Tyler adjusted his glasses nervously. ‘We took my sister on a hot-air balloon ride for her birthday,’ he said. ‘So I was asking the pilot lots of questions. All my sister did was take photos and scream. Typical. Anyway, you can’t actually steer a balloon. You only control whether the balloon goes up or down by adjusting the heat in the burner. So you have to find the layer of wind going where you want to go. I guess I could give it a try.’

Nicola saw that Tyler had that same half-exhilarated, half-petrified expression on his face as when he’d first flown a spaceship.

‘Okay,’ said Nicola. ‘Well, if we get a chance I guess we should try and take off without him.’

Shimlara called out, ‘The swamplands are just ahead!’ A group of eager fans were now trotting along beside her, hanging on her every word.

They came to a soggy swamp that stretched as far as the eye could see. Even with the rainbows overhead, it was depressing. Nicola was glad that Quicksilver was sleeping peacefully. She wouldn’t have liked making him trudge through all that mud.

‘Look!’ Tyler said. They’re about to inflate the balloon! That’s the best part!’

Nicola could see a big brown wicker basket lying on its side. It was attached to a massive piece of shiny fabric that was obviously the balloon. As they got closer there was a whoosh sound and a flame burst alight in the basket.

‘They’ve turned the burner on,’ explained Tyler. ‘They’re going to fill the balloon with hot air.’

‘Because hot air rises, right?’ asked Sean.

‘Exactly.’

Slowly the huge balloon began to puff out with air until it hovered above them, as tall as a building. The basket was anchored to the ground with a series of ropes and pegs.

A man with red hair and a matching moustache approached Shimlara. Nicola glanced over at Shimlara and saw more curls popping up at the back of her head. None of her fans seemed to have noticed yet. They were too busy gazing at her adoringly.

‘Shimlara, maybe you should wear your baseball cap,’ hissed Nicola. ‘So you don’t get sunburned.’

‘Oh, I quite like a tan,’ said Shimlara.

‘No, I really think you should,’ said Nicola meaningfully.

Shimlara blinked. She was obviously reading Nicola’s mind. She said, ‘Oh yes! Good idea!’ She grabbed her cap from her backpack and put it on so that only the smooth tresses falling over her shoulders were visible.

The red-haired man came up to Shimlara and bowed low. ‘I am Philippe. It will be my pleasure to be your pilot for today. They’ve forecast a minor hurricane so it might be a bit bumpy at times, but don’t worry, I have plenty of experience. Now, I believe you also have some guests?’ He looked around for the guests as if the rest of the Space Brigade was invisible.