Dateline: Sunday, July 5, 1981, 6:30 PM, Greenwich Mean Time

"My, what a beautiful sunrise," Dash said as he got off the aircraft.

"Yes it is beautiful, honey, but it's sunset," Kim corrected.

"It is? Boy, I must be seriously jet-lagged!"

"So, where is this guy we were supposed to meet?" asked Ashley.

"James said he was supposed to be waiting for us right at the end of the runway," said Violet.

"There he is, I see him!" observed Dash.

The team rushed down to their contact.

"Good evening, Alpha Force," he said with a thin British accent. "I am Harry Robinson with the European League of Supers. Is this all of you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Why are you not in costume?"

"Uh, I don't know, I didn't think it would matter?"

"Never mind that, you do have them with you, right?"

"Of course!"

"Good. As I'm sure you've been informed, you will be sent to five different cities to stop a different villain in each one. The city to which each of you will be flown has been pre-determined. Which one of you is Python?"

"That would be me," said Violet.

Harry handed her a tape player and instructed her to play it once airborne. Then he directed her to one of five helicopters specially marked with the ELS logo. He did the same thing with the rest of the team.

Before they took off, Dash and Kim kissed each other goodbye and José held Violet in his arms for a while. Then Violet came to Ashley.

Don't worry Ash, she thought-spoke, you'll be just fine. When the moment of truth comes, you will know what to do. I believe in you.

"Thank you," Ashley answered with a tear in her eye.

And with that, the five were off. Where they would go, whom they would face, they didn't know…yet. But the tapes would answer all their questions.

"Good evening, Miss Parr. Right now, you are being taken to the city of Nice, France. There, a crazed lunatic who calls himself Monsieur Mincemeat is causing trouble. Mincemeat is a cannibal with an expertise in swordplay. Sure, all he wants is a meal, but France can't afford a population decline of this magnitude, so he must be stopped. You've been selected for this assignment by virtue of your fluency in the native tongue. We wish you the best of luck, Python."

"Good evening, Mister Parr. As we speak, you are on your way to Zurich, Switzerland. The famous banks of Zurich are in jeopardy from one Princess Polymer. Polymer was once a celebrated chemist and physician. However, the medical community never embraced her revolutionary ideas. She went mad as a result. Polymer currently has two heads, six arms, and four legs, due to drastic surgery she performed on herself. She now finances her research by robbing banks. You've been selected for this assignment by virtue of your unparalleled fighting skill. Take her down, Rocket."

"Good evening, Miss Cohen. If you can hear this, it means you are en route to Munich, Germany. Destruction has a name in Munich today: Five-Alarm Jim, or Fiver Jim for short. Jim is a pyrokinetic who has already demolished thirty buildings in town. The people of Munich have tried everything to stop him. Brute force didn't work, and we couldn't reason with him because he cannot speak. The only thing we haven't tried so far is a mental attack, and that's why you were selected for this assignment. You are Germany's last hope, Blind Tracy."

"Good evening, Mister Hernandez. Your destination is the industrious city of Barcelona, Spain. A ruthless assassin in on the prowl there, one Tomcat. Tomcat once set his ambitions on being a superhero. However, his feline powers were considered too feminine and the public never accepted him. In a fit of rage, he made a vow of vengeance against Spain. His newest target is the mayor of Barcelona. You've been selected for this assignment for stealth reasons. Stop this fat cat, Heartthrob."

"Good evening, Missus Parr. You are about to be dropped off in the waterlogged city of Venice, Italy. This city's claim to fame is about to be put on ice by elderly villain Auntie Arctica. You may recognize the name as one of Frozone's old foes, with powers that are identical to his. In fact, the two Aunties are one and the same. Her devious plan is to freeze the canals solid, destroying the town infrastructure, and bringing Venice to her knees. You have been selected for this assignment by virtue of your fluency of the native tongue. You must not allow Auntie Arctica to succeed, Liquegirl."

Violet had already started to do a few dry runs of the battle she was soon to fight, when the tape said something else…that it would self-destruct in 15 seconds. She swore loudly as she ejected the smoldering tape and chucked it out the chopper window. Seconds later it exploded with a muted pop.

"What is it with these people and their exploding tapes?" she wondered aloud. "That has to be a waste of money!" But now was not the time to be ranting about something trivial, and she knew that. The helicopter landed on the roof of some tallish building and Violet jumped out.

"You might want to reset your watch, Python!" said the pilot. "Nice is ahead of London by one hour!"

"Thanks. Now, all I need is a place to dress out."

"You might want to try that abandoned storage shed," he said, pointing to something on the roof. Then he waved goodbye and took off. In a matter of minutes, the young serpent was ready for action. But there was still one problem…

"Hey, where are the stairs?"

Alas, there were no stairs. This building was merely a place to land choppers. There was nothing on the inside. Python had to get down, somehow. Luckily, she had been in this situation before, and she knew what to do.

First, Python leapt from the roof feet first. Then, while in free fall, she cast a quick force field around herself to soften the blow of impact. After bouncing up and down a few times, she righted herself, dispersed the shield, and landed on her feet, without injury.

"Now, if only I could find Monsieur Mincemeat," said Python.

"You won't have to," someone behind her said in French.

Python whirled around and saw a stout man with a very big sword, raised above him as if preparing to strike.

"Are you the Python?" he asked. (In French, of course.)

"Oui."

"I've never had a super forsupper before. You'll be a welcome treat for me!" He licked his lips hungrily.

"Sorry, as tempting as that sounds, I have somewhere I need to be tomorrow. Call my office, we'll do breakfast, okay?"

"Not okay! I'm hungry now!" And he lunged at Python, sword raised.

(A/N: Wow! Could I have picked a crueler place to stop? Sorry, but I need to be sure you guys will keep reading. And reviewing. Tell you what, you tell me how I'm doing, and I'll keep writing. Don't go away, we're almost to the fun part!)