SpiderGirl
re-entered the theatre area and saw that it was still full of the green mist,
she saw Peterson nearby, as well as three young men, including Trent, talking
to her.
“I
tried going in there,” Trent said. “But it was disorienting.”
“He
clearly rigged this,” Peterson said. “But your sister could be gone by now.”
“I’ll
find her,” SpiderGirl said as she came over. “They can’t have gone far, even if
they’re in the drains.”
“Quickly,”
Peterson said.
SpiderGirl
nodded and dashed off.
“We
may need to interrupt the power,” Dafoanairi said. “But the power box is out
the back. It will take a while to either go around the block or over the
building.”
“The
latter can be quick,” the Enigma said.
“Or
we could try the basement,” Dafoanairi said. “There are two entrances, but
there’s a lot of props down there.”
“Lead
the way.”
Backstage,
SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon met up. “What’s the situation?” the latter asked.
“There’s
an illusion of green mist in there, like at the bridge,” SpiderGirl answered.
“And Jane has already been abducted, but he could still be here or nearby.”
“Then
we have to get out there and make sure he doesn’t enter the drains again.”
“Got
it.”
They
then ran out back.
The
emerged from the Historia and looked around the parking lot quickly. The found
a manhole. “It doesn’t look like it has been used,” SpiderGirl said.
“Probably
one on the street,” Ninja Talon suggested.
SpiderGirl
nodded and shot a web to the roof of the theatre. “Let’s go.”
Shortly
after SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon had swung away, the Enigma and Dafoanairi
emerged from one of the back doors. “It’s over here,” Dafoanairi said. She then
went over and opened the power box.
“What
are you waiting for?”
“I’m
going to turn it off and then off again. That should stop the illusions.”
“Should?”
the Enigma asked.
“It
might not, but we have to try. When I turn it back on, we’ll rush back in.”
“Ready.”
Dafoanairi
then switched off the power.
SpiderGirl
and Ninja Talon swung down in front of the Historia and looked around. “There
it is!” Ninja Talon said.
They
ran to the spot and saw that the manhole cover had been displaced. “Right!”
SpiderGirl said.
“Right
after you,” Ninja Talon said. They then went down into the stormwater system.
Dafoanairi
turned the power back on after ten seconds. “That should do it,” she said.
“I’ll
go first, just in case,” the Enigma said.
Dafoanairi
nodded.
The
power went out and there was darkness.
“More
brownouts?” Trent asked.
“No,
someone switched off the power,” Peterson said. “Probably as a way to disrupt
the illusions.”
“Probably,”
Jesse said.
“No,
if it was a brownout, it would have been different,” Nick said.
The
power returned, showing that the theatre was now devoid of illusions filling
it.
“It
seems most of the people fled,” Peterson said.
“Probably
a good thing,” Dafoanairi said as she and the Enigma entered from backstage.
“True,”
Peterson said. “But it will make things more complicated to solve.”
SpiderGirl
and Ninja Talon searched a short way along the drain before returning to the
area near the Historia. “Any idea where they went?” the latter asked.
“No
idea, let’s return to the theatre and try to deal with the situation,”
SpiderGirl said.
“Sure,
but they might ask where we are.”
“But
without arousing suspicion, especially from Peterson.”
“I’ll
say that I saw myself going somewhere,” Ninja Talon said. “And you can say the
same for either of us.”
“That
will work,” SpiderGirl said as she shot a web up through the manhole.
“The
Enigma!” SpiderGirl said as she and Ninja Talon came to one of the doors.
“I’ll
go in,” Ninja Talon said.
“Right,”
SpiderGirl said. “And I’ll be back as, myself.”
Ninja
Talon nodded and entered the theater.
“We
need to search the Historia again,” Peterson said.
“But
SpiderGirl and I saw a displaced manhole cover,” Ninja Talon said as she
entered.
“And
where is SpiderGirl?” the Enigma asked. “Not that I would have confronted her
right now.”
“Where
do you think?” Ninja Talon asked.
Dafoanairi
sighed. “We need to work together on this, like at the solarium.”
“True,”
the Enigma said.
“So,
we search?” Peterson asked.
“Wait,”
Trent said. “Janie’s still gone, and SpiderGirl is on her own.”
“I
wouldn’t recommend chasing after your sister all half cocked,” Peterson said.
“Take one of the vigilantes with you.”
“Sounds
like a good idea,” Jesse said.
“Maybe,”
Trent considered.
“But
there’s another elephant not in the room,” Claire Dafoe said.
“Which
is?” Peterson asked, although she had some idea.
“Any
idea where the Morgendorffers have gone?” Claire asked.
She
glanced at Dafoanairi, but said nothing.
Quinn
entered the theater after having changed from SpiderGirl on the roof. She heard
Ms. Dafoe ask her question. “I’m here, but I haven’t seen Daria.” She saw that
Dafoanairi was there. ‘Or maybe she is here.’
“Maybe
she already went off after Janie,” Trent said.
“Right,
one group searches the Historia. The other goes after Jane and her abductor.
I’ll call it in,” Peterson said.
“You
haven’t yet?” Ninja Talon asked.
“It
was chaotic and it only has been several minutes,” Peterson said. She went off
to the side.
“We
need to look at how Beck has modified the building too,” Quinn said.
“Special
effects,” Trent murmured. “It’s probably just the projectors, right?”
“Probably.
But that’s not my area,” Quinn said.
‘We
need to find Jane, but we also need to know if the building isn’t booby
trapped,’ Dafoanairi thought. ‘But who’s going after Jane and Beck, if it is
Beck?’
“Who
can cover the most ground?” Ninja Talon asked. “I have a grapple gun.”
“I
could join you,” the Enigma said. “But I could possibly find traps here, if
there are any.”
“I
think that would be the better idea,” Dafoanairi said. “Join Peterson on her
search. While I go with Ninja Talon and Trent.”
“That
makes sense,” the Enigma said.
“Let’s
go then,” Ninja Talon said. She exchanged a quick look with Quinn, who gave a
nearly imperceptible nod of agreement. Not that she needed it.
“Two
vigilantes are better than one, even if they don’t have powers,” Trent said. He
lead the way out of the theater.
“We’ll
start backstage,” Peterson said.
“Then
we’ll work our way forwards,” Quinn said.
“Good
idea,” Claire said.
Trent,
Jesse, Nick, Ninja Talon and Dafoanairi emerged from the Historia. “So, you
said there was a manhole cover loose?” Trent asked.
“Yes,
he may have taken her through the stormwater system to the creek, as he did
with the WSBC critic,” Ninja Talon answered.
“If
we’re quick, we might be able to get there before he does,” Trent said, as he
headed towards the Tank.
“It
might be better to go without a vehicle,” Dafoanairi said.
“We
can get close to the creek faster,” Jesse pointed out.
“Then
let’s go.”
Ninja
Talon didn’t like the van the band called ‘the Tank’ at all. “What are those
smells?” she asked.
“You
don’t want to know,” Trent said as he started the engine. “Besides, you should
be used to weird stuff.”
“I
don’t peek into windows as part of what I do, you know,” Ninja Talon said.
“Good,
but that’s not what I meant,” Trent said.
“People
to get up to stuff when they’re out, and there’s a lot of stuff I have seen as
my secret identity, so I can guess,” Ninja Talon said.
Trent
pulled out into the street. “You know, I have written a song about you and
SpiderGirl.”
“I
don’t think now’s the time,” Dafoanairi said.
“Right,
Janie, we’re coming,” Trent said.
Back
in the theater, they had found that there were projectors backstage that were
running. ‘Nothing is running on them now,’ Peterson said.
“Some
of the actors are still in the dressing rooms,” the Enigma said.
“So,
your powers work at short range?” Quinn asked.
“They
do,” the Enigma said simply, trying not to let her resentment towards Quinn
show. “How do you know?”
“Daria
told me, duh!”
‘Of
course she would,’ the Enigma thought.
They
found Veronica, Tania, Cindy and Jennifer in one room. Tania and Cindy were
talking. “…We need to go out there,” Tania said.
“The
illusions are gone,” Quinn said, to Tania.
“Good,
but what about Jane?” Tania asked.
“She
was taken,” the Enigma said.
“Is
that the fourth vigilante?” Veronica asked.
“It obviously
is,” Cindy said.
“Yes,
call me the Enigma, if you want.”
“I’d
keep it yourself,” Quinn said.
“Let
me say that,” the Enigma said.
‘Oops,’
Quinn thought. “Sorry.”
“Sure,”
Cindy said. “I won’t say anything about it online.”
“But
what about Jane?” Tania asked again.
“Ninja
Talon and Dafoanairi are searching for her,” Quinn answered.
“What
about SpiderGirl?” Veronica asked.
“She’s
somewhere,” Peterson said. “Now we need to find the other actors.”
“I
saw Brittany run out somewhere,” Cindy said.
‘I
hope no connection would be made,’ Quinn thought as she glanced at Peterson.
‘I’ll
follow up on Brittany later,’ Xanthe thought. ‘If she left, she should be
safe.’
“There
are the other dressing rooms,” Quinn said.
“Good
point,” Peterson said. “The backstage area is safe, but we’re not sure about
the theater room itself, or the adjacent rooms.”
“We’ll
come with you,” Tania declared.
“You
can,” Quinn said. “Safety in numbers, right?”
“That’s
right,” Peterson said.
The
Tank parked close to the Creek and everyone got out. “So, he had a boat waiting
when you and SpiderGirl followed from WSBC?” Dafoanairi asked.
“That’s
right,” Ninja Talon answered.
“We’ll
have to be careful,” Trent said.
“I
can fire a zip line into a tree and lower us down,” Ninja Talon said.
“Not
much light, but it will have to do,” Dafoanairi commented.
Back
at the Historia, the group found most of the male actors in one of the other
dressing rooms. “Let’s see,” Quinn said, as she read from the cast sheet.
“Elias, Corey, Wolfgang and Ted.”
“Yes,”
Elias Howarth said. “Is that mist gone? Tom wanted to go into it.”
“And
where is this Tom?” Peterson asked.
“He
came back,” Elias said, “but then he went out back to go home. So, he’s gone.”
Peterson
sighed. “Another thing, but many people left.”
“But
what about Jane?” Corey asked.
“She
was taken,” Quinn answered.
“We
have to continue searching the rest of the building,” Peterson said.
“Of
course,” Quinn said.
Ninja
Talon and Dafoanairi rappelled down the creek bank to the stormwater outlet.
Ninja Talon shone a flashlight around it. “Looks like we’re too late,” she
said.
“Are
you sure?” Dafoanairi asked.
“The
boat was quite close yesterday.”
“Then
we have to go back.”
“Yes,
this was a wild goose chase,” Ninja Talon said.
Trent
waited for the two vigilantes to return.
“What
if something happened to them?” Jesse asked.
“I’m
sure they can handle themselves,” Trent responded.
“But
Dafoanairi is new.”
“Ninja
Talon wouldn’t let anything happen to her.”
It
wasn’t too long before they returned. “I’m afraid that we were too late,”
Dafoanairi reported.
Trent
was more anxious. He didn’t know what he would do without Jane.
“Oh,”
Jesse said.
“We
need to head back to the theater,” Trent said.
“Sure,”
Ninja Talon said.
Back
at the Historia, Peterson, Quinn, the Enigma and Ted checked over the lobby.
“All clear. No traps and the Illusions are gone on the ground level,” Peterson
said.
“Now
the basement,” Quinn said.
“Dafoanairi
and I went through there earlier,” the Enigma said quietly. “There were no
traps.”
“Right,”
Quinn said. ‘What is up with her? She’s not as boisterous as when we fought the
Goblin.’
“That
leaves the upper levels, the box seats and the roof access.” Peterson said.
“Yes,”
Quinn said. ‘Daria isn’t here. It’s more likely that Dafoanairi is her, but I
won’t ask. Neither her nor Brit.’
Trent,
Jesse and Nick then entered. Quinn saw Ninja Talon rappelling over the
building.
‘We’ll
catch up later,’ she thought. “Did you find anything?”
“No,
it was too late. They got to the creek before they got there,” Trent said.
Dafoanairi
entered the Historia through a side door into the bookstore before changing to
the ordinary Daria. She then went to the lobby.
“Daria!
Where have you been?” Quinn said.
“I
tried to give chase to Jane’s abductor,” Daria answered. “He moved too quickly.
What happened here?”
“There
are no booby traps that we could find,” Peterson said.
“That’s
good,” Daria responded.
“But
what will happen now?” Ted asked.
“The
show will go on,” Daria said. She looked to Quinn.
“It
will,” Quinn said. “Because we don’t want whoever is behind this to win. Teens
are just as capable running a theater as adults.”
“Exactly,”
Daria said. “Besides, it’s what Jane would want.”
“The
show must go on, as they say,” Ted added.
“But
what now?” Trent asked.
“We’ll
keep searching,” Peterson said.
Mrs.
Rowe emerged from the café. “I have got a call from Brittany. She said that
she’s alright after running from the illusions in the theater.”
“That
answers that,” Peterson said.
‘That’s
one way to deflect attention, Brit,’ Quinn thought. “But we also need to clean
up the theater.”
“And
find another special effects person,” Daria said.
“At
this short notice?” Quinn asked. “I’ll see if any of the previous applicants
are still available in the morning.”
“That
would be for the best,” Daria said. “Although we could probably go without
one.”
“I’ll
go,” Peterson said. “Try to organise a search for Jane.”
‘I’ll
catch up with Brit at the usual early hour, or maybe a little earlier,’ Quinn
decided.
They
soon all left to go home.
Daria
left with the Enigma, who soon changed to the usual Sandi. “Complicated,” the
latter said.
“Working
with Quinn?” Daria asked.
Sandi
nodded. “I still don’t think I knew her.”
“Oh,
you knew her. The way she wanted to present herself.”
“I
don’t want to argue with you about it.”
“Fair
enough,” Daria said.
“You
know, I think I’ll take the risk and try to search for Jane.”
“But
you don’t know she’s still in Lawndale.”
“True,
but I probably would regret not trying,” Sandi said. “Usually I have an energy
drink, but I can make do without one.”
“Usually?”
“The
last time I did it was in the solarium, but that was quite close range.”
“That’s
how you knew where the power switch was; because you searched for Sam or one of
us?” Daria asked.
“For
Sam, yes. But anyway.”
Daria
could tell Sandi was hesitating. “We could get one from a convenience store.”
“Good
idea.”
They
soon bought a couple of energy drinks and snacks from a convenience store on
Grandstaff Drive, close to the Griffin’s. They then crossed the road to a small
park.
“Here?”
Daria asked.
Sandi
nodded, sat down, and downed her energy drink. “Findu mann sem heiter: Jane
Peyton Lane!”
Sandi’s
concern manifested into a field that Daria could barely see. ‘Does this happen
all the time, or only sometimes?’
Sandi’s
perception spread outwards as it usually did. However, Jane was no longer in
Lawndale proper, and unconscious besides. So, she ended up perceiving the whole
town and some of the surrounding countryside. She then collapsed.
“Sandi!”
Daria said.
“Jane
not found,” Sandi murmured with fatigue in her voice and clutching her head.
“Get me home. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m
not sure.”
“My
mentor parent will know what to do.”
“You
can tell me which one it is,” Daria said as she took Sandi in her arms. ‘This
is going to be difficult. At least it’s not far to her place.’
