Part 7

Helen and Jake stood by Quinn's bed in Lawndale General's ER. Daria sat nearby in an easy chair, fiddling with the ring on her right hand.

"But Muh-om! Really, I feel fine! I'm just a little sore from all that VCR that Green Gal or whatever she's called did to me."

"That may be so, sweetie, but the doctor said that you really need to stay here overnight, just to make sure."

At that moment, a nurse came in to check Quinn's vital signs. As he inflated her blood pressure cuff, she couldn't help but notice his pale blue eyes and his dimpled chin. "You're doing fine, Miss Morgendorffer. Is there anything I can get for you?" he asked.

"Well, a diet Ultra-Cola would be nice," Quinn replied. "And - " she glanced at his badge. "Rick, would you be a dear and bring me another pillow? This one is just a little too flat."

"Sure thing, Miss Morgendorffer."

"Please, call me Quinn." The nurse left. "Maybe I could stay a little while," Quinn said, admiring the retreating form of the nurse. "I am just a little tired."

"Well, at least we know there's no brain damage," Daria said. "You're just as predatory as ever."

"Just keeping in practice. I just have to call the Fashion Club to tell them what hotties they have here. They'll be so jealous." Quinn thought a minute. "Mom, can I borrow your phone? I lost mine in the fire."

"Later, dear," Helen said, "I'm expecting a call. Are you up to telling us what happened?"

Quinn shifted in bed, finger to her lip. "I had put the kids to bed and had gone downstairs to watch TV" - Darn it! She said to herself. I forgot to put the block back on! "I thought I smelled smoke, and I went to the kitchen to check. I didn't see anything and was checking the laundry room when I heard this bang behind me. I turned around and the kitchen was already on fire. I couldn't get past the fire to get to the children, so I closed the door and went to call 911-" Quinn's eyes started to well up. "Then I remembered that I was just getting ready to call Stacy and I had left my cellphone on the sofa! I couldn't get out and I was so afraid for Tad and Tricia, and the smoke started coming into the room and...the next thing I know I'm laying out in the yard with Daria and the kids standing over me." Quinn started to sob.

Jake sat on the bed and hugged his daughter. "There, there, kiddo. Everything's all right now. You and the kids are alive, thanks to that Lantern."

Just then Helen's phone buzzed. She pulled out the phone and left the room to take the call.

"I wonder where she came from, though," Jake said. "We see superheroes on TV all the time, but they hang out in big cities like New York and Gotham." Jake shuddered. "Gotham's full of crazies. My dad took me there once. We were taking a bus tour and it had gotten dark when I thought I saw a guy with a gun duck into an alley. I tried to tell Mad Dog about it and he just said, 'Stupid kid, you're just jumping at shadows,' he said. He said that he couldn't wait for my military school application to go through so they could make a man out of me. Old Man! Couldn't wait to get rid of me..."

"Dad! You're hurting my shoulders!"

"Oh! Sorry, Kiddo." Jake let go. "Anyway, I wonder if she's here to stay or just passing through?"

"I wonder myself," Daria said thoughtfully.

Helen re-entered the room. "Thanks, I'm so glad you called. I'm glad your family is fine. Yes, I've got your number at the hotel. Please call me if anything else comes up. No, don't be silly, I'll be glad to take the case. All right. Goodbye." Helen closed the connection.

"Who was that at this hour?" said Jake.

"That was Lester Gupty," Helen replied. "He just got through talking with the forensics chief at the Fire Department. He said that it was a clear cut case of defective wiring. Somehow the Gupty's house missed that big aluminum wiring recall a few years ago and the whole house was an accident ready to happen. When the wiring went, it burned through a gas line and..." She looked at Quinn. "Well, dear, it was lucky that you had that green Guardian Angel. As fast as they were, the Fire Department could never have gotten to you in time. Anyway, I told Lester I would take the case. Combined with the insurance settlement, the lawsuit should take care of the Guptys and, Quinn dear, as an injured party, we should be able to get enough for you for college."

"Always looking for that silver lining, eh, Mom?" Daria quipped.

"Yeah," said Jake, "Your mom's always looking out for us. Oh, nice ring you've got there, kiddo."

"Uh, yeah," Daria stammered. "I, uh, thought I'd try something to match my jacket." Sure enough, the ring was merely a carved emerald band, the same shade as her jacket.

The phone by the bedside rang and Daria grabbed the welcome distraction. "Hello? Oh, Hi. Oh. Okay. I'll be down in a minute. Bye." She turned to her parents. "That was Jane. They won't let her up because it's after hours and she's not a family member." She yawned. "Do you mind if I go ahead and walk her home? It's a school night and I'm pretty tired."

"I think it's okay, dear. Jake and I'll stay another couple of hours just to make sure Quinn's all right. See you in the morning."

"Right, Kiddo," Jake said. "You've had a busy night."

You don't know the half of it. "Okay," Daria said. "And Quinn?" Daria reached out and patted her hand. "I'm really glad you're all right. I don't know who'd I'd torment without you," she smirked.

"Oh, Daria," Quinn answered, smiling. "By the way, if you see Rick, would you tell him I'm waiting?"


"When I first transformed, everything was a blur." Daria and Jane were about halfway home, walking, listening to the moths thudding against the streetlights. "But then my vision cleared and in the excitement I didn't think anything else of it. But I think I know why."

Daria's ring flared and she was wearing her mask, her glasses gone. "Jane, what do you see?"

Jane peered at Daria's eyes through her mask. Not only were her eyes white, there was a greenish crystalline glitter over her corneas. "Well, I'll be darned. Energy contacts!"

"Yeah," Daria said. "When my glasses vanished and I willed my vision to clear, this must be what the ring came up with. And what's really great is that I don't even feel them." Her mask once again vanished, returning her glasses to her face.

"Lucky you," Jane said. "So - what have you decided about.."

Daria stopped. "This?" She held up the ring. "It's funny. All the time I was riding in the ambulance with Quinn, I was thinking, "now I understand. I know now why they do it."

"You mean superheroes?"

"Not only them. The paramedics who were treating Quinn. The firefighters who rushed to save the Gupty's and their house." Daria stared into the night sky. "The cops who patrol the streets at night.The soldiers who slog in the mud and dust to keep us safe."

"When I realized that the kids were in that house, all I could think of was getting in there and saving them - and when they told me about Quinn - nothing in the universe was going to stop me from getting her out. I remember watching disasters and suffering on TV all the time feeling so helpless that I couldn't do anything about it. Not this time. This time I had the power to do something about it. How could I not? Something else, too. If I didn't have this ring tonight, Quinn would have died. Died, Jane! Her and the kids." She held up the ring. "I think I owe something to the people who gave me this to do what they want and put in my time saving the world." Jane and Daria resumed walking. "So, yeah. I really think I'm going to join the spandex set. Besides," Daria said, grinning, "You don't know what a rush using this thing is!"

"You know what this makes me, don't you?" Jane said, pouting.

"What?"

"A sidekick."

Daria poked her in the arm. That's not so bad. You're like Dr. Watson, Mr. Spock, Sam Gamgee, Kato..."

"Gabby Hayes? I think I'd rather be a henchman." Jane suddenly grinned. "Daria, why are we walking?"


On a lonely road on the outskirts of Lawndale's city limits, a light appeared on the horizon. Quickly, the light resolved into a pair of headlights, belonging to a emerald Mustang convertible, motor roaring in all its 4 liter V8 glory.

Behind the wheel sat Jane, shifting the 5-speed for all she was worth, with two thousand watts of ZZ Top's "Gimmie All Your Lovin'" screaming out of the surround sound, and the bass line threatening to make the rear end jump with every thump. Beside her sat Daria, hair blowing in the wind, hands covering her ears.

"BOY, I'M GLAD YOUR DAD TOOK YOU TO THAT CAR SHOW LAST MONTH!" Jane yelled.

"WHAT?"

"I SAID -" Jane turned down the music.

Daria lowered her hands. "I heard you. It's lucky that the ring seems to be able to create images from my memories, even things that I just glance at. I guess I was paying more attention to Dad than I thought when he was in that show car making 'Vroom! Vroom!' noises." Daria yawned. "So, Jane, have your had your fun? I really am tired and I want to turn in."

"Sure, Amiga." Jane slowed down to find a place to turn around. "So, have you figured out what your next move is?"

"I figured that I'd go to Metropolis tomorrow after school, fly around and try to find Superman. He's the easiest hero to find and knows Green Lantern, maybe he knows what happened to him. After that -" Her power ring started to flash.

Warning: energy level at five percent. Initiating shutdown of energy constructs. Warning -

"Jane! Stop the car! Now!"

Jane stomped the brakes and the Mustang screeched to a halt. "What was that about?"

The car surrounding them shimmered and vanished, dumping them on the road. They sat there for a moment, dumbfounded.

"Damn!" Daria said as she got up and rubbed her behind, "I didn't know that these things ran out of juice." She reached down to help Jane up.

"We must be at least fifteen miles out of town. Can you fly us back?" Jane asked.

"I don't dare. I don't know how much power I have left."

Jane pulled her phone out of her pocket. "I hope Trent's home. I don't want to have to call your folks and explain to them what we're doing way out here." She started to key the pad. "Amiga? I thought your ring was dead."

Daria looked around and noticed the green glow surrounding them. "That would be us," a strange feminine voice said. The pair looked up to find themselves caught in the glow of a bright green searchlight, its source drifting to the ground.