Week 23.1 – China

Previously: While Twain was trying to figure out the secret of Yi Fan, the plane bearing Metalord and Digger went into a dive. And now…

Digger overcame his panic at the plane’s initial plunge to unbuckle his seatbelt and lunge up out of his seat.

“What are you doing?” Amanda shouted. She grabbed for his hand, but Digger dodged away and used the bolted-down lounge furniture to pull himself toward the cockpit. He had to start the engines and pull them out of the dive.

He reached the cockpit door and yanked it open. “Wait!” he heard from behind him.

Amanda was trying to reach him, but he realized that the strangled cry he’d heard had been Cole’s voice. Tiffany must have attacked him somehow, causing his power to fail and sending the plane into a dive. Which meant Amanda was probably an accomplice.

He slammed the door shut and locked it, then turned to behold a huge array of switches, completely incomprehensible to a layman. Or at least a layman without powers. He pulled himself into the pilot’s seat and flipped switches at random, letting his unconscious do the work. If Cortex was right about his powers, he might be able to start the engines without even knowing how.

He ignored the pounding on the door  and Amanda’s muffled shouts as he listened to the turbines try to start. He hoped there was enough fuel in the tanks to get the plane moving again. Once he had saved them from dying, he would worry about what to do with Tiffany and Amanda.

And then, just as the engines were catching, the lights flickered back on and the plane leveled itself back out. Metalord’s power had reasserted itself.

“See?” Amanda’s voice said through the door.

[blockquote type=”blockquote_quotes” align=”right”]He pulled himself into the pilot’s seat and flipped switches at random, letting his unconscious do the work. If Cortex was right about his powers, he might be able to start the engines without even knowing how.[/blockquote]“See what?” Digger asked.

“We’re fine,” Amanda said. “Cole’s not going to let us crash.”

Digger got up and opened the door to the cockpit. “You mean, you expected that to happen?”

“Yeah, that always happens when he comes,” Amanda said.

“Wait, you mean he was…” Digger sat back down in the pilot’s seat.

Amanda sat beside him in the co-pilot’s chair. “Of course. I mean, I was practically sitting in your lap back there. You didn’t think we were really stewardesses, did you?”

“You’re not stewardesses?”

“No, we’re escorts,” Amanda said. “Don’t look so surprised.”

“And he’s paying you to come along for this entire trip,” Digger said. “That sounds like a lot of money.”

“Well, we give him a break on the price because we can do all the shopping we want, duty-free,” Amanda said. “I mean, we never go through customs.”

“This is crazy,” Digger said. “I’m on a plane with a crazy person.”

“He told you he gets bored easily,” Amanda said. “But the first time is always the worst.”

“The first time?”

“Don’t worry,” Amanda said with a wicked smile. “You ever thought about joining the Mile-High Club youself?”

Digger looked down at the waters of the Pacific, too close for comfort below, though they were gaining altitude again. “We’re not a mile high.”

“Shut up,” she said. She straddled his lap and kissed him.

Will Digger reach China alive? If he dies, will he die happy? Join us tomorrow for the next exciting episode!

To read from the beginning, click here…