Page 35 of Fanning the Flames

“But you do know them,” Darlene sneered.

“We knowofthem, the way Supers all somewhat know each other.”Like hooking up with one in Destine.

“Then they know this was your city.” Otis crossed his arms. “We need you to find them and tell them you tricked us into trusting you. That you’re still operating on the down-low and have had no contact with us.”

A flurry of thoughts raced through Joan’s brain. “We don’t have our suits anymore, and it’s obvious we’re operating a food truck, and we turned our backs on our own, which violates every code and unspoken rule, and…”

“That’ll never work,” Mark said. “Nobody will have anything to do with us, so no one can corroborate such a story.”

Now Darlene stood. “We are not asking you to become Villains again. Tell them you worked with us to rid the city of Trick, Hide and Volt to get them out of the way. That is what many people believe. Then you went back to a life of crime but have kept it quiet so we wouldn’t know about it.”

“You can say the food truck is a cover for what you’re really doing,” Otis said.

Mark shook his head. “It still won’t work.”

“Why don’t you get the Supers from Oceanview and Destine to deal with their Villains?” Joan said.

Zee leaned forward and said, “We tried. The Oceanview Supers said this was more of a…” They made air quotes. “‘Vector City problem.’”

Kade leaned forward, his chair creaking under his weight. “They’re still mad at us in Destine for not helping with the robotic sidekick disaster.”

“They brought that on themselves,” Otis muttered.

“So, wait,” Joan said. “Supers from other cities won’t help their fellow Supers? Even though it’s Villains they’re familiar with? What kind of crap is that?”

No one answered. Finally, Zee said, “Supers can be very territorial over their cities. It’s almost like a competition.”

“I think they’re jealous,” Kade said. “We got rid of all of our Villains. They’re happy to let us have theirs.”

Waving a hand, Mark said, “Why don’t you just fight them the way you did with us?”

“We don’t want to start new rivalries with endless battles,” Otis said. “We’d rather send them away. It’s easier to make them think Breeze, Ice and Spark are still in Vector City.”

“It’s the least disruptive option,” Darlene said.

“More like the easiest-for-you option,” Mark drawled.

Joan checked to make sure Perry hadn’t spontaneously combusted before saying, “Our deal was helping you one time and getting out. We did that. We have too much at stake now to put that in jeopardy.”

Her chest constricted from picturing Sadie anxiously pacing around their apartment.

Otis raised an eyebrow. “You don’t really have a say in the matter.”

“We can lock you up right now if you don’t comply,” Darlene stated, shifting her weight and raising her hands.

Zee started to say something, only Perry lunged forward. “I knew we never should have trusted you,” he seethed.

“We’renotgoing to lock you up,” Zee said.

“But we do have that leverage,” Otis said.

Darlene narrowed her gaze at Joan. “We always have that option.”

She and Mark jumped up. “You’re always gonna hold that over our heads,” Joan growled, clenching her fists.

“Yes.”

Mark swirled his hand to conjure a ball of ice. Nothing happened. He did it again. “The fuck?” he muttered.

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