She looked at the time: 11:34. That was quite late. She switched off the light and then opened the door rather slowly so as to not make a sound. She looked down the hall and saw that there wasn’t any light coming from the spare room. ‘Good,’ she thought. But that didn’t mean that Linda was asleep. She quietly closed her bedroom door before tiptoeing across to Daria’s room. She opened that door quietly and entered that room before closing the door after her. She opened one of the side windows and quickly swung up onto the roof.
Once up there, she looked around to check that the neighbors, both to the side and behind, wouldn’t be able to see. There were hardly any house lights visible in the neighborhood. She then took off her nightgown and webbed it to the roof before putting on her mask.
SpiderGirl walked to the other end of the house and listened. Lawndale was quiet, allowing her to hear that many most of the people in the neighborhood were either listened to the radio in the bed, or up late watching TV. She could also hear trucks on the nearby Interstate. The town was quieter than it had been the past two weeks, other than the sounds of various owls that called the trees in it home. She sighed and then focused to the house below.
Her mother was working late again. That was something she was doing more since what happened, had happened. She also heard that Linda was indeed sleeping. She sighed in relief. She looked out to the north not wanting to swing off over the street. She had heard from her mother at dinner that the Senior Partner of her firm wanted to know her secret identity. She had heard enough about Jim Vitale such that she was rather certain that him finding out wouldn’t be good. Therefore she swung off over the yard. She had left the yard when she heard police sirens downtown. She then swung along the laneway in that direction.
Having dealt with a couple of thieves, SpiderGirl returned to the neighborhood and created a hammock out of webs between two trees in one of the Morgendorffer’s neighbor’s yards. It being a relatively warm night she then went to sleep.
Lawndale Sun-Herald
Tuesday December 8, 1999
SpiderGirl helps capture thieves.
SpiderGirl returned to the Morgendorffer house as the sun began to rise. She grabbed the nightgown before swinging down into her sister’s room. She closed the window before opening the door slowly. The door to the spare room was closed. She quickly entered her room.
Daria awoke early, sure that Jane was still asleep. It was an absolute certainty that Trent was.
“Daria?” It was their mother, who was rarely home, but Daria had met a few times before.
“Hi, Mrs. Lane.”
“Please, call me Amanda,” Amanda Lane said.
“Sure. I was staying over because of a mysterious guest at home.”
“Oh, you don’t need to explain yourself. You’re welcome to stay here whenever you like.”
“Thanks,” Daria said as she grabbed some eggs from the fridge. “You did shopping yesterday?” she asked as said fridge was usually empty when she visited.
Jane awoke early given that it was a school day. “Morning Daria, Mom.”
“Morning Jane,” her mother said. “What can you tell me about this Spider-Girl?”
“Not much,” Jane said.
“The same, other than that she fights crime,” Daria said.
“Oh, Daria. She is misguided as others. She’s making things worse. I have seen it before,” her mother asked.
“Where?” Daria asked.
Amanda thought about her daughter’s friend’s question. She wasn’t sure what information to give. If she gave a specific answer, Daria would press for more. She had to be evasive. “It is a major city, that’s all I can say,” she said.
“I see. I guess I will have to do some research,” Daria said.
Amanda just smiled.
“I’m not sure I really want to know who she is,” Daria said.
“That’s not the problem,” Jane said.
“That we don’t know her motivation?” Daria asked. “That is something I have thought about myself. She shows up out of nowhere and captures the criminals, or rescues would be victims from potential muggings, but why is she doing these things? What has she to gain from it.”
“No idea,” Amanda said. “But then the human mind, the human spirit, is a mystery.”
Daria looked to be in thought.
Sandi arrived at school uncertain as to what the future would bring. Her mother’s chastisement the previous day was also still on her mind. One thing that her mother didn’t say was to create a new Fashion Club. ‘One thing at a time,’ she thought.
However, something happened as she got to her locker.
“So, the club is no more?” Tori Jericho asked.
Sandi glared at the blonde gossip queen. “It is true that Quinn Morgendorffer used the nuclear option,” she said.
“I did hear that,” Tori said. “From Quinn herself, yesterday, as I saw her and the other two leave Ms. Li’s office.”
“I see,” Sandi said.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“You have no idea, don’t you?” Tori said.
Sandi slammed the locker shut as the bell rang.
Overall the day was as normal for the school. At lunch, Quinn thought about it as she went up to the roof. Again, she saw Daria and Jane there. But this time she was looking for them.
“We’re up here a lot,” Daria said when she had come over.
“I wanted to talk.”
“Oh.”
“Linda is still at home,” Quinn said.
“I knew that would be the case,” Daria said.
“Anything else?” Jane asked.
“You know what you said at Freemont?” Quinn asked.
“About us solving crime together?” Daria asked.
Quinn nodded.
“But I wouldn’t know where to start,” Daria admitted.
“Oh,” Quinn let out.
“I mean we can try, but you know that I don’t like getting involved,” Daria said.
“I mean we could talk about it, right?” Quinn asked.
“Certainly,” Daria said. “But it would take time to get going.”
“Of course,” Quinn said, disappointed. She turned to Jane. “What about you?”
“I’m with Daria,” Jane said. “We would have to think about it.”
“I see,” Quinn said.
“But I’m not saying no either,” Daria said.
“Nor am I,” Jane said.
“Thanks for your time,” Quinn said.
Daria watched her sister leave. She wasn’t sure what to make of what Quinn had asked. She turned to Jane. “You think she just wants Dad’s murderer caught? Or does she want something done about Lawndale’s crime?”
“I’m not sure,” Jane said. “You know her a lot more than I.”
“True, her grief is different to my grief. It could be the former.”
Quinn thought about what Daria had said. She knew that she would say something like that. “I guess SpiderGirl will continue to work alone,” she groused.
All day, Stacy and Tiffany avoided Sandi between classes. Stacy decided that the end of the Fashion Club was an opportunity to make more friends. As she came out of the last class, she noticed a flyer. “Anime Club,” she said. “Sounds cool.” She noticed that the next meeting would be the next day. “I’ll be there!” she decided.
Helen didn’t hear back from Fields all day.
Daria and Quinn got home to see Linda cleaning.
“Hi, Daria, Quinn. Just doing some cleaning,” she said.
“You didn’t need to,” Quinn said.
“If I’m staying a while, I need to pull my own weight,” Linda said.
“I can’t argue against that,” Daria said as she went up the stairs.”
“I guess not,” Quinn said as she followed her sister.
“So, what’s happening tonight?” Daria asked Quinn once they were both outside their rooms.
“I’m staying here, although Tiffany is coming over.”
“Tiffany?” Daria asked.
“Yeah, she’s far from as dumb as you think she is!”
“I stepped right into that one,” Daria said as she entered her room.
Helen came home and saw that Linda was vacuuming. “You didn’t need to do that.”
“I’m staying here at the moment. I can’t just sit around doing nothing.”
“I’m sure you aren’t,” Helen said.
“There aren’t that many jobs listed in the Sun-Herald!”
“You’ve only been here a couple of days. It might take a while,” Helen said.
“I know that, but I want to make Lawndale my home! Having a job…”
‘She’s desperate, but why?’ Helen asked herself. “I know.”
“…And so, Stacy is joining the Anime Club,” Tiffany said.
“She told me about it,” Quinn said. “I wonder if they have superhero shows?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Tiffany said. “But Japan does have strange events.”
‘I’ll need to look into those,’ Quinn thought.
There was a knock at the door and her mother came in with the cordless phone. “It’s Mrs. Gupty for you, Quinn.”
“You’re still babysitting Tad and Tricia?” Tiffany asked.
“Yes,” Quinn answered as she took the phone.
“Evening Quinn,” Lauren Gupty said.
“Evening, Mrs. Gupty,” Quinn responded as she saw her mother close the door behind her and Tiffany examining herself in the mirrors.
“Lester and I are going out tomorrow evening,” Lauren said. “I am wondering if you will be available.”
“I am available.”
“I mean, I heard about what happened to your father.”
“Yes,” Quinn said quietly, “But I’m coping.” If one could call going out at night and webbing up criminals ‘coping.’
“That’s good,” Lauren responded. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow night then.”
“I’ll be there.”
“So, you’re baby-sitting tomorrow night?” Tiffany asked, after Quinn had hung up.
“Yes,” Quinn answered. “it will help me keep my mind off the visitor,” Quinn said.
“Right.”
Daria did her homework and then went down to where her mother was working in the loungeroom. “Any progress on the background check?” she asked.
“None, yet,” her mother answered.
“I see,” Daria said quietly.
Quinn awoke in the middle of the night, a nightmare about her father’s demise still fresh in her mind. ‘With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility,’ she thought as she looked over to where Tiffany was sleeping. She saw that her friend was indeed sleeping. She looked at the clock radio. 3:13. ‘A lot later than usual.’ Once again she carefully checked to see that neither Linda, nor Daria had their lights on. Nothing. She closed the door behind her and carefully opened the hall window, before climbing down the trellis.
SpiderGirl found the night to be similar the previous night as she listened to the town from a tree in the backyard. She heard sirens down near the creek. ‘Something there,’ she thought as she swung in that direction.
Peterson saw SpiderGirl arrive.
“Hi, Peterson,” SpiderGirl said.
“A body was found dumped in the creek,” Peterson said. “Discovered by an officer responding to an anonymous call from a phone booth.”
“And the person disappeared?” SpiderGirl asked.
“Yes,” Peterson said with a sigh. “Another murder unsolved.”
“How did they die?”
“Single gunshot wound to the chest.”
“I see,” SpiderGirl said, her voice hard.
“The latest in an increasing trend,” Peterson said. She looked. SpiderGirl was gone.
SpiderGirl was angry. Yet another murder in Lawndale! She wasn’t sure whether the perp was the same one who took her father’s life, but she knew that she wouldn’t head straight home.
SpiderGirl arrived home just before sunrise. She walked up to the house from the backyard. The laneway behind was full of trees, which would make any observation difficult.
Tiffany stirred and saw Quinn re-entering the room. “Quinn?”
“I was looking at the sunrise,” Quinn said.
“Very pretty,” Tiffany said. She often looked at the sunrise if she was up at that time.
“That it is,” Quinn said.
Quinn and Tiffany met Stacy as they arrived at school. “Morning,” Quinn said.
“Morning,” Stacy said cheerfully.
“So, the Anime Club?” Quinn asked.
“Yes, I hope to make more friends,” Stacy said.
Then Tori came up to the trio. “Quinn! Just the person I wanted to see.”
“Hi Tori,” Quinn said.
“A heads up, Sandi is stirring up trouble,” Tori said with a worried tone.
“How?” Quinn asked, although she had some idea.
“Half truths,” Tori answered.
“I see,” Quinn said. “It’s like last week!”
“Like with the aliens and Mr. DeMartino?” Tori asked.
“Yes,” Quinn answered. “We need to counter the lies with the truth.”
“Not like Mr. O’Neill pulled,” Tori said.
“No…” Quinn thought. “But first, what have you heard?”
“Are you sure?” Stacy asked.
“Quite sure,” Quinn said.
“First that you used the nuclear option under false pretences,” Tori said.
“We were upfront with her,” Stacy said. “I still have my notes!”
“Good!” Tori said, “But that’s not all.”
The bell then rang.
As they had different homerooms, they then parted, but Tori promised to get back to them at Lunch.
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