Page 26 of Fanning the Flames

The clouds thickened and billowed, drawn together by a shimmering green glow. Eerie lightning flickered behind the cloud wall. A rumble of thunder rolled over the city.

Joan’s heart skipped a beat. Oh, shit.

The clouds lit with more intense neon lightning. The wind picked up. This wasn’t something that happened in Vector City. The only time Joan had seen it was in…

Oh,shiiiiiit.

Her stomach churned with dread. “Get behind me, honey,” she said, stepping in front of Sadie to block her from whatever—or whoever—was doing this.

A series of green flashes shot into the sky. The atmosphere hummed with thick energy, like just before a thunderstorm broke open. People stopped on the sidewalk to stare.

She felt Sadie’s hand on her back. “What is it, Joanie?”

Maybe it was a weird weather phenomenon. Global warming. Nuclear waste. Anything other than…

The air grew as humid as a sultry mid-summer night. A steady neon-green glow emanated from a singular spot a few blocks away.

She had to see it to believe it, even though the truth sank deep in her gut.

“Stay close to me,” Joan said, taking Sadie’s hand and heading toward the glow.

“What are you doing?”

“I think I know who’s causing this.”

“Who, not what?”

“Unfortunately.”

They hurried past concerned folks wisely moving in the opposite direction. Dodged people blocking the sidewalk while recording the event on their phones. The glow intensified the closer they got, along with the humidity. Her shirt stuck to her skin, and her hair fell out of its mini bun.

The faint hum was now a loud buzz. They huffed and puffed to the edge of a large park with an open baseball field. Sure enough, right there in center field, a man in a Supervillain outfit striped with shades of green held his hands up to the sky.

“Derek,” Joan said, confirming her fears.

“Who?” Sadie yelled over the noise.

“That’s Ether. He’s a Villain from Oceanview.”

“What’s he doing here?”

That was the question of the hour.

Flight burst through the low-hanging clouds, red cape flapping in the wind. A few people cheered. An off-white streak zoomed onto the field. Zee stopped a cautious distance from Derek in their Race gear.

Joan fisted her hands, fire smoldering beneath her palms.

Derek turned in a slow circle, saying something unintelligible through the noise.

Otis leaned down mid-flight. “What?” he shouted.

Derek said something louder.

“What?”

He dropped his arms and said it again, annoyance in his tone.

“We don’t know what you’re saying,” Zee yelled.

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