Spider Quinn 19 Making the News Amidst the Storms Part 9

 

Daria then made her play. “I have compiled newspaper reports of SpiderGirl’s activities from November, through to just before Groundhog Day. There are also excerpts from interviews I have conducted with some of Lawndale High’s seniors over the past few weeks. They paint a picture of a rather confident young lady who isn’t afraid to talk to people. What I saw when I watched last night’s interview was not that.” She handed a binder over to Leonard. “These are copies of many of those articles, including of the report covering the time she and Ninja Talon responded to a thief in the Mall.”

 

“Thanks, Ms. Morgendorffer,” Leonard said as he leafed through the binder.

 

“And that’s my mother’s impression,” Tori added.

 

“Jericho. You’re Penelope’s daughter, aren’t you?” Leonard asked.

 

“That’s right,” Tori said. “And I will tell her everything.”

 

‘That’s what I expected,’ Helen thought.

 

Leonard took the binder from Daria, and skimmed it. “I see.”

 

“So, you see that this is not the hysterical outburst of a few teens who only thought that they saw something wrong,” Helen said.

 

 

Twenty minutes went by, as Leonard looked through the evidence the Morgendorffers and the others had brought. Anders was stressing the entire time. ‘Anders’ didn’t expect something like this to occur,’ Daria thought.

 

“I see from the Mall incident that SpiderGirl was confident when she said that she and Ninja Talon were colleagues rather than rivals,” Leonard said. “That can easily be corroborated.”

 

“I would think so,” Brittany commented.

 

“But that will take time,” Leonard said.

 

“I expect that it will,” her mother said.

 

 

“I have examined enough,” Leonard said.

 

“Meaning?” Helen asked.

 

“That I’m convinced that this needs to be investigated,” Leonard said. He turned to Anders. “Pending investigation, you are suspended from your duties until further notice.”

 

“What?” Anders asked.

 

“You heard me, and Mrs. Morgendorffer. These accusations are serious. Go to your office and clear out any personal items.”

 

“Yes, sir,” Anders said in a contrite tone.

 

 

Anders stormed out of the small meeting room. ‘I shouldn’t have listened to Osborn! It’s his fault!’ She thought as she held back tears. ‘What will he do when he finds out?’

 

 

Daria watched as Anders stormed out. “I have a feeling that we haven’t seen the last of her.”

 

“Well, this is just the beginning,” her mother said.

 

“Of course,” Daria responded.

 

Her mother turned back to the executive. “Thanks for your time, Mr. Leonard.”

 

“Your welcome. And now I must begin the investigation.”

 

“Then we won’t keep you.”

 

 

The group emerged from the studio.

 

“We did it!” Brittany said, as she hugged both Quinn and Daria.

 

“We certainly did,” Quinn said.

 

“But as Mom said, it’s just the beginning,” Daria said.

 

 

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the Historia.

“I’ll see you later,” Helen said. “But be prepared if whoever put Anders up to it reacts.”

 

“I have some ideas,” Daria said.

 

“I know, but there is no proof. If Oscorp, for example, wants to sue for defamation, I wouldn’t be able to get you off.”

 

“I’ll find proof,” Daria said. “Although I know it will take time.”

 

“You have a lot on your plate,” Helen said.

 

Daria nodded as she got out of the car.

 

 

Daria found Sandi in the bookstore looking through books on journalism.

 

“Like, a good collection here,” Sandi said.

 

“Thanks. I wanted a broad selection.”

 

“How did it go?”

 

“Anders has been suspended,” Daria answered. “Pending further investigation.”

 

“That’s good news.”

 

“But the investigation will take time. Who knows what might happen in the meantime.”

 

Sandi shrugged. “Anything. But at least she won’t be trying to interview the vigilantes while she’s under investigation.”

 

“There’s that at least.”

 

“Now, like, we go back to the other concerns.”

 

“Like who was controlling that robo-dactyl,” Daria mused.

 

“Maybe we could look at the Mall later.”

 

“You can. I’ll look into the reports.”

 

“Are you sure it’s because you don’t like shopping?” Sandi asked playfully.

 

“Not when there’s something better to do.”

 

 

Quinn and Brittany went up to the roof.

 

Quinn breathed a sigh of relief as she looked towards the studio. “It might not be over, but at least people know it was a fake. Like it was the last thing I thought I needed.”

 

“But we did it, didn’t we?” Brittany asked.

 

Quinn brightened up. “We did. Daria was meticulous in the presentation of her research.”

 

“As she usually is.”

 

“But.”

 

“But?” Brittany asked.

 

“The robot pterodactyl. Who was responsible for it?”

 

“And was it even Oscorp?”

 

“That is one thing we need to know,” Quinn said.

 

 

Jane found Trent and Jesse waiting in a corner of the café.

 

“How did it go?” Trent asked.

 

“Anders was suspended,” Jane answered quietly as she sat.

 

“Sounds like good news,” Jesse responded.

 

“It does, but Mrs. Morgendorffer said that it was just the beginning.”

 

“I guess so, but at least it’s a start,” Trent said.

 

“But what if Osborn had put her up to it?” Jane asked.

 

“Then he might have succeeded at something. Removing Anders from her job,” Trent answered.

 

“But what would he get out of that?” Jane wondered.

 

“No idea. But it does give me inspiration,” Trent said.

 

 

Quinn changed to SpiderGirl and went on patrol, and to think about what might be next. Brittany went down to the theater, where Andrea was waiting inside.

 

“I heard about the fake interview from a few people,” Andrea said.

 

“We exposed Anders’ role in it,” Brittany said.

 

“But?”

 

“But she wasn’t alone, and I’m sure the studio’s internal investigation will focus on what happened there.”

 

“Are you saying someone, like possibly a certain tycoon, put her up to it?” Andrea asked.

 

Brittany nodded. “But no proof.”

 

“There wouldn’t be. But the investigation might reveal it.”

 

“Might. But, back to the robo-dactyl.”

 

“Certainly,” Andrea said. “I haven’t been able to get a hold of Tania Ashworth.”

 

“She was at the Morgendorffers last night after the play.”

 

“And she wasn’t at home this morning.”

 

“She wasn’t?” Brittany asked.

 

“She was probably doing something.”

 

“But there are others that have siblings at Lawndale State.”

 

“I sent out a message to the Programming Club mailing list,” Andrea said, as she took out her PDA. “Some of them may come here this morning.”

 

“I’ll be waiting.”

 

 

It was late morning when Fields arrived back in Osborn’s hospital room.

 

“I suppose you have heard?” he asked.

 

“Heard what? About Anders being suspended? I thought that is unconfirmed.”

 

“It isn’t,” Osborn said. He clicked something on his laptop.

 

“It has been confirmed that Lynn Anders has been suspended from her duties at WSBC pending an investigation into the interview with SpiderGirl that has allegedly been faked.”

 

“I knew it wasn’t a good idea, asking me to do it.”

 

“You didn’t project the confidence that the real SpiderGirl has.”

 

“I couldn’t have!” Fields projected.

 

“I know. But it has been exposed rather quickly.”

 

“It must have been the real SpiderGirl.”

 

“She may have set things in motion,” Osborn said. “But, according to my sources it was Helen Morgendorffer who contacted the studio.”

 

“Isn’t she the one who drew up the agreement with the Historia?”

 

“The very same. She must have seen the broadcast, or obtained a taped copy.”

 

Fields was then quiet. She had interacted with Helen briefly when the Morgendorffers and the other two teens had approached Osborn with the business proposal for the Historia. The impression was that she was very capable. ‘If she thinks she has a case, I’m sure that Anders will be let go. But will she find out my involvement?’

 

 

Osborn watched Fields. He knew what she was thinking; that Helen Morgendorffer would likely find out that she was involved in the fake interview. ‘That’s a risk I’m willing to take,’ he thought.

 

Fields breathed heavily. “But were you expecting something else?”

 

“I knew that Helen would get involved at some point, but not so quickly.”

 

“I should have guessed.”

 

“Besides, I know who the fourth vigilante and her mentor are,” Osborn said with a hardness in his voice. “That is an angle I can use.”

 

“And the alias she uses?”

 

“Naturally, Ms. Fields, but I’m not revealing that to you yet.”

 

 

As the morning passed, Brittany remained at the Historia to wait for the Programming Club members to reply to Andrea’s message. She walked through the bookstore looking at various items.

 

“Are you looking for something in particular, or are you just killing time?” Daria asked as she came up.

 

“Maybe the latter,” Brittany admitted as she twirled a pigtail.

 

“You may as well find something you would like.”

 

“I guess I was also thinking about recent events.”

 

“It does seem that events in Lawndale are spiralling,” Daria said. “But we need to remind ourselves that it could be worse, that our town isn’t absolutely riven in crime, and that there haven’t been attacks like Groundhog Day again.”

 

“That’s true, but the robo-dacytl could have caused a lot more damage than it did.”

 

“True, but Dafoanairi and Ninja Talon showing up when they did, rather than SpiderGirl a while later stopped that situation escalating.”

 

‘If you knew….’ Brittany shook her head. It was enough that Quinn and Andrea knew that she was Talon. She smiled. “I agree. I was just wondering something.”

 

“I have started to investigate that, but the interview took precedence.”

 

 

Daria could tell Brittany was after something, but she wasn’t sure what. “Maybe a book would help?” she asked.

 

“Something on this kind of situation?”

 

“There are superhero novels here, some even in towns similar to Lawndale.”

 

“Really?” Brittany asked. “I haven’t read any. And I was more interested in games than comics when I was younger.”

 

“Never too late to start.”

 

“That’s true. What do you recommend?”

 

Daria lead her to the shelf with the superhero novels. “There is a wide selection. You would just have to pick whichever piques your interest.”

 

 

Quinn arrived back at the Historia shortly after noon. She looked at a clock as she walked down the stairs. “A little early for lunch,” she considered. “But I’ll catch up with Brit first.”

 

She found Brittany reading one of the superhero novels in the café while drinking a tea. “Daria recommended it, didn’t she?” she asked.

 

“Yes. I wanted to see if our reality is stranger than fiction,” Brittany answered quietly.

 

“I also read one of those books a while ago, shortly after Groundhog Day,” Quinn said, in a reassuring tone.

 

“What did you think of it?”

 

“It was a good story, but there were only a few similarities.”

 

“Right,” Brittany said she put the book aside. “Anyway, Andrea is looking for others who may allow her to search for the Mall security footage.”

 

“That’s good,” Quinn said. But then there was an interruption.

 

“Quinn!”

 

 

Brittany winced at Kevin’s voice. She didn’t expect that he would be in the Historia that day. She glared at him.

 

“Kevin, I told you. I’m not interested,” Quinn said.

 

“I know what you said,” Kevin said.

 

“Like, how Anders didn’t actually interview SpiderGirl, Jamie mostly made up what he wrote,” Quinn said with annoyance.

 

“Oh!” Kevin said. “So, you are saying that Jamie lied?”

 

“More like exaggerated,” Quinn clarified.

 

“So, he did lie, or not?” Kevin asked.

 

“Unlike Anders, he did think he was telling the truth, but he embellished it.”

 

“Got it,” Kevin said as he went.

 

 

“I don’t think he got it,” Brittany said with annoyance when Quinn had sat down again.

 

“Clearly not,” Quinn groused. “But he has to think about it more.”

 

“It will take him a while.”

 

 

Lynn Anders arrived back at her apartment on the southern edge of the downtown. She slammed the door closed. “I shouldn’t have listened to Osborn!” she groused to herself loudly, scaring her cat. ‘If I’m fired, I won’t be able to afford this place!’

 

She went to the living room and switched on the radio.

 

“What do you think of the Lynn Anders, fake SpiderGirl situation?”

 

‘Ugh! Of course Z93 would be talking about that!’ She thought as she turned the tuning nob. She soon found WLND. But they were also talking about it. ‘Fine! Oakwood, or Middlebury, or even Cumberland!’

 

WOKW.

 

“…Lawndale is again in the middle of controversy with an airing of a fake interview last night.’

 

‘Not Oakwood!’

 

WMBY.

 

With music playing, Lynn tried to relax, despite the spiral of self-recrimination and guilt occupying her mind.

 

 

Back at the Historia, Andrea found Brittany and Quinn, along with Stacy and Angie, having lunch. “Brit?” she asked.

 

“Andy, did someone get back to you?” Brittany asked.

 

“Yes,” Andrea said.

 

“I’ll be right back,” Brittany said.

 

 

They entered the stairwell. “Dewey Rogers’ sister is a sophomore. He said that she might allow me to use her account,” Andrea said.

 

“Dewey Rogers,” Brittany said as she twirled a pigtail. “He moved to Lawndale the year before, the same time as the Morgendorffers, right?”

 

“He did,” Andrea said. “I might be able to do it tonight while the play is on.”

 

“That would be great.”

 

“If Dewey is able to get hold of her.”

 

“I hope so,” Brittany said.

 

 

It was mid afternoon when Fields knocked on Lynn Anders’ door. Osborn had sent her to ask her to meet him in the hospital again. He wouldn’t say what for. ‘He’s keeping it close to his chest,’ she thought again.

 

Anders answered it and Fields could see that she had been crying, and also drinking. The latter was going to make things difficult. She doubted that the hospital would admit her if she was in an inebriated state (and that Osborn wouldn’t be able to pull strings to allow her to be admitted anyway). “Have you been drinking?” she asked.