13th
Matthew 25:31 - 46
God is interested in what happens in the world.
He is going to intervene.
Jesus entered Jerusalem in a provocative manner,
Matthew 24
Jesus was the sanest voice in history.
The Kingdom of God has arrived.
Make the best out of your time.
Half an hour after leaving home, the Enigma arrived in
the vicinity of the Historia. She remembered her conversation with Daria after
the opening. ‘Is Jane SpiderGirl?’ she wondered. ‘Or she could be one of the
other two?’ She wasn’t sure. ‘I’ll continue as I have been with the Sophomores.
I’ll find her eventually.
Suddenly, there was a sound nearby. She turned, her hands
aglow with her powers. A stray cat came out of an allyway. ‘But there was
something else,’ she thought. She looked down the street and saw that a window
had been smashed in. ‘On it!’ she thought as she ran as quietly as she could.
“Quickly, before SpiderGirl comes!” one of the thieves
said.
The other two thieves came over to the window with their
misbegotten wares. “She’s just one person.”
They exited through the window they have smashed. “Stop
right there!” came a voice.
They looked and saw a dark figure against the glare of
the street lights. Suddenly, their misbegotten wares were yanked out their
hands by a strong invisible force and returned into the store through the
window.
“Who are you,” one of the thieves asked in fear.
“I am the Enigma,” the feminine voice said quietly. “Now,
like, make yourselves scarce. You don’t want to face my other power and what it
might do to you.”
The thieves with their hearts pounding then ran off down
the street.
The Enigma looked at the broken window of the store.
There was no way she would be able to piece it back together. She made herself
scarce as a police siren made itself known in the distance.
Officer Xanthe Peterson looked at the scene. The window
had been broken and merchandise strewn all over the place. “It looks like the
thieves were interrupted in action,” she said.
“By SpiderGirl?” one of her colleagues asked.
“I don’t think so. There are no webs and she usually
leaves the suspects webbed up for capture,” Peterson answered.
“Oh.”
“It could have been Ninja Talon or the other one.”
The Enigma continued down the street, looking for things
that indicated that something would go down. It was deserted. She heard
something down one of the side streets and looked. She saw that there was a
store alight there. ‘Not much I can do,’ she thought. ‘But I’ll see if people
need rescuing or if SpiderGirl will respond.’
The Enigma saw that the Fire Brigade had already
responded. ‘Of course. I’ll head home. I stopped some thieves, that’s good
enough for a first night.’
She arrived back at 512 Grandstaff Drive half an hour
later. ‘It was a good first night,’ she thought, thinking of how she had
thwarted the thieves.
At the same time, Ninja Talon arrived at the scene of the
fire. The Fire Brigade had done their job. She saw Officer Peterson nearby.
“Ninja Talon,” the officer acknowledged.
“Any idea what happened here?
“Arson,” Peterson answered. “Any evidence of who it was
lost in the blaze. Whoever it was made themselves scarce before the fire
brigade arrived.”
“Oh.”
“Did you intervene at a shop break and enter earlier
tonight?”
“I didn’t,” Ninja Talon answered. “It wasn’t SpiderGirl?”
“No webs and she leaves suspects webbed up.”
“Oh, of course. The Shadow then.”
“I haven’t met her yet,” Peterson confessed.
“She helped SpiderGirl and I a lot last week when we
infiltrated that compound and rescued Sarah Robyn.”
“That’s good. But if it’s not you, not SpiderGirl and if
it’s not the Shadow as you say, that would mean there’s a fourth.”
“There’s no proof of that,” Ninja Talon said.
“No, there isn’t.”
“If nothing else. I’ll keep an eye out tonight and other
nights.”
“That would be good.”
Ninja Talon looked into the store briefly before leaving
silently. She wondered if there was another vigilante hero out there.
SpiderGirl awoke at the now usual early hour. She climbed
out onto the roof and listened to Lawndale. ‘Something’s a little… discordant,’
she thought. It was as if something had changed. “But what and where is it?”
she murmured. She listened a while longer, trying to narrow it down. ‘Downtown?
Or is it Lawndale in general?’ She then swung away, eyes closed, using her
intuition to guide her.
She landed at the spot and opened her eyes. She saw a
store that had been broken into and police tape around it. ‘I missed this,
tonight,’ she thought. But how was it responsible for the discord? She wasn’t
sure. She looked around and saw that it wasn’t far from the Historia. She went
up to the old theatre and saw that the Art Deco building was untouched. ‘I’ll
find Ninja Talon.’ She headed to the bridge where they found out each other’s
secret identities.
Ninja Talon saw SpiderGirl arrive. “I was talking to
Peterson earlier,” she said.
“About that shop that was broken into?” SpiderGirl asked.
“Yes, she said someone interfered in the robbery, and she
knows it’s not me and it’s not you.”
“But that would leave the Shadow.”
“She thinks there’s a fourth, and I do to,” Ninja Talon
said.
“A fourth vigilante hero. That would explain the
discord.”
“Huh?”
“You know I spend time listening to Lawndale at night,”
SpiderGirl answered. “Tonight there was a discord. And in the evening and last
evening my Spider Sense tingled briefly at a low volume. I know there’s someone
out there trying to find out who I am.”
“I’m here with you.”
“Thanks.”
They sat there for a while in silence, contemplating the
changes in Lawndale over the past few months. It seemed to SpiderGirl that the
real changes were yet to come.
Norman Osborn awoke. It was that dream again. The one
where a presence whispered terrible things to him. It was getting worse,
despite his many secret visits to a counsellor he had hired. He got out of bed
and went over to where he had placed the glider blueprints. ‘I won’t use it for
what the whispers say!’ he thought, not entirely convinced. He tried to get
back to sleep.
Lawndale Sun-Herald
Wednesday, January 31, 2001
Council Divided Over Controversial Proposal
A contentious vote on allowing an unnamed organisation
access to Lawndale’s Municipal CCTV footage passed with one vote yesterday
after a tumultuous session of the City Council.
‘Unnamed?’ SpiderGirl asked herself. ‘It’s likely to be
Oscorp!’ Was Osborn the one seeking her identity? ‘No, it’s someone else,’ she
concluded. She looked through the rest of the newspaper, but she knew that the
interrupted robbery had occurred after it had gone to press. She then placed it
back on the stand and continued towards the school.
Sandi awoke and looked at the time. “Oops!” she said as
she leapt out of bed. She had forgotten to set her alarm after she had come
back from her first foray as the Enigma. She looked around the room, making
sure that she had packed away the purple clothes she had worn. She then got
dressed and raced out.
“Sandi, you need breakfast!” Linda said. She suspected
that her daughter had snuck out in the middle of the night, whether to confront
SpiderGirl or not, but she didn’t have proof. ‘I’ll talk to her tonight as she
practices.’
Jane arrived at school to see Daria waiting. She had gone
by the store that had been broken into, as Max had called Trent about it when
he had seen it. She knew that she hadn’t interfered, and she knew of
SpiderGirl’s habit of leaving suspects webbed up. ‘So, it has to be Ninja
Talon, right?’ she asked herself again. A fourth vigilante in Lawndale seemed a
bit much to her. ‘But I can’t rule it out.’
“Jane?” Daria asked.
“Just thinking about my project,” she responded. She then
noticed something different about Daria. Her bangs were held to the sides by
plain hairclips. “You’re a little different. I didn’t expect that.”
“I figured that I better get the clips as soon as
possible,” Daria responded.
“You mentioned Quinn trimming it, but not clips.”
“I guess I didn’t.”
Sandi got to school just in time for the bell to ring for
Homeroom. ‘I’ll have to make sure I set my alarm.’
“Changes,” Jane murmured as she and Daria sat on the roof
during study hall.
“What was that?” Daria asked.
“Changes. Lawndale is changing. Now you’re changing,”
Jane clarified.
“I may be growing my hair, but I’m still the same Daria.
Still sarcastic and cynical of the world around me, including of whether
SpiderGirl is actually making a difference.”
“What about last week?”
“SHIELD would still have done something,” Daria answered.
“Probably. It’s the Historia that will make a
difference.”
“But that will take time.”
“I know.”
Quinn entered the Library to find Anna and Ben already
there. ‘I don’t think either of them are the new vigilante,’ she thought.
“Quinn!” Anna said as she came up to the duo. “I have
found out more about the standing stones.”
“That’s great.”
“Including the specific Irish stonemasons who worked on
them,” Anna added enthusiastically.
“What’s this about stonemasons?” Gerald asked as he came
up.
“The people who put the standing stones in place,” Anna
answered.
“Oh, of course,” Gerald responded.
Anna took out a book. “This was in the town library.”
“A History of Irish Immigration to Carter County,”
Quinn read. “Carter County?”
“Yeah, Lawndale County was renamed from Carter County over
a decade ago,” Anna answered. “It is still sometimes referred to that way.”
“Oh,” Quinn said.
“Because Lawndale is the largest town in the county?” Ben
asked.
“Probably,” Anna said.
“Anyway. Let’s, look at the original idea,” Quinn
suggested.
“Sure,” Anna said as she turned to table of contents.
And so, for the next half hour they took turns reading
from the book, including Gerald, who still had issues with projecting his
voice.
“I could look for someone to help you,” Quinn said to
Gerald after the other two had left.
“You don’t have to.”
“It would be part of what Ms. Li asked me to do.”
“And you’re going above and beyond,” Gerald said.
“I know. Maybe I’ll ask Mr. O’Neill about it tomorrow.”
She then left the school as SpiderGirl, patrolling for an
hour and a half before arriving at the Historia for her first shift.
“Quinn!” Elizabeth Rowe said, as the younger
Morgendorffer girl appeared in the café.
“Hi, Mrs. Rowe.”
“How’s your mother? I haven’t heard from her since before
the holidays.”
“Oh, she’s busy, but I’ll tell her you asked when I get
home.”
“Thanks.”
While Quinn was talking to Stacy’s mother, Daria arrived
home. She went up to her room and looked in the mirror in her closet. ‘I am
changing,’ she thought as she glanced at the hairclips. It wasn’t just that, or
the decision to grow out her hair. It was indeed the absence of her father,
affecting her more than she thought. It wasn’t only Quinn who was changing due
to grief, she was as well. She took a deep breath and closed the closet. ‘I’ll
take it each day as it comes,’ she thought. She also decided to talk to Jane
about it the next day.
The Griffin’s dinner was awkward as the five of them ate,
with only Sam and Chris talking about their day at school. “And the teacher
said that my design was impractical!” Sam said.
“What design was this again?” Linda asked.
“For a slide in the playground,” Sam answered.
“That takes up most of the playground?” Sandi guessed
quietly.
“That’s the whole idea of it!” Sam said.
“Sam, try to start small,” Linda said.
“I did start small. Having a slide cover all of Lawndale
is too much,” Sam said.
“Was that your first idea?” Chris asked.
“Yes,” Sam answered.
“Sounds good,” Chris said.
Linda and Sandi both sighed.
As Sandi turned to go up to her room after her father and
brothers had made themselves scarce, her mother called out to her. “Sandi! We
need to talk.”
“Yes?”
“I know you sneaked out last night and I don’t have
proof. But there are rumors of a fourth vigilante.”
“I am using my powers responsibly,” Sandi countered
quietly.
“So, you did!” Linda said.
“Maybe.”
“But, there is still the fact that you want to confront
SpiderGirl!”
“And maybe Lawndale needs a new hero,” Sandi said.
“And you think I haven’t been tempted to go out and use
my abilities to fight crime? Especially after SpiderGirl appeared? And now this
Ninja Talon and the shadowy one? I don’t want to bring danger to this family.
Think about that, Sandi, please.”
“I don’t think SpiderGirl will trace me here.”
“She might when you find her identity and I know you
will,” Linda said.
“I will be ready and I’m sure you will be too.”
Linda sighed, knowing that she wasn’t getting anywhere
with her daughter. She saw her grab an energy drink from the fridge. “That may
give you a boost, but it’s not exactly healthy.”
“What do you use?”
“Potato salad.”
Sandi entered her room and opened the yearbook again.
Next after Robyn Allen was Erin Archer, another short haired blonde, although
hers was slightly longer and curlier than Elly Aitkins’.
She looked at the energy drink. ‘Potato Salad would take
longer to eat!’ she thought. She then downed it. “Finndu mann sem heitir: Erin Archer!”
Her perception again spread out across Lawndale. Erin
Archer was found close to the Historia, heading towards it.
“Three down.”
“Quinn?” Mrs. Rowe asked.
“Something,” Quinn said, noting the third low tingle of
her Spider Sense.
“Are you OK?”
“Yes.”
“Good, you just looked out of it for a second,” Mrs. Rowe
said with concern.
“Stress: school, social life, here and I miss Daddy.”
“Of course. You can talk to me about that at some time,
if you want to.”
“That would be great!” Quinn responded.
Sandi practiced again and noticed that she was getting
better at aiming her shots.
Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024
Olivia and Janara approached one of the Main Library’s
entrances along one of the elevated walkways. Olivia was listening to an audio
guide on the University. “The Main Library of Academia d’Aeterna Universitas
d’Aurora is theorised to be as old as the University itself, with expansions
having been made over the millennia. The most recent expansion is the
Quinmillennial Wing, which opened in 2001.”
The colonnaded entryway they approached had various
Nordic runes etched around it, although that portion of the building dated from
the 16th Century.
“Where are you starting?” Janara asked.
“The Information Desk to start with, then I’ll head to
the Nordic Section. It’s supposed to hold most of the codices from that era.”
“Good idea.”
Freya was also curious about the Library. She arrived at
one of the eastern entrances. “I guess this dates from the 20th
Century,” she murmured as she tried to shield herself from the reflection off
of the expanse of glass before her, which was overwhelming despite the fact she
was wearing sunglasses. ‘I’ll probably need to use another entrance.’ She took
a deep breath, closed her eyes, and listened as she walked towards the door.
“May I help you?” the library assistant asked the
colourfully dressed pink-haired girl with her eyes closed before her.
“Yes, directions to the Nordic Art section?” the
pink-haired girl asked.
“I could guide you if you want.”
“You don’t need to,” the other said. She then rubbed one
of her eyelids. “This is just a habit I have when I get visually overwhelmed,”
she added quickly with a tone that implied that she was tired of explaining it.
“Yes, the Library can be overwhelming, especially for new
students.”
“Yes. I arrived yesterday.”
“If you go left a dozen paces, there is a tactile map of
the library, which is beside a usual map.” The assistant said.
“That will be useful.”
Freya ran her hands over the tactile map of the Library.
“I’m here, near the eastern entrance…”
It didn’t take her long to figure out the directions.
‘Easy to remember, either way.’
Olivia and Janara approached the Information desk, near
the Grand Atrium. “Let’s see what this says about it,” Olivia said.
“The Grand Atrium dates from the 17th
Century and reflects the nostalgia for Roman Aurora of the period.”
“That will be something to look into at some point,”
Olivia said.
“You’re looking into the Nordic Era first?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll come with you,” Janara said.
“You don’t need to.”
“Are you sure?”
Olivia nodded.
“I’ll look at the Computer Science section, then.”
Freya had followed the tactile directions and had found
herself in the Nordic Section, the part of the Library that was built in the
Nordic Era. ‘There has to be runes here,’ she considered as she continued
walking through.
Olivia entered the Nordic section.
‘What exactly am I looking for?’ she wondered. ‘Just to
come across something ancient by accident?’
She found a directory nearby.
“History of Aurora in the Nordic Era, Nordic Art.
Scandinavian History and Geography. Icelandic, Greenlandic and the Northern
Atlantic Archipelagic History and Geography. Nordic Linguistics. Nordic
Literature. The Role of Sagas in the development of Auroran Storytelling…
Everything Nordic. I’ll start with the History of Aurora in the Nordic Era.”
She went towards that section.
Freya found the Nordic Art section. “Now the tactile art
first,” she decided.
Olivia was wandering the History of Nordic Aurora section
when she looked over into the Nordic Art section. She saw something next to a
pillar between the two sections. She went over and saw that it was a relief map
of Aurora as it was just prior to the Unification. She tried to read the
inscription, but found that the text wasn’t in a dyslexic friendly font. “Uh!”
she exclaimed. She wanted to read it. ‘Do I have my text to speech pen here?’
She checked her pockets and found that she had left it
back in the dorm room. “Of course!” she groused to herself. ‘I suppose I could
just look at the map.’
“Do you need help?” someone asked nearby.
Olivia turned and saw someone in the art section. A girl
with pink hair, colourful clothes and her eyes closed. “Yes. I can’t read this description… because
of my dyslexia.” She didn’t like having to explain that.
“Let me try something,” the girl said as she came over.
She touched the inscription and ran her hands over the raised lettering. “This
map depicts Aurora in 1122, a year before the remnant ancient kingdom joined
the Commonwealth, reuniting Aurora in it’s current form.” She then ran her
hands over the map. “Interesting,” she murmured. “I’ll come back later.”
“Thanks, um.”
“Freya.”
“Olivia.”
“You’re welcome, Olivia,” Freya said as she turned and
went back into the art section.
Olivia looked at the map closer. She could see the
familiar provincial borders within the Norse Aurora.
Freya wandered over to a bookshelf and brushed her
fingers along the spines of the books. She paused, the pattern there was
interesting. She pulled it out and then went to find a reading nook.
Freya sat and then opened her eyes. She found that the
light from the skylights above was quite soft. More than enough for her to read
by, but not enough to be overwhelming.
“Art of the Aterana River Region during the Nordic Era,”
she read. That was interesting. ‘The Aterana River,’ she consider. That was the
river that ran through Urbs Aeterna, the name being a Latinate version of the
pre-Roman Auroralic name. She opened to the table of contents…
Janara found the Computer Science section, on the edge of
the Mathematics section. ‘Where else would it be?’ she groused. AAUA had yet to
adopt the Dewey Decimal System. ‘But then with many preexisting cataloguing
systems going back millennia…’ Most of the books still had to be checked out
manually. She entered the section and found that the all the books there did
have bar codes. ‘Let’s see… ‘Auroran Linux distributions…’
Olivia met Janara back at the Grand Atrium a few hours
later.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Janara asked.
“Not really. But then I was relying on serendipity.”
“Same here.”
“There was something I couldn’t read though,” Olivia said
with annoyance.
“Really? Was it in Auroric?”
“No. It wasn’t in a dyslexic friendly font. But someone
came over and read it for me.”
“It’s good that they helped you,” Janara said.
Freya put the book back and returned to the map she had
helped Olivia with. Her synaesthesia allowed her to notice things on the map
Olvia hadn’t. ‘Wait. The trade routes...’ The ancient trade routes spreading
out from Urbs Aeterna like a spider’s web. ‘I hadn’t realised that before.’ She
took out her sketchbook.
She quickly sketched a copy of the map. She looked
closer. “Wait… I’m sure there isn’t a lake there,” she said, looking at a spot
on the Aterana River about 100 miles upstream of Urbs Aeterna. She took out her
tablet. “Aurosoka: map search Aterana River.”
The Aurosoka service responded, showing a zoomed out map
of the Ateanni Province, with a pin on the river.
‘Not that helpful,’ Freya considered. She looked around.
“Auroran Geography? Where would that be?”
But first she needed lunch.
Freya entered a small café near the Library.
“Freya!”
Freya and saw that it was Dana and a few others from
Sigrun Sigurdottir Hall. She then bounded over and sat down. “Hey, Dana!”
“Have you been exploring the campus?” Dana asked.
“Just the Library so far,” Freya answered.
“That’s bold,” another student, James, said.
“It is,” Freya said. “I thought I would jump in. Besides
I helped another student, so there’s that.”
“But it’s so large that it is said that students can get
lost in there,” James saod.
“Nonsense!” Dana said. “Ignore him, Freya. There are a
lot of urban legends about the University that are untrue.”
“But there are also a lot of mysteries,” Freya pointed
out.
“That’s true,” Dana said. “But no one can vanish in the
Library and not be found again.”
‘I hope so,’ Freya thought, as she went to order her
lunch.
Olivia returned to the Library after having lunch. She
found a directory near the Grand Atrium. ‘History of Aurora…’
History
History of Aurora
Pre-Roman History … Ground Floor of Ancient Section
Roman Aurora … First Floor of Early Roman Section.
Early Medieval Aurora – First Floor of Late Roman Section
Aurora in the Norse Era – First Floor of the Nordic
Section.
Medieval Aurora after the Unification – Ground Floor of
the Nordic Section
Renaissance Aurora – Second Floor of the Late Roman
Section
Early Modern Aurora – Second Floor of the Late Medieval
Section.
Auroran History Since 1850 – Ground Floor of Art Deco
Section
‘Art Deco?’ Olivia thought. “What about a succinct
timeline?”
“You can get that anywhere.”
Olivia turned. “Olivia.”
“David, assistant librarian. There are books that
summarise Aurora’s history, of course, but as you see, AAUA studies things in
depth.”
“I guess I would start in the Norse Era, maybe what lead
to the Unification.”
“That would be in the Nordic Section, of course.”
After helping Olivia, David saw a pink-haired girl
looking at another directory. “May I help you?”
“Yes, I’m looking into the upper reaches of the Aterana
River. I saw a map depicting something present somewhere, that isn’t on present
day maps.”
“That would be in the Geography Section, um…”
“Freya,” the girl said as she enthusiastically shook his
hand.
“David. The Geography Section is right in the middle of
the Library, on the second floor of the Ancient Section.”
“So, it’s the oldest part of the Library?”
“I’m not sure of that. Records of what was built when
only really start late in the Pre-Roman period.”
“Oh,” Freya said.
Freya entered the Geography Section. She found that the
section was laid out such that Aurora was at the center. ‘Of course it would
be.’ She walked through the southern archway and between the books on Africa
and southern Europe on the right and the books on South America and the
Caribbean on the left. ‘Interesting.’
She soon found a shelf full of various editions of the Comprehensive
Atlas of Aurora. She grabbed the latest one she could find, which was from
2016. ‘I don’t think much has changed,’ she thought.
She found a nearby reading nook and opened the atlas to
relevant section.
‘Ateanni Province,’ Freya thought.
She soon found that the place on the river was as
expected. ‘No lake.’ She decided to check a topographical map and then found
that the place was mostly flat. ‘Maybe it got filled in?’ she wondered. But
then she hadn’t studied any geology. Still, it was a mystery that had piqued
her interest.
She then went back to the Nordic Art section, where she
spent most of the afternoon.
Olivia and Janara returned to Janus Hadrian Lodge as the
sun was setting. “It was interesting,” Olivia said.
“That’s an understatement.”
“You haven’t heard everything.”
“Oh?” Janara asked.
“The girl who helped me with the map had her eyes closed,
yet she could read the inscription.”
“You’re pulling my leg.”
“I’m not,” Olivia said.
“Maybe she was squinting?”
“I don’t think it was like those anime.”
Olivia laughed as they walked through the doors.
‘Great!’ Olivia thought.
At the same time, Freya returned to Sigrun Sigridottir
Hall in thought. She knew that Aurora was full of mysteries, but the mystery of
the lake had whetted her appetite. ‘I wonder what else happened in the past
that isn’t widely known?’
6th
1 Peter 5
Fears and Anxieties
There is hope in Jesus
Worry is a bad thing.
vs 7
vs 5
Jesus as a humble servant.
Have a humble attitude.
Be humbled and recognise that God is Sovereign
Fear and Anxiety
Bring it to God
Philippians 4:6
A journey of prayer and relationship.
vs 8
Satan exists and is in opposition to God and to us. He is looking to destroy us. 'A roaring lion looking to devour'. Like a cat playing with a mouse.
Accuser
Slanderer
Liar. The Father of Lies.
But he is not a victor.
vs 9
Stand firm
vs 10
In the bathroom, Daria looked in the mirror. She saw herself and Quinn, two sisters who were more alike than she would have expected before her father passed. One with auburn hair that was longer than it had ever been and round spectacles. The other with shoulder length dyed brown hair caught up in high pigtails, as it had been most of the time since the funeral (and it was obvious to her that Quinn was continuing to dye her hair, as her roots weren’t visible).
“OK, so, I’ll just trim it at the bottom, where there are
split ends,” Quinn said. “But what about your bangs?”
Daria moved a hand through her bangs where they hung over
the top of her glasses. “I’ll grow those out too. I guess I’ll need a couple of
clips soon.”
“I guess you’ll be looking for plain ones,” Quinn said
with a giggle.
“Of course.”
As she began, Quinn considered that Daria definitely
wouldn’t have trusted her to trim her hair before she became SpiderGirl. ‘But
she can’t know. She wouldn’t understand, and I don’t want her to be in danger
as a result. That’s the main reason why I’ll be making these modifications
slowly.’
Daria was also thinking as Quinn was trimming her hair. ‘I
don’t know what the future will hold, but I know that we’ll survive High School
in Lawndale.’
Quinn took her time, as she usually did when she did
someone’s hair. She felt the trust that Daria had given her, trust that didn’t
come easily. “I have done the bottom,” she said.
Daria took off her glasses and closed her eyes, ready for
her sister to trim her bangs. “Alright.”
Quinn carefully snipped at the split ends she found in
the bangs and saw her sister’s eyelids twitch as she waited. She didn’t take
long.
“Done,” Quinn said. Daria opened her eyes and put on her
glasses. She saw that her hair looked better than it did before. “Thanks,
Quinn,” she said with a rare smile.
Trent answered the phone. “Hey, Daria. Janie is out on a
run.”
“I see. I just wanted to tell Jane something.”
“What about.”
“Oh, Quinn and my hair.”
“What about Quinn and your hair?”
“I’d like to tell her first.”
“Sure, I’ll let her know you called when she gets back.”
“Thanks, Trent.”
The Shadow was downtown, near the Historia. She was
watching as Stacy and Joey finished their evening shift. She didn’t want
anything to happen that would jeopardise the vision of the Historia as Daria
laid out during the opening. After five minutes Stacy and Joey drove off,
leaving the Shadow relieved. She then continued her patrol of that stretch of
Main Street.
At the same time, Sandi had her yearbook from the
previous year open, along with an energy drink. She was ready to start to try
to locate the secret identity of the heroes, especially SpiderGirl. ‘But one at
a time,’ she had decided, as in one per evening. That would take time, possibly
months, but that would be better than her overextending her ability every
night. She located the first female freshman (now sophomore) in the yearbook.
“Elly Aitkin,” she considered, looking at the short haired blonde on the page.
She barely knew her, but that was fine.
Sandi downed the energy drink. She then closed her eyes
and chanted; “Finndu mann
sem heitir: Elly Aitkin!”
At first she perceived herself and her room, as she
usually did when she used her locate ability. Then her perception expanded out
into the streetscape of Lawndale.
At first, the perception close to her house was colorful,
as she perceived the inside of her neighbors’ houses along with the yards and
the streets. But as it extended outwards it grew more vague as more information
flooded into her mind. Then her perception narrowed in as Elly Aitkin was
located halfway across town, in a house not far from the High School. It
appeared that she was doing her homework while watching some animated show on
her TV.
Sandi then returned her perception to normal and opened
her eyes. She marked a small ‘x’ next to Elly Aitkin’s picture. “One down,” she
said, with fatigue in her voice.
At the same time, as she was cleaning up the small amount
of Daria’s hair in the bathroom, Quinn felt something. Her Spider Sense tingled
briefly, at a low volume. ‘What was that?’ she asked herself. She finished
cleaning up the hair and then went into her room and looked out the windows.
‘Nothing,’ she thought. Yet there was something, or someone, in Lawndale that
was searching for something to do with her secret, she was sure of it. ‘What
else is new,’ she thought as she put away the copy of the blueprints and took
out her homework.
After recovering from searching for Elly Aiken, Sandi
decided to do something else, practice using her other powers.
Linda went out into the backyard and saw Sandi taking
shots at old tin cans using her powers. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Practicing, trying to improve my aim.”
“I noticed you searched for someone earlier.”
“So?” Sandi asked as she took another shot and hit one of
the tin cans.
“So, what are you up to, Cassandra?”
“SpiderGirl, she confronted me in my room.”
“When was this?”
“Just after the Fashion Club ended, not recently,” Sandi
answered as she took another shot.
“I see. You want to know who she is, then confront her.
What then?”
“What do you mean?”
“Meaning, are you just going to keep fighting her?” Linda
asked. “You know that our powers can have a deleterious affect on people.”
“Because you told me. I haven’t actually seen it.”
“I have, it’s not good.”
“So, tell me!” Sandi said. “All you have said is that
it’s deleterious.”
Linda shot at one of the cans herself, knocking it down.
“They disrupt neural pathways, causing temporary paralysis and/or vocal
slurring.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad.”
“That takes until the next day to recover from!” Linda
added. “I don’t know what repeated exposure would cause. I don’t want
SpiderGirl to experience that! I don’t want to find out her secret identity by
finding out that you’ve injured her permanently. I don’t want that to happen,
Sandi!”
“I’ll be careful,” Sandi said. She deactivated the purple
glow and walked to where the cans were. “That’s not all I can do.” She reached
out and drew one of the cans into her hand.
“I know,” Linda said as she did the same. “But using this
power to restrain her wouldn’t be any better. I don’t want you confronting
Lawndale’s superhero out of jealousy. She’s bringing hope to this town.”
“Not jealousy!”
“Resentment then. Think about what you’re doing, that is
what I’m asking of you. Both as your mother and as your mentor.”
“Mentor,” Sandi considered.
“I taught you how
to use your powers so that you would use them responsibly.” She then went back
inside, knowing that she would have many more such conversations with Sandi in
future.
Sandi looked at where her mother had gone inside. She
considered what she had said. But she knew that she would continue what she had
started and confront SpiderGirl. ‘But not as myself.’
After an hour and a half of homework, Quinn headed out as
SpiderGirl, leaving the house by the hall window, as she had been usually
doing. ‘But leaving via the attic would be better,’ she thought as she swung
away.
Jane entered the kitchen after her patrol as the Shadow.
“Daria called,” Trent said. “Something about her sister
and her hair.”
“Her sister’s hair, or her own hair?” Jane asked,
wondering what her friend was going to tell her.
“Her own hair,” Trent clarified.
“I’ll call.”
“What’s this about your hair?” Jane asked.
“I let Quinn trim it. It is a little hard to explain how
it felt, but I now trust her more than I ever have.”
“How much did she take off.”
“That’s the thing. I asked her to just deal with the
split ends. I have decided to grow it out, including the bangs,” Daria
answered.
“I have noticed it getting longer.”
“Changes happen.”
“It goes back to your father, doesn’t it?” Jane
asked.
“Yes. The changes due to him not being here anymore.”
Out in the night, SpiderGirl rescued a squirrel from a
truck on the Interstate, before meeting Ninja Talon nearby.
“I have visited Sarah Robyn,” the latter said. “Twice.
Once, like this. The other as the cheerleader.”
“That’s good,” SpiderGirl said in encouraging tone.
“There were some muggings I prevented earlier.”
“I was bonding with Daria.”
“That’s good. I don’t think I could do so with Brian.”
‘There’s something there,’ SpiderGirl thought.
“Anyway, Sarah Robyn will be released tomorrow, even
though she still can’t speak.”
“Then I’ll see her early in the morning.”
Lawndale Sun-Herald
Tuesday January 30, 2001
Historia Proving Popular
SpiderGirl arrived at the Hospital as the sun rose. She
wanted to spend time with Sarah Robyn and get to school with time to spare.
Sarah Robyn saw SpiderGirl enter. She wrote Thanks for
coming and handed the note to her.
“You’re welcome,” SpiderGirl said. “I couldn’t stay away
today without saying goodbye. It’s not likely I’ll be in Oakwood any time soon.
I’ll be focusing on Lawndale.”
Of course.
“But it may be that I may be there, just not very often.”
That’s OK
They spent a while in silence before they parted ways.
I’ll keep an eye on the news from Lawndale and keep
thinking of you and the other two.
“Thanks, Sarah Robyn. That means a lot,” SpiderGirl
responded. “Although most of what we do is small and doesn’t make the news.”
That’s fine.
SpiderGirl left, although not before saying goodbye and
getting a signed farewell in return.
As the business day began, so did a tumultuous session of
the Lawndale City Council. Especially when Mayor Lawson brought up Norman
Osborn’s request to access the municipal CCTV, albeit without naming him.
He suspected that Osborn had continued to work behind the
scenes, as several of the councillors he had expected to reject the proposal
supported it. ‘Of course he would!’ he groused to himself. “Lets call a vote.”
The motion succeeded by one vote.
‘Now I have to delay Osborn some other way!’ Lawson
thought.
Osborn entered Lawson’s office at midday. “I heard the
motion passed,” he said.
“Yes, it did. You’ll have access later this week.”
“Very good. My technicians will liaise with yours about
the details.”
Quinn met with Angie after school in the library. “When
are you next at the Historia?” Angie asked.
“Tomorrow,” Quinn answered.
“Right, I’ll drop by before work.”
“That would be great.”
“Now, where are we up to?” Angie asked.
“History, specifically, the Gilded Age.”
Angie opened her textbook. “Got it.”
After school, Sandi headed to Cranberry Commons. She
didn’t want to go to the other Mall, as that was where she usually shopped. She
didn’t want any classmates to see her shop for clothes that would make her
inconspicuous. She found a small out of the way shop and started looking.
At the same time, Daria entered Lawndale Mall, hoping to
be in and out as quickly as possible. After her decision to grow out her hair
and the trim Quinn gave her, she decided to get the clips as soon as possible.
She soon found what she was looking for in a small shop.
“Are you sure you want something that plain?” the
saleswoman asked.
“Look at what I’m wearing already,” Daria responded. “Do
I look like someone who wants something fancy?”
“You could change up your style a bit.”
“I may be growing my hair, but my style isn’t changing.”
“OK, I won’t press.”
“Good.”
“That will be four dollars.”
Daria handed over the exact change.
Sandi found several outfits that matched what she was
looking for. All purple ensembles that matched the glow of her energy
projection powers. ‘Now I need to find a mask,’ she thought as she paid for the
clothes.
After tutoring Angie, SpiderGirl headed out from the
school roof. After an uneventful patrol around the downtown, she headed home.
She entered the basement through the backyard hatch and
changed back to her usual self. She took out the blueprints again. She looked
again at something she had noticed. That the basement on the blueprints seemed
to take up the same floor space as the stories above, but Quinn was sure that
it looked smaller. ‘The laundry area is below the dining room and the kitchen
and Daria’s room. This table and the dresser are below the garage and my room.’
She went over to the chute and looked at the blueprints
again. ‘It looks like there is more empty space than the chute beneath my
closet.’ She looked at the wall ahead of her. It didn’t look as far away as the
end of the living room did from the front door. ‘I’ll probably need to measure
it.’
She found the measuring tape in the tools she had bought
the day before. She measured along the wall from where she was sure the front
door was, to the wall, which was of plasterboard, rather than the other three
walls which were of the same red brick as the walls above. “Fourteen feet.”
Up on the ground floor, she checked that her mother and
Daria weren’t home before measuring from the side of the front door to the
corner window. “Twenty one feet. That’s a whole seven feet.” Was there a hidden
area of the basement six and half feet wide?
Back down in the basement, she looked at the wall. The plasterboard
was held in place by screws. ‘So, I can get in there at some point and look.’
But first she needed to make the other modifications before considering what to
use the hidden space for. ‘I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself.’
She went back to the desk and continued designing the
locking mechanisms for the chute.
Sandi found some purple fabric she could make a mask out
of. ‘Perfect,’ she thought.
Daria saw Quinn enter the kitchen from the basement door.
“I got the clips today,” she said.
“That’s good. Are you going to wear them soon.”
“Probably tomorrow.”
After dinner, Sandi was ready again. “Robyn Allen,” she
considered, looking at a long haired brunette. She didn’t really know her
either. She downed the energy drink. “Finndu
mann sem heitir: Robyn Allen!”
Robyn Allen wasn’t quite as far as Elly Aitkin, but her
house was in the opposite direction, near Newridge, the southwestern-most of
Lawndale’s subdivisions. Sandi saw that she was having desert with her large
family.
“Two down.”
Again, Quinn felt her Spider Sense tingle at a low
volume. This time as she did some homework. “Again?” she commented. ‘Is it
going to happen every night?’ She took out the journal she had been using since
she had started being SpiderGirl. “Low intensity tingle again. Someone is still
searching for my secret.”
Linda watched as Sandi again practiced against tin cans
in the back yard. “I hope she took our discussion last night to heart,” she
murmured. She looked around, and saw that she was alone. She then generated a
forcefield around her. “Sandi isn’t here yet, but she will be soon.”
Later, after her parents had gone to sleep. Sandi slipped
out of the house wearing one of the purple ensembles, the mask she had made
earlier in the evening and her hair tied back into a high ponytail. She looked
down Grandstaff Drive towards the downtown. She was already the fourth of
Lawndale’s vigilante heroes, or in her case an antihero. “Watch out SpiderGirl,
the Enigma is on your case!” she said as she ran off down the street.
Mysteries of Aurora, the Nation of Eternal Dawn
Aurora, over Urbs Aeterna
Monday, September 2nd, 2024
Freya Andersson was excited. She was starting University
at Academia d’Aeterna Universitas d’Aurora, the oldest university in the world.
Of course, that wasn’t the reason she was studying there. It had the best
Creative Arts programs in Aurora.
“We’re here,” her mother said.
She opened her eyes and looked out of the plane, ahead.
They were flying over the eastern suburbs of Urbs Aeterna towards the
University’s eastern airstrip. The layout of the ancient city was already
creating patterns in her mind. It let her see the expansion of the city over
time.
“AAUA East Tower, private flight from Brinjarsson Town on
approach,” her mother said in to the radio.
“Brinjarsson Town flight, airstrip is clear. AAUA East
out.”
“Acknowledged.”
Several minutes later, Freya and her mother, Astrid,
disembarked from the plane in a small hangar/terminal on the side of the
airstrip. She could tell that the hangar dated from the early days of Auroran
aviation.
They emerged from the hanger to the outside of the
airstrip and Freya took in the sight of the sprawling campus. It was
overwhelming, but she kept her eyes open, because she knew her mother would be
on her case about that habit right away. ‘I’m sure I could make my way to the
dorm without looking,’ she thought. She had memorised the route from the
airstrip to the dorm through the various elevated walkways.
“Are you sure you want to go on the walkways?” her mother
asked.
“Yes. It won’t be that difficult,” Freya answered.
“I mean, given that your senses…” her mother began,
trying to be diplomatic.
“You also know that I like to test my limits,” Freya
said. “I want to see if I can go along the walkways.”
Her mother nodded.
As Freya and Astrid headed to Freya’s dorm along the
elevated walkways, another unusual new student arrived at Academia d’Aeterna
Universitas d’Aurora.
Olivia Marcus was riding Urbs Aeterna’s subway system to
the AAUA station closest to her dorm, which was in the western side of the
campus.
“Arriving at Academia d’Aeterna Universitas d’Aurora
Western Dormitories in five minutes.”
Olivia was nervous, although she had been preparing for
it for years. She knew it was going be quite different to high school. She
glanced at one of the signs and the familiar and frustrating dance of
dyslexia made it difficult to make out. But determination had got her through
school. ‘It will get me through University too.’ She knew she was lucky. To be
admitted to AAUA was to be among the best Aurora had to offer.
She got off the train into the subway station, which was
crowded with other new students. She was once again thankful that the old
station was well designed, which allowed the students to move freely away from
the station towards their dorms. She took out her tablet and looked over the
map.
“Here we are,” Freya said. “Sigrun Sigurdottir Hall.”
“It looks great,” her mother said.
Freya took it in. The Hall dated from the late 19th
Century and had the usual look of that era, although she could also see more
modern attributes, such as the antennae and solar panels. She led her mother
inside.
“Freya Andersson, Music and Art,” Freya said.
“Here. Room 2.16,” the person in the Hall’s office, who’s
name Freya saw was Diana, said.
“Thanks.”
Astrid followed Freya into the room. “This is a little
larger than I had,” she said.
“That was over on the west, wasn’t it?” Freya asked as
she wandered over to the window.
“Yes. Julian Trajanus Lodge. But then I didn’t have a
scholarship.”
Freya considered that she looked out over the expansive
campus northwards, towards the sea.
While Freya and her mother unpacked, Olivia arrived at
her own dorm, Janus Hadrian Lodge. It was just as she had expected it to be.
“Olivia Marcus.”
Astrid paused and saw that the room was already
reflecting her daughter’s personality. ‘Overactive and creative.’ Sometimes she
thought that Freya brought some of her challenges on herself, by continually
pushing her boundaries. ‘But I wouldn’t have it any other way.’
There was a knock at the door and Freya bounded over.
“Hi, I’m Freya.”
“Hi, Freya, Sara Iannas, Resident Assistant for Floor Two
of the Hall. I’m checking that each new student made it here alright.”
“We got here half an hour ago. We flew into the eastern
airstrip. Seeing Urbs Aeterna from the air was very cool,” Freya said at her
usual speed.
“I heard. It was a private flight.”
“That’s right,” Astrid said. “Flying gives me inspiration
for my projects. Being able to fly Freya here was a bonus.”
“You’re also an artist?” Sara asked.
“It runs in the family,” Freya answered. “Although,
apparently, I’m the first synesthete.”
“Synaesthesia,” Sara considered. “I have heard about it.”
“It means that certain sounds create visual patterns,
amongst other things,” Freya explained.
“That seems cool.”
Olivia found her room and saw that her roommate was
already there, unpacking.
“Hi, I’m Janara.”
“Olivia.”
“What are you studying?” Janara asked.
“History and Archaeology. I want to know about our long
history. I have a feeling that there is more to be discovered.”
“There are rumors of secrets that have been hidden for
centuries within the University.”
“I have heard of them,” Olivia responded as she put her
suitcase on her bed. “But things can easily be lost over time, especially at
this University given that it does date back millennia.”
“That’s true,” Janara considered. “The website even says
‘founding date undetermined’. The actual anniversary date is of the renaming in
1224.”
“Too bad we missed the Octocentennial of that earlier
this year.” Olivia opened her suitcase and turned back to Janara. “What are you
studying.”
“Computer Science. I have been able to code since I was
six.”
“Amazing,” Olivia responded. That was something she had
found difficult, given her dyslexia. She looked out the window and saw that she
could see the mountains in the south over the campus and southern suburbs. “I
didn’t realise the Hall was on a rise.”
“Or maybe it’s not a rise,” Janara said. “Maybe ruins of
older Halls this one was built on.”
“Either in the Roman or Norse eras…” Olivia mused.
Back on the other side of campus, Freya had finished
unpacking and was sketching the view from the window.
“Freya.”
“Oh! You’re leaving now?”
“Yes, I need to get back before Bjorn and Sigrid get home
from school,” her mother said, referring to her younger brother and sister.
“Of course,” Freya said. She then jumped around and
hugged her mother goodbye.
As Astrid headed back to the airstrip she thought back to
an unexpected moment with Freya not long after she started high school.
Early 2018
Astrid entered the living room. She saw Freya working on
something on the table. But that wasn’t what was unusual. It wasn’t even all
that unusual that she had her eyes closed, creating something by touch. But
there was something different about her. “Freya? Did you dye your hair?”
Freya turned in the direction of her voice. “Yes. I
wanted something different, rather than boring old blonde.”
“But, pink?”
Freya opened her eyes, and brought a tress in front of
them. “You know it’s my favorite color.”
Astrid sighed. “Of course I do, since you use it a lot.”
“And I didn’t want a traditional color.”
Present
‘Of course, she has kept it pink since,’ she thought,
although there had been variations in shade and highlights. She arrived back at
the hanger.
“The plane is fuelled and ready to go,” one of the
assistants said.
“Thanks.”
As the afternoon went on, Freya explored the Hall,
finding that the northwestern balcony on her floor gave the best view over the
campus and the ancient core of Urbs Aeterna beyond. She knew that she was going
to spend many an afternoon sketching that vista. She looked closer, where the
Hall met the walkways and one of the neighboring Halls. ‘Maybe one could go
over the rooftops there?’ she wondered. She then took out her sketchpad.
As night fell, Olivia and Janara entered the Lodge’s
Dining Hall and saw that it was mostly full. “I’ll have to find another time,”
Olivia groused.
“It isn’t absolutely crowded,” Janara pointed out.
“It isn’t, but I don’t do well around crowds,” Olivia confessed.
“Maybe we can find a corner?”
“Hopefully.”
Janara looked around. “There!”
Five minutes later, they were sitting in a corner next to
a window.
“What are your plans for tomorrow?” Janara asked.
“I’ll have a look in the Main Library,” Olivia answered.
“But it’s absolutely huge. The largest building on
campus, and the largest Library in the world.”
“I know, but I know I’ll be using it a lot in my studies,
so I want to get a start.”
“I’ll come with you, then,” Janara decided.
“That would be good. I’m certain it would be
overwhelming.”
Freya looked around after she had grabbed her meal. She
saw Sara with a few others and went over. “Mind if I join you?” she asked.
“Not at all,” Sara said. She turned to the others. “This
is Freya.”
The others introduced themselves and Freya found herself
in her social element, even if the chatter around them was a little
overwhelming at times.
“Freya, was it?” Dana Lind asked the pink haired girl as
they left the Dining Room.
“Yes,” Freya said.
“You said that you’re an artist?”
“I am. I’m here to learn from the best in Aurora.”
“Everyone is,” Dana said. “I’m studying entomology. There
are well over two million species of insects in the world.”
“That’s a lot of insects…” Freya considered.
