Page 73 of Fanning the Flames

“Justice.” Gus snorted. “Let me tell you something. There is no real justice. What you do will never be enough.”

Darlene’s jaw hung loose.

“I’m not saying it isn’t important. I dedicated my life to the cause. I ended up getting blamed for everything that went wrong. The others made me the scapegoat for why Big Quake got away. The mayor forced my retirement. That was the thanks I got for the sacrifice.”

That explains a few things.

“I… I’m sorry that happened to you.” Darlene awkwardly patted Gus’s shoulder. “It shouldn’t have. You were a true hero. You sacrificed for the greater good.”

“That’s what a hero does.”

“That’s what I will continue to do.”

“Just be ready for the backlash when it comes. Because it will come.”

Gus brushed past Darlene. Darlene’s body deflated. Now it made sense why she was so hell-bent on justice. And why Gus’s approval meant so much to her.

Hurried footsteps echoed from downstairs. Ward must’ve realized Joan was gone.

She stepped into the hallway. Darlene met her eyes, and for a split second, there was raw humanity in them. Then she looked embarrassed.

“It sucks when your heroes let you down, doesn’t it?” Joan said.

The Super’s face hardened. She stood up straight and tall once more. “What would you know about that?” she said, crossing her arms.

“There was a time I thought the good guys might be able to help me.”

Darlene spluttered a few times. “You’re the reason we need to protect the city. You and your kind, Villain.”

She turned on her heel and marched toward the conference room.

Joan wanted to be mad, but honestly, she kind of got Darlene. And Gus. A lot of weight had been put on their shoulders to live up to unreasonable expectations. Extraordinary Supers who were supposed to save the city, time and time again. Catch had been touted as “the next Amazing Woman.” At the rate she was going, that’d be a sadly fulfilled prophecy of burnout.

Darlene had taken the path of doing what she thought was right, pursuing justice at all costs. Joan had rebelled against that for a long time. But now…

As gross as it sounded, maybe a little bit of justice needed to prevail in Vector City.

CHAPTER13

The sun tried peeking through the gray clouds over Knollwood Village. Sadie squinted up at the sky, sending positive vibes for a few rays to break through.

After yesterday’s meeting, Joanie and Mark had decided to work out this morning and open the truck a bit late. They probably had some pent-up fire and ice to get rid of, considering not much got accomplished other than Gus convincing the Supers to patrol more “boots on the ground” before declaring she wanted to head home before it got too late. She did give them some of Quake’s old hangout spots and contacts, so that was something.

The lunchtime crowd was starting to mill about Hampton Street, the main drag of the mostly residential area. Sadie hadn’t gotten her eyebrows tinted in forever, so she’d convinced Joan to let her go it alone for a little self-care. What else was she gonna do with unexpected time off but visit the brow bar that could match her dyed hair perfectly? Even if it meant trekking across the river.

She rubbed the nape of her neck under Joanie’s red-and-black flannel. Usually she couldn’t borrow anything because, hello, she had boobs and hips Joanie did not. But this was a looser fit shirt, and it was snuggly and had a hint of citrusy ginger on it.

There hadn’t been any reported Villain activity, which in itself was Villain activity. Keeping everyone on edge about when and where the next strike would occur. SuperWatch was up and running again, though internet access continued to be spotty.

Sadie smiled at a woman in a forest-green hijab pushing a stroller with a snoozing young kid tucked inside. She stepped around two men each holding a longhaired dachshund and cooing about how cute their babies looked after getting groomed. Knollwood Village was where queer folks settled down to start a family—especially if it was of the four-legged variety.

The Supers should’ve been in places like this, seeing how people really lived. You couldn’t argue with Gus’s old-school thoughts on that.

Amazing Gus was officially weird. But weird like Perry in thatI refuse to talk about things I don’t want to talk aboutway. Maybe Joanie was right that it was a coping mechanism to compartmentalize their lives. A trauma response to all they’d been through.

Sadie crossed a side street to get to the bus stop. She passed the florist that had been there forever. As long as she was here, might as well check out that retail space Perry had recommended. Scratch it off the list.

The brown-brick building had a bright-blue For Lease sign in one of the wide windows. Hadn’t this been an ice cream parlor when she’d lived here? Or a tearoom?

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