Spider Quinn 17 Tempestuous Origin of Mysterio Part 9

 

The whole group moved carefully through the trees, using SpiderGirl’s webbing and occasionally Ninja Talon’s zipline, towards the dock. It was difficult, but not impossible, especially with Kalina refusing to let go of SpiderGirl. ‘I’m not a therapist! I haven’t even been to grief counselling yet!’ SpiderGirl thought.

 

“Almost there,” Ninja Talon said.

 

“It’s still a lot of trees,” Dafoanairi said.

 

“We can do it,” SpiderGirl said. “But I need to be unencumbered.”

 

“I can take her,” Ninja Talon said.

 

“Is that alright, Kalina?” SpiderGirl asked.

 

“Yes,” Kalina answered.

 

Ninja Talon wrapped her arms around Kalina. “You can let go of Spidey now.”

 

“OK.”

 

 

SpiderGirl then swung around, creating a web bridge for the others to take towards the boat. It held amongst the trees that stopped swaying as much, despite the high winds. Another lightning strike hit somewhere out on the lake. “Done,” she said when she had finished it.

 

 

At the same time, the Enigma and Peterson met near where the vehicles were. “Everyone has been rescued,” she said.

 

“That’s good news.”

 

“They should get to the boat shortly and then they’ll head back to Lawndale on the creek.”

 

“Then we’ll meet them somewhere between the two bridges.”

 

 

At the same time, Leung and his team approached the cabin and saw the damage that the fourth vigilante had done. “We need to act quickly.” He knocked on the door. “Quentin Beck, come out with your hands up.”

 

There was no response.

 

Leung lead the team in and saw that the room was empty.

 

The television then showed a video. “Agent Leung, I presume. Either that, or it’s Officer Peterson. Doesn’t matter. What matters is, that I am presently making my escape. But I will be back in Lawndale in future. As for motive, that’s for you and the other one to piece together. But the Morgendorffers being ambitious in their young age is part of it.”

 

“Making his escape?” Leung asked himself. But they still needed to search the cabin.

 

 

The Enigma figured that she could walk back to Lawndale, despite the storm. ‘It will be an opportunity to refine the forcefield. I can catch up with Dafoanairi later.’

 

 

The others made it to the boat. SpiderGirl hotwired it as they all boarded and then started it moving.

 

“You do know how to pilot a boat, right?” Dafoanairi asked.

 

“Of course, how hard can it be, even in this storm?” SpiderGirl responded. The lake surface was choppy, waves whipped up by the winds. She cleared the dock, and turned the boat to starboard, heading westwards towards the creek from Lawndale.

 

 

Leung and his team methodically searched the cabin, but found that Quentin Beck had made himself scarce.

 

“He has gotten away,” one of his colleagues said.

 

“Unfortunately. But we’ll have tech’s go over this place with a fine-tooth comb.”

 

“The fourth vigilante has made herself scarce too.”

 

“She didn’t need to stick around. She wasn’t here to take him in, just to be involved in the rescue operation,” Leung said. ‘No need to jump to accusations,’ he thought.

 

 

The boat soon reached the creek and SpiderGirl easily turned the boat upstream, despite the reed beds. “We should be back in Lawndale in ten to fifteen minutes,” she said.

 

“That’s good,” Dafoanairi said. “Because I’m getting seasick.”

 

SpiderGirl took something out of her utility belt and handed it to Dafoanairi. “Here, some ginger,” she said.

 

“Um, thanks, but is it fresh?”

 

“Of course. I bought it yesterday.”

 

“OK.”

 

 

Dafoanairi ate the ginger cube. ‘I guess that if she’s carrying people, they sometimes get nauseous,’ she thought as she looked ahead. It would be while they would see much of Lawndale yet. She knew that SpiderGirl was familiar somehow. ‘I know who she isn’t,’ she thought as she looked at Jane and thought of the Enigma. ‘But whoever she is, I’ll protect her identity as I’m protecting the Enigma’s.’

 

 

SpiderGirl’s estimate was accurate. The boat arrived at Lawndale’s dock, a third of a mile upstream of the Jefferson Bridge, almost fifteen minutes after entering the creek. The storm was beginning to subside. SpiderGirl could see Agent Leung waiting. “OK, everyone out, we’re here.”

 

“Good,” Dafoanairi said. “I’ll be off.”

 

“Are you sure?” Ninja Talon said.

 

“I need to rest before something I have to do later today,” Dafoanairi said.

 

Ninja Talon indicated her understanding with a nod.

 

 

SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon lead Jane and the critics up from the dock to the waiting FBI agents.

 

“Here are the former abductees,” SpiderGirl said.

 

“Jane Lane,” Jane said. “We’ve all been through a lot.”

 

“We can go to the field office right away,” Leung said.

 

“Good, because some others are a lot worse off than others,” Jane responded with a look at Kalina.

 

“Understood,” Leung said.

 

“We’ll be off,” SpiderGirl said.

 

“Wait! You need to take some statements,” Leung said.

 

SpiderGirl then swung away, Ninja Talon following her.

 

 

“And Dafoanairi?” Leung asked.

 

“She’s gone too,” one of the other agents responded.

 

Leung sighed. “Of course.”

 

 

Dafoanairi looked back from where she was hiding behind a tree between the Creekside pathway and the Creek itself. ‘I don’t want the FBI to know my secret identity. That would be too much. I can trust Peterson. Leung, I’m not sure of.’ She then continued walking, to continue along the path before heading back to the Historia.

 

 

Meanwhile, SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon arrived on the Historia’s roof themselves.

 

“That was intense,” SpiderGirl said. “A lot more so than when we rescued Sarah Robyn.”

 

“But not as much as Groundhog Day.”

 

“Or as much as when we fought the Goblin a week later.”

 

“I agree,” Ninja Talon said. “But Jane and the critics are safe now.”

 

“They are, but they have been through a lot, especially Kalina. I’m sure she’s going to need therapy.”

 

“I do too.”

 

“But we worked well with Dafoanairi despite her inexperience,” SpiderGirl said.

 

“But she’s had more experience since the solarium, I can tell.”

 

“I can tell too.”

 

“I need to go, I’m wet through,” Ninja Talon said.

 

“Oh, of course. I’ll see you later, before the play.”

 

Ninja Talon then headed southwards, towards home, as SpiderGirl swung off to the west.

 

 

It wasn’t far from the dock to the FBI field office, which lay somewhere between the Historia and the High School. Kalina was immediately taken to the psychologist assigned there for assessment. Leung decided to interview Jane first.

 

“Has my brother been notified that I have been rescued?” Jane asked.

 

“Peterson called while you were on the Lake. Trent was asleep, according to a Jesse Moreno who answered.”

 

“He has narcolepsy, but Jesse will let him know when he’s awake.”

 

“We have tried the Morgendorffers but no one was home,” Leung said.

 

“That’s not unusual for a Saturday these days.”

 

 

Jane looked at the board, where Leung had laid out the case, including the details Leung had laid out about Daria, Quinn, Joey and Robert.

 

“Motive,” she said.

 

“What can you tell us?”

 

“Not much more. He just subjected us to his plays that were all visuals and no actual story. Made this artist annoyed. He gave us plenty of food and water and let us alone. Whatever was done to Kalina was done before he took me from the theater!”

 

“I see. He left a message for us when he escaped. He said that part of his part of his motive was the Morgendorffers’ ambition,” Leung said.

 

“Ambition?” Jane considered. “Both Daria and Quinn want the Historia to be a force of good in Lawndale. As a place where people can come together despite the troubles out on the streets.”

 

“And that’s all?”

 

“I know Daria. She wants to know what’s going on, with the vigilantes and rising crime and all. But I’m sure that would be the same of any similar teen in her position,” Jane answered.

 

“And Quinn?”

 

“She’s similar, but she wants to use her grief in a constructive way. She wants to get past her past as a self-absorbed girl and use her social nature as a way to connect people in positive ways.”

 

 

Leung thought about Jane’s answers. They made a lot of sense. But how did it connect to Beck’s motives? He was still stumped. “You can stay a little longer, Ms. Lane.”

 

“Of course.”

 

 

At the same time, Daria emerged from the Morgendorffers’ apartment in the Historia, having showered after being soaked during the rescue mission. She was still thinking about the unexpected familiarity of SpiderGirl. ‘I haven’t got it from Ninja Talon, and I didn’t from the Enigma before I figured out she’s Sandi,’ she thought as she took out a notebook. She paused.

 

Who SpiderGirl isn’t

Jane Lane

Sandi Griffin

 

That still left a lot of people. ‘But I’m sure it isn’t Quinn.’

 

 

She entered the café for lunch and saw that Peterson was waiting for her. ‘Of course,’ she thought as she went up to the counter.

 

 

“That must have been difficult,” Peterson said to Daria after she had joined her.

 

“It was,” Daria admitted. “Especially with the storm being stronger than expected.”

 

“And SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon did most of the work?”

 

“They had already taken most of them out of the room and onto the roof before I got there.”

 

“I guess I have to hear it from either of them. But SpiderGirl’s been elusive lately, since Groundhog Day.”

 

‘There’s something there,’ Daria thought. ‘Like she probably suspects who she is.’

 

“Anyway, Jane seems to be taking it well. She should be able to go soon. As soon as Trent is able to pick her up from the field office.”

 

“That’s good. I’ll see her later, before the play starts tonight. Stacy told me that tonight is sold out as well.”

 

“That must be good news,” Peterson said.

 

“It is encouraging. That many people in Lawndale want to see it.”

 

“But I must say that you put yourself at risk.”

 

“I couldn’t stand by and do nothing,” Daria said.

 

“And I’m happy that you didn’t. It’s that professionally, I have to say that.”

 

“I know.”

 

Stacy then delivered their lunches. “Here you go.”

 

 

At the Morgendorffers, Quinn emerged from her closet after having hung her costume next to a heater in the hidden area of the basement. She then grabbed her towel and went to the bathroom. ‘I’ll write in the journal after the shower,’ she decided.

 

 

Trent awoke, and went down to the kitchen to get some coffee.

 

“The FBI called. They said that Jane was rescued by SpiderGirl, Ninja Talon and Dafoanairi,” Jesse said. “They said that you have to pick her up from the field office.”

 

“I’ll have the coffee first. We’ll take my car.”

 

“Cool.”

 

 

It didn’t take Trent long to have his coffee and to get to the field office.

 

“Trent Lane, is it? Agent Ken Leung. Your sister is waiting in one of the meeting rooms.”

 

“Thanks. How is she?”

 

“She’s good. It seems that she was treated well. That she was taken only because she mentioned the play on the radio and intended to try to trap him.”

 

“I see,” Trent said.

 

 

As soon as Jane saw Trent, the two ran to each other and hugged. “Trent!”

 

“Janie!”

 

“You are free to go,” Leung said.

 

“Thanks,” Jane said.

 

“But we may want to ask you more questions,” Leung said.

 

“If you want to find me, I’ll be at home, the Historia or the Morgendorffers today and tomorrow,” Jane said.

 

“Understood.”

 

 

“Are you really fine?” Trent asked as he drove off from the field office.

 

“Yes. I want to get home and shower and paint and call Daria, although she’s probably at the Historia or scouring Lawndale for me.”

 

“What about being the Shadow?”

 

“Not until tonight, after the play. Another reason I want to call Daria. To see how the opening night went,” Jane answered.

 

“I wasn’t there,” Trent admitted.

 

“You weren’t?”

 

“No, I was searching for you in the Shadowcar, as I had the previous night.”

 

“I knew you would do that,” Jane said.

 

“But spending time, aimlessly driving around Lawndale didn’t help.”

 

 

Quinn had dressed after her shower when she heard the phone ring. “Quinn here.”

 

“Quinn. It’s Jane. I have been rescued!”

 

Quinn feigned surprise. “When was this?” she asked.

 

“An hour ago, during that storm,” Jane answered. “Is Daria there?”

 

“I don’t think she’s here. I saw her at the Historia earlier. But I will check.”

 

 

Jane waited as Quinn checked. ‘If she’s not there. I will call the Historia,’ she decided.

 

“She’s not here,” Quinn answered. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Better than the critics,” Jane answered carefully. “He didn’t do anything to me other than chloroform at the theater. But I’ll fill you in later, in person.”

 

“Got it. I’ll see you tonight then?”

 

“I’ll be there.”

 

 

Daria had finished eating when Stacy came over in excitement. “It’s Jane, and she says that SpiderGirl, Ninja Talon and Dafoanairi rescued her!”

 

‘At least I’m somewhere there,’ Daria thought. “She told me,” she said, indicating Peterson. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

 

“Right.”

 

“It’s going to be tricky isn’t it?” Peterson said.

 

“No it isn’t. I was there, but I also wasn’t. Simple as that.”

 

“She’s not going to know?”

 

“No. I’m not telling her. ‘Jane, I’m not only investigating what’s going in in Lawndale, but I’m also fighting off muggers with a quarterstaff.’ She would think I was either making it up, or I was crazy,” Daria said. She then went to the office.

 

 

‘Both Morgendorffers,’ Peterson mused as she watched Daria go to the office. ‘SpiderGirl and Dafoanairi, although I’m still not sure about the former. They both don’t know about the other. I’m sure Helen doesn’t know either, but I’ll leave it up to her to find out. She took out a notebook and looked at the names of the other three vigilante heroes.

 

Ninja Talon – identity unknown.

The Shadow – identity unknown

The Enigma – identity unknown

 

‘Although I’m sure Daria knows the last one and Quinn knows the first one.’

 

 

Daria took the phone. “Jane? You’re home?”

 

“Hi, Daria. Trent picked me up from the FBI field office.”

 

“So, he didn’t do anything to you?”

 

“No. Other than chloroform in the theater. He just subjected us to his poorly written plays.”

 

 

At the same time. The Enigma returned to the house on Grandstaff Drive and climbed in through her bedroom window. She found her mother in the hallway after she had taken off her mask.

 

“Sandi?” her mother asked.

 

“I confronted Quentin Beck, and allowed Dafoanairi and the others to rescue Jane and the critics,” Sandi explained.

 

“That was reckless, especially during a storm.”

 

“And I don’t suppose you didn’t try to rescue people in a storm?”

 

“I did, a few times. But I was older and more experienced,” her mother said. “I didn’t start fighting crime until I went to college.”

 

“I think you said that on Groundhog Day.”

 

“Yes, but Lawndale in the late 70’s was a lot quieter than it is now. I think I would have fought crime here if the town was like it is now.”

 

“Got it, but I need a shower now,” Sandi said.

 

“Of course.”

Secrets of Lawndale 01 Lawndale Below Part 1

 

1.      Lawndale Below

Quinn heard a knock on her door. “You can come in?”

 

It was someone she didn’t expect. “Jane?”

 

“I was expecting Daria to be in her room,” Jane said.

 

“I’m certain she went out, but I don’t know where.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“But I can find out,” Quinn said.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll come back later,” Jane said. She left the room. She soon came back.

 

“What?” Quinn asked.

 

“You know, you could come over again,” Jane said.

 

“Are you kidding?”

 

“No.”

 

“What are you up to?” Quinn asked.

 

“Something,” Jane answered.

 

“So, you want me to come look at something?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Is it more art?” Quinn asked.

 

“Not just art.”

 

Quinn looked intrigued. “Like, is it one of your wandering siblings’ designs for alternative fashion?”

 

‘Of course, Daria would tell her family about that,’ Jane said. “Probably.”

 

“I’ll come,” Quinn decided. She got up. “Uh! I need a hair cut. My bangs are getting into my eyes!”

 

“I didn’t need to know that,” Jane said as Quinn grabbed a couple of clips and used them to pin her bangs back.

 

 

Quinn entered ‘Casa Lane’ again. It looked the same as before, but she didn’t really expect Jane and Trent to have cleaned up. “So, what is this thing?”

 

“Downstairs.”

 

“In the basement?!”

 

“Yes,” Jane answered.

 

“Um…”

 

“But first we have to go upstairs.”

 

“Sure.”

 

 

Jane and Quinn entered Wind’s room. “What are we looking for?” Quinn asked.

 

“A key.”

 

“Is it some kind of creepy old safe?”

 

“No,” Jane answered. “It’s something else.”

 

“I see,” Quinn answered.

 

 

Jane soon found the key. “Let’s go.”

 

“In the basement?” Quinn asked again.

 

“Yes.”

 

 

Quinn followed Jane down into the basement with trepidation. She wasn’t sure what was down there.

 

 

“This is the basement,” Jane said.

 

Quinn looked around. She saw various instruments and some of posters for Mystik Spiral. “Come to think of it,”

 

“What?” Jane asked.

 

“I didn’t hear Trent practice while I was here.”

 

“Be thankful that you didn’t.”

 

“Huh?” Quinn

 

“His music is only barely recognisable as grunge.”

 

“You mean he doesn’t play well.”

 

“Well, he does,” Jane admitted. “But the rest of the band doesn’t.” She went over to the opposite side of the basement, and opened a trap door.

 

“Wait…” Quinn said. As she followed Jane and looked down as the other flipped a switch and more lights came on further down. “A subbasement?”

 

“Yes,” Jane answered.

 

 

Quinn followed Jane into the subbasement, ready bolt up the stairs if anything happened. She looked around and saw various pieces of machinery. “What is this stuff?”

 

“Wind considers himself an inventor,” Jane answered.

 

“Right…” Quinn considered.

 

“Come on.”

 

 

Jane went over to the Under car and saw that it looked operational. It seemed that Wind had maintained it until he had left after finishing school. ‘Good, otherwise this would be more difficult,’ she thought, considering that she should have checked it over before inviting Quinn over.

 

“What’s this?” Quinn asked.

 

“An electric car.”

 

“Electric? But why is it here, not the garage?”

 

“You see, this is also a garage of sorts,” Jane answered “The undergarage.”

 

“Undergarage?” Quinn sounded incredulous.

 

“Yes,” Jane answered as she flipped the switch for the roller door. She could see the other girl wince at the high pitched sounds the unoiled mechanism made as the door opened.

 

 

Quinn looked into the space beyond the roller door. Some more lights were on, although it seemed some bulbs were out, but there was a dark tunnel beyond. “A tunnel?”

 

“That’s right,” Jane said. She opened the door to the car. “Come on. You’ll see.”

 

“May as well.”

 

 

Jane put the key in and turned it. The car powered up. “Let’s go!”

 

 

Quinn looked out as the car left the Lane’s subbasement undergarage. The car turned to the left after entering the tunnel, proceeding beneath Howard Drive. “Where are we going?” she asked.

 

“Downtown,” Jane answered. “We’ll come out of the Howard Drive Tunnel in a minute.”

 

“Looks like an ordinary tunnel, except I have seen a few other side tunnels.”

 

Jane remained silent until they exited the tunnel. “Welcome to Lawndale Below!”

 

 

Quinn could see that they had come down into a large cavern. There were many pillars holding up the ground (and town) above in amongst the buildings, most of which extended from the bottom to the top of the cavern. There were a large number of lights hanging from the roof which gave an illumination similar to that of either dawn or sunset. “Where are we headed?”

 

“A café to start with,” Jane answered.

 

“Sure.”

 

 

They soon arrived at such a café. There were a few other cars parked outside, although they looked newer.

 

“This looks good,” Quinn said.

 

“There are other cafes but this is my favorite,” Jane said.

Church notes - 20th July 2025

 20th

Daniel 9:1 - 21

Thriving through change

Change is difficult.

Especially when it comes to the world's values.

Jeremiah 25:7 - 14

Daniel prayed that it would come about.

vs 3, 4

The prayer was intense. He humbled himself in a posture of humility and was emotionally involved.

va 4 - 6

Galatians 3:13

Our identity is in Jesus.

How do you and I ask mercy for a sinful nation of which we are citizens?

How do we pray for healing for a church whose spirit has been tarnished by sin and neglect?

vs 7 - 19

His prayer is full of urgency and passion.

God can step in and change things.

We need to come to God with humility and repentance.

AAUA Extended Profile

 

Academia d’Aeterna Universitas d’Aurora (AAUA)

Student numbers: 55,000

 

Faculties

Arts and Humanities

Mathematics and Natural Sciences

Mechanics, Engineering and Computer Science

Economics and Law

 

AAUA layout. The Main Library, which has grown over the millennia, with the most recent addition having been made 20 years earlier, is in the center of the campus. The various Departments are arranged around the Library like a fractal (but the core of the fractal resembles a Nordic protection rune, which matches to the Campus as it existed at the beginning of the Nordic Era, when the Vikings first started raiding Aurora). Dorms to the east have Nordic names. Freya's dorm is amongst those. Dorms to the west have Roman names. Olivia and Janara's dorm is amongst the latter. The campus is connected by elevated walkways. There are at least four stations of Urbs Aeterna's subway system within the campus. There are two airstrips serving the University just to the east and west of the dorms.

Spider Quinn 17 Tempestuous Origin of Mysterio Part 8

 

In the cabin, Jane was growing tired of waiting for rescue. She paused in her umpteenth defense of Daria and looked at the approaching storm.

 

“Storm, so what?” Kalina said.

 

“It’s just the sort of thing SpiderGirl or the fourth vigilante could use as cover in a rescue attempt,” Jane answered.

 

“Are you sure?” Kalina asked.

 

“Yes, I have met SpiderGirl,” Jane said.

 

Oliver spoke up. “This is a lot different to stopping muggers, stopping that Green Goblin and rescuing kittens from trees.”

 

“That’s true,” Jane said. “But I don’t doubt that she could do it, despite Quentin’s illusions.”

 

 

“They’re now talking about possible rescue,” SpiderGirl said as rain started to fall.

 

“I’d say that’s as good as invitation as any,” Ninja Talon said.

 

“Another minute.”

 

 

The Enigma and Dafoanairi felt the rain as it began to fall. “We’re almost there,” The Enigma said.

 

“We might get soaked, but it will be worth it,” Dafoanairi said.

 

Lightning streaked across the sky and the thunder soon followed.

 

 

As the thunder sounded, SpiderGirl flipped open a hatch on the roof of the cabin. She went first. Ninja Talon followed closely.

 

They came down through the roof space down to a hallway. But then SpiderGirl’s Spider Sense tingled. “He knows we’re here.”

 

Ninja Talon took out a bo staff. “I’m ready.”

 

A door opened and a figure with a fishbowl helmet stepped through it. “SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon. I knew you would show up at some point.”

 

“And you are Quentin Beck,” SpiderGirl said. “Why are you doing this? Why abduct the critics and Jane Lane? Why target Tempest?”

 

“You would love to have the answers to that, wouldn’t you?” the figure asked.

 

“And how did you get the layout of the stormwater system?” Ninja Talon asked.

 

“Same answer,” the figure said, before pressing a button on one of his gauntlets. The walls around them started to shift. “Now, how can you find them if you don’t know what’s real?” He then laughed and left.

 

“By not using our eyes,” SpiderGirl said as she closed hers and listened.

 

“Inuition?” Ninja Talon said.

 

“And we can feel where the walls are.”

 

“That too.”

 

“And we can call out to them, orient ourselves that way,” SpiderGirl said.

 

“Of course. Jane!”

 

“Oliver! Kalina!”

 

 

Jane heard SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon. “In here!” she called out.

 

“You need to be louder than that,” Oliver said.

 

“Then cover your ears,” Jane said. “JANE LANE IS HERE.”

 

 

“There!” SpiderGirl said.

 

“I hear her,” Ninja Talon said. She reached out and took SpiderGirl’s hand.

 

SpiderGirl then found the wall, and lead her friend along it.

 

 

At the same time, the Enigma and Dafoanairi reached the edge of where the traps were. The storm was still picking up. “Are we going to wait, or?” Dafoanairi asked.

 

“No,” the Enigma decided, as lightning struck nearby. “I’ll set some of them off, and try to disrupt them. Then you can go in. I’ll follow behind.”

 

“Got it.”

 

The Enigma then fired a projection, setting off a mist between them and the cabin. However, it was clear to her and Dafoanairi that the rain was having an effect on it. "This time I don’t have to hold back telekinetically.”

 

“I still don’t want you accidentally hurting Jane.”

 

“I won’t aim in the direction of the cabin.”

 

“Good,” Dafoanairi said.

 

The Enigma then started pushing outwards telekinetically.

 

 

SpiderGirl felt a door handle. She then opened it. “Jane?”

 

“SpiderGirl!” Jane said as the two heroines entered the room.

 

SpiderGirl opened her eyes and saw that Jane was none the worse for wear. “Good, you’re safe!” she said as she pulled Ninja Talon into the room.

 

 

Ninja Talon looked around the room. She saw Jane, Kalina and the two male critics. “Now to get you out of here.”

 

“I guess you haven’t planned for that,” Jane stated.

 

“Let me think,” Ninja Talon said.

 

“If we can get the window open, we can then swing up onto the roof,” SpiderGirl said.

 

“I tried that,” Jane said. “It’s shatterproof and is locked.”

 

“I’ll try anyway,” SpiderGirl said.

 

 

SpiderGirl went closer to the window and then shot a few webs at it. She then pulled. It budged and then fell in. The storm then started entering the room.

 

“Are you sure about this?” Kalina asked. “Going out into the storm?”

 

“Yes,” SpiderGirl said. “Trust me.”

 

“It won’t be that difficult,” Jane said as she went over near the hole in the wall.

 

“Um, I’m afraid of heights,” Kalina confessed.

 

“That does make it a little difficult,” Jane said.

 

“Enough, Lane!” Kalina said.

 

“There’s something else,” SpiderGirl said as she looked out the window.

 

“What?” Ninja Talon asked.

 

“The fourth vigilante is here, triggering the outside traps with her powers,” SpiderGirl said.

 

“So?” One of the male critics asked.

 

“She wants to be my rival,” SpiderGirl answered. “But we can still do this.”

 

 

Dafoanairi saw that a window had been pulled inside. ‘It’s likely to be SpiderGirl,’ she thought. She saw that the Enigma was busy clearing traps.

 

The Enigma was growing annoyed. How many of those traps did Beck deploy? ‘He’s definitely getting help from Oscorp!’ she groused to herself as she angrily ripped up soil and threw it aside.’ Where there weren’t illusions, the ground was becoming a muddy quagmire.

 

 

Dafoanairi looked. “I guess I have to risk it, to help SpiderGirl,” she thought. She took out a coil of rope and tied it to a tree trunk nearby. “I hope this is long enough.” She then held on to the other end as she plunged into the fray.

 

 

Peterson and some other officers parked near the cabins. “We will wait until the FBI gives the go ahead,” she said.

 

“Understood.”

 

 

SpiderGirl leaned out the window and saw that the Enigma was preoccupied dealing with the illusions in her vicinity. ‘It should be safe,’ she decided. She shot a webline up to the roof. ‘But then I’m not sure I have swung in a storm like this before.’ She shot a couple of additional ones.

 

“Ready?” Jane asked.

 

“Of course,” SpiderGirl said. “I’ll take you first.”

 

“No, take Kalina first,” Jane said. “Then we can proceed in order of abduction.”

 

“Why?” Ninja Talon asked.

 

Jane shrugged her shoulders.

 

“OK, Kalina!” SpiderGirl said. “Before Beck knows what we’re doing.”

 

“Right!” Kalina said. She walked over, grabbed onto the superheroine and closed her eyes. “Now!”

 

“Not so tight!” SpiderGirl said. “Here we go.”

 

 

SpiderGirl swung, and Kalina’s scream, along with the thunder, almost overwhelmed her.

 

She set her down on the roof. “Ow! My hearing is enhanced, you know!”

 

Kalina huddled on the roof, shivering in the rain, her eyes remaining closed. “Sorry, I didn’t know.”

 

“I’ll get Oliver.”

 

 

Ninja Talon looked out the window as she waited for SpiderGirl to come back. A flash of lightning and she saw Dafoanairi approaching. ‘That’s going to make things interesting,’ she thought. She still didn’t think she was Daria. She glanced at where Jane was guarding the door.

 

 

Dafoanairi saw SpiderGirl swing back into the room. She looked up at where the critic was huddling on the roof. ‘I have to get there,’ she decided. She looked at where the Enigma was still battling the traps. ‘Just as well these Doc Martins are waterproof,’ she thought, as she was wearing her usual boots, which were easy to hide with the cloak. She then realised that the rope had run out. ‘Just as well I have a spare.’

 

 

“Ok, Oliver,” SpiderGirl said.

 

“I’m coming, I won’t scream.”

 

He then held on and they swung up.

 

 

Kalina was afraid and soaked. She winced as another peal of thunder crashed in around her. She was afraid to open her eyes, to see the height she was at. She then heard SpiderGirl land with Oliver. “OK, I’ll get the other critic and Talon will come with Jane.”

 

“Be quick!” Kalina said. “I want out of this rain.”

 

“I’ll be as quick as I can,” SpiderGirl quipped, before she swung back down.

 

Oliver than tried to take one of her hands, but she swatted it away. “Leave me alone!”

 

 

The Enigma came up to the door and pushed it in telekinetically. “Quentin Beck! You, like, have made me mad!”

 

“The fourth vigilante! I would have thought your name would be known.”

 

“I don’t seek the spotlight as much as SpiderGirl! But I’m not giving my hero name to you.”

 

“No? Then I’ll give you my villain name,” Quentin said.

 

“So, you’re saying you’re a villain?” the Enigma asked. ‘Protection!’ she thought and raised a forcefield around herself as usual.

 

“Yes. Call me Mysterio!”

 

“Mysterio, sounds better than Green Goblin at least.”

 

“I’m not like the Green Goblin!” Mysterio said.

 

“You didn’t destroy the Historia, but you have disrupted it.”

 

Mysterio turned away. “You’re distracting me! SpiderGirl and Ninja Talon are rescuing the critics and Ms. Lane.”

 

“They will take the credit, but that is, like, worth it for Jane and the others to be rescued.”

 

“But can you keep distracting me if you don’t know where I am?”

 

“You’ll find that I have powers of perception,” the Enigma said.

 

 

At the same time, SpiderGirl, Ninja Talon and Jane swung out of the cabin, and onto the roof.

 

“I’m glad to be out of there,” Lane said.

 

“But now we need to get away,” SpiderGirl said.

 

“There’s a boat nearby,” Dafoanairi called from down from the ground.

 

“Is there?” Ninja Talon asked.

 

“I saw it as I approached. We can go back to Lawndale, up the creek, in it,” Dafoanairi said.

 

“That will work,” Jane said, “Even in this weather.”

 

“No!” Kalina murmured.

 

“Where’s the fourth vigilante?” SpiderGirl asked.

 

“She went inside. She’s distracting Beck,” Dafoanairi answered.

 

“Then we need to get a move on,” SpiderGirl said. “I’ll bring you up here.”

 

“Sure,” Dafoanairi said.

 

‘If she is Daria, she could put me in a difficult position,’ SpiderGirl thought as she swung down.

 

 

Dafoanairi let go of the rope and held onto SpiderGirl as she swung them both up onto the roof. ‘There’s something about her,’ she thought, once she had a footing. She wasn’t sure what to make of that thought. ‘I’ll think about it later.’

 

 

Mysterio had activated illusions in the cabin’s main room. But the Enigma refused to let herself be disoriented. She closed her eyes, and listened and used her enhanced perception to ‘see’ where Mysterio was. She could also tell that, the other three vigilantes were on the roof with Jane and the critics. “I’m sure they have escaped by now.”

 

“They are on the roof,” Mysterio said in a pompous tone. “They haven’t escaped yet.”

 

“What, you have illusions on the roof?”

 

“No, but I can still catch them, and I have more than illusions to work with.”

 

“Not if I take you down. I will do anything to make sure that they get away,” the Enigma said,

 

 

SpiderGirl looked at the boat and back at the roof she and the others were still standing on, despite the intensifying storm. The trees between them and the boat were swinging wildly. “We have to make a move, now,” she decided.

 

“I agree. It’s risky now, but we have to do it,” Ninja Talon said.

 

“I don’t see any other way either,” Jane said.

 

SpiderGirl looked at Jane, and she knew Dafoanairi was looking at her too.

 

“What? I’m not only an artist. I run for fun too, and sometimes climb things,” Jane explained.

 

“Got it,” Dafoanairi said.

 

“Right, Talon and I will fire a zipline and a webline to the same tree at the same time,” SpiderGirl said. “Do you have more rope, Dafoanairi?”

 

“One more loop, just as well I prepared for this” Dafoanairi said.

 

“Spidey can take Kalina and Oliver. Dafoanairi can take Jane and I’ll take the other,” Ninja Talon said.

 

“That’ll work,” SpiderGirl said. “You two go first. I think Kalina’s going to take some convincing.” She looked at Kalina, who still was huddling with her eyes closed.

 

“She’s had it the worst,” Jane commented.

 

 

At the same time, Leung and his fellow officers arrived. “Report,” he said to Peterson.

 

“Most of the vigilantes are there,” Peterson said.

 

“Which ones.”

 

“The fourth vigilante is confronting Beck. SpiderGirl, Ninja Talon and Dafoanairi are in the process of rescuing the abductees, but the storm is making it difficult.”

 

 

Leung grabbed the binoculars and saw Ninja Talon shoot a zipline to one of the trees behind the cabin. “We’ll give them another ten minutes. Then we’ll go in.”

 

 

Mysterio tried to tackle the Enigma, but her forcefield held. “I might not be able to take you down, but that doesn’t mean I can’t stop the rescue.”

 

“I’m sure I can take you down, but I’m not sure what my powers will do to you.”

 

“Heroism, funny how morals get in the way.”

 

“Antihero, but morals are what’s between that and being a villain. I may want to confront SpiderGirl sometime, but I don’t want to take her out,” the Enigma said.

 

“You’re all talk,” Mysterio taunted.

 

“I could squeeze that fishbowl helmet of yours, but I won’t. I could also tear this place down around you, but some of the others are still on the roof.”

 

“You’re still holding yourself back.”

 

“I don’t want to join you,” the Enigma said as she broke the windows, letting the rain and wind in. “That will disrupt the illusions.”

 

Mysterio turned around and started walking away.

 

The Enigma smirked and caused him to trip.

 

 

Ninja Talon and the critic swung up to a tree.

 

“This is dangerous!”

 

“Better than staying there,” Ninja Talon said.

 

 

“We’re next,” Dafoanairi said to Jane.

 

“I know,” Jane said as she looked at where SpiderGirl was trying to sooth Kalina.

 

“Just as well I can do this,” Dafoanairi said as she lassoed one of the trees. She pulled and the rope held. “Ready?”

 

“As I’ll ever be,” Jane said.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

Jane grabbed hold of Dafoanairi and they then swung into the trees next to Ninja Talon. ‘Dafoanairi is just using wits and a staff. She’s ill prepared for something like this,’ she thought.

 

 

“Kalina?” SpiderGirl said. “I’m going to need you to hold on again. Can you do that?”

 

“I think I can. You don’t know what it was like. He wanted me to critique his own ‘plays’. He is all sparkle and no plot.”

 

“Like some of Hollywood?” SpiderGirl asked.

 

“Worse,” Kalina answered as she stood up. She still didn’t open her eyes.

 

SpiderGirl sighed and stepped closer. “I’m right here.”

 

Kalina threw her arms around her.

 

“Now you, Oliver,” SpiderGirl said.

 

“Are you sure?” He asked.

 

“Enhanced strength, remember?”

 

“OK,” Oliver said. He threw his arms around SpiderGirl and Kalina and SpiderGirl then swung away, next to the others.

 

 

The Enigma knew when that happened. She then pulled down some of the ceiling on Mysterio, who was still trying to get up from the trip, and turned and dashed out the door as she opened her eyes. She kept the forcefield up to shield herself from the rain and debris.

 

 

“The fourth vigilante has come out,” Peterson said.

 

“Then my team will move in now,” Leung decided. “Before the storm gets any worse.”

 

“Good idea.”