of white heading into danger while everyone else claws to get away. Behind him is that new girl—Joy, I think—awkwardly bumping into scared bystanders and trying to stay on Matt’s trail. Once they reach the sinkhole, Girl Power jumps in, lifting people up out of the hole and back to safety, while Vaporizer disappears in and out, working his way through the crowd to try to find the flame bomber villain. People cling to him, pulling at his hero suit, so he keeps turning invisible, staying in pursuit.
I’ve seen Matt in action plenty of times, not only in person but on recorded rescues he’d watch for training purposes. But this feels different somehow. Usually when I’m watching him work, it’s because he’s rescuing me, fighting tooth and nail to save his love. He’d be focused on his purpose, doing everything it took to get to his girlfriend in time. Here, on the corner of Michigan and Adams, he’s lost, frazzled, frantically searching for a bad guy he can’t find. He moves sloppily through the crowd, invisibility blinking in and out. He’s off his game, and it’s the kind of careless behavior that could get him hurt.
I want to yell to him, words of encouragement to snap him back into form, but there’s no way he’d hear me over the calamity. He stands on the edge of the sinkhole, looking out into the panicked mayhem, and for a split second, I think he sees me, clinging to this lion. But then Girl Power is pushing the bus up out of the concrete crater, and he’s back to helping victims as ambulances arrive on the scene.
Sirens wailing, Becca finally looks up, peering over my shoulder. After taking in the mess before us, she says, “Don’t worry, B. He knows what he’s doing.”
And I hope she’s right, because while Matt may no longer be in my world, I still need to know he’s here.
Vaporizer Is Single!
HeroHearts.usa
The day we’ve all been waiting for has come: Vaporizer is a free man! Reputable sources claim Matt Rodriguez has finally detached from his longtime girlfriend, Bridgette Rey. While Warrior Nation does not comment on the heroes’ romantic lives, both Matt and Bridgette have been spotted separately crying in public, and Matt’s social media has gone dark. Vaporizer has been off the market since the day he entered our hearts, much to the dismay of his countless fans, but now that he’s single, we expect Vaporizer fever to flame into a total frenzy.
182,000 Comments
@VaporLover29
OMG Matt’s so hot this is the best news of my liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife
@hot4heroes
Yes yes yes all my dreams are coming true!
@invisiblegirlfriend
Can’t believe he ever dated that B in the first place
@TruWarriorGrrl
MATT I’LL COMFORT YOU
“AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?”
My hand freezes on the doorknob, my mom somehow materializing out of thin air. I wanted to do something nice for her, to make up for the drama of last night’s kidnapping, but it won’t be as good if she gets mad at me first.
“Um, to get donuts?” I admit, caught in my good deed. “I figured we could both use the extra sugar rush after being up so late.”
But despite her raging sweet tooth and weak spot for morning pastries, she’s not having it. Arms crossed over the front of her fuzzy pink robe, dirty-blond bob sticking up on one side, she taps a fluffy bunny slipper and somehow makes it menacing. “You’re not leaving. We can have oatmeal.”
I turn my nose up. “Blech, am I being punished?”
“No…Yes…I’m not sure yet.” She slumps down onto the couch, rubbing her hands over her tired face. Puffy half-moons hang under her bloodshot eyes, and she curls herself into a ball as I sit at her feet. “We need to talk about this internship.”
I pause, mid-blanket-cocooning. “What do you mean?”
She clears her throat, propping her head up on a throw pillow. “I know how hard you’ve worked for this”—I don’t like where this is going—“but working at Warrior Nation doesn’t seem like a good idea anymore.”
I feel like I’m stuck in some kind of gelatinous goo, like in Blue Streak, issue #134, where my favorite hero battled Sludge, trapped in his swamp of oozing muck. Fictionalized but based on real events, the comic depicts how Blue Streak became temporarily paralyzed by the glop, unable to move until Sludge finished his monologue about how easy it was to spread his treachery across the city. But eventually the Warrior found his strength, unwilling to listen to such nonsense. I have