Page 39 of Fanning the Flames


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“Assignment?” Mark said. “What is this, grade school?”

He exchanged a small but noticeable glance with Zee as they set a case in front of Mark. Maybe Zee had assured him he wasn’t actually in danger of being arrested. That could explain why Mark wasn’t freaking out. Then again, Mark was the chill one. Literally.

Joan opened the case, and there it was. The mask with that dark, annoying long wig. Her black boots. The black bodysuit with slashes of deep red. A part of her life for so many years, it was like reuniting with an old friend.

“Hello, gorgeous,” she breathed. “I missed you.”

CHAPTER7

The riverfront warehouses proved to be a good secluded meeting spot that night. Joan didn’t want anyone spying her and Mark as Spark and Ice. No need to create unnecessary panic by having them be seen with Ether and Prowl.

It hadn’t been hard to contact them—Mark had Derek’s phone number. They’d arranged a meetup while Perry followed a lead on Squawk from SuperWatch. Then they’d spent the day getting their stories straight at the warehouse, like the old days.

Joan shifted inside her bodysuit. A little too snug in spots from not exercising the way she used to. But it admittedly felt kind of nice to be wearing it again. To be Spark for the night, like playing dress-up.

“Dude, is yours as tight as mine is?” Mark muttered, tugging at the zipper down the front of his.

“We should get back to working out on our day off.”

“That’s probably a good idea.”

The crisp air was rather pleasant. Stars winked in the clear night sky. Hopefully they could get Derek out of town so he would stop making things all weird and misty and green.

She flicked anxious sparks from her fingers. Her fire had returned in full force after leaving the Supers’ HQ, thank god. It was a part of her as much as her lungs or bones or brain.

Mark unzipped the pocket on his chest and checked his phone. “Why are they so late?”

“Villains aren’t known for their punctuality,” Joan reminded him. She pulled her phone out to make sure she hadn’t missed anything from Sadie. After reassuring her with several phone calls that Joan wasnotgoing back to a life of crime, Sadie had agreed to stay at home today for her safety.

And because Joan didn’t want her girlfriend to see her as Spark and dredge up the past.

The lock screen photo of Sadie laughing at the beach made her smile. Perry had treated them all to New Year’s in the Caribbean—an abbreviated version of their usual few weeks around Christmastime. Joan had paid for Sadie’s airfare and meals and souvenirs. Sadie never took vacations, and still didn’t love the means with which everything had been paid for, but Joan was so happy to have given her a warm island getaway. The ends justified the means.

Sadie had been understanding but honest, as always. One of the very best things about her. She was sympathetic to the situation Joan now found herself in. Like it or not, the Supers still held her fate in their hands.

She’d agreed that this could be a good thing. They could send the interlopers back to their own cities and return to normal. So this bad idea had to work.

“Do you think it was smart to let Perry go by himself?” Joan asked as she put her phone away.

“Per’s better with egotistical assholes. And you’ve exchanged bodily fluids with Prowl, so?—”

“Don’t remind me,” she groaned.

Shuffling on a nearby rooftop snapped her to attention. Prowl’s dark silhouette crouched low.

“I see you up there,” said Joan.

Derek walked around the corner in his green Ether attire.

“Hey, buddy,” Mark said. “Long time, no see. How’s it going?”

Derek was normally a pretty carefree dude, only his mouth was set in a grim line. “We’re not buddies anymore, traitor.”

Mark held up his hands. “Whoa, hey, easy there.”

“We shouldn’t even be talking to you.”

Ricki somersaulted off the roof, landing on her feet. “Curiosity got the better of me,” she purred in her husky voice. “I wanted to watch you grovel your way into our good graces.”