Story [Daria/Spider-Man] Spider Quinn

Part 2
Quinn was designing something when her door was flung open. “Tania Ashworth?” she asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I know your secret,” Tania said.

‘That I’m SpiderGirl? I don’t think so!’ Quinn thought. She stood up. “What secret would that be?” she asked.

“That you’re the fourth vigilante!” Tania said as she pulled the door closed behind her. “I just saw her enter this house.”

“If the fourth vigilante is here, she’s visiting Daria,” Quinn said. “Besides, it’s not a good idea to be showing up at other people’s houses and saying that they’re one of Lawndale’s heroes.

“So, you’re saying you’re not the fourth vigilante and that Daria isn’t either?”

“Exactly,” Quinn said. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because the Shadow accused me of being the fourth vigilante last night.”

‘It’s like Sunday night,’ Quinn groused, remembering that the Shadow had thought Daria was the fourth vigilante. ‘Obviously she changed her mind.’ “So why chase the fourth vigilante here?”

“I was thinking that either of you were the Shadow.”

‘I know Daria isn’t,’ Quinn thought.


Back in Daria’s room, she agreed to help the Enigma. “But I’ll tell Mom I’m going somewhere first,” she said.

“Sure.”


“Neither of us are the Shadow,” Quinn said. “Now I’m busy.”

“Busy with what?”

“Designing stuff.”

Tania looked at Quinn’s desk and saw drawings of various things. “Clothes?” she asked.

“Not just clothes.”


“Out somewhere?” Helen asked.

“More of my investigations,” Daria explained.

“On a Friday night?”

“I can look after myself.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Helen responded. “Just be careful, OK?”


Daria closed her mother’s bedroom door and then heard quiet arguing near her and Quinn’s rooms.

“There you are!” Tania said as she came out of Quinn’s room.

The Enigma retreated back to Daria’s room. She didn’t want to see Quinn.

“Tania Ashworth?” Daria asked as she entered the hallway at the other end. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh!” Tania said. “Quinn’s in there, and you are there. Neither of you are the fourth vigilante.”

“Obviously not,” the Enigma said. “I am, obviously.”

“Neither of us are, beyond what I have said at school,” Daria said, with annoyance as she came up alongside Quinn’s door.

“What was that, exactly?” Quinn asked from inside the room.

“About our involvement in the Historia and my investigations,” Daria answered. “That’s all.”

“A misunderstanding then,” Quinn said.

Daria nodded.


“I’ll go to the Lanes then,” Tania said.

“Go ahead,” the fourth vigilante said from Daria’s room.

“No, leave Jane alone,” Daria said.

“I’ll go to Howard Drive, but probably not inside their house,” Tania decided before walking back to the window. “See you at school or at the Historia.”


Daria and Quinn watched Tania climb down. “What now?” the latter asked.

“Just be alert. Other than her being a Wiccan, I don’t know anything about her,” Daria said “But the fourth vigilante and I are heading out now.”

“Just be careful,” Quinn said as she went back into her room.

“I will,” Daria said.


Daria grabbed an old broom from the hall closet and took the head off it. “This should work as a staff for now,” she said as she re-entered her room. “Let’s go.”

“Sure.”


The Enigma and Daria rappelled down from one of bedroom side windows to the patio outside the kitchen door. “But which way did Tania go?” the former asked.

“I’m not sure,” Daria answered. “But lead the way to where Beresfield is being held.”

“It’s on Second Street, we can take the laneways,” the Enigma said.


Quinn leant out from one of her side bedroom windows and watched Tania go along the street and Daria and the Enigma go to the laneway. ‘I’ll wait a few minutes before following Tania as SpiderGirl,’ she decided. She then told her mother she was heading out to an investigation date.


With the bedroom light still on, SpiderGirl left the house via the backyard hatch and swung off to the west to follow Tania towards Howard Drive.


Officer Xanthe Peterson looked at the Oscorp building that the anonymous tip had said someone was being held against their will. It looked like any other office building in Lawndale. ‘But has whoever took this Verity Beresfield planned for police involvement?’ she asked herself. All she knew was that the Enigma was on her way.


Back at the Osborn mansion, a part of the roof retracted, and the glider flew out. The pilot gained altitude and looked over Lawndale.


Tania approached Casa Lane. “So, should I case it, or go in?’ she wondered. ‘I’ll go in.’


SpiderGirl saw Tania wander around the Lane’s house. She soon followed.


Jane was in the kitchen when Tania entered. “Tania! What are you doing here?”

“The Morgendorffers are in cahoots with the fourth vigilante,” Tania said.

“I already knew Daria is investigating what is going on alongside the fourth vigilante.”

“And I still suspect that one of them might be the Shadow.”

“I don’t think the Shadow has been reported alongside the fourth vigilante yet. Just alongside SpiderGirl or Ninja Talon,” Jane said. ‘I hope that throws her off the trail.’

“That doesn’t matter. There’s a lot that goes on that isn’t reported.”


SpiderGirl sat on the Casa Lane roof and listened to what Jane and Tania were saying. ‘Tania is paranoid,’ she thought.


“Look! You can’t go around like you have been,” Jane said. “Are you going to go to the Griffins next? It was lucky that Mrs. Morgendorffer didn’t know you were there.”

“I’m sure I can handle Mrs. Griffin.”

“Then you don’t know her.”

“I guess meeting the Shadow last night has me jittery,” Tania said quietly.

“Too jittery, if you ask me,” Jane said. “You want to talk about it?”

“Not really,” Tania admitted. “I have been talking to the other Wiccans.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Jane admitted. “But I either talk to family members who listen, mostly Trent, and now Daria.”


SpiderGirl thought about it. The effect of the Groundhog Day Attack on Lawndale and the people in it was ongoing. She climbed up to the top of the roof and looked out over the town from there. ‘Looks peaceful, sounds peaceful,’ as she glanced at what could be seen of the Giant Strawberry. It was what she couldn’t see…


Ninja Talon saw the glider low over the rooftops as she did her usual patrol of the southern area of town. ‘Uh oh!’ she thought. ‘I need to tell Spidey!’


Helen answered the phone. “Hello, Eric?”

“It’s Brittany, is Quinn there?”

“Sorry, she’s out on an investigation date.”

“Oh, I’ll see her later then.”


Ninja Talon left the phone booth and followed the gilder at a distance. She remembered when she and Quinn were planning over the blueprints earlier.

Earlier
“So, we find a street, with Oscorp buildings in it,” Quinn said. “And then force it to crash by breaking it.”

“I guess you’re going to web up the street?” Brittany asked.

“Yes, but we also have to plan for his new bombs. From what happened on Monday night, those can cause a lot of damage.”

“True. We have to disarm him somehow.”

“I could try swinging over him and webbing the bombs out that way,” Quinn suggested. “Try to explode them in mid air.”

“A bit risky.”

“Better than having them explode all at once when it crashes.”


Present
‘We’re still not sure what to do about that,’ Ninja Talon thought.


Tania decided to leave. “I’ll try the Griffins,” she said.

“I don’t think Sandi will react the same way as Quinn, Daria and I,” Jane said.

“I know,” Tania said as she went back to the door.


As Tania left, SpiderGirl entered the house.

“SpiderGirl?” Jane asked, trying not to sound as she usually sounded as the Shadow.

“I followed Tania here from the Morgendorffers,” SpiderGirl said.

“You were listening, huh?” Jane asked rhetorically. “How often does Lawndale’s first superhero eavesdrop?”

“Not very often. I was in Glen Oaks Lane when she showed up, but the fourth vigilante didn’t see me. She left with Daria into the backyard.”

“So, you know that the fourth and Daria have teamed up.”

“I heard about it,” SpiderGirl responded in a slightly defensive tone. “But Tania’s getting away. I want to make sure she doesn’t cause problems at the Griffins.”

“See you another time.”


“There it is,” The Enigma said.

“And the police have arrived,” Daria said. She looked closer. “Including the officer who told us Dad died.”

“We can avoid them if you want.”

“No, we need to talk to them. See what they know.”


Xanthe looked as the Enigma and Daria Morgendorffer came onto the scene. ‘Why is Daria with the Enigma? Does she know her sister’s secret?’ she wondered. She was still uncertain that Quinn was SpiderGirl, but she didn’t want to dismiss it either. “Why are you here?”

“It was my mentor who called 911,” the Enigma said.

“There’s a mentor now?” Xanthe asked herself. ‘Even more people with powers in Lawndale!’

“Yes, but she’s a former hero. It was time for the new blood to step up,” the Enigma said.

Xanthe turned to Daria. “Why are you here?”

“I have sort of become the fourth vigilante’s sidekick,” Daria explained.

“The Enigma you mean. Ninja Talon told me the name,” Xanthe said. “As well as SpiderGirl.”

“That’s fine,” the Enigma said. “Beresfield is being held on the second floor.”

“And you know that how?” Xanthe asked.

“My powers,” the purple clad antihero said enigmatically.

“Right,” Xanthe said. ‘Web slinging is one thing, but energy projections and mental powers are another!’

“We’re going to go in,” the Enigma said.

“Wait!” Xanthe said. “I’m coming with you. Three is better than two. Especially when one of the two is an inexperienced teenager with a staff.”

“Sure,” Daria said. “I admit that I’m inexperienced, but I have been practicing.”

“Probably not for long though.”


They entered the building after a locksmith picked the lock. “What about the alarm?” Peterson asked.

“It’s silent,” the locksmith said.

“Of course. And we haven’t been able to get in touch with Osborn.”

“I suspect that he’s indisposed,” the Enigma said.

“What does that mean?” Daria asked.

“You heard what Sandi and Harry have been saying,” the Enigma said, trying not to give anything away.

“Yes,” Daria said, clearly thinking. “I do wonder how that dinner went earlier.”

‘Later, Daria,’ the Enigma thought. ‘Later tonight, after this.’


They came to a stair well without any opposition. “It seems too easy,” Peterson said as she followed the Enigma.

“You’re right,” Daria said, who was grasping her staff tightly.

“Listen,” the Enigma said. “I’m sure there are guards on the next floor.”

“You’re right,” Peterson said. “I’ll go first.”

“I’ll go first. I can do this,” the Enigma said as a forcefield appeared around her.

“But how effective would that be against bullets?” Peterson asked.

“Not sure,” the Enigma said as she lowered it.

“I will still go first, but you can come right behind.”

The Enigma and Daria both nodded.


Officer Peterson came up onto the first floor. She saw some guards responding. She raised her sidearm. “LDPD! Hands where I can see them!”

The guards raised their hands. “Do you have a warrant?” One of them asked.

“There has been a report of kidnapping,” Peterson responded.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the guard said.

“A 911 call was made that said there was someone being held against their will in this building.”

“There are more of us, than there are of you.”

“That’s true,” Peterson said warily.

The guards started to lower their hands.

“Keep going,” she said to the other two.

The Enigma raised one of her hands and two of the guards got pushed over telekinetically.

All three of them hoofed it up the stairs.


“I don’t think that was a good idea,” Daria said as they came up to the second floor.

“It delayed them a bit,” the Enigma commented.

Peterson looked ahead. “It looks clear, which means it might be a trap. Do you know where she might be.”

“At the far corner,” the Enigma answered. “But the guards below are now following.”

“We can close the fire doors,” Daria suggested. “That may help.”

“Good thinking,” Peterson said.


They carefully entered the corridor. “I’ll trip the electromagnets telekinetically,” the Enigma said. “If there is a trap there, it won’t be as risky.”

“Quickly!” Peterson said, as she heard the guards coming up the stairs.

The Enigma tripped the electromagnets and the fire doors swung closed quicky.

Daria took a fire axe and pushed it between the handles and the doors. “That should hold for a while,” she said.


They quickly walked down the corridor.

They came to main cubicle area. “There could be anything in those cubicles,” Peterson said.

“Definitely,” Daria commented.

The Enigma breathed deeply and raised a forcefield around them again. “Let’s be quick about this.”

They walked quickly as they heard the guards behind trying to break through the fire doors.

Suddenly, a mechanism launched from one of the cubicles and clashed against the Enigma’s forcefield. It rebounded back into the cubicle.

“Some sort of robot arm,” Daria commented. “It could have knocked us over.”

“Yes,” Peterson said. “It means that whoever took Beresfield was prepared.”

 

Part 3
They came to a corner office, after evading another of those robot arms. “She’s in there,” the Enigma said.

“The door could be trapped,” Daria pointed out.

The heard the ding of the elevator somewhere behind them.

“Uh oh!” Daria said. She turned around and put her staff in a ready position “Whatever you’re going to do…”

“Got it,” the Enigma said.


The Enigma telekinetically pushed the door open and smoke came from the lock mechanism.

“Now, Daria,” Peterson said.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Daria said.


They entered the room and found Verity tied beneath a desk. Peterson took out a pocket knife and cut her ties.

“Thanks,” Beresfield said. “I didn’t see who it was, but I suspect it was Osborn.”

“We have to get out of here first,” the Enigma said.

“And I can see them coming,” Daria said from the door.

“The ventilation system,” the Enigma said as she pulled a vent off.

“Better than the window,” Daria quipped. “Get her up first.”

“Sure,” Peterson said. “But I don’t want to have to come back for you.”

“You won’t need to,” Daria said.


Verity climbed up the rope into the ventilation shaft, followed by Peterson.


Daria saw one of the guards coming and used her staff to trip him and then knocked back his partner before the Enigma grabbed her hand and pulled her to the rope.

“Let’s go.”


“That was close,” Daria said.

“Do you know the way out?” Verity asked.

“We’ll find the way,” the Enigma said.

“And you are?” Verity asked. “I heard about the new heroes in Lawndale.”

“The Enigma. I’m the newest one. Or maybe Daria is.”

“Maybe,” Daria allowed.

“The Enigma. I’ll just say that I was rescued.”

“That would be best,” Peterson said.


Less than ten minutes later they emerged onto the roof. “We have to get you somewhere safe. But the station is on the other side of town,” Peterson said.

“I always thought it was a strange location for it,” Daria said. “But there is somewhere.”

“Where?” Peterson asked.

“There!” Daria said pointing.

“The Historia? How is it safe?” Peterson said.

“It’s that new café bookshop, right?” Verity asked.

“Yes,” the Enigma said.

“There are apartments at the rear that were used by the actors in the old days,” Daria explained. “I can put Verity up in one of them for tonight.”

“Could you explain that?” Peterson asked.

“When we get there,” Daria said.


Meanwhile, Tania (and SpiderGirl) had arrived at the Griffins.

Linda had come to the door. “Sandi has gone out,” she said to Tania.

“Oh,” Tania said. “Is that the truth.”

“If Sandi was here, she would be at the door right now,” Linda said. “Why are you here.”

“Like, I was checking something and you might have confirmed it,” Tania said.

“And what might that be?” Linda asked warily.

“That Sandi might be the Shadow.”

Linda sighed. ‘No Tania,’ she thought. ‘Sandi is the fourth vigilante.’ She didn’t say that of course. “I would know if Sandi was the Shadow. The same if she were Ninja Talon. She’s gone out after our tense dinner at the Osborns earlier tonight.”

“Sandi did say something about that at school,” Tania responded. “But I see that you believe that Sandi isn’t the Shadow. It’s like the Morgendorffer sisters aren’t the fourth vigilante.”

‘She thought Daria or Quinn was the fourth vigilante?’ Linda thought. ‘I doubt either of them are the Shadow, Ninja Talon or SpiderGirl.’ The latter of whom she had sensed sitting on the top of the roof. “You’re not going to get any more answers by going around accusing people, Ms. Ashworth! I suggest you go home.”

“Sandi was last on the list, Mrs. Griffin. I may as well go home. It’s still too early to go to the Park,” Tania said. She then turned around and left.

“What is Lawndale coming to?” Linda asked herself, once again. “What do you think of this, SpiderGirl? I know you’re there.”

SpiderGirl swung down. “How did you know I was there?”

“I just knew,” Linda answered carefully. She didn’t know who SpiderGirl was, and thus didn’t want to give anything away.

“Right,” SpiderGirl said. “She was at the Morgendorffers and the Lanes earlier…” she began and explained what happened, starting by repeating what she had said to Jane.


“I see,” Mrs. Griffin said when she had finished.

“Anyway, I’ll be off, I’ll see if Tania actually goes home.”


SpiderGirl followed Tania down the street and saw her go into her house. She swung onto the Ashworth’s roof and breathed a sigh of relief. She decided to wait there awhile and observe Lawndale from that position.


Five minutes later, she saw the glider in the distance to the southwest. “Uh oh!” she said. ‘Uh oh! Time for our plan, but where is Talon?’


Ashley-Amber Taylor answered the phone. “Hello?” she asked.

“It’s Quinn, is Brittany there?”

“I’m sorry,” Ashley-Amber said. “Brittany has gone out. Can I take a message?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll see her another time.”


Daria, the Enigma, Beresfield and Peterson arrived on the Historia’s roof. “So, we’re going to go down to the café and talk to Mrs. Rowe first. She’ll be finishing up for the day,” Daria said.

“OK,” Peterson said. “Is that Elisabeth Rowe?”

“Yes,” Daria answered. “Is that a problem?”

“None at all,” Peterson said.


Elisabeth had finished closing the café when Daria appeared. “Daria? Why are you here?”

Daria then explained.

“You know the way then,” she said. “But the fourth vigilante? Wasn’t that what you were worried about on Saturday?”

“I was, but it was the attack that had me spooked more than I thought,” Daria explained.

“Stacy told me that you’re investigating everything now.”

“Yes, and that’s part of it.”

“OK,” Elisabeth said.


Daria lead them through the theater to the backstage area. “As you can see it was a theater, before it became a cinema later in the century.”

“Interesting,” Verity said. “But where?”

Daria lead them to a door, which she unlocked. “This is one of the apartments. The one assigned to Quinn and I, as you can see our name emblazoned on it.”

“Morgendorffer,” Verity read. “What a name.”

“Of German origin,” Daria said.


Daria unlocked one of the rooms. “That’s mine, although I don’t know what I’m using it for. I suspect, Quinn, Joey and Robert aren’t using theirs either. You can use it for tonight.”

“Thanks, Daria,” Verity said as Daria went to the kitchenette.

“There is coffee, long-life milk and canned food here, and a microwave.”

“But first…” The Enigma said.

“What can you tell us?” Peterson asked.

“There isn’t much I can say without violating Doctor-Patient Confidentiality,” Verity said. “But I believe Norman Osborn is very dangerous. But I can say that he is responsible for the event that occurred a week ago,” she dropped her voice. “And that it was the result of a mental break.”


‘That explains Harry’s concerns,’ the Enigma thought.

“How many people know, is hard to say. I couldn’t say anything to his son. Now he has to take on the responsibility, as he is his heir,” Verity said. “But others within Oscorp are certainly involved.”

“I will stay here,” Peterson said.

Daria nodded. “That’s fine. There is an additional sleeping pad in the closet. But I will be going home and will be back in the morning.”

“You have done enough,” Peterson said. “But we will have to talk about what you are doing tomorrow.”

Daria nodded.


The Enigma and Daria exited the Historia. “Heading home?” the Enigma asked.

“It’s been a long week,” Daria explained.

“It been a long year.”


Ninja Talon and SpiderGirl met on a rooftop near the Jefferson Bridge. “…I agree Tania could be an issue,” the former said after SpiderGirl had explained what happened. “But the glider…”

SpiderGirl looked at where the glider was. “It is close to that area of town. It won’t take much to lead it there, even though it’s risky.”

“Right.”

The Spider Talon team then headed northwest.


The Enigma also saw the glider as she and Daria headed back to the Morgendorffers. “Uh oh!” she said.

“I’ll get home myself,” Daria said.

“Are you sure?” the Enigma asked.

“Yes. An inexperienced teen with a staff may be effective against Oscorp goons, but they would be definitely be a liability against that,” Daria said.

“Good point. See you later.”


SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon stopped on a rooftop of an abandoned building that had been purchased by Oscorp. “If this building is damaged, or falls down, the damage should be minimal,” SpiderGirl said.

“Then we call the Fire Department quickly,” Ninja Talon added.

“Yes,” SpiderGirl said with a nod as she saw the glider approach. She knew it was a tall order.


The Enigma approached the area. ‘It could be it has been modified,’ she thought. ‘And I need to bring it down without killing the pilot. I don’t want Harry to lose his father, even if he’s quite dangerous.’


SpiderGirl started webbing up the street as Ninja Talon ran in the shadows along the buildings.


Ninja Talon ran behind the glider. She then started climbing up one of the buildings.


The Enigma came to the area and saw SpiderGirl close by. ‘The glider first, then SpiderGirl.’


“SpiderGirl!” the pilot called out. “I know you and your ninja friend have a plan.”

“But you don’t know what it is,” SpiderGirl said.

“That’s true, but I have a plan of my own.”

“Of course you do. But we’re a team, you’re just one person.”

“You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” the pilot said.

“A crazed Norman Osborn?”

“Osborn, yes. But not crazed. Reborn, as the Green Goblin!”

“Green Goblin, sounds terrible,” SpiderGirl quipped as she then swung over the glider.

“Take that, SpiderGirl!” the Green Goblin responded.


SpiderGirl avoided the bomb that was thrown, as the Spider Sense blared. She webbed some of his remaining bombs and threw them into the air, where most of them detonated, although some of them exploded on the street below. ‘Oops.’

“You can’t win that way, SpiderGirl!” the Goblin taunted.


Ninja Talon had climbed up nearby. She then fired a zipline onto the side of the glider, where there was an alerion. She pulled.

The Goblin reacted and paused the glider in mid air.

‘Uh oh!’ Ninja Talon thought.

“Itsy Bitsy Spider! Along came the Goblin to take the Spider and her ally out!”

Ninja Talon glared and extended a set of her talons, and unsheathed her katana. She then leapt.


‘That’s audacious,’ the Enigma thought as she approached the area. She raised a forcefield and telekinetically lifted some nearby debris…


Ninja Talon racked the glider’s bodywork with her talons and hacked at one of the stabilisers with her katana. She then was webbed out of range of the Goblin’s punch by SpiderGirl.

“That was close,” SpiderGirl said.

“Yes!” Ninja Talon said as she threw a shuriken towards the Goblin.


The shuriken missed, but it hit the instrument panel, causing sparks.

“You think a little damage is going to stop me?” the Goblin asked.

“Probably not,” SpiderGirl responded. “But a lot more will.” She swung below the glider and Ninja Talon racked the underside with her katana.

The Goblin accelerated.

“It’s been reinforced,” Ninja Talon said.

“We can still damage it,” SpiderGirl said as they swung to a rooftop.


The Enigma then telekinetically flung the debris at the glider at high speed.

The Goblin almost fell out. “That telekinetic metahuman again. The fourth vigilante!”

“I am the Enigma! I will do whatever it takes to protect Lawndale! Even make a lonely teenager an orphan, but I don’t want to do that. And telekinesis isn’t my only power.” Several projections then it the glider, exacerbating the damage SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon had made earlier.


“You won’t kill me, Enigma. Your compassion is your weakness,” the Goblin said as he stabilised the glider. “Bye Bye Enigma!” Another missile was fired, but the glider was pulled aside.

SpiderGirl had webbed it again and pulled down hard from ground level. The missile passed the Enigma and exploded on a nearby rooftop, causing damage.

“We have to work together,” SpiderGirl said to the Enigma.

“Of course. And with other villains too. But confrontation and rivalry will still happen,” the Enigma said.

“And we’re going to have a conversation after that confrontation,” SpiderGirl said.

“We’re still in a battle here,” Ninja Talon said.


“True,” SpiderGirl said. She then grabbed Talon and swung to a rooftop.

“I don’t think she wants to talk to you,” Talon said.

“I know,” SpiderGirl admitted. “But I just gave her something to think about.”


The Enigma focused on the glider again. The Goblin was trying to gain altitude but the damage was making that difficult. ‘Let’s make that more difficult,’ she thought. She fired more projections.


“Where is it going to fall?” Ninja Talon asked.

“Just onto the street,” SpiderGirl answered. “But how long can she keep it up?”

“Probably not long.”


Indeed, the Enigma was tiring. It had been a long day at school, and the tense dinner didn’t help either. The search for Beresfield and the rescue mission had also taken something out of her. ‘But I need to do this,’ she thought.

 

Part 4
At Casa Lane, Jane was still thinking about what was happening with Tania when a report came on the radio. “SpiderGirl, Ninja Talon and the fourth vigilante are in a battle against an aircraft similar to the one responsible for the Groundhog Day Attack…”

“Uh oh!” Jane said. “The Shadow is on it!” she said.

Less than a minute later, the Shadowcar left Casa Lane.


The Enigma had retreated to recuperate. ‘Did Mother experience this in Boston?’ she wondered.


As SpiderGirl swung in again she could see that the glider was rather battered, and the Goblin’s suit was torn in places. She webbed up part of it and as several of Ninja Talon’s shuriken hit home at damaged areas.

“The Enigma was a tough opponent, SpiderGirl,” the Goblin said in a taunting tone.

“I’m tougher,” SpiderGirl said. “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility and I have the responsibility to protect the people of Lawndale from your plans, whatever they are.”

“You’re deluded!” the Goblin said. He threw a bomb in SpiderGirl’s direction.

She threw it aside with a web, with it exploding in midair. She then signaled Talon.


Ninja Talon leapt off a rooftop onto the glider.

“Think you can defeat me this way?” the Goblin asked.

“Yes!” Ninja Talon said as she grabbed him and tried to flip him off the glider.

The Goblin reacted. “I am also experienced in martial arts and this is a very dangerous environment to spar.”

“I know, but Spidey has my back.”

“You’re rather familiar with her, aren’t you?”

Ninja Talon was silent as she danced aside from one of the Green Goblin’s strikes.


The Enigma regained her strength. ‘Is it a second wind?’ she wondered. She saw that Ninja Talon and the Goblin were sparring on the glider. ‘They are both very good,’ she thought. She thought about shooting the glider again, but she didn’t want to risk hitting Ninja Talon.


The Shadow arrived on the street as Ninja Talon flipped off the glider onto a fire escape. She saw SpiderGirl attempting to web the glider again. “Let’s see, dramatic fog and paint missile.” A targeting crosshair came up onto the heads-up display and the Shadow targeted the glider with a touchpad on the horn button. She then flipped another switch and a fog was released.


The paint missile hit the glider, causing further damage. The Goblin, tired from his sparring, only barely managed to hang on.


“Paint…” SpiderGirl mused. “Is it the Shadow?”

“Probably,” Ninja Talon said.

“And the Goblin is distracted,” SpiderGirl said, as she swung off.


The Enigma watched as the Shadow used a grapple gun to get onto a rooftop. ‘I’ll help,’ she decided.


“The Shadow. You didn’t do much last time,” the Goblin said.

“I did plenty,” the Shadow said. “My fogs and those of my mentor helped defeat you.”

“But your mentor isn’t here.”

“No, she isn’t, but she doesn’t need to be!”

“You think you’re good enough?” the Green Goblin asked.

“Not by myself, but SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon are still here.”


SpiderGirl swung over the glider and webbed out more of the bombs.


“Distracting me, is that it?” the Goblin asked.

“That’s part of it!” Ninja Talon said as she flipped onto the glider again. Another sparring session began.

“I was fighting fair last time,” the Goblin said.

“So was I!” Ninja Talon said as she unsheathed her katana and swiped the control panel, causing more damage.

“No!” the Goblin cried out as the glider began to fall.

“Yes!” Ninja Talon said as she extended her talons. She swiped them across the Goblin’s torso and leapt off the glider to another fire escape.

“Ow!” the Goblin grumbled. The glider was still falling. He tried to pull it up. “Oh no!”


The Goblin ejected from the glider and activated a jetpack. He watched it explode on the street. “You have won this battle, so called heroes of Lawndale! But I will have the last laugh.”

“I can still catch you!” the Enigma said from a nearby rooftop. She pointed her arms downwards; palms open as her hands glowed with her powers.

“What?” the Goblin asked.


The Enigma pushed downwards telekinetically at the same time as firing projections and thus launched into the air, towards where the Green Goblin was hovering.

“I’m not defenseless,” the Goblin said as he raised a firearm.

With a flick, the Enigma disarmed him and then the two collided in midair.


“What is she doing?” Ninja Talon asked.

“Be ready to catch either of them,” SpiderGirl said.

“I am,” the Shadow said. “If you’re not.”


The Enigma grappled with the Goblin. “This is for kidnapping Beresfield!” she said. “And for trying to take over Lawndale!”

“Beresfield? She was getting too close. As for Lawndale, I have plans,” the Goblin then lowered his voice. “You don’t understand, Sandi!”

“What?” the Enigma asked.

“I just figured it out. Who else would bring up Beresfield?”

“Oops!” the Enigma said as she pulled off the Goblin’s helmet with a burst of strength.

There was a crazed look in his eyes. “And I know about your mother’s past.”

“She was a superhero, and now I am,” the Enigma said as one of her hands started to glow.

“She was an antihero, who did things,” the Goblin said.

“What else is new? So what? So am I and I do things!” the Enigma shot back. She then shot a projection at the jetpack. She then telekinetically pushed it and the Goblin in separate directions.

“Ugh!” the Goblin said.


SpiderGirl grabbed the Enigma as she fell.

“Truce,” the Enigma said. “I need to rest.”

“Good,” SpiderGirl responded. “But what did he say to you?”

“He knows my secret identity.”

“That’s not good,” SpiderGirl considered. “But I don’t want to know it.”

“I may want to know yours, but I don’t want to find out this way.”

“Right.”


The Shadow caught the Green Goblin. “Got you!”

“Oh no! The Enigma did something!” the Goblin said.

“She clearly did,” the Shadow said. “We all did. We defeated you.”

“I don’t know who you are.”

“That’s good! You can’t come after me.”

“She definitely did something. There’s tingling in my legs,” the Goblin said.

“I’ll get you to the Hospital,” the Shadow said.

“You are?” Ninja Talon asked as she walked up.

“Yes. It’s the least I can do.”

The ninja nodded.


SpiderGirl placed the Enigma on the ground. “Why do you want to be my rival?” she asked.

“Because I think your methods aren’t what Lawndale needs. Too simplistic for a complicated town of today.”

“Simplistic? Taking responsibility isn’t simplistic!”

“At least think about what I said,” the Enigma said as she turned and left.


The Shadow placed the Goblin on the back seat. She pressed a button and he was secured with seat belts. “You didn’t need to do that!” he said.

“I will be driving fast,” the Shadow responded. “I want to get you to the hospital quickly.”


Ninja Talon watched the Shadow drive away. SpiderGirl then joined her. “We better get going,” she said.

“Of course.”


They turned a corner, heading towards the Historia, which they could see in the distance. “That was intense,” Ninja Talon said. “Almost as much as last week.”

“I agree. It’s a good thing the Enigma and the Shadow showed up, otherwise there would have been more damage and you might have been injured.”

“I haven’t been yet.”

“Good, but I have,” SpiderGirl said. “But I have enhanced healing.”

“I have thought about that. But what did the Enigma say to you then?”

“That the Goblin knows her secret identity.”

Ninja Talon shook her head. “That’s not good.”

“It isn’t. I don’t want to know hers…”

“What?”

“She said that she wants to know mine,” SpiderGirl admitted.

“Then I hope she doesn’t find out.”

“She won’t. I’m certain about it.”

‘There’s something she isn’t saying,’ Ninja Talon thought. ‘But she will tell me when she’s ready.’

“But that battle. Is that what the future holds for us? Protecting Lawndale from villains like him, who cause destruction?”

“Probably. But Oscorp is still here too.”

“That’s a good point. Oscorp is bigger than just Norman Osborn,” SpiderGirl said.


The Shadow pulled up as close to the Emergency Room at Cedars of Lawndale as she could get.

“We’re here,” she said, as she opened the back door. She saw that the Goblin was worse than at the scene of the battle. ‘Fortunately, Mom was prepared,’ she thought as she pressed a button and the seat extended out from the car and became a wheelchair with a platform on the back.


“Coming through,” the Shadow said as she and Osborn entered the ER.

“Is that Norman Osborn?” one of the nurses asked.

“Yes. I found him on a street downtown. It looks like something happened to him.”

“I’ll get a chair and a doctor,” the nurse said.


It wasn’t long before a doctor and a team of nurses came and took Osborn away. The Shadow then zipped back to the car on the seat.


At the Morgendorffers, Daria arrived back after the rescue and climbed back in through the window. She placed the staff in her room and went to her mother’s room.


Helen heard knocking at the door. “Come in.”

Daria opened the door. “I’m back,” she said quietly.

“What did you find out?”

“Not much.”

Helen could tell her daughter was hiding something. ‘But that’s Daria all over. She hasn’t gotten any more secretive since Jakey passed.’ Whatever it was, she would tell her when she was ready. “Not much?” she asked anyway.

“I need to think about it,” Daria said and sighed. “Have you seen anything about Oscorp at work?”

“Of course, Daria,” Helen said. “But nothing that is any different from other corporations. Is it about what you said about their presence in Lawndale?”

“That’s part of it,” Daria admitted. “But there’s more. I’ll say more another time,” she said before leaving.

Helen sighed.


Daria went back to her room and started writing in her journal about the rescue of Beresfield. ‘But what to tell Peterson about my possible hero identity? I can’t form one from the meanings of either of my given names. Not on their own anyway.’


“Is that you, Sandi?” Linda asked.

“Yes,” Sandi said as she came down the stairs.

“Did you and Daria rescue Beresfield?”

“Yes,” Sandi began and explained about the rescue and the following battle.


Sandi had left out the fact that Osborn had figured out her secret identity. ‘I don’t want to worry her too much,’ she thought.

“And then there is Tania Ashworth,” her mother said. “She came around saying that you’re the Shadow.”

“I know, she was at the Morgendorffers at the same time as I was, assuming the same of either of them.”

“Still, you need to be more careful. If Tania is going around trying to figure out the identities of the other vigilantes…”

“I have been careful,” Sandi said, despite the fact she wasn’t when talking to Osborn as the Goblin earlier.

Her mother sighed.


Quinn got home not long after Daria. She knocked on her door. “How did it go, earlier?” she asked.

“It was a success,” Daria answered.

“That’s good news.”

“But it’s a lot to take in. More about Oscorp.”

“What else is new?” Quinn asked rhetorically.


Ashley-Amber saw Brittany enter the kitchen. “There was a call for you earlier,” she said.

“Who?”

“Quinn.”

“I caught up with her,” Brittany responded enigmatically.

“Good to hear.”


Trent got home from a gig to see Jane waiting in the kitchen. “What’s up, Janie?” he asked.

“An eventful evening,” Jane answered.

“In what way?” Trent asked.

“Where to start? Tania Ashworth, and then a battle against the Green Goblin.”

“I thought we weren’t going to call him that? And what about Tania?”

“He called himself that. He’s actually Norman Osborn. I took him to the hospital afterwards,” Jane answered.

“Hmm, you better start from the beginning.”

Jane then explained, starting from Tania’s arrival.


Trent thought on it when Jane had concluded with her dropping Osborn off at the hospital. “The destruction of the glider, is good, right?”

“I’m sure it was a prototype. If it’s gone, they might not make more right away. It would be probably be a while before another is made,” Jane said. “Tania is more of a threat.”

“But what are you going do to do about that?”

“I’m not sure, other than be more careful when accusing people as the Shadow.”

“At least you know where you went wrong,” Trent said.

Jane nodded and then went up to her room to take solace in her art before bed.

 

Part 5
SpiderGirl climbed out onto the roof at the usual time. ‘Lawndale sounds slightly better,’ she thought. But she knew that the defeat of the Green Goblin didn’t make any of the other problems go away. ‘I will deal with them as they come and Talon is here too.’ She looked in the direction of Crewe Neck with a smile before focusing her hearing to the east.


Lawndale Sun-Herald
Saturday, February 10, 2001
Page 1
Norman Osborn Hospitalised by Melinda Parris
Norman Osborn was admitted to Cedars of Lawndale late last night. No information was available on his condition as of going to press.
Page 2
Oscorp Expansion Plans Leaked by Penelope Jericho


Quinn came down to breakfast to find that Daria was listening to a news report on the radio.

“Norman Osborn remains in an unconscious but stable condition in Cedars of Lawndale after being admitted last night. Hospital staff remain tight lipped about whether he was brought in by one of the vigilantes.”

‘Something else may be happening to him,’ Quinn thought. ‘Is it the Enigma’s powers? Or something he did to himself, combined with the Enigma’s powers?’ She wasn’t sure. “Morning.”

“Morning, Quinn,” Daria said. “I’ll be heading out again shortly.”

“That seems to be the way,” Quinn said. “Coming and going. What has been going on lately hasn’t changed that.”

Daria nodded. “Something on your mind?”

“Everything, really. School, the Historia, everything going on in Lawndale. It’s sometimes overwhelming.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“I’m fine, but lunch would be good,” Quinn said with a smile as she grabbed some cereal.

“I’ll be at the Historia most of the day, albeit coming and going.”

“I was planning on being there anyway.”


Half an hour later, Daria met Peterson and another woman in the Historia’s lobby.

“This is Agent Bell of SHIELD,” Peterson said.

“Krista Bell,” the agent said, extending her hand. “My daughter is in your grade.”

“There’s a Kelly Leung-Bell, I think,” Daria said as she shook the agent’s hand warily.

“That’s right,” Agent Bell said. “But, lead the way.”


Verity was still drinking some coffee when the door opened and she saw Daria, Xanthe and a third woman enter. “Good morning.”

“Morning, Agent Krista Bell, SHIELD.”

“SHIELD?” Verity asked.

“I didn’t expect it either,” Daria said as she entered and sat at the table.”

“But first, some news,” Xanthe said. “Osborn has been hospitalised, following a battle against the vigilante heroes last night. The hospital isn’t saying anything about his condition.”

“I’m not sure what to say,” Verity said.

“I will try to get in touch with SpiderGirl or Ninja Talon today,” Xanthe said.

“You usually talk to them?” Daria asked.

“Mostly SpiderGirl, Ninja Talon more often lately.”

“Anyway, what’s going on?” Verity asked.

Agent Bell sat down. “Osborn may be indisposed but others in Oscorp might be after you for what you know.”

Verity took that in. “Of course,” she said quietly.

“So, we’re offering protective custody,” Agent Bell said.

“Then I’ll take it,” Verity said.


Soon, Beresfield and Agent Bell had left and Daria was tidying up the apartment.
“We need to talk,” Peterson said.

“I know. You’re considering me a vigilante given that I was with the Enigma last night. I have come up with a name; Dafoanairi. It is an anagram of my given names.”

“Dafoanairi,” Peterson repeated. “Sounds unusual. I like it. But you will still need some kind of disguise.”

Daria sighed. “What else is new? I will come up with something within the week.”

“But what about the Historia? What will happen to it now?”

“What about it? Our agreement means that it doesn’t matter that Osborn is indisposed. We still deal with aspects of Oscorp, but also with Mrs. Rowe’s network within Lawndale.”

“I see that you had prepared,” Peterson said.

“I didn’t want Joey and Robert to get caught out. I could see how much this place means to them.”

“And you and Quinn?”

“We both wanted to do something positive for Lawndale,” Daria said.


At the same time, Sandi was in the waiting room at Cedars of Lawndale when Harry came out. She went over to him and he shook his head. “He’s unresponsive. He was barely coherent when he was admitted last night and he went downhill from there.”

“Do they have any idea what’s wrong?”

Harry took a deep breath. “There’s a cocktail of experimental drugs in his system. Many of them are substances Oscorp had been working on…” he then wiped some tears before continuing. “He’s now in a stable condition, but they don’t know how long it will last.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks for being there for me.”

Sandi nodded. “I can stay here for a while.”


Daria entered the café and sat at a table at the front.

“May I help you?” Angie Zammit asked.

“Yes, a coffee would be fine,” Daria answered.

“Cool, Daria. It’ll be right out.”

She took out her notepad. Lawndale seems to be holding it’s breath this morning, as if something had just finished, and is now waiting for something else.


Peterson waited on the roof of the Historia, after Daria had showed her where to go. She knew that SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon had been seen there often in the two weeks since the opening. ‘Another thing pointing to it being Quinn who is SpiderGirl,’ she thought. ‘The association of the Morgendorffers with this place.’


She didn’t have to wait long.

“Peterson?” SpiderGirl asked.

“One of the business partners showed me the way up here,” Xanthe explained.

“I see,” SpiderGirl responded.

“I know something happened with Osborn last night. The hospital isn’t saying who brought him in.”

“It was the Shadow who took him. I didn’t really see what happened to him. It was quite fast.”

“But what did happen?” Xanthe asked.

“It was the Enigma…” SpiderGirl began.


“…And then she did something to remove the jetpack with her powers. They might have affected him, but I’m not sure,” SpiderGirl concluded. “I then caught her. It was the Shadow who caught Osborn. You’d have to ask her.”

“If I can find her. She’s quite elusive. I haven’t seen her since Groundhog Day.”

“I had only seen her one other time between then and last night.”

“You and Ninja Talon are friends, huh?” Peterson asked.

“Um, no comment,” SpiderGirl responded nervously.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

‘You may have figured out my secret identity, but you’re not going to find out Talon’s,’ SpiderGirl thought.


‘You can trust me, Quinn,’ Xanthe thought. ‘If Daria is trusting me as Dafoanairi.’ Then again, it was a different situation.


The two sat there a while as they both looked out over the town. “You know,” Xanthe said, after fifteen minutes. “When I was a teenager, Lawndale was three quarters the size it is now.”

“So, twenty years ago?” SpiderGirl asked.

“Approximately,” Xanthe answered. “The town was closer, more of a community. Then things changed as I graduated from school. That’s why I joined the Department. To make a difference for the people who live here.”

“Thanks for sharing that,” SpiderGirl said.

“I’ll go now,” Peterson said. “But remember, you and Ninja Talon can trust me.”


SpiderGirl waited for a while longer, looking around at the town and thinking about what Xanthe said. She waited until see saw Xanthe leave the building from the front door, before changing to the usual Quinn and heading down.


“It’s not lunch yet,” Daria said as she saw Quinn come over.

“I thought I would join you for morning tea,” Quinn said.

“Maybe you could talk about what you’re doing with the Lowdown?” Daria asked.

“Sure,” Quinn responded with a smile.


Joey and Robert arrived shortly afterwards and found the two sisters. “I knew you were here,” Joey said.

“You’re worried about Osborn being indisposed?” Quinn asked.

“A little,” Joey Green admitted. “I know the agreement, but…”

“He’s concerned about Harry,” Robert Allen said.

“Harry isn’t going to change the agreement,” Daria said in a reassuring tone.

“I know,” Joey said, “But I’m still worried.”

“Maybe we could get reassurance,” Daria said.

“How?” Joey asked.

“You’re going to find him, aren’t you?” Quinn asked.

“Yes. But I’ll have to call Sandi,” Daria said.

“That’s fine,” Quinn said.


Linda answered the phone. “Sorry, Daria, Sandi is out. She is probably with Harry at the hospital.”

“Thanks. Mrs. Griffin. I’ll try there, somehow.”


“Someone for a Sandi Griffin?” an orderly asked.

“I better take that,” Sandi said to Harry.

“Of course,” Harry said.

“I’m here,” Sandi said.

“Over here.”


“So, you want Harry to reassure Joey and Robert about the agreement?” Sandi asked.

“Yes, Quinn isn’t worried as much.”

“I knew she wouldn’t be,” Sandi said with an undertone of bitterness. “I will get Harry.”

“Thanks,” Daria said.


Harry came to the phone. “You want me to come there to reassure them?”

“Pretty much,” Daria said.

“Sure. I’ll be there quickly,” Harry said.

“I’ll be waiting.”

“Maybe I’ll avail myself of Sandi’s street racing skills.”

“You don’t have to,” Daria responded.


“Are you sure?” Sandi asked as she pulled out of the hospital parking lot.

“Of course,” Harry responded. “I want to experience it at least once.”

Sandi nodded.


It was only six minutes after Daria’s call when Sandi and Harry walked into the Historia café. “There they are,” Sandi said. “I’ll wait on the roof.”

“Are you sure?” Harry asked.

“Quinn is there, of course I’m sure. Daria can tell you the way up when you’re done.”


Harry sat at the table with the four teens and saw that there was a fifth one there. “Stacy, right?” he asked.

“Yes. My Mom is resting today,” she said. “She’s not worried about what you might say.”

“But you sound worried,” Harry said.

“That’s what Stacy is normally like,” Joey said.

“Joey!” Stacy said. “He doesn’t need to know that!”

“Anyway…” Daria interrupted.

“Right. I haven’t read the agreement myself, but my father did explain it me a few weeks ago. The building belongs to Oscorp, but you run the business independently….”


Harry finished and saw that Joey and Robert looked relieved, while Quinn and Daria looked thoughtful. Stacy had a small smile.

“Thanks for that,” Joey said.


‘A good thing he did come,’ Daria thought, as the group started talking more freely as their anxiety slipped away. ‘The Historia is here to stay. It may not be perfect, but it doesn’t need to be.’


Sandi looked out over Lawndale as she waited for Harry. She looked to the southwest towards the hospital. ‘What did happen to Harry’s father?’ she wondered again. ‘Was it the drugs alone? Or an interaction of my powers with the drugs?’ she wasn’t sure. ‘What will happen when he recovers?’ He still knew that she was the Enigma. She sighed; the future was uncertain. Both her herself and for Lawndale.


Jane entered the Historia Cafe to find Daria sitting with Quinn, Harry and the others. “Oh!” she said. “I didn’t know that everyone would be here.”

“I was just reassuring them about the agreement,” Harry said.

“I heard about your father,” she said.

“They are still figuring out what is wrong with him,” Harry answered.

‘So, the Enigma…’ she thought. ‘She may want to be SpiderGirl’s rival, but now she’s also the Shadow’s rival,’ she decided. She sat next to Daria. “What’s next?”

“Ted and another of the Seniors will be here shortly,” Daria answered.


Ninja Talon approached the Historia and saw that Sandi was on the roof. ‘I’ll have to find another spot,’ she thought. She climbed down to street level before changing to the usual Brittany in an ally. She looked around before exiting the ally next to the front of the old theatre. ‘I’m sure Kevie will be here shortly.’


“So, what’s next, Quinn?” Stacy asked.

“Anything,” Quinn answered as she saw Brittany enter the café. “Lawndale is our oyster. It may be declining, but it still has a lot to offer.”

“That’s true,” Stacy said.

“It’s going to be a good day,” Quinn said.


Little did they know that although the immediate crisis was over, the Lawndale Troubles had just begun.

 

15 The New Challenges Part 1
Helen Morgendorffer entered her kitchen to see an unusual sight. “Quinn? Why is Jamie getting his hair cut in our kitchen?”

“Because his usual barber has left Lawndale,” her daughter, Quinn, answered.

“That doesn’t answer the question,” Helen said.

“And Daria was in the bathroom,” Quinn added.

“You could have waited.”

“I didn’t want to wait, Mrs. Morgendorffer,” Jamie said.

“I see.”

“And he really needed one,” Quinn added.

“At least clean up when you’re done,” Helen said.

“I always do,” Quinn said.

“You’re taking a lot off,” Helen noted.

“That’s what he wants,” Quinn said. “And he’ll thank me.”


Soon, Quinn was done and Jamie White looked at himself in a hand mirror. “It’s great Quinn,” Jamie said.

“Thanks!”


“And I know you’re now cutting Daria’s hair too,” Helen said as Quinn cleaned up Jamie’s hair.

“More like just dusting off split ends,” Quinn added.

“After all these years keeping it the same length… and now she’s changing.”

“I know.”


Jamie looked at himself in the mirror in the cramped downstairs bathroom. The haircut looked good. Quinn had done a very good job.


He came out into the kitchen. “Thanks, Quinn.”

“You’re welcome.”


Jamie soon left as night fell over Lawndale. As he drove home, he thought about the recent events in the town, from Groundhog Day onwards.


Quinn went up to her room and looked at her closet. The modifications she had made so far were rudimentary. Just enough to hide her SpiderGirl gear in the chute and gain access to the attic from her closet. She hadn’t done much with the hidden area of the basement, just to store various maps of Lawndale and the surrounding areas. ‘There’s more I can do,’ she thought as she took out her sketchbook.


Meanwhile, Sandi Griffin was ready to do another search. “Cindy Brolsma,” she considered.

She downed the energy drink. “Finndu mann sem heitir: Cindy Brolsma!”

Cindy was found at her place somewhere to the north.


The Enigma approached the Morgendorffers’ place after midnight and saw that Daria’s light was still on as usual. She climbed up to one of the windows and opened it with her powers.

Daria was waiting.

“So, where are you investigating tonight?” the Enigma asked.

“Around the Historia,” Daria answered.

“Sure.”


Twenty minutes later, they were in the vicinity of the Historia. “What are we looking for?” the Enigma asked.

“Anything out of the ordinary,” Daria answered.

“Of course.”

They wandered around, looking for clues. They didn’t find much, other than some new graffiti on some of the walls behind the Historia.

The Enigma took photos of the tags. “I will cross reference them later.”

“I will too,” Daria added. “Time to go.”


Lawndale Sun-Herald
Wednesday, February 14, 2001
More on the Oscorp Expansion Plans by Penelope Jericho

As Jamie arrived at school his new haircut drew attention.

“Is that Jamie White?” Elly Aitkin asked herself. She looked again. ‘Is he cuter now?’

“Hello, Elly!”

“That’s a cool haircut, Jamie.”

“Thanks!”

“I’ll see you later!”


Jamie entered the library, passing Anna Coultard and Ben Harrod holding hands as they walked out. He saw Quinn talking to Brittany Taylor in the distance. “Quinn!”


“…So, Oscorp is still a concern,” Quinn concluded as she heard Jamie in the distance.

“We’ll need to keep an eye on them,” Brittany agreed.

“Keep an eye on who?” Jamie asked as he came up.

“Oscorp,” Quinn answered.

“Right,” Jamie commented. “What are you doing this afternoon, Quinn?”

“I’ll be at the Historia.”

“Oh, of course. It’s Wednesday.”

Jamie turned to Brittany.

“Kevie and I haven’t been having problems,” Brittany said.

“But he says you’re hardly around.”

“No other problems.”


SpiderGirl headed southwards from the school, towards the Historia. ‘Lawndale is resilient,’ she thought. The troubles of the past couple of weeks seemed to have subsided. She patrolled the downtown for half an hour before she stopped at the top of the Historia.


“Quinn!” Elisabeth Rowe, said when she saw Quinn enter the café.

“What’s wrong, Mrs. Rowe?”

“Something is causing power fluctuations in this part of town.”

“That’s not good,” Quinn commented.

“It isn’t and the power company hasn’t been able to localize it.”

“We need to get to the bottom of it.”

“That’s true,” Elisabeth said. “We can’t exactly run the café on inconsistent power.”

“It’s just been happening this afternoon?”

“Yes. It started about lunchtime.”

“I guess this could be something Daria can investigate this evening,” Quinn mused.

The lights in the café dimmed.

“Or maybe now,” Elisabeth said. “I’ll give her a call.”


Daria was doing her homework when the phone rang. “Daria here.”

“Mrs. Rowe here. The Historia has been having power outages all afternoon. But it’s not just the Historia. The problem has been affecting most of the street also.”

“Oh. I shall investigate shortly. I’ll just finish these homework questions.”

“I’ll see you soon.”


Daria entered the café a half hour later. As she went over to where Quinn was behind the counter, the lights dimmed momentarily. “I can see the problem,” she said.

“Like, it’s causing problems with the coffee machines and the fridges,” Quinn said. “The coffees are lukewarm and the milk isn’t getting cold.”

“That is a problem,” Daria said as she took it in.

“Mrs. Rowe is in the office,” Quinn said.

“Thanks.”


“I already showed this to Quinn and Joey,” Mrs. Rowe said.

“Right,” Daria said as she looked at the map behind Mrs. Rowe. She could see that the outages were mainly on Main Street between First and Fourth Streets. “So, what is causing the problem has to be in that area.”

“Yes.”

“I shall go and talk to the business managers there, although it’s already nearly six.”

The lights dimmed in the office. “I don’t think it’s a business hours issue,” Mrs. Rowe pointed out.


Daria went up to the roof and looked out over Lawndale. The sun was setting and the street lights were coming on. ‘Is there a pattern in the brightness?’ she wondered.

“You’re here too, huh?” someone said nearby.

“Brittany?” Daria asked.

“I was looking into those problems too,” Brittany said.

“What have you found so far?” Daria asked.

“Not much, just that the Historia is far from the only place affected.”

“That’s what Mrs. Rowe said, and she has a map.”

“I have been to two of them,” Brittany said. “Zammits Boutique and a dojo.”

“A dojo?”

“Yeah. I go there twice a week, for Karate and Taekwondo.”

“Got it,” Daria said. “And Zammits. That would be Angie’s mother’s shop, right?”

“That’s right. It’s just across the street,” Brittany said, pointing down.

“Then that’s our next stop.”

“Sure, but Mrs. Zammit didn’t know much.”


Even so, Daria and Brittany went down and crossed the street. Mrs. Zammit was closing as they came up. “Back, Brittany?” she asked.

“Yes, Daria is investigating the blackouts for the Historia.”

“Daria Morgendorffer.”

“Quinn’s sister, right?” Mrs. Zammit asked. “Angie has said that she’s been very helpful the past month.”

“Yes,” Daria answered.

“So, what are you curious about?” Mrs. Zammit asked.

“When did the outages start?” Daria asked.

“Shortly after one. A customer couldn’t use her credit card and she didn’t have enough cash on her,” Mrs. Zammit said with annoyance.

“I can see how that can be a problem,” Daria said.

“And they continued to cause problems all afternoon.”


“That didn’t tell me much,” Daria said after they had crossed the street, back to the Historia.

“We can still go to the dojo,” Brittany suggested.

“How far is it?”

“Only one block,” Brittany answered as she pointed to the east.


Daria looked at the various stores as they passed them. The flickering of the street lights gave the street an earie look. Only some of the businesses were still open. Brittany opened the door of the dojo. ‘I suppose there are evening classes.’


“Ms. Taylor, I didn’t expect you back this evening,” Sensei Takhata said when he saw the blonde come in with an auburn-haired girl.

“This is my friend, Daria,” Brittany said.

“Daria Morgendorffer,” the girl said as introduction. “Brittany told me that you have also been affected by brownouts this afternoon.”

“Yes, Ms. Morgendorffer,” the sensei said after a little thought. “It can be difficult when the lighting is inconsistent…”


Daria listened as Sensei Takhata explained what had been happening. It was the same as at the Historia and Zammits. It didn’t tell her much. ‘But maybe I could salvage this in another way,’ she thought as she grabbed an information sheet.’

“Are you interested in learning something, Ms. Morgendorffer?”

“Yes, but I’m not certain which,’ Daria answered. “Anyway. I will need to gather more information on the outages.”

“Take your time. I advise you not to try to learn an art you don’t want to learn.”

‘But which will help me most as Dafoanairi?’ Daria wondered as she put the sheet away.


“Where now?” Brittany asked Daria when they left Takhata’s Dojo.

“Back to the Historia, so I can fill Mrs. Rowe and Quinn in on what I have and haven’t found. And maybe then Dinner.”

“I’ll come too. Kevie was meeting me for dinner.”

“He told me that you’ve hardly been around,” Daria said.

“When was that?”

“Just after Groundhog Day.”

“We have been on one date since then,” Brittany answered, although that date had been interrupted.


Back at the Historia, they saw that Kevin was already there. “There you are, Babe! I was beginning to worry.”

“No problem, Kevie. Daria and I were looking into something.”

“What was that?” Kevin asked.

“Blackouts,” Daria answered as she went towards the office.

“Oh,” Kevin responded as Brittany looked at the menu.


“So, Zammits and Takhata’s Dojo,” Elisabeth said. “They’re both on the map.”

“I’m sorry, I haven’t been able to get more information,” Daria said as the lights in the office went off for a few seconds.”

“That you tried is enough.”

“I’ll go up on the roof again and try to guess where the problem might be.”


Five minutes later, Daria was up on roof with a flashlight and a photocopy of the map. “Flickering streetlights…” she considered as she looked around. She could see that most of the streetlights in the downtown area were flickering, but the rest of Lawndale seemed unaffected. ‘But how long would that last if the problem doesn’t go away?’ she wondered. She looked at the map again. The area of flickering street lights was only slightly larger than the reported outages. ‘That doesn’t tell me much.’ She then went back down to have dinner herself.


“Power problems in downtown Lawndale continue this evening…” Sandi switched off the radio and took out her yearbook again. After Cindy Brolsma was Melinda Brosnan, who had a brown pixie cut. ‘She still has that,’ Sandi thought as she grabbed the energy drink.

“Findu mann sem heiter: Melinda Brosnan!”

She found that Melinda was at the Historia, and looked annoyed at the brownout that was happening.


Quinn noticed yet another tingle as she brought out some fries. “Here you are!” she said to Melinda Brosnan. “At least the gas is unaffected.”

“Thanks, Quinn,” Melinda said. “it’s one thing after another isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Quinn said quietly.

“Like, everything that’s been happening the past few months. Now these power problems.”

“I’m sure the problem will be found soon.”

“I hope so.”


Daria headed home after having dinner. She placed the map of the outages on her wall. ‘It is going to be overwhelmed, isn’t it?’ she wondered as she looked at the articles on SpiderGirl from late November.


“You’re staying here?” Kevin asked Brittany after he had finished desert.

“Yes. I’m talking to Quinn and Joey about something when they finish.”

“OK.”


Later, SpiderGirl joined Ninja Talon on the roof. “So, you were with Daria earlier?” the former asked.

“Yes,” Ninja Talon answered and explained about their trips to the boutique and the dojo.

SpiderGirl took that in. “It is still not much to go on.”

“But maybe she can find something we can’t?”

“Probably,” SpiderGirl considered. She then took out a copy of the map Mrs. Rowe had made. “This doesn’t say much about where it’s coming from, other than it’s somewhere in this area.”

“Maybe look for a place that does have power, but isn’t blacking out?” Ninja Talon suggested.

“I can’t think of anything else at the moment.”


An hour later, they returned to the rooftop. “There’s too many,” Ninja Talon said.

“True. It will take hours, and we need to get home,” SpiderGirl agreed. “Maybe we can meet back here in the early hours.”

Ninja Talon agreed before climbing down the southern side of the Historia. SpiderGirl then swung off to the west.


Quinn emerged from her closet and clapped her hands, switching on her desk lamp. ‘Still needs work,’ she thought, referring to the hatch from the attic she had just used. That and the pully mechanism in the chute was still making noise. She went over to her desk and took out the map of the outages. ‘This is probably something that SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon can’t solve, but we have to try.’


Daria was writing when Quinn knocked on the door. “No, I still have no idea about the brownouts,” she said.

“I was about to suggest that you and the fourth vigilante could investigate tonight.”

Daria thought about telling Quinn the name said fourth vigilante used, but thought better of it. “I was out with her last night.”

“Oh,” Quinn said, disappointed

“But I’ll look into it in the morning before school. Or maybe it’ll be Sandi.”

“Or Tania Ashworth?”

“I doubt it,” Daria said. “She hasn’t said, or done anything since Friday night.”

“It was a long shot,” Quinn said before heading back to her room.

‘Maybe, either Sandi comes, or Dafoanairi goes to High Hills Park and implies she’s the fourth vigilante rather than the fifth,’ Daria considered. She shook her head. Tania already knew what the fourth vigilante and the Shadow looked like.

 

Part 2
After midnight, Dafoanairi climbed out the hall window and down the ivy covered trellis. She then left the Morgendorffers place into the laneway behind and headed towards High Hills Park that way. She was wearing dark clothes and a cloak that effectively hid her long auburn hair which she had tied in a simple ponytail and the fact that she was squinting without her glasses.


Sandi arrived a few minutes later and saw that Daria’s light was out. “Oh. Looks like she’s asleep,” she commented. She then changed to the Enigma and headed downtown.


Dafoanairi arrived at High Hills Park and heard the Wiccans chanting as they started their nightly worship. ‘But how can I find Tania without my glasses?’ she wondered. She didn’t really think that through. It was even worse with it being around New Moon. She decided to wait until the Wiccans had finished and then call Tania.


Tania Ashworth was about to go home when she heard her name being called from nearby, within the Park. “Who’s there?” she asked. “Is it the Shadow trying to accuse me again?”

“No,” a feminine voice said. A cloaked figure appeared. “I’m Dafoanairi, Lawndale’s snarky fifth vigilante.”

Tania raised an eyebrow. That was certainly new. “A snarky fifth?” she asked rhetorically. “Why are you here?”

“I’m investigating the brownouts that have been plaguing downtown Lawndale since the early afternoon.”

“I heard about them,” Tania said.

“So, you may have heard that various businesses were having issues related to them, including the Historia, boutiques unable to process credit card transactions and dojos having to deal with poor lighting.”

“I knew about some of that,” Tania admitted, “but why are you asking me about it?”

“I heard that you were investigating the other vigilantes last Friday.”

“The Morgendorffers may be involved or they may not be, and I still have an eye on Sandi Griffin, but I need more proof.”

“What is your answer?” Dafoanairi asked.

“I’ll help you with the brownouts.”


They then left the Park. “Where first?” Tania asked.

“The Historia.”

“Good choice. It’s a great vantage point.”


The Enigma was already at the Historia, trying to find a pattern in the flickering street lights. ‘There isn’t a pattern I recognise,’ she thought after fifteen minutes. ‘Maybe I should have woken Daria.’ She thought that dealing with a tired and irritable Daria Morgendorffer seemed easier than trying to figure out what was causing the outages. She then heard something on the western side of the roof. “Who’s there?” she asked, ready for confrontation if it was SpiderGirl.


Dafoanairi and Tania had scaled the western side of the Historia. ‘Better than revealing to Tania that I’m a Morgendorffer straight away,’ Dafoanairi thought as she finally made it to the roof.

“Who’s there?” she heard the Enigma ask.

“Dafoanairi, the Snarky fifth Lawndale Vigilante,” she responded.

“And Tania Ashworth,” Tania added.


Tania looked at the fourth vigilante after she and Dafoanairi had come over. “I saw you at the Morgendorffers on Friday, but I didn’t catch what you call yourself.”

“The Enigma,” the other responded. “The antiheroic fourth vigilante who will do anything to protect Lawndale and the rival of the Spider-powered first vigilante.”

“You didn’t need to explain that much,” Dafoanairi murmured. “So, you’re already looking into the outages?”

“Yes,” the Enigma answered. “But I couldn’t find a pattern after looking for fifteen minutes.”

“Maybe there is a building that is drawing a lot of power,” Dafoanairi suggested.

“That’s possible,” the Enigma mused.

“So, we have to climb down again?” Tania asked.

“Yes,” Dafoanairi said.

“I can’t hold you with my powers, but I have ropes,” the Enigma said. “That will make it easier.”

Tania sighed.


Back on the street, they headed towards the east.


A short while later, SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon met at their usual spot at the Jefferson Bridge, Lawndale’s southern bridge over the Lawndale Creek. “So, how are we going to find the source?” Ninja Talon asked. “I have some idea.”

“Like methodically searching the affected area?” SpiderGirl asked.

“But in an effective way, that won’t take up too much time.”

“Like, the darkened areas are almost certainly already being taken advantage of.”

Ninja Talon took out a map. “We could start from opposite corners and search along each street inwards in a spiral pattern.’

“I have no better idea,” SpiderGirl admitted.


Dafoanairi, the Enigma and Tania returned to the Historia after an hour of searching. “Well, we know where it isn’t,” the Enigma said once they had climbed up again.

“It’s like a needle in a haystack,” Tania said

“I will continue tomorrow night,” Dafoanairi said.

“So will I,” the Engima said.

“But I won’t,” Tania decided. “But I will probably look into it after school.”


They then climbed down from the Historia and went their separate ways. The Enigma thought about Dafoanairi. ‘She’s sort of familiar,’ she thought. ‘Daria?’ she thought. But she wasn’t sure.


Tania thought about it as she headed down First Street towards the eastern end of Grandstaff Drive. ‘Another vigilante, but I don’t want to leap to conclusions like I did on Friday.’


Lawndale Sun-Herald
Thursday, February 15, 2001
Brownouts in Downtown Lawndale by Melinda Parris

Quinn entered the kitchen to find Daria and her mother talking about the situation with the outages. She was still tired, as she and Brittany had searched for an hour and a half before calling it quits for the night.

“Couldn’t sleep, Quinn?” her mother asked.

“I still have nightmares about Daddy,” she said, truthfully. “Otherwise, I do get some sleep.”

“If you want to talk about it…” her mother began, but then her cell phone rang. “Oh hi, Eric.”


Helen was annoyed. He had to ring right at that moment. She could tell that Quinn was still struggling with her grief. “Oh hi, Eric,” she said with a slight undertone of annoyance.

“Our nine o’clock has been postponed to nine-thirty,” Eric Schrecter said.

“Is that all?”

“And the firm is still being affected by those brownouts. The assistants may have to search for the typewriters in storage.”

“There aren’t enough laptops?” Helen asked.

“No. There wasn’t the need until now.”

“I will be in at the usual time.”


“What’s the plan?” Quinn asked Daria.

“After school. I will go to the Historia straight away. If the brownouts are still happening, I will go to the other businesses on Mrs. Rowe’s map.”

“Good idea. I’ll probably do the same, after I tutor Angie this afternoon. We can cover more ground.”

“The more the better. I’ll see if Jane will do it too.”


Helen sighed as she hung up. The opportunity to help Quinn had passed as she and Daria were talking about investigating the brownouts. ‘It’s probably not something teen investigators can solve.’ She turned on the TV in the kitchen.

“Mayor Lawson has called out incompetence in the power company in a statement this morning. Quote. ‘Inconsistent power is the last thing Lawndale needs at this time.’ End quote. The power company has also refused requests for comment…”

“Incompetence indeed,” Helen commented. She saw a class action lawsuit in the near future if the issue wasn’t resolved quickly.


The day at Lawndale High proceeded normally, as the power issues were not yet affecting that area of town. Even so, Ms. Li was trying to prepare. “Don’t stress, Angela,” Margeret Manson, the school counsellor, said.

“But if the school gets affected, it will be difficult to keep the heat up and the lights on. Not to mention the computers.”

“But it hasn’t happened yet,” Manson said.

“I know that,” Angela said with a sigh. “But with everything that has been happening lately.”

“You still haven’t talked to me about Groundhog Day…”

“I got out quickly! And I met Ninja Talon. She reassured me that Ms. Taylor got out safely.”

“That’s another thing. The possibility that all the vigilantes are students here,” Manson said.

“I’m already on that.”

“The agreement with Oscorp? Is it worth the paper it’s printed on with Osborn in his condition?”

“The board may be in disarray, but they have reassured me that it is,” Li said.


Jamie was in the library when Quinn and Angie entered. “Jamie?” the former asked.

“I heard that you and Daria are looking into the brownouts,” he said.

“We are, and we’re not the only ones,” Quinn said.

“Can I help?” Jamie said.

“Sure, but after our session,” Quinn said.


“What do you think is happening?” Angie asked as she opened the Math textbook.

“That someone is drawing too much power,” Quinn said. “It may be that the grid can’t handle it.”

“But does that make sense?” Angie asked.

“Daria thinks so, and I do too,” Quinn said.


Daria and Jane headed towards the Historia as they left school.

“So, do you think someone is disrupting Lawndale’s power deliberately?” Jane asked.

“It is a possibility,” Daria admitted.

“Then I hope the culprit is found soon.”


At the Historia, they found that the situation was the same as the previous afternoon. “It has spread a little further north,” Mrs. Rowe said.

“That’s not good,” Daria said as an understatement.

“Can I have a closer look at that map?” Jane asked.

“Sure. I had copies made earlier,” Mrs. Rowe said.

Jane looked at the map and then took out her sketchbook. She then started sketching an artistic version.

‘It’s certainly adding to her project,’ Daria thought, referring to a long-term project Jane had started, based on Lawndale’s streetscape.


Daria had a quick afternoon tea. “I’m heading out now,” she said to Jane and Mrs. Rowe.

“I hope you find something,” the latter said.

“I do too.”


Quinn and Angie soon finished and Jamie joined them as they left the library. “So, where are we starting?” he asked.

Quinn took out a piece of paper. “Near the Historia,” she said.

“Of course,” Angie said.

“Like, in the Historia?” Jamie asked.

“I do need to talk to Mrs. Rowe first,” Quinn said.


Fifteen minutes later, Jane saw Quinn, Angie and Jamie arrive. “Hey, how was today?” she asked.

“It went as usual,” Angie said.

“You have a map too?” Quinn asked.

“Yes, another pair of eyes,” Jane responded.

Quinn nodded as she went to the counter.


“A couple more blocks are affected,” Elisabeth said to Quinn.

“That’s not good,” Quinn responded.

“I would think that the issue is still in the area that was affected yesterday.”

“That makes sense. It could be somewhere in the middle.”

“I have looked at the other map, and there is an Oscorp office around there,” Elisabeth pointed out.

“I wouldn’t but it past them.”


‘It would be too easy to pin the blame on Oscorp,’ Quinn thought as she went up to the roof. ‘It could just as easily be someone else.’ Perhaps someone who wanted to inconvenience Oscorp while also inconveniencing the rest of downtown Lawndale! ‘Not a good idea.’ She was about to change to SpiderGirl when she heard someone behind her. She turned. “Jamie?”

“I saw you come up here,” Jamie said.

“Is this the first time?” Quinn asked.

“The first time I followed you up here. Joey showed me the way up sometime last week,” Jamie explained.

Quinn was relieved. Her secret was safe, for now. “I was looking around before going to investigate the brownouts further.”

“I can come with,” Jamie offered.

“Sure.”


They left the Historia into the alleyway behind five minutes later. “I suppose you have explored the entire building?” Jamie asked.

“I have,” Quinn answered. “It’s amazing what old buildings hold. Most of the original equipment is still in storage. I’m sure Robert and Daria are planning to do something with it at some point.”

“Joey has explained how it’s important to him,” Jamie said.

“But why are Daria and I involved?” Quinn asked.

Jamie nodded.

“Mostly to do something good for Lawndale. It is as Daria said during the opening. And to get experience.”

“Right.”


They then came to a street. “This way,” Quinn said, pointing to the north.

“Sure,” Jamie said as he followed.


Brittany entered the Historia and saw Jane sketching. “Did you see Quinn here?” she asked.

“Quinn?” Jane asked. “She was here earlier. Why do you want her?”

“I wanted to talk to her about something,” Brittany answered. ‘I guess she got caught up,’ she thought.

“You’ve seen what she’s doing with Angie, and want help to?” Jane asked.

“I would ask Daria,” Brittany responded. She twirled a pigtail. “That isn’t such a bad idea.”

“I’m not sure how she would respond,” Jane commented.

“I’ll still ask,” Brittany said. She looked around. ‘She’s probably looking for the source as her usual self,’ she thought. She decided to get something to eat before heading out again.


‘What is Brittany up to?’ Jane wondered as she continued sketching. ‘I’m not sure that Daria would refuse her anymore.’ Given Daria’s changes, she wasn’t sure of many things.


“What are you sketching?” Brittany asked when she returned.

“The map of the brownouts,” Jane explained. “But in one of my styles,”

“Oooh,” Brittany said as she took another look. ‘Maybe her artist’s eye can see something we can’t,” she considered.


It was getting late, when Quinn and Jamie entered yet another business. ‘I have annoyed a few people,’ she thought. She saw that there was an older man and a cute guy that seemed to be his grandson.

“Welcome to the Elders Solarium,” the cute guy said in a bored tone.

“Solarium?” Jamie asked.

‘I suppose a solarium could draw a lot of power, right?’ Quinn wondered. “Hi, I’m Quinn Morgendorffer, representing the Historia.”

“Are you looking for a tan?” the cute guy asked.

“No,” Quinn answered. “For one, I burn easily. And second, it’s still winter. Third, I’m looking into the brownouts.”

“Brownouts?” the old man asked in a rhetorical tone. “We haven’t been having any of them here.”

‘Bingo!’ Quinn thought. ‘But how to approach this?’

“How long have you been open?” Jamie asked.

“A little while,” the cute guy answered. “But you are?”

“Jamie White.”

“I’m Sam Elders, your hair cut is really good.”

“Thanks,” Jamie said.

“Mr. Elders,” Quinn said. “Did you get any new equipment yesterday? It might be causing these brownouts due to the power required.”

“We did, but I don’t see how it could be overloading the grid,” The older Elders aid.

“Could you show us around?” Quinn asked.

“Would you like some juice first?” Mr. Elders asked.

“Sure, but I would like to see what you have here,” Quinn said, as she knew deflection when she saw it, given that she had used it since she could talk.

“I don’t see how two teenagers would be able to tell if something is drawing too much power,” Mr. Elders groused.

‘Maybe if one of them is the town’s first superhero,’ Quinn thought.

 

Part 3
Jamie looked around as Mr. Elders gave a tour of the Solarium. “It looks more like a lair than a solarium.”

“Jamie!” Quinn said. “I don’t think so. Besides, an actual lair could be anything, like an office building or an ordinary house.”

“Lair? I suppose it could be,” Mr. Elders said.


‘I hope he’s joking,’ Quinn thought as she looked around. ‘Lawndale doesn’t need any new villains.’

“But that word sounds sinister,” Mr. Elders added.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Quinn asked.

“But this place looks like one of those places in one of those movies,” Jamie said.

“But this isn’t a movie!” Quinn objected.

“No, it isn’t,” Mr. Elders said. “But this building has been used for other purposes in its history.”

“Of course,” Quinn said, as she remembered what she told Jamie about the Historia earlier.

“What?” Mr. Elders asked.

“What else is here?” Quinn asked. “Maybe something that’s still drawing power?”

“I doubt it,” Mr. Elders responded. “I had a good look at the place before I bought it.”


Jamie thought about it as he, Quinn and Mr. Elders searched the building the Solarium was in. It looked more like a lair than he had thought. ‘But Lawndale hasn’t had villains in it’s past?’


They went down to the basement. “I guess I didn’t really look down here,” Mr. Elders said. “I was focused on the rest of the building and establishing the solarium.”

“Sometimes it’s something that’s overlooked that can cause a problem,” Quinn said.


Meanwhile, as his grandfather and other two were searching the building, a bored Sam Elders was thinking. While his grandfather had pushed aside Jamie’s comment about the Solarium being a lair, he had overheard it and was considering it. ‘We can be villains and be worthy opponents to SpiderGirl and the others,’ he thought. ‘Groundhog Day was too far of course.’


‘There’s definitely something here,’ Quinn thought, as her enhanced hearing was picking something up. She wandered in that direction and threw a tarp aside. “Look here,” she said. “It looks like some kind of electric furnace.”

“You’re right,” Mr. Elders said. “Here I thought the building just had really good insulation.”

“Now we just need to find the off switch,” Quinn said.

“Over here,” Jamie said. He flipped off the switch and the glow of the antiquated furnace started to fade.


Quinn and Jamie emerged from the solarium and saw that the street lights were no longer flickering. “We did it, Quinn,” Jamie said. “But what now?”

“We head back to the Historia and fill the others in,” Quinn said.

“Right.”


“So, the problem was an old heating system?” Sam asked his grandfather.

“Yes, and combined with all our solarium equipment, it was enough to cause the brownouts in Lawndale. I should have checked.”

‘It’s just the start,’ Sam thought.


Brittany met Quinn as she entered the Historia. “Jamie came up behind me when I went to the roof,” Quinn explained.

“I knew something happened,” Brittany said. “But what did you find?”

“I’ll explain shortly.”


Daria returned shortly afterwards. She had also seen that the brownouts seemed to have stopped. ‘Maybe the power company finally got their act together,” she considered as she entered the café.

“Quinn has found the cause and it has been rectified,” Mrs. Rowe said. “I have notified the power company and the council.”

“So, what happened?” Daria asked.

Quinn then explained what she had Jamie had found at the Solarium.


“…and so, Jamie switched off the furnace,” Quinn concluded.

“But what stops them turning it on again?” Jane asked. “Given that you said that he thought the building was well insulated?”

“That’s a good question. But people know that it’s the cause now. The police or the vigilantes would show up there first,” Quinn said.

“Or the power company would just cut them off,” Daria pointed out.

“If it would be safe to do so,” Mrs. Rowe added.

“There is that,” Quinn said.

‘Would I go there if the brownouts started again?’ Jane wondered as she looked at the location on the map.


SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon met up on the roof shortly afterwards. “There’s that mystery solved,” the latter said.

“But why do I get the feeling that it’s just the start of something?” SpiderGirl asked, both herself and her friend.

“Maybe it’s paranoia?” Ninja Talon asked.

“No, it’s more like, intuition, if that makes sense.”

“It does, given your powers and those of the Enigma.”

“I guess so. But I hope there aren’t people with greater powers out there,” SpiderGirl said.


Helen returned home to find Daria putting the lasagne in the oven while listening to the radio. “You don’t have to do that,” she said.

“I thought I would do more, given that there’s only the three of us,” Daria said.

“I suppose so.”

“It is now 7 PM. WLND News. The Brownout issue has been resolved this afternoon after a teen investigator found that a solarium had an old furnace still turned on.”

“Teen investigators solving Lawndale’s issues?” Helen asked. “I suppose if there are superpowered vigilantes running about…”

“Actually, it was Quinn,” Daria said.

“Quinn?” Helen asked. “I suppose if she’s now involved in mentoring fellow students, student journalism and running the Historia, she can be an investigator too. But it shouldn’t have taken a teen investigator to find the source of the problem.”

“I did hear you say something about incompetence this morning,” Daria added.

“Regarding the power company. By the way how do you think Quinn’s doing?”

“She’s still grieving, but she’s coping.”

“She said something about nightmares this morning,” Helen said with concern.

“I don’t think those will go away.”


Sandi had heard the same report. “Teen investigator?” she wondered. ‘It could be anyone, not necessarily Quinn,’ she thought. She opened her yearbook. After Melinda Brosnan was Philippa Bynon. She downed the energy drink. “Findu mann sem heiter: Philippa Bynon!”

She found Phillipa at her place on Glen Oaks Lane, on the same block as the Morgendorffers.

‘Not very far at all,’ she thought.


SpiderGirl felt the tingle as she swung over the Bynon’s yard towards her house which she could see a few lots away. “That is annoying,” she murmured.


“Quinn! You’re here,” her mother said. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

“Thanks.”

“So, you found the source of the brownouts?”

“Yeah, it was an old furnace in a solarium. It was Jamie who turned it off,” Quinn responded.

“Still, it’s disturbing that a teenager did something the power company couldn’t.”

“Maybe they were looking in the wrong place.”


Meanwhile, Sam Elders was in his Lawndale State dorm room, planning something. ‘These old props should do it,’ he thought.


After midnight, Sandi approached the Morgendorffers and saw that Daria’s light still was on. “She’s here,” she said to herself. She didn’t want a repeat of the previous night, even if she did meet Dafoanairi.


Daria opened her door and saw Sandi there. “Come in,” she said.

Sandi went over to the wall. “So it was Quinn who found the source?” she asked, after she read the note she had written.

“Yes, along with Jamie,” Daria answered.

“At least that is over,” Sandi said. “Although I have feeling it may not be.”

“Intuition? I wouldn’t put stock in it,” Daria said. ‘Although if she is the Enigma I wouldn’t put it past her.’

“So, we continue investigating Oscorp?” Sandi asked.

“Yes, although apparently the owner of the solarium has no connection to them.”

“Has anyone actually asked him?”

“It may have been one of the Sun-Herald reporters. I read one of their online articles earlier,” Daria answered as she turned to her computer. She went to her bookmarks and brought up the article in question. “A Penelope Jericho. She seems fairly balanced.”

“I see,” Sandi said as she read the article. “But this doesn’t say much.”

“Of course, he could have bought the tanning beds from them for all I know.”

“Maybe that’s something we could check.”

“But not tonight,” Daria said.

“Of course not.”

“But we can look at more of the properties on the map.”

“Sure,” Sandi said.


They soon climbed down the trellis and went out into the street. Sandi considered talking about Dafoanairi. ‘But if Dafoanairi is Daria, then she will then know I’m the Enigma.’ She shook her head. She had another idea. “You know, maybe someone else can help us.”

“Who?” Daria asked.

“Philippa Bynon. She is only a few houses down.”

“I don’t know who that is, and bringing more people into this probably isn’t a good idea.”


Even so, Daria followed Sandi around the back of the house a few houses to the east of hers. She didn’t know any of the other families on the block, really. ‘Maybe that’s part of the problem. No one knows their neighbors anymore,’ she thought as she and Sandi came around to the back yard. One of the back bedroom lights was on. ‘But is that Philippa, or another member of her family?’

Sandi started throwing small stones onto the window.

Daria sighed.


Philippa Bynon was reading late, when she heard something. “Stones on the window?” she murmured. She then opened the window and saw Sandi Griffin and another girl in her yard. “Sandi? What are you doing?”

“Daria and I are investigating Oscorp and I thought you could join us.”

Philippa thought on that. She still wasn’t tired, which was why she was reading so late. “Oscorp?” she smirked mischievously. “Sure.”


Daria saw Philippa emerge from the back door five minutes later. She got a closer look at her. She had short wavy brown hair. But she also saw that she was carrying toilet paper. “Toilet paper? Really?” she asked.

“We are going by their offices, right?” Philippa asked.

“We are,” Daria answered.

“Let’s do it!” Sandi added.

Daria sighed. “Of course you would do it, given you’re a rebel now.”

“Exactly, besides, I don’t think Harry would mind much,” Sandi said.

“Of course, you both hang out with Harry Osborn these days,” Philippa commented.

“Yes,” Sandi said. “Given that he has no preconceived notions about me.”

“The Fashion Club was going to end anyway,” Philippa said. “You know that, right?”

“Eventually,” Sandi admitted.

“Let’s not get into that,” Daria said.

“Where are we going first?” Philippa asked, clearing trying to change the topic.

“Downtown. There are many Oscorp offices there,” Daria answered.

“As in more than one?” Philippa asked.

“Yes, their presence in Lawndale is larger than anyone thought,” Sandi explained.


As they headed downtown, Philippa thought about what Sandi had said. ‘I think I had heard something about that. Or was it in the newspaper? Groundhog Day is not the only major shock!’


Twenty five minutes later, they walked along Third Street. “There,” Daria said.

“Where?” Philippa asked.

“Elders Solarium. That’s where the source of the brownouts was,” Daria explained.

“It does look old. Around the same age as the Historia,” Sandi said.

Philippa looked at the Solarium building. It did have Art Deco features, but that was where it’s similarity to the Historia ended. “So, you and the other three run the Historia?”

“Yes,” Daria answered. “We’re involved in various aspects of the business. Mrs. Rowe is the manager. She liaises with suppliers and with Oscorp and the Council. Although we are involved in those aspects as well.”

“I see,” Philippa said. She then saw an Oscorp office, bearing it’s logo. “There!”


Soon, that particular office’s frontage was covered in toilet paper.

“Are we done now?” Daria asked.

“Yes,” Sandi answered. “It does seem to be active in the day.”

“Although probably not yesterday,” Philippa said.

“Other places were,” Daria said.

“That’s a good point,” Phillipa said.

“Let’s get out of here.”


Sandi lead them to where she and the others had battled the Green Goblin nearly a week before. ‘There’s still the fact that he knows I’m me,’ she thought. But still, Norman Osborn was still in an unconscious condition in Cedars of Lawndale.

“This street is still being repaired?” Phillipa asked.

“Yes, something happened,” Sandi said.

They cased the new Oscorp warehouse on that street for half an hour, but there wasn’t a delivery during that time. They then headed home.


SpiderGirl swung off on her nightly patrol before Daria got home.

She later came upon the toilet papered building, noting that it was an Oscorp office. “Toilet papering Oscorp? I doubt that would make any difference,” she thought.


Lawndale Sun-Herald
Friday, February 16, 2001
Brownout Problem Resolved by Penelope Jericho

SpiderGirl read through the article on the Historia’s roof. She then looked out over the town, seeing that it was stirring as the Sun rose. ‘I better get back for breakfast,’ she thought.


Sam Elders arrived at the storage facility close to Lawndale State. He then went to his storage unit. As he looked at the various props stored in it, he drew up a plan for that afternoon.

‘Now, how to get it all to the Solarium before class without Grandfather noticing.’


Quinn re-entered the house through the kitchen door. Daria was making her breakfast. “Quinn.”

“Sometimes an early morning walk helps to clear one’s head,” Quinn responded.

“I know that and Mom still goes on her powerwalks.”

“True.”

“What do you think of the fact that the brownouts lasted as long as they did?” Daria asked.

“It is as Mom said, incompetence,” Quinn answered with a giggle as opened a cupboard.

“That’s part of the problem,” Daria commented.


Meanwhile, Officer Peterson was looking at the toilet papered Oscorp building.
‘This is minor compared to everything else,’ she thought. ‘But it still needs to be investigated. Given it’s Oscorp I doubt SpiderGirl, Ninja Talon, the Enigma or Daria would want to stop it either.’ She wasn’t sure how the Shadow would react, given that she had only seen her briefly on Groundhog Day. “What do you think?” she asked one of her colleagues.

“No damage, just the cleanup bill.”

‘Pocket change to them.’


Lawndale was recovering, slowly, from the brownouts as the day went on.

Jamie arrived at school early and found Elly Aitkin hanging out with her friend Freya Daniels. “Hi, Elly, Freya.”

“Hi, Jamie,” Elly said with a giggle.

“You know, I was the one who stopped the brownouts last night,” Jamie said,

“Are you serious?” Freya asked.

“Of course I am,” Jamie responded.

Elly stepped closer to him and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s so cool.”

“Really, Elly?” Freya asked. “He’s bragging!”

“So, we have our teen investigator here,” Elly said.

“Maybe,” Freya considered.

 

Part 4
Quinn arrived at school not long after. She began hearing rumors of Jamie's claim as she headed to Homeroom. 'What is Jamie doing?' she groused to herself. 'He wouldn't have found the off switch or the Solarium itself if he hadn't joined me on the search!' She wasn't sure what to do about his bragging other than to insist on the truth.


Conflicting claims would spread through the school as the day went on.


At lunch, Jamie was eating with Elly and Freya. Joey saw that and turned to Jeffy Brown-Mercer. "We need to do something about this?"

"But how?" Jeffy asked.

"We'll go to Quinn," Joey said.

"Or Daria?" Jeffy asked.

"Quinn first," Joey decided.

"Sure."


"And so, it's annoying," Quinn said. "But I have been insisting on the truth. That I was there at the Solarium and he wouldn't have been there if he hadn't come with me."

"That's all you can do," Tori Jericho said.

"I know," Quinn said.

"Quinn?" Joey said as he approached.

"Jeffy?" Stacy Rowe asked.

"It's about Jamie," Joey said.

"He's bragging that he was the teen investigator that stopped the brownouts," Jeffy said.

"I know," Quinn said with annoyance.

"But what can we do about it?" Joey asked.

"Also, it seems he's going after Elly," Jeffy said.

"I'd say let him," Stacy said.

"What?" Tiffany Blum-Deckler asked.

"So, he wouldn't annoy Quinn," Stacy said.

"He hasn't been doing that lately," Quinn pointed out.

"Nor have I," Joey said. "I mean we have gone on dates, but it's been more as friends, especially given we're partners in the Historia."

"That's a good point," Stacy said.

"But Jamie?" Jeffy asked.

"I guess you can ask Daria," Quinn said. "I'm at a wits end."


Daria was slightly annoyed that Tania Ashworth seemed to be joining her and Jane, along with Harry and Sandi, for lunch more often. 'What about her friends?' she wondered.

"….And so, we toilet papered the building," Sandi concluded, having told Harry, Jane and Tania the previous night's activities with Philippa.

Harry Osborn shrugged. "It's fine that you did that," he said. "But I would be annoyed if you did it to the mansion."

"I wouldn't," Sandi said. "But I doubt it would stop Philippa."

"But was it Quinn or Jamie who actually stopped the brownouts?" Tania asked.

"Both," Daria answered. "But it was Quinn who was investigating, and Jamie was tagging along."

"Is that right?" Jeffy asked as he and Joey came up.

"Hi, Jeffy," Daria said. "Yes. It was mostly Quinn."

"But Jamie is bragging that he is the one who did it," Joey said.

Daria sighed. "Of course he is. I'm sure Quinn said she doesn't know what to do?"

"Other than insisting on the truth," Joey said.

"Then I would wait for the truth to come out," Daria said.

"But he's also trying to impress Elly Aitkin," Jeffy said.

"Then let him. I'm sure she'll find out the truth at some point," Daria said.


It was 2PM when Sam returned to the Solarium after college classes and lunch.

"You're here early," his grandfather said, when he entered.

"I thought I would be here early," Sam responded.

"That's fine, but I know you were here this morning."

"I may have been."

"I know that you're up to something," Mr. Elders said.


At 2:20, Sam saw that his grandfather was in the office. He then locked him in there, and blocked the door.


"There it is," he said as he found the switch to the furnace. He switched it on and then turned the thermostat up to maximum.


The brownouts started again almost immediately.


"…Here," Elisabeth said as she served a customer. Then the lights started flickering again. "Uh oh!"

"The brownouts?" the customer asked.

"Yes, they're back!"


"The brownout problem has returned in downtown Lawndale, but they are worse than before…"


At 2:30, Lawndale High was hit by the new brownouts.

"Oh no!" Li said as her office blacked out.


Quinn noticed straight away, as did Stacy. "Not again!" Stacy said.

"I guess It's the owner's grandson," Quinn said.

"What makes you say that?" Stacy asked.

"Attention students! Due to power disruptions, school will end early today!" Ms. Li announced. "Please leave carefully."


"I didn't tell you something. Jamie compared the Solarium to a lair," Quinn said, answering Stacy's question, as they left the Language Arts classroom.

"Why did he do that?" Stacy asked.

"You didn't see inside that building. It was old. The owner brushed it aside, but the grandson may have overheard."

"So, what do we do now?"

"You go to the Historia. I'll go to the Solarium, see what I can do," Quinn answered.


Daria and Jane left the History classroom. "Do you know where the Solarium is?" Jane asked.

"I think jumping to conclusions is a bad idea," Daria said. "But I have no other idea what's going on."

"But…"

"It's on Third Street," Daria answered. "But what are you going to do?"

"At least sketch the situation," Jane answered.

Daria smirked. 'But what can I do as Dafaonairi if one of the other vigilantes doesn't respond first.'

"What are you going to do?" Jane asked.

"I'm not sure."


Brittany wasn't far behind. "I'll have a look at the Solarium myself," she said quietly.

"What Solarium?" Kevin asked. "You want a tan?"

"No, I mean the Solarium behind the brownouts," Brittany clarified. "See you later, Kevie."

"Oh."


Sandi changed to the Enigma on the school roof and looked in the direction of the Solarium. 'I will do whatever it takes to end this disruption to Lawndale!'


SpiderGirl arrived at the Solarium and saw that Peterson and a few other officers were on the scene. She swung down.

"We just got here," Peterson said. "The traffic signals are also messed up."

"Another thing," SpiderGirl groused. "I'm going to try to find the power box."

Peterson nodded. "Go ahead. We haven't been able to get through to the power company."

"Incompetence again."

"Yes."


However, it wasn't as easy as that. SpiderGirl soon found that the power box was somewhere inside. "Inside?" Peterson asked rhetorically. "That's risky. We don't know what's in there. All that we know is that the owner is stuck in his office."

"Got it," SpiderGirl said. "I'll try to find Ninja Talon, we'll be back." She swung away, heading towards the Jefferson Bridge.


Peterson picked the bullhorn again. "This is the Lawndale Police Department. Come out with your hands up! If this continues we may be forced to storm the building."


Sam heard the announcement. He was sure that they would eventually do that, but he had plans to escape.


The Enigma arrived on the roof of the Solarium and saw the police presence in front. 'Peterson is there,' she thought. 'Could we both infiltrate from up here?' she wondered.


Peterson saw the Enigma emerge from an alley next to the Solarium. "SpiderGirl found that the power box is inside," she said.

"I see," the Enigma said with an annoyed tone. "Where is she now?"

"She went somewhere, but she'll be back."

"I see. I thought that we could infiltrate from the roof."

"This isn't like when we rescued Beresfield. It's a completely different situation," Peterson said.

"It is the same. We can rescue the owner first."

"We have talked to him. He's safe for now."

"Then I guess I have to go in on my own," the Enigma said, with a determined look in her eyes.

"I'm not going to stop you, but you'll be on your own until SpiderGirl gets back. I know you want to be her rival…"

"I'll try to solve it before she gets here."


The Enigma went back up to the roof and opened a vent.


Ninja Talon found that SpiderGirl was already at the Bridge. "So, you came here first?" she asked.

"No, I couldn't find the power box on the outside of the building. It has to be somewhere inside."

"So, you wanted backup?"

"Yes, and a better plan than just going in and finding out that Sam has trapped the place," SpiderGirl said.

"That's his name?"

"Yes. He might be at Lawndale State, although I didn't ask."

"Right. But we just have to risk it," Ninja Talon said. "We won't know until we get in there."

"I knew it would be something like that. Let's go."


The Enigma emerged from the ventilation system in the office and saw that the owner was shocked. "You're not SpiderGirl," he said.

"No, I'm the Enigma, the fourth vigilante who's more than a rumor."

"Got it. I admit I was sceptical of there being superheroes in a town like this, but after Groundhog Day…"

"We have to get moving, your grandson may be listening," the Enigma said.

"Of course."


SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon arrived at the Solarium.

"The Enigma is in there," Peterson said.

"I'll be careful," SpiderGirl said.

"I'll keep an eye out for her," Ninja Talon added.

"She went in by the roof," Peterson explained.

"Then we'll go in a side window," SpiderGirl decided.


The Enigma and Mr. Elders climbed out of a vent onto the roof. "That was difficult," Mr. Elders said.

"Not that difficult," the Enigma said. "But then I'm, like, still a teen."

"Not just that, your power, what ever it is, makes it easier."

"Telekinesis."

"Whatever," Elders said. "But how are we going to get down."

"How are you with ropes?"

"Maybe tell the cops to call the fire department?"

"Give it a try first," the Enigma said.

"Why did it have to be a three story building?"


SpiderGirl found a window ajar on the second story. "Here we go," she said as she webbed it open.

Ninja Talon shone a flashlight through it. "No one in that room," she said.

"So far, so good."


Dafoanairi emerged from the rear of the Historia, having changed from the usual Daria in her apartment. 'I didn't think I would use it for that.'


The Enigma and Mr. Elders made it to the ground. "Finally!" he said.

"Very good," Peterson said, with evident relief in her voice.

"Now, I'll go back in," the Enigma said.

"SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon showed up," Peterson said.

"I see," the Enigma responded.

"They entered through a side window," Peterson added.

"Then I'll go back through the roof."


Elders watched the Enigma climb back up. "What was that about?" he asked.

"Let's just say that the Enigma doesn't like SpiderGirl for some reason," Peterson explained.

"I hope they won't fight in there."

"SpiderGirl knows how to handle herself."


SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon emerged into a corridor. "Looks like this floor was apartments," SpiderGirl commented.

"What about the lower levels?"

"Those were the areas Jamie thought was a lair."

"You did say that," Ninja Talon said.

"I should have realised that Sam overheard him."

"You can't blame yourself for that."

"I know," SpiderGirl responded. They then found the stairs down.

They crept down the stairs…


Peterson saw a cloaked figure approach. "Who's there?" she asked.

"Dafoanairi, you know my secret identity," she said quietly but with sarcasm.

'Oh, Daria! What are you doing?' Peterson thought. "Why are you here?"

"I'm going in and restoring the power."

"But SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon are already doing that. And the Enigma has gone back in after rescuing the owner."

"Oh. But maybe I can do something they can't. And maybe I can stop the Enigma from fighting SpiderGirl," Dafoanairi responded.

"I suppose so," Peterson allowed.

"So, I'll look for an open window."

"That would probably be the way SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon entered."

"Got it," Dafoanairi responded.


SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon emerged onto the ground floor. "Uh oh!" the former said.

"Something wrong?"

"He has done something. He has put up screens or something."

"Good guess, SpiderGirl!"

The two heroes went back to back and looked around. "We know you're there," Ninja Talon said.

"And Ninja Talon too, of course. It seems you now team up whenever something major happens," Sam said.

"Can't quite pick where you are," SpiderGirl said. "Are you throwing your voice?"

"Very perceptive," Sam commented.

"We have to keep moving," Ninja Talon whispered.

SpiderGirl nodded and pointed right past the screen.

"A good talent for a theatre student to have. Wouldn't you agree? Also, I wouldn't bother going to the basement. There are traps there."

"We can outwit those," Ninja Talon said.


The Enigma entered the ducts above the first floor and overheard Sam's conversation with SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon. 'He doesn't know I'm here, but the problem is, I don't think this goes to the basement.'

Dafoanairi found an open window on the second story. Once she had clambered in, she looked around and saw that the room was unused. "I guess the Solarium is just on the first floor." She then carefully left the room.


SpiderGirl carefully looked around the screen. She didn't see Sam anywhere, but she saw that he had moved some of the tanning beds around. 'I bet he remembers me saying that I burn easily,' she thought. 'But I designed this suit for winter conditions, so that shouldn't be a problem.' But the problem was that with the furnace up to maximum it was getting hot inside.

"Is it getting hotter?" Ninja Talon.

"He must have turned up the furnace. That is why the brownouts are worse."

"We have to do this quicky, then."

"What else is new," SpiderGirl commented.


Dafoanairi also noticed the heat. 'This isn't good.' She ran along the corridor.


The Enigma noticed it too as she climbed out of the ducts into an empty room. 'This isn't good. But I can't just tear at wires telekinetically. I don't know what that would cause.' And she was sure that the locate ability only worked on people, rather than objects, given its limitations. 'But where is Sam? I'll forgo searching for SpiderGirl's identity tonight, like when I searched for Beresfield.' She didn't have an energy drink on her, but that was fine. She took a few deep breaths. "Findu mann sem heiter: Sam Elders!"


She found Sam, but not without perceiving the rest of the inside of the Solarium. She knew where the power box, and the furnace switch, were. The Enigma then took a deep breath and opened the door.


"Spidey?" Ninja Talon asked as her friend seemed slightly out of it for a few seconds.

"Another of those tingles," SpiderGirl explained.

"Now?"

"It might be the Enigma, somehow. But I'm not sure."

"Now's not the time…" Ninja Talon said.

"I know."


"Something distracted you," Sam said, from somewhere nearby. "But what?"

"Something you don't understand," SpiderGirl said. She shot a web somewhere nearby and pulled, knocking one of the screens over. "Lawndale is complex."

"That's obvious," Sam said. "Any town is complex."

"I wasn't finished. The vigilantes aren't united. We all have different origin stories," SpiderGirl said.

"This isn't a comic book either," Sam said

"Meaning, we aren't all working together! The fourth vigilante is an antihero who wants to be my rival!"

"There!" Ninja Talon said. "The fourth vigilante!"

SpiderGirl ducked, just in case.


The Enigma heard Ninja Talon, but didn't look.

She continued to go towards where the power box was.