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“We put up with his big brain even though he’s a dick.

” Prowl curled up on her haunches. “Nice try with the fake rumor. We knew you were luring us to your HQ. Squawk’s been working on this patch to interrupt the power disruptor.

I’m glad to see it works. We’ll make a fortune selling them to other Villains. ”

Damn it. The former Villains had lost their edge if it’d been so easy to see through their ruse. “Then how does Ether factor in? Constant, low-grade annoyances?”

Prowl shrugged. “Just a favor to a friend. I mean, he makes it rain. Whoop-dee-doo. But I treat my friends well, Spark .”

A familiar figure in navy blue raced toward them—one that had come after Joan countless times. She kept Prowl distracted by saying, “Those kinds of friends will turn on you in a heartbeat. I should know.”

“You’re the traitor,” Prowl hissed. “You would know.”

Darlene leaped with what little of Prowl’s energy she had left and yanked her off the car. Joan hopped down just as Prowl growled and slipped from Darlene’s grasp. She was too slinky for the Super to get a good hold on her. Next best thing…

Joan grabbed Darlene’s gloved hand and sent her a burst of fire. She nodded and understood the assignment.

They shot fireballs at Prowl as she deftly sprang and flipped to avoid them. But they were pushing her back toward HQ. Back toward reinforcements.

A golden glow sparkled across the mob. A moment later, everyone stopped fighting. A moment after that, the norms turned to one another and hugged.

Prowl did a double-take, muttering, “What the hell?”

She didn’t know about Aura. Finally, a real advantage. Through a break in the crowd, Joan spied the Super at headquarters in her gold-and-white bodysuit with its fluttering cape, mask all askew, boots unzipped. Dressed in a hurry for sure.

Prowl snarled, then flung herself at Joan. Joan pressed a hot hand to her back as she held on tight. “Hey Catch, remember all the times I would cook your suit?”

“Yes,” Darlene said.

“It’s fun. Give it a try.”

Darlene pulsed waves of heat into the rubbery material, making Prowl howl and claw wildly at them both. “You bitches!” she shrieked. “That really hurts!”

“Surrender now, Villain,” Darlene stated in her Catch-iest tone.

The ground shook with massive force, cracking the street in the middle. Joan and Prowl jumped to one side, Darlene the other.

A burst of wind sent someone flying through the air—Quake. He guided chunks of blacktop to cushion his fall. Then he flung them at Perry.

Otis soared above him. Quake raised earthen debris and sent it straight up.

The Villain fiddled with something on his metal patch—a dial? It was different than Prowl’s. He stomped the blacktop so hard, it made everything move. Joan had to right herself before she fell into the growing crevasse.

He sought out Prowl and gestured at her. “You’re taking the credit for everything?”

“This is my scheme, old man,” Prowl said.

“Don’t disrespect your elders. Or count them out.” Quake turned the dial as far as it would go. Short, quick beeps sounded. “Or discount how I can pay for upgrades that you cannot.”

He slammed his palms downward. The whole street cracked and crumbled.

Screams and shouts came from all over—bystanders, the criminals who’d been reduced to hugging it out. Joan blasted into the air. So did Mark.

Quake swirled the chunks of blacktop and rocks and wreckage, creating a tornado of debris in front of him. Joan had to fly out of the way, heart in her throat. He was gonna use it to destroy HQ and whatever the fuck else he wanted to take out.

Steam and water shot out of broken pipes. Car alarms blared from where they’d sunk into the ground. The thrum of people running for their lives echoed up and down Leyton Avenue. Acrid earthy smells filled Joan’s nose.

The debris-nado grew in width and height. The news helicopters backed off. Joan and Mark and Otis couldn’t get near it. Perry flew up and blew on it, not making much of a dent. It was too densely packed.

Then the sidewalk crowd parted, almost in slow motion.

Amazing Woman appeared from a cloud of dust, staring straight ahead, on a mission.

She walked directly into a piece of hovering concrete, brushing it aside. Then a flying bicycle bounced off her.

Prowl pounced in front of her, swiping her nails at Gus. Gus barely batted an eyelash and said something clearly acerbic by the way Prowl reacted—stunned and a little taken aback. Kade grabbed her for another round of angry cat and gigantic mouse.

Gus stood at the edge of the cracked earth. “Big Quake,” she called. “We have unfinished business to attend to.”

The debris rose until Quake could see her. “At long last. I’ve dreamed about this day. The day I finally take you and your beloved city out.”

“Best of luck with that.”

He shot a line of rubble at her. Chunks of blacktop broke apart as they smashed into her, but she just took it. She stepped onto the newly created pile of crap, getting closer to him.

Joan roused out of her stupor and was ready for the next wave he shot at Gus. She blasted at it, hoping to break it up. A big trash fire rained down instead.

“That’s not helpful,” Gus shouted at her.

“My bad,” Joan said.

As he lobbed fragments at Gus, Quake said, “How much can you take now? Still as indestructible after all these years?”

Perry blew some of the errant wreckage into the hole in the street. Mark and Otis pulled at stuff along the edges of the debris-nado. Gus kept advancing, taking the hits, never wavering from the man who held all her focus.

Joan couldn’t help watching. “She really is amazing,” she murmured to herself.

Quake condensed the debris and shaped it into a tall funnel. He slammed it in Gus’s direction with a loud cry. Joan flew toward it, then was blown to the side. She grabbed onto a streetlight and held tight.

Perry floated in front of Gus, sending gale-force winds from his mouth, his hands, from every part of him. The rubble sailed into the sky but would have to come down somewhere.

Joan zoomed up and shot small fireballs at it all. Mark joined her to crack it with ice chunks. A helicopter hovered too close for comfort.

The remains floated down, ash and muddy wet splats. Messy but not fatal. Otis grabbed a large piece of blacktop and lowered it safely.

Messy. Wet and messy. “Hey,” Joan said, waving Mark over. “Can we make it rain?”

“Ether style?”

“Try a different ratio of fire to ice and flood everything around Quake. He can’t control water.”

Mark nodded. They coasted down to the rubble pile in front of Gus and Perry. Joan ducked an incoming bunch of rocks, then watched Mark’s steady stream of ice pellets. She kept the intensity of her flames low, just enough to melt the ice.

A blur circled around and around Quake, encasing him in a watery ball. Zee.

It was working—Quake couldn’t find purchase through the water. The remaining debris in the air fell to the ground.

Otis flew into the water and emerged with Quake. He headed straight for the river. Of course—drop him in the water to keep him contained.

Quake flung his hands, rumbling the ground one last time.

Joan and Mark stopped, as did Zee. They sped over to the twins. “About time,” Mark teased.

“Busy taking care of the other Villains in attendance.” Zee ran over to where Kade and Sherrelle had an unconscious Ether and Squawk under an archway at headquarters.

They said something to Kade that made him shake his head, make a pained face, and mime vomiting.

Zee said something else, to which Kade reluctantly agreed.

They wrapped an arm around their hulking cohort and raced off toward the river.

The big guy needed to keep Quake secure.

Moving that fast was probably a barfy trip.

Wait, where was?—

Ah. Darlene stood with fists on hips, staring inside the huge hole in the earth. Prowl couldn’t find her footing or grip to get out of it.

“Noooo!” she screeched from down below. “You cowards don’t get to win!”

“Looks like we do,” Joan said. She peered into the mucky pit at a very angry Prowl—no longer Ricki to her. “Told you this was my city.”

The Villain caterwauled some more. Pride blossomed in Joan’s chest. They’d done it. Vector City was broken but safe.

She turned to check on Gus and Perry. It had gotten sunny at some point, so…

Where were they? She stepped over holes in the ground and broken crap. Oh, there was Per, pulling a few errant chunks of concrete from a pile. The columns at HQ had been a little damaged.

Mark hurried past her, wobbling on the unstable ground. “What’s wrong?”

“Help,” Perry croaked. “Gus.”

Oh, shit. Joan clambered over to where he was digging. Gus was probably fine. She was unbreakable. Just a little buried, right?

“The concrete fell,” Perry said. “The last thing Quake did. Moved the earth under what was closest to her.”

“She’s okay,” Joan said. “Maybe knocked out or something.”

Then she got up to the heavy slabs. Damn. How were they gonna move them? They needed Kade for this.

“I can probably freeze them,” Mark said.

“Don’t hurt her,” Perry stated.

“She can’t get hurt.”

“She’s ninety-three. She’s not as invincible as she used to be.”

Mark set both hands on the biggest slab, concentrating so it froze slowly. Perry and Joan pounded on it, breaking off pieces. Gus was fine. She had to be fine.

Joan caught a flash of red and gold. “She’s over here.”

They broke more off until they saw Gus’s arm, her blonde hair, her face. She was unconscious, and her eye mask had nearly fallen off.

“Gus!” Perry choked out. “Can you hear me?”

Her lower half was beneath a smaller hunk of concrete that Joan and Mark were able to shove enough for Perry to pull her out. He held her to his chest. “Gus. You have to wake up.”

Mark shot worried eyes at Joan. Gus wasn’t bleeding, wasn’t bruised, but was unresponsive. That brave woman had walked headfirst into danger after swearing never to do that again.

A hero sacrifices for the greater good.