Gus grumbled to herself. “Show me on that handheld device.”
“Er, well, I’d have to go get Mr. Flight, and he would have to… It really would be easier if you came upstairs.”
“Let’s at least check in with the others,” Joan said, playing peacekeeper.
Gus complained some more, but walked with her upstairs. As they reached the landing, Joan glanced at the Amazing Woman portrait hanging to the right. Her blonde hair cascaded down her long-sleeved gold-and-red top. A faint tear arced over the bottom of the canvas, slicing through the white go-go boots.
“What happened to your portrait?” Joan asked. “Did it get ripped?”
Gus didn’t bother looking. “I did that in a fit of pique before I left.”
“Really?” Joan laughed.
“I always hated that portrait.”
Otis exited the conference room in his Flight getup. “You painted it,” he said.
“That’s not how I wanted it to look.”
“Thank you for coming back.”
Darlene raced toward them from the opposite hallway, zipping up her suit. “I’ve heard stories about your artistic talents. I’ve always admired your portrait.”
“Mine turned out exactly how I envisioned it,” Otis said.
Joan studied the Flight painting. Huh. They were similar in color palette and technique. “You did his, too?”
“My second and last.” Gus shooed Otis out of the way. “Show us whatever you have to so we can get torealwork.”
Perry had mentioned Gus was an artist. Clearly a good one. They probably sat around having spirited discussions about which Impressionist had the most revolutionary style. Per had opinions he stated as fact. No doubt Gus did the same.
“We’ll wait for everyone,” Otis said.
“Tell them to hurry up.” Gus moved to a chair. Joan and Perry followed suit.
Ward hastily set a pad of paper and pen in front of Gus. He cast a frazzled look at Otis. “I believe Mr. Lunk is changing, but I’ll go find Mx. Race.”
“Mark’s in the bathroom,” Joan said.
“Just get started,” Perry said, his whole body dripping with irritation.
“Fine.” Otis nodded at Ward, who dragged himself to his laptop. He went to the center console and brought up a series of videos. “We’ve been scouring footage of Quake to find a weakness. We noticed his attacks are very short before he escapes.”
“That checks out,” Joan said. “He’s thirty years older. His powers can’t last like they used to.”
“Exactly. We can use that to our advantage.”
Darlene sat next to Gus, ever the kiss-ass. “Getting them all in one place proved unsuccessful. They’re more dangerous when they’re together.” She didn’t look at Joan, but the weight of blame hung heavy. “We have to take them out one by one by exploiting their weaknesses.”
“And how’s that going for you?” Joan couldn’t hold in.
Gus stared at the TV screen, watching the video loops. “He can’t bend down the way he used to. He could get that whole ground shaking when he set his hands on it. He must have arthritis in his knees.”
“Then it should be easy for Lunk to overpower him,” Otis said.
Joan caught a clip of her and Mark trying to fight Quake at Friendship Park. She looked like some kind of sorceress shooting fire from beneath that hooded cape. It was actually kind of cool.
Then Prowl pushing Lunk backward caught her eye. And Squawk angling away from the other Villains.
