Truly Heroic

Invisible

The blue combat suit I wear seems to float in the air. No face, no hands, no feet, no me to be seen. But I'm there. Invisible like always.

I adjust my helmet, tucking my short ponytail up underneath, and pull my goggles down. I stare into the mirror for a moment, willing myself to appear. Of course, nothing happens. It never does.

I've never actually seen myself, so I have no idea what I look like. Although, no matter how hard I try, I never seem to be able to get rid of my pudginess, so I can't be anything too impressive.

I turn swiftly away from the mirror, away from the reminder that I am not like others. I take a deep breath, slide my gun into my holster, then leave the changing room.

I jog down the hallway to the flight deck, where my older brother Alec stands hooking a harness to the front of his suit. Alec, the perfect hero, tall and blond with super strength, super speed, the power to fly, and loved by everyone. Then there's me, his invisible little sister.

"Try not to turn everything invisible again, it looks weird." He grins, offering me the other end of his harness to strap myself in.

"Right." I reply, willing the invisibility to stay inside me and not seep into everything I touch. I hook myself in with quick, practiced hands.

Alec pulls his googles down, bounces twice, then takes off. Immediately, we soar high into the air, the large, glowing city growing smaller by the second. My stomach rolls. I'll never get used to the sensation of being so far above the ground.

I grit my teeth, almost shouting the be heard over the roaring wind. "What did the B.O.A.R.D. say about the assignment?" They always contact Alec and just have him relay the information to me later.

"We're dealing with a hostage situation in an abandoned A.R.M.Y. bunker," he shouts back, voice almost lost in the wind. There are multiple abandoned A.R.M.Y. bunkers surrounding the city, leftovers from Wide War 4 several decades ago. The areas surrounding them is now full of criminals, but they usually steer clear of the actual bunkers. I try to puzzle through the situation until Alec taps me on the head. My suit is fading in and out. I grit my teeth, pulling my focus back onto my power.

Far below, the glowing, clean city is replaced with dim, dirty, broken buildings. Trash overflows from bins, and the streets are cracked. A few seconds later, we're past that and over the forest directly surrounding the bunker. Alec descends quickly, landing smoothly.

I unhook myself from the harness. Then I turn towards the bunker, tapping my wrist to bring up a holographic map of the area. The surrounding energy signals are like nothing I've ever seen. But, I'm no expert. I turn my attention to the red dots that indicate heat signatures around the bunker. There are several, all too strategically placed to be animals.

"It shouldn't be too hard. We just need a distraction to split them up and I can take them out." Alec says, examining his own map. I hold back a groan. Distraction is where I always come into play. "You can do that. Once we're done, I'll get in there and rescue the hostages. Meet up here." He taps his map, and a blue dot appears on mine.

"Okay." I mutter, unholstering my gun. I let my invisibility flow through my suit until everything disappears completely. Very stealth.

Alec nods, then gestures for me to hurry up as he springs off the ground.

I make my way through the trees and brush, careful to avoid making a sound. A bit difficult with all the crunchy leaves that litter the ground, but not impossible. Slowly, but steadily, I approach the base. I note the trees and other landmarks as I go. As the tip of the building comes into view among the tops of the trees, I check my gun's charge yet again. I pause, pulling up the map. The guards should be just ahead.

A flash of black through the brush, clearly a humanoid figure. I take two deep breaths, the soft scent of pine mixing in the crisp air.

I raise my gun and shoot above the shadowy figure. The ball of glowing electricity is enough to get the attention of the whole bunker. I fire a couple more shots, then dart back through the woods.

I wince. The crunch beneath my feet now sounds as loud as an angry bull. The noisy footsteps behind me confirm that I've done my job well. I scan the trees, looking for the perfect one I'd seen earlier near the meetup spot. There, just ahead.

I pump my legs harder, determined to stay out of the guard's direct line of sight.

A shot rockets into a nearby tree, leaving a large, shallow, smoking hole in its trunk. My eyes widen. I swallow back a scream. More blasts fill the air, the scent of burnt wood growing by the second. I jump, grabbing the lowest branch of the tree. I pull myself up, then climb high into the branches. The sound of sizzling wood and blasts of energy echo through the woods.

The guards pass under me without even a glance upward. I release a heavy breath, clenching my trembling hands into fists. I hate being the distraction. But now my only job is to wait until Alec deals with the guards and rescues the hostages.

Time passes slowly, but that's pretty normal when you're clinging to a tree and images of guards returning to blast holes of electricity through you keep running through your head. It doesn't help my wild imagination that I've never seen a gun that powerful. Not even the B.O.A.R.D.'s weaponry is that advanced.

Finally, Alec floats towards me, a group of wide eyed, gaunt people wrapped in blankets following in his wake. I scamper down from the tree, pulling my power back into myself so the suit is visible. I try, in vain, to become visible myself for just a second, then rush toward the group.

Alec spots my suit first and waves. "This is my sister, Raz."

"Hi." I say, mentally slapping myself. What kind of greeting is that? I can't smooth talk to save my life. Seriously, polar opposite of my brother in every way. Although, the people seem so unsettled that they don't even look startled by my invisible self. Or my awkward greeting.

I drop to the back of the group, holding my gun tight, scanning the area for any attackers Alec could have missed. It's very slow going with the injured and shocked people, but eventually we make it to the edge of the forest where an A.R.M.Y. bus waits.

Before they board, a skinny little kid, all bones and dirt smudges walks up to Alec. "Thank you for saving us. I've seen you on TV, and I didn't think you'd come. But you did!" The boy flashes a grin. Alec grins back, patting the boy on his head. The kid's jaw practically hits the ground, and I roll my eyes. One benefit of being invisible is that no one can see you mock them.

I stand at the edge of the crowd, one eye on the forest, the other on the feeble group. Almost all of them thank my brother, passing me by without a second glance.

I try again to force away my power as I watch the last liberated civilian disappear inside the bus.