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fardell24Norman Osborn was looking at the latest email regarding a replacement for the Goblin Glider when the assistant messaged him.
“The Fourth Vigilante is here to see you, sir.”
“Let her in.”
“Yes, sir.”
A minute later, the Enigma stormed in, with her hands glowing faintly.
“I know why you’re here, Sandi,” he said after the doors were closed.
“Do you?” the Enigma asked, as the glow intensified.
“You’re going to ask me why I am having you and the others followed. The answer should be obvious.”
“That you don’t want us to be in your way as you plot to gain more control over Lawndale?”
“That is a strong word,” Osborn said.
“That is what you’re doing.”
“You don’t have proof of that, and I know you’re not in the school paper.”
“I’m not, but, like, I am still investigating what you are up to, along with whatever else in Lawndale that you may not be responsible for,” the Enigma sot
“So, you’re not seeing the hand of Oscorp in everything?”
“No. There is a line between suspicion and conspiracy theories.”
“But I’m sure you’re engaging in the latter regarding SpiderGirl,” Osborn taunted.
“I’m not! She is overhyped, playing up the fact that she is Lawndale’s first superhero, and getting the credit for everything.”
“That is why I am doing what I’m doing!”
“No it isn’t,” the Enigma shot back. “You want to bring her down, as well as Ninja Talon, the Shadow and Dafoanairi.”
“I neither confirm nor deny, but I say that you are a variable that I could capture right now.”
The Enigma raised a forcefield. “Not without a fight and a lot of damage to this office, and you would have to explain to Harry why his friend disappeared.”
“That’s true. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try, or make something up.”
“You’re going to test me? You think I haven’t prepared?”
“I know you have some ace up your sleave, but yes,” Osborn responded become pressing a button and a panel opened revealing several of those pumpkin bombs.
Dafoanairi was ready, especially when she saw the window of the office open and one of the Enigma’s energy projections was shot out. She quickly moved to the window as the Enigma ran out.
“I know someone else is there,” Osborn said from inside the office.
Dafoanairi remained silent; she didn’t want Osborn to try to identify her from her voice, even if she was disguising it by pitching it higher. She let down a rope to a lower ledge.
“Let’s go. I did what I came to do,” the Engima said.
‘Which wasn’t much,’ Dafoanairi thought.
They remained silent until they stopped in the alleyway behind the Historia.
“You didn’t get much out of him,” Dafoanairi said.
“No, but I expected that. But I did rattle him,” the Enigma responded.
“In a counterproductive manner. Now we’ll be dodging agents as we fight crime. Maybe that’s his goal; to replace us as Lawndale’s heroes so he can pursue his agenda unimpeded.”
The Enigma clenched her fists as she made them glow. “We won’t let that happen.”
“But we may need to cooperate with SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon.”
“Alchemax was a disaster, but Oscorp didn’t get what they were after.”
“You were lucky,” Dafoanairi said.
“True,” the Enigma admitted. “It’s that I still resent SpiderGirl.”
“That she was the first hero?”
“Yes.”
Dafoanairi thought about that. The Enigma had mentioned that before, but she hadn’t gone too far into why. “You can tell me.”
“I know. But you know that I’m not good at sharing, like, deep things.”
“Neither am I. There are many things I haven’t told Jane.”
“It comes back to what I have said before. Things I’m figuring out,” the Enigma said.
“It’s what makes us human.”
“You said that before too,” the Enigma said with slight humor.
“So...” Dafoanairi said as she opened the back door.
“I’ll head home. Think about it there.”
“Sure.”
Linda was making breakfast when Sandi entered the kitchen still in her Enigma ensemble but unmasked. “You and Daria tried talking to him, didn’t you?”
“I did. Daria waited outside.”
“And?”
“He threatened me, but I expected that,” Sandi answered. “Daria says that he’s probably plotting to replace the heroes! I won’t let that happen!”
“We need to plan. Osborn has his own plan, I’m sure of that.”
“I knew you would say that. But we can’t plan without knowing more.”
“First step. Change up your routine. Patrol different parts of Lawndale at different times to when have been doing it,” Linda said. “That’s what I did when the Mafia started cluing up on my patrols of South Boston.”
Sandi thought about that. She had thought that she had an unpredictable patrol schedule already.
“Second. I’m sure Daria has already started planning,” her mother said.
“I’m sure she is.”
At the same time, Daria was back in her room, looking at her investigation wall. ‘I will start noting where the agents have been seen. That will tell me something about the parts of town Osborn is focusing on,’ she thought. She turned to her computer and typed up the locations of she and Sandi had encountered agents before marking them on a map of Lawndale. Jane hadn’t yet shared with her where she had seen them.
‘It’s not much, but it’s a start. I’ll talk to Jane later.’
Back at the Griffins, Sandi looked at her own investigation wall. ‘But how would this help?’ she wondered. She looked closer. There had to be a pattern. ‘Or maybe there isn’t one yet. I only know about the ones Daria and I encountered.’
It was still early morning when Jane awoke. She crawled out of bed and looked at her latest painting. It was darker than usual, as she had a flashback to her kidnapping by Beck at the time. ‘I’ll talk to Trent later,’ she thought.
After getting out of bed, she looked at her sketches and maps of Lawndale. She looked at the place where she had encountered the agent. “I’m sure that the other heroes have encountered them too,” she murmured. “Maybe I’ll ask Daria if the fourth has?” She wasn’t sure. ‘But she might not know.’
At the same time, Ninja Talon arrived on the top of the Historia. She looked out over the town as she remembered Fields sharing the maps with her and SpiderGirl. ‘We still need to tell Peterson,’ she thought. She had thought about calling Peterson from one of the Historia’s public phones, but she wasn’t sure if she was on shift or not. ‘I’ll go down and see if she comes to the café,’ she decided.
Down in the café, Brittany went to get a coffee. “Morning, Stacy,” she said.
Stacy looked more tired than usual. “Hi Brit, the usual?”
Brittany nodded. “Yes, please.”
“You’ve been rather good as Ariel.”
“Thanks, but the play is only going for another week. Then the travelling companies will start coming.”
“But I wonder if the situation in Lawndale would scare them off,” Stacy said.
“I’m sure Daria has planned for that,” Brittany said as she twirled a pigtail.
“Or Quinn has charmed them over the phone,” Stacy commented.
“That too.”
Brittany thought about that as she went to the table. ‘Daria is still writing her next play, but I may talk to Mr. O’Neill about possible school plays,’ she decided.
She sat down and saw that Peterson was arriving. ‘I still haven’t met her as myself,’ she considered.
Xanthe was off duty for the day, but she considered that she could try to meet SpiderGirl at the Historia. ‘It is unlikely I’ll meet her this morning, and Quinn is sure to give me the runaround if she’s here as herself,’ she thought. But that didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to try. She looked over at where the girl playing Ariel in the play was sitting next to a window. ‘Brittany, isn’t it?’ she asked herself.
She went up to the to the counter, where Stacy was serving. “Stacy is it?” she asked.
“Yes,” Stacy answered. “Officer Peterson, isn’t it?”
“I’m off duty, you can call me Xanthe.”
“Xanthe,” Stacy said as if she was considering it. “What will it be?”
“Grilled cheese with ketchup and a coffee. Also, SpiderGirl is seen around here, right?”
“She is sometimes,” Stacy responded in a wary tone, as she started preparing her order.
‘Evasive. She may suspect something, but whether she knows it’s Quinn…’
Quinn entered the café after having arrived on the roof as SpiderGirl. She saw Brittany sitting near a window, but she also saw Peterson turning away from the counter. ‘I guess I’ll have to talk to her now and Brit could listen in,’ she considered. ‘But she’s sure to notice the eavesdropping.’
Quinn ordered something and joined Brittany. “Hey, Brit?”
“Hi, Quinn. You’re going to talk to Peterson?”
“Yes, but she would be more suspicious if I talk as myself.”
Brittany twirled a pigtail. “That’s certainly true, but I think that ship may have sailed. It’s obvious that she’s keeping it secret.”
“That’s a good point. The rest of the LDPD obviously doesn’t know.”
Quinn looked at where Peterson was waiting. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes briefly. She then opened them and looked at Brittany in hers. “I’ll do it!”
Xanthe saw Quinn come over. “Quinn?” she asked.
Quinn sat. “You’re right, about a certain hero.”
“About SpiderGirl?”
Quinn nodded.
“There is a reason you’re confiding in me now?” Xanthe asked.
“Osborn is hunting the heroes. Sending agents onto Lawndale’s rooftops. Spider… I have been chased, twice. Ninja Talon has been too. I’m sure the other three have been too, although I haven’t spoken to them about it.””
“There have been reports of various figures on rooftops the last few days.”
“The first was on Wednesday afternoon. I was chased here,” Quinn said. “I was fortunate Stacy was able to deflect when asked her whether I entered here.”
“And the second?”
“Thursday. I webbed up the agent to the Lawndale State clocktower.”
Xanthe nodded. “He was arrested by the Lawndale State campus police, but he was soon bailed.”
“That’s not surprising.”
“And four other agents were also arrested that afternoon and night.”
“Not since?” Quinn asked.
“Not yesterday evening when I went off shift. More could have happened overnight.”
“Five agents and six vigilantes.”
“I’d say that a message was sent to Osborn,” Xanthe said.
Quinn nodded. “One of defiance. But what is the LDPD doing about the agents? The heroes would be fighting a losing battle by themselves.”
“I talked to Osborn yesterday. You can imagine how that went.”
“He denied everything?” Quinn asked rhetorically.
Xanthe nodded. “He’s keeping his cards close to his chest.”
“Playing the long game.”
After breakfast, Quinn and Brittany went up to the roof and looked out over the town. “Lawndale may be troubled, but it is home,” Quinn said. “Osborn is not going to take it over.”
“We’ll not let him!” Brittany declared with determination.
Quinn sighed. “But we may need to work closely with the other four.”
“But at least we know we can work with the Shadow.”
“And Dafoanairi. But working with the Enigma was unpleasant, especially at Alchemax.”
“I haven’t worked with her yet,” Brittany admitted.
“But I’ll have to put my feelings aside, as I hope she will. You being there would make that easier.”
Brittany gave Quinn a look of reassurance. “Of course. I’m not likely to not be there.”
Quinn nodded. “It’s just that it’s been constant change since the beginning of the year, and it seems it won’t settle down any time soon.”
The two of them then just looked out over their home for a while.
“The Fourth Vigilante is here to see you, sir.”
“Let her in.”
“Yes, sir.”
A minute later, the Enigma stormed in, with her hands glowing faintly.
“I know why you’re here, Sandi,” he said after the doors were closed.
“Do you?” the Enigma asked, as the glow intensified.
“You’re going to ask me why I am having you and the others followed. The answer should be obvious.”
“That you don’t want us to be in your way as you plot to gain more control over Lawndale?”
“That is a strong word,” Osborn said.
“That is what you’re doing.”
“You don’t have proof of that, and I know you’re not in the school paper.”
“I’m not, but, like, I am still investigating what you are up to, along with whatever else in Lawndale that you may not be responsible for,” the Enigma sot
“So, you’re not seeing the hand of Oscorp in everything?”
“No. There is a line between suspicion and conspiracy theories.”
“But I’m sure you’re engaging in the latter regarding SpiderGirl,” Osborn taunted.
“I’m not! She is overhyped, playing up the fact that she is Lawndale’s first superhero, and getting the credit for everything.”
“That is why I am doing what I’m doing!”
“No it isn’t,” the Enigma shot back. “You want to bring her down, as well as Ninja Talon, the Shadow and Dafoanairi.”
“I neither confirm nor deny, but I say that you are a variable that I could capture right now.”
The Enigma raised a forcefield. “Not without a fight and a lot of damage to this office, and you would have to explain to Harry why his friend disappeared.”
“That’s true. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try, or make something up.”
“You’re going to test me? You think I haven’t prepared?”
“I know you have some ace up your sleave, but yes,” Osborn responded become pressing a button and a panel opened revealing several of those pumpkin bombs.
Dafoanairi was ready, especially when she saw the window of the office open and one of the Enigma’s energy projections was shot out. She quickly moved to the window as the Enigma ran out.
“I know someone else is there,” Osborn said from inside the office.
Dafoanairi remained silent; she didn’t want Osborn to try to identify her from her voice, even if she was disguising it by pitching it higher. She let down a rope to a lower ledge.
“Let’s go. I did what I came to do,” the Engima said.
‘Which wasn’t much,’ Dafoanairi thought.
They remained silent until they stopped in the alleyway behind the Historia.
“You didn’t get much out of him,” Dafoanairi said.
“No, but I expected that. But I did rattle him,” the Enigma responded.
“In a counterproductive manner. Now we’ll be dodging agents as we fight crime. Maybe that’s his goal; to replace us as Lawndale’s heroes so he can pursue his agenda unimpeded.”
The Enigma clenched her fists as she made them glow. “We won’t let that happen.”
“But we may need to cooperate with SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon.”
“Alchemax was a disaster, but Oscorp didn’t get what they were after.”
“You were lucky,” Dafoanairi said.
“True,” the Enigma admitted. “It’s that I still resent SpiderGirl.”
“That she was the first hero?”
“Yes.”
Dafoanairi thought about that. The Enigma had mentioned that before, but she hadn’t gone too far into why. “You can tell me.”
“I know. But you know that I’m not good at sharing, like, deep things.”
“Neither am I. There are many things I haven’t told Jane.”
“It comes back to what I have said before. Things I’m figuring out,” the Enigma said.
“It’s what makes us human.”
“You said that before too,” the Enigma said with slight humor.
“So...” Dafoanairi said as she opened the back door.
“I’ll head home. Think about it there.”
“Sure.”
Linda was making breakfast when Sandi entered the kitchen still in her Enigma ensemble but unmasked. “You and Daria tried talking to him, didn’t you?”
“I did. Daria waited outside.”
“And?”
“He threatened me, but I expected that,” Sandi answered. “Daria says that he’s probably plotting to replace the heroes! I won’t let that happen!”
“We need to plan. Osborn has his own plan, I’m sure of that.”
“I knew you would say that. But we can’t plan without knowing more.”
“First step. Change up your routine. Patrol different parts of Lawndale at different times to when have been doing it,” Linda said. “That’s what I did when the Mafia started cluing up on my patrols of South Boston.”
Sandi thought about that. She had thought that she had an unpredictable patrol schedule already.
“Second. I’m sure Daria has already started planning,” her mother said.
“I’m sure she is.”
At the same time, Daria was back in her room, looking at her investigation wall. ‘I will start noting where the agents have been seen. That will tell me something about the parts of town Osborn is focusing on,’ she thought. She turned to her computer and typed up the locations of she and Sandi had encountered agents before marking them on a map of Lawndale. Jane hadn’t yet shared with her where she had seen them.
‘It’s not much, but it’s a start. I’ll talk to Jane later.’
Back at the Griffins, Sandi looked at her own investigation wall. ‘But how would this help?’ she wondered. She looked closer. There had to be a pattern. ‘Or maybe there isn’t one yet. I only know about the ones Daria and I encountered.’
It was still early morning when Jane awoke. She crawled out of bed and looked at her latest painting. It was darker than usual, as she had a flashback to her kidnapping by Beck at the time. ‘I’ll talk to Trent later,’ she thought.
After getting out of bed, she looked at her sketches and maps of Lawndale. She looked at the place where she had encountered the agent. “I’m sure that the other heroes have encountered them too,” she murmured. “Maybe I’ll ask Daria if the fourth has?” She wasn’t sure. ‘But she might not know.’
At the same time, Ninja Talon arrived on the top of the Historia. She looked out over the town as she remembered Fields sharing the maps with her and SpiderGirl. ‘We still need to tell Peterson,’ she thought. She had thought about calling Peterson from one of the Historia’s public phones, but she wasn’t sure if she was on shift or not. ‘I’ll go down and see if she comes to the café,’ she decided.
Down in the café, Brittany went to get a coffee. “Morning, Stacy,” she said.
Stacy looked more tired than usual. “Hi Brit, the usual?”
Brittany nodded. “Yes, please.”
“You’ve been rather good as Ariel.”
“Thanks, but the play is only going for another week. Then the travelling companies will start coming.”
“But I wonder if the situation in Lawndale would scare them off,” Stacy said.
“I’m sure Daria has planned for that,” Brittany said as she twirled a pigtail.
“Or Quinn has charmed them over the phone,” Stacy commented.
“That too.”
Brittany thought about that as she went to the table. ‘Daria is still writing her next play, but I may talk to Mr. O’Neill about possible school plays,’ she decided.
She sat down and saw that Peterson was arriving. ‘I still haven’t met her as myself,’ she considered.
Xanthe was off duty for the day, but she considered that she could try to meet SpiderGirl at the Historia. ‘It is unlikely I’ll meet her this morning, and Quinn is sure to give me the runaround if she’s here as herself,’ she thought. But that didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to try. She looked over at where the girl playing Ariel in the play was sitting next to a window. ‘Brittany, isn’t it?’ she asked herself.
She went up to the to the counter, where Stacy was serving. “Stacy is it?” she asked.
“Yes,” Stacy answered. “Officer Peterson, isn’t it?”
“I’m off duty, you can call me Xanthe.”
“Xanthe,” Stacy said as if she was considering it. “What will it be?”
“Grilled cheese with ketchup and a coffee. Also, SpiderGirl is seen around here, right?”
“She is sometimes,” Stacy responded in a wary tone, as she started preparing her order.
‘Evasive. She may suspect something, but whether she knows it’s Quinn…’
Quinn entered the café after having arrived on the roof as SpiderGirl. She saw Brittany sitting near a window, but she also saw Peterson turning away from the counter. ‘I guess I’ll have to talk to her now and Brit could listen in,’ she considered. ‘But she’s sure to notice the eavesdropping.’
Quinn ordered something and joined Brittany. “Hey, Brit?”
“Hi, Quinn. You’re going to talk to Peterson?”
“Yes, but she would be more suspicious if I talk as myself.”
Brittany twirled a pigtail. “That’s certainly true, but I think that ship may have sailed. It’s obvious that she’s keeping it secret.”
“That’s a good point. The rest of the LDPD obviously doesn’t know.”
Quinn looked at where Peterson was waiting. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes briefly. She then opened them and looked at Brittany in hers. “I’ll do it!”
Xanthe saw Quinn come over. “Quinn?” she asked.
Quinn sat. “You’re right, about a certain hero.”
“About SpiderGirl?”
Quinn nodded.
“There is a reason you’re confiding in me now?” Xanthe asked.
“Osborn is hunting the heroes. Sending agents onto Lawndale’s rooftops. Spider… I have been chased, twice. Ninja Talon has been too. I’m sure the other three have been too, although I haven’t spoken to them about it.””
“There have been reports of various figures on rooftops the last few days.”
“The first was on Wednesday afternoon. I was chased here,” Quinn said. “I was fortunate Stacy was able to deflect when asked her whether I entered here.”
“And the second?”
“Thursday. I webbed up the agent to the Lawndale State clocktower.”
Xanthe nodded. “He was arrested by the Lawndale State campus police, but he was soon bailed.”
“That’s not surprising.”
“And four other agents were also arrested that afternoon and night.”
“Not since?” Quinn asked.
“Not yesterday evening when I went off shift. More could have happened overnight.”
“Five agents and six vigilantes.”
“I’d say that a message was sent to Osborn,” Xanthe said.
Quinn nodded. “One of defiance. But what is the LDPD doing about the agents? The heroes would be fighting a losing battle by themselves.”
“I talked to Osborn yesterday. You can imagine how that went.”
“He denied everything?” Quinn asked rhetorically.
Xanthe nodded. “He’s keeping his cards close to his chest.”
“Playing the long game.”
After breakfast, Quinn and Brittany went up to the roof and looked out over the town. “Lawndale may be troubled, but it is home,” Quinn said. “Osborn is not going to take it over.”
“We’ll not let him!” Brittany declared with determination.
Quinn sighed. “But we may need to work closely with the other four.”
“But at least we know we can work with the Shadow.”
“And Dafoanairi. But working with the Enigma was unpleasant, especially at Alchemax.”
“I haven’t worked with her yet,” Brittany admitted.
“But I’ll have to put my feelings aside, as I hope she will. You being there would make that easier.”
Brittany gave Quinn a look of reassurance. “Of course. I’m not likely to not be there.”
Quinn nodded. “It’s just that it’s been constant change since the beginning of the year, and it seems it won’t settle down any time soon.”
The two of them then just looked out over their home for a while.
