It was still quite early when Daria arrived at the
Historia. It was early enough that Angie was still setting up the café when she
arrived.
“You haven’t been this early before,” Angie said.
“I wanted to get here with plenty of time to spare
before school.”
“It has been one of those weeks, hasn’t it?”
“Yes. But every week is different. This time last
week, the robodactyl had just appeared and the fake interview was about to
happen that night.” Daria answered.
“Don’t remind me,” Angie said, as she checked the
coffee machine. “Over a month since Groundhog Day.”
“I’m looking into something a lot less troublesome,
although it’s still troublesome in a different way.”
“You mean the knock offs? Mom told me there aren’t
that many coming into her store asking about them.”
“There aren’t?” Daria asked.
“There haven’t been. But maybe most would know that
the boutique wouldn’t have them.”
“That could be it.”
Peterson arrived at the Historia shortly after
seven. She saw that Daria was already there, waiting for her breakfast. She
went to order a coffee first.
“Morning,” Daria said when Peterson had sat across
from her.
“You’re here early.”
“I wanted to be sure that I met you this morning,
as I’ll be busy with the play this evening.”
“You mean the new rooftop activity?” Peterson
asked.
“Yes. I encountered one yesterday evening.”
“And the Enigma?”
“She did too,” Daria answered. She didn’t mention
the fact that the Enigma had damaged a house in dealing with him. ‘She would
think she’s more of an antihero than she already is.’
“And you have suspicions.”
“Oscorp, but there’s still no proof.”
“And actual proof might be difficult to obtain,”
Peterson mused.
“Even if the other heroes may have had their own
encounters.”
“Yes.”
“And then there was Tania last night,” Daria added.
“Tania Ashworth? What happened?”
Daria explained what had happened.
Peterson took in what Daria had said. That Oscorp
were suspecting Tania as one of the vigilantes and was having her followed was
troubling. ‘It still doesn’t mean that she’s not one of them, either Ninja
Talon or the Shadow.’
“Obviously LDPD can’t be present at the Park all
the time,” Daria said.
“We can’t, but I can talk to Tania after school, or
tonight before the play starts.”
“That might be a better idea.”
“As for the agents, we can only intervene if they
are caught red handed,” Peterson said. “But I will talk to Osborn later.”
“I suspected that.”
“I can’t tell you everything, of course.”
“Such is the lot of an amateur when working with
someone with a badge,” Daria responded.
“You’re lucky I like your wit,” Peterson murmured
lightly.
SpiderGirl looked at the High School from the strip
mall across the street. It wasn’t open yet, but she wanted to get there early,
to be sure of catching Ted before homeroom. The area was calm, quiet compared
to later when students would be rushing to get to class. She didn’t see any
Oscorp agents nearby. ‘One thing at a time,’ she thought.
Tania was still a little jittery as she arrived at
school. She heard a sound and turned to see Quinn walking towards her. She let
out a sigh of relief.
“Are you OK?” Quinn asked.
“Not really,” Tania admitted.
Quinn put her hand on Tania’s shoulder. “If you
want to talk about if…”
“I did talk to a couple of people last night, but
thanks.”
Quinn smiled.
Quinn and Tania waited near the front doors for a
short while before Pavlov opened them.
Ted arrived at school at his usual time. “Quinn?”
he asked when she came up to him.
“We’ll have to talk to Ms. Li about the clothes
today,” she said.
“Have you come up with a reason?”
“A few,” Quinn answered.
Daria parked the Lexus in the school’s parking lot
to find Jane waiting for her. “You’ve been waiting long?”
“I didn’t want to head downtown this morning,” Jane
said with a slight shrug.
But Daria could tell that something was up.
“Something happened?”
“More the ongoing situation with Oscorp. I have
seen agents on the rooftops during my runs.”
“Are you sure they aren’t the vigilantes?”
“They are different to the sketches I have of
them,” Jane answered.
“Of course.”
“Just more evidence that Lawndale is changing,”
‘There’s more to it than that,’ Daria thought as
they walked into the school.
Norman Osborn arrived at the Headquarters, but
first he looked at the graffiti that the Shadow had left in the night. It
showed the Oscorp logo being squished by a stylized version of Lawndale’s
municipal crest, along with a stylized ‘S’ in a dark grey.
“What message do you think it’s sending?” one of
his workers asked.
“Defiance,” Osborn answered. “Clean it off.”
“Yes, sir.”
Fields saw Osborn come in. She then turned back to
her screen, where a small portion of the routes through West Lawndale had been
mapped.
“What’s your progress?” Osborn asked.
“Not sure. Lawndale is sprawling, remember.”
“I am well aware of that. I still expect results,
Ms. Fields.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll post daily updates,” Fields said.
“Get on with it then.”
At the beginning of lunch, Quinn and Ted entered
Ms. Li’s office.
“So, you want me to let the Lowdown
investigate the SpiderGirl knockoff clothes?” Ms. Li asked.
“Yes,” Ted answered. “It is obvious that they are
aimed at Lawndale’s young people.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t seem to be something a high
school publication should be investigating.”
“Or maybe it is,” Quinn said.
“What are you getting at Ms. Morgendorffer?”
“I have looked at them a few times. It obvious that
whoever had them made is looking to exploit not only the image of Lawndale’s
first superhero, but also the young people who look up to her! You’re always
going on about the honor and glory of this school. But what would be more
honorable than exposing such a scheme?” Quinn answered as she leaned forward.
“You make a good argument,” Ms. Li said. “But it is
very risky.’
“I know that, but that is part of journalism isn’t
it?” Quinn responded.
“I agree,” Li said. “But I am allowing you to do
it.”
“Thanks!” Ted said.
“But I expect updates every week; say each Friday,”
the principal said.
“No problem,” Quinn said. “I’m sure we’ll have
something to start with by this time next week.”
Ms. Li nodded. “That will be all.”
After the two students left, the principal opened a
document on her computer. It contained a picture of Norman Osborn. “You think
you have this school under control because of our agreement, Norman?” she said
quietly. “I can outmanoeuvre you by encouraging the curiosity of my students. Lawndale High will
thrive where Oscorp won’t.” She then closed the document and went back to work.
“That was easy,” Ted said as they walked away from
the office.
Quinn shrugged. “I knew what to say.”
“Maybe.”
‘But it was easy,’ Quinn thought. ‘Li probably has
her own reasons for agreeing.’
At the same time, Daria, Jane, Sandi, Tania and
Harry were talking as they had lunch.
“So, you were followed last night,” Harry asked
Tania.
“Yes,” Tania answered. “It’s good that the fourth
vigilante and Dafoanairi were there. But I’m sure it was Oscorp.”
“My father wouldn’t be aware of everything,” Harry
responded.
“I’m sure he’s aware of this!” Tania said.
“He’d probably deny it anyway,” Daria said.
“Unfortunately,” Sandi added.
Daria took out a sheet of paper a mind map she had
made earlier that morning on it. “This is what we already know. That Oscorp has
been present in Lawndale for nearly a decade…”
“That long?” Tania asked.
“Yes,” Daria answered. “The Morris incident proves
that.”
“Oh, of course,” Tania said.
“But, there was still no proof of wrongdoing
there,” Harry said.
“Didn’t your father say he’s chasing down those
responsible?” Sandi asked, in a tone of slight disbelief.
“That’s what he said,” Harry answered. “But I’m
absolutely certain he was obfuscating.”
“That’s obvious,” Sandi responded while rolling her
eyes.
“But if he is having people followed because he
thinks they are the vigilantes, even if they aren’t, that just makes Lawndale
more dangerous!” Tania said with a tremor in her voice.
“I’ll try to talk to him about it,” Harry said.
Daria thought about it. ‘Dafoanairi can’t always be
there to protect Tania, nor can the Enigma or the others.’
“What good will that do?” Jane responded to Harry.
Harry shrugged. “Something.”
“Probably would make him more on his toes,” Sandi
said.
“Penelope Jericho to see you, sir,”
his assistant said.
Osborn sighed. “Send her in.”
The journalist entered the office like a silent
storm.
“Good Afternoon, Ms. Jericho.”
“There have been reports of figures moving along
rooftops downtown and in some neighborhoods that don’t match the hero
vigilantes,” Penelope said.
“And you think I have something to do with them?”
“They match what has been reported of Oscorp agents
in other places with an Oscorp presence.”
“What do you expect me to say, Penelope?” Osborn
asked.
“So, you’re denying that you have anything to do
with them?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t believe you,” Penelope said.
“No, you believe in facts. And the fact is, you
don’t have proof.”
“I don’t. But I will keep digging.”
“You won’t find anything,” Osborn said.
“I will find something. If there are agents, they
will be noticed by more people. They will think that Oscorp is spying on Lawndale
for some reason.”
“No comment.”
After Penelope left, Osborn went up onto the roof
and looked out over the town. “How difficult is it to find the four vigilantes
in this suburban town!” he complained to himself. ‘The information so far
indicates that they have been seen all over town. That doesn’t give me any
information on where their secret identities are.’
As school let out, Quinn entered the library to see
that Anna and Ben were waiting.
“I heard you went to Ms. Li earlier,” Anna said.
“I did,” Quinn responded. “She agreed to let me
investigate the knockoffs with school resources.”
“She did?” Ben asked in surprise.
“Like, I said that It’s the school’s responsibility
to protect it’s students, even from something like a dubious clothing line,”
Quinn said.
“That’s taking things further than people would
usually expect,” Ben said.
“Not the first time,” Quinn responded with a shrug.
Gerald entered the library to find Quinn, Anna and
Ben looking over back issues of the Sun-Herald.
“Reading the paper?” he asked.
“Yes. I thought we could talk about recent events,”
Quinn answered.
“I suppose,” Gerald said. “But not just Groundhog
Day.”
“Of course not,” Quinn responded. “More what has
been happening since then.”
“Like the robodacytl or may have happened to Lynn
Anders? Pass,” Gerald said as he sat down.
“More those clothes that have appeared,” Quinn
said.
“Like, I was going to buy some, but I realised that
they probably wouldn’t last long.”
“Really?” Gerald asked.
“Yes. Quite poorly made, probably in a sweatshop,”
Quinn answered.
“I suppose that is why you want to investigate. But
it will be difficult,” Gerald said.
“Duh!” Quinn said as she turned a page in one of
the papers.
Gerald sighed. “I will help you.”
“Good,” Anna said.
Fields got home from work. After making some tea
she got out a map of Lawndale she had bought earlier in the week. ‘Now, how to
sabotage Osborn’s plans?’ she wondered. She colored in the areas she remembered
working on that day. ‘But how to get it to one of the vigilantes? Just leaving
it on the Historia’s roof wouldn’t be a good idea.’ She looked at the Historia
on the map. ‘Maybe it is a good place to start. Seeing the play might be
comforting.’ She made a decision, she would see Tempest and
try to meet SpiderGirl or Ninja Talon afterwards.
