went down.


    The other robber started to club Invulnergirl with the stock of his automatic rifle. After she was tired of him annoying her, she did a spin kick, catching him right in the jaw. She then hit him right in the face. He went down, just like his partner.


    The hostages cheered. Invulnergirl assumed a heroic pose. She had to admit that adoration and applause felt pretty good. Even better than the applause she got as a cheerleader.


    The SWAT-team had entered the bank, guns drawn. ¡°Freeze!¡±


    ¡°Guys, I think you can lower the guns and get out the handcuffs,¡± Invulnergirl told them.


    Sergeant Epps appeared as well now. He looked annoyed. ¡°That was a really stupid move!¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? All hostages are unhurt and the bad guys are all out like a light. Sounds like a hell of a move,¡± Invulnergirl said.


    Epps pointed an angry finger. ¡°You got lucky. But what if they shot the hostages out of panic when you came riding in like that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just annoyed I did what you couldn¡¯t,¡± Invulnergirl said. ¡°Now if you don¡¯t mind, I have to split. My favorite CW show will be starting in half an hour.¡±


    With those words she ran out of the building, the hostages applauding.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Ten

    TEN


    The Hole was the sleaziest bar in the sleaziest part of the city. That evening the doors were closed, but there was light inside. Nobody uninvited would think about knocking on the door. The bar had that kind of reputation. It was there that The Raider and his new potential allies had gathered.


    Sitting around a large table filled with booze were quite a few colorful characters, all notorious villains. The Raider knew them all from reputation, though not all personally. There was the guy with metal arms, a leather jacket and long hair called Speed Metal. A bald, muscular guy clad in red spandex with a huge M on his chest, Maximizer. A guy in a clown outfit, Balloon Clown. An attractive but muscular woman wearing a bearskin for a dress, Queen Neanderthal. And there was King Winter.


    ¡°Good to see you all. Thank you for coming. Today will be the first day of our new, successful criminal careers. Today is the day we band together to defeat the supers that plague our daily operations,¡± The Raider told the villains.


    ¡°Queen Neanderthal not yet agree. We not friends,¡± the muscular lady said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Speed Metal snarled. ¡°Why would we join forces with you? I¡¯m not much of a team player. I¡¯m just here for the free booze. And please, put on some heavy metal. That blues rock is boring me.¡±


    ¡°Leave it on!¡± Maximizer said. ¡°I love the blues.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re a boring old shit,¡± Speed Metal told Maximizer.


    Maximizer stood from his chair, growing three heads bigger, dwarfing the less muscular Speed Metal. ¡°Say that again and I will smash you!¡±


    Speed Metal moved with incredible speed, his hands morphing into knives. He suddenly had his knives touching Maximizer¡¯s genitals. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    The Raider and King Winter interfered, pushing the two arguing villains away from each other.


    ¡°Come on, take it easy. The Raider has some good stuff to say. Listen to the man, chill out,¡± King Winter said.


    Speed Metal groaned. ¡°Chill out¡­ Puns are so lame.¡±


    Balloon Clown laughed a hysterical laugh. ¡°I love puns, hee-hee-hee!¡±


    The Raider continued his speech. ¡°Thank you, King Winter. This was a good example why the heroes manage to defeat us. They work together, banding together in teams like The Heroic Alliance and the Teens Supreme while we fight each other. Imagine if we put aside our differences and worked together¡­ Think about what that would bring us. The money, the power.¡±


    ¡°You already had me with money,¡± Balloon Clown said.


    ¡°And I guess you will be our leader then?¡± Speed Metal guffawed.


    The Raider shrugged. ¡°Do you think you would make a better leader?¡±


    ¡°As I told you, I don¡¯t play well with others.¡±


    ¡°Then you can of course just leave. More money and more power to us,¡± The Raider said.


    ¡°I will stick around a bit longer. You seem pretty sure of yourself,¡± Speed Metal had to admit.


    ¡°That is because I have been leading a group of armed criminals for years now. I have been doing pretty well for myself. Imagine if I had a group of not only armed, but also superpowered criminals to lead. What a success that would be.¡±


    ¡°If I say I¡¯m in. Where do we start?¡± Maximizer asked.


    ¡°Glad you asked,¡± The Raider said. ¡°We start by destroying the police department. With that out of the way we only need to concentrate on the supers. Soon the city will be ours!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll drink to that!¡± King Winter said and toasted with a cold beer.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Eleven

    ELEVEN


    Hank, Katie and her mom and dad were having dinner. Hank was spearing some peas on his fork that seemed to be intent on evading it. He seemed to be lost in thought. Katie had been a vegetarian for a year now and mom had become better and better at cooking without the use of meat. Some days though, it just meant she ate the peas and mashed potatoes and the pork chops just went to her dad.


    ¡°What do you think about this new hero,¡± Katie¡¯s dad asked her mom.


    Katie started to feel uncomfortable. She had a feeling she knew what new hero he was talking about.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Mom asked.


    ¡°Well, as an Assistant AD I was wondering what your stance is on her? I mean, she seemed to be a bit reckless from what I heard on the news. Should the city allow these so-called superheroes to roam around our streets? Or should they just let the people who know what they¡¯re doing protect our streets. You know, the police.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s complicated, dear. I can¡¯t deny heroes like Johnny Bubblegum have been quite helpful in assisting the police of Moulton. Just like The Athlete has been doing in Washington, DC and Godling in New Troy.¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s the older, more experienced guys. But what about someone like Octo Boy? The new heroes. Don¡¯t they just cause more trouble? They sure seem to attract more supervillains.¡±


    ¡°That was never proven!¡± Katie piped up.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Her parents looked at her, surprised of the vigorous way she protested.


    ¡°Well, she is right,¡± Mom said. ¡°We don¡¯t know if there are actually more villains here because of the heroes or the other way around.¡±


    ¡°I seem to recall that a few years ago The Warlord of Pluto tore the city apart just to draw out Johnny Bubblegum and settle his personal feud with the hero. Without that Bubblegum, we wouldn¡¯t have had to rebuild a large part of our fair city,¡± Dad argued, stopping a moment from chewing his pork chops.


    ¡°My dad getting killed sure had nothing to do with any superhero,¡± Hank said angry. He dropped his fork and stormed away from the table.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry! Kid, listen¡­¡± Dad apologized.


    Mom got up, ready to go after Hank. Katie put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Let me.¡±


    She followed Hank who stormed into the guestroom that was Hank¡¯s home now. He smashed the door behind him. Katie knocked.


    ¡°Go away!¡± Hank yelled.


    ¡°Come on, Hank¡­ Talk to me¡­ Dad didn¡¯t mean it like that. Please, let me in.¡±


    ¡°All right, go ahead,¡± Hank¡¯s voice sounded.


    Katie walked in. Hank was sitting on his bed, crying. Katie sat next to him, hugged him. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Hank. It¡¯s just¡­ Dad¡¯s into this philospcal discussions. Probably the writer-side of him or something.¡±


    ¡°I know, I don¡¯t blame him. It¡¯s just¡­ It annoys me to have a city full of heroes, but none of them were there to save dad. Well, at least you were there so save me. I¡¯m not stupid either, Katie. I know that you are this Invulnergirl that saved those hostages. The superpowers match, as does the physique. We never really talked about what has happened to you after the explosion at my dad¡¯s. I was too busy with my sadness, and you too busy taking care of me to talk about it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah that¡¯s me. Moulton City¡¯s new indestructible champion,¡± Katie admitted. ¡°And dad was right, I don¡¯t really know what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    ¡°You really seemed to know what you were doing when you saved me. Maybe you¡¯re a natural at this.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. In hindsight I¡¯m not sure if I had the right approach with that hostage situation.¡±


    ¡°You saved the hostages and took down the bad guys. Sounds right to me,¡± Hank said.


    Katie smiled. ¡°Ah, shucks¡­¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Twelve

    TWELVE


    Hank gave Katie an earnest look, sitting next to her on his bed. ¡°Katie, I want you to avenge my father¡¯s death.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a detective, Hank. I don¡¯t know where The Raider and his henchmen are hanging out.¡±


    ¡°You could ask around. Beat up some thugs, try to have them tell you where they are. That¡¯s what superheroes do, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to think what they do is protect the innocent. Not randomly beating up lowlifes.¡±


    ¡°I think it is part of it. You need to find out where The Raider is and kill him.¡±


    Katie couldn¡¯t believe what Hank was saying. The anger in his eyes startled her. Hank had always been a mellow, sweet boy. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. I¡¯m not killing anyone! That¡¯s against the law. And that is certainly not something a superhero would do.¡±


    ¡°What about Gunmancer? And I seem to remember The Thespian killing some people last year.¡±


    Katie ticked off her points on her fingers. ¡°One, Gunmancer is a mercenary. Two, The Thespian did that in self-defense. That was not a premeditated murder.¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°So we just hope another hero or the cops track him down and arrest him? Then what? You know how often these villains escape from jail. The Raider will be out of jail in days and will victimize more innocent people. He needs to be stopped.¡±


    Katie shook her head vehemently. ¡°No, no, no, no! Don¡¯t say things like that. If I keep doing this superhero-thing I¡¯m going to do it the right way, for the right reasons. As a protector, not a psycho vigilante.¡±


    ¡°If you won¡¯t stop him, I will,¡± Hank said, fists clenched.


    ¡°You will? What do you mean? You don¡¯t want to after him yourself I hope? He¡¯ll kill you in an instant.¡±


    ¡°Someone has to stop that creep and avenge my dad,¡± Hank said. ¡°I will have to make sure I¡¯m up to the task.¡±


    ¡°Hank, dear sweet Hank¡­ I can understand you¡¯re hurting¡­ But please don¡¯t do anything stupid. That¡¯s nothing like you. Even if you don¡¯t get killed yourself, you¡¯ll land in jail. Killing people is not right.¡±


    ¡°I thought I could count on you!¡±


    ¡°You can. To help ease your pain, to listen to you, to hug you. I will be there at your dad¡¯s funeral tomorrow, holding your hand. But I will not kill for you or anyone else.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re going to be one of those useless heroes that only serve the revolving door of the justice system?¡±


    ¡°I want to be a hero that inspires. Not one that is feared. That¡¯s not how this thing should be done.¡±


    ¡°I knew I shouldn¡¯t have asked you. Just forget I did.¡±


    Katie squeezed Hank¡¯s hand. ¡°Promise me you won¡¯t do anything stupid. Promise me.¡±


    Hank shook his head, tearing his hand away from Katie. ¡°No promises. Just leave me alone.¡±


    ¡°All right. If that¡¯s the way you want it,¡± Katie said and stood. She walked out the door. As the door slammed shut behind her, a tear slid down her face.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Thirteen

    THIRTEEN


    Hank appreciated Katie and her parents being there during the service for his dead. Katie had comforted him, held his hand as he cried all the way during the speeches. Not many people had shown up. His dad had always been too busy inventing stuff to start or maintain many friendships. He had no family. Hank felt a bit bad about his little tiff with Katie the night before. That hadn¡¯t changed his mind though. He needed to avenge his father¡¯s death. And that was why he was in one the seediest places in the city.


    The alley behind the Miller Club was known to be a place where illegal deals were struck. Contact was made inside, the goods were paid for and delivered behind it. Usually it was drugs, sometimes something else. Something even more deadly.


    Hank was feeling quite some unease, talking to the big, bald guy in a leather jacket and the Latino guy with a scarred face in the alley there. It was a necessity though.


    Bald Guy said, ¡°Show me the money and I will show you the piece.¡±


    Hank nodded. He got an envelope out of his jacket. He opened it, showing the money it contained.


    ¡°Gimme,¡± Bald Guy said.


    ¡°I may be young, I¡¯m not stupid,¡± Hank said. He tried to sound tough but couldn¡¯t exactly hide how dry his throat was. ¡°You show me the piece now first.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Bald Guy chuckled. ¡°Nice, kid. Santiago, show him the thing.¡±


    The Latino¡¯s hand went into his jacket. When it came out it was holding a futuristic looking gun.


    ¡°There it is. Hundred percent alien technology. This one will blast anything to pieces.¡±


    ¡°Prove it works,¡± Hank said.


    Santiago grinned. He pointed the gun at Hank, who almost wet his pants. Santiago fired, an energy blast whizzing by Hank. Hank turned, watching the blast fly and hit a garbage container. Nothing but metal dust was left of it.


    ¡°Satisfied?¡± Santiago asked.


    Hank nodded. Bald Guy grabbed the envelope from Hank and counted the money.


    That¡¯s when the sirens sounded.


    ¡°You set us up!¡± Bald Guy screamed at Hank.


    ¡°No, I swear I didn¡¯t!¡± Hank said.


    Santiago pointed the blaster at Hank. ¡°I will kill you for that!¡±


    A loud crack. Santiago dropped the gun, blood spilling from his chest.


    Hank turned, identifying the source of the gunshot. It was Sergeant Epps, holding a smoking pistol. He was flanked by six other policemen.


    ¡°Freeze, all of you!¡± Epps said. ¡°You¡¯re all under arrest!¡±


    Bald Guy grabbed Hank, using him as a shield. ¡°I¡¯ll kill the kid if you don¡¯t let me go.¡±


    Epps said, ¡°You saw what I did to your buddy. I¡¯m a very excellent shot. You want me to shoot you through the head? I don¡¯t do negotiations with scum.¡± He lined Bald Guy up in his line of sight.


    Hank felt the sweat run down his body. He started to shake. Epps seemed to be pretty sure of himself. But it looked like a pretty difficult shot to make. Epps might hit Bald Guy, but he might also take off his ear.


    Bald Guy¡¯s grip loosened. ¡°All right, you got me. Don¡¯t shoot.¡±


    A cop grabbed Hank, pulling him with him. He was pushed against the wall and cuffed while they did the same to Bald Guy. He understood trouble had just started now.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Fourteen

    FOURTEEN


    Katie was lying on her bed, reading the latest Marjorie Liu novel when her phone rang. Who could it be that late in the evening, she wondered. She checked the display. She didn¡¯t recognize the number.


    ¡°Hi,¡± she said.


    ¡°Hi, it¡¯s me. Hank.¡± He sounded stressed.


    ¡°Hi. Where are you calling from?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m sorry about that. The police station.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Katie sat up straight. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I got involved with a weapons deal.¡±


    ¡°A weapons deal? How?¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°I sort of tried to buy a gun.¡±


    ¡°You what? You idiot!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Could you cover for me with your mom and dad? I don¡¯t want them to think badly of me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think this will come out sooner or later? Do you have a lawyer?¡±


    ¡°I get one appointed to me,¡± Hank said. ¡°Katie¡­ I¡¯m scared. There¡¯s some pretty nasty looking guys here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming over to sort this out for you,¡± Katie said.


    ¡°Sort it out?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how, but I¡¯m coming over.¡±


    ¡°If you are, please bring my ID. I didn¡¯t have it with me and they want to see it.¡±


    ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll get you out of this. Don¡¯t do anything more stupid, okay.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks.¡±


    Then he was gone. Katie shook her head. How could Hank have been that stupid. She understood why he¡¯d tried to buy a gun, of course. It sounded like he¡¯d been serious about wanting to avenge his father¡¯s death. Maybe getting arrested wasn¡¯t that bad a deal then. Trying to face off against The Raider would probably have gotten him killed.


    She went over to Hank¡¯s guest room. She searched his clothes and found his ID in a jeans pocket. She snuck out the window so her mom and dad wouldn¡¯t know about her going over to the police station that later in the evening.


    She got her scooter, walking with it until she was far away enough from her home that her parents wouldn¡¯t hear her starting it. She started it, speeding towards the police station. She wasn¡¯t sure how she would try to get Hank out of trouble, just that she would have to try and do something.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Fifteen

    FIFTEEN


    Hank was sweating like crazy in the interrogation room they had put him in. In front of him was Detective Manuela Ortiz.


    ¡°You¡¯re here with me because I remember you, kid. I hate what happened to your dad. And I¡¯m guessing it has something to do with you trying to buy that gun. I think I can get  you deal with the D.A. I just hope you weren¡¯t planning to dispense any vigilante justice with that gun you tried to buy. This place has seen enough vigilante justice already, with all those masked hero types running around.¡±


    ¡°I think I shouldn¡¯t say anything until my lawyer is here,¡± Hank said.


    Ortiz sighed, rolling her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that crap. I want to help you out here, kid.¡±


    The door opened. Hank heard clacking of heels as a woman in her forties entered.


    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s the Assistant D.A,¡± Ortiz said. ¡°Use your brain now, kiddo.¡±


    ¡°Hank! It IS you!¡± Assistant D.A. Marjorie Gleason, Katie¡¯s mom said.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Hank covered his face with his hands. ¡°Oh no¡­¡±


    ¡°How could you do something so stupid?¡± Marjorie asked him, annoyed, face beet-red.


    ¡°You know this kid too?¡± Ortiz asked, surprised.


    ¡°You might say that, yes.¡±


    ¡°Well, I hope you can get him to cooperate then.¡±


    ¡°Hank, just tell me exactly everything that happened. I hope I can help you,¡± Marjorie said.


    Then there was a loud explosion that shook the room.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Ortiz said, drawing her gun out of instinct.


    ¡°Sounded like an explosion to me,¡± Marjorie said.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have a look,¡± Ortiz said and left the room, leaving Marjorie alone with Hank.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry,¡± Hank told Marjorie.


    Marjorie stood in front of him, arms crossed, scowling. It made Hank feel very, very uneasy. ¡°I take you in, try to make sure you are all right and you get yourself arrested? How could  you?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it was stupid. But I had to do something. Something to make the pain go away,¡± Hank said, tears streaming down his face.


    Marjorie¡¯s stern face softened, feeling sorry for him. She sat down on her knees next to Hank and gently wiped away a tear. ¡°I will do what I can for you, Hank. But you did commit a crime. The only thing I can do to get you out of this jam is make a deal with you where you testify.¡±


    ¡°Anything. I don¡¯t want to go to jail,¡± Hank said.


    The room shook again. Some plaster fell down from the ceiling.


    ¡°What is going on here?¡± Marjorie wondered.


    A muscular woman in a bearskin bikini walked in the room. ¡°I, Queen Neanderthal among other things.¡±


    ¡°Oh hell, I thought things couldn¡¯t get any worse,¡± Hank groaned.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Sixteen

    SIXTEEN


    Katie had found her way to the desk of the police station. A young black woman with what seemed to be a permanent scowl on her face was manning it.


    ¡°Hi, my name is Katie. I need to talk to someone who was arrested this evening. His name is Hank Connors.¡±


    The woman behind the desk scowled even harder. ¡°You a lawyer?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. But Hank needs my support. He¡¯s just¡­¡±


    An explosion took at a wall. The sound deafening, giving Katie a flashback to the day The Red Raider raided the lab of Hank¡¯s dad.


    People started to scream and run in all directions. The lady behind the desk took cover behind it. Katie just watched how her flashback came to life. Through a hole in the wall stepped The Red Raider, accompanied with five of his thugs and a few other, costumed characters.


    For a moment she felt panic taking hold of her. Then she told herself she would be just fine. Nothing could hurt her. She¡¯d shown that during her earlier encounter. She just had to make sure these creeps didn¡¯t hurt anyone else. She was wearing her Invulnergirl suit under her clothes. She just had to find a quiet spot to change clothes.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    There was a lot of panic. Cops reaching for weapons, visitors trying to run away, to hide. As she ran away herself, Katie could hear The Red Raider say, ¡°Drop your weapons and surrender. That way nobody gets hurt.¡±


    She managed to get inside the visitor¡¯s toilets. Locking herself inside a stall she quickly took off her regular clothing, leaving her in only her superhero outfit. She put on her mask and her stylish beanie. She could hear gunfire. She had to see if she could rescue some people. She ran out of the toilet as fast as she could. She walked right into a hail of bullets.


    To her left were The Red Raider¡¯s thugs, firing automatic weapons at a bunch of cops huddling behind the reception desk to her right.


    ¡°Get out of the way!¡± a cop yelled at her. ¡°You¡¯re in my line of fire.¡±


    Not bothered by the bullets, she gave the cop a look that said Are you kidding me, and told him, ¡°I¡¯m also in the bad guy¡¯s line of fire. I would think you could appreciate that.¡±


    One of the Raider¡¯s henchmen said, ¡°The bullets aren¡¯t hurting her. Let¡¯s take her down the old-fashioned way.¡± He ran towards Invulnergirl with a knife out.


    The knife hit her right in the stomach and just bended like it was made from paper. He held up the knife in front of his eyes, not believing what he just saw happen.


    ¡°Good luck with that,¡± Invulnergirl said and hit him in the face with all her teenage strength. It was enough for him to topple over.


    ¡°Pile up on her!¡± another henchmen said. They now all ran towards the young heroine.


    ¡°Crap,¡± she uttered as she saw five, tough looking bad guys coming at her.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Seventeen

    SEVENTEEN


    The Red Raider was happy with how the plan was going so far. After blowing up one of the walls with some explosives it was easy to enter the police station. Entering like that shook up the place nicely, surprising the cops enough to fall victim to the bullets of his henchmen easily. The henchmen dispersed around the building while he, flanked by King Winter walked to his main destination, the holding cells.


    Queen Neanderthal, Balloon Clown and Maximizer each had been assigned a different part of the station. Their task was to do as much damage to the police station and take out as many cops as possible. Speed Metal¡¯s turf was pretty much the whole station, being able to be almost everywhere at the same time with his superspeed.


    All King Winter had to do was point his fingers at the cops and hit them with his freeze rays to take them out. The Red Raider didn¡¯t even need to use his gun with the master of the cold walking by his side.


    ¡°This is turning out to be quite a walk in the park,¡± King Winter told The Raider.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why no villain tried this before,¡± The Raider said. ¡°The cops are no match for us when we surprise them like this. When they show up at our crimes they come prepared, carrying weapons and bulletproof vests. Now it is like shooting fish in a barrel. When we¡¯ve defeated the cops and destroyed their resources the city is ours. The superheroes can¡¯t be everywhere at once. We start building my army here and take over the city.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°I like it,¡± King Winter said and threw an ice ball in the face of a policeman who went down like a bowling pin.


    Two cops had managed to find shelter behind an overturned cabinet, firing their guns at the two villains. King Winter build a wall of thick ice around him and The Red Raider.


    ¡°This one¡¯s for you,¡± King Winter told his fellow bad guy.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± The Red Raider said and threw a futuristic looking grenade with blinking lights over the wall of ice. It landed behind the cabinet and with a loud bang blew up right in the policemen¡¯s faces.


    When they arrived at the holding cells The Raider took a few small devices from his belt. He put the devices against the cell doors. He then told King Winter to stand back. He grabbed a small device that looked like a remote control from his belt and pushed a button. The devices exploded, blasting out the doors. Immediately the prisoners were free again. Excited, they left their cells.


    ¡°Listen to me,¡± The Red Raider addressed them. ¡°I have given you freedom. Join me and I will be able to give you riches. I can provide you with the weapons to take over the city.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to join anyone,¡± one of the prisoners said. He was a muscular looking dude with a shaved head an goatee. ¡°Step aside.¡±


    ¡°You are with me or against me,¡± The Red Raider said. He drew his sidearm and shot the prisoner in the face without blinking an eye. The prisoner sank to the floor, dead before he hit it.


    That shocked the prisoners. They seemed unsure how to react. The Red Raider decided for them.


    ¡°That was a nice example what happens if you think you can be an ungrateful jerk. Follow me to freedom or stay here, dead or imprisoned. Your choice,¡± The Red Raider said.


    ¡°Freedom! Freedom!¡± the prisoners shouted.


    The Raider held up a fist in the air. ¡°Good. Follow me then, we have a city to take over!¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Eighteen

    EIGHTEEN


    Hank just couldn¡¯t believe how crazy his life had become after his father got killed. Not only had he become an orphan, his best friend had become a superhero, he¡¯d gotten himself arrested and now he was facing an actual supervillain. A supervillain that looked like a beautiful female bodybuilder. How he wished life could get back to the boring old days of reading comics books, playing video games and watching Netflix in his room.


    ¡°You look a bit young and weak to be a criminal,¡± Queen Neanderthal told Hank.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really see myself as one,¡± Hank said.


    Queen Neanderthal stroked her chin, not sure what to do with that answer. ¡°Should I kill you or ask you to join us then?¡±


    ¡°Killing me doesn¡¯t sound that appealing,¡± Hank said. He was backed up against the wall, intimidated by the size of the woman.


    ¡°I would advise you against killing him as well,¡± Marjorie said. ¡°If you just surrender now, the judge might be lenient.¡±


    Queen Neanderthal scowled at Marjorie. ¡°I know you. You¡¯re that D.A. that got me convicted. Oh, I¡¯m going to enjoy tearing you apart limb by limb.¡±


    ¡°Assisant D.A.,¡± Marjorie corrected the villainess.


    ¡°Die!¡± Queen Neanderthal growled and came at Marjorie, hands ready to tear her apart. Hank figured it would be better to close his eyes or add more nightmares to the ones his father¡¯s demise had already given him.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Hey! Tall, naked and ugly!¡± a voice sounded. It put a smile on Hank¡¯s face. He knew that voice, even though she¡¯d been trying to disguise it by lowering her voice an octave.


    Queen Neanderthal turned around. She was greeted by an ahtlethic looking young woman in blue spandex, wearing a pink beanie and a mask.


    ¡°Who are you supposed to be?¡± the villainess asked.


    ¡°The Indestructible Invulnergirl, at your service!¡± the young heroine told her, posing heroically with arms crossed.


    Queen Neanderthal left Marjorie alone to focus on what seemed to be a more interesting target. Fist raised she came running at Invulnergirl. ¡°Indestructible you say? We¡¯ll see about that!¡±


    When the fist connected with Invulnergirl the impact was hard enough to send her flying through the room, knocking her into a wall. It even left an impression of her body in it. Then she dropped down flat on the floor.


    ¡°Ha! You don¡¯t look that indestructible to me,¡± Queen Neanderthal beamed.


    Invulnergirl brushed off some plaster from her spandex, as she got back on her feet. ¡°You can knock me down, but not out.¡±


    ¡°Ha! You are sturdier than you look indeed. I¡¯m going to enjoy ripping your head off,¡± Queen Neanderthal said.


    ¡°Forget about it!¡± Invulnergirl said and she dropkicked the villainess. Even though she was forced back a step, it didn¡¯t seem to harm her though.


    Queen Neanderthal¡¯s hand shot out with surprising speed for someone her size, grabbing Invulnergirl¡¯s neck. She started to squeeze.


    That got Hank worried. Katie might think she was indestructible, but what about being choked. He had to help her.


    ¡°Why won¡¯t your windpipe break?¡± Queen Neanderthal asked Invulnergirl, annoyed.


    ¡°Was that a rhetorical question?¡± Invulnergirl asked. ¡°I told you, I¡¯m indestructible. I don¡¯t break.¡±


    Hank grabbed the chair he¡¯d been sitting in during the interrogation and swung it into Queen Neanderthal¡¯s back. The chair splintered to pieces. It did seem to pester the villainess a bit, although it did little to hurt her. She dropped Invulnergirl and put her attention to Hank now. As her impressive muscular form formed a shadow over himself he wondered if attacking her had been a good idea.


    ¡°Fine. I kill you first then,¡± Queen Neanderthal said.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Nineteen

    NINETEEN


    Invulnergirl had to hand it to Hank, it had been a pretty brave move, attacking Queen Neanderthal with a chair. Not smart, but brave. It had served a purpose, as the villainess had let go of her neck. Now she just had to prevent her snapping his neck.


    ¡°Lady,¡± the told her mom. ¡°Toss me your jacket.¡±


    ¡°My jacket?¡± her mom wondered.


    ¡°Just do it.¡±


    Her mom obliged and took off her jacket, tossing it to Invulnergirl. She snatched it from the air.


    Queen Neanderthal raised a fist, ready to smash it into Hank¡¯s face. Invulnergirl understood she would probably destroy the kid¡¯s face. That¡¯s why she jumped on Queen Neanderthal¡¯s back and wrapped her mom¡¯s coat around her face. She put her knees in the villainess¡¯ back, putting all her strength in tightening the high quality fabric around her face.


    Queen Neanderthal tried to get Invulnergirl off her back, smashing against her body. The heroine knew she had to hang on. The blows dealt to her might not hurt her, but if Queen Neanderthal got a good grip on her, she might be able to throw her off her back. Gritting her teeth, Invulnergirl put in even more effort in her endeavor to cut off her enemy¡¯s air supply.


    After a few minutes Invulnergirl felt Queen Neanderthal¡¯s body slack. She went down on the ground, face first.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Man, that took some effort,¡± she said. Then she took the jacket from the ground and held it out to her mom. ¡°Here¡¯s your jacket back.¡±


    Mom gave it a grossed-out look. ¡°No thanks.¡±


    ¡°I guess I understand. Okay, let¡¯s get you both of the building now,¡± Invulnergirl said.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? And¡­ Interesting to meet you in person, Invulnergirl. You look a bit familiar have we met before?¡± Mom asked.


    Invulnergirl had been afraid of that. There¡¯s only so much a mask and trying to disguise your voice can do for you. ¡°All we superheroes probably look alike to you.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case,¡± mom said.


    ¡°No time for that now. We have to get away from here. The building is under siege by a bunch of supervillains,¡± Invulnergirl said. ¡°I will lead you out of here.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re with,¡± Hank told her. ¡°Thanks!¡±


    Invulnergirl gave her friend a wink. ¡°Sure thing. We got this.¡±


    They walked out of the interrogation room and stumbled on a dozen unconscious or dead cops. She gasped, appalled by the sight. The person responsible for this was there as well. A guy who looked like your textbook metalhead. Long, black hair. Torn jeans. But also arms which seemed to be made of metal.


    The metalhead saw her. He smiled. ¡°A superhero, right? Nice. Been too long I carved up one.¡±


    Invulnergirl shuddered when she saw his arms transform into huge knives. Then she understood she had nothing to fear from them. She made a ¡°come on¡± gesture with her hand, saying, ¡°Try, Metallica.¡±


    ¡°Name¡¯s Speed Metal. And I will!¡± he said and with superspeed ran at her.


    She also ran towards him, hurling herself at him, horizontally in the air. They collided, at that speed it was like being hit by a bullet for Speed Metal. He was knocked down in an instant. Invulnergirl landed on her feet, smiling.


    ¡°It looks like I¡¯m really getting the hang of this superhero thing. Come on, follow me guys!¡±


    Unfortunately, as soon as they rounded the corner another threat awaited them. One she found particularly scary.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Twenty

    TWENTY


    Clowns had always given Katie the creeps. And even being the indestructible Invulnergirl now couldn¡¯t stop that. She remembered crying once at a children¡¯s party when a clown had been hired to entertain the kids. She kind of just froze when she saw the clown with his red nose, big shoes and the helium balloons in his hand.


    ¡°Well who do we have here? A costumed do-gooder teenage girl,¡± the clown said. His big, white grin sent shivers down Invulnergirl¡¯s spine.


    ¡°Balloon Clown!¡± Katie¡¯s mom said, identifying him from the police reports she¡¯d probably read about him.


    ¡°Ah, so good to be recognized. I know who you are as well, sweetie. You locked up quite a number of my pals. I will have you pay for that!¡± With those words he rolled a balloon towards Katie¡¯s mom, hank and Invulnergirl like it was a bowling ball. To everyone¡¯s surprise it started to grow and grow as it came towards them.


    ¡°Is that thing going to crush us?¡± Hank wondered. ¡°It¡¯s just rubber, right?¡±


    ¡°I read that it¡¯s made from some kind of weird material that hardens,¡± Katie¡¯s mom said. ¡°It might!¡±


    ¡°Invulnergirl, do something!¡± Hank yelled at the superheroine. She didn¡¯t answer, still mesmerized by fear.


    ¡°Snap out of it!¡± Katie¡¯s mom said and slapped her. Although it didn¡¯t hurt her, the action seemed to catch her attention.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°Sorry, get behind me!¡± Invulnergirl said. Hank and her mom stood behind her as she told them to.


    She braced for impact. The balloon, now almost as big as the room rolled against her like a boulder or something. It came to a stop against the superheroine. It pretty much obscured her sight.


    ¡°Give me some back support,¡± she told Hank and her mom.


    Invulnergirl strained, pushing against the balloon. Hank and her mom putting their backs against hers in support, pushing with their legs against the wall. The balloon started to roll away from them, back towards Balloon Clown.


    ¡°Back atcha!¡± Invulnergirl said. ¡°I hate clowns!¡±


    Balloon Clown¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the balloon come closer. It was so big it was almost impossible to avoid. He ran away through a door at his right. The balloon came to a stop against the door opening, now blocking it.


    ¡°Thanks for the help,¡± Invulnergirl told her allies. ¡°And sorry about me freezing up for a second.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay. I understand. My daughter is afraid of clowns as well,¡± Katie¡¯s mom said.


    Invulnergirl could see the unease on Hank¡¯s face as she said that. In fact, she felt quite some of that as well. Mom already told her she thought she looked familiar. What if she added this new finding to that, realizing that the indestructible teen in spandex is actually her daughter? She¡¯d probably have her grounded. She would never allow herself to put herself at risk like that. And what would her dad think? He wasn¡¯t much of a fan of masked heroes.


    ¡°A lot of people are,¡± Hank said. Quick save.


    ¡°Probably, yeah. Now how do we get out of here? That balloon is blocking the entrance,¡± Katie¡¯s mom said.


    ¡°We moved it once, we can probably move it again,¡± Invulnergirl said.


    Then a loud explosion deafened their ears for a moment. The balloon was blown to smithereens. Entering the room was a black man in SWAT gear. Sergeant Epps!


    ¡°I thought I heard your voices,¡± Epps said. ¡°Come one, let me get you people to safety. There¡¯s a whole crew of supervillains and thugs running around here.¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Twenty-One

    TWENTY-ONE


    Hank wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about Sergeant Epps showing up. Not only had the cop seemed prepared to risk shooting him in the face when he¡¯d been a hostage but he¡¯d also be the one to arrest him. Still, if he got them out of the beleaguered police station he might be a godsend.


    ¡°My colleagues are having a really hard time keeping those villains back. They managed to free the prisoners from their holding cells as well,¡± Epps told Hank, Invulnergirl and Katie¡¯s mom, Marjorie.


    ¡°I will help you,¡± Invulnergirl offered.


    ¡°Right. A teenage girl. Who acted like an idiot when trying to free hostages from a bunch of bank robbers,¡± Epps snarled.


    ¡°Hey! She defeated one of the villains and effectively protected us from one. And I¡¯m not sure you handled it so great when I was a hostage,¡± Hank protested.


    Epps gave Hank a look like he was watching a pile of crap speak. ¡°You didn¡¯t get shot, did you? I¡¯m a professional, kid. Unlike little Miss Spandex here. Besides, you did some very stupid stuff, landing you in here. I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re one to give me advice.¡±


    Marjorie made a calming gesture with her hands. ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on getting out of here, okay?¡±


    Epps grinned. ¡°Guess you¡¯re right. Just follow me.¡±


    They made their way through the police station, passing broken furniture, computers and even some destroyed walls. Cops were bandaging their colleagues. Others were reloading their guns. When they passed them Epps told them he was getting the civilians out of there and they should stay strong.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    They turned around one corner and were greeted with three armed Red Raider thugs. They aimed their guns at them. Adrenaline rushed through Hank¡¯s body. He dropped down on the floor, pulling Marjorie along with him in some kind of heroic instinct.


    Epps also acted on his instinct and chambered a round in his shotgun. Invulnergirl ran towards the thugs, fists pumping, teeth grit. She was really shaping up to be quite a heroine.


    Epps¡¯ shotgun boomed, taking down one of the thugs. Invulnergirl was getting closer to the armed criminals, bullets ricocheting off her body. With admiration Hank watched her athletic legs strain and propel her upwards, jumping right at the gunmen. As she was airborne, she twisted around and spun kick one of them right in the face.


    The gunman went down on his back. Invulnergirl tore his rifle out of his hands, and fired a volley of bullets right in front of the ground of the other thugs.


    ¡°Your bullet won¡¯t hurt me. What about you?¡± she said.


    Her action had distracted the thugs enough for Epps to come closer. He had his shotgun aimed at one of the thugs¡¯ face. ¡°What she said.¡±


    The Red Raider¡¯s henchmen dropped their weapons, not willing to take a bullet for there cause, apparently. Hank couldn¡¯t help but break out in applause.


    ¡°That was great, Ka¡ªInvulnergirl!¡± he whooped.


    Epps glared at him. ¡°Don¡¯t wet your pants, kid. Help me get these creeps cuffed.¡±


    ¡°You have to admit that was pretty spectacular,¡± Marjorie said.


    Invulnergirl blushed. ¡°It looks like I am really getting the hang of this. But I really hate guns!¡± She put the gun down with a disapproving look.


    After cuffing the bad guys the group ventured on. Epps told them they were pretty close to the front entrance now. Hank was happy to hear safety was coming near. Unfortunately there was another obstacle to overcome. They walked into a huge wall made of ice.


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Epps said.


    ¡°Looks like a huge wall of ice,¡± Hank deadpanned.


    ¡°Shut up, wise guy!¡± Epps growled. He hit the ice with the stock of his shotgun, but the ice was too thick to get through.


    ¡°Well, well¡­ Looks like you are stuck now,¡± a voice behind hem said. Hank turned around and was not happy to see another costumed criminal. He was wearing red spandex with a huge white M on his chest. He was quite muscular.


    ¡°Oh no, Maximizer!¡± Marjorie said.


    Maximizer smiled like a cat spotting a bird. ¡°The Assistant D.A. and Sergeant Epps. You both were responsible for a few years of my time in jail. This is a nice gift. I¡¯m going to enjoy crushing you with my fists.¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Twenty-Two

    TWENTY-TWO


    Invulnergirl had to admit she was impressed by how she was overshadowed by the growing form of Maximizer. He¡¯d grown so tall he had to sit on his knees to fit inside the room.


    Epps pointed his shotgun at the villain, but one slap with a hand as big as a coffee table sent it flying across the room. Epps went for the pistol in his shoulder rig but Maximizer grabbed his hand and squeezed. The sound of crushed bones nauseated Invulnergirl.


    She grabbed Maximizer¡¯s arm and tried to tear him away from the police sergeant. He was way stronger though and didn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°Irritating gnat,¡± Maximizer said and with his other hand slapped Invulnergirl across the room. She bounced on the floor like a pebble thrown at a river.


    Getting back on her feet she saw Maximizer throw Epps against the roof. There was a loud crack as Epps fell back down on the floor, unconscious.


    Hank and her mom were curled up against the wall, afraid Maximizer would hurt them next. She wasn¡¯t going to let that happen, though. She ran full speed towards the villain.


    ¡°Coming up for seconds?¡± Maximizer said. He readied his hand for another slap.


    Invulnergirl grabbed it, hanging on to it while he tried to shake her off. She took a deep breath then sank her teeth into his hand, thanking her years of taking good care of them. Strike one for good dental work.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Maximizer screamed, calling Invulnergirl something very sexist and unfriendly. She¡¯d hurt him so much he got up a bit, knocking his head against the roof. Plaster rained down. It turned out he might big and strong, but not invulnerable like she was.


    ¡°That hurt! I will kill you for that!¡± Maximizer said.


    ¡°Do your best, you big baby!¡± Invulnergirl mocked the villain as she ran for the wall of ice.


    Growling, Maximizer came at her. Just before he ran into her, Invulnergirl jumped up. Using Maximizer¡¯s big neck, she box jumped over him. She heard him crash into the wall of ice.


    As she landed and looked behind her she saw the big villain had crashed through the ice. It had left him not only unconscious, but also had broken the wall. Just like she¡¯d planned it to.


    ¡°Good thinking once again,¡± Mom complimented her.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Invulnergirl said. ¡°I think I saw something like that in an old cartoon.¡±


    ¡°Who says you won¡¯t learn anything from watching TV?¡± Hank chuckled.


    ¡°Sergeant Epps looks pretty bad,¡± Mom said, kneeling next to the policeman.


    Invulnergirl joined her. Epps¡¯ right hand looked like it was broken in several places. He was bleeding from a bad headwound as well.


    ¡°We should get out of here,¡± Hank said. ¡°What if more bad guys turn up?¡±


    ¡°He risked his life to save us. I¡¯m not leaving him here,¡± Invulnergirl said.


    ¡°If we wait too long those efforts to save us might have been in vain,¡± Hank said. ¡°Maybe he would want us to leave him here.¡±


    ¡°No discussion. He comes with me or I don¡¯t go. You can go on by yourselves if you want.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m staying,¡± Mom said.


    Hank sighed. ¡°All right then. Who knows first aid?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± Mom said. We should find something to bandage his head, stabilize him. After that, maybe we can take him with us.¡±


    ¡°He will really slow us down, he¡¯s pretty heavy,¡± Hank said.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you strong enough to carry him?¡± Mom asked Invulnergirl.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m indestructible. Not super strong. But I have an idea. Look at this,¡± Invulnergirl said and carried over a desk chair that had wheels. ¡°We could put him on this and push him forward.¡±


    ¡°That will still slow us down, but I guess that¡¯s a good idea,¡± Hank agreed.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Twenty-Three

    TWENTY-THREE


    Things sure had gotten crazy in a few days, Invulnergirl thought. Just a few days ago she was your average high school cheerleader. Her days used to consist of trying to keep her mind focused on boring classes, cheerleader practice and Netflix. Now she was pushing around an unconscious cop on a desk chair in a police station under siege by supervillains. A large part of her longed for those simpler days, another part of her loved the excitement. She¡¯d been amazed how natural some of this superhero thing had felt to her.


    ¡°I think we¡¯re almost outside,¡± Mom told the teens.


    ¡°Yeah, I can see the door!¡± Hank agreed.


    ¡°Good, we need to get the sergeant to a hospital,¡± Invulnergirl said.


    When they got outside they could see a dozen police cars in front of the building. They were full of people. They didn¡¯t look like cops though.


    Invulnergirl made eye contact with one of the drivers. He stared at her through the windshield. He wore a skull mask. The Red Raider! Hank had seen him as well.


    ¡°There¡¯s that bastard! I¡¯m going to kill him!¡± Hank said, his hand going to Epp¡¯s holster.


    Mom slapped his hand away. ¡°Haven¡¯t you gotten yourself into enough trouble?¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    The Red Raider pointed his index finger at Invulnergirl, thumb up. Then he lowered the thumb, like the hammer of a revolver. Then the engine of the car started and he drove off, followed by the other cars.


    ¡°Did I just witness The Red Raider and a bunch of escaped prisoners drive off in stolen police cars?¡± Invulnergirl said.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you did,¡± Mom said. ¡°With the police station pretty much wrecked and lord knows how many cops badly hurt that¡¯s going to be a huge problem for the city.¡±


    Suddenly a gust of wind made Mom¡¯s hair dance and leaves blow up. The reason for this sudden very local breeze stood in front of them. An athletic looking man in pink spandex, with a white domino mask and blond hair. He wore white boots and his pink spandex had white trims at his cuffs. Invulnergirl, and pretty much everyone in the city knew who he was of course. Johnny Bubblegum, Moulton City¡¯s most popular defender.


    ¡°Hi all,¡± Johnny said.


    It was exciting to see him in person. He just exuded confidence. It was hard not to get somewhat starstruck for Invulnergirl. Hank didn¡¯t have this issue.


    ¡°Hey. Bad timing, dude! The bad guys are already gone!¡± Hank said.


    ¡°Sorry about that. I got an alert from the police station when I was just getting back from outer space with The Heroic Alliance. I got here as quickly as I could. What went on here exactly?¡±


    That sounded so amazing to Invulnergirl. An outer space adventure. It must be so incredible to be part of The Heroic Alliance, visiting other worlds, planets and dimensions.


    Mom explained what had happened to Johnny. After that, he looked pretty worried.


    ¡°That sounds bad. But sounds you did a good job, young lady,¡± he told Invulnergirl.


    She felt her cheeks color. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Invulnergirl. Because I¡¯m kind of indestructible.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like an awesome power.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I think your own superspeed and enhanced strength is more useful in a fight.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all about how you use the power, not the power itself.¡±


    It was great how inspiring Johnny Bubblegum sounded. ¡°I will remember that. So, what do we do now?¡±


    Johnny smiled. ¡°I guess we team up.¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Twenty-Four

    TWENTY-FOUR


    ¡°Johnny! Good to see you!¡± Detective Ortiz said as she came running out the door of the police station.


    ¡°Detective. Good to see you, considering the circumstances,¡± Johnny Bubblegum said.


    ¡°You know her?¡± Hanks asked.


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯re more or less in the same line of work,¡± Johnny explained.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty bad in there. Lots of wounded people,¡± Ortiz said. ¡°But the paramedics are on their way.¡±


    ¡°Good, Sergeant Epps here could use some medical attention,¡± Katie¡¯s mom said.


    ¡°There¡¯s still a few supervillains inside though. They could endanger the medical staff,¡± Ortiz said.


    Johnny turned to Invulnergirl. ¡°Guess we will have to take care of them, then. Are you coming along, Miss?¡±


    ¡°Errr¡­ Yeah, sure. I guess.¡± Invulnergirl wasn¡¯t too sure about that. Those encounters with Maximizer, Queen Neanderthal, Speed Metal and The Balloon Clown had gotten pretty rough. She wasn¡¯t exactly looking forward to meeting them again. But she couldn¡¯t let down Johnny Bubblegum. If she was going to be serious about this superhero thing she had to be as brave as he was.


    ¡°Detective, you stay here and protect these people. Explain the paramedics the situation when they get here,¡± Johnny told Ortiz. Then he gestured to Invulnergirl to follow him inside.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    He walked into the building quite calmly. Invulnergirl stayed close to him, confident the experienced hero would know what to do. She felt it best to just follow his lead.


    When she¡¯d ben intent on getting out of there as soon as possible she hadn¡¯t been able to spend much time looking at her surroundings. That was why she was a bit shocked now how bad the place looked. Walls riddled with bullet holes, bleeding, wounded cops on the ground.


    Johnny kneeled down to every victim. Checking their wounds, telling them the paramedics were on their way. In one case he tore of part of a cop¡¯s shirt to bandage his wound.


    Taking his queue, Invulnergirl did the same. It was remarkable how some police officers seemed to find some hope in the fact a masked hero was telling them medical help was on the way. It made her feel good. Like she was making a difference just by being there.


    A voice startled her. ¡°You! You still here you little bitch?!¡±


    Invulnergirl looked up from the cop she was taking care of. Maximizer had entered the room. He looked pretty pissed.


    ¡°Maximizer! Long time no see, miserable creep!¡± Johnny Bubblegum said.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take you apart like a clock. And then I¡¯m going to have some fun with the little girl,¡± Maximizer threatened.


    ¡°Give it your best,¡± Johnny said and popped a piece of his special bubblegum in his mouth. Invulnergirl knew the deal about the bubblegum. It was the source of his powers, granting him superspeed and superstrength for as long as the bubblegum kept its taste. Many had speculated to the nature of the ingredients, no one had been able to determine them. The only thing that mattered now though, was the effect it had on the hero in pink.


    Maximizer had grown the size of three man and had to crawl to fit inside the building. With a large hand he grasped for Johnny¡¯s head. The hero managed to avoid it with his superspeed and jumped on his large outstretched arm. He landed a big haymaker punch right in the villain¡¯s face.


    Enraged, Maximizer slapped at Johnny, knocking him across the room. Invulnergirl ran to the hero, checking if he was okay.


    Johnny scrambled up. ¡°I¡¯m okay. Just a bit rattled. He will have to hit me harder than that to hurt me.¡±


    ¡°That can be arranged,¡± Maximizer said and two huge closed fists came flying at the hero.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Twenty-Five

    TWENTY-FIVE


    Maximizer¡¯s fists hammered down on Johnny Bubblegum. The hero caught the fists with his hands, straining against the villain¡¯s power. Invulnergirl could see he was having a hard time and thought about how she could help him. But if the superstrength of Johnny wasn¡¯t enough, how could she, with no superstrength or any offensive powers of her own do anything?


    She decided she could distract the villain, though. She whistled on her fingers to get his attention. ¡°Hey, dark, tall and ugly. Why don¡¯t you try your luck with me? You¡¯re mad at me, right?¡±


    Maximizer glanced at her just for a moment, enough for Johnny to push his fists up. Then he hit Maximizer with a roundhouse punch in the face. Invulnergirl winced at the sound of Maximizer¡¯s nose cracking.


    ¡°Thanks for the distraction,¡± Johnny said and started to rain down a volley of superspeed punches on Maximizer.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Invulnergirl said.


    Maximizer went slack, his face resting on the floor.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s taken care of. Now you said there were more bad guys in here, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but shouldn¡¯t we try to do something to prevent Maximizer from just regaining consciousness and attacking again?¡± Invulnergirl asked the pink clad hero.


    ¡°No time. I used up a lot of my bubblegum on my mission with The Heroic Alliance and didn¡¯t have the time to make a new batch. I need to take care of the other villains before the one in my mouth runs out of flavor. Hopefully someone from The Heroic Alliance will be on his way to pick up the baddies I defeated.¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Plural, huh? Cocky,¡± a snarky voice sounded.


    Invulnergirl watched Speed Metal step into the room, accompanied by Queen Neanderthal. She wasn¡¯t looking forward to face them again. She¡¯d had a hard enough time fighting them the first time, and then she had some element of surprise on her side. Of course, now she had Johnny Bubblegum.


    Queen Neanderthal cracked her knuckles. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to smashing your pretty face to a pulp, girl.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead and try,¡± Invulnergirl said. Some of the bravado was fake. She still felt uneasy, relying on her invulneraiblty.


    Queen Neanderthal¡¯s fist smashed right into Invulnergirl¡¯s face. The impact mad her step back, but didn¡¯t hurt her in the slightest. That seemed to annoy Queen Neanderthal. Grunting she started to pepper her with punches.


    Meanwhile, Invulnergirl saw Speed Metal come at Johnny Bubblegum with his superspeed. His fists had morphed into metal blades. Soon there was nothing visible but two blurs as Johnny and the villain fought using their incredible speed.


    ¡°Why won¡¯t you go down?¡± Queen Neanderthal said, full of anger. She then decided to change her approach and picked Invulnergirl up.


    The teen heroine was surprised at how easily the villainess was able to lift her. She got thrown into the air, against the wall. That of course, did again nothing to hurt her. But although the villainess would not be able to hurt her, Invulnergirl wondered how she was going to beat her.


    ¡°Ha! I¡¯ll become a legend!¡± Speed Metal said, excited. What Invulnergirl saw shocked her.


    Johnny Bubblegum was lying lifeless on the floor. His costume was torn, cuts littered his arms and face. Had Speed Metal done what so many other villains were unable to do and defeated the Pink Champion? She couldn¡¯t believe it. Had his bubblegum indeed lost its flavor, and therefore its power?


    She ran to Johnny, kneeling next to him. He was still breathing, thank god. But his wounds looked pretty bad. She had to get him some help. But how would she do that with the two supervillains ready to do to her what had been done to Johnny?

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Twenty-Six

    TWENTY-SIX


    The Red Raider had a look behind his shoulder, sitting behind the wheel of a speeding police car. ¡°Eat my dust!¡±


    Next to him was a bald guy with a head full of tattoos. He was one of the criminals The Red Raider freed from the police station. In the back were to of his own men.


    ¡°Thanks for getting me out of there,¡± the bald guy said. ¡°Name¡¯s Hutch.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet. You¡¯re going to work for it,¡± The Red Raider said.


    ¡°I usually don¡¯t work for people. I got my own crew.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re part of my crew now,¡± The Red Raider told him.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± Hutch asked.


    ¡°We just dealt the first strike to the city. We stole the cop¡¯s resources, freed their prisoners¡­ The city will be at our mercy now. Now we rob it, we rob it blind of everything they¡¯ve got. I can use some hard men to rob some banks for me. Too bad I had to leave some of my supervillains behind.¡±


    ¡°What about The Heroic Alliance? Aren¡¯t you afraid they will stop you?¡±


    Red Raider guffawed. ¡°Ha! They are usually too busy fighting on alien worlds and other dimensions to bother with the cities. So tell me, why were you arrested?¡±


    ¡°Robbed a bank. Got arrested when this stupid chick in spandex showed up. Bullets didn¡¯t hurt her.¡±


    ¡°I heard some of my men tell about a girl like that at the police station. If she tries to bother me we will just see how she handles a grenade in the face. Anyway, I could use someone in charge of my bank robbery division. Up for the job?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Your division? And what? Split the profits?¡±


    ¡°No, I pay you a percentage.¡±


    ¡°What? Why would I do that if you expect me to do all the work?¡±


    The Red Raider almost spun the car against a parked van, turning a corner at high speed, Hutch banging his shoulder against the window.


    ¡°Because I will be the one in charge of all criminal activities in this city. You saw what I did to the prisoner who didn¡¯t want to join me, right?¡±


    The Raider could see from the worried look on Hutch¡¯s face he remembered how The Raider had shot that prisoner without given it a second thought.


    ¡°All right. I¡¯m in for now.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± The Raider said, rounding another corner that almost knocked Hutch into him.


    ¡°Boss,¡± a voice from one of the henchmen in the backseat piped up. ¡°What will we do without Maximizer, Queen Neanderthal and Speed Metal? Weren¡¯t they an integral part of your plan?¡±


    ¡°They might catch up. I had to leave them at the police station, but I figure they will get away from there. The cops won¡¯t be able to keep them there for long. Not with us haven taken most of their weapons and a lot of them wounded.¡±


    ¡°But what if The Heroic Alliance does show up?¡± the henchman wondered.


    ¡°We take them down in a hail of bullets, explosives and laser blasters. My best scientists are working on some fantastic weaponry,¡± The Red Raider said.


    ¡°Scientists? What are you, a criminal or a tech company?¡± Hutch wondered.


    ¡°That¡¯s what sets me apart from cheap hoods like you. I¡¯ve got the strategy, the resources, the crew and the technology to become the biggest criminal of this country.¡±


    ¡°Cheap hood? Nobody calls me that!¡± Hutch said and went for The Red Raider¡¯s throat.


    The car started to swerve as The Raider tried to keep his eyes on the road and fight off the tattooed criminal.


    The sound of gunfire, muffled by the seat of the police car sounded. Blood exploded from Hutch¡¯s chest. The Red Raider¡¯s henchmen hadn¡¯t though twice about saving their leader.


    Hutch¡¯s grip slackened as his chin fell down to his chest, all light leaving  his eyes. The Red Raider pushed him away from him. One hand on the steering wheel, he reached over and opened the door of the car. He pushed Hutch¡¯s dead body out. It rolled across the street.


    The Red Raider said, ¡°Looks like the position for the bank robbery division is still open.¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Twenty-Seven

    TWENTY-SEVEN


    Sitting next to Johnny Bubblegum¡¯s body so many thoughts went through Invulnergirl¡¯s head. Was she really going to be the witness of the death of one of the world¡¯s biggest heroes? Could anyone stop these villains if the pink champion was unable to? How was she going to get out of there when she had nowhere near the amount of powers Johnny has.


    ¡°I still have a bone to pick with you,¡± Speed Demon told her. His right, metal arm morphed into a blade.


    Invulnergirl raised her hands in defense. The blade slashed at her. She grabbed onto it, her invulnerability defending her against the sharp weapon. How it worked she still didn¡¯t understand, but the blade did not pierce her skin. She moved closer to Speed Metal. She could read the surprise in his face.


    ¡°Ditto. This one¡¯s for Johnny!¡± Invulnergirl said and with those words she kneed the villain between the legs with all the strength she could muster.


    Speed Metal went down on his knees, wheezing. He curled up into a little ball. Then she kicked him in the face like she was playing soccer and the bad guy¡¯s lights went out.


    ¡°I¡¯m done playing nice, you bastards!¡± Invulnergirl yelled, fists clenched.


    ¡°Who¡¯s playing?¡± Queen Neanderthal said. ¡°I¡¯m going to rip your head off!¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The Amazonian villain came running at Invulnergirl. The teen heroine wondered if her head could indeed be ripped off. She knew punches, fire or blades could not pierce her skin. But what about that? She decided not to chance it.


    She grabbed the arm of Speed Metal, still lying unconscious next to her. She held it up as Queen Neanderthal came running at her. She winced as the bladed arm pierced Queen Neanderthal¡¯s leg. Queen Neanderthal screamed as she tried to dislodge her leg from the blade.


    The wet sucking sound and the screams made Invulnergirl a bit nauseous. She really was starting to wonder if she was cut out for this. It felt good to save people, do good¡­ She was starting to feel bad about all the blood and violence that seemed to go along with it was well.


    She saw Queen Neanderthal get angrier and angrier as she slid the blade from her leg. She understood she wouldn¡¯t have much time before the villain would attack her again. Time to suck it up and take action. She hated the violence, but she seemed to have no other choice than to apply some of it again. Well, a lot, actually.


    She lifted a chair and slammed into Queen Neanderthal¡¯s face with so much force it spun her around. The chair broke down on the villain¡¯s face. Queen Neanderthal was looking a bit woozy after that, but still standing. Time for another attack. Another chair was lifted and smashed into the villain. This time, Invulnergirl jumped up into the air before she had it come down on Queen Neanderthal¡¯s head, adding some more force to it. The chair broke again, leaving Invulnergirl holding only the chair¡¯s legs. She jumped on the villain¡¯s back and started to pummel her with the chair¡¯s legs. Queen Neanderthal was so disoriented from the pain of the earlier attacks and her bleeding leg she hardly fought back. After what seemed to be thousand hits her knees buckled and she fell down.


    Wheezing Invulnergirl fell down on top of the villain, exhausted. How she longed for a warm, comforting and safe bed. But she knew she had to get up. She could still hear Johnny breathing. She had to help him before he she was too late.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Twenty-Eight

    TWENTY-EIGHT


    Hank watched sergeant Epps get carried in an ambulance on a stretcher. More ambulance could be seen in the distance, sirens wailing. He was wondering how Katie was doing inside. He hoped she was okay. Those were some terrifying villains in there.


    The ambulance with Epps inside drove off as other ambulances parked. Paramedics hurried out of them.


    ¡°How many wounded are we talking about?¡± a muscular, Asian paramedic asked Detective Ortiz.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she said. ¡°Might be a lot of them.¡±


    ¡°All right, we¡¯ll get inside then,¡± the paramedic said.


    ¡°Wait a minute, it might not be safe in there yet. There¡¯s some superpowered criminals still inside,¡± Ortiz told him.


    ¡°So what do we do? We can¡¯t just leave the wounded in there,¡± the paramedic said.


    Ortiz shrugged. ¡°Johnny Bubblegum and some girl in spandex went inside. Hopefully they can the situation under control for you to safely enter.¡±


    For some reason Hank felt Katie deserved more than just being called ¡®some girl in spandex¡¯. ¡°She¡¯s called Invulnergirl.¡±


    ¡°Right, whatever. Anyway, I¡¯ll accompany you guys while you go in.¡± Ortiz loaded her 9mm. She walked inside the building, paramedics following her.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Hank was struck with the bravery of the paramedics, entering the police station like that, not knowing what they would encounter in there.


    It was like Katie¡¯s mom was able to read his mind. ¡°I know, pretty heroic, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Yeah, pretty much.¡±


    ¡°That Invulnergirl is indestructible, Johnny Bubblegum is superfast¡­ Those guys are just human. They¡¯re the real heroes of this city.¡±


    ¡°Now you sound like your husband,¡± Hank thought.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying the superheroes are doing bad work. I am just saying the non-powered, everyday heroes of this city need some more credit.¡±


    It felt weird to just stand there while more and more paramedics ran past him. Shouldn¡¯t he do something besides just stand there as well? Maybe the paramedics could use some help. Maybe Katie could. She¡¯d been inside for some time now. How was she doing? She¡¯d been such a good friend. Saved his life in there.  He made his decision.


    He clenched his fists and started to walk towards the door of the police station. ¡°I¡¯m going to see if I can be of any help.¡±


    Katie¡¯s mom stopped him, grabbing his arm. ¡°We just got out of that hellhole. Don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why not? The paramedics didn¡¯t seem to hesitate. If we can help, shouldn¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not trained medical personnel, Hank.¡±


    ¡°True. But we know the insides, we know the situation. Maybe we can do something to help them.¡±


    ¡°Huh, pretty heroic kid. But if you go in there, I go in there.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like we¡¯re going then,¡± Hank said. And in they walked.


    Paramedics were doing their work, bandaging wounded cops, offering some oxygen. It was like a warzone. He heard a paramedic say, ¡°Looks like someone already managed to bandage this guy up with some sort of make-shift bandage. Not a bad job.¡±


    Hank smiled, he knew that would have had to be Katie¡¯s work.


    He could see Ortiz in the distance, gun drawn, covering the paramedics as they went farther into the building. He followed her.


    Ortiz saw him. ¡°What are you doing here? Get back outside.¡±


    ¡°No, I want to help,¡± Hank said.


    Then Ortiz spotted Katie¡¯s mom. ¡°You too? Are you crazy? This place is dangerous!¡±


    ¡°We know, that¡¯s why we¡¯re here to help,¡± Katie¡¯s mom told Ortiz. Hank was starting to see where Katie had gotten her heroic tendencies from.


    ¡°Just stay out of my line of fire,¡± Ortiz said.


    That¡¯s when Hank heard Katie scream, ¡°Help! Help! I need some help!¡±


    He ran past Ortiz, towards her voice.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Twenty-Nine

    TWENTY-NINE


    Invulnergirl was holding the bleeding body of Johnny Bubblegum in her arms when Hank came running in. She wasn¡¯t sure how much blood a person could loose before he died. She¡¯d never seen anyone this badly injured, let alone held one close. In a way she felt responsible for this. Shouldn¡¯t she have protected the hero? Speed Metal¡¯s blades wouldn¡¯t have been able to hurt her.


    ¡°Ka - - Invulnergirl¡­ Are you all right?¡± Hank asked. ¡°That blood on your hands? Is that¡­ yours?¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t get hurt, remember? I just wish I could have prevented Johnny from getting hurt!¡± Tears slid down Invulnergirl¡¯s masked face.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Those stupid supervillains happened. And I failed to protect Johnny. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s dying.¡±


    ¡°The paramedics are here,¡± Hank said. ¡°He¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    Right after those words the paramedics walked in. The more or less shoved Invulnergirl aside. She realized there wasn¡¯t much she could do and should leave them to their work.


    Ortiz walked in. ¡°Damn. Johnny. Imagine these guys able to take down one of this city¡¯s strongest heroes. You seem to be okay though, young lady.¡±


    ¡°I guess,¡± she said. ¡°At least I managed to take down the creep who did this. I hope he¡¯ll be locked up for forever.¡±


    ¡°I called in the Feds, make sure he gets locked up in a special facility,¡± Ortiz said. ¡°These have been some hellish hours. But I think we seem to be getting things under control.¡±


    ¡°The Red Raider and his men escaped. That doesn¡¯t sound like things are getting under control. He pretty much decimated the whole police force. How are we going to stop him now?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°You seem to have done pretty well,¡± Ortiz said.


    ¡°I got lucky. What can I do? I don¡¯t have superspeed or strength like Johnny. How am I going to effectively fight those guys?¡±


    ¡°Listen, Red Raider¡¯s thug just hospitalized one of The Heroic Alliance¡¯s own. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be after his ass in no time,¡± Hank told Invulnergirl.


    ¡°Yeah, sure¡­ Maybe¡­ But it seems those guys are more often in other dimensions and in space than on Earth these days,¡± Invulnergirl pined.


    ¡°I would¡­¡± Hank started to say, but his words got drowned out by the loud noise of a helicopter.


    When the noise died down Ortiz said, ¡°That¡¯ll be the Feds I think.¡±


    She was right. A dozen men with black combat gear ran in, carrying huge guns. They wore masks and red goggles. Large yellow lettering across their chests said F.S.H.R. Invulnergirl had heard about these men. The Federal Superhuman Response Team. They showed up when supercriminals and aliens had to be escorted to jail or courtrooms and in cases where there weren¡¯t any superheroes to take on the powered baddies. They were all selected from elite armed forces and police departments. Very good at their jobs, but often not good enough to prevent their hearts from getting ripped out by demons, hulks and robots. They probably had a hard time getting medical insurance.


    One of the F.S.H.R. men said, ¡°I¡¯m Lieutenant Zane. We¡¯re taking over here. My men will secure the perimeter. There¡¯s another helicopter coming over to take care of the prisoners and take them to a secure facility.¡± He squinted at Invulnergirl. ¡°I don¡¯t know you from our database¡­ Are you new?¡±


    ¡°She is, she¡¯s the great Indestructible Invulnergirl,¡± Hank beamed. ¡°She saved us all.¡±


    Invulnergirl felt a bit embarrassed.


    ¡°Cute name,¡± Zane said. ¡°Well, thanks for the help then, citizen. Us professionals are taking over now.¡±


    Ortiz said, ¡°We could use some more of your guys help. I don¡¯t know how extensively you were briefed, but we¡¯ve got a bunch of escaped prisoners who will be sure to wreak havoc over town.¡±


    ¡°I am aware of that. First we take care of things here. Then we will see about that. We also already contacted The Heroic Alliance. They will be assisting as soon as they can,¡± Zane said.


    Invulnergirl felt somewhat relieved. She was tired as hell too. The only thing she wanted now was the safe comfort of her bed. Then she saw the paramedics carrying off Johnny Bubblegum. She ran to them.


    ¡°I want to go with him. Make sure he¡¯s okay,¡± she told the paramedics.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do,¡± one of the paramedics said. ¡°And you¡¯re not his next of kin, are you?¡±


    ¡°As a fellow superhero, maybe I am,¡± Invulnergirl said.


    ¡°Okay, come along,¡± the paramedic said.


    Invulnergirl followed them, looking over her shoulder at Hank. She wanted to tell him she would call him. But of course, she couldn¡¯t risk revealing her secret identity. So she just waved and walked along with the paramedics.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Thirty

    THIRTY


    The whole drive to the hospital Invulnergirl had been sitting next to Johnny Bubblegum. He¡¯d been unconscious the entire time, the wounds had been too much to bear. He got hooked up to an IV in the hospital and got a private room over there. Nurses and doctors hustled by his bed.


    ¡°Those wounds are very bad. We need to give him more blood!¡±


    ¡°We should close up the wounds!¡±


    ¡°That must have been some sharp blade.¡±


    The words of the medical personnel started to blend into a blur for Invulnergirl. She wished she could do something. Then a new voice spoke.


    ¡°I came as fast as I could. How is he?¡±


    Invulnergirl¡¯s jaw dropped. The voice belonged to the leader of the Heroic Alliance, the champion known as The Athlete. His costume was a blend of a marathon runner¡¯s outfit and a standard superhero spandex one. His mask covered half his face. There was a huge ¡°A¡± emblazoned all over his chest. On his back were his telescopic spear and on his arm his throwing discus.


    ¡°Athlete? Wow! Uh¡­ He¡¯s not good,¡± Invulnergirl managed to say.


    The Athlete extended his hand. ¡°I heard from the F.S.H.R. you were instrumental in saving his life. Thank you so much.¡±


    She shook it, still in awe. ¡°Yeah. Yeah, kind of I guess. But I shouldn¡¯t have gotten him hurt in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes there¡¯s now way to avoid us getting hurt. What you do after that is what counts. You¡¯re still very new at this, right?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Yeah. Just a couple days of wearing this mask.¡±


    ¡°Well, you already show promise. I wish the other folks of the Heroic Alliance were here, but they¡¯re battling some demons in another dimension. In a way I was lucky to have been captured by Doctor Mozart when they went over there. Now I¡¯m at least still on Earth.¡±


    ¡°You got captured by Doctor Mozart?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, not a big deal. I escaped without too much trouble. Those deathtraps of his are usually easy enough to escape from after some tries. Mozart got away I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ All right¡­¡± Invulnergirl just couldn¡¯t believe how relaxed The Athlete was about that. It sounded pretty worrying to be in the deathtrap of a big name supervillain like that. Would she ever become that confident?


    The Athlete walked over to one of the doctors. ¡°Hey, doc. How is he?¡±


    The doctor was as starstruck as Invulnergirl had been. ¡°Err¡­ Not good. He¡¯s losing a lot of blood still. We will stitch it up but there seems to be some damage to his lungs and liver.¡±


    ¡°We should give him some of this special bubblegum. That really speeds up his healing,¡± The Athlete said.


    ¡°He¡¯s out of gum,¡± Invulnergirl told the experienced hero. ¡°That¡¯s more or less how he got into this condition.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to get some of it,¡± The Athlete said.


    ¡°You have some?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. I know someone who does, though. Getting it won¡¯t be without danger though.¡±


    ¡°Then let me help you.¡± There didn¡¯t seem to be much Invulnergirl could do anymore in the hospital.


    The Athlete mulled over that. ¡°Not sure if you should go with me. This can get really dangerous for someone with so little experience.¡±


    ¡°Listen, I¡¯m not called The Indestructible Invulnergirl for nothing! Nothing can hurt me, so there will be no danger for me.¡±


    ¡°Indestructible?¡± The Athlete echoed.


    ¡°Let me show you,¡± she said and took a syringe from a hospital cart. She jabbed the needle in her hand. It didn¡¯t pierce it.


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to take on someone with just needles,¡± The Athlete said. ¡°Have you ever heard of The Hoarder?¡±


    ¡°I read something about him, yeah. He collects and sells superhero memorabilia, right?¡±


    ¡°Something like that. He is responsible for suppling a lot of supervillains with the most advanced kind of weaponry and magical items. That means he has a lot of weapons he can test your invulneralibitly with.¡±


    ¡°Anything to save Johnny,¡± Invulnergirl said.


    The Athlete smiled. ¡°You really sound like a superhero already.¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Thirty-One

    THIRTY-ONE


    Hank watched the F.S.H.R. leave the police station. Not only had they come with a helicopter, they had also arrived with a huge armored truck that they used to imprison the bad guys. Using that, they would transfer them to a special prison. He had to admit, they seemed to be pretty good at their job.


    Ortiz grabbed his arm. ¡°Kid, you do know you are still under arrest, right?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Do you really think it is a good time to bring that up now? After all we¡¯ve just been through?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. You still are. We still have that matter to sort out with that gun you were trying to buy,¡± Ortiz said.


    Marjorie joined them. ¡°Take it easy, Detective. I think it is best we focus on the current Red Raider problem first.  I will personally see to it Hank gets his day in court. I do think though, that he showed us he is a heroic young man, not a criminal.¡±


    ¡°Just trying to do my job,¡± Ortiz said. ¡°But sure, the kid showed some guts for sure.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just get him home. He probably needs some rest. I sure do,¡± Marjorie said, putting an arm around Hank.


    ¡°Yeah. I could use some rest and a drink myself. I¡¯m guessing the  F.S.H.R. will contact the chief soon enough about how we will deal with the Raider,¡± Ortiz said.


    ¡°The feds have full jurisdiction in events like these if they claim it,¡± Marjorie told Ortiz. ¡°I really don¡¯t like it when they tell us what to do, but that¡¯s how it is. And I will admit that they are better equipped and more experienced about dealing with this kind of stuff.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I guess,¡± Ortiz agreed. ¡°Fine. You go home. I¡¯ll pick up a bottle of rum and go home as well.¡±


    Marjorie walked Hank to her car. She took her place behind the wheel as he settled in next to her.


    ¡°Thanks for dealing with Detective Ortiz. And thanks for calling me heroic,¡± Hank told her.


    ¡°Hey, you really were. You¡¯re not indestructible like Invulnergirl. That makes you even more of a hero than she is in my book.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, but thanks. I¡¯m sorry I messed up with the whole gun buying affair.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll work it out. You¡¯re a good kid. It¡¯ll be okay. Let¡¯s just drive home and see how Katie is doing. Will be good to see she is safe. I gave her a call already but she didn¡¯t pick up her phone. Probably fell asleep reading a book. It¡¯s just that with the Raider and all those escaped prisoners on the loose I¡¯m really worried.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯s all right.¡± Hank hoped she indeed was okay. She¡¯d obviously taken what happened to Johnny Bubblegum very hard and personal.


    ¡°I hope. I couldn¡¯t reach Mike either, though. Probably sleeping through this whole ordeal as well. Nothing wakes him when he falls asleep.¡±


    ¡°Probably, yes.¡± In reality he wasn¡¯t too sure. The Red Raider had amassed quite an army from the police station prison.


    Marjorie started the car and put on the radio. The local news was playing. What they heard was not very comforting.


    The newscaster said, ¡°An army of heavily armed criminals has been popping up all over the city. So far, they robbed a jewelry, a bank, two department stores and set fire to an ambulance. We have been informed the F.S.H.R. has gotten involved as The Heroic Alliance is reported to be off planet. So far, no other local heroes have popped up yet. Sources also tell us the pink-clad champion Johnny Bubblegum has been hospitalized and is fighting for his life. The mayor advices all citizens to stay inside.¡±


    ¡°Damn,¡± Marjorie said. ¡°Things are getting crazier. Those bastards seem to be intent on tearing the city apart.¡±


    Hank was really wondering where Invulnergirl was a the moment.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Thirty-Two

    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.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°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!¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Thirty-Three

    THIRTY-THREE


    The wind blew in her face as Invulnergirl dropped out of the hatch of the Heroic Jet. She plummeted down toward the warehouse that served as the Hoarder¡¯s base of operations. As she saw the pavement come nearer she gulped. She knew she was indestructible. But dropping down from a flying jet really took that to the test.


    Her landing wasn¡¯t bad, and she had her cheerleader training to thank for that. She actually managed to land on her feet, bending the knees a bit to lessen the impact, hands on the ground to prevent her from falling down on her face. Perfect ten!


    She walked to the warehouse. There was a huge rollup, metal door. She tried to pull it up, but it was closed. Now what? If she had superstrength to go with her invulnerability like some big name superheroes had she would have been able to just tear it off like a sheet of paper.


    Then she heard some kind of engine sound. She turned around, looking up and saw a rocket come from the Heroic Jet. Her first instinct was to duck, to run¡­ But then she figured she would be okay. The rocket impacted with the door, a loud explosion shattering the door to pieces. Invulnergirl was blown off her feet and showered with fragments of metal that didn¡¯t even tickle her.


    She got back on her feet, brushing off some debris and ran inside the now free doorway. As soon as she put a step inside she was greeted by a hail of bullets. She had to cover her eyes a bit with her arms, not because she was afraid to get hurt, but to see something. She started to slap some bullets away as she moved forward and was able to identify where the bullets were coming from. A robot arm mounted on a slowly moving platform on tank tracks was firing a huge automatic rifle at her. An electronic eye on the arm¡¯s wrist seemed to do the tracking.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Invulnergirl jumped up, slapping a bullet like she was spiking a volleyball and directed it towards the electronic eye. The bullet smashed it. That didn¡¯t stop the robot from firing the rifle though, only now it was more erratically aimed. The indestructible cheerleader was able to avoid the bullets now however and just ran past the robot.


    Without having to concentrate on the robot she was able to get a better look at the warehouse. It was just filled with many metal and wooden crates, two forklifts¡­ Actually it looked pretty much like an average warehouse. There was no human in sight there. She looked up and noticed there was a metal balcony leading to a door. A metal stair led upwards. She ran up the stairs. Halfway there she was starting to wonder if she shouldn¡¯t have waited for the Athlete to join her. The adrenaline had really taken hold of her it seemed. Well, she was almost on the balcony anyway. What could happen to someone who¡¯s invulnerable, right?


    She¡¯d just arrived on the balcony when she could her the Athlete yell, ¡°Wait for me!¡±


    She looked down and saw the hero roll, duck and dive past the bullets the robot was still firing. He had no need of invulnerability or superpowers of any form. He was just the most accomplished athlete that had ever lived. Invulnergirl was aware she was a pretty good athlete herself, as her school¡¯s top cheerleader but there was no way she would ever become as agile as the Olympic crusader.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she yelled. ¡°Nothing can hurt me!¡±


    That¡¯s when she smelled something funny. Not the most pleasant odor in fact. She heard a hissing sound, put two and two together and understood she was in trouble.


    ¡°Crap, it¡¯s gas!¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Thirty-Four

    THIRTY-FOUR


    Green gas pored out of the ceiling. Invulnergirl put her hands in front of her mouth and nose, hoping to stop herself from breathing it in. Her body might be indestructible, but she figured inhaling gas might be harmful. From the balcony she could see the Athlete cover his mouth as well.


    Her eyes were starting to sting. She couldn¡¯t hold her breath for too much longer either. Her head felt it was about to burst. She just had to take one quick breath. That turned out to be enough for the gas to find its way inside of her. Her vision started to blur, her body seemed to become incredibly heavy as her knees started to buckle. Then everything went black.


    She opened her eyes, awakened by a posh, English sounding voice. ¡°Wakey, wakey¡­¡±


    At first her vision was still a bit blurry but after a minute or so her vision became sharper. She tried to move, but couldn¡¯t. Her arms and legs were bound by something. There was a man standing in front of her. He was wearing a long, black leather jacket. He was wearing a belt with pouches around his waist as well as a bandoleer with pouches. His hair was reddish, as was his goatee. He was wearing sunglasses, but one of the glasses looked more like a camera lens. Around his arm was some kind of huge bracelet that seemed to be made of all kinds of cybertech. Behind him were a lot of shelves and display cases filled with strange devices, weapons, bottles and vials.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Hello, dear. And who might you be? Let me introduce myself first. I¡¯m The Hoarder,¡± the man said.


    Invulnergirl groaned. Her head hurt and her throat ached. ¡°Invulnergirl.¡±


    ¡°Haha! Great name! Well, that gas took care of you quick enough. You went out faster than your buddy over there.¡±


    Invulnergirl followed the Hoarder¡¯s gaze, noticing The Athlete was next to her. He was tied down on a metal stretcher of some sort. He was conscious as well.


    ¡°I¡¯m the world¡¯s most accomplished athlete. My lung capacity beats that of most people,¡± the Athlete said. ¡°Good to see you¡¯re among the living, Invulnergirl.¡±


    ¡°Same here,¡± she said. They might have been captured, at least they were still both alive. That gave them a chance.


    ¡°You had some guts to just waltz in my headquarters like you did,¡± the Hoarder said. ¡°What prompted such a blitzkrieg approach?¡±


    ¡°I heard you have some of Johnny Bubblegum¡¯s special bubblegum. We need it,¡± the Athlete said.


    The Hoarder produced a small piece of wrapped gum from one of his pouches. ¡°You mean this?¡±


    The Athlete struggled against the leather bindings that kept him strapped to the stretcher.


    The Hoarder unwrapped the gum and put it in his mouth. He started to chew. ¡°So this should give me superstrength and superspeed just like it does for Johnny, right? Let¡¯s try that out then. Brace yourself, lady!¡±


    A flurry of punches at superspeed rained on Invulnergirl¡¯s face. Fists moved so fast, they were just a blur. The Hoarder must have punched her a thousand times before he stopped. She didn¡¯t have a scratch on her.


    The Hoarder blew on his knuckles. ¡°Ha! Amazing. You are invulnerable!¡±


    ¡°Told you!¡±


    The Hoarder cracked his knuckles as he slowly, menacingly walked over to the Athlete. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you aren¡¯t, though.¡±


    Invulnergirl wrestled against the leather straps around her wrists and legs with all her strength. ¡°Leave him alone, you bastard!¡±


    The Hoarder just laughed.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Thirty-Five

    THIRTY-FIVE


    Hank hated lying to Katie¡¯s mom. He couldn¡¯t tell Marjorie the truth however. They were searching the house for Katie. Hank would have loved to tell Marjorie her daughter was off with The Athlete, trying to save the city. It felt wrong to disclose Katie was secretly Invulnergirl though. So he had to play along and pretend he was as surprised as Marjorie was that Katie¡¯s wasn¡¯t there.


    ¡°I¡¯m really worried,¡± Marjorie said as she crashed on the couch. ¡°This is nothing like Katie. And with The Red Raider and his goons running amok anything could have happened to her.¡±


    Her husband agreed, ¡°It¡¯s very strange indeed. I¡¯m going to get the car and search the city.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we just call the police?¡± Hank suggested. He didn¡¯t want Katie¡¯s dad to risk his life in the city with all the supervillains there now.


    ¡°They¡¯re too busy fighting The Red Raider,¡± Marjorie said. ¡°Finding my baby won¡¯t be much of a priority.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it dangerous to go into the city now?¡± Hank asked.


    Katie¡¯s dad nodded. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s very dangerous out there. Exactly the reason I need to head into the city. If my Katie is there, I need to get her away from there.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Marjorie said. ¡°I¡¯m going to join you.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Hank started to understand where Katie had gotten her bravery from.


    ¡°All right,¡± Katie¡¯s dad said. ¡°We should probably gather some weapons. Get some kitchen knives.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s also a hockey stick and a baseball bat we can use,¡± Marjorie said.


    ¡°Those don¡¯t really sound effective against machine guns and superpowers,¡± Hank said.


    ¡°It¡¯s all we¡¯ve got,¡± Marjorie said.


    They loaded the trunk of the car with their makeshift weapons and drove off. Katie¡¯s dad was driving, Marjorie was sitting next to him. Hank was in the backseat.


    Hank wondered where exactly Katie was at the moment. If she only could gave her mom a call and tell them she was okay or something. Now they were heading right into a warzone.


    The closer the car came to the city center the louder the sirens were. Flames were coming from some stores. Half of the windows were broken. People were running across the streets like crazy. Some were panicking, others were looting. Armed thugs were stealing the shopkeepers blind. Instinctively Hank ducked when he saw two policemen in a firefight with two bad guys in front of a jewelry.


    ¡°It¡¯s even more terrible than I thought,¡± Marjorie said. ¡°The bad guys are everywhere. At this state there¡¯s no store unrobbed or building left unharmed. It¡¯s a nightmare. Where are the superheroes? Where¡¯s the F.S.H.R.?¡±


    As if on cue a futuristic helicopter flew past them.


    ¡°There they are,¡± Hank said. He could see two armed F.S.H.R. men stand in the doorway of the helicopter, ready to take action.


    A loud FWHOOOOOOSH could be heard. Hank spotted one of the Red Raider¡¯s henchmen carrying a rocket launcher in the middle of the street. The rocket he had just fired hit the helicopter. A loud explosion¡­ The helicopter started to spin and came crashing down.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Hank yelled.


    Katie¡¯s dad was just able to steer away from the crashing helicopter. It hit the ground with a loud thud, and exploded. Fragments flew through the air, a big piece of metal crashing through the front windshield. Katie¡¯s dad and Marjorie ducked just in time or else they would have been decapitated. The piece of metal came to a stop when it lodged itself in the backseat, right next to Hank.


    Hank wished Invulnergirl was there to help them.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Thirty-Six

    THIRTY-SIX


    The Hoarder¡¯s fist came at The Athlete¡¯s face. Instead of flesh it hit the metal stretcher the hero was tied to. The Olympic champion had managed to loosen the binds to his right side, moving away from the villain¡¯s blows.


    The Athlete rolled off the stretcher. ¡°The mastery of my body and joints are perfect, Hoarder. No big deal for me to wriggle out of something like that. Houdini¡¯s got nothing on me!¡±


    The Hoarder¡¯s fist came at the hero in superspeed again. The Athlete barely managed to step away. Invulnergirl was amazed how fast his reflexes were. She was pretty sure he had no real superpowers, but still he was able to dodge a punch at superspeed. If only she could get out of her binds as easily as he could. Guess that was where his years of experience came in?


    The Athlete ran to Invulnergirl. The Hoarder ran past him at superspeed, blocking him. The hero feigned a punch at The Hoarder¡¯s face that the villain easily dodged. The punch was just a ruse for the real attack. A kick against the villain¡¯s knee. There was a cracking sound that made Invulnergirl slightly nauseous. The villain lost his balance and fell down.


    Quickly The Athlete tugged a knife that was hanging from The Hoarder¡¯s belt out of its sheath. With a few quick cuts he freed Invulnergirl.


    ¡°That was amazing!¡± she said.


    ¡°Yeah. Hate to do damage like that to someone, but breaking his knee will slow him down enough for the bubblegum to wear off,¡± The Athlete said.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The Hoarder drew a gun from his belt. It looked very futuristic to Invulnergirl. ¡°I don¡¯t need to be able to walk to kill you!¡±


    The villain fired the gun, a laser blast emitting from it. Now it was Invulnergirl¡¯s turn to show what she could do. She jumped in front of it, taking the blast right in the chest without any harm.


    ¡°You¡¯ll find me very hard to kill,¡± she said. Then she did a spin kick that caught The Hoarder right in the face. The bubblegum flew out of his mouth.


    The Athlete showed his lightning quick reflexes again, jumped and caught the gum in his hand.


    ¡°Now we¡¯d like the rest of the gum you have,¡± Invulnergirl told The Hoarder.


    ¡°You really think I¡¯m that easily defeated? I¡¯ve got some more tricks up my sleeve,¡± The Hoarder set. He pushed a button on his belt and suddenly there was an awful screeching noise.


    Invulnergirl¡¯s ears hurt so much she went down on her knees. Apparently her superpowers couldn¡¯t defend her from a sonic attack. She covered her ears, but her hands couldn¡¯t really keep out the noise. She didn¡¯t know how The Athlete was able to stand it long enough to reach the villain and tear the belt off of him, but he did. The noise stopped.


    A blade ejected from The Hoarder¡¯s gauntlet like a stiletto. It slashed at The Athlete, who was just able to evade it. The blade drew some blood, leaving a red mark on his chest.


    ¡°Enough!¡± The Athlete said and punched the villain with all his might. The Hoarder dropped down right on his face.


    Invulnergirl gently touched The Athlete¡¯s chest. ¡°Oh god¡­ You¡¯re bleeding¡­¡±


    ¡°Just a scratch. I¡¯ve had much worse. Let¡¯s search The Hoarder¡¯s clothes for more of the bubblegum. He won¡¯t be out forever. I suggest you do the searching. He might have some boobytraps on that costume of his.¡±


    ¡°Sounds logical,¡± Invulnergirl said. She did however, worry about it a bit. She¡¯d come to trust on her invulnerability but had twice found out now her indestructibility didn¡¯t protect her from all danger. First the gas, then the sonic attack. Of course, a hero was a real hero because she dared to face danger even though she could be in mortal danger.

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Thirty-Seven

    THIRTY-SEVEN


    The Athlete had undressed The Hoarder, leaving him tied up on the floor, wearing only his underwear. Invulnergirl had to admit the bad guy had a pretty good physique. Guess battling superheroes kept you in shape.


    ¡°Without access to his gadget he will be nicely wrapped up for some time. I¡¯m afraid the police will be too busy to pick him up right now. We should get out of here now, I¡¯ve found a full pack of bubblegum on him. We should get it to Johnny now,¡± The Athlete told Invulnergirl.


    ¡°I was pretty surprised that bubblegum gave The Hoarder the same powers as Johnny. I figured it only worked on him or something. Why doesn¡¯t he mass-produce it and hand it out to other heroes?¡± Invulnergirl wondered.


    ¡°No idea. Maybe he can¡¯t produce enough of the stuff for others? I don¡¯t know. Besides that, having superstrength and superspeed can be tricky. If you don¡¯t learn to user those powers correctly you might break someone when you just want to hug them or run yourself to death when you take a wrong turn at superspeed. It¡¯s all not as easy as Johnny makes it look. Plus, I heard it¡¯s got a lot of sugar in it. Sugar¡¯s bad for you, you know?¡±


    Invulnergirl wasn¡¯t sure The Athlete was serious or joking with that last line. He was a pretty white bread kind of guy. ¡°Yeah, maybe it¡¯s one of those reasons.¡±


    ¡°Time to head for the jet now,¡± The Athlete said.


    The heroes left the room they were in, which turned out to be a small office in the big warehouse. As soon as they left the office they were spotted by another robot. This one was built to look like a bug and was about the size of a large dog. It skittered towards them on its mechanical legs.


    ¡°I hate bugs!¡± Invulnergirl said, taking a step back.


    ¡°Then let me take care of it,¡± The Athlete said. He jumped up, flicking out his telescopic spear as he did.


    He landed on top of the mechanical bug, spear first. The spear impaled the bug, sparks flying. He pushed a foot against it so he was able to draw his spear out of it again. For good measure he gave it a kick.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Wow, thanks!¡± Invulnergirl said.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± the hero said. ¡°Come on!¡±


    They met no other obstacles on their way to the jet that was parked in front of the warehouse. Quickly they got inside of it.


    The Athlete took his place behind the controls and Invulnergirl took the shotgun seat. She watched the hero press button and flip switches, wondering how long it would take her to learn to fly a machine like this. Somehow the experienced heroes made difficult stuff look easy.


    The jet lifted off vertically in the air. The Athlete moved the control stick ahead and the jet flew off.


    A beeping sound filled the room. The Athlete flipped another switch and on a cockpit screen appeared the face of a good looking woman with black hair and a tiara. On the tiara a pentagram was pictured. Invulnergirl recognized her.


    ¡°Holy crap, that¡¯s Warrior Witch!¡±


    The Athlete smiled. ¡°Yes it is. Come in, Witch.¡±


    Warrior Witch spoke with an English accent. ¡°Hi, Athlete! We are almost ready to head back from the Demon Dimension to Earth. We¡¯ve received some distress calls about some kind of trouble with The Red Raider?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± The Athlete said. ¡°Between you coming back from outer space and heading to the Demon Dimension stuff went pear shaped pretty quickly here. Johnny is in the hospital now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, when we came back from space he told us he had some business to take care of in his hometown. Then we had to go to the Demon Dimension to aid The Spectral Knight pretty fast. That explains why he couldn¡¯t get back to us when we asked him to join. We had a quick but viscious fight over here with some demons trying to enter our dimension. While we held off the demons The Spectral Knight was able to destroy their gateway. Now he¡¯s going to create one for us so we can head back to you and help out. I hope Johnny is not in too bad a shape?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s pretty heavily wounded but we are heading over to him with a batch of his bubblegum. We hope that will help him heal,¡± The Athlete explained.


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Then Warrior Witch moved closer to the camera. ¡°Who¡¯s that girl sitting next to you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the indestructible Invulnergirl. She¡¯s new to the scene, but so far has been doing great. She¡¯s a great addition to the ranks of superpowered champions if you ask me.¡±


    Invulnergirl felt her cheeks redden. ¡°Thanks. Hi, Warrior Witch. I¡¯m a big fan.¡± She immediately regret her words. How could the heroes think of her as a serious hero if she was fangirling out like that.


    ¡°Pleased to meet you,¡± Warrior Witch said. ¡°Take care you two. We¡¯ll be there soon. Warrior Witch out.¡±


    Then the screen went dark.


    The Athlete gave Invulnergirl a big smile. ¡°Impressive lady, right?¡±


    She felt so stupid. ¡°Err¡­ Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯re almost at Johnny¡¯s. Hopefully the Heroic Alliance returns to Earth before The Red Raider and his goons have destroyed the city.¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Thirty-Eight

    THIRTY-EIGHT


    Hank scrambled out of the car. He was afraid the pieces of the crashed helicopter had damaged the car so much it might blow up.


    Katie¡¯s mom and dad came running after him.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Marjorie yelled.


    ¡°I¡¯m out of here before the car blows up,¡± Hank said, running towards a bookstore across the street.


    Marjorie showed how fit she was, now running next to Hank. ¡°Cars don¡¯t blow up as easily as in the movies.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to test that. Let¡¯s get in that bookstore for cover.¡±


    Marjorie pointed to the crashed helicopter. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we try to help the guys in the helicopter?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone could have survived that,¡± Katie¡¯s dad, having caught up with them. ¡°And we can¡¯t get to that helicopter unharmed if those bastards start firing at us.¡±


    ¡°It feels wrong,¡± Marjorie said. ¡°I wish I was as indestructible as Invulnergirl.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Hank had opened the door of the bookstore. ¡°Quickly, come inside!¡±


    Katie¡¯s mom and dad joined him inside the bookstore. There were three people already in there. An older, gray man, a younger black woman and a middle-aged man with a tweed jacket and a moustache.


    The man with the moustache said, ¡°Are you folks okay? I heard a loud explosion.¡±


    ¡°That was a crashing helicopter you heard. But we are fine,¡± Marjorie said. ¡°Can we hide here until those gunmen leave?¡±


    ¡°Of course. You can stay in my store as long as you want. What a crazy situation. Luckily those creeps are only interested in expensive gadgets and jewelry, not in books so they seem to be happy to leave my store alone,¡± the man said.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen that much fire and explosions since my time in Korea,¡± the old man said. ¡°Brings up some damn bad memories.¡±


    ¡°But how long do we have to stay here? I¡¯m starting to get hungry,¡± the black woman said.


    ¡°Maybe we can quickly head over to the grocery store that¡¯s just around the corner,¡± the storeowner suggested.


    ¡°I¡¯d be willing to make a quick run over there,¡± Hank said. ¡°I¡¯m hoping they won¡¯t be paying much attention to one young man. I¡¯ll just wait until they don¡¯t seem to be focusing on this street and make a run for it.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty fast. I can do it as well,¡± Marjorie offered.


    ¡°I¡¯m still in trouble for that gun thing, my dad died¡­ I have less to lose then you do. I¡¯ll risk it,¡± Hank said.


    ¡°I¡¯m an old man, I have less years to go then you do. I can make the run,¡± the old man offered.


    ¡°That¡¯s really brave,¡± Hank said. ¡°But I¡¯m quicker. I¡¯ll go.¡±


    He had a look through the window. He could see three of The Red Raider¡¯s men patrol the street. They walked to the helicopter. They searched it, dragged out dead bodies and took the weapons the deceased F.S.H.R. were wearing.


    One of the henchmen turned around. He looked Hank straight in the eye. He walked to the store.


    Fear gripped Hank¡¯s heart. ¡°Oh no!¡±

 The Indestructible Invulnergirl - Chapter Thirty-Nine

    THIRTY-NINE


    Hank started to run, shouting at the other people in the store to do the same. He heard the sound of breaking glass but didn¡¯t turn around.


    ¡°Follow me inside,¡± the storeowner said and opened a door in the back. They all followed him.


    Hank could hear the sound of heavy boots thudding on the floor. As he followed the others inside the opened door he glanced behind him. Two Red Raiders had entered, carrying heavy guns. He quickly closed the door.


    They were inside a room filled with crates and boxes now. Obviously the place where the storeowner kept the books he had no room for in the store or books that just came in.


    ¡°Shove the boxes against the door,¡± Marjorie said. ¡°Let¡¯s get it blocked! Quick!¡±


    Like madmen they started to shove the boxes but they were way to late. Loud thuds could be heard against the door, the sound of the Raiders kicking at it with their boots. Then the sound of gunfire. The door got blasted to pieces.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    The Raiders entered the room. One of them said, ¡°What were you looking at? You didn¡¯t call any cops did you?¡±


    ¡°No, no¡­ We¡¯re just trying to be safe here, leaving you to your business,¡± Hank said.


    ¡°I think I will feel better when we have silenced you all,¡± the Raider said. He took aim of Hank.


    A loud voice  behind the Raider said, ¡°Stop!¡±


    The Raiders turned around and suddenly went flying through the room.


    The Athlete and Invulnergirl entered the room.


    ¡°Really, just two quick kicks were enough?¡± The Athlete said.


    The Raiders got back on their feet. One of them said, ¡°You caught us by surprise, that¡¯s all.¡±


    One of the Raiders drew a pistol and fired it at the two heroes. Invulnergirl ran right into the bullets and clocked the shooting Raider with a haymaker punch. His eyes rolled up and his body went down.


    The other Raider fell victim to The Athlete¡¯s disc that he threw right against the criminal¡¯s jaw.


    ¡°You folks okay?¡± The Athlete asks.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Yeah¡­ I guess. I¡¯m so happy you showed up! How did you know we were here and in danger?¡± Hank asked.


    ¡°We saw a burning helicopter, heard gunfire when we flew over,¡± The Athlete said. ¡°We figured we should stop over for a second.¡±


    ¡°You take care. We have to go now,¡± Invulnergirl said. ¡°Try to stay out of trouble.¡±


    Hank just stood there, staring at Invulnergirl as she walked off again. Man, she was becoming cooler by the day.

 The Indestructibel Invulnergirl - Chapter Forty

    FORTY


    Invulnergirl and The Athlete walked out of the store and into the streets. Raiders were pillaging everywhere. Cars and buildings were on fire, car alarms blaring. The Heroic Jet was parked in the street, but several armed Raiders were around it, probably thinking they hit the jackpot with it.


    ¡°We need to get into the jet and to Johnny Bubblegum as quick as possible. He needs his gum. Let¡¯s get busy,¡± The Athlete said to Invulnergirl and with a shake of his wrist he elongated his telescopic spear.


    Invulnergirl put a fist in her open palm, copying his tough hero move to fit in. She could almost hear the soundtrack.


    Polevaulting with the spear The Athlete landed two feet on one of the Raiders. Standing on top of his unconscious body the knocked out another one with a smack of the spear.


    Invulnergirl cartwheeled to the Raiders, knocking out one with her feet as she crashed into him. Another Raider fired his gun, up close into her stomach. She just smiled and elbowed him in the throat, having him stumble back. She followed up with a roundhouse kick that took him out.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.A spinkick, two karatechops and one judo throw by Athlete took out the last of the Raiders. He put is thumb on the electronic reader of the Heroic Jet¡¯s door to open it. ¡°Come on in.¡±


    Automatically steps extended from the Jet¡¯s door and the heroes got into the plane.


    The Athlete took his place behind the yoke of the plane, Invulnergirl took the seat next to him.


    ¡°All right, let¡¯s get this baby over to the hospital and save Johnny¡¯s life,¡± The Athlete said.


    Invulnergirl watched the burning, chaotic streets below as the Jet got airborne. ¡°I feel bad leaving the streets and the people there to themselves. You don¡¯t need me anymore. Just get the gum to Johnny and make sure he is all right. I will stay with those people and make sure they are safe.¡±


    ¡°You sure? Lots of bad guys there!¡± The Athlete told her.


    ¡°Not much that can hurt me, right? I¡¯ll be okay until the Heroic Alliance shows up. Just open the hatch.¡±


    As she plummeted down, a parachutist without a parachute, wind rushing through her hair Invulnergirl had to admit she kind of loved this feeling. Was she turning into an adrenaline junkie? She felt so alive! Hopefully she would stay that way until the other heroes showed up.