Chapter No.52. Kombat.

Things returned to normal again, which only proves that even superheroes get breaks, but then again, they're not normal superheroes.

James and Sylvia like to hike in the nearby woods where there are many paved trails through the trees and around ponds.  The weather was perfect, a slight breeze and partly cloudy made it comfortable. It's normally peaceful, but on one such walk, things got a bit out of hand.

"Do you think we'll ever be able to live a normal life?" Sylvia asked.

"I doubt it," James said. "Hopefully, we can enjoy what little of it we can."

"I think we're about to be tested," she said.

James frowned. "Yeah, I think you're right."

Six young men emerged from the trees. They were attired in jeans and tight-fitting jerseys and they appeared to be looking for trouble, especially after they blocked James and Sylvia's path.

"Nice girl you got!" one of them said. "How about sharing her."

James smiled and looked at Sylvia. "Looks like a good time to try our combat training."

"I believe you're right," she replied, ginning.

"You think it's funny?" the guy growled.

James curled his fingers and gestured. "Come and get it."

The men rushed up, but James and Sylvia were suddenly behind them. The guys turned to engage. Sylvia jumped up with her right leg out and did a quick twirl in midair, knocking two of then down. James leaped up and kicked the obvious leader, sending him spiraling to the ground. The other men advanced, but both James and Sylvia landed smashing kicks to them. The leader got back up is and pulled a gun from his pocket. James noted it and made it come into his hands. He crushed it into a lump of metal and threw it at him conking his head. The rest of the men stayed on the ground.

"If I were you, gentlemen, I would avoid stupid moves like this," James said before he and Sylvia walked away.

"Idiots!" James declared.

"I agree," Sylvia said.

They laughed.

However, the session had not ended. James and Sylvia were blocked by a much larger group of adversaries, but these weren't human. They were demons with wings, and they represented a serious threat.

"Looks like we have a real battle to fight," James said.

"We can't take all of them on ourselves," Sylvia said.

Just then Robert, Janet and Sparky appeared attired in their outfits. James and Sylvia changed into theirs.

The battle began when the demons flew up and rushed toward the superheroes. Robert decided to use a wedge attack with him at the point. It allowed the superheroes to split the demon force, which gave them a chance to attack the middle of their formation.

Firing energy beams from their eyes, the superheroes were able to deflect the energy beams from the demons. This prompted the demons to try smashing into the superheroes, but rapid changes in velocity and direction thwarted that tactic. What was left consisted of a good old fashion slug fest.

Demon blows sent the superheroes to the ground, but they got back up and used faster attacks to knock the demons out well enough to allow the them to deliver damaging blows.

Sparky helped by distracting the demons, which allowed the superheroes the opportunity to deliver destructive blows.

However, Robert realized that the only way that this rumble was going to end was for him to destroy the leader, a larger demon with a long lance. The demon had horns that curled around his head and he was enveloped in beams of fire, resembling the demons that they had already engaged.

Robert noted that the leader had a long tail. He decided to fly at the leader and then duck down to grab its tail. The leader was surprised by that move, but he didn't realize that Robert had him by the proverbial balls, and Robert didn't waste any time using the advantage. He swung the demon in a wide arc that sent him crashing into a bolder.

The lead demon exploded in a thunderous blast of fire, causing the other demons to self-destruct.

"Way to go, Dad," James exclaimed while holding his hand up for a high five.

"I thought we were goners," Janet said.

"Do we get brownie points for this?" James asked.

"Hopefully we proved that we're capable of winning the war against evil," Sylvia said.

"I think this was like a battle in Mortal Kombat," James said. "We proved that good can prevail over evil."

"Well," Robert said. "It's over and we can relax with a good meal."

"I smell a journey to a foreign culinary destination.," James said.

"I thought we could go to the beach In Rio de Janeiro to catch a snack and then fly over the Amazon."

"Sounds cool to me," James said.

They appeared behind a beach front food truck. After walking out in front of the truck, Robert noted that there was a fairly long line waiting to get food. He pointed to an unoccupied bench nearby. "Grab a seat. I'll order something."

Janet, James and Sylvia sat down on a bench while Robert got in line. After several minutes he returned with a basket containing brown balls.

"What are they?" James asked.

"It's casquinha de siri better known as blue crab shells," he said.

Janet tried a bite of one. "Mmm! Tastes good!"

Robert shrugged. "Hey, it's what the locals eat."

After finishing the impromptu meal, the superheroes walked the beach looking over the many people enjoying the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Some were sunning themselves, while others were playing with a beach ball.

"Lot of people here," Janet said.

"It's a very popular location," Robert said. "It's a good way to cool off."

"Yeah, it's plenty hot out here," James said.

"I think it's time to check out the rainforest," Robert said.

The superheroes became invisible and flew off toward the Amazon rainforest, the largest such on the planet. Much of it was obscured by dense cover, but the superheroes could see what was down there using their X-ray vision.

"It's a shame that deforestation has brought the Amazon to being destroyed," Janet said. "The diversity of species is being decimated."

"Yes," Robert said. "Maybe we could do something about that."

"What could we do?" James asked.

"How about prompting the plant life into growth acceleration in regions where it has been destroyed."

"Wouldn't they just clear it out again?" Janet asked.

"Yes, but not everywhere. Let's give it a try."

They began causing the soil to become pregnant again and the growth of plants to accelerate. The sight of a new greening was exhilarating. The immediate effect of their work was several rainstorms to boil up and add lifegiving water to those parched areas.

When they returned home, it wasn't long until they got a call from Jason, the head of NASA. Janet gave the phone to her husband.

"Our EOS picked up some recent increase in canopy coverage in the Amazon. Is that something you did?"

"Yes. We went down to Rio de Janeiro and decided to fly over the Amazon."

"So, you increased the foliage over a hundred thousand square kilometers?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure of how large an area we affected."

Silence before Jason reacted. "I'm sure you must be aware of how important the Amazon rainforest is to the ecology of Earth. What you just did literally stopped its conversion to a savannah."

"I'm happy we could do something to help."

"Help! You instantly reversed something that has been going on for centuries."

"Is that a problem?"

Jason laughed. "Let's put it this way: you have the ability to stop global warming."

"Maybe we should get together to discuss this. We're not experts on ecological science."

"Okay, we'll get back with you. I have to discuss this with our consultants."

"We're here to do whatever you need."

"Thanks."

Robert hung the phone up. "It seems that what we did to the Amazon has caused a stir."

"I'm not surprised to hear that," Janet said. "It seems that everything we do becomes controversial."

"That's because we're the Incredibles!" James said, holding his fist up.

"I think we will be called the impossible bunch," Robert said.

They laughed, but deep down they realized that everything they did was being judged, not only by the Vestal Virgins, but by everyone on Earth.