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Joan nodded.And then maybe I won’t be a bad guy in Sadie’s eyes.

Perry pushed his glasses back. “You can’t go to the Supers with no information. I wouldn’t trust them even if we did.”

An incoming video call popped up on Perry’s screen. Fuckin’ Melvin.

His pasty nerd face and slicked-back hair appeared. He was in his Trick ensemble from the neck down. “Oh, good,” he said. “You’re all together.”

“What the hell, you douche?” Mark said.

“Framing us?” Perry said.

Melvin didn’t bother hiding his amusement. “There’s been a terrible misunderstanding. I’d be happy to clear it up and say you had nothing to do with those thefts. All you have to do is join me.”

Joan could only shake her head. He was such an asshat.

“Seriously, dude,” Mark said. “Why is it so important for us to join you?”

“Strength in numbers.”

“And you can’t control us.”

“I don’t want to control you.” Melvin grinned. “Siding with me means you can do whatever, whenever. The ultimate freedom for us all.”

Perry screwed his face up. “That kind of attention would bring Supers from all over the world. We’d be the most wanted Villain collective in history.”

“Wouldn’t that be exciting?”

“No,” Mark and Perry chorused.

Melvin turned his cocky smirk toward Joan. “Why are you so quiet? You’re usually the one with all the answers.”

“You suck, Melvin,” she told him.

“That’s it?”

“I’ve already said I’m done.”

He studied her for a long moment, then looked back at Perry and Mark. “All right. You’ve made your choice.” He squinted hard at them. “Have it your way.”

The call ended.

“Oh my god, he loves drama,” Mark drawled.

“What should we do, Per?” Joan asked.

Perry put his phone away. “I hate to say wait and see, but I do think we have to wait, and be ready for anything.”

Mark set his now frozen-over cup on the coffee table. “Once his plan is revealed, all dramatic-Supervillain-style where he explains every step, then we can go to the Supers and?—”

“Wait.” Joan grasped his shoulder. “If he had a grand master plan to take over the city, he’d be gloating about it to anyone who’d listen. We haven’t heard a peep from anyone. Nothing.”

“Maybe he finally learned tact,” Perry said.

“Maybe he doesn’t have a plan,” Mark laughed, then sobered. He locked onto Joan’s gaze with wide eyes.

Clarity smacked her upside the head. “He doesn’t have a plan. He needs us because he needsusto come up with it. Think about it. He’s not an evil genius. Ethel and Irving just agree with everything he says. We’re the ones who come up with the good ideas. It was Mark who thought it’d be funny to do things like have us be seen across town while the real crime was taking place.”

“Yeah.” Mark bobbed his head. “And Perry does all the schematics and flow charts or whatever. Sorry, Per, you know I never pay attention.”