The Terran Rangers/Spiderman Volume 4:, Heather Ray [well read books .TXT] 📗

she came in, she saw Denise pulling her jacket on. Denise quickly put her finger to her lips, signalling silence. Johnathan must've been asleep.

"I've got to get going," Denise whispered, "Jonny fell asleep about half an hour ago, so he'll be our for another hour or so. His bottle's in the fridge, and he eats at about six."

"I know," Alexis said, rolling her eyes. Denise always went over the instructions, even though Alexis watched Johnathan daily.

"Listen," Denise said, "Alice offered to take care of Jonny tonight, so you could have some time for yourself. She'll be here by six-thirty, so make sure he eats before that, okay?"

"Really?" Alexis whispered excitedly.

"Really," Denise said with a smile. She leaned over and hugged her younger sister tightly. "Its not fair for you to give up your entire social life. Alice isn't doing anything tonight, so you can hang out with Dawn or something. You deserve it."

Denise grabbed her purse, waved, and hurried out the door. Alexis grinned widely, and went to her bedroom. She had about ten minutes to kill before Dawn would get home. She laid her backpack down quietly, and took out her textbooks, planning on organizing her homework. She'd need to get a good deal of it done tonight, since she'd go to the movies, and maybe even on patrol afterwards. She glanced down on her dresser, and smiled as her eyes fell upon an article from the January first Philadelphia Inquirer. It was about her.

In Angel Grove, the Power Rangers weren't really news anymore. They'd been around for over a year, and the people have become pretty much used to their presence. Not that they don't appreciate the work the rangers do to keep the city safe. They just aren't as awestruck by the heroes any longer. But things were different in Philadelphia. Here, they'd never seen a Power Ranger before Alexis came, and they didn't know what to make of it. Alexis chuckled as she read over the article about the mysterious flying Purple Knight. They didn't even know she was a Power Ranger. They probably don't believe the Power Rangers even exist.

I wonder if I should have been more careful to keep a low profile,

Alexis thought, I was lucky that no one managed to get a photo of me. But, they'll be ready next time. In fact, I'm willing to bet people are walking around the city with cameras, just to get a shot at me. I didn't really think much about publicity in Angel Grove, but I'm basically alone here in Philly, so I guess the decision is mine. I mean, talking to the press isn't necessarily breaking the Ranger Code. But, if I give them too much information, they may figure out the Power Rangers are human, or something like that. Its probably best if the Purple Ranger, er, Purple Knight, stays quiet.

Alexis went back into the kitchen, and found the new newspaper. After quickly checking out the movie listings, she picked up the phone and dialed her best friend's phone number.

^Hello?^

"Hey Dawn, its me!"

^What's up, Lex?^

"Guess what? Alice is watching Jonny tonight, so I have the night off! What movie do you want to see tonight?"

Chapter Four

"Peter, what on Earth are you reading?"

Peter glanced up at Deborah, who was curiously peeking at the sheets of paper Peter was so intently reading. Peter frowned at her, and folded the papers.

"Just something for JJ," he said simply. "In order for me to have the week off, I need to get some photographs while in Philly."

"Oh," said Deborah, opening her bag of complimentary peanuts. "Of what?"

"Have you ever heard of the Purple Knight?"

"The what?"

"Just some new superhero that was sighted in Philadelphia. Since I'm going there anyway, I'm going to see if I can find her."

"How?"

"Well, this is the article about the Purple Knight," Peter explained, turning around in the small airplane seat to face Deborah, "I printed it off the web this afternoon. The Purple Knight has only appeared once so far, on New Year's Eve. She single-handedly prevented a few dozen car accidents."

"That's amazing," Deborah said, nodding.

"Yeah," agreed Peter, "but the interesting thing is the locations of the car accidents she prevented. They were all within a fifteen block radius--" Peter pulled out the second sheet of paper. It was a map of University City, marked with red ink. "--the fifteen blocks directly surround the campus of the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University," he continued, "That area of Philadelphia is called University City, for obvious reasons. I marked the places the Purple Knight was sighted. She is clearly protecting this region of Philly."

"Not necessarily," Deborah commented. "After all, this 'Purple Knight' only appeared one night. Its possible she selects a particular area to patrol each time, or perhaps she'll never appear again! There's no way you can deduce her crime-fighting pattern with only one night's data to work with."

"I realize that," Peter said, "but its the right place to start."

Deborah shrugged, and turned to look out the window at the clouds below the airplane. Peter resumed his study of the map of University City.

What Deb doesn't realize is that superheroes tend to be territorial,

he thought, I've met a few heroes, and I've noticed that usually they select a certain area to protect. Especially when they operate solo. I mean, no individual can protect the entire world, so they select either a particular city or portion of a city to patrol. They become experts on the area they lay claim upon. I'm sure the Purple Knight operates in University City. However, I'm not sure how often she appears. She was only sighted once, and I'll be in Philly for only a week! If she doesn't show up, JJ's gonna kill me!

Peter grimaced at the thought. But, he was still confident he could find the mysterious Purple Knight. After all, he knew where to look.

"Attention, please," said the stewardess, standing in the front of the passenger cabin, "We're beginning our descent to Philadelphia International Airport. Please take your seats, and prepare for landing."

Peter immediately buckled his seatbelt, and Doctor Conners, who was napping in the seat behind Peter and Deborah, woke up. Once the plane landed, the three scientists gathered their luggage, and headed out the airport, where Peter flagged down a cab.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Deborah.

"Well, first we're going to the Penn Tower Hotel to get settled, and at seven-thirty, the Undergraduate Chair of Biological Bases of Behavoir will meet us at my room, and escort us to the facilities at our disposal, so we can set up for tomorrow morning's demonstration."

The three stepped into the cab, and Peter put all the luggage into the trunk.

"Where to?" asked the driver.

"The Penn Tower Hotel, please."

Chapter Five

That evening, after a quick dinner, Doctor Alfonse Griffin of the University of Pennsylvania escorted Peter, Deborah, and Doctor Conners to the laboratory at their disposal. After making sure everything was prepared to the morning's presentation, the three returned to their respective hotel rooms. Peter grimaced as he noticed Doctor Conners was sweating.

"Are you feeling okay, Doc?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm fine," Doctor Conners said, "I guess I'm a little nervous about my presentation tomorrow. This is our last chance to get funding for Neogenics."

"Your presentation is excellent, Doctor Conners," said Deborah. "You have nothing to worry about. Just get a good night sleep, and relax."

Doctor Conners smiled at his two assistants. "That's good advice. Don't worry, I'll be fine. Some sleep will do me good. See you both tomorrow morning, bright and early."

With that, the doctor disappeared behind the door to his room, leaving Peter and Deborah in the hallway.

"So," said Deborah with a smile, "what are you up to tonight?"

"I'm going to bed," Peter said simply.

"Right," she said with a smirk. "What about the Purple Knight?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm going to look for the Purple Knight. I won't be out too long, because we have a presentation tomorrow morning."

"Need some company?" Deborah offered, "I'm not tired or anything. Besides, its only ten o'clock!"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Peter said. "Trust me, tracking down superheroes is much easier to do alone. G'night, Deb."

"Goodnight, Peter," Deborah said with a frown, entering her room.

Peter let out a breath, and went into his own room, locking the door behind him. "I'm glad I got rid of her," he said, unlatching his suitcase. He pulled out a special small camera, two rolls of film, and one of his Spiderman uniforms. "It'll be much easier to track down this flying Purple Knight as Spiderman. Hopefully, she'll come right to me."

Peter donned his Spiderman uniform, and attached the small camera to his belt. It was specifically designed for use as Spiderman, and is small enough to hide easily. After all, it would look odd for Spiderman to be walking around town with a camera on his neck.

"Now, to find this Purple Knight," he said, opening his window. He perched on the windowsill, and climbed up the wall of the building to the roof , where he could get a better view of the area.

"If I remember correctly, the Penn Tower Hotel is on the south-eastern edge of the campus. So, I'll travel north-west, and hopefully, I'll see her."

With that, Spiderman aimed his web-shooters, and launched a vine of webbing to the nearest high building. He then swung on the web, and continued to web-sling across the campus.