![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Spider Quinn 13 Aftermath and Investigations Part 8
SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon approached the Oscorp office space from an alleyway. “But what are we looking for?” Ninja Talon asked, as she prepared to pick the lock.
SpiderGirl prepared to web up any security cameras. “Anything that could provide information on the glider.”
“Right, and anything related to expansion in Lawndale?”
“Yes.”
The door opened. SpiderGirl immediately webbed a couple of security cameras. “It should be clear now.”
They searched the office quickly but effectively, with Ninja Talon searching filing cabinets and SpiderGirl looking at the computers. “Not that easy,” the latter said. “They’re all logged out.”
“There is another way,” Ninja Talon said as she looked through a folder.
“You mean, hacking?”
“Yes. I know Andrea does.”
“Andrea,” SpiderGirl considered. “The goth one, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Maybe tomorrow night.”
“Found something,” Ninja Talon said. She put some files on a desk.
“Plans for more buildings in the business park,” SpiderGirl considered.
“More expansion…”
“Yes. Let’s photocopy them.”
“And then what?” Ninja Talon said.
“We’ll slip them under the Sun-Herald’s door.”
“Good idea.”
SpiderGirl photocopied the plans as Ninja Talon continued to search for more documents.
“Nothing about the Glider here,” Ninja Talon said as she replaced the plan files.
“Then lets get out of here.”
Less than five minutes later they slipped the photocopies beneath one of the Sun-Herald’s office doors.
Lawndale Sun-Herald
Wednesday, February 7, 2001
Damage on Hoopes Street from Battle on Monday Night
As the sun rose, the Shadow arrived on a rooftop above Hoopes Street. She sat down on the east side and watched Lawndale awake with the sun as she sketched the damaged street. ‘But who was here besides the attacker?’ Was it SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon? Or the Enigma causing additional damage with her projections?’ She wasn’t sure.
Linda saw Sandi enter the kitchen. “Why are you and Daria infiltrating Oscorp?” she asked, trying not to sound too accusatory.
“Investigating the attacker’s possible links to it,” Sandi said. She took out a piece of paper, “and the fact that they have a large presence in Lawndale.”
Linda took the paper and looked at the map of Lawndale. “I didn’t realise they owned that much land.”
“Exactly, that was what Daria and I were looking into.”
“And what does she think about it?”
“That she wants to know more and is concerned for the future of Lawndale,” Sandi answered.
“I find myself agreeing with her,” Linda commented. “It’s reminding me of things I looked into back in the day. And I thought I left that behind.”
“You have. It’s my turn now.”
“A new generation, but a little too quickly.”
As she made breakfast, Quinn thought about what she and Brittany had found in the night. ‘But how to tell Daria? Should I approach Andrea as myself?’
Daria then entered. ‘Morning, Quinn.’
“Morning,” Quinn said, trying to put the near miss out of her mind. “You were out again last night?”
“Yes,” Daria answered as she grabbed some cereal. “The fourth vigilante and I searched an Oscorp warehouse,” she said quietly.
“Oh!” Quinn said. “What did you find?”
“Nothing other than loose documents, which I haven’t really had a look at yet.”
“We could look at them tomorrow evening? I’m at the Historia tonight.”
“Sure,” Daria said. “After dinner.”
‘Maybe they can add to the ones Brittany and I found and gave to the Sun-Herald.’
Olivia arrived outside the ruins of the Lawndale Center. She could see that clean up efforts were yet to start. ‘Now, what was Daria saying about telekinesis?’ she wondered as she remembered the discussion from Monday afternoon. She began taking notes.
The Shadow finished her sketches of the street. ‘So, what happened?’ she wondered again as she heard the Court House clock strike half past seven. ‘How did it happen?’
At the Sun-Herald offices, Penelope Jericho saw something as she entered by one of the alleyway doors. “What’s this?” she picked it up. “An envelope.”
Courtesy of your Friendly Neighborhood SpiderGirl
“SpiderGirl?” she wondered as she took it to her desk.
“What’s up?” one of her colleagues asked.
“I think SpiderGirl left something here in the night.”
Her colleague, Melinda, looked at it. “It’s probably something important, if she wants us to know about it.”
“Possibly. The writing does match her other notes,” Penelope considered. “I’ll open it.”
Penelope opened it. “Plans for Oscorp expansion?”
“Oscorp?” Melinda asked.
“Looks like she’s investigating Oscorp and found something she found disturbing and wanted the public to know about.”
“That’s likely.”
Penelope started looking. “Plans for more buildings in the business park, along with a print out of their current presence in Lawndale. It seems that she’s concerned about their presence. I know I am.”
“I know you have submitted a couple articles about it,” Melinda said.
“And I probably will submit another one soon. One much bigger. I’ll go to Daniels when he gets in,” Penelope decided, referring to the Editor.”
Osborn arrived at his main Lawndale Office to find the head of Oscorp Security for Lawndale waiting for him. “What has happened?” he asked.
“We have reason to suspect that the vigilantes have infiltrated two of our facilities last night.”
“What happened? Where was the security?”
“It appears that the alarms weren’t set, most likely due to complacency,” the security chief answered.
“Then I want them to be automatically set. But what’s the evidence?”
“While the alarms weren’t on, the cameras were. And a rear door on the Third Street warehouse was pushed in by a strong force. The repairs will start soon.”
“Strong force?” Osborn asked. ‘Could it be the telekinetic metahuman again? The Third Street warehouse! It’s just as well the glider was moved.’
“Yes, it seems someone pushed it hard enough that the jamb was broken and so they gained ingress.”
“What about the cameras?”
“They stopped working, the fault is being looked into,” the chief answered.
“Where else did the vigilantes get into?”
“One of the offices on Main Street. The cameras were obscured by something around 2 AM.”
“Possibly SpiderGirl’s webbing,” Osborn groused.
“There is no evidence of that.”
“I know, but there have been reports of her using her webbing both as a tool, and offensively.”
James Daniels listened to Penelope talk about the planning documents that SpiderGirl had left on the paper’s doorstep.
“So, SpiderGirl broke into an Oscorp office and photocopied these documents?” he asked as he looked at the documents in question.
“Yes, but she wouldn’t have done that without a reason.”
“It seems she was concerned by this map from their website.”
“That’s what I surmise as well,” Penelope said.
“Then I give you permission to look further into it.”
Daria met Jane on the roof as lunch started. “I have a new sketch,” the latter said.
“Which is of?”
“The damaged section of Hoopes Street.”
Daria looked at the sketch. “So, that’s where it happened,” she said.
“What?”
“Last night, the fourth vigilante told me her perspective of what happened. She fought the attacker separately from Ninja Talon and SpiderGirl who were cooperating.”
“So, there wasn’t a confrontation?” Jane asked.
“Not then.”
“But there was one last night?”
“Yes,” Daria answered. “After we infiltrated an Oscorp warehouse.”
“You did what?”
Daria then told her what she and Quinn had found on an Oscorp website.
“I see,” Jane said after she had finished.
“So, that’s another thing I’m looking into.”
“What happened with the confrontation?”
“SpiderGirl withdrew and the fourth wasn’t able to keep up,” Daria answered.”
“I guess she wasn’t ready,” Jane said with a shrug.
After having lunch with Jane, Daria met Brittany and Sanderson in the library.
“I looked at the ruins this morning,” Sanderson said.
“And what do you think?” Brittany asked.
“I agree with Daria, in a way,” Sanderson answered.
“In what way?” Daria asked.
“That the debris patterns are unusual. I’m still not convinced about there being telekinesis.”
‘Given last night, I am convinced,’ Daria thought. “How else would you explain it?”
“I’m not sure. It’s not my area of expertise,” Sanderson said. “What I was doing on that field trip was a lot closer to it.”
Daria nodded. ‘Besides the Enigma’s mentor, there’s not much to go on.’
“But what else have you found?” Sanderson asked.
“That Oscorp has a large presence in Lawndale, but that isn’t related to this,” Daria answered.
“I think it is,” Brittany said.
“What do you mean?” Daria asked.
“It possible that the glider was made by Oscorp,” Brittany answered.
“I’m aware of that,” Daria said. “But I’m sure the attack would have occurred either way. It’s linked to Oscorp somehow, but the size of Oscorp’s footprint in Lawndale may be unrelated.”
“But it might not,” Sanderson said.
“We’ll talk about that too. Quinn brought it to my attention last night.”
Brittany nodded.
“She’s getting busy,” Sanderson commented.
“Not as busy as Jodie,” Daria responded.
“Maybe not,” Sanderson said.
At the same time Sandi found Harry at their now usual table. “Hi, Harry.”
“Hi, Sandi. I’m still concerned for my father. He’s still as distant as before. I think Beresfield is trying to help, but…”
“Is that their name?” Sandi asked.
“Yes, Verity Beresfield, but I think she’s not able to help.”
‘She could still be in danger,’ Sandi considered. “Oh.”
“What?”
“Something I looked up last night. Oscorp’s presence in Lawndale is larger than I thought it would be.”
“He’s been interested in this town for a while,” Harry said. “I’m not sure why. But his problems started long before we moved here.”
“I wasn’t saying it was Lawndale causing the problems,” Sandi said quietly.
“I know.”
‘Verity Beresfield,’ Sandi thought, wanting to remember the name, in case she needed to rescue her as the Enigma.
Sanderson, Daria, and Brittany were still stumped by the debris patterns at the Lawndale Center ruins. “May as well investigate other mysteries,” Daria said. “Like, where the Glider is now.”
“But if Oscorp’s presence in Lawndale is as large as you say, it would be like a needle in a haystack,” Sanderson said.
‘I definitely need to go to Andrea tonight,’ Brittany decided. But she wasn’t sure how her old friend would respond to a visit by Ninja Talon. ‘I have to take the risk.’
“I know,” Daria responded. “But we have to try.”
After school, Gerald entered the library to find Quinn, Anna and Ben waiting for him. “Good news,” he said.
“You’re starting the elocution lessons?” Anna asked before Quinn could.
“Yes, tomorrow at 4:30, for one and half hours,” Gerald answered.
“That’s great!” Quinn said.
“So, we can go to the Standing Stones?” Anna asked.
“Yes,” Quinn said. “So, we’ll have another look through the history of Lawndale, or Carter, County, this afternoon.”
“Sure,” Anna said, as she opened her book.
Penelope was home a little early. She wanted to greet her daughter as she came home. She knew that Oscorp could be dangerous from reports in New York. Therefore, she knew she would be getting in over her head as she investigated the documents SpiderGirl provided.
“Mom?” Tori asked as she came into the kitchen for a snack.
“I decided to take the rest of the day off,” Penelope said.
Tori knew what that meant. “You’re digging into something, aren’t you. Is it to do with Friday night?”
“Yes. Someone anonymous left documents related to Oscorp at the office.”
“Anonymous,” Tori considered. “Like one of the vigilantes?”
“One of them,” Penelope confirmed. “She wouldn’t have done it for no reason.”
Tori sighed. “Everything changing…”
“Something at school?”
“School’s fine, but the past few months… people are changing more than the usual growing up. Lawndale’s changes are affecting everyone.”
SpiderGirl swung off from the school after the mentoring session. ‘A lot of things at once,’ she thought. ‘It’s good that Gerald has his lessons.’ Her thoughts then turned to how to deal with the glider. ‘I’ll need to plan it out at home, but I have the Historia tonight. I guess I’ll have to take a risk with making it crash into a building.’ She then saw a mugging in progress at the north end of Dega Street and swung in to intervene.
At the Taylor Mansion, Brittany was thinking similarly. She had taken out a map of Lawndale and was looking intently at the maze of streets that lay to the immediate west of the downtown. ‘It’s like a labyrinth,’ she thought. ‘It’s probably easy to get the glider to crash. But it would probably be better to make it crash into an Oscorp building rather than one that isn’t.’ She took out the Oscorp map. A few of the facilities were in that area.
Harry came down to dinner.
“What’s the name of your friend again?” his father asked.
“Not sure why you’re interested. Sandi, Sandi Griffin.”
“Griffin. Why is that familiar?”
“Maybe because I have talked about her before?” Harry asked.
“Wait, Linda Griffin, she’s the director of marketing for one of the local broadcasters.”
“That’s her mother.”
“What do you think about having dinner with them on Friday night?” his father asked.
“Sounds good.”
“Great, you can tell Sandi tomorrow.”
“I will.”
Meanwhile, Verity looked out over Lawndale as the sun set from her room at the Dutchman Inn. It looked peaceful, which she knew belied the reality. ‘What is Norman up to here?’ she wondered yet again.
Quinn came down from the roof of the Historia to find the café as busy as it had been the previous week. She quickly went to get ready for her shift.
In her room, Sandi wasn’t sure she was ready to search for Tiffany. She looked at the photo of her in the yearbook. ‘Why did you agree with Quinn and Stacy?’ she asked yet again. ‘These days, only Harry really hangs around me. Daria doesn’t really count.’ She paused, maybe Daria did count, in a way. ‘But I know she’s wary, both of myself and more so of the Enigma, and she will figure that out soon enough.’ She shook her head and stared at the picture of Tiffany again.
“Laura Bildhouse, Nadia Blackwood, Tiffany Blum-Deckler…”
She downed the energy drink, but she was still emotional as she chanted; “Findu mann sem heitir: Tiffany Netanya Blum-Deckler!”
A barely perceptible field could then be seen around her. Her cat, Fluffy, cowered and hissed as it began to spread.
Linda noticed straight away. “Sandi!” she said. ‘Tiffany! Of course! But what will happen when she searches for Quinn and Stacy?’ She felt the intensity of Sandi’s perception field. ‘Anyone who’s sensitive in Lawndale is going to feel it,’ she added. “Just as well Mother moved to Middlebury.”
Sandi’s perception moved out slightly quicker than usual. She found Tiffany at her house, talking to someone on the phone.
“Ten down,” Sandi said when done, more fatigued than usual.
At the Historia, Quinn felt a barely perceptible tingle. ‘Like the previous ones, but more diffuse?’ she shook her head and delivered the dinner to Nadia Blackwood. “Here, Nadia,” she said.
“Thanks, Quinn.”
The field that Fluffy had hissed at dispersed over all of Lawndale before disappearing.
In North Lawndale, Scarlett Hawkins-Le Faye noticed it. ‘What was that?’ she asked herself.
“Thanks, Quinn,” Nadia said as she took her dinner from her.
“You’re welcome,” Quinn said.
“What do you think of what has been happening?” Nadia asked.
“About Lawndale in general?”
“Yes.”
“I think the town is changing,” Quinn answered. “Whether it’s good or not, I’m not sure.”
“Same here,” Nadia said.
Tiffany was talking to Tori. “…So, your mo-om is worried?”
“Yes,” Tori said. “Worried about what Oscorp’s plans are.”
“And you called me because…”
“I don’t want to worry Stacy too much; Quinn is at the Historia and most of my other friends are on dates.”
“Got it,” Tiffany said. ‘I’m not stupid, just a little slow,’ she thought, not for the first time. She shook her head.
“And I haven’t talked to you much. Quinn and Stacy, a lot more so.”
Fluffy jumped up to Sandi. He cuddled up next to her and started purring.
“Thanks, Fluffy,” Sandi said, sounding less tired than before. “I’m OK. But I will just lie here for a while.”
At the Historia, Quinn went back to work after talking to Nadia. ‘There’s something about that tingle.’ She thought. She knew she would be writing about it later.
At the Morgendorffers, Daria was in the backyard. She had been thinking about her forays with the Enigma. She knew she needed to defend herself somehow if things went south. She picked up a branch off the ground. ‘Could I use this like a quarterstaff?’ she wondered. She started moving it around as one would a quarterstaff. ‘This will take a while.’
As Sandi’s anguished perception field passed, Daria had another inspiration and closed her eyes as she did so. ‘But I need to see, right?’ She thought about it. ‘I can practice like this.’ She opened her eyes, took off her glasses and put them in a pocket and closed her eyes again. She then continued practicing, focusing on the sound of the branch as it moved through the air and her proprioception, for another half hour.
SpiderGirl prepared to web up any security cameras. “Anything that could provide information on the glider.”
“Right, and anything related to expansion in Lawndale?”
“Yes.”
The door opened. SpiderGirl immediately webbed a couple of security cameras. “It should be clear now.”
They searched the office quickly but effectively, with Ninja Talon searching filing cabinets and SpiderGirl looking at the computers. “Not that easy,” the latter said. “They’re all logged out.”
“There is another way,” Ninja Talon said as she looked through a folder.
“You mean, hacking?”
“Yes. I know Andrea does.”
“Andrea,” SpiderGirl considered. “The goth one, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Maybe tomorrow night.”
“Found something,” Ninja Talon said. She put some files on a desk.
“Plans for more buildings in the business park,” SpiderGirl considered.
“More expansion…”
“Yes. Let’s photocopy them.”
“And then what?” Ninja Talon said.
“We’ll slip them under the Sun-Herald’s door.”
“Good idea.”
SpiderGirl photocopied the plans as Ninja Talon continued to search for more documents.
“Nothing about the Glider here,” Ninja Talon said as she replaced the plan files.
“Then lets get out of here.”
Less than five minutes later they slipped the photocopies beneath one of the Sun-Herald’s office doors.
Lawndale Sun-Herald
Wednesday, February 7, 2001
Damage on Hoopes Street from Battle on Monday Night
As the sun rose, the Shadow arrived on a rooftop above Hoopes Street. She sat down on the east side and watched Lawndale awake with the sun as she sketched the damaged street. ‘But who was here besides the attacker?’ Was it SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon? Or the Enigma causing additional damage with her projections?’ She wasn’t sure.
Linda saw Sandi enter the kitchen. “Why are you and Daria infiltrating Oscorp?” she asked, trying not to sound too accusatory.
“Investigating the attacker’s possible links to it,” Sandi said. She took out a piece of paper, “and the fact that they have a large presence in Lawndale.”
Linda took the paper and looked at the map of Lawndale. “I didn’t realise they owned that much land.”
“Exactly, that was what Daria and I were looking into.”
“And what does she think about it?”
“That she wants to know more and is concerned for the future of Lawndale,” Sandi answered.
“I find myself agreeing with her,” Linda commented. “It’s reminding me of things I looked into back in the day. And I thought I left that behind.”
“You have. It’s my turn now.”
“A new generation, but a little too quickly.”
As she made breakfast, Quinn thought about what she and Brittany had found in the night. ‘But how to tell Daria? Should I approach Andrea as myself?’
Daria then entered. ‘Morning, Quinn.’
“Morning,” Quinn said, trying to put the near miss out of her mind. “You were out again last night?”
“Yes,” Daria answered as she grabbed some cereal. “The fourth vigilante and I searched an Oscorp warehouse,” she said quietly.
“Oh!” Quinn said. “What did you find?”
“Nothing other than loose documents, which I haven’t really had a look at yet.”
“We could look at them tomorrow evening? I’m at the Historia tonight.”
“Sure,” Daria said. “After dinner.”
‘Maybe they can add to the ones Brittany and I found and gave to the Sun-Herald.’
Olivia arrived outside the ruins of the Lawndale Center. She could see that clean up efforts were yet to start. ‘Now, what was Daria saying about telekinesis?’ she wondered as she remembered the discussion from Monday afternoon. She began taking notes.
The Shadow finished her sketches of the street. ‘So, what happened?’ she wondered again as she heard the Court House clock strike half past seven. ‘How did it happen?’
At the Sun-Herald offices, Penelope Jericho saw something as she entered by one of the alleyway doors. “What’s this?” she picked it up. “An envelope.”
Courtesy of your Friendly Neighborhood SpiderGirl
“SpiderGirl?” she wondered as she took it to her desk.
“What’s up?” one of her colleagues asked.
“I think SpiderGirl left something here in the night.”
Her colleague, Melinda, looked at it. “It’s probably something important, if she wants us to know about it.”
“Possibly. The writing does match her other notes,” Penelope considered. “I’ll open it.”
Penelope opened it. “Plans for Oscorp expansion?”
“Oscorp?” Melinda asked.
“Looks like she’s investigating Oscorp and found something she found disturbing and wanted the public to know about.”
“That’s likely.”
Penelope started looking. “Plans for more buildings in the business park, along with a print out of their current presence in Lawndale. It seems that she’s concerned about their presence. I know I am.”
“I know you have submitted a couple articles about it,” Melinda said.
“And I probably will submit another one soon. One much bigger. I’ll go to Daniels when he gets in,” Penelope decided, referring to the Editor.”
Osborn arrived at his main Lawndale Office to find the head of Oscorp Security for Lawndale waiting for him. “What has happened?” he asked.
“We have reason to suspect that the vigilantes have infiltrated two of our facilities last night.”
“What happened? Where was the security?”
“It appears that the alarms weren’t set, most likely due to complacency,” the security chief answered.
“Then I want them to be automatically set. But what’s the evidence?”
“While the alarms weren’t on, the cameras were. And a rear door on the Third Street warehouse was pushed in by a strong force. The repairs will start soon.”
“Strong force?” Osborn asked. ‘Could it be the telekinetic metahuman again? The Third Street warehouse! It’s just as well the glider was moved.’
“Yes, it seems someone pushed it hard enough that the jamb was broken and so they gained ingress.”
“What about the cameras?”
“They stopped working, the fault is being looked into,” the chief answered.
“Where else did the vigilantes get into?”
“One of the offices on Main Street. The cameras were obscured by something around 2 AM.”
“Possibly SpiderGirl’s webbing,” Osborn groused.
“There is no evidence of that.”
“I know, but there have been reports of her using her webbing both as a tool, and offensively.”
James Daniels listened to Penelope talk about the planning documents that SpiderGirl had left on the paper’s doorstep.
“So, SpiderGirl broke into an Oscorp office and photocopied these documents?” he asked as he looked at the documents in question.
“Yes, but she wouldn’t have done that without a reason.”
“It seems she was concerned by this map from their website.”
“That’s what I surmise as well,” Penelope said.
“Then I give you permission to look further into it.”
Daria met Jane on the roof as lunch started. “I have a new sketch,” the latter said.
“Which is of?”
“The damaged section of Hoopes Street.”
Daria looked at the sketch. “So, that’s where it happened,” she said.
“What?”
“Last night, the fourth vigilante told me her perspective of what happened. She fought the attacker separately from Ninja Talon and SpiderGirl who were cooperating.”
“So, there wasn’t a confrontation?” Jane asked.
“Not then.”
“But there was one last night?”
“Yes,” Daria answered. “After we infiltrated an Oscorp warehouse.”
“You did what?”
Daria then told her what she and Quinn had found on an Oscorp website.
“I see,” Jane said after she had finished.
“So, that’s another thing I’m looking into.”
“What happened with the confrontation?”
“SpiderGirl withdrew and the fourth wasn’t able to keep up,” Daria answered.”
“I guess she wasn’t ready,” Jane said with a shrug.
After having lunch with Jane, Daria met Brittany and Sanderson in the library.
“I looked at the ruins this morning,” Sanderson said.
“And what do you think?” Brittany asked.
“I agree with Daria, in a way,” Sanderson answered.
“In what way?” Daria asked.
“That the debris patterns are unusual. I’m still not convinced about there being telekinesis.”
‘Given last night, I am convinced,’ Daria thought. “How else would you explain it?”
“I’m not sure. It’s not my area of expertise,” Sanderson said. “What I was doing on that field trip was a lot closer to it.”
Daria nodded. ‘Besides the Enigma’s mentor, there’s not much to go on.’
“But what else have you found?” Sanderson asked.
“That Oscorp has a large presence in Lawndale, but that isn’t related to this,” Daria answered.
“I think it is,” Brittany said.
“What do you mean?” Daria asked.
“It possible that the glider was made by Oscorp,” Brittany answered.
“I’m aware of that,” Daria said. “But I’m sure the attack would have occurred either way. It’s linked to Oscorp somehow, but the size of Oscorp’s footprint in Lawndale may be unrelated.”
“But it might not,” Sanderson said.
“We’ll talk about that too. Quinn brought it to my attention last night.”
Brittany nodded.
“She’s getting busy,” Sanderson commented.
“Not as busy as Jodie,” Daria responded.
“Maybe not,” Sanderson said.
At the same time Sandi found Harry at their now usual table. “Hi, Harry.”
“Hi, Sandi. I’m still concerned for my father. He’s still as distant as before. I think Beresfield is trying to help, but…”
“Is that their name?” Sandi asked.
“Yes, Verity Beresfield, but I think she’s not able to help.”
‘She could still be in danger,’ Sandi considered. “Oh.”
“What?”
“Something I looked up last night. Oscorp’s presence in Lawndale is larger than I thought it would be.”
“He’s been interested in this town for a while,” Harry said. “I’m not sure why. But his problems started long before we moved here.”
“I wasn’t saying it was Lawndale causing the problems,” Sandi said quietly.
“I know.”
‘Verity Beresfield,’ Sandi thought, wanting to remember the name, in case she needed to rescue her as the Enigma.
Sanderson, Daria, and Brittany were still stumped by the debris patterns at the Lawndale Center ruins. “May as well investigate other mysteries,” Daria said. “Like, where the Glider is now.”
“But if Oscorp’s presence in Lawndale is as large as you say, it would be like a needle in a haystack,” Sanderson said.
‘I definitely need to go to Andrea tonight,’ Brittany decided. But she wasn’t sure how her old friend would respond to a visit by Ninja Talon. ‘I have to take the risk.’
“I know,” Daria responded. “But we have to try.”
After school, Gerald entered the library to find Quinn, Anna and Ben waiting for him. “Good news,” he said.
“You’re starting the elocution lessons?” Anna asked before Quinn could.
“Yes, tomorrow at 4:30, for one and half hours,” Gerald answered.
“That’s great!” Quinn said.
“So, we can go to the Standing Stones?” Anna asked.
“Yes,” Quinn said. “So, we’ll have another look through the history of Lawndale, or Carter, County, this afternoon.”
“Sure,” Anna said, as she opened her book.
Penelope was home a little early. She wanted to greet her daughter as she came home. She knew that Oscorp could be dangerous from reports in New York. Therefore, she knew she would be getting in over her head as she investigated the documents SpiderGirl provided.
“Mom?” Tori asked as she came into the kitchen for a snack.
“I decided to take the rest of the day off,” Penelope said.
Tori knew what that meant. “You’re digging into something, aren’t you. Is it to do with Friday night?”
“Yes. Someone anonymous left documents related to Oscorp at the office.”
“Anonymous,” Tori considered. “Like one of the vigilantes?”
“One of them,” Penelope confirmed. “She wouldn’t have done it for no reason.”
Tori sighed. “Everything changing…”
“Something at school?”
“School’s fine, but the past few months… people are changing more than the usual growing up. Lawndale’s changes are affecting everyone.”
SpiderGirl swung off from the school after the mentoring session. ‘A lot of things at once,’ she thought. ‘It’s good that Gerald has his lessons.’ Her thoughts then turned to how to deal with the glider. ‘I’ll need to plan it out at home, but I have the Historia tonight. I guess I’ll have to take a risk with making it crash into a building.’ She then saw a mugging in progress at the north end of Dega Street and swung in to intervene.
At the Taylor Mansion, Brittany was thinking similarly. She had taken out a map of Lawndale and was looking intently at the maze of streets that lay to the immediate west of the downtown. ‘It’s like a labyrinth,’ she thought. ‘It’s probably easy to get the glider to crash. But it would probably be better to make it crash into an Oscorp building rather than one that isn’t.’ She took out the Oscorp map. A few of the facilities were in that area.
Harry came down to dinner.
“What’s the name of your friend again?” his father asked.
“Not sure why you’re interested. Sandi, Sandi Griffin.”
“Griffin. Why is that familiar?”
“Maybe because I have talked about her before?” Harry asked.
“Wait, Linda Griffin, she’s the director of marketing for one of the local broadcasters.”
“That’s her mother.”
“What do you think about having dinner with them on Friday night?” his father asked.
“Sounds good.”
“Great, you can tell Sandi tomorrow.”
“I will.”
Meanwhile, Verity looked out over Lawndale as the sun set from her room at the Dutchman Inn. It looked peaceful, which she knew belied the reality. ‘What is Norman up to here?’ she wondered yet again.
Quinn came down from the roof of the Historia to find the café as busy as it had been the previous week. She quickly went to get ready for her shift.
In her room, Sandi wasn’t sure she was ready to search for Tiffany. She looked at the photo of her in the yearbook. ‘Why did you agree with Quinn and Stacy?’ she asked yet again. ‘These days, only Harry really hangs around me. Daria doesn’t really count.’ She paused, maybe Daria did count, in a way. ‘But I know she’s wary, both of myself and more so of the Enigma, and she will figure that out soon enough.’ She shook her head and stared at the picture of Tiffany again.
“Laura Bildhouse, Nadia Blackwood, Tiffany Blum-Deckler…”
She downed the energy drink, but she was still emotional as she chanted; “Findu mann sem heitir: Tiffany Netanya Blum-Deckler!”
A barely perceptible field could then be seen around her. Her cat, Fluffy, cowered and hissed as it began to spread.
Linda noticed straight away. “Sandi!” she said. ‘Tiffany! Of course! But what will happen when she searches for Quinn and Stacy?’ She felt the intensity of Sandi’s perception field. ‘Anyone who’s sensitive in Lawndale is going to feel it,’ she added. “Just as well Mother moved to Middlebury.”
Sandi’s perception moved out slightly quicker than usual. She found Tiffany at her house, talking to someone on the phone.
“Ten down,” Sandi said when done, more fatigued than usual.
At the Historia, Quinn felt a barely perceptible tingle. ‘Like the previous ones, but more diffuse?’ she shook her head and delivered the dinner to Nadia Blackwood. “Here, Nadia,” she said.
“Thanks, Quinn.”
The field that Fluffy had hissed at dispersed over all of Lawndale before disappearing.
In North Lawndale, Scarlett Hawkins-Le Faye noticed it. ‘What was that?’ she asked herself.
“Thanks, Quinn,” Nadia said as she took her dinner from her.
“You’re welcome,” Quinn said.
“What do you think of what has been happening?” Nadia asked.
“About Lawndale in general?”
“Yes.”
“I think the town is changing,” Quinn answered. “Whether it’s good or not, I’m not sure.”
“Same here,” Nadia said.
Tiffany was talking to Tori. “…So, your mo-om is worried?”
“Yes,” Tori said. “Worried about what Oscorp’s plans are.”
“And you called me because…”
“I don’t want to worry Stacy too much; Quinn is at the Historia and most of my other friends are on dates.”
“Got it,” Tiffany said. ‘I’m not stupid, just a little slow,’ she thought, not for the first time. She shook her head.
“And I haven’t talked to you much. Quinn and Stacy, a lot more so.”
Fluffy jumped up to Sandi. He cuddled up next to her and started purring.
“Thanks, Fluffy,” Sandi said, sounding less tired than before. “I’m OK. But I will just lie here for a while.”
At the Historia, Quinn went back to work after talking to Nadia. ‘There’s something about that tingle.’ She thought. She knew she would be writing about it later.
At the Morgendorffers, Daria was in the backyard. She had been thinking about her forays with the Enigma. She knew she needed to defend herself somehow if things went south. She picked up a branch off the ground. ‘Could I use this like a quarterstaff?’ she wondered. She started moving it around as one would a quarterstaff. ‘This will take a while.’
As Sandi’s anguished perception field passed, Daria had another inspiration and closed her eyes as she did so. ‘But I need to see, right?’ She thought about it. ‘I can practice like this.’ She opened her eyes, took off her glasses and put them in a pocket and closed her eyes again. She then continued practicing, focusing on the sound of the branch as it moved through the air and her proprioception, for another half hour.