“Why wouldn’t I?” Anders asked as she allowed
Fields in. “Your boss has ruined my career! Interviewing SpiderGirl was going
to be a stepping stone, but now it’s a stumbling block.”
“I guess that’s one reason why I’m here.”
“Why did he send you?”
“He didn’t tell me,” Fields answered as they
arrived in the kitchen.
“Figures,” Anders said as she picked up a wine
glass from the cupboard. “You want some?” she asked as she lifted the bottle,
which Fields recognised was from a local vineyard.
Fields shook her head. “I’m working.”
“Of course,” Anders said as she took a sip.
“I think you have had enough.”
“You can’t tell me what to do!”
“I feel guilty too!” Fields said. “But I’m not
crawling into a bottle!”
“I’m not you!”
“No, but drinking yourself silly isn’t the way to
deal with your situation. Osborn may have come up with a way salvage your
situation.”
Anders took a swig and grimaced as she did so. “So,
I would be in even more debt to him? You don’t sound like you believe him.”
“I know, but I also need this Oscorp job. I don’t
want to go back to New York to live with my parents as I search for another
job. Besides I have settled into Lawndale.”
Anders was quiet and was starring at her glass.
Fields then looked at Anders’ kettle. “I’ll make
you some coffee.”
“You know that’s a myth right.”
“Come to think of it…”
“Nice try,” Anders said.
“But Osborn still wants to see you.”
“Fields for you,” the orderly said.
“Finally!” Osborn said. ‘What’s taking so long,’ he
thought as he took the phone. “Is Anders there?”
“She is, but she has been
drinking.”
That wasn’t shocking but then he figured that an
inebriated Anders would be more amenable to what he was going to suggest than a
sober one. “I see. Bring her in anyway.”
“I’ll try, sir. But
what about the hospital.”
“I’ll deal with the Hospital staff, at least that
Cuddy. If not, bring her to the office instead.”
“Yes, sir.”
SpiderGirl noticed a slight commotion as she swung
past the Hospital. “Is that Lynn Anders?” she asked herself as she swung
closer. She arrived and saw that Anders was being refused entry by a woman with
curly brown hair. ‘What’s happening here?’ she wondered as she got ready to
intervene as she could tell that Anders had been drinking.
Lisa Cuddy was annoyed. “Osborn may have asked you
to come, but you can’t visit patients in your condition. Come back when you
have sobered up!”
“No!” Anders said as she stepped forward.
“Don’t make me have you removed by force,” Cuddy
said as she noticed SpiderGirl nearby.
“See, I told you,” Fields said from next to Anders.
“Let’s go to the office.”
“Yes, go to the office,” SpiderGirl said.
Anders turned from Cuddy to SpiderGirl. “Come to
gloat at destroying me?”
“You’re the one who faked an interview with me,”
SpiderGirl said. “But I forgive you.”
“It’s too late!” Anders said. “My career is
ruined.”
“Come on,” Fields said, as she lead her away. Even
in the state she was in, Anders noticed that Fields avoided looking at
SpiderGirl.
Cuddy watched them walk away before turning to
SpiderGirl. “Thanks for the help,” she said.
“You’re welcome, although I didn’t expect Anders
to…”
“To drown her sorrows?” Cuddy asked rhetorically.
“I have seen many people; even close colleagues fall to addiction.”
“Like, one thing I have been doing is trying to
stop drug deals, but it’s like whack-a-mole, and they are dealing in areas that
are under cover, or otherwise out of my sight.”
“I’m afraid that is something a superhero can’t do
much about, as long as the demand is there.”
SpiderGirl nodded. “Which is one reason why I hang
around the Historia. It’s a place that is giving people hope at this time.”
“I have been thinking of seeing Tempest. A
modern take on Shakespeare by a teen is, intriguing.”
“It certainly is. I’ll see you around. There’s more
of Lawndale to check up on.”
“Of course, Spidey,” Cuddy responded as the
superheroine swung away.
SpiderGirl followed as Fields drove to the Oscorp
headquarters.
She swung to the roof after Fields had taken Anders
inside, but she found that there were cameras watching there. ‘Of course,
Osborn has done that!’ she thought. She then went to the Historia to watch over
the town from there.
Fields escorted Anders into the office, where the
video set up was still set up. She switched it on and Osborn was there on the
other end waiting.
“I heard what happened,” he
said, “Cuddy complained to me personally.”
“You have ruined my career, Norman!” Lynn slurred.
“I have not. It can still be
recovered.”
“And I’m not going to be working for Oscorp!”
“And you won’t have to. Fields,
you come back here now. I don’t want you to hear what I’m talking to her about.”
Fields sighed. “Yes, sir.
“I want her here!” Anders said.
“She doesn’t need to know.”
Fields stepped out of the office and closed the
door. Osborn definitely didn’t want her to know what he was talking to Anders
about. She tired listening but found that the office was soundproofed. ‘Of
course,’ she thought as she headed off.
Fields got off work at 5:00. Osborn had been tight
lipped about what he had talked to Anders about. She headed towards the
Historia, as she knew SpiderGirl had been hanging around there.
The café was busy, as it seemed that people were
getting ready for the production of Tempest at
6:30. She went to get a coffee.
Donna Bolton hadn’t expected to find the Historia
as busy as it had been. But she had quickly got used to it. “Welcome to the
Historia, how may I serve you?” she asked the lady with short dark hair.
“Coffee,” the young lady answered.
“2 dollars.”
The young lady handed over a two dollar note. “I
heard that SpiderGirl hangs around here,” she said.
“Apparently, although I haven’t seen her myself,”
Donna responded. “Sometimes with Ninja Talon.”
“I see.”
While Fields waited for her coffee, she watched the
teens in the café. ‘Any one of the girls could be SpiderGirl, even the
barista.’ It wasn’t long before her coffee was ready and the red headed barista
came over.
“Are you coming to the play?” she asked.
“Not yet, but I might next week.”
“I saw it last week, and last night. It’s quite
good,” the barista said.
“I have heard good things, despite Ondrovick’s
negative critique.”
The barista shrugged. “Not everyone likes it.”
SpiderGirl returned to the Historia after another
patrol to find the lady who had been with Anders at the hospital on the roof.
“SpiderGirl?” the lady asked.
“I saw you with Anders earlier.”
“I want to talk to you about the situation. Osborn
is up to something.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” SpiderGirl
responded.
“It’s to do with the fake interview. Osborn is
behind it!”
“I have suspected such.”
“And I was the stand in,” the lady confessed with
shame in her voice. “I’m sorry, but I’m sure that Osborn would have fired me if
I had refused!”
SpiderGirl came closer to the lady. “I see that you
are regretting it. What’s your name?”
“You can just call me Fields,” the lady answered.
“I don’t like my name.”
“Fields,” SpiderGirl considered. “I forgive you,
although the forgiveness isn’t easy.”
“I’d be understanding if you didn’t.”
“But resenting you wouldn’t have been the answer.”
Fields paused as she considered that. ‘It seems
SpiderGirl is more mature than I expected,’ she then looked turned and looked
towards the hospital. “I know Osborn is manipulating Anders further. Into what,
I can’t guess. But It certainly can’t be good. For her, or for Lawndale.”
“Thanks for letting me know, although it is
something else that Talon and I will worry about.”
“You mean, Ninja Talon? You are partners?”
“More that we’re friends that team up when
something serious is happening,” SpiderGirl answered. “Which seems to be
happening more often.”
“But she teamed up with Dafoanairi when that robot
pterodactyl appeared.”
“I was busy, as my secret identity. Like, we have
lives.”
“That makes sense.”
After Fields had left, SpiderGirl pondered what the
woman had revealed. “I’ll try to keep an eye on Anders.” She glanced towards
the Court House clock tower. Five twenty. ‘Talon will be downstairs.’
There was time before the play for them to catch
up. She waited a few minutes before
changing to the ordinary Quinn and heading down.
Brittany saw Quinn enter the auditorium in a
determined manner and went over to her. “Something happened?” she asked
quietly.
“Anders and Osborn,” Quinn began, and she quietly
explained what had happened at the hospital and what Fields had told her.
Brittany took in what Quinn had said and was
annoyed. “Osborn needs to be stopped!” she said vehemently.
“I agree,” Quinn responded.
“I’ll see if Andrea can obtain evidence of illegal
activity.”
Quinn nodded. “Good idea. We’ll talk more after the
play.”
Brittany nodded.
At 6:25 Daria checked the theater over. After the
events of the past two weeks, she wanted to be sure that the performance
wouldn’t be interrupted.
She entered the former projection room.
“All is going well,” Dani Moreno said. “I haven’t
found any more of Beck’s surprises since yesterday.”
“That’s good, but we need to be prepared,” Daria
reminded her.
Dani nodded. “If something comes up, I’ll deal with
it and let you know.”
“Thanks.”
The curtain went up and the play started.
As the play went on, Quinn kept an eye on the news.
She had a feeling that something was going to happen that SpiderGirl would need
to respond to. ‘And as Brit is in the play, she won’t be able to respond as
Talon, nor would Daria if she’s Dafoanairi.’ She was still uncertain of that.
‘But that leaves the Shadow and the Enigma. I guess I’ll have to handle it
alone.’
At the same time, Andrea was in the café, waiting
for Dewey Rogers. She wondered yet again how she had got involved with two of
Lawndale’s superheroes. ‘Although I’m sure, Brittany is just skilled in martial
arts.’ She hadn’t yet seen Ninja Talon in action, but what she had heard about
had impressed her. She looked outside, and still didn’t see Dewey, just Sandi
Griffin arriving.
Sandi entered the Historia. She had spent the early
evening patrolling as the Enigma and had decided to get an energy drink from
there before heading home to conduct her usual nightly search. She saw Andrea
nearby. “Hi, Andrea,” she said.
“More change,” Andrea said. “You giving me notice.”
Sandi shrugged. “Like, I’m friends with Daria now.”
“That’s still difficult to believe.”
“Compared to Lawndale having superheroes?”
“Yes,” Andrea answered. “I’m sure you’re up to
something.”
“I’m helping Daria investigate what’s going on in
Lawndale.”
Quinn considered ducking back into the theater as
she saw Sandi and Andrea talking. But then something caught her attention. The
television in the café, which had been showing the local station had gone to
static. ‘Something’s up,’ she thought. ‘But how is that linked to the static?’
She saw Donna grab the remote. “Could it be the
ariel?” Donna asked.
“Maybe,” Quinn said. “I could check.”
Donna changed the channel. That channel was also
out. “If it’s not the ariel…”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
Donna changed the channel again. The third channel
was also out. However the reception then cleared, showing a dishevelled Lynn
Anders. “What?” she asked.
“What?” Quinn asked herself.
“Good Evening Lawndale and
surrounding towns, I wouldn’t change the channel. I have taken over all of them
for the duration. I’m sure that you’re aware that I have been suspended because
of last night’s interview with a fake SpiderGirl.”
“How is she doing this?” Donna asked.
“I’m not sure,” Quinn answered.
Sandi turned from Andrea and looked at the TV.
“Looks like she’s taken over the broadcasts. I have to call home.”
“I know your mother works at a station, but what
could she do?” Andrea asked.
“More than you think,” Sandi responded as took out
her cell phone.
Quinn was ready to head out, she just needed to
know where Anders was, and what she was up to she looked back to Andrea and saw
that Sandi had already ducked out into the lobby. ‘How to go about this without
revealing that I’m SpiderGirl.’
“…SpiderGirl. I
want you to come.”
‘No real choice there, but not for your reason,’
Quinn thought.
“She’s focused on SpiderGirl, isn’t she?” Donna
asked.
Quinn nodded. “It’s a little weird, like I would
have thought she would have mentioned Ninja Talon or the Shadow more.”
“Maybe because SpiderGirl is the most well known,”
Donna considered
“…And I have kidnapped a member
of the Lawndale Lions!” Anders revealed.
“She’s definitely gone too far,” Quinn murmured.
“I’m watching it now,” her
mother said. “But she hasn’t said which member
of the Lawndale Lions was kidnapped. What I can say is
that she must have gained access to the Emergency Alert System.”
“And you would know where that would be?” Sandi
asked.
“There are a few around Lawndale,
but one of them is halfway to Oakwood, so that’s a bit far for us to search.
And another is next to Lawndale Flats…”
‘So, one of us goes to get close to the one on the
way to Oakwood…’ Sandi mused. It would be a waste of time if Anders turned out
to be in the one next to Lawndale Flats. “We could head to two of them, then
converge to at the one in the middle.”
Her mother sighed. “My Boston hero
identity isn’t appearing in Lawndale. Besides, Sam already knows too much.”
“You don’t have to use the name you used in Boston,
and Father can watch Sam.”
“When did you get so mature?”
Sandi rolled her eyes. “Not that mature. Just,
like, being pragmatic. And I suppose Daria is rubbing off on me.”
“I shall go to the one towards
Oakwood. You can go to Lawndale Flats. The third is downtown on Bernstein and
Mertz.”
“Bernstein and Mertz, got it.”
At the same time, Fields was making dinner when she
saw Anders on the TV. ‘Osborn must have talked her into this!’ she thought as
she put the meal in the oven. ‘But I don’t know where she would be broadcasting
from.’
