How to Survive a Supervillain Attack

Saturday, March 14: The Hideout

The day passes too quickly, and suddenly, it's Saturday morning. I send a quick text to my family informing them that I am not dead and will call them tomorrow. I stop myself from typing "...if I survive."

I still haven't thought up a believable excuse against staying overnight. Worst case scenario, I decide that I will look at my phone and announce, "Oh no, my grandma is dying—Got to go!" and screw the consequences to my career.

I pull up the location of Vocal's old hideout on my phone and plug one earbud into my ear to listen to the directions to keep one ear open and my eyes free (drive safely, people).

I bike as slowly as I can to the site, hoping for once that some villain attack interrupts my progress. Maybe if I'm late enough, Aaron will leave me behind.

Instead of animated objects walking around and helping people out, the central quadrant has little robots. It's hard to see them at first because they are colored to blend into their environment, but every once in a while, one will move enough to make you look twice at that wall. I'm already jumpy when I enter the quadrant, so the robots almost cause me to fall off my bike multiple times.

The coordinates lead to an empty lot of dirt. A "For Sale" sign is planted up front, but it is decorated with so much foreboding graffiti that it is hard to glean any other information from it.

Aaron, two of the others from Group G, and someone new stand on the lot. The two group members are Xenith and Greg. They are both silent workers with goth attire. I've heard the two of them are dating, but I've never seen them show public affection toward one another.

The unknown person is a girl shorter than me by an inch. She has short reddish hair and grey eyes, but her vibe gives off if plant growth were scattered everywhere. As I approach the lot, she bounces back and forth between her feet, a smile on her face that tells me she has never met a villain before and has no idea what she's getting into.

I lock my bike to the "For Sale" sign next to a dark green bike that I assume is Aaron's.

"Hey Ruby!" Aaron waves at me and turns to the new girl. Thrusting his thumb at me, he tells her, "That's Ruby." He turns back to me. "This is Jina. She just moved into town from Mexico. She's the newest employee of Security Saver, and she decided to join our group! Isn't that great?"

That explains the excitement. I watch as Jina hops up to me and shoots her hand out. "Hello. I am Jina. Oh, Aaron said that. I am very excited for today! I love danger!"

I stare at her and then at Aaron, Xenith, and Greg. They no longer are paying attention to the newbie. I look back at Jina. I decide Aaron is officially stupid for allowing someone this naïve on a trip like this. "You do know this is a supervillain's old hideout, right?"

She bobs her head. "Yes! I want to see a villain! Super scary, right?"

"When did you say you moved here?"

"I moved yesterday, but I got this job last week." Oh no. This poor girl has no idea what she has gotten herself into.

"I'm going to explain the situation since clearly no one else has," I tell her. "This way, you don't die within the week."

"Okay!"

"This is not something to be happy about," I try to control my breathing.

"Ah, come on! It is like a movie! Think of the fun we will have."

"No. Not fun." Time for a new approach. "What do you know about Vocal?"

"He is a supervillain that can read minds." She wiggles her fingers at me. "Spooky, ay?"