Matthew 5:1 - 16
Sermon on the Mount
Righteousness is a Matter of the Heart
God Blesses
Blessed Are
An internal emotional and acceptance and satisfaction in what God has provided.
Being satisfied with what God has provided.
'Poor in Spirit' - Those who know they cannot rely on themselves, that they are not self sufficient, and they live as 'beggars before God'.
'Meek'
A recognising and being comfortable that we are so small before God.
Hunger and thirst after righteousness.
A right relationship before God.
A right relationship with each other
Dependence on God given gifts
Leading to a transformed life.
Righteousness is not piousness.
God's grace calls you to suffer and it calls you to want, but it never calls you to stand on your on strength or to stand alone.
Daria was trying to ignore Kevin’s stupid story when she saw Sandi as the Enigma outside. ‘I guess she’s concerned about what Kevin may do too.’
She looked at the just as bored Marta. ‘Not sure why she’s listening to Kevin.’
“…And so, I made the goal! And unlike Tommy Sherman, I didn’t hit the goal post.”
“That’s a low bar,” Jane commented from where she was sketching.
“At least Kevin isn’t anywhere near the jerk Tommy was,” Daria commented.
“Is it true that he was hitting on students just before his death?” Marta asked.
“I saw him proposition every girl he came across,” Daria answered.
“Except Daria.”
Daria was uncomfortable. The moniker that Tommy had given her hit uncomfortably close to home now, after what happened to her father. “Let’s change the subject.”
“Of course,” Jane said.
The Enigma retreated, as she didn’t want to be noticed. Not yet. ‘Wait until Kevin is actually doing something.’ She went around the back of the Historia and changed to the usual Sandi before entering the theater from one of the back doors.
“Uh oh!” Daria said as she grabbed her now empty plate.
“Uh oh?” Jane asked.
“Sandi’s here.”
“It’s not likely she’ll cause problems for Quinn while she’s working, right?”
“No. But she might have news from the fourth vigilante,” Daria obfuscated.
“So, she knows her identity too?”
Daria sighed. “Yes.”
Jane noted that down.
Sandi also knows fourth vigilante’s identity.
“You’re also keeping an eye on Kevin?” Daria asked.
“Yes. But I also located Marta,” Sandi answered quietly. “And she was looking at Kevin when I did so.”
“So, you think she might be SpiderGIrl?”
“I didn’t want to ignore the possibility.”
Daria considered that. Sandi’s quest to find SpiderGirl’s identity was starting to make things more complex.
“So, I’ll stay until closing,” Sandi concluded.
The phone rang in the office and Quinn picked it up,
“Hi, Quinn,” her mother said. “I’m just checking that Daria is there.”
“She is, Mom. She was having dinner with Jane.”
“Thanks. I was a little worried, although she knows how to look after herself.”
“That isn’t all, is it?”
“For the moment it is. I need to get back to work.”
Quinn sighed. Her mother had been taking work home in the evenings before her father died, but it seemed that the tendency had increased in the four months since his passing. “OK. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, sweetie.”
When the café closed for the evening, Daria saw Kevin and Marta hanging around in the foyer. “Are you waiting for someone?” she asked Marta.
“My mother said she’d pick me up, as we’re in Newridge,” Marta responded.
‘That makes sense,’ Daria thought, as Newridge lay on the southwestern edge of Lawndale’s sprawl. She looked to where Sandi and Jane were standing with their backs to each other to either side of the double doors to the café. “Looks like we’re all waiting around.”
“I’m going up now,” Kevin said as he approached the stairs.
“Wait, Kevin,” Daria said.
“No!”
Daria paused. She could get another staff from the apartment instead of the one on the roof. ‘Dafoanairi and the the Enigma instead of SpiderGirl? I’m sure that he would be disappointed.’
Kevin went up the stairs.
“Fine, let him,” Jane said in exasperation. “Trent will be here soon.”
Sandi watched Daria leave as she headed backstage to change to Dafoanairi. ‘Marta may not be SpiderGirl, but she’s drawn my attention.’
“So, you know who the fourth vigilante is?” Jane asked.
Sandi glared at the experimenting artist, ignoring her more conventional look. “Did Daria say that?” she asked, trying not to sound too defensive.
“She did. So I guess you found out yourself given that Daria promised to keep her secret.”
“You, like, surmise correctly.”
“But, how? Why?” Jane asked.
“Like, how Daria knows.”
“I think there’s more to it,” Jane saiid.
Jane was about to prod Sandi more when she saw Trent enter the building.
“Evening, Janie,” he said.
“Just in time, Trent. You might witness a quarterback try to ask a superhero out,” Jane said.
“Here in the theater?” Trent asked.
“Like, up on the roof,” Sandi interjected.
“Hmm. This I’d like to see.”
“Really?” Jane asked.
Quinn emerged from the café with Stacy to find everyone gone, including Kevin. “He must have gone up to the roof,” she told Stacy.
“Do you want me to come up to?” Stacy asked.
“I can handle it,” Quinn said.
Stacy breathed deeply. “I know Quinn,” she said seriously.
“You know what?” Quinn asked, trying not to be defensive.
“That you’re one of the heroes. Not which one, although I have some idea.”
“Stacy, I hope you haven’t told anyone.”
“No one!” Stacy said in an assured tone.
Quinn breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks Stacy.”
Quinn and Stacy emerged onto the roof to find Jane and Trent waiting just outside the door. Kevin was pacing near the northern edge, with Dafoanairi sitting unimpressed on the edge.
‘Can’t change to SpiderGirl here,’ Quinn thought. ‘But I expected that, especially with Stacy here. But can Daria as Dafoanairi cope with Kevin?’ she wondered, as she was more sure that Dafoanairi was Daria. ‘An anagram of her given names. Daria Fiona. Dafoanairi.’
“Right. Dafoanairi, but no SpiderGirl, Ninja Talon, Shadow or fourth vigilante,” Stacy murmured. She looked to Quinn. “But maybe one of them may be here.’”
‘Great, she’s narrowed down that I’m not Dafoanairi. But Brit is at home, or patrolling somewhere in the south. I’ll catch up with her later.’
“Quinn!” Kevin said. “SpiderGirl’s not here yet.”
“She’s not always here,” Quinn responded.
“Although the Wednesday nights are consistent,” Dafoanairi pointed out.
‘I’ll be here as Spidey after this is resolved,’ Quinn thought. “I guess so, but you’re not going to wait for her.”
“I’m not?” Kevin asked as he stepped closer to the edge while looking around.
Trent noticed the tension rise after Quinn and Stacy stepped on the rooftop. Kevin was being obstinate, Dafoanairi looked more tense, like she was ready to jump if she thought she needed to intervene and Janie was sketching the moment, but also ready to change to the Shadow in an instant if she needed to. He looked out over Lawndale. Fog was coming in. ‘Maybe Janie wouldn’t need her usual fog,’ he thought as Kevin stepped closer to the edge.
Dafoanairi’s heart rate rose, as she looked over the edge herself. The Enigma was down in the rear car park, but she wasn’t sure whether she’d would be able to catch Kevin telekinetically if she fell.
“SPIDERGIRL! I’m here!” Kevin called out.
“This is enough. Just because you chose this for Mr. O’Neill….” Jane said.
“I don’t want to fail!” Kevin said.
“You failed at meeting SpiderGirl. But that means that Mr. O’Neill will say that you succeeded at failing,” Jane said.
“I guess so,” Kevin said.
Kevin sat down.
Quinn got a text message. She looked at her cell phone and saw that it was from Brittany’s burner number.
Reports of the Goblin Glider appearing again. I know you might be dealing with Kevin, but we need to meet at the Bridge.
Quinn typed a response.
I’ll be there within ten minutes. Others are dealing with Kevin.
“Quinn?” Stacy asked.
“Something has come up. I have to go,” Quinn said.
“Is it Anna? Or Angie?”
“Someone else. I’ll see you later.”
“But!” Stacy objected.
“You can help them handle Kevin if need be.”
“I suppose.”
Quinn headed to the apartment before changing to SpiderGIrl, but then she saw that the Enigma was in the rear car park. ‘Can’t head out that way,’ she thought. But she could use the windows on the western side of the Historia.
Stacy stepped forwards toward Jane and Trent after Quinn had dashed back down the stairs. “You may need to dash towards Kevin in case Dafoanairi can’t stop him falling,” she said.
“You seem confident this evening,” Jane commented.
“Oh, I’m still anxious, but working downstairs has helped me, even in just over a month.”
“That’s great, Stacy,” Jane said. She then looked towards Kevin.
Kevin barely noticed Quinn leaving. He was still thinking about what Jane had said regarding Mr. O’Neil. “So, I succeeded at failing to meet SpiderGirl. Btu I still have a crush on her.”
“It’s probably still a rebound from Brittany,” Stacy pointed out.
“Exactly,” Dafoanairi said.
“Um, maybe, but less so than with Quinn.”
Kevin then jumped and stumbled next to Dafoanairi. “Uh oh!”
Dafoanairi steadied him. “She’s not coming,” she said. “You’re just making a fool of yourself.”
Kevin sighed. “Maybe next week. But I’ll have to tell Mr. O’Niel something.”
SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon arrived at the spot below the Jefferson Bridge where they had revealed their secret identities to each other and unmasked. “How was it with Kevin?” Brittany asked.
“It was still touch and go, but I’m sure Stacy, Jane and Dafoanairi handled it.”
“That’s good. I may have broken up with him, but I don’t want him to hurt himself in some ill advised quest!”
“So, the sighting of the Goblin Glider?” Quinn asked.
“Some reports from the southern areas of town this evening, most of them around Osborn’s mansion.”
“Was it from Andrea? Or just forums?”
“Both,” Brittany responded.
“Right. Then we’ll swing up to the Bridge lights and look in that direction.”
Upon swinging up onto one of the bridge streetlights, SpiderGirl sighted the glider low in the distance to the southwest. “There,” she said, pointing.
Ninja Talon looked. “Now we need to find out what Osborn is up to.”
“Easier said then done. Andrea’s?”
Ninja Talon nodded and they started swinging in that direction.
Back at the Historia, Kevin, Jane and Trent waited as Stacy locked the front door.
“I know how you feel, man,” Trent said to Kevin.
“No you don’t!” Kevin said.
“I mean I haven’t tried to date a superhero,” Trent said.
“I seriously doubt Monique would be one of the heroes,” Jane said, referring to Trent’s on again off again girlfriend.”
“You still don’t,” Kevin said.
“Done!” Stacy said as she came back to the two.
“So, you want a lift home?” Jane asked.
“Of course. I was going to call Mom when I was ready,” Stacy said.
“Sure!” Kevin said. “I don’t want what happened with that Anders lady to happen again.”
“Sure,” Trent said.
“Being with people is no certainty of safety,” Jane commented.
Stacy saw the column in the middle of the console go up and down, but it was the sound of the engines and the shaking of the floor that nearly overwhelmed her. But there was something else she felt, as if someone was trying to reassure her.
The Doctor turned to Stacy. “Relax. We’ll be there shortly.”
“There’s something, nice,” Stacy said.
“That would be the TARDIS herself. She doesn’t want you to think she’s overwhelming in a bad way. I mean it’s always overwhelming when people see that she’s bigger inside than out and that she exists…”
Stacy interrupted. “She’s alive?”
“Yes,” Quinn answered. “In a way.”
The TARDIS landed in Middleton not far from the portal, a minute after departure from the Morgendorffers from the perspective of Lawndale on the other side of the poral. The Doctor ran the scan immediately.
The results were similar to those in Lawndale. “It’s also a flower,” Jane said.
“I’ll also zoom out to Upperton and Lowerton,” the Doctor said.
The scanner then showed that both Upperton and Lowerton had similar coverage to Oakwood.
“No real difference,” Quinn commented.
“True, and I think the reverse scan will be similar, the Doctor responded. He ran that scan and saw that the progression was the same as in Lawndale.
The Doctor, Quinn, Daria and Kaelyn stepped out of the TARDIS into the early morning Middleton.
“Kim and Ron should still be asleep,” Kaelyn commented. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t find out what’s happening here.”
“But maybe what we need to deal with is back in Lawndale,” Quinn suggested.
“Or maybe those who Kim fights against are aware of the portal in Middelton and will try to take advantage of the fact Lawndale wouldn’t know about them yet,” Daria added.
“But we can’t really guard the portal,” Kaelyn pointed out.
“No,” the Doctor mused. “But the TARDIS can monitor it for me.”
“Or UNIT?” Peter asked from the door.
“UNiT is already involved in Lawndale’s time. It would increase the possibility of temporal complications if we involve them in this time. Besides, they would be aware of that.”
“So, we’re on our own. No pressure,” Daria added.
“We will get to the bottom of this,” the Doctor said.
“I have no doubt of that,” Quinn said as she looked out at Middleton.
Stacy watched as Jane sketched the map of the Middleton that the scanner was showing. She then looked to where Brittany was pacing near the door. “All this is overwhelming,” she said to Jane.
“But you’re not alone in this,” Jane said.
“I know, but Quinn is used to this. Brittany too. You seem to be taking this in stride.”
“Well, Daria actually told me about the Doctor. That, and there are many things my older siblings have got involved in.”
“The ones who wander?” Stacy said.
“Yes. Although my brother’s band has also seen things.”
“Is Mystik Spiral as bad as they say?”
“That depends on what you’ve heard,” Jane responded. She looked at the Scanner again. “I wonder if I can compare Middleton and Lawndale side by side.”
The TARDIS beeped and the screen changed to show the scan results of the two towns as Jane suggested.
“Oh, thanks, TARDIS.”
“I feel that reassurance again,” Stacy commented.
“She’s trying to help, in her way.”
“You understand what the Doctor said?”
“In a way,” Jane answered. “All this Time Lord stuff is beyond all of us.”
Stacy glanced at the two maps on the screen. Lawndale and Middleton had different layouts. ‘It’s the different landscapes,’ she thought. But the layout of the energy readings looked the same. The same flower pattern. “They look the same.”
“They are identical.”
Jane emerged from the TARDIS.
“Something up?” Daria asked.
“I compared the maps of Lawndale and Middleton,” Jane answered.
“And?” the Doctor asked.
“They’re identical.”
“Oh.”
The Doctor re-entered the TARDIS. He quickly saw that Jane was right.
“But what does it mean?” Stacy asked.
“We’re going to have to looking at each of those places, in both towns,” the Doctor said. “And we may not be able to wait for Kim and Ron.”
“It will take long enough for them to wake,” Daria said.
“Quite likely,” the Doctor said. “But we can’t just focus on Middleton or Lawndale.”
“Obviously,” Jane responded.
“But we’ll go to the closest energy source here in Middleton,” the Doctor said.
“Isn’t that the portal?” Stacy asked.
“No, it’s the one corresponding to the Coulthards,” the Doctor answered.
“Let’s do it,” Quinn decided.
“So where is it?” Kaelyn asked.
“In a neighbourhood to the south of here,” the Doctor answered.
“Then let’s get going,” Daria said.
While they were travelling to the location, Kim awoke to Wade’s call on the Kimmunicator. “Wade, it’s only been an hour and a half.”
“I know, but you have to see this,” Wade said. “The TARDIS has materialised here in Middleton.”
“So, what did happen in Lawndale is also happening in Middleton?”
“That seems likely. I tried contacting UNIT but they’re not saying anything.”
“We’re on our own then,” Kim said. “Call Ron, have him meet me in the park.”
12th
1 Chronicles 4:9, 10
The Prayer of Jabez
The prayer is full of faith.
Jabez means painful.
The birth was met with more disappointment than joy.
But he put his faith in God.
More honorable than his brothers.
He acknowledged God as the centre of his world.
4 part prayer
Blessing
James 1:16, 17
Real blessings come from God.
He wanted God's blessings.
Enlarging territory
More influence for God.
1 Peter 2:9, 10
A snapshot of who each Christian is.
2 Corinthians 3:20
Let Your Hand Be With Me
God's presence.
Jabez asking God to help wehn he's in over his head.
e. g. Ezekiel 2:2 - 8
In our own strength we're tempted to do it on our own.
But in our weakness we are more likely to ask God for help.
Keep me from pain, or may not not cause pain.
Hebrew - literally 'Keep me from pain not'
Challenge: Be aware of what is around us and look for opportunities to help.
“I have just started. It’s difficult to tell,” Jane responded.
“Excellent!”
O’Neill then turned to Brittany. “How about you?”
“I have started studying it.”
“So you’ve just started?”
“Yes.”
He then turned to Daria.
He also asked the Junior class. “Quinn?” he asked.
“I have started reading a Charles Dickens novel.”
“A Christmas Carol?” O’Neill asked.
“No. One of the other much longer ones,” Quinn responded. “I finished one chapter last night.”
“Another long term one if she’s persistent,” O’Neill noted. “Sandi?”
“I’m still deciding,” Sandi stated.
“But what are you trying to decide on?”
Sandi sighed. “An extracurricular activity,” she answered, although she was sure that anything O’Neill would suggest wouldn’t be helpful.
“Too many too choose from?” he asked unhelpfully.
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“See, you’ve succeeded at failing to choose something.”
‘Great!’ Sandi thought.
Despite the continuing fad and the murmurs related to the assignment it was mostly an ordinary day at Lawndale High.
Daria considered this as she waited for Brittany in the Library after school let out. ‘The students are resilient,’ she thought. ‘They have taken these changes in stride.’ She took out the Math textbook and opened it. Brittany was making progress. She wanted to continue with the Math first, then Science.
Brittany entered with her enthusiastic bounciness “So, we’re starting with Math as usual?”
“Yes, consistency is key.”
Brittany nodded. “I agree. Science can be later,” she said as she twirled a pigtail.
At the same time, Fields entered Osborn’s office. “One of the engineers is here,” she said.
“Send him in.”
The engineer entered quickly and placed a folded blueprint on the desk. “Does she know?” he asked, referring to Fields.
“I trust her, as much as I trust any of my close colleagues,” Osborn answered.
“It is ready for testing as you requested,” the engineer said.
“Good to hear,” Osborn said as he unfurled the blueprint.
The engineer turned to leave. “I guess you know what that is?” he asked Fields.
“Yes,” Fields answered as he left.
Osborn looked over the glider blueprints again. ‘It should prove more effective against SpiderGirl, Ninja Talon and the Shadow now.’ He paused. It was still vulnerable to Linda and Sandi’s powers, but he had to be sure to tie them up elsewhere in Lawndale while he dealt with the Country Club.
“Are you going to use it for something?” Fields asked boldly.
“You are being bold,” Osborn commented. “I intend to use it for observation.”
‘Observation of the vigilantes no doubt,’ she thought.
“Reports of Oscorp involvement on Groundhog Day are false.”
“I wasn’t thinking otherwise.”
“Good. I have been looking over your rooftop maps. When do you think you’ll get to the whole town?”
“A few weeks, given it’s not the only thing I’m working on,” Fields answered.
“Of course.”
At the same time, Jane’s brother Trent saw Jane arrive home. “Janie? What are you wearing?”
“Something conventional,” Jane answered.
“Why? Is it something to do with being the Shadow? Or when you were abducted?”
“I don’t think it has to do with either. It’s more to do with this assignment that O’Neill assigned.”
“I don’t see how being conventional would have much to do with Language Arts,” Trent said.
“I don’t either.”
In her room, Jane looked at her maps of Lawndale. More specifically, at the various schools in town. “Is the fad present at all of them?”
Lawndale Schools
Lawndale High
Glenfield Middle
Lawndale Middle
Lawndale East Middle
Lawndale West Middle
Lawndale Elementary
Glenfield Elementary
Lawndale East Elementary
Lawndale West Elementary
Fielding Private School
St. Agnes Catholic
St. Augustine Catholic College
“That is a lot,” Jane said to herself. She had gone to Lawndale Elementary and Glenfield Middle before starting Lawndale High. ‘But the Shadow just showing up to the Elementary and Middle schools out of the blue might not be the way to go. SpiderGirl might be the only one who could pull that off. She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote that down. ‘It’s Wednesday. SpiderGirl might well be at the Historia. I could ask her and If Kevin is there too, I could probably stop him from doing something stupid.
She then heard Trent knock on the door. “Come in.”
“I was thinking,” Trent said. “Is this assignment something I need to worry about?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I mean, you being conventional.”
“Maybe it means that being the Shadow has changed me more than I thought,” Jane responded.
“Or it could be your experience with Beck.”
“Could be, Trent. Could be.”
Trent sat on her bed. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not at the moment. But you’ll know when I want to.”
“Have you been talking to Daria about it?”
“Not yet either,” Jane answered as she turned to her easel.
Daria and Brittany finished their session, with Daria going over the various sub fields of science.
“Maybe more on biology, or zoology, or botany?” Brittany asked herself as she twirled a pigtail.
“You don’t have to choose straight away,” Daria said in a reassuring tone.
“Good point. We can do all of them!” Brittany decided. She grabbed her backpack. “I’m heading off.”
“Where?”
“The Pizza Place. I have mostly being going to the Historia, but I don’t want the pizza place to close either.”
“I don’t think it’s suffering. We’re not competing with it directly,” Daria pointed out. “We don’t make pizzas.”
“Good point.”
Daria waited until Brittany had left before heading up the library’s roof, and changing to Dafoanairi there. She looked out over Lawndale before heading off. First, to the Historia to the south, and to where the strip mall that contained the pizza place hidden behind some houses to the southwest. ‘But where first,’ as she glanced towards the Zon, partially hidden behind some of the other establishments in Dega Street. ‘Haven’t patrolled Daga Street for a while.’
Quinn entered the Historia shortly before her shift. The café was nearly full with the now usual early evening crowd. Stacy was already working and quickly came over to Quinn. “Something up, Stacy?” she asked.
“Oh, just our classmates still talking about the fad. They’re mostly laughing about it. Like most of them think it’s funny,” Stacy said.
“I can see how favorite animals could be seen as funny,” Quinn mused.
“But it’s now old, even though it’s only been two days.”
Quinn knew when Stacy’s thoughts were swirling due to her anxiety, even when she wasn’t hyperventilating. “Let’s focus on work for now, OK.”
“That’s what Mom said,” Stacy said, referring to her mother, who managed the café. “Easier said then done.” Even so, Stacy calmed.
Dafoanairi arrived on the Historia’s roof as the sun was setting. She briefly looked at the sunset as it made patterns though the trees and buildings in Lawndale Flats. She then looked at the door downwards. ‘But would Kevin be waiting for SpiderGirl now, or later.’ He was sure that he would be at the Historia at some point. She placed her staff next to the door, changed to the ordinary Daria and headed down.
Jane entered the Historia and saw Daria emerge from the door to the stairs. “You were watching the sunset?” she asked.
“You’re still wearing conventional clothes?”
“That’s what Trent asked; more or less. So, we’re going to observe our peers at dinner?”
“They’d be less guarded than at school,” Daria answered. “That, and Kevin’s determination to try to meet SpiderGirl.”
“I doubt we’d be able to dissuade him.”
“You’re having dinner here?” Quinn asked Daria when she and Jane had come up to the counter.
Daria nodded. “I’ll have the usual.”
“Sure, and you, Jane?”
“Why not?” Jane responded rhetorically. “I’m sticking around here tonight anyway.”
“Got it.”
“Sticking around?” Daria asked when they had sat.
“I thought, why not be conventional while hanging around the Historia.”
“There’s more, isn’t there?”
“And try to stop Kevin from being stupid with SpiderGirl if I happen to be in the same place at the same time,” Jane answered.
“Wouldn’t want the quarterback to be webbed to the roof.”
As she opened her yearbook, Sandi reflected on the day. ‘The fad is very much present,’ she thought as she grabbed her yearbook.
After Emma King was Marta Lamaris. ‘She’s another who keeps to herself,’ she thought as she grabbed her energy drink. “Findu mann sem heiter: Marta Lamaris!”
She found Marta at the Historia, where she was watching Kevin being his usual goofy self.
“Right, Kevin wanting to ask SpiderGirl out,” she mused with her usual post search fatigue. “That’s why he’s waiting there.” But did that mean Marta was SpiderGirl? ‘Unlikely.’ But she couldn’t ignore the concidence of Marta watching Kevin while Kevin was intending to meet SpiderGirl. She then noticed something in the memory of the perception. That Daria was there too. ‘I won’t tell her about the possibility, but I can still be there shortly, if I can give Mother an excuse.’
“And why are you patrolling as the fourth vigilante at this hour?” Linda Griffin asked. She knew Sandi was up to something, probably related to her intention to confront SpiderGirl.
“Criminals have seen through our patterns,” Sandi answered. “Not just Osborn either.”
“I concede that, and I have heard that the Shadow often patrols at this time.”
“I haven’t heard that.”
“I keep my ear on the ground,” Linda responded. “Or is it due to Kevin Thompson? You’re using him as bait?”
“Maybe.”
“A bad idea, Sandi.”
“I don’t doubt you used similar tactics in Boston,” Sandi said as she tied her hair back before putting on her mask.
‘You may not intend to be my ‘mini me’ but you still take after me in many ways.’
By the time the Enigma arrived on the Historia’s roof and had abseiled down the eastern side next to the café, Kevin was being more annoying than usual. Her attention was drawn to the quarterback who was trying to regale Marta and a rather annoyed Daria with a story. Jane was sketching something near the counter, where Quinn and Stacy were serving some other customers.
“Why would Sam Griffin be here?” Tania asked as she looked out the window.
“He probably followed us here,” Dafoanairi said, “as we were going along the ground.””
“I can think of one reason,” Tania said.
‘That she’s guessing that either of us is Sandi,’ Dafoanairi thought. ‘It was going to happen sooner or later.’
“That’s probably not it,” the Enigma responded, although her voice wavered a bit.
“We’ll let’s see what he’s up to,” Tania said.
Sam saw Sandi and Daria as their vigilante alter egos come down from the roof with Tania. “You’re recruiting Tania?” he asked.
“No,” Dafoanairi answered. “She’s an ally.”
“I don’t want to be a vigilante,” Tania said. “I just investigate with them sometimes.”
“Sounds like you’re into it,” Sam said.
“I’m not into it. If I was, I would have been wearing a disguise on the roof as well,” Tania said.
“She isn’t a seventh vigilante,” the Enigma said.
“Oh yeah, the Violet Force is the sixth,” Sam murmured, barely remembering to use his mother’s moniker.
“Why are you here?” Dafoanairi asked.
“I wanted to ask something,” Sam answered.
“What about?” Dafoanairi asked.
“What’s going on. The middle school has the favorite animal fad too,” Sam replied.
“Is that all?” the Enigma responded in an irritated tone.
“My sister didn’t help much,” Sam said.
‘I didn’t,’ the Enigma thought. ‘I was still being selfish. I’m still ‘Linda’s mini me’ in that respect.’
“I’m sure she’ll make it up somehow,” Dafoanairi said with a quick glance in the Enigma’s direction.
Tania caught the glance Dafoanairi made. ‘That narrows it down.’ That the Enigma was Sandi, not one of the Morgendorffers as she originally thought, made sense. But she still wasn’t entirely sure.
That the fad was present at the middle school also made sense. “I was saying to these two that I was annoyed by it too,” she said to Sam.
“But what to do about it?” Sam asked.
“That, I have been thinking about, but I’m still not sure,” Dafoanairi answered.
“Is that all?” the Enigma asked.
“Not really,” Sam said.
“No, you can’t come along with us on a patrol. I’m sure you saw our confrontation with that Oscorp agent?” Dafoanairi said.
“Not even to the Historia roof?” Sam asked.
“No,” the Enigma said. “Oscorp could be watching there.”
“Unlikely,” Sam shot back.
“Very likely,” Dafoanairi responded.
“Go home,” the Enigma said.
Sam sighed. He didn’t want to accidentally reveal his sister and Daria’s identities to Tania. He turned around dramatically. “But what if there are more of those agents?”
“It’s not far to your place,” Dafoanairi said.
“Or he could stay here,” Tania suggested.
“Up on the roof?” Sam asked.
“Of course not,” Tania responded. “You can wait in the rumpus room. Just don’t make any noise.”
“Fine,” Sam said.
Soon, Tania, the Enigma and Dafoanairi headed downtown. “What are we looking for?” Tania asked as they soon as they were in the laneway.
“The usual,” Dafoanairi responded. “We find crimes in progress and intervene.”
“Rescuing people from muggers,” Tania commented.
“And stopping robberies,” the Enigma said.
“And helping the other vigilantes if Oscorp agents are confronting them,” Dafoanairi added with a twirl of her staff. Tania was sure that she was showing off.
They scaled the Historia to find that they weren’t alone on the roof. The Shadow, the third vigilante, was already there.
The Shadow hadn’t expected any of the other vigilantes to show up. She turned and saw the Enigma, Dafoanairi and Tania come towards her. “I should have known.”
“Known what?” Dafoanairi asked.
“That other vigilantes would come here while I was here,” the Shadow responded.
“You wanted to be alone?” Tania asked.
“I’m sure you’re aware of what’s happening at Lawndale High,” the Shadow groused. “Not something that one can battle with gadgets or superpowers.”
“No, it’s something we investigate,” Dafoanairi said.
“I know that. It’s that I don’t know where to start. Other than that the fad probably came from either Middlebury or the internet, and that Mr. O’Neill might have got the idea for the failure assignment from a professional development seminar.”
“How did you find that out?” the Enigma asked.
“I snooped as my secret identity.”
Earlier
Shortly after school let out, Jane approached the Language Arts Faculty Office. She hoped Mr. O’Neil would still be in. She knocked on the door. But there was no response. ‘Maybe he isn’t there,’ she thought. But that was unlikely. She took out a lock picking tool her mother had given her and quickly opened the door.
Once inside, she carefully closed the door and went towards Mr. O’Neill’s desk. She found a binder with the name of the professional development conference he and the other teachers had been attending on Monday. “Maybe there’s something in here,” she murmured before opening it.
She quickly found a piece of paper with Mr. O’Neill’s neat handwriting.
Failure is the signpost that points the way to success!
What if there is an Edison in one of my classes waiting to be encouraged.
Succeed at failing.
There were several more aphorisms written down.
“I guess that answers that question,” she murmured as she closed the binder and placed it exactly where she had found it.
On the Historia rooftop
“That makes a lot of sense,” Dafoanairi commented.
“So, that’s how,” the Enigma said. “But there’s no way to dissuade him.”
“I suppose he would listen to DeMartino or Barch, for different reasons,” Tania said.
The Shadow didn’t want to think of the reason O’Neill would listen to Barch, but then she realized something. Both Tania and the Enigma were there. “Oh.”
“Oh, what?” the Enigma asked.
“You’re here, and Tania is here. Therefore, Tania is not your secret identity,” the Shadow said.
“We have all leapt to conclusions regarding the others’ secret identities,” Dafoanairi said.
A while later, Dafoanairi thought about the encounter as they headed back to the Ashworth’s. That the Shadow had suspected Tania as the Enigma didn’t surprise her that much. It was more what she had revealed. “I suppose someone could go to Ms. Li about it,” she said.
“But wouldn’t she then know that someone broke into the faculty office?” Tania asked.
“She wouldn’t know who did so,” Dafoanairi argued.
The Shadow had remained watching Lawndale from the Historia rooftop. ‘There’s something about Dafoanairi,’ she thought. She took out her sketchbook and quickly sketched the staff wielding vigilante after turning the page from where she had sketched the conflicted Kevin at the Strawberry.
“I know who she is not,” she murmured when she was finished.
Who Dafoanairi isn’t
Tania Ashworth
“But still many at school.”
Sam was playing chess against himself when Tania led the two vigilantes into the room.
“Finally,” he said.
“We just talked to the Shadow,” the Engima said.
“The third vigilante,” Sam asked.
“Yes,” Dafoanairi answered.
“Right,” Sam said, disappointed.
Lawndale Sun-Herald
Wednesday, March 14, 2001
Rumors of potential hostile takeovers of local companies by Oscorp
SpiderGirl put the paper aside. ‘So, what Jodie said to Talon may be true,’ she thought. She still didn’t want to think much of the implications of an Oscorp takeover of Landon Engineering. She looked towards the Oscorp tower in the distance. ‘I will expose what you’re up to, Osborn!’
As the school day started, the students were less involved in the favorite animal fad than the day before. Mostly because they had found out their friends’ favorities then and it was starting to become old hat. Even so, many were asking those they didn’t hang out with all that often.
Daria saw that Jane was dressing more conventionally. “Is that your response to Mr. O’Neill’s assignment?” she asked.
“Yes. To see if I would fail at being conventional or not.”
The old Daria, before everything that had happened since her father passed away, would have hated it. The new, still changing, Daria was merely uncertain. “Really?” she asked.
“You really have changed, haven’t you?”
“I’m still a sarcastic cynic.”
“Yeah, but your cynicism has changed,” Jane said.
“If it’s change, it’s because it has been redirected.”
“To Osborn.”
“Not just him,” Daria responded, as they came to a door.
“To those not holding him to account as well.”
“Exactly.”
On the roof, Sandi sighed after changing from the Enigma. She still hadn’t chosen an extracurricular activity after looking at the list before breakfast. “I’ll ask Harry about it,” she decided as she headed down.
Down on the ground floor, she found two of her classmates arguing. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“What is it to you, Sandi?”
“I’m curious as to why you would be close to fighting in the corridors.”
Freya Daniels relaxed. “We were talking about Mr. O’Neill’s assignment.”
“Oh. I’m struggling with that myself,” Sandi said.
“And Freya was saying it has nothing to do with the fad,” Erin Archer said.
“And you think it does?” Sandi asked.
“It can’t be a coincidence,” Erin said.
‘I can’t tell them what the Shadow said without potentially revealing that I’m the Enigma,’ Sandi thought, as she pondered telling them that. “I’m sure it is,” she said before the bell rang.
The juniors had Language Arts before Lunch.
“First I’d like to ask how your assignments are going?” Mr. O”Neill said.
“I haven’t found SpiderGirl,” Kevin answered. “Although I went to the Historia and the Giant Strawberry.”
“Did you wait?” O’Neill asked.
“At the Strawberry I did.”
“Maybe you can wait longer at the Historia tonight. I have heard that she’s often there after the café closes on Wednesdays.”
Brittany tensed. She had to tell Quinn!
“Are you OK?” Jane asked nearby.
“Just annoyed at Kevin for choosing that for his assignment,” Brittany obfuscated.
Brittany was doing her homework, going over a problem she and Daria had talked about at the tutoring session, when she heard an email notification on her laptop.
“Oh, Andrea sent something,” she murmured before reading it.
She then forwarded it to Quinn, adding I think we need to talk about this tonight.
Quinn soon responded. Can you be at the Bridge in half an hour, given what Jodie told you today?
Brittany twirled a pigtail as she thought about it. She could pull it off. I’ll be there.
SpiderGirl slipped out of the house via one of the rear attic windows a few minutes later. She decided that she could patrol for a short time before meeting Ninja Talon at the Bridge.
She averted a few muggings before arriving at the Bridge to find that Brittany wasn’t there yet. ‘She’ll be here soon,’ she thought as she unmasked.
She didn’t have to wait long. Brittany arrived and unmasked a few minutes later. “Hey, Quinn,” Brittany said in her usual playful tone.
“Hey, Brit,” Quinn responded with her usual exuberance.
Brittany took out a map of Lawndale. “Landon Engineering is larger than I thought, but I found the location of the warehouse.”
Quinn looked at the map, which also showed the locations of other Landon Engineering properties. “I suppose that’s one reason why Osborn wants to take it over.”
“I agree. But we need to be cautious, given the agents.”
“I wouldn’t put it past Osborn to have agents present around there, but they wouldn’t be there all the time.”
“That’s true, but they may be there tonight,” Brittany argued.
“Then we’ll approach along the ground. They won’t expect that.”
“The streets or the alleys?”
“The alleys,” Quinn decided. “Less open.”
Ten minutes later, SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon approached the warehouse in question. They saw agents moving on the rooftops nearby.
“Oscorp is definitely doing something,” SpiderGirl whispered.
“We can approach slowly,” Ninja Talon said.
SpiderGirl nodded and the two heroes approached the warehouse carefully.
Osborn was present personally. He had wanted to see if what his sources told him about what Andrew Landon was working on was true. He had broken into the premises when he realized something was wrong. Some of the agents tensed up as radio channels went silent. “Vigilantes!” he said to one of the agents. “Find out who they are.”
But the agent hadn’t moved when he heard a tell tale thwip! “SpiderGirl. You’re always getting into my business!”
“Always?” SpiderGirl asked. “Not always. Just when you’re breaking the law.”
“Just as well, I’m prepared, SpiderGirl,” Osborn said as he took out a pumpkin bomb.
A shuriken knocked it out of his hand before he could arm it. “Ninja Talon!” he grumbled.
“Why are you breaking into a place you’re trying to acquire?” Ninja Talon asked.
“Seeing what Andrew Landon is up to.”
“So, you admit that Oscorp is trying to take over Landon Engineering?” SpiderGirl asked.
“It must have leaked,” Osborn murmured. “Or… you were told by Andrew’s daughter.”
“You can’t find out who we are that way,” SpiderGirl taunted.
“No? I’ll try,” Osborn said. “But this hasn’t been a total loss. I know you’re here.”
“A distraction,” SpiderGirl said.
“We’ll find out what you’re up to though,” Ninja Talon added.
“True, but too late,” Osborn said. He wanted to do what he came for, but the vigilantes’ presence made that impossible for the time being. He brought up his radio again. “Withdraw,” he ordered.
SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon watched Osborn and his agents withdraw from the roof. “That was weird,” SpiderGirl commented.
“But what do you think he meant when he said he wanted to know what Mr. Landon is up to.”
“His trade secrets probably,” SpiderGirl said. “But that means we probably need to infiltrate Landon Engineering too.”
“Andrea probably wouldn’t go for that.”
“Maybe if we tell her everything, even if we don’t have much.”
“She’ll at least think about it,” Ninja Talon responded, as she made a twirling motion with her left hand as if her hair was in its usual pigtails.
“Then let’s go there now.”
Osborn returned to his mansion. He was still annoyed that the first two vigilantes had shown up. ‘They had to have found out somehow.’
One of his security division was waiting for him in the home office as ordered. “You wanted to see me, sir.”
“Yes. I want you to find out who Jodie Landon hangs out with most, besides Michael Macckenzie, at school.”
“Wouldn’t Fields be better suited, sir?”
“No, I’m asking you. Fields won’t do it well, or drag her feet.”
“Understood, sir. First thing in the morning.”
SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon arrived at the Hecuba-Croft’s to find that only Andrea’s light was on, as usual.
Andrea opened her bedroom window. “Quickly,” she said.
The two vigilantes clambered inside.
Andrea took in what Ninja Talon and SpiderGirl said. That Norman Osborn was trying to take over Landon Engineering didn’t surprise her.
“But he might be right that Andrew Landon might be up to something,” SpiderGirl added.
“Or he wants you distracted,” Andrea said.
“I realize that,” SpiderGirl said.
“But maybe finding out what he might be working on will help us,” Ninja Talon added.
“And provide something to the Sun-Herald again,” Andrea mused.
“Penelope Jericho has been digging up information on her own,” SpiderGirl said, referring to one of the paper’s more serious journalists. “We only leaked the expansion plans shortly after Groundhog Day.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me,” Andrea said. “I’ll dp it tomorrow night,” she decided.
It was in the early hours when Dafoanairi and the Enigma met on the Morgendorffers’ rooftop. Dafoanairi could see that the Enigma was tired. “Couldn’t sleep?” she asked.
“I was thinking about the list, as well as the fad,” the Enigma answered with a yawn.
“I didn’t to sleep straight away myself. I’m sure that all this nighttime vigilantism has given me insomnia.”
“Most likely.”
“But I have the feeling that something is happening tonight,” Dafoanairi said.
“Sounds like a hunch.”
“More that the fad is a distraction, even if Osborn has nothing to do with it.”
“Probably,” the Enigma said, as she looked to the south, over Glen Oaks Lane towards where the Osborn mansion was hidden behind many blocks of houses and the occasional warehouse.
“I was thinking we’ll talk to Tania first.”
“Isn’t it a bit late for that? The Wiccans would have finished by now.”
“But she might still be up,” Dafoanairi said.
“Lead the way,” the Enigma said with a sigh.
They swung down to the back yard with a rope and headed towards the Ashworth’s to the southeast through the laneways.
But something happened halfway. Oscorp agents appeared at the end of one block. The Enigma reacted quickly, and raised a forcefield protecting both her and Dafoanairi.
“Fourth Vigilante! Mr. Osborn doesn’t want you out this late,” one of them said.
“Oh, really?” the Enigma asked rhetorically. “Then this is my message. He would have to do a lot more to stop me from defending Lawndale!”
“We’re not stopping,” Dafoanairi added as she twirled her staff for emphasis.
“I knew you would say that.”
“And you know what happened the last time…” the Enigma said as a threat, while breaking a nearby tree branch telekinetlically.
“Mr. Osborn is on edge due to an encounter with other vigilantes earlier tonight.”
“You mean SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon?” Dafoanairi asked.
“No comment.”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Dafoanairi said. “Where was this?”
“We’re not answering your questions.”
“You’re not escalating,” the Enigma noted. “Probably because Mr. Osborn wants minimal disruptions. Like, not disturbances of the peace.”
The agent was then silent.
“Then we’ll be, like, on our way,” the Enigma said, as she expanded the forcefield in his direction.
“No!” the agent said as he extended a baton.
“That’s not a threat,” Dafoanairi stated.
“Actually….” The Enigma started as she picked something up through her enhanced perception.
“It’s not a normal baton, got it,” Dafoanairi snarked. “It’s going to be one of those nights.”
The agent swung the baton against the forcefield. Electricity and the Enigma’s energy sparked. “That’s the best Oscorp can come up with?” the Enigma asked.
The agent just lunged again.
“Enough!” the Enigma said with annoyance before telekinetically exploding the baton in the agent’s hand, although the part he was grasping remained intact.
“Agh” the guard said as he dropped the remains of the baton. He then ran off.
“Like, he won’t be scared off for long,” the Enigma commented as she lowered the forcefield.
Tania Ashworth was still awake when she heard something out in the yard. She looked out and saw the Enigma and Dafoanairi there. “Of course,” she groused to herself. She opened the window. “I’ll meet you on the roof.”
On the roof, Tania listened as Dafoanairi told her what had just happened.
“It’s like last week,” Tania groused as she recalled being followed by agents after leaving High Hills Park.
“It is likely to get worse before it gets better,” Dafoanairi said.
“And now there’s this fad and Mr. O’Neill!” Tania grumbled.
“How did you handle the question?” Dafoanairi asked.
“By saying something unusual, like a bee, ant or butterfly,” Tania answered. “Eventually I refused to answer, but that was after Language Arts.”
“That is quite annoying,” the Enigma said.
“More than annoying!” Tania said. “I know what failure is like! I don’t need Mr. O’Neill’s wishy washy… What does it have to do with Language Arts anyway?”
“Not much,” Dafoanairi admitted. “But others are using it for Language Arts adjacent assignment attempts.”
“Of course they would,” the Enigma commented.
“Who?” Tania asked.
Dafoanairi hesitated before answering, “According to rumor, Quinn Morgendorffer.”
“I could believe that,” the Enigma said quietly.
“That doesn’t surprise me. Probably due to her tutoring Anna and the others,” Tania said.
Dafoanairi didn’t think saying what she said about Quinn would expose their identities. She then noticed the Enigma looking out the window. “Is there an agent there?”
May had thought that she would rest for a while after winning the Hoenn League. But back in Littleroot Town, her mother had a surprise for her.
“Mum?” May asked.
“Someone has been trying to call you,” her mother said in a serious tone.
That caught May’s attention. “Who?” she asked.
“No idea, but the Caller ID places the origin in Kanto.”
‘Kanto,’ May thought. She could think of many reasons why someone in Kanto would be calling the new winner of the Hoenn League, and she didn’t like any of them. She breathed deeply. “I’ll put my stuff in my room and then I’ll call them back.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“They could send someone here,” May responded.
“But I don’t want you to get entangled in something…”
“You can stay here.”
May called the Kanto contact back.
“Is this the new Hoenn League Champion?”
“Not really. Steven Stone is still the Official Champion for now.”
“But you are the one who passed the League.”
“Yes.”
“Giovanni has been waiting for your call.”
May’s eyes opened wider. Out of all the reports that had come out of Kanto regarding the situation there, one thing had been consistent. The one at the top of the new power structure was named Giovanni. “Giovanni?” she asked. Why did he reach out to a Hoenn trainer who had managed to beat the Champion?
“Yes. I’ll put you through now.”
“Giovanni?” Caroline asked May.
“I can handle it,” May said.
“I’ll be here.”
It wasn’t long before Giovanni responded.
“Is this May?” he asked.
“Yes,” May answered defensively. “What do you want?”
“There is something we would like you to do for us.”
“No.”
“I haven’t told you what it is yet. What do you know of the Sinnoh region?” Giovanni asked, as a map of Sinnoh appeared alongside him on the video feed.
“Not much,” May admitted. “It’s a region. People and Pokemon live there. The people also speak Johtogo, as we do.”
“Good answer,” Giovanni responded. “But it’s not the language that’s important. It’s culture, and the Regions Legendaries.” The map zoomed in on the center of Sinnoh, and a point then indicated Mount Coronet. “A local organization has taken over the ruins on top of this mountain.”
“So, you want me to deal with something, as I did Teams Aqua and Magma? Why do you want me to deal with it?”
“I haven’t finished. The leader of this organization, a man named Cyrus, is planning to use the Legendaries to create a new universe.”
That sounded crazy, May considered. But Giovanni sounded very serious. He wouldn’t be reaching out to a trainer in Hoenn without sound reason. “I’m sure you could send someone to do it.”
“I considered that, but I have to consider what happens afterwards. Tensions between Kanto and Sinnoh have been high recently, and I would rather not have Champion Cynthia’s full attention.”
“Then why not leave it to her?”
“Because my sources state that she’s taking time to respond.”
May sighed. Giovanni was aware of what was happening and authorities in Sinnoh were aware of what was happening but the latter were moving too slowly for his taste and he wanted the crisis over. “Fine, I’ll do it.”
“Very good. A transport will be in Littleroot Town this evening.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“May. Are you sure you want to go?” Caroline asked as she watched her daughter look up more information on Sinnoh online.
“Yes. Getting to Sinnoh otherwise might take time and this Team Galactic might have done something to Champion Cynthia, although there is no proof of that.”
“But going with Team Rocket?”
Both Caroline and May paused, as it was uncertain how much of the organization Giovanni had led before his takeover was involved in actually running Kanto.
“It’s the quickest way to get to Sinnoh,” May answered. “It is in the north, beyond Johto, Kanto and Kitakami.”
Caroline sighed. “I know it’s urgent, but you should watch yourself.”
“What do you think I have been doing?”
An hour later, a large aircraft landed in the middle of Littleroot Town, where May was waiting. It was mostly black with stylized Ks. ‘Those Ks were probably Rs,’ May thought as a loading ramp opened in front of her. A teenager girl with long blonde hair, not much older than her, emerged. “May, right?” she asked.
“That’s right,” May responded. “And your name is?”
“Cassidy. We’re on a tight schedule. It will take hours to fly to Sinnoh, and we have to stop over in Lavender Town, on Kanto’s east coast, to meet with Giovanni before continuing the rest of the way.”
“In case more information comes up?” May asked as she followed Cassidy up the loading ramp.
“Yes,” Cassidy answered. “We do have agents in Sinnoh, but we can’t afford for them to be seen moving openly, even against the clear existential threat that Cyrus presents.”
May sighed. “Yes, Giovanni explained that to me.”
“We’ll take off in a few minutes. Our presence in Hoenn is complicated.”
May sat in a large center cabin where there were many consoles that were showing sensor data from Sinnoh. She looked out the window as the aircraft took off and watched as Littleroot Town vanished into the distance.
“Welcome to the Historia, Kevin,” his classmate, Nikki Dowling said. “How may I help you?”
“I’d like to get up on the roof.”
“Why?”
“Because SpiderGirl might be up there,” Kevin answered.
“I don’t think she is up there now. Would you like something?”
“I’m cool for now, but I would like to see if she is.”
“Fine, it is the second door to the left when you come in, after the bookshop,” Nikki answered.
“Thanks, Nikki.”
“But are you sure you want to meet her on the roof? I don’t think she would want to go out with you.”
“I want to ask her,” Kevin said as he turned away.
Nikki sighed as she watched Kevin leave the café. “At least he’s no longer bothering Quinn,” she murmured. She supported Brittany in her decision to permanently break up with him. She still didn’t know what she had seen in him.
Kevin emerged onto the rooftop, which was empty. SpiderGirl wasn’t there. But waiting was boring, especially when it was long. ‘I can look at Lawndale, maybe I could see her in the distance.’
He wasn’t methodical. His gaze wandered over the sprawl of Lawndale randomly. He saw nothing but the streetlights, buildings and vegetation where they were lit up.
After about two minutes, he glanced at the Giant Strawberry. “Wait, I heard SpiderGirl had been seen there sometimes.” He paused, briefly. He didn’t want to miss her by going on a wild goose chase.
He looked around at Lawndale again before he heard a sound. He turned in a slight panic. The same kind of panic he had had since he had been kidnapped by Lynn Anders over a week earlier. “Who’s there?”
“Relax, Kevin,” Jane said as she came out from behind the roof access, carrying a sketchbook.
“Oh,” Kevin said. “I was just looking for SpiderGirl.”
“I know you told Mr. O’Neill that you’re looking for her, but I think you should have chosen something else.”
“I didn’t like the fourth vigilante.”
“That makes sense,” Jane said.
“Oh yeah. She helped rescue you, right?” Kevin asked, referring to the time Jane and some theater critics had been abducted by Quentin Beck.
“She did, but I didn’t meet her then.”
“So you met her another time?”
“Yes,” Jane answered. She had thought about lying about having met the Enigma (he was certain to blab about it if she did share the name, not that she considered it) but even Kevin would pick up on the lie. ‘He won’t press about it, given his focus on SpiderGirl.’
Kevin turned and looked at the Giant Strawberry again. “Maybe she’s there.”
“Or maybe she isn’t.”
“I’m going anyway.”
‘Of course he is!’ Jane thought. ‘I guess I can follow as the Shadow and make sure he doesn’t get into trouble if he does start a wild goose chase across Lawndale.
“But first, what did you choose to try to fail?” Kevin asked.
“Being conventional.”
Kevin laughed. “Really? I’d like to see that,” he said as he went to the door.
Jane waited until she was sure that he was well down the stairs before she changed to the Shadow and used her grapple gun to rappel down the rear of the Historia to where she had parked the Shadow Car in the alleyway behind. She then found Kevin’s jeep and placed a tracker on it so she could follow if he meandered through Lawndale instead of making a beeline for the Strawberry.
Kevin emerged from the Historia and went to his car. He was sure that going to the Giant Strawberry was a good idea. ‘She has been seen all over town, but the Strawberry is the second most common place,’ he thought as he started the engine. He was quite sure.
The Shadow listened to the police bands as she followed Kevin at a distance. Lawndale was quiet but there was still chatter. It just wasn’t something she needed to respond to.
At the same time as Kevin driving to the Giant Strawberry, Sandi finished looking through the list of extracurricular activities offered at Lawndale High for the umpteenth time. “Ugh! The only thing I’m failing tonight is, like, failing to make a choice!” she grumbled.
She turned to her yearbook, which lay open to where she had left it two nights earlier. She had been searching for SpiderGirl’s identity every night, but she and Daria had gone to Oakwood the previous night, which had precluded the search.
“Emma King,” she said as she looked at the next girl. She grabbed her energy drink.
“Findu mann sem heiter: Emma King!”
She was getting better at it. The search process took a second less than when she had started her search several days before Groundhog Day. She found Emma at her home not far from the Giant Strawberry.
“Thirty-eight down,” she said. It was still only a fraction of the girls at Lawndale High.
She then turned back her homework.
Kevin arrived at the Strawberry and parked. “Now, the telescopes are at the top. Maybe I can see SpiderGirl through them.”
He ran from his car to the landmark and started climbing the stairs inside.
The Shadow parked a short distance away before approaching the Strawberry and scaling the western side, so as not to be seen most of the town, if they had happened to be looking in the direction, as even without the direct moonlight, the lower half of the landmark was well lit.
While he was looking through a telescope at the downtown, Kevin heard something. He jumped, hitting his cheek against the scope. “Ow!” he said as he rubbed it. He didn’t see anyone at first. “SpiderGirl?”
A cloud appeared and a figure walked out of it. “No, I’m the Shadow,” she said.
Kevin calmed down. “Oh. Why are you here?”
“Oh, making sure that nothing untoward is happening at the Strawberry. There are also rumors at school that the quarterback wants to meet SpiderGirl to ask her out.”
“That’s true. I do want to ask SpiderGirl out, as I’m the QB!”
“Is that because you were rescued by her over a week ago?” the Shadow asked.
“That’s right.”
“But I don’t think SpiderGirl wants to go out with you. I’m certain that she has heard about it as her secret identity by now.”
“Oh, yeah,” Kevin said. “All of you go to Lawndale High.”
“That hasn’t been in doubt, but I don’t know any of the others’ secret identities.”
The Shadow thought about that as Kevin took in what she said. She still suspected that Tania Ashworth was the fourth vigilante, but she wasn’t going to tell Kevin that.
“I wasn’t going to ask you that. I know that Ratboy never answers when he’s asked.”
“This isn’t a comic book. But does anyone try to ask Ratboy out?”
“Not in any issue I’ve read,” Kevin admitted.
“So, asking SpiderGirl out is wrong.”
“Exactly.”
Kevin wrestled with his thoughts with his thoughts for a while. His crush on SpiderGirl was intense, and he was sure Mr. O’Neill would ask him to find something else to try or fail at if he changed his mind.
The Shadow waited as she looked over Lawndale. She itched to sketch the scene, and the conflicted quarterback, but she decided to wait until Kevin had gone, as there weren’t all that many Lawndale High students who identified themselves as artists.
Kevin looked at his watch. “I better get going, Mom’s going to wonder where I am.”
“But what’s your answer?” the Shadow asked.
“I haven’t changed my mind. I still like SpiderGirl, and I don’t want to come up with something else for O’Neill.”
“You can’t just blame O’Niell.”
Kevin just left.
The Shadow waited until she saw Kevin drive away before taking out her sketchbook, and sketching his conflicted look from the surreptitious photo she took with the camera in her mask.
After dinner, Quinn told Daria what she had decided about Mr. O’Neill’s assignment.
“So, you want me to recommend a book for you?” Daria asked, as she opened her bedroom door.
“Yes,” Quinn answered. “Even if I fail to get through it, I will be exposed to more literature.”
“That’s a good point. You know that I have a great many here.”
“Let’s look at your shelf.”
Daria’s shelf was bursting at the seems as it were. Quinn was sure Daria also stored books elsewhere in the room.
“What genre would you like. I have a variety.”
“I was thinking something classic,” Quinn answered. “Maybe something about change.”
“Many of these books have change at the core. You just want me to recommend something, don’t you?”
“Consider that part of the assignment,” Quinn answered with a slight giggle.
Daria took out a large book. “You can’t go wrong with Charles Dickens.”
“Little Dorrit.” Quinn considered. “I suppose a large book would have a lot of change in it.”
“Yes,” Daria said as she took out another book. “David Copperfield, there’s less change, but more villainy, but different to what’s going on in Lawndale. But inspired by what Dickens saw around him.”
“If I can get through this… I might try that other one. Thanks, Daria.”
Daria put the volume of David Copperfield back after Quinn had left. ‘I don’t think Osborn is like the Murdstones, Steerforth or Uriah Heep, but there might be those like them here.’ She shook her head. She wasn’t sure how she would be able to deal with such villains as Dafoanairi, especially any Murdstone-like ones. ‘If there is anyone like Uriah Heep here, Upchuck would seem likely.’
Around 9:30, Andrea received a tip in her email inbox.
Tip – Possible break in at Landon Engineering warehouse
Andrea clicked on it. She saw that there was a possibility of Oscorp involvement. ‘I’ll forward this to Brittany,’ she decided. ‘I hope she and SpiderGirl can do something.’
Anna thought about it. “Maybe you could do something similar to Ben. Like remembering all the moons of Saturn or something.”
“Saturn does have the most moons,” Gerald considered.
“So, is that it?” Quinn asked.
“Or I can add Jupiter too,” Gerald said. “Yes.”
At the same time, Daria was talking to Brittany.
“A marmoset?” Daria asked, rhetorically after Brittany had answered her about the fad. “I suppose they are cute, in a way.”
“That is one reason,” Brittany responded as she opened her Math textbook.
“But what are you considering regarding O’Neill’s assignment?”
“As I said, the science thing.”
“Sure,” Daria said. “But in what branch of science?”
“Botany, maybe? Try to tell the difference between different kinds of plants.”
“That would be a good start.”
The Enigma paused her patrol on the roof of the Historia half an hour after school had let out. Lawndale was quiet, but she knew that the tensions were still beneath the service, and she had prevented a mugging on Dega Street.
‘The muggers still think they wont get caught,’ she thought as she looked at that street. But she knew that she and the other heroes were making a difference. She turned and looked at Oscorp tower, which loomed ominously to the southeast. ‘Osborn may know who I am, but he hasn’t really done anything with that.’
Then there was the fact that she hadn’t really confronted SpiderGirl yet. ‘It will happen soon, I’m sure of it,’ she thought. She then changed to the ordinary Sandi and headed down to the café.
Stacy Rowe was having a normal afternoon working at the Historia. It was relaxing compared to the school day. The animal fad had her slightly more anxious than usual. She shook her head as she saw Sandi come up to the counter. “Your usual, Sandi?”
“Yes.”
“It will be ready shortly,” Stacy said before pausing. She then added. “Thanks.”
“Thanks for what?” Sandi asked in surprise.
“For not asking the question nearly everyone else has been asking.”
“I’m tired of it too.”
Sandi sat next to a window and looked out across the street at Zammit’s Boutique. ‘How long is it since I have been there?’ she wondered. She saw that they still didn’t have the SpiderGirl knockoff clothes that had arrived the previous week. ‘I don’t think they have been selling.’
Stacy soon brought out Sandi’s latte. “Here you go,” she said before retreating back to the counter.
“Thanks,” Sandi said.
“Now I know something is up,” Stacy said.
“I’m thinking about things.”
“That’s obvious.”
“You know, you’re getting more confident,” Sandi said in an appreciative tone.
“I don’t feel like it most of the time. But that’s what happens when one is working in a café,” Stacy responded before heading back to the counter.
‘Of course,’ Sandi thought. ‘She’s turning out to be a great barista.’
After their mentoring sessions had ended, SpiderGirl, Ninja Talon and Dafoanairi left the high school in different directions. SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon were patrolling in different areas before heading to their spot below the Jefferson Bridge.
Dafoanairi headed towards the Giant Strawberry. As she approached, she reflected once more upon the events since Groundhog Day. It seemed that events in Lawndale were still getting worse. ‘There are still Oscorp agents chasing us, albeit not this afternoon,’ she thought as she crossed the parking lot and looked up at the observation platform at the top of the structure.
As she looked over the town through the telescopes, she thought about the animal fad and O’Neill’s assignment. ‘It’s definitely a coincidence, that they’re occurring at the same time, but it’s adding to the chaos in this town.’
She paused a she made a note in her notebook. ‘No agents visible. They could have been instructed to hide from the Strawberry.’ She pondered that. ‘But who knows about this? The Enigma and I. Possibly SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon. Osborn hasn’t been reported having been seen here. But he could have learned about it anyway.’ She shook her head. It was unlikely that the agents would have been instructed that way. ‘But who to talk to about it. The Enigma is on her own patrol and I don’t know where Jane is.’
Although if Jane was sketching from rooftops, she might have been visible. Dafoanairi shook her head. She wasn’t going to spot Jane that way. ‘Maybe Sam Griffin, given that he knows our secrets,’ she thought as she looked in the direction of the Griffin residence, despite it being out of sight behind a ridge line. ‘I’ll do that.’
Sam Griffin was bored. His younger brother, Chris wasn’t home yet, and he didn’t want to do his homework. He was about to start to do it anyway when he heard a knock on the sliding door.
“Daria?” he asked as he let her in.
“I wanted to talk to someone, and Sandi is on her own patrol,” Daria said as she sat on one of the couches.
“Oh. About what?”
“I’m sure the students in the middle school are also asking each other about their favorite animal?”
“Oh, that,” Sam said. “It’s just a fad, isn’t it, even if both schools are doing it.”
“I doubt it’s just Lawndale High and Glenfield Middle School, but every school in Lawndale, including Fielding.”
“There is more isn’t there?”
“That one of the teachers has assigned a crazy project,” Daria said.
“Isn’t that normal?”
“Not this project. I’m sure Sandi has told you something about Mr. O’Neill.”
“Not so much, but I have heard her complain to mother about him many times,” Sam responded. “Go on.”
“He wants us to learn by choosing something to fail at, on purpose and then explaining how that has taught us something about ourselves,” Daria answered.
“That sounds like what Sandi was describing.”
Daria sighed.
“I don’t know what else to say, but what are you getting at?”
“That the combination of that with the animal fad is making Lawndale even more chaotic.”
“Maybe. But that’s not something superheroes can do anything about,” Sam pointed out.
“Of that I’m aware.”
Shortly afterwards, Quinn hadn’t been waiting at their spot below the Jefferson Bridge long when Ninja Talon arrived and unmasked as Brittany. She could see that her friend was a little concerned. She was concerned herself. They were quiet for a few minutes as they looked at the Creek and what could be seen of the town’s buildings. ‘Not many of those belong to Oscorp I wouldn’t think, and Osborn won’t think to look for us here.’
“What are we going to do about O’Neill?” Brittany asked, as she twirled some loose hairs.
“No idea. The assignment is something we can’t do anything about.”
“What about through the Lowdown?”
“That is something I hadn’t thought about yet,” Quinn answered. “The day has been busy.”
“It has been. There’s something else. Something Jodie said this morning.”
“What was that?”
“That Oscorp is trying to take over her father’s company,” Brittany answered quietly.
“That…” Quinn began as she thought about the implications of what Brittany had just said. “Landon Engineering is quite large. They’re a significant employer in the County!”
“You had looked into it?” Brittany asked.
“Yes. We have been looking for alternative sponsors for the Historia since Osborn got hospitalized. Guess we may have to cross Landon Engineering off the list.”
“But what about Mr. Landon?”
“There’s not much we can do to help him, and I can’t exactly talk to Mom about it without revealing too much,” Quinn answered, with a slight tear in her eye.
“That’s true. But what about the firm as a sponsor?”
“Daria and I had thought about it, but neither of us trust the Senior Partner.”
“I had heard about him too,” Brittany said.
“But back to what’s going on. The fad was still going on at the end of the day. Gerald was late to the library because of it.”
“He was?”
“Yes, and Anna and Ben were annoyed by it too,” Quinn answered.
“Daria and I only talked about it briefly.”
“But what are we going to do about it?”
“Just keep an eye on it?” Brittany asked as she twirled the loose hairs again.
Quinn nodded and they then sat there for a while, relaxing and listening to the town from there.
SpiderGirl arrived home shortly after sunset, entering via the backyard hatch. She and Ninja Talon had remained at the Bridge for about twenty minutes, mostly enjoying each other’s company as the close friends they were. ‘It will take time to come up with something to deal with the fad,’ she thought as she slid open the hidden area in the basement where she kept most of her gear.
In there, she unmasked and wrote in her journal about the school day.
Helen Morgendorffer arrived home to find Daria and Quinn talking in the kitchen.
“…So, you agree that it is a distraction?” Quinn asked.
“Yes. They could be thinking about that, or ignoring something important in favor of it,” Daria answered.
“Evening, girls,” Helen said as she entered the kitchen. “What is that distraction?”
“A fad,” Daria answered.
“Everyone asking everyone else what their favorite animals are,” Quinn added.
“That’s unusual,” Helen commented.
“But that’s not all,” Daria said. “Mr. O’Neill has given an assignment about failure.”
“That doesn’t bad,” Helen said.
“With a practical application,” Quinn added.
“Go on,” Helen prompted.
“He wants us to ‘succeed at failing’,” Daria said before tilting her head a little and shrugging. “You know, his usual babble; which isn’t good at the best of times.”
“And you think that now isn’t the best time,” Helen asked rhetorically.
Both Daria and Quinn nodded.
At the same time, Kevin arrived at the Historia after having slipped out of the house before his mother started dinner. “Now, SpiderGirl is often on the roof, but where’s the way to the roof.” He went into the café.
Daria considered Harry’s remark. ‘Not that harmless,’ she considered. She could see how some of her peers might have favorites that would cause them to be teased about it. “It’s at best, a distraction,” she said.
“A distraction from what has been going on since Groundhog Day?” Jane asked.
“Yes,” Daria responded. “A very Lawndale thing to do. Something earth shattering happens. They try to get on as if nothing happened.”
“Not everyone is like you, Daria,” Sandi said.
“That’s certainly true. But the town’s changed, and most of the students are trying to ignore it,” Daria said.
“Not entirely true,” Jane said. “Remember what happened after the fake interview?”
Daria recalled that nearly all of the students had called around when the fake interview had aired, and they had managed get a copy of the interview within a few hours. “Good point.”
“And then there’s Mr. O’Neill’s latest brainstorm,” Jane added.
“Ugh!” Sandi said. “He’s foisted it on the junior class too. I have no idea what to succeed or fail at.”
“We could talk about that later,” Daria said.
“Sure,” Sandi said.
‘Is Daria just trying to make sure we’re focused?’ Harry wondered. He thought about what had happened since he had arrived in Lawndale.
Daria saw Tori exit the server area. ‘I should ask her about it now.’ She got up.
“Daria?” Jane asked.
“Tori’s here.”
Tori Jericho saw Daria Morgendorffer wave her over. She looked around and saw that Quinn wasn’t there yet, so she went over and sat next to her and across from Harry. “I suppose you’ve been talking about the latest craze?” she asked.
“Yes,” Daria answered. “It’s spread through the school like wildfire.”
“Tell me about it. It’s exhausting giving the same answer over and over,” Tori responded.
“And that is?” Jane asked mischievously.
“A Meercat,” Tori answered as she took a bite. “They observe their environment.”
“You liked Timon when you saw The Lion King, didn’t you?” Jane asked.
Tori felt a flush of embarrassment. “That might have something to do with it,” she admitted.
“But how did this fad start?” Daria asked.
“How does anything start?” Tori asked. “I have no idea at that the moment. I just find it annoying.”
“It’s more of a distraction than anything,” Daria said. “But a distraction nonetheless.”
“Not everyone is interested in what’s causing Lawndale to go out of control,” Tori said. “But I have been keeping my ear on the ground, as it were.”
“And you haven’t heard anything?” Daria concluded.
“It might have come from Middlebury,” Tori answered after some thought. “My cousin there said something about it a week ago. But it might also have come from the Internet.”
“So, a meme, or more like one of those chain emails,” Daria considered as if she wasn’t sure what to make of that.
Quinn saw Tori sitting with Daria and Sandi. “I’ll talk to her later,” she murmured. She then noticed Anna Coultard and Ben Harrod, two of her fellow students she was mentoring.
Anna turned to Quinn as she sat. “Hi, Quinn.”
“I see you’re not asking what everyone else is,” Quinn said.
“I got tired of answering after the first half dozen times,” Anna responded.
“I’m tired of it too,” Ben added. “A few even joked about the time I got bit by that Copperhead!”
That almost startled Quinn. “Really?”
“Yes,” Ben answered with annoyance.
“That’s not right,” Quinn said.
“I told them that,” Anna interjected as she took Ben’s in hers.
Quinn changed the topic. “How do you feel about Mr. O’Neil’s assignment?”
“Like, why set us up for failure?” Anna asked. “Either way we fail something, or fail the assignment.”
“That’s a good point,” Quinn responded. “Do you think I should bring that up with Ms. Li?”
“It may be a good idea,” Ben answered as he paused in his careful eating.
Meanwhile, Brittany had joined her friends and fellow cheerleaders Angie Zammit and Donna Bolton.
“So, Brit, tired of this fad yet?” Donna asked. “I’m sure I have given more than five answers.”
“A little,” Brittany answered. “But I am a little curious.”
“Really, Brit?” Angie asked in annoyance. “Besides, my favorite is a spider.”
“You mean, SpiderGirl,” Brittany said in a slight ribbing tone.
Angie shrugged. “Well, her powers had to come from somewhere.”
“But what answer have you been giving, Brit?” Donna asked.
“Like a marmoset,” Brittany answered while twirling a pigtail.
“Good choice,” Angie said.
“It has been cat, mouse, dog and giraffe most often,” Donna added.
“That makes sense,” Brittany said.
At the Oscorp tower, Osborn’s assistant Fields was having a usual day, trying to organize Oscorp’s operations in Lawndale in a way that Osborn would find appropriate. She didn’t jump when Osborn entered the office in a storm.
“Find out more on Angier Sloane that is not publicly known,” he directed.
“Yes, sir.”
“And look into the ownership structure of Winged Tree Country Club.”
Fields nodded, although she was sure that the members were the owners.
Osborn entered his office, and looked out over Lawndale towards where the Country Club lay to the southeast. ‘But maybe an Oscorp buyout would be too obvious.’ He opened a file on his computer that he had read earlier that morning.
Oscorp Industries Glider Prototype Mark II
Construction complete.
Entering testing phase.
‘Maybe I can use it to destroy that building. But what about the vigilantes?’ He knew that the agents hadn’t really stopped them in their tracks. ‘But there are many ways they can be distracted.’ He looked at a map of Lawndale on one of the walls. ‘Five or six places…’
Daria and Sandi met on the roof as school let out. “Brittany is waiting in the Library,” Daria said, as she tutored Brittany in various subjects twice a week.
“She can wait,” Sandi said as she looked out over the town.
“She’ll ask why I’m late, but alright.”
“You said we could, like, talk about Mr. O’Neill’s assignment later.”
“I was going to suggest choosing an activity from the list of extracurricular activities,” Daria said.
“I’ll have another look.”
“And that way, even if you don’t like it, Mr. O’Neill will be satisfied, in a way.”
“I guess so,” Sandi said, as she tied her hair back, ready to be the Enigma for the afternoon.
“But otherwise, no pressure.”
“There’s still, like, some pressure from O’Neill, but it could still be worse.”
“Let’s not tempt fate,” Daria responded.
In the Library, Quinn saw Anna and Ben arrive. “Have you seen Gerald?” she asked, referring to the third of the students she was mentoring alongside the couple.
“I saw him between fifth and sixth period,” Ben said. “Arguing that he doesn’t need to pick a favorite animal.”
“Good for him,” Quinn commented, “but where is he? Is he concerned that I’d be asking? Or that you two would be?”
“I wouldn’t,” Ben said.
“Let’s start anyway,” Quinn said with a sigh. “But we’ll wait about five minutes.”
Gerald Brown arrived in a huff in slightly less of that time. “A very annoying day!” he grumbled.
“Don’t worry, I’m not asking you the question,” Quinn said.
Gerald breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down.
“I may not be asking about that fad….” Quinn began.
“But about O’Neill’s crazy assignment,” Gerald interrupted.
“Yes,” Quinn said. “What are you doing about it?”
“I was wondering what you are going to say about it,” Gerald responded.
“What Mr. O’Neill probably intends. For us to use it as a learning opportunity,” Quinn answered. “It’s like what my mom sometimes says. That you’ll never know what we can handle until we try.”
“That’s a good point,” Ben said. “Looking back. The past couple of months, since this started have been good for us, despite what else may be happening in town.”
“That’s obvious. I have been keeping track,” Quinn said. “But I’m not having Mr. O’Neill inadvertently sabotage this.”
“He won’t and he hasn’t,” Anna said.
“A good attitude,” Quinn said.
“But what are you getting at?” Ben asked. “Something like O’Neill’s challenge. Pick something we’ll know we’ll fail at and learn from that?”
“Something like it,” Quinn said with slight annoyance. “More like, going out of your comfort zone. I’ll be doing that myself. Reading at least one book Daria will recommend.”
“Given how Tempest is layered with meaning, that book could be anything that’s a classic,” Anna said.
“But whether I’ll like it would be another thing,” Quinn said. “But at least I’ll know my tastes for literature better.”
“Maybe I’ll do something similar,” Anna said. “Branch out to Greek mythology and try to read The Odyssey.”
“That’s a good choice,” Quinn said.
Ben thought about what Quinn had said, and what Anna had chosen. He too could branch out. “Something related.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” Quinn said.
He looked to Anna, and her expression backed up what Quinn just said.
“I guess it could be trying to memorize the names of all the insect orders,” he said.
“That sounds achievable,” Quinn said.
“But it’s tricky. The naming convention seems consistent, but it isn’t that straightforward, and there are so many,” Ben said.
“But it is the challenge. The balance between what O’Neill tried to set out and being defiant against it,” Anna contributed.
“Absolutely,” Ben said. “We’ll see how it goes.”
“And you, Gerald?” Quinn asked.
Gerald sighed. Quinn was her usual enthusiastic self. ‘The favorite animal thing hasn’t really affected her,’ he thought. But it had affected him, so he hadn’t really given O’Neill’s brainwave of an assignment challenge much thought. He said so.
“Something to do with Astronomy, right?” Quinn asked. “Trying to view something in the sky despite the streetlights?”
Gerald shook his head. “That would just cause eye strain. That’s not worth it over this.”
“That’s a good point. I’ve seen Daria struggle at the times she needed new glasses,” Quinn said. “It obviously not pleasant for her. But what else could there be.”
“And I still haven’t got far with the elocutionist. So, no dramatic reading yet,” Gerald added.
Peter considered webslinging back to Glen Oaks Lane, but decided against it. Spider-Man appearing in Lawndale would draw too much attention. ‘But I can still get there quickly. Maybe Claire is still here.’
Claire was surprised when Peter came up to her. “Peter?”
“I need a lift,” he said.
“Why? Lawndale has a good bus service.”
“I need to get to Glen Oaks Lane quickly.”
“Is that where you’re staying?” Claire asked.
“Yes.”
“I’ll take you.”
Brittany pulled up into the Morgendorffers’ driveway. “See, five minutes. I guess they’re out the back,” she said as she turned off the engine, while also twirling a pigtail.
“Yes,” Quinn answered.
“In the yard?” Stacy asked.
“Yes, we don’t need to go through the house,” Daria said a she got out.
Kaelyn emerged from the TARDIS as Quinn lead the group around the side of the house past the kitchen door. “Kim and Ron have gone home overnight,” she said.
“But has the Doctor found more?” Daria asked.
“Yes, but it’s best that he explains it.”
“We still need to wait for Peter,” Quinn said.
“The Morgendorffers,” Claire said as she pulled up. “That’s where you’re staying?”
“For now,” Peter answered.
“Or something’s going on,” Claire said.
“No comment,” Peter said as he got out of the car.
The Doctor saw Quinn lead the other girls into the TARDIS.
“It’s bigger on the inside!” Stacy commented in a slight panic.
That was new. No one had been in a panic before as they said that.
“Dimensionally transcendental, according to the Doctor,” Quinn said. “And it’s perfectly safe, Stacy. It’s where the Doctor would take it that would be dangerous.”
“Oh.”
“But she’s stuck in Lawndale for the time being,” the Doctor added.
“What happened?” Brittany asked.
“She picked up the portal machine before Quinn and I activated it,” the Doctor answered.
“But what have you found?” Quinn asked as she and Stacy came up to the console.
“Energy readings, scattered around Lawndale,” the Doctor answered.
“Not scattered,” Stacy murmured.
“There’s a pattern you recognise?” the Doctor asked.
“A little,” Stacy answered. She pointed to one of them, in the middle of the extensive suburbia to the west of the downtown area and southeast of the Morgendorffers. “This is the Coulthard’s, my next-door neighbors.”
“Anna is in our grade,” Quinn added.
“What about the others?” Kaelyn asked.
“One is the Giant Strawberry,” Stacy added.
“I see that,” Daria commented.
“Wait!” Jane said as she came up to scanner screen.
“You see something?” the Doctor asked.
“Yes. It’s like a flower blooming across Lawndale. The Strawberry is at the end of one petal,” Jane explained.
“I don’t see any flower,” the Doctor objected.
“It’s not just the flower,” Jane said. “But the floral part is the most obvious to my mind.”
“Right, but what does this mean?” Brittany asked. “What are the energy readings?”
“They’re similar to the portal,” the Doctor answered. “Meaning that they may be similar tech.”
“And would there be similar readings in Middleton?” Kaelyn asked.
“I guess I’ll have to go and check,” the Doctor answered. “Kim and Ron won’t be back for a while.”
Jane took out a sketchpad and started copying the flower pattern. “All of Lawndale,” she commented.
“I said that, didn’t I?” the Doctor asked.
“No, you said ‘across Lawndale’, not ‘across all of Lawndale,’” Kaelyn responded.
“Semantics,” the Doctor said as he watched Jane continue to sketch.
“Can you broaden the range?” Jane asked.
“Certainly,” the Doctor responded. “How far?”
“Oakwood for a start,” Jane answered.
“Sure,” the Doctor responded. He input a few commands, and the screen zoomed out to show Oakwood, not far to the west of Lawndale. “There are only two readings in Oakwood.’”
“And in the eastern subdivisions,” Daria commented.
“Maybe it is just Lawndale,” Jane considered, “But zoom out to the entire county to be sure.”
The Doctor zoomed the screen out.
Carter Lawndale County
Energy reading concentration, Lawndale
“Nowhere near Middlebury or Cumberland,” the Doctor said.
“So, practically just Lawndale,” Kaelyn considered.
“The furthest is on the other side of the lake,” the Doctor confirmed.
Quinn thought about the situation. “But did they appear before, or after we activated the portal?” she asked the Doctor.
“Checking that now,” the Doctor said. He scanned back to the morning again, and they saw that the energy readings slowly appeared after the portal was activated.
“Would that mean they would be in Middleton too?” Brittany asked.
“Quite likely, but the TARDIS can’t scan through the portal, and I’m not sure she would travel there.”
“You can try,” Daria said after crossing her arms.
“Right,” the Doctor said. He input the coordinates in Middleton, and set the TARDIS in motion.
It was still in the early hours when SpiderGirl responded to alarms at the facility on Lawndale’s northern edge, not far from the Interstate.
She saw that a window had been smashed. “Subtle, aren’t they?” she quipped as she swung onto the roof, where she found an open vent and crawled inside.
On the ground floor, she found a mess. “You must be new. There usually isn’t much of a mess,” she quipped as she crawled on the ceiling.
She soon found the thief and was surprised. “Sam Elders?” she asked.
The would-be thief turned from where he was upending some materials. “SpiderGirl?” he asked in surprise. “I thought it would be one of the others.”
“You knew you would get caught by one of Lawndale’s heroes, and yet you’re here.”
“It was worth the risk,” Sam responded.
SpiderGirl swung down. “It totally wasn’t,” she said as she tried to web him up.
He avoided the webs by ducking behind equipment.
“Uh!” SpideGirl said. “You know that will just make me make more of a mess, right?”
“And get arrested by Officer Peterson again?” No thanks.”
“Well, duh! How did you get out anyway?”
“How else? Bail!” Sam answered as he was cornered and got caught by a web. “Crap.”
“Of course,” SpiderGirl groused as she webbed Sam up securely.
Half an hour later, as the Sun rose, Officer Xanthe Peterson found Sam webbed up in the facility foyer. She sighed. “Yes, SpiderGirl called it in,” she said as she took out her cuffs. “Sam Elders, you’re under arrest for breaking and entering.”
“What about SpiderGirl?”
“It’s the same as at the Solarium,” Peterson answered.
Sam was silent as she led him away. Of course it was.
Lawndale Sun-Herald
Tuesday, March 13, 2001
Oscorp Interference with Mound Site Unconfirmed
Melinda Parris
SpiderGirl arrived on the school roof a half hour before homeroom. She then changed to her usual persona of Quinn Morgendorffer, slowly improving, involved, sophomore student. ‘Brit should be here shortly,’ she thought.
Indeed, it was only a few minutes before another vigilante hero arrived on the rooftop and changed to her student persona; Ninja Talon, or rather, Brittany Taylor. “You said something happened in that message,” she said.
“Yes,” Quinn answered and explained about finding Sam in that facility.
“You think he’ll get out again?” Brittany asked.
“Most likely,” Quinn said as she opened the door to the stairs down. “But the next question would be, who?”
Brittany twirled a pigtail. “No real idea, other than maybe Osborn.”
“That’s only one possibility,” Quinn said as she opened the door.
On the ground floor after she and Brittany had gone in different directions, Quinn ran into Jamie White.
“Morning, Quinn.”
“Morning, Jamie. Something up?”
“It’s that most people are talking about their favorite animals,” Jamie answered.
“It’s probably just a fad,” Quinn responded. “As a way to distract from what’s going on.”
“I guess so. But some advice? You're about to embark on a journey that will change your life. What snacks would you bring along?”
“My life has already been changed, but my snack preferences haven’t.”
“So, carrot sticks?” Jamie asked as they walked along.
“But what does that tell you about my favorite animal?”
“A rabbit?”
“Not really,” Quinn responded. Her actual favorite animal was a small mammal, but Rabbits and Hares weren’t it.
The junior grade had Language Arts first period. Brittany wondered what Mr. O’Neill would be talking about as she entered the classroom. She was sure to arrive early, to make sure that she and her ex-boyfriend, Kevin Thompson, wouldn’t be sitting near each other. As she entered the classroom, she saw that Jodie Landon was already there. “Good Morning, Jodie.”
“Morning, Brittany,” Jodie said, with an undertone of sadness.
“Is something up?”
“Oh, it’s just that Oscorp is trying to make moves on my father’s company. But you didn’t hear that from me.”
“I won’t spread it,” Brittany responded. ‘I’d tell at least Quinn, maybe Daria.’
“Thanks, Brittany.”
Then Mr. O’Neill arrived. “Oh! Only you two,” he said.
“Yes, Mr. O’Neill,” Brittany said.
“I don’t understand why the homerooms are scattered about the school,” O’Neill murmured.
“Probably the best that Ms. Li could do,” Jodie murmured, before more students entered the classroom.
“So class, your assignment is to pick something you know you'll fail at. To prove that failing isn't the end of the world,” O’Neill said to the class.
“There goes my motivation,” Quinn’s older sister, Daria, commented.
“Relax,” Jane Lane said. “At least he’s not making us guess people’s identities by feeling their hands.”
“Again?” Daria asked rhetorically.
“Brittany, what is something you’re sure you’d fail at?” O’Neill asked.
Brittany twirled a pigtail. “I suppose, learning something really complicated.”
“Excellent! Although it depends on what that is.”
“Some science thing.”
‘That will have to do, although Janet won’t be pleased, ’O’Neill thought, thinking of the Science teacher he was involved with despite the principal’s anti fraternization policy. “Brittany! You’ll fail at the science thing.”
‘I hope not, because I’m sure she’ll bring it up at the next tutoring session,’ Daria thought.
“Who else wants to pick what they are going to fail at? Kevin, what about you?”
“Me?” Kevin asked. “I’m the QB. But I’m going to ask SpiderGirl out.”
Brittany heard Kevin. ‘Quinn told me about that. That he got a crush on her as Spidey after she rescued him.’
“So, you’re going to fail at trying to get a date with Lawndale’s first superhero? Isn’t that a bit much?” O’Neill asked.
“No!” Kevin said. “I’ll find her.”
“She may say no,” O’Neill said.
“Probably. But I’ll ask again.”
‘I’ll have to tell Quinn later,’ Brittany thought.
O’Neill turned to Jodie. “My parents make me spend my entire summer doing volunteer work that'll look good on my college application. I'd never be able to get the summer off.”
“Perfect. Mack?” O’Neill responded.
After the class, Jane Lane and Daria talked about it as they headed to their next class. “This is the most stupid idea he’s had,” Daria said. “If not for everything else happening in Lawndale these days, it would have been one of the strangest.”
“Especially with there being two superheroes with strange powers.”
“Especially that. Speaking of, what do you think of Kevin’s quest?”
“He’s wasting his time,” Jane said. “SpiderGirl appears where she wants to.”
“Then there is the fact that people are asking each other about their favorite animal.”
“I don’t know how that started.”
“I guess I could ask Tori,” Daria responding, referring to one of Quinn’s friends.
“But that probably won’t be until lunch,” Jane responded.
“I know, but we can ask others if we run into them.”
Elsewhere in Lawndale, Norman Osborn entered the Main Office of Grace, Sloane and Page, a so called ‘class firm’. He went up to the reception desk.
“How may I help you?” the impeccably put together receptionist asked.
He handed over a business card. “Osborn to see Sloane at 10:00.”
“Mr. Sloane is ready now, sir.”
Angier Sloane didn’t really want to meet Norman Osborn. But circumstances had brought the meeting about, and he couldn’t put it off any longer. He saw Osborn enter. “Welcome to Grace, Sloane and Page, Mr. Osborn.”
“Lets get to the point shall we,” Osborn said.
“Of course,” Angier said as he grabbed a printout. “Your request to join Winged Tree Country Club is denied.”
“I knew that,” Osborn said with annoyance.
“I was getting to the reason. That recent news regarding Oscorp has brought up concerns about your influence on Lawndale.”
“But that’s hearsay!”
“Nonetheless, that is the truth,” Angier responded.
“That isn’t all is it?”
“I am aware of your manipulations of the City Council, and of what really happened to Lynn Anders.”
“All just malicious rumors,” Norman said.
“I know there’s no real proof, but whatever you’re going to say is not going to change my mind.”
“You’re going to regret this.”
“And that’s another reason,” Angier added.
The refusal stung. ‘Just because the Sloanes retained their wealth, and Angier went to Bromwell!’ Norman groused as he stepped out of Grace, Sloane and Page a few minutes later. He had to work to get himself through Empire State, work to establish and grow Oscorp. He turned and looked at the old-style building. He had done his research, and knew that the Sloanes had been in Lawndale since it’s founding. ‘I will bring you down, Angier!’ But that was a long-term project.
But he had another idea.
Shorty after the beginning of lunch, Daria entered the cafeteria and heard the students already in there discussing the ‘favorite animals’ fad, as well as participating in it. ‘But is Tori here?’ she wondered as she looked around. She found that Tori Jericho wasn’t there yet, but she saw Jane sitting across from Sandi Griffin, with the two glaring at each other the way they usually did, as well as Harry Osborn.
“Daria!” Jane called when Daria arrived with her meal. “Harry has heard something.”
“What is that?” Daria asked. “Is it something to do with this fad? Or is it something else?”
“Something else,” Harry answered.
“He’s been talking about the vigilantes again,” Sandi guessed.
“Not this time,” Harry said. “He was saying something about the Country Club refusing him.”
“They probably resent that he is trying to take over Lawndale,” Sandi suggested.
“I can see how they would think that,” Harry said in a thoughtful tone.
‘Thing is, Harry, your father is trying to take over Lawndale,’ Jane thought. She kept that to herself, as she was sure that no one at school still knew that she was the Shadow, the third of Lawndale’s hero vigilantes to appear, after SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon.
“Still, it’s probably a good thing that they refused him,” Daria said.
“But he’s going to be complaining about it,” Harry said.
“And probably plotting,” Sandi added.
“Of course,” Daria said. “But we can probably do more about the favorite animal thing.”
Healing
Luke 4:14 - 21
Jesus was announcing that He was Messiah and what He was going to do.
Paul
Galatians 4:13 - 15
Galatians 6:11
2 Corinthians 12:6, 7
Thorn in the flesh.
God wanted Paul to the humble.
You don't have to be perfect for God to use you.
Acts 9:40
Peter was praying to God, calling upon Him.
Peter prayed first. We shouldn't jsut tell dead people to get up! It's not in our authority. We don't get to tell God what to do. It is according to His will.
God answered Peter's prayer.
God was doing the healing.
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