Page 5

The Saturday morning farmers market hummed with a pleasantly chill vibe. Sadie stifled a yawn behind her hand as Joan chatted about winter squash with a vendor. The market was smaller and less crowded than in the summer and fall, but still had good seasonal selections.

Across the blocked-off-from-traffic street, Mark geeked out over freshly ground specialty spices while Perry hid behind his sunglasses despite the overcast sky.

Not that he blended in all that much in his tailored charcoal-gray overcoat and stylish chestnut-brown wingtip shoes.

And, y’know, Perry was a good-looking guy.

Grumpy and oblivious to anyone who flirted with him, but that was part of his charm.

Sadie returned her focus to the acorn squash conversation.

Joanie was so cute and content in her element.

She got such a kick out of thinking up new recipes, and Sadie got a kick out of Joan’s childlike grin and enthusiasm.

It’d be nice when the weather warmed up to get back to their balcony garden.

A familiar figure dressed all in black hustled by with overflowing bags of kale: Wren grabbing essential ingredients for Powered by Plants.

“Did you run out already?” Sadie said.

“We’re doing kale chips today,” Wren said, her Scottish lilt coloring her words.

“I love your kale chips. I’ll be over in a minute.”

“If you see my wife, tell her no more scented candles.”

Sadie giggled as Wren rushed toward where her food truck was parked outside the market entrance. Ah, morning people. They got the market crowd. Hot and Cold got the night owls out and about on Saturdays.

Joan looked up from a curvy butternut squash. “Was that Wren?”

“Yeah. She said to keep an eye out for her wife buying another scented candle.”

“That woman is obsessed.”

“You’re lucky making candles isn’t one of my hobbies.”

“We don’t have room for another one of your hobbies,” Joan laughed, though she probably wasn’t joking.

Living together was amazing—wonderfully amazing.

For the most part. Joan was a lot more particular than one would think for someone who’d lived her entire adult life as a free-wheeling Supervillain.

She got this little pinch of annoyance between her eyebrows when Sadie forgot to put her dirty laundry in the hamper or left one of her craft projects sitting out for a few days.

She was trying to be more tidy, so Joan had to cut her some slack. It wasn’t like Joan didn’t leave scorch marks on the kitchen sink or shower tile whenever she drowned out a particularly strong fireball. Those were hard to scrub off.

And she definitely didn’t complain whenever a craft project involved something for Hot and Cold. That was… Okay, that was a little irritating.

At least she was sleeping better since talking to Mark the other night. He’d told Sadie, “It’s all good,” which hopefully meant fewer nightmares.

Sadie’s phone buzzed in her back pocket. The vendor’s phone chimed. Beeps and bleeps came from all around her. Only one app went off with simultaneous alerts like that.

SuperWatch.

The woman next to Sadie studied her screen. “There’s Villain activity going on at Century Plaza.”

Sadie’s blood froze. Joan stood tall and fisted her hands, visually sweeping the area.

Murmurs of mild concern surrounded them as people read the news. Sadie pulled out her phone with a shaky hand.

High Alert: Reported Villain activity near Century Plaza shopping area. Unknown who it is but they are causing damage to cars and parking lot.

Someone had posted a blurry photo of a huge man in burnt-orange spandex holding a compact car over his head. Another person posted a video of the same guy banging his meaty fists on hoods. He punched through a windshield, shattering glass into the minivan.

“Joanie?” Sadie looked to her to see if Joan knew who it was.

Her mouth twisted in thought. “I think that’s Smash. He’s a Villain from some small Midwestern city.”

“What’s he doing here?”

Joan shrugged.

Mark hurried across the street, Perry following close behind. Sadie and Joan met them halfway. “Isn’t that Smash?” Mark said, staring at his phone.

“I think so,” Joan said.

A live feed went up on SuperWatch. Smash jumped onto the roof of an SUV, caving it in. “I’m The Smash!” he roared. “I’m coming to Vector City!”

“Aren’t you already here?” the brave smartass behind the camera said.

“Aren’t you just Smash?” a woman offscreen said.

“ The Smash!” The Villain jumped up and pulverized the SUV upon landing.

“Yeah, okay.”

He stomped the vehicle into a flat metal rectangle.

“Not this again,” said a tall white man walking past Sadie.

“I thought we were done with Villains,” the woman with him said.

Other comments floated by:

“Great. Another one of these jerks.”

“Does this mean the Villains are back?”

“I told you Spark and Ice were still around. They’re working with whoever this is.”

Joan shared a look with Mark. In tandem, they pulled their Wayfarer sunglasses from their jackets and put them on. Perry adjusted his aviators.

“Well, this isn’t good,” Mark muttered.

The video got shaky as Smash picked up a motorcycle and compacted it between his hands. He threw it toward the row of shops, narrowly missing the front window of a shoe store.

Frightened screams and people running away made Sadie’s heart lodge in her throat. “He’s gonna hurt someone.”

Onscreen, the video grew even shakier. “I’m outta here,” said the guy behind the camera.

The feed ended. Joan continued to scan the market crowd from the middle of the street.

“So, what?” a person behind Sadie said. “Are we getting Villains from other cities now?”

Oh, shit. Were they?

“He’s a low-level Villain,” Perry said. “Probably wants to make a name for himself.”

“Yeah,” Mark said. “Get his fifteen seconds of fame where there’s no competition.”

“Should we…” Sadie lowered her voice. “I mean, should you be concerned?”

“Nah. Lunk’s a brain surgeon compared to this guy. The Supers will handle it.”

“I meant having Villain activity in the city. Could that…” Could that put your deal with the Supers in jeopardy?

Joan touched her arm. Her fingers burned hot even through Sadie’s lavender cardigan and long-sleeved white cotton tee. “I don’t think there’s too much to worry about. We’re nowhere near there.”

Mark gave his sister a look. “You know that was one of our favorite diversions.”

“This guy’s not a threat. Lunk can take him out in no time. But, uh, just in case, we should probably…”

“…let people know you’re here,” Sadie finished. “Definitely.” She tapped on her phone’s camera. “Let’s get a pic for Hot and Cold’s socials.”

She huddled close to Joan and Mark. Perry stepped to the side because he never wanted his picture on social media.

Making sure vendors were visible in the background, Sadie took a snapshot.

It wasn’t the greatest pic—they looked like they were being forced to smile for the family Christmas card photo—but it’d be good enough proof.

“Send it to Mark so he can text it to Zee,” Joan said.

“Really?” Mark said. “You’re making jokes about that?—”

“Send it to them so the Supers know where we are.”

“Ugh, it’s like checking in with our parole officer.”

“It basically is.”

Joan rubbed Sadie’s back. While she was acting fairly nonchalant, she couldn’t hide the nervous tremble in her fingers.

Sadie refreshed SuperWatch. No notifications about Supers arriving on the scene. But they would. They were still the protectors of Vector City.

“I really hope this is a one-off,” she said.

“It is, sweetheart.” Joan gave her a smile. “Don’t worry.”

“It’s kind of hard not to worry.” What did this mean for Vector City? For Joan and Mark and Perry?

“Stick to business as usual,” Perry said. “Open the truck. Don’t do anything outside of your routine.”

Joan and Mark nodded. Part of Sadie wanted to run home and lock the door to keep her and Joan safe. But Perry was right. They needed to show the Supers the food truck was their priority. That they had been planning menus, not villainous hijinks.

She really hoped this wasn’t a big deal.

* * *

It’s not a big deal. It’s nothing.

Joan repeated the mantra in her head as she tossed hot fries with Hot and Cold’s signature rosemary-and-sea-salt blend in a large metal bowl.

Outwardly, she was calm. Pleasant. Just another evening at the food truck. The Supers had caught Smash. It was over and done.

She shook the fries into a red-and-white-checked paper tray, then grabbed it and the November Rain sandwich and stepped to the service window. “Here you go,” she said to the guy in a knit hat and hoodie.

“Thanks,” he said. “Stay safe out here tonight.”

Joan wrenched her lips into a smile. “You, too.”

Stay safe because there could be Villains lurking about. If he only knew how Joan had melted the cheese blend on his sandwich…

Dusk settled over the street lined with bars and microbreweries. It had been a slow day so far. Mark hummed to himself as he cleaned his mess off the prep counter. He was doing a fine job not dwelling on the bullshit. It probably wasn’t bothering him all that much.

It shouldn’t bother any of them. So there was a minor Villain who’d put on his big-boy spandex and was trying to make a go in a major city.

He’d already been neutralized. They’d opened Hot and Cold and were being law-abiding citizens.

Sure, there weren’t as many people out and about, but that was to be expected. Things would pick up again.

Sadie fidgeted with the food order pad, unease etched on her face. She was doing a worse job of pretending like everything was fine. But she was a norm having a normal reaction to everything.

Her phone vibrated in her back pocket. She rolled her eyes. Most likely her mother checking in again. Sadie’s mom had been a lot more chill until the events of this morning.

“Oh, crap,” she said, staring out the service window.

“What?” Joan leaned down to come face-to-face with— “Oh, crap.”