2025-04-22 08:37 pm

Spider Quinn 16 Tempest and Change Part 2

A minute later, they were on top of the Historia.

“So, those goggles have night vision?” Philippa asked.

“Yes, amongst other modes.”

“And you don’t have powers?”

“I’m neither confirming nor denying. Let’s just say I wouldn’t be doing this without these gadgets,” the Shadow explained. “It’s like my own play. It seems that in the drama of Lawndale, I have taken this role to help.”

“And the other vigilantes?”

“SpiderGirl does have powers. But I am not sure if her webs are organic or not. Ninja Talon seems to be just a teenager skilled in martial arts who also uses some gadgets alongside her weapons. The fourth vigilante is telekinetic and can project energy blasts. I haven’t yet met the apparent fifth.”

“You don’t know what name she’s taken?” Philippa asked.

“I do, but it seems she wants to remain in the shadows as she helps Lawndale in her way. I just hope any battle between her and SpiderGirl is short.”


The Shadow was about to say more, but she then heard something to the northwest of the Historia, in Dega Street. “Duty calls!” she said to Philippa.

“You are going to leave me here?” Philippa asked.

“You’d be a liability. I trained with my mentor a while before I started doing this,” the Shadow then handed her the spare grapple gun. “It is relatively easy to use. But I’ll be back soon. Keep an eye on Daria and Sandi.”


Daria and Sandi also heard the noise as they examined an Oscorp building. “What’s that?” Daria asked.

“Sounds like something to respond to,” Sandi replied.

Daria nodded. “Right. There are plenty of places along here…”

Sandi nodded and ran off to some cover.


‘What are they doing?’ Philippa wondered.

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2025-04-21 06:16 pm

Troubles of Lawndale - Part 1

Daria – Trouble in Lawndale
“Girls, I just want you to know your mother and I realize it's not easy moving to a whole new town -- especially for you, Daria, right?” Jake Morgendorffer said, as he and his daughters approached Lawndale High.

“Did we move?” Daria asked, as she looked around, annoyed that her father had spoken after remaining silent since they left their new home half an hour before.

“Stop following me, Daria!” her sister, Quinn, said.

“Excuse me, we’re walking along to the same school!”

“You don’t have be right behind!” Quinn said.

“It’s not my fault Lawndale has such narrow sidewalks.”


Jake, annoyed with his daughters’ arguing, put his headphones back on. “I've been working on the railroad... come on, guys, we know this one.”


Meanwhile at Lawndale High, two students were already there. (Although calling one of them a student might have been stretching the definition a bit…) “Come on, Mack Daddy! I'll get the coach to write us a note. I'll say we need extra time on the free weights.”

“I told you not to call me that!” Mack said, exasperated. “And they're not going to excuse you from English for weight training.”

“I can't take any more of this Shakespeare dude, bro. He's, like, a total chick writer!”

Mack sighed.


“Maybe we could go to that Mall of the Millennium this weekend, Daddy?” Quinn asked as they approached the school.

“A hundred miles? To go to a Mall? There’s a Mall less than five minutes from home. In a car!”

“I’m sure there are some fascinating Malls in Southeast Asia.” Daria snarked.

“Southeast Asia! To go to a mall!” Jake exclaimed.

“She’s joking!” Quinn said.

“Oh!”


Jane Lane arrived at Lawndale High. She switched off the audio recording of the last night’s Sick Sad World episode. The concept of a model creating an encyclopedia was appropriately inane. “Drawing pictures in margins…” she mused. That was something she did often.

Having been enrolled at the School, Daria found that she had Science for first period. In class she quickly found that the teacher had issues… “…and like a husband going home to his noble and self-sacrificing wife, the rat keeps returning to the food box. That is, the positive reinforcement. Huh, if only men could be more like rats. Oh, sure, they come home at first. You feed them, you wait on them, and then, after twenty-two thankless years, they just up and leave. No note, no phone call, no nothing!” She slammed her ruler on her desk for emphasis. “Just... like... that!”

“I wonder why he left,” Daria murmured to her new acquaintance, Jodie Landon.

“Now, before I divide the class into teams of two, who can give me another example of reinforcement?”

The class didn’t give an answer.

“Fine, class. Ignore me... just like he did!”

“Just as well he wasn’t Jones,” Daria commented.

“I heard that!” Barch said. “But we’re not talking about cults. You can ask DeMartino about that! But you have stumbled upon an interesting answer. A charismatic man re-enforcing herd-like behaviour in his followers, leading to tragic results!”

“Excellent example Daria,” Jodie said.

Daria shrugged.


Between classes, Sandi Griffin was talking with Joey Green, Jamie White and Jeffy Brown, ‘So I said, "Sure, it's a nice car. Do you have enough gas to get to Loserville?’”

“That’s funny, Sandi,” Joey said.

“You really know how to tell a story,” Jeffy said.

“Thanks,” Sandi said.

“Tell us the part with Stacy again,” Jamie said.

“Stacy wasn’t in that story. It was just Tiffany and I,” Sandi said.

“Well then, take Tiffany out and put Stacy in,” Joey suggested.

Stacy then came along. “Hi guys!” she said. “Sandi, Joey, Jeffy, Jerome.”

“Hi, Stacy,” Joey said.

“Hi, Stacy,” Jeffy added.

“Hi, Stacy. It’s Jamie!”

“Oh, sorry!”

“Have you seen that new girl?” Jamie asked.

“The redhead?” Stacy asked.

“She could be new member for the Fashion Club,” Sandi answered.

“There she is!” Jamie said.

Sandi sighed as Jamie and Jeffy ran off.


Daria listened as Jodie told her how busy she was. “…And that is why I can only go to study sessions in the early evenings,” Jodie said.

“I bet you don’t have to deal with Family Court,” Daria said.

“Family Court?” Jodie asked incredulously.

“It was an attempt by my Mom to use Jurisprudence in family matters after my sister and I came home late one night.”

“That sounds crazy,” Jodie commented.

“It was,” Daria said. “But it didn’t last long, because they were too busy to enforce a month-long grounding.”

“That’s something I’d like to hear about at some point,” Jodie said as they came to the next class.


“Can monkeys surf the net, and corrupt our kids? Chimpanzee chat rooms, next on Sick Sad World.”

Claire Defoe switched off the TV after students started filing into the classroom. She saw the new student, Daria. “Ms. Morgendorffer!”

Daria came over. “Yes?”

“Your records from Highland are intriguing,” the teacher said.

“I experimented, that’s all.”

“Using a glue gun as an actual gun?” Claire asked with an eyebrow raised.

Daria raised her own eyebrows. “Oh, that. Those two deserved it, but I won’t do it here in Lawndale.”

“Good. I just wanted to hear it from you personally. I would like to talk about your previous art after class. There’s a student I’d like you to meet.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”


“Fifty dollars an hour!” Jane groused as she approached the art classroom. That was the amount Mr. Ewing had quoted for the average Math tutoring cost in Lawndale. She doubted it would be any cheaper in Oakwood. ‘Or Middlebury for that matter,’ she mused as she overheard other students complaining about exorbitant prices.
2025-04-15 08:23 pm

Spider Quinn 16 Tempest and Change Part 1

16 Tempest and Change
Quentin Beck got off the bus. He looked at the terminal in front of him. “Lawndale,” he considered. Two weeks before he hadn’t heard of the place. Then the Groundhog Day Attack made national news. Some sort of crazed villain had attacked the place. But that wasn’t why he was there. He was there because there was a job offer at some sort of community theater.


After picking up his luggage in the terminal, he found a copy of the local newspaper, the Sun-Herald.

Lawndale Sun-Herald
Saturday, February 17, 2001
Brownouts resolved a second time
SpiderGirl, Ninja Talon and an apparent fifth vigilante responded and disconnected the problematic electric furnace in the Elders Solarium.

“Five vigilantes,” he considered. There were only three when the Groundhog Day Attack occurred, he was sure.


Quinn Morgendorffer entered the theatre area of the Historia. She looked at the time. 5:30. “Is the guy here yet?” she asked.

“Not yet, Quinn.” Robert Allen responded.

Quinn sighed. “How hard is it to find a special effects person?”

“He’s probably a little late.”

“I know, but I don’t want to wait too long.”


Quentin found the Historia and went inside. He took out the note he had made. “Interview will be in the theater, not the café or bookstore,” he reminded himself as he looked around. He saw that the café was to the right of the lobby and the bookstore to the left. The theater doors were straight ahead.

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2025-04-12 08:31 pm

Quinn's Code - The Geek's Expose Part 1

The Geek's Expose
Mr. O'Neill assigns his class to make their own short films. Daria chooses to make her film showing how much of a geek Quinn is.

Part 1
fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6963544/16/Quinn-s-Code

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/64634941/chapters/166028146
2025-03-27 09:21 pm

Spider Quinn 15 The New Challenges Part 4

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


Conflicting claims would spread through the school as the day went on.


At lunch, Jamie was eating with Elly and Freya. Joey saw that and turned to Jeffy Brown-Mercer. “We need to do something about this?”

“But how?” Jeffy asked.

“We’ll go to Quinn,” Joey said.

“Or Daria?” Jeffy asked.

“Quinn first,” Joey decided.

“Sure.”


“And so, it’s annoying,” Quinn said. “But I have been insisting on the truth. That I was there at the Solarium and he wouldn’t have been there if he hadn’t come with me.”

“That’s all you can do,” Tori Jericho said.

“I know,” Quinn said.

“Quinn?” Joey said as he approached.

“Jeffy?” Stacy Rowe asked.

“It’s about Jamie,” Joey said.

“He’s bragging that he was the teen investigator that stopped the brownouts,” Jeffy said.

“I know,” Quinn said with annoyance.

“But what can we do about it?” Joey asked.

“Also, it seems he’s going after Elly,” Jeffy said.

“I’d say let him,” Stacy said.

“What?” Tiffany Blum-Deckler asked.

“So, he wouldn’t annoy Quinn,” Stacy said.

“He hasn’t been doing that lately,” Quinn pointed out.

“Nor have I,” Joey said. “I mean we have gone on dates, but it’s been more as friends, especially given we’re partners in the Historia.”

“That’s a good point,” Stacy said.

“But Jamie?” Jeffy asked.

“I guess you can ask Daria,” Quinn said. “I’m at a wits end.”

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2025-03-20 06:29 pm

Spider Quinn 15 The New Challenges - Part 3

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

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

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


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

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

“It does, doesn’t it?” Quinn asked.

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

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

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

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

“What?” Mr. Elders asked.

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

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


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


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

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


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


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

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

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

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


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

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

“Right.”

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2025-03-13 08:54 pm

Spider Quinn 15 The New Challenges Part 2

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


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


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


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

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

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

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

“I heard about them,” Tania said.

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

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

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

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

“What is your answer?” Dafoanairi asked.

“I’ll help you with the brownouts.”

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2025-03-04 09:21 pm

The First Party

When Daria is invited to Brittany Taylor's party, she takes it as an opportunity to investigate. Meanwhile, Stacy finds that there is more to Lawndale than she expected.

Fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14417932/2/Mysteries-of-Lawndale

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/63582988
2025-02-22 07:45 pm

Spider Quinn 14 Battle and Consequence - Part 5

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

Daria nodded. “Something on your mind?”

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

“You want to talk about it?”

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

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

“I was planning on being there anyway.”

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2025-02-19 06:48 pm
Entry tags:

Challenge: Remembering Jane

Remembering Jane
25 years after graduating from Lawndale High, a background character learns that Jane Lane had died after a long illness. However, as he or she grieves in their own way, he or she realises that he or she never really knew her.
2025-02-15 07:24 pm

Spider Quinn 14 Battle and Consequence Part 4

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

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

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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2025-02-01 08:18 pm

Spider Quinn 14 Battle and Consequence Part 2

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

“I know your secret,” Tania said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘I know Daria isn’t,’ Quinn thought.

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