Spider Quinn 19 Making the News Amidst the Storms Part 6

 

After talking to Quinn, Brittany decided to seek out Andrea before lunch ended. ‘It’s barely a week since the last time she helped,’ she thought as she left the library and looked around the courtyard. ‘But is she in the cafeteria?’ she wondered.

 

 

Brittany entered the cafeteria and saw Daria, Sandi and Jane in a discussion about the robo-dactyl. ‘They’re just speculating,’ she thought as she looked around. She then saw Andrea with Jennifer Burns and Dewey Rodgers.

 

 

Andrea saw Brittany come over. “Hi Brit,” she said with a low voice. “You want to talk about something?”

 

“Yes, by yourself,” Brittany answered in a serious tone.

 

“Is it to do with yesterday afternoon?” Andrea asked carefully.

 

Brittany nodded.

 

“I’ll head to the Historia as soon as school lets out.”

 

“I’ll see you there.”

 

 

“What was that about?” Jennifer asked quietly after Brittany had gone.

 

“Something,” Andrea answered. ‘But I can guess. Something to do with the security footage of the robo-dactyl no doubt.’

 

“She wants you to find something?” Dewey asked.

 

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t spread that around,” Andrea said.

 

“Of course not,” Jennifer said.

 

 

The rest of the school day passed without incident. Quinn emerged onto the roof and saw that Daria and Sandi were up there. “Oh, Jane isn’t here?” she asked.

 

“She wanted to talk to Ms. Dafoe about something,” Daria answered.

 

“Right.”

 

“Did you want to talk about something?”

 

“I did have some curiosity about her streetscape project, but that can wait,” Quinn answered. That wasn’t a lie. She did have some curiosity about it. But it wasn’t her focus.

 

“You want to talk about the robo-dacyl?” Daria asked.

 

“Like, do you think more such robots would appear?”

 

“If one did, more might follow.”

 

 

Sandi listened as Daria and Quinn talked about possible events. ‘But what is Quinn doing anyway?’ she wondered. She shook her head, she didn’t want to know! She knew Quinn was heavily involved in the Historia and tutoring and occasionally investigating. “Don’t you have Anna and the others?” she asked.

 

“I do, but I’m meeting them at the Historia in half an hour,” Quinn answered. “I better be going,” she added to Daria.

 

“I’ll see you later.”

 

 

Daria waited until she was sure that Quinn had gone down to the ground floor. “You said at lunch that you had some ideas about keeping an eye on Anders.”

 

“Given that Mother is the director of marketing for the station, she could do some digging.”

 

“But is that the right thing to do?”

 

“Probably not, but you know me, antihero,” Sandi responded.

 

“That’s true, but I still have reservations,” Daria said as she looked towards the main Oscorp building in the distance. “Even if Osborn is somehow involved.”

 

“All the more reason. Harry says that even though he’s supposed to be resting, his father has been talking to a lot of people,” Sandi responded.

 

“Go ahead,” Daria said in a resigned tone. She spun around and grabbed a staff from where she had stashed it next to the water tank shack. “I’ll be patrolling for an hour or so.”

 

Sandi tied her hair up. “So will I.”

 

 

Brittany entered the Historia café and saw Andrea talking to Stacy at the counter. She sat at a nearby table and waited by reading the café’s copy of the Sun-Herald.

 

It wasn’t long before Andrea joined her. “I can guess what you and SpiderGirl want this time. Something to do with the robot pterodactyl, right?”

 

“Yes, to find the person controlling it using the Mall’s security footage,” Brittany answered quietly.

 

“I still have similar difficulties to last week,” Andrea responded. “I doubt Scott Ashworth is going to let me use his college account again.”

 

“That’s a good point.”

 

“But there are still the others who have siblings at Lawndale State, if you want me to try. It may be more difficult if they are elusive this weekend.”

 

“They could be at the play tonight or tomorrow,” Brittany pointed out.

 

“But I only want to watch it once. I guess I’ll watch it tonight.”

 

“That will be good.”

 

“But how are you coping?” Andrea asked.

 

“Daria modified the script.”

 

“That makes sense.”

 

 

Dafoanairi arrived on the top of the Historia and took out her binoculars. She had found that relying on just her usual glasses corrected vision wasn’t enough when it came to spotting something that shouldn’t happen on the streets below. She soon saw something. A young man was trying to throw a rope between two rooftops two streets to the north. ‘That’s definitely something I need to investigate.’

 

 

It took Dafoanairi less than five minutes to arrive on the scene. “Let’s see here, someone doing what they shouldn’t?” she asked rhetorically.

 

“It isn’t what it looks like, whoever you are!”

 

“Dafoanairi. The Snarky Fifth Vigilante Hero. I’d say it is what it looks like, trying to evade the police and hoping that Lawndale’s heroes will not notice?”

 

“You’re not SpiderGirl, but I’m not doing anything wrong,” the man said as he managed to lasso an antenna on the other side.

 

“Oh no?”

 

“I’m not breaking and entering if that’s what you’re worried about.”

 

“You expect me to take your word for that?” Dafaonairi asked.

 

“I’m trying to do something Lynn Anders did a while ago.”

 

“You mean she walked on a tight rope between buildings? But her stunts are obviously staged.”

 

“No they’re not!” the young man argued.

 

“Yes, they are. But I don’t want to be arguing while something else might be going on, like, I don’t know, robotic reptiles running amuck.”

 

“You’re trying to distract me while another vigilante comes along.”

 

“No,” Dafoanairi said. “I often patrol alone, and you don’t want to be with the fourth vigilante instead of me.”

 

The man then stepped on the rope.

 

“No!” Dafoanairi said. She steeled herself to follow him.

 

 

It started out well at first, but there was a gust of wind and the he started tumbling. ‘Uh oh!’

 

Dafoanairi then grabbed him with one hand while she used the quarterstaff for balance in the other. “See!” she said.

 

“I see your point,” he said he tottered.

 

“Crap!” Dafoanairi said as she leaned back towards the roof. “Now, carefully walk back.”

 

“I guess you don’t have powers.”

 

“You guess correctly. I’m doing this through pure guile! But someone has to do it.”

 

The man then made a misstep and fell, but Dafoanairi fell back on the roof.

 

 

It was precarious and Dafoanairi’s arm was aching. “Right, climb up.”

 

“There’s an eave!”

 

Dafoanairi still had a hold of the quarterstaff. She swung it so that it also hung down. “Grab a hold of the staff!”

 

He complied.

 

 

Less than a minute later, they were both standing on the rooftop. “Thanks, Dafoanairi. I was stupid.”

 

“Par for the course in Lawndale.”

 

“You’re not from here are you?”

 

“I live here now, but I didn’t grow up here,” Dafoanairi answered. “Have you learned your lesson?”

 

The guy was sheepish. “Don’t copy Lynn Anders.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

 

Dafoanairi waited for the man to climb down and rubbed her arms. “I’m lucky I didn’t fall down as well. I won’t tell the Engima.” She looked at the time. Still less than half an hour after she had left the school. ‘I can observe downtown Lawndale from here.’

 

 

At the same time the Enigma was down near the creek, near the dock when she heard a cry for help. “Where?” she asked herself as she ran in the direction the call was coming from.

 

 

She found a fellow Lawndale High student stuck high up in the tree. ‘It looks like Sally Anne Garfield,’ she thought. She didn’t really know her, just that she looked sad most of the time. “I’m here,” she said as she came alongside the trunk.

 

“Who is it?” she asked.

 

“The fourth vigilante.”

 

“Oh! I thought it was the Shadow or Dafoanairi.”

 

“Dafoanairi doesn’t have powers, and I don’t think the Shadow does either. But I do,” the Enigma said. “I’m coming up there.”

 

It took her a couple of minutes to climb up to where Sally Anne was.

 

 

Sally Anne looked at the purple clad superhero. “But you do have a moniker, right?”

 

“Yes, I just like letting my actions speak for me, rather than overhype myself like SpiderGirl. Call me the Enigma.”

 

“The Enigma,” Sally Anne considered. “One who’s figuring herself out.”

 

“Yes. Now, how to get you down?”

 

“You have no idea?”

 

“There are a few ways I can do it, but my powers can be tricky. I still need to develop the fine control I know my mentor has,” the Enigma admitted.

 

Sally Anne tried to take her mind off the precarious situation she was in. “A mentor?” she asked.

 

“They’re a retired hero, that’s all I’ll say.”

 

“Right.”

 

 

The Enigma closed her eyes to focus on the branch that Sally Anne was sitting on.

 

“You’re closing your eyes, up here?”

 

“Part of my powers is an enhanced perception. Closing my eyes helps me focus on it,” she said. She didn’t want to explain the synesthetic aspect of it, that involved colors and ribbons in her vision.

 

“Oh right.”

 

‘The branch will hold for a short while longer,’ the Enigma thought. She opened her eyes and looked at Sally Anne in hers. “Right. I like, have ropes, I can tie it around the trunk here and lower you down that way.”

 

“Give it a try.”

 

“Or I can use my telekinesis to lift you off the branch and down to where I am.”

 

“Telekinesis?” Sally Anne asked incredulously.

 

“Yes,” the Enigma said as she snapped a twig near Sally Anne with that power.

 

“That’s impressive.”

 

The Enigma nodded.

 

“Let’s try the ropes first,” Sally Anne said.

 

“Sure.”

 

 

The Enigma tied two ropes around the branch on either side of the Sally Anne.

 

“Done. Try to climb down. I’ll be ready to grab you if you slip.”

 

Sally Anne looked at the rope in front of her and grabbed onto it with one hand.

 

“Now, try to move down slowly.”

 

Sally Anne wasn’t sure. She gripped the rope tightly and closed her eyes.

 

“It’s better to look,” the Enigma admonished.

 

“Alright!” Sally Anne said as she opened her eyes with tears.

 

“Sorry, I can be blunt. Now try to move so that you swing down and move your legs around the rope.”

 

“Really?”

 

“I’m ready to catch you, remember,” the Enigma said.

 

“OK!”

 

 

Sally Anne then did as the Enigma suggested. She swung and slipped on the rope but she managed to grab the rope with her legs and found herself next to the Enigma. She looked into her green eyes and saw determination. ‘One has to be determined to be a superhero,’ she thought. She knew that her own eyes wouldn’t show anything similar.

 

“See, that was easy.”

 

“You call that easy?”

 

“Compared to other things I had to do, yes,” the Enigma answered.

 

“I guess so,” Sally Anne said as she looked down. The rest of the way didn’t seem that difficult, but she looked in the Enigma’s eyes again. “Watch me climb down further.”

 

“I shall.”

 

 

A few minutes later, both of them were back on the ground.

 

Sally Anne breathed deeply. “Thanks.”

 

“You’re OK?” the Enigma asked.

 

“As well as I usually am. I just chose the wrong tree to climb.”

 

“You usually climb trees?”

 

“It’s a way to escape,” Sally Anne admitted. “I wanted to get away from the situation in Lawndale for a few moments.”

 

“The town’s certainly troubled. But there’s hope.”

 

“But Lynn Anders?”

 

The Enigma sighed. “She wants to unmask us, I’m sure of it.”

 

“I hope she doesn’t succeed.”

 

 

At the Historia, Quinn could tell that Gerald was slowly improving. “You’re doing well,” she praised after he had read out information on Titan.

 

“Thanks,” Gerald responded. “But it can be difficult.”

 

“No doubt about that.”

 

She then turned to Anna, but the she saw Brittany enter the bookstore and wave. “Wait a moment,” Quinn said.

 

“Sure,” Anna said.

 

 

Quinn and Brittany slipped over to the staircase upwards. “Is there something else happening? Another robo-dactyl?” Quinn asked.

 

“No, I was having a coffee in the café, when an ad for Lynn Anders’ show for tonight came on,” Brittany answered. “It said that there may be a special interview.”

 

“There’s no way she’ll interview SpiderGirl, as I’ll be here helping with the play.”

 

“But she’s certainly planning something,” Brittany said as she twirled a pigtail.

 

“More pressuring of the public? Or maybe interviewing Osborn! He could reveal the Enigma’s identity!”

 

“I don’t think that’s it.”

 

“No, I was just going to an extreme there,” Quinn said. “But there’s a lot she or Osborn could do to make life more difficult for us.”

 

“I agree.”

 

“But we’ll have see what Anders will say.”

 

Brittany nodded.

 

 

Quinn returned to the bookstore. “Something up?” Anna asked, after she had closed the door.

 

“Brittany wanted to talk about something,” Quinn answered.

 

“Important?” Anna asked.

 

“You could say that,” Quinn answered enigmatically.

 

‘There’s something there,’ Anna thought.

 

“OK, you can tell us about the shamrock,” Quinn said.

 

“I’d like to know more,” Ben said.

 

“I know you do,” Anna said as she picked up her notes. “As you know, St. Patricks Day is two weeks away…”

 

 

Fields arrived at the studio with trepidation. She had gone over the script that Osborn had given her a few times. It seemed to be on the level. There didn’t appear to be anything that would incite anyone to think it had been faked. ‘Only SpiderGirl and possibly the other vigilantes,’ she thought, repeating what he had told Anders that morning. ‘But I am doing this under protest. I’m not sure it’s good for Lawndale, as much as Oscorp overall isn’t.’